Was smartBASIC available on floppy?

[nectarisneo]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if smartBASIC was ever available on disk in addition to the tape version. Or, is there a way to convert the tape data to disk format? Luckily, the tape drive in my ADAM is functioning properly, but it's nice to have other options. Thanks.

[ColecoDan]

If anyone would know that it would be NIAD, you should pm him if he doesn't see this post.

[Inky]

I don't think it was officially, but I do recall that NIAD (the users group, not the AA member) had it for sale on floppy at one time.

[NIAD]

SmartBASIC was never officially released by Coleco on 5 1/4" diskette, it was only available on Digital Data Pack.

 

Now that that is out of the way, you can copy the Data Pack version to diskette via one of the numerous copy utility programs that were made for the ADAM... the best one to use is File Manager v3.0 and another very good one is Backup+ v3.0. There are a couple issues when making a direct copy from data pack to disk that hold true for not only SmartBASIC, but also other Data Pack software:

 

SmartBASIC defaults to Data Drive #1 after loading even if it is loaded from another drive. So if you load SmartBASIC from Digital Data Drive #2 or Disk Drive #1 / #2 and then type "CATALOG", it will try to load a catalog from a Data Pack inserted in Data Drive #1... even if there isn't one installed. This was a simple bug to correct and the disk image I have attached remedies this problem.

Once SmartBASIC loads it will automatically try to load any file named "HELLO" (basically allows for making a self-booting program), but it defaults once again to Data Drive #1. This is another bug that was easily fixed and the image included will take care of this problem.

When you make a direct backup from Data Pack (256K) to Disk (160K), the Data Packs directory is copied as is so the disk copy will show a lot more blocks free/available than there really is. Some backup programs corrected the blocks free counter while othe did not. I personally always choose to file copy all the files from one media to the other and then copy block 0 (the boot block that tells the ADAM what to load next) from the source to the destination. As you can see, the Data Packs can hold 96K more than disks, but you probably won't run across too many instances where a data packs contains more than 160K of used blocks.

 

The attached disk image can be converted back to an ADAM 5 1/4" disk using the MS-DOS DCOPY program that I explained to you a couple months ago. If you need a copy program as well, let me know.

SmartBASIC v1.0 (Disk Enhanced) (1983) (Coleco - M.M.S.G.).zip

[nectarisneo]

Thank you once again for the very detailed explanation and file attachment. I'll give it a try and report back with my results as soon as I can. Thanks to this forum, my ADAM has gone from sitting in a box to being used fairly regularly. This forum is an amazing resource! I greatly appreciate all of the help.

[nectarisneo]

Sorry for the delay. I foolishly recycled the Windows 98 pc that I previously used to write ADAM floppies and struggled to get another suitable machine up and running. Luckily I saved the floppy drive before recycling the computer. The SmartBASIC disk image works great. I like the intro music that plays while the disk is loading. Nice touch. Thank you once again for going above and beyond to answer my questions.

[NIAD]

Glad to hear that you got it transferred to ADAM disk format and working.

 

BTW, the title screen with music is not original to SmartBASIC. It was taken from the Electronic Flashcard Maker program and then I edited the text on the title screen with the SmartBASIC info. When I was cleaning up all the disk images in my collection a couple years ago, I also added this musical title screen to all the programs that did not display there own title screen while loading was in progress and also made them completely auto-loading so that anyone that uses them in the future will not have to known the load command/file for each specific program.

[nectarisneo]

Now that I think about it, the DDP version of SmartBASIC that I have does lack a title screen. Well, even if the title screen and music aren't original, it definitely makes everything look more polished and provided some brief entertainment while the disk is loading. Is it just me, or does the DDP load faster than the floppy version? Thanks again for the effort.

[NIAD]

While the loading of the title screen/music on the disk version I supplied does indeed increase the overall load time of the disk version, it still is considerably faster than loading the Data Pack version. Considering that Digital Data Drives are very scarce, especially in good working condition, I would recommend only using them when absolutely needed.

 

Amazingly, the disk drive comes up for auction considerably more times on eBay then the Data Drive... you just have to keep your fingers crossed that it is in working condition since "SO MANY" people have no means to test.

[NIAD]

Here is a disk image of SmartBASIC v1.0 that does not include the title screen and DOES include the bugs that are listed above as being fixed in the previous disk image uploaded. Basically, the Data Pack version copied to disk and with the BLOCKS FREE adjusted to show the correct amount left.

SmartBASIC v1.0 (1983) (Coleco).zip

[nectarisneo]

Thanks for the additional disk image. As for the loading time difference between the DDP and disk, I'll have to give it a try to see just how much longer it is for the DDP. I own two ADAM computers with fully functional data drives. I guess that I am lucky, but I'll take your advice and limit their use. Needless to say, I also own a working floppy drive, but I am equally fearful of that failing someday too.

 

Ebay is always a good source of entertainment, and it's interesting to see how vague sellers are about the items that they sell. I've found all of my stuff locally and find it interesting to talk to the people who puchased the computers when they were new. The floppy drive was the first ADAM item that I owned. It was included with some other stuff that I bought about two years ago or so. The floppy drive inspried me to find an ADAM to use it with. I almost gave the drive away but am glad that I decided to keep it. As nice as it is to have the floppy drive, I would also like to have the ADAM SD drive if it ever becomes available.