Mockduck Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 I've put together a basic video tutorial up on how to get Windows 10 onto a USB SSD and onto your Atari VCS, basically a roll through the instructional pdf: 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 you keep emphasizing SSD. Is there a reason an external mechanical hard drive can't be used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 18 minutes ago, zzip said: you keep emphasizing SSD. Is there a reason an external mechanical hard drive can't be used? Well, I am not a PC expert, but it seems like the read and write speed of an external mechanical drive would not be fast enough to have a good experience running Windows on it. I guess if it works then use it, right, but it seems like you'd both want and need an SSD to run the OS on an external drive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Mockduck said: Well, I am not a PC expert, but it seems like the read and write speed of an external mechanical drive would not be fast enough to have a good experience running Windows on it. I guess if it works then use it, right, but it seems like you'd both want and need an SSD to run the OS on an external drive. Since Windows can run on internal mechanical and the VCS has fast USB, I would think it would work well enough. I don't have any unused ssds, but have several external mechanical drives so was thinking of trying to see how well some of my Windows games run on this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayik Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 (edited) I used a spre 1TB 2.5" mechanical hard drive and used that to install Ubuntu. Works aboslutely fine through USB. No noticable lag within Ubuntu. Runs RetroPi for Linux with no probems, Edited August 16, 2021 by rayik added HDD uses USB connection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripled79 Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 I've tried this so many times and I can't get the VCS to work with the USB drive... Oh well. I'm fine with Amstream Arcade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe91074 Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 (edited) speaking as a complete novice who has never done anything like this before, would there be any advantages to purchasing an SSD drive with Windows 10 already installed on it and then hooking it up to the Atari VCS? I was so bummed when I found out I couldn't try out Steam and Stadia just going onto the already installed Google Chrome. ? If it's that easy, which would be the best one to buy for this purpose? Edited August 24, 2021 by joe91074 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 2 hours ago, joe91074 said: speaking as a complete novice who has never done anything like this before, would there be any advantages to purchasing an SSD drive with Windows 10 already installed on it and then hooking it up to the Atari VCS? I was so bummed when I found out I couldn't try out Steam and Stadia just going onto the already installed Google Chrome. ? If it's that easy, which would be the best one to buy for this purpose? No, because installing Windows, on any "computer" does not work that way. During the installation process the operating system writes specific details to the registry, info about the hardware including drives, partitions, specifications etc as well it installs drivers specific to your hardware. This is why a fresh install of Windows is always recommended. Yes sometimes you CAN get away with just plugging in a Pre-installed Windows and then selecting to boot from it in the BIOS but again it can often fail or Blue Screen because of differences between the PC that was used to install and the one you have now attached it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted August 24, 2021 Author Share Posted August 24, 2021 Getting Windows 10 on an SSD drive would save you about 20-30 minutes of downloading and transferring the file to your SSD, and presumably the purchase would include a license for Windows 10, so you'd get that. Otherwise, it wouldn't do much in terms of the end result. It would mean you wouldn't have to download the ISO from Microsoft or get it onto the USB with WintoUSB or similar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe91074 Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 thank you both for the input. I'll have to look at how to videos to see if I can make this work and see if it's worth the aggravation. Worst comes to worst, maybe find someone who knows what they're doing who could put something together and just hand over some dough?♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DidSomeoneSayAtari? Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 I followed the instructions and it worked perfectly for me. Thank you for making it easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulXMann Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Nice video... good work. But man, you talk fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 On 8/20/2021 at 7:06 PM, tripled79 said: I've tried this so many times and I can't get the VCS to work with the USB drive... Oh well. I'm fine with Amstream Arcade. This may sound silly, but make sure your SSD isn’t locked due to a password. I followed the instructions and it worked for me as well. I now have the latest version of Stella on my external SSD and this micro console is getting better by the day. The only issue I have is with the pairing of my original controller. Otherwise, this is a decent micro console with two controllers for $250. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripled79 Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 5:24 PM, sramirez2008 said: This may sound silly, but make sure your SSD isn’t locked due to a password. I followed the instructions and it worked for me as well. I now have the latest version of Stella on my external SSD and this micro console is getting better by the day. The only issue I have is with the pairing of my original controller. Otherwise, this is a decent micro console with two controllers for $250. I've never heard of or encountered password locked SSDs... but I'm pretty sure that's not the problem here. I really don't care for the Windows operating system anyway, so I'm content to just use the Atari OS for now. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techmantim Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Can WintoUSB.VHD be safely removed after windows is installed? It's taking up 127gig's on drive D:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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