I need an Amiga laptop!

[studio460]

So, I'm waiting to receive my first Amiga (a used A1200) since selling my Amiga A2000HD/A2286AT/Toaster back in 1995. I plan to run mostly graphics/multimedia apps that I used to own and enjoy (I have no interest in installing any games). I would like to program AmigaVision scripts and Scala runtimes at my leisure on a laptop. You know, lounging at Starbucks, at the cafe at work, in the park, on a plane, on vacation, etc.

So I guess my only option is to run WinUAE on a fast PC laptop running WindowsXP. Anyone know if WinUAE/AmigaOS 4.1 will run AmigaVision, Scala, etc. on a WindowsXP machine? Does this actually work with these types of media-specific apps?

Hmmm . . . now I'm actually thinking of putting my A1200 in a case with a BenQ LCD monitor in the lid. Ya know, kind of an Apple IIc kludge. I'm sure there will be fewer headaches staying all-original Amiga.

[Arnie]

I had an XP media laptop, Dell Inspiron 6400. It had a 2.00ghz duo cpu and 4gb of ram. It ran OS4.1 but, it was real slow. Took ages to load and opening windows was a real joy (not).

Hope this helps.

[DofD]

The whole A1200 in a luggable case has been tried. Given how fragile some motherboards/chips/sockets get with age, it wouldn't be on the top of my list.

With WinUAE, there's no need for a fast laptop or needing to us WinXP. WinUAE runs just fine on a i3 with Win7.

There is also FS-UAE if you would like to run it with Linux as the host OS.

[Dunny]

Search for Amilator on these boards. It's FS-UAE running on a stripped-down Debian install, autobooting straight to workbench.

It has some issues with floppy images, but once everything is installed to HDD it's wonderful, and possibly the fastest "Amiga" you can get.

[fxgogo]

How about making a Raspberry Pi based laptop running Amibian? That is a great DIY laptop project to get your teeth into. Other wise, I would do a linux based distro as Dunny has suggested. No need for Windows really. You could also get an old G4 Apple laptop and run Morphos.

[Daedalus]

WinUAE will run on pretty much any version of Windows. You'll have no problem running Scala on it (I've used Scala on my laptop in WinUAE under Linux using WINE for a presentation before), but I would stick with OS 3 rather than OS 4 for speed and possibly compatibility reasons. WinUAE is a very, very good emulator, and will be as close to the real thing as you can get without the hardware - if you can't get it to run in WinUAE, you probably can't get it to run on the same configuration of hardware either.

[studio460]

Originally Posted by Daedalus

WinUAE will run on pretty much any version of Windows. You'll have no problem running Scala on it . . . WinUAE is a very, very good emulator, and will be as close to the real thing as you can get without the hardware - if you can't get it to run in WinUAE, you probably can't get it to run on the same configuration of hardware either.

Wow! Great replies from everyone, thank you! Since I own a Dell all-in-one Core i5 touchscreen PC already (in an otherwise, all-macOS house), I suppose I can test out WinUAE on that for now. Will WinUAE run on Windows 10?

If I can get my expert system software (Magellan 1.1) to run under WinUAE, then that will resolve my primary reason for getting a legacy Amiga in the first place (my soon-to-arrive A1200).

This will then allow me to use my 3.1-Kickstarted A1200 as-is, without any firmware-hacks, and relegate the finicky runs-only-in-1.3 ROM Magellan app to run in a high-compatibility UAE Windows environment—plus, I'll get laptop functionality to boot! This actually is an ideal solution since I'll be integrating database files from PC-sourced .DBFs into the Amiga-native Superbase app (which I love), which I would also expect to run fine in a UAE-environment.

So, I can run more demanding, graphics-heavy apps like Scala and AmigaVision on a native AGA-machine like my A1200 (or a with a Vampire accelerator or V4 standalone when available), and run the mainly text-based Magellan in WinUAE on a desktop or laptop for both compatibility and portability—cake and eating it too! Plus, Magellan is mainly a textual database with a GUI, so it shouldn't be a challenge to run emulated.

[studio460]

I think I've finally figured this out. I'll run multiple machines, based on what does what best, or more accurately, what does what best with the highest compatibility. So, I'll dedicate separate machines for separate groups of applications . . . [I moved the rest of this post to a new thread here].

[Dunny]

If you're going the WinUAE on Win10 route (which works flawlessly, as usual) then you can have multiple Amigas on one laptop without issues. Get your config sorted and your software installed, then crank up the virtual CPU speed to get a blazing fast Amiga workstation. WinUAE on an i5 will blow any Vampire out of the water.

It's addictive as hell though, you have been warned

[studio460]

Originally Posted by Dunny

If you're going the WinUAE on Win10 route (which works flawlessly, as usual) then you can have multiple Amigas on one laptop without issues . . .

Oh, cool! Arnie's post above scared me off, thinking the performance-hit on a UAE machine would be too great, but he's using an old Core2 Duo, which is pretty slow to begin with.

Gotta figure out the install and try it out on my Core i5 27" touchscreen PC as a test-bed. If all works out, I'll invest in a fast Core i7 laptop. Again, if I could get Magellan to run on a laptop, I would be thrilled! Do you know if I can create a Kickstart 1.3 install in a UAE environment? Thanks for your help!

[Dunny]

Yeah, have at it. You'll need:

WinUAE installed. Then install the 64bit version on top of that.

Grab a set of 3.0/3.1 Workbench disk images and a 3.0/3.1 ROM file (if you need some pointers on where to get these, send me a pm and I'll give you some *ahem* hints).

In WinUAE, start with a "quickstart" A1200 config, then tweak it - stay with stock hardware options to start with, and only add an HDD image (or a folder on your Windows hard drive).

You can then either grab a copy of BetterWB, ClassicWB, BestWB etc (search on EAB for those), or install WB yourself from floppy images.

Once you have a working Workbench setup going, then start to tweak your config. Make the CPU a better one ('030s are nice) or just crank up the emulation speed and have a stupidly fast EC020. Add more RAM, an RTG display et al. Use JIT if you can. Make it a beast.

And if your software fails to run, just tweak some more until it does.

Then just have fun.

[DamienD]

*cough*

Dunny; studio460 said "Kickstart 1.3 install":

Originally Posted by studio460

Do you know if I can create a Kickstart 1.3 install in a UAE environment?

[Dunny]

Ha! That's me told

And yeah, 1.3 is almost exactly the same, except for there's no real packs out there for it, you'll have to install from floppy images. Getting an HDD going on a 1.3 machine shouldn't be all that hard.


FWIW, here's how fast my Core i5 laptop runs:

[studio460]

Originally Posted by Dunny

Yeah, have at it. You'll need: WinUAE installed. Then install the 64bit version on top of that . . .

Wow! Thanks, Dunny! Really appreciate all the help. So first install WinUAE, then there's a 64-bit version to install next. By the way, excuse the cross-post, but I detailed what I think is the procedure in my "Multimedia Production" thread:

Originally Posted by studio460

Wow! That's great! No—won't be using any video hardware. So I read the WinUAE site and it looks like I can get the 1.3 ROM-images/Workbench disk-images from Amiga Forever. I also found the abime WinUAE installation guide. So . . .

• Purchase Amiga Forever Plus ROM/disk images (e.g., Kickstart 1.3, 3.1).
• Use its Windows installer to install ROM/disk images.
• Run WinUAE installer and follow guide steps.

That about right? Just not sure what I do first—install the 1.3 ROM/disk images using the Amiga Forever installer or install the WinUAE package first using their installer. I see that you're creating a directory in the WinUAE installation dialog boxes for ROMs, so maybe this should be installed first?

FYI: I'm installing Kickstart 1.3 because that's what my Magellan 1.1 AI software likes to run in. I presume I can install additional ROMs (e.g., 3.1) for more capability and switch instances at-will.

Originally Posted by DamienD

Dunny; studio460 said "Kickstart 1.3 install":

Thanks!

[Dunny]

Yeah, Amiga Forever will get you the ROMs and disks you need. Tbh, so would a quick google search but I'll assume you want to stay on the right side of the law, if not morality here.

WinUAE can use Amiga Forever ROM files so you'll be good to go. AF will give you an easy way to launch stuff for your emulated Amiga; WinUAE will expose many more settings that you can use to tune your experience.

[studio460]

Originally Posted by Dunny

Yeah, Amiga Forever will get you the ROMs and disks you need . . . WinUAE can use Amiga Forever ROM files so you'll be good to go. AF will give you an easy way to launch stuff for your emulated . . .

Great! Yeah, I'm slowly figuring all this out, thanks mostly to everyone's help here. I don't mind supporting the active Amiga community and am happy to pay for Amiga Forever's services, especially if it makes things a bit easier (I've even made a small donation here). Thanks again!

[studio460]

I now have an "Amiga laptop" and it's a MacBook Pro!

Okay, I figured out that I don't need to buy a new PC laptop just to run an Amiga WinUAE emulation. I installed FS-UAE with just one-click onto my late-2012 MacBook Pro Core i7/16GB laptop and it works great!

I just threw the Kickstart 3.1 ROM-image, Workbench 3.1 ADFs, and select application ADFs into their respective FS-UAE directories (i.e., "Kickstarts," "Floppies," "Hard Disk"), all just from the macOS Finder, and voila! [I moved the rest of this post to the FS-UAE section here.]

[jbilander]

An alternative to emulation once the V4 standalone is out, not quite a laptop but close enough using a motorola lapdock.

[ Show youtube player ]

[studio460]

Originally Posted by jbilander

An alternative to emulation once the V4 standalone is out, not quite a laptop but close enough using a motorola lapdock . . .

Oh, I am so down for a V4 standalone. I just wish they made it to fit the A600 case! Also, as cool as the V4 is, if the Vampire A500 special edition case isn't black (no photos on the indiegogo site), I may not get one (can't stand beige-colored computers). I did pre-order the black A1200 case/keyboard from AOTL for my original A1200 to fulfill a life-long dream—owning a jet-black Amiga.

[jbilander]

Originally Posted by studio460

...if the Vampire A500 special edition case isn't black (no photos on the indiegogo site)

I think the Vampire special edition is black by default since black/red is their logo colors, and with SE you'll get the accessories kit + vampire badge to fit everything in the new A500 case. Just scroll down on the indigogo site and you'll find it. I've attached it here below too.