[Coco] NitrOS-9 V03.02.00 Released

[David]

On Wed, Dec 10, 2003 at 06:42:27PM -0500, Gene Heskett wrote:
> On Wednesday 10 December 2003 18:05, David wrote:

> >> >Gene, you are using the wrong syntax.  It should be:
> >> >os9 copy ./nos96309l2v030200_ds40_1.dsk /dev/fd0,

> >> >The comma at the end is important.

> >I'm not sure that this is the correct usage for "os9 copy", is it? 
> > This would simply copy the .dsk image to a file on the floppy.  If
> > you have a .dsk image you wish to put onto a "real" floppy, use dd.
> >
> >However, as Boisy pointed out, the comma is _extremely_ important. 
> > The documentation is not really explicit to some of us more
> > foggy-headed individuals - Boisy had to explain it to me.  The
> > comma specifies that the name preceding it is an image "file", and
> > that it is to be treated as an OS9 "image".  However, the device
> > (/dev/fd0) can be treated as an image just as a file.
> >
> >> Humm, reformatted it, then:
> >
> >With fdformat first.  I believe Boisy already mentioned this, but
> >fdformat will lie to you about the geometry, claiming it's 9(?) SPT
> >regardless of the true geometry.
> >
> >One caveat for setfdprm.  I guess you are aware of this, but any
> >parameters set by setfdprm are lost if you remove the floppy.  If
> > you remove the floppy and replace it, you need to setfdprm again.
> >
> >> [root at coyote nos96309]# /root/bin/os9copy
> >> ./nos96309l2v030200_ds40_1.dsk /dev/fd0,
> >>
> >> (thats all one command line above, word wrap you know) returns
> >> instantly with no disk access being done and no error message.
> >> Again, splitting the os9 and the copy up with a space like you
> >> did:
> >>
> >> [root at coyote nos96309]# /root/bin/os9format /dev/fd0
> >
> >I believe you would need a comma after /dev/fd0 here, too (maybe
> > not)
> 
> Putting a comma of the /dev/fd0 results in a copy of the .dsk file 
> being put in /dev as 'fd0,'

Yes, I guess it would.  I do believe that I did do some os9 copy'ing
directly to the floppy.  However, it might be safer to simply use the
os9 copy,dsave, commands on a .dsk image, and then dd the image to the
floppy.  You'd have to do a fdformat on the floppy, but you wouldn't
need to os9 format /dev/fd0, since the format info would be overwritten
by the dd anyway.  "fdformat" just does a low-level format, which would
be all you'd need.

Hmm...  I just played around with my setup.  I just copied a file to the
floppy and then copied it back and did a cmp on the files and they were
identical, so it _does_ work.

One note.  On the os9 copy, you probably have to specify a filename for
the destination.  I.E.  "os9 copy testfile.txt /dev/fd0,testfile.txt"

Again, you don't want to _COPY_ a .dsk image to a floppy.  All you'd get
would be a copy of the .dsk file.  You have to "dd" it to make an actual
floppy of that image.

> I got a message from someone who has experence with my chipset and 
> writing bios. He says the superio chip set can indeed do this, its 
> just not being properly configured by drivers/block/floppy.c.  So I'm 
> working on that intermittently, attempting to setup additional 
> entries in the disk format tables it contains that would match the 
> os9 requirements.

Unless you are running an extremely new chipset, I doubt if that's the
problem.  I think it's either in your configuration or your command
syntax.  Note the above.  FWIW, here's the coco-specific entries in my
current /etc/mediaprm.  The names were originally different, but when I
upgraded my system, this was the file that came with the update, and
these were the entries that were already there, so I left them.  Note
that the setfdprm mnemonic names (COCO1, for example) are
case-insensitive -- I.E, you can enter it as "coco1" just as well.

"COCO1":
 SS DD sect=18 cyl=35 ssize=256

"COCO2":
 SS DD sect=18 cyl=35 ssize=256

# TRS-8- Color Computer os9 formats (to be confirmed).

"COCO360":
 DS DD sect=18 cyl=40 ssize=256 tpi=48

"COCO720":
 DS DD sect=18 cyl=80 ssize=256 tpi=96

> When that failed, I went downstairs and hacked into the startup script 
> to make the /t3.dd thats in the os9boot file into a t2 that addresses 
> my hardware, finding all sorts of bugs in the shell that I don't 
> recall hitting before.  Bugs that make me break up what should be a 
> one liner argument list to xmode into 5 seperate invocations of xmode 
> to get it all set.

What system is this?  Some of the latest release?
 
> Then I found I can only iniz and use 4 of the dozen or so window 
> descriptors in that bootfile too, bummer.  And only one of them is 
> really usefull, the rest seem to be limited to 28 char wide active 
> portions of the screen, and about 6 lines deep, on a 40x16 screen.

Yes, These need to be fixed.  The /w? descriptors need to be fixed.
 
> Anyway, I got that so I can type text back and forth between here, 
> using minicom, and there, useing supercomm.

Why don't you just use "login" on the coco, and log in as a terminal.
Does supercomm use its own zmodem?  If you used login, you could use the
rzsz programs.  I'm not sure what size blocks they support.
 
> Next I found that sz uses a 1k block size in the linux version, but 
> the coco/os9 version is hard coded to a mnax of 256 byte blocks.  I 
> fixed that sz invocation up here to limit it to 256 byte blocks, but 
> then minicom got a tummy ache (its a POS) and I'm going to have to 
> reboot to get rid of it and the locks it has on /dev/ttyUSB0.
> 
> Gawd I wsh we had a term program for linux that actually worked like 
> Term-4.7 on the amiga.  Maybe we do, and I just haven't found it.

I've not had much trouble with minicom logging onto the OSK box.  I
think I've used login on the coco, but it's been a long time if I
did.

> Anyway, I have now wasted another day with this and I have to get on 
> my horse and ride.  We have a music session to go audit at a local 
> supper club, a close friend of mine, and a funeral visitation to hit.  
> A local teacher, 41, got tired while shopping down in star city, sat 
> down to rest and died.  She had been waiting for a heart transplant 
> and already had a pacemaker in to keep that one ticking, but I guess 
> it wasn't enough.  To top that off, out of that whole family, all but 
> one so far has died at about 40 for the last 2 or 3 generations.  And 
> that one has worked for me for the last 19 years.

I'm sorry to hear this.  My sympathy and prayers go out to the family.

> Wish me luck tonight, I feel like I need it...

Good luck on everything.