ok right so im trying to get whdload working on my amiga 1200, which is proving harder than i thought i keep getting errors and problems i will list the errors im having and how exactly im doing what im doing hopefully someone will be able to help me .

first of all i had a problem with the installer but i have fixed this one by copying "installer" to c using a shell command.

left in my whdload folder on my floppy disk are:
install
installer
c
s
docs(i think)

if i run install i get a command box up with the word install typed in it(just to clarify is this normal) so i hit return and out pops an error message:

"error: file is not an executable
 error: returncode 10"

can anyone help me on thsi please?

EDIT:

i now get the error "unable to open script" anyone know how to fix this thanks

Hiya,

You shouldn't have had any trouble running the install program?  What OS are you using?

The basic idea is to download the latest version of WHDLOAD, then you have to grab a copy of your ROM using a little utility.  You also need the matching RTG(?) file which can be downloaded from AMINET.

The you go and grab a load for Mr Gorillas game packs and have some serious gaming fun  :-D

Oh and register WHDLOAD of course  :-)

you need to get the installer ver43.3.lha from aminet
unpack it, show all files then copy the installer tool icon to your C:drawer.
whdload16.9usr.lha will automaticly install itself
after you have unpacked it
you can /will need the SKick345 to play some games
also from there site or from aminet

ste182 wrote:

if i run install i get a command box up with the word install typed in it(just to clarify is this normal) so i hit return and out pops an error message:

"error: file is not an executable
 error: returncode 10"

can anyone help me on thsi please?

This problem is a recurring theme for me and I've mentioned it a few times in a few different threads recently. When downloading programs from the internet... doesn't matter if you're using a PeeCee, Mac or an Amiga... OFTEN times, the file attributes (protection bits, whatever you want to call it) get all messed up. This is an "easy" one to fix. Highlight whatever icon (Iinstaller? WHDLoad?) that's giving you trouble, select INFO from Workbench and see if the 'Executable' button is checked or not. If not, check it, save and try the installation again. It's gotten to the point with me that, after downloading something, I immediately inspect the file(s) attributes before even trying to install or use.

I do not know WHY this is so common with our platform, if it's a side effect of the archiving process or what. All I know is that it is incredibly annoying and used to cause the loss of several hours trying to get the simplest of things to work  :-(  

First things first:

1. Do you have a correctly installed Workbench on your hard disk?
2. Do you have the correct version of the Installer command in your C drawer?
3. Do you have the lha command in your C drawer?

Now for the WHDLoad install. You need the file WHDLoad_usr.lha on www.whdload.de This file needs to be extracted on your Amiga itself because PC filesystems aren't fully compatible with Amiga filesystems. This won't fit on one 720Kb floppy. So you need split it. I used Sploiner. This download from Aminet contains executables for MS-DOS and AmigaOS. So split the file on Windows, transfer it in parts to your Amiga's hard disk and join the parts on your Amiga again. Then extract the joined file using lha. Now the Install icon in the extracted drawer should work fine.

Now a little explanation on how WHDLoad works. You don't run WHDLoad directly but use a slave file that uses disk images or game files and the WHDLoad executable to run the game. There are readily installed game slaves with the disk images available on the net so you don't need the original floppies of the games. I won't mention the sites but Google is your friend.

Some games require rom images to run; it's all found in the readme files that come with the slave install if that's needed. WHDLoad also gives a detailed error message when the files are missing.

For WHDLoad to run nicely you usually need more than the 2Mb ChipRAM the A1200 comes with. Preferably you have 030 with at least 8Mb.

You'll soon find out that transferring files using floppies it a pain; especially when your need to split them all the time. Most WHDLoad pre-installed games exceed 720Kb. So look for another way of transferrign files. A PCMCIA network solution would be nice for this for example.

i dont click the installer, i click the install file thats in the whdload drawer, and it brings up the unable to open script error, and im going to try and install prism2 tonight so i hope it doesnt do the same

and it has. im frustated with this, ive changed the installer file so many times making sure it isnt corrupt. the install finds it but then it must have problem finding the script maybe.

I found WHDLOAD one of the easiest installs...  Likes others have said I think something is getting mangled in the transfer.  

Try using either a CF Card w/ a compatible PCMCIA reader card OR a null-modem cable and Amiga Explorer ( http://www.amigaforever.com/ae/ ) to transfer the files.  Both can be found pretty cheap online or Ebay.  

I use a SanDisk Compact Flash PCMCIA PC Card Adapter (red label with rainbow strip near connector) and a PNY CF 1GB Card formatted Fat16.  Works great.  You can find these CF reader on Ebay for $5.   On the PC side I plug the card into a USB CF reader or a laptop with a built-in slot.  PC is pretty much just Plug-n-Play setup, on Amiga there are a couple files to install but not too bad.  If your looking for super easy but not very fast go with the null-modem serial cable and Amiga Explorer.  The software essentially "networks" the two computers together and you can drag and drop files between them using windows File Explorer.

Once you have those issues worked out...

Do all this on the Amiga side, so if anything gets corrupted LHA will throw an error during decompression.

1) Install lha compression tools.  (lha.run)
2) Uncompress installer package and install.  (Installer-43_3.lha)
3) Uncompress WHDLOAD and install that too  (WHDLoad_usr.lha)
4) Install your legal ROMs, or just worry about this later.  You may never need the older ROMs, if playing 1200 compatible games.
5) For WHD installs you can either make them from your original floppies, or download full installs.
6) Register WHD!