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Chapter 2 - Getting Started
Instructions for ConIX installation and system configuration.
- CONTENTS -
__________________________________________________________________
2. Getting Started........................................ 2-1
2.1 Installing ConIX.................................... 2-1
2.2 Loading ConIX from CP/M............................. 2-3
2.3 Notes............................................... 2-4
- i -
ConIX Operating System Getting Started
2. Getting Started
It is very important that you immediately make two copies of the
ConIX distribution files which you have received with this manual.
The first copy should be kept as a backup, to be used in the
future in place of the original which should not be touched unless
absolutely necessary. The second will be for use as the working
copy. It should also contain a SYSGEN of CP/M on the operating
system tracks. This will allow you to use ConIX on drive A: and
reboot (reset or CTRL-C) as necessary.
Next, you should put the working copy of the distribution disk
into drive A: and then cold boot your system (hit the reset
button). Once CP/M is loaded you will be ready to begin the
required installation procedure as outlined below.
2.1 Installing ConIX
Take a look at the directory of ConIX files, if you haven't
already. You should see two files, among many, INSTALL.COM and
CONIXR.COM. INSTALL is used to customize a copy of ConIX to your
system's memory map. CONIXR is the ConIX Operating System stored
in a page relocatable form. It can be executed just as an
INSTALLed ConIX, except Memory Management will not be operational.
This is an extremely important feature and must be available when
you actively use ConIX as a part of your system.
The INSTALL program simply reads the relocatable ConIX file and
makes a new version based upon the amount of memory available in
your system. The new ConIX differs from the original in that it
is pre-relocated and will not have to recalculate its addresses
for relocation when started up (a somewhat time-consuming
operation). Instead, ConIX will be moved by a built-in loader to
the area in memory predetermined at the time of installation.
Before you install ConIX, you must be sure that your system's
memory map appears exactly as it will when you will be using ConIX
in the future. Some systems require patch programs to be loaded
which permanently relocate themselves to the top of memory to
perform some special function. Some common patches are RAM-disk
and format conversion software. In such a case, be sure that all
patches have been loaded into memory before INSTALL is executed
(as should also be the case each time ConIX is initially loaded
into your system).
To install ConIX, type:
A>install
at which point you will be asked for the name of the relocatable
ConIX data file. You may hit <RETURN>, and the default CONIXR.COM
on the current disk will be assumed. You may specify a drive only
(as B:) if the file is not on the current disk.
2-1
Getting Started ConIX Operating System
You will then be asked to specify the filename of the INSTALLed
version of ConIX. You may hit <RETURN> for CONIX.COM, which will
be created on the current drive. (Note that you are required to
use this filename since ConIX must access it when reloading during
Memory Management.) To create the output file on another drive,
simply specify the disk code alone (such as B:).
Next, you will be asked for the relocation address. This value
will be used to determine the base relocation page, meaning that
ConIX will reside in memory from this point and back toward
location 0000. You would enter an address here if, for some
reason, you'd want a buffer space between CP/M and ConIX for
storage of data or machine code routines and patches. This memory
would be protected since it is unused and not part of the TPA.
You should hit <RETURN> for the default location, which is the top
of memory as stored in memory at 0006h. ConIX will then be
configured to reside directly next to CP/M, or any patches that
are present in memory.
INSTALL will then request the name of the default startup command.
This command will be executed automatically whenever ConIX is
initially loaded from CP/M. By default, this is set to
``PROFILE'', which will be maintained if <RETURN> is, and should
normally be, hit.
INSTALL also provides the user with the ability to disable certain
ConIX functions that may cause incompatibility problems with non-
standard CP/M 2.2 systems. The first is BIOS patching, which
refers to the internal operation of ConIX to patch the BIOS in-
memory jump table. This action facilitates the redirection of
programs that perform I/O directly through the BIOS, effectively
bypassing CP/M or ConIX, as the case may be.
The BIOS patching operation might cause problems on some non-
conventional CP/M systems that do not fully support direct BIOS
access. In such cases, it may be necessary to disable BIOS
patching by entering ``off'' in response to the question asked by
INSTALL. If BIOS patching is to remain enabled, simply hit
<RETURN>.
The second possibly troublesome feature is the ExpanDisk Virtual
Disk System. If BIOS patching has been turned off, ExpanDisk will
automatically be disabled as well, since this feature must patch
the BIOS in order to work.
Some systems, however, may allow standard BIOS patching, but not
the interference in disk I/O system calls. (Standard patching
under ConIX only affects the CONIN, CONOUT, CONST, LISTST, and
LIST jumps.) On such systems, BIOS patching can be enabled, with
the exception of ExpanDisk, which can be disabled by typing
``off'' in response to the appropriate question.
Another ConIX operation which may cause system incompatibility is
BDOS Error Vector Patching. This feature may cause problems if
2-2
ConIX Operating System Getting Started
the target system does not implement the BDOS error vector, which
is a series of four addresses after the first JMP DECODE
instruction at the top of the BDOS. These addresses point to the
four routines that handle BDOS errors (File R/O, Disk R/O, Bad
Sector, and Select).
In order for these vectors to be implemented under ConIX, they
must be patched in the BDOS to point to the duplicate vectors
within ConIX. If this feature is disabled, programs which patch
the error vector to trap BDOS errors will no longer be able to do
so (this is not really a very common practice).
All other functions of ConIX are implemented using standard CP/M
conventions, and should cause no incompatibility problems with
even the most complex systems. The prime requirement is that the
resident operating system must support all CP/M 2.2 standard BDOS
operations. If this is truly the case, ConIX should be compatible
with such a system.
If you are performing a first-time installation of ConIX, you
should hit <RETURN> in response to all the questions so as to set
the default parameters. INSTALL will then generate the final
executable version of ConIX.
The next step is to test the newly installed version (see the next
section) to see if it performs properly. Should ConIX blatantly
fail to execute, you probably have a system which is not truly
CP/M 2.2 compatible. If this is the case, you should re-run the
INSTALL program and try disabling various combinations of ConIX
features. Once the installation procedure has produced a working
copy of ConIX, it will not have to be repeated, unless your
system's memory map must be changed for some reason.
2.2 Loading ConIX from CP/M
The syntax for loading ConIX from CP/M is:
A>conix (commands)
If commands are specified, ConIX will execute these commands
immediately after printing the signon message. For example:
A>conix dir
The ConIX Operating System Vxx.yyz
Copyright (C) 1985, Computer Helper Industries Inc.
All rights reserved worldwide!
.
. directory will be listed
.
<A:00>
where the directory command, DIR, was executed immediately after
ConIX was loaded.
2-3
Getting Started ConIX Operating System
If you do not specify any commands for the initial load, ConIX
will execute the default startup command PROFILE.COM (or whatever
default was set by INSTALL). This program is provided on the
distribution disk and, in its current form, simply prints a
welcome message to the screen as:
A>conix
The ConIX Operating System Vxx.yyz
Copyright (C) 1985, Computer Helper Industries Inc.
All rights reserved worldwide!
Welcome to ConIX System/One!
<A:00>
Using the ConIX Command Language, you could write your own startup
procedure which would automatically perform any needed tasks each
time ConIX is initially loaded from CP/M. This is discussed
further in the ConIX Programming Manual.
2.3 Notes
It is believed that most CP/M 3.0+ systems and, in general,
systems which do not use contiguous memory for the operating
system and system dependent routines (via bank-switching), require
some form of BIOS patching to be disabled. Usually disabling
ExpanDisk is sufficient but, in some cases, it may be necessary to
disable all BIOS patching.
Additionally, systems that do not use standard CP/M 2.2 often do
not implement the BDOS error vectors. We have also found that
most in-memory patches (for ramdisk, format conversion software,
etc.) neglect to maintain error vector compatibility. Error
vector patching should probably be disabled on such computers.
CP/M 2.2 systems which have been implemented according to the
guidelines presented within the Digital Research documentation
should not require any customization customization via INSTALL.
2-4
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