Wally1 Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 I have a 130XE and a Side2 cart. I use the Side2 primarily for .XEX files (games). what else can I do with the Side2 cart? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo-Rio Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Apparently you can use it as an Atari Hard Drive. You have SpartaDOS built in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Read the user guide on the APT page of my website for a detailed walk-thru of HDD partitioning. Note that you may need to update the ROM on your SIDE2: I understand that some of them ship with FDISK 1.0, which is totally out of date. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally1 Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 darn I have fdisk 1.0. how do I update the rom on my SIDE2 cart? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 also if you have/can get an ultimate 1mb, you can load ATR files Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 darn I have fdisk 1.0. how do I update the rom on my SIDE2 cart? thanks Check Jon's (flashjazzcat) website. He has updated ROMs and instructions for updating. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally1 Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 (edited) help! I tried running side2-update.xex got a rainbow screen stopped it and now my side2 cart wont boot up - the loader is not there what do I do now? and I have the uflash and rom files how do i use them? (it said device not present) please help! thanks! Edited May 27, 2016 by Wally1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 (edited) I'm not even sure from where you downloaded side2-update.xex. Check out this page and download the ZIP file: http://atari8.co.uk/firmware/side/ There's a copy of the loader ROM there (for use with UFLASH if you happen to have 320KB or 512KB of RAM handy), and an ATR which you should boot from SIO2SD, SIO2PC or similar. The ATR doesn't need extended RAM and will just boot and do its stuff. You'll need to boot SDX from the SIDE2, though, in both cases - hopefully that still works. If not, you can try this first: http://atari8.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SDX447_SIDE2.zip Edited May 27, 2016 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally1 Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 thanks, FJC i need to get a SIO2PC! yes the sdx part of my cart still works i hope your advice works by the time i get my stuff together! thanksalot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper of Death Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 As I am reading a lot of old posts to get the most information about the SIDE2 and Sio2SD devices, i wonder when the update for SIDE2 will come, to make it able to use ATR files without U1MB upgrade chip ? This was written a long while ago on this forum. I dont know what topic it was. It could also be that it was written on the ABBUC forum or another one. Anyhow, any news if this ATR upgrade will come soon, or if it is deleted from progress ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 As I am reading a lot of old posts to get the most information about the SIDE2 and Sio2SD devices, i wonder when the update for SIDE2 will come, to make it able to use ATR files without U1MB upgrade chip ? This was written a long while ago on this forum. I dont know what topic it was. It could also be that it was written on the ABBUC forum or another one. Anyhow, any news if this ATR upgrade will come soon, or if it is deleted from progress ? It's news to me that such a thing was in the pipeline. Unless you mean some idle speculation about a customised OS for SIDE2 (i.e. "SIBIOS" or similar)? Since one convenient way to use a custom OS in ROM is to fit an Ultimate 1MB board (which then makes the custom OS unncecessary) , such a project seemed to me a waste of time. I'm not a fan of hacked operating systems anyway, and running a "soft OS" is a faff and won't work with any software which uses the Shadow RAM. In addition, U1MB/SIDE runs ATRs as files in a FAT volume, so requires a mini FAT file system handler in the driver (this occupies about half the PBI ROM). Whether such a thing could be squeezed into the Atari OS I'm unsure. MyIDE, AFAIK, runs ATRs from static slots on the HDD so doesn't require any file system handler, but does require special software to get the ATR onto the HDD in the first place. So: consider it deleted from progress, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper of Death Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 I also have another question about the SIDE2: Can I use the SIDE2 reset button without using the XEX loader or SDX ? example: I load some games from my 1050 diskdrive to test them, and push the SIDE2 reset button to reboot the Atari computer and then load some other games from the 1050 diskdrive. Does that work ? Or is it not possible with the SIDE2 inserted in the cartridge slot, because it always boots either SDX or XEX loader ? and not DOS 2.5 from the 1050 drive ? I am still thinking about buying either the SIDE2, Sio2SD or another addon. But the RESET button on the SIDE2 is interesting for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 The SIDE2 reset button simply reinstates the cartridge ROM at $A000-$BFFF; a subsequent system reset therefore causes the XEX menu to reappear (this functionality is suppressed by the U1MB PBI ROM feature, which repurposes the reset button to work as an ATR rotation facility). You can use the upper external cartridge slot (or indeed the SDX slot) for anything you like or leave it empty, but I don't think the reset button will suit your purposes. Of course should you choose to fit U1MB, all problems are solved since the device provides ample means of rebooting the machine without resorting to the power switch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Hi flashjazzcat, I've recently updated SIDE Loaders on both my SIDE and SIDE2 and they're working fine. Is there a chance to get a "XEX" type of binary that could be simply loaded into RAM? In case of one of the older versions of SIDE Loader, such "standalone" version of loader was available, not only update of the flash-based loader inside SIDE. thanks in advance! Edited October 28, 2016 by Jacques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 That's been asked before, and I simply didn't get around to it yet. Certainly doable, though, but it'll require a bit of work since I'll have to lay the two 8K ROM banks out side-by-side in RAM. There's an update coming anyway, with interesting new usability features. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Good to know, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Just wondering: what is the typical application for an XEX version of the loader? Is this intended to be run from DOS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) Well, I'm using SIDE (with SDX partition on CF) together with SIO2SD and like to keep it in the SDX mode. While I can simply type CAR from SDX command prompt, I prefer immediate load, e.g. from D8 under QMEG. This way to get into loader I don't have to boot SDX nor play with switch on SIDE cartridge. It's just useful to have executable binary at disposal Edited October 29, 2016 by Jacques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 OK - thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) I've recently updated SIDE Loaders on both my SIDE and SIDE2 and they're working fine. Is there a chance to get a "XEX" type of binary that could be simply loaded into RAM? In case of one of the older versions of SIDE Loader, such "standalone" version of loader was available, not only update of the flash-based loader inside SIDE. Here you go: uload128.xex I just created this today, and it's built off the same source as the U1MB/Incognito/SIDE ROM versions, and I had to move a lot of stuff around for the conditional assembly to work out correctly. Hopefully this hasn't introduced issues or retrospectively broken anything. The loader actually nukes DOS ($700-$1020 to be exact), but this version caches that area of RAM and reinstates it when you use the new "Exit" feature on the last menu (or press Ctrl+X anywhere). Note: start with "X" under SDX. This version saves config changes to the U1MB NVRAM. Edited November 25, 2016 by flashjazzcat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndary Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 here is a video i made on how to upgrade the SIDE2 cart to the latest firmware https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTSCZTD8jlo enjoy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 (edited) Hello flashjazzcat, thanks a lot for posting loader binary file. I ran it from under SDX 4.48 (with X of course), but there seems to be a problem, when loader is started, it behaves like some key is permanently pressed (repeated keyclick sound), plus there appears a row of "1" chars then it eases up a bit when I go right with the arrow to settings and then the sound comes back. Obviously it's not my joystick stucked something, I have SIDE, 1 MB, but no Ultimate on board yet, normally perfectly functioning Atari 130XE This version saves config changes to the U1MB NVRAM. Could it use battery maintained memory on SIDE instead, like the built-in loader does? Edited November 26, 2016 by Jacques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Thanks. This version is intended for U1MB machines. I will make a SIDE-only build for you to try. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Sounds great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Fjc I noticed that the Fandal games from FLOP magazines don't respond to the Press any Key prompt.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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