"That's Incredible" - Ms. Pac-Man Championship :)

["That's Incredible" - Ms. Pac-Man Championship :)]

That was pretty cool to watch. I know I'd never be that good to get a score like that.

[what were your first game(s) bought for your A8]

I remember the first game I got was QIX on cartridge, but my mom told my dad to take it back. The computer was NOT to be used for computer games, only educational stuff. Well that only lasted for about a week. haha.

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

I have a ATR image with MyDOS, that has all the formatting, tools, etc for the Supra / KP interface. I have it at home (I'm at work now) I'll add it as an attachment later tonight.

 

 

As promised, the ATR image of the utilities, and documentation for the Supra / K-Products Hard Drive interface.

Supra_HD_files_from_Bob_Klaas.zip

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

An Update of sorts...

 

Got a new cable modem from the cable co. (Time Warner), They said that the splitters on the outside, and in the attic died.

 

A friend from work gave me a 4 port wired router and a 4 port kvm switch to get my setup working again.

 

The wife's computer lost her video card, and onboard LAN port. So a new MB is on it's way and the video card was sent out to be replaced by BFG Tech.

 

The File Server got a used MB from the same friend, which happened to have an onboard RAID controller, so no data loss to any of the drives.

 

And finally the third PC needs a MB, and Video card replaced. I'm waiting on the MB to come, and I have a AGP card for this MB coming. (This system is going to go into my new MAME cab)

 

I'm working overtime tonight, and tomorrow I plan on clearing off a place on my workbench to setup my 8-bit stuff to get ready to tinker.

 

 

I'll dig out my Willem EPROM programmer and my UV eraser.

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

Hey Bob,

 

The Init never started, so nothing got erased. The software reported an error code.

 

I was at my last hope, and wanted to try anything at that point, to see if it talked to the drive, etc.

 

The cover is back on.

 

 

I do have a EPROM burner, it's a willem clone type.

 

Now some sad news. Last night though the Columbia, SC area we had some nasty thunderstorms (Thanks, Fay.), and well even though things were on UPSes, and surge protectors, lightning came through the cable modem and blew up the modem, the network switch, three compuiters, a 4-port KVM switch and two TV cable boxes. While I was at work.

 

So now I'm trying to pick up the pieces, and get things replaced. I'm going to hold off on any type of data recovery now.

 

Give me a week or two for things to settle, and I'll get back to this.

 

Anyonre have any old PCs (older celeron, athlon, pIII) they would like to get rid of? I'd like to get my file server up and running again. The drives are fine, but the controller cards (a PCI ata 133 and a RAID controller) popped.

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

Hey Bob1200XL,

 

yes, I've opened the drive, the platters and the head look good. I think somewhere in my image archive on here I have photos of the drive.

 

This beast is really, really old. 1985 old. The interface is SASI, not SCSI and it's a edge connector, not pins. That old. haha

 

Anyway, I still have the interface, the software to do a low level format, etc. I used spartados X for the DOS, it has three partitions, a bootable 720 Sector startup, and two 4.5 or 5 Meg partitions.

 

I know the drive responds to commands from the interface and software, I've tried to low level format it, and it tries to access, but stops and reports an error code ( I don't remember off hand ).

 

When I first started tinkering with it, when I applied power to the unit, it started its init, and then I heard it knocking / buzzing type sound coming from the stepper motor.

 

The lid of the drive is held on by clips, that came off with a flat head screwdriver, so I opened it up, and peeked inside while it was starting up, and saw the head hit some sort of stopper at the edge of the platters. It has an adjustment screw that I have tried to turn in small increments to stop it from hitting. I was able to get it to stop hitting, but I don't know if it needed to hit that stopper to tell the servo it was at home position, etc.

 

 

Here is the info I have on the drive.

 

 

I don't have my 8-bit setup at the moment, it's out in the garage, I plan on trying to work on it this weekend. But any help would be appreciated.

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

I have a ATR image with MyDOS, that has all the formatting, tools, etc for the Supra / KP interface. I have it at home (I'm at work now) I'll add it as an attachment later tonight.

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

The drive still spins, and tries to seek, I think sector 0 is bad (that's what the KP/Supra interface uses to store partition tables)

 

I also think the head stopper is out of alignment, so it doesn't stop at the right spot for sector 0. (I've tried adjusting the stopper ever so slightly to get the drive to stop at the edge of the platter. Otherwise the stepper motor clicks as it's trying to get to sector 0 (edge of the platter)

 

I don't know of all the details of how the Supra interfaces, but if I could get a BB from somebody, to loan, exchange some hardware for, leave a deposit or something, I'd like to attempt to see if I can sector copy this drive.

 

 

Thanks all.

[Using the MIO to do data recovery.]

With MetalGuy's MIO updates, etc. Is there any possibility of data recovery from a hard drive?

 

I still have the XEBEC 10 Meg HDD that was connected to the Supra/KP interface, and I would still like to attempt some recovery.

 

Thanks all.

[Who/Which was your favourite Pirate/Cracker in the 'bad old days']

There was one other group I remember being on one of my disks as a kid was from Stokes Brothers Pirating, they quoted "only the best" or something like that, with a BBS number in area code 801 (Utah)

 

Stokes Brothers use to be a computer shop that sold all the computers at the time, Atari, Apple, Commodore, IBM, etc. I would drool when my dad and I went there to get something.

[5.25 floppy cases]

Hi all,

 

I am looking for some floppy cases.

 

Either the bigger cases that hold 50 to 100 disks, or even a big set of the mini cases that only hold 10 disks.

 

Need something for a huge collection of disks I recently got, and want to protect them, and pull them out of this cardboard box.

 

Thanks all.

[Disk ATR for "Dr. Wacko's Atari Computer"]

Hi,

 

Does this use like a alien type character on the front of the cover or it was like a grasshopper, etc.. Was it three ring binder ready? If so my friend had this a long time ago, he had an Atari 400 and never could understand the thing.

[800XL light's controller]

That is very impressive!

[Looking for book 'Your Atari Comes Alive']

Hi all,

 

Any update on this project?

[Who/Which was your favourite Pirate/Cracker in the 'bad old days']

I remember some of the disks I had were cracked by Kilroy, of N.A.P.O.

 

I think I had Goonies, and a few others that had that intro. With Infinite lives, etc.

[anyone want a big static bag of old desktop ram?]

PM sent

[Looking for book 'Your Atari Comes Alive']

Is this the same book that shows a robot figure on the front?

 

If so I have the book somewhere in terrible shape, and I think it's a bio-hazard now (cat got a little nasty with it several years ago, thinking the box it was in was a litter box), and I've lost the disk with all the programming examples.

 

I don't have access to a scanner, otherwise i'd archive it and clean it up.

 

Hopefully someone else out there got the book and disk set, and can archive it.

 

EDIT:

 

the book I have is Your Atari 8-bit comes alive, by Richard Leinecker. This is a book i'd like to get again with the disk, and try some of the experiments again. I remember building a light pen, and never got it to work, but it was fasinating to a kid in Jr. High.

[Favorite diskette brands?]

My dad and I always liked the Fuji Film ones. Then we found a Quill catalog and we started bulk ordering the disks in 100 lots. I was a big ol' copier back in the day.

[Help! Save An Atari Collection - Fayetteville NC - SAVED!]

Hi all,

 

I'm in the Columbia, SC area, and I could possibly do a pickup. It's about 3 hrs to get to the general area of Fayetteville.

 

PM me, if shipping would not work, etc.

[Yoomp]

Just played it and made it to level 5. Excellent game!

 

I played it for about 15 mins.

[Cross-posting from 8-Bit Section - Identification help needed]

some more information I found doing a google search for Dr. T's Music.

 

Computer Crossware Labs

 

CCL was primarily devoted to developing and commercializing MIDI-based music software. Projects included "The Phantom", a SMPTE synchronizer for Dr. T's Music Software. This project involved development of a low-cost hardware unit that could communicate with the host 68000-based Atari and Amiga computers. Skills involved included 68000 assembly language, low-level interrupt handling, and inter-process communication in a multi-tasking environment.

 

So it seems to be for the ST and Amiga computers for MIDI.

[Cross-posting from 8-Bit Section - Identification help needed]

going to www.fcc.gov and selecting search, then by FCC ID this is what I get:

 

Dr T's Music Software Inc

100 Crescent Road, Suite 1B

Needham MA 92194

 

FCC ID: HTH2SBTHEPHANTOM

 

Application Purpose - Original Equipment

 

 

Grant Date - 02/27/1989

 

So it seems to be some sort of device from Dr. T's Music, possibly a MIDI device or sampler.

 

Hope this helps!

[Need some help with reading a SASI drive.]

Well i'm at it again. I am trying to adjust my Xebec drive to find track 0 so I can attempt a data recovery on my 8-bit.

 

What i'm looking for is a program, or help writing a program that will allow me to constantly attempt to read a sector, etc.

 

I've started looking for SASI documentation, and found some, but i'm still a green horn at all this.

 

What i'd like to do, is setup a program to access the SASI drive, attempt to send some sort of command to tell the drive to constantly read a sector, or check that the drive is ready, etc.

 

I'm using the Supra/KP interface, and I now have the Format utilities and the head park utilities.

 

I have the drive cover open, and I try and park the heads, it errors out with a $06 command, which I think means Abort (06) or No track 0.

 

This drive has a set screw to stop the heads from going so far, and when I was trying to troubleshoot it before, I opened it up, because it was hitting the set screw when it turned on. now that's it's be tinkered with, I can't get it to find track 0 again.

 

I hope this isn't a futile attempt.

 

Thanks.

 

-Spicy

[Satantronic XRAM 0.2.1 tester seeing bad memory]

Okay,

 

Thanks for explaining that. I was wondering if it was my upgrade, etc.

 

-Spicy

[Satantronic XRAM 0.2.1 tester seeing bad memory]

Hello all,

 

I wanted to play around with the XRAM memory tester from Satantronic, and when I load the COM file, it comes up, and when I run it, it says I have errors on $83.

 

I have the Wizztronics 256K upgrade installed, it's based off of the Claus Buchholz 256K memory upgrade.

 

I haven't had any trouble with lost data, etc.. but the XRAM tester only shows 240K of memory available, 15 banks.

 

After the test runs, the computer locks up.

 

any suggestions?

 

thanks.

 

-Spicy