M4 Board – Guides/Setup/Help!

As have been drawn to my attention, many M4 board owners are asking for easier documentation than my crude instructions here.

Fortunately several great people have created helpful guides, reviews and documentation already. A huge THANK YOU guys!

First a series of excellent articles in Spanish from AUAmstrad website/group:
https://auamstrad.es/hardware/m4-board-configuracion/
https://auamstrad.es/hardware/m4-board-gestores/
https://auamstrad.es/hardware/m4-board-hack-menu/
https://auamstrad.es/hardware/m4-board/

First look and adding ROMS to the M4 board on Amstrad noob (added 2021-04-23):
https://www.amstrad-noob.com/2021/04/23/first-looks-at-the-m4-board-for-amstrad-cpc/
https://www.amstrad-noob.com/2021/04/23/adding-roms-to-the-m4-board/

Videos:
In Greek by Vincent GR:


Review by Chinnyvision in English:


In Germany from Jungsis corner:


Review and early setup by Am Strad in English:


And a guide in Spanish by Professor Retroman, that I linked to before:

Video for using the M4 board by Amstrad-noob.com in English (added 2021-04-23):


In Polish by RetroGralnia (added 2023-02-04):

Also Mr. DVG over at the cpcwiki forums compiled a collection of 1300 games tested and working with M4 board!

If I forgot or missed a useful resource, please do not hesitate to make a comment, so I can add it to this post.

Thanks again, all of you for your dedication, hard work and support!

144 thoughts on “M4 Board – Guides/Setup/Help!”

  1. Hi Duke,
    Thank you for making this wonder my deepest admiration!
    I would like to order one for my CPC6128 plus if possible, could you please tell me how?
    Regards.

      1. HEllo Duke, don’t know how to open a new thread…
        I’m interested in buying an m4 or m7 board if you still build then and read this.
        greetings
        Pablo

      2. Hello Duke

        Where it’s possible to buy M4board wifi for amstrad cpc ?

        Many thank’s for your great job

        Best regards

      3. Hi Duke, are these still available. I’d to have one for my 464! Price not really a problem. Many thanks

    1. hello, how can I buy this wonderful little card? I can search everywhere but I can’t find links for it

  2. Hi Duke.
    I’m insteresting with the latest version of M4 for my Amstrad CPC 6128 (not “plus” !) with a Centronic connector.
    Can you contact me please ?
    Thanks.

  3. Hi Duke
    Please let me know how o order one M4 board for an Amstrad CPC-6128 computer.
    Best regards

  4. Hi Duke

    I would like to know how to order one M4 board for an Amstrad CPC-6128 computer.

    Best regards

  5. ——– Translator GOOGLE:
    Hello Duke.
    I would like to order an M4 card.
    Can you tell me how to do it for France?
    Thank you
    cordially
    ———Original:
    Bonjour Duke.
    Je voudrais commander une carte M4.
    Pouvez vous me dire comment faire pour la France?
    Merci
    Cordialement

    1. Email was sent.
      Same to everyone else who commented.
      If you did not receive my email, check your SPAM/JUNK folder.
      Or write me here again.

  6. Hi Duke, I didn’t know how to find you, I would need to buy an M4 with wifi and sd for Spain, would it be possible?

  7. Hello Duke!

    I Want one M4, it looks really good and I’m building my Amstrad collection, and this will to wonders.

    Please contact-me, I left two messages because I think I put my email wrong at the first time.

    1. Hi

      I already emailed you at that email address (same as before).
      Please check your JUNK/SPAM folder if you have one.

      You can also just email me direct at duke(a)spinpoint.org

      Regards,
      Duke

  8. Hello!

    I want to buy one M4 board wifi/sud card to use with my Amstrad CPC 6128.

    Thanks you
    Fab

  9. Hello Duke

    Very impressive and fantastic board! Nice grate job!
    I am interested in one M4.

  10. I would very much like to purchase an M4 Board with Edge connector for my CPC6128.

    I’m in the UK so could you please send me a price?

    1. I already sent you an email 2nd of April, please check your junk / spam folder.

      I will forward it again.

      Regards,
      Duke

  11. Hi Duke,

    I would like to get one M4 for my CPC if possible. Could you tell me price and shipping costs to Spain, please?? Thank you!!

  12. Hi, I’d like to get one of the M4 boards for a CPC 6128 Plus.

    I’m in the UK.

    Thanks.

  13. Hi,

    Jumping back to Amstrad world and c programming … need your board.
    I will use it for either 464 (basic) or 6128 plus

    Leaving in Finland.

    Please contact me for price and shipping.

    Great job!

  14. Hello Duke.
    I would like too to order an M4 card.
    Can you tell me how to proceed for France?
    Thank you

  15. Hello,

    Congratulations, you have done an incredible work.

    I would like to know how to order one M4 board for a CPC 464 computer
    to Spain.

    Thank you!

  16. Hi Duke. I’m sure you’re very busy with requests like this, but I would be very interesting in buying an M4 board for my 6128, and also an Imperium Solo.

    If they are still available, please could you send me details on how to order one from you?

    Thanks very much,
    Steve

    1. They are still available, lead time is about 5-6 weeks after order confirmation before I can have them ready.
      Email sent.

  17. Hi Duke,

    I’d like to buy a M4 for my UK CPC6128 with edge connector (Not Plus). Please email me details. Thanks.

  18. Hi, is there a terminal program usable with M4? Which escape/control-sequence are eventually supported?

  19. Hi Duke, I would really like to order one for my 6128. Postage to Australia please.

    Awesome project!!!

  20. Hi there,

    I have a standard cpc 464, I’m interested in one of these but afraid I’ma little out of my depth. It’s just to play games from on sd card that I need it for?

    Not sure what connector I’d need too sorry?
    Thanks

  21. Hi. Looks great, I can’t find a buy page. So could I get some more info on buying/shipping ?

    Thanks!

    1. Yes, sorry there is no buy page, people just message me here and I email them back with the info’s.

      You’ll receive an email shortly.

  22. Hi Duke,
    The M4Board is incredible! I would be highly interested in buying one board, for a 6128Plus.
    Best regards
    Nicolas

  23. Hello

    I would like to get one, but I haven’t found a form to order one.

    You can write me.

    1. Hi

      There isn’t any form. You just put a message here and I email you back.

      Will email shortly.

      Regards,
      Duke

  24. Hello!
    I just discovered and started reading about M4 board and I like also to get one for my CPC 6128.

    Many many thanks!

  25. Hi Duke,

    I’d love to own one of your M4 Boards, could you let me know how I can order please?

  26. I am interested in one of those M4 boards. It’s for a CPC6128 with edge connectors. PLS contact me.

  27. Hi Duke
    I’m also interested in a M4 board. Being new to the Amstrad computers: I’m currently owning a CPC464 but want to add a CPC6128 to my collection later this year. Is it possible to connect this board to the CPC464 and also the 6128, or do I need some adapter?
    Looking forward hearing from you…
    Regards

    1. If the new CPC6128 is a regular Amstrad then it uses same connector as a CPC464. If it is a Schneider CPC6128 or a Amstrad 6128 PLUS they use centronics connector.

      If you stick with option 1, what you need is:

      M4 board with EDGE connector

      For option 2 (to work on both EDGE and Centronics connector), you will need:

      M4 board with IDC connector
      IDC to Centronics Cable
      IDC to EDGE adapter

      Email sent.

  28. Hi there!
    I have seen your M4 Board wifi/sd for Amstrad trought AUA web with a friend, and we want to buy you one or two of these boards.
    And, do you have the MX4 board too?
    Can you sell and send to spain? Do you know how much it cost aprox?
    Thanks for your time,
    best regards

    1. It doesn’t look like it, I am afraid.
      The chip shortage hit the smaller guys the most, there are no available chips at all :/

  29. I’d also be interested in an M4 board, for use on a Plus machine. Guess I’ll just leave this comment here and hope that the chip shortage eases up and another run gets made at some point in the near future 🙂

  30. Dear Duke

    I would like to buy an M4 Board Wifi card to connect my Amstrad CPC online. Can you please email me details?

    Kind regards

    Dimitris

  31. Hello,
    I would like to buy a M4board for Amstrad Just CPC 4 designed by Zaxon. What would be the cost of shipping to Poland?

  32. Hello Duke, I am interested for your card for my Amstrad cpc6128. I am waiting your email with details. Best regards, George.

  33. Hi Duke, your M4 is a great board for cpc!
    I would really like to have one, how can I order?
    thanks

  34. Hi,

    If it’s still possible, I would like to buy an M4 Board Wifi card (with IDC connector for a slot extender). Can you please email me details when it becomes available again? Thank you in advance.

    With regards,
    Sil

  35. Hey duke,

    Hope you are doing well in this troublesome times.

    Do you still sell M4s?

    I would need one compatible with the MotherX4 …

    Can you please reach out to me to discuss options?

  36. Hi,

    I’d also like to get one of the M4 Boards for my CPC464.
    Is there an onlineshop somewhere, or do you still produce in batches?

    Thanks a alot!

    Cheers

    Uli

  37. Hi,

    If you’re still making them, I’d also like to be added to the list for an M4 board for my 6128.

    Many thanks,

    Richard

  38. Hello, your M4 Board interests me, I would also like to have an M4 board for my CPC 6128. Is it possible to order one please?

    Cordially

  39. also i would be interested in the CPC Joystick/USB- Adapter incl. splitting Power cable if needed for CPC464. 🙂

    greetings

  40. Hello, I’m having this problem, out of nowhere my M4 board stopped booting normally, I tried the following:

    – change sd card
    – reprogram the firmware with different versions
    – use another CPC

    The reprogramming leaves this report:

    M4 Firmware version 2.0.7
    ESP firmware v2.0.7 found.
    ESP flash: 0x00E04016
    ESP CRC match: 0x366BCBEF
    Programming…
    ESP programming success

    but no M4 information in the screen with or without the sd card.

    Can you please help me?

    Also if there is a chance to order a new board (2019 version) I would like to proceed. Let me know if it’s possible.

    Thanks!!!

  41. Hello Duke, I am interested for your card(M4 Board) for my Amstrad CPC6128.
    Can you please email me details?
    Best regards, Christian.

  42. Hi. I’m interested in buying an M4 board for my CPC6128. Are you still selling them?
    Thanks

  43. Hiya

    Would very much like to buy this board with edge connector for my cpc464.
    Please let me know how do I proceed

  44. Hi Duke
    Love the project – looks very impressive…
    I’d be interested in one of your M4 boards for cpc464 if you could pm me
    Thanks
    Tony

  45. Hi !

    I’m interested in a M4 and everything needed to connect it to my CPC 464. Can you tell me a price including shipping to Germany ?

    Thanks
    Mathias

  46. Hi Duke i’ll be interested in an M4 card, if it’s still possible. Thanks !

  47. Hello Duke,
    I recently discovered the M4 Board and I think it’s fantastic. I would like to have one for my Amstrad CPC, would this be possible?
    Congratulations on your fantastic work.
    Greetings and thanks!

    1. Hi,

      I’d be interested in purchasing an M4 board for a CPC 464 please.

      Could you please contact me with details of how to place an order?

      Thanks very much,
      Shane

  48. Hello!

    I am interested by the m4 and the imperium solo.

    Would you be so kind to get in touch?

    Many thanks

  49. After I tried to update M4board using fresh firmware on the SD card the CPC won’t boot (black screen). Is there a way to debug what’s happening (serial console)? What’s the process of un-bricking m4b?

    1. When upgrading a report.txt file is generated in the root of the microSD cards, which has info about the upgrading process.

      Try to format your microSD card, copy the M4FIRM.BIN and ESPFIRM.BIN into the root directory of the card. Insert to M4 and power it up.
      Wait several minutes and it should restart itself.

      Afterwards the files M4FIRM.BIN and ESPFIRM.BIN should be deleted automatically.

      In short the M4 has a write protected bootloader, so it should always be able to recover from microSD card upgrade files.

  50. Hello,

    I’m interested in an M4 for cpc 6128.

    Thank you for your great work.

    Best regards.

  51. Hi Duke,

    I’m interested in an M4 board for cpc 6128 plus.
    Is it possible to order one?
    Thank you!

    Best regards.

  52. Hi,

    I’d be interested in purchasing an M4 board for a CPC 464 please.

    Could you please contact me with details of how to place an order?

    Thanks very much,
    Shane

  53. Hi Duke,
    I’m interesting for buying some M4 Board for a cpc6128.
    What can I do that ? 😉

    Thanks,
    Laurent.

  54. Hi Duke,

    I’d love to get an M4 board for my CPC 6128, I’m in the UK. Are these still available?

    Thanks,

    Simon

  55. I would like to order one for my Amstrad CPC6128 if possible, could you please tell me how?
    Regards.

  56. Hello Duke,

    I would like to buy an m4 board for my schneider cpc 6128 and possibly an adapter for a schneider cpc 464.

    Regards.

  57. Hi Duke,

    Are you still here? Please say yes!

    I’d (and as you can see, many others) would love to purchase one (or more) of these for our 464s & 6128s.

    Could you please just give us an indication that you’re still around and if you’re willing to construct more of these?

    Yours,

    Steve

    1. Yes, I am still here. I email every one of you. If you have not received an email reply within a week, feel free to message me here again – probably check junk/spam folder first.

      Steve, email coming shortly.

  58. Hi Duke,

    I’m interested in buying an M4 board for an Amstrad CPC 464.

    Thanks and regards,

    Neil

  59. Hi Duke,

    I’m also interested in buying the M4 board for my Amstrad CPC 464 with shipment to Poland.

    Regards,

    Parys

  60. Hello Duke,

    M4 board desperately needed here. 🙂

    Pls let me know how to order if possible.

    Cheers,

    Folko

  61. Hi

    I’m very interested in buying one of these, looks great. Can you pm me if you still have them available?

    Cheers

  62. Hi Duke! I’ve been amazed by my M4 since the day it arrived! It’s a phenomenal piece of work 🙂

    Is the source for the code running on the ESP8266 and Cortex M4 available? From what I’ve found on GitHub I can see the Z80 code that runs on the CPC, but not the code that makes up the M4FIRM.BIN / ESPFIRM.BIN files.

    Thank you so much!
    Andy

    1. Hi Andrew,

      Thanks glad to hear it is being put to good use 😉

      I have not made the source code for the ESP and M4 available – maybe some day.

      Regards,
      Duke

      1. Hi Duke, thanks very much for getting back to me!

        Glad I wasn’t missing anything obvious! I’ll keep an eye out if that day appears 😀

        Meanwhile, it looks like the M4 has been in production for a longer time than the CPC464! That’s an amazing milestone, congratulations for supporting the M4 for so long!

  63. Hi Duke,

    I’m interested in buying an M4 board. Please, let me know if it is available. Thanks.

    Regards from Spain

  64. Duke –

    Are you still making these boards? Definitely would like to purchase one for my 6128.

    thanks

  65. Hi,
    Using my board I would like to know how to download the files from the board back to any PC. This for backup purpose or to use with an emulator.
    Off course, taking the SD Card away is an option…but just from time to time and not twice a week.
    Thank you.

  66. hello Duke, I am willing to buy this amazing piece of hardware for my CPC 464. Drop me a line please.

  67. Dear Duke

    Would you please add me to the wish list. My cpc 464 and 6128 are waiting for the magical stuff

    Best regards

  68. Hello Duke,

    Do you still make m4 cards?
    If so, I would like to buy it for a 464 machine.

    Thanks a lot!

  69. Hi Duke!

    I have an amstrad 6128plus and I’m using just plain old flopies (the few i have left 🙂 )

    Would love to purchase one of your M4 units for connecting to plus machines, if you happen to have one around, or are preparing one batch 🙂

    Thanks!

  70. Today I unpacked some old cardboard boxes and found my old CPC6128… it must have been wrapped up for 25 years – maybe longer…

    A bit of Googling for nostalgia and I stumbled across this site. Could it be possible to bring it into the modern world?

    I’m very excited about the prospect

  71. oops, I hit send too quickly…

    please can you email me with the purchase instructions for the M4?

  72. Hi Duke,

    Great work ! I’d like to get an M4 board for my CPC 464. Could you kindly send details – I’m in Melbourne, Australia.

    Many thanks,

    AndyB

  73. Hello Duke,

    I would like to purchase an M4 board for my CPC464,
    please could you send me details

    Many thanks

    David

  74. Dear Duke,
    I would like to buy M4 board for my Schneider CPC 464 (not plus).
    Please send me the details.
    Thank you very much in advance

  75. Hi everyone,

    I have recently entered the world of retrocomputing with a Schneider CPC 464 and 6128. Is it still possible to obtain an M4 board? Even a used one, or as a DIY kit?

    Kind Regards,
    Martin

  76. Hello Duke,

    I would like to purchase a M4 board for a CPC6128. Can you please let me know the cost including shipping to France.

    Many thanks and great work!

  77. hello 🙂

    I would like to order a M4 board for my amstrad cpc 6128.

    Are those still available ?

    Thank you 🙂

    Philippe.

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