Amstrad NC200 Maintenance Guide
The Amstrad NC200 keeps its documents, diary and address book in battery-backed RAM, so any work that removes power or opens the case starts with copying the documents to a floppy disc or memory card. Amstrad's user manual covers the cells, the lithium backup cell, the backlight and the disc drive; owners' notes cover the inside of the case.[1] The flatter Amstrad NC100 is covered by the Amstrad NC100 Maintenance Guide.
Main cells
[edit | edit source]The NC200 runs from five alkaline C cells, which Amstrad rates at about 35 to 40 hours depending on use of the backlight and the disc drive. NiCad cells give about 10 hours and must be charged outside the machine; the NC200 does not charge them from the adaptor.[1]
David Given lost his first NC200 when he left five C cells in it and they burst, spreading corrosive residue over the main board.[2] Take the cells out of an NC200 that is going into storage, and clean any leakage from the contacts with vinegar followed by isopropyl alcohol; see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.
Lithium backup cell
[edit | edit source]A CR2032 lithium cell holds the memory while the main cells are changed, with an estimated life of five years. When it runs low the NC200 shows "Lithium battery is low". Fit good alkaline cells or connect the adaptor before replacing it: if every power source is removed at once, all documents, addresses and diary entries in memory are lost.[1]
Mains adaptor
[edit | edit source]The supplied adaptor gives 1 A at 7.5 V and is not regulated. Tim Surtell's site gives the plug's barrel as positive, the opposite of the usual convention; check any replacement with a meter before connecting it.[3] Amstrad's manual says to use only the supplied adaptor.[1] A wrong voltage or polarity can blow the surface-mount fuse inside the machine; the manual does not mention it, and the NC users' site gives the NC100's as 6 V 0.8 A but no rating for the NC200's.[3]
Backlight
[edit | edit source]The backlight comes on at switch-on and goes off after a minute without a key press. Control and Caps Lock together switch it off and on, and the System Settings menu sets it to Auto, Off or On.[1][4] Leave it off when running on cells.[1]
Floppy drive and discs
[edit | edit source]- Use double-density 720 KB discs. The NC200 formats them in MS-DOS format and stores files in a directory called NOTEBOOK.[3]
- Discs can be formatted on a PC instead, as 720 KB; on a high-density disc, cover the second hole with tape first.[1][3]
- The drive refuses to run when the cells are too low for it, though the rest of the machine carries on; format discs and copy large amounts with the adaptor connected.[1]
- For head cleaning and drive care see Floppy Drive Repair.
Memory cards
[edit | edit source]The PCMCIA slot takes JEIDA/PCMCIA SRAM memory cards of 64 KB to 1 MB.[1] The slot's opening in the case takes Type I cards only. David Given has published a 3D-printable replacement guide that admits Type II cards: open the NC200, remove the floppy drive to reach the original guide, which is held by two screws, and fit the new one in its place. The built-in software does not use Type II cards; they are for other software such as Given's CP/M port.[5][6] CompactFlash cards in PCMCIA adaptors work under CP/M but draw enough current to cause screen glitches and floppy stuttering; Given warns that they may damage the machine.[6][7]
Opening the case
[edit | edit source]The case is held by internal plastic catches that are hard to find on a first attempt. Inside, the screen in the lid connects to the main board through a ribbon cable that pulls out of an edge connector on the board.[3] The floppy drive lifts out to give access to the memory card guide.[5]
- Copy everything you want to keep to disc or card.
- Remove the C cells and unplug the adaptor. The lithium cell still holds the memory.
- Release the catches slowly; the plastic is over thirty years old.
- Unplug the screen ribbon cable at the main board before separating the halves fully, and note any sharp fold in it.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Amstrad NC200 · Amstrad NC200 Troubleshooting Guide · Amstrad NC200 Notebook Computer User Manual
- Amstrad NC100 Maintenance Guide · Amstrad NC150 Maintenance Guide
- Battery Refurbishment · Recommended Tools
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Amstrad plc, Amstrad NC200 Notebook Computer user manual, 1993. Hosted as File:Amstrad NC200 Notebook Computer User Manual.pdf, described at Amstrad NC200 Notebook Computer User Manual. Powering the Notebook and the lithium cell p. 62; backlight p. 64; disc drive on batteries and formatting p. 65; memory cards p. 453; resets p. 458.
- ↑ David Given, "Running native programs on the Amstrad NC200", cowlark.com, 4 December 2017. Retrieved 2026-10-02. A first NC200 wrecked when its five C cells burst over the main board; the machine running up to ten hours on C cells; the undocumented Function+R floppy boot.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Tim Surtell, Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site, "Questions & Answers: Hardware". Retrieved 2026-10-02. The NC200 adaptor rating and polarity, the internal surface-mount fuse (6 V 0.8 A on the NC100), battery use and the backlight, the screen ribbon cable and opening the NC200, 720K discs and the NOTEBOOK directory.
- ↑ Wikipedia, "Amstrad NC100" (revision 1370100358), NC200 section. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Control and Caps Lock toggling the NC200 backlight; the disc drive needing near-full cells.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 David Given (hjalfi), "Amstrad NC200 PCMCIA type II guide", Thingiverse thing 4539604, 12 July 2020, CC0; mirrored on archive.org. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Fitting the replacement card guide after removing the floppy drive; the ROM software's lack of Type II support.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 David Given, "Platform: the Amstrad NC200", cpmish documentation. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Type II ATA cards on a PCMCIA adaptor, their higher power draw, and the case opening.
- ↑ hjalfi and dreNorteR, "Compact flash on the Amstrad NC200", Vintage Computer Federation Forums, November 2019. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Community report: CompactFlash cards on PCMCIA adaptors in the NC200, brownouts shown as screen glitches and floppy stuttering, the older card drawing the most current.