A500 Mini Hacks / Mods
 

Just thought we should have a dedicated thread about how to hack / mod / add features to the A500 mini, this post has info taken from various sources and not my guides, just putting them all together. Hope thats ok. (I will be linking to this from my site https://amigang.com/amigamini-thea500 )
NOTE:- Some of these mod are for the default Firmware 1.00, As Retro Games updates it system it may mean some of these hacks no longer work. Read the whole Thread for more. Cheers

WHDLoad Database update
the Offical Firmware update for A500 mini updates WHDload Database, https://retrogames.biz/support/thea500-mini/upgrade/

HDF Running From A500 min Facebook group
OK, here my small tutorial to get your HDF hardfile running on your A500.
The HDF hardfile will be read & write so Workbench works.
The cropped screen was fixed, thanks Perifractic for the tips.
Let's go...
1. Put the THEA500 WHDLoad package on your USB stick (use the version from Retrogames, because that has the info of the bonusgame in the whdload_db.xml).
2. Put the Bonus USB games pack with Citadel on your USB stick.
3. Put your hardfile on the USB stick. You can create one with WinUAE on your PC.
4. Download my UAE config file from https://t.ly/AGsf
5. Copy my UAE config file to your USB stick. The *_ol.uae needs to be in the directory together with the Citadel_v1.3.lha game.
5. Load the game in you A500, the Amiberry configuration menu will now show.
6. Go to Hard drives/CD and delete every device (use a USB keyboard to navigate).
7. Choose Add Hardfile and change the path to mnt (this is your USB stick) and navigate to your hardfile.
8. Press OK and the chosen hardfile will become DH0:
8a. If you wish you can make a folder on your USB stick with Amiga software and add it. This will become DH1:
9. Press Esc on your USB keyboard to run the hardfile.
10. Press Home on your joypad and make a savepoint.
11. Now you can use the savepoint to start your hardfile. The Amiberry configuration menu will show up everytime, but just press Esc on your USB keyboard.
If you would like to enter the Amiberry configuration when you are in emulation press F12.
Please feel free to comment if you have issues or when you have additions or inventions.

Access AMIBERRY 3.3 (posted by wlcina, made by Czech guy on Lemon Amiga forum)
Prepare an wdhload usbkey as the system requires, unpack this file:
http://eab.abime.net/zone/AmiberryTyPV.zip
Overwrite old files!
Run the Citadel game - you will get to Amiberry menu (you have to use external keyboard) - you can enable HDF, ADF or even RTG if you want.

A500 mini FAQ with guides to getting workbench, hdf, working.
https://www.retro32.com/a500-mini/19...TDRSqrwlq1UmB0

AMiNlMiga a Pre-Config Workbench setup designed for the A500mini, by Jimmy Johansson
https://www.aminimiga.com/ - Main Website
https://discord.gg/rFv8a2CB - main Discord Group
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1koI...1ewxSwNGJ/view - 1.9Gb File

Amiga Game Selector 2.5 - A500 Mini Edition version
Face Book Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1144009169831106
http://ftp2.grandis.nu/turran/FTP/Misc/A500%20Mini/AGS/ - Download AGS 2.5
https://mega.nz/folder/3EllVaiJ#f3W51-QZeLnK2dei41LA1A - A500 Mini Edition 4858 Games, 10Gb file, 32Gb USB stick required pretty much every Amiga game(FTP version - http://grandis.nu/turran/FTP/~Uploads/mrv2k/AGS2_Mini/ )

CD32 - 80 Games Collection Preconfigured pack of 80 CD32 games for The A500 mini.
Easy to use, each game has a set screen and controls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bdNQMmvGu4

Pandory - adds Internet support!! more emulators and system! - retro arch, master system, mega drive, n64, ps1, mame, scummvm, and other systems, plus gives access to the linux command line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIRgmOtiol4 - Pandory500 v3 Main video and links
https://github.com/emuchicken/pandory-a500/releases - Github, Pandory v2
https://youtu.be/LpL2f1RfqBQ

A500mini main Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1144009169831106

Thank you and everyone contributing on this

I don't have an A500 mini but I may have found a simpler alternative with the THEA500 folder. In this folder, there is a "Boot-Data.zip" file which contains the boot sequence when you launch a USB game (in the form of a directory). Why not replace its content with that of a WB for example? I don't know if this can be a good idea because I can't test it myself. :)

Pic 1 is this folder in WinUae.

(that just shows the A500 logo for me)

Normal. Logo is only for illustration. :)

It seems to be this sequence for the USB that starts after choosing the game (launch the emulator and use this folder). It is for this reason that I suppose that one could use this archive like a classic directory and place a Workbench (and more) there using a dedicated USB key.

Worked perfectly!

I got this same screen after attempting to load my copy of Worthy

What if you edit config file and alter show_gui=yes to no?

It crashes back to the launcher for me with gui=no, which sucks, takes away from the expercience seeing that amiberry pop up.

If you mess with that folder, then every whdload game you try to start would launch to Workbench or whatever you put in Boot-data.

That's the point. One USB key reserved for games, the other for general use ( and games too with Tiny Laucher, X-Bench ). :)

Hmmm..... I've got 9 more 512MB sticks..... WB itself, even 3.2, doesn't even use 10MB so..... hmmm

Anyone want a small USB stick for WB-Mini? :P

Thanks for the work on this.

Hello, it's my first post in this forum and I hope I'm posting in the right place!

I recently bought the A500 mini, the only regret I have is I can't use my old 9 pin Joystick.
The pad is ok but - my personal opinion - completely useless for some games.
When I play on WinUAE I use my old joystick with an USB adapter (mayflash) but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work on the A500 mini.
Is there a chance to make it work or I do have to buy an USB joystick?
Thanks!

Agreed - found that I could do wall jumping in Zool with the pad. Luckily I have a C64maxi with joystick and this works better.

Is it micro-switched? Is the stick too stiff or gives a good feedback (no jokes please :D)?


I might consider to purchase one.

updated the top post with some new details, just to be clear, these are not my guides, patchs, work, i just combined them into one post so people dont have to go hutting for guides/hacks. hope its ok, I will try and credit people where I can. Thanks

Hello,

Thanks for the recap ! Waiting for official updates to support all this... :p

@thread

The A500 Mini - WHDLoad Package 1.01 Released

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLVP...%27veBeenGamed

#6

Running ADF files.
 

It's quite a simple process really. You do need a keyboard attached.

1. Pick a uae config file.
2. Open it in a text editor
3. Add the line use_gui=yes
4. Save it.
5. Copy your adf files to the flash drive.
6. Put the drive back in the mini.
7. Run the game that you edited from the mini.
8. In the Amiberry menu, use the cursor to select Floppy
9. Use the cursor keys and tab to navigate to the box with three dots in it in the top right corner.
10. In the file menu use the two dots to navigate to the root folder with the directory 'mnt' in it.
11. Open the 'mnt' folder, find your adf file and select it. It should appear in the box.
12. Navigate back to the main list and select harddrives.
13. Press the red 'x' next to each drive to delete it.
14. Navigate back to the menu list and go down until the button at the bottom is highlighted.
15. Go right until the start button is highlighted and press enter to start amiberry.

Done!