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1995-04-22
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The Unofficial Atari 8bit ||||
Newbie / Stupid Question / Emulator Help _||||_
FAQ `\\ //'
`\/'
By Bill Kendrick
Revision 0.4 !! PLEASE !!
September 7, 1994 ASK MORE QUESTIONS
Differences from Rev.0.3: Added info on DCM2DSK.
PLEASE also refer to: MyDOS 4.5 documents, SIO2PC documents,
XF2 documents, and the Atari 8-bit F.A.Q.
For general help (hardware, magazines, etc.) please check the Official
Atari 8-bit FAQ file:
From: Michael Current <MCURRENT@carleton.edu>
Where to get the latest copy of the Atari 8-Bit Computers
Frequently Asked Questions List:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/atari-8-bit/faq
(and many other FTP sites that archive Usenet FAQ Lists)
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/atari-8-bit/faq/faq.html
news:comp.sys.atari.8bit, news:comp.answers, news:news.answers
or, send a message to mailto::mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu that says:
send usenet/news.answers/atari-8-bit/faq
quit
Finally, you can always ask Michael for a copy at
mailto::mcurrent@carleton.edu
Objective of this file:
Much discussion has gone on in the comp.sys.atari.8bit Usenet
newsgroup about the newly released (mid 1994) Atari 8bit emulator for
IBM / MSDOS based computers, the PC X-Former 2.0 (XF2 for short). Many
people in the 8-bit community have gotten, well, fed up with the XF2-based
questions which do not pertain to them, or to the really dumb questions
which are in fact understandable to new or rusty Atari 8-bit users, but
have just gotten on the nerves of some of the comp.sys.atari.8bit
readers/digest subscribers.
This file was created to reduce the number of 'newbie' and XF2
questions.
This FAQ will present answers to simple questions like "how do I turn
off BASIC" (a good answer to that of course is, READ THE FRIGGIN' MANUAL)
and "how do I get a disk directory?" (which is less obvious on
Atari 8-bits, err.. MOST 8-bits <grin>).
It will also direct people who are unaware of the large amount of Atari
8-bit support (NOT NECESSARILY EMULATOR SUPPORT) and perhaps become a
suplement for the many official and unofficial files floating around the
net (like the official FAQ, the Vendor/Developer List, the Who's Who list,
etc.).
---=== XF2 Questions: ===---
Q.1) What does "READY" mean?
A.1) This is the Atari BASIC prompt. See below for hints on Atari BASIC.
Q.2) Why doesn't this program load?
A.2.1) The program may not work under the Atari 800 Operating System, it may
require the XL/XE Operating System (which XF2 does not emulate).
A.2.2) Be sure you turned BASIC off before trying to load it if it cannot
run with BASIC on.
A.2.3) It may just refuse to run on the XF2 emulator.
Q.3) How do I turn off BASIC?
A.3) To toggle BASIC on and off, press [SHIFT]-[F10] ([F10] is [RESET], note:
on a real Atari 8-bit, [SHIFT]-[RESET] does not have this effect).
Q.4) Why doesn't this game/program run correctly?
A.4.1) It may use player/missle collision detection which is not supported
on the XF2.
A.4.2) (See Question 2).
Q.5) How do I exit XF2 and return to DOS?
A.5) Press [F5]. Note: this does NOT temporarily 'shell' or 'jump' to MSDOS.
Q.6) How do I get to Atari DOS?
A.6.1) In BASIC, type "DOS" at the "READY" prompt.
A.6.2) Reboot without BASIC on.
A.6.3) Be sure you have a DOS-bootable disk image as the first MSDOS
parameter after the "XF2" command. (DOS25.XFD and MYDOS45.ATR are
both DOS boot-disk-images and are both in the XF2.ZIP file).
Q.7) How do I use MSDOS files with XF2?
A.7.1) Add the files to the command line and use them as their respective
drives (be sure the first drive is a DOS-bootable disk image).
Example: XF2 MYDOS45.ATR filename.ext
When booted the Atari will have two drives, D1: will be the MyDOS
4.50 disk image and D2: will be a write-protected disk which contains
only the file "filename.ext". Note: there are bugs in XF2 which
make accessing files from different directories a bit hard, just use
the MOVE (or COPY and DEL) commands in MSDOS to get the file to the
directory where you call XF2 from.
A.7.2) Use the MSDOS program S2PC (S2PC.ARC available in the Utilities
directory at the UMICH archives) which allows you to access files
within a MyDOS/compatible .ATR disk image without using an SIO2PC
or the XF2. S2PC let's you read, write, delete, change directory,
and view the directory of a MyDOS/compatible .ATR disk image. It
can be used via command-line parameters from MSDOS, or as a menu.
Q.8) Just what ARE .ATR and .XFD files?
A.8.1) Refer to the XF2 and SIO2PC manuals for details on these files.
A.8.2) Simply put, they are Atari disks, stored as files which are as big
as the disk they represent (an 88k disk image will use 88k on the
IBM). .ATR files are used by SIO2PC (see below) as well as the XF2
(and the S2PC program mentioned above). .XFD files are used by
ST X-Former (the Atari 8-bit emulator for Atari ST's) and
PC X-Former (XF2).
Q.9) What's SIO2PC?
A.9.1) Refer to the XF2 and SIO2PC manuals for details on this program.
A.9.2) This is a program which runs on IBM/compatibles which, with the use
of a simple (and relatively inexpensive) cable, makes the IBM act
as though it were an Atari disk drive. (Up to four drives, actually).
It uses disk image files (.ATR's) and can also let the Atari access
single IBM files (much like XF2 does) as a single file all alone in
its own disk. It also currently allows Print-Thru (all access to the
Atari "P:" (printer) device can be redirected to the IBM's printer,
screen, or MSDOS file; different translations/conversions are
user-defined when the Print-Thru mode is turned on). Finally, with
the use of two programs on the Atari 8-bit (the only two programs
that currently have anything to do with SIO2PC that have been written
(to my knowledge) for the Atari 8-bit), the IBM can be controlled
remotely (commands are sent from the Atari, typing on the IBM is not
necessary) and files can be sent directly to the IBM's drives.
Note: The following sections will simply discuss Atari BASIC, the Atari OS,
and Atari DOS 2.5 and MyDOS 4.50 (because these topics seem the most
relevant to the less-knowledged/experienced XF2 users).
---=== Getting around on the Atari: DOS and OS ===---
I. AtariDOS and MyDOS QuickReference:
MyDOS presents the user with the following commands:
[*] Disk directory of current directory (like "dir *.*" in MSDOS)
[1]-[9] Disk directory of a disk drive (like "dir a:\*.*" - "dir i:\*.*")
[A] Disk directory (like "dir <mask>" and optional output destination)
[B] Quit to cartridge
[C] Copy file(s) ("<source>,<destination>" copies from one place or
disk to another, just "<source>" copies from one place on one disk
in a drive to the same place on another disk in the same drive
(asks for swapping))
[D] Delete file(s) (add "/N" to delete without being prompted first)
(add ">*.*" or ":*.*" after a subdirectory name to delete the
files within it. A subdirectory name alone will delete the
subdirectory (if it is empty and unlocked)). (Acts like both
"del" and "rd" in MSDOS.)
[E] Rename file(s) (renaming multiple files is allowed, but be careful).
(like "ren <old> <new>" in MSDOS - with MyDOS, use "," between
old and new masks.)
[F] Locks file(s) from overwrite, deletion and appending (like
"attrib +r <mask>" in MSDOS.)
[G] Unlocks file(s) (returns them to their default state).
[H] Writ