Newbie questions

[roguebeck]

I've had this Amiga 1000 sitting in my garage for years and today I decided to bring it in and see if it would boot up.
 
 It powers up and I go to a "Kick start" screen.

My questions:
 Where can I find a kickstart floppy? Can I buy one? Can I buy the OS for this Amiga still?

I know none of the specs of this computer at all, I am an old school Vic20/C64 user. Is there any software/hardware that I can install on my PC to work with the Amiga? (I'm sure there is I was hoping for recommendations).

Now that I know it works I'd really like to tinker with it.

Thanks.

[InTheSand]

Hi,

You'll need a Kickstart 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 disk (1.3 is the most recent for this machine) and a corresponding Workbench disk to bring up the Amiga 1000's GUI.

The OS cannot be bought any more, other than as part of an emulation package called Amiga Forever. This contains the files you'll need to get your real A1000 back up and running. However, do you have access to another Amiga? The problem you'll have if you only have access to a PC is that the PC cannot write out disks in the Amiga's disk format without the aid of a special disk controller.

As for the specs of this machine, just Google for it! The contents of the original Commodore specification sheet can be found here.

Finally, what's your location? Perhaps an Amiga user near you might be able to send the appropriate disks to you if you ask nicely!

 - Ali

[roguebeck]

I am located in Ohio and would be super greatful if someone could help me out with the proper software to get my Amiga up and running.

I don't have access to another Amiga, heck I don't even know anyone that has one. Msg me or email me if you can assist, please ;-)

john@johnbeck.org

[InTheSand]

Hi,

If you have no response over the next few days, PM me and, if you're prepared to pay for P&P from New Zealand, I can probably sort something out for you.

 - Ali

[roguebeck]

Another quick question:

Will I need special software to transfer stuff to the Amiga from my PC? I have a null modem cable and both Windows and Linux.

If anyone has a URL or link to another thread in the forums that's fine, I haven't finished reading all of the forums yet.

Thank you.

[InTheSand]

Hi,

Have a look at this page and this thread for further information.

 - Ali

[roguebeck]

Ok one last question. Can the amiga write standard 3.5 1.44Mb floppy disks or do I need to find/purchase a different type?

Thank you all so much!

[Sidewinder]

@roguebeck

No, the Amiga 1000 uses the old 720k style (Double Density) disks...although on the Amiga they were 880k.  These only have one copy protection hole at the top of the disk, where the High Density (1.44Mb) disks have two.

Now, I probably shouldn't say this, but in my younger days as a rebelious youth I used to use the high density disks in the Amiga 1000.  They did work, but they were more likely to get errors and become corrupt.  If I were you I'd search out a package of Double Density disks.