Storage on Pimp my retro handheld

Ultimate Amiga 1200: PiStorm, CD32 Mode and Full Hardware Expansion

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:15:04 +0000

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to get both an Amiga 500 and an Amiga 1200. While the Amiga 500 was restored as a fairly traditional machine, I had a more ambitious project in mind for the Amiga 1200.

My goal was to build three different machines into a single computer:

A high-end Amiga with a powerful CPU, graphics card, networking capabilities and all the modern conveniences normally associated with an upgraded Amiga 4000.
A more traditional Amiga 1200 with Fast RAM and a hard drive for maximum software compatibility.
A CD32-compatible system able to run games specifically enhanced for Commodore’s console, without requiring dedicated CD32 hardware such as the Akiko chip.

To achieve this, I combined several solutions:

Pimped Amiga 500

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 20:22:23 +0000

Back in the early ’90s, I had an Amiga 2000 with just one expansion card: a SCSI controller paired with a massive 290 MB hard drive. Getting software and games to run from the hard drive—with only 1 MB of chip RAM—required a lot of tricks. But it was fun, and it taught me a lot about computers.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a cheap Amiga 500, and I couldn’t resist. I decided to restore it from the ground up and add a GottaGoFast RAM + IDE controller to finally build what would have been my dream machine in 1990: an Amiga running OS 1.3 with fast RAM!

Playstation 2 : new lens / silent fan / FreeHDBoot

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:28:20 +0000

Some time ago, I had the chance to buy a used PlayStation 2 for cheap because it was sold as “defective.” In fact, the console was unable to read any discs, whether DVD or CD. I thought that wouldn’t be a problem, as installing FreeHDBoot is easy, and replacing the DVD lens should be straightforward and inexpensive. It turned out I was right—except for the lens replacement.

Here is the story of my upgraded PS2, featuring a new DVD lens, a silent fan, and FreeHDBoot…

PSP Go : screen replacement and microSD storage

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 20:28:03 +0000

Repairing a scratched PSP Go screen and expanding its limited storage with a microSD-based solution.