P5
SYSTEM DISKS or OPERATING SYSTEMS

It seems that the most common question asked about Amstrad computers is: "Where can I get a system disk?" You might be able to find software (used) at a computer flea market. Any software for the IBM PC running DOS should work for the PC1512/1640 and later machines. For the CPC machines you would apparently need CP/M-80. The PCW's apparently need Locoscript. Some of the old software might be downloadable from the Internet. I wouldn't count on that for MS-DOS or PC-DOS however. For machines that need "DOS" you might try to get a copy of DR-DOS, which Caldera allows for free to non-commercial single users. You could also see if you could find a "small" copy of Linux/GNU with a DOS emulator incuded. Another candidate is FreeDOS, which I believe is available at DR-DOS.org. DR-DOS should be completely DOS compatible, but I can't speak to Linux/GNU. Another possibility is DOSPlus, which can only emulate DOS 2.1. This might be enough for some. For the machines that use 3-inch disks you will probably have to haunt the "8-bit" sites to find someone who can do the transfer.