How to use the Adam disk drive

[Nebulon]

I used to own an Adam, but I sold it to someone who really wanted one. Mine never had a disk drive. At the end of the day, I never really got to use it as a computer. Currently, I just have two ColecoVision consoles and various accessories.

 

To see what I was missing, I loaded up AdamEm and now I'm looking at a screen displaying the Electronic Typewriter and my question is:

 

How do you load a file from a diskette on a Coleco Adam computer?

 

 

[adamcon]

I used to own an Adam, but I sold it to someone who really wanted one. Mine never had a disk drive. At the end of the day, I never really got to use it as a computer. Currently, I just have two ColecoVision consoles and various accessories.

 

To see what I was missing, I loaded up AdamEm and now I'm looking at a screen displaying the Electronic Typewriter and my question is:

 

How do you load a file from a diskette on a Coleco Adam computer?

 

 

Simple, put in the program disk and pull the computer reset switch.

[NIAD]

Easiest way to use Adamen is to use the Adamem Manager Frontend that was released by the author of Adamem and removes all the need to learn the command line switches you would have to enter via the DOS command line.

 

If you have Windows Vista or newer, use Virtual Adam.

 

In the end, it is imperative to read and understand the Adamem documentation.

[Milli V]

I used to own an Adam, but I sold it to someone who really wanted one. Mine never had a disk drive. At the end of the day, I never really got to use it as a computer. Currently, I just have two ColecoVision consoles and various accessories.

 

To see what I was missing, I loaded up AdamEm and now I'm looking at a screen displaying the Electronic Typewriter and my question is:

 

How do you load a file from a diskette on a Coleco Adam computer?

 

 

 

I am assuming you are using the emulator still - if so and it is the dos version look at the adamem.txt file for details. You will need disk and / or tape images If you haev them here is a simple dos command line to start it

 

adam -da "full path to disk image"

 

replace the "full path to disk image" with the full path minus quotes. You can have up to 4 disks, -db -dc and -dd and 2 tapes -ta and -tb like I have here:

 

adamem -da media/disks/smart.dsk -db media/disks/smartwrk.dsk -ta media/tapes/transfer.ddp -tb media/tapes/hacker.ddp -dc media/disks/ann/MAR16ANN.dsk

 

This loads smart basic, gives me a scratch disk (drive b) and loads a blank tape image, one of hackers guide and one disk (drive c) of one of the old ANN disks

 

On new PC's you can use dos box to make it work

[jblenkle]

You can find ADAMem, ADAMemMam (the front end) and also Virtual ADAM on my web page t:

 

http://www.sacnews.net/adamcomputer/downloads/

 

I used to own an Adam, but I sold it to someone who really wanted one. Mine never had a disk drive. At the end of the day, I never really got to use it as a computer. Currently, I just have two ColecoVision consoles and various accessories.

 

To see what I was missing, I loaded up AdamEm and now I'm looking at a screen displaying the Electronic Typewriter and my question is:

 

How do you load a file from a diskette on a Coleco Adam computer?

 

 

[Nebulon]

Thanks! I'll try that soon.

 

One reference I've read states that CATALOG is for pulling up a directory and BRUN is the command for loading a binary file (like on the Apple II).

 

So to run an executable on the Adam from a non-bootable diskette, would it be:

 

brun file.ext

 

?

[NIAD]

Most Adam software is self-booting, which means you insert the Data Pack or Disk (or mount it to a drive in an emulator), and press the Computer Reset button to boot the program. This is the case due to the fact that Coleco choose to default to a word processor on startup rather than a Basic programming language like almost all other computers of that era.

 

But...

 

If you are working in SmartBasic, SmartLogo or CP/M, then there are specific LOAD and RUN commands for those programming languages or operating systems. IE: to load a standard "A" type SmartBasic program file you would use "RUN filename" and to load a binary "H" type file you would use "BRUN filename". Machine Language files can't be executed from SmartBasic per say.

[Nebulon]

Most Adam software is self-booting, which means you insert the Data Pack or Disk (or mount it to a drive in an emulator), and press the Computer Reset button to boot the program. This is the case due to the fact that Coleco choose to default to a word processor on startup rather than a Basic programming language like almost all other computers of that era.

 

But...

 

If you are working in SmartBasic, SmartLogo or CP/M, then there are specific LOAD and RUN commands for those programming languages or operating systems. IE: to load a standard "A" type SmartBasic program file you would use "RUN filename" and to load a binary "H" type file you would use "BRUN filename". Machine Language files can't be executed from SmartBasic per say.

Thanks. Those are the kinds of details I'm curious about.

 

So if you were sitting in front of a real Adam computer, how would you switch between the different environments?

 

I've read something about resetting the system while pressing a key on the board, but I'm not sure if that's actually the procedure.

[NIAD]

The Basic and Logo programming languages as well as the CP/M OS are available on data pack and disk. You insert the media into a drive and press the Computer Reset to load. It's that simple.

[Milli V]

No languages are built in - unlike most 80's computer systems - the Adam has the word processor built in (I think one of its failings) and you have to load any language or operating systems. So you will need it on datapack or disk as NIAD said - You can get a lot for software from my store and if you have nothing contact me, I'll send you a basic tape to get started.

 

Milli

[phattyboombatty]

I know it's been discussed several times... the 3 (or 4) ROM chips on the ADAM motherboard that contain the Word Processor program can be replaced.

 

Has anyone on here accomplished this, and does anyone provide ROM burning services? I'm guessing the data has to be in a certain format with boot headers, but I don't know what that looks like.

 

On that note, does anyone have the ROM data containing CP/M or SmartBasic in the correct format for an onboard bootable EEPROM? I think it's time we began doing Adam mods on this level to make a Super Adam!

[Nebulon]

I know it's been discussed several times... the 3 (or 4) ROM chips on the ADAM motherboard that contain the Word Processor program can be replaced.

 

Has anyone on here accomplished this, and does anyone provide ROM burning services? I'm guessing the data has to be in a certain format with boot headers, but I don't know what that looks like.

 

On that note, does anyone have the ROM data containing CP/M or SmartBasic in the correct format for an onboard bootable EEPROM? I think it's time we began doing Adam mods on this level to make a Super Adam!

If anyone gets a chance to take a photo of the EEPROM, feel free to post it. I have some old blank ones that I'm not using and there's a chance they might be compatible (maybe). If they are and anyone needs some, I'd be willing to send them out. First I have to see if they're a match.

[NIAD]

@Phatty... indeed, SmartBasic was burnt to a 32K rom chip and used to replace the SmartWriter rom chips (the EOS rom chip has to remain) so that SmartBasic was the default program loaded upon turning on or resetting the system. CP/M and T-DOS was also used as a replacement to SmartWriter, but in this case, you also have to remove the EOS rom chip and the system becomes a dedicated CP/M computer... unless you boot Disk Manager from disk/ddp so that EOS is loaded into memory and from there you have limited options as to what programs can be booted thru the Disk Manager program (Basic, Logo, etc... no Super Games).

 

JamesD has already done all the leg work re. this subjectwhen he converted the IDE CF card boot drivers from disk/ddp based program code to cartridge rom format code and he posted example code in the IDE CF thread. You can also compare the three different formats (cartridge rom, expansion slot #2 rom and disk/ddp) that the IDE CF boot driver software is available in... the difference between the code is minimal and at the beginning of the code that tells the system how to proceed to load.

 

I would suggest going the route of an Exp. Slot #2 Boot Rom installed on a Parallel Interface Card with boot rom socket like those made and sold by MicroFox/ANN. It works exactly the same way as replaced the rom chips on the Adam Logic Board and then the system doesn't have to be disassembled. Going this route also allows for easily remiving or swapping out the rom chip with another.

 

Remember also, the actual program code HAS to be 32k or smaller so SmartBasic can be used but not SmartLogo. Also, if you are going to setup a Basic booting Adam system, don't use plain old vanilla SmartBasic seeing as there are numerous bugs in it. Use SuperBasic+ V3.0 by TCR Software... check it out in an emulator as the added features (windows commands!!!) and bug fixes are numerous.

[NIAD]

Whoops... getting back to making an CP/M dedicated Adam. Once you go this route, there is no way to use standard EOS programs by booting Disk Manager as I mentioned above seeing as EOS has to be in memory in order for the Adam to know how to boot a disk or DDP based program.

[klasko54]

great

Edited July 16, 2017 by klasko54