Documentation

The documentation files of Hatari:

Frequently asked questions:

Q: I can't compile Hatari!?
A: You should check if you have installed all needed tools for compiling Hatari: The GNU C compiler (GCC), GNU make (sometimes also called "gmake", other versions of make might not work), development files for the SDL library and the ZLib compression library. Also, if you want screenshots in PNG format, you'll need development files for libpng.

Q: Why is Hatari so slow? Are there any possibilities to speed it up?
A: Screen rendering can take a lot of CPU time, so it's best to skip rendering some frames. You can enable this with the "--frameskips" command line option or by using the screen configuration dialog. If the default "auto" mode works well for you, use that.
Note that you should also not enable the screen zoom mode for the ST Low resolution since this will slow down the emulator, too. If you still want to have a nice fullscreen mode, you should rather add the right resolution mode-lines (e.g. "320x200") to your xorg.conf file. If you're using frame skipping, zooming has less effect.
By the way, Hatari currently runs best in 16 or 32 bits per pixel color depth mode, so try to avoid 24 bits per pixel modes if possible.
If the programs you're interested about work well enough when the "Slower but more compatible CPU" option is disabled, disable that.
You should not enable sound when running Hatari (or at least switch to 11kHz), this will increase the speed of the emulator. Disabling e.g. the music in the emulated program can also help.
If Hatari is still too slow, you probably have not enough CPU power. You should have a 500 Mhz CPU at least (for ST/STE mode — Falcon mode might require even more).

Q: Game XY does not work, what can I do?
A: Many ST games often need a certain TOS version to run right. Old games often only work with TOS 1.00 or TOS 1.02, so you should try these TOS versions first. If the game still does not work, you should also try TOS 1.04 and 2.06. Some games also either need a NTSC (US American) or a PAL (European) TOS, so it might be useful to test these different types, too.
You should also try different RAM sizes, for example some games do not work with 4 MB memory size!
And finally, try to enable the "Slower but more compatible CPU" and/or the blitter chip emulation in the system options dialog, this might help, too.