Old Games, Old Amiga

[Samsy]

Hi,

I have an old Amiga 500/Commodore 64, and recently it went caputsky.  At the moment i just believe it to be the monitor because the keyboard loading lights are still on.

I spent, or rather my Dad spent a hell of a load of money on the huge amount of games that i have, and love(d) playing, which i now cant play.

So i have a few questions

1) Is there anywhere that can repair the monitor/buy a new one?

2) Do Amiga still make computers, and will games this old run on them?

3) If they dont make computers, is it possible to get an emulator to allow me to play my games through the floppy drive on my PC?

With being new here, i hope i havent upset anyone with asking for an emulator.  As i see it, i'd just like to play the games that i bought a long time ago

Many thanks,

Samsy

[InTheSand]

Hi,

Welcome to A.Org!

Do you mean that your C64 has gone splat or your Amiga? Or were you using the same monitor for both?

In answer to your questions:

1. You might be able to get a local electronics repair shop to look at your monitor. Alternatively, there are usually a few on eBay and similar auction sites, though shipping can sometimes cost a bomb...

2. Commodore-Amiga is no longer. Both Commodore and Amiga exist as companies, but neither of these have anything to do with the classic Amigas.

3. Amiga emulators are available - the most well known is UAE (or WinUAE if you use Windows). However, due to restrictions with the PC's floppy controller, it is not able to read/write Amiga disks natively. Instead, Amiga emulators use "ADF" files, which represent Amiga disks.

These ADF files can be created on an Amiga or by purchasing a specialist disk controller card for a PC called a Catweasel. Alternatively, many Internet sites have sections containing downloadable ADFs...

 - Ali

[Wraith2021]

The answer to the Amiga side atleast would be, yes there is an emulator. I would buy Amiga Forever 2005.

And yes there is a way of playing your Floppy Amiga Games through the PC's floppy drive, but you need the hardware to do this. Its a CATWEASEL MK4 PCI Card.

You can buy both from here:

Catweasel MK4

And

Amiga Forever 2005

I hope that helps.

[Samsy]

My Amiga is my Commodore 64 and vise versa.  On the keyboard/disctray combo it has both names, with the monitor being a panasonic one that came with it.

It was just the monitor that went in the end, the system still had the green light, and the occaisional orange light when it was loading a game, but it just wouldnt display.

I've tried using WinUAE before, but unfortunately, my mind gets lost in all the different words and terms, and ended up not knowing how to use it.

So if i can hunt down this card (or is there a site i can buy one off?) should i be able to run Amiga games through my PC using WinUAE?

Thanks for the help and the welcome.

-Samsy

[InTheSand]

Samsy wrote:
My Amiga is my Commodore 64 and vise versa.  On the keyboard/disctray combo it has both names, with the monitor being a panasonic one that came with it.

I'm not quite sure which Amiga you have... Amigas and Commodore 64s are two separate machines. Probably the most common Amiga is the A500 (single unit built into a large-ish keyboard with 3.5" disk drive on the right hand side).

If you're not familiar with WinUAE's terminology, then as Wraith2021 suggests, the commercial Amiga Forever emulator (which is based on WinUAE) is probably the best bet. Ordering from AmigaKit.com is safe and you'll be assured of reliable and quick service.

 - Ali

[Samsy]

I'm not quite sure which Amiga you have... Amigas and Commodore 64s are two separate machines. Probably the most common Amiga is the A500 (single unit built into a large-ish keyboard with 3.5" disk drive on the right hand side).

Yeah thats the one, but on the keyboard thing, it reads Amiga 500+ Commodore 64.

Does Amiga Forever have any disadvantages over WinUAE?

-Samsy

[Nitro]

Hi Samsy, sounds like you have an Amiga 500.  You can play those games with WinUAE, but to use your disk you need a Catweasel card for an Amiga drive.  You may be able to transfer them from the Amiga to PC, if the Amiga is still working enough to do it.  The cost of a Catweasel or to buy Amiga Forever for legal kickroms and workbench, is more than to just buy another used Amiga.  Sometimes you can find them at flea markets for $10-15.  I have two for sale, but to send them in the mail is what cost more.

[InTheSand]

Samsy wrote:
Does Amiga Forever have any disadvantages over WinUAE?

Disadvantages:
You need to pay for it!

Advantages:
Contains licensed Amiga ROM images
Has a lot of video content on DVD (Amiga adverts, Commodore's final days, etc)
Contains a bootable CD to start your PC up directly into an Amiga environment
Contains software to assist with creating/transferring ADF files from your Amiga to PC


I'd definitely recommend Amiga Forever. Even though I've been a long-time UAE user, it's still worth buying, knowing that you're supporting Amiga dealers and Cloanto (one of the remaining Amiga software companies), as well as getting all that extra content. See here for full details.

 - Ali

[Samsy]

Oh purchasing isnt an issue, i like to support where i can.

I'll probably still try and pick up an original just for the nostalgic value.

Do they still make Amigas?  Getting back into them would be pretty awesome.

[InTheSand]

They don't still make Amigas in the traditional sense. A couple of "next generation" Amiga-ish machines have been made available: the AmigaOne and the Pegasos - have a search on this site and/or Google for more info on those.

 - Ali

[amigagr]

so far no one said that any amiga can be connected to a tv set with this cable
for those that don't have a dedicated amiga monitor.


-edit-
and of course with this
can be connected to a multiscan/pc monitor

[_ThEcRoW]

Just one point about the catweasel. It's possible to create adfs from real disks, and write real disks from adfs, but at the moment in winuae(the only Amiga emulator that support the card) you cant't boot of directly using floppies trough the card, it is planned, but it will be i hope in the next release. You can work with a disk under the Amigaos on winuae just like on an Amiga, it even reproduces the clickety click of the drive, but at the moment using the drive at boot isn't possible, so the majority of games that run booting of the disk you will need to convert them on adf first before booting.

[beller]

Samsy wrote:
Oh purchasing isnt an issue, i like to support where i can.

I'll probably still try and pick up an original just for the nostalgic value.

Do they still make Amigas?  Getting back into them would be pretty awesome.

I recently picked up a new old stock A1200 from AmigaKit.com.   They appear to be expecting more in April.  For older things the emulators do a great job and the A1200 can write ADFs for use on the Windows machine with Amiga Forever.

Bob

[cattanaka]

i've got a few amiga games and some software for sale here on ebay http://stores.ebay.ca/artsycoolcats-loft-of-collectibles  ebay is a good place to find old amiga software, emulators and gaming devices...

[InTheSand]

_ThEcRoW wrote:
You can work with a disk under the Amigaos on winuae just like on an Amiga, it even reproduces the clickety click of the drive

Have you had this working? My drive clicks as it's supposed to :-) but all disks I put in it appear as unreadable and uninitialised to the emulated Amiga, even though they're readable on a real Amiga and via the supplied disk image software. Formatting a disk from the emulated Amiga just fails when it comes to the verification stage...

 - Ali