Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!caen!math.lsa.umich.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc From: hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: TT TOS (and operating systems in gen Keywords: TOS OSs carts??? Message-ID: <1991Jan8.221017.8189@math.lsa.umich.edu> Date: 8 Jan 91 22:10:17 GMT References: <1991Jan7.005252.10937@bwdls61.bnr.ca> <3203@gmuvax2.gmu.edu> Sender: usenet@math.lsa.umich.edu Distribution: na Organization: University of Michigan Math Dept., Ann Arbor Lines: 34 In article jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca writes: >In <1991Jan7.005252.10937@bwdls61.bnr.ca>, Pierre Fortin writes: >>Well, for starters: The current OS (1.4) fits in 192K of ROM, *BUT* there >>is only 128K available on the cart port. If you can figure how to squeeze >>the OS into that little cart... :^) > How about packing the part that is loaded into memory and unpacking >on boot-up? I think ST Internals said there were several tricky ways >to get 512k out of the cartridge port. > Come to think of it, wasn't there a company that sold 4 meg ram >drives that went into the cartridge port. Someone posting here a few >months ago had one. Yep, I have a 4 Meg Ultradisk from Alpha Systems. Alpha Systems doesn't make these any more, nor do they seem to be supporting them with new software. It's a pity, because this thing is really handy. Plugs into the cartridge port, has its own NiCd battery backup and an external power supply - completely non-volatile reset-survivable RAMdisk. My gripes - the autoboot code stopped working with TOS 1.4, and it doesn't seem to work on my STe - boot-up says it only has 32K of RAM installed. (!!!) Apparently when the ST is powered up the cartridge draws power from the ST and the STe isn't feeding enough current out the cartridge port to power all 4Meg of RAMs in the cart. Big drag. But it *is* a nice fast system. Writes are somewhat slow because of the way that's fudged, but for reads you bank-switch in 64K at a time. No transfer delays to speak of - literally lightning fast access. I wish they would reconsider and resurrect this product, or something similar. Maybe something with larger capacity hanging off the DMA port, so Spectre users could use it as well. It'd be slower, but more flexible. RAM is cheap enough now, I could go for a 16 meg battery-backed DMA port RAMdisk/cache. -- -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan Flame all you want - we'll take more.