8bitfiles.net/archives

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ 8bitfiles.net/archives / archives.tar / archives / genie-commodore-file-library / Information / RAMLINK.TIPS.ARC / RL.2 < prev

Wrap

Text File | 2019-04-13 | 43.3 KB | 1,153 lines

************ Topic 12 Tue Jul 02, 1991 H.HERMAN1 (Forwarded) Sub: RAMDrive & RAMLink tips and tricks Let's share any tips and tricks so we all can use them. 130 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 61 Thu Oct 17, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] (Forwarded) Wizard64 does work well in a Ramdrive/Link, but one catch..You have to run it from drive 8, which means you have to use the swap8 button, which disappears when you QUIT wizard64. Solution (for the time being) is touse the RESET button on Ramdrive/Link instead of using the Quit icon in wizard64 When it's done resetting you'll then have to press the swap8 button again to get drive 8 back. From then on everything is normal. Also it seems to work well in every type of partition except Native Mode. there you should use either a 1541 or 1581 subdirectory. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 62 Thu Oct 17, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] (Forwarded) Mark, nudge taken and accepted ;D Actually it was both the font file and diskmenu files that were uploaded that made me take notice of these small quirks. I boot Geos directy from a 1581 partition from Ramlink which is set as #10 and leave my 1581 as #8. Have the HD too but I hardly ever use it under Geos now that I have Ramlink so I leave it at #12. I know someone is going to ask why isn't something #9? Well, my MSD is :) and I leave #11 open in those rare cases where I need ram-dos for those packages that only access drives 8- 11. Pretty weird having all the high tech drives and stuff hooked up and ending it with a MSD but it is such a darn good solid disk drive I love using it. Besides, I get a kick once and a while using the catalog command ;) re:Pagefox and Ramlink I did try it before but the screen froze up so I never pursued it further. It was in the REU port. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 63 Thu Oct 17, 1991 H.HERMAN1 (Forwarded) JBUS, It looks like Wiz128 and Wiz64 do some things differently. I'm doing a software SWAP before running Wiz128, so it runs from drive 8. But it does run from a native mode partition. Well, actually a native mode sub-directory in the partition. Just as I suggested to JBEE, you can save some wear and tear on the swap button, not to mention fingers, by swapping in software. Perhaps something like: 10 @"cp#",16 20 @"cd#:dir.name",16 30 open15,16,15:print#15,"s-8":fori=1to500:next:close15 40 ^"wizard64",8 A few explanations: =================== # is partition # where Wizard is. If partition 2 is set as your default, and you are there, then line 10 isn't needed and can be deleted. dir.name in line 20 is the subdirectory where Wizard is. Replace dir.name with the name of your subdirectory. Line 30 will change RD from device 16 to device 8. Line 40 will load and auto run WIZARD64. If you name this file WIZ, and place it in the root directory of your default partition, and assuming drive 16 is your default, then to run Wizard, you only need to enter: ^WIZ <CR> Every time Wizard runs it will be in drive 8, and when you QUIT, you'll be back in drive 16. The autofile editor feature allows for a lot of flexibility. So you can have a file autorun whenever there is a software or hardware reset, and set up sys parameters however you like. While it may be more than you, or anyone else may want to know, I'll print out below the file called HAL which is the one that I have RL autoboot each time there is any reset: 10 fast 20 trap140 30 @#16 40 @"cd2//",16 50 @"i",8 80 rem:ifpeek(6)+peek(7)+peek(8)=255thengoto90:elsegosub130:sys65341 90 rem:ifpeek(2744)+peek(2742)+peek(2757)=28goto110:else100 100 rem:gosub130:poke2744,10:poke2742,8:poke2757,10:sys57344 110 rem:ifpeek(6000)=23goto120:elsegosub130:poke6000,23:sys16390:sys16384 120 dload"hal1..",u16:end 130 printchr$(14)chr$(31)chr$(18)"XYYYresetting HAL...":printchr$(159):return 140 ifer=5thengosub500:elsegosub200 150 resume 200 sys57651:return 500 open15,16,15:print#15,"s-8":fori=1to750:next:close15 600 open15,8,15:print#15,"s-d":fori=1to750:next:close15 610 return The "X" in quotes is a SCNCLR The "Y" in quotes is a cursor down. The peeking and poking are in 128 mode, so all those things are different while running on a 64. This short routine is intended to reset some things, and do some possible housecleaning chores, after I've run a program that didn't exit properly, and do it. It then ends by calling a menu program which has a selection of things to run, including Wizard. This is one possible use for an autoboot file. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 64 Fri Oct 18, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] (Forwarded) Neat! ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 65 Sat Oct 19, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] (Forwarded) Thanks:):):) I'll try that immediately (if not sooner) and that will also probably solvesome of my other problem programs as well. (I gotta read more of that little blue book) Thanks again:) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 66 Sat Oct 19, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] (Forwarded) Maybe you could help me with this little bugger too: The auto boot64 file works fine on first boot, but when I quit wizard64 it initilzes drive 9 instead of drive 8 drive 8 is there now, just quits to drive 9 instead of drive 8 when it resets (hope I explained this decently) (from the 128,no problem, just from the 64 in Ramdrive) Thanks:) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 67 Sun Oct 20, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] (Forwarded) Got it! change line 40 to @#8#, then add line 50 to @"$:*" and drive 8 comes alive again with the directory displayed. ((had to chop off line 40 ^"wizard 64", because it gave me an endless loop into and out of wizard 64- had to hit the run/stop key to stop the auto-boot file and get into my geos partitions)) Thanks again:) (I read the book this time:)) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 68 Sun Oct 20, 1991 H.HERMAN1 (Forwarded) JBUS, Yikes! I forgot about that. I ran into the same prob at first, and my auto boot file would just reboot whenever I exited, putting me back into the same program, since that is what the autoboot file told it to do. There are two nifty ways around this: (1) Put a time loop into the file, and if no key is pressed, the autofile proceeds to autoboot, or (2) ask for a key press, instead. I liked the second idea, since there was no unnecessary time wasted. Here's the 64 mode autoboot file that is in my RL: 10 sys58551 20 @#16 30 rem:open4,4,15:print#4,"@":close4 40 printchr$(14):input"XYYYYYYYYRun MHT Bank Program";a$ 50 ifa$=""ora$="y"ora$="Y"thengoto70 60 end 70 @"cd2:telcom",16 80 open15,16,15:print#15,"s-8":fori=1to500:next:close15 90 ^"bank",8 Again in line 40, the X in quotes is a scnclr. The Y's are cursor downs. This will print to screen "Run MHT Bank Program?" If I press Y or y or <CR> it proceeds to autorun the bank program. Pressing any other key puts me at the system prompt, with drive 16, RL, the default for any of the dos commands, and in the root directory of the default partition. Happy to hear that you were able to get to the solution. If there is anything else we can help with, just give a hollar! :) I have found that having the autoboot files, and resident JD commands pretty much lets me do most anything, limited only by my imagination to think up things for them to do unattended, and automatically. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 69 Thu Oct 24, 1991 D.WADLEIGH [Sadsac] (Forwarded) Howie - Wow! Your little basic program in msg 57 was amazing! I had no idea one could move around RAMLink like that by writing in basic. Where did you get the "S-8" thing to work the swap switch in line 40? <40 open15,16,15:print#15,"s-8":forI=1to500:next etc. > I have not seen this documented. Sadsac ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 70 Fri Oct 25, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 15:45 EDT Sadsac, It was in chapter 7, pages 32 and 33. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 71 Sun Oct 27, 1991 DR.EVIL at 18:29 PST Hi all. I have a 1 Mb RAMLink and a 1750 REU plugged into it. I also have a SID Symphony Stereo cart and a SwiftLink-232 cart (naturally!), and a CMD 40 HD and a 1581. I'm not telling you all this to brag <GRIN> but instead to offer some RL setup advice for GEOS. This advice comes straight from Doug Cotton of CMD. I couldn't figure out what to do from the gateWay manual, to be honest. Paul Bosacki is a great programmer, but his tech writing needs some improvement... ;-D Fortunately, Doug says that an upcoming update to gateWay will include a new manual, with extensively revised setup info. I installed gateWay 64 recently for a user group demo. I decided to set it up with the RL, REU, 1571 (internal--I have a C128-D), and 1581. I didn't want to haul my HD to the meeting. Here are the instructions that Doug gave me, and they worked perfectly... Oh! By the way, I set up RL as one big native mode partition--you may want to use emulation partitions to ease backup procedures (as Howie and JBEE have mentioned in previous postings). 1) Wipe out all partitions in RL with RAMTOOLS. 2) Make this partition FIRST... #: 31; Name: Your Choice; Size: size of REU mine = 2048 blks.; Type: DACC (direct access) 3) Use RAM Tools to make other partitions. I made mine one big NATV area. 4) Make RL default device # = 12. 5) Exit RAM Tools. Switch RL into Direct mode (should have been Enabled/Normal for above steps). 6) Load GEOS (I did it with original floppies). 7) Run GEOS Configure. Make sure the 1750 REU is emulating a 1571. Also make sure the 1571 is set up as a 1571 (at least I did this since I have a 1571!) 8) Format a 5.25" floppy in GEOS (again, I used the 1571 since that is my device #8/Drive A). If using a 1571, BE SURE you format it single-sided. Also, DON'T name it the disk with a name beginning with capital "G". Don't ask me why--just don't do it! :-) 9) Put original gW disk in and validate it. If there are errors, stop here and get a new disk from CMD. 10)Copy recommended files from original gW disk to REU--including the disk drivers in order. I copied the following: geos, launch, gateway, mAKEbOOT64, cbm1571, cbm1581, rldRIVE, SWITCHER, gwmOVER, & qUICKmOVE. As you can see, Drive A = 1571, B = 1581, and C = RL. 11)Copy mouse & printer driver of your choice to REU. NOTE: some of the 3rd party replacement mouse drivers do not work properly with gW. Doug says this is because these drivers are using memory they're not supposed to. 12)Move all of these files back to the disk you formatted earlier. 13)Quit GEOS. Move RL back to Normal. 14)Reboot GEOS. Run MakeBoot64 from gW disk just made above. Answer YES to Install patches question. What MB64 does is copy the GEOS Kernal out of memory to disk and installs some patches (if you answer YES). Note that thi s effectively de-copy-protects GEOS! It creates a file called "geoboot". It's 85 blocks for GEOS 64 and over twice that for GEOS 128. 15)Quit GEOS again. 16)Run RAMTools and make RL device #10 (Drive C under GEOS). 17)Load "geos",8,1 from your floppy! Everything should be working. To make GEOS/gW boot from RL, add these steps: 18)Click on RL drive icon. Convert it to a GEOS disk. 19)Copy all files except "geoboot" from gW disk made above to RL partition #1. 20)Run MB64 FROM RL--NOT from floppy disk. This will make a new geoboot in RL partition #1. Answer YES again to Install patches question. 21)Shutdown gW/GEOS. 22)Move into device #10, partition #1 (RL). Load "geos",8,1! I may have left something out... hopefully not. Again, some of these steps are sort of specific to the setup I was creating, but I think anyone with some GEOS experience can see where to change things. The 2048 block DACC partition is used transparently by gW as a storage place for sessions switched out by SWITCHER. I think it also is used as a scratch pad area for other things. Having it as a DACC means that it will always be available to gW and ONLY gW. Some other thoughts... Doug and I discussed about using the REU differently-- as a visible RAM disk device on the desktop. You can certainly do this, but it doesn't make much sense if you have RAM in your RAMLink. Switcher will have to compete with other programs for space and, if the device is ever moved around (like from C to B and back, I think--but not sure) the REU's contents gets wiped out. It makes much more sense, it seems to me, to have several partitions (native or emulation). If you have native ones, you can also make subdirs from within gW. (BTW, to back up a subdir chain, click on the Close box for each subdir.--I couldn't find this in the doc.) The last thing I want to mention is that you will need a copy of the "gateway" file in each subdir / partition that you create. Fortunately it's not too large of a file... Kent ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 72 Sun Oct 27, 1991 D.WADLEIGH [Sadsac] at 19:33 MST HOWIE - OK, I see it. As JBUS said, "One should read (study) that Blue Book". Anyway, thank you for your excellent examples showing us how to use a little basic program to move around in RAMLink. It sure is GREAT news to hear that CMD is going to be here on GEnie! Sadsac - ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 73 Mon Oct 28, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 00:45 EST Kent, A *BIG* THANK YOU!!! :) I really appreciate the step-by-step installation instructions. You've come up with the answers to questions many of us have had. And, you have made getting up and running a lot easier now. In fact, I am going to discard the pages and pages of notes (20, to be precise) which I've managed to accumulate, since you've consolidated everything I had, and more, onto two pages. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 74 Tue Oct 29, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] at 20:34 EST Hi again:) Howie, have a new problem with the autoboot file I just found out. Works well with everything except Gateway/Geos. Seems when I use Gateway and shutdown from the menu, RamDrive crashes, my disk drive light flashes and RamDrive's Activity light stays on. Reset won't help. I have to shut off the computer to get everything back to normal. Any suggestions? For now, when I want to use Gateway I just disable the autofile feature. (not too bad as I've got that one on another partition in Ramdrive and it takes about 2seconds to disable/re-enableit.) :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 75 Wed Oct 30, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 04:06 EST Download "reset128" uploaded by R.Knop1 to shutdown Geos. It is excellent! It is how I exit all the time so you might want to check it out! ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 76 Wed Oct 30, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 12:44 EST Just what I was gonna suggest, JBEE. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 77 Thu Oct 31, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] at 01:25 EST Thanks guys, But, I use Gateway with Ramdrive and my 64. Ramlink has the more serious stuff with the 128. (and My Handyscanner won't work with Ramdrive plugged in, just Ramlink seems to work ok with it. So, I guess I'm stuck for a while. ((Maybe he'll write one for the 64:))) I will however get it for the 128 setup anyway, since you guys like it so much it has to be good! Bye for now:) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 78 Thu Oct 31, 1991 R.KNOP1 [Rob Knop] at 01:34 PST Hi guys, thanks for the plug :) I have just uploaded a program, reset64.cvt, which is roughly the equivalent to reset128.cvt. Although, now thinking about it, it isn't clear to me that this program doesn't do anything that the BASIC option from the deskTop menus doesn't do.... I know in the 128's case that the BASIC option skips certain steps of the reset sequence which reset128.cvt doesn't (since it calls the bloody cold start routine!), but the 64 doesn't have as convoluted a reset sequence. But, hey, if it works for you, enjoy. ;) -Rob ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 79 Thu Oct 31, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 09:31 EST Rob, WOW! This has gotta be a record or something! 3 hours after JBUS asks for a program, you upload it. Thanks for helping out. :) Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 80 Thu Oct 31, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 10:17 EST Rob, that was fast >>>>>>>>>>>> :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 81 Fri Nov 01, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] at 01:52 EST Now that's what I call ESP or somethoing. I got another prog that works, but I'm definately gonna download this one and give it a try. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks again Rob:) :) (: (: ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 82 Fri Nov 01, 1991 DR.EVIL at 18:48 PST Oops, I made a small mistake. On step #22 of installing gW 64, you load "geos",10,1 to boot from RAMLink, not "...,8,1". Device 8 is the floppy. Kent ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 83 Sun Nov 03, 1991 R.KNOP1 [Rob Knop] at 22:21 PST This is in response to the last two messages on Cat 4, Topic 6, which has been mysteriously closed. The issue was, rebooting GEOS and having the RAM disk intact, if your REU is plugged into a RAMLink and thus has a power supply independent of the 128's: With an REU and GEOS128, try the program RESCUE128 (which is in library #35, I believe). If the code in your REU is intact (which it ought to be if you have the REU battery backed or on a separate power supply, as with a REU plugged into a RAMLink), then I believe that Rescue128 will be able to resurrect GEOS with the contents of the RAM Disk intact. Not having a RAMLink, I haven't tested the 128 power down bit. However, I know that when I manage to crash GEOS with a not-thoroughly debugged program (happens all the time to me ;) ), Rescue128 has saved me loads of time by letting me reset GEOS and keep the RAM Disk intact. -Rob ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 84 Mon Nov 04, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] at 01:45 EST Rob, I've tried them all out (specially the reset64) and they all work GREAT:) my 64 is with RamDrive2mb, my 128 is with RamLink16mb, and for the heck of it all I unplugged my RamLink and went for it with my 2mb 17XX and the 128 They all work GREAT:) :) Thanks again, you may have just solved a whole mess of problems on using Geos with Gateway and RamLink/RamDrive. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 85 Mon Nov 04, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 05:44 EST Well!! By the time I looked Cat 4 Topic 6 was gone. Poof! No more! But. Not to worry. I know that some of our dedicated Sysops (present company excluded) have been busy as beavers re-organizing, re-compiling and batching similiar Topics together into like Categories to make searches easier. So, while I don't know, right now, where Cat 4 Top 6 is, it is here logically grouped along with other Tops. I'll try to find it and ID its new Cat and Top numbers. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 86 Mon Nov 04, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 14:35 EST Nothing strange about Cat#4 topic 6. I moved it to Cat#12. After arriving there it "slipped" into topic 1 by mistake. After reading all the messages (6) in that topic I saw that they ere duplicated by Howie's previous post in the "ramlink tips" topic now in Cat#12 so I deleted it. The closed topic is scheduled for deleting and just hasn't happened yet. As a matter of fact we have been going through all the Cats and are either moving, deleting, or renumbering old or out of date topics (including my own posts). Note:we are not censoring or "editing" ANY messages. We are just moving ones that need to be moved or deleting ones that were answered and are of no interest to anyone anymore (like my RS232 from Geos to Mac to IBM topic). Just an effort to provide a much neater, streamlined, and up to date BB. Something we take pride in :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 87 Sat Nov 09, 1991 R.LAZAR1 [Shadwell] at 07:59 EST Does anyone know of a C128 directory editor that will work on all RamLink partitions...1541, 1571, 1581, and native? Thanks :) Rob ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 88 Sat Nov 09, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 11:41 EST None that I know of. To work on Native mode partitions, it must be written specifically for that purpose. There are some for 64 mode (DEDIT and SUPER DEDIT) but I don't know of any for 128 mode. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 89 Sat Nov 09, 1991 L.WIILSON [C128R] at 09:40 PST Yes! There is one on CMD's own board. :) There is a file with the latest versions of dedit and super dedit along with the 128 versions of dedit and super dedit and they all support all types of partitions, and all types of drives. Ah, found the file, called phantom soft.lnx. It has to be de-lynx'd first and then unziped. I've been using the 128 versions for over a month and have had no problems with them!! C128R ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 90 Sat Nov 09, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 21:44 EST See! Shows what I know! :) I'll pull the file down from our system and upload it here. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 91 Sun Nov 10, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 15:47 EST Just uploaded the full DEDIT series to our support library (#41), so as soon as one of our extremely efficient Sysops checks them out... :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 92 Sun Nov 10, 1991 L.WIILSON [C128R] at 23:31 PST I also uploaded it to area 4 (Disk and File Toolkit!) file # 9245, named dedit.arc. Same files, but it arc format instead of lynx'd and zipped. Would be easier to dissolve, guess we can let the sysops figure out which one they want online!! So when will the support area be opened? ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 93 Mon Nov 11, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 04:08 EST Welp, I de-LYNXed and UNZIPped them and uploaded them separately. I was going to turn them into separate SFX files for 64 and 128, but when I archived them with LHA, the final file wasn't any smaller than the combined blocks of all of them without compression. SFX files must have quite a bit of overhead, or perhaps it doesn't do much with compiled programs. Anyway... I uploaded them as separate files to our PUBLIC support library, which is already open. The Private library will become available to those who have applied as soon as we run out of red tape... :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 94 Mon Nov 11, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 18:26 EST file #9245 is live along with most of Doug's files. File #9245 contains all the files Doug uploaded except in .arc format which squeezed quite a few blocks off the total blk count. That is in Lib#4 and if you are going to download all the programs then this is the file to grab. The Basic 128 (Abacus;) files have to be either ARCed or SFXed to be uploaded because they suffer when padded using Ymodem. Once Doug uploads the C-128 files they will be made live in Lib#41. All the others are now live in Lib#41. The files in CMD's private library (#19) are now live. Submit your name, address, equipment, etc to "cmd-doug" and once a week the Flagship$ will take his list and open the library access for those people. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 95 Sat Nov 23, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 19:28 EST Here is a price for cheap SIMMs. I have not had time to check them out or order anything (short cash right now). I also got the price from a trade magazine and they might not sell to the general public, but with today's economy, why not? I.C. Exchange 1-213-962-4830 fax:1-213-859-1180 1 meg x9 - 70 $37.50 1 meg x 9 - 80 $34.50 4 meg x9 -70 $139.00 4 meg x8 -70 $125.00 For what it is worth I would get the x9 because it makes it much more useful in a upgrade. You can now buy 4 megs worth of dram cheaper than a 1581! You can have a rambased HD for only $560. That is cheaper price upgrade then on any machine. Glad I still have my C128 :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 96 Sat Nov 23, 1991 M.MCCORMIC10 [Mike Mc-] at 21:09 EST JBEE Again I need you to identify which SIMMS are for my RL.What is the difference between the 2 1mgs;the 2 4 meg?Will either work for me? Mike Mc- ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 97 Sun Nov 24, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 08:53 EST Mike Mc, The one thing you cannot do is mix and match. You can use either 1 meg or 4 meg SIMMs, but not both. As to mixing different bit counts and chip speeds.... Well, I don't know about this, and will defer to JBEE or Doug. My suspicions are that you wouldn't want to mix these combinations either. When I upped my SIMM count, I bought the new ones direct from CMD. Their pricing is competitive, and I *KNEW* I would be getting the right thing. Also, I knew that if I had any problems, I had a very reliable place in CMD to turn to. Quite honestly I'd be reluctant to buy mail order from a place I didn't know, or that wasn't recommended to me. Those SIMMS are pretty delicate, and there is just too much possibility of getting a faulty one, so I'd want to know I could get it replaced without any hassles. Better yet, it would be nice to know that the SIMM got tested before it was shipped. I quess after I considered all these things, I decided to go with CMD. Others, like JBEE, who may be more adventurous, decided to go on their own. :) Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 98 Sun Nov 24, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 19:17 EST You can fill your RamLink with either (4) 1meg SIMMs or (4) 4meg SIMMs You can not mix or match the different sizes of SIMMs. With 4meg SIMMs at so low of a price buying a 4meg SIMM to start off with is the best bet. The only difference between the two type SIMMs is one holds four times more data than the other at less than 4 times the cost. As for risk, well, there is always a risk in anything. But, if you pay by credit card you are usually safe. A SIMM that is bad will show up in the first day you own it. The other thing is to only buy SIMMs with brand name drams (Hitachi, TI, etc.) mounted on the boards. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 99 Sun Nov 24, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 21:08 EST As far as I know, there is no problem mixing 8 bit wide and 9 bit wide SIMMs. The 9 bit wide SIMMs just have an extra chip on them which will go unused. As for mixing, for those with RL DOS 1.5 or lower, no mixing of 1 and 4 Mb SIMMs allowed. If you have a newer RAMLink with RL DOS 1.52 or higher, Then it is possible to have one (and only one) 1 Mb SIMM in the slot immediately after your final 4 Mb SIMM. This makes capacities of 5, 9, and 13 Mb possible, in addition to the other possibilities which were always present. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 100 Mon Nov 25, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 02:18 EST Doug, What is the current version of RL/DOS? JBEE and I both have 1.4, revision G's. Do the more recent fix the CP/M boot and relative files? I quess the question is should we upgrade, and do we need any hardware mods? Thanks! Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 1y Mon Nov 25, 1991 J.ROBBINS16 [JBUS] at 20:43 EST Yeah! That's the first I've heard of V1.52. Been trying to get onto CMD's BBS for a while, but can't seem to get in there,, Is it in the support files there or is it a new purchase? ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 102 Mon Nov 25, 1991 D.BURR8 at 23:55 EST Heh, I am way behind.... Believe it or not, I never was able to register my RamLink, I was out of town when it arrived, and by the time I got back, it was a tad late to send it in (the registration card). Also impeding me is the simple fact that I can't find a serial number anywhere on the darn thing.... I am running RL-DOS v 1.30, so I definitely need an upgrade, any ideas? Dan ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 103 Tue Nov 26, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 02:17 EST Inquiring minds want to know! I guess I will break down and send in my card too. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 104 Tue Nov 26, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 17:20 EST Goodness... I hope it wasn't me who they'll say started the rush to get upgrades... With ver. 1.40 I'd be happy to have more recent versions used for a while, before I do anything. My RL is one of the very first ones, and there were many important improvements with 1.40, which made the upgrade very useful at that time. However, while it fixed a lot of things, it created the CP/M prob, which wasn't there in the earlier release version. I'm happy to defer any judgment calls on this to Doug. He's given some pretty good advise so far. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 105 Thu Nov 28, 1991 M.MCCORMIC10 [Mike Mc-] at 05:41 EST Howie- Remember,I am a user of my computer,but I have no technical knowledge of it's inner workings. I guess you answered my question by mentioning different bit counts.Now I know what the difference is between the SIMMS.I am aware that you couldn't mix the SIMMS,but figured in the long run I might be better off removing the 1meg and going dirrectly to a 4meg. This way I would never have to replace a SIMMS if my system outgrew 4meg. I could just add another. ----------------------------- CMD Doug- Where would I find out what version I have for my 64C?I ordered it in July,received in August '91. I am registered. ------------------------------ All- I haven't seen this mentioned and I find it is a helpful tip.Although I use Gateway,sometimes I miss GEOS.I tried and was successful in running GEOS from my discdrive,w/GW in RL. It also shows my REU as a ramdisc.This is great for organizing discs.You can copy or erase by page files or border files.In GW it is all or one at a time. Mike Mc- ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 106 Thu Nov 28, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 22:32 EST Howie, and all the rest of you folks - I can't say the CP/M problem you mentioned is fixed, I've never duplicated it at this point. I'll have to go back and check for your details and see if I can make it happen on my system. As for REL files, if what you are talking about is the blocks free bug? then yes, that was fixed. I think that the biggest fix was that some programs would leave patterns in memory that could cause RAMLink to reconfigure itself when reset. There was also a problem with reset on flat 128's which had original CBM release version kernal ROM's. Plus the other thing I mentioned with the 4 Mb/1 Mb SIMM combinations. While we are currently at 1.60, I expect to see a 1.62 in a few days to cure a bug in the DRA (Direct RAM Access) routines, and to cure a bug in the updating of the computer STATUS byte after going past the end of a file (normal drives will give a status of 66 if you try to read past the end of file, RAMLink just continues to give a 64 until you get to the end of the current block). My advice is wait for these fixes since they'll be along soon - I'll post when they're ready. There has been at least one small hardware mod since 1.40, I don't know the details offhand, but will check with Mark for info. Someone asked about downloading the new DOS - sorry, but the DOS in RAMLink is ROM based. New DOS ROM's are available for $15.00 at any time. For the guy without a serial number - you have an original version RAMLink (Rev. A) if there is no sticker on the bottom. By not registering, you've missed a free upgrade that was sent out. We were also making hardware updates for free to registered owners until Oct. 31. I suggest that you go ahead and register, at least you'll be notified of any major revisions if you do. Also, hardware upgrades can be had, but you'll have to call for details and pricing on those. Another advantage of registering is that we plan on mailing special offers to owners of certain equipment from time to time in the future, and these may save you some money. If I've missed anything with this post, let me know - I go through 'stupidity' spells every once in awhile. (: ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 107 Sun Dec 01, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 09:27 EST Doug, Thanks!! I believe you covered everything. At least for me. :) `CP/M boot' should be easy to duplicate. If you need any more info let me know. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 108 Tue Dec 03, 1991 S.CRAIK at 22:48 PST HELP 128 D! I've called voice (talked to Mark) but I was having a problem getting my RAMLink to work in 128 mode. I have tested it on a 64 & the 128 D in 64 mode AND IT WORKS FINE! But, try- ing to have it (CNTRL-D) in 128 mode, it returns a "0"(zero) I might be able to list 'F1' (directory) of this drive (8) but all the BLOCKS endup with ???? and or a combo ?1?6. Mark, mentioned that it might be good if I tested it on another 128 so I did. A friend of my has a 128 (non- D type) and IT WORKS A-OK. Well, it seems that this would indicate its something with my 128 D but what... I cleaned the contacts. Installed JIFFY-DOS 1581 ROM chip & built in 1571 Rom chip (at the time of the call I didn't have them installed, so I installed just in case that might have been a reason. I still can do another check with a 128 D at our user group next meeting. Cause for some reason I thought it may be a peculiarity of the D type. Hmmm? Ist there a way to check that I have all pins working (logic probe? or something) Steve (S.Craik) <I may have left a similar message on Q-Link, but without the 128 of my friends used as a test of RAMLink> ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 109 Wed Dec 04, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 04:21 EST If you have JiffyDos 128 installed turn it off Second If you have a C-128D it is possible that the screw on the back of the case is preventing the Ramlink from sitting flush against the C-128D case. This will provide either a poor contact or none at all. Just remove the screw and reinstall the RAMLink. :) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 110 Wed Dec 04, 1991 S.CRAIK [Steve] at 20:31 PST Thanks C128.JBBEE, I don't have JiffyDos 128 (just the DriveRoms) I did notice that the screw seemed that it might be in the way and I did remove. I do have another prob, I noticed that the little rubber cushions (feet if you will) were missing on the rear portion of my 128 D. I tried compensating for that. Hmm? maybe if I keep trying plugging it in ....that sooner or later I might get it. Hmmm? Steve Craik ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 111 Wed Dec 04, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 23:40 EST I know CMD is gone for a few days to the Toronto World of Amiga show. Maybe when they get back they will have a better answer. As for the feet you can pick up little rubber pads (square) at any hardware store that are backed with sticky tape. Just feel the wrapper and stick in place. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 112 Tue Dec 10, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 22:25 EST We just got back, and Steve called and talked to Mark today. I didn't get a chance to ask Mark about it - will have to see if he came up with any solid cause for the problem. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 113 Wed Dec 11, 1991 M.MCCORMIC10 [Mike Mc-] at 20:40 EST All- I have read the articles in the magazines and find them self-serving,so i would like to poll the users and technicians of RL.What is the ONE best cartridge to have in the pass-thru port? I am looking for RL compatilblity and flexability.A text editor would be nice. Your opinions carry more weight than reviews. Thanks Mike Mc- ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 114 Thu Dec 12, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 00:16 EST Mike Mc, Gosh, that really depends on what *YOU* want the computer to do. I don't think there are any right or wrong choices. Me being the generalist that I am, I have one of those Tenex Extender Cables hanging from the pass thru port, to make attaching different things easy. Howie ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 115 Thu Dec 12, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 01:22 EST The ultimate cartridge is the Super Snap Shot v5+. People like Gullible have written programs to use it as a "tasker" with a REU. Action replay is also nice if you do games a lot but not 1/2 the cartridge Super Snap Shot is. I can't say from hands-on experience because I have always considered them too pricy from the limited use I would see from them. I believe the Super Snap Shot has been used and tested with Ramlink. The best things to plug into a Ramlink are a REU, Stereo Sid, or Swiftlink IHMO. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 116 Thu Dec 12, 1991 M.DULSKI1 [Mark] at 20:20 CST Thought you might be interested in an experiment that went on in the Wizard Support BB comparing Wizard 128 doing transfers to either a 1571 or RAMlink. Here are the Wizard transfer times: To a: Unadorned | RAMlink as 1571 | ram disk -------------------------|------------ min:sec | min:sec -------------------------|------------ Buffer save 2:16 | :10 253 blks | -------------------------|------------ Download 210 | blk file | | X-modem 1K 8:45 | 5:17 | Y-modem 8:29 | 5:32 -------------------------|------------ BTP X-modem CRC | 7:04 -------------------------------------- So, the question was "Is Wizard compatible with RAMlink?". Does a bear ... ah, never mind, let's just say Wizard is great as is but adding RAMlink makes it fantastic! I'ld like to thank HOWIE-CBM and his RAMlink for helping me with this comparison. Couldn't have done this without his help. I only have the 1571 :( ~~Mark~~ To find out more about Wizard please visit the Wizard Support BB. Type m625;11 at most any prompt to get there. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 117 Thu Dec 12, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 22:41 EST Pretty impressive results. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 118 Sat Dec 14, 1991 HOWIE-CBM [H.HERMAN1] at 03:40 EST Awwww shucks Mark.... T'weren't noth'n. :) Howie (do'in his John Wayne impersonation) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 119 Sat Dec 14, 1991 S.CRAIK [Steve] at 10:17 PST Hi AGAIN, I've got some NEW info, but it may be that it isn't conclusive. I've taken my computer in to a Service Rep., as I'd mentioned to MARK as per the phone call, that I would. The results of that are somewhat strange. First off... We hooked up the 128 D to a 1084s (80 column) and no other serial devices. TURNed power ON NO VIDEO! Turned OFF plugged in a GAME cartridge and got VIDEO in 64 mode (40 columns) ?? does there have to be something else connected on the serial line? Well then we connected a TEST cart in the GAME port along with a HARNESS that connects to ALL the other ports. (this was on a monitor at this time was only a 40 column monitor but in 128 mode. RAN the TESTs and it ended up telling us that U1 and U4 were *BAD*. But, what does this mean? I suppose TWO things ONE that those are BAD or somewhere en- route to the TEST cart (that happens to be in the GAME CArt port). Where I'm haveing the problem with RAMLink. So is the TEST giving me the correct results? Well... since at the moment my friend a Service Rep wouldn't be able to TEST it further. I packaged it all back up and I'm using it RIGHT NOW! but, with other things connected.... a 1581 and Apro- spand REU & Swiftlink. IN 80 columns! Something we couldn't achieve while at his shop. I have the SAME type monitor a 1084s. Hmm? GO FIGURE! Since, I can't get the HARDWARE TEST that came on the RAMLINK Utilities, to work because I'm having problems with it in 80 columns and 128 mode... ... Is there a HARDWARE TEST for the 128 D that I can use from DISK that may help? Steve (S.CRAIK) ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 120 Sat Dec 14, 1991 C128.JBEE [* Sysop *] at 17:50 EST First off, that tester is only for quickly finding out the "probable" source of a problem. Though it is usually accurate, when you have problems such as yours, you test the board before replacing the chips. Your friend should know since he is a service tech, but, I would like to point out that the test cartridge depending on what version will give bad results on the U1 and U4 locations (6526s) if the serial cable is plugged in or not or what version rom is in the test cartridge. What you or the service tech should do is sit down and spend the time to test the board with a DMM and logic probe. You could always just replace the 6526s (socket them!) and try the cheap fix and how things work from there. There is a note in the repair manual that the 80 column screen will not work (on the C-128D) unless the 6526 is good! If you are going to be charged by the hour I would just replace U1 and U4 at the same time because almost all the labor in replacing the chip is getting the board out of the case (socket everything)! What you save in labor "if" you need the other chip far outweighs the $15 or so for the extra chip. If I was going to replace one of them as a test I would replace u1. The other thing to remember when just using the tester is other chips can cause faulty readings and the only REAL way to track down the problem is to use the service manual and do the whole dianostic routine from top to bottom and make sure all the voltages and readings are within specs. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 121 Sat Dec 14, 1991 CMD-DOUG at 23:51 EST I can't think of anything to add to what JBEE has said, but when you get down to this level, I don't have Mark's knowledge of the machine. I can only suggest that to look into this further, you could try calling Mark at the office, as he has done a lot of 128 trouble-shooting. But often, it just isn't easy to determine the cause of a problem without sitting down with the machine and some test equipment, and digging in. ------------ Category 12, Topic 12 Message 122 Sun Dec 15, 1991 S.CRAIK [Steve] at 20:20 PST Thanks Guys, We/or He was wanting to check it out further. Its just that I was wanting to use the computer this weekend... and he wasn't going to be able to look at it until Monday anyway. Hmm? I was also hoping that there was a software thingy that may check some of the things ...perhaps shedding more light also. I didn't know or find by searching the files by the things I had it lookfor. All and all though... I can't figure out why it does work in 64 mode but not in 128. You think that those same chips would still need to be used in the 64 mode. Oh Well? Steve (S.CRAIK) ------------ 12 ?