lackey@Alliant.COM (Stan Lackey) (05/17/88)
Well, I finally decided to get the new XF551 disk drive, and yes, only DOS 2.5 came with it. I read on the net that Spartados supports the new features, so I dug my copy out of the pile and tried it. It really does use the DS/DD capability. However, to my horror, I found that the Atari assembler does not seem to run under it. I tried assembling my homemade text editor (which is rather large), and found that it seemed to load OK, but hangs up while reading one of the source files. Is there any fix? If the fix is getting mac65 (is that what it is called?), where do I get it? Also - I noticed that people have been talking about putting cartridges on disk. Can this be done without hacking the hardware? I would love to get rid of those stupid cartridges. Even if it is just the ones that don't overwrite themselves. Thanks. -Stan
gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.) (05/20/88)
In article <1819@alliant.Alliant.COM> lackey@alliant.COM (Stan Lackey) writes: |>Well, I finally decided to get the new XF551 disk drive, and yes, only |>DOS 2.5 came with it. I read on the net that Spartados supports the |>new features, so I dug my copy out of the pile and tried it. It really |>does use the DS/DD capability. However, to my horror, I found that |>the Atari assembler does not seem to run under it. I tried assembling |>my homemade text editor (which is rather large), and found that it |>seemed to load OK, but hangs up while reading one of the source files. This sounds like the problem I had with the Atari Macro Assembler (AMAC). The disk keeps on spinning and seeking but nothing seems to happen... |>Is there any fix? Good question. Not that I could find. I think AMAC does some funny things with I/O, specifically with a part of the IOCB that you are not supposed to depend on (but it does). That's the reason for the problem. |>If the fix is getting mac65 (is that what it is called?), where do I get it? I have no idea anymore, but I know it permanently solved my problems, and it was ten times faster. Granted, it is a bit obscure in a sense, but is much more flexible (and has less bugs) than AMAC. Yes, AMAC has some really bad bugs... |>Thanks. -Stan Sorry to only be able to provide this small amount of information, but I hope it helps. Surely the same outfits that carry the Action! cartridge will carry the MAC-65 cart and toolkit. Take a look in some Atari magazines. +------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+ | Gil Kloepfer, Jr. | Net-Address: | | ICUS Computer Group, Systems Dvlp. | {boulder,ihnp4,talcott}!icus!limbic!gil| | P.O. Box 1 | Voice-net: (516) 968-6860 | | Islip Terrace, New York 11752 | Othernet: limbic!gil@icus.UUCP | +------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
chasm@killer.UUCP (Charles Marslett) (05/25/88)
In article <126@limbic.UUCP>, gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.) writes: > In article <1819@alliant.Alliant.COM> lackey@alliant.COM (Stan Lackey) writes: > |>Well, I finally decided to get the new XF551 disk drive, and yes, only > |>DOS 2.5 came with it. I read on the net that Spartados supports the > |>new features, so I dug my copy out of the pile and tried it. It really > |>does use the DS/DD capability. However, to my horror, I found that > |>the Atari assembler does not seem to run under it. I have written a PD (simple minded, no macros, etc.) assembler for the 6502 that should not have any trouble running under SpartaDos (or 2.5, or ...). It has been distributed for several years by the DALACE club library and if anyone wants a copy I can post or mail it (the source is several files totaling about 300 sectors I think, the executable is about 25 sectors -- SD sectors that is). The syntax is mostly AMAC with a few extensions to handle code moved over from MAC65. Does anyone want to add macros or extend the object format to self-relocating code? Here's your chance! Charles Marslett chasm@killer.UUCP [Wordmark Systems, home of the FASTchip, MYDOS, and A65]