The earlier versions needed to load TOS off of a floppy disk to be able to run, mine does not.
The differences between the two are minor, but this manual was for an extremely early production run 520ST that did not have TOS in ROM already stored inside the computer. But unfortunately the manual I got, despite being for a 520ST, was not for the model I have which is actually a 520STm. I thought it would be fun to do my research and troubleshooting the old fashioned way. The only preparation I did before using this computer for the first time was to download a manual for it onto a tablet that I could reference. But that’s what I get for going in truly blind on this. Not seeing this screen should have tipped me off. Because it’s a computer! It can do things! But I didn’t have too many positive experiences overall because of a number of larger issues.
I explored some of the disks I got with the system and while only a few of them worked it was fun to see things like a calendar of the phases of the moon that passed as useful software for the day. The mouse cursor was extremely responsive and made the system feel snappy(the buttons are another story I’ll get back to).
The difference between low and medium resolution as well as the ability to save your preference to a disk to load next boot was nice. Some of my experience with the computer was actually quite enjoyable to stumble upon and learn about. This was perhaps not the fun idea that I thought it was because there are more pitfalls to this system than I anticipated. Since I had been waiting so long to get my hands on one and I hadn’t done a whole lot of research on them leading up to getting it, I thought it would be fun to go in completely blind on this computer and make a video of my initial experience and realizations as I went along. This was only the second one I had seen in that time and the only one that seemed like it had any kind of hope of working. This was a very special computer for me because it is the only vintage computer I have ever deliberately sought out and have been attempting to find one for at least 6yrs. This is my first ever experience using an ST system and I had a pretty rough start with it. I recently had the opportunity to pick up an Atari 520ST complete with an SC1224 RGB monitor and SF354 disk drive.