FAQ about the Milan
FAQ about MiNT and N.AES
FAQ about MagiC
FAQ about the TV Card


FAQ about the Milan

q: Can I listen to mp3 with my Milan?
a: Yes and no. While it is possible with the 68060 upgrade, a Milan with 68040 is not able to do that realtime. All you can do in that case is save the m3 as WAVE in Aniplayer and listen to the WAVe then. I know, it's not really a nice solution, but better than no solution.
But what helps quite a bit is a PCI card instead of an ISA card. The PCI bus is a lot faster and so that save quite a bit of CPU time!

q: After a TOS update no SCSI devics are found. Why is this?
a: The SCSI driver is in the flash ROM. So when you flash a new TOS you not only have to specify the TOS image file, but also the SCSI driver file. This is done under "extensions" in the flash program.

q: What is the maximum size of a partition?
a: Under single TOS it must not exceed 1GB. If you use MiNT or MagiC it can be any size. But be careful: The boot partition may only contain the TOS filesystem and must not be bigger than 1 GB. Not surprising, since TOS has to access it.

q: How does the Milan react, if the TOS in the Flash-ROM is damaged?
a: With bootblock v0.99.7 or newer the Milan can load a TOS from a floppy disc. This can be done by pressing F9 while the bootblock is running. It can be also done by setting a jumper (see Hardware). It is important that the TOS is not fragmented, so copy it onto an emtpy disc!
With bootblocks earlier than that you're screwed. Then only Uwe Schneider or your dealer might be able to help you.

q: Where do I get TOS updates from?
a: You find them on Michael Schwingen's Homepage or here in the download area. These are beta versions!
If you do not have an internet connection (how can you if you read this?) your local dealer should be able to hel you, too.

q: I want to use SPINMAGC.XFS, but it doesn't work. What do I have to do?.
a: Rename METAXBS.PRG to METAXBS.SYS and copy it together with SPINMAGC.XFS into the folder C:\GEMSYS\MAGIC\XTENSION. MetaDOS isn't needed anymore under MagiC and can be removed from AUTOEXEC.BAT or be renamed to METADOS.PRX. After rebooting you should have the CD-ROM Icon on your desktop.
It is important, too, that a SCSI driver is installed (e.g. the one in HDDRIVER) and that the device ID of the CD- ROM is activated!

q: I have changed and saved the resolution under N.AES. But at the next start I have the same resolution as before. Is it not possible to save it?
a: It is possible, however it is a bit unfortunate in N.AES. First you change to the desired resolution. Then you call N_CHRES again and now you save the resolution ("aktuelle Auflösung sichern"). That does the job.

q: The Milan boots correctly, but after the MILANDRV.PRG has been started, I see no picture or flickering or the monitor shows an error message. What's happening now?
a: Probably the graphic card driver switches to a resolution that you monitor can't handle. Simply boot without MILANDRV.RG and then change the resolution in the last line of C:\MVDI.CNF to a lower resolution. If that doesn't hel, either, search the line with "bandwidth" and make that value there somewhat smaller. If that still doesn't help, set the flags in the MVDI.CNF so, that it tells the driver, that you do not have a MultiSync monitor.

q: Can I use ROM port modules with my Milan?
a: That should be possible, yes! But you need to have at least bootblock 0.99.10 and the file romport.lzh from the download area. You have to read the module on an original Atari with readcart.tos. On the Milan you have to switch on the ROM port emulation. This is done with the MSETUP.PRG. With loadcart.tos you can load the created file on the Milan. The ROM module is then available for all programs. With this method it is even possible to change modules without rebooting like on an original Atari.
However, this is the theory! I have no ROM port modules to test this. I have no idea if it works! Would be nice if someone could tell me if it does!

q: How exactly do I recognize if my Milan has that hardware problem (SCSI-sound-problem)?
a: There are several methods to find this out:
  • Simultaneously play a sound and make an access to a SCSI device
  • Switch on the VU meter in the MilanBlaster-ACC and make an access to a SCSI device.
  • Use the TV card.
If your Milan freezes at any of these things you need to update the hardware!

q: My Milan doesn't run properly with 30 MHz and not at all with 33 MHz. What now?
a: There is only one solution to that, a little IC: 74ACT157 SO16
However, there are two version of this IC. A big and a small version. We need the small version which seems to be incredibly hard to find. You can ask woller, if they still have some left.
Also, ISA Creative Soundblaster cards never run at 33 MHz!!!

q: On my Milan I can neither flash a bootblock nor a TOS. It aborts with an error message. Why is this?
a: The Milans of 2000/2001 have new flash ROMs. For these a new flash program is needed since the old one checks for AMD chips. Check the download area for a new flash program.

q: Sometimes the screen simply stays black after a cold boot. Why? What can I do?
a: No idea! I know nothing to prevent this. The only thing that helps is reboot. Then everything is normal.

q: I have trouble running NVDI on my Milan. What do I have to do?
a: Just install NVDI normally. But before you reboot, go to your GEMSYS folder. There are some files that have the extension SYS. Change that extension, e.g. into SYX. These files are the screen drivers and since we have a graphic card, they are not neede any more.


FAQ about MiNT and N.AES

q: I'm having serious problems with the serial ports and HSMODEM. What can I do?
a: Do not use HSMODEM at all! Instead use uart.xdd, have a look at Frank Naumann´s Homepage for this. It has to go in your MiNt or MultiTOS folder. Then remove all lines, that are related with HSMODEM from your mint.cnf.
But you will have to use a kernel that is at least version 1.15.6ß.


FAQ about MagiC

q: How do I use my ISA network adapter under MagiC?
a: It is very important to have ISAPNP.PRG before MAGXBOOT.PRG in your AUTO folder. This way network drivers like the NE2000.PRG from Torsten Lang will find your ISA card.

q: what is the boot order in MagiC?
a: * GEMSYS/MAGIC/XTENSION
* AUTO
* GEMSYS/MAGIC/START


FAQ about the TV Card

q: Is it worth buying the GEM-TV software?
a: If you own a PC you get a very clear "NO" here from me. It is incredibly expensive and only just about does its job. There's not the tiniest bit of extras in there. Not even clipping works!
If you do not have a PC you have to decide yourself if it's worth it. The software does work. You can watch TV, but the software has some bugs and glitches, cannot save pictures not mentioning movies and has seen not a single update since it was released!

q: How do I obtain a screenshot of the TV picture?
a: Currently this is impossible with the GEM-TV software. So you have to use traditional screenshot programs. However, this is quite a problem since most of these tools can't handle more than 256 colors. In 256 colors also save the palette. Whatever you do, making screenshots is awkward at the moment.
The best program is probably FunMedia from Patrick Eickhoff. It can even record movies, but not very well.

q: Can I save a movie?
a: Not with GEM-TV itself, but you can use FunMedia for this. However, this doesn't work without problems, either. The transfer of data from the screen RAM to normal RAM seems to be too slow for that. There are problems to record pictures and sound simultaneously, too.
You can see, watching television is possible on a Milan burt that's about it.

q: The PopUp in the main window does not work. What can I do?
a: This is a nasty bug in the software. It occurs when you make some erase actions in the right section of the tuner dialog. and if this wasn't enough it saves that bug in the inf file! The only thing you can do is delete that file and make all settings again! Very very nasty!


q: When I switch the picture to 1:1 it hapens quite often, that the picture freezes. How can I prevent that? how can I make the picture move again?
a: You can prevent it by clocking your Milan at 30 MHz or more. How to do that is described on the hardware page. But not all Milans work with more than 25 MHz.
To make the picture move again, try to "wobble" one of the sliders or move the window a tiny bit (but not in real time). It might also help, to switch programs to and back. Under N.AES you can do this:
Keep the right mouse button pressed over the mover or a scroll bar for a little while.



Ingo Lafrenz 2001