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APT update for Ultimate, Incognito, SIDE and compatibles


flashjazzcat

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Small update relevant only to SIDE/SIDE2 users:

 

http://atari8.co.uk/apt/side/

 

Thanks to Electron for discovering an issue with device reset in the SDX driver. The problem turned out to be a simple conditional assembly issue. The fix (v.3.1) ensures that the driver will initialize correctly when SDX is booted after previously using the XEX loader without shutting down the machine (i.e. booting SDX by pressing the SIDE button and then Reset).

 

This is a recommended update only for owners of SIDE and SIDE2 who use the SDX soft-driver (it does not affect MyIDE, MyIDE2, or Colleen soft-drivers).

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Something to report (on NTSC XEGS).

 

XEGS OS, U1MB SDX on with Side device w button ON.Side2 set to loader, CF with FAT32 partition containing Side2 flasher ATR, and APT with 1 partition (seen as D3:) empty.

Boot SDX from U1MB, run MATR to mount the flasher ATR as D1:, use MATR "reboot" feature -> "no DOS" message

Press reset on XEGS, lsomehow SDX remembers D1: mounted and the flasher now comes up.

 

Not sure it is a bug (I mean the first time pre-reset "no DOS"), a feature, my misunderstanding of how it is supposed to work.

 

Just reporting.

Edited by phoenixdownita
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I attach the updated 512K to flash with SIDE2 SDX soft driver 3.1 as released by fjc.

Thanks. Note that ATR flasher is on the website, where users can also get exposed to the donate button. :D

 

Something to report (on NTSC XEGS).

 

XEGS OS, U1MB SDX on with Side device w button ON.Side2 set to loader, CF with FAT32 partition containing Side2 flasher ATR, and APT with 1 partition (seen as D3:) empty.

Boot SDX from U1MB, run MATR to mount the flasher ATR as D1:, use MATR "reboot" feature -> "no DOS" message

Press reset on XEGS, lsomehow SDX remembers D1: mounted and the flasher now comes up.

MATR disables SDX when you reboot, since 99 per cent of the time this is what's needed (since SDX doesn't actually "boot" disks). Just use "quit" then run the flasher from the DOS prompt.

Edited by flashjazzcat
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Small update relevant only to SIDE/SIDE2 users:

 

http://atari8.co.uk/apt/side/

 

Thanks to Electron for discovering an issue with device reset in the SDX driver. The problem turned out to be a simple conditional assembly issue. The fix (v.3.1) ensures that the driver will initialize correctly when SDX is booted after previously using the XEX loader without shutting down the machine (i.e. booting SDX by pressing the SIDE button and then Reset).

 

This is a recommended update only for owners of SIDE and SIDE2 who use the SDX soft-driver (it does not affect MyIDE, MyIDE2, or Colleen soft-drivers).

 

 

hm, will be possible make ATR which is editable? i want change config.sys from ROM and replace back to ATR and flash..

Edited by w1k
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hm, will be possible make ATR which is editable? i want change config.sys from ROM and replace back to ATR and flash..

 

Take the ROM file (which is identical to the ROM file in the ATR), edit it using the SDX Imager (available from the SDX site), then use Altirra to mount the ATR. Delete the ROM in the ATR, and drag the newly edited ROM into the ATR. Job done.

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Thanks (again) to Electron, a more serious bug has been discovered in the SpartaDOS X soft-drivers (for SIDE, SIDE2, MyIDE, MyIDE II, and Colleen). The bug resulted in a rogue write at a fixed location in main memory every time the driver re-read the partition table. Among other potential problems, the most serious issue was partition table corruption when preparing media using FDISK.

Version 3.2 of the APT SDX soft-driver fixes this issue, and is available as a strongly recommended update via the links below:

Further info

APT page (SDX ROMs and ATRs)

Soft-Driver pack (for use with the SDX Imaging Tool; direct link)

 

Note the problem is confined to the soft-drivers (PBI BIOS is unaffected).

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FYI: I will refrain from attaching the updated 512K flash BIN with soft driver 3.2 for SIDE2.

 

Please donate to fjc, he deserves it and then some, really just cover for a beer [there were 11 DL for the last one, 1 beer each and we get fjc happy, really happy], he can generate one for you in a jiffy .... literally.

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You need SDX enabled. Type -AUTOEXEC and the process will commence.

It's been quite sometime since I used the SIDE. Now the SIDE2 is out, instructions for setting up the original SIDE and operation with ATR disk-images/SIO2SD etc. are thin on the ground.

 

Assuming I have the image mounted as disk 1 in the SIO2SD, how do I proceed to boot from the SIO2SD with the SIDE cart in the cartridge slot?

 

Or do I copy the included .ATR to the FAT32 partition of the SIDE1 and mount it from there?

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OK. I've got to the point where I have the SDX Upgrade Flasher loading. (My SIO2SD somehow got set to too high a transfer speed).

 

I now get a message saying "If SDX or Flashing is disabled, enable now, then hit a key".

 

It gives a file-date of 7-4-14, size 256KB.

 

"Waiting for SDX cartridge..."

 

"Remove Cartridge!"

 

"Restart Program?"

 

It doesn't progress any further.

 

If I hit a key, it just loops.

 

I'm missing something but I've no idea what. How do I enable flashing on the SIDE (version 1) if that's what's required?

 

Guidance greatly appreciated.

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I'll put some instructions on the website (it seems they're needed), but apart from hot-swapping capability, procedures for SIDE and SIDE2 are largely the same. If the flasher isn't detecting SDX, then it's likely the cart switch is in the wrong position. You must boot from the SDX on the cart ROM.

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Perhaps some of you can help with a query. Electron is getting consistent odd behaviour (albeit largely cosmetic) in FDISK: when writing the partition table to disk, he gets no "APT Updated Successfully" message, and the partition table is not immediately activated. The partition table is, however, correctly written to disk (using the PBI BIOS and the fixed soft-driver) and no error message is displayed. I cannot duplicate this issue (the lack of confirmation message and partition table refresh), so I wondered if anyone else had encountered this exact problem. Until I can reproduce it, there's little I can do.

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I'll put some instructions on the website (it seems they're needed), but apart from hot-swapping capability, procedures for SIDE and SIDE2 are largely the same. If the flasher isn't detecting SDX, then it's likely the cart switch is in the wrong position. You must boot from the SDX on the cart ROM.

 

Forgive my pedantry but if I boot from the SDX on SIDE2 there's no way to mount the flashing ATR unless I have another device (SIO2SD) or found a way to put the flashing ATR ahead of time in one of the partitions in the APT.

 

Am I right?

 

Now, for the second part, copying the flashing ATR into one of the APT partitions (so it is visible once I reboot with SDX on SIDE2), could I use MATR and whatever else is available on the U1MB SDX to perform said copy [sector by sector or file by file whatever is needed)? And if so, how?

 

[this is for future reference, eventually I will get tired of flashing the 512K via EPROM burner]

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Forgive my pedantry but if I boot from the SDX on SIDE2 there's no way to mount the flashing ATR unless I have another device (SIO2SD) or found a way to put the flashing ATR ahead of time in one of the partitions in the APT.

 

Am I right?

Yes. The problem here is that Ultimate's PBI requires the SIDE cart to be in loader mode, irrespective of where SDX boots from. So some kind of serial device would be a basic requirement here.

 

Now, for the second part, copying the flashing ATR into one of the APT partitions (so it is visible once I reboot with SDX on SIDE2), could I use MATR and whatever else is available on the U1MB SDX to perform said copy [sector by sector or file by file whatever is needed)? And if so, how?

 

[this is for future reference, eventually I will get tired of flashing the 512K via EPROM burner]

For the reasons explained above, this is unlikely to work. The simple solution would be to purchase (or make) some kind of inexpensive SIO2PC cable and use freely available peripheral emulator software for the purpose of updating SIDE.

 

Of course a version of UFLASH which updates SIDE might be an alternative solution. You could then put the ROM file in the FAT partition of the CF card, install FATFS.SYS, and UFLASH would load the ROM image direct from the FAT and flash the SIDE cart. Is this a tool I would be encouraged to produce?

Edited by flashjazzcat
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I'll put some instructions on the website (it seems they're needed), but apart from hot-swapping capability, procedures for SIDE and SIDE2 are largely the same. If the flasher isn't detecting SDX, then it's likely the cart switch is in the wrong position. You must boot from the SDX on the cart ROM.

I got there in the end. The switch was correct but I had to remove the SIDE from its casing before the flashing utility would see the cartridge. Dunno why but when enclosed, the flash tool couldn't detect it. It's been updated successfully but now the FAT32 loader no longer loads games. They crash when loading. That's not a SpartaDOSX problem though...

 

What's the switch on the end of the SIDE cart for? It's alongside the CF slot.

Edited by UKRetrogamer
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Incidentally, I updated my SIDE (v1), an IDE Plus 2 and an Atarimax MyIDE cart last night (though I spent ALL night doing so). Only the SIDE caused me any issues and this was probably just my unit.

 

Thanks for your excellent work, flashjazzcat

Edited by UKRetrogamer
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I got there in the end. The switch was correct but I had to remove the SIDE from its casing before the flashing utility would see the cartridge. Dunno why but when enclosed, the flash tool couldn't detect it. It's been updated successfully but now the FAT32 loader no longer loads games. They crash when loading. That's not a SpartaDOSX problem though...

 

What's the switch on the end of the SIDE cart for? It's alongside the CF slot.

Possibly the reset switch was stuck "on" when the case was fitted? Anyway: I'm not convinced that the SDX flasher always leaves the upper (i.e. XEX loader) banks intact. I'm sure the flasher obliterated the XEX loader on one of my carts the other week. I didn't write the flasher, but I'd better investigate this nevertheless.

 

Incidentally, I updated my SIDE (v1), an IDE Plus 2 and an Atarimax MyIDE cart last night (though I spent ALL night doing so). Only the SIDE caused me any issues and this was probably just my unit.

 

Thanks for your excellent work, flashjazzcat

Good - I'm glad you're finding all this stuff useful. :)

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Possibly the reset switch was stuck "on" when the case was fitted? Anyway: I'm not convinced that the SDX flasher always leaves the upper (i.e. XEX loader) banks intact. I'm sure the flasher obliterated the XEX loader on one of my carts the other week. I didn't write the flasher, but I'd better investigate this nevertheless.

Thanks. Is there a way to restore functionality (re-flash) to the XEX loader?

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Yes. The problem here is that Ultimate's PBI requires the SIDE cart to be in loader mode, irrespective of where SDX boots from. So some kind of serial device would be a basic requirement here.

 

 

For the reasons explained above, this is unlikely to work. The simple solution would be to purchase (or make) some kind of inexpensive SIO2PC cable and use freely available peripheral emulator software for the purpose of updating SIDE.

 

Of course a version of UFLASH which updates SIDE might be an alternative solution. You could then put the ROM file in the FAT partition of the CF card, install FATFS.SYS, and UFLASH would load the ROM image direct from the FAT and flash the SIDE cart. Is this a tool I would be encouraged to produce?

 

Work with me here.

If I manage to get the flasher ATR (or it's content) on the CF ATP portion visible via SIDE2 SDX, wouldn't I be able to simply launch the flasher at the prompt?

 

My reference to U1MB MATR was only as a mean to "copy" the flasher from a FAT32 file into the APT portion of the CF.

 

Technically I should be able to simply use MATR to mount the flasher ATR, copy the files from the mounted flasher ATR to an APT partition in the CF, shutdown U1MB SDX, and use SIDE2 SDX which should find the required files on said CF APT partition.

 

Am I missing something?

 

[please forgive my vast ignorance on all matters of Atari DOSes]

Edited by phoenixdownita
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Work with me here.

Heh... I think I'm starting to lose the plot, so you might have to bear with me. :)

 

If I manage to get the flasher ATR (or it's content) on the CF ATP portion visible via SIDE2 SDX, wouldn't I be able to simply launch the flasher at the prompt?

It's a possibility. The flasher executable contains a mini read-only SpartaDOS filesystem driver. If it uses the LSIOV vector (i.e. SDX's own SIO routine), then it's possible the flasher could be launched from a partition, using the soft-driver. I think. ;)

 

My reference to U1MB MATR was only as a mean to "copy" the flasher from a FAT32 file into the APT portion of the CF.

Right - understood now.

 

Technically I should be able to simply use MATR to mount the flasher ATR, copy the files from the mounted flasher ATR to an APT partition in the CF, shutdown U1MB SDX, and use SIDE2 SDX which should find the required files on said CF APT partition.

 

Am I missing something?

I don't think you're missing anything. I only hope I'm not. :D

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