XF551 Hyper FX MOD

[sniperstorm]

Can someone tell me. I have a working XF551 Disk drive with a HyperFX mod. It has a 360K 3 1/2 drive in it also.

[tjlazer]

Whats the question?

[danwinslow]

No, you don't.

[sniperstorm]

No, you don't.

OOPS ok the question was what is a Hyper FX? MOD? what does it do?

[dinosaur]

No, you don't.

OOPS ok the question was what is a Hyper FX? MOD? what does it do?

 

-------- Original Message --------

 

XXXXXX

 

 

Hello Boyd,

of course I have an original Hyper-XF ROM produced by Stefan Dorndorf

here in germany. It came with a manual - written in german language of

course. Alas, Stefan did not produce much for this great floppy OS, he

is also author of a computer OS named QMEG-OS (an alternative OS for XL

and/or XE computers) and since this computer OS has many built-in

features (like freezer, monitor, sector-copier, ultraspped driver for

all 8 drives, re-direction of floppy drives for booting off of drive 1-8

which also includes booting off of the ramdisk, etc. etc.) he did not

want to write many programs especially for the Hyper-XF-OS.

 

So, you have to use all the programs that are already available, like

sector copiers for ultra-speed drives (use any happy 1050 sector copier

for instance it will work much faster than a usual XF sector copier).

next, the drive does sector skewing, but this is not compatible with the

US doubler, so whenever any DOS or copy program asks to use sector

skewing, say "no" (since it assumes US doubler sector skewing).

Nevertheless, if the program supports ultraspeed it will still format

the disk with sector skewing...

 

now some positive things: The drive allows 8 different modes, due to

lack of software not all of them are usable. The modes are ABCDMXS and

some other mode which I do not remember right now. Well, the drive can

use partitions: 2 partitions (A and B) on a 5,25" disk and 4 partitions

on a 3,5" disk with any of these three formats: 90k/130k/180k (when

using partitions 360k and 720k or any other double-sided format is not

possible). This partitioning is good for old boot-diskettes which make

it impossible to use a higher format...

 

Mode M means multi-format, which means that the disk has mixed

partitions or better partitions in mixed formats (S/E/D). Thus the drive

will always check the format first, before booting any partition. Very

usefull if you have a 3,5" disk with 3 different formats or densities...

 

Mode X means XF mode, thus the drive does not use partitions, but

instead the whole disk, so you can format up to 360k (for 5,25") or up

to 720k (for 3,5"). If you like sparta or MyDOs you might try this mode

and format a disk with 360k or 720k and fill it with data...

 

Mode S is currently unavailable. This mode was supposed to read 360k or

720k ST or PC diskettes (which normally have 512 bytes per sector). the

drive requires some software to do so (it would read every sector of a

ST or PC disk twice, since it can never acess more than 256 bytes at

once!), alas this software was never written and I guess without any

software or program it is not possible to read a ST or PC diskette

directly...

 

I do not remember the last mode. Maybe it is another unavailable mode,

due to lack of software. But: The Hyper-XF tools disk I sent you

contains some software for the Hyper-XF-OS. There is a patch-program for

Turbo-DOs and Bibo-DOS (very famous here in Germany) to allow

Hyperspeed/ultraspeed instead of normal XF551 speed. For Bewe-DOS there

is a separate driver, so that BeweDOS can also use the higher drive

speed (for most versions of SpartaDOS this is not nescessary, since

Sparta already has an ultraspeed driver built-in)...

 

The most interesting program for me was an extremely short COM-File

(Hypmode.COM). It allows one to set one of the 8 different Hyper-XF

modes. After loading the program you simply press a) a digit from 1-8

for the drive number and b) a letter like ABCDMXS to set the mode for

this drive... This program works good under DOS if you want to change

the mode of the drive fast, without having to reboot...

 

Lets say you have 4 boot disksides in Single or Enhanced density and all

of them are bootable. normally you would put these on 2 flippy disks

5,25". with a 3,5" drive and the Hyper-XF OS you can put all these boot

programs on one 3,5" disk using the partition mode (ABCD). How to do so?

Simple: First transfer a good sector copier (one that supports

ultra-speed) from 5,25" floppy to 3,5" Hyper-XF partition A. Then to

partition b, then C and finally D. Now all you have to do is boot any

partition with that sector copier (lets say partition C) and whenever

you copy something from the 5,25 drive to the 3,5" Hyper-XF it will be

copied to the chosen partition automatically. This way you can save many

disks (two 5,25" disks will fit on one 3,5" partitioned disk) without

ever having to change the boot format or density...

 

Alas, there is a drawback: Not all bootdisks are bootable. Some games or

demos exist as multi-boot disks (meaning all of them use the boot

format, no files, no directory, etc.), but only one diskside is

bootable. When it is finished loading, the program says "flip disk over,

press a key" and with a 5,25" drive or disk you would do so. with a 3,5"

disk this is not possible. You cannot turn any 3,5" disk over. And err

well, the partition-change is loaded a) via software (so there must be a

DOS in memory) or b) without any disk in drive (so the computer memory

is cleared). In other words, with such bootdisks it would never be

possible to change the partition or one still has to use more than one

3,5" disk...

 

Enough said. The Hyper-XF tool disk has some useful tools (file copiers,

sector copier, ultraspeed DOS, etc.) that can be used with the Hyper XF.

Only 3 programs were ever created especially for the Hyper-XF, all other

programs on this disk were collected from other drives or utility

diskettes. Maybe you have some programs in your collection that are even

better than these... greetings, Andreas.

 

 

Edited by Lost Monkey - removed email header by request.

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

some addendum or correction to the information posted before. The Hyper-Xf-OS has the following modes:

A, B, C, D = partition mode for partitions A, B, C, D (only partitions A, B with a 5,25" drive)

 

M = multi partition mode A+B+C+D (only partitions A+B with a 5,25" drive), meaning if you have a DOS or program (let`s say AR The City or AR The Dungeon) that supports more than one drive, partition A will act as D1, partition B as D2, partition C as D3 and partition D as D4 - depending on the dip-switches of your drive of course (if the switches are set to D1, then ABCD will act as D1-D4, if the switches are set to D2 then ABCD will act as D2-D5, etc.)

 

F = format-check multi partition: same as mode M, but whenever the drive accesses a new/different partition, it will check the density first (useful for mixed-density partitions)...

 

X = XF standard partition format, meaning now double-sided operation (up to 360k with a 5,25" drive, up to 720k with a 3,5" drive) is also possible; this mode supports the same densities or formats as a standard XF551-OS (for 40 tracks or 80 tracks)

 

S = ST/PC mode, was originally made to read 360k and/or 720k ST/PC diskettes, but due to lack of software maybe not possible right now... (I guess, since I have not checked the IBMREAD program by Bob Puff nor the RD360k and WR360k programs from poland with the Hyper-Xf-OS; maybe these programs that were written for a XF551 will also work fine with a Hyper-XF - I found these programs just some months after I had already sold my Hyper-XF...)

 

greetings, Andreas Magenheimer.

 

PS.: @Dinosaur: thanks for quoting me...

[tjlazer]

So what easy benefit does the end user have from installing this ROM? I mean will it work in MyDOS or other DOS for faster reading/writing or do we need special software?

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

it is the same as with all speeders or drive enhancements out there (including Happy, Speedy, US-Doubler, etc.): You will require software that supports the Hyper-XF or has built-in drivers for that speeder/drive enhancement. By the way, the Hyper-Xf uses ultraspeed, a very common mode for floppy drive speeders (including Happy, Speedy, US-Doubler and others; but please note that the Hyper-XF has no track/cache-buffer). My-DOS has absolutely no built-in drivers for any speeder/drive enhancement out there. So with MyDOS the Hyper-XF will be as slow as a normal 1050 or a XF without highspeed.

 

The differences are as follows:

 

- XF551 with original OS: has no auto-detecting density, uses index hole, has many bugs and crashes/hangs up forever quite often when one changes the density (try it out: read SSSD then DSDD or the other way around); supports normal speed with approx. 19,2 kbaud (DOS 2.0s, DOS 2.5, My-DOS 4.5, etc. ) and with software that has XF-drivers it also supports highspeed with approx. 38,4 kbaud (Bewe-DOS, Turbo-DOS, Bibo-DOs, Super-DOS, DOS-XE, etc.); it always uses/formats the whole diskette (one side/single sided or two sides/double sided); just to name a few options...

 

- Hyper-XF (meaning XF with Hyper-XF-OS): still has no auto-detecting density, still uses the index hole, but many bugs of the original OS are removed, e.g. it will not crash or hang up forever when changing density, just read the density once more (meaning: reads the correct density with the second attempt/try); supports normal speed of approx. 19,2 kbaud (all DOS`ses and programs without any drivers for floppy-speeders) and with software that has *ultraspeed* drivers (Sparta-DOs, Bibo-DOs, Turbo-DOs, Super-DOS, etc.) it also supports ultraspeed with approx. 57,6 kbaud (or was it 76,8 kbaud ? Not sure - but much faster than XF-highspeed); furthermore the Hyper-XF supports partitions, thus one can still use/format the whole diskette, like the XF551 does, but one can also use various partition modes like the ones described above... just to name a few options...

 

Last not least, one can also install an alternative OS into his computer (QMEG-OS, SPOS, APE-Os, Happy-OS, 32-in-1 OS, etc.) that has built-in drivers for several floppy speeders. Then no special software is needed, if the alternative Os is active all floppy programs will run at the higher speed (highspeed, turbospeed, ultraspeed or whatever). Of course these higher speed modes will most often not work with copy protected software (so install a switch to switch back to the normal OS again)...

 

And no, I am not the author of the Hyper-XF-OS (it was Stefan Dorndorf) and I did not want to advertise it, just describe its options since someone did ask... greetings, Andreas Magenheimer.

[dinosaur]

I have the ROM files if anyone wants them.

Please send a PM to me.

[MEtalGuy66]

I have the ROM files if anyone wants them.

Please send a PM to me.

 

Which ROM do you need in order to control 2 floppy mechs off of a single XF551 controller board?

[dinosaur]

I have the ROM files if anyone wants them.

Please send a PM to me.

 

Which ROM do you need in order to control 2 floppy mechs off of a single XF551 controller board?

 

HYPROMA is for a standard 5.25" 360K Mech and HYPROMB is for use with a 3.5" 720K mech. The images should be burned onto a 2764/27C64 EPROM.

 

 

As I understand it,you can only one drive off the controller board at one time.

 

I think that the problem is that the SIO bus can only recognize one drive from the device.

 

Even Bob Puff's upgrade only allowed one drive at a time,selectable by a switch.

 

Strange,since the Percom controller will recognize two drives,and the ATR8000/8500

will recognize four!

[ijor]

I think that the problem is that the SIO bus can only recognize one drive from the device.

 

Not at all.

 

Even Bob Puff's upgrade only allowed one drive at a time,selectable by a switch.

 

It shouldn't be too difficult to support multiple drives at a time. But probably (I'm not so familiar with the XF-551) an EPROM upgrade is not enough. You would possibly need a little bit more of RAM, and you need an extra port for selecting among drives.

[dinosaur]

I think that the problem is that the SIO bus can only recognize one drive from the device.

 

Not at all.

 

Even Bob Puff's upgrade only allowed one drive at a time,selectable by a switch.

 

It shouldn't be too difficult to support multiple drives at a time. But probably (I'm not so familiar with the XF-551) an EPROM upgrade is not enough. You would possibly need a little bit more of RAM, and you need an extra port for selecting among drives.

 

Could you explain what you mean by "not at all" ?

 

If the SIO bus can recognize more than one drive from the XF-551,why does Bob Puff's

NOT do it,but requires a switch to change from one drive to the other,but not

both at the same time?

 

I don't think RAM is an issue,as AFAIK,the only function of RAM is sector buffering.

Perhaps one of our hardware wizards can elaborate here,as I am getting over my head!

[JR>]

Which ROM do you need in order to control 2 floppy mechs off of a single XF551 controller board?

 

This is the only mod that I know of that allows 2 mechs to operate without a switch from the XF551 board.

 

http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFdualdrup.htm

 

I have one, and as I recall, it consists of a replacement rom as well as an epoxy sealed module that has a small ribbon cable that is soldered to several pins on the CPU.

[ijor]

Could you explain what you mean by "not at all" ?

 

That nothing prevents from a single physical unit to reply for multiple SIO devices. There are several actual examples: 850, 815, etc.

 

why does Bob Puff's NOT do it,but requires a switch to change from one drive to the other,but not both at the same time?

 

More than likely because it cannot be done with just a ROM upgrade.

 

I don't think RAM is an issue,as AFAIK,the only function of RAM is sector buffering.

 

RAM is used also for internal storage. When you manage multiple drives you need to "remember" more things. Such as the stepper position for each drive, etc. Not too much more is needed, so perhaps there is enough already. I can't tell without studying the drive ROM.

 

But what is certain is that you need the logic for switching automatically among drives. This would require at the minimum some kind of hardware mod/upgrade.

[dinosaur]

That nothing prevents from a single physical unit to reply for multiple SIO devices. There are several actual examples: 850, 815, etc.

 

In my mind.you have answered yourself.While the design of some controllers allow

for multiple drives,we were speaking of the XF-551. This specific device cannot address more than one drive,without physical (not just a ROM change)modification.That is thje prevention,as illustrated by Bob Puff's second version upgrade.This modifies the controller physically.

[Mathy]

Howdy dinosaur

 

IIRC it was Bob Woolley's upgrade that uses the switch.

Bob Puff never had an upgrade that used a switch to select one of two drives. The only dual drive upgrade that Bob Puff ever sold has a replacement ROM and some chunk on plastic with some wires comming from it. I should know, as I've been a fan of CSS hardware for a long time. I studied their ads and even wrote letters to them. With the answers Ron and Bob returned, I usually found a copy of their ads. And one of my XF's has the 3.5" dual drive built in. I did the upgrade myself, so I should know. I'm not sure who did the "switched dual drive thingy" but I'm pretty sure it was Bob Woolley.

 

Greetings

 

Mathy

[+Larry]

Mathy is quite correct. The CSS "Dual Drive" upgrade allowed controlling two mechanisms from one XF controller board. I ran a 5-1/4" + a 3-1/2" "slave" for many years. The "slave" is automatically selected as one number higher than the "master." One could also use two 3-1/2" drives (with a different Rom). However, the price of the Hyper-XF is a big plus! -Larry

[Mathy]

Howdy Larry, folks

 

IIRC from some version of ROM on, you only needed to bend up a pin on the ROM to be able to use two 3.5" drives.

 

Greetings

 

Mathy

[ijor]

we were speaking of the XF-551. This specific device cannot address more than one drive,without physical (not just a ROM change)modification.That is thje prevention,as illustrated by Bob Puff's second version upgrade.This modifies the controller physically.

 

If by "controller" you mean the FDC chip (WD1772), then no, it doesn't need to modified or changed. The FDC supports already an unlimited number of drives.

 

If you are using "controller" in the generic sense of the XF-551 logic (MPU, etc), then yes. Obviously some kind of hardware mod, and not just a ROM change is needed. But the modifications needed have nothing to do with the SIO bus.

[dinosaur]

Mathy is quite correct. The CSS "Dual Drive" upgrade allowed controlling two mechanisms from one XF controller board. I ran a 5-1/4" + a 3-1/2" "slave" for many years. The "slave" is automatically selected as one number higher than the "master." One could also use two 3-1/2" drives (with a different Rom). However, the price of the Hyper-XF is a big plus! -Larry

 

 

Larry,I stand corrected.I enter this discussions late at night,usually,and am working from memory,which gets worse by the day.

 

Even when I post erroneously,someone corrects me,and the correct information is put

forth for all to use.

 

(as it says in the book.."All errors and omissions are solely the fault of the author.)

[pcuser4]

MyDOS 4.53 or SpartaDOS 3.2g boots up in Atari 1050 as primary drive. I have secondary 3.5 drive with Hyper XF rom in XF551. I tried to format 3.5 double density disk but it shows the error 144. How do I format 720K in one partition?

 

I have high density 5.25 drive that allow 80 tracks but we do not use 1.2MB floppy disk. Can the drive format 5.25 double density disk to 720K ?

 

Where do I find Hypmode.com and Hyper XF tool disk?

 

Thanks!

Jack

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

 

better (three years) late, then never... here you can find the Hyper XF tools attached. Note that this was never an official tool-disk, just some software I have collected for use with the Hyper-XF...

 

(And for all the XF551 users I have also included the XF551 tool-disk, it is a hybrid disk, one can boot it as a bootdisk and load half of the programs from a special bootmenu -or- one may boot a DOS 2.x from a different disk and then load the other half of the programs from this tool-disk.)

 

-Andreas Koch.

hyper_xf_and XF551_tools.zip

Edited October 19, 2011 by CharlieChaplin

[w1k]

allready done thanks - Igor Gramblicka

 

 

[+CharlieChaplin]

Ah,

 

you have an XF551 with Chinon drive... (The one that does not like the backside of a disk, when it does not have two index-holes: It will not read/write/format the backside of a disk with just one index hole.)

 

What`s the switch for...?!? Density detection? Write-protect switch or what ?

-Andreas Koch.