A: Amiga Explorer was
first released in 1997, when Windows 95 and
Windows NT 4.0 were the latest operating
systems on the PC side.
As we kept improving the software, both
the Windows operating system and the
development tools we use (e.g. Microsoft
Visual Studio) raised the bar on the
system requirements. While we tend
to be more proud of our latest versions,
"legacy support" is in our DNA, so if you
badly need to run an older version, here is
a list of installers to cover all
versions of Windows:
-
Current Version (requires Windows
Vista or newer; if version 9.0 or higher
is installed, see the Changelog tab in
the Amiga Explorer Properties dialog;
includes experimental windows XP SP3
support)
-
Amiga Explorer 7.0.1.0 (2019: last
version to officially support Windows XP, requires
Windows XP SP3 or higher)
-
Amiga Explorer 2008.0.0.0 (2008:
last version to support Windows 9x,
requires Windows 95 or higher, Windows
NT 4.0 SP 6 or higher)
Known Issues
Older versions of Amiga Explorer do not
support the latest features and protocol
enhancements, including the ability to set
the Amiga clock from the Windows side, file
system operations (random read and write,
append, etc.), CRC-32 checksums of files and
disks, and queries for Amiga system
properties (platform and branch, RAM, ROM
version and CRC-32, various date and time
attributes, etc.) Newer versions of Amiga
Explorer also support a broader set of
operating system versions on the Amiga side.
On Windows 95 (including SP1 and OSR2), files copied from the Amiga to the PC have their original
dates "touched", i.e. changed to the current time. This is a limitation of the
original Windows namespace extension code, and has been solved in Windows 98
and in more recent versions of Windows.
The Desktop Update included with Internet Explorer 4.00 introduced a side
effect whereas nested directories (i.e. directories containing
subdirectories) copied from the Amiga to the PC may in rare cases result in
some subdirectories being copied to the root of the destination, rather than
in their correct location. This issue has been fixed in newer versions.
On Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, when Amiga Explorer cannot communicate at
all with the Amiga side (e.g. for a cable problem, or incorrect speed setting,
etc.), double-clicking the
Amiga Explorer icon may cause the Desktop to become unresponsive until Amiga Explorer
(and/or TCP/IP, if used) give up the initial attempt to communicate. This is because
Windows namespace extensions (like Amiga Explorer) share the same task as the Desktop
code, so that each task has to wait for the other to be complete. It appears likely that
separate tasks will be used for this purpose in new versions of Windows, solving this
issue. In any case, this delay should normally not last more than about 30 seconds,
although it may take a bit longer in certain TCP/IP configurations, and in certain
(particularly unfortunate) incorrect serial wirings it may occur that the serial interface
receives an apparently correct signal that makes it wait for an indefinite amount of time.
If Amiga Explorer was originally installed on a Windows 95 or Windows 98
system, and fails to work after an upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP, it
may be necessary to reinstall Amiga Explorer, so that it can write some new
registry settings which were not available on certain versions of Windows 95
and Windows 98.
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