RobertLM78 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Good day 99ers. I've noticed that some files are labelled as "PROGRAM" even though they are not a BASIC program: for example, the two main parts of Disk Manager 1000, which I initially thought must have been assembled. Anyway, the file on the Pirate Adventure tape, according to emulators running the disk version of Adventure, is a program. I suspect this is a "program" for the Adventure interpreter, however, is there *any* way at all to get the Pirate Adventure tape into memory so that I can save it to disk? Of course, trying to load the tape (directly) in BASIC returns an I/O error. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 PROGRAM just means a dump of VDP memory, actually. There are a few filetypes inside of that generalization - BASIC programs have a specific format, and Editor/Assembler #5 version assembly programs have a 6-byte header prepended. There are other types with and without actual structure. All that said, I'm not sure what you can use to copy a program file from tape to disk... I guess if nobody has anything we could potentially try to write something. In theory it would not take very much code. I've never done CS1 access from assembly! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Use this as a template. It was a program I wrote aeons ago to copy my Scott Adams adventures from cassette to disk cs1.txt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXB Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 RXB has two routines that make Program Image files of the Lower 8K CALL BSAVE("DSK1.NAME") ! creates a Program Image file of the LOWER 8K CALL BLOAD("DSK1.NAME") ! loads a Program Image file into the LOWER 8K In RXB Int/Var 254 are the only XP program files and any Program Image files are for LOWER 8K Assembly only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the replies fellas. Tursi, you surprise me - I would have thought you've done just about everything that can be done with assembly . RXB has two routines that make Program Image files of the Lower 8K CALL BSAVE("DSK1.NAME") ! creates a Program Image file of the LOWER 8K CALL BLOAD("DSK1.NAME") ! loads a Program Image file into the LOWER 8K In RXB Int/Var 254 are the only XP program files and any Program Image files are for LOWER 8K Assembly only. Unfortunately all I have is up to TI's XB (I'm running on the real hardware ) - although once I can get some things together to send files back and forth between the PC and the TI I want to play with some of these neat toys out there like MLC and RXB. Use this as a template. It was a program I wrote aeons ago to copy my Scott Adams adventures from cassette to disk Excellent - I'll have to give this a try - it's probably going to take a pass or two (or three....) as the tape doesn't like to load every time. (I think the very beginning is worn and if I recall correctly, the other side never worked ). At this point, since I only had the pirate adventure, I have a useless cart- until I can get this thing on disk . Cheers! Edit: Of course, I will try this out and post back soon . Edited May 29, 2013 by RobertLM78 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXB Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Thanks for the replies fellas. Tursi, you surprise me - I would have thought you've done just about everything that can be done with assembly . Unfortunately all I have is up to TI's XB (I'm running on the real hardware ) - although once I can get some things together to send files back and forth between the PC and the TI I want to play with some of these neat toys out there like MLC and RXB. Excellent - I'll have to give this a try - it's probably going to take a pass or two (or three....) as the tape doesn't like to load every time. (I think the very beginning is worn and if I recall correctly, the other side never worked ). At this point, since I only had the pirate adventure, I have a useless cart- until I can get this thing on disk . Cheers! Edit: Of course, I will try this out and post back soon . Oh I should also point out that I use CALL BLOAD to load the SAMS card in 8K chunks into the lower 8K in RXB. A 1024K SAMS would require 119 Program Image files at 32 sectors each equals 3840 sectors so on a SCSI or Hard drive it works great, or CLASSIC99. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 PROGRAM just means a dump of VDP memory, actually. There are a few filetypes inside of that generalization - BASIC programs have a specific format, and Editor/Assembler #5 version assembly programs have a 6-byte header prepended. There are other types with and without actual structure. Maybe something like Fred Kaal's TIDir could "taste" and provide info if possible as an extra column ? I'd like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew180 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I suspect this is a "program" for the Adventure interpreter, however, is there *any* way at all to get the Pirate Adventure tape into memory so that I can save it to disk? Actually, I believe the ADVENTURE cartridge contains the interpreter and loader only, and the cassette / disk contains the specific database for whatever adventure. Similar to ToD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airernie Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 A very early technique for dumping an Adventure cassette was to use the TOD module (page 22 mp8403.pdf in MICROpendium directory on the WHT FTP site). Another, maybe better way is the CASSTRANS program. It's disk CV157.dsk in the Cedar Valley User Group Library on WHT FTP. The disk is in PC99 format, so you'll need to convert/upload to a real 99/4A to use it. There are more, these are just the two that came to me the quickest. Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 (edited) Use this as a template. It was a program I wrote aeons ago to copy my Scott Adams adventures from cassette to disk A very early technique for dumping an Adventure cassette was to use the TOD module (page 22 mp8403.pdf in MICROpendium directory on the WHT FTP site). Another, maybe better way is the CASSTRANS program. It's disk CV157.dsk in the Cedar Valley User Group Library on WHT FTP. The disk is in PC99 format, so you'll need to convert/upload to a real 99/4A to use it. There are more, these are just the two that came to me the quickest. Ernie Thanks Ernie - that's an excellent tip . Unfortunately, neither has been helpful as I think the tape is too far gone - the weird thing is that the side that always gave me trouble sounds just fine (as far as I can tell, at any rate). I'll probably keep trying the Tunnels option a few more times (the assembled program that mizapf shared seems to work, but the cassette prompts don't display from some reason - good thing I have them memorized ). I did get the tape to load *once* in Adventure since pulling the TI out a few weeks ago, so maybe I can make it happen once more in ToD. PROGRAM just means a dump of VDP memory, actually. There are a few filetypes inside of that generalization - BASIC programs have a specific format, and Editor/Assembler #5 version assembly programs have a 6-byte header prepended. There are other types with and without actual structure. Aren't assembled object files just VDP memory dumps? I wonder why they don't get the PROGRAM 'title' then too. Edited May 30, 2013 by RobertLM78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airernie Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Robert, All of the Scott Adams adventures are available on disk, as well as a bunch of other adventure games are on the WHT FTP site. Unless you have a saved game that you are trying to retrieve, then that may be the way to go. Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 the assembled program that mizapf shared seems to work, but the cassette prompts don't display from some reason - good thing I have them memorized ) I don't fully remember, but you can run it either within Editor/Assembler or TI BASIC; in one case you will not get screen output. The reason is that TI BASIC shifts its pattern definitions so you have a character offset. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 I don't fully remember, but you can run it either within Editor/Assembler or TI BASIC; in one case you will not get screen output. The reason is that TI BASIC shifts its pattern definitions so you have a character offset. Michael It probably does need to be run from XB - need to learn how to do that . (I ran it from E/A, as it turns out). Robert, All of the Scott Adams adventures are available on disk, as well as a bunch of other adventure games are on the WHT FTP site. Unless you have a saved game that you are trying to retrieve, then that may be the way to go. Ernie I thought about that - but the one caveat though is getting it from the PC to the TI. At the moment I have to wait until I can afford this copy of Magic FM I've found for $20, and I should be in business to do some transferring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Robert, locate the 60 in the first PAB, change it to 00. This is the "screen offset" (see Editor/Assembler manual p. 253). Or get into TI BASIC (not Extended Basic) and there you can use the CALL LOAD and CALL LINK subprograms (when the Editor/Assembler cartridge is plugged in). Michael 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew180 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 At the moment I have to wait until I can afford this copy of Magic FM I've found for $20, and I should be in business to do some transferring. I sell MagicFM floppy disks for $2 on my webstore, however I can't make any right now since my system is not set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Aren't assembled object files just VDP memory dumps? I wonder why they don't get the PROGRAM 'title' then too. The TI assembler outputs text file-compatible tagged object files, so they are DV80 or DF80. Each line contains tags and data bytes, rather than a memory dump. If loaded and saved with the SAVE utility to PROGRAM image files, then they are VDP memory dumps, and that's why they get a PROGRAM file type. Since the disk DSR only loads and saves VDP memory, the assembly program is copied to and from VDP for saving and loading (in 8k chunks, by default). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) Robert, locate the 60 in the first PAB, change it to 00. This is the "screen offset" (see Editor/Assembler manual p. 253). Or get into TI BASIC (not Extended Basic) and there you can use the CALL LOAD and CALL LINK subprograms (when the Editor/Assembler cartridge is plugged in). Michael Thanks Michael - I'll do that and give it another whirl, seeing as the program was designed for the job specifically. Edit: that manual reference was *right* on the money, well done! I sell MagicFM floppy disks for $2 on my webstore, however I can't make any right now since my system is not set up. $2 is better than $20 - I can probably wait (unless I get some extra money together and get antsy ) The TI assembler outputs text file-compatible tagged object files, so they are DV80 or DF80. Each line contains tags and data bytes, rather than a memory dump. If loaded and saved with the SAVE utility to PROGRAM image files, then they are VDP memory dumps, and that's why they get a PROGRAM file type. Since the disk DSR only loads and saves VDP memory, the assembly program is copied to and from VDP for saving and loading (in 8k chunks, by default). Very interesting - that explains a lot, and takes the mystery out of why some files are PROGRAM type and others DIS/FIXED. I sure do have a lot more to learn about this machine - but I do feel very motivated to get to know it thoroughly. I'm really amazed by the technical prowess on this board - I'd like to get to that level eventually . These machines are still so cool, and so capable of some neat things, despite their age . Edited May 31, 2013 by RobertLM78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquesg Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 matthew180, on Thu May 30, 2013 6:20 PM, said: I sell MagicFM floppy disks for $2 on my webstore, however I can't make any right now since my system is not set up. $2 is better than $20 - I can probably wait (unless I get some extra money together and get antsy ) My guess is that the cost of the cable is a large part of the $20. You can download MagicFM from www,errorfree.de but you will then need an emulator program connected by cable to get the program over to your TI. MagicFM (MFM) is a two file XB program that can be transferred by running XB on both the emulator and your TI and then doing a SAVE "RS232" on the sending side and OLD "RS232" on the receiving side. Once you have MFM on your TI you still need the cable to use MFM to transfer other programs from your PC to your TI. MFM is a great program but remember that it transfers individual FIAD files and not DOAD files. A helpful tool to use with MFM is TI99DIR. Download it to your PC unless you already have it. Jacques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 My guess is that the cost of the cable is a large part of the $20. You can download MagicFM from www,errorfree.de but you will then need an emulator program connected by cable to get the program over to your TI. MagicFM (MFM) is a two file XB program that can be transferred by running XB on both the emulator and your TI and then doing a SAVE "RS232" on the sending side and OLD "RS232" on the receiving side. Once you have MFM on your TI you still need the cable to use MFM to transfer other programs from your PC to your TI. MFM is a great program but remember that it transfers individual FIAD files and not DOAD files. A helpful tool to use with MFM is TI99DIR. Download it to your PC unless you already have it. Jacques Awesome, I'll have to give this a shot - however, which emulator should I use? (not all emulators are created equally ). I do have a Win7 partition on this machine with Classic99 and Win99 (Burrsoft) and although they'll run through Wine, I'll jump into Windows to do this as soon as I know which emulator to proceed with. By the way, what's the difference between FIAD and DOAD files? (apologies for my ignorance ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 If you're tired of Wine I have some suggestion for you concerning the emulator. As for transferring files to your TI you can use TIImageTool and run some Terminal emulator on the TI side like TELCO. It features an XModem implementation so you can easily push files over a serial line. No need to use an emulator in this case, but TELCO or similar programs must already be present on the TI side. FIAD is another name for a TIFILES file which encapsulates the TI file information with its contents. DOAD is what is generally called a disk image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquesg Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Awesome, I'll have to give this a shot - however, which emulator should I use? (not all emulators are created equally ). I do have a Win7 partition on this machine with Classic99 and Win99 (Burrsoft) and although they'll run through Wine, I'll jump into Windows to do this as soon as I know which emulator to proceed with. By the way, what's the difference between FIAD and DOAD files? (apologies for my ignorance ) I have always used PC99 but being a commercial program is an expensive way to go for a possible one time transfer. Years ago I used the v9t9 (before Java).I think that Fred Kaal's TI994w emulator will work. Same site as TI99DIR. I am pretty sure the two you have will not handle serial transfers. The way I distinguish FIAD and DOAD is that FIAD files are single files in a folder and DOAD is a file containing a number of files like a TI disk. Jacques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) Well, I managed to get MFM successfully loaded into CLASSIC99, but trying to SAVE "RS232" gives I/O ERROR 60 - something wrong with CLASSIC99, perhaps? I don't see any setting in CLASSIC99 related to which [uSB] ports to have the program use, and the serial/USB cable is connected to both computers.... :-| . Edit: I have similar problems trying SAVE "RS232" on Winn99 a well . Edited May 31, 2013 by RobertLM78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXB Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Well, I managed to get MFM successfully loaded into CLASSIC99, but trying to SAVE "RS232" gives I/O ERROR 60 - something wrong with CLASSIC99, perhaps? I don't see any setting in CLASSIC99 related to which [uSB] ports to have the program use, and the serial/USB cable is connected to both computers.... :-| . Edit: I have similar problems trying SAVE "RS232" on Winn99 a well . Yea same problem I bought a RS232 to USB converter cable and it works fine from DOS or Windows XP Virtual PC but nothing since 2003 on will work correctly with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Yea same problem I bought a RS232 to USB converter cable and it works fine from DOS or Windows XP Virtual PC but nothing since 2003 on will work correctly with it. It would be a pain in the arse, but I could theoretically set up a Win XP virtual machine as I still have the XP CD... talk about a project unto itself . Are you sure that Windows 7 is to blame? I thought it smelled of a lack of capability for RS232 in emulation... but I'm not *that* hip. I did have mild success with PuTTY last year using the USB to RS232 (under Linux), but that was just plain text - I don't even remember what I did in PuTTY to make that happen either as I have yet figure it out what I had done. (It really doesn't much matter though, since I'm more interested in sending useful things back and forth, anyway ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Unless im mistaken, Classic99 does not emulate the rs232 at all. PC99 is your best bet... But it'll cost ya. Beyond that, I believe you can hop onto the Hidden Reef on your TI, assuming you have a modem, and download it there straight to disk. Im on the BBSes every day. Great resources, especially The Hidden Reef, run by SysOp Richard Bell. The most active BBS these days is heatwave, run by Mad Hatter and InsaneMultitasker. Great BBS, run on a Geneve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.