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Author Topic: Hi all, a newbie here...  (Read 1170 times)

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Offline giZmo350Topic starter

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Hi all, a newbie here...
« on: April 29, 2005, 03:59:43 AM »
I always wanted an Amiga so got an A500 from ebay. It all works pretty much. One odd thing, I can't find a power switch on the unit anywhere! I didn't get any manuals with it. So I don't really know how to operate it. I had a Commodore 128 (about 20 years ago) and I remember that there are some odd key strokes and holds. Any help with the power button thing would be great (I have to keep pulling the power plug). So glad to be here and I'm looking forward to tinkering around with this computer!
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A500: 2MB Chip, 8MB Fast, IndiECS, MiniMegi, IDE4ZorroII on Z-500, KS1.3/KS3.1, WB3.1&BWB
 
A2000HD: 2MB Chip, 128MB Fast, P5:Blizz 2060@50MHz, PCD-50B/4GBCF, XSurf100, RapidRoad, IndiECS, Matze RTG, MiniMegi, CD-RW, SunRize AD516, WB3.9
 
A1200: 2MB Chip, 64MB Fast, 4GBCF, GVP Typhoon 030 @40MHz w/FPU, Subway USB, EasyNet Ethernet, Indi AGA MKI, FastATA MK-IV, Internal Slim CD/DVD-RW, WB3.5

Surfing The Web With AMIGA Is Fun Again!
 

Offline Ilwrath

Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2005, 04:34:55 AM »
Quote
always wanted an Amiga so got an A500 from ebay. It all works pretty much. One odd thing, I can't find a power switch on the unit anywhere!


If you aren't using the stock power supply, you might not have a power switch...  It was on the power supply.  ;-)

CTRL-Amiga-Amiga resets it, though, so you don't have to unplug/replug all the time.
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Offline adz

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2005, 04:36:33 AM »
Hi and welcome to A.org :-)

The A500 in its stock configuration doesn't have a power switch on the machine itself, the power switch is located on the machines power supply. Hope this helps :-)

Edit...damn Ilwrath beat me to it :-P
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Offline giZmo350Topic starter

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2005, 05:38:15 AM »
Oh, yup...  there it is on the PS. That's different. Even the 128 had a power switch on the unit. Do people put their own switch in? I noticed that this unit has never been cracked open. Therefore, I can probably be certain that it has never been upgraded. It asks for workbench 2.1. I have read that it is fairly easy to upgrade the ROM chip. Does that allow me to run a higher version of workbench? I also read that the processor can be changed out to a higher version (I would think that you would have to increase the clock speed to do that).

Is there a FAQ section on this forum with a lot of info for mods? Also, I can't seem to locate a search function to search all the old threads. I'll bet there is a lot of info in the old threads from other people asking questions. I also bet that you all get tired of A500 questions.  :-o   I have scoured the web looking for A500 info but I think I missed the boat by a few years!

Where is the best place to get parts? This unit could really use a new internal keyboard and I would really like to get some upgrade parts. I would REALLY like to get TCP-IP running and network this computer and browse the web with it. Anyone have any experience doing that? Sorry for all the questions....  
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A500: 2MB Chip, 8MB Fast, IndiECS, MiniMegi, IDE4ZorroII on Z-500, KS1.3/KS3.1, WB3.1&BWB
 
A2000HD: 2MB Chip, 128MB Fast, P5:Blizz 2060@50MHz, PCD-50B/4GBCF, XSurf100, RapidRoad, IndiECS, Matze RTG, MiniMegi, CD-RW, SunRize AD516, WB3.9
 
A1200: 2MB Chip, 64MB Fast, 4GBCF, GVP Typhoon 030 @40MHz w/FPU, Subway USB, EasyNet Ethernet, Indi AGA MKI, FastATA MK-IV, Internal Slim CD/DVD-RW, WB3.5

Surfing The Web With AMIGA Is Fun Again!
 

Offline Effy

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2005, 05:47:29 AM »
http://www.amiga.org/ should give you the search option in the upper right corner so you can find whatever you want on this forum  :-)

As for upgrading to a higher kickstart, no problem, must put a 3.1 in it and if you manage to find a turboboard then you might even get OS3.9 on it  :-)
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Offline doctorq

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2005, 08:36:32 AM »
As for surfing the net with, just forget it. It will need a hell of a lot of upgrading and it will be dog slow.

How where you planning to network the A500? Through a broadband connection?
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Offline stefcep

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2005, 11:31:36 AM »
Don't bother upgrading the A500-its too expensive and  most more recnt serious software will run slowly.  Make the most of it as it is: a games machine.  If you really want something better buy an A4000, which will save all your upgrade headaches, or even faster and cheaper buy the Amiga emulator amiga forever for pc
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Offline countzero

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2005, 11:38:38 AM »
I guess it would be possible with a parallel port modem. I'm not sure if an ethernet solution exists at all.

Yes, the 68000 can be changed with 68010, you can find some guides on the net to how to do it, but it's not that much of an improvement, and I heard it decreases stability of the system. To surf the net you should have something like 68030 which is only available through turbo boards.

By the way, you should be aware that each mod/ugrade you do will decrease compatibility with the old software (games).
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Offline Holley

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Re: Hi all, a newbie here...
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2005, 09:00:16 PM »
Yeah, if its stock then upgrading would effecively break it's best features.  Games that run on A500s generally don't take well to speedups.  The only add-ons I would recommend would be a harddisk that plugs into the side and extra memory mounted in the trapdoor underneath.

If its unopenned and has Kickstart 2 it may be an A500+, rather than an A500; in which case be sure to pop the case open and remove the battery from the main circuitboard (they leak and destroy other parts, and arn't needed for it to work right).
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