astronomy

Kickstart (Amiga)

Kickstart (Amiga) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kickstart (Amiga) rather than just read about it. In short: Kickstart is the bootstrap firmware of the Amiga computers developed by Commodore International. Its purpose is to initialize the Amiga hardware and core components of AmigaOS and then attempt to boot from a bootable volume, such as a floppy disk.

Key takeaways

Kickstart (Amiga) belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kickstart (Amiga) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kickstart (Amiga) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kickstart is the bootstrap firmware of the Amiga computers developed by Commodore International. Its purpose is to initialize the Amiga hardware and core components of AmigaOS and then attempt to boot from a bootable volume, such as a floppy disk. Most Amiga models were shipped with the Kickstart firmware stored on ROM chips.

Versions

Commodore's AmigaOS was formed of both the Kickstart firmware and a software component provided on disk (with the software portion often termed as Workbench). For most AmigaOS updates the Kickstart version number was matched to the Workbench version number. Confusingly, Commodore also used internal revision numbers for Kickstart chips. For example, there were several Kickstart revisions designated as version 2.0.

Version summary

The first Amiga model, the A1000, required that Kickstart 1.x be loaded from floppy disk into a 256 KB section of RAM called the writable control store (WCS). Some A1000 software titles (notably Dragon's Lair) provided an alternative code-base in order to use the extra 256 KB for data. Later Amiga models had Kickstart embedded in a ROM chip, thus improving boot times. Many Amiga 1000 computers were modified to take these chips. Kickstart was stored in 256 KB ROM chips for releases prior to AmigaOS 2.0. Later releases used 512 KB ROM chips containing additional and improved functionality. The Amiga CD32 featured a 1 MB ROM (Kickstart 3.1) with additional firmware and an integrated file system for CD-ROM. Early A3000 models were, like the A1000, also shipped with Kickstart on floppy disk, and used a 1.4 BETA ROM as bootstrap. Either Kickstart 1.3 or 2.0 could be extracted to a partition specifically named WB_1.3 or WB_2.x, respectively, and put in DEVS:kickstart, an absolute system location from where the A3000 system will find it at bootstrap and copy its image into RAM. This early A3000 supported both ROM based Kickstarts and disk-based Kickstarts, although not simultaneously. An A3000 configured to use disk-based Kickstart images had the benefit of being able to boot various versions of AmigaOS without additional tools, simply by selecting the appropriate Kickstart image at boot time. The Commodore CDTV featured additional firmware ROMs which are not technically part of the Amiga Kickstart. The CDTV's original firmware ROMs must be upgraded in order to install a Kickstart version later than 1.3. AmigaOS 2.1 was a pure software update and did not require matching Kickstart ROM chips. Workbench 2.1 ran on all Kickstart ROMs of the 2.0x family. Later releases of AmigaOS (3.5 and 3.9) were also software only and did not include matching ROM upgrades instead requiring Kickstart 3.1, with ROM-file based Kickstart components replacing those in ROM. Kickstart modules of AmigaOS 4 are stored on the boot disk partition. Up to Kickstart v2.0 (V36) only 512-byte blocks were supported. Motorola 68040 uses write caches that requires the use of the functions CacheClearU() and CacheControl() to flush cache when program code has been modified. These functions are only available in Kickstart 2.0 or better.

Function

Upon startup or reset, the Kickstart performs a number of diagnostic and system checks and then initializes the Amiga chipset and some core OS components. It will then check for connected boot devices and attempt to boot from the one with the highest boot priority. If no boot device is present a screen will be displayed asking the user to insert a boot disk – typically a floppy disk. Insertion of such a bootable disk (other than workbench-like disk) will result in: a) a command line interface ("CLI") prompt to operate with ROM-internal and disks commands (including programs, scripts) (if the disk is non-workbench, or empty), or b) a (basic) point and click UI named "Workbench" if the disk contains at least "loadwb" in the "startup-sequence" script residing inside the "s"-folder on this disk. c) the disk booting into a customized workbench or an application, keeping the OS "alive" in the background. d) a game or other application directly starting up, taking over all the hardware resources of this computer by avoiding to establish core Exec multitasking, driver initialization etc. The Kickstart contains many of the core components of the Amiga's operating system, such as:

Exec – the Amiga's multi-tasking kernel Intuition – functionality for GUI, screens, windowing and handling of input/output devices Autoconfig – functionality to automatically initialize or boot from compliant expansion hardware Floppy disk device driver and file system to read and boot from floppy disk DOS library for file access and handling AmigaDOS – command-line interface (CLI) functionality and a number of core CLI commands Graphics library for basic drawing and raster graphics functions using the native Amiga chipset Audio device driver for the native Amiga sound hardware Device drivers for the Amiga keyboard and mouse/gameports Kickstart 1.3 is the first version to support booting from a hard disk drive. From AmigaOS release 2.0 onwards Kickstart also contained device drivers to boot from devices on IDE controllers, support for PC Card ports and various other hardware built into Amiga models.

Diagnostic test At power-on self-test will run from the ROM, this is a short program that can produce a color on the screen corresponding with a fault. If everything works correctly, the following screen color sequence will be displayed on older Kickstarts:

Dark grey – Hardware working and the registers are readable. Light grey – ROM verified. White – Initialization has succeeded and the Amiga is ready to boot.

The following colors indicate a problem:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Kickstart (Amiga): Kickstart 1.2 floppy disk — Kickstart 1.2 floppy disk

Kickstart (Amiga): The default boot screen displayed under Kickstart 1.3 — The default boot screen displayed under Kickstart 1.3

Kickstart (Amiga): The default boot screen displayed under Kickstart 2.0, requesting that the user insert a boot disk — The default boot screen displayed under Kickstart 2.0, requesting that the user insert a boot disk

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kickstart (Amiga)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kickstart (Amiga) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kickstart (Amiga) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kickstart (Amiga) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kickstart (Amiga)

In research: Kickstart (Amiga) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kickstart (Amiga) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kickstart (Amiga) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amiga, AmigaOS, Firmware, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kickstart (Amiga) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kickstart (Amiga) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kickstart (Amiga) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kickstart (Amiga) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kickstart (Amiga) in simple terms?

Why does Kickstart (Amiga) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kickstart (Amiga)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kickstart (Amiga).