The Curious Engineer

All blogs / Commodore 8-bit

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Some Assembly Required

Commodore 8-bitRetro computingReverse engineeringComputing historyAssembly

’10’15’20’25
Posts
303 from 14 Mar 2006 to 18 Oct 2026
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monthly (22 in the last year)
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personal blog
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2026 21

  1. The Best Way to Play Super Mario 64: on Apple Vision Pro
  2. Correcting a 2400 dpi A3 Scanner in Software
  3. What Does This Assembly Code Do?
  4. Apple Copland D11E4 Emulator in Your Browser
  5. Final Cartridge III Calculator Easter Egg
  6. Commodore Disk Drive 1570/1571 Bedienungshandbuch [PDF]
  7. Commodore 128, das große BASIC-Buch [PDF]
  8. Commodore 128 Tips & Tricks [PDF]
  9. Das Trainingsbuch zu Textomat [PDF]
  10. Das Trainingsbuch zum SIMON’s BASIC [PDF]
  11. Das Statistikbuch zum Commodore 64 [PDF]
  12. Das Schulbuch zum Commodore 64 [PDF]
  13. Das Grafikbuch zum Commodore 64 [PDF]
  14. Das Commodore-64-Spiele-Buch [PDF]
  15. Das Nikolaus-Heusler-Archiv
  16. Running Adobe’s 1991 PostScript Interpreter in the Browser
  17. PacificPage P·E PostScript Cartridge for HP LaserJet II/III
  18. Lohnsteuerjahresausgleich? Einkommensteuererklärung? Mein C 64 hilft mir dabei! [PDF]
  19. Einführung in CAD mit dem Commodore 64 [PDF]
  20. Das große Drucker-Buch [PDF]
  21. Klaus Finke’s Commodore 64/128 GEOS Disk Collection

2025 6

  1. How the Final Cartridge III Freezer works
  2. 64 Tips & Tricks [PDF]
  3. 6502 Illegal Opcodes in the Siemens PC 100 Assembly Manual (1980)
  4. Siemens Personal Computer PC 100 Bedienungsanleitung, Ausgabe 1981/1982
  5. Brotkastenfreunde Interview
  6. Das Titelbild vom 64’er Sonderheft 2/85

2024 1

  1. 64’er Magazin – mit 40 Jahren Verzögerung jetzt monatlich im Web

2023 2

  1. Silo S01E06: 38911 BYTES FREE
  2. [Ankündigung] Vortrag “Apollo Guidance Computer” an der Embedded Computing Conference in Winterthur

2022 18

  1. The Easter Egg in the “Schrott-Tornado” at the Deutsches Museum
  2. darmok.com: Memes in the Tamarian Language
  3. PostScript Cartridge for HP LaserJet
  4. Scanntronik Manuals
  5. The Commodore AUTOMODEM (Model 1650)
  6. A 1960s Children’s Book about Computers
  7. Digitizing Analog Video through a Digital Camcorder
  8. Dissecting a Dummy Promo MiniDisc
  9. The Commodore VICMODEM (Model 1600)
  10. PostScript Cartridge Plus for HP LaserJet III
  11. CCGMS Future 0.2
  12. The Punter C1 Protocol
  13. UP9600: How to Bit-Bang 9600 Baud RS-232 on the C64
  14. The Commodore Modem/1200 (Model 1670)
  15. The Commodore Modem/300 (Model 1660)
  16. Announcing CCGMS Future 0.1
  17. Free Joystick Extension Cable to Build Your DB9 Competition Pro
  18. [UPDATE] Converting the “Competition Pro Extra USB” to C64/Amiga/Atari DB9

2021 8

  1. The Ultimate Commodore 1541 Disk Drive Talk [video]
  2. [Announcement] The Ultimate Commodore 1541 Disk Drive Talk @ VCFW 2021
  3. Commodore’s Assemblers: Part 5: 6502ASM
  4. Commodore’s Assemblers: Part 4: HCD65
  5. Commodore’s Assemblers: Part 3: BSO CY6502
  6. Commodore’s Assemblers: Part 2: MOS Resident Assembler
  7. Commodore’s Assemblers: Part 1: MOS Cross-Assembler
  8. Commodore’s Assemblers: Overview

2020 20

  1. Reverse-Engineered geoWrite 2.1 for C64 Source Code
  2. Diskettenlaufwerke am Beispiel der Commodore 1541 [video]
  3. Ankündigung: Vortrag “Diskettenlaufwerke am Beispiel der Commodore 1541″ am VCFB 2020
  4. Inside geoWrite – 9: Keyboard Handling
  5. Inside geoWrite – 8: Copy & Paste
  6. Inside geoWrite – 7: File Format and Pagination
  7. Inside geoWrite – 6: Localization
  8. Inside geoWrite – 5: Copy Protection
  9. Inside geoWrite – 4: Zero Page
  10. Inside geoWrite – 3: Font Management
  11. Inside geoWrite – 2: Screen Recovery
  12. Inside geoWrite – 1: The Overlay System
  13. CMDR-DOS: Commodore DOS on FAT32
  14. FAT32 Filesystem for the 65c02
  15. Building the Tynemouth Mini PET
  16. Ultimate Commodore Charset / PETSCII / Keyboard Reference
  17. Ultimate C64 KERNAL API Reference
  18. Ultimate C64 Memory Map
  19. Typos in the C64 Programmer’s Reference Guide: C3PO or C3P0?
  20. Dumping MiniDisc Media

2019 58

  1. The Ultimate Acorn Archimedes Talk [video]
  2. Commander X16: Philosophy and Specification
  3. NES and SNES Controllers on a 6502 (like the C64)
  4. The Apollo Guidance Computer [video + slides]
  5. Visualizing Commodore 1541 Disk Contents – Part 2: Errors
  6. Commodore “Video Supergame 64″ Bundle
  7. Dumping Commodore 64/1541 Disks with Errors
  8. Commodore “Magic Voice” Cartridge for C64
  9. Falk Rehwagen, TopDesk and GEOS
  10. TopDesk 1.3 GEOS64/128 Original Source
  11. Tynemouth Minstrel ZX80 Clone Kit
  12. Converting a Commodore 1541 or 1570 Drive into a 1551
  13. More Original Commodore Source Code
  14. Commodore Peripheral Bus: Part 5: TCBM
  15. Run CP/M on your C64 – using Emulation!
  16. C64 CP/M Cartridge
  17. Commodore Bildschirmtext II Decoder Cartridge
  18. Sinclair ZX81 Kit
  19. Blue Chip BCD/5.25 Disk Drive
  20. Recovering Files from Broken Amiga OFS Disks
  21. The Commodore IEEE-488 Cartridge for C64
  22. Final Cartridge III with GEOS
  23. Boxed MOS 6502 CPU
  24. Commodore MAX Machine
  25. Bildschirmtext-Demovideos von 1994
  26. Illegal Opcode Support for the Final Cartridge III Monitor
  27. Commodore Peripheral Bus: Part 4: Standard Serial
  28. The Commodore 8250 Dual Drive Floppy Disk
  29. GEOS Demo [GIF]
  30. Commodore 264 Series Preliminary Users Manual [PDF]
  31. Prototype Commodore 232 and 264 Computers
  32. Third Party Disk Drives for the C64: The “Technica”
  33. Das Maschinensprache-Buch zum Commodore 64 [PDF]
  34. Reconstructing the GEOS 2.0 (de) Master Images from a Pile of Broken Disks
  35. Building and Hacking on the C64 KERNAL & BASIC with Modern Tools
  36. A GEOS Speed Zone Bug? (Why Do C64 GEOS Boot Disks Break, Part 2)
  37. Reading the Raw Bits of a C64/1541 Disk without a Parallel Cable
  38. Why Do C64 GEOS Boot Disks Break? (Part 1)
  39. Refilling a Commodore MPS 1550 C Ribbon Cartridge
  40. Making of the Book “Anatomy of the 4040 Disk Drive”
  41. Fitting 44% More Data on a C64/1541 Floppy Disk
  42. The Ultimate Game Boy Talk [slides]
  43. Ultimate Commodore 64 BASIC & KERNAL ROM Disassembly
  44. Converting the “Competition Pro Extra USB” to C64/Amiga/Atari DB9
  45. Visualizing Commodore 1541 Disk Contents
  46. Building the Commodore TED Kernal with Modern Tools
  47. Building the Original Commodore 1541 DOS Source
  48. Book “Anatomy of the 4040 Disk Drive” by Hilaire Gagne
  49. Final Cartridge III Monitor for the TED
  50. C64 Keyboard Layout for the C16
  51. Analyzing the ROMs of Third Party Disk Drives for the C64
  52. Reconstructing the Unreleased C128 ROM Update
  53. Original Commodore Source Code Collection
  54. Commodore Peripheral Bus: Part 3: Commodore DOS
  55. Commodore Peripheral Bus: Part 2: Bus Arbitration, TALK/LISTEN
  56. Commodore Peripheral Bus: Part 1: IEEE-488
  57. Commodore Peripheral Bus: Overview
  58. Das neue Commodore 64 Intern Buch [PDF]

2018 13

  1. Announcement: The Ultimate Mars Rover Onboard Computer Talk
  2. INPUT 64 Magazine Complete Archive
  3. Archiving C64 Tapes Correctly
  4. Video of a Real C64 Defragmenting a Disk
  5. A Visual Defragmenter for the Commodore 64
  6. C64-Artikel in der c’t Retro 2018
  7. Repairing a Commodore 1084S Power Switch
  8. A Minimal C64 Datasette Program Loader
  9. Commodore 64 BASIC inside your USB Connector
  10. Making Of “Murdlok”, the new old adventure game for the C64
  11. Murdlok: A new old adventure game for the C64
  12. Commodore KERNAL History
  13. The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk [video]

2017 5

  1. The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk @ 34C3
  2. 62 Reverse-Engineered C64 Assembly Listings
  3. 80 Columns Text on the Commodore 64
  4. Building the Original Commodore 64 KERNAL Source
  5. The Ultimate Game Boy Talk [video]

2016 6

  1. Announcement: “The Ultimate Game Boy Talk” at 33C3
  2. Reverse-Engineered GEOS 2.0 for C64 Source Code
  3. Copy Protection Traps in GEOS for C64
  4. How Amica Paint protected tampering with its credits
  5. Why does PETSCII have upper case and lower case reversed?
  6. Macross 6502, an assembler for people who hate assembly language

2015 12

  1. xhyve – Lightweight Virtualization on OS X Based on bhyve
  2. Reconstructing Some Source of Microsoft BASIC for 8080
  3. Making Obsolete Code Run Again: The mxass 6502 Cross Assembler
  4. Emulating the Intel 8080 on a MOS 6502
  5. Converting VisAss and F8 AssBlaster Source
  6. Reverse-Engineered Final Cartridge III Source Code
  7. Source of “The Wave” Web Browser for C64/C128 GEOS Wheels
  8. geowrite2rtf, a GeoWrite to RTF converter
  9. Comparative C64 ROM Disassembly Study Guide
  10. Fully Commented Commodore 64 BASIC ROM Disassembly – based on Microsoft’s Source
  11. Microsoft BASIC for 6502 Original Source Code [1978]
  12. Using the OS X 10.10 Hypervisor Framework: A Simple DOS Emulator

2014 5

  1. Fully Commented Commodore 64 BASIC ROM Disassembly – based on Applesoft!
  2. Fully Commented Commodore 64 ROM Disassembly (English)
  3. Fully Commented Commodore 64 ROM Disassembly (German)
  4. Wikileaks Movie “The Fifth Estate” pirated my “Xbox Hacking” Slides
  5. Rhapsody Developer’s Guide [PDF, 1997]

2013 1

  1. Why is my TI-99/4A in Black and White?

2012 1

  1. Clockslide: How to waste an exact number of clock cycles on the 6502

2011 21

  1. Assembly Evolution Part 1: Accessing Memory and the strange case of the Intel 4004
  2. The story of 15 Second Copy for the C-64
  3. The story of FCopy for the C-64
  4. Chaosradio Express #177: Commodore 64
  5. Inside Commodore DOS [PDF]
  6. Racism in Monstropolis
  7. Gate A20
  8. Commodore 128 Programmer’s Reference Guide (PDF)
  9. SCUMM Script
  10. The Mansion – Technical Aspects
  11. Oops! I don’t have my CashCard here.
  12. Limitations in Maniac Mansion
  13. What Operating System Has Crashed Here?
  14. The Double Inverted Inconsistency Principle
  15. Leave security to security code. Or: Stop fixing bugs to make your software secure!
  16. A 256 Byte Autostart Fast Loader for the Commodore 64
  17. How many Commodore 64 computers were really sold?
  18. Commodore Plus/4, C116, C16 (TED) Technical Documents
  19. How to not get sued by Sony
  20. Final Cartridge III Undocumented Functions
  21. Reverse Engineering the MOS 6502 CPU [video]

2010 25

  1. Reverse Engineering the MOS 6502 CPU [announcement]
  2. Comparing BitTorrent Downloads of Interlaced TV Shows
  3. Comparing Digital Video Downloads of Interlaced TV Shows
  4. Xbox Serial Number Statistics
  5. Windows Phone 7 & the Floppy Disk
  6. The Intel 80376 – a Legacy-Free i386 (with a Twist!)
  7. Emu8080: an HTML5 App to Emulate a Complete CP/M Machine
  8. HFS+ File System Analysis and Forensics with fileXray
  9. For Lisa, the World Ended in 1995
  10. Name that Ware
  11. Standalone Commodore BASIC on the iPhone/iPad
  12. Internals of BRK/IRQ/NMI/RESET on a MOS 6502
  13. Measuring the ROR Bug in the Early MOS 6502
  14. Measuring the Entropy of the MOS 6502 CPU
  15. CPUID on all CPUs (HOWNOTTO)
  16. Playstation 3 Hacking – Linux Is Inevitable
  17. Why is there no CR1 – and why are control registers such a mess anyway?
  18. High-Res Pictures of a MOS KIM-1
  19. How much change is in a vending machine?
  20. Intel VT VMCS Layout
  21. Michael Steil rocks
  22. Microsoft vs. Standards
  23. Who invented the computer?
  24. Standards and Intellectual Property
  25. Buggy Drivers

2009 35

  1. Announcement: ‘libcpu’ Binary Translator
  2. Having Fun with Branch Delay Slots
  3. PCEPTPDPTE
  4. A Standalone printf() for Early Bootup
  5. Pictures of Apple Lisa 2 Boards
  6. TI-99/4A BASIC as a Scripting Language
  7. Amiga intern (PDF)
  8. Dangerous Xbox 360 Update Killing Homebrew
  9. Minimizing the Assembly needed for Machine Initialization
  10. Aggressive Tail Call Optimization
  11. LOAD”$”,8
  12. The Infinite Loop Mystery
  13. This is Copyright 1983 Microsoft – NOT!
  14. The Giant Pile of Money in My Office
  15. Apple Copland Reference Documentation
  16. Readable and Maintainable Bitfields in C
  17. A Lot of Security
  18. Stamp Vending Machine DoS
  19. Feed in Rogue Signal Here
  20. Apple Lisa Operating System Reference Manual (PDF, 1983)
  21. Tripos, the Roots of AmigaDOS
  22. Reverse-Engineering DOS 1.0 – Part 2: IBMBIO.COM
  23. Reverse-Engineering DOS 1.0 – Part 1: The Boot Sector
  24. The 6502 in “The Terminator”
  25. The History of OS Migration
  26. The Easiest Way to Reset an i386/x86_64 System
  27. LodgeNet Reverse Engineering
  28. Bringup History of Mac OS X
  29. cbmbasic 1.0 with Plugins
  30. Amiga/Lorraine Mugs
  31. Zuse Z1 at the Deutsches Technikmuseum
  32. Zuse Z3 at the Deutsches Museum
  33. Archimedes Operating System (PDF)
  34. Amiga & Supergrips
  35. The Ultimate Commodore 64 Talk: Pushing Keynote to its Limits

2008 19

  1. The Ultimate Commodore 64 Talk [video]
  2. The Ultimate Commodore 64 Talk @25C3
  3. Copland D9 Booting
  4. What Operating System Is This?
  5. Inside Macintosh Volumes I, II, III (PDF)
  6. Reconstructing the Leftovers on the Amiga Kickstart 1.0 Disk
  7. 64’er 04/1984 (PDF)
  8. Commodore BASIC as a Scripting Language for UNIX and Windows – now Open Source
  9. Transactor November 1987: Volume 8, Issue 3 (PDF)
  10. Create your own Version of Microsoft BASIC for 6502
  11. “ROR” in Microsoft BASIC for 6502
  12. Building the Solaris Kernel in 73 Easy Steps
  13. Bill Gates’ Personal Easter Eggs in 8 Bit BASIC
  14. The Xbox 360 Security System and its Weaknesses
  15. How MOS 6502 Illegal Opcodes really work
  16. Apple I BASIC as a Mac OS X Scripting Language
  17. Optimized Flags Code for 6502
  18. 1200 Baud Archeology: Reconstructing Apple I BASIC from a Cassette Tape
  19. Puzzle: 1200 Baud Archeology

2007 5

  1. Tool’s ‘Rosetta Stoned’ Live Performance to Include Apple I Schematic
  2. 64 bit is a lot!
  3. Game Development Archeology: Zelda on Game Boy comes with source
  4. Skype Reads Your BIOS and Motherboard Serial Number
  5. Switching modes with Style

2006 21

  1. How retiring segmentation in AMD64 long mode broke VMware
  2. Strange SSE3 opcodes
  3. How to divide fast by immediates
  4. Shift oddities
  5. Black Hat letdown
  6. Arithmetic mean of two signed integers
  7. Redundant SSE instructions
  8. How Itanium messed up Intel’s CPUID family IDs
  9. Win32’s MulDiv
  10. FFREEP – the assembly instruction that never existed
  11. Virtualization: The elegant way and the x86 way
  12. The funny page table terminology on AMD64
  13. The C ! operator
  14. The real reason for driver signing in Vista x64
  15. Microsoft changes CS value in Win64
  16. Simple compiler optimization
  17. Asking the kernel how to make a syscall
  18. Why does PUSHA also push the stack pointer?
  19. Puzzle: PowerPC Flag Simulation on x86
  20. How NOP nearly became a non-NOP on AMD64
  21. First assembly puzzle!