NanoPEB and Disk images Questions

[Everett1954]

Hi,

 

I will be receiving my NanoPEB very shortly and have some questions about it and disk images.

 

1) what is the proper extensions for TI99/4A disk images and where is a good place to find some?

 

2) I have a CF reader/writer for my Mac, can I remove the CF card from the NanoPEB and copy them directly to some directory on the card or do i have to set up for serial comms with the board and use a PC?

 

3) I understand the CF card is a special format. Is this correct? Can it be seen by a PC or Mac? If I ever want to upgrade the CF card, how do I go about formatting it?

 

4) I understand it supports 3 disk drives, how do i tell the file which drive to use and in multiple game disk/files do i have to do anything special in order for me to use them (Naming?)?

 

Thanks!

[+mizapf]

1. Disk images are typically named as *.dsk; this depends on the respective emulator. Classic-99 typically accesses files directly from the file system; other emulators like MAME rely on disk images.

You can write on a CF card with your Mac, but only low-level. You can't access the volumes. I extended my TIImageTool to work with CF cards; maybe you'd like to try it (see footer).

You can format a CF card with e.g. TIImageTool.

I guess the drives are named as DSK1...DSK3. But there are other CF users here who should be able to tell.

[Casey]

You can find some excellent documentation here: http://webpages.charter.net/nanopeb/

 

I'm also going to be receiving one of these very soon and look forward to using it!

[rickneff68]

1.) Here's a good place for disk images. I was able to use some of them without issues with the NanoPEB and my CF card: http://www.99er.net/download2/index.php?act=category&id=18

 

2.) & 3.) are pretty well answered above.

 

4.) It's actually pretty straightforward -- There is a special command, CALL MOUNT, that allows you to assign a disk number (1,2,3) to the CF volume/disk image. The example straight from the documentation: CALL MOUNT(2,5) Inserts volume 5 into DSK2

 

I don't have a Mac, so I can't answer anything regarding that, but on the PC side, it's easy enough to reformat the CF card in either direction. Since I use a PC/Windows, TIDir is used for this.

[+arcadeshopper]

Lots on ftp.whtech.com

 

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[Everett1954]

Boy, after reading the official documentation and the answers above, I am completely confused on how to run disk images. This is because I am not a PC user and new to TI99/4a

 

1) What do I need to get the .dsk images onto the NanoPEB CF card? A PC with a CF card reader and the DSK2CF.exe? Please give me an example of what to do.

How do i add this DSK file to one of the volumes or DSK1?

 

2) Once that is done do I need to CALL FORMAT ( from Basic) and format the volume on the TI? Then CALL MOUNT to mount the .DSK image? Then what to run image?

 

Also non-related but does the NanoPEB need the external power supply to use the 32K memory expansion?

[+mizapf]

PM to you

[+arcadeshopper]

Boy, after reading the official documentation and the answers above, I am completely confused on how to run disk images. This is because I am not a PC user and new to TI99/4a

 

1) What do I need to get the .dsk images onto the NanoPEB CF card? A PC with a CF card reader and the DSK2CF.exe? Please give me an example of what to do.

How do i add this DSK file to one of the volumes or DSK1?

 

2) Once that is done do I need to CALL FORMAT ( from Basic) and format the volume on the TI? Then CALL MOUNT to mount the .DSK image? Then what to run image?

 

Also non-related but does the NanoPEB need the external power supply to use the 32K memory expansion?

 

1: you can use that tool or tidir from fred kaal at http://www.ti99-geek.nl/to copy files into disk images on the cf card on your pc, tidir is point and click gui so may be easier to use for you.

 

2: if the images are set up they are already formatted, call format is for a unformatted disk image..the cf is split in to hundreds of image slots and each one has to be formatted and data copied into to use it.. easiest way is above then you call mount(slot,image) to put a disk in DSK1 slot you'd call mount(1,1) that puts disk image 1 in drive 1.. to put disk image 50 in you'd call mount(1,50)

 

3: to "run image" it really depends on what you are using.. if it's a basic program you type OLD DSK1.FILENAME to load the file off the disk.. if it's an assembly language program you have to use an assembly language loader like the editor assembler cart or DM2K from Fred (again) and run the image from there.. program files run in option 5 of the EA cart, and df/80 files run in option 3.. usually whatever program you are using comes with loading instructions.. If the basic program disk contains a file called LOAD it will automatically load that file and run it if you start the Extended Basic cart. Programs usually will tell you which cartridge is required..

 

If you have the Extended Basic 2.7 suite cartridge that contains all of these cartridges listed above, and DM2K and many other tools in one cartridge.. If you don't have it i highly recommend it.. https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/?page_id=11#!/Extended-Basic-2-7-Suite/p/44354005/category=15846004

 

Also the nano requires a power supply to operate. It will not work without one. i sell a suitable one here: https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/?page_id=11#!/AC100-240v-to-DC5v-2-0-AMP-Regulated-Power-Supply-for-NanoPEB-CF7/p/78380772/category=22342013

 

Greg

Edited July 7, 2017 by arcadeshopper

[+Lee Stewart]

You can do it in fbForth 2.0 with CFMOUNT (see post #1344 ff. of fbForth—TI Forth with File-based Block I/O , especially post #1350).

...lee

[klrw111-78]

Hi,

 

I will be receiving my NanoPEB very shortly and have some questions about it and disk images.

 

1) what is the proper extensions for TI99/4A disk images and where is a good place to find some?

 

 

2) I have a CF reader/writer for my Mac, can I remove the CF card from the NanoPEB and copy them directly to some directory on the card or do i have to set up for serial comms with the board and use a PC?

 

3) I understand the CF card is a special format. Is this correct? Can it be seen by a PC or Mac? If I ever want to upgrade the CF card, how do I go about formatting it?

 

4) I understand it supports 3 disk drives, how do i tell the file which drive to use and in multiple game disk/files do i have to do anything special in order for me to use them (Naming?)?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

If you want to use your MAC instead of a PC, I've found that a combination of the TIImage Tool and the command line xvm99CF7 volume manager found here http://endlos99.github.io/xdt99 work well together. If you don't mind using Terminal and cmd line for getting catalogs of the disk images of the CF and the CF dmg that you will need to create on your MAC hd to use the Image tool.. The Image tool can be used to copy and paste from a TI .dsk to a CF7 volume. You can do the same with the xvm99 and xdm99 cmdline, but it's all cmdline (no visual).

 

If you have a PC with a serial port or USB to serial adaptor you can use the CFHdxS1 that is shipped on the CF card with your nanopeb. Using this tool you can work with the 3 mounted volumes at a time on the nanopeb CF (DSK1,DSK2,DSK3). When the 3 volumes are full, you will need to drop back to TI Basic to mount additional volumes (CALL MOUNT).

[+DuaneAL]

Help!  I am trying to copy a DSK image that I downloaded from WHtech.  I am using TIdir.  When I copy the file from the hard drive to the CF, I choose a volume number and hit copy.  The progress bar progresses but when it is done the volume label is blank and there is nothing showing in that volume.  What am I doing wrong? I got one volume done after several tries (I don't know what was different about that effort), but no joy since.

[Fritz442]

You may be trying to copy a PC99 disk image to it. Try converting your disk image to a V9T9 DSK image using TI99Dir,

then copy it to the CF.

[+DuaneAL]

22 minutes ago, Fritz442 said:

You may be trying to copy a PC99 disk image to it. Try converting your disk image to a V9T9 DSK image using TI99Dir,

then copy it to the CF.

That was it!  Thanks!