Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
AMSDOS
open-in-new
<p>AMSDOS is a <a href="/facts/Disk_operating_system/Kc28g5MR">disk operating system</a> for the <a href="/facts/8-bit/2CkhLNoH">8-bit</a> <a href="/facts/Amstrad/rXhrLd2U">Amstrad</a> <a href="/facts/Amstrad_CPC/U2F6jDXY">CPC Computer</a> (and various clones). The name is a contraction of Amstrad Disk Operating System. </p><p>AMSDOS first appeared in 1984 on the CPC 464, with added <a href="/facts/Floppy_disk/rShxfuxa">3 inch disk</a> drive, and then on the CPC 664 and CPC 6128. Relatively fast and efficient for its time, AMSDOS was quicker and more effective than most of its contemporaries. </p><p>AMSDOS was provided built into ROM (either supplied with the external disk drive or in the machine ROM, depending on model) and was accessible through the built-in <a href="/facts/Locomotive_BASIC/1evXH00D">Locomotive BASIC</a> as well as through <a href="/facts/Firmware/62UVKIUK">firmware</a> routines. Its main function was to map the <a href="/facts/Cassette_tape/w8I5uyfs">cassette</a> access routines (which were built into every CPC model) through to a disk drive. This enabled the majority of cassette-based programs to work with a disk drive with no modification. AMSDOS was able to support up to two connected disk drives. </p>