MDOS Version 7.42 Release

+9640News · December 27, 2023

=========================================
Myarc Disk Operating System

Copyright (C)2023 9640*News and Contributors
Updated December 16, 2023

Updates by T. Tesch (InsaneMultitasker)
& B. Miller (9640News)

CRC CHECK >461C FOR ORIGINAL RELEASE

=========================================

OS Corrections:

- The SCSI powerup routine was not clearing the common
buffer used by SCSI/Horizon/IDE whenever a SCSI card was not in
the system. The most common problem was intermittent access to
the Horizon hard drive partitions; the drive parameter table was
invalid, since it contained values set 'randomly' when the
system was turned on. The powerup logic has been corrected and
tested.

- SCSI routines now check for the presence of the SCSI
card. The OS no longer locks up if you inadvertently try to
access a non-existent SCSI device.

- Floppy controller powerup was testing for the presence of
a card, however, the flag was reset if a TIPI was in the system.
Fixed the powerup routine and then added a test to the low-level
code. OS no longer executes the floppy code when there is no FDC
present.

- Floppy format code has been tested with above correction;
attempting to format a non-existent FDC now reports an error.

- Removed old SCSI code and labels. Cleaned up some of the
statements. Removed comments that were no longer relevant or
accurate.

- Change Directory command now validates whether the
directory exists.

- Fixed VDP header setup in /4A mode - SAVE file issues

- SAVE file issues have been fixed to the the extent
that an incomplete file can now be deleted and is reported
as the proper type. Further research is needed to review DSR
error traps and boundary conditions.

Note: ABASIC may lock some files after an error condition; a
soft reset will clear the file lock.

- VIDEO command repaired.

- TELNET command has been enhanced and updated.
enhanced and updated.

- ANSI Driver has been updated to v1.03. Corrections and
improvements.

Informational:

- The TIPI SAVE and LOAD opcodes are limited
to 64K by the TIPI; this may be resolved in the future by
utilizing BREAD/BWRITE to bypass the TIPI /4A-induced
limitation.

-Source code folder and file structure preparation for
Github repository. Binary, object file separation.

CYA V7.42 is included with this distribution file. Functionality remains the
same, however some code has been removed to prepare for the release of the
source code on GITHUB. Look to www.9640News.com for links when the code is
released.

MDOS742DIS.zip

+InsaneMultitasker · December 27, 2023

thank you, @9640News. Just a quick comment : new users may wish to also download the 7.40 ZIP released earlier this year, as it contains the loaders and various utilities. We'll see where 2024 takes us for making releases and current program versions easier to "locate".

+InsaneMultitasker · December 28, 2023

On 12/27/2023 at 12:29 PM, 9640News said:

he TIPI SAVE and LOAD opcodes are limited
to 64K by the TIPI;

Oops, I should clarify this statement. It should read "TIPI SAVE and LOAD opcodes are limited to the maximum allowed by the /4a PAB". The /4A PAB uses a 16-bit word to indicate the size of the file to load or save. The Geneve OS accommodates a 24-bit value and thus the native Geneve load/save file operation can exceed the maximum 64K imposed by the /4A DSRs.

+9640News · January 14

OK, back in the release of MDOS 7.40 was the first version of the ANSI driver for MDOS, useable with the TYPE command and with the TELNET command. Apparently the use of the TELNET command is not widely used by many as @Shift838 caught a typo in the documentation that if users read, the TELNET command would not have worked.

Users should type the command as follows:

TELNET heatwave.ddns.net:9640 /T or,

TELNET heatwave.ddns.net:9640 /G

The /T is for ANSI Textmode (no color) and the /G is for ANSI Graphics mode (with color). The type was the comma between the URL and port number should be a colon.

Now, the Heatwave BBS ~~I do not think has much color support~~, however color is used in the other TI-99/4A BBS's running ANSI color graphics including MYTBOX99.ddns.net:61644 (english) and MYTBOX99.ddns.net:61643 (german) as well as TheKeep.net:9918 .

Beery

Shift838 · January 15

Colon not semicolon. Also, press F9 to exit telnet client.

+9640News · January 15

3 minutes ago, Shift838 said:

Colon not semicolon. Also, press F9 to exit telnet client.

Yep! Good catch! Going to edit my previous post.

RickyDean · January 15

@InsaneMultitasker

I am now trying to work with getting my IDE cards to run with the Geneve. I'm running into an issue where I can go into GPL but it locks at the selection screen before any modules are loaded, when I run the Mode 90 command, I can go into GPL mode and can choose to load a module from a device or hit enter and go to the menu screen. Now when I add an IDE card to the mix, it does'nt matter if I type in Mode 90, it still locks up at the GPL screen and will not go into anything else. I have put the IDE card(s) into Geneve mode, & TI mode at the switchs, trying to go into rompage to load the DSR, but to no avail. I can however use Exec Idetest to go to the IDE card(s), but though it lights up the light for each card, it fails the test. I'm assuming because it needs to be in rompage mode first? What is the recommended way to access and load the DSR from a Geneve. Or what am I doing wrong?

+9640News · January 15

@RickyDean

What version of GPL are you using? Hopefully version 7.40 with MDOS Version 7.42.

I know there were changes with the powerup routines @InsaneMultitasker made.

+InsaneMultitasker · January 15

Is a dsr loaded? You might need to turn off the card until the dsr loader is up and running. @Shift838 has successfully tested with a Geneve, lets see what he did to get up and running.

Fred’s program might enable the rompage itself. As for mode 90, that is of no consequence.

RickyDean · January 15

Could I be using the wrong version of GPl, as it locks up, generally at the first screen? I'm using 7.42 that is on my PFM+. I think I have the 7.30 GPL files?

Okay Just saw Beery's post, I'll make sure, my GPL is current.

Well, I made sure it was updated to the 7.40 release, but I still have lockup at the GPL screen, maybe a hardware issue?

Edited January 15 by RickyDean
added content

Shift838 · January 15

2 hours ago, RickyDean said:

@InsaneMultitasker

I am now trying to work with getting my IDE cards to run with the Geneve. I'm running into an issue where I can go into GPL but it locks at the selection screen before any modules are loaded, when I run the Mode 90 command, I can go into GPL mode and can choose to load a module from a device or hit enter and go to the menu screen. Now when I add an IDE card to the mix, it does'nt matter if I type in Mode 90, it still locks up at the GPL screen and will not go into anything else. I have put the IDE card(s) into Geneve mode, & TI mode at the switchs, trying to go into rompage to load the DSR, but to no avail. I can however use Exec Idetest to go to the IDE card(s), but though it lights up the light for each card, it fails the test. I'm assuming because it needs to be in rompage mode first? What is the recommended way to access and load the DSR from a Geneve. Or what am I doing wrong?

I have updated the IDEV3 manual on my site with the below steps as well.

I just loaded a new IDE DSR and set it all up on my Geneve. This is what I did.

Ensure your IDE card is set for OFF for SW1 and Gen for SW2. Ensure you have a storage media attached, IDE drive, IDE2CF, IDE2SD, etc. and powered up.

Boot Geneve in MDOS 7.42
Put the IDE DSRv15 in DSK1 or DSK2
In MDOS go to the drive that has the DSR disk in it
type 'EXEC IDELOAD'
Turn the IDE card to the Geneve position (SW1 - center for back switch)
After the IDELOAD program loads, press either 1 or 2 for the correct location of the DSRV15 disk.
Enter the correct CRU
After the DSR loads press option #6 to set the clock and do so, remember the IDE Set clock program accepts military time only.
Press Enter
Press F9 to exit.

Now you must partition your disk before you can save anything.

Load up GPL
Load up EA module in GPL
Press enter for GPL (no need for ROMPAGE)
press F7 to execute module
Press 5 for Run Program File
load up DU2K, should be on the same disk as the IDEDSR v15.
After DU2k loads up press '1' to list your devices
Press '2' to create partition table.
Press '1' for IDE1 (you will see all 4 partition settings now)
Press 'C' for change
Press '1' for partition #1
Depending on the size of your drive will depend on what you need to put as far as size in hexadecimal format. See below.
After inputting your size press Enter
If you want more partitions and have the space you can continue by repeating starting at step 2, just change the partition number to 2, 3, or 4.
when done press 'S' for save
Press '4' for initialize.
Press '1' for IDE'
Press '1' for IDE1
Enter a volume label and press enter.
Press 'Y' when asked to proceed.
For additional partitions repeat steps starting at 16 and change to the appropriate IDE device such as IDE2, IDE3, IDE4 (each partition you setup will be a new IDE device #).

Partition Table:

Sectors HEX Value	Number of Sectors	Actual Bytes of Storage
00008000	32768	16777216
0000C000	49152	25165824
00010000	65536	33554432
00014000	81920	41943040
00018000	98304	50331648
0001C000	114688	58720256
00020000	131072	67108864
00024000	147456	75497472
00028000	163840	83886080
0002C000	180224	92274688
00030000	196608	100663296
00034000	212992	109051904
00038000	229376	117440512
0003C000	245760	125829120
00040000	262144	134217728
00044000	278528	142606336
00048000	294912	150994944
0004C000	311296	159383552
00050000	327680	167772160
00054000	344064	176160768
00058000	360448	184549376
0005C000	376832	192937984
00060000	393216	201326592
00064000	409600	209715200
00068000	425984	218103808
0006C000	442368	226492416
00070000	458752	234881024
00074000	475136	243269632
00078000	491520	251658240
0007C000	507904	260046848

Loading MDOS

You will now need to copy a couple of files to the root of IDE1 to get it to load providing you have MDOS 7.42 and the new Version 2.0 of the Boot EPROM.

Copy:

LOAD-IDE

SYSTEM-SYS

These are the bare minimum files you need to boot from the IDE drive.

Remember if you have an HFDC in the system it will take about 20-30 seconds to timeout before going to the IDE controller.

Congratulations, you now have a bootable IDE on the Geneve!

Edited January 15 by Shift838

+9640News · January 15

The filename should be LOAD-IDE, not IDE-LOAD.

+InsaneMultitasker · January 15

6 hours ago, RickyDean said:

Well, I made sure it was updated to the 7.40 release, but I still have lockup at the GPL screen, maybe a hardware issue?

Hard to say. This could be hardware, software, bad download, etc. MODE90 only sets the video mode to 26.5 line text II mode. Are you using TIMODE or TIMODE2? When exactly does it lock? Did you fail to adhere to any New Years resolutions?

RickyDean · January 15

8 hours ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

Hard to say. This could be hardware, software, bad download, etc. MODE90 only sets the video mode to 26.5 line text II mode. Are you using TIMODE or TIMODE2? When exactly does it lock? Did you fail to adhere to any New Years resolutions?

Well I don't believe it's a bad download, and it only sometimes goes into the menu screen from the first GPL screen, after typing mode 90. That's the only way I could get it past the first screen at all, and it only did it 2 times out of 10 tries. I believe it to be in the Geneve hardware. I can run Exec and go into idetest. but I'm not seeing the sram there, on any of my 3 ide cards, so I'm working another solution. My second Geneve will not go into GPL or really anything. It even hangs at the Memtest program, so I'm working on the memory issue I think it's having. Testing dram and replacing sram, sounds to be in the cards today. Maybe go ahead and put 512k on it.

+dhe · January 15

Have you loaded GPL with the TANG?

What about EXEC - it's kind of sorta like a mini GPL?

RickyDean · January 15

1 hour ago, dhe said:

Have you loaded GPL with the TANG?

What about EXEC - it's kind of sorta like a mini GPL?

Well I found that the 512k Myarc card, I have as added as extra memory to the Geneve, was the culprit on the hang up of GPL. My second Geneve was booting into GPL, using the Tang, after I just replaced the 64k sram stack, bottoms chip was bad, until I included the 512k card, then it locked up too. When removed it boots fine to the GPL menu screen, the screen it goes to when you hit the TIMODE <enter>. Then I tried it with my main Geneve, leaving the 512k out, and it too went into GPL on the first try. Still a no go on the IDE cards, but I'm looking into it.

As for the tang, it seems a viable replacement for the VDP, I'm thinking it's an address issue that causes it to show a garbled screen. I'm wondering if the tang v9938/58 program is loaded into the tang at the wrong address, not showing the Swan as it boots on a version .98 eprom, nor the selection text on a v1.00 one? I may go ahead and build the second Tang board and see if I can change the address that it starts in at Boot up. I say this though without much testing as I'm just really getting these Geneves' going after hit and miss use over the years. I will eventually need to load up some high intensity programs like Myart to see how it works.

+InsaneMultitasker · January 15

34 minutes ago, RickyDean said:

Well I found that the 512k Myarc card, I have as added as extra memory to the Geneve, was the culprit on the hang up of GPL. My second Geneve was booting into GPL, using the Tang, after I just replaced the 64k sram stack, bottoms chip was bad, until I included the 512k card, then it locked up too. When removed it boots fine to the GPL menu screen, the screen it goes to when you hit the TIMODE <enter>. Then I tried it with my main Geneve, leaving the 512k out, and it too went into GPL on the first try. Still a no go on the IDE cards, but I'm looking into it.

Nice sleuthing! MDOS uses the 512K DRAM and the 9995 fast ram for most of its internal operations. When a task is loaded, memory is pulled from the available pool but not always in the same order, which means you could have hit upon a bad page on the 512K card or even a 'good' page in DRAM or the 64K SRAM, giving you similar symptoms. As for the bad 32K chip hindering GPL, that could have been a similar situation. Good nuggets to toss into the repair files.

Brufnus · February 5

Ehrm, except that the floppy format routine - at least with the HFDC - now is broken in this release... c".)

Edited February 5 by Brufnus

+InsaneMultitasker · February 5

12 minutes ago, Brufnus said:

Ehrm, except that the floppy format routine - at least with the HFDC - now is broken in this release... c".)

Can you please provide more details?

- CRU Address of the HFDC

- the remap settings (type REMAP at the command line)

- the command you typed and the error message(s)

I don't recall that I formatted any floppies - HFDC or standard floppy controller - so if there is a bug, it is my mistake. (I rarely use floppy disks any more, as I moved everything to hard drive devices.) @9640News if you have access to both the HFDC and standard controller, could you confirm whether the format routines work, based on @Brufnus report?

Brufnus · February 5

Hi, I thought it was my step rate setting, so I addressed that - set to 16 ms now. However, that didn't solve the problem.

The CRU address is 1100, and the REMAP is as follows:

1J

2K

3L

4M

5E

6F

7G

8N

9O

The command is a FORMAT (with or without head/sec/track parameters), almost immediately announcing a "media or device error".

Then I reverted to 7.30 (would've used 7.40 but took the "wrong" version), and it formats fine again.

Edited February 5 by Brufnus

+InsaneMultitasker · February 5

Got it. The remaps look OK. I'll take a quick look at the code now to see if I can identify the problem. The routines for all the floppy-based IO were written with many assumptions for the future. I'm hopeful for a simple fix.

Brufnus · February 5

Okay, that's what happens. It's almost impossible to completely avoid such bugs; I've been programming mostly in php and javascript myself, and a single semicolon or something makes a heck of a difference, haha :-D

+InsaneMultitasker · February 5

@9640News Please see previous 4 posts. If you have time for testing, remove the two lines bolded below from L8\FORMAT. The FMTTBL lookup table should inhibit formatting of non-floppy devices and avoid incorrectly resetting CRU bit 1 (via BADNVC). My notes don't go into detail for why I added this seemingly redundant test; I probably was overzealous in setting up guardrails to ensure the FDC disks and TIPI emulated DSKx devices played nicely together. The testing should include verifying that each remapped device number results in an expected error or successful format.

FORMAT
FORCO1 LWPI WRKREG
BL @SAVPAD

MOV @CTLTYP,R9 ;10.16.2023 (R9 should be ok)
JLT BADRT6 ;fail if not a FDC/no FDC present (-1)

---

@Brufnus are you able to read from/write to an HFDC floppy?

Brufnus · February 5

My archive project, by the way, is not forgotten. I have everything copied to my emulator by now, and next step is to dump all my cartridges. I've had very little time though; the work at the railways has become increasingly exhausting since they want to spend as little on it as possible these days, so we're actually too few.

Anyway, I'll upload asap!

Brufnus · February 5

23 minutes ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

@9640News Please see previous 4 posts. If you have time for testing, remove the two lines bolded below from L8\FORMAT. The FMTTBL lookup table should inhibit formatting of non-floppy devices and avoid incorrectly resetting CRU bit 1 (via BADNVC). My notes don't go into detail for why I added this seemingly redundant test; I probably was overzealous in setting up guardrails to ensure the FDC disks and TIPI emulated DSKx devices played nicely together. The testing should include verifying that each remapped device number results in an expected error or successful format.

FORMAT
FORCO1 LWPI WRKREG
BL @SAVPAD

MOV @CTLTYP,R9 ;10.16.2023 (R9 should be ok)
JLT BADRT6 ;fail if not a FDC/no FDC present (-1)

---

@Brufnus are you able to read from/write to an HFDC floppy?

I'll try that... it does read the directory alright; I'll try writing system/sys to a disk and boot from it.

MDOS Version 7.42 Release

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