[Coco] Making OS-9/NitrOS9 more user friendly Facebook group discussion

[Bill Pierce]

Alex, I understood exactly what you were referring to and have given it a lot of thought (and research) over the past couple of years.
The big problem with such boots have little to do with OS9 or the bootfile, but with RSDOS itself. RSDOS can only read the WD1773 (and variants) controller with SSDD, 35trk drives and the rom is not able to read any other format of drive. To boot from an HD directly would require a rom that can read the drive, or at least the boot track. This is because when you start your Coco, you must be in a state that RSDOS (or other) can actually read the HD without loading some utility.

This being said, there are several rom systems that allow HD (or VHD) access which would allow one to write boot tracks for the intended system. One example is the "bootrom" Brett Gordon put together (using his "CocoBoot" system) for booting directly from the SD card on the Coco3FPGA. This system boots directly into NitrOS9 when the Coco3FPGA is turned on. I've already added bootable images to the NitrOS9 repository for the Coco3FPGA & SD card, but it requires Brett's bootrom to boot automatically.

Another alternative is HDBDOS, which would allow the kernel to be read from a floppy or RSDOS partition (HD or VHD) drive, then read the bootfile from the target system.

So yes, if the system is setup (custom rom) for the target drive type, then BootMajik could make a bootfile for it. I use hdbdos and dw4 extensively and I was using a Glenside IDE for a couple of years (traded it for another Coco3 recently), so I'm pretty much aware of how HDs boot and different methods to do so.
BootMajik will not use the "OS9Gen" or other boot utilities as it will do it's own merging and LSN0 edits, just for this very purpose.

First I must get the program working for standard boots on standard systems, then adding different methods of booting will be much easier.

The concept for BootMajik as well as many of the needed utilities/features are complete but the module selection & display of the modules is the major holdback. The method of display and selection is what will make the "Ease of Use" factor shine and therefore must be user friendly with almost no user input. Point & click what you need, click "Create" and a boot is made.

All I can say is if you want to see how this point-n-click interface works, just try the MShell File Manager. BootMajik will be a new module for the MShell system and will use the same GUI.

(site needs major updating)
https://sites.google.com/site/dabarnstudio/mshell---the-ultimate-os-9-gui

 

 

Bill Pierce
"Charlie stole the handle, and the train it won't stop going, no way to slow down!" - Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull

My Music from the Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 & 3
https://sites.google.com/site/dabarnstudio/
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E-Mail: ooogalapasooo at aol.com

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Evans <alxevans at concentric.net>
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Fri, Nov 17, 2017 12:13 pm
Subject: Re: [Coco] Making OS-9/NitrOS9 more user friendly Facebook group discussion

I mean to boot from such a device, not merely to support such a device   once I boot. Sorry I wasn't clear.-- Coco mailing listCoco at maltedmedia.comhttps://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco