Frequently asked questions

Where can I get Spectrum software?

Spectrum Computing, World of Spectrum, or archive.org .

Why doesn't <insert site> have (incredibly famous Spectrum game) available for download?

Certain sites have a policy of actively seeking permission for software to be redistributed and removing files/links for any that say no.

What's the best emulator?

It depends what criteria you're judging them on. In practice, there's not much to choose between them unless you're concerned with hardware add-ons, development tools or obscure hardware quirks - and for the purpose of playing games, any of the choices on the Emulators page will serve you well.

How do I use an emulator?

Colin Woodcock's book The ZX Spectrum On Your PC is an excellent introduction to the subject.

How do I get program files from the PC back on to a real Spectrum?

World of Spectrum used to have a page (mirror) covering a number of options for transferring files back on to tape.

There are also a number of modern hardware add-ons which allow you to use emulator files directly on the original hardware. One popular setup is the DivIDE family of interfaces; files from the PC can be copied to a hard disk, CompactFlash, or SD card, and loaded on the Spectrum.

The Spectranet ethernet interface is another option; this allows emulator files to be loaded from a PC file server, on your local network or over the internet.