Simtel MSDOS 1992 June

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RWCPM.COM and RWCPM.DOC are copyrighted by Epson America Inc. These files may be copied freely, but may not be sold except in collections of public domain programs where costs are for duplication and distribution only. (c) 1986 Epson America Inc. 2780 Lomita Blvd. Torrance CA 90505 RWCPM runs under MS-DOS, and will allow you to move data and text files back and forth between the MS-DOS and CP/M-80 operating systems. It was designed for the Epson QX-16 computer, which supports both CP/M and MS-DOS. However it also runs on the Epson Equity series and other MS-DOS machines. RWCPM reads files from one disk and writes them to another, converting the file's format in the process. To use RWCPM, follow these steps: 1. Boot the MS-DOS system and log onto the drive you intend to use as either the source or destination for MS-DOS files. The left floppy disk drive (drive A) is reserved for the CP/M-80 diskette, so log onto either the right floppy disk drive (drive B) or the hard disk (drive C) if you have one. 2. Run RWCPM from the logged-on drive. 3. When the RWCPM main menu appears, put the CP/M-80 diskette in the left drive. 4. Select MS-DOS-to-CP/M or CP/M-to-MS-DOS. 5. Select the files to be converted, copy them over, and exit to the MS-DOS command prompt. Note: Although RWCPM allows you to transfer and convert the format of any MS-DOS or CP/M file, only text or data files can be converted and used. Executable (.EXE) and command (.COM) program files can be converted as files but do not run under other systems. ** Options After choosing which way you want to convert your files, you are given options for handling file displays and file movements. The file displays for CP/M and MS-DOS disks are the same, and offer you these controls: o [LEFT ARROW][UP ARROW][DOWN ARROW][RIGHT ARROW] = Select file. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor around the directory of files. This is how you select the files to be converted. o HOME = First file Press HOME to move the cursor to the first (upper left) file of the directory. This reorients you when there are more files than the screen can show at once. o END = Last file Press End to move the cursor to the last (lower right) file of the directory. This makes it easy to check the latter files of the directory when there are more files than the screen can show at once. o T = Tag on/off Use T to place or remove tags (diamond symbols) next to file names. Tagged files can be transferred as a group by the M key command. o C = Copy file Press C to copy individual files to the other format. The file copied is the one on which the cursor rests. o M = Copy tagged files Press M to copy over all tagged files (a mass copy). This saves time when you have several files to transfer. o Q = Quit to DOS Press Q to terminate RWCPM and return to the MS-DOS command prompt. The last RWCPM option asks you to decide whether or not to overwrite files during file transfers. If you copy a file to a disk that already has a file of the same name, you see one of two prompts, depending on the format of the target disk: CP/M file existed, overwrite (Y/N) ? or MS-DOS file existed, overwrite (Y/N) ? Press Y to overwrite or N to cancel the command. Be very cautious--files with exactly the same name may be entirely different in content. ** Operation When you use RWCPM, always remember that the CP/M diskette must be located in the left drive (drive A) and that you must be logged onto either the right drive (drive B) or the hard disk (drive C). All CP/M files originate from or arrive at the left drive and all MS-DOS files originate from or arrive at the logged-on drive. Note: RWCPM works only with user area 0 on CP/M diskettes and the currently logged directory on the MS-DOS disk. Files are always copied from and received at these locations on your disks. In this example, you'll use RWCPM to move three files from a CP/M diskette to an MS-DOS diskette: 1. Boot MS-DOS in the left drive of your QX-16 or Equity. 2. Place a formatted MS-DOS diskette in the right drive. Use the MS-DOS command DIR B: to make sure your diskette has room for additional files. 3. Type B: and press RETURN to log onto the right drive. 4. At the B> prompt, type A:RWCPM and press RETURN. 5. Once RWCPM has loaded, you see this main menu: QX-16 MS-DOS RWCPM (C) COPYRIGHT 1985 BY EPSON Version 1.0 --------------------- >>> Exit RWCPM <<< - MS-DOS to CP/M - - CP/M to MS-DOS - --------------------- A cursor will highlight the first function. Use your arrow keys and a RETURN to select the function you want. Remove your MS-DOS system diskette from the left drive and replace it with a CP/M diskette containing text or data files. 6. Press DOWN ARROW twice to position the cursor on CP/M to MS- DOS and press RETURN. 7. A reminder message appears concerning the correct drives for your diskettes. If your diskettes aren't in the proper drives, press ESC to exit and start over. If they are, press any key to continue. 8. RWCPM now reads the directory of the source diskette (in this case, the CP/M data diskette in the left drive). The directory screen appears and you see a list of files. A cursor will highlight the first file. Your arrow keys will allow you to select the file you want to operate on. 9. Press END to move to the end of the list. Then press UP ARROW twice to position the cursor next to the third file from the end. 10. Press T three times to tag the last three files of the list. Diamond symbols appear next to the file names. 11. Press M to begin a mass copy of tagged files from user area 0 of the CP/M diskette to the MS-DOS root directory. As each file is converted and copied over, a message line at the bottom of the screen identifies the file and its new format. 12. When copying is completed, the tags are removed from the file names. At this point, you can either copy more files or exit. Now that you have finished this example, press Q to return to the MS-DOS B> prompt. ** Cautions Keep several things in mind when you use RWCPM: o Be careful when overwriting files. Files with the same name might not be similar, and you might accidentally overwrite important data. To prevent losing important MS-DOS files, you can use XTREE to mark them as read-only. o RWCPM runs under MS-DOS, so you cannot access the CP/M partition of a hard disk. Before you can convert a CP/M hard disk file to MS-DOS, you must first copy it to a CP/M diskette using PIP or INDEXER. o MS-DOS and CP/M differ in the way in which they build files--MS-DOS uses individual bytes and CP/M uses 128-byte blocks. When an MS-DOS file is converted to CP/M, the number of bytes it contains is rounded up to the next 128-byte block. The characters added to fill in the file are CTRL Z (end of file) characters. o Only data or text files can be usefully converted. Executable (.EXE) and command (.COM) files can be converted as files, but do not run under other systems. o The maximum size file you can convert is 376K, the capacity of a double-density CP/M diskette. o RWCPM works only with 40-track (double-density), Epson- formatted diskettes for CP/M files. However, it can use either 40- or 80-track (double- or quad-density) diskettes, or a hard disk, for MS-DOS files. o RWCPM is designed specifically to work with CP/M and MS-DOS files while running under MS-DOS. It does not run under CP/M-80 or TPM-III. Also, the default 80-track format of TPM-III files on the QX-16 makes them incompatible with RWCPM. ** Error messages If you see one of these error messages while you're using RWCPM, refer to this list for an explanation, and for a suggestion on how to recover from the problem. Error - MS-DOS file not found This could occur if you changed MS-DOS diskettes after the directory was displayed but before file transfer began. Restart the program and put the correct diskettes in place. Error - MS-DOS directory full or file read-only No more files can be added to the MS-DOS disk, either because its directory is full or because a read-only file prevents overwriting. If the MS-DOS directory is full, you can delete files to create more room. Or, you can use the Epson utility XTREE to see if MS-DOS files have been marked as read-only and change their status if necessary. Error - MS-DOS disk full All available space on the MS-DOS disk is occupied, preventing transfer from CP/M. Use another MS-DOS disk or delete some files before adding others. Error - No space on CP/M directory No more files can be added to the CP/M diskette from MS-DOS because the directory is full. Use another CP/M diskette, or delete some files before adding others. Error - Not enough memory for the CP/M file RWCPM reads the entire CP/M file into memory before converting it to MS-DOS format and writing it to disk. (Your QX-16 has 512K of memory, so it's unlikely you'll see this message. However, it is possible to set aside so much memory for other things that not enough is available for a large file.) To convert the file, free more memory or divide the file into smaller segments. Error - Not enough memory for the MS-DOS file RWCPM reads the entire MS-DOS file into memory before converting it to CP/M format and transferring it. (Your QX- 16 has 512K of memory, so you probably won't see this message. However, you might have set aside so much memory for other things that there isn't enough left for a large file. It is also possible for an MS-DOS file--e.g., a hard disk file--to be too large to fit in memory.) To convert the file, free more memory or divide the file into smaller segments. Error - Read CP/M directory When RWCPM attempted to read the CP/M diskette directory, one of various possible problems existed; the diskette wasn't in the drive, wasn't formatted, had the wrong format, or had errors. Insert the correct diskette, then restart the program. Error - Read CP/M file When RWCPM attempted to read a CP/M file, one of various possible problems existed: the diskette had been changed, had the wrong format, or contained errors. Insert the correct diskette or check it for errors. Error - Read MS-DOS file When RWCPM attempted to read an MS-DOS file, one of various possible problems existed: the diskette had been changed, had the wrong format, or contained errors. Insert the correct diskette or check the disk for errors. Error - Update CP/M directory When RWCPM attempted to update the CP/M diskette directory, one of various problems existed: the diskette wasn't in the drive, was write-protected, or was in the wrong format. Check or replace it and run the program again. Error - Write CP/M file When RWCPM attempted to write a file to the CP/M diskette, one of various problems existed: the drive was empty, the diskette or file was write-protected, or the diskette was in the wrong format. Check or replace it and run the program again. No file on the CP/M diskette in the left drive The CP/M diskette contains no files to transfer to MS-DOS. The program aborts automatically. Restart RWCPM, using a CP/M diskette that has data files to convert. No file on the MS-DOS log-on drive/directory The MS-DOS disk contains no files to transfer to CP/M. The program aborts automatically. Restart RWCPM, using an MS- DOS disk that has data files to convert.