New to fujinet

[mutil8]

Took the time today to hook up fujinet to 800xl. After looking around a couple websites I found instructions to hook up to my wireless network, was able to do that.

From here its a little unclear to me how to do certain things, and information seems spread out over various sites and videos. Is there a official manual that covers basically everything?

Or what would be the best site to understand simpler aspects.

 

What I am interested in is DLing ATR files of various programs such as graphics utilities, getting them onto physical disk on 1050 and of course using the programs.

I assume easiest way is to DL on laptop then use fujinet to transfer the ATR over. At this point I havent figured out how access the laptop via wifi from the 800.

 

[+videofx]

No need to go to all the trouble.  Now that you have a Fujinet, just make directories or just copy your .ATR's to your fujinet, then you boot your fujinet, CLICK on SD or whatever name you used, then mount your ATR in slot 1 choose read or write, then PUSH the OPTION button to boot your ATR.

 

Easy Peaszy

[mutil8]

trying to get a character editor such as "envision" 

with fujinet booted there are some default locations:

fujinet.online

apps.irata.online

fujinet.atari8bit.net

fujinet.pl

 

unable to locate a character editor 

[+videofx]

Here is the Envision .ATR, just copy the ATR to your Fujinet and boot it. If it wont boot then it doesn't have DOS on the ATr. In that case boot any DOS in Slot 1 and put the envision.ATR in slot 2 

 

ENVISION.ATR

[mutil8]

 just copy the ATR to your Fujinet

 

how do I do this? using file explorer  I dont see fujinet from my laptop - and I dont see laptop on the 800xl with fujinet running and on my wireless

 

ok I just spotted a fujinet subforum here maybe I should look there

Edited February 1, 2023 by mutil8

[+videofx]

You just remove the SD card from your Fujinet, take to your PC and copy the file to the SD card, insert in Fujinet and select it

[chevymad]

I don't use the sd card much on my fujinet. I set up a tnfs server of my own on my pc. Then I just d/l whatever files I want and put them in the tnfsroot folder. Now when I fire up the atari, I point the fujinet at my pc and any files i've put in the root folder can be loaded to fujinet drive slots. This way all my atari's have access to the same set of files. However, I don't remember how to set up the tnfs server.. the info is on the fujinet forum somewhere. 

 

A link to the fujinet wiki  https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-platformio/wiki/Atari-FujiNet-Quickstart-Guide

Edited February 1, 2023 by chevymad

[mutil8]

35 minutes ago, videofx said:

You just remove the SD card from your Fujinet, take to your PC and copy the file to the SD card, insert in Fujinet and select it

ok i see what you are saying. currently not using an sd card - not sure if i have an old one somewhere.

would simply hooking usb cable from pc to fujinet work?

Edited February 1, 2023 by mutil8

[darwinmac]

47 minutes ago, mutil8 said:

ok i see what you are saying. currently not using an sd card - not sure if i have an old one somewhere.

would simply hooking usb cable from pc to fujinet work?

No, I do not think that will work. If you are not using a TNFS server, you need to copy the files to your SD card (actually microSD card). Otherwise, there is no place to store the file. I am not even sure how the Fujinet would react if you are trying to actively use it with the micro USB cable attached. I have only done that when doing a firmware upgrade.

 

I think you need either a microSD card or set up a TNFS server (which is more complicated if you are just starting out with your Fujinet).

 

Bob C

[tuf]

Fujinet is really best used to access files over a network - either remotely as you've seen or your own private server you maintain.

 

It'll also work with an SD card very much the same way.  As described above just copy the ATR to the card and insert into the Fujinet, then you can select the ATR to mount from the SD card (rather than a network location).  There's other solutions better at this than Fujinet like SIDE3 for instance.

 

Once you get the ATR mounted you're in Atari-land then; you can copy files around with DOS or whatever you like to use.  Your ATR will show up as D1: or wherever you mounted it.

[+x=usr(1536)]

13 hours ago, darwinmac said:

No, I do not think that will work.

It won't.  With just a USB cable attached and no SD card inserted, the FujiNet will power up but that's about it.  Inserting an SD card will allow for storing files on the FujiNet that you've downloaded (or are looking to upload, in the case of servers that support it), but the FujiNet itself has no storage that can be recognised by a PC.

13 hours ago, darwinmac said:

I am not even sure how the Fujinet would react if you are trying to actively use it with the micro USB cable attached. I have only done that when doing a firmware upgrade.

It's fine, and even necessary in certain cases where the FujiNet boots faster than the Atari's OS can pick it up.  Run USB power to the FujiNet, wait a few seconds, start the computer.  The FujiNet should now be detected properly and the A8 should begin booting from it.  Had to do this on my 1200XL for a bit.

[_The Doctor__]

6 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

It's fine, and even necessary in certain cases where the FujiNet boots faster than the Atari's OS can pick it up. 

strike that reverse it...

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

15 hours ago, mutil8 said:

trying to get a character editor such as "envision" 

with fujinet booted there are some default locations:

fujinet.online

apps.irata.online

fujinet.atari8bit.net

fujinet.pl

 

unable to locate a character editor

Something to understand about the FujiNet: there's nothing equivalent to a search engine or software directory for it.  Because of this, it's necessary to do some exploring in order to find the software that you're looking for.

 

What I can tell you is that the Envision editor is available on tnfs.online.  I know this because it's my server 

 

Under 'TNFS Host List', pick a slot and hit Return.  Delete any server name that may already be in there, and replace it with tnfs.online.

 

Next, navigate to tnfs.online.  You should see a few directories, one of them called 'files'.  Navigate into that one.  From there, you'll see a number of platforms listed.  You want 'A8'.

 

From there, go to 'Disk Images', 'E', 'Envision'.  You should find four disk images in there.  For each one that you want to copy to SD, highlight it, then press 'C'.  Now select your destination - in this case, 'SD'.  Hit Return, and then 'C' to copy the file to SD.  Repeat as needed for the other disk images.

 

Once that's done, you can load them by hitting ESC to return to the main menu, selecting 'SD', then selecting the image you want to load.  When prompted, select a drive slot (starting at the top is recommended).  Hit Return twice.  You should see the image you selected in the topmost drive slot.  To boot, press OPTION and hold it down until you get the usual blue boot screen.  At this point Envision should be loading, assuming that I've transcribed my steps correctly 

 

It becomes second nature pretty quickly, but there is a bit of getting used to how the FujiNet carries out operations.  It's fairly consistent about it, though, so once you get used to navigating, selecting, etc. it's usually just a case of checking the bottom couple of lines for prompts as to the operations that can be selected.

[mutil8]

thanks - will try this today.

late last night i went out to get a usb flash drive - got the wrong one, standard not the micro.

will be over on your server soon.

[mutil8]

purchased 128 gb micro sd card - intalled in right side of fujinet 

is there a step needed to init the sd card? As of now it seems fujinet is not recognizing the micro sd card.

having never used micro sd before I am not sure how to proceed. watched a few videos but they seem to all start 

with the sd card installed and funcitoning

 

when i attempt to select SD on the tnfs host list i get a slightly corrupted fujinet config screen with text offset and 

running on to next line on the screen.

 

I see no way to install the micro sd into windows laptop even using adapter that came w the micro sd

Edited February 1, 2023 by mutil8

[darwinmac]

The SD card will need to be formatted in FAT32 format. You do this on your Windows machine. I assume the adapter you received is to make it the size of a full SD card. If your Windows machine does not have an SD slot, you will need a USB to SD or microSD adapter. That is what I use to transfer ATRs from my Mac to the Fujinet’s SD card. Once the Mac can be left on all the time, I will work on setting up a TNFS server. 
 

When I received my Fujinet from the former Vintage Computer Center, Gavin had already formatted the microSD card in FAT32 format. If your card is not formatted as FAT32, you may have to that yourself. 
 

Bob C

[mutil8]

no sd card came with the fuji.

is it possible to copy from a host directly to one of the drive slots? havent been able to get that to work.

Edited February 2, 2023 by mutil8

[darwinmac]

4 hours ago, mutil8 said:

no sd card came with the fuji.

is it possible to copy from a host directly to one of the drive slots? havent been able to get that to work.

No. You have to copy from a host to your SD card. You can mount an ATR or XEX file from a host to a drive slot. 
 

Have you read the wiki yet?

https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-platformio/wiki/Atari-FujiNet-Quickstart-Guide

 

I think some of the answers you are looking for can be found there. 
 

Bob C

[mutil8]

2 hours ago, darwinmac said:

No. You have to copy from a host to your SD card. You can mount an ATR or XEX file from a host to a drive slot. 
 

Have you read the wiki yet?

https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-platformio/wiki/Atari-FujiNet-Quickstart-Guide

 

I think some of the answers you are looking for can be found there. 
 

Bob C

yes. In my opinion its not very complete at all. no where is there detailed instructions regarding the micro sd card.

 

also regarding copying ATRs it states:

 

After choosing a disk image from a TNFS server or your SD card, or after creating a new disk image, you will be shown the list of drive slots, 1 through 8. Any currently-mounted disk images will be shown.

Use the arrow keys, joystick, or number keys ([1]-[8]) to select a slot. Press [Return] or joystick Fire to mount the disk image you had selected into that slot. (Also, while you're here, you can also select a drive slot and press [E] to eject the disk image that's currently mounted in it.)

 

to me this states that you can copy from the server to drive slot. but apparently this isnt true. 

[TZJB]

3 hours ago, mutil8 said:

yes. In my opinion its not very complete at all. no where is there detailed instructions regarding the micro sd card.

 

also regarding copying ATRs it states:

 

After choosing a disk image from a TNFS server or your SD card, or after creating a new disk image, you will be shown the list of drive slots, 1 through 8. Any currently-mounted disk images will be shown.

Use the arrow keys, joystick, or number keys ([1]-[8]) to select a slot. Press [Return] or joystick Fire to mount the disk image you had selected into that slot. (Also, while you're here, you can also select a drive slot and press [E] to eject the disk image that's currently mounted in it.)

 

to me this states that you can copy from the server to drive slot. but apparently this isnt true. 

 

It is certainly possible to mount an ATR disk image as D1: from a remote TNFS server, but the image you are mounting and then booting will always be on the server and there will be network delays, and thinking about it, it's probably not a good idea to mount it as writable!

I think conceptually, it probably helps if you already previously owned an SD card type disk drive emulator, like an SIO2SD or S-DriveMAX, then the steps necessary to mount disk images to drives becomes clearer.

You do need a micro SD card with the Fujinet to make things easier. I use a 2GB one to keep things manageable. By default Windows PCs will allow Fat32 formatting for this size, but larger cards will need a Fat32 formatter such as http://ridgecrop.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm.

Once the card is inserted and recognised by the Fujinet, go to your favourite TNFS server and (C)opy any interesting ATR file individually to your own SD card in order to then mount it as D1:. It is useful to have a selection of DOS disks or images to hand in case the image does not boot. Of course connection of a physical disk drive to the SIO is also supported, as a physical D1: drive will take precedence over the Fujinet as the Fujinet will wait for the real drive to boot. It takes a bit of getting used to but it's all quite logical, just like a computer. Hope this helps a bit...

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by TZJB

[+x=usr(1536)]

6 hours ago, mutil8 said:

In my opinion its not very complete at all. no where is there detailed instructions regarding the micro sd card.

I tend to agree: there certainly are areas that could use some work.  In all honesty, this is one of 20,000,000 things I've been meaning to lend a hand with and time plus real-world encroachment has made that not happen.

6 hours ago, mutil8 said:

to me this states that you can copy from the server to drive slot. but apparently this isnt true. 

So, there are two different operations at play here: copying and mounting.  Grossly oversimplified, the distinctions between them are:

• Copying does what its name suggests - it makes a copy of a file located on a remote server to local storage, such as the SD card.  What it doesn't do is present the file in a way that would permit the machine to load and/or run it.
• Mounting prepares for the file to be loaded and/or run, but does not create a copy of the file on local storage.  When you hit OPTION to, say, reboot and load a disk image, that disk image is then downloaded from the remote server without a copy being made on your SD card or similar.

Think of the drive slot as being a pointer to the file you want the Atari to load and run; that file can be stored locally on the SD card, or remotely on a server.  There aren't really operations that are directly performed the drive slot (again, gross oversimplification) other than telling it which file the slot points to.

 

Please let me know if this helps to clarify or not.  You are right about the documentation, and having feedback as to whether or not this sort of description is helpful will be very handy when it comes time to update it.

[mutil8]

2 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

I tend to agree: there certainly are areas that could use some work.  In all honesty, this is one of 20,000,000 things I've been meaning to lend a hand with and time plus real-world encroachment has made that not happen.

So, there are two different operations at play here: copying and mounting.  Grossly oversimplified, the distinctions between them are:

• Copying does what its name suggests - it makes a copy of a file located on a remote server to local storage, such as the SD card.  What it doesn't do is present the file in a way that would permit the machine to load and/or run it.
• Mounting prepares for the file to be loaded and/or run, but does not create a copy of the file on local storage.  When you hit OPTION to, say, reboot and load a disk image, that disk image is then downloaded from the remote server without a copy being made on your SD card or similar.

Think of the drive slot as being a pointer to the file you want the Atari to load and run; that file can be stored locally on the SD card, or remotely on a server.  There aren't really operations that are directly performed the drive slot (again, gross oversimplification) other than telling it which file the slot points to.

 

Please let me know if this helps to clarify or not.  You are right about the documentation, and having feedback as to whether or not this sort of description is helpful will be very handy when it comes time to update it.

Yes that is good information.

 

I would say one thing the wiki needs is information, almost at the start, that a micro sd card is required, that it needs to be formatted, how to format it, etc. I havent gone back to wiki in about 24 hrs but I dont think any of that is covered.

 

The instructions to start up the fuji and hook up to personal wifi network were fairly clear if I recall, and was easy to do.

 

Overall I was probably finding more useful information in a number of youtube videos, but even here the micro sd card was hardly covered.

 

maybe a series of videos linked to the wiki would be helpful.

[+DjayBee]

22 minutes ago, mutil8 said:

I would say one thing the wiki needs is information, almost at the start, that a micro sd card is required,

This is not exactly true. The card is only required if you want to keep disk images locally on your FujiNet. As long as you fetch them from any of the TNFS servers on the Internet or perhaps in your basement, you don't need it.

 

22 minutes ago, mutil8 said:

that it needs to be formatted, how to format it, etc.

Wild guess by me:

The authors omitted this information because it is exactly the same as for any of the other disk-emulating devices like SIO2SD, SDrive, SDriveMax.

 

22 minutes ago, mutil8 said:

Overall I was probably finding more useful information in a number of youtube videos, but even here the micro sd card was hardly covered.

Search for videos about one of the beforementioned SD-devices.

(Some of these devices need the disk images to be stored in a particular folder. FujiNet accepts them anywhere on the card.)

 

19 hours ago, mutil8 said:

purchased 128 gb micro sd card - intalled in right side of fujinet 

This is quite big and some people in the past had problems using such a beast with the FujiNet. Common understanding is that it should not be bigger than 32 GB and mostly 2 GB are used because many have one of these hiding in their bin.

But since you already obtained it, try it out.

IMPORTANT: YOU must format the card with FAT32 because these sizes usually are pre-formatted with either exFAT or NTFS. See TZJB's posting above on what you need.

Edited February 2, 2023 by DjayBee

[Schadret]

I added 2 bullet points to the Wiki to mention the FAT32 format required, and that a smaller card ( <= 32GB, most people use a 2GB ) is best.

[_The Doctor__]

4 hours ago, DjayBee said:

This is not exactly true. The card is only required if you want to keep disk images locally on your FujiNet. As long as you fetch them from any of the TNFS servers on the Internet or perhaps in your basement, you don't need it.

This is not entirely true either, as the Fujinet does try to save information to the SD card for this or that and tries to read from it as well. Not to mention some things require the SD card not to mention CP/M etc.

4 hours ago, DjayBee said:

Wild guess by me:

The authors omitted this information because it is exactly the same as for any of the other disk-emulating devices like SIO2SD, SDrive, SDriveMax.

I wouldn't guess but now you've written the byline that will get used. It really is a which way book and not good to find what you need efficiently on the site. One should not assume anyone has had any of those other devices? Why would they? Many people don't even know what they are.

4 hours ago, DjayBee said:

(Some of these devices need the disk images to be stored in a particular folder. FujiNet accepts them anywhere on the card.)

FujiNet needs certain things in certain folders as well. The most common stuff doesn't is all. CP/M etc... different things have been mentioned over time. So it's a mixed bag like all things