Instructions
02/10/2024
Menus:
F1 Help F2 NMI F3 Hardware options F4 Control options F5 Load snapshot F6 Save options F7 Load tape F8 Tape options F9 Save screenshot F10 Quit F11 Sound options F12 Disk select
Alt-F1 POKEs/Trainers Alt-F2 Alternate NMI Alt-F7 Tape browser Alt-F8 Pause/Unpause tape
File Formats INI/command line DOS Windows
Windows
The Windows versions will run on pretty much any Pentium or above, probably requiring 16 MBs of RAM (or more). The video mode must be at least 256 colours, but 16-bit (or higher) is much easier to use. It is capable of running in a window or in full-screen mode. It does not use more than one thread, so multi-core CPUs offer no performance boost.
A minimum of DirectX 5 must be installed as well as a working soundcard, capable of sampled output.
Any joystick or joypad (that Windows can detect) should work ok, as well as any device that can be read as a mouse. Joysticks are not selected automatically, you will to select them in the Misc/Redefine Controls menu (I have not documented this yet).
It has been tested under Windows 7 & 8. Older versions worked on systems as far back as Windows 95/98. However, not much testing has been done on real hardware recently, mainly because the real hardware has broken down.
In general, it is an easier task to get x128 to run under Windows. There are few command line or INI file tweaks that need to be done, however, there are a few options that can still only be set that way.
| INI file | Command line | Notes |
| SBPro = NO | YES | /sbpro | Produce stereo sound |
| SampleRate = 4000 - 192000 | /hz NUMBER | The sample rate of the audio output |
| SampleBits = 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | /16bit /24bit /32bit | The number of bits of the audio output |
In the Windows version, some standard Windows key combinations are used for a few features.
| Key | Effect | Notes |
| Alt + F4 | Quit | Does not bring up a Yes/No? prompt |
| Alt + Return | Switch between windows and full-screen mode | Uses the same video mode as the desktop, or the last one set in the Shift-F11 menu |
INI Options
; For SB version, set this AND have T4 in your BLASTER environment variable.
; To get 8-bit stereo.
SBpro = YES
This gives you stereo sound, if available. It does not require any SoundBlaster-specific settings in the Windows version.
; Use SB16 commands to generate sound. Useful if you have problems getting
; samplerates above 22050 or with getting stereo. You have to set SBpro to
; yes (as well) in order to get stereo.
SB16 = YES
This lets you use SB16 commands (if available), which are much more compatible. It also allows you to generate 16-bit sound. You must have T5 (or higher) in your BLASTER environment variable.
; Samplerate can be from 4000 to 44100. Some soundcards can't go lower than
; 5000 and some may have difficulty above 22050.
; Some Windows cards can go up to 192000 hz!
;SampleRate = 4000
SampleRate = 22050
;SampleRate = 44100
;SampleRate = 96000
;SampleRate = 192000
Simply set the sample rate here.
; The number of bits in sample playback. 8, 16, 24 and 32 bits supported.
; ...but 24 and 32 bits are not supported under DOS!
; It will try to scale back to a reasonable value, should you pick an invalid one.
;SampleBits = 8
SampleBits = 16
;SampleBits = 24
;SampleBits = 32
Set the number of bits you want here.
Getting the Windows version to run faster:
As with the DOS version, one solution is to lower the audio settings as low as you can bear. 8-bit and mono, for starters. But also, setting the sample rate as low as possible.
Below 22 Khz will start to sound poor, but (for the sake of a bit of speed) you can drop to 8 Khz. Most soundcards should be ok with 5 Khz, some with 4 Khz. The sound quality will be appalling though.
For video modes, 8-bit should be quicker than 16-bit, etc. However, the palette issues make 16-bit easier to use when windowed. An 8-bit mode might be better in full-screen mode, but even then there are some circumstances where 16-bit will be easier.
(C) Jane McKay, 2024.