Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!bloom-beacon!gatech!udel!rochester!bbn!uwmcsd1!ig!agate!ucbvax!UWOCC1.UWO.CDN!CCSCHR From: CCSCHR@UWOCC1.UWO.CDN Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit Subject: (none) Message-ID: <8802081447.AA27452@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: 8 Feb 88 14:47:36 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 86 Let's try this addressing then ..... ! Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1988 14:18 EST From: Chuck Reid Subject: Kermit-65 under ATARI DOS 2.5 using 130XE Ramdisk; Help! To: Atari Digest Pick a question, any question ... ? I located a bug in John Dunning's Kermit-65 application, often mentioned in this Digest; with John's help I was able to build a patch for the problem. This seems to be the first of many problems to eliminate before before I can successfully port Kermit-65 to my desired operational environment; Kermit-65 doing its Upload/Download to the Ramdisk on the ATARI 130XE using ATARI DOS 2.5. I am open to suggestions on the DOS 2.5 part of this implementation!! I think I am breaking new ground in this area in that the Kermit-65 bug that I patched dealt with K-65 not actually accepting 8 (eight) for the 'default-disk' option. DOS 2.5 supports its Ramdisk as drive D8:, I think most other implementations try to look similar to this config? No one else seems to have mentioned this problem, therefore, Happy Ground-breaking! ------- DOS 2.5 when booted will always load the 850 interface if it finds this device powered on. This happens just after the Ramdisk is initialized. I then load K-65 from the DUP.SYS menu and K-65 has problems with what DOS 2.5 has done to the 850, claiming the "850 is not responding". - How does one prevent DOS 2.5 from loading the 850? - How does one get DOS 2.5 to load a piece of object code as an AUTORUN SYS file like DOS 2.0? My circumvention is to turn off the 850 while DOS 2.5 is loading and then power it back up before loading K-65. This works fine but is clumsy as hell and will definitely shorten the life of my 850!!! Once K-65 is loaded OK and my patch is on to support drive D8:, everything works as advertised!! D/Ls to the D8: Ramdisk are faster and quieter (no constant start/stop of my disk drive for each disk block received; This is what I am really trying to accomplish, elimination of the disk drive wear and tear associated with Kermit transfers)!! So at this point, I can get the data to the Ramdisk but must then insure that any D/Ls done during the session are moved to a "real" disk before powering off the 130XE. K-65 does not provide a Copy command as one of the (very handy) disk-handling commands currently supported. I must then exit back to DOS (DUP.SYS actually) in order to move the datasets from the virtual to the real disk. K-65 provides an exit back to DOS thru the Exit or Quit commands and as you might guess, this part of the puzzle is being a little inconsistent as well. - What is the approved/most successful/correct way to exit from a piece of object code back to DOS (2.0 / 2.5 / any other DOSs)? - What is the difference between exiting from a piece of object code loaded as an AUTORUN.SYS file as opposed to the same code loaded by the "L"oad function of DUP.SYS? (For various DOSs, as above). K-65 loaded as AUTORUN.SYS on DOS 2.0 exits normally. If I boot DOS 2.0 and then load K-65 or AUTORUN.SYS from the DUP.SYS menu, EVERYTHING works just fine until I attempt to return to DOS; then BOOM! I think John Dunning mentioned that K-65 simply attempts a RTS to return to DOS. He may have the luxury of being able to use a more structured DOS allowing a simple return such as this. - Any comments? - Anybody got any information on the DOSs mentioned or the use of this flavor of Ramdisk (other than what is mentioned in the standard Atari documentation)? If it is in an electronic form, tell me where or mail it to me! Anyone who wishes to comment on any of these questions, feel free. If you send them to me, I can summarize to the list. If you can't reach me, send to the Digest. Any 130XE owners interested, let me know ! Thanks ahead of time! Chuck Reid, University of Western Ontario, "I should have something novel or London, Ontario, CANADA. catchy to attribute to someone else, but I don't!" CCSCHR@UWOCC1.UWO.CDN CHR. (Somewhere out there in BITNET)