Right now the driver reads and writes its data from/to the 1st 256 bytes of each 512 byte sector. The remaining 256 bytes are discarded when reading, and a value of $ff is written. When flash memory is erased a value of $ff is written into each memory location. Now if a bit is already set when it is erased, is there any “wear” on that bit? I think there is not. Can anyone confirm or refute this with any authority?

If there is never any wear on that 2nd half of the sector then it might be conceivable to make a 2GB card, being used as a 1GB card, last twice as long.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
HH

This post was submitted by hhos.

My first question is how do I get Multi-vue from its boot disk to the hard drive? For that matter, how do I get any programs that are bootable from their boot disks and onto the hard drive? I know I need to copy something – just not sure once. I knew how to do this 25 years ago!

Thanks!

This post was submitted by fresler.

This post was submitted by fresler.

Question 1: Having a Nitr0S-9 or 0S-9 boot floppy disk, how do I install it onto the Coco3 hard drive? Or in terms of using the Vcc emulator, having a NitrOS-9 .DSK disk image, how do I install it onto a .VHD image file? For those with you with the real hardware, I’m assuming the procedure would be pretty much the same.

Allow me to elaborate on why I want to do this. Yes, I know I can simply use the pre-installed nitro9.vhd file from the Vcc website which already has a working Nitr0S-9/6309 Level 2 V3.2.8. The problem is some OS-9 programs don’t like running in that environment and only seem to want to run on the OS-9 contained on their own floppy disks. E.g. Interbank Incident seems to only want to run in it’s own OS-9 Level 1 V2.0. I’ve looked around and everyone else seems to have encountered the same problem. Does anyone know how to work around the problem of getting that program to work in Nitr0S-9 Level 2?

The next question is probably an RGB Dos question. When I configure the Vcc emulator’s FD-502 plugin to use RGB Dos (Cartridge->FD-502 config: RGB Dos selected), I seem to lose the ability to access floppy drives from within RGB Dos. E.g. DIR 0 won’t read floppy drive 0, there’s no way to run programs on the floppy disk image, etc. Is there an RGB Dos command I need to enable or map the floppy drives? Are the floppy drives simply remapped or something?

Any info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

This post was submitted by qball342.

I am specifically wondering how to mount partitions from within NitrOS9, so are there docs for OS9/NitrOS9 that deal with this?

This post was submitted by hhos.

Here is what is displayed when I run make/make all:

make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/toolshed/build/win32/libnative’
cc -I../../../include -c -o libnativegs.o ../../../libnative/libnativegs.c
../../../libnative/libnativegs.c: In function `_native_gs_fd’:
../../../libnative/libnativegs.c:89: error: structure has no member named `_fileno’
../../../libnative/libnativegs.c: In function `_native_gs_size’:
../../../libnative/libnativegs.c:140: error: structure has no member named `_fileno’
make[1]: *** [libnativegs.o] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/toolshed/build/win32/libnative’

I am also having no luck building nitros9 from CVS. Something appears to be missing. Mamou is choking while compiling UUCPBB. symbol undefined on pass 2 errors for what should be defined os9 calls like F$Fork, F$Wait, and F$Exit.

I think that I am missing something. A component for Cygwin maybe.

Any help would be appreciated.

This post was submitted by willz88coco3.

Also, I remember finding source code for what looked like all of the modules in NitrOS9 but, at present, I am unable to find them again. Does anyone know where I can find these?

This post was submitted by hhos.

I know how to make a boot disk with the mb script. I did this a long time ago. I seem to remember something about renaming some modules to make it work.

Thanks.

This post was submitted by Charlie.

This post was submitted by jgerrie.

The work has been intense, the hours long, and the EPROM eraser/burner working overtime in my tests.

CoCoNet 1.0 is about a week from being finalized and released.

CoCoNet is a Disk BASIC 1.1 ROM replacement and is compatible with any CoCo 3 or CoCo 1/2 with Extended BASIC.

The 16K EPROM will fit in both my Deluxe Wireless RS-232 Pak and the new Drive Pak, or EPROM Pak.  You just need to get the EPROM booted somehow and you’re set.
The least thing you’d need is a bitbanger cable and an EPROM pak/board.

Just a few things you could do using CoCoNet:
- Auto-boot into a Drive Pak, PC or web OS-9 system
- Remote virtual floppy disks over bitbanger cable, RS-232 Pak, or bluetooth (Deluxe Wireless Pak)
- MicroSD (Drive Pak) virtual disks, 1GB of storage any way you like
- Huge OS-9 “hard drives” on the Drive Pak or via remote PC/web
- Automatically run AUTOBOOT.BAS from Drive 0 on CoCo powerup, from the Drive Pak, PC or web!!
From AUTOBOOT.BAS, you can make the program boot up OS-9 or whatever you want, even launch a live web service.
- Grab web files and save them to a mounted remote disk using one Disk BASIC command
(a front-end HTTP GET command)
- Web services on power-up of the CoCo (wireless, wired, bitbanger)

Real 1793 controller disks
2GB MicroSD card (Drive Pak) disks (0-255) per partition, with virtually unlimited partitions and disks!
Bitbanger port disks using the CoCoNet server on your PC and a serial cable
Tandy RS-232 Pak + cable, or Deluxe Wireless RS-232 Pak remote disks over bluetooth
(CoCoNet can mount remote PC or web disks!)

All disks are compatible with the standard Disk BASIC 1.1 set of commands.  In other words:
BACKUP, COPY, KILL, RENAME, SAVE, LOAD, OPEN, CLOSE, PUT, GET, etc. between all disks types.
(But you can’t write to web disks).

On startup, CoCoNet automatically mounts each drive type for 0-3 in an order of importance based on the devices you have plugged in.  From BASIC you can remount the drives.
You can do this from the autoboot.bas program, for example.

Folks, all sorts of things are possible, and the CoCoNet “ROM” can be booted from whatever device you own that accepts a 27128 EPROM.

You just have to use your imagination, like when you’re looking at a set of BASIC commands and ask somebody, “what can I do with that?”.  Pretty much everything.

From DOS you can mount the different disk types in any order and see the current mounts using the enhanced DRIVE command.
For example, typing DRIVE with no parameters would give a listing such as:
>DRIVE [ENTER]

DRIVE 0: DRIVE PAK 000
DRIVE 1: RS-232 PAK
DRIVE 2: BITBANGER
DRIVE 3: 1793 FDC

>DRIVE 0,#254 [ENTER] (change to MicroDrive disk #254 – NitrOS-9 Level II)
>DRIVE [ENTER]

DRIVE 0: DRIVE PAK 254
DRIVE 1: RS-232 PAK
DRIVE 2: BITBANGER
DRIVE 3: 1793 FDC

DOS  (boots into NitrOS-9)

By the way, my *.BAS program checks what type of CoCo is in use and boots OS-9 Level 1 or 2 automatically.  This means, you can take a Drive Pak and stick it in almost any CoCo and boot into “OS-9″ right on power-up.

On powerup, once the drive types have been chosen and mounted for 0-3, each drive will be scanned for an *.BAS program, with the first one found being RUN automatically.

You could have a *.BAS program on your PC, the web, the Drive Pak, and real disk drive.  It doesn’t have to be the same program code.

Telnet is also handled by the CoCoNet server and using the right CoCo client software, you could connect to a remote Telnet server from BASIC or OS-9.

Again, if you can auto boot, it means you can do anything CoCoNet can do right after power-up.

Lots of fun, and power!

One device that can plug directly into the 2×6 header is A7′s EB301 bluetooth module.  In fact, in a Deluxe Wireless Pak, the header and module are mounted inside the case. The other device to arrive soon is the 2 GIG memory module which will be used as a simultaneous Disk BASIC and OS-9 drive system.

All pak models use the 6551 ACIA to communicate with either a bluetooth radio module or 2 GIG MicroSD drive module. The image below shows an external style serial pak with an EB301 module plugged in.  A regular Wireless Pak would have this module inside the case.

The photos suggest that this is a SparkFun EB301 when it’s actually a product of the A7 corporation.

Following is the information in “instructions” format. PLEASE don’t do this if you’re not experienced at least a little bit with a soldering iron and electronic circuitry, for a) it requires opening both your CC3 and your monitor, and b) there’s no gurantee it will work so you may have to reverse the process.

BENEFITS OF A FASTER CRYSTAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The faster crystal in a CC3 will noticeably improve speed, not only under OS9, but under RS-DOS as well. The speed increase will be relative in everything, not just math, text scrolling, or disk access. While at first the increase from 1.78 to 2.375 (with a 38 MHz crystal) sounds small in number, when you calculate it, it comes to a 33.5% speed increase, twice the increase boasted by PowerBoost or NitrOS9. When coupled WITH NitrOS9 or PowerBoost (as I have done), your CoCo will be approximately 50% faster than a stock Color Computer 3. DRAWBACKS OF A FASTER CRYSTAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1: You are using the computer and monitor at speeds for which they were not originally designed. While I’ve been using the 38 MHz crystal for some time now, things run a little hotter, and the GIME obviously struggles sometimes (i.e. it momentarily stops generating sync every once in a while, and runs very warm).

2: Software’s timing will be off. Software that uses the fixed rate of the original crystal for internal workings will either not work at all, or will function differently. While there isn’t much of this software, it does exist. (OS9 is one of these, but there’s a fix which will be described later).

3: You will have to replace your 150 or 120 nanosecond DRAMs with 100 nanosecond or better. Users of the Tandy 512k upgrade are shut out from using crystals over 32 MHz, because the board is mounted face down and generates so much heat at higher speeds that the machine crashes very quickly.

4: You may not be able to get a display. Monitors are designed to sync at specific rates. When you alter your crystal value, your monitor will be expecting a different rate, and thus, will display data incorrectly. Thus, you will in most cases be required to open up the actual monitor and adjust internal workings.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* A crystal of known value
* Soldering Iron, Solder Sucker, and Solder
* Tools to open the CoCo case and Monitor housing (in most cases)
* OS9 Users: The Eddie Kuns CLOCK module (edition #9). This is needed because it allows you to easily change the value of the clock rate. (also, it’s just a much better clock module than the OS9 clock.)
* The guts to open up your CoCo and monitor and modify them!

STEP 1: THE CRYSTAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crystals come in almost an infinite number of values, from less than 1 MHz to almost a hundred. The idea is to choose the highest value of crystal that your system will function with. Here are the experiments from my system. It should be noted that I have a 2 MHz rated 6309 (63B09) installed in my system, I have not attempted this with a 2 MHz 6809 (68B09).

Also note that while this is the way my system responded, yours may be entirely different, as CoCo hardware is noted for inconsistency.

I have included values _slower_ than the original crystal just because I figured that while I was playing around with speed, I may as well get all the information possible!

* This is the speed of the standard CC3 crystal, and was included for reference.

No function = CPU did not function at all
Normal = CPU functioned normally and booted OS9
Bad Disp = Display was present but small and shaky
No Sync = Monitor could not be adjusted to display
Adjust = Monitor displayed properly, with internal adjustments
Display = Monitor displayed properly and require no internal adjustments
CM8 here refers to the Tandy CM8 Monitor. MultiSync refers to a Sony MultiSync monitor. VM5 refers to the Tandy VM5 monochrome monitor. The adjustments made will be detailed later in this document.

STEP 2: INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Installing the crystal is very simple.

1: Open your CC3 case and locate the crystal. It is a silver cylinder under the keyboard at the edge of the motherboard and is marked “KDS 28.63636″ (or a similar value for PAL machines).
2: With your soldering iron and solder sucker, desolder the crystal and remove it.
3: Insert the new crystal and solder it in.
It’s as simple as that.
STEP 3: MOMENT OF TRUTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hook your CoCo and monitor up. Turn on the monitor first, and give it a few moments to warm up. This is so that you can see what happens immediately after you turn your machine on and can turn it off again quickly if it’s bad!

After you’ve given the monitor 10 or 15 seconds, turn the CoCo on.

If all appears to be working fine, then your hardware will require no further adjustment, and you can go pour yourself a cup of Coffee and stare at your faster CoCo!

OTHERWISE, check the following:

1: If the screen flashes garbage and then goes blank, chances are your CPU is not generating a video signal, and your crystal is either too fast or too slow for the CPU to function right.

2: If the screen is just blank and flashes nothing, then your crystal is probably bad, and you should try another one.

3: If the screen displays a permenant barrage of “garbage”, then your CPU is probably functioning right, and the monitor is not displaying.

Try the following: (Assuming you’ve gone into RS-DOS.)

Type CLS1 and press ENTER. The “garbage” should change it’s general color. Try it again with CLS2 or CLS3. If the garbage is changing colors then you have a working CPU and a monitor not displaying properly.

If CLSX does NOT work, then shut your CoCo off, this crystal is either too fast or too slow for your CPU.

STEP 4: MONITOR ADJUSTMENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are a number of monitors popular with CoCo users. I will only list two here specifically, along with some general instructions.

— CM-8 –

The CM-8 monitor is a nice monitor and can be adjusted to display all the way up to 38 MHz (crystal).

Open up the CM-8 monitor case. This entails removing six screws: Two at the top rear, two at the bottom rear, and two in the rear panel which the cables come out of.

Once open, you will see lots of stuff, most of which should be ignored. What you are looking for is a small “pot” that is (looking from the top front) located on the left edge of the circuit board, and will be exposed without requiring you to pull the circuit board all the way out.

There should be three pots located here, and the one that you will want to play with is labeled “H. Hold”. With the CoCo on, take a small screwdriver and adjust this pot in either direction until the “garbage” turns into a spinning display (the kind that requires V-Hold adjustment).

After getting the spinning display, adjust your V-Hold knob on the front panel until the display locks into place.

At this point, you may want to play around with the pot next to it called V.Size until you get the vertical size up to a normal level (easiest done in Width 80). Once this is done, you can close up your monitor, and you’re done for the hardware!

— SONY –

The Sony monitor had an interesting display problem. At higher crystal values, the display would be readable, but hourglass-shaped when the CoCo was turned on. This was rectified as follows:

Open up the sony monitor. The back cover is held on by four screws, two on top and two on the bottom. Once the screws are loosened, take the cover completely off.

With the CoCo on, locate a hole on the image board (the most complex and largest one), marked “H.Sync”. It is near the front, and about halfway up.

Insert a small, straight-edged screwdriver into the hole and rotate until the hourglass suddenly pops out to a normal display. V.Sync, as you will see, automatically adjusts (it’s a MultiSync monitor… ).

Close the monitor, and you’re done with the hardware.

— OTHER MONITORS –

Generally, there are two values you will need to adjust. On both MultiSync and other monitors, you will need to adjust the Horizontal sync rate, commonly labeled as “H.Sync”, “H.Hold”, or “Horiz. S.”.

On NON-MultiSync monitors ONLY, you will also need to adjust “V.Sync”, “V.Hold”, or “Vert. S.”, otherwise known as the Vertical sync rate.

STEP 5: SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At this point, exclusive RS-DOS users can stop.

OS9 users, however, will experience a little bit of trouble. Because OS9 derives its CLOCK timing from the crystal oscillator’s fixed rate, the system clock, with a faster crystal, will run fast (the 38 MHz crystal causes about a 2 minute gain every five real minutes!). The remedy for this is the CLOCK module by Eddie Kuns, edition #9. This is a full-fledged GIME toggle clock, faster than the stock OS9 clock, and with versions for Disto and Burke and Burke RTC’s, so have no fear.

First thing you will need to do is go through the standard procedure for creating and OS9 bootfile (refer to the OS9 manual, and to the millions of documents telling you how to do so), replacing the standard Clock.60Hz with your appropriate version of the Clock #9 module (depending on whether you’re using a B&B, Disto, or software clock).

Boot with this new clock, and then, using modpatch (or for us Burke and Burke people, EZGen), you will need to change the clock module as follows:

1: Divide the value of the original crystal (28.63636) by 60.

2: Then, divide the value of your new crystal with this value.

3: Round it off to the nearest decimal number, and, using a calculator or computerese friend, convert it to hex.

4: Change the value at location $7B from $3C to the new value.

5: Do the cobbler thing, or for EZGeners or KWIKGeners, save the new Clock to your bootfile (or write the bootfile).

YOU ARE NOW DONE!

Enjoy.

NOTES
~~~~~

I was able to test so many crystals because I installed ALLIGATOR CLIPS into the solder pads that held the original crystal. Don’t solder and desolder this much on your motherboard, as you will certainly muck it up!

My system has the following hardware, which all function fine with a 38 MHz crystal and the OS9 mods installed:

CoCo3 Motherboard, PBJ 512k board with 100ns 41256 DRAMs
MPI, Upgraded for CC3 operation
Disto Super-Controller II
Disto 3-in-1 board
Burke and Burke Hard Disk Interface
Western Digital WD1002-27X RLL hard disk controller
CM-8 Monitor

All hard drives (SEAGATE ST4144R and NEC D5146) and floppy drives function properly, as well as do the modem, printer, and Puppo keyboard interface.

(singsong) THE END!

(- A. Hsiao, JZR@onlybbs.via.mind.org, also available on the OS9 Echo) ]]> http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/how-to-install-the-clock-speed-crystal-hack/feed 0 http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-11-os-9-application-programs http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-11-os-9-application-programs#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:17:58 +0000 Roger http://www.coco3.com/community/?p=24961

• Max9 OS-9 bitmap painting program
• Theo Thesaurus for OS-9. Load into basic09 and then ‘PACK’

List of Patches

This is a list of the patches/modifications that have been made to my stock OS-9 boot disk, including OS9Boot and Track 34 kernel modifications. None of these require a 6309.

• SCSISYS dismp.6809 and H0 added for SCSI hard drive
• patched level 2 version of PRINTERR added (original is level 1) – to function this required a SYS\ERRMSG on the DD drive. This feature requires that you run PRINTERR once before it starts to work. The utility was found in the IPATCH archive on RTSI.
• changed DD to be the hard drive using copy of H0 descriptor
• patched SCF to new SHELLPLUS2.2a requirements / SCF still seems buggy
• added WINDINT.IO and W8 through W15 for multiview (from multiview distribution disk)
• added VDGINT.IO for VDG games etc. (from original stock OS-9 boot disk)
• replaced CC3disk with Disto SC2 version
• Added 4n1 clock, parallel, p1 and t2 (non-slotted) driver for 4n1 serial port
• patched INIT so that it loads an external CC3go module from /dd/cmds/cc3go (ie hard drive); this saves system memory, this also took care of the next 2 steps
• patched INIT for hard drive boot by replacing /D0 with /DD – second D needs high 7 bit, so $C4 instead of $44, note this was taken care of by the external cc3go patch too
• patched offset $00C in INIT to $0C from $0F to fix a bug as outlined in SCSISYS manual, note this was taken care by the external cc3go patch too
• patched two instances of /H0 to /DD in the CC3go module
• patched BOOT module to turn off drive motor
• ran a MODPATCH script that came with KLONDIKE to turn all W* descriptors to 80 column hardware and then made a new OS9Boot file
• added RAM driver from development system
• added 192k Ram Disk .dd from development system as /R0
• added NIL .dd from development system
• added FT and FTDD modules from Flight Sim 2 boot disk
• added AGIVIRQdr and VI modules for King’s Quest III and Leisure Suit Larry compatibility
• patched WINDINT with a patch that came inside the SLED23 archive, apparently this fixes a well known bug with WINDINT
• patched GRFDRV with the speed upgrade patch, then patched gshell 1.24a to take advantage of these speedups as outlined in GRFDRV docs
• used a RELPATCH utility to change OS9Boot screen startup colors to blue and white and wrote a new kernel keeping in mind that extended ADOS switches these colors

Common OS-9 Pitfalls Checklist

Here is a checklist of common problems that I’ve experienced. The descriptions may not make a lot of sence to the beginning OS-9 user.

• Attributes not set properly; check that e and/or pe are set before running
• execution directory not properly selected
• runb not properly setup
• something holding down a joystick button which causes the keyboard not to respond
• tmode is set to pause, and OS-9 is waiting for a keypress to continue – even though it looks like it’s frozen
• old module/program loaded in memory is disallowing a newer version to be run off disk – check merged files etc.
• modules/crc errors are often the result of corrupt diskettes – backup often!!
• illegal service requests Error #208 – often result from wrong window types – ie executing a VDGINT program in a WINDOW instead of a type 1 screen
• multiview requires a CONTROL -E if you don’t run it right away – otherwise it seems to ignore your setup file

Creating a new runb

A new runb should be created in order to run Basic09 software. The new runb should be a merger created with the following command line:
merge runb syscall inkey gfx2>runb.new
Backup your original runb by renaming it to runb.tandy (or whatever). Then rename runb.new to runb and set its execute attributes.
Remember that if you upgrade any of these components in the future, you will need to make a new runb.

Updates to the GFX libraries

Many changes where made to the Basic09 libraries over the years – and you will need to update them in order to run many of the programs on RTSI. If you see a program’s documentation mentioning Kevin Darling’s updated GFX – these files will take care of that requirement. I have put them all into one archive and uploaded them to RTSI; again note the file will probably no longer be in the incoming directory when you go to download it:ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/GFX_Library_Enhancements_Complete.zip

Other Notes

Watch this space for a BASIC09 tutorial and command summaries. etc. Also, apparently there is an updated SYSCALL command somewhere – if someone has a copy please upload it to RTSI and let me know – thanks.Also coming eventually are ‘C’ and Pascal notes and tips.

Updated ‘C’ Libraries

ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/PROG/Cgfx_7.lzh – updated ‘C’ graphics library
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/PROG/Cgfx_7_doc.lzh
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/PROG/Cgfx_7_src.lzh ]]> http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-8-basic09-c-and-pascal-tips/feed 0 http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-6-multiview-gui-and-setup http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-6-multiview-gui-and-setup#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:13:53 +0000 Roger http://www.coco3.com/community/?p=24953

Multiview Notes

Multiview is the GUI which is compatible with OS-9 Level II on the Coco 3. It shipped on a single double-sided diskette. While somewhat primitive when compared to today’s GUIs, multiview becomes more functional when patched with the updates mentioned late r on in the tutorial.Here are some tips to keep in mind when setting up Multiview to work on a hard drive or another diskette:

• You must add the windint.io module to your os9boot file. The module is on the Multiview disk.
• If you copy the AUTOEX file off the Multiview disk into the CMDS directory of your startup disk, multiview will start-up before the shell does.
• Remember to edit the ENV.FILE which has to exist on your boot disk inside the SYS directory. Many of the options in this file can also be changed through the control panel – once you are running multiview, but you should change things like the executi on directory etc.
• if your mouse is not working properly, or you don’t have one hooked up to your system, you can use the CTRL-CLEAR key combination to turn on the keyboard mouse (ie arrow keys and F1 for button). Remember to turn it off if you need the arrow keys for s ome other function.
• in your startup file, be sure to merge the graphics files which multiview will need into memory, ie. include the line: MERGE STDFONTS STDPATS_4 STDPATS_16 STDPTRS after a CHD /DD/SYS (or however you need to point OS9 to the directory where these files are located).
• If you plan not to run multiview right away, and you want to start the SHELL first, be sure to include the command: CONTROL -E in your startup file. This prepared the environment for multiview’s eventual execution.

Setting up Icons:

An important thing to keep in mind when making icons is to remember to set the attributed on the involved file! Countless times I couldn’t figure out what the problem was with a specific icon with it only turning out to be the attributes set improperly. N o doubt by now you’ve often run into the same situation with general OS-9 use. Something I’ve done in order to organize my icons, is that I’ve made a AIF directory off the root of my hard drive, and I’ve placed all my icons in there. Then in multiview I set a new device called /DD/AIFS (go DISK->SET_DEVICES). An icon now sits on my desktop representing the /DD/AIFS directory. If I double-click on it I get a list of all my iconized programs.

Icon Archives on RTSI

Note: files in ‘incoming’ will probably have been moved elsewhere…
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/morE_icons_and_aifs.ar
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/Icons.icons.icons.ar
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/icons.lzh

Upgrading Multiview:

Multiview versions 1.24a and 1.25 are the most common updated versions of the GUI frontend. Below are the patch files which can be used to convert stock GSHELL into the newer versions. Please note that the 1.25 patch didn’t work for me – if you have better luck with it please let me know how you got it to work. Also note that anything pointing to the incoming directory will probably have been moved by the time you try and download it so you might have to do a little hunting on the RTSI site.

• Stock GSHELL to 1.24: ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/gshell1.ar
• 1.24 to 1.24a: ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/gshepatc.ar
• 1.24a to 1.25: ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/SYSMODS/GShell_1_25_patch.lzh

Note that there is also a 1.24 80 column patch on RTSI, but I found that (surprise surprise) it doesn’t work. So you’ll need to do the patch manually as outlined in the documentation by loading GSHELL into memory with ‘load’ then patching the byte with MODPATCH; then saving the new GSHELL to disk with SAVE. Also there is a version 3.2 on RTSI which is not (as far as I know) part of the main line of upgrades.

AIF File Format

When multiview runs across an AIF file, it will attempt to use it as a definition for an icon, simular to how ‘program manager’ in Windows 3.* displayed icons that did not directly represent the program itself (like the Mac does if you are not looking at an alias). I’ve often had quite a bit of trouble getting these things to work properly, and it usually comes down to the attributes not being set properly. I’ve even had situations where the attributes were set properly, but the AIF did not function until I set the attributes again! What I’ve consistently found it that neither execute attribute should be set on AIF files (which makes some sence, as they are not programs). Icon files, though, seem to want to have their execution attributes set positive.

AIF File Format
==============
PROGRAM_NAME
PARAMETERS_OR_LEAVE_BLANK
PATH_AND_NAME_OF_ICON_FILE
MEMORY_AMOUNT_0=default
SCREEN_TYPE_ex.7
SCREEN_WIDTH_ex.80
SCREEN_LENGTH_ex.24
BACKGROUND_PALETTE_REGISTER_ex.3
FOREGROUND_ex.2

Executing Procedure Files

At first I found executing procedure (ie batch) files from an icon inside multiview to be a pain. Then I realized I could use the ALIAS utility on RTSI to create a program which would execute the procedure file, and have the icon point to it instead. This has greatly simplified setting up games etc. and I don’t need to copy SHELL over and over.Let’s sat you wanted to run a procedure/batch file called YELP.BAT from an icon, and you have named the icon YELP. What I would do is type:
ALIAS YELP SHELL YELP.BAT
which creates a YELP program in your CMDS directory (make sure there is no program called YELP to begin with) which will run the YELP.BAT file via the SHELL.

Important ENV.FILE Settings

Here is a short listing of some of the ENV.FILE (in your SYS directory) functions:

• MONTYPE 0=comp 1=rgb 2=mono
• RAM 128/512
• PTRRES 1=lo res mouse/joystick,2=hi res pointer (requires tandy high res adapter)
• PTRSID 0=left joystick port 1=right
• EXE default execution directory
• RBFDEV /d0,/h0… devices on desktop as icons
• SCFDEV /p,/t1… devices supported by SCF

Most of these and other functions can be set by the CONTROL PANEL, however if you are moving multiview onto a hard drive, you will need to edit some of these with a text editor (like SLED) first.

Speed Boost

Grfdrv can be patched so that the updated GSHELL+ can noticeably speed up its screen draws. Follow the instructions in the archive carefully:ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/SYSMODS/grfdrv_XMas89_patch.lzh

16 Color Control Panel

An icon can be set up so that the control panel shows all 16 colors for editing. Compose an AIF file with the following contents:

Control

ICONS/icon.ctl
0
8
40
24
0
1

DON’T FORGET TO SET THE EXECUTE ATTRIBUTES!

Archiving Programs

LHA – for LZH archive files: note both program are required in order for the program to work.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/ARCHIVERS/lha211c.bin ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/ARCHIVERS/xlh.bin AR:
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/ARCHIVERS/ar2.bin ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/ARCHIVERS/ar2.doc

PAK:
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/PAK
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/PAK.doc

Unzip: This utility is compatible with the latest version of PKZIP (2.4g)! The patch fixes a minor bug.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/ARCHIVERS/UnZip_4_5b.lzh
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/ARCHIVERS/UnZip_4_5b_Patch_to_4_5c.lzh

SAVE: Allows you to save individual modules that are currently in memory. Great for making a new disk image of a recently patched module. Also important when using the IPATCH utility.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/save.lzh

PCDOS: Allows transfer between MS-DOS diskettes (and also Atari ST diskettes): requires SAVE and IPATCH (see above). Note: the Disto Super controller II’s custom module (CC3Disk replacement) is not compatible with this program, however you can stil l run OS-9 with the standard CC3disk and then switch back to the custom module when you’re finished with ‘PCDOS’.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/PCdos.lzh

DED: A file/disk zap/patch program. Requires paramater input in order to start – see the docs.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/dEd_3.lzh
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/dEd_Plus_1and2_Patch.lzh

Shell+ v2.2a: This is an absolute must have upgrade. Allows:

• improved communications between shells
• shell scripts can be placed in the CMDS directory for global execution
• user setable prompt with prompt command
• path redirection enhancements
• store scripts in memory as modules with DATAMOD command
• enhanced packed procedure calling in Basic09
• Logging of command line entries
• Shell variables and increment/decrement commands
• ‘pause’ will wait for key click or mouse click
• WILDCARDS!!!! Wild cards can be used with OS9 commands. One must remember to start the command line with a colon (:).
• if/then/else for scripts
• GOTO for scripts
• ONERR for scripts
• PATH= allows you to make a path list, ex. path=/h0/cmds /h2/cmds /dd/cmds
• enhanced security
• user startup script execution

You may need your MODPATCH command handy to install this one, also the IPATCH utility to upgrade to 2.2a. Don’t forget to set the attributes before putting SHELL on your boot drive, or the disk will become unbootable!
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/ShellPlus_2_1.lzh
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/ShellPlus_2_2a.lzh Copy: an upgrade of the stock version works great alongside the Shellplus upgrade. Includes * wildcard support.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/copy.lzh

Sled 2.3: An excellent full screen editor. Note – will probably have been moved into the APPS directory: ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/incoming/coco/Sledv23_text_editor.pak

CCTools: A shareware set of utilities that makes file management etc. easier to handle. This is similar to the DOSHELL ( or DOSSHELL – I forget) command on MSDOS machines. Requires an 80 column window – so may not be the greatest for television users.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/CCTools_1_0.lzh

Motor Off Patch: If you find that you disk drive’s motor is not turning itself off after a boot, use this patch. This is necessary if you have patched OS9 to boot off /DD or some device other than /D0. You won’t need a new OS9Boot, however you’ll n eed a new track 34 kernel. ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/SYSMODS/Boot_MotorOff_patch.lzh

Alias: Just like Unix/Linux ‘alias’ command in function.
ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/alias.lzh

External CC3Go Patch: This will modify the INIT module so that CC3Go does not have to be in your OS9Boot file, and can be stored in /DD/CMDS instead. This saves some precious memory:
Initpatch_external_cc3go.ar (probably no longer in the ‘incoming’ directory

MERGE fix: fixes the MERGE command to make it more reliable:
MergeV5-2copies.lha

• MSDOS diskette writer transfers files to/from OS-9 & PC floppies
• RSDOS diskette writer transfers files to/from OS-9 & Radio Shack DOS floppies
• ShellMate 1.0: an early version of the graphical Multiview file management system still available from Digital Frontier Productions. Somewhat buggy, very useful and free!

Anatomy of a Boot Disk:

In MSDOS you simply use the /s command behind a format (ie ‘FORMAT a: /s’) to make the disk bootable – unfortunately OS-9′s method is much more complicated. First of all recall that the boot program needs to be on track 34 in order for RSDOS’s ‘DOS’ comma nd to boot OS-9 (this is called the OS-9 Kernel).An OS-9 Level 2 Coco 3 boot disk needs to contain the following:

1) the OS-9 Kernel on track 34
2) a CMDS directory off the root directory
3) an OS9Boot file in the root of the boot disk. This file is a collection of all the modules that are needed to configure OS-9 to use your hardware. When making changes to OS-9 – these modules (and this file) are the frequent recipients of patches and mo difications. Note: this file must not be fragmented when it is saved to the disk, otherwise the disk will not boot.
4) a copy of SHELL and GRFDRV in the CMDS directory of the boot disk. These files must have their attributes set so that you can read/execute them (see the previous ATTRIBUTES section for more info).

OS-9 includes a COBBLER and OS9GEN command which are utilities you can use to make a new boot disk. I believe (I say believe – because I’ve never used these – I use KWIKGEN instead) COBBLER makes the track 34 information and will construct an OS9Boot file that is a copy of the modules which are currently in memory. OS9GEN wi ll construct the OS9Boot file by reading an ASCII file which lists the modules that are to be included in the final OS9Boot file. The config command on the second OS-9 diskette also comes in handy when generating a new boot disk – especially if you are ne w to OS-9. Config will built a text file called BOOTLIST which is simply a list of the required modules which will make up the new OS9Boot file. I think what happens next, is config will run OS9Gen to make the new OS9Boot file using the BOOTLIST file as i nput. ie: if you were on a second drive, preparing a new OS9Boot file for a disk in the first drive, config’s command to OS9Gen might look like: OS9Gen /d0<’ is a redirection sign and should be familiar to those who understand the working s of MSDOS and UNIX.

A tip that I’ve picked up is worth passing along at this point: put the OS9Boot file on your boot disk LAST. This will ensure that, should it grow in the future, it is unlikely to become fragmented. So the steps to a new boot disk should go something like this: 1) format a new floppy. 2) Make a CMDS directory. 3) Copy GRFDRV and SHELL into the CMDS directory. 4) Set their attributes so they can be executed (these attributes MAY already be set properly). 5) Copy any other utilities and OS-9 commands etc. e tc. you want on you boot disk onto the disk. 6) Write the OS9Boot file onto the disk and the track 34 kernel too with Cobbler or some other utility.

At this point I’d like to mention an excellent utility which I happen to have that has saved me from most of the headaches of making / modifying boot disks. It is called KWIKGEN and was sold at one point through Gale Force Enterprises. It is completely me nu driven and makes modifications to the boot disk a breeze. I believe there is a demo of it on the RTSI site with some of its functions disabled if you want to check it out (ftp: //os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/APPS/KwikGen_1_01_demo.lzh ). I’m not sure where to get your hands on a copy – there is always the used market – check the coco usenet group and the coco fests. Also Burke & Burke had a utility along the same lines w hich is probably now been re-released as shareware. Check for more information on the Coco homepage as well.

Allowing more RAM:

Programs will load with a default amount of RAM allocated for their ‘DATA’ area. You can use the IDENT utility to determine just how much the default is. The program can be loaded with more RAM then the default by specifying the amount of RAM on the comma nd line. For example typing ‘COPY #40K xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx’ greatly decreases the amount of disk swapping a user will need to do on a single disk system, because the COPY command has more space in which to store the information it is copying. If you get a 2 07 error you have spec’ed too much RAM.

Piping and Redirection

These both work very simular to MSDOS and Unix/Linux implementations.<: standard input path redirection, allows something other than the standard input device (usually the keyboard) to input information into a program. You can use this to have a text file, for example, automatically feed information into a program
>: standard output path redirection, allows the program’s output to be redirected
>>: error redirection, allows error messages to be redirected

An example: BASIC09<>>>/w1 would send a copy of basic09 to run in the w1 window/terminal. It would use W1 as it’s input and output and also display any errors on W1.

Pipes are acheived with the use of an exclamation mark (!). Pipes allow programs to directly communicate with each other, by using each other as input/output sources.

Forking / Multitasking

With the BASIC09 example above, the shell from which the command was typed would wait until execution of BASIC09 had finished, in order for the next command prompt to appear. However, by using the ‘&’ character, the program can be ‘forked’ so that it runs independently of the shell from which it started. For example: BASIC09<>>>/w1& would start BASIC09 in W1 and immediately allow the SHELL to continue on.to change between the windows that are running use the CLEAR key, or SHIFT-CLEAR to cycle through the windows backwards.

Command Line Organization

Brackets ‘(‘ ‘)’ can be used to organize the command line, and ‘;’ can be used to seperate commands which are to run in sequence. For example:
(dir /d0; dir /d1)&
would run both commands in the background – one after the other.
Using the EX command will exit a shell, and it can be put in front of a command in order to exit the shell before a new program is run. For example:
ex basic09
would exit the shell before basic09 is executed, thereby saving some memory (important in 128k systems).Using i=devicename makes a shell immortal – meaning OS9 will restart it after an exit.

Procedure / Batch Files

OS-9 allows procedure/batch files to be executed. It will look for them in the DATA directory, unless you are using shell+, in which case they can also be located in your execution directory. Batch files are simply a text file which lists a series of commands to be executed.

Autoexecution

If a program named AUTOEX exists in the default execution directory it will be run at bootup time. If a batch/procedure file named STARTUP exists in the root directory of the startup disk it will also be run on startup.

Attributes:

Several people can use an OS-9 system at the same time which gives rise to some security issues. You may not want everyone on an OS-9 system to be able to execute a certain program, or access a certain directory. OS-9 uses a series of file attributes (muc h like Unix/Linux does) to decide who has access to what. The way to check a file’s attributes and to make changes to them is with the command ‘ATTR’. ‘ATTR /d0/cmds/MERGE’ would return the attributes of the MERGE command, should it be in the /d0/cmds dir ectory. If it is not there, then ATTR will give an error (this is a good way to check if a file exists). When you ATTR a directory, part of the attributes should include a ‘D’. To allow a program to execute, it needs to have its execute attribute set. The re are two types of execute attributes. If you set the ‘public execute’ attribute anyone on the system can execute the program. If you set the regular execute attribute, anyone with your access level can execute the program. Pretend we just downloaded a p rogram (its name will be be ‘PROGRAM’) – we checked its attributes and they haven’t been set to execute. To set a public execute we type ‘ATTR /d0/PROGRAM PE’. To set a regular execute we type ‘ATTR /d0/PROGRAM E’ or we can do both at the same time by typ ing ‘ATTR /d0/PROGRAM E PE’. To remove an attribute add a minus to it ex: ‘ATTR /d0/PROGRAM -E’. Other attributes which can be set include the READ (‘R’) access and the WRITE (‘W’) access. These are also available in the PUBLIC versions (‘PR’, ‘PW’). So, in summary you can set E, PE, W, PW, R & PR on or off on a file. Also, the ‘S’ attribute sets a file into single user mode. IMPORTANT!!!: Not setting attributes properly is a common frustration that I ran into when learning OS-9 – especially when you’re pulling new utilities and stuff off the internet and unpacking them in a hurry to see what they do. DON’T FORGET TO SET TH E EXECUTE ATTRIBUTES!

Pausing the screen:

In MSDOS, if you want to pause – say a DIR before it scrolls off the screen you type ‘dir /p’ or you send dir through MORE with ‘dir|more’. In OS-9, to pause a screen you set a terminal attribute with the TMODE command. To cause the screen to pause, type ‘TMODE PAUSE’ then do what you want to do – you can leave the screen (your ‘terminal’) in pause mode without worrying about it – OS-9 will automatically pause your screen whenever necessary. Type ‘TMODE -pause’ to return to the free scrolling mode when yo u need to. CAUTION: OS-9 will sometimes appear to ‘hang’ or crash – when in reality it is simply waiting for a keypress because the pause mode was been turned on. This is a frequent source of new user frustration.

Breaking and Interrupting a program’s execution:

When a program is running – it can usually be stopped by pressing the red ‘Break/ESC’ key, or by typing a combination CTRL-E. Also refer to the KILL command outlined below. Pressing ‘shift- break’ or CTRL-C will ‘interrupt’ a program – giving you a comman d prompt, while OS-9 continues to run the program in the original program in the background. CTRL-D will redisplay the command line you are working on.

The SHELL game:

A common thing to do under the Microsoft Windows operating environments is to start a DOS window. Really what is happening when this occurs is windows runs a program called COMMAND.COM. This program is then exited by the user typing the command ‘EXIT’. If you have a windows machine handy try opening a DOS windows and typing in the command ‘COMMAND’. Then type ‘EXIT’. The DOS window is still there because, essentially it was running two copies of COMMAND.COM, and you only exited one of them – leaving the o riginal still running. The COMMAND.COM program is a program called a SHELL for the MSDOS operating system – essentially is gets a user’s typed in command and figures out what to do with it. When you typed in the command ‘COMMAND’ you simply started a SHEL L running inside a SHELL. This sounds complicated at first but when you start working with operating systems like Unix/Linux or, ahem, OS-9 you see how this concept can be used to create a multiuser / multitasking type of environment.At the OS-9 prompt try typing in the command ‘SHELL’ – what happens is exactly what happened when you typed COMMAND in at the DOS Window – there are now 2 copies of SHELL running – one inside the other. In fact the first one has stopped running temporaril y as it waits for the second copy to end it’s execution. Type ‘EX’ – the equivalent of MSDOS’s ‘EXIT’ to stop the second SHELL – we are now at the first/original shell again. When you run any other program in OS-9, or MSDOS for that matter, the SHELL (com mand.com in MSDOS’s case) will suspend it’s execution and wait for the program to finish before resuming what it was doing. Type in the command ‘PROCS’ and see what happens. A list of programs that are running should show up on your screen – including the number of copies of shell which are in memory and the PROCS command itself (it is running at the time the list is being generated after all). If for some reason a program gets out of hand, you can use the KILL command followed by the ID # of the process (read off the PROCS results) to stop it from running. This will come in handy later on when we start running several programs at the same time – without each of them waiting for the other.

A first taste of Coco multitasking:

Warning: This section assumes you have the same W7 descriptor on your boot disk that I do on mine. It probably won’t work if our W7′s don’t match. Try experimenting with another W# instead.Several shells can be made to run beside each other in Windows and from each of these shells you can start entirely different programs running. For example, one shell can start the format command to format a floppy disk, while another shell starts a termi nal program to read your email, while another shell has started Flight Simulator flying. Type in this command: ‘SHELL <>>>/W7&’ What we have done is we have sent a copy of SHELL to run in another ‘WINDOW’ – a window called W7. We’ve also told the current shell to keep running instead of waiting for the new shell by adding a ‘&’ to the end of the line. Now press the ‘CLEAR’ key to move back and forth between the two shells. Unfortunately for television users, this new window is likely an 80 column one whic h will be difficult to read. RGB monitor users will want to type in the command ‘MONTYPE RGB’ to avoid the ugly composite color translation and instead be greeted with a yellow on blue screen. Every time you press ‘CLEAR’ you move to a different window. T ry doing different things in each of the windows – have some fun! You can ‘close off’ either of the windows by typing ‘EX’ at the shell of the window you want to close.

While you can send a SHELL to run in a new window, you can also send a program to start in another window as well. Also see more about managing windows later on in the tutorial, if you are having problems with window setups.

Where are the wildcards?:

MSDOS and Unix users will be very familiar with the power of the * in a command line. This is called a wild card as it specifies any file that matches the rest of the criteria in the command line. Wild cards are unfortunately missing in stock OS-9, but ag ain not to fear – there are several ways to implement wild cards into OS-9. First is the shareware utility WILD and MV by Burke & Burke (see the Coco homepage for more information – $5). WILD simply requires that if you use a wildcard, that you start the line with the WILD command. For example the following MSDOS command: ‘DEL c:\*.txt a:\*.txt’ would become ‘WILD DEL /h0/*.txt’ – not a bad compromise. Another approach is to use commands which accomplish the equivalent of a wildcard operation. For example , wildcards are often used to copy an entire directory (ex. MSDOS ‘copy *.* a:\’). Under OS-9 commands such as DIRCOPY are available which accomplish the same thing. The last option is to use the freeware Shell Plus 2.2a upgrade which has been mentioned a lready – it incorporates wild cards into the upgraded shell.

Can you repeat that?

‘CTRL-A’ allows you to automatically repeat the last line. Even better – if you install Shell Plus 2.2a you will get the full use of the cursor keys to page back through the command line history similar to the DOSKEY utility under MSDOS (some UNIX shells offer this as well). ]]> http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-3-attributes-shells-multitasking-etc/feed 0 http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-1-introduction-to-os-9-hardware-required-procuring-os-9 http://www.coco3.com/community/2009/10/part-1-introduction-to-os-9-hardware-required-procuring-os-9#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:03:38 +0000 Roger http://www.coco3.com/community/?p=24935

What will you need to run OS-9?:

Essentially what you need to run OS-9 depends upon the version you wish to use. Level I OS-9 will run on Cocos 1 through 3 (although for the Coco 3 I believe it needs to be Level 1 version 2.00 minimum). Level II OS-9 – the version covered by this web pag e will require a Coco 3 with the standard 128k RAM although a minimum of 256k is highly recommended. Both Levels I and II were available for many other machines besides the Coco, so make sure the version you get is specifically written for the Coco. There are many differences between Level I and II of OS-9, but essentially Level II is able to take advantage of the extra memory available in the Coco 3 (up to 2 Mb) and also makes use of the Coco 3′s much improved text display and graphic capabilities. Level II can further be upgraded with Nitros-9 and Level III from Farna Systems (more on that later). From here on this document refers exclusively to the Level II OS-9 that was released with the Coco 3. I would love to play around with Level 1 some day but wo uld like to first find some of the hardware of that era to play with (WordPak, OPak etc) before doing a similar web page for it. It should be noted that Level I and II share many of these concepts & command structures.Since OS-9 is a disk operating system, it follows that a disk drive is another minimum requirement. Although OS-9 will function with only one single sided drive (including the older 35 track variety), a couple double sided drives (ie 40 track – 360k each) would make things much more comfortable. OS-9 can directly support the 720k 80 track 3.5″ drives that were used during the 286 era in PC compatibles. 720k is a considerable amount of space under OS9 and such a drive can possibly eliminate the need for a hard drive for someone with just a casual interest in OS-9. Currently on my system are both a 360k double sided 5.25″ floppy and a 720k floppy.

Insight #1: Adding a 720k floppy to your Coco greatly simplifies the trading of files with your PC. OS-9 can directly read MS-DOS disks with a special utility, and the PC has several emulators and utilities which will allow it to read/write to C oco disks. 5.25″ disks can also be used for this, however PC’s have not shipped with 5.25″ disks as standard for many years now and I simply find the 3.5′s to be more reliable for transfer purposes.

A hard drive is highly recommended for use with OS-9 as well. Some of the common options for OS-9 hard drives on the Coco include the following:

1. Burke & Burke’s Coco XT Hard Drive Interface: this interface card requires a multipak interface and is usually inserted into slot 3. It’s a rather bulky card, but was extremely inexpensive at the time it was released. It interfaces with the ver y old MFM style hard drives that were common in the IBM XT and I believe the AT used them as well (I swear I had to use one in a 386 a long time ago too). I own one of these and have it hooked up to a 20Mb Seagate drive. Performance is quite acceptable wh en compared to floppy drives, however it is nowhere near what I achieve with the SCSI interface. Considering these units are going extremely inexpensively in the Coco used market (especially the drives which can usually be had for the asking) this may be an excellent setup to get your hands on if you just want to experiment occasionally with OS-9.
2. Disto SCSI adapters: this is the other interface card I currently own (until my IDE adapter arrives). Several versions were sold throughout the years – all essentially are expansion cards that either require a Disto floppy drive controller with a mini internal expansion bus (Super Controller I or II) or an expansion bus card adapter. The SCSI/SASI adapter could either be purchased by itself or in a ’4-in-1′ card along side a serial port, parallel port and real time clock (RTC). I think there wa s also a version with the SCSI controller and just a parallel port etc. etc. The 4n1, along with the Super Controller II are an excellent set-up for using OS-9. The Super Controller II in particular – because it was one of the few disk controllers made fo r the coco that offered no halt performance (you don’t have to wait for disk access to stop before typing on your keyboard – on a regular controller, you could type ahead too, but the results were sometimes dissappointing and characters are often lost). S omething the Super Controller I had that the Super Controller II didn’t – is a ROM selector, which is nice if you also run Radio Shack DOS (standard disk basic / RSDOS) but useless if you only run OS-9, since OS-9 is entirely RAM based anyway. I currently have a 130Mb Quantum drive hooked up to the SCII/4n1. The Disto SCSI controller could also be used with RSDOS by using either Hyper-IO or RGB-DOS.
3. Kenton SCSI controller: another SCSI controller that was available. This one seems to have an excellent reputation in the coco community. I think it implemented more of the SCSI interface protocol than the 4n1 did. RGBDOS was available for the Kenton (for RSDOS use).
4. The Eliminator: was marketed by a company called Frank Hogg Labs. I believe it was SCSI based as well, and also included the serial port etc. that the 4n1 does. To the best of my knowledge, there is no option for using this setup with RSDOS.
   This note from Curtis Boyle: Not a SCSI interface. MFM using a WD1002-xx controller (could use several), and with the -05 model, up to 3 120MB max MFM hard drives, and 4 720K floppies (all no-halt). A small satellite board could be built to handle 1.44MB floppies as well. It also came with 6552 chip, which is a dual ACIA chip (two full ports), with baud rates up to 38.4Kbd, and without the CD/DTR bugs the 6551 (Radio Shack, etc.) had. Also had a real Parallel port (possibly bi-directional, though can’t remember) based on a 6821 PIA). Also had an auto boot ROM socket (jumpers could select any of the 3 hard drives or the 4 floppies for your boot device), and a real-time clock socket. If you could get it set up with a regular RS disk controller, you could conceivably have a fairly expanded system WITHOUT the need for a multi-pak or similiar device.
   Thanks Curtis!
5. Several companies sold their own set-ups and interfaces which could be used with OS-9. Some of these included OWLWARE and RGB Systems.
6. The Radio Shack hard drive interface: Radio Shack itself briefly sold a hard drive interface for the Coco, however it was not on the market for long, and I believe it is extremely limited in what drives it will work with (ie. I think only with Model III/IV RS drives).
7. IDE Interface: By the time you read this the Glenside Coco Club in Chicago will have made available their IDE interface. This is probably the best bet for current Coco users for many reasons. First of all the interface is being supported. Secon dly the hardware is new and has not been abused etc. Thirdly, IDE drives are in abundance – in fact you might have a couple lying around your own computer room from a previous upgrade, that could be attached to the Coco. Check for a link to the IDE homepa ge on the Coco homepage for more information.
8. Cloud-9′s SCSI Interface: by the time you read this Cloud-9 should have released it’s brand new SCSI Interface. Apparently it is a REAL 100% capable implementation of SCSI and includes parity capability. This will allow the Cloud-9 board to dri ve the SCSI version of the ZIP drive from Iomega. This may be the ideal solution for those people who want to add a hard drive to their Coco but could also benefit their PC/Mac setup by adding a ZIP drive to the computer room.This is by no means a complete list of hard drive options, but it covers the major ones which come to mind at the time of writing. If you choose a SCSI drive, you might want to check out the SCSI drivers that Burke & Burke has re-released into shareware. Personally I am using the SCSISYS 2.2 system by Matthew Thompson which was purchased commercially. You might try contacting Farna systems for a copy. Also check the RTSI FTP site for an older version of this software which is either shareware or freeware:ftp://os9archive.rtsi.com/OS9/OS9_6X09/SYSMODS/SCSI_System_1_0.lzh
   

   ---

   Other hardware which comes in handy with OS-9:

   RS-232 packs: allow the more reliable use of modems and terminals then the built in ‘bit banger’ printer port does. Terminals allow more than one user to use the Coco at a single time. There is also a 16550 UART based serial port for the coco on th e market from CoNect (see the homepage)- which allows the use of 56k modems on the Coco!No halt disk controllers: I’m familiar with only 2 that were introduced, the Disto Super Controller II (SC2) and one from Sardis Technologies. No halt disk controllers greatly improve OS-9′s response to user input when disk access is occuring. With other disk controllers the keyboard is more or less ignored during disk access which makes typing on a multiuser system quite awkward. This is much less of an issue on a setup that has a hard drive, since the floppy is seldomly accessed in this situation .

   Hi-res joystick/mouse interface: this is a little adapter that was sold by radio shack to increase the resolution of the Coco’s joysticks and mouse. This comes in handy when using the OS-9 GUI (Multiview) and other apps as well. A mouse is more int uitive too when working with gui applications then a joystick.

   Monitor: A tv set will definitely work with OS-9. However, the thrill of seeing the Coco competently generate an 80 column screen after all those years of suffering the 32 column blues is worth every penny of the cost of a decent monitor. A monitor information page is something that the Coco homepage is planning on incorporating into its menu soon. Keep in mind a black and white composite monitor will also work well with the Coco 3 and OS-9.

   256K, 512K, 1Mb RAM and 2MB RAM upgrades: 256k upgrades were sold by Burke & Burke (called the Quarter Meg cards). I have one of these and it makes for a Coco with enough RAM to comfortably run OS9. 512K upgrades were sold by almost every major ven dor at one time or another. Check the Coco homepage for information on Cloud-9′s excellent new SIMM based 512k upgrade. 1MB and 2Mb upgrades were offered by CRC / Disto. I currently have the 1Mb upgrade which requires extensive soldering work to be done o ver top of the CPU. OS-9 (with the proper drivers for ram over 512k) will make use of all RAM up to 2Mb. The big news of course is that Cloud-9 will probably have introduced their brand new 2Mb SIMM based upgrade by the time you read this. Check the homep age for more info.

   Hitachi 6309 CPU upgrade: upgrading your processor to the Hitachi 6309 opens up a number of interesting performance enhancement possibilities under OS-9 – most significantly the Nitros-9 software package (check the homepage for the URL of the Nitro s homepage). More on this later…

   ---

   How to Procure OS-9:

   OS-9 can still be purchased from Radio Shack directly, however the process is tricky and outrageously expensive considering how long it’s been off the shelves. Essentially it requires ordering out of a parts catalogue and the Coco Homepage has more inform ation on how this can be done. More commonly OS-9 can be purchased used for a couple bucks from someone on the internet or you can pick it up at a garage sale / flee market. Several vendors are listed on the Coco homepage that still offer OS-9 for sale ei ther brand new or reused and this may be the best way to get your own copy. The reason I strongly suggest you go about getting OS-9 the proper (read legal) way versus the improper (read pirating) method is because of the manuals. Quite simply, they are in dispensable when it comes to understanding OS-9 and its companion Basic09; remember this stuff comes from a time period before using software was simply a matter of point and shoot.Insight #2: CoNect, a coco software/hardware vendor is offering an OS-9 Level 2 bundle for coco 3 users. The package includes OS-9 L2, Basic09, Multiview GUI, 6 Tandy applications, PD stuff, and the system is patched and set-up for 512k cocos fo r $44.95.

   OS-9 should come with 2 diskettes: the “System Master” disk and the “Boot/Config/Basic 09″ disk. If you also bought Multiview – it should come with one double sided disk. If you have a chance to purchase the OS-9 Development System you should do so, as it includes an assembler/editor/debugger, several important utilities, and it is required by many other OS-9 languages such as Microware’s ‘C’.

Is there a way to mount the .vhd images from both computers so I can do a simple copy from one to the other?

Thanks.

If additional video hardware was emulated, would there any bits/bytes left over for additional video modes?

i.e.:

nitros9project031809.zip

I hate how Internet Exploder tries to overwrite and Firefox just appends a (2) onto the end of the filename in the Downloads Directory.

Just a suggestion.

Thanks,

Williiam H. Carlin, Jr.

I was thinking that you could just merge two image files together and then modify the /h0 device driver to point to where the second image begins and then re-save it as /h1. However I do not know how to create a .vhd image without the 255 RS-DOS disks. I did find some blank .vhd images of various sizes on the Super CoCo Archive DVD that would be prime candidates for a second virtual hard drive.

Thanks for any help.

William

[code:1:d5a8811c1f]
{W7|05}/DD dir /h0 -e

Directory of /h0 2009/01/27 11:18

Owner Last Modified Attributes Sector Bytecount Name
----- ---------------- ---------- ------ --------- ----
0 2009/01/21 02:32 d-ewrewr 158 14E0 CMDS
0 2008/11/05 21:10 d-ewrewr 69D 680 DEFS
0 2009/01/19 11:35 d-ewrewr C91 940 DOWNLOADS
0 2008/09/11 18:20 d-ewrewr 134 160 LIB
0 2006/08/11 18:57 d-ewrewr 8CE 60 NITROS9
0 2009/01/20 02:00 d-ewrewr 8CB 140 SCRIPTS
0 2009/01/21 16:42 d-ewrewr 607 580 SYS
0 2009/01/17 02:52 d-ewrewr 132 320 TMP
0 2008/11/19 01:32 d-ewrewr C94 200 USR
0 2009/01/27 11:45 ----r-wr 1C7 7AC5 OS9Boot
0 2009/01/21 22:37 ----r-wr 1C6 2A1 StartUp
0 2009/01/27 11:46 -----ewr 12B 1C5 SysGo
[/code:1:d5a8811c1f]

[code:1:d5a8811c1f]
{W6|06}/DD:ls -l /h0
Owner Created Last Modified Link Attributes Sector ByteCount Name
----- ---------- ---------------- ---- ---------- ------ --------- ----
0 08/11/2006 01/21/2009 02:32 1 d-ewrewr 159 5344 CMDS
0 08/11/2006 11/05/2008 21:10 1 d-ewrewr 69E 1664 DEFS
0 09/03/2008 01/19/2009 11:35 1 d-ewrewr 3759 2368 DOWNLOADS
0 09/11/2008 09/11/2008 18:20 1 d-ewrewr EA0 352 LIB
0 08/11/2006 08/11/2006 18:57 1 d-ewrewr 8CF 96 NITROS9
0 09/04/2008 01/20/2009 02:00 1 d-ewrewr D21 320 SCRIPTS
0 08/11/2006 01/21/2009 16:42 1 d-ewrewr 608 1408 SYS
0 09/08/2008 01/17/2009 02:52 1 d-ewrewr E80 800 TMP
0 09/04/2008 11/19/2008 01:32 1 d-ewrewr 37CF 512 USR
0 01/18/2009 01/27/2009 11:45 1 ----r-wr 9AE8 31429 OS9Boot
0 01/18/2009 01/21/2009 22:37 1 ----r-wr 1F1B 673 StartUp
0 05/26/2008 01/27/2009 11:46 1 -----ewr 2F5 453 SysGo
[/code:1:d5a8811c1f]

Here are the relevant sections of code:

snippet of "lsdefs.h"
[code:1:d5a8811c1f]
#inlcude
#include
#include
...
#define NOTFOUND -1
[/code:1:d5a8811c1f]

"filestruc.h"
[code:1:d5a8811c1f]
typedef struct {
char lsn[3];
unsigned len;
} FD_SEG;

typedef struct {
char attr;
unsigned owner;
char date[5];
char link;
long size;
char create[3];
FD_SEG segment[48];
} FD;
[/code:1:d5a8811c1f]

snippet of "getdir.c"
[code:1:d5a8811c1f]
...
#inlcude "lsdefs.h"
#include "filestruc.h"
extern FD fildes;
GetDir(dname,name)
char *dname,*name;
{
int path;
struct registers reg;
...
regs.rg_a = path;
regs.rg_b = SS_FD;
regs.rg_x = &fildes;
regs.rg_y = 256;
if((_os9(I_GETSTT, &regs)) == NOTFOUND)
printf(SS_FD error #%d\\n", errno);
...
}
[/code:1:d5a8811c1f]

snippet of "extenddir.c"
[code:1:d5a8811c1f]
...
#include "filestruc.h"
...
extern FD fildes;

ExtendDir(name)
char *name;
{
long sector;

l3tol(&sector, fildes.segment[0].lsn, 1);
...
printf ("%6lX", sector);
}
[/code:1:d5a8811c1f]

The code looks correct to me. It follows the guidelines laid out in the C Compiler manual for OS9 system calls. And more importantly the structure of the data packet and loading of the registers correlate with what is in the OS9 Reference for the I_GETSTT call. Yet, clearly there is something wrong with the computing of the starting sector.

Any ideas would be helpful as I would like to extend the functionality of this program to include more of the features that I find useful under GNU/Linux.

Thanks,

William

Thanks,

Tim Fadden

I am trying to create an archive of an entire directory path. Ie: /h0/usr/username

I cant seem to get any of the archivers to work recursivly. I have tried ar, ar2, lzh, unlzh.

What I think should have worked is:
cd /h0/usr/username
ls -ru ! ar2 -uz ../username.ar

It churns a long time, finally corrupts the screen and all I ever get is the first to regular files in the archive. Dosn’t know what to do with directories I guess.

Is there an archiver for coco os9L2 that knows how to handle directories? It needs to be able to unarchive it cross platform.

Thanks!

Tim Fadden

I got NitrOS9 6309 up and running on my system, and I have a few questions.

For one thing I notice that multitasking is not usable when doing some functions. IE. It is just about impossible to type in another window when something is going on in another like a dsave, or format. Previously I could smoothly do things in several windows. Also if trying to do anything while formatting a floppy, the format gets corrupted. Another problem is the serial port when using tsmon from another computer. Previous to nitros I could connect at 4800baud and use zmodem to download files to the coco with no errors, or retrys. No with the sc6551.dr and T2.dd drivers I cannot download at all The download will start, and some times I get some of the file to H0, but it always locks up the connection, and the only way to restore is to kill rz, shell and tsmon, and restart tsmon. I can then get my connection back.

Is this normal operation for Nitros9? A problem with SCF? or what?

Any comment will be appreciated.

512k coco3, Disto super II with 4in1, No multipak.

Thanks!
Tim Fadden

IE, download .dsk images to my os9 systems hard drive, and then create a real disk from the image, or mount the image directly.

I can get them on the hard drive, but they are useless unless I can write a disk, or access the files.

Thx

Tim fadden

I am running a real coco 3 and want to update the clock/date/settime modules and utilities.

Hardware: disto 4in1, 512k coco3 with 6309. puppo keyboard adapter, 2 105mb hd’s 2 40tk 2sided floppys and one 3.1/2 80tk floppy – NO multipak

Using standard os9 with scsisys 1.1 hd driver and many updated modules/commands for 6309 shell2.1 etc. Over 400 cmds in the cmds directory, and after 10+ years in mothballs, I don’t remember exactly which ones are stock, and which are original! ha ha ha

Question 1, can I run nitros9 clock modules/cmds with out a full blown os9 kernel etc.

Question2, Also it appears that the current nitros9 dist. is only on disk images, and is designed for emulators. Is there a version available for nitros designed for REAL hardware not on disk images? I would be willing to pay someone to send me disks.

Any general pointers in getting the clock working properly for 2008 will be appreciated! I can hack programs, but I am not a programmer. I read the text on one clock module at rtsi where he said he wacked sector 0 on his hard drive, and it got me a little leary on trying clock modules willy nilly!

Thanks in advance.

Time Fadden

I’ts been about 10 years since I’ve worked with my real coco3. I remember how to create new boot disks using config and later, scripts when I discovered that config was just a front end for os9gen.

However if I remember correctly you needed to create the new boot on a new disk because two modules are written directly to the disk (OS9p1 and something else? REL maybe?) and then OS9Boot needs to reside in Sector 0 for the disk to boot properly.

Anyways, thought I would post the question before I start trashing virtual hard drive images.

Thanks in advance. Any help is appreciated.

Will

More specifically I am looking for information on how to modify the command line once you “recall” it with the up or down arrows. I know you can use the left/right arrow keys to move one character at a time. I also know you can use Shift – left/right arrow keys to move to the beginning and end of the line respectively. I would like to know if I can insert characters into the currently recalled command line and if so, what key combinations to use. Most of my typing mistakes in OS9 usually deal with information that I neglected to put on the commnd line or I have misspelled something with fewer letters than what is required and then have to retype the rest of the line from the mistake onwards.

I also would like to know if it is possible to insert a cr/lf in the prompt= line to allow for a multi-line prompt.

Thanks in advance. Any help is appreciated.

I need to remove them to have more memory to run cc1 C compiler in a coco 2.

Thank you

Jorge Machin

my other question is that i read somewhere that its possible to telnet into the coco3 with another computer by using the shell command on the coco3 is the reverse possible?

Thanks.

- a su command in a rainbow magazine article.

- a login command in cmds directory

- a /sys/password file to set user’s names and passwords (login command read this file).

- attr command to establish permissions.

Now, my next goal is to have a login prompt when I boot NitrOS-9, so I can validate my users and don’t let sombody use the computer if he does not known the user and the password. I think I have to modify sysgo. Can I use the login command instead shell in the sysgo module? Is there an easier way to have a login prompt at boot? Somebody do this in the past? Is there a whoami command?

Yes I know that having a login prompt does not necessary make my computer more secure because my hd is not encrypted, but in this way I force me to avoid erase files accidentally or running reserved commands.

Thanks

Jorge Machin

NitrOS-9 Level 1 Users: If you are using NitrOS-9 Level 1 on a Color
Computer 3 or a Color Computer 2 with true lowercase, the following
commands will make true lowercase appear on the 32×16 VDG
screen:

tmode upc=0 par=1
display e

If your Color Computer supports true lowercase, then the output of
commands will show true lowercase instead of inverse uppercase
characters

But that doesn’t works in my machine. Do I missed something?

Thanks
Galapas . Bill

P.S. If anyone has them… I also need the multi issue series on MVSHell. I have the following ones on DoMenu but not the original MVShell issues (all in the KISSable OS9 sections)

I know it’s tough putting together a manual for all this stuff but the least the programmers should keep a running tally of changes/rewrites (history) of the code. I see things in this boot that in my last boot, the same files are later versions. There are so many revisions of modules floating around that finding the right ones is like shooting at bugs in a barrel of hand-grenades.

Galapas / Bill

Galapas / Bill

The RSDOS partition seems to work OK ( I got a menu from the autoexec file), but when I boot nitros9 I get garbage in the screen. When I boot the NitrOS9boot.os9 (as a floppy) I get the same garbage in the screen. I don’t think that the NitrOS9 boot disk image is damaged. Do you have any ideas?

Thanks

Jorge

So can this be done?

Thanks
Galapas / Bill

cmdgen bell

You would be given a prompt, at which you could:
display 1b 07

cmdgen embed the shell line in an executable, saved in you cmds directory, so if you type:
bell

It would sound the tone on your monitor. Because the shell lines were embedded in a real executable, they could be loaded too.

I do want things such as realtime clock support and y2k support, perhaps the extended device window descripters from Multi-View.

The 6809 and 6309 processors seem different enough that the virtual boots seem non-interchangable.

{I know that a lot of work went into keeping NitrOS9 up to date, but I’m not sure all is rosey. As posted in another thread, I noticed that the OS9 tmode command had been radically altered, breaking syntax, breaking my program. It’s not a big issue, but it means that I would need 2 versions.]

I guess, what I’m asking is for a standard.

PROCEDURE test
0000 SHELL “tmode -echo”
000F SHELL “tmode echo”
001D END

In Nitros9, it seems that I can’t use tmode in this way, has anyone seen this problem before? It seems to happen at the command prompt too, outside basic.

I did a test, mounting the original system masters. The bug only seems to exist in Nitro9, and it seems to exist in the tmode command.

Tmode works fine from the original os9 .dsks.

It would be very nice if its possible to setup a paging file on a hard drive and be able to run programs in OS-9 that are larger than can fit inside of 128k or 512k (> 64k on a coco2 hopefully? )

I’m just starting to read up on OS-9 and the OS-9 C compiler manual looks very promising as far as being able to present a mostly UNIX style interface to a K&R style C program, including many UNIX system calls and a good C standard library.

I would like to try and put together an OS-9 Distro that has a lot of common UNIX tools. but I fear that only really old or hand coded stuff will work with the limited memory
available. It would be nice to get certain curses applications running (is there a curses library for OS-9?, does the console implement any particular terminal type?)

Actually What I really would like to work on would be a networking library for OS-9 that sends calls to the sockets library running on a PC over a serial line. and of course a few standard UNIX network applications to go with it some thing like telnet would be a good start.

-HJR

http://www.nitros9.org/

Thanks.

If anyone requires help in this general area I might be able to help while the project is still fresh in my mind.

Warning: It works with a U.S. keyboard, but I am still having problems with foreign keyboards.

A CoCo3 running OS-9 L.2 with a 720k floppy and software to read and write MSDOS 720k diskettes. Serial port is dead.

A PC with a floppy running OS-9 L.2 in the M.E.S.S. CoCo3 emulator running under Linux.

A utility running under OS-9 or Linux that reads/writes from the .VHD image to/from Linux/MSDOS files would be a good solution, but I haven’t found one.

Any ideas?

thanks
joddie

6809 C Compiler based on gcc 3.4.6

http://www.oddchange.com/main/?cat=19

Tim S

Could someone possibly post the bytes for these two sectors as I am very far away from the original 5.25 disks. I don’t think it would violate the licensing agreement inasmuch as I am already a licensee. Or if more discretion is needed I could give an email address.

Addr 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F 0 2 4 6 8 A C E
—- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —————-
0000 204E 414D 4558 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 NAMEXXXXXXXXXXX
0010 A4A4 A446 4952 5354 204E 414D 4558 5858 $$$FIRST NAMEXXX
0020 5858 0D0A A4A4 434F 4D50 414E 5920 4E41 XX..$$COMPANY NA
0030 4D45 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 MEXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
0040 5858 5858 0D0A A4A4 5048 4F4E 4531 5858 XXXX..$$PHONE1XX
0050 5858 5858 5858 5858 A4A4 5048 4F4E 4532 XXXXXXXX$$PHONE2
0060 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 0D0A A4A4 454D XXXXXXXXXX..$$EM
0070 4149 4C58 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 AILXXXXXXXXXXXXX
0080 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
0090 580D 0AA4 A441 4444 5245 5353 5858 5858 X..$$ADDRESSXXXX
00A0 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
00B0 5858 580D 0AA4 A443 4954 592D 5354 4154 XXX..$$CITY-STAT
00C0 452D 5A49 5058 5858 5858 5858 5858 5858 E-ZIPXXXXXXXXXXX
00D0 5858 5858 580D 0A0D 0A7A 0000 0000 0000 XXXXX….z……
00E0 8A1C 4000 0000 0000 8E43 5000 0000 0000 ..@……CP…..
00F0 9174 2400 0000 0000 9418 9680 1AB6 120D .t$……….6..

Addr 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F 0 2 4 6 8 A C E
—- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —————-
0100 18C5 1020 0F3A 0FC0 0FC5 9D1E 049D 1E02 .E. .:.@.E……
0110 9D1E 009D 2100 9D24 009D 2404 9D24 029D ….!..$..$..$..
0120 2A02 9D1E 0A9D 1E06 9D21 029D 2106 9D21 *……..!..!..!
0130 049D 240A 9D24 0C9D 2408 9D2A 0000 7202 ..$..$..$..*..r.
0140 0101 5041 5241 CD02 0154 5950 C503 0144 ..PARAM..TYPE..D
0150 49CD 0401 4441 54C1 0501 5354 4FD0 0601 IM..DATA..STOP..
0160 4259 C507 0154 524F CE08 0154 524F 46C6 BYE..TRON..TROFF
0170 0901 5041 5553 C50A 0144 45C7 0B01 5241 ..PAUSE..DEG..RA
0180 C40C 0152 4554 5552 CE0D 014C 45D4 0F01 D..RETURN..LET..
0190 504F 4BC5 1001 49C6 1101 454C 53C5 1201 POKE..IF..ELSE..
01A0 454E 4449 C613 0146 4FD2 1401 4E45 58D4 ENDIF..FOR..NEXT
01B0 1501 5748 494C C516 0145 4E44 5748 494C ..WHILE..ENDWHIL
01C0 C517 0152 4550 4541 D418 0155 4E54 49CC E..REPEAT..UNTIL
01D0 1901 4C4F 4FD0 1A01 454E 444C 4F4F D01B ..LOOP..ENDLOOP.
01E0 0145 5849 5449 C61C 0145 4E44 4558 49D4 .EXITIF..ENDEXIT
01F0 1D01 4FCE 1E01 4552 524F D21F 0147 4F54 ..ON..ERROR..GOT

Thanks.

Thanks.

drv=01 stp=00 typ=80 dns=01 cyl=100 sid=01 vfy=00 sct=00ff tos=0012 ilv=03 sas=20

Don’t ask why, it was done years ago and I don’t remember. It worked with the Vavasour emulator. So now I need the values for the coco3.vhd so I can change the device descriptor and format the VHD. Can someone provide them? I understand that there is a h0.dd from Alan DeKok that works, but at this point I am working with a very limited 160k virtual floppy boot disk and don’t have much room to play with. Also I am far away from my OS-9 manuals.

Thanks.

# SDL KEYBOARD MAPPING
#
keymap 0
keymap_file keymap.dat
uimodekey ITEM_ID_SCRLOCK

I set the “keymap” value to 1, but there is no “keymap.dat” file present so it errors out with “Keymap: Unable to open keymap keymap.dat, using default” and I can’t find the default file either.

Thanks.

1. How do I exit the CoCo3 screen back to Linux? I could not find this in the documentation.
2. Is there a utility to convert .dsk files to .vhd files?
3. Is there any CoCo-specific documenation available?

Thanks.

Anyway, I was wondering if there was a DECB runtime system for OS-9. The idea would be to run DECB programs without any changes under OS-9. I’m talking about pure DECB programs without any pokes or ML calls.

If not, Maybe it’s times we write one for OS-9 or NitrOS-9. We could also expand the BASIC to use the MMUs to access all the memory for the program and data. (Remove the 32k limit of DECB.)

What do you think?

Steve (6809er) Bjork

Using the documentation from RGBDOS, I have created and formated a virtual HD.

I’m using the following to move files from the virtual floppy to the hd:

dsave -s48k /h0 ! shell

This doesn’t work. I get a bunch of error 218s and 248s.

What am I doing wrong?

What do I need to do to launch into OS9 within MacMess?

I have dl the 6809 NitrOS-9 but it did not boot when I typed the DOS command it just came back to the basic prompt.

It has been about 11 years since I ran my coco3 and OS9.
I used to run the STG bulletin board software and I used to play with OS9 68k on my KiX30.

I am not real up to date with using mess/macmess but I can run the dsk images I have dl to play a few games.

does look and work like the old coco sort of.

any help would be great.

Got a few boxes of ol’ CoCo stuff. Drives, Multi-Pak, and a couple of CoCo 2 and 3 boxes. Ol’ friend gave them to me when he sold his house and moved into an RV. We had been CoCo friends, but converted to PC (blah). When I was using a CoCo I used CoCo 1 and 2 running OS-9 Level I.

Wife is bugging me to get rid of the boxes, but I’d like to keep’em and get’em running again. Problem? I don’t have OS-9. So am looking for anyone that might have the full package of OS-9 Level I and/or Level II. Books, disks, the whole thing. Looked into NitrOS-9, but all are 6809e chips. I have 4 Linux (Suse), 2 Windows (98se/XP), and 2 Mac (OS/X) boxes already. The wife is not going to go for me spending much on hardware for 20 something year old computers.

I can find info about it, but nothing anyone has up for sale. Even image files on the disks and scans of the manuals at this point.

“Type the following command, replacing the name of the image:
DSKINI /T40 /D B: (360K 5.25″ floppy disk)
DSKINI /T80 /D B: (720K 3.5″ floppy disk)
Where is the image file you want to transfer to the
floppy disk. The image file transfer should start. When it is done,
take out the disk and try booting your CoCo with it.”

My problem is that the dskini files from Jeff V.s site do not have the /T40, /T80, or /D switches as best I can determine. Where can I find a dskini program that has these switches? Can one of you kind people send it to me?
Thanks for helping an old beginner get back into this wonderful hobby.
Mark

What is a good text editor now a day ? Is dynastar (I used that since my days with CPM) still around ? I used to be good with the basic09 line editor too, but I can’t imagine there is no better one available today. Maybe Vi”ish”, … ?

Network stack ? Just for fun, is there any network stack / TCPIP for Os9/6809 ? Network hardware even ?

Yours,
Phil

Everyone I talk to agrees that NitrOS-9 is the OS that hold the most possibilities for the future of the CoCo3. We just do not know how to use it. Saying the directory structure is UNIX like makes no sense to those who have not used UNIX/Linux and does little to help them out.

We’ve all been told to check out OS-9 documentation, but, we are finding more than just command syntax differences. For instance, when trying to modify the startup file, the OS-9 Level II book I’m reviewing says to use the ‘config’ command. I have yet to find that command on the NitrOS-9 disk, but, it is in the help files, so I can only assume the command needs to be added to the disk. How to do this another question that many people have/will have. If it’s not in the section that talks about how to use config, that adds another level of confusion.

It seems to me that configuring NitrOS-9 to run with an individual system could have a booklet (or book) of it’s own. I know the boot file is one file, but, there are so many sections too it, and no real explanation that I’ve seen for what info goes in each section, and the proper syntax. In my case, I have 2-1.44mb floppies and 1-360k floppy. When I try to format a drive, it comes up as a 5 1/4″ floppy. The ‘config’ command is supposed to let you change those settings, so now you know just one problem I am having.

I know it sounds like I’m doing a little bitching here, and maybe I am. If NitrOS-9 is going to help move the CoCo3 into the future, it needs better documentation for the people just coming back to the scene who have never used OS-9 before. If someone needs answers to questions, they are pretty much stuck asking them on the Malted Media list and waiting for answers. And lately, the subjects have gone off-topic before the questions are even answered.

I understand that it takes a lot of time to compile the needed information for an actual manual. I would be happy to actually write the documentation, but again, due to my own lack of understanding of NitrOS-9, I am very under qualified.

Brian

Thanks.