tlz@druxu.UUCP (ZrustTL) (06/01/85)
I have an Atari 130XE computer and have read things in the manual about a RAM Disk that is available with the 1050 drive and 2.5 DOS. Apparently it is intended for use with the extra 65K of RAM in the 130XE. I don't have a 1050 but would like to have RAM disk capability working in conjunction with my AT88 drives from Percom. Anyone familiar with how to do this, please let me know. To further complicate things, I would *really* like a RAM Disk version of OSS DOS-XL (I guess its back to the old device handler tables again)! druxu!tlz _ Terry L. Zrust (_) /~\ A.T.&T. Information Systems /~\ / \/\ 11900 North Pecos Street / \ /\ / | \ \ Denver, Colorado 80234 /\ / \ \/ /|\ \ \ Mail Stop 30J15 / \ / \ / //|\\ \ \ (303) 538-4547 ___ \_/ ___ \ ///|\\\ _\ Cornet 374-4547 _________________ _______ | ______
kevin@voder.UUCP (The Last Bugfighter) (06/07/85)
> I have an Atari 130XE computer and have read things in the manual about > a RAM Disk that is available with the 1050 drive and 2.5 DOS. Apparently > it is intended for use with the extra 65K of RAM in the 130XE. I > don't have a 1050 but would like to have RAM disk capability working in > conjunction with my AT88 drives from Percom. Anyone familiar with how > to do this, please let me know. To further complicate things, I would > *really* like a RAM Disk version of OSS DOS-XL (I guess its back to the > old device handler tables again)! > > druxu!tlz The ramdisk capability of the 130XE has nothing to do with the type of disk drive you use but of the additional bank-selected 64k block of memory available with the 130. On the DOS 2.5 disk is a binary utility file called RAMDISK.COM, once DOS is booted go to the DOS menu and do a binary load with option L. This will configure the additional 64k to function as a disk in RAM with the address D8: (note that this drive supports only 499 free sec- tors so the J copy disk option in the DOS menu won't work), it also copies DUP.SYS to ramdisk and establishes a MEM.SAV file. If you go from BASIC back to DOS your program will be stored in D8:MEM.SAV and the DOS menu will also be loaded from drive #8. Fast! To free-up as much ramdisk space as possible and to use drive #1 for DUP.SYS and MEM.SAV first purge these two files from RAM by using option D from DOS (BASIC XL users can enter ERASE D8:*.* - at least I think BASIC XL will talk to a drive #8). Then you must do a POKE 5439,ASC(`1') from BASIC to tell DOS to use drive #1 (the `' around the 1 are actually quotes). RAMDISK.COM can be loaded off of any Atari-compatible disk drive but loading it into only a 48k or 64k machine will result in nothing happening (at least nothing happens from an 810 into an 800, it loads but does nothing). The documentation seems to say that the ramdisk capabilities will work ONLY with DOS 2.5, so DOS XL - or any other DOS - probally won't work. DOS 2.5 with all its utilities should be available from most user groups and bulletin boards and is supposed to be package with all new 1050 drives. Other utility files included on the DOS2.5 master disk are COPY32.COM - which will copy DOS 3.0 files to DOS 2.5 (by the way, DOS 2.5 is supposed to be completely compatible with DOS 2.0S), DISKFIX.COM - which should fix any problems between versions 2.5 and 2.0S in addition to being able to re-store erased files that havn't been written over, and SETUP.COM - which will create AUTORUN.SYS files. --- Kevin Thompson {ucbvax,ihnp4!nsc}!voder!kevin "It's sort of a threat, you see. I've never been very good at them myself but I'm told they can be very effective."