How to register Q-emuLator for Windows

You can order a registration code through the Q-emuLator order web page. Select a type of registration and enter the information necessary to process the payment. Within 72 hours since you submitted your order, you should receive a registration code that you can enter in the program to unlock the features you paid for. (Once you receive your code, select 'Register...' in the initial Q-emuLator window, or choose 'Register...' from the 'Q-emuLator' menu.)

Two types of licenses

The basic version of the program can be used for free for personal, non-commercial use. It allows Q-emuLator to run at a speed similar to that of an original QL, and to emulate its hardware (68008 processor, memory, video, keyboard, sound, joystick, serial ports). In addition, Q-emuLator can access Windows files, QL floppy disks, microdrive images and QLPAK software packages.
Q-emuLator gives you almost perfect compatibility with the original QL system and can run 99% of all the software and games that a real QL can run.

The "Expanded QL" registration gives you all the features of the basic version, but it also allows processor emulation to run incredibly fast compared to the original 68008 and it emulates more hardware found on QL expansion boards (up to 16MB RAM, Aurora and Q60 video cards, 2 parallel ports, built-in RAM disk driver, sampled sound driver). The "Expanded QL" registration adds an accelerated QDOS video driver, a TCP/IP driver and a "Level 2" QDOS file driver that allows recent QDOS programs to correctly access files and to use subdirectories. A special filter improves the output of the QL screen when in full screen mode (and, under Windows 7, also of windowed mode when the window is enlarged), smoothing text and graphics and avoiding pixelation while keeping the image sharp. You'll be able to access QXL hard disk files, ZIP files (mounted as read-only drives), QLay microdrive images and floppy disk images, and if you have the Pointer Environment there's a mouse driver to allow you to use your PC mouse in QL PE programs. The "Expanded QL" registration can also partially emulate the hardware of the Gold Card QL expansion card, allowing you to run on it recent Gold Card versions of the SMSQ/E OS (not included). Finally, the "Expanded QL" registration provides a virtual printer to allow most QL programs to print to your PC printer.

Register now!

Registration gives you free access to any non-major updates, i.e. your registration code will be valid for any future versions of Q-emuLator numbered 3.x.

To transfer your QL software to a PC, you need a working QL with floppy disk drives, otherwise you will be limited to using the QL software that is available on Internet.

Demo mode

To see the emulator running at maximum speed and with most of its features active, try 'Demo Mode'. The main limitation in this case is that the emulator will only be able to access disks to read a QL demo program supplied with it. If you exit the demo program, you will also be able to try SuperBASIC commands and write small SuperBASIC programs (you won't be able to save them, though). While you can't read other files from disk, you can use the DIR command to look at contents of QXL.WIN files (including listing contents of subdirectories) and other kinds of drives available in the registered version (for example, ZIP files).
The following table is a summary of the differences between the basic, registered and demo modes:

Feature | Demo Mode | Free version "Original QL" | "Expanded QL" Registration
Max Speed | no limit | 100% QL | no limit
Max RAM | 16 MB | 384 KB | 16 MB
Full Screen Mode (F12) | Yes | Yes | Yes
Fast Screen Mode (Shift+F12) | Yes | No | Yes (except Windows 7)
Screen magnification filter | Yes | No | Yes
Sound | Yes | Yes | Yes
Sampled Sound | Yes | No | Yes
Joystick | Yes | Yes | Yes
Serial Ports | 4 | 4 | 4
Parallel Ports | 2 | 0 | 2
RAM Disk Drives | 8 | 0 | 8
Virtual printer | Yes | No | Yes
Graphics Acceleration | Yes | No | Yes
Can write and modify files | No | Yes | Yes
Level 2 File System (subdirectories) | Yes | No | Yes
Access QXL.WIN files | DIR only | No | Yes
Access ZIP files as drives | DIR only | No | Yes
Mouse driver (requires P.E.) | No | No | Yes
Access QXL.WIN files | DIR only | No | Yes
Access Microdrive images | Yes | Yes | Yes (including QLay images)
Access Floppy Disk images | DIR only | No | Yes

Note that most features can be limited or disabled when available: for example, even if you have the "Expanded QL" registration you can still limit the emulation speed to run QL games at the right pace.