MDOS Version 7.40 and Utilities Released

[+9640News]

OK folks.  @InsaneMultitasker and myself, along with @hloberg with involvement with Abasic, are releasing a software suite including Version 7.40 of MDOS, as well as a suite of other programs with various enhancements.  Some of the extra included programs have been released separately, however they are all included in this package to make sure everyone is using the most up to date versions.

 

 

This is a big caution!  If you are using a TIPI, you ABSOLUTELY need to update to the latest 3.16 image.  If you do not, and you manually use the MDOS Command Line Interpreter COPY command to copy files to the TIPI rather than using DM or GDM2K, you risk file corruption following updates to both TIPI and MDOS source code.

 

Myart with TIPI mouse support, GenREF document updates for most of the XOP's as well as the TIPI XOP driver and ANSI optional XOP driver are included as well.

 

CYA has been updated, and barring any future feature updates, this version of CYA will not require updating for future MDOS releases.  For those that did not know, this could be a painstaking task to locate all the locations in the MDOS file.  Now, a table is built into MDOS with auto-update properties for us whenever MDOS is updated.

 

Updates were made to Clint Pulley's Disk Manger and Peter Muy's Editor.  Bruce Hellstrom's Mouse Driver Package has been updated to also include a TIPI Mouse driver so the Geneve user can use either a Geneve Bus Mouse, RS232 mouse, or a TIPI mouse drive for mouse driver enabled programs.  GPL 7.40 is part of the package, along with EXEC V2.7, ABasic 4.09, PFM, and TSTAT.  TSTAT can be added to an AUTOEXEC file with the ability to test the TIPI status for updates if desired.

 

I will repeat this again!  This is a big caution!  If you are using a TIPI, you ABSOLUTELY need to update to the latest 3.16 image.  If you do not, and you manually use the MDOS Command Line Interpreter COPY command to copy files to the TIPI rather than using DM or GDM2K, you risk file corruption following updates to both TIPI and MDOS source code.

 

We hope you enjoy!

 

Beery

 

This message has been updated.  The 20230514 MDOS and Utilities.zip file contains @InsaneMultitasker's updated PFM software released January 16, 2022 and MEMTEST V2.70 versus the initial release of 20230504 MDOS and Utilities.zip.  The MEMTEST program has a minor update with the added MEMEX splash screen from work I was doing trying to capture Ron Walter's animated graphic screens in his original MEMEX test program.

 

20230504 MDOS and Utilities.zip

20230514 MDOS and Utillities.zip MEMTEST-V270.zip 20220116 PFM Release 2.zip

[+dhe]

Can these all be uploaded via TIPI's web interface?

[+9640News]

All the files except for the PDF's and the eprom binaries have TIFILES headers.  I just unzip the folder and drag them over to the TIPI folder.

 

Beery

[+InsaneMultitasker]

Thank you, @9640News, for keeping things moving to get us to this release point. 

 

I attached CRCOS7 and its documentation. Mostly cosmetic changes in the program and docs to account for using either SYSTEM-SYS or SYSTEM"/"SYS, depending on the user's system.

 

We can always corral more programs into a package down the road, like MyWord, MYS/Power, etc. 

CRCOS74.zip

[+9640News]

30 minutes ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

We can always corral more programs into a package down the road, like MyWord, MYS/Power, etc. 

CRCOS74.zip 2.18 kB · 0 downloads

While I have the source code to MyWord, thus far I have not figured out how to assemble and link it into its appropriate parts.  Thus, the original release back in the early 1990's (Version 1.22), is the only version I know that can be distributed.

 

 

[+mizapf]

So now here is GeneveOS 7.40 on a hard disk image, which makes it easier for MAME users to enjoy the new operating system. You can boot with this image using the HFDC controller:

 

mame geneve [... your options ...] -peb:slot8 hfdc -peb:slot8:hfdc:h1 generic -hard1 genos740.hd

 

genos740.hd

[+9640News]

@miza

24 minutes ago, mizapf said:

So now here is GeneveOS 7.40 on a hard disk image, which makes it easier for MAME users to enjoy the new operating system. You can boot with this image using the HFDC controller

 

Thanks Michael.

[+arcadeshopper]

Installed on my hfdc setup with zero issues 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

One thing worth mentioning is that v7.40 is less restrictive and allows you to configure the TIPI, SCSI, and IDE controllers to "any" CRU addresses.   (The HDFC is still 'locked' to >1000 or >1100)

 

For the typical user, the prescribed addresses are recommended, however, for those of you weaning yourself from floppy disks, the TIPI can be used at CRU >1100 which will auto-map the DSK1,2,3,4 devices to the TIPI "dskx" devices.  There may still be DSR routines that are not fully coded to protect against wrong usage, such as trying to FORMAT A: on a tipi "disk", and I'm not sure that all of the GPL support is 100% functional. 

 

7.40 also implements the SCSI DSR fixes that were identified last year, such as no longer activating ID 0 for all ID calls, and other items noted in the Geneve OS development topic. 

[+mizapf]

3 hours ago, mizapf said:

So now here is GeneveOS 7.40 on a hard disk image, which makes it easier for MAME users to enjoy the new operating system.

By the way, if you already have a hard disk image for working with the emulated Geneve, you may just copy the contents of this new HD image to your working image. In that respect, TIImageTool may prove handy. Note that you have to replace the LOAD/SYS file in the DSK1 folder and that the new kernel name is SYSTEM-SYS. If you use the HFDC emulation, copy the LOAD-MFM from the EPROM folder to the DSK1 folder, renaming it to LOAD/SYS.

 

(Shall we call it kernel, just to sound a bit fancier? 🙂)

[+9640News]

With the change in filename referenced above, that only pertains to the specific boot eprom I released two years ago for the IDE/MFM/SCS/TIP booting device.  That eprom had specific LOAD-SYS filenames depending upon the device one booted from.

 

Beery

[+mizapf]

Right, I almost forgot that I already put a boot EPROM 2.00 in the geneve.zip package. So the renaming to LOAD/SYS is only required for pre-2.00 boot EPROMs.

 

One thing, there was also a LOAD-SYS in your DSK1 folder, and that one did not boot. Only when I copied LOAD-MFM to the DSK1 folder as LOAD/SYS, the Geneve started to boot (EPROM 0.98).

[+InsaneMultitasker]

On 5/9/2023 at 2:44 PM, mizapf said:

(Shall we call it kernel, just to sound a bit fancier? 🙂)

Just don't call it Colonel!   Your comment reminded me of this article about the English pronunciation of 'Colonel', which sounds like 'kernel'. 

 

Long ago, I thought the former was spelled like the latter until I used the wrong spelling in a school paper. My English teacher thought I was trying to be funny (I was not).  I never made that mistake again.

 

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/words-and-their-stories-colonel-or-kernel/3952233.html

 

 

[+Schmitzi]

 

Hi,

 

is there a bootable .DSK version (or a set of .DSKs) available for the new MDOS 7.40 ?

(to make some real floppy disks from)

Finally I don´t know how to handle all these files in the ZIP.

My PFM is still on the old version, means unpatched Bios

(But I also have a standard Geneve available, if this is better)

 

thanks

 

PS: I see this UPDATE file in the root directory from the ZIP, what does it do ?

 

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

19 minutes ago, Schmitzi said:

I see this UPDATE file in the root directory from the ZIP, what does it do ?

@9640News or perhaps @mizapf can add to my comments.  Most of the files in the ZIP are "TIFILES" format.  The easiest method to manipulate the files is to use either TI ImageTool or TI99Dir to copy the files into the disk images or location of your choosing.  A few PDF files are also included, these are to be read with a standard PDF viewer.  The UPDATE file is the release file to describe some of the work and changes. 

 

the PFM update utilities are included in the MDOS 7.30 and 7.40 releases,with instructions in TIFILES format.  The programs were tested on real hardware using the PFM+ device and PFM 512 (Atmel and Winbond chips). It is important to follow the instructions and preparatory steps.

[+9640News]

First, unzip the file to a folder.  All the files except for the PDF's and the one Eprom binary, have TIFILES headers.

 

You can use TIDIR to copy any files to DSK images.  How you migrate them is then up to you.

 

I know of, but have never used, TIIMAGETOOL so I can not comment specifically on that route with that piece of software.

 

As far as the UPDATE740 file, that is a D/V 80 file, viewable by TIDIR, and can be printed from TIDIR if you so choose.

 

Beery

[+mizapf]

Did I already mention that TIImageTool is absolutely free, does not contain adware or spyware, and no subscription?

 

Edit: Installing means simply to install a current Java runtime environment (if not already present; suggested to use OpenJDK); TIImageTool starts by double-clicking the jar file, that's all.

[+InsaneMultitasker]

On 5/8/2023 at 8:54 PM, 9640News said:

While I have the source code to MyWord, thus far I have not figured out how to assemble and link it into its appropriate parts.  Thus, the original release back in the early 1990's (Version 1.22), is the only version I know that can be distributed.

 

 

I've gotten so far as to assemble the EDITOR and CONTROL files.  I then disassembled EDITOR v1.22 and identified where code was added in three locations to fix boundary conditions and editor mode tests.  It still isn't clear to me if the source was edited later or if the changes were removed from the final v1.22 distribution.  It is also possible that the V1.22 distribution disk had two (or more) variants: one with the fixes and one without. 

 

Disk Utilities reports 14 sectors with differences: some are BSS directives which were not cleared by the tools, others may be code related. It would be good to gather samples of V1.22 for comparison.

 

Since we don't know what tools were used, we have to make a few educated guesses for the remaining programs. 

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

For those of you with a TIPI, here is a quick method I am using to assign a folder to a TIPI DSKx device via the command line. 

 

Create a DV80 file, call it something like "MAPDSK1", with the following line: 

 

ECHO DSK1_DIR=%1>PI.CONFIG

 

Save the file then at the command line type: 

 

MAPDSK1 MYWORD

 

This will take the parameter "MYWORD", assign it to %1 in the batch file, and echo the string "DSK1_DIR=MYWORD" to PI.CONFIG. 

 

You can verify the mapping by typing the config file:

 

TYPE PI.CONFIG

 

Don't forget to remap the TIPI DSK device to the OS DSK device number via the MDOS REMAP command, unless your TIPI is at CRU >1100 in which case DSK1-4 should be REMAPped by MDOS at startup. 

[+Schmitzi]

10 hours ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

@9640News or perhaps @mizapf can add to my comments.  Most of the files in the ZIP are "TIFILES" format.  The easiest method to manipulate the files is to use either TI ImageTool or TI99Dir to copy the files into the disk images or location of your choosing.  A few PDF files are also included, these are to be read with a standard PDF viewer.  The UPDATE file is the release file to describe some of the work and changes. 

 

the PFM update utilities are included in the MDOS 7.30 and 7.40 releases,with instructions in TIFILES format.  The programs were tested on real hardware using the PFM+ device and PFM 512 (Atmel and Winbond chips). It is important to follow the instructions and preparatory steps.

 

10 hours ago, 9640News said:

First, unzip the file to a folder.  All the files except for the PDF's and the one Eprom binary, have TIFILES headers.

 

You can use TIDIR to copy any files to DSK images.  How you migrate them is then up to you.

 

I know of, but have never used, TIIMAGETOOL so I can not comment specifically on that route with that piece of software.

 

As far as the UPDATE740 file, that is a D/V 80 file, viewable by TIDIR, and can be printed from TIDIR if you so choose.

 

Beery

 

ah OK, thanks a lot, I will try

 

So, to get 7.40 bootable, I just have to copy the SYSTEM-SYS to the root of my harddisk and then reboot ?

 

PS:

Ah OK, my question for the .DSKs seems to be obsolete. I can make real DSKs from the .ZIP, but I thought there

is something "special" more to know about making the (1st) floppy disk boot...

So, I just need the SYSTEM-SYS on it... (or "/")

 

For all the other files I understand now, I have to put them on the harddisk, with keeping my paths but replacing the old files.

 

 

2. PS: For the PFM-Bios-update, I do not trust myself. Took me a long time and many trys to get my Geneves run at all,

and if something fails at this update-procedure, I cannot work with it anymore, and that´s it....

 

My very personal (but maybe bad translated ) life experience overall is:

"50.000 spectators in the stadium and I get the ball to my head"

 

 

thx

 

 

[+9640News]

 Your boot eprom version determines the name of SYSTEM/SYS or SYSTEM-SYS. The version 2 eprom uses a dash instead of the slash due to file naming limitations required on the PI. 
 

Beery

[+InsaneMultitasker]

7 hours ago, Schmitzi said:

2. PS: For the PFM-Bios-update, I do not trust myself. Took me a long time and many trys to get my Geneves run at all,

and if something fails at this update-procedure, I cannot work with it anymore, and that´s it...

If you would like to walk through the upgrade process together, we could schedule a time to do so later this year.  The programs run from the MDOS command line.  the steps are simple so long as you prepare the files.

[+9640News]

Deleted my comments so I do not confuse @Schmitzi

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

34 minutes ago, 9640News said:

Yeah, the steps are very simple.  PFMSYS A:\SYSTEM-SYS or PFMSYS E:\SYSTEM-SYS.

 

@Insanemultitasker's PFMSYS program does a couple of safety checks on the chip to make sure it can be "opened up" and written too for programming

 

@Schmitzi must update the PFM Core before loading the new system (or flashdisk) into the device, if he is not on version 8.02.  The sequence cannot be reversed (edit: without extra prep) and to be quite honest, I don't recall if the system loader can detect the core version at this time.  I will add this to my log.

[+9640News]

24 minutes ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

@Schmitzi must update the PFM Core before loading the new system (or flashdisk) into the device, if he is not on version 8.02.  The sequence cannot be reversed (edit: without extra prep) and to be quite honest, I don't recall if the system loader can detect the core version at this time.  I will add this to my log.

Yeah, absolutely right.  Brain fart on my part.