New (alt) BIOS for Ultimate 1MB/Incognito

[Aking]

would i need to flash again the gos or replacing with the smaller 4.48 sdx rom will suffice ?

Edited September 12, 2016 by Aking

[flashjazzcat]

One question - is this new version of uFlash numbered '1.29'?

Help->About:

 

 

Why 1.29?

 

Also, you mentioned new APT tools and utilities would be coming shortly. Just to make the SDX upgrade process a little easier would you mind putting the new programmes separated in their own archive somewhere, perhaps even ideally as a PC-readable *.RAR or *.ZIP? That would really be a huge help when it comes to updating my custom SDX ROM contents on the hard-drive before using SDXImager to wrap them all up in a *.ROM.

The APT tools have always been on a toolkit ATR as well as (where appropriate) in the SDX ROM, but yes: I can stick them in a ZIP file as well if it saves a few clicks.

 

If you are seeing the problems with the Rapidus settling down then I'm going to have to be very careful or I'll end up seriously wanting one!!! Just the PBI extension you mention sounds intriguing.

I'm hearing about them settling down, and hope to witness same shortly.

 

A quick (possibly stupid question) - is it possible to flash from the loader using an Incognito? I've updated the BIOS, PBI, and loader from SDX but wanted to try flashing the GOS. I dropped the latest UFLASH.XEX, the 192Kb SDX image and the GOS image into a directory on my CF card, but when I load uflash it doesn't recognise the hardware. Just wanted to know if I was doing something daft or if it just won't work.

The loader has a CIO FAT file system, so you absolutely should be able to flash the firmware from the XEX loader, but if it's not working, I've either broken something, or your Incognito needs a CPLD update (not coincidentally, the old CPLD code didn't allow flashing from the loader).

 

I'll try on my Incognito tomorrow to be sure. I'll check U1MB as well, since during development I do all the flashing over SIO2PC.

[morelenmir]

Help->About:

 

uflash.png

 

Why 1.29?

 

The APT tools have always been on a toolkit ATR as well as (where appropriate) in the SDX ROM, but yes: I can stick them in a ZIP file as well if it saves a few clicks.

 

I'm hearing about them settling down, and hope to witness same shortly.

 

The loader has a CIO FAT file system, so you absolutely should be able to flash the firmware from the XEX loader, but if it's not working, I've either broken something, or your Incognito needs a CPLD update (not coincidentally, the old CPLD code didn't allow flashing from the loader).

 

I'll try on my Incognito tomorrow to be sure. I'll check U1MB as well, since during development I do all the flashing over SIO2PC.

 

Many thanks Jon - that will certainly make the job easier than extracting from disk images through Altirra or MkATR.

 

I thought it might be v1.29 because the current version on your site is numbered v1.28. Once I had it on a disk image and could run it from Altirra I checked the About page as you suggest and voila! No worries.

[flashjazzcat]

I passed beta v.1.30 some time ago on my hard drive (unreleased versions), and what with all the minor revisions floating around and the fairly significant changes in this version (64KB firmware module, versioning support for the new firmware, better signature checks), I decided it was time for a conspicuous version bump.

 

Speaking of the unified firmware option: I need to stress that neither the Main BIOS nor the PBI BIOS should be mixed and matched with older versions of one or the other, since the equates in the IORAM changed again. I'll add this warning to the readme files as well: everything should be updated at the same time. The two BIOS modules share RAM and have to be careful not to get in the way of one another. I dislike changing the equates but it's sometimes unavoidable, and eventually moving towards the one-chunk "Firmware" slot solves the issue completely. Incognito is a bit of a pain in that respect, however, since bits of the loader are packed into empty spaces in the OS slots.

Edited September 13, 2016 by flashjazzcat

[flashjazzcat]

would i need to flash again the gos or replacing with the smaller 4.48 sdx rom will suffice ?

 

You'll need to flash the GOS again since SDX 4.48 nuked the first half of it. I'll see about sorting those ROMs tomorrow with a bit of luck.

 

Speaking of the GOS... I guess I can start working on that again next.

[Kyle22]

Jon,

 

One thing to remember is that SDX 4.48 has a bug where it freezes on an 802/816 with no RAM above $FFFF. I'm using 4.49b now. I don't know if anyone else uses this configuration or not, but it's something to be aware of.

[Kyle22]

Yet another thing... Thanks so much for the Z: Handler! I just wrote some quick and dirty BASIC code for a S.A.M. alarm clock to wake me up by yelling at me in the morning.

[tuf]

Testing GOS with the new updates and I get a black screen/hang when booting. This is an 800XL U1MB/SIDE2 NTSC. I tried both the GOSMF1MB and GOSMFIDE ROMs, which are the only two that would fit. I didn't see any instructions on which of these to use with the U1MB so I tried them both.

 

Anything I need to disable in the U1MB setup in order for this to work?

[spookt]

 

The loader has a CIO FAT file system, so you absolutely should be able to flash the firmware from the XEX loader, but if it's not working, I've either broken something, or your Incognito needs a CPLD update (not coincidentally, the old CPLD code didn't allow flashing from the loader).

 

I'll try on my Incognito tomorrow to be sure. I'll check U1MB as well, since during development I do all the flashing over SIO2PC.

 

 

It may be that I'm running the original CPLD code. IIRC this Incognito was one of the first batch. *SIGH* this is what you get for being an early adopter!

[morelenmir]

I have updated now to these latest *.ROM files and the machine seems to run perfectly, both under emulation and the real hardware! I have done a little testing of file I/O, graphics, games and the like and all is well. I especially like the new layout of the high speed SIO menu paine. That really helps to clarify the logic with respect to which drives are enabled. All in all an excellent release and if this really is the last version then I would say you have signed out with a real winner Jon!!!

 

Many, many thanks!!!

[flashjazzcat]

Yet another thing... Thanks so much for the Z: Handler! I just wrote some quick and dirty BASIC code for a S.A.M. alarm clock to wake me up by yelling at me in the morning.

That's great. The "Z:" device quickly became a code shrinkage challenge so I'm pleased to hear it basically works in scenarios other than those imposed by my simple BASIC test harness.

 

Testing GOS with the new updates and I get a black screen/hang when booting. This is an 800XL U1MB/SIDE2 NTSC. I tried both the GOSMF1MB and GOSMFIDE ROMs, which are the only two that would fit. I didn't see any instructions on which of these to use with the U1MB so I tried them both.

 

Anything I need to disable in the U1MB setup in order for this to work?

Enabling the GOS (when available) turns off SDX automatically (SDX, GOS and Loader are mutually exclusive boot options, and you can turn all three off if you like). It's crashing because you've flashed ROMs for MaxFlash 1Mbit and MyIDE/Flash cartridges, which use a completely different banking scheme to U1MB. I think the Ultimate ROM is GOSU1MB or similar. Since that's also 128KB, surely it fits.

 

It may be that I'm running the original CPLD code. IIRC this Incognito was one of the first batch. *SIGH* this is what you get for being an early adopter!

Early adoption: tell me about it. UFlash had a test for the CPLD bug but I removed it since a) I wasn't sure it even worked, and b) I assumed all the boards would be updated by now. But there are still Incognitos out there which aren't even Installed. Anyway, I quickly tested UFlash run from the XEX loader in U1MB last night and it worked, but I know there are some subtle differences with Incognito. I'll test mine later on to see if it works. If it does, it's probably the CPLD bug.

 

All in all an excellent release and if this really is the last version then I would say you have signed out with a real winner Jon!!!

Glad to hear things appear to be working. Although I still have ideas for improvements to the loader, every new feature now requires painstaking code shrinkage elsewhere, so I thought I might as well draw a line under incremental development for now. Hopefully what we have is something fit to be pre-flashed to brand new hardware, assuming that happens at some stage.

Edited September 13, 2016 by flashjazzcat

[tuf]

Enabling the GOS (when available) turns off SDX automatically (SDX, GOS and Loader are mutually exclusive boot options, and you can turn all three off if you like). It's crashing because you've flashed ROMs for MaxFlash 1Mbit and MyIDE/Flash cartridges, which use a completely different banking scheme to U1MB. I think the Ultimate ROM is GOSU1MB or similar. Since that's also 128KB, surely it fits.

 

In the ST Mouse directory, I see the following ROMs:

 

GOSMF1MB <-128k

GOSMF8MB

GOSMFIDE <- 128k

GOSMYID2

GOSSC512

GOSSIDE

 

I tried both the 128k ROMs to no avail. Flashing these using your latest UFLASH, with the Sparta partition on the smallest size and flashed successfully using your 4.47.

 

Thanks!

[flashjazzcat]

I'd forgotten that when that archive was created, no U1MB build existed since the Alt BIOS did not exist: ergo, the GOS could not be flashed to U1MB.

 

There's a U1MB GOS build somewhere in this thread, though. Like I say, though, the "MF" ROMs are for MaxFlash carts, and there's no way you can apply ROMs designed for one piece of hardware to a different bit of hardware. So flashing these is just a waste of time.

 

EDIT: If all you're looking for is the U1MB GOS ROM for now, here's one:

 

GOS_U1MB_ST_Mouse.zip

Edited September 14, 2016 by flashjazzcat

[Aking]

do i need smaller sdx 4.48 first?

[flashjazzcat]

You can use this:

 

sdx_448_ul192K.zip

 

This is from the upcoming SDX ROM pack, but the content may change in the proper release.

 

[Aking]

works great, thanks!

[morelenmir]

This is just a general question about the GOS, so perhaps not the most pertinent here, although it does have significance for the U1MB. I wonder, does the GOS sit on top of SDX - or another DOS I suppose - like versions of Windows prior to Win95 (and indeed you could argue before WIn2000 came along for non-NT users) or does it completely replace all the file handling and other features with its own code? Therefore will it need to be tightly synchronized with each new release of SDX or can it stand alone?

[flashjazzcat]

The GOS is a Graphical OS in the most literal sense: an Operating System (multitasking kernel replacement for the Atari OS). So no: it doesn't require SDX. Of course you can't access disks (aside from the ROM disk) until I finish the file manager process, which is rather large.

[morelenmir]

The GOS is a Graphical OS in the most literal sense: an Operating System (multitasking kernel replacement for the Atari OS). So no: it doesn't require SDX. Of course you can't access disks (aside from the ROM disk) until I finish the file manager process, which is rather large.

 

Wow... That is definitely a very weighty task!!! I look forward to seeing the end result. I think when it gets finished then there will be cause for some dedicated hardware to support it and tightly bound extensions - something like the Rapidus with the newer processor and more importantly the linear RAM which would keep the GOS on a dedicated Flash/EEPROM.

[fujidude]

The GOS is a Graphical OS in the most literal sense: an Operating System (multitasking kernel replacement for the Atari OS). So no: it doesn't require SDX. Of course you can't access disks (aside from the ROM disk) until I finish the file manager process, which is rather large.

 

Will that file manager utilize a SpartaDOS compatible file system (fingers crossed)?

[flashjazzcat]

I think when it gets finished then there will be cause for some dedicated hardware to support it and tightly bound extensions - something like the Rapidus with the newer processor and more importantly the linear RAM which would keep the GOS on a dedicated Flash/EEPROM.

U1MB is a perfect platform for the GOS for now, aside from the limited ROM space (although this hardly matters if there's a SIDE present). An accelerated 65C816 provides a speed boost (now that graphics drivers are RAM-based), but linear RAM usage is a distant prospect. The base target CPU is a 1.7MHz 6502.

 

Will that file manager utilize a SpartaDOS compatible file system (fingers crossed)?

If an SDFS driver is written, yes. The native file system is FAT, however.

[morelenmir]

Give it time... Another twenty or so years and all Atari's will be running your GOS on dedicated expansion/accelerators.

[tuf]

I'd forgotten that when that archive was created, no U1MB build existed since the Alt BIOS did not exist: ergo, the GOS could not be flashed to U1MB.

 

There's a U1MB GOS build somewhere in this thread, though. Like I say, though, the "MF" ROMs are for MaxFlash carts, and there's no way you can apply ROMs designed for one piece of hardware to a different bit of hardware. So flashing these is just a waste of time.

 

EDIT: If all you're looking for is the U1MB GOS ROM for now, here's one:

 

GOS_U1MB_ST_Mouse.zip

 

This in combination with your new 4.48 ROM below works perfectly.

 

BTW, GOS is stunning! It's faster and looks better than the Apple IIGS finder that it's running right next to (w/Transwarp!)

[flashjazzcat]

BTW, GOS is stunning! It's faster and looks better than the Apple IIGS finder that it's running right next to (w/Transwarp!)

Thanks for the generous comments! Despite the fact the multitasking micro-kernel works and is largely complete, functionality is sorely lacking. This is the next big thing to address (drivers, file browser, etc). At least the repeated experimental re-writes which took years (and resulted in current performance) are a thing of the past.

[tuf]

Thanks for the generous comments! Despite the fact the multitasking micro-kernel works and is largely complete, functionality is sorely lacking. This is the next big thing to address (drivers, file browser, etc). At least the repeated experimental re-writes which took years (and resulted in current performance) are a thing of the past.

 

Can't wait to see the GOS versions of UFLASH and FDISK!