AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1 CD

The AmigaOS 4.1 Installation CD is now even easier to use.

Starting the update procedure is simply a matter of inserting the CD into your drive, and booting the machine as usual. You should see a lot of disk activity from your CD drive, and after a while the "Kickstart" files will load, and be launched. Once that is complete, the first thing you will see is the "*Welcome" screen. This has replaced the old system of simple requesters with something that you can interact with and make choices on how to proceed. Each icon allows a "rollover" so that a help text is displayed in the area at the bottom. This text gives a good description of what each option is for, and may display extra useful information. The first thing you need to do is to set the "Locale*" settings. This makes the Workbench (and any applications that support it) use the language and regional settings you apply here. You will also be offered the chance to set your keyboard layout, and any mouse specific options as well.
If you need to setup your hard disk(s) (partitioning or formatting), you can select the "Start the Hard Disk preparation utility..." where you can perform all the required changes. Again, the on-screen prompts will guide you through this. Once that is completed, you need to install the update. This is done by selecting the "*Start the AmigaOS 4.1 Installation utility" icon. After some time, you will be presented with the installer, and you should follow the on-screen prompts to get the system setup ready to install the new update. You will be given the opportunity to configure hard disks, and/or format partitions from here too if you hadn't already done that. You should perform a full "Install" as opposed to an "Update*", as there are significant changes in the system which may not take full effect by simply updating over an existing system. For this reason, this option is not recommended for beginners as the integrity of the system cannot be guaranteed after an update. There are many different configurations that you may have set, and the installer cannot possibly handle all eventualities.
The installation of AmigaOS 4.1 is very straight forward, and similar to previous updates. There is, however, one major exception to this, and that is "DDC". This means that the installer now recognises the monitor connected to your Amiga automatically, and can configure the best screen resolution for you. The mode chosen will be displayed for you by the installer. In the event that this information cannot be gained (some DVI-VGA adapters do not allow this information to pass through them), there is an 800600 fallback mode which will be used as a default. You can manually configure the settings for your monitor later on by using the new features in the "ScreenMode" preferences editor from "Workbench*", although you should not need to do this unless the automatic detection failed.
Once the user has confirmed the installation, a brief overview of new features is shown while it completes. These are grouped into components, and the lists are by no means exhaustive. There have been many many changes in the system, some introducing new features and functionality, while others address outstanding issues with the previous update.
Installation is usually very quick (although this does depend on the speed of your CD drive), and when it has completed you will be told to reboot . This is necessary to make sure that there are no old files floating around in the system which may cause problems, so please make sure you power-down, and back up again. The installed system then boots to a full "Workbench", and the post installation application is run. This works very similar to the "Welcome", but offers some different options. Again, a help text is displayed in the space at the bottom These options now allow you to configure the system in various ways, which include your Screen mode (in case the automatic detection failed for some reason), Sound card ("Sam" users will find this is done already) and your network connection.

The last option enables the user to launch the "4.1 Extras Installer". This allows you to select what to install, and where. Currently, the "Contributions" (programs included with AmigaOS 4.1 but not actually part of it) are as shown. As each item in the list is clicked, the applicable description text is shown along with the path to install the contribution to etc. You may change the path to suit you own disk layout but defaults are provided for you. Each application may be added to the dock after installation if you specify that option. They will be added into one of 3 sub-docks, which are "Internet", "Extras" and "Players". These sub-docks are created if they do not exist already.
By default, the "*Extras Installer*" remains in the dock after installation in case you wish to install any further applications. You may remove it at any stage if you no longer require it. That just leaves you to enjoy your new update to AmigaOS 4.1, enjoy!