Task: Backup a Compact Flash or SD Card Hard Drive Image Needed: Compact Flash or SD Card with an Hard Drive Image Time: 10-15 Minutes Introduction I recently picked up an Amiga 4000 that came with an installed IDE compact flash hard drive. The CF card had a nice install
Read postChange the Workbench 3.2 Title Text on Your Amiga Computer (5 mins)
Task: Change the Workbench 3.2 Title Text on Your Amiga Computer Needed: Amiga Computer or Emulator Running AmigaOS 3.2.3 Time: 5 minutes Introduction I have previously posted about AmigaOS version 3.2 that brings new features to the legacy Amiga Kickstart and Workbench OS. One of these new features is the
Read postBoot Tandy’s DeskMate 3 to Provide a Desktop GUI for Your DOS PC with an x86 CPU (15-30 mins)
Task: Boot Tandy’s DeskMate 3 to Provide a Desktop GUI for Your DOS PC Needed: Retro PC with an 8086, 286, or 386 CPU, DeskMate 3 Disks or Disk Images Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction The Tandy 1000 personal computer (PC) successfully competed with IBM for several reasons including the failure
Read postAdd Modern Storage, Networking, Audio, and Peripheral Support to Your Vintage PC With the Raspberry Pi Pico-Based 8-Bit ISA PicoMEM 2 Card (30-60 mins)
Task: Add Modern Storage, Networking, Audio, and Peripheral Support to Your Vintage PC With the PicoMEM 2 Card Needed: PicoMEM 2 card, micro-SD card, Vintage PC with an 8-Bit ISA Slot Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction There have been a variety of modern solutions for upgrading the RAM of your vintage PC,
Read postTransfer Files to Your Amiga 600 or 1200 Using a Compact Flash to PCMCIA Card Adapter (15-30 mins)
Task: Transfer Files to Your Amiga 600 or 1200 Using a Compact Flash to PCMCIA Card Adapter Needed: Amiga 6oo or 1200, CF to PCMCIA Adapter, CF Card or SD to CF Adapter Time: 15 to 30 Minutes Introduction The Amiga 600 and 1200 featured a PCMCIA (aka PC Card)
Read postLearn About and Edit the Amiga Workbench Startup Sequence Script (15-30 mins)
Task: Learn About and Edit the Amiga Workbench Startup Sequence Script Needed: Amiga Computer or Emulator Running Workbench Time: 15-30 Minutes Introduction If you are new to the Amiga, one of the most powerful features of the system is its startup initialization process used when booting the Workbench desktop GUI
Read postBoot the CP/M Operating System on You Apple II Computer Using a Microsoft SoftCard (15-30 mins)
Task: Boot the CP/M Operating System on You Apple II Computer Using a Microsoft SoftCard Needed: Microsoft SoftCard, Apple II, CP/M Software Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction The Control Program/Monitor (CP/M) operating system was developed by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. in the 1970s for 8088 and Z-80 CPUs. It was widely used
Read postBoot the CP/M Operating System on Your Apple II Using an Appli-Card Emulator Running on a a2Pico Device (15-30 mins)
Task: Boot the CP/M Operating System on Your Apple II Needed: a2Pico Card, floppy drive emulator, Apple II Computer Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction I never got a chance to try the CP/M operating system on computers with Z-80 processors back in the 1980s. As a result, I have a strong
Read postPurchase an A2Pico Card for Emulating Multiple Devices on Your Apple II Computer (30-60 mins)
Task: Purchase an A2Pico Card for the Apple II Needed: A2Pico card, Apple II computer Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction One of the joys of owning an Apple II computer is experimenting with the many varieties of cards that expand the functionality of the system. These can include cards for adding
Read postPurchase a BOOTI Hard Disk Emulator for Accessing Multiple Files from Your Apple II Computer (30-60 mins)
Task: Purchase a BOOTI Hard Disk Emulator Needed: BOOTI device, Apple II computer Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction The BOOTI card is a storage device for the Apple II that provides solid-state disk access using an SD card or USB device. It installs in an expansion slot and presents itself as
Read postSearch for and Download Amiga Games and Software Using the Turran FTP Site (10-15 mins)
Task: Search for and Download Amiga Games and Software Using the Turran FTP Site Needed: Web Browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction Google searches for Amiga games and software can be frustrating when you are looking for a single file. This is partly because many files are part of large compilations
Read postPurchase Refurbished and IBM Formatted 3.5″ Floppy Disks for Your Retro Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase Refurbished 3.5″ Floppy Disks for Your Retro Computer Needed: Web Browser and Retro Computer with 3.5″ Floppy Drive Time: 10-15 Minutes Introduction I am more of an 8-bit guy and have found 5.25″ floppy disks to be quite reliable. For example, I have a collection of over 1000
Read postRead a Review of Workbench 2.0 in Amiga Computing Magazine from 1991 (10-15 mins)
Task: Read a Review of Workbench 2.0 in Amiga Computing Magazine from 1991 Needed: Web Browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction I did not have an Amiga and missed out on the excitement of each hardware and software update. I got a sense for that excitement from this article in Amiga
Read postWrite a Simple Program to Move a Sprite on Your Amiga Computer Using AMOS Professional BASIC (30-60 mins)
Task: Write a Simple Program to Move a Sprite on Your Amiga Computer Using AMOS Professional BASIC Needed: AMOS Professional BASIC, Amiga Computer or Emulator Time: 30-60 Minutes Introduction I grew up programming on Atari 8-bit computers in the early 1980s and loved making sprites and moving them around the
Read postInstall the Amiga Game Selector as a Custom System for Booting Games and Software on Your AmigaKit A1200 NG Emulator (15-30 mins)
Task: Install the Amiga Game Selector as a Custom System for Booting Games and Software on Your Amiga A1200 NG Emulator Needed: A1200 NG from AmigaKit, Compact Flash card, AGS 3.0 or later Time: 15-30 minutes. Longer if you need to download AGS Introduction I have previously posted about the
Read postDownload and Run xSysInfo for Benchmarking Amiga Computers (15-30 mins)
Task: Download and Run xSysInfo for Benchmarking Amiga Computers Needed: xSysInfo, Amiga 680X0 computer or emulator Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction I have previously posted about the SysInfo utility for benchmarking and evaluating Amiga 680X0 computers. This is a useful tool for testing the speed of your CPU or quantifying the
Read postDownload and Run SysInfo for Benchmarking Amiga Computers (15-30 mins)
Task: Download and Run SysInfo for Benchmarking Amiga Computers Needed: SysInfo, Amiga 680X0 computer or emulator Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Ever wonder how fast your Amiga 680X0 CPU is compared to other models? Want to confirm how RAM is installed? These and other questions can be answered using the SysInfo
Read postExplore Christmas-Themed Games, Demos, and Wallpaper on the Amiga Christmas Tree Website (30-60 mins)
Task: Explore Christmas-Themed Games, Demos, and Wallpaper on the Amiga Christmas Tree Website Needed: Web browser, Amiga emulator or real hardware Time: 30-60 mins or less Introduction The Amiga community developed a ton of fun Christmas-themed software in the 1980s and 1990s. This includes games modded with Christmas content as
Read postPurchase AmigaOS 3.2 to Add Modern Kickstart and Workbench Support for Your 680X0-Based Amiga Computers (15-30 mins)
Task: Purchase AmigaOS 3.2 to Add Modern Kickstart and Workbench Support for Your 680X0-Based Amiga Computers Needed: 68K Amiga Computer or Emulator, Web Browser for Purchase and Download Time: 15-30 minutes for purchase and download Introduction According to Wikipedia, the last release of Workbench by Commodore was version 3.1 in
Read postCreate and Change Icons in Workbench Using IconEdit on Your Amiga Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Create and Change Icons in Workbench Using IconEdit on Your Amiga Computer Needed: Amiga computer or emulator with Workbench Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction I was not happy with the default floppy disk icons for my hard drives on the desktop of my Workbench 3.1 installs, so I decided to
Read postChange the Desktop Background Pattern in Workbench on your Amiga Computer Using WBPattern (5-10 mins)
Task: Change the Desktop Background Pattern in Workbench 3.1 on your Amiga Computer Needed: An Amiga computer or emulator with Workbench 2.0 or later Time: 5-10 minutes Introduction Workbench 2.0 and later versions have a nice simple grey and white color scheme with a clean simple look. The desktop in
Read postInstall iGame on Your Compact Flash Hard Drive for Booting Games on an Amiga 600 or 1200 Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Install iGame on Your Compact Flash Hard Drive for Booting Games on an Amiga 600 or 1200 Computer Needed: Amiga with IDE Support, Compact Flash Card with Workbench 3.1 and WHDLoad games installed, IDE-CF Adapter, WinUAE and Windows PC, iGame files Time: 15-30 Minutes Disclosure: Note that as an
Read postUpgrade the Kickstart ROM on an Amiga 500 Revision 5 Motherboard Using an EPROM and Socket Adapter (30-60 mins)
Task: Upgrade the Kickstart ROM on an Amiga 500 Revision 5 Motherboard Using an EPROM and Socket Adapter Needed: Amiga 500 With Revision 5 Motherboard, EPROM, EPROM Programmer, EPROM Programmer Adapter, Kickstart ROM Socket Adapter Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction I purchased a stock Amiga 500 computer online within the last
Read postInstall an Internal BlueSCSI Hard Drive Emulator in a Macintosh LC or Performa Series Retro Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Install an Internal BlueSCSI Hard Drive Emulator in a Macintosh LC Series Retro Computer Needed: Internal BlueSCSI V2, Mounting Bracket and M6*8 Screws, SCSI Ribbon Cable Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction I have previously posted about the amazing BlueSCSI version 2 device that uses a RaspberryPi Pico to emulate a
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