<><><>¢ (EDITORS NOTE: Due space constraints,¢ this article was cut---This was a¢ neccessity, but the informative¢ sections were not cut, and may be a¢ guide if you happen to have a similar¢ problem, or want to upgrade!)¢¢ DOCTOR'S ORDERS¢ by John Kasupski, WNYAUG¢ Reprinted by OL' HACKERS with THANKS!¢¢ 800XL POST-MORTEM¢ ----- -----------¢¢ Well, it finally happened. My¢ trusty, faithful old 800XL finally¢ decided to give me some SERIOUS¢ problems, forcing me to start using¢ my 130XE instead. It all¢ started when I tried to print out the¢ disk labels for last month's POKEY.¢ Every time I tried to print the¢ labels, I got an error 138. For those¢ who aren't familiar with Atari BASIC¢ error messages, that's a device¢ timeout. Since the device I was¢ attempting to use at the time was the¢ printer, I checked all the printer¢ connection cables between my 800XL,¢ the Xetec Graphix AT interface, and¢ my Brother M-1009 printer. The¢ connections were all fine. I booted¢ TextPro and tried to dump a text file¢ to the printer. TextPro doesn't¢ bother with codes, it gives you the¢ plain-English message "Device¢ timeout."¢¢ THE SEARCH¢¢ I entered the MIO configuration menu¢ and switched WNYAUG's Star NX-15¢ printer in as P1: instead of P2: and¢ tried again. The text file printed¢ perfectly with this printer, which is¢ connected directly to the MIO as a¢ parallel device, so obviously the¢ problem was in the Brother printer,¢ or the serial chain.¢ I double-checked all connections on¢ my serial daisy-chain. No problems¢ there. I recalled reading about¢ potential problems with the serial¢ ports on the XF-551 drives and¢ wondered if I was now beginning to¢ experience similar problems. I¢ eliminated the 551 from the chain and¢ tried it again. No dice. This printer¢ just wasn't going to print the¢ labels, period. I decided to¢ just print the labels on the Star¢ instead. As I rebooted the disk with¢ the label printing program, however,¢ I noticed something else happening.¢ The busy light on my 1050 drive was¢ flashing on and off during the load.¢ This is normal on a Happy 1050 with a¢ short off delay set. It is NOT normal¢ on my US Doubler 1050! What's going¢ on here?¢ I booted another disk to verify what¢ I had noticed. This was an old¢ SpartaDOS boot disk which installed¢ several keyboard macros. As I typed¢ in commands at the DOS prompt, I¢ watched the screen and noticed that¢ there was a distinct delay between¢ the time I pressed a key and the time¢ it appeared on my screen...sometimes¢ four or five seconds! The keyboard¢ was acting up too?¢¢ EGADS! WHATS THIS?¢¢ Wait a second... I pulled out¢ the newer 130XE, ripped the 800XL out¢ of the system, and tried everything¢ again. With the 130XE all my previous¢ problems disappeared. The source of¢ the problems was the 800XL that had¢ served me faithfully since I first¢ got it. So, I guess I've just¢ joined the ranks of those using a¢ 130XE instead of an older 800XL. This¢ time, I'll just have to get used to¢ the 130XE's keyboard. It's¢ interesting to note, though, that had¢ this happened just a few weeks¢ earlier it would have absolutely¢ driven me berserk. That was before my¢ new hard drive controller card¢ arrived, allowing me to boot off my¢ hard drive again. That in turn allows¢ me to have the 256K MIO RAMdisk free¢ for jockeying files around.¢¢ MIO TO THE RESCUE!¢¢ Prior to getting the HD running¢ again, I was booting from the MIO¢ RAMdisk and using the 192K RAMdisk in¢ the 256K 800XL for jockeying space.¢ Without the HD in the system to free¢ up my MIO RAM, I would have been¢ forced to suffer with the puny 64K¢ RAMdisk in my stock 130XE, and I¢ would have found this unbearable! ¢¢ MY FUTURE UPGRADE?¢¢ At least the 800XL lasted long enough¢ for me to get the HD going again.¢ And, I can always upgrade the 130XE -¢ I just found a company that will do¢ a 320K upgrade for $50 or a 576K¢ upgrade for $65. Maybe soon I'll have¢ one of those upgrades done. In the¢ meantime, though, I'll just thank my¢ lucky stars (and The Man Upstairs)¢ that I bought a MIO instead of a¢ Black Box. I'm sure I really would go¢ nuts editing the POKEY every month¢ without a large RAMdisk to work¢ with!¢¢ UPGRADE CHECKUP¢ ------- -------¢¢ Did you really think I would mention¢ those unusually low upgrade prices¢ for the 130XE without letting you¢ know the source? The following is¢ from a text file I captured on The¢ Closer To Home BBS. I have edited the¢ format for the POKEY, but the entire¢ original contents are intact as¢ posted.¢ ******¢ June 1, 1992. (Editor- call to see if¢ they are still in business!)¢¢ Benton Harbor, MI¢ Breakthrough Ultd. is very pleased to¢ announce a line of memory upgrades¢ for the Atari XL/XE computers. For¢ quite reasonable fees, we can upgrade¢ your 800/1200 XL from 64k or 256k to¢ 512k! This can be done with out any¢ loss of compatability from any of the¢ standard 800/1200 XL's and is¢ compatable withthe 130XE in cpu mode.¢ This allows you to format a ramdisk¢ of 448k bytes-We test and install all¢ upgrades ourselves and burn them in¢ for 24hrs.¢ When you receive your computer¢ back, a disk will be included that¢ contains a ramdisk driver tailored¢ for your computer and use with¢ SmartaDOS 3.2d. This upgrade will NOT¢ interfere with the use of the¢ internal BASIC, (on 800XL), or¢ diagnostic ROM on any XL. All units¢ are return shipped within 3 business¢ days using the same container and¢ shipping method you send to us.¢ Prices and upgrade levels for the XL¢ line follow: 64k to 256k 800/1200 XL¢ - $50 64k to 512k 800/1200 XL - $65 ¢ If you already have 256k in your¢ 800/1200 XL, and your upgrade uses¢ 41256 DRAM's, use the following price¢ list: 256k to 512k 800/1200 XL - $35¢ Also, we now upgrade the 65XE/XEGS to¢ 320K, and the 130XE to 320K or 576K.¢ The following price list is use for¢ the XE computers: 65XE/XEGS - call¢ for price 128k to 320k 130 XE - $50¢ 128k to 567k 130 XE - $65 If you¢ already have 320k in your 130XE, and¢ your upgrade uses 41256 DRAM's, use¢ the following price list: 320k to¢ 576k 130 XE - $35 To figure your¢ total price, choose your upgrade¢ type, add $3 for handling, then add¢ the EXACT shipping cost that the¢ carrier, (UPS, FedExpress, US Post¢ Office), charges to ship to Benton¢ arbor, MI 49022. Include a money¢ order or cashier's check for that¢ amount. Personal Checks will be¢ accepted, however, a three week¢ waiting period will be required for¢ the check to clear. Cash is accepted,¢ but we are NOT responsible for cash¢ lost in shipping. Ship computer¢ console and keyboard ONLY! Do NOT¢ include RF cables, switch box, power¢ supply or any other items.¢¢ Address to ship to:¢ Breakthrough Unlimited¢ 4703 Territoral Rd. #3¢ Benton Harbor, MI 49022¢¢ Before you ship your computer,¢ call us here at BTU for a Unit¢ Upgrade #. Our phone number is (616)¢ 944-1851 1pm to 6 pm EDT Mon. thru¢ Fri. If your computer's current¢ configuration is not listed above,¢ call for a quote. All work done is¢ warranted for 90 days against defects¢ in materials and workmanship¢ (excluding shipping costs). ¢ These prices assume that the unit¢ shipped is FULLY FUNCTIONAL! All¢ units are tested on arival, and units¢ not functioning correctly, will be¢ returned unmodified with the shipping¢ and handling costs deducted from¢ enclosed fees. Special rush handling¢ is available for an extra charge of¢ $10. Rush units are return shipped in¢ 36hrs. Discounts are available as¢ follows: Members of a user¢ group affiliated with Atari Interface¢ Magizine will receive 10% off the¢ cost of the upgrade (not including¢ rush, shipping or handling).¢ Membership WILL be verified. ¢ Sysops of 24hr ATARI BBS's who carry¢ our ad's, (this msg), as a sign-on¢ bulletin will recive a 10% discount¢ on the cost of the upgrade (not¢ including rush,shipping or handling).¢ Such ads WILL be verifyed. This¢ applys ONLY to the primary sysop, who¢ owns/maintains system at their¢ residence or place of employment.¢ The above discounts may be combined.¢ User groups take note!! If your user¢ group has a quanity of units to¢ upgrade, mass discounts are¢ available. This is due to the fact¢ that we receive price cuts when we¢ are able to order chips in quantity,¢ and that quantity shipping is less¢ expensive. Discounts range from 15-¢ 35% and may NOT be combined with¢ other discounts. You must call with¢ the quantity of computers and upgrade¢ desired for each. These mass upgrade¢ rates apply to 4 or more units, but¢ call for exact pricing. Discount may¢ vary, depending on upgrade level and¢ qty of units. Rush is not available¢ on mass upgrades, but our normal¢ turnaround time of 3 business days¢ applys.¢¢ EOT**¢¢ Now, that's news, isn't it? RAM¢ upgrades for the Atari XL/XE machines¢ have just gotten more affordable! If¢ there is anyone else in WNYAUG that's¢ interested in getting a memory¢ upgrade, let me know about it. If¢ there are four or more of us we can¢ look into getting the mass quantity¢ discount mentioned above, and save on¢ some shipping costs as well. THE¢ ATTIC IS UP! (Aren't Most Of 'Em?)¢ --------------------- ¢ Which brings me to the REAL big¢ news. While I was nosing around on¢ The Closer To Home BBS, I found a¢ public domain command for BBS¢ Express! Professional, COLD.CMD, that¢ allows a SysOp to coldstart the host¢ computer from within the DOS shell. ¢ After some online testing conducted¢ by Don K! and myself, we can report¢ that (1) COLD.CMD really works, and¢ (2) partially due to this, THE¢ WIZARD'S ATTIC BBS IS NOW UP AND¢ RUNNING AGAIN AND HAS BEEN REOPENED¢ FOR PUBLIC ACCESS!!!¢ Yes, The Attic is back after a¢ long hiatus, which was originallé¢ caused by a hard drive crash. The¢ main problems we had were as follows:¢ 1) A lack of time for SysOps and co-¢ SysOps (myself included) to spend on¢ fixing the system. 2) The loss of¢ some of the text and other files used¢ to run the BBS. 3) Several error¢ messages that occurred during the¢ logon sequence, including the¢ inability of the system to save data¢ for new users who applied for a¢ permanent password.¢ Although the first problem will¢ probably always exist, the long¢ Independence Day weekend afforded us¢ some extra free time, which we used¢ to eliminate the other two problems¢ listed above. There are still a few¢ minor bugs to work out, but THE ATTIC¢ LIVES!¢¢ WHILE WE'RE AT IT...¢ ----- ----- -- -----¢ If you're active online and can¢ afford a long distance call now and¢ the, I strongly recommend you get on¢ The Closer To Home BBS and take a¢ look around. Closer To Home is¢ operated by Tom Hunt, author of such¢ ShareWare programs as SnapShot,¢ SnapShot HD, CTH FastBASIC, and the¢ modification that allows Turbo BASIC¢ and SpartaDOS 3.2 to peacefully co-¢ exist...among others. CTH is¢ the official support board for Tom¢ Hunt's excellent efforts, and is also¢ home to some top-notch P.D. commands,¢ online games, and other goodies that¢ will absolutely delight BBS Express!¢ Pro SysOps (watch for some of them on¢ local Pro boards). There are some¢ other reasons why I can honestly say¢ that of all the Pro boards I've¢ called (and I've called quite a few,¢ literally across the USA), none of¢ them has ever impressed me as a¢ first-time caller as much as Closer¢ To Home did the first time I called¢ it. Of course, I haven't seen¢ anything else that Tom Hunt has done¢ that didn't impress me, either, so I¢ don't know why I was surprised to see¢ such a first-rate BBS (his choice of¢ Pro as BBS software didn't hurt¢ either), but I don't rave about a BBS¢ often, so check this one out if you¢ can. From what I gathered reading¢ the messages bases, Mr. Hunt upgraded¢ to Pro back in January 1992. It¢ appears he was using Oasis prior to¢ that. In case Tom Hunt reads this, I¢ want it on record that I applaud his¢ choice to upgrade to Pro and that I¢ wish more SysOps ran boards the way¢ his is run! This makes me wish I had¢ two phone lines and a Pro node of my¢ own. For now, though, I'll content¢ myself with (and thoroughly enjoy)¢ helping out on The Wizard's Attic.¢¢ PARtING SHOT¢ ------- ----¢ I'm pleased that I've been able¢ to include so much GOOD news in this¢ month's ORDERS. The return of The¢ Attic, the upgrade news, my HD back¢ together again, the discovery of¢ CTH... I hope July has been as¢ good a month for all of you as it has¢ been for me, and that the trend¢ continues for the month of August!¢ * end *¢¢
