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From: gillen@convexs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.atari8
Subject: Re: ATARI 800 and ATARI 800 XL
Message-ID: <102500001@convexs>
Date: Tue, 12-Aug-86 13:53:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: convexs.102500001
Posted: Tue Aug 12 13:53:00 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Aug-86 22:09:37 EDT
References: <139@uwmacc.UUCP>
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Nf-From: convexs.UUCP!gillen    Aug 12 12:53:00 1986


There are several differences betwixt the 800 and 800XL.  Notably:

1.  A new version of the OS ROM.  Many bugs were fixed and routines
shuffled about.  Programs that didn't adhere to the published entry
vectors and CIO calls, were bitten badly.

2.  Two fewer game ports.  Ports 3 and 4 were disposed of.  From what
I've seen of the memory maps, it also looks like the RAM locations used
by those ports were usurped for memory management facilities.

3.  More RAM.

The problem you're experiencing with "old games not working" isn't unusual.
Many programmers took short cuts and called various OS routines directly.
When the routines were shuffled about as part of the new OS, the short cuts
broke.  There is a remedy, though.  There is a "translator disk" that you can
boot that will load the old OS into some of the available RAM.  Many of the
broken programs will then work.

As for obtaining a copy of the translator, well, I don't have a good answer.
There are a few floating around, some in the public domain (see Antic
magazine's insert of public domain diskettes), some from user groups, or
some from Atari (I think you can still get 'em there).  Check around is all
I can suggest.

					Dave

I can't sing and I can't dance ... guess I'll have to program for a living.