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That's a bummer. Even if you change both partitions that have the O/S installed on them? It looks like they have a backup O/S partition. I guess it depends on how they detect a change and know what to change it back to.

You might be able to edit that file if you boot your VCS with a Linux distro and then mount the VCS file system.

@Charles Darwin is describing what I've heard about using the SSD instead of the eMMC for the VCS O/S. eMMC was used because it's inexpensive, it's fast enough, and it supports being booted up with UEFI. It was a design choice to cut costs while still giving enough capability for the system to perform the way they want it to.

I believe that there was a thread on here about somebody that got it working on an old MBP. Not everything was supported, like Bluetooth, but it seemed possible. I suspect that you'd have to do a bunch of work and hacking of the Atari O/S to get it fully functional. Obviously, this isn't practical, but would be interesting to try.

Haha, no kidding. I might as well just install the VCS partitions on a faster machine that I already have. There have been some people that have done that already. This experiment was more academic in nature, but yeah, it's an expensive upgrade for this kind of machine. Now you don't have to do it just to find out if it can be done.

I'm not planning on using it as my main computer, so having it totally decked out is more for academic purposes. I mostly went with the 2 TB storage to see if it could take it since I saw documentation originally that stated a 1 TB limit, but then a later one by Atari that said there was none. I fell on the (expensive) sword to see if it could work so that others could learn about this. If it turns out that putting other O/Ss on here isn't really all that practical, then I can certainly use the storage for something else. It's not a waste then. I already knew that I needed more storage when I saw the size of some of the games that are available. the 32 GB was going to be too little of space, and it's pretty slow compared to an SSD. I realize that the games in the store will be designed for that speed in mind, but I thought it might make the experience a little nicer if it was a little more expedient in loading content. What would you have recommended for memory and storage? Would you even bother putting an alternative O/S on it or would you just leave it like it is and only use it as the Atari VCS? Would you leave the Atari O/S on the eMMC or would you transfer it to an SSD if you had the space? Just curious to know for contrast of your purpose for using the VCS.

I just upgraded my VCS to 32 GB of GSkill Ripjaws memory and 2 TB of WD Blue Storage. I think this'll give me enough space to install a couple of OSs and give more space for the Atari OS to be moved off of the eMMC memory and onto the faster SSD. My YouTube upgrade video is here:

What kind of error are you getting? I tried to install to a 5TB HDD in a USB 3.0 enclosure and sat on the initial loading screen with the Atari logo and the spinning dots. After trying a new flash drive, I was able to get Windows installed, but not on the HDD. I've reached out to Atari for some help on this and they have told me that there are some issues with some external media not installing Windows 10 properly. I can update this thread when I find out more info on what the issue is and when it's solved.

That's a good point. As it turns out, there is a little bit of documentation on the front of the box that I didn't notice when I was opening them. It also doesn't really require much documentation. You're right that most things don't come with much. My current iPhone came with nothing, and it's way more complex in features and functionality than the Atari is. However, you can pretty much find anything you need online.

@leech, that's an interesting approach. I thought it might be harder to get those ribbon cables undone from the bottom. I'll give it a try to see how that works. I see your point about not needing to take off the upper shield if all you're going to do is upgrade memory and storage. If all you have to do is detach those ribbons, then it makes for an easier disassembly. In my teardown I did want to take everything off anyway so that I could show off everything that was hidden underneath. Your way sounds much better for somebody that wants to just upgrade it. Thanks for the feedback. If you haven't done so already, would you mind putting in a comment about this in the video, please? That would be helpful for others to see that come across it. Thanks!

I just dropped a new video on YouTube going over a more comprehensive teardown of the Atari VCS. It goes beyond just taking it apart, and goes into some of the hardware that I found inside. I also talk about a nice upgrade that isn't documented. Check it out and let me know what you think. I know I'm a little late to the teardown of it as there are already some out there, but I feel this one points out some things that the others that I've watched do not. Also, please consider subscribing to my channel Digitally Entertained so that you can watch for more of my video on the VCS that I have planned. Thanks!