PC Online 1996 December/PCO1296.ISO/filesbbs/content/acornfaq.txt

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Article: 80870 in news.answers
Path: Dortmund.Germany.EU.net!main.Germany.EU.net!EU.net!howland.erols.net!news.starnet.net!waikato!wn.planet.gen.nz!khantazi.wn.planet.gen.nz!banksie
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 00:01:37 +1200
Expires: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 00:01:37 +1200
From: [e-mail] (Philip R. Banks)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce,comp.sys.acorn.misc,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: Comp.Sys.Acorn FAQ List Posting (Part 1/4)
Keywords: Frequent Questions Answers
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Organization: My RiscPC.
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Archive-name: acorn/faq/part1
Frequency: bi-weekly

Comp.Sys.Acorn FAQ List.
========================

Last alterations 9th Sep 1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent alterations :-

 * Question 7.2 updated to list Cumana's and Carlton Software's email
   addresses.
 * Question 7.5 now also lists Cumana's up and coming web pages. (Not yet
   opened, but RSN) It also newly lists Carlton Software's WWW pages, which
   are available.
 * Question 7.6 is now being maintained by Dane Koekoek and has been
   updated. Thanks go to Chris Claydon for the time and effort he put into
   that section.
 * Question 4.2 has been updated to note that fsck requires registration
   before it will work with the new FileCore format of disc.
 * Question 4.3 now has the extended codes for the RISC OS 3.5 POST.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Contained below is a list of the most commonly asked questions about
Acorn machines in the comp.sys.acorn hierarchy. Before posting to
comp.sys.acorn.*, if you are new to the groups, check to see if your
question(s) are already answered below. Corrections and/or additions to the
list can be emailed to :-

[e-mail]

And I'll try to add them as soon as possible....

   This FAQ is posted bi-weekly to comp.sys.acorn.misc,
comp.sys.acorn.announce, comp.answers and news.answers. The posted sections
of the FAQ is available from an email server at MIT. To request the FAQ
from this server send an email to [e-mail] . No subject is
needed and the body should be :-

send /pub/usenet/news.answers/acorn/faq

   Also the FAQ itself and sub-sections of it are stored in an email server
I personally run. See question 7.4 for further details on how to access
this email server.

   For Web browsers out there, the FAQ is available at :-

http://wn.planet.gen.nz/~banksie/Archives/FAQ/FaqHTML.html

This, like the email server, contains the latest version of the FAQ, as
well as a few other documents I have placed up for perusal.

   The FAQ is also mirrored at :-

http://www.interpages.co.uk/faq/acorn/FaqHTML.html

European users might like to try this site ahead of the NZ one, for faster
response times.

   Lastly this list is copyright to Philip R. Banks but permission is
granted for free distribution of the entire list or quoted segments of it.
If you wish to include segments of the list into other documents then
proper attribution must be performed and if you wish to include a part of
the list, or the list in full, in any commercial product then express
permission must be obtained from myself.

Index of Questions.

   The questions have been categorised loosely into related sections, in an
effort to make finding the desired information simpler and quicker.

Section 1: Acorn Hardware and Operating Systems.

1.1) What is an Acorn machine?
1.2) What kind of Acorn machines are there?
1.3) What versions of the ARM processors are there?
1.4) What are the main new features of RISC OS 3?
1.5) What are the differences between RISC OS 3.5 and RISC OS 3.11 & 3.10?
1.6) What are the graphics capabilities of the Acorn machines?
1.7) Is Virtual Memory possible under RISC OS?
1.8) What is the current status of Linux for Acorn machines?
1.9) What are the differences between RISC OS 3.6 and RISC OS 3.5?
1.10) What 'Easter Eggs' are present in RISC OS?
1.11) What is the current status of RiscBSD for Acorn machines?

Section 2: Upgrades and Expansion.

2.1) What are the memory limits of the various Acorn machines?
2.2) What is a second processor and what second processors are there?
2.3) Can PC VGA & Multisync Monitors be added to an Acorn machine?
2.4) Are there any Acorn cards for IBM PC or compatible machines?
2.5) What is a VIDC enhancer? Will I need one for my new multisync monitor?
2.6) What configuration of serial cable should I use for modem work?
2.7) How can I get unfiltered sound from an Acorn machine?
2.8) Can I connect a SCART monitor to my Acorn machine?
2.9) How do I make a Null modem cable?

Section 3: Configuration.

3.1) What is ADFSBuffers and what is the best setting for it?
3.2) How do I enable solid drags in RISC OS 3?

Section 4: Hardware problems.

4.1) What do the hard drive error numbers mean?
4.2) What can I do with a 'Broken Directory' or a corrupt Free Space Map?
4.3) What does the power on self-test check?
4.4) My Real Time Clock has paused, how do I restart it?
4.5) Why doesn't *Speaker work on my machine?

Section 5: Software Issues.

5.1) Why does DOSFS corrupt my files occasionally?
5.2) Where can I obtain the latest version of module X?
5.3) What are the current File-type allocation ranges?
5.4) Is there a Modula 2 compiler for the Arc?
5.5) What Public Domain Languages are available for Acorn machines?
5.6) Why does the RO3.5 desktop sometimes revert to the system font?
5.7) Why does ChangeFSI display a blank white window, not an image?
5.8) What causes the 'nager:Sprites22' error?

Section 6: Viruses.

6.1) How can I protect against viruses?
6.2) Where can I obtain a virus killer?

Section 7: Network resources.

7.1) What archives/FTP sites are available?
7.2) What Acorn related companies are available on the net via email?
7.3) What are the submission addresses for comp.{binaries,sources}.acorn
groups?
7.4) How to retrieve the FAQ from the source...
7.5) What WWW pages are out there for Acorn topics?
7.6) What Acorn BBS's are there?
7.7) Where can I advertise second hand Acorn kit?

Section 8: Compatibility with other Machines.

8.1) How compatible with other systems is an Acorn machine?
8.2) Is there a BBC BASIC for other machines?
8.3) Can I run 65Host on the Risc PC?
8.4) Can I read Acorn format discs on a PC?
8.5) What software handles files with this extension?
8.6) Is there a version of Draw for Windows?

Section 9: Technical Details.

9.1) How do I get a faster interrupt timer than the centisecond ones?
9.2) How can I create Interlaced GIFs on Acorn machines?

Section 10: Risc PC PC Card Details.

10.1) What is the latest version of the Emulator software?
10.2) Why does the serial port not work after using the card?
10.3) Why do Windows programs give incorrect colours in a 256 colour mode?
10.4) How much memory can I configure for the PCEmulator?
10.5) Can I use Win95 with the card?

Section 11: Hardware Compatibility.

11.1) What IDE drives work on Acorn machines?
11.2) What are the master / slave link settings for my IDE Drive?
11.3) What works with what?
11.4) What specification memory can I use with my RiscPC?

Section 12: Common Questions about the FAQ.

12.1) Why do I get the FAQ twice?
12.2) Why does the full FAQ have to be posted?
12.3) Isn't the FAQ overly long?
12.4) If I find something wrong or am unhappy with the FAQ, what do I do?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 1: Acorn Hardware and Operating Systems

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.1) What is an Acorn machine?

   Acorn computers are a British built line of computers that started with
6502 based machines and now are based on ARM processors. Oddly enough Acorn
computers are made by the Acorn Computer Group ( see
http://www.acorn.co.uk/ for more details.) Section 1.2 details those
machines currently in manufacture and how to fetch a full list of all
machines known to have been made by Acorn. Acorn machines are known for
their innovation, flexibility and reliability of hardware/software.

   Reading through section 1 should give newcomers to the Acorn scene a
reasonable appreciation of what the machines can do by default. They are
fairly strong in education and it is Acorn's primary market, although the
Acorn group of companies are making moves into other markets that could
potentially overshadow the current educational market.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.2) What kind of Acorn machines are there?

   The full list of Acorn made machines is somewhat lengthy now and are
mostly no longer in manufacture. Accordingly this list distributed in the
FAQ includes only Archimedes/ARM based machines, which are those currently
manufactured by Acorn. A full list is maintained in my email server under
the filename 'MachineLst'. (see question 7.4 for how to use my email
server.) This is, as far as I am aware, a complete list of all Acorn
machines made with the possible exception of the latest machines for which
I have yet to get the detailed specifications.

 * A4 - Acorns first portable machine. The A4 is functionally an A5000 in
   portable form. Featuring power save modes, an LCD screen and software
   configuration of the power saving features it was released July 1992. It
   is called the A4 because it's footprint on a desk is apparently that of
   an A4 piece of paper. It is interesting to note that the A4 is not an
   A5000 squeezed into portable form but rather the A5000 is the A4 in
   desktop form, whereby the A5000 design was largely a spin off from the
   design of the A4.

   2048k Memory
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with High Density drives.
   ARM 3 processor. (24 MHz normally, 6 MHz in power save mode.)
   12 MHz RAM. (3 MHz in power save mode.)
   2048k OS in ROM.
   ~13.25 MIPS.

Acorn RiscPC series

   This is the next generation and architecture of machines - superseding,
but compatible with, the Archimedes range of machines. All of them feature
a highly configurable and modular system that makes a bewildering variety
of options available. All are founded on the 'second generation' chipset
featuring VIDC20, IOMD and the newer ARM6, and better, cell processors.
This new range was launched on the 15th of April 1994 with the RiscPC 600
series of machines.

   The new machines feature the processor card option, the concept of which
was first shown in the A540 as well as a unique second processor slot
allowing the machines to have two processors in the system, at once, of
radically different types. Simply by slipping a 486 chip in, on an
appropriate board of course, Intel based software can be run on the machine
adjacent to native ARM programs. Both processors share the system resources
and can be allocated memory and the like to use. Memory management has been
improved with memory paging always being done in 4K pages.

   Further more the podule interface has been extended with DMA to and from
podules, extended addressing, 32bit data pathways from the IO system as
well as a vastly expanded memory map for each podule. Realtime video from
the IO system becomes a reality with high speed and data transfer
applications being boosted considerably. These machines are to be the ones
to carry Acorn for the next three to six years and look set to do so
nicely.

 * Risc PC 600 series The initial set of machines that launched the RiscPC
   range. Initially they all featured 30 MHz processors, but as of the
   Launch of the Risc PC 700 the 600 series machines all feature a 33 MHz
   ARM 610 instead. As of the start of 1996 the base model of the RiscPC
   600 was a 4Mb DRAM machine with a 425 Mb hard drive.

   RiscPC 600 2M HD210
   2048Kb Memory. (No VRAM)
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (210 Mb.)
   ARM 610 processor (33 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   2048k OS in ROM.
   ~26 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

   RiscPC 600 5M HD210
   4096Kb Memory. (1Mb of VRAM)
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (210 Mb.)
   ARM 610 processor (33 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   2048k OS in ROM.
   ~26 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

   RiscPC 600 9M HD420
   8192Kb Memory. (1Mb of VRAM)
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (420 Mb.)
   ARM 610 processor (33 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   2048k OS in ROM.
   ~26 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

 * A7000 - a successor to the A4000 machine, this is a 'cut down' Risc PC
   intended for school/home entry as a cheaper alternative to the RiscPC.
   Both this and the RiscPC 700 are the first machines to feature RISC OS
   3.6. Unlike the RiscPC the A7000 has no second processor slot, only one
   DRAM socket and no VRAM capabilities. This limits the memory expansion
   of the machine to 128Mb + whatever memory is soldered on the
   motherboard.

      Launched 12th of July 1995

   A7000 Net
   2048Kb Memory.
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   Ethernet interface in place of hard drive.
   ARM7500 processor. (32 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   4096k OS in ROM.
   ~25 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

   2048Kb Memory.
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (425 Mb.)
   ARM7500 processor. (32 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   4096k OS in ROM.
   ~25 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

   4096Kb Memory.
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (425 Mb.)
   ARM7500 processor. (32 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   4096k OS in ROM.
   ~25 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

 * Risc PC 700 series is the second generation of Risc PCs to be shipped.
   They feature the newer ARM710 processor, 16 bit sound as default with
   audio mixer on the motherboard and RISC OS 3.6. Not so much a major
   advancement as an incremental improvement of the RiscPC to keep pace
   with the computing world.

      Launched 12th of July 1995.

   RiscPC 700 4M HD425
   4096Kb
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (425 Mb.)
   ARM710 processor. (40 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   4096k OS in ROM.
   ~32 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

   RiscPC 700 9M HD425
   4096Kb (1 Mb of VRAM)
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (425 Mb.)
   ARM710 processor. (40 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   4096k OS in ROM.
   ~32 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

   RiscPC 700 10M HD850
   8192Kb (2 Mb of VRAM)
   Advanced Disc Filing System by default with a High Density drive.
   IDE interface by default. (850 Mb.)
   ARM710 processor. (40 MHz)
   16 MHz RAM.
   4096k OS in ROM.
   ~32 MIPS. (Arbitrary estimate.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.3) What versions of the ARM processor are there?

   The details of all current ARM chips and their capabilities are
contained within a file stored in my email server, the filename is
'ARMChips'. See question 7.4 for how to request this file.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.4) What are the main new features of RISC OS 3?

   This information is now contained in my email server. If you wish to
know the 'new' features of RO3 over RO2 then send a request to my email
server, as detailed at the start of the FAQ, for the filename 'RO3diffs'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.5) What are the differences between RISC OS 3.5 and RISC OS 3.11 & 3.10?

   There are a lot of behind the scenes differences but the most obvious
changes are :-

 * The system font has been replaced by an outline font.
 * The Filer uses solid drag icons, including a 'package' icon for multiple
   file drags.
 * Error dialogue boxes can now have a button for requesting interactive
   help on the error.
 * Windows can have textured backgrounds by default. (This feature can be
   used independently of the application supporting it.)
 * Applications can have up to 28Mb of memory apiece, if available.
 * The Palette utility has been replaced by the Display Manager, offering
   an alternative method of choosing screen modes from the older mode
   number method.
 * The Task Manager allocates memory via logarithmically scaled slider
   bars.
 * Rogue tasks can be stopped, or killed, by pressing Alt-Break.
 * The CMOS & hard drive can be protected from alteration.

   Also, due to the new hardware, there are a lot of behind the scenes
extensions to the OS including the provision of new dynamic areas, extended
podule support, hard drive locking and a wealth of other features.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.6) What are the graphics capabilities of the Acorn machines?

   All the Acorn machines are highly upgradeable so that they can achieve
colour depths and resolutions beyond what is listed here. What is listed
here is the default capabilities of the machines as supplied by Acorn. As
such it should be taken as a guide to the minimum abilities of the
hardware.

 * 8 bit machines. This covers the BBC Model B, BBC Model B+, Master 128
   and ABC range of machines. The display hardware was based on the
   6845CRTC chip and was highly flexible for it's time. Resolutions
   possible :-

                       X res.  Y res.  Colours
                       640     256     2
                       320     256     2,4
                       160     256     4,16

   As well a Teletext character graphics mode and two text only modes were
   provided by default. The palette range was 16 colours with modes using
   less than 16 colours capable choosing any mix of the 16 colours, up to
   the number displayable of course, for display.

 * 8 MHz ARM based machines. This is the original Archimedes range of
   machines and covers the A300 series, A400 series, R140 and A3000
   machines. The increased capability of the VIDC1a chip dramatically
   enhanced the resolutions and colours depths possible, namely :-

                       X res.  Y res.  Colours
                       160     256     4,16,256
                       320     256     2,4,16,256
                       640     250     4,16
                       640     256     2,4,16,256
                       640     480     2,4,16,256
                       640     512     2,4,16,256
                       1056    250     16
                       1056    256     16,256
                       1152    896     2

   As can be seen this quite a wide variety of default screen modes. Most
   are provided to allow driving the various kinds of monitors out there
   easier, since they are suited to that monitor. The palette range was
   4096 colours (12 bit) but the VIDC1a only had 16 hardware palette
   registers. This meant that in screen modes with sixteen colours or less
   then the colours could be mapped to any of the 4096 available. However
   in 256 colour modes 4bits of the colour data are hardware derived and
   cannot be adjusted. The net result was in a 256 colour a block of 16
   colours could be assigned as desired with that block of 16 covering a
   range of the 4096 available colours.

 * 12 MHz ARM based machines. This covers the A3010, A3020, A4000, A4,
   A5000, A540 & R260 machines. Here the VIDC1a was still used but it had
   an extra oscillators added and the primary oscillator was faster (32
   MHz) giving finer pixel resolutions. The extra oscillator provided true
   PC VGA style compatibility for monitors instead of a 24 MHz 'faked'
   version which sometimes caused problems with intolerant VGA monitors.

                       X res.  Y res.  Colours
                       160     256     4,16,256
                       320     256     2,4,16,256
                       640     200     2,4,16,256
                       640     250     16
                       640     256     2,4,16,256
                       640     352     2,4,16,256
                       640     480     2,4,16,256
                       640     512     2,4,16,256
                       768     288     2,4,16,256
                       800     600     2,4,16
                       896     352     2,4,16,256
                       1056    250     16
                       1056    256     16,256
                       1152    896     2

   Because the display hardware was essentially the same as the 8MHz
   machines' the palette handling was identical.

 * Risc PC machines. This covers all Risc PC in the Risc PC 600, Risc PC
   700 & A7000 machines. Here the newer VIDC20 chip has been used and the
   display capabilities are somewhat extended. Namely :-

                       X res.  Y res.  Colours
                       160     256     4,16,256
                       320     256     2,4,16,256
                       640     200     2,4,16,256
                       640     250     4,16
                       640     256     2,4,16,256
                       640     352     2,4,16,256
                       640     480     2,4,16,256
                       640     512     2,4,16,256
                       768     288     2,4,16,256
                       800     600     2,4,16,256,32k*,16M**
                       896     352     2,4,16,256
                       1024    768     16,256*,32k**
                       1056    250     16
                       1056    256     16,256
                       1152    896     2
                       1280    1024    4,16*,256**
                       1600    1200    16*,256**

                        *  Requires 1 MB of VRAM
                        ** Requires 2 MB of VRAM

   With the addition of Video RAM (VRAM) to the Risc PC the base
   capabilities are a touch variable, thus the note next to some of
   entries. All other modes are available with standard DRAM, and these the
   only modes the A7000 can access. Furthermore the new VIDC20 has 256
   palette registers, compared to the VIDC1a's 16, and a palette range of
   16 million colours. Exactly how the colour mapping in 32,000 modes is
   handled is not yet clear. Again these are just standard screen modes
   provided, and even perhaps not all of them - the Risc PC is completely
   configurable in display resolutions and capabilities.

   It must be stressed again that these are merely the resolutions and
colour depths defined by the machines operating systems. In all of the
machines cases there are both hardware and software extensions that alter
and increase the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.7) Is Virtual Memory possible under RISC OS?

   Short answer, full VM is not possible under the current versions of RISC
OS. The problem is that most of RISC OS works in SVC mode, if a DataFetch
abort occurs then R14_svc is corrupted . This makes returning from the SWI
somewhat problematic. This is a hardware limitation with the ARM2 and ARM3
cell chips. Hardware using ARM6 or better processor cells have special
memory abort modes that alleviate this problem so future machines and
incarnations of RISC OS may well have VM available. Indeed the new RiscPC
machines make prime candidates for having virtual memory, however there are
still re-entrancy issues that make this problematic for RISC OS. (Consider
loading data from a file into paged out virtual memory...)

   However limited solutions are available now. !Virtual is one such
solution allowing VM for a user process using a limited subset of SWI's
that are carefully 'protected' against R14_svc being corrupted. Such
solutions suffer from the restricted set of SWI's they support and are
mostly useful for batch style processing jobs like compilation or memory
intensive processing jobs. !Virtual currently does not work with Risc PCs
due to the fact that it requires a page size which is a multiple of 8kb.
(This means !Virtual will not work with A305s.)

   Also available commercially, from Clares Micro Supplies, is Virtualise
for the RiscPC machines. This provides virtual memory on dynamic areas. As
more and more software starts to use dynamic areas for data storage and
manipulation this will become increasingly useful.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.8) What is the current status of Linux for Acorn machines?

   Due to the rapid development of Linux exact details about the latest
incarnation of Linux are not kept in this FAQ. However for the latest
information you might like to consult these web pages, or email the people
involved with the port :-

   Native Linux page :-

http://whirligig.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~rmk92/armlinux.html
([e-mail])

   PC card Linux :-

http://www.ph.kcl.ac.uk/~amb/linux.html ([e-mail])

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.9) What are the differences between RISC OS 3.6 and RISC OS 3.5?

   Quite a few, although nothing particularly drastic OS wise, mostly
improvements although the lifting of the FileCore partition limit and the
incorporation of JPEG handling into the OS are quite substantial
improvements. Here is the list :-

 * Now stored on 2x2Mb ROMs, or an increase ot a potential 4096Kb of OS.
 * FileCore improvements allowing at least 4Gb partitions.
 * Support for ATAPI style CD-ROM drives.
 * JFIF handling incorporated into the OS.
 * Standard applications have been moved back into ROM.
 * Toolbox modules, the Cv5 support modules, moved into ROM.
 * CDFS modules moved into ROM.
 * Access modules moved into ROM.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.10) What 'Easter Eggs' are present in RISC OS?

   It has been a long tradition with Acorn OSes to have hidden sections
that give credit to the people involved in the creation of that OS. The BBC
Model B ROMs had the names of the people involved hidden in the memory
space occupied by Fred, Jim and Shelia. With the release of the ARM powered
machines this tradition has continued on.

 * RISC OS 2.00

    * tucked away in the ROMs is a list of the names of involved people.

 * RISC OS 3.00

    * If you type 'rmtmd' when the desktop welcome screen is displayed a
      slide show of the key RISC OS team members is displayed on the
      screen.
    * In the info box of the task manager if you clicked menu over the
      letters 'rmtmd', in that order, contained within the author icon a
      full list of the people involved with the OS's development is
      displayed in that icon.

 * RISC OS 3.10 & 3.11

    * In the info box of the task manager if you clicked menu over the
      lettersá'team', in that order, contained within the author icon a
      full list of the people involved with the OS's development is
      displayed in that icon.
    * Using a template editor examine the task managers templates file from
      the Resources filing system.
      (Resources:$.Resources.Switcher.Templates) Inside the 'power'
      dialogue is a message.

 * RISC OS 3.50

    * In the info box of the task manager if you clicked menu over the
      author icon four times a full list of the people involved with the
      OS's development is displayed in that icon. (This can take a while to
      watch, be warned...)
    * Using a template editor examine the task managers templates file from
      the Resources filing system.
      (Resources:$.Resources.Switcher.Template3D) Inside the 'power'
      dialogue is a message, in 3D. This message also appeared in the
      replacement templates supplied with NewLook for RISC OS 3.1.
    * Run this program to be given a list and pictures of the primary
      developers of RISC OS 3.50.

      REM >ExtrctNms
      REM Extract Names and Pictures from RISC OS 3.50 ROM
      REM Provided by [e-mail] (James R Miller)
      REM Original program by Nick Craig-Wood.
      REM
      S=&39F47AC: E=&39F78DC: O=65536
      SYS"OS_Byte",129,0,&FF TO,V
      IF V<>&A5 ELSE SYS"Squash_Decompress",%1000,-1 TO Q
      DIM R Q,P O
      SYS"Squash_Decompress",%0100,R,S,E-S,P,O TO,,,,,U
      A$="<Wimp$ScrapDir>."
      B$=A$+"b":A$+="a"
      C$="Filer_Run "
      SYS"OS_File",10,A$,&FF9,,P+8,P+P!4+8
      SYS"OS_File",10,B$,&FFF,,P+P!4+8,P+O-U
      OSCLI C$+A$
      OSCLI C$+B$

 * RISC OS 3.60

    * In the info box of the task manager if you clicked menu over the
      author icon four times a full list of the people involved with the
      OS's development is displayed in that icon. (This can take a while to
      watch, be warned...)
    * Using a template editor examine the task managers templates file from
      the Resources filing system.
      (Resources:$.Resources.Switcher.Template3D) Inside the 'power'
      dialogue is a message, in 3D. This message also appeared in the
      replacement templates supplied with NewLook for RISC OS 3.1.

 * RISC OS 3.70

    * In the info box of the task manager if you clicked menu over the
      author icon four times a full list of the people involved with the
      OS's development is displayed in that icon, including a 'special'
      acknowledgment to Peter Bondar. (This can take a while to watch, be
      warned...)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.11) What is the current status of RiscBSD for Acorn machines?

   Due to the rapid development of RiscBSD exact details about the latest
incarnation of it are not kept in this FAQ. RiscBSD being a port of NetBSD,
a Unix variant, to the RiscPC. However for the latest information you might
like to consult these web pages, listen to the RiscBSD email list or email
the people involved with development of it :-

   Risc BSD page :-

http://www.ph.kcl.ac.uk/~amb/riscbsd/ ([e-mail])

   RiscBSD email list :-

[e-mail] place " subscribe riscbsd <RealName> " in the message
body.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 2: Upgrades and Expansion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1) What are the memory limits of the various Acorn machines?

   For the most part the 8 bit machines were limited to a maximum of around
256k of memory. Although various expansion systems including second
processors effectively meant the upper limit was about 1 Meg. (Although I
have been told of a second processor with 4 Meg of memory in it. ) For the
early 32 bit machines the upper limit currently is 16 Meg of memory. Not
all of the range of machines are capable of this however and the list looks
something like this :-

   A3xx   -   8 Mb maximum through third party, 1 Mb official limit.
   A4xx   -   8 Mb maximum through third party, 4 Mb official limit.
   A4xx/I -   8 Mb maximum through third party, 4 Mb official limit.
   A3000  -   8 Mb maximum through third party, 2 Mb official limit.
   A540   -  16 Mb maximum.
   A5000  -   8 Mb maximum through third party, 4 Mb official limit.
   A4     -   4 Mb official limit.
   A30x0  -   4 Mb official limit.
   A4000  -   4 Mb official limit.
   A5000  -   8 Mb official limit. (alpha variant of the A5000)
   A7000  - 128 Mb + memory on mother board. (Tops out at 132 Mb and requires a
                   128 Mb SIMM to do it.)

   Newer RiscPC machines have an official upper limit of 256 Mb, plus 2 Mb
of VRAM, on all models. However this does require you using 128 Mb SIMMS
which are currently not very common...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.2) What is a second processor and what second processors are there?

   A second processor was the generic name for a range of parasite
processors that could be linked to Acorn's 8 bit machines via what was
called the `Tube` interface. Basically the host machine became dedicated to
handling the Input and Output while the second processor would do the
higher level functions (like running your programs). The second processor
ran asynchronously to the host processor allowing incredible increases in
execution speed for programs. A wide range of processors were supported
this way allowing Acorn's eight bit range of machines to remain viable and
useful for much longer than their technology would suggest.

   The Second Processors that existed are :-

 * Z80 second processor.
   6 MHz RAM.
   64k Memory.
   CP/M OS.
   External second processor for all eight bit machines.

 * 6502 second processor.
   3 MHz RAM.
   64k Memory.
   Extended version of the BBC MOS.
   External processor for all eight bit machines.

 * 32016 second processor.
   6 MHz RAM.
   256k-4096k Memory.
   Panos.
   External processor for all eight bit machines.

 * ARM 1 second processor.
   4 MHz RAM. (At a guess...)
   4096k Memory.
   Brazil OS.
   External processor for all eight bit machines.

 * 6502 co-processor. (internal second processor). 4 MHz RAM.
   64k Memory.
   Extended version of BBC MOS.
   Internal processor for Master 128 machines but could be fitted external
   to the other eight bit machines.

 * 80186 co-processor.
   10 MHz RAM.
   512k Memory.
   DR-DOS+ with GEM.
   Internal processor for Master 128 machines but could be fitted external
   to the other eight bit machines.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.3) Can PC VGA & Multisync Monitors be added to an Acorn machine?

   It depends on what monitor you have, and what Acorn machine you have.
There are two main types of PC VGA monitors out there...

 1 Fixed Frequency
   These monitors will only display video signals with certain line and
   refresh rates. They will typically only display CGA / EGA / VGA modes.
 2 Multi Frequency
   These monitors will display any video signal within a certain range,
   typically 30-50Khz line rate and 50-80Hz refresh rate.

   Type 1 almost always require separate syncs as the monitor uses the
polarity of the syncs (mainly positive going negative or mainly negative
going positive) to determine what the line and refresh rate should be.

   Type 2 vary. Some require separate syncs (vertical and horizontal) and
others will work with composite syncs (vertical and horizontal EOR
together).

   As PC monitors typically start at a line rate of 30Khz compared to the
TV broadcast modes (mode 12 etc.) that have a line rate of 15Khz, VIDC has
to do more work to obtain a 30Khz line rate. This means that you computer
will slow down slightly if you use a 30Khz+ line rate monitor. If you have
an ARM 3 fitted such slow downs will probably be negligible.

   Now, depending on what type of Archimedes you have depends on what type
of monitor you can use.

 * A540 / A5000 / A4 / A3010 / A3020 /A4000

      Has software control over the polarity of the syncs and what
   frequency VIDC is clocked at.

      The A540 with RISC OS 2 can only use modes 26-28 (640x480) and 31
   (800x600). However, by changing links and a *configure option, you can
   get the computer to generate separate syncs with no problem.

      The other machines with RISC OS 3 can do even better. If you tell the
   computer that you have a VGA monitor it will re-map all of the 15Khz
   line rate modes up to 30KHz line rate. This means that you can play your
   games that require mode 12 / 13. However, as a PC monitor is designed to
   display 320 lines minimum then you will get a 'letterbox' effect as mode
   12 has only 256 lines.

      All these machines have 24Mhz, 25.175Mhz and 36Mhz crystals to drive
   VIDC with. The 25.175Mhz crystal is needed to obtain the correct video
   rates for PC monitors displaying 640x480 screens. The 36Mhz crystal is
   used to obtain higher resolution modes, like 800x600x16 colours.

 * A3000

      This can generate separate syncs but requires links to be set to
   determine the polarity. It has only a 24Mhz crystal and can therefore
   only drive 'forgiving' monitors correctly that don't mind the 640x480
   video mode timings being slightly incorrect.

      The links to change, to set the sync polarity, are as follows:
   Link 24: Change from SOUTH to NORTH
   Link 25: Change from OPEN to CLOSED

      In order to obtain proper timings, and software control of the sync
   polarity, you will need a VGA VIDC Enhancer for the A3000.

 * A400 series.

      The situation gets more complex. Due to an 'error' in the PCB /
   circuit diagram, the A400 series cannot generate separate syncs
   satisfactorily. The video signal loses the green component when separate
   syncs is selected. It has been reported to me that 400/I series machines
   can have this fault corrected by cutting pin 3 of IC9.

      As standard, there is no polarity control over the syncs. In common
   with the A3000, there is only a 24Mhz crystal. Also it is links 1 and 2
   that need changing.

      If the PC monitor can handle composite syncs then the monitor can be
   used in 640x480 mode only.

 * A300 series.

      Most, if not all, of the A300 series had the circuit board hardwired
   into composite mode continuously. There is only a 24Mhz crystal, and
   only composite sync monitors can be used. Also the A300 suffers the same
   problem as the A400, it looses green component in separate sync mode.

      However I am told that it is possible if you are prepared to alter
   the hardware, by fitting a three pin header to both LK10 and LK11 (sited
   near the RGB connector). Cut the track which connects the middle pin to
   one of the outer pins of each header. Place a link between the middle
   pin and the other pin for each header. Finally configure sync to 0 and
   monitor to 3 to inform RISC OS of the change and you should have
   separate syncs.

      Even after these changes it may be required to cut pin 2 of IC4 to
   remove the composite sync off the green signal. Some SVGA monitors in
   particular are fussy about this.

 * RiscPC series.

      This has a very flexible VIDC in it and is quite capable of driving
   PC monitors with no trouble.

   However to connect an older machine (A3000,A300,400 series) to a VGA
monitor, you will need a means of connecting the standard 15-pin VGA plug
to the 9-pin socket in the computer. A number of companies sell
'converters', but all this boils down to is a lead with the following
configuration :-


    .------------------------.    VGA 15-pin socket
    \    1   2   3   4   5   /
     \ 6   7   8   9  10    /
      \ 11  12  13  14  15 /
       '------------------'

    .------------------------.    Arc 9-pin plug
    \    1   2   3   4   5   /
     \                      /
      \    6   7   8   9   /
       '------------------'

Signal          VGA pin         Arc pin

Gnd             10              9
Red             1               1
Green           2               2
Blue            3               3
R gnd           6               6
G gnd           7               7
B gnd           8               8
H               13              4
V               14              5
   In conclusion, apart from the A5000 and newer machines, no computer as
standard can drive either a fixed frequency or multi-frequency PC monitor
in all of the Archimedes modes satisfactorily. However VIDC enhancer boards
can be bought to upgrade an Archimedes series machine to handle the needed
timing and signals.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.4) Are there any Acorn cards for IBM PC or compatible machines?

   Yes. Three cards in total :-

 * Springboard.
   ARM 2 processor.
   4096k Memory.
   8 MHz RAM.
   Brazil OS.

 * PC ARM development system.
   Precursor to Springboard. Hardware functionally identical.

 * Ecolink.
   An econet link card for the PC.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.5) What is a VIDC enhancer? Will I need one for my new multisync monitor?

   A VIDC enhancer is basically a clock change for your VIDC. Most Arcs
(bar the A540 and newer machines) have 24 MHz VIDC chips installed in them.
A VIDC enhancer increases this to 36 MHz allowing much higher resolution
screen modes to be displayed on your Arc. (800x600x16 or SVGA standard
becomes available.) You do not need one to use a Multisync monitor - the
standard VIDC handles that just fine. However having a VIDC enhancer is
only really useful if you do have a Multi-sync monitor.

   Note a VIDC enhancer is unnecessary and incompatible with the RiscPC
range of machines.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.6) What configuration of serial cable should I use for modem work?

   Here follows a diagram of the necessary connections for common terminal
programs to work properly. They are as far as I know the informal standard
agreed upon by commercial comms software developers for the Arc.

   Pins 1, 4, and 8 must be connected together inside the 9 pin plug. This
is to avoid the well known serial port chip bugs. The modem's DCD (Data
Carrier Detect) signal has been re-routed to the Arc's RI (Ring Indicator)
most modems broadcast a software RING signal anyway, and even then it's not
really necessary to detect it for the modem to answer the call.


 Arc (9 pin)                      Modem (25 pin)
 -----------                      --------------

 +---1---DCD
 |
 |   2---RxD------------------------RxD----3
 |
 |   3---TxD------------------------TxD----2
 |
 +---4---DTR------------------------DTR---20
 |
 |   5---0v-------------------------SG-----7
 |
 |   6---DSR------------------------CTS----5
 |
 |   7---RTS------------------------RTS----4
 |
 +---8---CTS

     9---RI-------------------------DCD----8
   Of course you can connect the Modem pin 20 to any one of pins 1, 4, or 8
on the Archimedes plug, as they are all connected together anyway.

   Chocks Away Extra Missions (the flight simulator from 4th Dimension)
suggests that the serial cable be wired as above except that pins 1-4-6 are
connected together and the modem's CTS (pin 5) be connected to the Arc's
pin 8 (ie the connections at pins 6 and 8 be swapped over at the Arc's
end). This has been tried and it also seems to work fine.

   However newer Arc's like the A5000 have come out (and indeed the
occasional A310) with a `corrected` serial port. This newer serial port
operates as it should and is directly compatible with standard PC cables.
Older comms software about do not take this in account and assume that you
have a cable patched in the manner described above. If you do not use such
a patched cable on these `fixed` serial ports this software will generally
fail to work completely. (Usually hardware flow control fails.)

   With the advent of the Risc PC a standard PC cable is advised.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.7) How can I get unfiltered sound from an Acorn machine?

   All Acorn machines are equipped with a sound filter designed to remove
high frequency harmonics from the sound output. However this does cause a
muffled feel to the sound as on some machines the filter is a little too
excessive and it filters out valid frequencies. Also the filter is
optimised for 20.833 kHz output and has less desirable results when the
output rate is changed. Accordingly people who do audio work often want to
bypass the filter.

   On all machines bar the A3000 there is the Internal Auxiliary Audio
Connector (usually called link LK3), which can be easily plugged into to
provide the unfiltered output. This connector has 10 pins on it and is
usually found near the headphone socket on the motherboard. The pins are :-

        1       Unfiltered Left
        2       Ground
        3       Filtered Left
        4       Ground
        5       Auxiliary Input
        6       Ground
        7       Filtered Right
        8       Ground
        9       Unfiltered Right
        10      Ground

Simply hook into the Unfiltered outputs.

   On an A3000 you need two 10uF 16V ALEC capacitors. Look for chip LM324
(IC39) and hook the capacitors like this :-

        Pin 1 --> --|+ |--- Unfiltered Left
        Pin 2 --> --|+ |--- Unfiltered Right

The Risc PC & A400 machines have a connector similar to the A5000.

   There are several caveats to this procedure. Opening your machine may
void your warranty and most definitely should not be attempted if you are
unsure of the procedure. Do not unplug/plug the unfiltered audio output
while the machine is turned on, by bypassing the filter you also bypass the
normal protective circuitry for the audio output.

   Finally you will hear higher harmonics present in the audio signal so
you will need to connect the signal to a filter of some kind to reduce this
extra noise.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


2.8) Can I connect a SCART monitor to my Acorn machine?

   If you have an older Acorn machine with a nine pin video socket, then
yes and here is the wiring diagram :-



    .------------------------.    Arc 9-pin plug
    \    1   2   3   4   5   /
     \                      /
      \    6   7   8   9   / Case
       '------------------'
        _____________________
       |19                  1|    SCART 21-pin plug
       | | | | | | | | | | | |
      /                      |
     / |  | | | | | | | | |  |
    /___20_________________2_| 21 (metal casing)
   A SCART connector is also known as a Euroconnector or a Peri-Television
connector.

                Arc             SCART

Case            | ------------- 21              Case
Red             1 ------------- 15              Red
Green           2 ------------- 11              Green
Blue            3 ------------- 7               Blue
CSYNC           4 ------------- 20              Composite video input
Ground (0V)     6 -+---------+- 13              Red ground
Ground (0V)     7 -+         +- 9               Green ground
Ground (0V)     8 -+         +- 5               Blue ground
Ground (0V)     9 -+         +- 13              CVBS video ground

Ideally each ground wire should be linked to a separate Arc pin. Also,
depending on your SCART monitor, pin 16 may need a +5V input to it.
Unfortunately the Arc 9 pin socket does not provide a +5V output so this
will have to be sourced from somewhere else.

   If you have a newer Acorn machine, with the 15 pin high density video
socket then you need this kind of wiring :-


       .--------------------.   15-pin VGA style plug
       \    1  2  3  4  5   /
        \ 6  7  8  9  10   /
         \ 11 12 13 14 15 /
          '--------------'

Connections:

Arc                               SCART

1 red ---------------------------- 15
2 green--------------------------- 11
3 blue---------------------------- 7
4 ID[2] nc
5 0V (test)
6 red rtn------------------------- 13
7 green rtn----------------------- 9
8 blue rtn------------------------ 5
                  75 ohms
9 +5V-------------/\/\/\/--------- 16
10 0V----------------------------- 17,18
12 ID[1]-------------------------- 8
11 ID[0] <--13 |
13 HSync -->11 |
                    120 ohms
14 CSync------------/\/\/\/------- 20
15 ID[3] nc
   Notice the two resistors. Also notice that the HSync output (pin 13) of
the 15-way plug has to be connected to the ID[0] input (pin 11) of the same
plug. (Be aware I have no direct confirmation that this wiring works .)

   As is usual care must be taken when doing this procedure. Older Acorn
machine did not have their VIDC chips fully buffered and
unplugging/plugging cables from the video socket while the machine is
turned on can cause damage to the video circuitry.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.9) How do I make a Null modem cable?

   For starters you will need soldering skills and the neccesary
components. Namely cable, connectors (9 pin female D-type), a soldering
iron, solder and the will to use them. All of these items, bar the will,
can be found down at the local electronic components store. Assuming you
have them all then you will need to decide what kind of machines you are
hooking together.

   There are three cases and I need to define a few terms.

 * Archimedes is defined to be A300 series, A400 series (including the /I
   machines), R140, A540, A3000 (but not the A30x0 machines) and R260
   machines.
 * RiscPC is defined to be both the RiscPC series but also the A5000,
   A4000, A30x0 & A4 machines. All of these machines have a 'PC Style'
   serial port that conforms closely to RS232 specifications.
This means that if you are connecting your Acorn machine to a non Acorn
machine then generally treating the foreign machine as a RiscPC, in terms
of serial handling, will work. There are exceptions, Macintoshes in
particular have had non-standard serial ports and may require further
research before you can create a cable for them.

   The cases are :-

 * Archimedes to Archimedes


 Arc (9 pin)                      Arc (9 pin)
 -----------                      -----------

 +---1---DCD                        DCD----1---+
 |                                             |
 |   2---RxD------------------------TxD----3   |
 |                                             |
 |   3---TxD------------------------RxD----2   |
 |                                             |
 +---4---DTR------------------------DTR----4---+
 |                                             |
 |   5---0v-------------------------0v-----5   |
 |                                             |
 |   6---DSR------------------------RTS----7   |
 |                                             |
 |   7---RTS------------------------DSR----6   |
 |                                             |
 +---8---CTS                        CTS----8---+

     9---RI-------------------------RI-----9

 * Archimedes to RiscPC


 Arc (9 pin)                      RiscPC (9 pin)
 -----------                      --------------

 +---1---DCD
 |
 |   2---RxD------------------------TxD----3
 |
 |   3---TxD------------------------RxD----2
 |
 +---4---DTR------------------------DTR----4
 |
 |   5---0v-------------------------0v-----5
 |
 |   6---DSR------------------------RTS----7
 |
 |   7---RTS------------------------CTS----8
 |
 +---8---CTS

     9---RI-------------------------DCD----1

 * RiscPC to RiscPC


  RiscPC (9 pin)                   RiscPC (9 pin)
  --------------                   --------------

     1---DCD------------------------DCD----1

     2---RxD------------------------TxD----3

     3---TxD------------------------RxD----2

     4---DTR------------------------DTR----4

     5---0v-------------------------0v-----5

     8---CTS------------------------RTS----7

     7---RTS------------------------CTS----8

   Note that most PC compatible machines have 25 pin D type male ports for
their second COM port. You have two options in this case - either re-wire
the cable for the 25 pin port or you can buy a 9 to 25 pin convertor plug.
Either solution works well. Here are the relevant pins for the 25 pin port
:-

  Pin No.  Function
  -------  --------
     8       DCD
     3       RX
     2       TX
     20      DTR
     7     GND (0v)
     4       RTS
     5       CTS

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 3: Configuration.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.1) What is ADFSBuffers and what is the best setting for it?

   ADFSBuffers are Read Ahead and Write Behind buffers for ADFS on your
Archimedes. These are designed to improve the speed of filing operations by
doing work at optimum times. There are some side effects of using them
though. When active under RISC OS v2.00 and v2.01 discs must be dismounted
before being removed from the floppy drive. Failure to do so results in the
dreaded 'FileCore in use.' error. However if you are prepared to sacrifice
the speed improvement they give configuring the buffers to 0 does remove
this problem. (Or so I am informed.)

   Under RISC OS v3.00, as supplied with the early A5000 machines, these
buffers generate a different problem and must always be configured off.
Failure to do so results in spurious errors when using the Hard Drive on an
early A5000. Symptoms include reformatting of crucial sectors of the disc,
disc address errors and general failure to save files to the drive. So when
using an A5000 with RISC OS 3.00 remember to configure them off!

   With RISC OS v3.10 all of the old problems have been cured with a new
one introduced. Namely that if you have only a few ADFSBuffers configured
and are accessing the floppy drive then your machine can occasionally lock
up completely for you. It appears that any value of ADFSBuffers above 8
causes that problem to be largely alleviated (read it only occurs rarely at
these settings). So under RISC OS 3.10 it is recommended that you set your
ADFSBuffers to 8+. There is a patch module available, called ADFSUtils,
that does fix this problem - contact your local dealer for a copy of it.

   RISC OS 3.5 seems to have all of these problems cured and no new bugs
introduced. Under 3.5 the number of ADFSBuffers can be left at the OS's
discretion and generally the OS chooses a number based on the amount of
memory present in your RiscPC.

   As for the optimum settings for ADFSBuffers, as far as I am aware no one
has done any speed tests to see what is the best setting. Presumably though
Acorn will have arranged for the system to start up (Well except for
RO3.00...) in the optimum state for most uses. I would be interested in
anyone who has done speed tests sending me the results of their
investigations....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.2) How do I enable solid drags in RISC OS 3?

   Solid drags are controlled by bit 1 in byte 28 of the CMOS RAM. Setting
this bit enables solid drags on all solid drag 'aware' applications.
However setting this bit using a *FX command from the command line is a
foolish way to do it, as this will unset/set the other 7 bits in that byte
which have meaning to FileSwitch and the Wimp. Accordingly the recommended
way to set this bit is using a program like this BASIC one enclosed below
:-

   REM Toggle state of DragASprite bit in CMOS

   REM Read byte
   SYS "OS_Byte",161,&1C TO ,,byte%
   REM EOR byte with mask for bit 1
   byte% = byte% EOR %10
   REM Write byte back again
   SYS "OS_Byte",162,&1C,byte%
   END

Which safely sets bit 1 while preserving the settings of the other bits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 4: Hardware problems.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.1) What do the hard drive error numbers mean?

   The error numbers returned indicate the type of error encountered.
Exactly why slightly more meaningful messages are not returned I am unsure.
The error codes meanings are as follows :-

   ST506 error codes

   &01  ABT     Command abort has been accepted
   &02  IVC     Invalid command
   &03  PER     Command parameter error
   &04  NIN     Head positioning, disc access, or drive check before SPC has
                been issued
   &05  RTS     TST command invalid after SPC
   &06  NUS     USELD for a selected drive has not been returned
   &07  WFL     Write fault has been detected on the ST506 interface
   &08  NRY     Ready signal has been negated
   &09  NSC     Seek completed (SCP) wasn't returned before a timeout
   &0A  ISE     SEK, or disc access command issued during seek
   &0B  INC     Next cylinder address greater than number of cylinders
   &0C  ISR     Invalid step rate: highest-speed seek specified in normal
                seek mode
   &0D  SKE     SEK or disc access command issued to drive with seek error
   &0E  OVR     Data overrun (memory slower than drive)
   &0F  IPH     Head address greater then number of heads
   &10  DEE     Error Correction Code (ECC) detected an error
   &11  DCE     CRC error in data area
   &12  ECR     ECC corrected an error
   &13  DFE     Fatal ECC error in data area
   &14  NHT     In CMPD command data mismatched from host and disc
   &15  ICE     CRC error in ID field (not generated for ST506)
   &16  TOV     ID not found within timeout
   &17  NIA     ID area started with an improper address mask
   &18  NDA     Missing address mark
   &19  NWR     Drive write protected

   IDE errors

   - As ST506, except:

   &02  IVC     Command aborted by controller
   &07  WFL     Write fault
   &08  NRY     Drive not ready
   &09  NSC     Track 0 not found
   &13  DFE     Uncorrected data error
   &16  TOV     Sector ID field not found
   &17  NIA     Bad block mark detected
   &18  NDA     No data address mark
   &20          No DRQ when expected
   &21          Drive busy when commanded
   &22          Drive busy on command completion
   &23          Controller did not respond within timeout
   &24          Unknown code in error register

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.2) What can I do with a 'Broken Directory' or a corrupt Free Space Map?

   There are various programs out there now which fix this problem. The PD
ones all are 'caveat emptor' programs but are worth trying if you vitally
need to recover some files, or just don't have the floppy disc/streamer
space to back your drive up.

   In the FAQ maintainer's experience the utility 'fsck' (a shareware
utility available at good FTP sites near you) works reliably and well. The
distribution version does not work with the new FileCore but by registering
you can obtain a version that does repair the newer format discs.

   Another shareware tool is DiscEdit - strictly speaking it is a disc
sector editor but it also contains routines for directory repair. Even so
it is recommended that if you have critical data on your drive you should
use one of these tools to recover the data and then reformat the drive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.3) What does the power on self-test check?

   The power on self test was introduced with RISC OS 3.0 and later
versions of the OS. On power up your machine checks the hardware for
physical faults before letting you use it, hopefully signalling important
errors to you before further hardware damage can result.

   The purple screen at power on indicates that the self-test has begun. A
brief ROM, RAM, VIDC and IOC test is performed and then the screen colour
changes to blue and a full memory test is performed, along with a second
test of the VIDC and IOC. When the screen returns to purple, the machine is
testing for an ARM3 (or better). At the end of this sequence the screen
colour is set to green (for pass) or red (for fail). If the tests have all
passed then the machine starts to boot and the RISC OS 3 welcome screen is
displayed.

   If any test fails, the screen will remain red and the disc drive light
will blink a fault code. A short flash is used to indicate a binary '0' and
a long flash indicates a binary '1'. The bits are grouped into eight
nybbles (blocks of four bits) with the most significant bit first.

   The lowest seven bits are a status word. The meaning of each bit is
given below in hex :-


00000001   Self-test due to power on
00000002   Self-test due to interface hardware
00000004   Self-test due to test link
00000008   Long memory test performed
00000010   ARM ID detected (ARM 3 fitted for non-RiscPC hardware)
00000020   Long memory test disabled
00000040   PC-style IO world detected
00000080   VRAM detected

   Bits 8-31 indicate the fault code and are described below. Not all the
bits are used. If the code is marked as reserved on the RiscPC this means
that error number is currently either unassigned or it's meaning on older
hardware is no longer sensible for the newer machines (and thus it's
meaning may be reassigned on the newer versions of the OS.)


00000100   CMOS RAM checksum error
00000200   ROM failed checksum test
00000400   MEMC CAM mapping failed (A reserved code on the RiscPC)
00000800   MEMC protection failed (A reserved code on the RiscPC)
00001000   (A reserved code on the RiscPC)
00002000   (A reserved code on the RiscPC)
00004000   VIDC Virq (video interrupt) timing failed
00008000   VIDC Sirq (sound interrupt) timing failed
00010000   CMOS unreadable
00020000   RAM control line failure
00040000   Long RAM test failure
00080000   (A reserved code on the RiscPC)
   Some third party VIDC enhancers on older hardware trigger the self test
to fail. If you are getting a failed self test with a VIDC enhancer, yet
the machine is working fine, enter and run this BASIC program and then save
your CMOS settings :-

   REM Toggle state of power on self test bit in CMOS

   REM Read byte
   SYS "OS_Byte",161,&BC TO ,,byte%
   REM EOR byte with mask for bit 1
   byte% = byte% EOR %10000000
   REM Write byte back again
   SYS "OS_Byte",162,&BC,byte%
   END


This modifies the self test to cope with the VIDC enhancer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.4) My Real Time Clock has paused, how do I restart it?

   This is a problem caused most often by 'rogue' software chatting to the
IIC bus and incorrectly setting the pause bit on the RTC control register.
Symptoms of this happening are that the time is always the same every time
you reboot and the software clock tends to run slightly slow (losing about
a minute every hour or so.). If you are experiencing these symptoms this
program should restart your RTC clock :-

REM poke RTC control register
REM  Bit   0         1
REM   7   Count  ResetDivider
REM   6   Count  HoldLastCount
REM write 0 for normal operation, write &80 or &40 freezes RTC
DIM cmosdata% 16
!cmosdata%=&00000000
REM write 0 twice to RTC, first 0 is address- control reg
REM second is control reg value 0 is default i.e. clock on
SYS &240, &A0, cmosdata%,2
END

You will need to reset the time after running this program but hopefully
your RTC will keep the correct time from here on in.

   If the same symptoms persist after trying this program contact your
local Acorn dealer as something more serious has gone wrong. Note that to
check that the symptoms are persisting you must reboot your machine after
running this program and having set the time. This is due to the way RISC
OS maintains a 'soft' copy of the real time clock and until you reboot it
will not be obvious whether your RTC has indeed started working again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.5) Why doesn't *Speaker work on my machine?

   The *Speaker command does not work on new models of Acorn machines. The
A300, A400, A3000, A540, A5000 and A4 all had software control of the
built-in speaker. With newer machines this feature has been removed in
favour of a automatic hardware cut off of the speaker when a jack is
inserted into the sound socket on the machine.

   However to ensure compatibility with old software the command *Speaker
has been left in the OS, it merely doesn't do anything.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 5: Software Issues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.1) Why does DOSFS corrupt my files occasionally?

   Under RISC OS 3 DOS, and indeed with any other ImageFS filing system,
discs are treated as one large file and ADFS applies write-behind caching
to nearly everything it does. (See the question on ADFSBuffers for more
details about this.) This means while working on a DOS disc the entire disc
is treated as one large open file.

   However as long as a file is held open the cache is not flushed out
fully till the machine is explicitly told to do so. This means when working
with non-ADFS format discs always dismount them before removing them from
the drive. With ADFS format discs this is not so critical, as files aren't
held open during most operations on them, but it is good to get into the
habit of dismounting floppy discs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.2) Where can I obtain the latest version of module X?

   All patch modules, official Acorn OS extensions and the like can be
sourced from the Acorn ftp sites. Ideally your dealer will also have copies
of them too and you should be able to obtain them from them. (If they don't
you may like to pass on the ones from the ftp site, if you request them, so
that they are up to-date.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.3) What are the current File-type allocation ranges?

   Acorn have reallocated the File-type ranges for applications. The new
ranges are :-

  Non-user area

    &E00-&FFF   Acorn
    &B00-&DFF   Commercial software
    &A00-&AFF   Acornsoft, and other commercial software
    &400-&9FF   Commercial Software

  User area

    &100-&3FF   Non-commercial distributed software (ie PD)
    &000-&0FF   User's personal usage (ie non-distributed)

75% of the user area is for PD/Shareware, with allocations co-ordinated by
Acorn. If your software is going to be distributed, you should have an
allocated filetype to avoid clashes.

   Acorn cannot publish it's master list of filetypes because, at any given
time, it will contain allocations made for products which have not yet been
announced. Therefore, Acorn would be in breach of confidence by doing so -
and the editing overhead for producing a sanitised list is too great.

   However, all is not lost. Denis Howe maintains an unofficial list of
filetype allocations. This can be found at
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/acorn/doc/filetypes and includes details about
whether the allocation is an official one, a de facto one and what the file
contains.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.4) Is there a Modula 2 compiler for the Arc?

   Currently, no. Acorn did have, in the early days of the experimental ARM
work, an in house compiler. However this compiler was sufficiently unstable
and buggy to be un-releasable as commercial product and was only used
because in house support was available immediately to the users of the
compiler. When Olivetti invested in Acorn this technology went to them so
that Acorn no longer have even an in house Modula 2 compiler.

   However some companies have stated intentions to produce Modula 2
compilers for the Arc. Whether these intentions become reality has yet to
be seen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.5) What Public Domain Languages are available for Acorn machines?

   The answer to this is a list that is maintained by Gavin Wraith
([e-mail]) . Accordingly updates, corrections and other
comments should all be sent to him.

******** PD Languages for Risc OS ***********

Last update 20/07/96

Updates: GCC 2.7.2
New: Algol 68S

On the usenet group comp.compilers there is regularly posted an
archive of PD compilers and interpreters (about 373K's worth of
information) by D.Sharnoff and A.Robenalt. On the WWW try

      http://www.idiom.com/free-compilers/

Here is an incomplete list of PD programming languages available
for Risc OS machines. If you think I have omitted a significant
item, I will be grateful to hear about it.

Most items may be obtained by anonymous ftp from

    micros.hensa.ac.uk:micros/arch/riscos/<dirname>

where <dirname> is as specified below, or from the mirrors of hensa
at stuttgart, demon or imperial college.

Imperative languages
--------------------

Algol 68S - obtainable from ftp://ftp.cs.man.ac.uk/pub/chl/A68S

Charm - A Pascal like compiled language. Not portable.
        Available from David Pilling.

PC 4.09   - Norcroft DDE Pascal Compiler. <dirname> = a/a122.

Icon 8.0  - Griswold, 1970's.  A descendant of SNOBOL4 with Pascal-like
        syntax. Icon is a general-purpose language with special features
        for string scanning.
        "The Icon Programming Language", Ralph & Marge Griswold,
        2nd ed P-H 1990.
        ftp:cs.arizona.edu list: [e-mail]

         <dirname> = a/a106

GRS     <dirname> = b/b062

Ada     <dirname> = c/c052. Bytecode interpreter.

GNAT 3.01  <dirname> = e/e095. GNU Ada Compiler.

GCC 2.7.2   <dirname> = b/b013. GNU C, C++, Objective C. Portable.
           Based on GCC 2.7.2. Release 1.0.6.


Armbob 2.1  <dirname> = b/b178. Not portable. C-like, object oriented
         language. Supports wimp programming and graphics output in
         Draw files. Implicit typing.
         Compiles to intermediate code for a virtual stack machine
         which is then run.

Perl  5.001   <dirname> = a/a049.  Kevin Quinn writes:
         Combines the best features of Awk, Grep, Sed and C to make a
         great language for text processing.  Martin Portman has
         written a newsreader for the Arc with it
         ([e-mail]).

Tcl 7.4     <dirname> = e/e057
         Tool Command Language by John Ousterhout, very popular on the
         Mac.  A small text-oriented embedded language similar to LISP with
         add-on extensions that allow it to also function more as a
         shell.  Port by C.T.Stretch
         ([e-mail]).

Pot 1.33    <dirname> = d/d132  Portable Oberon Translator

RLab 1.25    <dirname> = e/e022   RLaB Version 1.25,
         An interactive, interpreted scientific programming environment,
         similar to MATLAB, but based on C rather than Fortran, and more
         up to date in some respects. Rlab is copyrighted with the GNU
         General Public License.  If you have WWW access you can read
         about it in http://www.eskimo.com/~ians/rlab.html.

SMALLTALKS
----------

LITTLEST 0.00    <dirname> = a/a102    David G.Jones writes:
            Little Smalltalk By Tim Budd, latest version 3.14.
            This follows a mix of Smalltalk-80 and its predecessor -76.
            Designed more for the casual/child user, reflecting
            the original idea of the project. Contains a reduced
            and more straightforward view. Slow but does not require
            too much memory.

GNUST 1.1.1       <dirname> = c/c045    GNU Smalltalk 1.1.1.
             David G.Jones writes:
             This is an attempt to implement the core of the
             Smalltalk-80 definition. Quite demanding in terms
             of memory and CPU speed. Quite a few bugs. Lacks
             the charm of ST-80 without the window environment.

FORTH variations
----------------

WimpForth  1.0  <dirname> = e/e096

Forthmacs  3.1  <dirname> = c/c073

AForth 0.70     <dirname> = a/a293

TileForth  2.1  <dirname> = a/a111
            Written in C for portability.

APL
---

J 6.2          <dirname> = a/a165


Declarative Languages
---------------------

SB-Prolog 3.1  <dirname> = a/a067

BIBPROLOG 3.30  <dirname> = d/d005

HU-Prolog 1.62  <dirname> = e/e062  Humboldt University Prolog

Hope  4.02a     <dirname> = a/a139  Eager evaluation, but lists can have
                               lazy tails.

SML 4.0.01      <dirname> = a/a216  Eager evaluation. No modules.


Gofer  2.30a   <dirname> = a/a262  Lazy evaluation. Type classes.
                              The latest version has type-constructor
                              classes, and is the only language to
                              support this concept. (I can supply a
                              version that runs in a window).

Hugs 1.00      <dirname> = d/d041  Haskell Users Gofer System


Lisp Family
-----------

Xlisp 1.60           <dirname> = a/a103

XScheme          <dirname> = a/a138

Siod  2.90           <dirname> = a/a275

Xlisp+           <dirname> = b/b076

GNU Scheme       <dirname> = b/b105
                 symbolic maths, graphics

Foolslisp  1.3      <dirname> = c/c162

CLisp 01.01      <dirname> = c/c189   Common Lisp

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.6) Why does the RO3.5 desktop sometimes revert to the system font?

   This is due to a bug in the RISC OS 3.5 Wimp module. Applications that
have outline fonts in their icons and a validation string of R5 or R6
(slabbed icon) will trigger this bug and cause the desktop to revert to the
system font. There are two solutions to this problem depending on your
level of computer literacy.

   The easiest solution, for people who are very shy of template editors,
is to complain to the author(s) of the application about this problem and
get them to fix it. If you are not shy of template editors you could also
go in and edit the applications templates so that none of the slabbed icons
have outline fonts in them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.7) Why does ChangeFSI display a blank white window, not an image?

   Version 1.13S of ChangeFSI now has the RISC OS 3.6 JPEG support built
into it. However the code has been designed to fail ' gracefully ' if the
support code is not available in the OS. For instance when you run the
software on versions of the OS older than RISC OS 3.6. In this case a blank
white window is displayed.

   To regain normal use of ChangeFSI go to the main menu and select Sprite
Output instead of JPEG output. Next time you load a picture, or re-process
the current one, an image will be displayed. The JPEG Output option is not
greyed out because even though no image is displayed you can still save the
processed file as a JPEG.

   For those of you with RISC OS 3.5 the module can be obtained from
Acorn's FTP sites at :-

ftp://ftp.acorn.co.uk/pub/riscos/releases/spriteextend.arc

Or if you are in New Zealand :-

ftp://ftp.acorn.co.nz/pub/riscos/releases/spriteextend.arc

This can be softloaded in your Boot.PreDesk sequence to use it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.8) What causes the 'nager:Sprites22' error?

   This is both a tricky and simple question to answer. The cause of the
error is unknown, but something is erroring. However rather than displaying
the error message RISC OS has a subtle bug in it that causes it to display
the above error message instead. The sequence goes like this :-

 * An error occurs.
 * The wimp realises it needs to load the hi-res toolsprites & loads them.
 * The wimp then displays the error message.

   Unfortunately the process of loading the his-res toolsprites over-writes
the buffer containing the original error block. (IE the block of memory
with the error number and error message in it.) What it overwrites it with
is the string 'WindowManager:Sprites22', which is a path reference to where
the hi-res toolsprites are to be found.

   This error has been corrected in RISC OS 3.60 and, presumably, future
versions of the OS. (Thanks go to Alan Glover for this information.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 6: Viruses.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.1) How can I protect against viruses?

   Pineapple Software have produced a program called !Killer, which is the
definitive means of checking for or killing viruses. See the next question.

   Other than !Killer there are one or two commercial virus killers.
SmartKill is one of these and information about it can be obtained from
MGResearch. See section 6.2 for a listing of various virus killers and
where to obtain them.

   There are also a few PD programs around, but these tend to detect only a
small subset of the viruses in circulation. !VKiller used to be OK, but it
is no longer maintained, is now seriously out of date and fails to work
under RISC OS 3. Out of the PD virus utilities the current best is Tor
Houghton's Scanner. This detects most known viruses and removes quite a few
as well and serves as a good secondary defence if Killer is unavailable to
you. Scanner should be available on various FTP/Email servers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.2) Where can I obtain a virus killer?

   Various virus killers are out there. Here is a, probably incomplete,
list of those available.

 * Killer

      Killer is distributed by Pineapple Software. Who can be reached at :-

     Suite 13/14,
     South Park Business Centre,
     310 Green Lane,
     Ilford,
     Essex IG1 1TX,
     England.
     Tel. [phone]  Fax [phone]
     via email :-
     [e-mail]
     [e-mail]
     [e-mail]

      Or if you need a German version of the program you can contact
   Uffenkamp Computer Systeme at :-

      Gartenstr. 3,
      D-32130 Enger.
      Tel. [phone] Fax [phone]
      via email :-
      [e-mail]
      [e-mail]

      Early versions (up to 1.26) are PD, but should not be used now as
   they are ineffective against the new crop of viruses that have
   subsequently appeared since it's release.

      It is the FAQ maintainer's opinion that this is the commercial virus
   killer to buy..
 * SmartKill

      This is a commercial product put out by MGResearch. They can be
   reached at :-

      MGResearch, 46 Corringway, Church Crookham, Fleet, Hants, GU13 OAW,
         England.
      via email :-
      [e-mail] (Mike Goodwin)

      As far as I am aware no PD version of this has been released.
 * VZap

      This is a shareware product released by Paul Vigay . Copies of it can
   be obtained from either the Arcade BBS, Paul's own BBS Equinox ( UK
   01705 871531 ) or from Paul's www site
   http://rainbow.medberry.com/enigma/shareware.html .

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 7: Network Resources.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.1) What archives/FTP sites are available?

   See the regular (fortnightly) posting by Gerben Vos & Peter Naulls. This
posting is also available from an email server at MIT.

   To request it from this server send an email to
[e-mail]. No subject is needed and the body should contain
:-

send /pub/usenet/news.answers/acorn/archives

Or, alternatively, you could view it on the web at :-

http://lucy.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~pnaulls/acorn-archives/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.2) What Acorn related companies are available on the net via email?

   There are quite a few companies now on the net and reachable via email
with more joining as time passes. Here is the list of companies that have
given permission to be entered here in the FAQ. If the email address is to
a person rather than either an automated system or perhaps a group of
people I have placed the name of the person in brackets after the email
address description.

   3SL Ltd :-

   [e-mail]       Information about products and prices.

   Acorn Computers (Uk) :-

   [e-mail] Enquiries and product information.
   [e-mail]  RiscPC information.

   The Advisory Unit :-

   [e-mail]     General enquiries.
   [e-mail]     (Alun Hinder)

   Aleph One :-

   [e-mail]           Information about products and prices.
   [e-mail]         After-sales support.

   Alternative Publishing Ltd :-

   [e-mail]     Sales, service and upgrades

   ANT Ltd :-

   [e-mail]              Sales and general enquiries.
   [e-mail]            Technical support.

   Archive magazine :-

   [e-mail]          Internet columnist (Dave Pantling)
   [e-mail]        Editor (Paul Beverley)

   The ARM Club :-

   [e-mail] Enquiries etc...

   ARMed Forces Software :-

   [e-mail]     Sales and enquiries.
   [e-mail]   Product support.

   Armstrong Walker Ltd :-

   [e-mail]    Enquiries etc... (Andy Armstrong)
   [e-mail]   Enquiries etc... (Nigel Walker)

   Atomwide :-

   [e-mail]         Information about products and prices.
   [e-mail]       After-sales support.

   Beebug Ltd :-

   [e-mail]           Sales.
   [e-mail]            General enquiries.
   [e-mail]           Email for Risc User.
   [e-mail]       Technical enquiries for our products and items
                                purchased from Beebug.

   Carlton Software :-

   [e-mail]     General information.
   [e-mail]    Orders, and sales enquiries.
   [e-mail]     Technical advice, and support for customers.

   Castle Technology :-

   [e-mail]    Info, Products, Prices, Ordering etc.
   [e-mail]  Support issues etc.

   Clares Micro Supplies :-

   [e-mail]    General enquiries. (Dave Clare)
   [e-mail]     General enquiries. (Gareth Owen)
   [e-mail]  Technical enquiries. (David Jackson)
   [e-mail]     Ordering and sales information.

   Colton Software :-

   [e-mail]            Automated reply, listing services available.
   [e-mail]           general sales etc.
   [e-mail]         technical support on existing products.

   Computer Concepts :-

   [e-mail]         Automated reply, giving information.
   [e-mail]        For credit card orders of products.
   [e-mail]      Technical support for products.

   Comspec :-

   [e-mail] Canadian Acorn dealer. Enquiries about
                                Acorn hardware and products welcome
                                including USA enquiries. (Domenic
                                DeFrancesco)

   Cumana :-

   [e-mail]           Sales and product information.
   [e-mail]         Product support.

   Cumbria :-

   [e-mail]    General sales enquiries.

   David Pilling Software :-

   [e-mail]    All enquiries to this address.

   Desktop Projects Ltd :-

   [e-mail]    General enquiries
   [e-mail]   Sales information and orders
   [e-mail] Customer technical support line

   DoggySoft :-

   [e-mail]        Sales information and orders
   [e-mail]      Customer technical support line

   i-cubed Ltd :-

   [e-mail]         Pre sales advice / general queries
   [e-mail]        After sales support / technical queries
   [e-mail]          Pricing / Availability / Dealers etc.

   The Image Factory :-

   [e-mail]      Sales and support.

   Iota Software :-

   [e-mail]           Enquires & support for Iota products.
   Longman Logotron :-

   [e-mail]                General product information.
   [e-mail]               Sales enquiries and orders.
   [e-mail]             Product support enquiries.

   Meu Cymru :-

   [e-mail]    Enquiries etc...

   MGResearch :-

   [e-mail]      Enquiries etc... (Mike Goodwin)

   Micro Laser Designs :-

   [e-mail]    General Enquiries
   [e-mail]   Sales Enquiries
   [e-mail]   User Group Enquiries

   Millipede Electronic Graphics :-

   [e-mail]    Product information.
   [e-mail]   Orders and current prices.
   [e-mail] Technical support.
   [e-mail] If all else fails! (Richard Jozefowski)

   Minerva Software :-

   [e-mail]          Enquiries etc...

   Mirage Enterprises :-

   [e-mail]      Sales Enquiries
   [e-mail]    Product Support

   Moray Micro Computing :-

   [e-mail]    Sales Enquiries.

   Norwich Computer Services :-

   [e-mail]       Sales
   [e-mail]        Technical help

   Octopus Systems :-

   [e-mail]          Enquiries etc... (Paul Skirrow)

   Old Mother Software :-

   [e-mail]    General enquiries
   [e-mail]    Product information
   [e-mail]    Technical support

   Oregan Software Developments :-

   [e-mail]     General enquiries, product info and credit
                                card orders
   [e-mail]   Technical queries

   Paradise :-

   [e-mail]    Product Information
   [e-mail] Support/feedback.

   PEP Associates :-

   [e-mail]         Product information.
   [e-mail]      Product support.

   Quantum Software :-

   [e-mail]       Info about products, version numbers, etc.
   [e-mail]    Technical support for customers.
   [e-mail]      General info about products and prices, etc.

   Resource :-

   [e-mail]        General information etc...
   [e-mail]       Credit card orders.
   [e-mail]     Technical support.

   SENLAC Computing :-

   [e-mail]    Enquiries etc. (Peter R. Sykes)

   The Serial Port :-

   [e-mail]    Software support.
   [e-mail]       Retail enquiries.
   [e-mail]       To reach Jim Nagel, author of the Acorn
                                column in Computer Shopper magazine.
   [e-mail]     Hardware support

   Sherston Software :-

   [e-mail]         Sales and Product information.
   [e-mail]       Technical support/queries etc.

   Spacetech Imaging Technology :-

   [e-mail]   Sales and Product information.
   [e-mail] Technical Support.

   Supreme Software Systems Ltd :-

   [e-mail]     All Enquiries.

   TBA Software :-

   [e-mail]      All enquiries.

   Thinx Solutions :-

   [e-mail]      Sales Enquiries and Product Support

   Uffenkamp Computer Systeme :-

   [e-mail]               Product information, events et al.
   [e-mail]              After sales support, technical queries.
   [e-mail]              Sales enquiries.

   Uniqueway :-

   [e-mail]     General queries, product related or
                                otherwise.
   [e-mail]  Support for products. (Serial
                                number should be quoted where
                                relevant.)
   [e-mail]    For credit card orders.

   Vertical Twist :-

   [e-mail]   Enquiries, orders etc.
   [e-mail] Technical support.

   Warm Silence Software :-

   [e-mail]     Enquiries etc. (Robin Watts)

   Wyddfa Software :-

   [e-mail] Enquiries etc. (Gwyn Williams)

   Zynet Ltd :-

   [e-mail]            Enquiries etc...

   If you are a company and you would like to included in this list please
send me an email, to the address specified at the bottom of the FAQ,
detailing the email addresses and their general function. I will then
include them into the FAQ. However as a matter of policy I will only
include an address if I receive email from the owner, or a representative
for the owner, of that address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


7.3) What are the submission addresses for comp.{binaries,sources}.acorn groups?

   There are four addresses involved here. To submit files for the groups
send your email to :-

[e-mail] for comp.sources.acorn.
[e-mail] for comp.binaries.acorn.

   For requests, comments and suggestions send email to :-

[e-mail] for comp.sources.acorn.
[e-mail] for comp.binaries.acorn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.4) How to retrieve the FAQ from the source...

   As I frequently update the FAQ between postings you may wish to get the
latest and most up-to-date copy of the FAQ before it next gets posted.
There are two ways to do this. Firstly read it off the web at
http://wn.planet.gen.nz/~banksie/Archives/FAQ/FaqHTML.html .

   Secondly I maintain an email server on my personal machine for people to
use. Due to the various complications at my end, and a distinct desire to
minimise email charges incurred to myself, the email server shares my email
address with me.

   To use the server send an email message looking something like this :-

To: [e-mail]
Subject: ServerMail
---message text begins---

Help:

In this case it will send a help file to you detailing how to use the
server. Be aware that the spelling and case of the subject line is very
important. My software searches for email with exactly this subject line
automatically once a day and it is case & spelling sensitive. Failure to
type this correctly will result in your message appearing in my normal
email list and depending on my mood may, or may not, be adjusted to reach
the email server.

   The server understands and uses Reply-To: headers but has distinct
problems sending material to bang path addressed sites. (Well to be more
accurate it has problems sending to any site that has an ! in the email
address.) If you are using a site with such addressing then I am afraid the
email server will be unable to help you. Also please ensure that your From:
header, or your Reply-To: header if you using that, is valid. Email file
requests that bounce due to this tend to annoy me and repeat offenders will
be placed on the server's 'to be ignored' list.

   As well as the FAQ and it's related files I store a small collection of
technical documents, 'special' data files and other generally useful data
on the server. To obtain a listing of all the sections available to you,
and the contents of those sections, send a message as detailed above but
instead of help put :-

Section: index

in the body of the message.

   Please be aware that this server is at the tail end of a modem link so
while you are most welcome to use it I must ask that you try to source any
files from other sites before using this server and to strictly follow the
guidelines outlined above.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.5) What WWW pages are out there for Acorn topics?

   Web pages are popping up all over the place these days, especially now
that Web client software exists for Acorn machines. This list of Web pages
is checked periodically by myself for validity but I make no claims that
URL's present here are currently valid. A more comprehensive list is
contained in the fortnightly FTP servers list maintained by Gerben Vos.

 * http://www.acorn.co.uk/
   Acorn Computers WWW pages.

 * http://www.cybervillage.co.uk/acorn/
   The Acorn CyberVillage pages - dealers, developers, information,
   software and low cost web rental.

 * http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk:80/Societies/Acorn/
   The Acorn computer user WWW Server. - contains pointers to other Acorn
   Web pages.

 * http://www.stir.ac.uk/~rhh01/Main.html
   "Acorn On The Net" list page - contains pointers to other Acorn Web pages.

 * http://www.ant.co.uk/
   ANT Ltd web pages.

 * http://http1.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~cs92adf/
   The ARM Club home page.

 * http://www.icafe.co.za/mirage/ARMedForces
   ARMed Forces Software WWW pages.

 * http://www.geko.com.au/riscman/
   Australian Acorn Enthusiast Web site.

 * http://www.carltsw.demon.co.uk/
   Carlton Software's WWW pages.

 * http://www.cumana.demon.co.uk/
   Cumana's WWW pages.

 * http://www.doggysoft.co.uk/
   Doggysoft's WWW pages.

 * http://www.ozemail.com.au/~imagfact/index.html
   the image factory, DTP supplies for Acorn Computers.

 * http://www.iota.co.uk/
   Iota Software's pages.

 * http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/users/u1smt/u1smt.html
   "The Jungle" Simon Truss's web page containing pointers to a variety of
   other web pages.

 * http://www.logo.com/
   The Longman Logotron web pages.

 * http://spodbox.linux.org.uk/~ultrasnd
   Mike Enderby's pages - including PC Card information, a mirror of the
   FAQ and the Acorn games pages.

 * http://www.zynet.co.uk/minerva/
   Minerva Software's home page.

 * http://www.octosys.co.uk/
   Octopus Systems.

 * http://www.demon.co.uk/oldmothr/
   Old Mother Software.

 * http://www.pobox.com/~netline
   RISC User netline pages.

 * http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/oucl/users/robin.watts/
   Robin Watts' home pages.

 * http://www.octosys.co.uk/sarc.html
   Suffolk Acorn Risc Club's pages.

 * http://www.zynet.co.uk/
   Zynet Ltd's home page.

   Note that, as with email addresses, I require either the owner of the
pages, or a representative of the owner, to email me if they wish to be
included in the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.6) What Acorn BBS's are there?

   Is there a good Acorn BBS to call near me?

   The following are all good Acorn Bulletin Boards to call. This list is
now maintained by me (Dane Koekoek), it is by no means complete and some
items of information may be missing. I will do my best to keep it
up-to-date with all changes.

   If you spot any errors in the list, or have an addition to make to the
list, then please send an email to [e-mail] , Fidonet
2:254/310, Riscnet 7:44/211 or online The Werewolf BBS.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBS name             Phone number   Times     Speeds      Location
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acorn BBS           [phone]   24 hour   300-21600   Hong Kong
Arcade             * 0181 654 2212  24 hour   300-33600   Croydon, London
                   * 0181 655 4412  24 hour   300-33600
ArcBase             [phone]    24 hour   300-14400   Stockholm
Archiboard Central * 01603 744231   24 hour   300-14400   Norwich
Archimedes BBS      [phone] hour   300-14400   Soest NL
Arctic             * 0181 903 1308  24 hour   300-33600   West London
                   * 0181 903 1309  24 hour   300-33600
ARMature II         [phone] hour   330-19200   Oatley,NSW
ARMed Forces       * 01962 880003   24 hour  9600-14400   Winchester
ARM Pit BBS        * 01962 880003   22-08hr   330-14400   Malton, N.Yorks
The ARMpit          [phone]    24 hour   330-14400   Denmark
The 23rd Hour      * 01202 692394   24 hour   300-14400   Poole,Dorset
BrainStorm         * 01732 886638   24 hour   300-14400   Wrotham, Kent
Digital Databank   * 01707 323531   24 hour   300-28800   Welwyn Garden City
                   * 01707 329306   24 hour   300-14400
Equinox            * 01705 871531   24 hour   300-14400   Portsmouth
Galaxy             * 01617 079306   24 hour   300-14400   Manchester
InterComm Central  * 01819 598868   24 hour   300-14400   Mill Hill, London
Icarus Allsorts  &&* 01977 620702   18-22hr   300-14400   Pontefract
Jolly Roger        * 01223 264347   24 hour   300-28800   Cambridge
Mage Online        * 01812 526112   24 hour   300-28800   London
Northern ARM       * 01274 530831   24 hour   300-28800   Bradford
                   * 01274 530841   24 hour   300-14400
OuijaBoard         * 01363 82303    22-08hr   300-14400   Devon
PanGill            * 01723 581460   21-07hr   300-14400   Scarborough
Plasma Sphere      * 01925 757920   24 hour   300-33600   Cheshire
                   * 01925 757921   24 hour   300-33600
Prestonet          * 01772 612462   22-07hr   300-28800   Preston
SchoolNet UK       * 01603 507216   24 hour   300-28800   Norwich
Super Sporran      * 01556 502860   21-23hr   300-14400   Nr. Dumfries
Thunderbolt BBS    * 01689 603608   24 hour   300-28800   SE London
The Werewolf BBS   * 0181 289 6003  24 hour   300-33600   London
Western Schools     [phone]   24 hour   300-14400   Whyalla, SA
Wire BBS           * 01925 482459   24 hour  9600-28800   Warrington
World of Cryton    * 01749 679794   24 hour   300-2400    Somerset
                   * 01749 670030   24 hour   300-28800
Yeti BBS            [phone]   22:30-9hr 300-16800   Germany
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  * BBS in the UK. If calling from outside the UK, prefix 44 and remove the
    0 in front of EVERY UK number.

 && Ring voice first

   A second list is maintained by Steve Pursey who can be reached via email
at [e-mail] or via Fidonet at 2:254/86. Polite requests
for the list to him may well yield a copy of the list.

   Alternatively, for those of you with WWW access a copy of this second
list can be found at http://www.cybervillage.co.uk/acorn/bbs.htm .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.7) Where can I advertise second hand Acorn kit?

   There are various web sites available now that list second hand adverts
without charge. If you are wanting to sell some equipment it may well be
worth your time trying them. They are :-

 * http://www.armature.net.au/forsale/
 * http://www.cybervillage.co.uk/acorn/archive/small.htm
 * http://www.dircon.co.uk/dialprop/acornurl.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 8: Compatibility with other Machines.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.1) How compatible with other systems is an Acorn machine?

   PC :- The Archimedes can handle DOS discs (720k; the A5000 and later
models can also handle 1.44M floppies). In RO3, this is built in, under RO2
you have to use one of the (PD) utilities. There are two PC (software)
emulators that can handle most PC software, three if you count the fact
that Acorn's offering is split into two emulator programs. There are also
PC cards, containing an 80x86 processor and other PC hardware, which uses
the Archimedes' disc and video. All emulators are multitasking (and not
PD). RiscPC machines, by adding a 486 processor card, can fully emulate a
PC.

   Unix :- Unix software can be ported (and in fact many packages already
have been) with the help of UnixLib, which is PD. Memory-hungry ports, such
as gcc, can be run with the aid of !Virtual (also PD). Of course if you are
really desperate to run Unix software it might be advisable to buy RISCiX,
the Acorn flavour of Unix, or perhaps use linux (for older A5000 style
machines) & RiscBSD (for RiscPC machines).

   Mac :- Commercial software is available that can read HFS format discs,
including hard drives and CDROMs. For floppy discs this generally
encompases high density discs (1.44 MB format) and a limited subset of
double density (720 kb) discs. Essentially the software can read the disc
if the tracks have been laid down with constant angular velocity, rather
than constant linear velocity - which requires a variable speed drive to
work. Most Macintoshes default to CLV format discs when formatting double
density discs but some Mac software exists to override this and, in theory,
such discs are readable using the Acorn software. To be sure that the
double density disc is a CAV format disc, then formatting it first in your
Acorn machine is a good step and the disc will then work with Macintosh
machines. Also most modern Macintoshes can, like Acorn machines, read and
write PC format discs so transfer is possible via that medium as well.
There is no Mac emulator available.

   Atari ST :- Like PC floppies, the Archimedes can read, write and format
ST-format floppies. No emulator for the ST is known.

   Amiga :- The amiga uses an unusual disc format that is not easily read
by other machines. Accordingly there is currently no Amiga format disc
reader available. But Amiga's can read PC discs, so again transfers can
occur via that medium. There is no Amiga emulator.

   Spectrum :- There are emulators around for this and Amstrad, the owners
of the Sinclair copyright, have released permission for the ROM images,
needed to run these emulators, to be copied and released with the
emulators.

   Apple][ :- Again emulators are available for this. However they, like
the Spectrum emulators, require a copy of the ROM image to work. The
copyright of the ROM image for these machines, as far as I am aware,
prevents them being distributed, so you have to source your own copy of
them.

   BBC B :- Once again emulators exist, including Acorn's own effort of
6502Host. The emulators are fairly good, offering a high level of
compatibility. See question 8.3 for more details about two commercially
available emulators.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.2) Is there a BBC BASIC for other machines?

   The short answer is, yes.

   Macintosh :- A BBC BASIC environment was released some years back as a
commercial product featuring compatibility with a limited subset of
OS_Bytes and other features for limited compatibility with a BBC Model B.

   IBM Compats :- A version of BBC BASIC exists for these machines. Older
versions have provided an inbuilt BASIC editor, limited OS_Byte support,
some OSCLI commands and CGA standard graphics. Exactly what the latest
version supports I don't know, but to find out (and obtain a version of the
software) contact :-


        M-Tec Computer Services,
        The Market Place,
        REEPHAM,
        Norfolk,
        NR10 4JJ,
        United Kingdom.

        Tel. [phone]
        Fax. [phone]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.3) Can I run 65Host on the Risc PC?

   Officially, no. Unofficially there is a patch that enables the Emulator
to run fairly well. Unfortunately the patch does not correctly enable the
break key; however, it does substitute the Scroll Lock key, so you can
reset the emulator easily from inside the emulator. Here is the patch :-

      REM >HostPatch
      REM RISC PC !65Host patch
      REM Obtained from comp.sys.acorn.games
      REM Provided by [e-mail] (Tim Gladding)
      REM of Cambridge, England
      REM Tweaked to substitute ScrollLock for Break
      REM by [e-mail] (Darren Salt)
      SYS "OS_File",5,"<65Host$Dir>.!RunImage" TO t,,,,len
      DIM data len
      SYS "OS_File",255,"<65Host$Dir>.!RunImage",data
      FOR ptr=0 TO len-4 STEP 4
       word=data!ptr
       CASE word OF
       WHEN &E3520402, &E2600402, &E3510402: data?ptr=&05
       WHEN &13A0000F: data?ptr=&0E: REM key code for ScrollLock
       ENDCASE
      NEXT ptr
      SYS "OS_File",10,"<65Host$Dir>.!RunImage",&FFA,,data,data+len

It is a BASIC program - simply enter it into the BASIC editor of your
choice, let the filer see the copy of 65Host that is to be patched and run
it. A copy of the 65Host emulator can be found on the Acorn FTP site.

   There is also a commercially available BBC emulator, called 6502Em,
available that works on the RiscPC range and boasts improved compatibility,
mostly with games, over the Acorn effort. Contact Warm Silence Software for
details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.4) Can I read Acorn format discs on a PC?

   Yes, a utility called BeebDos exists which claims to provide reading and
writing of BBC B format discs. It is a commercial program and was sold by
:-

   MicroBoss Ltd,
   Business Orientated Software Systems
   Telephone: [phone] (Uk number)
   3 Hadleigh Road,
   Frinton on Sea,
   Essex,
   CO13 9HG.

Unfortunately I am unaware if they currently still sell the program or not.

   For the more recent ADFS format discs the shareware disc editor ANADISK
will cope with ADFS format discs, up to E format. (It has not been tested
with high density ADFS formats.) This does not provide a filing system, but
rather allows sectors to be pulled off the disc and saved as a file.
Generally this is useful only for emergency measures when you really need
that data stored on an ADFS format disc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.5) What software handles files with this extension?

   This depends on the extension.

   Presented below is a list of common file extensions and the software
that, in some way, handles the file. It is recommended, especially for
commercial software, that you verify that software will indeed perform the
functions you require on the file format. This list is intended as a
starting point to give the reader a pointer towards suitable software,
nothing more.

 * AVI (.avi) , &FB2, Audio Visual file.

    * MovieFS, commercial.

 * BMP (.bmp) , &69C, Bitmap file (Windows).

    * BMPSprite, freeware.
    * ChangeFSI, commercial - supplied with RISC OS 3 and above.
    * ImageFS, commercial.
    * ImageMaster, commercial.
    * Translator, shareware.

 * DXF (.dxf) , &DEA, Drawing eXchange Format file.

    * Draw, commercial - supplied with all versions of RISC OS.

 * GIF (.gif) , &695, Graphics Interchange Format picture.

    * ChangeFSI, commercial - supplied with RISC OS 3 and above.
    * FYEO2, shareware.
    * ProArtisan24, commercial.
    * Spr_2_Gif, freeware.
    * Translator, shareware.
    * WebGif2, freeware.

 * HTML (.htm, .html) , &FAF, Hyper Text Markup Language document.

    * ArcWeb, freeware.
    * Fresco, commercial.
    * Webite, commercial.
    * Webster, freeware.

 * JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg) , &C85, JPEG format picture.

    * ChangeFSI, commercial - supplied with RISC OS 3 and above.
    * FYEO2, shareware.
    * ProArtisan24, commercial.
    * RapidJPEG, freeware.
    * SwiftJPEG, freeware.
    * Translator, shareware.

 * MIDI (.mid, .midi) , &FD4, Musical Instrument Digital Interface file.

    * ESPSynth, commercial.
    * ReMidi, shareware.
    * Timidity, freeware.

 * MPEG (.mpg, .mpeg) , &BF8, Motion Picture Experts Group movie file.

    * MPEG, freeware.

 * Perl (.pl) , &A06, Practical Extraction and Report Language file.

    * Perl, freeware.

 * PostScript (.eps, .ps) ,

    * GhostScript, freeware,
    * RiScript, freeware.

 * Quicktime (.mov) , &FB2, Macintosh movie file.

    * MovieFS, commercial.

 * SoundTracker (.mod) , &CB6, Sound Tracker file.

    * AMFTracker, freeware.
    * BASTracker, freeware.
    * Digital Symphony, commercial.
    * Harmony, freeware.
    * MPlayer, freeware.
    * ProTrack, freeware.
    * ProTracker, freeware.
    * S/Tracker, freeware.

 * Tar (.tar) , &C46, Tape Archive.

    * Spark, commercial.
    * SparkFS, commercial.
    * SparkPlug, freeware.
    * Tar, freeware.

 * Text (.txt, .text) , &FFF, text file.

    * Edit, commercial - supplied with all versions of RISC OS.
    * StrongEd, shareware.
    * Uemacs, freeware.
    * Zap, freeware.

 * TIFF (.tif, .tiff) , &FF0, Tagged Image File Format.

    * ChangeFSI, commercial - supplied with RISC OS 3 and above.
    * Tiffin, freeware.
    * Translator, shareware.

 * Wave (.wav) , &FB1, Chunk based sound file.

    * AudioWorks, commercial.
    * MovieFS, commercial.
    * Player, commercial.
    * SoundCon, freeware.

 * WMF (.wmf) ,, Windows Meta File.

    * WMFtoDraw, public domain.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.6) Is there a version of Draw for Windows?

   Yes. Oak released a program called Oak-Draw for Windows. This program
can load, save and manipulate Acorn Draw format files in the Windows
environment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 9: Technical Details.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.1) How do I get a faster interrupt timer than the centisecond ones?

   For this you require the use of IOC Timer 1, a 2MHz timer unused by RISC
OS and claimable by code for use. Details of how to program the timer are
available in the IOC datasheets, or you could look for various PD utilities
like TimerCtrl that handle the timer for you.

   I am informed that the forthcoming Acorn TimeCode system now has laid
claim to Timer 1 and that software using it is deprecated. However if the
software properly obeys the claiming protocols in RISC OS this, hopefully,
shouldn't be a major problem.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.2) How can I create Interlaced GIFs on Acorn machines?

   Two utilities exist to let you create these. spr2gif will take a sprite
and convert it to a gif file. It will interlace and render transparent the
gif as well. For the transparency it uses the colour of the first masked
pixel it encounters in the sprite - suitable for automated gif image
creating. (No need to twiddle with specifying transparency colours.)

   The second utility, WebGIF, allows you to add transparency and
interlacing to your GIFs as well. However you have to specify the
transparency colour directly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 10: Risc PC PC Card Details.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.1) What is the latest version of the Emulator software?

   The latest, released, version is 1.92 (with v1.995 on beta release) and
it is available from the ANT FTP & Web site. ( http://www.aleph1.co.uk/ )
Features include memory up to 32Mb, fully redefinable 256 colour modes and
the addition of directly accessed SCSI drives.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.2) Why does the serial port not work after using the card?

   With v1.87 of the controlling software if you choose 'Direct Serial', to
enable the serial port under the emulator, and then quit the emulator it
doesn't correctly release the serial port back to RISC OS. However a
temporary patch is to uncomment the very last line of the !PC486.!Run file.

Run <Diva$Dir>.!RunImage
|uncomment the next line if you need to use the serial port after using !PC
| RMreinit SerialDeviceDriver

Namely uncomment the RMreinit SerialDeviceDriver so that the above looks
more like this.

Run <Diva$Dir>.!RunImage
|uncomment the next line if you need to use the serial port after using !PC
RMreinit SerialDeviceDriver

   Then you should find control of the serial port returned to RISC OS
after you have finished with the emulator. As of v1.91 this has been fixed
and the serial port will be released properly. The latest version can be
obtained from the Aleph1 FTP site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.3) Why do Windows programs give me incorrect colours in a 256 colour mode?

   This can happen if you forgot to put a 'p' after colour descriptor in
your Windows mode definition string. For example to configure the emulator
to give windows a 1024x768 screen mode at 256 colours with fully
programmable colours your string should look like this :-

x1024y768c256p

Note the p at the end of the line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.4) How much memory can I configure for the PC Emulator?

   Up to v1.86 of the software the upper limit was 16 Mb of memory. As of
v1.87 that has been raised up to 32 Mb of memory. However, for some odd
reason, after 16 Mb of memory the memory can be only configured in 4 Mb
chunks. Consequently the possible values go
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16, 20,24,28 & 32 Mb.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.5) Can I use Win95 with the card?

   Yes, however the installation of it is slightly more complicated than
(should be) normal for a PC. Choose a custom setup and inform the Win95
installer of what hardware you have present, under the Video driver section
install the default VGA driver.

   Then complete the install. Once it is installed you may then install the
Arm video driver in a similar fashion as for the instructions for
installing it under Windows 3.11. There are specific Windows 95
instructions for ARMDRV v1.99, this version also cures the occasional icon
redraw problem with Windows95. You should then be away.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 11: Hardware Compatibility.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.1) What IDE drives work on Acorn machines?

   Here is a list of IDE drives known to either work or not work with Acorn
hardware. If the drive appears with no notes then it will work fine with
the machine specified. This list is maintained by Toby Smith
([e-mail]) and all corrections, additions and updates should be
emailed to him. Many thanks to those who have contributed their info.

The IDE Drives & Interfaces "What Works With What" list (20th August 1996)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Manufacturer Part Number  Size  Interface       Notes

Quantum      Sirocco      2560  Std/RiscPC600   New Filecore
Quantum      Sirocco      1740  Std/RiscPC600   New Filecore
WestDig      WD31600      1638  ICS             (Partition on old filecore)
Quantum      FB1280AT     1310  Std/RiscPC700   M-ToshibaXM5302B CDROM S-CFS420A
Conner       CFS1275A     1275  Std/RiscPC600   M-CFS425, S-CFS420A, S-CFS210A
Seagate      31220A       1024  ICS/RPC600      Master only
Quantum      Fireball     1024  ICS/RPC600
Conner       CFS850A       850  ICS (FS 3.12)   M-M2684TAM [1]
Conner       CFA540A       540                  [4]
WstrnDigtl   WD2540H       540  Std/RPC600
WstrnDigtl   Maverick (?)  540  Std/RiscPC600   E-IDE
Conner       CFS540A       540  Std/RiscPC600   Formats to 512M
WstrnDigtl   Caviar 2540   540  Std/RiscPC600   <DOESN'T WORK> E-IDE
Fujitsu      1603T         540  Std/A5000 RPC600   Format 1023cyls = 503Mb space
Quantum                    540  DT Soft         Format to 512M
Conner       CFS541A       540  Std/A5000       M-CP30104H EIDE (512M = 1039 cyls)
Seagate      ST5660A       528  Std/RiscPC      Format to 512M (1039 Cycls)
IBM                        528  Std/RiscPC600   Odd noises! [3]
Fujitsu      M2684TAM      528  ICS             Real 504M S-H3171-A2 [3]
Quantum      LPS540A       504  Std/RPC600
Conner       CFS425A       425  Std/AnyAcorn    Doesn't like linking to CFS210A and CFS425A
Conner       CFS420A       420  Std/Acorn       # M-CP3044, M-CFS210A M-FB1280AT
Conner       CP30424 (?)   420  ICS
Conner       CFS420A       420  Evolution
Seagate                    420  ICS
Seagate      ST3491A       408                  [2]
Fujitsu      M286T         340  Watford         M-S-NEC D3756
Maxtor       7345A         340  Std/RiscPC      S-CFS210. Wont work alone
Seagate      ST3389A       335  Std/RPC600 Evolution/A5000
Quantum      Prodrive      270  HCCS/A440&RiscPC600
Seagate      ST9300AG      260  Watford         S-CFS420A  2.5" drive
WstrnDigtl                 250  ICS
Seagate      ST3290A       250  A310
Conner       CP30254       250  ICS             M-CP3044 S-CFS420A
Conner       CFN250A       240  HCCSUltimate/A3010
Conner       CP3204F       210  Evolution
Conner       CFS210A       210  Std/RiscPC600   # S-CFS420A
WstrnDigtl   Caviar        200  Std/AnyAcorn    WILL NOT WORK
IBM          H3171-A2      171  ICS             M-M2984TAM Real 163MB
Conner       CP30174E      170  Std/A5000
Maxtor       7120          130  ICS             Disable on-disc cache. (ICS util)
Quantum      LPS127A       120  ICS
Castle                     120  Castle/A3000
Seagate      ST3144A       120  A310
Conner       CP30104H      116  Std/A5000       S-CP540A
SyQuest      SQ3105 AT     105  Std/A5000       M-CP3044 S-CFS420A
NEC          D3756         100  Watford         M-S-M286T
Rodime       RO3139AP      100  Watford         Works alone, wont co-exist.
Conner       CP3085 (?)     85  ICS
Maxtor       7080           85  ICS             Disable on-disc cache. (ICS util)
Maxtor                      80  ICS (FS 2.03)
Conner       CP30084E       80  Std/A5000       M-S-CP3044 Use links on base, not drive face.
Conner       CF3008E        80  Std/A5000,A4000 #
Seagate      ST51A/X        40  Std/RiscPC600   S-CFS420A
Conner       CP3044         40  Std/A5000       # S-SQ3105 AT
Seagate      ST351A/X       40  Watford IDE
PrairieTek                  20  ICS (FS 2.01)

Enlargements to notes:
[1] Formatted to 3 partitions 248M, 248M & 316M (to get small LFAU)
[2] Seagate ST3491A Wont S/M to CFS240A (High end A5000). Will slave to
     CFS420A (Risc PC)
[3] This drive recalibrates for thermal adjustments every 10mins, making a
     click.
[4] CFA drives will work with RISC OS 3.60 (new Risc PCs, A7000) but not
     with older versions of the Acorn IDE interface. They will work on ICS
     interfaces though. (Badly defined part of IDE spec aparently)
[5] The HCCS interface apparently doesn't like podule slot 0, but is happy in others.

Understanding the list:
1. Interface = 'Std/****' indicates the IDE interface provided with the
    specified machine as part of the standard purchase package.
2. M-XXXXXX  -Fitted as Master to drive (slave drive part number given)
   S-XXXXXX  -Fitted as Slave to drive (Master drive part number given)
3. A '#' in the notes section indicates a drive provided packaged with the
    specified machine.
4. Sizes quoted are the 'manufacturer' sizes (for purchasing reference)
    remember that manufacturer Megabytes are 1000K, whereas formatted
    megabytes are 1024K... to get the 'real' size, multiply the number given
    by 1000, then divide by 1024.
5. Drives over 1Gigabyte are quoted in terms of megabytes (hence a 1G drive
    will be listed as 1024M) This is so that the list sorts nicely - divide
    the number by 1024 to get the size in gigabytes...
6. Master / Slave information usually refers to other drives in the list!

   Disclaimer: This list reports the reported experiences of others.
Neither the maintainer, nor the contributors are definately saying that
these combinations will work - just that they have for them. So don't sue
us!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.2) What are the master / slave link settings for my IDE Drive?

   Most of the modern drives have this information nicely on a label on the
top of the drive, but some of the earlier ones don't. There follows a list
of drive settings for some of the packaged drives.

   Extra submissions to Toby Smith ([e-mail])

DRIVE           AS SOLE               AS MASTER               AS SLAVE
           HSP  C/D  DSP  ACT     HSP  C/D  DSP  ACT     HSP  C/D  DSP  ACT
CP3044      -    y    -    y       -    y    y    y       -    -    -    y
CP3008E     -    y    -    -       -    y    -    -       -    -    -    -
CP30126     -    y    -    -       -    y    y    -       -    -    -    -
CP30174E    -    y    -    -       -    y    -    -       -    -    -    -
CFS210A     -    y    -    -       -    y    -    -       -    -    -    -
CFS420A     -    y    -    -       -    y    -    -       -    -    -    -

   Link connectors are on the front of the drive, the narrower end that
doesn't have the cables coming in, next to the activity light connector
(which is missing on Risc PC Drives - it's on the motherboard)

   It should also be noted that if you need an extra linker don't expect it
to have been provided (notably on the CF3008E, the 80M drive in the A4000 &
A5000.)

   (Details translated from table by Dave Walker, as published in Acorn
User Sept 95. Not all permutations have been tested, and we ain't
promising!)

   Extra submissions welcome!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.3) What works with what?

   This list contains details of peripherals known to work on Acorn
computers, and is intended as a rough guide for those wanting to upgrade.

   The list covers all storage devices: hard discs, magneto-optical drives,
tape, CD-rom, and related interfaces. It also covers modems, serial cards
and printers.
It does not cover IDE hard discs, as these are covered in a separate list
in the FAQ .

   This list is based on information from users. If you have new
information , corrections, suggestions or if you just want to tell me how
good it is, please e-mail [e-mail]

   Please note that in all the following lists the interface refers to the
computer and not the peripheral.

Hard discs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Size  Manuf.     Model      Interface Interface  Special
                                     type      manuf      Requirements
A310     47MB  Seagate    257        SCSI-8    Lingenuity none
A310     100Mb Quantum    LP105S     SCSI-U    Morley     none
A310     330Mb Seagate    ST2383N    SCSI-U    Morley     none
A310     46MB  Seagate    ST277N     SCSI-1    Oak        Use Acorn SCSIFiler
                                                          with RO3.1
A310     46M   Seagate    ST157N     SCSI-1    Cumana/Oak none
A310     700Mb Quantum    LIGHTNING  SCSI      Lingenuity none
                          730S
A310     191Mb Maxtor     LXT-200S   SCSI      Lingenuity none
A310     46MB  Seagate    ST157N     SCSI-1    Cumana/Oak none
A310     340Mb Conner     CFA340     SCSI-1    Cumana/Oak none
A310     60MB  Seagate    ST-277N    SCSI      Oak        Ext Apple
A310     105M  Quantum    Prodrive   SCSI      Oak        none
A310/4Mb 80Mb  Quantum    P80S       SCSI      Oak        none
A310/4Mb 210Mb Quantum    PD210S     SCSI      Oak        none
A310     516Mb Quantum    Maverick   SCSI-U    Morley     none
                          540S 0901
A310     87Mb  Fujitsu    M2612S     SCSI-U    Morley     none
                          0608
A310     210MB Conner     CP3200F    SCSI      Oak        Ext Apple
A310     110MB Rodime     RO-5125ST  SCSI      Oak        Ext Apple
A310     105MB Rodime     RO-3128T   SCSI-1    Morley     none
A310     240MB Quantum    LPS240S    SCSI-1    Morley     none
A310     540MB Quantum    Fireball   SCSI-1    Morley     none
A310     105MB Syquest    SQ105S     SCSI-1    Morley     none
A310     270MB Syquest    SQ3270S    SCSI-1    Morley     none
A410/1   213M  Maxtor     7213S      SCSI-U    Morley     none
A410/1   115MB IBM        7910A12    SCSI-C    Morley     none
A410/1   170MB Quantum    LPS170     SCSI-C    Morley     none
               ProDrive
A410/1   1GB   HP         C2247      SCSI-U    Morley     none
A420/1   730MB Quantm     LT730S     SCSI      TSP/AAD    512Mb max.
A420/1   330MB Maxtor     7345S      SCSI      TSP/AAD    none
A4xx/1   40MB  Seagate    ST251/1    ST506     Acorn      ext Case+PSU
A4xx/1   40MB  Seagate    ST251/0    ST506     Acorn      ext Case+PSU
A4xx/1   40MB  NEC        D3156      ST506     Acorn      none
A4xx/1   68MB  Seagate    ST1100     ST506     Acorn      none
A400/1   523MB IBM        DSAS-3540  SCSI-16   Cumana     none
A440/1   1G    Micropolis 4110       SCSI-U    Morley     none
A440/1   240M  Quantum    LPS240S    SCSI-U    Morley     none
A440     66M   Rodime     RO3085S    SCSI      Lingenuity none
A540     116Mb Conner     CP30100    SCSI      Acorn 1.05 none
R140     730MB Quantm     LT730S     SCSI      Acorn MK3  (Used with RISCiX)
R140     330MB Maxtor     7345S      SCSI      Acorn MK3  (Used with RISCiX)
A3000    81Mb  Quantum    ELS85S     SCSI   }  Cumana     none
A3000    51Mb  Quantum    LP52S      SCSI   }  Cumana     none
A3000    42MB  NEC        D3835      SCSI      Serial port(VTi)
A3000    105M  Quantum    LP105S     SCSI      HCCS-8i    none
A3000    540M  IBM        DSAS-3540  SCSI      HCCS-8i    doesn't work!
A3000    730M  Quantum    LT730S     SCSI      HCCS-8i    none
A4000    1G    IBM        DPES31080  SCSI      HCCS       none
A5000    1.06G Conner     CFP1060S   SCSI-2    Cumana     none
A5000    340MB Quantum    LPS340S    SCSI      Cumana     none
A5000    540M  Conner     CP30540    SCSI1     Cumana     none
A4       520M  Fujitsu    M2684S     PSCSI     Atomwide   bid parallel
RPC600   1Gb   Quantum    Fireball   SCSI-2    Cumana     none
                          FB1080
RPC600   2.1Gb Fujitsu    2915       SCSI-2    Cumana     New Filecore
RPC600   650Mb Cumana     Proteus    SCSI-2    Cumana     New Filecore
RPC600   121Mb Maxtor     7120SCS    SCSI-2    Cumana     none
RPC600   523Mb IBM        DSAS-3540  SCSI-2    Cumana     filecore limit
RPC600   496Mb Fujitsu    M2624F-512 SCSI-1    TSP/AAD    none
RPC600   210MB Conner     CP3200F    SCSI      Oak        Ext Apple
RPC600   110MB Rodime     RO-5125ST  SCSI      Oak        Ext Apple
RPC600   850MB Quantum    TRB850S    SCSI-2    Cumana     none
RPC600   507MB Fujitsu    M2684S-512 SCSI-2    Powertec   none
RPC600   116MB Conner     CP30100    SCSI-1    Powertec   none
RPC600   496MB Fujitsu    M2624F-512 SCSI-1    Powertec   none
RPC600   317MB Imprimis   94241-7    SCSI-1    Powertec   none
RPC600   1G    Micropolis 4110       SCSI-U    Morley     none
RPC600   163MB Quantum    ELS170S    pll SCSI  Atomwide   none
RPC600   163MB Quantum    ELS170S    SCSI      Oak        none
RPC600   163MB Quantum    ELS170S    SCSI-2    Castle tec none
RPC600   163MB Quantum    ELS170S    SCSI      Morley-U&C none
RPC600   502MB Quantum  ProDrive525S SCSI2     PowerTec   none
RPC600   1.7G  Quantum    Sirocco    SCSI-2    Cumana     New Filecore
RPC600   2.5G  Quantum    Sirocco    SCSI-2    Cumana     New Filecore
RPC700   105M  Quantum    LP105S     SCSI-2    PowerTec   none
RPC700   730M  Quantum    LT730S     SCSI-2    PowerTec   none
RPC700   140M  Fujitsu    M2624SA    SCSI-U    Morley     none
RPC700   540M  Conner     CP30540    SCSI1     Cumana     none
RPC700   2G    Quantum    Atlas      scsi-2    Powertec   noisy drive (7200rpm) *

* I have discovered that modern drives with high spin speeds (eg. 7200 rpm
rather than 5600 rpm) vibrate, and in a plastic RiscPC case set up very
loud resonances. Bear this in mind when looking for a fast disk.


Non-working combinations
A410/1   1GB   HP         C2247      SCSI-8    Lingenuity did not work
A3000    540M  IBM        DSAS-3540  SCSI      HCCS-8i    doesn't work!
A310/OS3.1/MEMC1A/ARM3               SCSI      VTi        see below
This combination has been reported to be troublesome due to timing problems
on the bus. This problem does not occur with a standard A310. If the problem
is found to be present, it can be fixed by fitting a 2nF capacitor across the
/BL pull-up resistor.
Removable hard discs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Size  Manuf.     Model     Interface Interface  Special
                                    type      manuf      Requirements
A3000    270MB Syquest    SQ3270S   SCSI   HCCS-8i       MOFS (!MagOpt)
RPC700   270MB Syquest    SQ3270S   SCSI-2 PowerTec      none
                  (Firmware 3_05 and above recommended)
A5000    270MB Syquest    SQ327     SCSI-2 Alsystems     none
A4       105MB Syquest    -         PSCSI  Atomwide bid  none
                                           parallel
RPC600   135MB Syquest    EZ135     IDE    ICS           minor bugs
RPC600   135MB Syquest    EZ135     SCSI-C Morley        none
RPC600   105MB Syquest    -         IDE    ICS           none
A410/1   105MB Syquest    -         SCSI-U Morley        none
RPC600   200MB Syquest    SQ5200C   SCSI-2 Cumana        none
RPC600    88MB Syquest    SQ5110    SCSI-2 Cumana        none
A440/1    88MB Syquest    SQ5110    SCSI-U Morley        none

CD ROM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Speed Manuf.     Model      Interface Interface Special
                                     type      manuf     Requirements
A310     3.4x  Toshib     XM5201     SCSI-1    Cuman/Oak CDX driver
A310     1x    Sony       CDU-541    SCSI-U    Morley    none
A410/1     2x    Apple      CD300      SCSI-C    Morley    AppleSony module
A410/1   2x    Sanyo      CRD-250S   SCSI-2    Morley    none
A420/1   2x    Apple      CD300e     SCSI      TSP/AAD   CDFS 2.2+ driver
A3000    2x    Toshiba    XM-3401TA  SCSI      HCCS-8i   none
A3000    4.4x  Toshiba    XM-3601TA  SCSI      HCCS-8i   IOC CDFS SCSI2 driver
A5000    4.4x  Pioneer    DR-U124X   SCSI-2    Cumana    Eesox SCSI2dr
A5000    2x    Toshiba    XM-3401TA  SCSI      Cumana    EESOX CDFS_SCSI2 driver for photocd
A5000    2x    Aiwa       ACD300     SCSI-2    Alsystems none
RPC600   4x    Sony       CDU76S     SCSI-2    Cumana    Eesox SCSI2 driver
RPC600   7x    Toshiba    XM-3701TA  SCSI-2    Cumana    Eesox SCSI2
RPC600   2x    Nakamichi  MBR-7      SCSI-2    Cumana    Eesox SCSI2 7cd changer
RPC600   4x    Sanyo      CRD-254S   SCSI-2    Cumana    EESOX scsi2 driver
RPC600   2x    Apple      CD300e     SCSI      Acorn MK3 CDFS 2.2+ driver
RPC600   4x    Cumana     Proteus    SCSI-2    Cumana
RPC600   -     Plextor    PX-4XCS    SCSI-2    Cumana
RPC600   4x    Toshiba    XM-3601TA  SCSI-1    TSP/AAD   EESOX SCSI2 driver
RPC600   2x    Cumana     Indigo     IDE       Cumana    none
RPC600   4x    Cumana     Proteus    SCSI-2    Cumana    none
RPC600   4x    Panasonic  PD-1 LF1000SCSI-2    Power-tec none
RPC600   4x    NEC        Multispin  SCSI-2    Power-tec none
RPC600   4x    Matsushita CR-504     SCSI-2    Power-tec none
RPC600   6x    Mitsumi    FX600      IDE       Acorn     CDFS2.30 or RO 3.6
RPC700   4.4x  Toshiba    XM-3601TA  SCSI-2    PowerTec  none
RPC700   2x    Sony       CDU50E     IDE       Acorn     none
RPC700   2x    Cuma.      Bravo      SLCD      Cumana    Unplug CDFSAtapi
RPC700   4x    Panasonic  CR504B     SCSI-C    Morley    none
   Problem Drives
Many drives don't work with the standard drivers found in RiscOS. This is
usually due to differences between the implementation of ATAPI in the
drives. Third party drivers (soft-loadable modules) are available (eg from
EESOX) and some IDE and SCSI cards come with new drivers built in.
CD ROM Equivalents
Manuf      Model        Manuf      Model
Apple      CD300        Sony       CDU-8003A Rev. 1.9a
Cumana     ProTeus      Panasonic  PD2000

Floppy disk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Type   Size  Manuf.     Model      Interface Interface  Special
                                     type      manuf      Requirements
A310     5.25"  19Mb  QUME       HF24DR G05 SCSI-U    Morley     none
A5000    Zip    100MB Iomega     ZIP 100    SCSI      Oak        none
A5000    Zip    100MB Iomega     ZIP 100    SCSI      Lingenuity no LL format
* This scsi card will initialise a partition but won't low-level format
RPC600   Zip    100MB Iomega     ZIP 100    SCSI-2    Powertec   none
RPC700   Zip    100MB Iomega     ZIP 100    SCSI-2    Powertec   none
         Note: Powertec supports DOS format for Zip drives
RPC700   Zip    100MB Iomega     ZIP 100    SCSI-U    Morley     none


* see comments on Zip drives in the Tape Streamer section

Tape streamers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Size    Type   Manuf.     Model      Interface Interface  Special
                                              type      manuf      Requirements
A5000    230MB   magopt Fujitsu    M2512A     SCSI-2    CUMANA     none
A540     230MB   magopt Fuji       2512A      SCSI      Oak        none
A540     230MB   magopt Fuji       2512A      SCSI-16   AAD        none
RPC600   230MB   magopt Fuji       2512A      SCSI      Acorn      !magopt
RPC600   2.3G    -      Exabyte    EXB-8200   SCSI-2    Cumana     !tapefs
         Settings: tapebackground off, tapemaxtransfer 64kb tapebuffer 512kb.
RPC600   230MB   magopt Fuji       2512A      SCSI      Oak        none
RPC600   230MB   magopt Fuji       2512A      SCSI      QD-16      none
RPC600   525MB   qic    ?          ?          SCSI-2    cumana
         Settings: tapebackgrounding off, tapemaxtransfer 1, tapebuffer 16k,
                   scsidisconnect 6 on and *unplug DMAManager
RPC600   2.3G    8mm    Exabyte    EXB 8200   SCSI-2    Cumana
         230kb/s Settings: tapebackgrounding off, tapemaxtransfer 64kb,
                           tapebuffer 512kb.
RPC700   1.3G    DAT    HP         -          SCSI-C    Morley     none
RPC700   1G      DAT    WangDAT    1300       SCSI      Cumana
         Settings: Backgrounding off, disconnect off, and set drive to
                   SCSI-1 standard (because tapefs=scsi1?)
Tape equivalents
Some data tapes are identical to consumer AV products. Most manufacturers
don't recommend use of the cheaper tapes for data storage but they do work.
DDS or 4mm tape is equivalent to DAT (Digital Audio Tape). A two-hour tape
is the same as a 60m, and you can get three hours of audio on a 90m.
8mm tape is equivalent to Video-8 . Currently I have no information on tape
sizes or merits of using standard or Hi8.

   Configuration
You may need to tweak the options to make your device work properly.
Different drives have different requirements, so experimentation might be
necessary.

   Zip drives require a different setup from the other backup devices. Some
users report nothing more than running their scsi config software to
identify the drive to the system, the drive appearing as a hard disc.
Others are using MagFS.

   To set up Magfs:
Download Magfs from Hensa.
Set the MO$SCSI in the Run file of !MagOpt to to match the scsi id of the drive.
Insert a blank disk and run MO-form.
Enter 4 or 5 at first request.
Enetr N at second request for a low level format.
Run !Magopt.

   Some magopt users are running tapefs. Don't know why.

   Software for tape streamers can be obtained from the following sources:

   tapefs is in
ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/hensa/micros/arch/riscos/a/a050
magfs is in
ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/hensa/micros/arch/riscos/d/d160
tar is in ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/hensa/micros/arch/riscos/a/a052
It has been found that the released version of tar won't handle image files
(archives, for example). A patched version is available which will cope
with these can be found at
ftp://ftp.comlab.ox.ac.uk:/tmp/Robin.Watts/Tar_hack

Modems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Computer Modem Protocol Manuf Model     Interface   Interface Interface  Special
         speed                          blockdriver manuf     Best speed Reqs
A310     9600  -        Pace  MicroLin  internal    Acorn     19k2       none
A410/1   28.8K V34      USR   Sportster internal    Acorn     9600       none
A410/1   28.8K V34      USR   Sportster sp_dual MK2 TSP       115200     none
RPC600   28.8K V34      USR   Sportster internal    acorn     115200     none
RPC600   14.4K -        -     LineLink  internal    acorn     57600      none
         May need to cut an internal cable to fix flow control if the modem is
         wired for use with a MAC
RPC700   28.8K V34      USR   Sportster internal    acorn     115200     none
         setup string: ATB0&M4&H1&R2&I0&K3&B1&N0&S1&Y1&D2&C1V1Q0X4&A3E1F1M1
   Note: If you have a Sportster 28.8 with revision dates earlier than
04/28/95 / 03/31/95, and you are having difficulties such as low speed
operation or line drop-outs, USR have a return-to-base upgrade which is
free of charge.

Printers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Printer DPI Manuf.   Model        Interface Interfc !Printers  Special
         type                              type      manuf   version    Reqs
A410     Inkjet  720 Epson    Stylus-Col-I Parallel  Acorn   1.28c      none
RPC700   Inkjet  720 Epson    Stylus-Col-I Parallel  Acorn   1.52 rel3  none
A410     Dotmat  360 Citizen  Swift 24     Parallel  Acorn   1.28c      none
Third party drivers
Computer Concepts' Turbo Drivers are available for popular printers. This
software is optimised for speed although Acorn's own drivers have recently
been upgraded and the benefits are not as great as they were. Turbo drivers
work in conjunction with !Printers, and currently versions above 1.28c are
not supported.

Optical Scanners
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer  Manuf.   Model         Scanner   Interface Interface Special
                                 type      type      manuf     Requirements
RPC600    HP       Scanjet IIcx  flatbed   SCSI-2    Cumana    David Pilling's Twain
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer notes

   The A3xx and A4xx machines are all similar, and comments about one of
these machines should apply to any other, provided it is running with the
latest OS and/or chip set.
Similarly, the A4 is a miniature A5000, and the RPC700 is a slightly
enhanced RPC600.
StrongARM equipped RiscPCs might have difficulties with interfaces that
work on the non-SA computers,

   A3xx computers have no on-board disc interface; A4xx have on-board mfm.
The A3000 has no interface, the A4, A3020, A4000, A5000, A7000, Stork and
RPC models all have IDE.

Interface notes In theory the fastest interfaces are the ones with DMA.
These cards perform at their best on RiscPCs in slot 0 or 1. The data rate
will be limited by the slowest part of the system, so when upgrading,
budget for a new drive in addition to the interface.

   The Alsystems Powertec card is a SCSI-2 DMA device with a top speed of
around 4.5MB/s. This speed will increase with later software/firmware
releases.
The Yellowstone RapIDE32 card is a fast IDE interface using DMA which will
give a significant improvement over the standard interface in a RiscPC.
Both Yellowstone and Alsystems are developing rival products.

   The Morley SCSI-1 interface is either cached or uncached. The maximum
speeds of these are uncached: 2MB/s, cached: 4MB/s. These cards do not use
DMA. Currently the Morley software cannot cope with partitions > 512 MB and
the "Free" window is broken under RiscOS 3.6. New firmware is rumoured for
the Morley card.
The TSP/AAD is the former 'Arxe Alpha Dual', which was produced by The
Serial Port, but which is now discontinued. It provides 16-bit non-DMA
SCSI-1 and a high density floppy interface.

   Versions of Risc OS older than 3.6 can only cope with drives < 512 MB.
Larger drives can be used if formatted to this size. Some filing systems
allow large drives to be partitioned, ie split into 2 or more sections,
each up to 512MB in size. The new limit for RiscOS 3.6 is 4GB, which is
already looking too small.

Which SCSI have I got? To determine the scsi version number of a device,
run the following program:
        ON ERROR REPORT:PRINT " at ";ERL:END
        DIM buffer% 16
        INPUT "Enter device number";device%
        SYS "SCSI_Initialise",2,device%,buffer%
        SCSI%=(buffer%?2) AND %111
        PRINT "Version is ";SCSI%
        END

This will give you zero if the device is not present.

How big is a Megabyte ? Some manufacturers quote Megabytes as 1000K. This
is of course totally incorrect but they like to cheat with numbers, so to
get the real size, multiply by 1000/1024.

Further Information IDE hard discs
IDE hard discs are listed separately in the FAQ .

   Jumper settings and configuration
Jumper settings are often a problem, and it's rare to get a manual with a
drive these days. Some manufacturers have web sites, most of these have
detailed information on their current models including jumper settings, and
some have databases covering older devices. Although sometimes biased
towards PCs, the information can be extremely useful.

Manufacturer         Web site
Seagate              http://www.seagate.com/
Conner               http://www.conner.com/
Quantum              http://www.quantum.com/
Maxtor               http://www.maxtor.com/
Syquest              http://www.syquest.com/
Micropolis           http://www.micropolis.com/
Fujitsu              http://www.fujitsu.com/

Iomega               http://www.iomega.com/

Panasonic            http://www.panasonic.com/
Toshiba              http://www.toshiba.com/
Sony                 http://www.sony.com/
NEC                  http://www.nec.com/

US Robotics          http://www.usr.com/
Hayes                http://www.hayes.com/
Zoom                 http://www.zoom.com/
Motorola             http://www.motorola.com/
Pace                 http://www.pace.co.uk/
   Many of these companies also have a faxback service which is just like
gopher by e-mail. Useful if you have a fax machine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the list.
And to everyone else: send in your details now !
The latest version is available from my home page
http://www.c3po.demon.co.uk/

Any corrections or suggestions should be sent to [e-mail]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPIlist version 2.9, 09-Aug-96
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.4) What specification memory can I use with my RiscPC?

   RAM for the RiscPC, while a standard 72pin SIMM, must be bought with a
degree of care to avoid potential damage to your machine. EDO RAM, while it
will work, is not advised as it is both more expensive than the required
RAM and may have different power requirements that could be detrimental to
your machine.

   The RAM required is 70ns (or faster), 72pin, square array (equal number
of bits used for row and column addressing), non-parity RAM that supports
'fast page mode' and 'CAS before RAS' refresh. Devices that contain more
than 16 memory chips (8 on each side) is not recommended as they may have
power requirements above and beyond what the computer can safely supply.
Consequently SIMM 'stackers' and 30 to 72pin adaptors are also not advised.

   For the more technically inclined out there maximum loads possible are
:-

   Address    128pF
   WE         140pF
   CAS or RAS  59pF
   Data bus    29pF

Finally, in the maintainers experience anyway, Hitachi parts seem to be
fine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 12: Common Questions about the FAQ.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.1) Why do I get the FAQ twice?

   There are two ways this can happen. The first, and most common way, is
when you see two copies of the FAQ, one set posted to
comp.sys.acorn.announce and the other set posted to comp.sys.acorn.misc.
This occurrence is caused by your news handling software being broken. The
FAQ is, if you check the newsgroups line when it is posted, crossposted to
both of these groups.

   This means it is actually posted just the once and with all good news
handling software you will read the post exactly once. Given that this is
supposed to be standard behaviour for newsreaders I refuse to stop
cross-posting purely because people are seeing the posts twice. Quite
simply it isn't my problem and I will need other justification before I
stop cross-posting.

   The second way it can occur is when you see two copies of the FAQ in the
same group. Careful checking of your newsbase should reveal that one copy
is about 15 to 16 days older than the other. This comes about because I use
the Expires: header to ensure that a copy of the FAQ is always present in
all well configured newsbases. Because I currently don't use the
Supercedes: header this will result in, for one or two days, two copies of
the FAQ being present.

   My general stance on this is that it is not a major problem as the
amount of disc space involved is small compared to general size and flow of
information that a news stream entails anyway. Certainly I have been
meaning to add the Supercedes header to the posted copy of the FAQ but it
is currently a very low priority task.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.2) Why does the full FAQ have to be posted?

   Simply because of the wide distribution that the FAQ has. Every time the
FAQ gets posted it gets automatically archived into various FAQ databases,
propagates on ancillary networks only loosely connected to the net (BBSes
in particular) and reaches a wide variety of people whose skills at
navigating the net vary considerably. Occasionally it gets copied onto CD
ROMs, Magazine discs and extracts get used in various publications from
time to time.

   All this just from the posted copy of the FAQ.

   Given this wide reaching nature and the general idea of an FAQ being to
reduce network traffic by providing the answers to common questions
immediately then I see clear justification for continuing to post the full
FAQ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.3) Isn't the FAQ overly long?

   In a word, no.

   To be slightly less terse it is worthwhile doing a comparison of the
c.s.a FAQ with other newsgroup's FAQs. For this task I used a 'snapshot' CD
ROM of the rtfm.mit.edu FAQ archive that was taken in March 1995. Here are
a few sample sizes :-

FAQ                                      Size in bytes
---                                      -------------
comp.sys.acorn (as posted 1st Jan 1996)  118,536
soc.feminism (resources list)            239,256
comp.sys.amiga (introduction)            167,632
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware                 318,882
comp.sys.apollo                          162,638

   As can be seen by the above table the size of the FAQ is neither overly
large nor is it particularly uncommon.
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12.4) If I find something wrong or am unhappy with the FAQ, what do I do?

   Email me first about it.

   I mean it. Generally errors or bad information that has crept into the
FAQ has been through circumstances beyond my control. Often a lot of the
information I am provided with I simply can not, and being in New Zealand
does not help with this, check directly myself. So I accept alot of what I
am given on trust and generally try to exercise care with what I include
into the FAQ.

   If, after getting a reply back from me, you are still unhappy then by
all means grumble about it on the newsgroups. But I want the chance to
explain things first. I take a very dim view to people posting complaints
to the newsgroups, first, about the FAQ, especially ones that imply or
impugn improper conduct on my part. I tend to view such posts as attempts
to publicly force my hand and make me do whatever said poster wants done to
the FAQ.
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Thanks go to all the people who have contributed corrections and additions
to the list. Without this help this list would be a hell of a lot buggier
(spot the programmer... :-) ) than it is...
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All additions, corrections & suggestions for the FAQ List should be sent to
[e-mail]. Being the maintainer of this FAQ I
reserve the right to be wrong, incorrect, slow, out of date and generally
how I please with the FAQ List.