How to emulate an Amiga 1200 on your Linux PC or Raspberry Pi (2023)

In 1989, Tim Burton's Batman film hit theaters and advertising campaigns went into overdrive to promote the Caped Crusader. At Commodore, his marketing team signed a deal with Warner Brothers Pictures and Batman would appear on the Amiga. The Amiga 500 "Batman Pack" became the cult package with which this humble home computer dominated the market.

But the Amiga 500 wasn't the first machine in the Amiga range. That honor goes to the Amiga 1000 used by Andy Warhol to digitally alter a photo of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry in 1985. However, the Amiga 500 was the machine that had the biggest impact on the 16-bit home computing scene. With 512 KB RAM and a 7 MHz 68,000 CPU, the Amiga 500 was much more than a slot machine. It was a competent office computer, music creation tool, artist studio and television workhorse, capable of combining live television with graphics created on the Amiga.

Emulation is a great way to get into the Amiga scene and there are a large number of emulators for different platforms. For Windows users there isCloanto's friend forever, a software package that provides all the files needed to emulate various Amiga models and many different applications. For about 60 dollars we can buy the premium edition with three DVDs with software and videos.

Raspberry PiUsers can install Amibian (https://www.amibian.org/) which is a fully Amiga-centric distribution for the Pi. All you need to bring are your Kickstart ROMs to serve as Amiga BIOS and disk images for an instant touch of nostalgia. There are other emulators for Windows, Linux and macOS likeFS WATER(Win UAE for Windows) that offers a friendly and comprehensive way to experience the Amiga. And this is where we started our journey, emulating an Amiga 1200 with extra RAM and an internal hard drive on our Ubuntu machine.

what will you need

• A computer running Linux
• Amiga Kickstart-ROM
• Amiga Workbench 3.1 Disk-Images
• A copy of Cloanto's Amiga Forever Plus Edition

Configure the emulator

1.Download the recommended download fromhttps://fs-uae.net/downloadand extract the files.

2.Open a terminal, navigate to the folder with the extracted files, it should be FS-UAE, and run the launcher.

./rocket launcher

3.Copy Kickstart ROMs and Workbench media files(ADF) from your copy of Cloanto Amiga Forever Plus Edition to the appropriate directories in the FS-UAE directory.

4.In the FS-UAE Launcher, click on the Amiga logo in the top left corner of the window. Select "Import Kickstarts"and navigate to where your kickstart files are located.Import all Kickstart ROMs.

5. On the main Launcher screen on Amiga ModelChoose A1200 and 3.1 ROM 68020 CPU.

6.Insert the emulated Workbench 3.1 ADF floppy image through floppy drives. Click Startto turn on and start the Amiga.

The Amiga's operating system is called Workbench and is a GUI similar to the Apple operating systems of the time. It includes all the design styles we are familiar with. Windows, Icons, Menu and Pointer and has a shell interface that feels right at home for Unix/Linux users. Starting with Workbench 2, the Amiga Workbench saw the biggest change from a pure operating system to a powerful and efficient design. Don't get us wrong, Workbench 1.3 was what we used with our Amiga 500, but it felt a bit childish compared to later versions.

The Workbench 3.1 used on the A1200 and A4000 was a big problem. There are several folders on the Workbench 3.1 hard drive. In the settings we can configure the Amiga. Change sources, adjust screen resolution, change input settings and set system sounds.

Install Workbench on a virtual hard disk

A hard drive was a luxury for early Amigas. With the release of the 600 and 1200 models we saw built-in IDE interfaces and the 600HD and 1200HD models hit the shelves offering a whopping 40MB IDE hard drive. For our virtual Amiga 1200 we will install a 256MB hard drive with FS-UAE.

1.Click on the Amiga logo in the top left corner of the window and select HDF Creator.

2.Create a single partition disk file named LXF.hdf that will be 256MB in size.

3.Click on the start icon and make sure your Amiga model is A1200 with ROM 3.1 and CPU 68020.

4.Click on the disk menue, ohne obere Nut,Insert the Workbench 3.1 ADF diskmi, in the second wave,Insert the Workbench 3.1 installation disk.

5.Go to media sharing list and click + icon, select all Workbench 3.1 disks,of which "install" must be present.

6.Go to the Hard Disk menumiCheck if LXF.hdfis present.

7. No RAM and ROM menu,Make sure the correct Kickstart ROM is present, miconfigure su Chip RAM a 2 MB y Fast RAM a 8 MB.

8. On the left side of the launcher there is a dialog for saving settings.add the name A1200 LXF and click on the save buttonto save settings for future use.

9.Click Start to run the emulator.

To format this drive,Left-click the icon and then hold down the right mouse button. Move your mouse to the top of the screen and choose Icons, Format Disk.The format options must match them.

10. Workbench starts as before, but now we see an additional icon on the DH0 NODES desktop, which is our 256MB hard drive.

Options list:

• Format - DH0
• Current information: Device capacity 'DH0' 256M
• New volume name: WB3
• Place trash can: Y
• Quick filing system: Y
• International mode: N
• Directory Cache: N

11click format,and then in the next two popupsClick OK and format.The formatting process takes about five minutes. A new DH0 drive (first hard drive) will appear and be ready to use.

12Double-click the Install Disk iconand thenDouble-click the installation folder. Double click on the chosen languageto run the installer in that language.

13click on ContinueInstall Workbench 3.1 on a hard drive.

14. Make sure the installation mode is Beginner,Click Continue Anyway to continue.

15.Skip the printer setup screenThe keyboard layout must match your country/language selection.

The installer will now run and copy the files from the floppy drives to the virtual hard disk. Sometimes we are prompted to insert another disk.

sixteen.Press F12 to swap disks when prompted.Use the cursor keys to scroll down to REMOVABLE MEDIA, press Enter to eject the previous disc and automatically load the next one. The Amiga recognizes the disk change and continues with the installation.

17. Once the installation is complete you will be prompted to eject the disc from the drive, please repeat aboveF12 - REMOVABLE MEDIA. Then click Next to restart.

Your Amiga 1200 will reboot and boot from the hard drive for the first time.