AROS

Fed up with modern indulgence and bulky nonsense, John Knight tries PC computing the Amiga way, with the AROS operating system.

Are you tired of modern PC desktops and want to use your computer like an Amiga? AROS has you covered. If you’ve never heard of AROS (originally Amiga Research Operating System), it’s a free and open source API reimplementation of the Amiga OS, that supports x86 and PowerPC machines, as well the Raspberry Pi and even the Amiga 1200. AROS can be run on original Amiga hardware and is 100 per cent software compatible. However, on non-Motorola hardware such as your x86 PCs, old Amiga software needs to be recompiled or run through an emulator (we only lied a little bit–Ed).

We’re using Icaros, there are other choices, such as AspireOS, which provides a desktop optimised for Acer Aspire netbooks (www.aspireos.com). Or the vanilla build of AROS itself, which provides a fat-free experience. We’ve chosen Icaros because it’s the most popular with an enormous software collection. Head to the www.icarosdesktop.org Download page. We’ll use the full-fat 2.3GB live image, although there’s a 433MB light version for people who just want the basics.

Amiga 2021

There are two ways of exploring AROS: with an actual computer, or by virtual machine. Using a real computer would be our first choice because you can experience the OS in a more authentic state. AROS works well on old machines, so something like an old Windows Vistaera computer. Big hard drives are not recommended (the maximum partition size with an AROS file system is 128GB), and something like an old 40GB hard disk is a recommended size for solid usage.

AspireOS has a much smaller software selection than Icaros, but it has a pleasant GUI and a cool interface for emulation.

If you prefer to use a virtual machine, use VMware. Although VirtualBox does work the sound won’t and many games, demos, and multimedia applications will simply crash. Enabling 3D acceleration helps a little, but most AROS developers seem to be using VMware.

If you’re trying AROS on a real computer you’ll have to create a bootable DVD. The ISO file works with virtual machines, but not with USB boot creators – not even recent examples like Etcher. It’s technically possible to create bootable flash drives (and there’s a section for it in the documentation), but it’s such a faff that it’s not worth the hassle. If you don’t have a DVD drive, find a machine that does, or try a virtual machine.

If you’re using VMware, you need to specify more than the default 256MB of RAM for the graphics to work properly. 512MB should work fine, but the documentation recommends 1GB of RAM if you’re going to use AROS for daily tasks.

Going live

Once powered on you’ll be presented with a GRUB boot menu. When booting the default entry on actual hardware, AROS will probably start in a low resolution of 640x480 (that’s luxury–Ed). When booting the default entry under VMware, it’ll start in a resolution larger than your desktop’s, meaning you’ll need to scroll across the screen. Neither of those options are brilliant (although 640x480 does have proportions like an old Amiga!), so you may want to choose a custom resolution from the Advanced options in the GRUB boot menu.