peter@nuchat.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (01/17/88)
I have been having trouble getting disks booted on an 800XL. Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 tries to boot up (say) Boulder Dash Construction Kit, following directions in the package or not. Usually it doesn't even hit the disk... just gives me notepad. Once it starts talking to the disk everything usually goes like clockwork. I've tried turning on the computer first, the disk first, holding down various keys during the boot, etc... what is the accepted sequence? I have an 800 with two Percom DD drives, and an 800XL with 2 1050s (as well as a Zenith terminal and an Amiga 1000 with 4.5 Megs... I also pull down mumble mumble bucks a year as a Sr Software Engineer... that is to say I'm not a novice). -- -- a clone of Peter (have you hugged your wolf today) da Silva `-_-' -- normally ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter U -- Disclaimer: These aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.
seg@pbhya.UUCP (Stephen Grove) (01/19/88)
References: <539@nuchat.UUCP> In article <539@nuchat.UUCP>, peter@nuchat.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes: > I've tried turning on the computer first, the disk first, holding down various > keys during the boot, etc... what is the accepted sequence? > You boot the computer with the disk on, when you are dealing with a 130xe. And I would think that would be true of most systems, I have to do the same with 3B5s and 3B2s at work. If the disk isnt on, the proccesor won't find it when it boots, and will be unaware it exists. Stephen Grove sun!ptsfa!pbhya!seg
cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (01/19/88)
Here's the scoop on booting disks on the 800XL:
1) Turn on at least Drive 1 BEFORE turning on the computer. Wait for the
little red light to go out (about 5-8 sec).
2) Place an autoboot disk (not ALL disks CAN autoboot, for one thing) in
Drive 1.
3) Whether or not you have any cartridges in the slot is up to you; if you're
gonna use, say, ACTION!, you need to have that one IN. SPACE INVADERS or
whatever, you'd want OUT...
4) If not using a cartridge, to boot WITHOUT "built-in" BASIC, hold down the
OPTION key, and continue holding it down while you go to step 5. If you
want to boot WITH built-in BASIC, DON'T hold anything, just go to step 5!
5) TURN ON THE POWER TO THE COMPUTER!
At this point, the disk should begin twirling, the light on the drive
should come on, and you should hear the bee-bee-bee-bee-beeps of the disk-
read operation.
If you don't mind my asking, how'd you get to own an 800XL with all those
drives, and NOT KNOW THIS stuff? Seems well-nigh inconceivable to me; I'd
think it'd not only be in the manuals, but would be just about the first
thing ANY computer owner would pick up in the first two hours of ownership...
Oh well, maybe I'm biased; I'm quick with these things. If it can be flow-
charted, I can comprehend it.
Chris Chiesa
Senior, CS Dept.
Ball State University
Muncie, INjdd@db.toronto.edu ("John D. DiMarco") (01/25/88)
In article <539@nuchat.UUCP> peter@nuchat.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes: >I have been having trouble getting disks booted on an 800XL. Sometimes >it takes 4 or 5 tries to boot up (say) Boulder Dash Construction Kit, >following directions in the package or not. Usually it doesn't even hit the >disk... just gives me notepad. You mean 'self-test mode', don't you? An 800XL doesn't have a notepad mode. Anyhow - how warm is the room your computer is in? I've found on my 800XL (with one 1050 drive), that if the room is too cold, I have to try several times before I can get the disk booted. >I've tried turning on the computer first, the disk first, holding down various >keys during the boot, etc... what is the accepted sequence? Turn the disk drive on first, then the computer. If you don't want BASIC, hold the option key down while you turn on the computer. If the boot doesn't work, try again until it does. >I have an 800 with two Percom DD drives, and an 800XL with 2 1050s (as well as >a Zenith terminal and an Amiga 1000 with 4.5 Megs... I'll trade you an 800XL with one drive, an MPP1000C modem, and a 1020 plotter for that Amiga. :-) >.................................................... I also pull down mumble >mumble bucks a year as a Sr Software Engineer... Care to give any money to a poor student? :-) John -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John DiMarco Hard work never killed a man ... jdd@csri.toronto.edu ... but it sure has scared lots of them! {uunet!utai,watmath!utai,decvax,decwrl,ihnp4}!utcsri!jdd jdd@utcsri.UUCP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
peter@nuchat.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (01/31/88)
In article <1895@bsu-cs.UUCP>, cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher F. Chiesa) writes: > Here's the scoop on booting disks on the 800XL: > 1) Turn on at least Drive 1 BEFORE turning on the computer. Wait for the > little red light to go out (about 5-8 sec). OK, I do that. > 2) Place an autoboot disk (not ALL disks CAN autoboot, for one thing) in > Drive 1. OK, I do that, too. > 3) Whether or not you have any cartridges in the slot is up to you; if you're > gonna use, say, ACTION!, you need to have that one IN. SPACE INVADERS or > whatever, you'd want OUT... Action? Not me. I'm a C66 fan. Anyway, check. > 4) If not using a cartridge, to boot WITHOUT "built-in" BASIC, hold down the > OPTION key, and continue holding it down while you go to step 5. If you > want to boot WITH built-in BASIC, DON'T hold anything, just go to step 5! Yeh, I got that from the manual. Do that, too. > 5) TURN ON THE POWER TO THE COMPUTER! Bingo. This sequence as often as not dumps me in NOTEPAD. > At this point, the disk should begin twirling, the light on the drive > should come on, and you should hear the bee-bee-bee-bee-beeps of the disk- > read operation. After 2-5 tries I get here. > If you don't mind my asking, how'd you get to own an 800XL with all those > drives, and NOT KNOW THIS stuff? Seems well-nigh inconceivable to me; I'd > think it'd not only be in the manuals, but would be just about the first > thing ANY computer owner would pick up in the first two hours of ownership... I guess I'm just lucky enough to have got a lemon. Oh well, for $69 I can't complain too much. Guess it's time to dump the 800XL and go back to my 800. If I could get BoulderDash for the Amiga I wouldn't bother. > Oh well, maybe I'm biased; I'm quick with these things. If it can be flow- > charted, I can comprehend it. "The flowchart is the most oversold peice of program documentation ever" -- C.A.R. Hoare. -- -- a clone of Peter (have you hugged your wolf today) da Silva `-_-' -- normally ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter U -- Disclaimer: These aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.
dave@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Dave Goldblatt) (02/01/88)
Sounds like from your description (dropping into the notepad) that you may
have a bad connection between your 800XL and your drive; if you're hearing
the infamous (thhhhhpt) sound (!), that means your drive isn't connected.
(to hear what that sounds like if you're not familiar with it, just unplug
the drive and turn on the computer)
I would suggest swapping cables (if you have extras), checking for bad/loose
pins, and maybe cleaning the contacts..
-dg-
Internet: dave@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
BITNET: bh0u@CLUTX.Bitnet
uucp: {rpics, gould}!clutx!bh0u
Matrix: Dave Goldblatt @ 1:260/360
"Sometimes you tell the day by the bottle that you drink
And times when you're alone all you do is think.."
-JBJ,RSgil@icus.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.) (02/01/88)
In article <1988Jan25.130826.28981@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> jdd@db.toronto.edu ("John D. DiMarco") writes: >In article <539@nuchat.UUCP> peter@nuchat.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes: >>I have been having trouble getting disks booted on an 800XL. Sometimes >>it takes 4 or 5 tries to boot up (say) Boulder Dash Construction Kit, >>following directions in the package or not. Usually it doesn't even hit the >>disk... just gives me notepad. > >You mean 'self-test mode', don't you? An 800XL doesn't have a notepad mode. > >Anyhow - how warm is the room your computer is in? I've found on my 800XL >(with one 1050 drive), that if the room is too cold, I have to try several times >before I can get the disk booted. [some descriptions & suggested solutions deleted] > >>I have an 800 with two Percom DD drives, and an 800XL with 2 1050s (as well as >>a Zenith terminal and an Amiga 1000 with 4.5 Megs... This isn't the same problem, but this might explain some wierd disk activity that could be the cause of problems such as the ones above. Although the Atari computer components themselves are well-shielded as a rule (the 1050 disk is not really), the cables are not really shielded. I have found when I connected more than one drive or printer off the interface serial port, I get spiratic disk errors (which sometimes ruin the data on the disk), and some retries on sector reads when booting DOS (not something that's a ususal occurance). What I have attributed the problems to, since I had no problem with the computer before I moved to an apartment, is the MASSIVE amount of RFI (radio interference) in the area (my television gets a massive amount of interference from various sources, including what appears to be an unknown transmitter nearby). I believe that some of the more powerful interference is being picked-up inside the disk drive circuitry, causing the drive to act up. I have looked into the various hardware-related problems including a very comprehensive look at my drive and different disks, etc. It is definitely not either. I am curious if similar problems have occurred like this in Atari or other manufacturers' equipment. Also, has anyone shortened the interface cables on their Atari equipment to see if this helps? Perhaps it is being picked-up through the AC line? Please post answers to these or related queries unless they would not benefit others. Becuase I tend to be lax in sending each individual who replies to my postings a note of thanks, I thank anyone who replies in advance. +------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+ | Gil Kloepfer, Jr. | Net-Address: | | ICUS Computer Group, Systems Dvlp. | {boulder,ihnp4,talcott}!icus!gil | | P.O. Box 1 | OtherNet: gil@icus.UUCP | | Islip Terrace, New York 11752 | | +------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
peter@nuchat.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (02/05/88)
In article <1988Jan25.130826.28981@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>, jdd@db.toronto.edu ("John D. DiMarco") writes: > I'll trade you an 800XL with one drive, an MPP1000C modem, and a 1020 plotter > for that Amiga. :-) Throw in a Pixar and Leo Schwab's bike and I'll do it. -- -- a clone of Peter (have you hugged your wolf today) da Silva `-_-' -- normally ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter U -- Disclaimer: These aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.