YASH 1.30 for SIO2USB - XEX loader added

[tuf]

HI Stefan, love Yash but have problems with using it with SpartaDos - I must have TD OFF and lots of times it'll hang with video corruption when I hit escape.  I've tried older 1.2 versions and some 1.3 versions.  I love the software, but do you have any idea why I get these crashes?  800XL with U1MB, SIDE2 and ICD MIO (yes lots of stuff).  Thanks!

[Marius]

I am still a huge fan of this incredible device. Even with it's "flaws" compared to the newer SIO based diskdrive 'emulators' this Abbuc-Raf Sio2USB is my #1 choice. Great stuff.

 

There is one feature though I would love to see and that is this:

Since YASH is now able to boot XEX files, would it also be possible to mount the XEX file to one of the Dx: 's and mimic a disk where that XEX file is on. This would make transfer from Usb Stick to an Atari HD much easier. 

 

Just the way SIO2SD does this. When I boot an XEX file from the SIO2SD config tool, the XEX is mounted to a diskno. and I could type DIR on that diskno and then I see some kind of Dos 2.x disk format where the XEX is the single file on. Pretty cool (and also nice if it works for other file formats like TXT, or MID, or whatever).

 

[StefanD]

I tested YASH with Sparta DOS X 4.48 in Altirra:

 

- I can't reproduce any screen problems with YASH & SpartaDOS (without TD.COM of course). YASH saves the DL vector (560/561) resets it and enables DLIs. When calling the DUP via DOSVEC, it restores the DL vector and disables DLIs (NMIEN=64). Setting

the DL vector is safe, since it is done with disabled IRQs (SEI), which cuts the OS VBI routine short. (Hopefully, Sparta DOS doesn't disable this standard mechanism of the OS ...)

 

- With "TD.COM ON" the YASH screen is messed up. Reason is, that an interrupt routine of Sparta DOS always inserts the TD line at the start of any display list with some blank lines, even if a program creates a new non-standard display list. This doesn't work with YASH, since it needs an own display list with DLIs and the insertion of the TD line together with some blank lines makes the display list too long for ANTIC. And since the YASH display is shifted down by the TD line the DLIs use wrong colors, since they are based on VCOUNT values.

The Sparta DOS manual states the following on p. 108:
"TD ON may be incompatible with some programs. If you are having problems with a

program, try TD OFF, or do not install it at all."

 

A solution would be that Sparta DOS checks, if a normal display list (with 24 blank lines at the beginning) is shown and if not, the TD line is not displayed. And/or the TD line is only inserted, when there are enough blank lines at the beginning of the display list AND the display is not shifted down for the TD line, i.e. replace 8 blank lines of the DL with the TD line. Perhaps the Sparta DOS developers can do something about this, since the current behaviour of TD may affect all programs with an own display list?

 

@Marius: The interface firmware doesn't support mounting an XEX file - so YASH can't do this. Please send an E-Mail with your request to Thomas Grasel, the developer of the interface. See here:

 

http://www.abbuc-raf.de/