15 replies to this topic

[Heaven/TQA]

is it possible to force warp speed sio loading on every disc without hardware mod?

i am using ape software and would like to boot every software with full speed even if its not tend to do so...
(--> flashing my atari 8max cart f.e. or boot discs).

maybe i havent found the doc or the option in ape but it would be cool...and if the software doesnt like the new sio driver of course you should be able to switch it off...

any ideas?

[Rybags]

An OS mod?

I actually assumed that such a mod already existed. Or are you referring to unconditional I/O at turbo speeds?

I would assume that command frames are always 19.2 kbps, so a simple patch might not work.

[jaybird3rd]

The Ape Warp+ OS upgrade is designed to allow the use of high-speed I/O for all A8 software. Here is a direct link to the product page:

http://www.atarimax..../documentation/

I haven't tried it yet, but it's the next item on my shopping list.

[Heaven/TQA]

can my atari maxcart be flashed with the ape os? that would be cool... i am not a hardware guy and so i do like plug and play solutions...

[Rybags]

WarpOS is a "mod" though.

What about your AtariMax cart? I don't have one, can it install a driver, then switch itself out (ie - show BASIC or RAM underneath)?

[Heaven/TQA]

we have to ask Steve... Steve?

[Rybags]

Cartridges can't map outside the $8000 - $BFFF address space (except for hardware regs around $D5xx), so that rules out running a full OS.

A device driver built into the cart would only be of full value if the whole cart can be banked out when you want it to.

[ijor]

The computer determines SIO speed, not the peripheral. There is nothing you can do at APE side to force warp speed. You need “something” at the computer side. Either a modified OS, or at least a loader that will make a modified OS under the ram (which would work in some cases, but not in all).

[Stephen]

ijor, on Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:15 AM, said:

The computer determines SIO speed, not the peripheral. There is nothing you can do at APE side to force warp speed. You need “something” at the computer side. Either a modified OS, or at least a loader that will make a modified OS under the ram (which would work in some cases, but not in all).

The APE software comes with an ATR image named "APE WARP (MyDOS 4.53) Utilities Disk.ATR". Boot from that and it will install a software OS with the warp routines.

Stephen Anderson

[Rybags]

I think Heaven is wanting to just have unconditional fast I/O with APE, without having to load DOS every boot.

e.g. old boot menus, full disk games etc.

[Stephen]

Rybags, on Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:19 PM, said:

I think Heaven is wanting to just have unconditional fast I/O with APE, without having to load DOS every boot.

e.g. old boot menus, full disk games etc.

Well, the only way to do that is with an OS upgrade. If he doesn't want to load a software one each time, then he will have to open his machine and install a new OS chip. I use the 32-in-1 OS in mine, and absolutely love it.

Stephen Anderson

[Cybernoid]

Wouldn't you be able to add a new D: handler loader as a segment to your code or as a stand alone program?

I would think you would be able to create something like a R: handler, but a D: handler that replaces the normal routines AND that would run at the 3X speed....

Is this possible?

[Rybags]

Any device handler can be replaced.

In any case, there is no "D:" handler in a standard OS.

That's done by DOS.SYS.

I think what Heaven wants is 3x speed as standard, for things like the old 3-sector boot menus, and for single game boot disks.

It is entirely possible, my question is: what are the bank-select options on the Flash Megabit cartridge?

Such as:
What is the default banking configuration when you power up?
Can the cartridge be swapped out, leaving the inbuilt BASIC, or RAM from $A000-$BFFF.

If it is the case that the cartridge is enabled at power up, then can be swapped out, it would be a simple case of creating a routine that replaces the default SIO handler.

The most likely way (for maximum compatibility) would be to have it copy the OS to RAM, then steal the vector at $E459.

[Heaven/TQA]

Rybags... that's exactly what i want to have... flash my flashcart with the loader... like my C64 Action Replay Cart with the Turbo Loader...

[Rybags]

Thought so.

Does the flashcart have technical doco with it?

The only question I have is: can it bank out, so that the normal RAM appears beneath it?

Most likely the banking would be performed by accessing the $D5xx range.

Edit:

There are Forums on the AtariMax site. Maybe someone has already developed a resident SIO-turbo system.

Anyway, I found some doco. Funnily enough, the Help File for Atari800Win+ had the info I was after:

Type 41: AtariMax 128 KB flash cartridge

This bank-switched cartridge occupies 8 KB of address space between $A000 and $BFFF. The cartridge memory is divided into 16 banks, 8 KB each. The 4 lowest bits of the address written to $D500-$D50F select the bank mapped to $A000-$BFFF. Writing to $D510-$D51F disables the cartridge and any write to $D520-$D5FF is ignored.

Type 42: AtariMax 1024 KB flash cartridge

This bank-switched cartridge occupies 8 KB of address space between $A000 and $BFFF. The cartridge memory is divided into 128 banks, 8 KB each. The seven lowest bits of the address written to $D500-$D57F select the bank mapped to $A000-$BFFF, bit 7 disables the cartridge.


So, the trick would be to use one 8K bank to hold the initialize routine for a fast-SIO routine.
The cartridge should be defined as one which initializes, then returns control to the OS, so that a boot can be performed (ie - like a language cartridge).
The cartridge could copy the OS to RAM, then add a patch to call the turbo routines.
Then, run some RAM based code which disables the cartridge, sets the RAMTOP pointers properly (to 48K), and returns to the OS, continuing the boot process.

The main problem with said technique is that the OS running in RAM is "vulnerable" to overwrites. But, it has to be that way, since you need to modify the code at $E459 to call your own routine.

Edited by Rybags, Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:57 AM.

[classics]

If your OS can run from RAM you could use the -XLOS option to build a cartridge image.

This will build a cartridge image that installs a copy of your OS in RAM before restarting the cartridge. Have a look at the maxflash source code, most of what you need is already there. It may even work as-is using the -TRANSLATOR option, but I havent tried it myself. Probably a gotcha in there somewhere.

Alternately look in the MyIDE+Flash forum. There is a very nice high speed OS patch posted there by the author of AtariSIO that you can run as an autorun.sys type program to patch in high speed I/O routines.

Steve