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These are questions and answers that were previously posted to the Q & A page but have been archived here to keep the latest Q & A shorter and more manageable for download.

PC1640	Accessing (non-existent) Setup program
NC100	Serial terminal flow control
PC1512	WP software to use
PCW	Finding 3" discs
NC100	BASIC terminal program
PC3386	Upgrading memory
PC1512	Adding a 3.5" drive
PC2286	Using Setup program
Printer	Using dreaded DMP1 with Windows
NC100	Connecting to a PC
NC100	Connecting to a PC
NC200	Trying to buy one
PC2286	Can't access hard drive
PPC	Looking for system disks
PPC	How to start the machine
Spectrum	Need terminal program
NC100	How to do NC/PC transfers
ALT386	Monitor utilities needed
PC3386	Upgrading to DOS 6.22
NC100	Can't get it to start
Printer	Looking for Windows drivers
Fax	Looking for PC software
PC2386	Mouse problems
PC1512	Starting up the machine
PC1512	Keyboard fault at startup
PC1512	Looking for manual
PC3386	Startup problems
DMP3160	Looking for Windows drivers
DMP4000	Looking for Windows drivers
PDA600	Repair cracked screen
PCW	Repairs in Egypt?
PC1512	Looking for GEM files
Integra	Clearing CMOS password
NC100	Need programming info.
General	Looking for Indexlink software
NC100	Need programming info.
PC1640	Fitting second hard drive
PCW	Machine won't start
PCW	Printer plugged in while on
PC1512	Need system software
PC2386	Boot up problems
PC2386	Boot up problems
PC2386	Mouse won't work
PC1640	Upgrade options?
Printer	Paper sensor problem
PC4386	Need soundcard drivers
PC2386	Boot up problems

Franck at 14:2:15 Tuesday August 12 97
How can I access to SETUP Program to a PC1640
Amstrad answers: YOu can't cos there isn't one. Normally this question comes from people who use AT type PCs and are used to setting hard disk type numbers when the HD isn't working. I'm afraid that the 1640 was an XT not an AT and therefore didn't have all the type number malarchy but instead the HD controller was matched to the drive. Unfortunatrely this does mean that if the HD isn't working it really is dead and it's not just a simple setting that will get it going again. There again, you may have been after setup for a completely different reason but I doubt it.

Duncan Campbell in Troon Ayrshire, SCOTLAND at 9:0:23 Tuesday August 12 97
Please ignore my last question, I have now managed to solve that problem, I have unfortunately encountered another. I am now connecting to compuserve on the NC100 notepad from amstrad on terminal emulation using the serial transfer built in software.having only 6 lines on the page I find the text scrolls past and I miss half of all menus and email Is there any hotkey press on the NC100 to stop and start scrolling of received text online or to buffer it and `look` upwards for it. If anyone can help I`d be very grateful as I want to use it for my emAIL IN THE US on holiday Many thanks Duncan
Amstrad answers: Oops, too late, I read these questions in reverse chrono order and already stuck and answer on it below! I think we must have talked via email but for other's benefit, the answer is to try Ctrl-S and Ctrl-Q which are the Xon/Xoff characters that mean "stop" and "go". The terminal program isn't clever enough to buffer and let you scroll back I'm afraid.

cn packer at 21:35:59 Monday August 11 97
previous to my last question it looks as though the possibilities of upgrading a 1512dd are mighty slim, therefore could could say what word proccessor will work on the machine and where could I get it. I cant seem to fine GEM on the internet any chance of getting this somewhere.
Amstrad answers: On a machine with so little horse power as the 1512 I think you've got to forget any type of graphic word processor so you should look for something DOS based. I have heard of people using Word Perfect on it (the early Amstrad PC manuals were written in WP running on a 1640!!) however even that may be a bit OTT for an 8MHz 8086 so I'd try scanning a few old bulleting boards for sharewar/PC copies of DOS based word processors. Unfortunately the Internet (in my experience) doesn't seem to be so good for finding this really old stuff as it was in vogue long before the Internet took off and no one seems to have made this old stuff available on the web. However old BBS systems and also Compuserve are good places to find the older 8086/XT type of stuff.

Anthony Terry in Columbia SC at 21:26:44 Monday August 11 97
I live in columbia S.C. and am having a hard time finding blank 3" discs for an amstrad 8256. Could you possibly be of assistance? I would appreciate any help possible. Thank You.
Amstrad answers: Do you have access to newsgroups I wonder? If so then check out comp.sys.amstrad.8bit where you'll find a lot of people with PCW stuff on offer and there are regularly people offering to supply 3" disks. As an alternative I just received a copy of PCW Today today (IYSWIM) and SD Microsystems are advertising a box of five CF2 disks for £14.95. Their phone outside UK is +44 1953 483750. Address: SD Microsystems, PO Box 24, Attleborough, Norfolk, NR17 1HL

Duncan Campbell in DJCAMP45@AOL.Com at 19:4:55 Sunday August 10 97
I have an Amstrad notepad NC100.I have been informed by SCA products that it is possible to use a modem on the serial port of the NC100. I am trying to find a listing for a simple terminal emulator in BBC Basic that I could type into the NC100 to allow me terminal access to my e-mail, whilst on the move, on my NC100. Any suggestions where I could get listings or a shareware program for the BBC as I have a master 128 also, and could get the listing from a disc also? Hope someone can possibly help. Duncan Campbell
Amstrad answers: BTDTWTTS (Been There, Done That, Worn That T Shirt). In the mists of time, as an experiment I wrote a simple terminal program in NC BASIC which basically consisted of opening the "COM" device as a file and reading/writing characters to it (sitting in a loop printing received characters on the screen and looking for keys and writing them out). The good news was that it does actually work (just) but the bad news is that the speed of BASIC means that it couldn't cope with more than 300baud. As such I'd have to say that it would be a bit of a pointless excercise because once you get into the realms of email (ie SMTP and PPP on top of TCP/IP) there is a whole lot more processing involved which would probably drop the possible speed to about 30baud in which case a good pen, piece of paper, envelope and stamp may be a quicker solution!!

Oscar Fattorini in Southport, Merseyside, UK at 13:19:31 Sunday August 10 97
I have a pc3386sx with 4x256k 80 ns sims (1 Mb) i need to upgrade to 8 Mb and bought 2x4Mb 70 ns simms but when I fitted them , the pc does not start perhaps the links lk 17 throuh to lk 24 are not very clear in your table, could ypu please indicate if the simms are the right choice as far as size and speed are concerned or should I use some other combination of simms?
Amstrad answers: The problem you've got is that the 3386SX has to have four identical SIMMs which means that the only possible options are four 256K SIMMs to give you 1MB, four 1MB SIMMs to give you 4MB or four 4MB SIMMs to give you 16MB. Therefore you will need to buy and install another two 4MB SIMMs alongside the ones you just got. Having done this remove all four links 19, 20, 21 and 22 to indicate that 16MB is fitted.

charles packer in Isle of Wight at 13:22:45 Saturday August 9 97
I want to upgrade a pc1512dd for a student friend. Ive got a Quantum 50mb hard drive that I would like to fit as well as a 3 1/2 drive. From my memories of owning a 1640 it was very difficult to fit a higher grade floppy due to the bios. Also are there any converters so that the mono monitor will fit in a standard soket.
Amstrad answers: It's not the BIOS that limits the floppy to 720K, it's the speed of the disk data separator in the FD interface so you can add a 3.5" drive but it must be 720K, there's no way a 1.44 can be used (short of a new FDC but then there's the problem that you cannot disable the onboard FDC). As for the HD you didn't say whether it was MFM, RLL or IDE. My guess is it's IDE but whatever it is, you are going to need to find a matching XT (not AT) 8-bit hard disk controller. Once you've got that it's a simple matter of plug in and go (the joys of XT versus AT!!). As for the monitor, I wasn't clear whether you were hpoing to use a different monitor on the 1512 or the 1512 monitor on a different machine. However that is pretty incidental as the "weird" design of 1512 graphics controller means that no such switching round is possible. Sorry about that.

Rachna Gupta in India at 8:7:2 Friday August 8 97
Please refer to my earlier posting of 30th July. The problem of Machine not recognising the hard disk is over. They have put new batteries in their system. Now when they set the hard disk type as 17 , there is no option on the screen to save it. Also as you indicated that the hard disk is 40 MB, but the hard disk shows 63 MB. But in any case they can now work on C:. But every time they boot the machine they have to repeat the process of putting the setup disk in A: and the rest. On hard boot if they do not have the setup disk in A: it gives a non system disk error. Could you please advise what should they do so that they do not have to repeat this setup process.
Amstrad answers: When you press [Esc] to exit from the Setup program, if you have made any changes, it should pop up and say "These are the options you have picked, press [Esc] to discard them or [Return] to save them". In your case you should press [Return] and (assuming the battery is properly connected and working) it will save the hard disk type number once and for all.

Keith Woodhouse in Southampton - England at 14:4:6 Tuesday August 5 97
So if I cant make the Amstrad DMP-1 printer work with an Epson driver (according to the info on the 'Printers' web sit) ,How can i get it to work under Windows 3.1? Does anyone have a printer driver for this old machine?
Amstrad answers: The only driver you could possibly use in Windows is the "Generic/Text only" driver but you obviously wont be able to print any sort of graphics or Truetype fonts.

Steve Way in Plymouth U.K. at 22:9:56 Monday August 4 97
I own an NC100 which I purchased cheaply as it did not have a manual etc.... Recently I have been trying to transfer files from the NC100 to my Win 95 Computer using Hyper Terminal. If I try to transfer using XModem I just get errors stating "no packet". The setting I'm using are 1) On the NC100 9600, 8/1, none, off 2) Hyper Terminal 9600, 8, 1, none , Hardware. Heyelp
Amstrad answers: There is a question on this very page where I suggested how to connect NC100 and HyperTerm (sounds like you're on the right lines anyway). I hope this might answer your question. Click here to see it.

leisha in Sydney, Australia at 23:12:40 Sunday August 3 97
I have a NC100 notepad, can you tell me step by step how to get the serial and terminal program to work so i can transfer, I hope you will be able to help
Amstrad answers: The very best description of this is to be found in the user manual (wot I wrote!)

Michael James in Harlow, UK at 12:56:30 Friday August 1 97
Can someone tell me where I can buy an NC200? I really need a text editor which I can use anywhere and as I've already used Protext on both the Atari ST and on my PC it would be really useful. I've looked through all manner of second hand magazines (Micro Mart etc), for sale ads in the local papers but still have had no luck. Hopefully someone has one for sale or can tell me where I can buy one. Thanks.
Amstrad answers: The last I knew was that we had sold all remaining NC100/200 units to Tandy and I have seen some NC100s on sale in a local Tandy store so that would probably be the best place to ask but it's possible that they have either sold the stock on or sold out in which case I'm afraid it will be very difficult to find one. Sorry about that as I agree that it would be a great solution for you (well I am a bit biased as it's my computer!)

Rachna Gupta in India at 7:23:15 Wednesday July 30 97
My Aunt has a PC 2286 (V1.11). Her brother bought it from London and gave it to her in India. I haven't seen the machine but they have a problem. When they power on the machine They get the following commands: Please set time and date Please set user options - Run setup Please fit new Batteries. Insert a System Disk into drive A. Then press any key. Now they put in a System floppy of DOS6.22 and it comes to A: If they try to do C: on the A prompt, it gives an error message - Invalid drive specification So basically the problem is that it does not recognise the C drive. They don't know what version of DOS do they have in their machine. They have tries to format the machine but again it does not recognise the C drive. They tried running wordstar from a floppy and it works. So as long as their games or the software is in a floppy it reads but does not reach drive C. I have also downloaded the setup program for PC 2286 which you have provided. Please help
Amstrad answers: The problem is simply that an AT type machine won't recognise it's hard disk until the type number is set correctly. All you need do is make sure there are healthy batteries in the machine then put a copy of that Setup.Exe program onto the DOS 6.22 disk that is being used to start the machine. Once the A:\> prompt appears type the command Setup then use the screen that appears to set the hard disk type number to 17 (which is the correct number the standard 40MB drive as supplied in a 2286). Save the change and reboot after removing the floppy disk. You should now find that MS-DOS loads from the hard disk. Even if it doesn't you should find that typing C: allows you to access the data on the hard disk. As it probably contains MS-DOS 4.01 you will probably want to boot from the 6.22 floppies and then give the command SYS C: to upgrade the hard disk to 6.22. Finally copy the contents of the 6.22 floppies into C:\DOS o replace the 4.01 utilities with their 6.22 equivalents.

Giorgio Verdiani in Carrara, Italia at 17:28:44 Monday July 28 97
Does the PPC640 need a special operative system to operate? I tried with a boot-disk made with Dos 6.22 and with Dos 3.3 But none of them works... Thank you
Amstrad answers: You definitely should be able to boot a PPC with any version of MS-DOS, PC-DOS or DR-DOS but the one very important fact to remember is that it's floppy drive can ONLY read 720K, not 1.44M disks. So if you are preparing a boot disk on another DOS based machine that has DOS 3.3 or 6.22 installed you MUST use the command FORMAT A: /S /F:720 to force it to be a 720K system format disk.

Paul W. Yocom in Titusville, Florida USA at 15:45:51 Monday July 21 97
I have a Amstrad PPC640 that will only give me a "Please wait ....." message when I turn it on. Maybe the problem is related to the ROM BIOS but I don't have a copy of the ROM BIOS. I will take any and all assistance. Also, is it possible to put 1.44 Meg. floppy drives on this model and have them recognized as 1.44 Meg. units? Help, right now my PPC640 is nothing more than a paperweight until I can fix it.
Amstrad answers: Not sure what you mean by the statement that you don't have a copy of the ROM BIOS. It is the ROM BIOS that is printing that "Please wait..." message. Basically the machine starts up, prints "Please wait" then prints a dot as it completes each teest of things like parallel, serial, memory, keyboard, RTC, etc. If it fails during this process it will normally print a message to say what failed but if, for example, it was a ROM fault then it might crash during the process which explains what you're seeing. As it will almost certainly cost more to repair the machine than it is actually worth (about £20-30, $32-$48) you might be better off using it as a paper weight and looking for a replacement machine second hand.

As for adding a 1.44Mb I'm afraid that the disk data separator chip in the PPC does not run at sufficiently high a clock speed to do anything better than 720K. There is no way round this.

Chris Johnson in Sheffield, UK at 13:45:17 Saturday July 19 97
Old (old) computer - Speccy +2 (Grey case *not* the enhanced black case version): Amstrad made this computer many moons ago when the 8-bits were all the rage, but I've had no success finding information on the RS232 port on the back of this beast. What I'm looking for is either the ROM calls for sending/receivng data, and setting baud rates et al, or how to program it manually (ie, what port is it on). I'd prefer the ROM locations as it is less problematic :-) Alternatively, Amstrad wouldn't know of a terminal emulator for the +2 would they (just something to read & write to the serial port, a la Windows Terminal). Cheers, Chris...
Amstrad answers: While I wasn't involved in the +2 I did write quite a lot of the code in the +2A and I have a strong feeling that the serial interface on that was implemented in exactly the same way as the +2 so looking at the +2A manual it says that the serial interface is actually done using the parallel I/O register (14) in the AY-3-8912 sound chip with the bits assigned as 2=CTS out - pin5, 3=RxD out - pin 3, 6=DTR in - pin 4 and 7=TxD in - pin 2. The AY-3-8912 is read/written by first writing the register number (14 in this case) to port FFFD and then reading back from FFFD to see the current contents or writing to BFFD to write new contents. If you get stuck with this there is an excellent news group for Sinclair machines which I believe is called comp.sys.sinclair and you'll find loads of "gurus" there who know an awful lot more about this than I do. There's probably also a FAQ with the information in.

Neil Soper in Guildford, UK at 21:38:39 Thursday July 17 97
My wife just bought an NC100 from a Tandy shop for �50 as it came without a box or manuals. She would like to use it for document entry for later upload to our Windows 95 PC. I have bought a female/female 9 pin null modem cable to connect the 2 machines, kicked of Hyperterms XMODEM receive, then done an XMODEM send from the NC100. However no characters are being sent. What comms settings should I be using? I have tried 2400 bps with 8 bit no parity and 1 stop bit, and both RTS/CTS and XON/XOFF. However no joy. I don't want to have to send off for a manual set just to do this, please advise ... (Sorry if this is trivial)
Amstrad answers: The following is a short precis of part of my NC100 manual. First look at the menu reached by pressing the Secret/Menu key from the opening NC screen. Make sure that Document transfer port and format is set to either Serial/ASCII or Serial/Protext (depending on whether you want formatting codes removed during transfer). Next make sure that the cable is wired (from the NC100 end) 2 to 3, 3 to 2, 4 to 6, 5 to 5, 7 to 8 and 8 to 7 (may be able to check this with a multimeter/battery and bulb). Connect the two computers and start HyperTerm on the PC and press Function-S on the NC to start it's Serial Terminal program. Press the Secret/Menu key while in the terminal to get to the screen where you configure baud rate etc. The normal default of 9600, 8 bit, no parity, 1 stop should not need to be changed. Exit from the config menu and as long as PC is also set to 9600,n,8,1 you should find that typing on each keyboard produces characters on the screen at the other end. Only once you've got this simple conversation working can you then contemplate the complexities of Xmodem transfer. One thing to realise is that NC uses Xmodem/Checksum while HyperTerm is Xmodem/CRC. This doesn't really matter but it does mean that on a transfer it will take HyperT 10 seconds after starting the transfer before it will switch back to Checksum from CRC. Fraid that's about as much of the manual as I can reproduce in this limited space. If you still get no joy email me or drop another question/message on this page.

Robert Newman in Adelaide AUSTRALIA at 10:56:35 Thursday July 17 97
Have alt386 laptop. Using Dos 6.22. Unable to access functions to use external monitor or keyboard. Also unable to locate original disks in australia. No-one here seems to want to have anything to do with them. Pity, they are a top machine. Any ideas of how to overcome those problems.
Amstrad answers: You need the DISPLAY or SWITCHER utilities that you can download from my file library here. However this doesn't explain why the external keyboard isn't working. It should just work without any program being run and it has nothing to do with which version of DOS you are using.

john rowan in tidworth at 23:12:7 Tuesday July 15 97
The local club that i am a member of have purchased a 2nd hand pc3386 without any instructions/handbooks. We are trying to load msdos 6.22 and ultimately windows. The problem that we have is that it will not accept the disks. It is perfectly alright when loading msdos 5. It will not however even read dos 6.22 or windows disks from the dir command. I understand that dos 6.22 can't or shouldn't be loaded over the top of dos 5 and have even formatted the hd and tried to boot from the 6.22 disks. There is no fault with the 6.22 disks as I have used them on my own machine recently. Can you help?
Amstrad answers: There should be no problem upgading from DOS 5 to 6.22 and I can't think of any reason why a 3386 should have a problem reading the disks. All I can think is that you made copies of the disks on a machine who's drive was running too slow/fast or that the 3386 drive is running too slow/fast so that each machine can read it's own disks but not those from the other. Do you have some other 3rd party disks that you could try reading in each machine to see which one has the dodgy floppy drive. Once you've identified that you may find that it is the motor drive band in the faulty drive that has stretched and needs replacing.

Tom Gubler in Australia at 12:18:59 Thursday July 10 97
I have been given a NC100 Notepad computer. If I turn it on holding down the Function, Control & Symbol keys a Self Test program runs that says the computer is fine but I cannot access the programs that I presume are stored in the ROM - (word processor, etc). There is an empty memory card slot, is something required in it? How can I determine if the computer is faulty or get information/manuals etc. Thanks for this Tom
Amstrad answers: Nope that slot is for expansion and does not need to be filled for the machine to work. It should simply be the case that switching on shows three panels across the screen that allow you to select various functions including th word processor. If they don't appear at a normal power on then it suggests that there is a fault with the ROM. Because the test software is stored in lower order addresses within the ROM it is possible that it could execute even if a PCB fault, dry joint, solder splash or whatever meant that the upper address lines to the ROM were faulty. You could try contacting CPC in the UK to see about getting a replacement ROM but even that may not fix the problem as it is more likely that the problem lies somewhere in the addressing logic that runs to the ROM chip. I think it would need to be serviced by a professional engineer who could, for example, put a scope on the upper address lines from the CPU and on the lines to the ROM and see if one or more is stuck.

raj patel in london at 14:39:46 Tuesday July 8 97
Where can i find driver files for my amstrad printer lq5000i or nearest to this model? I have upgraded to windows 95 and I can't use this printer. Thank you
Amstrad answers: I guess you didn't see this then?

Dave Church at 11:56:37 Tuesday July 8 97
Where do you get a software disc for the PPF600 plain paper fax, so you can use it with a computer
Amstrad answers: All fax products are dealt with by Betacom plc (one of the Amstrad group companies) so I suggest you contact them about the software. They have an email domain so try sending a message to postmaster@betacom.co.uk

Stefan Farrelly in SURREY UK. at 15:42:17 Wednesday July 2 97
I have Windows 3.1 on an Amstrad PC 2386 and an unable to run the existing mouse. I have tried it both with and without the DOS driver but with no success. I have also tried a serial mouse which did not work either. HELP.
Amstrad answers: This is actually such a common question that your message is the straw that broke the camel's back and persuaded me to finally up date the information here.

Jacky Malcolm in Carnoustie, Angus at 22:35:42 Tuesday July 1 97
My friend has just been given an Amstrad PC1512 with no manual. He knows nothing about PCs and I don't know much more, but he has invited me to try to activate his machine...Help!! I haven't seen it yet but from what I understand it has 2 disk drives (5 1/4 inch) and he has a bundle of disks. Could you please give me a quick run down of how to boot it up and get it running before I go there tomorrow and embarras myself due to my ignorance? I would be eternally grateful. Jacky Malcolm
Amstrad answers: Well I guess the first question is - have you ever used an IBM PC compatible computer? If you have then you already know all the answers. The 1512 was the first really successful clone of the the IBM PC XT and works just like it. That means that when you first switch it on it will try and read the floppy disk in A: and if it finds a bootable operating system (MS-DOS, DR-DOS, PC-DOS, DOS Plus, etc.) it will load it and start running presenting you with the familiar A:\> prompt at which you can then type any of the MS-DOS commands or the name of an executable program file (.EXE) that you find on the disk (using the DIR command). If you don't put a disk in when the unit is switched on it will either give you a message inviting you to do so or it will start from the hard disk if one is fitted.

R. S. Kohus in Atlanta, GA United States at 5:2:24 Tuesday July 1 97
I have given an old 1512 to my 4yr old nephew so that he can get used to "banging" around on a computer before I give him something more up to date [For Multimedia Learning]. The problem is that during a recent move his parents have lost the mouse, now the system will not boot up. It locks with a check mouse and keyboard message. My question is this, Is there a way to bypass the machine looking for the mouse or is there a mouse that would fit it still available? While I still had this machine I made several modifications to it. Through the use of cards I have it using an American made trackball through a serial port on the card and with a Western Digital 8bit HD card have added a pair of External hard drives. It also has an old 2400 modem. It has always been a good running machine and would be a shame to lose it now due to a missing mouse. I would appreciate any advice I could get on getting this machine up and running again, without spending a ridiculous amount to do so, Thanks for your help. Looking forward to a responce. By the way, I tried using a standard 2 button mitsumi mouse with a gender changer attached, but it still gave the same error message.
Amstrad answers: I think you are being a little bit misled by that error message. At switch on the machine does not go looking for a mouse. It does, however, look to see if any keys appear to be permanently stuck down and that includes the two buttons on the mouse as well as the 96 keys on the keyboard. So what the message is really saying is "I've had a look at your keyboard and the two mouse buttons and something appears to be stuck down". As you've said that the mouse isn't present this means that the problem must lie in the keyboard. Perhaps a key got damaged in transit? The second reason why the message might be produced is if you turn on without the keyboard (but NOT mouse) being connected at all it will also complain - so maybe the plug isn't pushed in completely. Other meece cannot be used on the 1512 mouse port because it has extremely strange electronics/timing signals. Only an Amstrad mouse can be used. If you want to use the Mitsumi mouse then get a 9 to 25 pin converter and plug it onto the 25 pin serial port at the back of the machine.

Tom Palmer in Colorado Springs, CO at 20:13:10 Monday June 30 97
My father has an AMSTRAD PC 1512SD. However, he does not have a manual for the PC. I have checked the alternate web sites and have not found any info on how to locate one. Please advise on how to obtain the manual. Thank you.
Amstrad answers: As noted elsewhere on these pages all spares including manuals are available from CPC. However if you just have a single specific question it might be easier just to ask here or email me. The fact is that the 1512 is pretty much an IBM PC workalike so you should be able to just do all the standard things you would on a PC.

paul friel in N.IRELAND at 2:23:45 Saturday June 28 97
I am having a problem booting my machine,with no disk in floppy drive,it halts before starting ms-dos, as if it is not reading the hard drive. It had drvspace installed and had three drive letters C:D:I: I tried to changed it back to a none compressed drive, but could only get rid of drive I: I can't get into the bios,the normal keys don't seem to work. The machine I am using is a amstrad sx 386. I would be very happy if any one could help? Thanks Paul Friel
Amstrad answers: If booting from hard disk does not work then you should try booting from a floppy disk. That should always work. Once you have got DOS started you can then start to investigate what's wrong with the HD. First try a C: command and see if you can access the hard drive. If not have a look at it with FDISK and see what that has to say about partition information. If you have a drivespace problem then I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere for help as I used to understand how it works whn I used it but I'm afraid that's a bit of a distant memory now. You didn't say which model of 386SX it was (3386, 4386, 5386, 7386?) but in any case it should be possible to get to the BIOS using either [F1] or [Del] as it boots up or possibly [Ctrl], [Alt], [S] at the A:\> prompt.

Spartacus in Niagara Falls, Canada, Tuesday June 24, 1997 at 18:29:18 Tuesday June 24 97
I have an old DMP3160 24 pin printer, and I'd like to use it with Win95. I have tried diferent Epson drivers included with Win95 and it doesn�t work. I do not know what I should do?
Amstrad answers: I'm not sure what's going on here with both you and Sergio (below). The fact is that the DMP printers ARE Epson compatible and so Windows 95 shouldn't be able to see any difference between driving a DMP or a "real" Epson. I wonder if the problem is a more fundamental low level thing? If it was me the first thing I would try is to select the "Generic/Text Only" in Win95 and see if that will print. If that doesn't work then it shows that the is a more fundamental electronic problem because that doesn't assume any intelligence in the printer and just sends it plain ASCII characters. If they don't print then it suggests a problem in the interface/cable. If anyone else readin this has a DMP working under Win95 I wonder if they could email me or write here just to let us all know that we're not going nuts!

sergio laspalas in pamplona, spain at 6:31:4 Tuesday June 24 97
I have an old DMP4000 printer, and I�d like to use it with Win95. I have tried with FX100 drivers from epson included with Win95 and it doesn�t work. What should I do?
Amstrad answers: Please see answer to the question above.

Kevin Evans in Derby, England at 17:42:58 Sunday June 22 97
I own an Amstrad Pen Pad (PDA600), and have somehow managed to crack the screen... How do I go about getting it repaired? Please help as my wife uses it for work daily!
Amstrad answers: I presume it is the digi rather than the actual LCD that is broken? In either case it is fairly easy to replace either unit as they have clip on connectors to the PCB (pull surrounding collar forward to release ribbon cable). Replacement LCDs/digis may be available from CPC or, failing that, SCA (sca@sussex.co.uk) or that German company listed on the PDA page. However be warned that spare components are priced at the time of building the machine (so the LCD may cost $80) and now you can buy a whole PDA for $80!!

nasser ali el-sayed bakr in UK (norwich) until 04/07/97, then Egypt at 17:38:0 Tuesday June 17 97
I am on a study course in England. I have recently bought a second-hand PCW9512 and would like to take it back to Egypt with me at the end of my course. But I would like to know first whether I may be the only owner and user of this type of computer in Egypt. Are there any other PCW9512's in Egypt? If I take my one to Egypt, and I have a hardware problem, can I get it repaired? Are there any sources of software in Egypt? Are there any users in Egypt who would like to make contact with me so that we can collaborate?
Amstrad answers: I don't think we ever "officially" sold the PCW in Egypt but it was sold in the Greece, Cyprus and Malta which (according to my rather hazy grasp of geography) maybe aren't a million miles from Egypt. You might be able to get one repaired there if necessary. If it did need repairing it might actually be easier to get the necessary spares from CPC in the UK then get a local TV repairman to have a look at actually doing the repair.

Ben Tayler, in UK. at 11:30:32 Monday June 16 97
Dear Cliff , Thanks for your Previous advice. Is there any chance that you could help me with this request for GEM software files? At the moment my poor old Amstrad, Is asking for the Gem Desktop files, but the problem is that i dont have the 3 files it requires. 1) desklo.icn 2) deskhi.icn 3) desktop.inf (? I believe that is right) Unfortuanatly i dont know the gem version (that is if there is more than one), The Amstrad is a 1640. But the gem does enable me to pull up Finnesse (DTP) and use it. Having tried to use a diferent version of gem that i had previously used on the 1512 i seem to be getting mouse trails, but it worked perfectly on the old 1512. Thanks for your time, P.S. I will add a link to the 'Amstad Home Pages'
Amstrad answersL I believe this might just be your lucky day! I was able to find sets of both 1512 and 1640 systems disks (and a PC that would read 10 year old 360K disks!) so I have put copies of the complete disk sets for both 1512 and 1640 into my archive which you can access here.

Robin Fiddelaers in Belgium at 14:12:41 Sunday June 15 97
In april '96 I bought me an Amstrad Integra P75. Now the store where i bought it doesn't exist anymore. But there is a password that bothers me from accessing my BIOS. I tried all overrides i could think off (jumper on Mainboard, disconnecting battery, several BIOS cracking programs) but i simply can't access the BIOS. I am a PC-technician for several years now, but i feel leek a mechanic who can't open his own car. Are there any solutions for my problem. Oh yeah, Amstrad doesn't exist anymore in Belgium I heard ? Great ! Please Reply
Amstrad answers: It's not just Amstrad in Belgium that has closed, by the end of July there will be no more Amstrad at all. However I'll still try to keep these pages going even though I now work for Betacom.
As for the BIOS password on that machine. I'm totally astonished that either making the "reset BIOS" link or disconnecting the battery didn't clear it. Did you give it long enough. I'd give it at least 30 minutes just to be sure in case residual capacitance continues to power the CMOS. If all else fails I fear you'll have to contact Viglen who provide support on the more recent Amstrad PCs (cos we own them). They can be found at www.viglen.co.uk.

Jeremy Crook at 16:13:26 Friday June 13 97
Thanks for the programming info on the Notepad NC100. I have a few more questions :- In the Programming notes it says that the Parallel port is write only, does this port have a uni-directional output buffer or can I convert it into an input port (or better still a proper I/O port). Secondly, do you know of any good data sheets/books on the PCMCIA standard as used on the notepad (most of the books I,ve seen are realy expensive.) And lastly is there any chance of a circuit diagram (I,m sorry if I give the impression of being pushy but thats the effect the Internet has on me). Thanks once again.
Amstrad answers: The parallel is quite definitely unidirectional however if you think about it there are actually something like 9 bits of output (D0..D7 and Strobe) and 4 bits of input (Ack, Paper Out, etc.). I know that, for example, Arnor created a parallel file transfer kit for the NC machines which basically used 8 bits from NC to PC and used a 4 bit nybble mode channel using those control lines (I think that the IEE1284 standard goes into immense detail about all this).
As for PCMCIA I can't help feeling that there must be a www.pc-card.com or suchlike. I wonder if they'd have freely available documents about it? Remember that the PCMCIA (more recently known as simply PC card) interface on an NC is NOT type 2 so it does NOT have anything but memory address and data lines. It CANNOT be used for connecting I/O devices such as modems, ethernet cards, etc. etc.
As for circuit diagrams, I do have some in Orcad format somewhere but they don't appear to be on my HD which means they're on an old archive tape so the chances of me finding them are probably between nil and zero.

Giel van Noort in The Hague (Netherlands) at 23:51:31 Wednesday June 11 97
Dear Cliff, I'm looking for a more modern (true windows) version of the Index Link PC-software for the Amstrad IndexPhone ix1000 . I guess this may be not the complete right place to put this question but I thought I recognized your picture as an icon in the original software. Thanks in advance!
Amstrad answers: Shucks, I cannot tell a lie - it was I! However what I'm afraid I can also tell you is that there only was ever that one version of the software made. There was no later Windows based version so I'm afraid it has to be that DOS app with just the icon that runs it from the Program Manager/Start Menu.

Jeremy Crook in UK at 17:36:48 Wednesday June 11 97
I,ve just been given two NC100 Notepads. One works OK the other seems to be a bit unwell. I'd like to use the machines to control some home made robots as my P.C. isn't that portable. The BBC basic seems to work quite well and i've used the inbuilt assembler with some success although I don't know how to make O.S. calls as you can on a BBC computer. My first question is, is it possible? My second question is have you got the details and can I have them as well? Thirdly, is there any data on the Hardware i/o addresses, lcd programming codes, memory paging techniques etc. Lastly I have in the past reprogrammed ROMS for other small 8 bit Z80 computers, is there any chance you could put me in touch with the necessary information to do this with the Notepad as it would be ideal to use as the basis for some other projects I am working on. Sorry about all the questions but your little machine seems to be the answer to a lot of my problems. Thanks very much :-)
Amstrad answers: I kind of guess you will already have found it but the low level programming info about NC100 is to be found here. Those fixed firmware entry points can be called from your BASIC based ASM program just as easily as from a PCMCIA card program.
As for programming ROMS to make a turnkey solution that isn't entirely possible as there's no real way to separate the existing menu system from the underluying OS (and hence replace the main ROM). However there are two other potential mechanisms for running your program but they will both require a double key press after switch on to start them. First you can call a Basic program "Auto" and then it will run automatically when you press Function-B. The alternative is to generate a binary program image on a PCMICA SRAM card and this would then require the user to press Function-X after switch on to eXecute the program on the card.

Ben Tayler in Uk. at 14:48:12 Tuesday June 10 97
I have a amstrad 1640. Is it posibe to fit a second hard disc. if so How ? P.s. Nice site.
Amstrad answers: Yup, fairly easy. You've got two choices. If you can find a mechanism that's identical to the one already attached to the existing controller then it'll just be a question of hanging it off the same controller card (usually there are two sets of connections). If you want to add a different type then you'll need a second controller (the 1640 is one of the few XT PCs ever made that could host two different HD controllers). Usually the simple answer is to stick with the existing HD/controller and stick a "hard card" into one of the slots. You may be able to pick up a second hand one but make sure it's 8-bit. As an alternative you might want to try and find an 8-bit IDE card then just hang a single, large capacity, modern drive off it. Course then you want to consider whether it is really worth spending very much on a computer who's complete value is about £30.

Martin Connelly in Leasingham, Lincs at 20:58:50 Monday June 9 97
Sorry about forgetting to mention the type of computer on Saturday, your guess at a PCW was correct, specifically a 9512. As nothing happens when the printer is disconnected I presume the fault is on the CPU board. Could you be more specific as to which chip(s) are fried or is it impossible to say without testing? Additionally I have a working CPC6128 and wonder if this can be used to retrieve files from the 9512 and if so how.
Amstrad answers: As you'll see there isn't very much on a PCW main board. You've got a Z80, a gate array, some RAM, a disk controller and then there is a printer controller chip which actually serves two purposes in life. It obviously interfaces to the cable connecting the printer but it's second, less obvious job in life, is that because the PCW does not have any other ROM memory, when it is switched on the printer controllers own ROM is switched to vbe visible in the Z80's address map and it is code there that runs the "bootstrap" that is responsible for loading the rest of the CP/M or Locoscript from floppy. Thus you can see that if the printer controller is damaged it explains why the machine won't boot. The solution might be to replace that chip but it may be something else connected (perhaps address decode or something) that has gone West. Like I say, CPC might charge you £20 for the chip alone while you can get a whole PCW for about £25. A CPC cannot normally read PCW disks because it uses a slightly different format but they are effectively two different flavours of the same thing (as long as they are 170K not 720K disks!) and I think there may be utility software for the CPC that allows it to read PCW disks. I'd suggest a look at comp.sys.amstrad.8bit as you may find someone who's got a suitable utility there. However that's only half the battle because you may be able to read the files but you won't understand them as they will be in Locoscript format.

Martin Connelly in Leasingham, Lincolnshire at 14:0:15 Saturday June 7 97
What goes wrong when the printer plug is connected/dis-connected whilst the machine is switched on. I would like to fix my neighbours machine for her as she has old files she wants to access and it went wrong when the printer plug was loose and was re-attached with power on. The disk drive light comes on but the screen remains blank.
Amstrad answers: You didn't say what type of computer but I'll take a wild stab and guess that we are talking about a PCW here because probably the most common way of "killing" one was to plug/unplug the printer while the thing was switched on. The problem is that there are some 24 volt lines in the printer cable and plugging/unplugging while "live" often results in the printer controller chip on either the PCW main board or within the printer mechanism "blowing up". This is very expensive to repair and as a second hand PCW only costs about £25 it is actually cheaper to pick up a whole replacement machine from the small ads of a local paper.

Lawrence R Clayton in Warwick, Qld. Australia at 10:32:57 Saturday June 7 97
I'm currently working on an Amstrad PC 1512DD. The computer is to be used by my Mother in Law. I have taken out a hard disk controller and hard disk (20meg) from a dead PC 1640 and put same into the PC 1512. My problem is that I have the last 3 original disks of the four supplied with the PC 1640. Hence I need (possibly) a display driver file called dispchk.com and the mouse driver. I got the mouse driver off this Web page, but still need the dispchk.com file. Can you email same to me. Thanking You for any help. Lawrie
Amstrad answers: Well I imagine you'll already have found the mouse driver as it is on my file download page here. As for DISPCHK. You will not need this for a 1512 because it existed in the batch files of a 1640 where it was possible that the user might have either a CD, ECD or MD type of display and the software had to adapt accordingly. On the 1512 there was no such program as all 1512's are effectively CGA (even the black and white ones!).

Roberto Elini in Bologna - Italia at 2:27:50 Saturday June 7 97
I'm not sure you received my message two days ago, so I re-write. About my PC2386/65 that doesn't boot (my message on May 31): I already set extended memory to 3456 and in Config.sys Himem.sys is before Emm386.exe, but when system reads "C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE" it locks up without any message, while if I delete the above statement the machine boots normally. Thanks a lot
Amstrad answers: Unless I'm very much mistaken the answer to your question is the very next paragraph below this one... - I think your copy of EMM386 is corrupt.

Roberto Elini in Bologna - Italia at 0:8:47 Friday June 6 97
About my PC2386/65 that doesn't boot: I already set extended memory to 3456 and in CONFIG.SYS Himem.sys is before Emm, but when system reads "C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE, it locks up without any message. One more question: how is it possible connecting a 200Mb HD (685Cyl,16H,38Sec) if there is no a user defined type hard disk in BIOS table?
Amstrad answers: Sounds like a corrupt copy of EMM386 then because be assured that it most certainly does work normally on a 2386 as I used it for several years before changing to QEMM and eventually WIn 95
As for adding an HD there are some words of wisdom about this here. The best answer is probably an "intelligent" IDE interface but I think you'll also find that with big drives (>512M) where you've got to use something like "Disk Manager" anyway, that it doesn't really matter what the BIOS is set to as DM handles it all anyway.

Alex Borthwick in Aberdeen at 0:28:6 Thursday June 5 97
I installed windows for workgroups on my PC2386/65 and the mouse no longer works in windows. The mouse works ok in DOS When I purchased the computer I had to run a program called UPDATE.W3 so that the mouse would work in windows 3.0. Said program having been carelessly mislaid I can't try it again. I assumed that it was really mousefix.exe and downloaded this to find that the patch had already been applied to mouse.sys. Can you give me any pointers (sorry, its getting late) to my problem? Many thanks, Alex
Amstrad answers: You should still be able to use that MOUSE.SYS - if it is loaded in CONFIG.SYS then when Windows starts it should see that there is already a mouse driver in memory and not bother to try and use it's own internal mouse driver. Having said that I believe that the MS mouse driving method changed betweeb Win 3.1 and Win 4WG so if all this fails the next easiest thing is to throw away the existing mouse and spend about £5 on a new serial mouse which will work fine.

holovathy pal in Budapest at 10:59:19 Wednesday June 4 97
I have typ #1640. I hope ask inform of expanded of my mashine Possible extend and mode of expand. please inform me. Thank you. Pal Holvaty
Amstrad answers: There isn't very much you can do to expand a 1640. It's only an 8068 processor so processor upgrades are not really possible. It already has the full 640K that an 8086 can address so the only way to expand memory is to add a LIM Expanded memory card but that would probably cost more than a whole new PC. The HD could be increased but you'd need to find an 8-bit IDE interface card and they are VERY difficult to find. To be honest you'd be better off selling the machine 2nd hand and then using that money towards a newer machine.

Andy Thring in Sydney, Australia at 6:12:29 Tuesday June 3 97
What an excellent site you have - congrats. I left the UK for Oz to escape 1) Margaret Thatcher, 2) Alan Sugar, to date it's been a good decision. However, I am now crawling to your superior knowledge on bended knees.
My mate is a vet who uses an LQ3500 printer to do labels from a continuous roll using tractor feed; it is hung off a Novell 3.12 network. When he tries to print, he gets an "out of paper" error. Having checked ot the LAN, I'm pretty sure the printer is at fault. I'll confirm this by loading up an Epson LQ550 driver onto my Win95 laptop, and connecting it directly.
I can't source an LQ3500 replacement over here, so is there any simple, bleeding obvious fault (such as a sticky microswitch, etc) that could be causing the error? I'm reluctant to recommend he replaces the printer with a bubblejet, because then I'll have to dig into his network, install new drivers, get new stationary, etc, etc . . .
Andy Thring
Amstrad answers: Well the way the Novell print server gets the impression that the printer has no paper is that one of the control lines from the printer is something like "Paper Out" so I guess you could just cut that wire in the cable (and perhaps tie it to +5) and it will never tell the PC that the paper's out.

Mike at 14:30:34 Sunday June 1 97
Where can I find info + drivers for the sound card fitted in the 4386 SX PC ? Thanks.
Amstrad answers: If I remember rightly that's a bog standard Adlib compatible so just use Adlib drivers for it but be warned that Adlib implies ONLY FM synthesis so it won't play WAV files. As these days you can get a decent SB compatible for only a few dollars I'd recommend replacing that card with something a bit more 1990's.

Roberto Elini in Bologna - Italia at 1:50:39 Saturday May 31 97
I have a PC2386/65 (I got it from a friend) and I put DOS 6.2 on the HD, but when the machine boots, it stops at the statement "DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE" in config.sys. If I rem the above line, it boots normally. Why???
Amstrad answers: You say it "stops" does it produce an error message or are you saying that it "locks up"? It could be as simple as the fact that you must set extended memory in Setup to 3456 and load Himem.sys before Emm in Config.Sys

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