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- Changes in the New OS ROM for the Geneva
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- This document decribes the changes provided in the new operating
- system (OS) ROM for the Geneva. Modifications were minor, and
- you probably would not need the new OS unless you also use a
- multi-function unit and want to be able to access drive I.
-
- CAUTION: When you upgrade a unit, be sure to back up all your
- RAM disk files to tape or disk because the upgrade erases all RAM
- disk files currently stored in the machine when it does a full
- initialization.
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- Distinguishing ROM Version
-
- There are several ways to find out which version ROM you have.
- Choose one of the following:
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- 1. Look at the top line of a Menu screen. If it says "... CP/M
- ver 2.2 PAGE...", you have the old version. If the top line
- reads "... CP/M ver 2.2 B PAGE ...", you have the new OS ROM.
- The "B" after the version number tells you it is the newer,
- revised version.
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- 2. Another way is to type a CTRL G at the CP/M prompt (e.g., A>,
- B>, etc.,) and press RETURN. If the speaker beeps for about
- one second, you have the old OS. If the speaker beaps for
- just a fraction of a second, you have the new OS.
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- 3. The third way is to see if the OS confirms your selection of
- "REMOVE", "DIRINIT", or "ERASE" a cassette in the System
- Display. If the OS just does the specified function without
- asking anything else, you have the old OS. If the OS asks
- you, "-function (Y or N)?," you have the new OS.
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- New OS changes
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- Below is a list of the new OS modifications.
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- 1. The ROM on the multi-function unit is now accessed as drive
- I. Drive I supports 8K, 16K, 32K, 64K, and 128K byte CMOS
- ROMs or CMOS EPROMs. Do not use NMOS ROMs/EPROMs in drive I.
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- 2. The system display asks you to confirm the following
- microcassette tape functions: REMOVE, DIRINIT, ERASE.
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- 3. If the message "RAM DISK FORMAT (Y/N) ?" appears, a carriage
- return is now required to answer "Y" or "N".
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- 4. An additional BIOS jump table is added, so end users can use
- it as a hook to modify BIOS functions. This table starts at
- $FD90:
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- $FD90 JP BOOT
- $FD93 JP WBOOT
- $FD96 JP CONST
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- 5. When the Geneva is turned off in the Continue mode, the OS
- now sends the command, "FORCE WRITE" to the external disk
- drives. This writes the buffer inside the drives to the
- disks.
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- 6. All LEDs on the keyboard flash if power fails.
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- 7. The MENU displays even if there are no files listed. (This
- was done to maintain consistency.)
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- 8. For start-up only, the MENU mode is ignored if an AUTO START
- string or a WAKE STRING occurs when power is turned on.
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- 9. The letter "B" appears after the version number on the top
- line of the MENU screen, for example: "xx.xxK CP/M ver 2.2
- B". The number printed on the OS ROM is "M25030CB". The
- last letter, "B", tells you this is version B.
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- 10. The default drives displayed on the MENU are ICBA.
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- 11. The Denmark I character set is now used in place of the
- Denmark II set. This was changed so the Geneva Denmark
- character set matches the standard MX-, RX-, and FX-series
- printers' character sets.
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- 12. In the MENU on the old OS, user area 0 files are always
- displayed, even if you are logged into another area. The new
- OS corrects this minor problem and has MENU displaying the
- current user area.
-
- 13. The beep resulting from a CTRL G is shortened from 1 second
- to 200 ms, 1/5 of a second (new OS).
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- 14. Some of the system RAM (EC00-$FFFF) parameters have been
- moved around. (Most are still in the same location as the
- old version, but a few had to be changed.)
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- 15. On the old OS, there are several escape code sequences for
- the LCD that are ignored. Nothin is printed on the LCD.
- Such sequences include: Highlight Mode, Inverse Video, and
- Flashing Mode. These sequences are not supported by either
- OS. If such sequences are used on the new OS, you may get
- garbage on the LCD.
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- 16. The initialization process of asking for the date, time, RAM
- disk size, etc., is not in the new OS. However, you can do
- all this with the CONFIG utility, which is actually easier.
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- 17. You cannot do a screen dump of the alarm/wake and system
- screen. If you try to do this on the old OS, and don't have
- a printer connected, a power off/continue will cause the
- wrong screen to be displayed on power up.
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