CharlieChaplin

SIO2SD setup instructions by philsan... ENGLISH SETUP (firmware v3.1) Format an SD card (FAT 12, 16 or 32 file system) Copy into it sio2sdv35.xex that you find into SIO2SD website inside Configurator_3.5.zip and rename it sio2sd.xex Make a folder named Atari Put into that folder your ATR or XEX files Insert SD card into SIO2SD Turn on computer On SIO2SD double press SHIFT button (grey button on SIO2SD Micro/PC Combo) "CFG TOOL mode" will appear on the LCD display Press K1 button (Drive button on SIO2SD Micro) to enter "cfgtool mode:" With K2 button (File button on SIO2SD Micro) select "every startup" Press K3 button (ESC button on SIO2SD Micro) Press K1 button (Drive button on SIO2SD Micro) to go to "topdrive mode" With K2 button (File button on SIO2SD Micro) set it to "off" Turn off computer Turn on computer In this way every time you turn on your Atari the on-screen menu will be loaded. To have SD card files sorted, use DriveSort, a nice Windows application. ON-SCREEN LOADER INSTRUCTIONS (v3.5) ARROWS/JOYSTICK select file .xex or disk image .atr KEYS 1-8 mount selected file/image into drives 1-8 CTRL+T lets you toggle between real drives / virtual drives ESC climb directory tree X (long press) restart computer with selected images RETURN/FIRE enter directory/load file/disk image While loading programs that don't need Basic, keep pressed OPTION key for a few seconds When you leave on-screen loader, you can swap disk images from real drives to virtual drives pressing SIO2SD's SHIFT button + K3 button (grey button + Esc button on SIO2SD Micro). Those are basic instructions only. SIO2SD on-screen loader has many other features. Moreover, thanks to LCD display and buttons, all those operations can be done without on-screen loader (you can even create disk images).

You can find the SIO2SD configurator versions for download here: http://www.sio2sd.org/software_atari/index.html the SIO2SD firmware is there: http://www.sio2sd.org/software_avr/index.html Newest firmware is V3.3, newest configurator is V3.5. But as said before, I am using the newest firmware 3.3 with an old configurator 2x. The firmware must be flashed, the configurator can simply be copied onto the SD-card, into the root dir and MUST BE named SIO2SD.XEX (the root dir must contain a folder named ATARI, this Atari folder should contain more folders and/or ATR images). Find attached some firmware (BIN), some configurators (rename one of the XEX files into SIO2SD.XEX) and my config file. One can also put the configurators onto an ATR image (that boots the XEX files with a gamedos) and boot this ATR image, so one can always choose between different configurators. With my crt tv the menu letters (A-Z) of the configurators 2.5 and 3.5 did not fully appear on the screen (too far on the left, thus only half of the letter was there), thats why I am using version 2x, which does not show this problem on my old tv. Sio2SD_35.xex SIO2SD.BIN SIO2SD.CFG sio2sd_2x.xex

See Mathy's page: https://www.mathyvannisselroy.nl/stm18bit.txt

[April joke] When all your computers are turned into PAL, maybe you should change your TV norm to PAL also ? [April joke]

Give me a 1400XL or 1450XLD and I will order some batches... 😁

http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=5862

Well, just some small advices / tips / suggestions for A8 programmers regarding ML-files and memory: - DOS: If your ML-file should load under DOS it is best NOT to use memory below $2000. There are some DOS versions which also work with $1Dxx, $1Exx or $1Fxx, but $2000 is generally a safe memory place for most DOS versions. - Gamedos/Bootloader: If your ML-file should load under many/most Gamedos or Bootloader versions it is best NOT to use memory $0700-09FF. There are some gamedos and bootloader versions that also work with $08xx or $09xx and some that even require memory up to $0Axx or $0Bxx, but $0700-09FF should be avoided for most gamedos and bootloader versions to work. - Pages: ML-files can use page 1 or page 4 or page 5 or page 6, but it is best NOT to use all these pages at once (page 1+4+5+6 all at once). There are packers, floppy speeders (Turbo, Hyper-XF, etc.) as well as gamedos and bootloader versions that make use of one or two of these pages, so better do not use them all at once, to leave at least some small space for other tools. One may even use some bits or bytes of page 2 or 3, but NOT the full page 2 or 3. Other than that, refer to the extremely usefull tips by JAC: https://www.wudsn.com/index.php/productions-atari800/tutorials/tips Please correct me, if the above advices / tips / suggestions are plain stupid or otherwise incorrect, since I am not a programmer, just a user.

Yep, there are even several file selector versions for SIO2SD available. Me, I am using the newest firmware but very old (and simple!) file selector 2x. There are newer ones, like 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, etc. which you can also install and load as an ATR image or as SIO2SD.xex file. In the SIO2SD setup I have configured the loader as always/everytime or something like that, if you configure it to never, you will simply never see it...

I am using Superpacker (old V6.1) by TeBe with Exomizer; depacker at page 5, buffer at page 4

With your original IS Plate, please do some simple formatting tests: - insert a disk, format 90k, do a DIR command - then insert a disk, format 130k, do a DIR command, - then insert a disk, format 180k, do a DIR command - finally format 360k or DS/DD, wait for the result (error message) and do a DIR command (some DOS versions will give an error, others will not give an Error and show 1427 free sectors, some will not give an error and show 707 free sectors = 180k) I have an IS Plate clone from Galtron, it formats 90k just fine, but when formatting 130k with DOS 2.x this is displayed as 90k afterwards (707 free sectors, single density) and I have to switch off the drive and back on again, so it is correctly displayed as 130k; with SpartaDOS 3.2f and 3.2g it formatted 90k, even when I wanted it to format 130k (switching off the drive and back on again still showed 90k); when inserting a 90k disk and then trying to format 180k, I always got an Error message, had to insert a 180k disk first, so I could format 180k. And I discovered many other bugs and strange behaviours with this clone... allthough it passed all tests. EDIT: You can also read my comments (and formatting tests) about Galtron's IS Plate clone here: https://atarionline-pl.translate.goog/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=7387&page=10&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp (24Feb2024) and here: https://atarionline-pl.translate.goog/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=7387&page=9&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp and here: https://atarionline-pl.translate.goog/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=7387&page=8&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Does your 65XE have any upgrades ? Maybe one of them does not like the memory area used. A few days ago, I discovered, that there are programs that do not like either Covox or just hardware using $D6xx; one of these programs was the shoot-em-up Lethal Weapon, when Covox was active at $D6xx the gamescreen displayed garbage, when it was switched off (luckily this can be done in Subcart) the game worked fine. Afaik, VBXE can also use $D6xx, so Lethal Weapon most-likely will not work with VBXE at $D6xx page (but I cannot test it, since I do not own VBXE). Similar effects can be seen with other programs and upgrades like Sophia, Rapidus or 65816/65802, stereo Pokey, etc. And sometimes it is just the Option key (Basic off) or that memory at page 0, page 1 or memory under Basic was not cleared (or Antic, GTIA, Pokey was not initialized). P.S.: With Exomizer I used page 5 for depacker and page 4 for buffer to create the packed Plazma2.XEX version.

Note on saving a few bytes when packing ML programs: If a ML program consists of several segments, say $3000-32xx, $3300-34xx, $9000-9xxx, $A000-Axxx and these do not use Init adresses, one can pack every segment, BUT one can also save a few bytes and depacking time, by first appending all these segments into one long segment ($3000-Axxx) and then packing only this one long segment. If packing every segment, the depacker and depacking code is used several times, this costs a few bytes more of memory, also depacking 4-5 short segments takes longer than depacking only one long segment. Meaning: - your Plazmoid_1kb_A8_version2.xex version above has a length of approx. 7.5 KBytes and several packed segments - my packed Plazmo2.XEX version has a length of approx. 6.5 KBytes and only one packed segment I simply took your unpacked Plazmoid2.OBX above, appended all segments into one long segment and packed this segment with Exomizer, then saved the result as Plazmo2.XEX. This one works with my Atari 800XL and most DOS, Gamedos and Bootloader versions. (Most A8 gamedos and bootloader versions require $0700-09FF, some a bit more, some a bit less, so even if you prefer using a Gamedos you should not use this memory area.) Also added a segment $0400-0447, this does several things: It switches off Atari Basic, clears page zero, clears RAM under Basic; of course this was not done by me, since I am no programmer, Fandal did this page 4 routine. Plazmo2.xex

Well, I guess that the segment $07FF-0CB7, Init $07FF is the BIG problem here. You will have a hard time finding a loader that can load and initialize this segment correctly. It is not impossible, but most A8 ML-file loaders cannot load this segment, since $07FF is simply too low. Think it is good practice/advice not to use $0700-09FF in ML file programs, since this will not work with most DOS, Gamedos, Bootloader, 3-sector DOS, etc. loader versions. (But you can use it in boot programs, like boot-tapes or boot-disks, CAS/ATR images respectively). Guess it is possible to make the released and unchanged file work with XBIOS, but I do not know how, think you have to configure/change it in some way (maybe in Assembler, maybe otherwise), which I as a non-programmer am unable to do. Think there was also a loader by Ralf David which could load ML-files as low as $0600, but the loader required more than the usual 3 boot sectors (and therefore could be overwritten quite easily). XBootDOS and FoxDOS load (afaik) from $0980, but thats not low enough, uDOS loads from $0938, still not low enough. My solution atm is DOS2XL, which is a DOS similar to DOS XL and almost the whole FMS uses RAM under the OS (64k RAM required!), therefore it has a memlo of $0786, low enough for Plazmoid it seems. You may test the attached ATR image with Plazmaoid V1 and V2 (while I think it does not matter for any loader if the $07FF-0CB7 segment is at the start or at the end of the ML file). It seems to work okay with Atari 800 Win... which doesn't mean much... But in my eyes it would be much better if the low segment $07FF... would be relocated to another (higher) memory area. Would be much less trouble finding a loader that can load it... and thats what my first comment all was about. Throwing out an A8 ML-file like "here you have it" and more or less saying "now find a loader that can load it, cause I didn't pay much attention about memory" is no good practice of releasing an A8 program. @_The Doctor__: Thanks for fuckings. P.S.: Pressing -any key- seems to freeze the plazmoid, do not know if there is -any other key- to unfreeze it. (Have not found one.) Plazmo1.atr Plazmo2.atr

U2: Rattle and Hum.

Aha, so there is a difference between MyDOS and DOS 2.5 regarding binary load from Basic (therefore a different machinecode required). Since I am no programmer, I did not know this. Evil me, I wanted to have all Tenliner games on a 130k disk. So I simply packed the two longest programs (Acme Inc and Fall Ball, both ug-Basic programs) and then they did all fit on a 130k disk. But with DOS 2.5 and your menu on this 130k diskette all XEX files did not run anymore. With MyDOS and your menu on this 130k disk I also had some problems (think the XEX files still did not load, but maybe it was something else that did not work). So I loaded your menu from the Tenliners 2023 (130k DOS 2.5 disk image) and listed lines 65 and 66 to diskette and then entered it to the menu of the Tenliners 2024 on my 130k DOS 2.5 disk - and that worked. The packed programs show some garbage when depacking, but otherwise they work fine (and all XEX files load fine from DOS 2.5 now).

Hey Vitoco, your Basic menu for the Tenlinere 2024 has a small bug or better is missing a line... 1) Tenliners 2023 Basic menu (V1.1): line 65 Open #1,4,0,"D:File$" line 66 machinecode to load the XEX files 2) Tenliners 2024 Basic menu (V1.0): line 65 machinecode to load the XEX files line 66 not there Thus, the line with Open #1,4,0,"D:File$" is missing and therefore all .XEX Files and TB XL (.EXE ) cannot be loaded on your Tenliner 2024 diskette. Or am I completely wrong ?

Dito: I spend zero time searching for a (boot)loader that could load your XEX file. You don't spend time as a programmer, why should I as a user ?

If Dandy counts as co-op, then the Dandy clone "Aliens" should also count as co-op... https://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3777 (It is possible to use Dandy levels in Aliens and vice versa.)

So I checked my other four Atari 800XL computers yesterday and today by simply running/displaying ACP 1.0 for six hours. The picture of ACP did not change on any of these four computers, so it looks like they do not have this "bug", like my 5th Atari shown above. Next thing to do is checking if the faulty Atari nr. 5 has a) a bad GTIA, b) a bad Antic (or another chip) or c) if a replacement of 74LS08 with 74F08 is enough to get rid of that "bug".

SDrive mini by Lotharek supports 4 drives (or drive slots), like the original SDrive; images can be swapped for multi-disk games. BUT: Limit is max. 4 disks/images, so a few games, like AR Dungeon (5 disksides), Gunslinger (5 disksides) and others will most-likely not work.

Yep, thats why I said on page 1 of this topic, in an alternate history IBM should have secured their BIOS and sued anyone trying to copy it. Result: No (cheap) IBM compatible computers, PC remains very expensive forever and for big companies only, while Atari and Commodore still produce Home/Private Computers for the masses.

to quote from Animal Farm... - the 800XL is equal (to the Atari 800) - the 130XE is more equal

Abbuc floppy doc - he has a lot of experience with A8 floppy drives. And he found more bugs on the re-imaged XF pcb's 3E and 6.0... https://abbuc.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2763 (use Google translate or DeepL to translate from german into english)

Afaik, Ultimate Carts from Retrotrains and santosp came without cases - so it depends which case you are using for them. I used one of the grey Loderunner XE/XEGS ribbon cases (made in Taiwan, ribbons on the side, Atari Fuji logo on back, noses that break easily inside) and I guess that these cases also fit in 400 and 800 Ataris. But if you ordered Ultimate Cart from someone else and it is a 3D-printed case, it will most-likely not fit...

Well, I see no changes, just strange colours (maybe normal for NTSC, since I have PAL I do not know)... Here is what happens on one of my Ataris when the GTIA does warm up with ACP 1.0. picture 0 - computer cold, normal look (PAL), via S-Video picture 1 after approx. 45 - 60 minutes stripes appear: picture 2, a minute later, many more stripes picture 3, two minutes later, almost finished picture 4, a minute later, finish screen (does not change anymore, not even hours later) please ignore that picture 0 is much darker and all others are much brighter (and show mirror effects), I opened the roller blind / roller shutter... ahem. In the finish picture it looks like 16 colours each with 4 lum - but repeated four times (i.e. lum 0-3 are the same as lum 4-7 and the same as lum 8-B and the same as lum C-F)... strange eh ? Besides, ACP 1.1 (which displays 16 colours but each with only 8 lumas) shows the same effect on this computer! (All pictures taken with my cheap smartphone.)