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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Programs needing NoFastRam
Message-ID: <2451@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Oct-87 11:19:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbmvax.2451
Posted: Fri Oct  2 11:19:31 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Oct-87 09:53:44 EDT
References: <1800@crash.CTS.COM>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 45

in article <1800@crash.CTS.COM>, amiguy@pnet01.CTS.COM (Sean Wolfe) says:
> 
> Having a lot of Old 1.1 programs (mostly games) and not wanting to switch KS
> everytime I wanted to go between a 1.1 and a 1.2 program I found the solution.
> There is a program on the boards called NOFAST . It turns off FASTRAM .
> There are a lot of programs that run as tasks and turn off fastram, but these
> are not effective on software that need to be booted or that take over the
> machine.  But NOFAST is different.  You invoke NOFAST and the machine ReSets.
> Then you continue as normal, but the system won't autoconfig. the fastram.
> Now.. This works fine on the 1000, but I don't know if it will work on the
> 2000 as I don't have one.  I don't know how to upload files on this UseNet or
> I would as it isn't very long... If you can't locate NOFAST.arc leave me
> E-Mail....
>                         AmiGuy
>                         Sean Wolfe

This may not work as well on an A2000 or A500 with 512K expansion card as it
does for a normal A1000 with external expansion RAM.  It depends on exactly
what the NOFAST program does.

The basic mechanism these programs use is that the re-start the system ROM
(or the KickStart code in RAM on an A1000).  They just shut things down and
jump back to the start of ROM.  And this shuts down every expansion board.
The reason being that expansion boards, once configured, stay in their
configured state until a hardware reset comes along.  However, the system
software can only recognize unconfigured boards, which it then configures.
If I use the C-A-A reset, I generate a hardware reset, but this scheme of
jumping to the start of ROM can avoid any hardware resets, so none of your
expansion stuff gets recognized.

What's special about the A2000 or internally expanded A500 is the RAM at
$C00000.  This RAM is a motherboard resource, as opposed to an expansion
bus resource, so it isn't recognized via the autoconfiguration mechanism,
but much earlier in the start-up process with a simple RAM test.  If the
NOFAST program takes this into account by skipping this RAM test, then
it will work just as well as on the A1000; otherwise, that extra 512K of
NON-CHIP memory will be recognized.

> UUCP: {cbosgd, hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, nosc}!crash!pnet01!amiguy
> ARPA: crash!pnet01!amiguy@nosc.mil
> INET: amiguy@pnet01.CTS.COM
-- 
Dave Haynie     Commodore-Amiga    Usenet: {ihnp4|caip|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh
   "The B2000 Guy"              PLINK : D-DAVE H             BIX   : hazy
    "Computers are what happen when you give up sleeping" - Iggy the Cat