flashjazzcat Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) That sounds identical to the problem I encountered, right down to the weird graphical glitch. Do you remember if you got a 'systemerror' text message? The code which contained the bug you encountered does not even exist in the Incognito PBI BIOS, since a SIDE cartridge is not required for hard disk functionality. So while symptoms may or may not be similar, the cause is not the same. Edited January 10, 2016 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 The code which contained the bug you encountered does not even exist in the Incognito PBI BIOS, since a SIDE cartridge is not required for hard disk functionality. So while symptoms may or may not be similar, the cause is not the same. Fair enough - that sounds pretty concrete! On a different, feature request note; would it be possible to make the 'SpartaDOS X', 'Graphical OS', 'BIOS', 'SIDE Loader' and 'PBI BIOS' entries user-editable as well as the various OS/BASIC/GAME slot names? I would personally like to be able to rename 'BIOS' to 'Main BIOS' in order to more clearly and visually differentiate it from the 'PBI BIOS' entry. This is a real problem for me and I have more than once caught myself about to flash the wrong slot. In fact I was worried for a while that I had made exactly this mistake in regards the ongoing bricking problems before you confirmed it was a genuine bug! ...and I just notice this is my 1000th post! Quite a milestone for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) On a different, feature request note; would it be possible to make the 'SpartaDOS X', 'Graphical OS', 'BIOS', 'SIDE Loader' and 'PBI BIOS' entries user-editable as well as the various OS/BASIC/GAME slot names? No: the slot names (which are part of UFLASH, not the BIOS itself) won't be made user-editable, but I'm open to suggestions for hard-coded changes if "BIOS" is not descriptive enough. "Main BIOS" sounds reasonable, although the software will not let you flash the wrong content to the wrong slot (pre-empting exactly the kind of absent-minded mistake you're describing). Edited January 10, 2016 by flashjazzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 No: the slot names (which are part of UFLASH, not the BIOS itself) won't be made user-editable, but I'm open to suggestions for hard-coded changes if "BIOS" is not descriptive enough. "Main BIOS" sounds reasonable, although the software will not let you flash the wrong content to the wrong slot (pre-empting exactly the kind of absent-minded mistake you're describing). That is certainly reassuring to know FJC! I guess making them user-editable would require the sacrifice of extra and very valuable byte-space from the already cramped BIOS allotment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 @FJC - I dont know why the drama but I'll be honest that I am pretty low knowledge in the atari area so I'm sure I missed something in this thread. I have been in computers since the atari's came out and im a windows server engineer now but I still flashed two incognitos into the grave At any rate, I just ordered one of the programmers that morelenmir suggested. I've always wanted one but never had the use before today! lol @morelenmir Thanks for knowing about the books! haha...loved them when I was younger, time for me to start re-reading them I might hit you up later if I need assistance with the programmer if thats ok? I shouldnt but ya never know! Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 @FJC - I dont know why the drama but I'll be honest that I am pretty low knowledge in the atari area so I'm sure I missed something in this thread. I have been in computers since the atari's came out and im a windows server engineer now but I still flashed two incognitos into the grave At any rate, I just ordered one of the programmers that morelenmir suggested. I've always wanted one but never had the use before today! lol @morelenmir Thanks for knowing about the books! haha...loved them when I was younger, time for me to start re-reading them I might hit you up later if I need assistance with the programmer if thats ok? I shouldnt but ya never know! Thanks guys! No worries at all stormbringer - I'll be glad to help in any way I can! When it comes to modding the thing then Kyle22 is the real expert. The only slightly tricky part of the process is picking the correct right-angled header-socket, but I think I have chased that down now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Minor enhancement suggestion: On the "information" screen, could entries be added to show the PBI BIOS version and also the SIDE loader version? It can be helpful to know these as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Minor enhancement suggestion: On the "information" screen, could entries be added to show the PBI BIOS version and also the SIDE loader version? It can be helpful to know these as well. I second this! Currently I have a loose scrap of paper keeping a tally of the different version numbers, but it would be really handy to have them all collected in one place and by definition always up-to-date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) That is certainly reassuring to know FJC! I guess making them user-editable would require the sacrifice of extra and very valuable byte-space from the already cramped BIOS allotment? It would require the sacrifice of valuable space from within UFLASH. Not only that, but when I refer to the "PBI BIOS" slot or "BASIC slot 1" in documentation or this thread, I want this to have some empirical meaning. The purpose of each slot is clearly defined (and the purpose of most slots is hard-coded in the FPGA), so reason to make them editable (including internationalisation, these titles being "BASIC", "BIOS", "OS", etc) remains completely unpersuasive. Minor enhancement suggestion: On the "information" screen, could entries be added to show the PBI BIOS version and also the SIDE loader version? It can be helpful to know these as well. Nope. Tried this in an early development version before I realized the (required) writes to CCTL upset external carts. Got to be very careful there. Now that everything is properly versioned, however, I can display firmware component revision numbers in UFLASH (eventually). Edited January 10, 2016 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 It would require the sacrifice of valuable space from within UFLASH. Not only that, but when I refer to the "PBI BIOS" slot or "BASIC slot 1" in documentation or this thread, I want this to have some empirical meaning. The purpose of each slot is clearly defined (and the purpose of most slots is hard-coded in the FPGA), so reason to make them editable (including internationalisation, these titles being "BASIC", "BIOS", "OS", etc) remains completely unpersuasive. I don't know about completely unpersuasive, but I can certainly see your reasoning and I think it is sound. It makes sense to be able to rename the BASIC slot to whatever programming language you might have flashed in there and ditto for GAME. When it comes to the others though, yep; you are right - they should be static across all installations. However if at some point you could find time to rename the 'BIOS' to 'Main BIOS' or something along those lines then I do think that would be helpful and is pretty logical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 I don't know about completely unpersuasive, but I can certainly see your reasoning and I think it is sound. It makes sense to be able to rename the BASIC slot to whatever programming language you might have flashed in there and ditto for GAME. When it comes to the others though, yep; you are right - they should be static across all installations. However if at some point you could find time to rename the 'BIOS' to 'Main BIOS' or something along those lines then I do think that would be helpful and is pretty logical. No, it doesn't make sense to rename the BASIC slot title to anything else because it refers to the content of the BASIC ROM slot. You can amend the description of each of the four BASIC slots to describe whatever it is you've put there. But the point is, anything you put there occupies the BASIC slot, is invoked like BASIC, suppressed like BASIC, and is a substitute for... BASIC. I'm not sure where "GAME" appears? In any case, the "Main BIOS" change is agreeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 No, it doesn't make sense to rename the BASIC slot title to anything else because it refers to the content of the BASIC ROM slot. You can amend the description of each of the four BASIC slots to describe whatever it is you've put there. But the point is, anything you put there occupies the BASIC slot, is invoked like BASIC, suppressed like BASIC, and is a substitute for... BASIC. I'm not sure where "GAME" appears? In any case, the "Main BIOS" change is agreeable. Oh, I see the confusion. I'm talking about renaming the individual slot contents instead of just 'Slot1', 'Slot2' and so on - that makes sense surely? I have Atari BASIC, Altirra BASIC, ASM Editor and PILOT set as labels for mine - along with similar customizations for the OS and GAME/XEGS contents: I've been referring to the 'GAME' slot because that is how Avery labels that section of the gestalt BIOS for the XEGS, along with a 'KERNEL' section inside the 'Firmware Images' dialogue for Altirra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Oh, I see the confusion. I'm talking about renaming the individual slot contents instead of just 'Slot1', 'Slot2' and so on - that makes sense surely? No, I'm afraid it makes no sense at all. What's the problem with the current arrangement? I've been referring to the 'GAME' slot because that is how Avery labels that section of the gestalt BIOS for the XEGS, along with a 'KERNEL' section inside the 'Firmware Images' dialogue for Altirra. OK, but none of that has anything to do with UFLASH or the Ultimate BIOS XEGS slots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 No, I'm afraid it makes no sense at all. What's the problem with the current arrangement? OK, but none of that has anything to do with UFLASH or the Ultimate BIOS XEGS slots. Okay, we're clearly on different wavelengths tonight Jon! There's no problem at all with the current arrangement - beyond that slightly ambiguous 'BIOS' label which we both agree on. I was just attempting to explain what I meant when I was talking about 'renaming' the various slots - as a user and to my own requirements - with the 'Slot->Edit name...' functionality already present in uFlash. I upload the Star Raiders 8K ROM to a GAME/XEGS slot and rename that slot entry as 'Star Raiders' and so on... That was what I hoped the *.JPG illustrated. I think the confusion has been I call that process 'Renaming the Slot' and you call it 'Changing the slot label'. That's all - no worries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 As FJC pointed out, TheRomGenerator works with ROMs prior to his update as they now use different signatures, signature llocation and size of some of the updated ROMs. However, the version of TRG I'm currently working on does allow loading of these new updates and will be released when my new flasher is completed Edit: Or I might release it as soon as I complete the Saving of Individual ROM files to an ATR instead of one 512k image. You can still add a flasher of your choosing that will be saved to the ATR as well... Excellent news AtariGeezer!!! I really look forward to giving it a try when you are ready for a public beta. A new flasher will be a cool additional tool as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 No: the slot names (which are part of UFLASH, not the BIOS itself) won't be made user-editable, but I'm open to suggestions for hard-coded changes if "BIOS" is not descriptive enough. "Main BIOS" sounds reasonable, although the software will not let you flash the wrong content to the wrong slot (pre-empting exactly the kind of absent-minded mistake you're describing). Well if you do rename BIOS I think that XBIOS is not available but I do like the sound of UBIOS.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Scrolling filenames would be fantastic. Just got this working: Need to test this a bit more before uploading the update, which includes fixes for another couple of issues. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Just got this working: Need to test this a bit more before uploading the update, which includes fixes for another couple of issues. Excellent work Jon!!! Many thanks for sticking with this through it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Look forward to the release. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Oh that is perfect! Thanks, John! That makes the .atr functionality really useful for those multi-disc games and applications, and makes selecting specific versions or particular "cracks" actually possible. Well done, man! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Just got this working: Need to test this a bit more before uploading the update, which includes fixes for another couple of issues. No smooth scroll? . . . . I kid - don't kill me. That looks awesome! Can't wait to update again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 The drive number column (when present) remains stationary, so no smooth scrolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) Can the *.ROM file that Altirra saves as <whatever>.rom when saving the BIOS from its emulation of an U1MB be flashed directly on to the real U1MB's eprom? If so I think I'm in business as the chip will fit in the BIOS socket on my Linux server. I think 'flashrom' will do what is required. UPDATE: Arrgh! I thought that was going to work. The eprom fits and it hot-swaps without any trouble. However the flasher electronics are clearly too old to recognize the unit from the Ultimate1MB. Does the SIDE2 take the same eeprom? If so would it be possible to use it to flash the one from the Ultimate1MB? likely you're having a different issue: the U1MB EEPROM is not like a modern BIOS FlashROM. BIOS chips use a standard called FWH, and are totally different from the style that U1MB uses. They're not the same, and that won't work. Just because something fits, does not mean it works. Edited January 12, 2016 by Joey Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 likely you're having a different issue: the U1MB EEPROM is not like a modern BIOS FlashROM. BIOS chips use a standard called FWH, and are totally different from the style that U1MB uses. They're not the same, and that won't work. That is interesting to learn JoeyZ! I shall look in to it further. I was going a bit crazy over Christmas while cut off from the Atari - or at least very bored. As there wasn't much else to try I put together two further machines under Debian that were based on newer ASUS motherboards in the hopes it was an idiosyncrasy of my existing Linux server. As you predict, in both cases 'flashrom' failed to even detect the IC let alone write to it. I was very surprized as hot-swapping to an ASUS motherboard saved my bacon several times in the past when my experiments with customizing production BIOS's left me with machines that wouldn't even try to boot! No worries though - the '866CS'/'866A' flashed the ST39SF040 EPROM without any trouble while using a PLCC32 adapter and all 8 bits are now chugging along happily again! I really should have bought one, or something like it long ago. The problem is these cheap far-east units seem to be very looked-down on by 'serious' electronics hobbyists. They all insist on 'Xeltec' machines and the cost has deterred me several times from picking one up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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