Editing Amstrad PCW 16

{{Infobox computer
| name         = Amstrad PCW 16
| image        = [[File:Amstrad PcW16 (Amstrad Direct catalogue).jpg|260px|frameless]]
| caption      = PcW16 display unit with the Rosanne main screen (Amstrad Direct catalogue)
| manufacturer = Amstrad plc
| type         = Word processor / personal computer
| release_date = 1995
| price        = £299 plus VAT (£368.95 including VAT and delivery)
| cpu          = Zilog Z80 at 16&nbsp;MHz
| memory       = 1 MB RAM; 1 MB flash memory
| storage      = 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy drive; flash "cabinet" for files
| display      = Built-in monochrome monitor, 640 × 480
| input        = PC-style 102-key keyboard with coloured function keys; three-button serial mouse
| ports        = Parallel, serial
| os           = Rosanne
| predecessor  = [[Amstrad PCW 10]]
}}
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The '''Amstrad PCW 16''', shown on its own screen as "PcW16", is the last of Amstrad's PCW word processors, announced at the end of 1995. It keeps the Z80 processor of the earlier PCWs, running at 16&nbsp;MHz, but shares no other hardware or software with them. It boots from flash memory into its own graphical operating system, Rosanne, with a word processor, spreadsheet, address book, diary, calculator and file manager built in, and it stores work on PC-format 3.5-inch floppy discs. It was sold without a printer.<ref name="seasip">John Elliott, [https://www.seasip.info/Cpm/pcw16.html "The PCW16"], seasip.info, written 1995, updated 30 April 1999. Retrieved 2026-10-02. 16&nbsp;MHz Z80; Rosanne; 1 MB RAM and 1 MB flash holding the BIOS, Rosanne and the built-in software; the first 64K reprogrammable only through a cartridge socket on the underside; DOS 720K and 1.4 MB disc formats and \PCW\CATALOG.TXT; unfitted board space for a further 1 MB RAM, 1 MB flash, a hard drive interface and a colour VGA interface.</ref><ref name="8bit9">Mike Elliston, "The new Amstrad PCW16", ''8BIT'' issue 9, Christmas 1995/January 1996, pp. 2–3, 7 and 11, with the Amstrad Direct catalogue page reproduced. Scan at [https://archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-09 archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-09]. Retrieved 2026-10-02. 12-inch paper-white monitor; 102-key PC-style keyboard with F9–F12 coloured; three-button mouse; parallel and serial interfaces; front on/off switch, disc button, contrast and brightness controls; no printer; £299 plus VAT (£369 with VAT and delivery), bundles with a Canon BJ-30 or an OKI OL400w; 1 MB non-volatile memory; software by Creative Technology.</ref> Amstrad's own name for the project was "Anne".<ref name="8bit14">Brian Watson, "At last, the PcW16 show", ''8BIT'' issue 14, October–December 1996, p. 1. Scan at [https://archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-14 archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-14]. Retrieved 2026-10-02. A user's report after six months: Z80B at 16&nbsp;MHz, nicknamed "Anne" by Amstrad; printing builds the page image in memory first; coloured hot keys and Task keys.</ref>

== History ==

The PcW16 first appeared in the Amstrad Direct mail-order catalogue at the end of 1995, at £299 plus VAT for the computer alone, £399 plus VAT with a Canon BJ-30 bubblejet printer and £499 plus VAT with an OKI OL400w LED page printer. The software was designed by Creative Technology, the company behind The Network desktop for the earlier PCWs.<ref name="8bit9" /> The ''8BIT'' fanzine's editor had a machine for testing in spring 1996 and expected release in the early summer; by late 1996 it was on sale through Amstrad Direct, and later through Dixons.<ref name="8bit11">Brian Watson, editor's notes, ''8BIT'' issue 11, April–May 1996. Scan at [https://archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-11 archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-11]. Retrieved 2026-10-02. A PcW16 on the editor's desk for debugging; release expected late June or early July; the six built-in modules.</ref><ref name="8bit14" /> Wikipedia gives 1995 and £299 for the introduction and says few were sold.<ref name="wppcw">Wikipedia, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_PCW "Amstrad PCW"], section "PcW16". Retrieved 2026-10-02. Introduction in 1995 at £299; incompatibility with earlier PCWs; few sold.</ref> By April 1998 Amstrad's Cliff Lawson put the price of the whole machine at £129, and Amstrad had contracted customer support for it to LocoScript Software.<ref name="8bit19">Brian Watson (ed.), "The PcW16 pages", ''8BIT'' issue 19, May 1998, pp. 23–27, reprinting comp.sys.amstrad.8bit postings by Cliff Lawson (Amstrad) and Howard Fisher (LocoScript Software), April 1998, and Tony Velate's article for the Crawley PCW club. Scan at [https://archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-19 archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-19]. Retrieved 2026-10-02.</ref>

== Hardware ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:left;"
|+'''PcW16 specification'''
! Item !! Detail
|-
| Processor || Z80 at 16&nbsp;MHz, a part rated for that speed<ref name="seasip" /><ref name="8bit10">''8BIT'' issue 10, February–March 1996, news. Scan at [https://archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-10 archive.org/details/8Bit-fanzine-10]. Retrieved 2026-10-02. The PcW16's Z80B runs at four times a CPC's clock; the chip is a version designed to run at 16&nbsp;MHz.</ref>
|-
| Memory || 1 MB RAM and 1 MB flash; the flash holds the BIOS, Rosanne, the applications and the user's files<ref name="seasip" />
|-
| Display || Monochrome, 640 × 480, built into the main unit with the processor board<ref name="toasty">Nathan Lineback, [http://toastytech.com/guis/pcw.html "Amstrad PcW16"], Toasty Tech GUI Gallery. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Release in 1995; 16&nbsp;MHz Z80; 1 MB flash and 1 MB RAM; 1.4 MB floppy drive; monochrome 640 × 480 display; Mouse Systems-compatible serial mouse; Rosanne 1.12; standby mode and diary alarms; screenshots.</ref><ref name="wppcw" />
|-
| Storage || 3.5-inch PC-compatible floppy drive; new discs are formatted in MS-DOS format<ref name="seasip" /><ref name="8bit9" />
|-
| Keyboard || PC-style 102-key layout with F9–F12 coloured and extra labelled keys, including Task keys<ref name="8bit9" /><ref name="8bit14" />
|-
| Mouse || Three-button, Mouse Systems-compatible serial mouse<ref name="8bit9" /><ref name="toasty" />
|-
| Ports || Parallel and serial on the rear<ref name="8bit9" />
|-
| Front controls || On/off switch, disc eject button, contrast and brightness<ref name="8bit9" />
|}

=== Flash memory and expansion ===

The first 64 KB of the flash, which holds the BIOS, can only be rewritten by plugging a reprogramming cartridge into a socket on the underside of the machine; the rest is rewritten by software. There is no expansion port. John Elliott notes unfitted space on the main board for another 1 MB of RAM, another 1 MB of flash, a hard drive interface and a colour VGA interface.<ref name="seasip" /> In 1998 Cliff Lawson of Amstrad confirmed a bare site on the board for an Intel 28F008 or similar flash chip, and said that fitting one would need an engineer to dismantle the machine and solder the part.<ref name="8bit19" />

=== Software ===

Rosanne runs one application at a time; starting another saves the open work and closes the first. The applications are a word processor with a spell checker, a spreadsheet, a diary with alarms, an address book, a calculator and a file manager with 16 folders.<ref name="toasty" /> Amstrad supplied neither CP/M nor LocoScript with it. The word processor imports LocoScript documents, and John Elliott later wrote a CP/M 2 implementation for the machine.<ref name="wppcw" /><ref name="seasip" /> The last operating system release was 1.12.<ref name="8bit19" /><ref name="toasty" />

== Repair guides ==

* [[Amstrad PCW 16 Maintenance Guide]]: safety, the flash cabinet and operating system, discs, keyboard and mouse, upgrades
* [[Amstrad PCW 16 Troubleshooting Guide]]: "Fatal Check Sum Error", lock-ups, printers, file transfer, flash space

== Related pages ==

* [[Amstrad PCW 10]] · [[Amstrad PCW Hardware Reference (John Elliott)]]
* [[CRT Discharge Procedure]] · [[Floppy Drive Repair]]

== References ==
<references />

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[[Category:Amstrad]]