Workbench Freezes at Boot
Commodore Amiga
Severity: CriticalWhat Does This Error Mean?
An Amiga that freezes during Workbench loading is usually caused by a corrupted startup-sequence file, a faulty expansion or hardware conflict, or bad sectors on the boot disk. Boot without the startup-sequence first to isolate the problem.
Affected Models
- Commodore Amiga 500
- Commodore Amiga 500+
- Commodore Amiga 600
- Commodore Amiga 1200
- Commodore Amiga 2000
- Commodore Amiga 4000
- WinUAE emulator
Common Causes
- Corrupted S:Startup-Sequence — the boot script contains an error or calls a missing file
- A hardware expansion card conflicting with the system at startup
- Bad sectors on the boot track of the Workbench disk or hard drive
- Incorrect DEVS: or LIBS: assigns preventing key drivers from loading
- Insufficient RAM for all startup programs to load simultaneously
How to Fix It
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Hold both mouse buttons at boot to access the Early Startup Menu.
When you see the Kickstart hand cursor (or hear the initial disk access), hold Left Mouse + Right Mouse. The Early Startup Control Panel lets you boot without the startup-sequence, disable expansions, or select a different boot device.
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Boot without the startup-sequence to get a bare CLI prompt.
In the Early Startup Menu, select No Startup-Sequence. If the Amiga boots to a CLI prompt, the startup-sequence itself (S:Startup-Sequence or S:User-Startup) contains the fault.
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Edit the startup-sequence to find the problematic line.
From the CLI, type: ED S:Startup-Sequence Add a semicolon (;) before lines to comment them out one by one. Reboot after each change until the freeze stops — the last commented line is the culprit.
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Remove all expansion hardware and try booting bare.
RAM expansions, accelerators, and peripheral cards can conflict. Remove all expansions, boot the Amiga bare, then add them back one at a time to identify the conflicting card.
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On WinUAE: reduce RAM configuration and disable accelerator CPU settings.
WinUAE hardware conflicts often stem from incorrect CPU type or too much Fast RAM configured for the emulated Amiga model. Try matching the original hardware specs (e.g. 68000 at 7MHz, 512KB Chip + 512KB Slow for A500).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Amiga startup-sequence?
S:Startup-Sequence is the Amiga equivalent of AUTOEXEC.BAT on MS-DOS. It is a plain text script that runs automatically at boot, mounting drives, loading libraries, setting up assigns, and launching Workbench.
How do I boot an Amiga 1200 from a floppy if the hard drive will not boot?
Insert a bootable Workbench floppy disk in DF0: and hold the mouse buttons at power-on to access the boot menu. Select DF0: as the boot device. The Amiga will boot from the floppy, giving you access to the hard drive for repairs.