Retro Computing

Hobbyists have been building their own replacement C-64 power supplies for decades. I first talked to someone about it in the mid 1990s, when I was still in college. But no one, to my knowledge, has ever given a step by step build process for a DIY power supply. So I will. Here’s how to build your own Commodore 64 power supply.

All you need to build a DIY C-64 power supply are the two cables you can make or salvage from an original power supply, a 9V transformer, a 5V switching power supply module, a case to put it in, and possibly some bits of wire and wire nuts. The only tools you need are a screwdriver and a multimeter.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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The great thing about Amigas was they had a flat 32-bit memory architecture from day one. Unlike 16-bit DOS PCs, memory was memory–to an extent. Amigas did have three types of memory. So let’s look at Amiga chip RAM vs fast RAM vs slow RAM.

Amiga chip RAM was visible to the CPU as well as the sound and video chips. Fast RAM and slow RAM were not, but fast RAM, which sat higher in the CPU’s address space, could run programs faster than either slow RAM or chip RAM.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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This year I set out to put together a working C-64 setup. And it worked great for about a week. Then when I started trying to load a few disks I hadn’t touched since sometime in 1992, my disk drives started protesting. I went from having two working 1541 disk drives to zero, thanks to alignment issues. Here’s how to align a Commodore 1541 disk drive.

Aligning a Commodore 1541 requires an alignment program, an unprotected commercially produced disk that works (Commodore’s Test/Demo disk is ideal), a screw driver, some thread locker, and a Commodore 64. It helps to have moderate mechanical ability and better than average patience. The 1541 was notorious for disk alignment issues, but it’s possible to fix them.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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This spring I bought myself a couple of things: a Raspberry Pi, so I could build a Pi1541, and an Epyx Fast Load cartridge. I didn’t have a Pi1541 as a kid of course, and I didn’t have a fast load cartridge either, but I wanted to speed up my new Pi1541. Imagine my disappointment when my two new toys didn’t work together. Here’s how to make the Pi1541 and fast load cartridges play nice together.

By default, the mode the Pi1541 boots into isn’t compatible with fast load cartridges. You have to enable an option to load the file browser off a disk image called FB.D64, and then the two devices work together the way you probably intended.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Atari made a line of PCs in the 1980s, which seems contradictory because it is. Atari was known for doing its own thing, not for copying the rest of the industry. In the context of the time, it’s possible to understand why Atari did it. But in hindsight, it’s easy to see why the Atari PC1 was a mistake and how it impacted the rest of the line.

Atari made several PCs, including the 8088-based PC1, PC2 and PC3; the 286-based PC4, the 386-based PC5. But their lack of expandability and difficulty competing on price limited their appeal.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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It’s not uncommon to find modified Epyx Fast Load cartridges. This cartridge was super popular in the 1980s, but there were generally one or two reasons to modify it by adding a button, a switch, or both to it. Both were common Epyx Fast Load mods to make the cartridge more useful.

Usually a switch on a Fast Load cartridge is intended to disable it, while a button is probably to reset the computer. Both were common modifications that tech-savvy owners made to save wear and tear on their computers.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Windows ME vs Windows XP isn’t much of a battle. You see, it’s a comparison of one of Microsoft’s most hated operating systems and one of its most beloved. XP, at the time of its release, was Microsoft’s best effort to date. But one reason it seemed so good was because it followed something so terrible.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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If you’re into retro computing, the Commodore 64 is hard to escape. It was the most popular computer model of all time, so it was everywhere in the 1980s. But the machine does have its quirks, which can be either endearing or maddening. Here’s what to look for in a Commodore 64.

Certain models and eras of Commodore 64 are more dependable than others. Early models will appeal to people who want something slightly challenging to repair, while a newer model is definitely better for someone who wants a retro machine that works without putting up a fuss.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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To paraphrase an old commercial, you can’t keep your vintage computer from getting old. But you can keep it from looking old. Clean vintage computers in good condition are more enjoyable, or at least easier to admire for the era they represent. And usually, no matter how neglected the computer is, you can clean it up and make it look nearly new as long as there’s little to no physical damage.

There are many inexpensive household cleaners that work well on vintage computers. That means without spending a lot of money, you can get your vintage computers looking much better.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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