Hello,
I have installed Amikit okay but would like to add some more games. I really do not understand how this WHDload stuff works. I did download some game files that have .info extension and also .slave, but have no idea where I need to put them. Do I download these through the Amiga OS or through windows 10. Where do I copy these files to once I have downloaded a game ? I have done a search for Whdload questions on the forum but I am non the wiser. Also all the video clips that came up in the search are 404 not found. Is there an noobies guide or video to show exactly what you need to get and from where and what you do with it all once downloaded ? thank you

Hello and welcome!

In short, WHDLoad allows to run old Amiga games in newer Amiga environment (like AmiKit) by simulating the old Amiga. For this you need:

- WHDLoad (already pre-installed in AmiKit)
- Amiga Kickstart ROM files in AmiKit:Devs/Kickstarts folder (the files should be copied there automatically if you used Amiga Forever to install AmiKit)
- The actual game in ADF format (Amiga Disk Format, the .adf file is an image of real Amiga Floppy Disk)
- WHDLoad Slave for the particular game

There are two ways how to install the particular game, an easy and difficult way:

EASY WAY: Find a website with game archives that already include the installed ADF game and the WHDLoad Slave too.

You simply unpack the archive and launch the game. Just make sure you launch by double-clicking its icon in Icon mode. Check this video on how to unpack archives: https://youtu.be/qY5kiVzLBC8 There you can also see how to switch between Icon and Name mode (in the 0:16 second). Just for completeness, the .info file is Amiga icon. As soon as you switch to Icon mode, the .info file is displayed as icon.

DIFFICULT WAY: You download a Slave for the particular game from http://whdload.de/download.html You unpack it, launch the installer (in Icon mode), and it will ask you for the ADF files one by one. You need to double-click those files one by one and unpack them to RAD: (it's something like RAM) and the WHDLoad Slave installer will read it from the RAD: as it was reading it from the real disk. Once all the ADFs are installed, you can find the game in the destination folder. You launch the game by double-clicking it on its icon (in Icon mode). The problem is that there are many different ADFs of the same game floating around - while the WHDLoad slave supports only few version, sometimes even one. And if you don't have the right ADF for the particular Slave installer, it might be very frustrating.

And here's what Pi1200 wrote for you (he doesn't have an account here, so I just past his text here)

Using preinstalled WHDLoad Games on AmiKit (Windows)

1. Grab preinstalled WHDLoad games (.lha) from web (e.g. https://www.whdownload.com/)
Note: Only download abandom software, not games still developed/sold!!!

2. Copy the game files (.lha) to a folder on your PC (e.g. D:\WHDLoad)

3. Use 7-Zip to extract .lha archives (select .lha files -> right click -> 7-Zip -> Extract here)
Note: This could also be done later on the Amiga side, but I do it this way on Windows

4. Delete .lha files, or move them as backup into another folder

5. Start AmiKit and press F12 to enter WinUAE configuration

6. Add the PC WHDLoad games folder as a new Volume to AmiKit
F12 -> CD & Hard drives -> Add Directory or Archive ... -> Device: GA0 | Volume Label: MyGames | Path: D:\WHDLoad | Bootable: No

7. Switch to AmiKit (F12): Look for a new Volume labeled MyGames on your workbench

8. Launch iGame: AmiKit -> Games -> iGame -> iGame

9. Right click iGame menu bar -> Settings -> Game Repository

10. Click on select folder icon in the appearing dialog and select Volume GA0: (pointing to D:\WHDLoad), then click Add -> Close buttons.

11. Right click iGame menu bar again -> Actions -> Scan Repositories then grab a coffee or two (depending on amount of games to be scanned)

12. Select and start your preinstalled WHDLoad games via iGames and have fun

Note: Some games may require additional Kickstart roms to work. For max. compatibility you should copy over this kickfiles roms (e.g. from Cloanto AmigaForever) to AmiKit:Devs/Kickstarts folder and rename them as needed. Infos about the naming convention can be found here: https://www.whdload.de/docs/en/need.html.

I usually provide following rom files: kick33180.A500 (Amiga OS 1.2), kick34005.A500 (Amiga OS 1.3) and kick40068.A1200 (Amiga OS 3.1). Remember to copy over the rom.key file too in case you use the encrypted Cloanto AmigaForever roms.