TITLE
Use of ROM and Operating System Files Provided in Amiga Forever
TOPIC
Q: Can the Amiga Forever ROM and operating system files be used on a non-emulated Amiga?
DISCUSSION
A: Technically, while many files which are part of Amiga Forever may work on non-emulated Amiga hardware, some files will not. Out of more than 20 ROM files that are included in Amiga Forever Plus Edition as of this writing, very few (i.e. the 3.X series) require an emulation environment. The original technical limitation was in part a legacy of a 1997 wish by some licensors that Amiga Forever not compete with the sale of "real" upgrade ROMs for Amiga computers. The limitation was implemented by using some "illegal opcodes", support for which was added to the UAE and Fellow emulation projects in 1997. The limitation was later removed from older ROMs. For example, Amiga Forever Plus Edition now includes the full set of original and WHDLoad-compatible ROMs. There is no technical limitation involving disk-based OS files.
The various ROM and operating system files which are included in the PC and Mac versions of Amiga Forever were originally licensed (in the Amiga Forever EULA) for specific use in the context of Amiga emulation on Windows, Mac OS and Linux systems. In a later review of the Amiga Forever agreements, it was confirmed that the Amiga ROM and OS files may be used for "providing support for developers and users of the Amiga OS and Amiga applications". Accordingly, the Amiga Forever EULA was clarified to also allow use of the software as a backup copy for the ROM and OS software originally provided on "Classic Amiga" computers (i.e. models from the original Amiga 1000 up to the Amiga 4000 series, which already came with a ROM and an OS disk set). As a standard PC would have no way of writing a floppy disk which an Amiga could use to boot, the creation of a bootable disk from the Amiga Forever disk images would itself require a working Amiga computer, or another way to write an Amiga disk.
We understand that you may have difficulties obtaining original operating system floppy disks and other spare parts for your old Amiga hardware, which was one of the main reasons for us to provide Amiga Forever in the first place. As long as your Amiga can boot, you can use the tools which are provided with Amiga Forever to transfer all data to another computer on which Amiga Forever is running, retaining your existing configuration, or experiencing a "fresh" installation, which is included.
Files other than the ROM and OS files have in part been licensed to us, and are licensed by us to end users, for use in the context of Amiga emulation. Although these files may be available for other uses as well, not all items have been specifically licensed for such purposes as part of their publication in Amiga Forever.
That's my understanding of the Q&A above.
