Micro-SpartaDOS 2.2 (MSDOS.COM)¢ ===================¢¢By Jiri Bernasek - BEWESOFT¢¢------------------------------------¢¢ Micro-SpartaDOS allows you to load¢games (which needs a micro-DOS) from¢a disk in SpartaDOS format. So, you¢can keep games on your XF 551, Hard¢drives etc., now.¢ Version 2.2 supports also a high¢speed SIO for Speedy 1050, XF 551 and¢the HDI.¢¢¢ 1. INSTALATION¢¢ How to install your game-Disk ?¢It's easy:¢¢a) Format your disk under SpartaDOS¢ (XINIT command) - If you haven't¢ formatted it already, of course.¢¢b) Copy your games to the disk.¢ (You can use for example MENU or¢ XCOPY)¢ If you have a drive with large¢ capacity (or other programs on¢ the same disk), it'll be good to¢ use subdirectories for your games.¢¢c) Copy the file MSDOS.COM to your¢ disk. (You can place it anywhere¢ on the disk)¢¢d) Use the command 'BOOT MSDOS.COM'.¢ (If you haven't the file MSDOS.COM¢ in current or main directory, then¢ you must also type the correct¢ path!)¢ After this, Micro-SpartaDOS will¢ appear when you boot your disk.¢ (If you want to boot the original¢ SpartaDOS from your disk, don't¢ use that BOOT command. But then¢ you need to start Micro-SpartaDOS¢ by typing 'MSDOS'.)¢¢e) If you want to see DOS-names in¢ MSDOS's menu, protect all files¢ and subdirectories, which have to¢ become into that menu. (So you can¢ disable displaying of other files¢ as MSDOS.COM, *.DOC etc. by simply¢ unprotecting them.)¢¢f) If you don't like DOS-names, use¢ MSINI.COM in each directory to¢ create MSDOS.DAT file. Then, your¢ own filenames (from this file)¢ will appear in MSDOS's menu.¢¢ - Start the file MSINI.COM¢ - Insert your disk into drive 1¢ - Enter the path for directory¢ you want to make MSDOS.DAT in.¢ - Enter your name for each file¢ or subdirectory. This name¢ can be up to 35 characters¢ long, and there can be any¢ characters (lower case,¢ inverse, graphics symbols, etc.¢ possible !) You can use arrows¢ to move the cursor left/right,¢ or the DELETE key.¢ If you want to disable¢ displaying of a file in MSDOS's¢ menu, press ESC when you are¢ asked for its name. (MSINI does¢ disable displaying of MSDOS¢ itself [MSDOS.*] automatically)¢¢... And the instalation is complete !¢¢¢ 2. STARTING UP¢¢ So, we have installed our disk.¢If you want to start a game, simply¢insert this disk into your drive #1,¢and turn the computer on. You needn't¢to hold the OPTION key down - MSDOS¢will disable built-in BASIC¢automaticaly.¢ After a few seconds MSDOS's menu of¢main directory will appear. To select¢a game from this menu, simply press¢a letter key.¢ If there are lots of games, you¢need to press SPACE-BAR to see more¢names.¢ If you've selected a name of a¢subdirectory, new menu will appear.¢To go back to parent direcory, press¢'<'. You can also go directly to main¢directory with '>' key.¢ If you want to see every files in¢a directory, press ESC. Then, every¢files under their DOS-names will¢appear.¢ If you changed the disk before your¢selection, main directory of the new¢disk will appear.¢¢ When the game is selected, you'll¢see an empty screen and the game is¢loading...¢¢ If you started MSDOS from SpartaDOS¢(by typing MSDOS), you can return¢from MSDOS's menu to SpartaDOS with¢the RESET key. But when you have¢selected your game, the return to¢SpartaDOS is possible only by booting¢it again.¢¢ Note that a High speed SIO needs¢some memory for itself. So, if your¢game doesn't work, try to start it¢with SHIFT+letter. (This will remove¢the High speed SIO...)¢¢¢ 3. TECHNICAL INFO¢¢ Micro-SpartaDOS 2.2 uses only SIO¢($E459) or a High speed SIO for disk¢access, so it need not any DOS.¢ While selecting a file, it uses¢memory area $2000-$28FF for program,¢and $2900-MEMTOP for buffers, new¢filenames etc.¢ While loading a program, MSDOS uses¢only area $700-MEMLO. The MEMLO¢values are these:¢¢ Standard SIO: $A00¢ XF 551: $A35¢ Speedy 1050: $A00+SIO length (=?)¢¢ Before loading, built-in BASIC is¢disabled, and the memory is cleared¢(not under ROM-OS).¢ You can use any format, which is¢supported by original SpartaDOS.¢(Sectors $0001-$FFFF, 128 or 256¢bytes/sector) But MSDOS supports only¢SpartaDOS format - NOT Atari DOS.¢(There are many other MicroDOSes for¢this format...)¢ The only limit for number of¢directory entries is the size of¢memory ($2900-MEMTOP). It is about¢500 files with full names, or about¢1500 files with DOS-names in each¢directory !¢¢¢O.K. That's all I want to write about¢my Micro-SpartaDOS 2.2. Good luck in¢games started with Micro-SpartaDOS !¢¢ -author-¢¢¢Jiri Bernasek - BEWESOFT¢ (Prague, 93-05-03)¢¢
