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Dave, feel free to use that drive identifying code all you want. If I had wanted to keep it a secret, I woudn't have posted it. In reality, it is jus a series of steps that have always been available to everybody anyway. I can't claim any rights to it, but I wish I could. It would be like the guy that somehow got the rights to own the idea of using the EOR instruction for placing a mouse pointer on the screen. And Commodore actually paid big bucks to use this idea on the Amiga each and every year. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 49 Tue Dec 20, 1994 R.DAY at 04:55 EST RAMlink 16 megs and REU. I finely for 4, 4 meg simms in my RAMlink. 65216 blocks free. I wanted to see how my 2 meg REU would work with it then in the RAM port. It still only sees 16 megs just don't see the last 2 megs of the last simm chip. I can put the normal/direct switch in direct. But it still will see the REU using it as part of RAM link. But I guess other programs could use it too. But can you make it so if you have 16 megs of Simm ram that it could see the REU as a REU and not part of RAMlinks ram? Or I have super snapshot in the pass-thro port it can't be on with the REU. But it works with the REU with a cartridge exspander. Can RAMlink be made to work like a cartridge exspander if it has all 16 megs of ram inside it? Yes I don't know how to spell exspander :( ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 50 Tue Dec 20, 1994 CMD-DOUG at 06:43 EST It wouldn't be easy to make RAMLink work that way; it would require a lot of OS changes, as well as hardware modifications. Bear in mind that when RAMLink was designed, 4 MB SIMMs were going for around $400+ each, so we didn't forsee a lot of people expanding them fully. Even now, not all that large of a percentage of RAMLink owners run with 16 MB. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 51 Tue Dec 20, 1994 M.RANDALL2 [Maurice] at 21:03 EST Ray, How about if you try putting a cartridge expander into the front port of your RamLink and then stick the REU and the SuperSnapshot into the expander. Then the RamLink will use the whole 16 megs within the SIMMs and your REU will be used just as an REU. The one thing I would be careful of is watch for anything that is exposed on the expander that might touch the metal case of the RamLink. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 52 Wed Dec 21, 1994 L.VICTORY [LURCH] at 08:40 EST Doug, 'Twas eve of tomorrow, the night before this. Not a computer was stirring, not even a disk! Lurch had check his RAMLink connectins with care, In hopes that productivity soon would be there. I give up! I did everything you said and when I repartitioned my RAMLink, it worked for a few hours. I made a GEOS partition and I couldn't swap drives. The configure recognized it but when I tried to swap in 1581 partition, the computer would lock up and I would have to reboot. Yes, this was something new from the previous happenings. I tried it a couple of times to no avail. I stopped working on it but left the computer on overnight with GEOS still loaded just locked up. When I turned the monitor back on the next morning, the screen was dark. I tried resetting and then powered off and on. No good! I disconnected the RAMLink from the computer and the 128 worked fine. I reconnected the RAMLink and got the dark screen again. I tried enabling the computer'S JiffyDOS and just got a brown screen. SO, I got out my 64 and reconnected the RAMLink to it with timing jumper. I am using it right now and it has been on for almost 18 hours with no problems. I think the problems in the 128, DUUH! Power supply? A new quest! ?D--n! Thanks for any and all help. Felize Navidad y Prosperos Anos! LURCH*l ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 53 Wed Dec 21, 1994 CMD-DOUG at 09:31 EST Hmmm... yes, starting to sound like the 128 may well be going downhill. One thing though... you mentioned something about swapping and getting a lockup. It's important to note that in regular GEOS, RAMLink's device number (real device number that is) has to be 12 or higher, or the GEOS drive swapping function will indeed cause a lockup. Also, the RL/HD/FD hardware SWAP-8/9 features do not work inside of GEOS, since GEOS keeps one of the serial bus lines in an active state at all times (actually, the one on RL might work, but it's to be avoided in GEOS anyway). ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 54 Wed Dec 21, 1994 R.DAY at 19:29 EST I can put Super Snapshot in the pass thru port of RAMlink and it works good but will not snapshot programs right in RAMlink. The REU works in the pass thru port. But with a cartage expander they will not work together in the pass thru port of RAMlink. What lines are not going to the computer with the pass thru port? ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 55 Wed Dec 21, 1994 CMD-DOUG at 22:36 EST When you use Super Snapshot to capture a program, you have to save the capture initially to a 1541, 1571 or 1581 drive - SS uses routines specific to these drives when saving files. After the capture has been saved to one of the drives mentioned, you can then filecopy it to RAMLink or other devices. All the lines of the Pass-Thru port go to the computer; some computers simply don't have the signal strength or timing characteristics needed to support a lot of devices on the expansion port at the same time. Also, some of the expansion boards make matters worse by having insufficient power or ground planes, or other design characteristics that further degrade signal strength and timing. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 56 Thu Dec 22, 1994 R.DAY at 18:36 EST Super Snapshot and a REU do work in the pass thru port of ram link. I used a 512k clone. Cartage size. It works very good. I guess my 2 meg REU just takes to much power or something for my computer. I do have a lot of hardwere in it. I tested it out with the BBU Battery Back Up from Performance Peripherals, Inc. It works good with it too. But it I put it on the top of my 2+1 cartridge port expander ram link did not work right. I thought it cleard it's ram out. But I unhooked it and ramlink worked right. Now I have Super snapshot on the top of the 2+1 cartridge expander or the back of it how ever it is stitting and it's up out of ramlink now. I have the BBU pluged in the 2nd slot and the cartridge REU pluged up side down in it. The only thing is now it's about 11 inch. tall. I have about 8 inch. over my dest. So right now my 128 is out a little from the back of my desk. I know snapshoting programs right in RAMlink don't work. But my be you can tern off the fast save. I know you can in the monitor by saying ss for Save Slow or ls for Load Slow. But even going out to a 1541 I never snapshoted a program with ramlink pluged in too. But when I just put super snapshot in with no ramlink it snap shots them good. Well I think it's good that a REU with super snapshot will still work with ramlink even that has 16 megs. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 57 Fri Dec 23, 1994 L.VICTORY [LURCH] at 00:33 EST You were right about the GEOS, Doug. I forgot about that and configured my RAMLink as device # 11. BTW, I'm gonna try a cooling fan first on my 128D. LURCH ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 58 Sun Dec 25, 1994 J.BARBER9 [Dan Barber] at 21:32 EST I just had to send my Ramlink back. It would show the error light at power up as well as the swap (both) at the same time. The serial bus was locked up and most of the time the compuer was locked up as well. I tried everything and even talked with Mark on the techinal line, and could not come up with any other sugestions either. I have had it since july and it has worked flawlessly untill now. I understand that I am the frist one to have a problem after useing it for sometime. Lucky me. :((( Has anyone else had a problem like this and did something to fix it? Or am I the only one? I understand sometime things fail, I am not putting down CMD they have designed a wonderful peice of hardware. I just wanted people to know my problem and if they fixed it themselvs. And if so what they did. And if not, then to save them the time and trouble of working to figure out the problem when they should just send it back. One more question. Doug, how long (approxamatly) will it take to fix myRamlink? I know Mark said it was probably something small, but how long? Thanks in advance, and erry Christmas. Dan ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 59 Sun Dec 25, 1994 CMD-DOUG at 21:42 EST Impossible to say just how long it will take. It's rare for one to take more than an hour or so to fix, but it could sit for a couple of days before it gets looked at, depending on the workload in the repair dept. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 60 Mon Dec 26, 1994 H.STRAUSE [Howard] at 17:46 EST Can the EX-3 expender be used with RamLink so SwiftLink & a 1750 512K REU can be used. I want to use the REU for a larger buffer and use it with ZED. Thanks Howard ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 61 Mon Dec 26, 1994 CMD-DOUG at 22:42 EST We've tested an EX3 equipped with a SwiftLink and REU in the pass-thru port on a RAMLink, and that does work on all the systems we tried it on here. It isn't very pretty-looking, though. ::ugh!:: ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 62 Wed Dec 28, 1994 J.THOMPSO122 [JIMBOB51] at 23:45 EST Doug, If you can buy 8 bit rights from the new C= I would like to see you come out with a regular PC clone case with all your stuff on one mother board with a hard drive and a slot where I could just slide out my 128 mother board and plug it in. Better yet a tower case and a power supply so I could put my floppies in. 486 clones with monitor are going for $1300 you have to beat that down to $600 am I dreaming? You just need a ribbon connector so we can use the original keyboard and case. Jimbob;] ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 63 Thu Dec 29, 1994 C128.JBEE at 02:21 EST It was a few years ago on Q-link but someone sent me a picture of their C-128 XT "clone" with everything stuffed into a PC case with a detachable keyboard. I know one more person that got just about everything in one except the keyboard and I had a flat 128 myself with an internal REU. So, it can be done :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 64 Mon Jan 02, 1995 E.GBELL [e.g.bell] at 07:37 EST Doug: I have a question based on something you told me some time ago. You said that when you open a file in a partition, RamLink remembers where it is at even if you move to another partition. For example, file 'test' is in a 1581 emulation directory called 'partition 1' in partition 1. I want to copy it to a native partition called 'partition 2'. I have always understood what you said to mean that I could open the source file and read it until my copy buffer was full, switch to the target area and open the write file, write that buffer, switch back, read the next block of the source file, etc. In practice, I seem to be finding that something loses track after sending the switch. Below is a BASIC hack I wrote to test to make sure it is not my ML that is wrong. Is there something wrong with my memory, my procedure, or my code??? 10 open15,16,15,"i" 15 print#15,"/0:partition 1" 20 close5:open 5,16,5,"3/17.textblock" 30 print#15,"/0:partition 2" 45 print#15,"/0:partition 1" 50 for x=1 to 20:get#5,a$:print st,a$:next:close5:close15 The above does nothing in this example but open the read file, move to the target area, move back to the source area, then read the file for 20 bytes. Does this mean that RamLink emulates the 1581 to the smallest detail in this respect? Thanks! ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 65 Mon Jan 02, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 13:57 EST While I don't recall what I told you, I was undoubtedly speaking of partitions in the sense in which we use them; ie, partition 1, 2, 3, etc. 1581 'partitions', or what we call sub-partitions, do not share this capability because, yes, we emulate what Commodore did to maintain as much compatibility as possible. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 66 Mon Jan 02, 1995 E.GBELL [e.g.bell] at 21:06 EST arghhhhhhh! Wasted a whole day trying to do something that was impossible! I hate when that happens! I did finally get tired and go back to the way I had done things previously... now I see that was the only way that they could be done. aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee! ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 69 Sat Jan 21, 1995 L.SHEWFELT [Lorne ] at 17:15 EST I have a 1 MB RAMDrive and recently purchased a 2 MB RAMLink for use with a 64C. I have been unable to get the two to work together. The RAMLink just carries on as if nothing were plugged into its RAM port, although both work fine by themselves. I tried disconnecting ALL peripherals except for the monitor, with no change in results. Can anyone suggest how I can access the RAMDrive via the RAMLink RAM port? - Lorne ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 70 Sat Jan 21, 1995 D.TUOMI [Doctor] at 20:21 EST The first thing that come to my mind is, do you have the switch in direct or pass-through mode. That could determin whether a RAM unit can be found by the RAMLink. Also, I have a question if anyone knows the answer. Is there a way to figure out whether there is a RAMLink connected to the system, via a software subroutine? I'm writting a program and want to be able to tell the difference between a Commodore REU and a RAMLink. Doc. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 71 Sat Jan 21, 1995 J.BARBER9 [Dan Barber] at 23:23 EST Hey Doug I have a question for you, recently l pulled my 1750 out of my Ramlink with the power on (stupid I know). I seems fine now, but am I going to have problems in the future? Or is pulling something out the Ramport a one time problem, where if it does damage, it does damage, if it don't it don't? Thanks in advance. Also, I have found out that if you are using Ramlink with Geos and you are using CMDMOVE to move files around, if you move files from a Non-Geos Partition to a Geos Partition then the files will become corrupt. But if you move files from a Non-Geos to a Geos the corruption does not occur. Another note is that if you have deleted files that you did not want to (in Geos), and they were on a Ramlink. And you want to get them back, you cannot use the program "File Retrieve" unless you first copy the partition to a real disk (of course the partition had to be an emulation partition to begin with) using Bcopy and then use File Retrieve on the real disk. Another tip is if you are using ARC on your Ramlink, or have JiffyDos installed in your computer, do not issue any dos commands through JiffyDos (with the @ sign). Instead use ARCs built in Dos commands. If you do not, problems will occur and created archives will be unreliable and probably previously archives will not dissolve correctly. And these problems will continue untill ARC is rebooted. Dan ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 72 Sun Jan 22, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 01:16 EST Lorne: Place the RAMDrive mode switch in DISABLE, then do a ZAP SYSTEM and reboot. If it's going to work, that should do it. Doctor: There are ways to determine if a RAMLink is in the system, since there are some bytes in the Kernal ROM under an enabled RAMLink system that will differ from a stock machine, or even one with JiffyDOS. I just don't recall the locations offhand. You might just take a quick peek at RAM-TOOLS, though, as I seem to recall putting that check in there. Dan Barber: Your 1750 is probably okay. About all you can do is run a RAM TEST to check it out. There's no way, however, to determine if a chip were merely weakened if it wasn't enough to make it fail in some way. Time is the only test for that. You stated that in using CMDMove that when moving files from a non-GEOS partition, they would become corrupted, but that when moving them from a non- GEOS partition to a GEOS partition, they would not. Er... one of those two statements is obviously in error. However, you should only use CMDMove to move files between two GEOS partitions, where you should not have any problems. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 73 Sun Jan 22, 1995 D.TUOMI [Doctor] at 08:15 EST Thanks for the info, I'll look there. Doc. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 77 Sat Jan 28, 1995 L.SHEWFELT [Lorne ] at 15:35 EST DOUG: Thanks for the RAMDrive advice. I'll give it a try. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 78 Sun Feb 05, 1995 J.BARBER9 [Dan Barber] at 23:07 EST Doug, Yes you are absolutely right, I made a mistake in my post. So here it is in brief: You can copy files using CMD MOVE from a Geos partition to a Non Geos partition, but you cannot copy files from a Non Geos partition to a Geos partition! Also I noticed later after I had all ready posted my "fix" so that one can use the Geos program: File Retrieve to recover files that have been deleted from an emulation partition with a Ramlink (or any CMD device). That I made a mistake in the name of the program that you use to copy the partition to a blank disk. I said to use Bcopy to copy the partition to a blank disk and then use file retrieve. That should be Mcopy not Bcopy! Mcopy is the program you want to copy the partition to a blank disk!! And then you can use File retrieve on the disk to recover your files. Dan ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 79 Sun Feb 26, 1995 H.HERMAN1 at 14:32 EST Doug, My RAMLink was recently modified so that it could use the REU and SwiftLink concurrently. (I especially like the "big buffers" in Dialogue 128.) I was curious tho, if because of the rewiring, the rules about not removing a REU from a powered RAMLink, will now also apply to the SwiftLink, or if it can be removed, the same as before the modification? Thanks! Howie P.S. I cannot begin to describe how nice it is to have an on-line buffer of 512k. Especially for someone like me who loves to read messages! ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 80 Sun Feb 26, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 19:51 EST I'd have to double-check with Mark, but I doubt the mod effects where power for each of the ports comes from; more likely he just changed some of the selection circuitry for the specific lines that get switched in and out. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 81 Mon Feb 27, 1995 H.HERMAN1 at 02:41 EST Thanks Doug! Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 82 Wed Mar 01, 1995 C.KELTS at 20:44 EST I have seen mention of modifiying a RAMLink to get the swiftlink abd a REU to work together. Is there a description of how to do it somewhere. I would like to be able to do this. Thanks Corey Kelts ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 83 Thu Mar 02, 1995 THE.OUTLAW at 04:46 EST The instructions follow... Keep in mind this MOD will _VOID_ any warranty your SL has! Open the REU and SL carefully! (Static sensitive) Find the "I/O 1" line in the expansion slot The finger trace on the SL that leads to this line is labeled "DE00". Follow the trace up towards up towards the UART chip in the SL. You'll see a pad with a cut strip (similar to what you'd see in a 1541 drive to change device #'s) CUT the strip. GOODBYE WARRANTY) Take a piece of 22g wire about 12" long (shorter if your brave) and solder the wire to the INcoming side of the cut pad. Run the wire through the switch on your SL. BEFORE you put the SL together, find the associated finger pad (incoming line) on your REU. It is suggested that you look in a manual for the Expansion port pinout to be sure you get the I/O 1 line. Solder the end of the wire to the finger pad on the REU. After running the wire through one of the holes in the REU, Close up both SL and REU. YOUR DONE! Put the REU in the RAM PORT (rear slot) and the SL in the PASS-THRU PORT The REU will now think it's plugged into the PASS-THRU PORT of the RL. Your RL must be in DIRECT mode. - Instructions Courtesy of L.SCHONDER (C128.LOU) our Wed Night Host Stop by and see him anytime from 10pm to 1am EST if you have further questions! He'll be glad to help you out! :> ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 84 Thu Mar 09, 1995 H.STRAUSE [Howard] at 19:26 EST Can an EX-3 expender be plugged in to the pass-thru-port and have a SwiftLink and 1750 ram expension plugged in at the same time. I like the idea of a large buffer but am not comfortable about doing modification explained earlier. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 85 Thu Mar 09, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 23:35 EST It can be done, though it isn't very pretty. When I want a 'large' buffer, I just set Dialogue to buffer to a disk file, and set RAMLink as the current disk. When the internal buffer fills, Dialogue sends a CTRL-S, dumps the buffer to disk, then sends a CTRL-Q. It repeats this process with every fill, appending to the file. This can make some pretty large files, but they can generally be handled with ZED 128. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 86 Sun Mar 12, 1995 H.STRAUSE [Howard] at 11:37 EST > It can be done, though it isn't very pretty. > When I want a 'large' buffer, I just set Dialogue > to buffer to a disk file Dialogue has a errant MNI that dosn't allow me to buffer to disk. As we talk about in catagory 8 a couple of months ago. Thanks for your help. Howard ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 87 Sun Mar 12, 1995 J.STEPHENSO1 [Jimbo] at 18:25 EST >Dialogue has a errant MNI that dosn't allow me to buffer to disk. I wonder if that is the same bug I have: when I set it to automatically dump the buffer to disk, I always lose part of text when the dump starts. Yes, I do select RTS/CTS (I've only noticed this at 14,400 baud), but the hardware handshaking either does not take effect soon enough, or there is a problem that causes the buffer to ignore the first bunch of characters. I have not tried to figure out how many characters get killed yet, but it might be the first 1K or so (12 or 13 full lines of data seems about right). If anyone has this problem and has come up with a fix, I would sure like to hear your story (no, just the one about the fix, thank you). Jimbo ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 88 Sun Mar 12, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 22:16 EST Jimbo: That wouldn't be caused by the NMI, but rather might be due to Dialogue not sending the CTRL-Q soon enough prior to the filling of the buffer. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 90 Mon Mar 13, 1995 H.HERMAN1 at 05:36 EST Jimbo, I too use rts/cts flow control with Dialogue. I think you will find no loss of saved buffered text if you set Dialogue's buad rate to 19,200 bps, instead of 38,400. Your modem will still connect to the host modem at 14.4k bps; however,your modem will now talk to your C128 at 19200 instead of 38400. A modest reduction in speed, but now 100% text accuracy, with 0% data loss. I found this to be a happy compromise. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 91 Fri Apr 07, 1995 B.GANN1 [Brenda] at 23:04 EDT I recently got a used 9 meg RAMLink... what do I need to know? It is revision I. I have ordered a new manual and RL utilities disk from CMD. I also ordered the new DOS. Will it work on an SX?? Where do I get something so that an REU can lie flat? Will SwiftLink, Stereo Sid, and Super Snapshot carts work with it? (not all at the same time of course ;) ) BTW, I do not have the clip. Brenda ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 92 Sat Apr 08, 1995 T.GOSSER1 [PowerUserMag] at 10:45 EDT I cant get Ramlink or an REU to work on my SX. I havent tried SID Symphony as my SX has a second SID chip installed. As for SS mine only partially works on my SX. Never tried Swiftlink either, got thos on my 128's. Good luck. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 93 Sun Apr 09, 1995 B.GANN1 [Brenda] at 17:40 EDT I ran the RAM test on my 9 meg RAMLink for over 3 hours, made 4 passes on my 128D in 80 column mode. No problems. I ran the hardware test for 8 hours and 23,500 passes. No problems, BUT... at the level of the PASSES: line, on the right third of the screen, there was a blue line that was 6 pixels across, one pixel high. When I stopped the program and scrolled the screen, the line disappeared. I wasn't watching it, so I don't know if it scrolled up or if it just went away. (BTW, I don't have theparallel cable or battery hooked up yet.) RTCM and The Write Stuff have both broken to the monitor on me. Both times it was when the program first started. As if I must allow the program to "settle" after it is loaded. Do I need to be worried? Brenda oops RTCM actually did it when I got on GEnie and tried to load quoter when the menu was scrolling. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 94 Sun Apr 09, 1995 E.BOURDON1 [C128-Eddie] at 20:46 EDT I've had trouble with my RL/1750 combination as well. I have the RL (2 meg) partioned off, with the first partion being 2400 (forgot exact number) to accomidate the 1750 REU area. I like to use the RL in direct mode from time to time with certain programs (Digiplayer, Sound Studio). Am I wrong in expecting that only the first partition should be effected by these programs (I've set enough blocks aside to accomidate it), so that I only have to reformat that partition? I've had other partitions that have been partly overwritten by these programs while in direct mode. So, my question, in a nut shell, is: What kind/size/location partition do I need to set aside so that my other partitions will not be effected when I use it in direct mode? ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 95 Mon Apr 10, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 09:08 EDT Brenda: You may have connection problems, or you might need the jumper clip (the hardware test catches most but NOT ALL problems). There's a connection troubleshooting guide available from CMD Technical Support on request. I'd call and request that, and order a clip at the same time. Eddie: To completely protect a 2 MB REU would require setting aside 8192 blocks in the FIRST CREATED partition. While many programs won't mess with the extra RAM over 512K, some will. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 96 Mon Apr 10, 1995 E.BOURDON1 [C128-Eddie] at 09:48 EDT What I ment, Doug, was that the REU is a 512k, and the Ramlink is a 2 meg. So all I need to do is set aside, in the first partition, is around 2100 blocks, like I had done. I still can't figure out, then, why it would corrupt the other partitions if I am setting enough aside to begin with. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 97 Mon Apr 10, 1995 C128.JBEE at 11:07 EDT I believe you have to set aside exactly 2048 blks (the size of the REU) to avoid scrambling the RamLink memory. At least this is what works for me. Create them in this order: REU = DACC #31 = 2048 1581 = #1 1581 = #2 Native (about 1000 blks) = #3 ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 98 Mon Apr 10, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 21:39 EDT Sorry I misunderstood the size of the REU. What JBEE says is correct. Check to see if you have at least 2048 blocks set aside for the REU. If you do, then the problem isn't due to those programs directly accessing RAMLink memory, since that isn't possible when REU programming methods are used. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 99 Tue Apr 11, 1995 B.GANN1 [Brenda] at 00:48 EDT I just ran the hardware test in 64 mode for 16 hours, 24,600 passes. No errors. BTW, will a different DOS chip make any difference on the tests? I ordered the newest chip but I don't have it yet. >>You may have connection problems What exactly does this mean? Which connections? >>(the hardware test catches most but NOT ALL problems) I was wondering... what does the hardware test check for, and what type of things does it miss? re: jumper clip Well, I better wait until I can test the other computer. This one probably won't be the one that gets the RL. BTW, you missed some of my qs :) For example, can an SX use an RL? I assume not. From reading the posts, I found out that you cannot use SL and RL + REU at the same time. I assume, though, that you can use SL and RL + RAMCard memory at the same time? Where do you get the thingys that let you lay an REU flat, or bring RL out from behind the computer? (That's all the qs I can remember I asked :> ) Brenda ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 100 Wed Apr 12, 1995 CMD-DOUG at 01:23 EDT A new DOS ROM probably won't make any difference, no. Problems such as those you're encountering are generally hardware-related, and require hardware fixes to correct. Which connections? Any connection in the RAMLink itself, and between the RAMLink and computer. This includes the cartridge port, RAMLink edge connector, RAMCard connection, SIMM seating, timing clip connection, etc. The hardware tests to see if any errors are encountered under normal switching between RAM and ROM. Variances can occur in timing under a wide variety of operating conditions, though, and the test isn't capable of creating all those conditions. About the only answer to whether an SX can use a RAMLink is "maybe". Our own SX has never worked with one, but I've talked to others who have been able to use the combination successfully. The stock response we generally give when asked about this is that we cannot guarantee it will work, as it is very dependant on the signal strength, timing, and signl noise present in an individual SX. The limitation on using the REU with some other cartridge in RAMLink only applies to accessing the REU as an REU. The REU uses the $DFxx I/O page in memory, and so do some cartridges. GEORAM (which could also possibly be used by some in the RAM Port) uses the $DExx I/O page, and again, so do a number of other cartridges. To avoid having conflicts between the various RAM and utility cartridges plugged into a RAMLink at the same time, only one of the two ports (RAM Port and Pass-Thru Port) on RAMLink has the I/O select lines connected directly to the computer at any given time. So to use cartridges in the Pass-Thru port, RAMLink must be switched to NORMAL mode, making the REU invisible to the computer (though the REU memory can still be used indirectly by RAMLink itself in this mode). In DIRECT mode, the REU can be seen by the computer, but anything in the Pass-Thru port cannot. The adapter cards to make an REU lie flat in a RAMLink were made by Cartsoft, but they stopped producing these over a year ago. Only place you stand a chance of finding one is in the used market, and there were so few made that it will be a rare find. ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 101 Wed Apr 12, 1995 J.BARBER9 [Dan Barber] at 19:33 EDT To T.GOSSER1: In regards to your SX-64, it sounds like either a bad ribbion cable (internal) or a bad connector. I can get Ramlink, swiftlink, Super Snap Shot, Sid Symphny, or any cartage for that matter to work with my SX-64. I would try bending the cartage port pins first. Then try replaceing the connector itself. And if that still does not work, try replaceing the cartage port ribbion that goes from the motherboard to the port. Dan ------------ Category 12, Topic 2 Message 102 Wed Apr 12, 1995 T.GOSSER1 [PowerUserMag] at 22:14 EDT I'll give those ideas a try. Although I did bend the pins but to no avail. BTW my koala paint cart does work fine on my SX. Tom ------------ 12 |