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Commodore PET

Commodore PET icon Commodore PET logo

Overview

The Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) launched in 1977 as an all-in-one business/home computer. It coupled a monitor, keyboard, and cassette interface in a single chassis, and PAL-based America Online programs drove early computing. REG-Linux assigns PET titles to the pet system so art and metadata track the dedicated folder.

Quick reference

  • ROM folder: /userdata/roms/pet
  • Accepted formats: .a0, .b0, .crt, .d64, .d81, .prg, .tap, .t64, .m3u, .zip, .7z
  • Emulators: Standalone VICE (xpet), libretro: vice_xpet
  • System group: pet

Technical specifications

  • CPU: MOS Technology 6502 at 1 MHz.
  • Memory: 4–32 KB of RAM plus ROM containing BASIC.
  • Display: Built-in monochrome screen (40×25 or 80×25 when expanded) driven by a VIC-style controller.
  • Sound: VIA 6522-generated beeps for simple feedback.

BIOS

VICE/vice_xpet ships with the required ROM set, so no manual BIOS installation is necessary.

ROMs

Store PET software inside /userdata/roms/pet. The VICE core accepts an array of cartridge, disk and tape formats listed above—vice_xpet detects whichever image you launch.

Emulators

Standalone VICE

The native VICE xpet binary gives the most accurate PET experience with direct access to switches and the built-in keyboard. Shared options include pet.videomode, pet.padtokeyboard, pet.bezel and pet.hud. Use pet.noborder to crop the vintage border if you prefer a fullscreen image.

RetroArch / libretro: vice_xpet

RetroArch's libretro: vice_xpet mirrors the standalone accuracy while running inside the RetroArch shell. It exposes pet.rewind, pet.autosave, pet.padtokeyboard, plus global VICE options such as:

  • global.pet_model: pick the PET variant (8032, 2001, 8296, SuperPET, etc.).
  • global.vice_pet_external_palette: simulate green/amber/white phosphor colors.
  • global.vice_aspect_ratio: force PAL or NTSC ratios.
  • global.vice_zoom_mode: crop the borders or zoom the display automatically.
  • global.vice_retropad_options: adjust button behaviors.
  • global.vice_joyport / global.vice_joyport_type: map joystick ports and devices (joystick, paddles, mouse, etc.).
  • global.vice_keyboard_pass_through: let controller input pass through to the OS.

Controls

PET titles rely on the integrated keyboard and optionally the analog joystick in port 2. Use the overlay described at ../images/controller-overlays/pet.png or remap keys manually via /remapping_controls_per_emulator.

Troubleshooting

  • If a program won't load, extract archives before launching and try the plain .prg/.d64.
  • Use global.vice_zoom_mode when the picture shows black borders.
  • See the generic support pages for additional help.