Installing Workbench

Workbench was the Amiga's operating system. It was the first "true" multitasking (runs several programs at the same time) OS and used a system called WIMP which stood for Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pulldown menus. There were several versions of Workbench from v1.2 to v3.5 but I'm only going to cover version 3.1 as it's by far the best.

What you need

Workbench came on 5 disks and you need all of them to install it on a hard disk. The disks are...

Workbench 3.1 Disk
Extras 3.1 Disk
Fonts 3.1 Disk
Storage 3.1 Disk
Locale 3.1 Disk

You also need the Workbench 3.1 Install Disk and of course the Kickstart 3.1 rom.

You can get all these disk images from the net. Try Google!

What you need to do

Set up a configuration with these settings...

Rom - Kickstart 3.1
CPU - 68EC020+68881 FPU
Ram - 2MB Chip, 8MB Fast
Hard Drive - Any size over 10MB (See the Setting Up Hard Disks Page for info)
Chipset - AGA
Screen Size - 800x600

If you run WinUAE now you will see a grey screen with an error message saying "Not a DOS disk in drive DH0". Put in the install disk and reboot WinUAE by pressing CTRL + Left Windows Key + Right Windows Key. WinUAE will now boot to a Workbench screen.

Before you can install Workbench you need to "Format" the hard drive. Single click the drive (Should say DH0:NONDOS) and move the mouse to the top of the screen. Right click to open the Workbench menu and from the "Icons" list select format.

Change the volume name to Workbench and select all of the buttons. Press the "Format" button and keep pressing format until it starts. This may take while if you have a large drive but when it's done you'll have an icon called Workbench and the hard disk is ready for installation.

Now double click the Install disk icon and then the Install drawer icon. Now double click on the language icon you want to use for installation and the installer program will start.

On the next screen press the Proceed button and then the "Install Release 3.1" button. Leave the settings on novice and press the proceed button.

The next screen will prompt you for a folder to put Workbench into. Just leave it blank and press the proceed button. Select the language you want on the following screen and again press proceed.

WinUAE supports printing so pick a printer (Epson is best) on the next screen and press proceed. Now you need to pick a keyboard type. Just pick the one that matches your keyboard. Thats it! Now follow the prompts as the installer asks for disks.

Once done eject the disks and reboot WinUAE and you'll boot straight to Workbench.