TIImageTool 3

[+mizapf]

I was on vacation in Ireland in 2018 (see https://www.mizapf.de/en/travel/summer/ireland18) and tried to get an idea of Gaeilge, at least how to read it.

[+MarkB]

53 minutes ago, mizapf said:

I was on vacation in Ireland in 2018 (see https://www.mizapf.de/en/travel/summer/ireland18) and tried to get an idea of Gaeilge, at least how to read it.

Very cool. some nice pics too.  Thanks for sharing.

[+dhe]

I downloaded MDOS745 Source.

 

I then, unzipped it on the PC.

 

I used TI IMAGE Tool 3 to upload the directory JJB, to IDE partition 1.

 

This Directory:

They look fine in TIT:

 

 

 

 

But, when you look at them in MDOS:

 

And bin doesn't show any files:

 

Oddly, if you open TIT3 and walk down to bin, and you pick say WIPE, and load that single file onto the hard drive root, it works just fine.

Directions to reproduce:
Download MDOS745 Source, unzip on PC harddrive, open MAME HD Image, import JJB. Boot MDOS and look at JJB directories and files.

[+mizapf]

The short name of TIImageTool is TIMT, not <censored>.

[+mizapf]

OK, thanks for the report. Importing folders is currently broken. You can create the folders one by one and then copy their files into them; this should work. This is independent on the type of MFM, SCSI, IDE, or even DSK.

 

I'll check.

[+mizapf]

Try this release 3.0.4.

 

Fixes:

- Importing directories from the PC file system

- Canceling the import of a file (does not set the dirty flag anymore)

 

Enhancements:

- Plain text files can be imported directly without the Import Dialog (must be activated in Preferences)

 

However, plain text files that have lines longer than 80 characters will cause trouble when importing as DIS/VAR 80. I did not yet implement an auto-line splitter. You can import them as PROGRAM.

 

 

tiimagetool.zip

[+mizapf]

Well, the left-out features were not that hard to close, so here is just another release, 3.0.5.

 

- Files with lines longer than 80 chars can be imported as DIS/VAR 80, and the lines will be split to fit the record length

- Files can be imported as DIS/FIX 128 without conversions; this includes binary files like pictures (thinking of our GIF experiments some weeks ago).

 

One thing to mention for the auto-text import: Right now, only characters with codes 32-126 and 10 and 13 are allowed. When other characters appear (like TAB), the import will require you to acknowledge the import in the ImportDialog. I decided to go for this simple way, and when we hit other examples, I will just add the additional codes.

 

The auto splitter will cut through words that extend beyond the target line length. If this is a problem, I can think about splitting at word endings for a future release.

tiimagetool.zip

[+mizapf]

There is yet another bug that I just fixed, but I'd like to wait some days before issuing the next release. Maybe there are more.

 

Bug: Copying empty files creates a broken sector allocation in the copy

Fix: in TIImageTool 3.0.6

Workaround: Do not copy empty files; exclude them when copying sets of files.

[Brufnus]

Oh boy, that was quite an exercise! c".)

 

Trying to figure out how to successfully transfer files from PC to TI/Geneve instead of asking here  I finally succeeded using a std. 1.44 MB 3.5" floppy drive and OmniFlop (no TI99-PC involved).

 

Initially it didn't work at all. Then I managed - with a 720 KB 80 track DS/DD disk - to read some of the files, albeit not necessarily being able to execute them properly (and the latter part was garbage).

 

What I didn't realize was - when saving the image with ImageTool as a sector dump - that selecting MESS in OmniFlop was the very reason it failed. Once I changed that to V9T9 format, it suddenly worked as it should!  

 

Having so little experience with MESS/Mame/V9T9 as I have, is absolutely not particularly helpful when dealing with such things, but persistence and patience goes a long way of course. c",)

 

Funny thing is - I actually dedicated a 5 1/4" drive for the purpose, but I have had absolutely no luck making that work with the current setup - having a 3.5" drive in both Geneve's makes life so much easier (and gives a higher capacity, for that matter).  

 

Now I think I deserve an ice cream!   

Edited September 4 by Brufnus

[+mizapf]

MESS/MAME format - could that be the files ending with ".mfi"? This would be a cell-level floppy representation, similar to HFE which I talked about recently.

 

v9t9 was the first TI emulator, and sector dumps are still occasionally called v9t9 format.

[Brufnus]

1 hour ago, mizapf said:

MESS/MAME format - could that be the files ending with ".mfi"? This would be a cell-level floppy representation, similar to HFE which I talked about recently.

 

v9t9 was the first TI emulator, and sector dumps are still occasionally called v9t9 format.

I don't know; I don't think I've encountered any files with that extension. c".) By the way - if selecting a track dump instead, the program protests and says it's an illegal format?

[+mizapf]

You mean OmniFlop by "program"? Yes, probably it does not know it. The track dump format is otherwise known as "PC99" format, which is another TI emulator.

 

[Brufnus]

Ah, sorry... should've clarified that one. No, it's the TIImageTool that complains if I choose track format - the other two works fine, though. Anyway, it's not really important since I had success using the V9T9 sector format. c",)

[+mizapf]

Sorry, I still have to ask: Where do you choose the track dump format? I thought we were talking about TIImageTool's formats, which it should certainly know. To rule out any bug in TIImageTool: What did you do when you triggered the error message?

[Brufnus]

11 minutes ago, mizapf said:

Sorry, I still have to ask: Where do you choose the track dump format? I thought we were talking about TIImageTool's formats, which it should certainly know. To rule out any bug in TIImageTool: What did you do when you triggered the error message?

Okay... what I did, was creating a new floppy disk image which I then imported some files to (MDOS745).

Then I asked it to save it as a track format image, which it then complained about (illegal format or something).

[Brufnus]

I just tried it again - message says "Image error: Invalid format". I'm running on a Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit edition.

Edited September 4 by Brufnus

[+mizapf]

In TIImageTool, you select New floppy image (Ctrl-N), keep the defaults, then you use "Save as" or "Save" (Ctrl-S), select Track dump format, and then it says "Image error"? This is working for me.

 

(Just testing without files)

(TIImageTool 3.0.5)

[Brufnus]

8 minutes ago, mizapf said:

In TIImageTool, you select New floppy image (Ctrl-N), keep the defaults, then you use "Save as" or "Save" (Ctrl-S), select Track dump format, and then it says "Image error"? This is working for me.

 

(Just testing without files)

(TIImageTool 3.0.5)

I'll try again, this time with an empty image. c",)

[Brufnus]

Yep, does the same thing. New floppy image (DS/DD 80 tracks) -> save as -> track format -> choose path and file name -> and it says Illegal format again.

Could it be that Java needs an update or sth?

[+mizapf]

Track dump format is not defined for 80 tracks.

 

Edit: I added a check for tracks with a proper error message (informing that 80 tracks are not supported in TDF).

[+mizapf]

New release 3.0.6:

 

- Improved error message for saving incompatible geometries
- Fixed broken allocation table when importing an empty file
- Fixed Geneve boot floppy disk preparation; add AUTOEXEC import

tiimagetool306.zip

[Brufnus]

3 hours ago, mizapf said:

Track dump format is not defined for 80 tracks.

 

Edit: I added a check for tracks with a proper error message (informing that 80 tracks are not supported in TDF).

That would explain why I can't.  I'll try with 40 tracks instead then... thanks for the new version, by the way!

[Brufnus]

3 hours ago, mizapf said:

Track dump format is not defined for 80 tracks.

 

Edit: I added a check for tracks with a proper error message (informing that 80 tracks are not supported in TDF).

Yup, that worked! I'll try writing an image to disk and see how that goes. c",)

[Brufnus]

Now this is weird!

 

For some reason, OmniFlop encounters an error when reaching exactly 50% (side change, it would seem), even though I've done everything exactly as I did initially - a 720 K diskette with 0 bad sectors according to MDOS, DS/DD 80 track format in OmniFlop, and same format for the image generated with TIImageTool.

 

Thus, I started experimenting again; this time with a full metal jacket 7.62 mm - sorry, 1.44 MB - disk, albeit formatting it as SS/HD 80 tracks so that I still have 720 K available but doesn't encounter a side change (ha, I pulled your legs there OmniFlop, didn't I??) 😛

 

I had some corruption of the files with the former format; namely those files "in the middle" - so my setup seem to have some incompabilities. I can live with that for now though; transferring via a floppy disk beats the he** out of having to relocate my old XP notepad and power supply in an already messy and crowded office, just to transfer via Gentri. c".)

 

(Why doesn't he purchase that TIPI, for f**** sake??)  

 

Oh, by the way, Michael - I didn't figure out how to select a track dump image with the proper extention in OmniFlop, so I'll just stick to the sector dump. It doesn't really matter how it works, as long as it works, right?  

Edited September 5 by Brufnus

[+mizapf]

I don't think that OmniFlop understands TDF (unless it explicitly says so) anyway.