(Frequently Asked Questions)

FAQ: I changed the MS-DOS removable disk and still get the old directory from the previous disk.

It would appear your drive and/or controller doesn't support disk change signaling properly or at all. In this case, when you change disks, execute our "DiskChg" command on the drive before your next access of the new disk.

FAQ: I get a Workbench icon "DF0:????" when I put an MS-DOS disk in the Amiga's internal floppy drive.

This is OK. The task that handles the AmigaDOS device called DF0: can't recognize foreign disk formats such as MS-DOS. With CrossDOS active, another icon should pop-up representing the MS-DOS disk in the drive.

FAQ: I get a requester "Disk Ejected Too Soon".

The disk was removed before all information was written to it. Put the disk back into the drive and Retry might recover without corruption. We recommend you wait at least 3 seconds from the last disk access before removing the disk.

FAQ: I get a requester "Disk Full".

You've probably exceeded the capacity of the disk. Remove unnecessary files from the disk.

We also present this message if you try to exceed the maximum number of files and directory entries in the root directory of the MS-DOS disk. This is a limit imposed by MS-DOS. For floppies it's 111 and 223 (for 720K and 1.44M disks respectively) and for hard drives it is 511. (There is no limit for files and directories in subdirectories.) If you encounter this problem move and place files in subdirectories.

FAQ: Putting a floppy in the drive appears to hang the system and the drive light remains on. (Also Error=38).

We regret to inform you that the most likely problem is that you've got a hardware problem associated with your floppy system. It needs to be fixed before this problem will go away.

The technical reason is that the index signal from the drive is not being seen by the Amiga floppy hardware.

FYI: AmigaDOS floppy disks are formatted in such a way that it doesn't use the index signal from the drive. Subsequently a 'broken' index signal doesn't stop AmigaDOS disks from being accessed.

However, MS-DOS disks must be synchronized to the index signal. Therefore, we need to wait for the index signal to be present before accessing the disk. If it's not there, we hang.

FAQ: I get a requester "Not a DOS Disk".

The information on the disk doesn't appear to be MS-DOS formatted. Ensure the disk is an MS-DOS disk capable of being read by your drive.

FAQ: I sometimes get a corrupt MS-DOS disk when using it with both CrossDOS and an MS-DOS emulator (such as EMPLANT/PC-586 or PC-Task).

I wish this were easy to explain. It's a complicated subject but here goes ...

This concerns people who are using PC emulator products on the Amiga. Examples of emulators are CrossPC, PC-Task, Bridgeboard, AtOnce, GoldenGate or EMPLANT/PC-586.

If you've configured an MS-DOS disk for CrossDOS that is simultaneously configured for one of the emulators, you may run into a nasty problem.

The problem: When more than one file system tries to write to the same physical disk volume/partition, the disk may end up corrupted. Both CrossDOS and the emulators running MS-DOS are file systems.

Let me draw a simple analogy. Let's say there is one checking account and you have a set of checks and a friend has another set of checks to the same account. If the both of you never cooperate to balance the account when checks are written, the account will eventually be overdrawn.

Similarly, file systems tend to cache small portions of the disk so as to speed disk access. Let's suppose CrossDOS and the emulator (running MS-DOS) just happen to cache the same disk information. If CrossDOS modifies the information it has cached, MS-DOS (the other file system) will not know the information was changed. Now, CrossDOS creates a new file and uses some blocks not previously used. If MS-DOS wishes to create a file, it might reuse those blocks allocated by CrossDOS. When this happens the disk is most likely corrupted since neither file system has the correct information. Both have also modified the disk with out-of-sync information.

The solution: If both file systems would cooperate when writing new information to the disk, we'd have our problem solved. For reasons which are very complicated, that solution is not likely to happen.

You can have as many file systems read the disk as long as no writing occurs. However, if you must write, there are things that can be done to significantly minimize disk corruption.

• Create two partitions. One for CrossDOS to write to and MS-DOS to read from and the other for MS-DOS to write to and CrossDOS to read from.
• Manually prevent multiple file systems from simultaneously writing to the disk.
• After writing the disk with MS-DOS, perform a "DiskChg" (diskchange) for the CrossDOS device. This action will reread the disk from the Amiga side.
• After writing the disk with CrossDOS, perform a <CTRL C> (a type of diskchange) from the MS-DOS command prompt. If this is not possible, run the "CHKDSK" program. This action will reread the disk for the MS-DOS side.

FAQ: I format a 720K MS-DOS disk on the Amiga using CrossDOS and put data on it. I then put the disk in the PC and it complains it can't read it.

Make sure that the disk you wish to format as 720K are actually low-density (DSDD) disks. Although formatting high-density (DSHD) disks in 720K format are possible on the Amiga, not all PCs will accept the conflict. There are additional reasons why this is not wise. Use only low-density disks for the 720K format.

FAQ: I'm trying to read a high-density disk on my Amiga but I either get no CrossDOS icon or I get "PC0:????".

It's highly possible that the drive you're placing the high-density disk in is not an Amiga-compatible high-density drive. Without this drive, you will not be able to read high-density disks.

Officially, only the original A4000s had these drives. (Currently the A4000Ts don't). All other Amigas were shipped with low-density drives only. There were a few A3000s that unofficially had them. You can also purchase them from third party to upgrade your Amiga.

FAQ: Can I access my SyQuest (Bernoulli, Jaz, Zip, etc.) drive with an MS-DOS formatted cartridge in it?

Yes. These drives are considered hard drives to the Amiga. Removable drives are little different from non-removable hard drives on the Amiga's

CrossDOS floppy drives come preconfigured since we know exactly where they are. However, with hard drives we're not so lucky. To use a hard drive, it must first be 'configured' as a CrossDOS device. You can do so by one three methods. The "Install" program has an option, the "READ.ME" file has buttons, and lastly you can use the "ConfigDisk" program. The manual covers this utility in Chapter 5. You need only configure the CrossDOS once for each unique device. The configuration program will place a 'mountfile' that describes the device to the Amiga in a place that gets 'mounted' each time you boot.

FAQ: My CrossDOS removable hard drive doesn't sense when I put in another cartridge.

Unlike the Amiga's floppy hardware, hard drives and controllers (both SCSI and IDE) don't have a established mechanism for informing when a disk change occurs. The way most controllers simulate disk change sensing is by polling removable drives about once every three seconds (You may notice the disk light flashing). If they get an error report when polling, they assume the disk was ejected. It is then the responsibility of the device driver (controller) to send a disk change message to file systems (such as CrossDOS) using that device. Sadly not every controller supports this or supports it correctly. If this is the case we provide a program called "DiskChg" to force a disk change.

FAQ: I configured an CrossDOS device for my hard drive and it worked for a while. Now it stopped recognizing the drive.

If the WorkBench icon shows ":NDOS" or ":????" following the device name, you probably put a non-MS-DOS formatted disk in the drive. Use the Dr_CrossDOS program to help determine if this is the case.

If you don't see the icon at all from WorkBench, check to make sure the drive is set to the exact same SCSI ID when you first configured it successfully. The mountfile created by the configuration program depends on both the device driver name and unit number to be correct to access the drive in any form or fashion. If you continually remove the drive from the Amiga and put it back again, you may have changed SCSI ID to accommodate the PC.

FAQ: Can I read MS-DOS CD-ROMs with CrossDOS?

No. There really is no such thing as MS-DOS CD-ROMs. These CD-ROMs are actually ISO-9660 file system formatted. These CD-ROMs have MS-DOS program code on them that allow the PC to run these programs.

CrossDOS is an MS-DOS file system that allows the Amiga to access disks conforming to this standard. ISO-9660 CD-ROMs however are significantly different than this standard. The good news is that ISO-9660 file systems are available for sale to access this type of disk.

FAQ:I configured an CrossDOS device for my hard drive and it worked for a while. Now it stopped recognizing the drive.

Installing MagicWB (a program that installs nice icons in place of older ones) may also cause a similar problem. Some versions of this program installs a new icon for the one we create for the mountfile of the CrossDOS configured device. The problem is not the graphic for the icon but the changes the program makes to the ToolType of the program.

To fix the MagicWB problem: From Workbench, go to the "DEVS" drawer. In this drawer, go to the "DosDrivers" drawer. In this drawer you should find the icon for the CrossDOS device. Select the icon and do an "Icons/Information" from the Workbench menu. The ToolType parameter "ACTIVATE=1" is the correct one. Make the change if necessary and select "Save" when done.

FAQ: I have a Toaster-Flyer and a MS-DOS formatted hard drive (such as a Zip). I can't get CrossDOS's hard drive configuration program (ConfigDisk) to work to create a mountfile.

Sadly, NewTek's Toaster-Flyer (with the on-board SCSI controller) is the only controller we know of that we can't interface to. Their interface is proprietry and not Commodore device driver compliant. This means you have to purchase another SCSI controller and attach the drive to it to get CrossDOS to talk to it.

We spoke to NewTek about this problem. Their answer: They have no plans to make a Commodore compliant device driver interface. If YOU think they should please contact them at (913) 228-8282.