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Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide

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Revision as of 23:15, 24 September 2026 by Josh (talk | contribs) (Corrected the document's provenance: it is a community wiki page capture based on Hans-Juergen Boehling's guide, not an Amstrad document, and the page now says so and says Amstrad published no NC100 service manual. Added the specification it does settle, incl. the 4xAA plus CR2032 backup arrangement and what losing the backup cell costs, and stated plainly that it carries no parts list, values or schematics)

"A Surgical Guide To The Amstrad Notepad Computer" is a community teardown and repair write-up, not an Amstrad publication. 14 pages, with a text layer and searchable.

Its own opening line states its provenance: the document "is based on Hans-Jürgen Böhling's 'surgical guide to the Amstrad NC'", captured from a community wiki page — the text still carries the wiki's own link markers and a reference to a local copy of sg-nc100.zip. Amstrad published no service manual for the NC100, and this is the closest substitute available; it should be cited as a community document.

What it covers

  • What the machine is — the NC100 and how it differs from the NC150 and NC200
  • Specifications — as compiled by the author
  • How to read the firmware number
  • Disassembly and internal layout, with repair notes

What it settles

The specification section gives figures useful before opening one:

  • Processor: Z80-compatible CMOS running at 4.606 MHz
  • Memory: 64K internal, divided as 15K system, 11K upper and 38K lower
  • Firmware: 256K ROM, containing the text editor with mail-merge and spell-checker, address book, time manager, calculator, terminal program (ASCII or XMODEM) and BBC BASIC with assembler support
  • Display: 480 × 64 pixels, normally 80 × 8 characters
  • Storage: PCMCIA/JEIDA Type I cards, maximum 1 MB SRAM, 5 V
  • Power: 4 × AA cells or an AC adapter, with a CR2032 3 V lithium backup cell
  • Consumption: 40–60 mA in use
  • Size and weight: 295 × 210 × 22 mm, 930 g

The two-battery arrangement is the point to take away: the AA cells run the machine and the CR2032 holds the memory. Removing the AA cells with a flat or missing CR2032 loses the contents of RAM, which on an NC100 is where all the user's documents live.

The other models are distinguished: the NC150 (sold mainly in Italy and France) has 512K of firmware ROM and 128K of RAM, with a spreadsheet and the game Blockade in the extra 256K; the NC200 adds those features plus a 720K MS-DOS-compatible 3.5-inch floppy drive and a 16-line by 80-character fold-up screen.

What this document does not contain

  • No parts list, no component values, no designators, no schematics. It is a teardown guide, not a service manual, and nothing on this wiki should carry NC100 component values sourced to it.
  • No fault-symptom table and no measurement procedure.
  • No power supply data beyond the battery and adapter arrangement.
  • It is a secondary source — a community write-up derived from another author's guide, captured from a wiki page — and should be attributed as such rather than presented as manufacturer documentation.
  • The referenced sg-nc100.zip attachment is not hosted here.

Download here: Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide.pdf

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