Atari 800XL Computer

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:20 am

Ok I just found one of these at my Local Goodwill for 3 bucks with Power Cord, well it all works, except for a few things, Well the Delete key doesnt respond, and alll the number keys after 6 dont work, most keys around the top right side dont work, Im not sure if its supposed to do anything in the Main Atari Bootup screen (Where says Ready and you can type) But the Only buttons that works all the way to the Right is the Reset Button.

The Options, the Help, all those buttons dont do anything, and I dont have any Program carts at the moment, I was going to go scour through the Huge Collection of Atari Games at my Loacal used game store and try and find some Program Carts (Which I could have sworn I saw 1 or 2)

But anyways, I was wondering, is it possible to hook up a Regular 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Drive to the Atari Computer with a Little Wire Stripping and some soldering?

And What is the Parrelell Bus Port for, and why is there Joy stick Attachments on the Side when you cant fit Atari 2600 games into it?

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:16 am

2600 games? on an 800XL? HA!!!

Sounds like either the keyboard's cable is loose, or you need a new keyboard. Pop it open & check.

Atari disk drives are available on eBay, but a lot of drives have been taken out of commission as they tend to wear out.

Also, it's BASIC you're booting up into. Just thought I'd let you know...

EDIT: You know they have videogames on computers now, right?

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:45 am

atari2600a wrote:2600 games? on an 800XL? HA!!!

Sounds like either the keyboard's cable is loose, or you need a new keyboard. Pop it open & check.

Atari disk drives are available on eBay, but a lot of drives have been taken out of commission as they tend to wear out.

Also, it's BASIC you're booting up into. Just thought I'd let you know...

EDIT: You know they have videogames on computers now, right?

..........Hey I had not Researched anything about Atari Computers, so I had no damn Idea about anything on a Atari cOmputer and what it can really do, but after a little research last night, I found that there are mods that you can Install Bigger Memory into it, and after just opening up the Computer I noticed that every single chip on the Board is placed in a Slot and can be easily removed.

And I assumed it played Atari 2600 games at first because the Cart slot for the Program an the Joystick Plug ins on the side.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:49 am

Ah, well I admit I asked myself that same question myself once too...when I was around nine-ish...

Completely different architecture, really. Sure, they both run on a 6502, but the chipsets are completely different.

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:11 am

atari2600a wrote:Ah, well I admit I asked myself that same question myself once too...when I was around nine-ish...

Completely different architecture, really. Sure, they both run on a 6502, but the chipsets are completely different.

Meh when I was 9 I thought Atari Sucked Sweaty Donkey balls compared to my SNES and NES.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:29 pm

...Maybe that's because they were newer systems....

TitaniumHamster · Post by **TitaniumHamster** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:27 pm

Jongamer wrote:
atari2600a wrote:Ah, well I admit I asked myself that same question myself once too...when I was around nine-ish...

Completely different architecture, really. Sure, they both run on a 6502, but the chipsets are completely different.
Meh when I was 9 I thought Atari Sucked Sweaty Donkey balls compared to my SNES and NES.

but dude, those are 32bit systems! my jaguar has 64 bits! DO The Math!

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:24 pm

The power of the system doesn't make it a good system. The programmers make the system a good system. But, the system has to have uncomplicated architecture, otherwise it will be too hard to program & therefore fail. *PS3*

EDIT: Also, the amount of bits a CPU can process matters even less as you go up the ladder. 32-bit is great. 64-bit is slightly better. 128-bit is just freaking retarded.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:39 am

Took me to the point of hearing stories about how businesses use computer hardware and using linux to learn that older hardware can still be useful, just have to find the niche it fits in.

As for your Atari computer, if you're having all those problems with the keyboard, I think Atari2600a is correct, the cable is either loose or the keyboard is damaged. In either case a simple opening of the case could help to fix possibly, because the reason the keyboard doesn't work could be as simple as it needs a cleaning. If you need to replace the whole thing, look in Ben's making-of the Atari 800 laptop. That will show you most of what you need to know to make a new one, or just repair the one you have.

It would also be good to learn some BASIC commands if you plan to use or explore what the computer can do. There are manuals, originals believe it or not, sold on ebay. Or if you do some digging through google you can possibly find that someone made an Atari BASIC or copy of the manual(s) itself.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:43 am

<a href="http://atariarchives.org/basicxl/">Atari Basic - XL Edition</a>