Amstrad PCW 8256 Personal Computer Introduction

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Check out my vintage 1985 Amstrad PCW 8256 Z80 based computer that uses the CP/M operating system. I picked up this machine in a trade from a fellow retro computer collector. This will be a multi-part series.
In part 1 of this series I discuss the PCW8256 machine, what was included in the trade, the Amstrad computer specifications and my future plans for this computer like installing a GoTek drive, upgrading the RAM from 256kb to 512kb and replacing the 3” micro floppy disk drive belt.
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Part 1: This part!
Part 2: Gotek Installation: • Amstrad PCW 8256 Compu...
--- Video Index
0:00 - 1985 Amstrad PCW 8256 Z80 based computer
0:58 - What is the Amstrad PCW 8256?
1:29 - Differences between the Amstrad PCW 8256 and PCW 8512
1:49 - The Amstrad 3" floppy disk drive
1:59 - Amstrad mechanical keyboard
2:12 - Everything is self contained: CRT monitor, power supply and disk drive
2:22 - Included items in the Amstrad PCW 8256 trade: computer, printer, manuals, etc
2:38 - Taking a look at the back of the Amstrad PCW 8256 computer
4:26 - More about the Amstrad PCW8256 printer
6:27 - Amstrad had an office in the USA based in Northbrook, Illinois 60062
7:02 - Taking a look at the Amstrad PCW 8256 manuals
7:36 - A common failure point with Amstrad PCW 8256 computers
8:23 - Showing what a Amstrad PCW 3" floppy disk looks like
9:02 - Comparing a Amstrad 3" floppy disk to a PC 3.5" floppy disk
9:46 - Future plans for the Amstrad 3" disk drive
10:00 - Showing a Gotek floppy drive emulator, ribbon and power cables
11:38 - Outro
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--- Video Links
Perifractic's Retro Recipes - Great Games on a Word Processor? Amstrad PCW Stargliding:
• Great Games on a Word ...
Pre-built Plug and Play Amstrad PCW GoTek solutions are available from this UK eBay seller:
www.ebay.co.uk/fdbk/feedback_...
Build your own Amstrad PCW GoTek solution using these resources:
GoTek 3.5" 1.44MB USB SSD Floppy Drive Emulator:
www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-1-44MB-U...
Gotek OLED IIC I2C 0.91" 128x32 LCD Display Module:
www.ebay.com/itm/New-Amiga-Go...
FlashFloppy:
github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy
Amstrad PCW 8256 / 8512 Gotek Ribbon Cable Set:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amstrad-PC...
Gotek 3D printed disk drive adapter for Amstrad PCW 8256 & 8512:
www.thingiverse.com/thing:285...
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#Amstrad #PCW #PCW8256

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1 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 60

@joker131able 4 года назад

"Bob is not my uncle". I LOL'd at that so much. Really cool video. I had never heard of the Amstrad PCW 8256 computer let alone 3" floppy disks before. Thanks for posting.

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Haha, nice! I'm happy you got a little chuckle from my video. What you see is what you get with my personality. I'm a National Treasure... on a local level ;-)

@sidneypmoore3803 4 года назад

I did my first assignment on this machine at 1988. Wow! brings back all good memories!

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

That's cool! It's a nifty machine for sure. I plan on doing more videos about it in the future as I learn more about this computer.

@kcinplatinumgaming2598 Год назад

takes me back! in 1987, i had a two projects on the PCW one for the YMCA and a Small busness accounts system and the platforms I used was the 8256 and 8512 computers I had update the existing YMCA TFL from an Acorn BBC computer to the PCW computers ... those 3" compacts were commonly on a lot of earlier 8 bit systems .. soon after that I started writing software for the medical industry using 386 ps/2s ! good video, I was only 17 at time

@geekwithsocialskills Год назад

That's cool my video brought back some good memories for you. It's been a while now, however I'm planning some new Amstrad PCW 8256 videos for my channel, so stay tuned. Thank you for stopping by for a view and commenting. Much appreciated!

@juanmkinsley4471 4 года назад

Proud to be owner of an amstrad 1512 non hdd one

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Nice! I just looked up that machine. Very cool with dual 5.25" floppy drives. The monitor looks similar to the PCW 8256.

@brendanrogerio3536 4 года назад

The PCW was a great computer. I have many happy memories of mine!

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

I grew up with the Commodore 64 and Apple II computer, but in the short time I've owned a PCW 8256, I'm really starting to like it a lot.

@markorollo. Год назад

Nothing gives me nostalgic feelings more than seeing one of these (i know, sad lol) even seeing the Amsoft disks we used to use does it, Although not so good is they are responsible for the one and only time i got in trouble at school, left a disk with work on it in one of them, the teacher went mental, she was always in a mood.....

@geekwithsocialskills Год назад

It's not sad my video gives you a nostalgic feeling for the Amstrad PCW 8256, it's awesome!

@juliopmiller5444 4 года назад

Oh wow I had one of these, back in the early 90s I think. Good memories

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Nice! I'm new to the Amstrad PCW series of computers but I'm really enjoying this computer.

@commodoregeek 4 года назад

What a cool machine. It looks to be in very nice cosmetic shape. All the units I've seen for sale online are yellowed. P.S. I'm looking forward to watching part two of your Amstrad video. Hopefully that will be posted soon.

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

The machine was a little dirty on the outside when I got it, but not too bad and cleaned up nicely. Agreed, it's in really good shape, especially on the inside. Little to no dust which just amazed me.

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Also, I've got part 2 already recorded and will have that posted in the next few days. I want this part 1 video to hopefuly get a little traction first.

@commodoregeek 4 года назад

@@geekwithsocialskills that makes a lot of sense. Keep up the great work on your videos.

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Thank you for your support!

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Part 2 is now live ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FohuhrWdStA.html

@daverlangley1020 4 года назад

Excellent review! I live in the USA, and I had no idea that Amstrad sold any computers over here.

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Thank you for your kind words. In doing research for my video I found out that Amstrad computers were a big deal in the UK and Spain. As you know here in the USA we had Commodore, Amiga, Apple and TI/994a being pretty popular during the same timeframe as the Amstrad PCW.

@brianwilson6513 4 года назад

Nice video mate. Never really seen one of these in action before. Look forward to more videos.

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Thanks! More videos to come, I just need to figure out a better way to record screen footage so the picture looks good on video like it does in person.

@donaldjfoote694 4 года назад

I enjoyed playing Hitch Hikers on the PCW :)

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

There are a lot of Infocom games that are ported to the Amstrad PCW 8256. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Zork series are two of my favorites.

@davidjheid1387 4 года назад

Great stuff. I wanted on of these when I was 13

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Thanks! Glad you liked my video.

@geoffbarnard6648 3 года назад

I bought my PCW back in 1985 when they first came out, and it was my main computer for quite a few years, until I gradually migrated to PCs. Started using it again (same machine) 2014, but the floppy drive needed some repairs. All fine now, got external B: drives (5.25 and 3.5) but one at a time. Also 13 @ 8Mb virtual HDs, make it quite a different baby. There's a significant retro scene in Europe, and quite a few new users just finding the machine, and the emulators, and the games.

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

Cool story. Thanks for sharing. Fixing the origina. 3" disk drive is usually just replacing the belt which isn't too hard. I've actually done it on mine and recorded a video on how-to that I'll be posting in the future. Question, if I'm reading your comment correctly, you have an external 5.25 and 3.5 floppy drive connected to your Amstrad PCW 8256? If so, how are you doing that?

@geoffbarnard6648 3 года назад

@@geekwithsocialskills OK. Yes, the belt went, but also the stepper motor died, but someone was able to take it apart and fix and it's now better than new. When I first got the PCW I got an external 5.25 360k drive as B: which was great for PC compatibility, then while the A: was out of action I used the 5.25 as A: booting off 5.25 single sided format disks. then fitted the 3.5" as B:. When I got the 3" back/working, I put that back as A:, put the 5.25 back as B: (I have piles of 5.25" disks) but kept the 3.5" handy (I have piles of those disks too). The cable for the B: hangs out the side of the PCW, and I just swap the connection over when I need to use the 3.5". No great need for floppy capacity as I have the uIDE HD drives. See mention on other YT videos about JonB's uIDE system.

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

@@geoffbarnard6648 very cool. I had no idea a 5.25" drive was even an option with the Amstrad PCW 8256. As for the JobB's uIDE system, I've been really happy with my GoTek solution. See part two of my Amstrad video if you haven't already. I will however check out the JobB uIDE system though, so thank you for the heads up on that.

@geoffbarnard6648 3 года назад

@@geekwithsocialskills Yes, very early on, 1986 or so, there were a number of sellers offering add-on 5.25, and 3.5, drives for B: At that time, the CF2DD disks were difficult to get hold of, and quite expensive, so these drives were a massive help, and of course opened the door to PCW PC file transfers. My drive came with a utility for reading/writing to PC 360k disks. There are quite a few people, esp the gamers, using the Gotek drives, there can be problems using the Gotek as well as the uIDE system if you're not using the right system file (.EMS). I'm more into programming, data, system stuff and not much into games, so the uIDE is ideal for me.

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

I'd love to see pictures of your Amstrad setup. My contact details are on my channels about page if you'd be willing to send me a few pictures, that would be awesome!

@robertbullard8570 4 года назад

Wow, I miss the sounds PC's used to make back in the day

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Haha. Gotta love the beeps and boops for sure!

@markenetube 2 года назад

I got one at Curry's in the UK when they were end of line. Paid about £150. I used it for work, but also played a few basic games on it. Must have been 1989 ish.

@geekwithsocialskills 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing your story. It's a fun CP/M based machine for sure! I love the green screen on it.

@charlietbone7958 4 года назад

Commander keen, you guys remember that game?

@geekwithsocialskills 4 года назад

Commander Keen was a fun game. I don't think it was ever released for the PCW 8256 though. I did play it on my MS-DOS and Windows machine back in the day. On The Run for the PCW 8256 is a nice side-scrolling platform game though for the Amstrad PCW.

@NPrescott 3 года назад

That 3" diskette seems a bit more robust than the 3.25" diskette that was the standard. The 3" diskette remind me of the custom sized "disks" for some of the old samplers.

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

Agreed. It seems companies like Amstrad were thinking outside the box BITD.

@johnboycousins 3 года назад

You’re confusing the 3.5” and 5.25” disk sizes; there was no 3.25” 😀

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

@@johnboycousins 3.25" + 0.25" ;-)

@dlarge6502 Год назад

I still use mine

@geekwithsocialskills Год назад

That's awesome you still use your Amstrad PCW 8256. Have you considered doing a video with it for your channel? I'd love to see it in action.

@atlanticx100 2 года назад

I had the electronic pen that I could draw with on the screen using the Office program.

@geekwithsocialskills 2 года назад

That's cool! I had no idea there was a light pen for the Amstrad PCW computers.

@atlanticx100 2 года назад

@@geekwithsocialskills There are some vids on youtube with it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OfOnUg5cjBU.html

@geekwithsocialskills 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing! Much appreciated!

@pacopuentesmathias2088 3 года назад

Amstrad cpc 6128, spectrum +3 uses same 3'' disks

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

Thanks for confirming. Those 3" disks are very interesting.

@CikguWandy 3 года назад

I used to have this in year 1990.. but the software damage.. sadly it went to the garbage ...

@geekwithsocialskills 3 года назад

Sad that it went into the garbage. It's a fun computer.

@CikguWandy 3 года назад

@@geekwithsocialskills Yupp..My sister bought it for me when she studied in UK.. It's hard to find spare parts and software in Malaysia by that time.

@CikguWandy 3 года назад

@@geekwithsocialskills I also go myself Acorn Electron microcomputer.. I used to program games and simple instruction on it. But the screeching sound is too irritating..

@mattcrowley8993 11 месяцев назад

The keyboard is a membrane keyboard, actually. A horrible one, I should say. The typing feel is absolutely HIDEOUS, I also hear. (Possible that yours is in great condition)

@geekwithsocialskills 11 месяцев назад

Mine still feels good after all these years. I assume the original owner took very good care with this machine and keyboard. Maybe not a lot of hours of use. It is in great condition.