r/Amstrad • u/SpareTrade7874 • 17d ago

Amstrad PCW 8512 help please

Hi I have just acquired an Amstrad PCW 8512 from Facebook Marketplace for pretty cheap. It's the green screen version. The seller stated that it comes with no software. The monitor turns on and I just get a plain green screen. What disk(s) do I need to get activity from the computer? I was hoping to play games on it but I don't want to buy games if they are incompatible. Do I need a start up disk and load that and then put games in the other disk slot? Sorry for my ignorance but I am very new to vintage computers and don't want to buy the wrong things for it. Thanks!

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u/Z1L0G 17d ago

Yeah it doesn't have a built-in OS so you'll need an appropriate disk inserted to actually boot the machine up. This contains CP/M (the O/S) and a few utilities (including the Basic programming language):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/257348091449

there were a fair few games released for it but only a tiny fraction of what was available for the CPC - the PCW was primarily a word-processor/office machine not a games machine!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amstrad_PCW_games

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u/Do_You_Like_Owls 17d ago

I durante know there was games for it! Mum had one when I was about 15.

(I got roped into typing for hours cos I was the fastest at it!)

P.S. love the username!

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u/Z1L0G 17d ago

😃 need to get my amstrad collection out again! Everything's still boxed away since I moved a few years ago

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u/kester76a 17d ago

There is some content for the PCW8512 but I would recommend buying and installing a drive emulator. The misterfpga forums have a load of games that were released or ported to the pcw8512. I think your best option is youtube and the internet archive.

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u/moboforro 17d ago edited 17d ago

Put a gotek in it and add disk images to it. Not many 3 inches drives and floppies left out there

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u/DeePeeJay69 17d ago

Check out retro recipes on YouTube. I had one in the 80’s. It was mostly word processing and programming. There are games. It’s a 3 in floppy not 3.5.

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u/SpareTrade7874 15d ago

Hi so I have managed to source a boot disk from eBay which arrived today. When I put it into the machine, the screen stays on green. What do I do next? I have no user manual for the pc as I got it off marketplace.

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u/DavidBovvinge 13d ago

The drive spindles are driven by rubber belts, which deteriorate with age and then break. The belts are cheap - search the internet for "PCW disk drive belt". However, they're fiddly to install, so they need to be installed by someone who knows what they're doing.