Retrocomputing Stack Exchange
Retrocomputing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [amiga]

For questions related to the Commodore Amiga family of personal computers.

The Commodore Amiga family of computers contain the Motorola 68000 series of CPUs and run AmigaOS by default. The first Amiga computer, the Amiga 1000, was released in 1985. The last models, the Amiga 1200, 4000, and CD32 console, were released in 1992-93.

Sample questions:

  • How do I connect an Amiga 600 to the internet?
  • How can I connect an Amiga to a modern LCD screen?
  • How do you replace a broken Amiga 500 floppy drive?
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Why was the Kickstart 1.x "Insert floppy" graphic so bad?

Anyone who used an pre-Kickstart 2.0 Amiga will be very familiar with the "Insert Workbench floppy" image: I realise that this is subjective, but the image has always stuck me as ... well, a bit ugly. Quite apart from the misshapen thumb and…
KenD
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Was the Amiga ever used by any U.S. Government agency?

This is a long shot question, and I'm asking only because, well, I'm not entirely certain why I am asking... NBC Nightly news did a short piece on April 18th, 2022 talking about the IRS being backlogged due to being understaffed, underfunded and…
Geo...
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Was the MC680x0's TAS instruction forbidden on Amiga systems only when operating in CHIP memory?

(Note: a previous version of this question asked about the CAS instruction, that was added by Motorola from the MC68020; the original one is the TAS instruction). TAS is the acronym for Test And Set, an instruction that is used to create…
user180940
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Were all Amigas except for A1000 un-upgradeable OS-wise?

In his latest video, "The 8-Bit Guy" on YouTube talks about the original Amiga 1000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjapiUQOi2s One of the things he mentions is that, unlike all later Amigas, it has no ROM containing the OS. Instead, you had to put…
C. Olascoaga
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Creating a new locale.library language support for AmigaOS

Looking through the LO (localisation) disk for Workbench 3.1, I see that the language files are binary. I'd like to create a Gaeilge (Irish) localisation file. How is this done on Amiga? Update: Following Raffzahn's advice, LocaleTest provides…
TenLeftFingers
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Did the Amiga change CPU frequencies when switching between PAL and NTSC mode?

Usually, computers that came in separate PAL and NTSC versions used slightly different CPU frequencies because the video and CPU clock were derived from the same crystal (the Apple II and Commodore 64 were already mentioned here, and this excellent…
Michael Stum
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What interface did Video Backup System use?

I remember the Video Backup System for Amiga advertized in Polish computer magazines of late 90s, "store hundreds of diskettes on a single VHS tape!" I seriously considered buying it (and a VCR since I didn't have one...) before I got my hands on a…
SF.
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Official explanation for offering both BOOPSI and GadTools?

Was there ever an official explanation on why AmigaOS 2.0 offered two similar GUI gadget toolkits, in the form of BOOPSI and GadTools? Or, to put it in another way, why were not GadTools gadgets simply offered as BOOPSI classes?
user180940
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How did the Amiga uses compare to uses for other personal computers in 1985?

The Amiga 1000 came out in July 1985. This was an era in which personal computers were designed by their manufacturers to meet a unique set of bespoke requirements. For example, some computers came with advanced hardware for sound (for the time),…
Johannes Bittner
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Version Control for AmigaOS 3.1

I owe my career as a software developer to the Amiga. I might have learned the basics of programming on the Apple II+ and Commodore 64 - but on my Amiga I learned skills I've applied to my whole career. Recently I've been having great fun working…
Geo...
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How to create fast an icon file for Amiga program in WB drawer?

I have copied one program from a floppy to a HDD drawer (I created for it) and I want to start this program directly, without going through [Window] → [Show] → [All Files] first in my Amiga Workbench (without doing that I am not able to see the…
Adam Bogdan Boczek
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What are people using old (and expensive) Amigas for today?

I recently sold a defective Amiga 1000 on Ebay for over $300. I'm going to list my old Amiga 1200 and expect to get over $1000 for it since its working and "souped up". This made me wonder: Besides pure nostalgia, what are people using Amigas for…
Walter
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What did Commodore's AppShell and AppObject do?

Among the many developed but never released software that Commodore developed for the Amiga there should be two applications, called AppShell and AppObject. What were these? Did anyone ever saw or used them?
user180940
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What is the necessity of the Signal BLS (Blitter SLow)

I am trying to understand the Amiga schematics: Question 1: What is the necessity of the Signal BLS (Blitter SLow) generated by A2000A U26 or Gary in the A2000B? Question 2: BLS is also set by access $C0-DFFFFF. (SlowRAM, RTC and ChipRegister) Is…
Gonzo
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What was an Amiga "X-Drive"?

In computer magazine personal ads from the 1990s, I notice multiple mentions of Amigas "with X-Drive". Searching online, I find no mention of this. (Possibly this is because search engines of late seem to ignore quotes and thus make almost any…
Superfrog
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