Beginner need help.

Hi, I am new to the forum so forgive me if i ask the same questions that have already been asked. I haven't used an Amiga since I owned one back in the 80's. I purchased one from ebay a few months back (A500 with 1mb ram, WB1.3 etc, ), basic setup thinking it would be easy to get games online. I wanted to grab some games online and transfer them. I read up quite a lot on it a few months back, then dropped it because i thought there was to much involved.

I brought the crossover cable then read up on some stuff. I was basically told in order to use the software to use the crossover cable i needed to use a higher workbench version as the software that was normally free in a higher workbench was not in my version. And because my Kickstart was an older version i needed to upgrade the ROM too. I don't remember all the details.

Can someone give me details on the easiest way to do this. I don't mind spending a bit of money upgrading the Rom or workbench if that is what is needed.

I appreciate your time in answering this post. Any help will be appreciated.

thanks

[ppill]

All you really need is a null-modem cable, a serial port on the PC and a working Workbench 1.3 disk. There's no need to upgrade your setup to enjoy games from floppies (an external drive could come in handy).

[Cammy]

If all you need your A500 for is games, sticking with the 1.3 ROM won't hurt at all. Transferring ADF files to floppy should also be quite possible, but if you're trying to use a crossover cable I guess you need a network card as well, and then a TCP stack and it all gets a bit too much. If you mean a null-modem serial cable, then it shouldn't be too hard once you have the right software, but no additional hardware should be required as long as your PC has a serial port. Of course the main problem is getting the software onto your A500 to start with, which you already need an Amiga capable of writing ADFs first.

The software you'll need can be downloaded here, it's an all-in-one Amiga-PC linking disk, with all the software needed to connect the two computers and transfer the files over, write ADFs to disk, and a few other handy utils. http://wiki.abime.net/transfer:hombre

I really hope someone local can make this disk for you to get you started. Your other option is to buy the easy to use package from Cloanto which comes with the floppy disk you'll need with some special commercial software designed just for the purpose of transferring ADF images from a PC to an Amiga floppy disk. This package is called Amiga Explorer and is available here - http://www.amigaforever.com/ae/

Good luck, and don't give up, once you get it sorted out there's endless fun to be had.

[ppill]

The easiest way (as Cammy suggested) would be to get a local amiga user prepare you a Hombre disk (I'll upload the NTSC variant of the latest version this evening). But if you have a working Workbench floppy you could try this. It's an article (with pictures) that guides you through the process of getting ADF-writing software (transADF in this case) on to the Amiga.

Ppill & Cammy,

Thank you for your response, i feel i understand a little better now what i need to do.

Cammy, sorry yes i was referring to a null modem cable and not a crossover cable. Not sure why i was thinking in PC terms there.

I will check out the links and will let you know my progress.

Thanks again for your help.

thexfilez

[Moroder]

I have an old pc in the basement, with a null modem cable port, however I'd hate to hook it up "just" to get amiga games over. I use a macbook, is there any way to connect the macbook to the amiga500? (I do have winxp installed on the mac aswell)

[ppill]

USB to Serial adapter might do the trick.

[Moroder]

Originally Posted by ppill

USB to Serial adapter might do the trick.

cool, thanks! I was looking around, usb to serial adapter, or I could get a bluetooth serial adapter? can anyone confirm that this will actually work?