I've just upgraded to Amiga Forever Plus 2010 and I'm having problems with an erratic tempo and timing problems when trying the various emulations.

I haven't tried to run Music-X(.adf) on Ami-Kit yet because I cannot figure out where to select my USB MIDI Interface. I also do not know how to add my PC hard drives upon launch, so that I can access my Music-X .Perf and .Seq files. In fact, trying to add Music-X.adf in the 'Configure and Play' screen supplants the built-in AmiKit disk in DF0:, instead of adding to it as an additional disk.

I really do not have a preference as to which emulation I use. I just want to run Music-X with a stable clock, using my USB interface, and accessing my files.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

about adding the PC hds
go to config Winuae hardware/hard drives and click on all
that you will be using
hope this helps

Thank you for the reply.

I know about the WinUAE option for including my PC drives, but I was wanting to do so when using AmiKit (or AmiSys or any of the other included emulations).

They are all separate programs, correct? Checking a box in WinUAE doesn't affect the functionality of AmiKit, does it? If it does, then maybe I've been going at this all wrong.

Sorry - that last post was from me. I forgot to add my Guest Username.

Start AmiKit, press F12 and enabled the option in HDD section of WinUAE config. Then save the config and overwrite the original configuration (AmiKit_v1 and default). Quit AmiKit and start it again. The PC drives should appear on AmiKit desktop. If not, and the option is not enabled, then it means Amiga Forever starts AmiKit with the config file that is located elsewhere. Search for it (it should be named AmiKit_v1) and save the new config there.

Thank you!

I was able to include the PC drives on reboot, but I saved that new configuration as my first name, since I have no AmiKit_v1 anywhere on my laptop (I searched using Everything, which would have found it as I typed it).

So, AmiKit is not a separate emulation, but actually runs on WinUAE? I would think that AmigaForever would have been clearer on this basic information, for us Amiga end-users with limited Amiga nuts & bolts knowledge.

Can I now also include (on that same HDD section of WinUAE) the System2.0.hdf and Work.hdf hardfiles I ripped from my A600HD? The Work.hdf contains my programs, including Music-X, while the System2.0.hdf is self-explanatory. Will including the System2.0.hdf conflict with the AmiKit? Since my A600HD Music-X installation works, and is installed on the System2.0/Work combo, I need them both, correct?

I may be making all this more complicated than it is, so please forgive my questions and relative ignorance concerning requirements. And thank you again for your help!

Yes, WinUAE is the emulation engine of AmiKit. We don't try to re-invent the wheel The difference is the wide variety of programs included in AmiKit system.

Regarding the hardfiles you mentioned, it always depends on the specific program whether it installs to selected destination only or whether it copies some files to system as well. Adding your system hardfile might help or not. It won't be in conflict with AmiKit. Just make sure the AmiKit's boot priority is higher so the system boots into AmiKit and not your system.

I would recommend to use the ADF installation disk and install the Music-X program to AmiKit. Simply start AmiKit and doubleclick the ADF file in AmiKit environment. The ADF should be recognized and mounted. If not, press F12, go to floppy drives section and point the DF0 disk drive to the ADF file. Then install the Music-X into eg. AmiKit:Utilities folder.

With regards to the AmiKit configuration, sorry for the misinformation. I don't know where Amiga Forever stores the configuration file for AmiKit, I cannot find it either.

Thank you for clearing that up. I did not know that WinUAE was the engine that all these emulations were built on. That info has made it much easier for me to experiment.

OK - I tried to install Music-X (using the 'Install Music-X' program on Disk 2) directly to AmiKit. It told me that it was successfully installed, but when I tried to run the program from AmiKit>Music-X Drawer>Music-X, I first got this half-drawn screen:

Weird - I'm getting all these anti-spam messages when trying to post. I don't know what words are being flagged from my last post!

I'll continue.....

Then, after that screen has been up for a bit, it changes to this error message:

I also tried to, after rebooting AmiKit, run it directly from the Music-XDisk1.adf, but after the splash screen, I get a window from AmiKit telling me that Music-X is write-protected. Right-clicking on the message brings up a short list of options, with none of them working.

I don't know why the write-protection status is relevant. AmiKit should not need to write anything to run it.

After numerous reboots, trying to get it to work under AmiKit, I started to mess with the A600 emulation, since I own an A600HD that runs Music-X just fine. I pressed F12, choosing PC Drives, USB MIDI Interface, and my System2.0.hdf and Work.hdf hardfiles.

Everything loaded normally, and it looked just like my real A600's desktop, with all my familiar icons. Music-X loaded up fast and error-free. It even played back my existing songs without timing hiccups or slowdowns. Everything is good so far.

But playback from the Main Sequencer page results in stuck notes, as if they are not receiving proper note-off MIDI commands, or as if you are holding down the sustain pedal (I don't have any pedals plugged into my keyboard).

Playback from within the Edit Screen is fine, with none of these errors.

Which chip or ROM is likely the culprit for these types of timing errors?

Can I change these in AmiKit to make it more like an A600, rather than the A4000 it defaults to?

Also, as a side note: where is the A2000? I don't see it represented anywhere in AmigaForever or the WinUAE Plugin.

Thank you again for your patience and willingness to help me.

Hello. I am sorry for all the hassles you have experienced. AmiKit system involves many unofficial patches and other various improvements that makes the old Amiga system modern however old programs might not work correctly with AmiKit. I don't know Music-X but according to the screenshot (the icons) it must be very old. Even plain and real Amiga 1200 was not 100% compatible with old Amiga 600 programs. Since AmiKit is built on A1200 (or A4000) system it is impossible to make it more A600 like.

But you can try to boot into Amiga Forever OS3.1 environment and install the Music-X into it. AmigaForever's OS3.1 is plain and patches free.

Or, even better, if you already have your A600 environment as HDF, simply boot to this environment and install the Music-X into it. But don't forget to configure WinUAE to behave like A600 first. You don't need AmiKit for this at all.

All you need is to:
1) start winuae, configure it like A600
2) attach your HDFs and boot into it
3) insert the Music-X ADFs into virtual drives
4) install Music-X

or alternatively boot from Music-X ADF directly (again with WinUAE configured as A600).

I found some info about WinUAE configuration here http://www.jonnydigital.com/winuae

The kickstarts can be found in Amiga Forever distribution.

Or doesn't Amiga Forever contain the pre-configured A600 config so you could load it up directly?

I will try all of that. Thank you again for the help!

Synthaholic
I too was having trouble with the sequencer screen in Music-X 2.0. Lag, stuck notes, dropped notes, etc., while the same sequences sounded fine in the EDIT page. I'm using Music-X in WinUAE, by the way. I think I stumbled upon a solution. In the sequencer screen, go to the Sync menu and check "off" MIDI Sync Out. That solved it for me!