Hmmm... something went wrong
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 11:38 pm
Hello everybody,
I own a Divide Plus since a long time ago, but I have not used it too much basically cause I also own a normal DivIDE and didn't have much time to test DivIDE Plus features. But today I decided to test it, and well... something went wrong.
First, I noticed It was booting to FATWARE, so as I'm used to ESXDOS I searched for ways to install ESXDOS, and I found it on this forum (http://rwapadventures.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=75). So I downloaded the TAP file, put it in my CF card (the same one I use on the other DivIDE with ESXDOS), and followed the instructions. And that went OK, since that very moment the DiviDE plus was booting ESXDOS (though, to my surprise, it didn't show the ESXDOS boot screen anymore, only once, but the ESXDOS NMI features were there).
Then I remembered DivIDE plus could load different firmwares, so I readed a handwritten note I had together with the DivIDE plus that reads "OUT 23,x;PRINT USR 0 to switch fw". I didn't have the list of x values handy, so I started trying "OUT 23,1", "OUT 23,2", "OUT 23,3", followed by PRINT USR 0. Nothing but normal resets happened until I did OUT 23, 6, that MDOS3 loading screen showed up. Yes, maybe X=2 and X=4 did something, but as I expected a loading screen as with ESXDOS I didn't see anything special. I went on and tried X=8 and X=10, but I only got some vertical blue bars and computer freezed just after the OUT command.
Well, then I tried to switch back to ESXDOS, what I managed to do by doing OUT 23, 0:PRINT USR 0. And I used it a bit, loaded some games and it went fine.
But then I tried to enter -via NMI menu- in folder with a lot of files, and after some scrolling down through the files, suddenly all of them were the same one "ADDAMS.Z80", the whole list was the same file, again an again. I scrolled up and even the ".." folder was not there anymore (it was when I scrolled down) so I could not get back to previous folder. So I unplugged the Spectrum and rebooted.
But now ESXDOS doesn't load, that is, when I press NMI menu I get just a reset, and when I type a dot command, it resets too.
I have not fatware anymore, so I cannot use the TAP file to re-write ESXDOS firmare, and I have no Idea how to do it with MDOS3. Now OUT 23,2 makes a reset too, and I've tried to launch ResiDOS using the pokes in the manual plus the USR call, and it freezes.
I could try to fix it writing the ESXDOS firmware again vía the EAR connector, but before trying such vintage method, is there anything else I can do?
Thanks in advance
Update: I found that pressing space key while booting resets ESXDOS, and now ESXDOS boots again, and at least the NMI menu seems to work, but the dot coomands still freeze the computer. Maybe the dot commands were freezing the computer before as well, and I just didn't use them so I didn't notice.
By the way, same CF card works fine with the normal DivIDE (I can use dot commands and NMI menu in ESXDOS).
Update 2: I also tried to make the IDE connector master, and then connect the CF card via IDE2CF adapter. Results are basically the same, except that one of my tries to run .ls command lead me to TR-DOS !?? (i retried twice after that and only got Spectrum freezed again).
I own a Divide Plus since a long time ago, but I have not used it too much basically cause I also own a normal DivIDE and didn't have much time to test DivIDE Plus features. But today I decided to test it, and well... something went wrong.
First, I noticed It was booting to FATWARE, so as I'm used to ESXDOS I searched for ways to install ESXDOS, and I found it on this forum (http://rwapadventures.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=75). So I downloaded the TAP file, put it in my CF card (the same one I use on the other DivIDE with ESXDOS), and followed the instructions. And that went OK, since that very moment the DiviDE plus was booting ESXDOS (though, to my surprise, it didn't show the ESXDOS boot screen anymore, only once, but the ESXDOS NMI features were there).
Then I remembered DivIDE plus could load different firmwares, so I readed a handwritten note I had together with the DivIDE plus that reads "OUT 23,x;PRINT USR 0 to switch fw". I didn't have the list of x values handy, so I started trying "OUT 23,1", "OUT 23,2", "OUT 23,3", followed by PRINT USR 0. Nothing but normal resets happened until I did OUT 23, 6, that MDOS3 loading screen showed up. Yes, maybe X=2 and X=4 did something, but as I expected a loading screen as with ESXDOS I didn't see anything special. I went on and tried X=8 and X=10, but I only got some vertical blue bars and computer freezed just after the OUT command.
Well, then I tried to switch back to ESXDOS, what I managed to do by doing OUT 23, 0:PRINT USR 0. And I used it a bit, loaded some games and it went fine.
But then I tried to enter -via NMI menu- in folder with a lot of files, and after some scrolling down through the files, suddenly all of them were the same one "ADDAMS.Z80", the whole list was the same file, again an again. I scrolled up and even the ".." folder was not there anymore (it was when I scrolled down) so I could not get back to previous folder. So I unplugged the Spectrum and rebooted.
But now ESXDOS doesn't load, that is, when I press NMI menu I get just a reset, and when I type a dot command, it resets too.
I have not fatware anymore, so I cannot use the TAP file to re-write ESXDOS firmare, and I have no Idea how to do it with MDOS3. Now OUT 23,2 makes a reset too, and I've tried to launch ResiDOS using the pokes in the manual plus the USR call, and it freezes.
I could try to fix it writing the ESXDOS firmware again vía the EAR connector, but before trying such vintage method, is there anything else I can do?
Thanks in advance
Update: I found that pressing space key while booting resets ESXDOS, and now ESXDOS boots again, and at least the NMI menu seems to work, but the dot coomands still freeze the computer. Maybe the dot commands were freezing the computer before as well, and I just didn't use them so I didn't notice.
By the way, same CF card works fine with the normal DivIDE (I can use dot commands and NMI menu in ESXDOS).
Update 2: I also tried to make the IDE connector master, and then connect the CF card via IDE2CF adapter. Results are basically the same, except that one of my tries to run .ls command lead me to TR-DOS !?? (i retried twice after that and only got Spectrum freezed again).
