+Mr Robot Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 If you're only using DOS2/2.5 you can have 4 drives D1:,D2:,D3:,D4:. You can use the shortcut D: to refer to D1. D1 is the boot drive, if you want to boot a game, power off the atari, put the disk in D1, power on the atari holding down the option key (if you are on an XL/XE machine) to turn off BASIC and it will boot the game. If you need to swap disks, do that in RespecQT Remember that the files you see on your PC, the atr files themselves are actually usually disk sides, not always multiple disks. most games came as a single disk, some bigger games required you to turn the disk over and load side 2, really big games had a second disk to give you sides 3 and 4 so putting atr 2 into disk 1 is actually the same as turning the disk over, you couldn't put two sides of the same disk into two different drives so most games didn't support multiple disk drives. If a game saves your position you would usually put that disk in D1 if a second disk drive was supported. Drives above D2 are really for more serious work, where you need lots of space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Added SDrive-MAX to loading devices comparison table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotalSellout Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I just purchased my first ever Atari 800XL. At first glance it appears to be in farily good condition. It comes with an original power supply. I know some other 8-bit computers (C64) have reputations for system killing power supplies. Do Atari supplies have any similiar issues? If so, do you know of any resources for testing the power supply? I've search online, but there seem to be fewer resources for the Atari XL systems compared to the Commodore. I'm waiting on a video cable since my system didn't come with one, but would like to validate the system as much as possible ahead of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I just purchased my first ever Atari 800XL. At first glance it appears to be in farily good condition. It comes with an original power supply. I know some other 8-bit computers (C64) have reputations for system killing power supplies. Do Atari supplies have any similiar issues? If so, do you know of any resources for testing the power supply? I've search online, but there seem to be fewer resources for the Atari XL systems compared to the Commodore. I'm waiting on a video cable since my system didn't come with one, but would like to validate the system as much as possible ahead of time. best to wait on your cable, the ingot power supply is the only system killer supply for the Atari, and don't use a commodore supply on an Atari ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotalSellout Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 Thanks for the quick reply. Sounds like I'll wait. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 You could snap a shot of your power supply in the mean time... we can see which type you have, or you can look at the examples of the different power supplies and their mug shots on the forums here at AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotalSellout Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 You could snap a shot of your power supply in the mean time... we can see which type you have, or you can look at the examples of the different power supplies and their mug shots on the forums here at AA I found this page earlier. When I get home from work tonight I'll take a look at my power supply. It was certainly beefy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 specifically http://atariage.com/forums/topic/95416-power-supplies/?p=1157349 this is very true of the 110-120 v countries... in general the epoxy filled supplies on any device for any equipment ever made are terrible... they are not only boat anchors but tend to make anything connected to them the same! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotalSellout Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 Dang. My computer has an Ingot so I’ll need to put together a new one. Going to look around my old gear and see if I can find another 5v supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Dang. My computer has an Ingot so I’ll need to put together a new one. Going to look around my old gear and see if I can find another 5v supply. Had any luck getting a power supply? A good USB charger will power the 800XL well. There's someone selling a XL/XE usb adapter power cable on ebay. Some usb chargers will not work since they only give .5A unless the phone asks for more, or if it's a low amp charger to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotalSellout Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Had any luck getting a power supply? A good USB charger will power the 800XL well. There's someone selling a XL/XE usb adapter power cable on ebay. Some usb chargers will not work since they only give .5A unless the phone asks for more, or if it's a low amp charger to start with. Sure did. Cut off the original connector from the power supply and soldered it to an old raspberry pi power supply I had. 5 volts and 3 amps. Worked great, and I’ve enjoyed using the 800XL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 I know this thread has been helping for all these years but I suggest a change of name, nothing too radical, just adding "and returning users" to the end, just to make it a direct pointer for them too. Newbies simply suggests new to Atari while seasoned past users returning may feel its not really about them and not look there. I only go from past experience in other forums with newbie threads, many found it slightly awkward and presumed it was only going to be the most basic info and not to bring them up to date.... Anyway, a simple suggestion.... Paul.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 What a coincidence! Some days ago I wanted to send the link to a once VERY experienced user but "Topic for newbies" seemed to me disrespectful. Topic for newbies and returning users is nice. Other ideas? Do you think it's a good idea to change/lenghten topic's name? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PE1PQX Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) @Philsan I am a returning user (wrote a drawing program once in TurboBasic) and knew a lot about the 800XL, some of that knowledge is still there, the rest is vanishes to be sought back.. Idea for name-change: 'Topic for newbies and returnees'. Edited May 15, 2019 by PE1PQX 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 I'm good with whatever name gets the vote and hope it happens, its just a more complete name that's friendly to all.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoGuy89 Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Quick question about the 400, my power cuts out when the door is open and works again when its closed, is that expected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted June 8, 2019 Author Share Posted June 8, 2019 Quick question about the 400, my power cuts out when the door is open and works again when its closed, is that expected? Yes, a very nice idea to prevent a cartridge from being inserted with power on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoGuy89 Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Appreciate the information thanks. Another quick one ... I have a few disks for the 400/800 but there is one Adventure International game with no title on and I have no working disk drive, is there any way to work out what games are on what disks? There is a 13 digit code on the back of the disk, could I use that to track down the title? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 Quick question about the 400, my power cuts out when the door is open and works again when its closed, is that expected? Yes - most people have said (and I always believed) this was to prevent inserting / removing carts while powered up. However, one of the machine's creators (Joe Decuir) was just recorded at VCF explaining that this was also to get around a bullshit FCC rule. No emissions could come from the machines (400/800), hence the original ridiculous aluminum cage. Having the power cut when the metal covered door was open, would ensure no cancerous waves would come from the computer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 correct, the cartridge slots were hot swap-able and some carts have fingers shorter than others to facilitate this better, the interlock was two fold, to prevent emissions, and to keeps things safe when uncased... safety interlocks were a thing bitd... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quincy451 Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 I just got a atari 800 off ebay...I could not resist the form factor of the machine that teased me for years in the back of Sears catalogs back in the day when I couldn't afford nothing. Well, the machine survived shipping. I wanted to inspect the card slots and cards before a test with power but I could not get the top off or open. I saw mention that some models had this top screwed down. How do I tell if i have that and which screws have to come out if I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 the red marks show the screw positions possibly with washers to hold the lid in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quincy451 Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 15 hours ago, rdea6 said: the red marks show the screw positions possibly with washers to hold the lid in place. Yup thank you. 15 hours ago, rdea6 said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Really? That's a shame... Wow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Wha? I see nothing between post #323 and 324. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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