Running Amix in FS-UAE

FS-UAE can run Amix, and a working configuration has been reported against FS-UAE 3.1.66 🟡. The whole config fits in a handful of key = value lines: emulate an A3000, attach the boot floppy, and attach an RDB hardfile on the on-board SCSI controller at ID 6. This page gives the verified snippet, explains each line, and maps every line back to the corresponding setting in Running Amix in WinUAE so you can move a setup between the two emulators.

FS-UAE shares the WinUAE emulation core, so the same hard rules apply: 68030 + MMU, no JIT, 68882 FPU, the hard disk on SCSI ID 6, the tape on SCSI ID 4, and ≤ 16 MB of Fast RAM. If a setting below looks under-specified, it is because FS-UAE's A3000 model preset already supplies the matching CPU/MMU/ROM defaults that WinUAE makes you set by hand.

The verified config

Save this as e.g. amix.fs-uae and launch with fs-uae amix.fs-uae 🟡:

amiga_model = A3000
floppy_drive_0 = amix_2.1_boot.adf
hard_drive_0 = a3000ux.hdf
hard_drive_0_controller = scsi6
hard_drive_0_type = rdb
motherboard_ram = 16384

Note: the image filenames (amix_2.1_boot.adf, a3000ux.hdf) are yours to supply — the ADFs are proprietary Commodore material and are not redistributed here. See where to get the disk images below. The .hdf is a hardfile you create yourself (a blank RDB disk that the installer partitions).

Line-by-line, mapped to WinUAE

Each FS-UAE line and what it does, with the equivalent in the WinUAE config table:

FS-UAE line	What it sets	WinUAE equivalent
amiga_model = A3000	Selects the A3000 machine model: 68030 CPU + on-board SCSI + A3000 Kickstart ROM, all in one preset ✅ (A3000 is the reference machine).	CPU = 68030, ROM = A3000 KS 2.04 (rev 37.175) or 3.1 (40.68), plus the on-board SCSI controller — set individually.
(implied by A3000)	MMU enabled, FPU present. Amix requires a real MMU and a 68881/68882 FPU ✅.	MMU = ON, FPU = 68882, JIT = OFF (JIT causes kernel panics ✅). Set these explicitly in WinUAE; on the A3000 model FS-UAE wires the MMU/FPU in for you. Verify JIT stays off.
floppy_drive_0 = amix_2.1_boot.adf	Inserts the Amix boot floppy in DF0; the Superkickstart ROM boots it and decompresses the install kernel ✅.	DF0 = amix_2.1_boot.adf.
hard_drive_0 = a3000ux.hdf	Attaches your RDB hardfile as the system disk.	Hardfile (RDB), roughly 450–900 MB 🟡.
hard_drive_0_controller = scsi6	Puts that disk on the SCSI bus at ID 6 — the conventional Amix disk target (the installer prompts for it, but everything assumes 6) ✅.	SCSI ID 6 = hardfile (convention; see hardware).
hard_drive_0_type = rdb	Tells FS-UAE the image is partitioned with the Amiga Rigid Disk Block scheme (not a single auto-mounted AmigaDOS partition) ✅.	Hardfile type / geometry = RDB.
motherboard_ram = 16384	16384 KB = 16 MB of Fast RAM — the kernel's hard ceiling ✅. Going over mis-maps the SCSI drive ✅.	Fast RAM ≤ 16 MB.

Settings FS-UAE supplies that the table doesn't name

WinUAE's reference table lists several values that are not explicit lines in the snippet because the A3000 model preset already provides sensible equivalents. Carry them across mentally when comparing the two:

• Chip RAM — WinUAE uses 2 MB; the A3000 model defaults are fine for Amix (Amix ignores the custom chips and treats the machine as a generic 68030 workstation ✅).
• "More Compatible" = OFF / "Wait for Blitter" = ON 🟡 — these are WinUAE-specific CPU-accuracy toggles. With "More Compatible" left on, WinUAE boots freeze with sort: fatal: line too long 🟡. FS-UAE exposes accuracy via different options (e.g. accuracy); if you hit an early-boot freeze, lowering CPU accuracy is the analogous knob to try 🟡.

Adding the tape drive (for a from-scratch install)

The config above is enough to boot an already-installed disk. To run the installer you also need the distribution tape on SCSI ID 4 — the installer reads it with dd if=/dev/rmt/4hn ... | cpio ✅. Add a second drive on the matching controller ID:

hard_drive_1 = a3000ux-tape.hdf
hard_drive_1_controller = scsi4

Note: these IDs are shared with WinUAE — disk = ID 6, tape = ID 4 ✅. The tape ID 4 is hard-coded (the scripts reference the literal /dev/rmt/4h and look nowhere else); the disk ID 6 is convention (the installer prompts for it and builds BPART from a $SCSI variable). Use 6 anyway — the ID is baked into the installed system's device names, so it's the path of least resistance. See hardware.

For the full install sequence (boot floppy → root floppy miniroot → stream the distribution from tape → build the kernel and write the boot partition → apply the patch disk), see the install walkthrough. A tape-free install (writing a cpio image where the installer expects it) is reported on comp.unix.amiga 🟡 and is also covered there.

Where to get the disk images

The boot/root/patch floppies and the scanned manuals are proprietary Commodore material treated as abandonware; this project does not redistribute them. Obtain amix_2.1_boot.adf (and the root and patch ADFs) from amigaunix.com or the Internet Archive Amix collection, and verify them against sources/CHECKSUMS.txt. The a3000ux.hdf system disk is a blank RDB hardfile you create yourself; the Amix installer partitions and formats it.

Known limits

• The config is community-verified against FS-UAE 3.1.66 🟡, not primary-verified. Other FS-UAE versions may need accuracy tweaks.
• If you prefer the reference emulator, use WinUAE, which has had the MMU emulation Amix needs since 2.6.0 (2013) ✅.
• Amiberry 8.x now works for Amix too — its A3000 on-board SCSI emulates the disk (ID 6) and tape (ID 4), so it both installs and runs Amix (BlitterStudio/amiberry issue #1376 — implemented; older builds lacked it) ✅; see Amix on Amiberry. QEMU still has no working Amiga-SCSI/hardware setup 🟡.

See also

• Running Amix in WinUAE — the reference emulator and the full mandatory settings table.
• Install walkthrough — the end-to-end boot/root/tape/patch install flow.
• Running Amix in Amiberry — Amiberry 8.x runs and installs Amix too.
• Hardware and requirements — the SCSI-ID rules and 16 MB ceiling these settings exist to satisfy.
• Quirks — the hard-coded limits (ID 6 / ID 4, 16 MB, no JIT) summarized.

Sources

• Master research brief, §8 "Emulation" (FS-UAE snippet verified vs FS-UAE 3.1.66; WinUAE reference table) and §2 "Hardware & requirements" (SCSI ID 6 disk / ID 4 tape; 16 MB Fast RAM ceiling; MMU + FPU mandatory).
• Master research brief, §9 "Installation flow" (tape at SCSI ID 4; dd if=/dev/rmt/4hn | cpio; BPART/BOOTPART from SCSI ID in the root.adf scripts).
• amigaunix.com (FS-UAE configuration; install media).
• Internet Archive — Commodore Amiga Operating Systems: Amix (disk images).
• BlitterStudio/amiberry issue #1376 (A3000 SCSI + tape support for Amix — implemented in Amiberry 8.x).