MDOS V7.30

[+InsaneMultitasker]

12 minutes ago, globeron said:

But I am still curious (with HRD inserted) where the files named '1400'  dis/var 1 come from and even get timestamp updated. And which program writes this to disk???

I thought about this and I suspect that the batch file processor is triggering an output redirection when it encounters the ">1400" in your AUTOEXEC.  We would expect the REM to cause the line to be ignored, however, this may be an ancient oversight in the command processor.

 

Try deleting the line REMark line or remove the ">" from that line.  If this solves the issue,  @9640News or I will review the command parser for the appropriate fix. 

[globeron]

3 hours ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

I thought about this and I suspect that the batch file processor is triggering an output redirection when it encounters the ">1400" in your AUTOEXEC.  We would expect the REM to cause the line to be ignored, however, this may be an ancient oversight in the command processor.

 

Try deleting the line REMark line or remove the ">" from that line.  If this solves the issue,  @9640News or I will review the command parser for the appropriate fix. 

 

Correct that was the issue...the mysterious 1400 file issue is solved now. 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

I've attached GenCFG v1.4 BETA to this post. 

 

The program has been updated as follows: 

• Speech (thx @mizapf) and floppy controller detection updates; CorComp FDC detection works; Myarc and TI FDC needs to be confirmed; remember to use CCFIX if you have a CorComp FDC.
• RamHD partition sectors >20 through >41 are now reset during the format operation (resolves 'random' issue of being unable to write to the root directory after format)
• Small ramdisks <3200 sectors (800K) can be formatted to their available capacity.  A new option #4 displays when the available sectors is <3200.  This option will in theory remove the need for FORM v1.23.  
• Placeholder code added for future options to save/restore the partition table.
• The total available sector count for the selected ramdisk is now displayed during the format prompting.
• Miscellaneous changes to text within the program
• The boot flag might be defaulted to 'on' after format; I'll have to check that at a later date to confirm that is intentional.

GENCFG14

 

I appreciate @9640News and @globeron and @dhe for their patient testing and feedback along the way.  My HRD has been reformatted and both the DSK and HD partitions are working as expected. 

 

If all goes well, I'll finalize this version for the next release.  

[globeron]

On 9/7/2021 at 9:35 AM, InsaneMultitasker said:

I've attached GenCFG v1.4 BETA to this post. 

 

The program has been updated as follows: 

• Speech (thx @mizapf) and floppy controller detection updates; CorComp FDC detection works; Myarc and TI FDC needs to be confirmed; remember to use CCFIX if you have a CorComp FDC.
• RamHD partition sectors >20 through >41 are now reset during the format operation (resolves 'random' issue of being unable to write to the root directory after format)
• Small ramdisks <3200 sectors (800K) can be formatted to their available capacity.  A new option #4 displays when the available sectors is <3200.  This option will in theory remove the need for FORM v1.23.  
• Placeholder code added for future options to save/restore the partition table.
• The total available sector count for the selected ramdisk is now displayed during the format prompting.
• Miscellaneous changes to text within the program
• The boot flag might be defaulted to 'on' after format; I'll have to check that at a later date to confirm that is intentional.

GENCFG14 14.13 kB · 11 downloads

 

I appreciate @9640News and @globeron and @dhe for their patient testing and feedback along the way.  My HRD has been reformatted and both the DSK and HD partitions are working as expected. 

 

If all goes well, I'll finalize this version for the next release.  

 

Thank you!  I am now back into a state that I load MDOS 7.30 from the Horizon (E:) and have SCS4 (F:) working now.

 

* I kept the AUTOEXEC to a minimum. Only to set the command prompt and set the RamDSK and RamHD

   

* notes:

   after running Gencfg14 back in command prompt mode  I cannot do DIR A:  (get "device error"),

   but after the CTRL-SHIFT-SHIFT restart all is okay and I can copy to E:   (I believe it is a known issue if I remember correctly)

 

* I can copy with normal command prompt and with GDM2K v3.2.

   but when I copy the GPL directory, now I got an error on the 3rd filed (GPM), thus GPL and GPLREADME copied correctly.

 

   then I (R)ename the directory to GPL1

   and copied GPL directory again, now it copies the directory okay. 

   (still my guess / assumption is that I have a bad-RAM somewhere).

 

* but now I copied more files to E: (RAMDSK) and also to F:  directories and files, and all seems to be okay now.

   (I did not copy any file anymore into the GPL1 directory yet as it might corrupt things, but I will try it later).

 

 

   First I want to see if now everything remains stable and lock-ups anymore

   as I can now run/start GPL / XBEA, etc. fast from Horizon.

 

Maybe this part fixed it?

          * RamHD partition sectors >20 through >41 are now reset during the format operation

             (resolves 'random' issue of being unable to write to the root directory after format)

 

Re: Rave99/Speech Synthesizer.  Sometimes I hear the "garble" Speech sound, then I test with ABASIC and garble again

      > removed and plug back the card and it works again 

      (maybe I need to do the fix on the card for Geneve 9640 as mentioned before).

 

 

So far, a happy user!

 

Future enhancement could be Autofill / Autocomplete  to use the "TAB" key to complete the command prompt.

(e.g.  E:\AB (press TAB) and it fills in E:\ABASIC automatically, then press TAB again E:\ABASIC\ABASIC1

(TAB again E:\ABASIC\ABASIC2, to scroll through the filenames if they start the same)

 

 

 

 

 

[Brufnus]

Hi!

 

I've just re-read some of the MDOS manual additiions, mainly about v6.0/6.50. The mirror command has been replaced by SAVEIMAGE, but their purpose is essentially the same - to make a backup copy of cylinder 0.

I read that this is not supported on drive #3, since this is read only (I guess this is true for SAVEIMAGE as well).

 

However, I suggest enabling it on that drive, nonetheless. Even though it's read-only, someone might have an interest in being able to back it up and - in case of problems - reassign that drive as, say, #2 so that it's read/write and, thus, can be restored.

What's your opinion about that suggestion?

 

Oh, and by the way... I really hope there will be a CYA for MDOS 7.30 as well. I like that program very much! c",)

Edited September 23, 2021 by Brufnus

[+InsaneMultitasker]

21 hours ago, Brufnus said:

Oh, and by the way... I really hope there will be a CYA for MDOS 7.30 as well. I like that program very much! c",)

An update to CYA is still on my radar, though it will require some adjustments and possibly an incremental OS release to sync the OS and CYA.  The modification process I use is based on hard-coded locations and is no longer sustainable. 

[Brufnus]

On 9/24/2021 at 9:23 PM, InsaneMultitasker said:

An update to CYA is still on my radar, though it will require some adjustments and possibly an incremental OS release to sync the OS and CYA.  The modification process I use is based on hard-coded locations and is no longer sustainable. 

Okay, I look forward to see what the future will bring. c",)

[Nick99]

Help is needed, can someone please post a MDOS 7.30 boot disk .dsk-image ds/sd-format with the SYSTEM/SYS renamed to SYSTEM-SYS?

If possible with GPL so I can configure TIPI and load MDOS from it.

 

Many thanks!

[+9640News]

1 hour ago, Nick99 said:

Help is needed, can someone please post a MDOS 7.30 boot disk .dsk-image ds/sd-format with the SYSTEM/SYS renamed to SYSTEM-SYS?

If possible with GPL so I can configure TIPI and load MDOS from it.

 

Many thanks!

Here you go.

BootDisk730.dsk

[tiggerCambridge]

Question  will mdos 7.30 work on an original geneve.  I have 2 geneves  which I haven't used in A long time.  

The one has had the Paul Charlton 32k modification done and disk controller and rs232.

 

The second one I acquired years ago and not sure if any mods to the geneve but has old horizon ramdisk, rs242, and hfdc card.  I think a hard drive also. Been a while since I looked at the but I seen Berry's mdos demo he'd did at Chicago faire online and it peeked my interest.

 

I'm trying to review my 4A as the rave keyboard gave me issues a few years and now I have the USB keyboard project from arcade shopper to replace the rave interface 

 

John

 

 

 

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

1 hour ago, tiggerCambridge said:

Question  will mdos 7.30 work on an original geneve.  I have 2 geneves  which I haven't used in A long time.  

The one has had the Paul Charlton 32k modification done and disk controller and rs232.

 

The 32K modification is the only requirement for MDOS 7.30 above and beyond the stock configuration.  Feel free to snap a picture of the Geneves and HFDC card and post here or in the Myarc Repair topic - there could be a few recommended changes (regulator, heat sink, etc) depending on the condition and age of each card. 

[+dhe]

Over Thanksgiving, I'd like to try to bring a tipi only. Was the source code released in the github?  Last I can recollect it was pending?

[+9640News]

Pending.

[+dhe]

I should still be able to get it in place, pull some files from whtech, and copy to <> from the scsi2sd. Which I've finished the docs for, just need Tim to release the two programs POWER and MYS.

[+dhe]

Nice article on how we get to scsi2sd..

https://www.chickensys.com/news/20211124/scsi2sd.php

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

On 11/17/2021 at 5:04 AM, dhe said:

I should still be able to get it in place, pull some files from whtech, and copy to <> from the scsi2sd. Which I've finished the docs for, just need Tim to release the two programs POWER and MYS.

I sent you an updated version for testing...  I successfully formatted my SCSI2SD device with it.  The interleave option is still active but as I mentioned in my PM, the program has been loading the value into the wrong byte all these decades. Hah.  The TIC routines don't have much in the way of entry validation, I'm hoping to at minimum figure out how to determine if a user pressed ENTER without entering a value.

[+dhe]

Looking over the docs - MDOS 7.30

pg - 7

 The PI.xxx routines such as PI.CONFIG, PI.PIO, PI.REBOOT, PI.SHUTDOWN, PI.STATUS

 

7 Paragraphs down it says - There are several files that can be loaded in to an editor.

PI.STATUS AND PI.CONFIG

 

So... is PI.STATUS - a routine or a file?

 

Also, I noticed if a tipi is installed, but the raspberry pi is turned off, at least for me the geneve will not boot.

Is there a way with tipi ROM, Geneve OS  or Geneve Boot Eprom, that if the R.PI is off, things can move along?

[+9640News]

3 hours ago, dhe said:

Looking over the docs - MDOS 7.30

pg - 7

 The PI.xxx routines such as PI.CONFIG, PI.PIO, PI.REBOOT, PI.SHUTDOWN, PI.STATUS

 

7 Paragraphs down it says - There are several files that can be loaded in to an editor.

PI.STATUS AND PI.CONFIG

 

So... is PI.STATUS - a routine or a file?

 

Also, I noticed if a tipi is installed, but the raspberry pi is turned off, at least for me the geneve will not boot.

Is there a way with tipi ROM, Geneve OS  or Geneve Boot Eprom, that if the R.PI is off, things can move along?

From the MDOS prompt you can do a "TYPE PI.STATUS" or a "TYPE PI.CONFIG" and get the contents of those two files.   You can also save them.

 

As far as the issue with the Geneve and trying to boot with the TIPI when the PI is off, that sounds like a TIPI Eprom issue for @jedimatt42 .  I suspect the send/rcv msg routines in the TIPI DSR are in a loop waiting for a response from the PI which it is not receiving.  Unfortunately, it will stay in the loop forever if I am right, and it is not something the Geneve eprom can resolve.  I have a suspicion (untested) that if you tried most any file operation after the Geneve was booted and you turned the PI off before trying to access a file, you would get the same behavior.

 

Beery

[+arcadeshopper]

Yep it's a feature of tipi make sure yours is on and ready

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

[+dhe]

I'm really unlooped on what the current boot eprom is - I'm using what ever the latest is for PFM device, so I'm not even sure IF the PFM booter is trying to reach out to the tipi.

 

 

[+9640News]

3 hours ago, dhe said:

I'm really unlooped on what the current boot eprom is - I'm using what ever the latest is for PFM device, so I'm not even sure IF the PFM booter is trying to reach out to the tipi.

 

 

Dan, @InsaneMultitasker released a set of PFMCore programs that came with MDOS V7.30 in the original zip file.  This update was required and is the only version that would accomodate the newest MDOS as it had grown in size by an additional 8K from the V6.50 version to accomodate the TIPI DSR code.  The PFMCore does not reach out to the TIPI itself.  MDOS after it loads, does a powerup of the TIPI, and I checked the code, and from what I can tell all it does is set a few bits during a countdown timer, and exits.

 

Now, if your AUTOEXEC points to a file on the PI or if the AUTOEXEC is on the PI, and your PI is off, then a lockup is likely.

 

Now, there is a version 2.0 of the Geneve boot eprom that looks across various devices.  Now, it would be dependent upon the TIPI hardware DSR versus the Geneve DSR.

What is your hardware configuration?

 

 

[+dhe]

A couple of quirks I noticed:

 

1) I used Peter Muys editor LL/SL to get PI.CONFIG - I updated TZ & Wireless Info. It seemed to have locked up.

     Waited a minute, then rebooted the pbox, not the PI. Everything was fine.

 

2) Ran MEMTEST - upon exit, I got a weird vertical blue line down the left hand side of the monitor, only way to recover was pbox off, on.

 

3) Telneted from geneve to heatwave, control seq are a little hosed.

 

more next time I sit behind a keyboard. ?

[+arcadeshopper]

A couple of quirks I noticed:
 
1) I used Peter Muys editor LL/SL to get PI.CONFIG - I updated TZ & Wireless Info. It seemed to have locked up.
     Waited a minute, then rebooted the pbox, not the PI. Everything was fine.
 
2) Ran MEMTEST - upon exit, I got a weird vertical blue line down the left hand side of the monitor, only way to recover was pbox off, on.
 
3) Telneted from geneve to heatwave, control seq are a little hosed.
 
more next time I sit behind a keyboard. [emoji2]

If you change wireless the pi will reboot.. give it time

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

[+dhe]

PFMCore update was performed.

HARDWARE: SCSI/TIPI

AUTOEXEC lives on DSK1 (a gotek) - no config in here for the TIPI.

tipi is all settled for now and happy.

[+dhe]

>If you change wireless the pi will reboot.. give it time

 

That's rather un-unix-ey. Usually you can change a config all day, and nothing happens until a reload of the service or a reboot...