#: 19763 S5/OS9 Users Group
    01-Mar-94  22:05:17
Sb: Programmer Wanted
Fm: - Visitor 76557,3564
To: All
2
Looking for programmers who program for CD-I and know Balboa.Send message via
mail
Press <CR> !>

#: 19780 S5/OS9 Users Group
    10-Mar-94  21:28:52
Sb: #OS9 USER GROUP
Fm: PHIL CHADWICK 73647,3306
To: SYSOP (X)
UNDER LIB 14 I FOUND FILE UGAPP.TXT. IT IS A APPLICATION FOR OS9 USERS GROUP
WROTE TO THEM NO ANSWER.  POSTMASTER SAYS NOT ON BOX NUMBER. DO YOU KNOW IF
THIS OS9 USERS GROUP STILL EXISTS??
There is 1 Reply.

#: 19783 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Mar-94  08:12:25
Sb: #19780-OS9 USER GROUP
Fm: Steve Wegert 76703,4255
To: PHIL CHADWICK 73647,3306
Phil,
The User Group does still exisit and just recently went through a complete
reoganization ....... again. I've lost track of what the current address is for
membership application but one of the directors is Mark Griffith [76070,41].
He frequents this forum, so why not drop him a line and see if he can't shed
some light on the situation.
*- Steve -*

#: 19807 S5/OS9 Users Group
    17-Mar-94  09:42:05
Sb: #CD ROM Driver
Fm: JOHN WOOD 100340,2147
To: ALL
Does anyone know of a CD ROM File Manager to run on OS9 ?
There is 1 Reply.

#: 19809 S5/OS9 Users Group
    18-Mar-94  06:36:00
Sb: #19807-CD ROM Driver
Fm: Mark Griffith 76070,41
To: JOHN WOOD 100340,2147
 > Does anyone know of a CD ROM File Manager to run on OS9 ?
Are talking OS-9/6809 or OSK?  If OSK, there is not a file manager yet, but we
do have some utilities to read CDROM drives.  What are you looking for?
                  /*********** /\/\ark *************/
                  (Upload with InfoXpress Ver. 1.01)

#: 19861 S5/OS9 Users Group
    01-Apr-94  14:26:03
Sb: os9 ftp problem
Fm: roy harrell 72520,1636
To: all
        We have a tcp/ip network consisting of a Force CPU30 box running OS9
2.4, an OS2 box running 2.1 and an HP Integra system running SCOUs Xenix. In
addition, we periodically attempt to tie into a LANtastic network of seven
pcUs, one of which has ArtisoftUs tcp/ip package. When separate both the tcp/ip
and LANtastic nets appear to work ok. When connected, things may run smooth for
a week or so with ftp and telnet services working properly across the various
platforms. Eventually however, sparks will fly, packet collisions detected on
the LANtastic net go through the roof and our periodic, background ftp tasks
originating on the Force hang during execution even though you can successfully
ftp in the foreground from the OS9 shell.
        We are prepared to sever the LANtastic connection in order to restore
network integrity which will, in most likelihood, eliminate our OS9 ftp
problems. Regardless, I would like a better understanding of the problem. Our
ftp tasks are periodically initiated from a C program with a system call
similar to the following:
#define FTP_TRANS R/dd/internet/ftp_tranpsS
I
I
I
                system(FTP_TRANPS);
The ftp_tranps file contains the following:
ftp -nv </dd/internet/tcpscript1 >-/dd/internet/output.ftp >>-
The tcpscript1 file contains the following:
open hphost
user opus meadow
lcd /dd/internet
append produxion.new
bye
When the system is working properly the data are transferred, the errors.ftp
file is null, and output.ftp contains the following:
Not connected.
Mode: stream       Type: ascii        Form: non-print    Structure: file
Verbose: on        Bell: off          Prompting: on      Globbing: on
Hash mark printing: off               Use of PORT commands: on
ftp> Connected to hphost.
220 hphost.UUCP FTP server (Version 5.52 #6 Mon Feb 5 16:28:10 CST 1990) ready.
ftp> 331 Password required for opus.
230 User opus logged in.
ftp> Local directory now /h0/USERS/INTERNET
ftp> 200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for duxion.new.
226 Transfer complete.
71 bytes sent in 0.03 seconds (2.31 Kbytes/s)
ftp> 221 Goodbye.
When the ftp task hangs the output.ftp file remains open and contains:
Not connected.
Mode: stream       Type: ascii        Form: non-print    Structure: file
Verbose: on        Bell: off          Prompting: on      Globbing: on
Hash mark printing: off               Use of PORT commands: on
ftp> Connected to hphost.
220 hphost.UUCP FTP server (Version 5.52 #6 Mon Feb 5 16:28:10 CST 1990) ready.
ftp> 331 Password required for opus.
<Error #000:003>
The Error #000:003 message originates after I <CTRL>C to break out of the list
output.ftp command. The procs list entry for the ftp task is:
Id PId Aging   F$calls I$calls Last      Read Written Module & I/O
22  21   250         7      47 SetStt     309     498 ftp <dd >dd >>dd
or, more typically,
Id PId Aging   F$calls I$calls Last      Read Written Module & I/O
22  20   250         5      17 Read       128     341 ftp <dd >dd >>dd
It is interesting that, by killing this ftp task, our data is transferred and
the system runs normally until this happens again.
IUd appreciate if someone could explain whatUs going on here. One last note,
the IP addresses all begin with 127 (eg, 127.1.1.1, 127.1.1.2 and 127.1.1.3).
Could this be part of the problem?
Thanks,
Roy Harrell

#: 19938 S5/OS9 Users Group
    04-May-94  12:09:55
Sb: #pipes vs. signals
Fm: Lou Tiberia 70431,3410
To: ALL
I'm using OS-9 on a 68000 CPU board in an embedded VME system. I need to send
information from an interrupt service routine to a process. Is it OK and/or
good practice to write into a named pipe from an interrupt service routine ? Is
using signals a better way ? lmt.
There are 2 Replies.

#: 19939 S5/OS9 Users Group
    04-May-94  16:51:17
Sb: #19938-pipes vs. signals
Fm: Bill Dickhaus 70325,523
To: Lou Tiberia 70431,3410 (X)
Lou,
Most of my experience with interrupt service routines is with 6809 OS9, but I
would think the same rules apply: limit any system calls within any interrupt
service routine, particularly those that involve other device drivers, even if
it is just a memory device like pipes. I would go with the signals. Maybe
someone else with more OSK experience will also answer.
        -Bill-

#: 19941 S5/OS9 Users Group
    05-May-94  21:12:56
Sb: #19938-pipes vs. signals
Fm: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203
To: Lou Tiberia 70431,3410
Doing I/O in an interrupt routine is _not_ recommended. However, I've done a
couple of games using this and haven't had them crash (yet). But signals are a
much better way to go than named pipes. Don't forget another method--shared
data modules.

#: 19952 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-May-94  06:53:47
Sb: #19941-pipes vs. signals
Fm: Yvan Borcard 100140,675
To: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203 (X)
For your problem I would also recommended  signals or shared data module.
I have tried both and it never crash up to now .The method with data module
is very simple to implement and it fits most of the case.

#: 19958 S5/OS9 Users Group
    14-May-94  10:27:58
Sb: #Looking for GNUMACS.?
Fm: Margaret Novotny 73207,3631
To: ALL
A friend of mine asked me to search the OS9 library base to see if I could find
a file called (he thought) GNUMACS.???.  He said it was some type of editor,
but my searching of the most likely libraries (5,6, and 9) turned up no matches
with GNU*.*.  Does anyone know where I might find such a file? I would
appreciate any information at all.
There are 2 Replies.

#: 19965 S5/OS9 Users Group
    15-May-94  19:10:32
Sb: #19958-Looking for GNUMACS.?
Fm: Timothy J. Martin 71541,3611
To: Margaret Novotny 73207,3631
A GNU emacs is available on many systems not sure about OS-9.  The micro emacs
version 3.11 is much the same and is available for OS-9.  Microware distributes
something called umacs which is a somewhat stripped down emacs.  All quite
similar on the surface however, and certainly familar to anyone familiar with
the emacs type editors.

#: 19967 S5/OS9 Users Group
    16-May-94  19:17:21
Sb: #19958-Looking for GNUMACS.?
Fm: John R. Wainwright 72517,676
To: Margaret Novotny 73207,3631
 > A friend of mine asked me to search the
 > OS9 library base to see if I could find
 > a file called (he thought) GNUMACS.???.
 > He said it was some type of editor, but
 > my searching of the most likely
 > libraries (5,6, and 9) turned up no
 > matches with GNU*.*.  Does anyone know
 > where I might find such a file? I would
 > appreciate any information at all.
 >
Margaret,
        I suspect that your friend is looking for "EMACS" - a very good text
editor.  "GNU-EMACS" is a version of that program by the GNU/FSF folks.  There
is source code for a version of EMACS (although not the most recent version) in
the "TOPS" uploads in lib-12 -- I think it is on disk #7, but you probably
should check the index first.  (one of the uploads is an index to the rest --
they are huge).  Also, try your search again with EMACS as the key.
           ********************************
  If you can keep your head while all about you are losing
  theirs ----- you probably don't understand the situation
 John R. Wainwright <<CIS -- 72517,676>> <<DELPHI -- JOHNREED>>

#: 20066 S5/OS9 Users Group
    25-Jun-94  12:33:35
Sb: #19783-OS9 USER GROUP
Fm: Joseph Bevilacqua 74222,2251
To: Steve Wegert 76703,4255 (X)
I stumbled upon this forum.  What is OS-9?  I am running in OS/2.  Is there any
connection?  Can I run thee OS-9 programs in OS/2?  Please reply to me via
mail, as I will not be returning to this forum again unless it turns out to be
something I can use.  Thanks.

#: 20175 S5/OS9 Users Group
    04-Aug-94  15:00:30
Sb: #alm_delete bug
Fm: Peter J. Neutelings 100024,171
To: all
/*
I have been searching the os-9 forum libraries for a problem which must be
known
for a couple of years yet, but without result.
We are facing problems with a OS-9 2.4 bug, where processes may delete
each others alarms.
 1. A process sets an alarm (e.g. using alm_set()) and stores the ID
    for being able to delete the alarm later, using alm_delete().
    (For implementing time-outs)
 2. The alarm expires
 3. Another process starts the alarm, which may get the same ID the
    the previously expired alarm from the other process
 4. If the first process tries to delete its alarm, it will delete
    the 2nd process's alarm!
 Of course, a work-around would be to use flags which keep the state of
 the alarm (already expired or not) and never try to delete an alarm
 which has expired already.
 But how can we ever be sure other applications we use (like 3rd party printer
 spoolers) are not killing our alarms?
 Does anyone know of a rock-solid work-around?
 Peter Neutelings, email 100024.171@compuserve.com
 Demo alm_delete problem, start as follows:
      al &; sleep -s 5; al
 */
#include <stdio.h>
int icpthand( sig )
short sig;
{
    return sig;
}
void main()
{
    int id1, id2;
    intercept(icpthand);
    id1 = alm_set(200, 300);
    id2 = alm_set(200, 600);
    printf("set 1:%d\nset 2:%d\n", id1, id2);
    sleep(0);
    printf("alarm\n");
    sleep(0);
    printf("alarm\n");
    printf("delete 1:%d\n", id1);
    alm_delete(id1);
    return;
}
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20176 S5/OS9 Users Group
    04-Aug-94  23:01:01
Sb: #20175-#alm_delete bug
Fm: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203
To: Peter J. Neutelings 100024,171 (X)
According to "The OS9 Guru", page 176:
        Only the creator of an alarm (same process ID) or the super user
process
        (group zeor) can delete an alarm.
So, you should be safe???
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20181 S5/OS9 Users Group
    05-Aug-94  12:40:37
Sb: #20176-alm_delete bug
Fm: Peter J. Neutelings 100024,171
To: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203 (X)
>According to "The OS9 Guru", page 176:
>
>       Only the creator of an alarm (same process ID) or the super user
process
>       (group zeor) can delete an alarm.
>
>So, you should be safe???
Yes I should..
"The OS9 Guru" errata of 30th june 1993 however asks us to correct the text
with:
Only the creator of an alarm (same process ID in OS-9 version 2.2, but same
group number and user ID in later versions)...
We use a OS-9 system to control a production machine. Our application is
started from the startup file. I prefer the operators not having to know
they're dealing with OS-9. So all processes get the same group number and user
ID (in fact it is even super user status).

#: 20186 S5/OS9 Users Group
    07-Aug-94  17:04:25
Sb: #20175-#alm_delete bug
Fm: Nick Hall 100330,2555
To: Peter J. Neutelings 100024,171 (X)
Peter,
Yes, we had the same problem on TV automation systems we were developing. The
work-around, if I remember correctly, was to make the alarms cyclic but I guess
this might be not appropriate for your systems.
We have also recently discovered a bug in the kernel for OS9/68K v2.4 that
causes the system to freeze if too many alarms are used! This was apparently
known about and a patch was forthcoming from our local Microware office.
Regards,
Nick Hall
Channel 4 TV, UK.
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20191 S5/OS9 Users Group
    08-Aug-94  22:07:48
Sb: #20186-#alm_delete bug
Fm: Kevin Darling 76703,4227
To: Nick Hall 100330,2555 (X)
Nick,
I've also recently heard about that alarm bug in 2.4.  How many alarms (and
what kind) does it take to freeze the system?  We're getting strange lockups
all of a sudden on some machines which use the net a lot.
thx - kev
There are 2 Replies.

#: 20197 S5/OS9 Users Group
    09-Aug-94  19:30:46
Sb: #20191-#alm_delete bug
Fm: Nick Hall 100330,2555
To: Kevin Darling 76703,4227 (X)
Kevin,
It appears that the problem is caused when a system-state 'process' (i.e a
driver) takes greater than 1 tick's worth of CPU time. Assuming the clock tick
is on a higher interrupt, the system global DTick value is still incremented,
but if the value goes past the alarm time when the driver returns, the hang can
occur. I guess the more alarms you have and the more frequent they go off, the
greater the chance of hitting the problem.
This problem has been fixed in v3.0 (so I believe) and hence the patch to our
kernel - thanks to Microware UK, who got us out of a nasty problem with only
days to going live with 2 new systems. Two useful utilities from Microware were
'alarms' and 'sleeps', which provide info on the alarm and sleep queues.
Whilst the problem no longer seems to cause the freeze, we still don't what is
soaking time in system-state. I'm looking into another problem of perceived
system slow-down when user interfaces load the network, but after reading your
message perhaps the two are related! You're not using OS-9 ISP (on MVME167/147
boards) by any chance?!
Regards,
Nick.
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20203 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Aug-94  00:08:28
Sb: #20197-alm_delete bug
Fm: Kevin Darling 76703,4227
To: Nick Hall 100330,2555
Nick,
Thanks for the info on the alarms glitch!
Yes, we're using OS-9 ISP on a MVME147, a MVME167 and several PEP VM40/VCOMs.
We began having lots of trouble with the PEPs which beat on the net (almost
2/3's of the cpu application time is spent on net transfers).  Mostly the
networking would cease to function (no telnet, ftp, but sometimes pings work),
although once on a great while the whole machine would hang.
PEP told us about the alarm bug, but we generally aren't using alarms in our
code when the hangs occur.  So far, we've tried a newer ISP version (with yet
another version coming beta from MW), cutting down net usage, etc. I also tried
bumping up the default IRQ system stack just in case the net drivers were using
a lot of stack space. No help yet.
We have noticed that the ISP processes such as ifman eat a lot of cpu time.
best - kevin

#: 20198 S5/OS9 Users Group
    09-Aug-94  21:20:44
Sb: #20191-#alm_delete bug
Fm: Boisy G. Pitre 74464,3005
To: Kevin Darling 76703,4227 (X)
 > Nick,
 >
 > I've also recently heard about that alarm bug in 2.4.  How many alarms
 > (and what kind) does it take to freeze the system?  We're getting strange
 > lockups all of a sudden on some machines which use the net a lot.
Speaking of alarm bugs in 2.4: I wrote a daemon at work some time back which
set up a cyclic alarm as super user, then changed to another user via setuid().
When the daemon died prematurely as the changed user, the kernel went in an
infinite loop trying to delete the alarm.  I can't remember the particulars,
but it has been fixed in 3.0 -- Boisy G. Pitre__    __  __              Delphi:
BOISY
          |_   _|   \ \/ /              CompuServe:  74464,3005 I use...   _|
|_     >  <               Internet:  boisy@os9er.waukee.ia.us
          |_____|NFO/_/\_\PRESS 1.2.0   OS-9 -- King of Operating Systems
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20204 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Aug-94  00:08:55
Sb: #20198-alm_delete bug
Fm: Kevin Darling 76703,4227
To: Boisy G. Pitre 74464,3005 (X)
Boisy,
Aha.  Thanks, that gave me some more clues (especially the part about changing
user ids).
Seems like half of our problem was overheating of commercial grade cpu cards
due to blocked filters.  The other half of the problems, we're still searching
for a solution.
best -kev

#: 20344 S5/OS9 Users Group
    10-Sep-94  18:49:05
Sb: #OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: all
I was given a CoCo 3 with a 5.25 inch drive and an AMDEK 3 inch drive that I am
trying to use with the kids at my school (I teach)...
The computer has something like Basic 2.1 installed in it... I have original
(5.25) disks for all kinds of languages - OS/9, Deft PASCAL, C, EDATSM (or
somthing like that), LOGO and about 500 other disks of games and programs which
I have never heard of...  I also have EVERY Rainbow magazine ever made I think
- every issue from #1 to about 1990 and about 30 books on various languages
I thought I would start to play with OS/9, since I have a "Rainbow Guide to
OS/9 along with all the other books and manuals...  I put the disk in the
drive, typed "DOS", hit enter (like the book says) - and so far as far as I can
get is to see the screen change color - say "OS/9 BOOT" and nothing more... The
disk drive keeps turning and turning and the screen just sits there...
I was all excited about the opportunity to learn about this computer and maybe
play with languages besides letting my students play some of the great old
games on occasion, but I'm stuck already!
I think I need OS/9 to run all of the other languages so now I'm stuck...
Can anybody help????????
Thanks....
There are 2 Replies.

#: 20347 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Sep-94  08:50:53
Sb: #20344-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Bill Dickhaus 70325,523
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
Jean,
Are you trying to use the original boot disk or a custom one? If its the
original, what version is printed on the disk label? You might want to take a
look through what came with the machine and see if there are any custom boot
disks.  Some of the OS9 games came on a bootable disk, you can check the
instructions and see, maybe try one of those if there is one.
Its possible that the CoCo was modified in some way that requires a special
boot disk.  What do you know about the machine configuration? Does it have
512K? Has it ever been modified? Is there a multi-pak interface involved? If
so, some cartridges are slot dependent (dependent on how the boot disk was set
up) so that could cause a problem like this.  One of the sticky problems with
any OS, is that you can't look at a boot disk to see what's wrong when you
can't boot the machine!
-Bill-
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20354 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Sep-94  17:03:53
Sb: #20347-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: Bill Dickhaus 70325,523 (X)
I'll check out my disks first thing tomorrow... The disks are original disks
from Radio Shack - one says System Resources and I think the other one says
Boot Disk - but can't be sure till I check them out..
I'm sure I'll get the hang of this machine yet... Although I know NOTHING of
its configuration... I have three long plastic tubes with really huge memory
chips in them - I wouldn't even know what they are, but the guy who gave me the
stuff told me... They don't look like any SIMMS I've ever seen, but then again
I'm sure they AREN'T!..
Let's see - there IS a multipack interface in a box, but since I only have a
couple of ROM packs - LOGO and an RS232 pack I never bothered to use it yet...
I just have the cable that comes out of the disk drive sticking directly into a
disk drive controller pack...
Will this thing only use Radio Shack drives? Or can an old IBM external drive
be used?
GOD! I can't believe that I feel so useless on this thing... I guess life has
been too cushy having Macs and plug and play :-)

#: 20350 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Sep-94  13:56:27
Sb: #20344-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
As Bill Dickhaus mentioned in his reply, you first need to check to see that
you are using the correct version of OS/9.  There were 2 "levels" of the OS. If
it is level 1, you need OS/9, Version 2.0, or Level 2 will work.  If it is
version 1.<anything>, it will not work.
Also, some of the disks do not operate under OS/9, of those you mentioned, Deft
PASCAL does not ( I think), and EDTASM doesn't.  These operate directly under
the Basic Operating system that you have when you first turn the computer on.
As Bill suggested, you might try and look for another boot disk, many of the
games have their own boot on them, but it is a very rudimentary system that is
included.
One thing for certain, if you are getting the "OS9 BOOT" logo, you do have a
boot disk of some sort, however, most errors will produce the prompt "FAIL"
beneath the first prompt.
Let us know how you are progressing; someone here is certain to be able to come
up with the solution.
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20355 S5/OS9 Users Group
    11-Sep-94  17:04:02
Sb: #20350-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: David Breeding 72330,2051
David -
Thanks for the reply... Glad to hear that some of the disks might work without
OS/9... Maybe sticking in the Deft Pascal and staring at it for a while will
let me regain some confidence!
No, I never get to the error stage of my OS/9 boot up... Even an error would be
more satisfying (in a strange kind of way)...  Normally when I'm working on a
Mac (or sometimes even DOS) machine I can change one variable and if things
screw up work back to find the problem...
Unfortunately with this one EVERYTHING could be a problem since its all new to
me.... But, I've never been one to give up.....I had a Beta VCR for years after
they virtually disappeared from the face of the earth too :-)

#: 20362 S5/OS9 Users Group
    12-Sep-94  23:02:49
Sb: #20354-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
 > I'll check out my disks first thing tomorrow... The disks are original
 > disks from Radio Shack - one says System Resources and I think the other
 > one says Boot Disk - but can't be sure till I check them out..
Hmm.. Looking over my original Disks, You MAY have ver 1.01, which will not
boot on the coco3.  My Ver 1.01 disks say "OS-9 BOOT", and "OS-9 System
Master".  The cat # is 26-3030.  However, you can get the original Level 1
assembler off this if you are into assembly language.  If you do, indeed, have
this non-bootable Version, and don't have a bootable version, I'm sure someone
has a spare copy of Level 2 that they will don't need and will let you have
very reasonably.
 > Will this thing only use Radio Shack drives? Or can an old IBM external
 > drive be used?
You can use about any type drive up through Double Density.  If you plan on
doing much with it and don't go to a hard drive, I'd suggest installing at
least one 720K disk.  The controller will not support High-Density disks,
however, you can use a 1.44 drive and use the 720-K disks, but can't use the
1.44-K disks.  The computer will support up to 3 double-sided disks. Oh, BTW,
is the Drive controller Radio Shack or third-party?
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20375 S5/OS9 Users Group
    15-Sep-94  05:35:49
Sb: #20362-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: David Breeding 72330,2051 (X)
Yep, solved the problem - found version 2.00 - it boots fine now... Thanks for
the help...
I have  all kinds of disk drives (3 inch! - not 3 1/2) but only have one
controller (radio Shack)  - does Radio Shack still sell the cables to let you
hook disk drives together?  I  get I/O errors all the time with the 5 1/4...
Does that mean there might be problems with the drive, or is it just my
stupidity???? :-)
There are 2 Replies.

#: 20377 S5/OS9 Users Group
    16-Sep-94  06:37:51
Sb: #20375-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Bill Dickhaus 70325,523
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
Chances are that its the drive, or the disks. I recently went through a box of
old 5 1/4 disks and could only get about half of them to even read, and the
ones that worked got lots of I/O errors. If its one of the older Tandy drives,
its also quite possible its out of alignment.
-Bill-

#: 20380 S5/OS9 Users Group
    17-Sep-94  12:35:00
Sb: #20375-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
 > I have  all kinds of disk drives (3 inch! - not 3 1/2) but only have one
 > controller (radio Shack)  - does Radio Shack still sell the cables to let
Not sure about 3" drives..  I'm not really up on exactly what is what on the
various drives.  Hopefully, someone here can enlighten you better than I.
Re: cables. you Might be able to special order them but, if you want to do a
lot with OS/9, you would be better off to set it up for double sided drives, it
will give you more capacity (Well.. of course it would <G> ).  I'm not sure, if
the drives are RS, they are probably actually double-sided, but the cable is
wired goofy so it will work 4 single-sided drives.. I believe you have to
modify the power supply board, I'm not sure, and the cables are easy to make..
all you need is a 34-wire flat cable, a standard 34-wire edge card connector
for the controller end, and the same for the 5 1/4 drives.  The 3 1/2 drives
require a different connector (not sure about the 3's).  However, all the 3
1/2's I've fooled with have #1 pin on opposite side than the 5 1/4's, so for
these, if you make up the cable, have them facing the opposite side than the
connectors for the 5 14's and then twist the cable.  Oh, most coco cables don't
have the twisted pair found in the PC cables.
 > you hook disk drives together?  I  get I/O errors all the time with the 5
 > 1/4... Does that mean there might be problems with the drive, or is it
 > just my stupidity???? :-)
I doubt it's you.. It could be the connections are dirty on the controller,
some cleaning might help.. Also, the drive COULD be slightly out of alignment.
Do you have 2 drives or 1?  If 2, are errors on both drives?
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20396 S5/OS9 Users Group
    24-Sep-94  17:06:28
Sb: #20380-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: David Breeding 72330,2051 (X)
Another one of those skills I'm going to learn and never knew I could -
building cables!  Why not - could come in handy someday... I've saved your
message - I may need it.....
Time to clean the drives.... I have 2 3 inch drives (# 0 and 1) OR I have one 5
1/4 - but not at the same time... I have to unplug one to use the other
one.......
Jean
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20401 S5/OS9 Users Group
    25-Sep-94  18:53:43
Sb: #20396-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
 > Another one of those skills I'm going to learn and never knew I could -
 > building cables!
 > Time to clean the drives.... I have 2 3 inch drives (# 0 and 1) OR I have
 > one 5 1/4 - but not at the same time... I have to unplug one to use the
 > other one.......
Will your case hold 2 or more drives?  If so, all you might need to do is add
another connector for the additional drive(s).  Then add the descriptor "d1" to
your bootfile.  What's the capacity of the 3" drives?  You can have up to 3
double sided drives or 4 single sided drives in the system (you can get more,
but it's a little complicated).
Oh, to get double-sided operation, if the cable is Radio Shack, you might have
to do more.. not familiar w/ RS cables, but it seems they might be connected a
little squirrely.. not sure.. never fooled with the RS versions myself.
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20405 S5/OS9 Users Group
    26-Sep-94  20:24:54
Sb: #20401-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203
To: David Breeding 72330,2051 (X)
Just thought I should add that if you are using a Amdeck Disk Drive (if memory
serves...) then these are a single sided drive using a 3" disk. However, the
disks are flippies. Don't know if cable hacking would hurt with these, but
please remember that they are single sided drives.

#: 20361 S5/OS9 Users Group
    12-Sep-94  23:01:31
Sb: #20355-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
 > Thanks for the reply... Glad to hear that some of the disks might work
 > without OS/9... Maybe sticking in the Deft Pascal and staring at it for a
 > while will let me regain some confidence!
To check for the non-OS/9 disks, under RS-DOS (what you start up in), insert
them individually and do a "dir" on them... if text shows up, they are DISK
BASIC disks and you can run them without OS/9.  Do you have docs for any of
them?
 > No, I never get to the error stage of my OS/9 boot up... Even an error
 > would be more satisfying (in a strange kind of way)...
 > Unfortunately with this one EVERYTHING could be a problem since its all
 > new to me....
Well, unless the disk is glitched, it should boot (although it doesn't). Since
it was with the CoCo 3, it SHOULD be either Level 1, Version2, or Level 2, but,
just in case, if you know someone who has a coco 2, you might try to boot on
it.  If it is level 2, it won't boot on the coco 2, but if it does boot and
says "Version 2" (of either level), then it is incompatible with the coco3.  Do
you have the games Flight Simulator 2, King's Quest, Rogue, koronis Rift, or
anything that says it's for the coco 3?  Any of these operate under OS/9..  On
some of these, you can exit to the DOS, and then you might be able to do dir's
on some of the disks you have in question. (Not the RS-DOS disks, I mean the
OS/9 disks)... One catch, all Standard disks are single-sided, and as supplied,
don't support double-sided disks, and the disks in question might be
double-sided..  Double-sided disks will boot, but the disks that come from
Radio Shack are not set up to support the double-sided disks.
However, you might look through your disks and look for another boot disk.
 >  But, I've never been one to give up.....I had a Beta VCR for
 > years after they virtually disappeared from the face of the earth too :-)
OK, you've got me convinced <G>
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There are 2 Replies.

#: 20363 S5/OS9 Users Group
    12-Sep-94  23:16:20
Sb: #20361-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: David Breeding 72330,2051 (X)
 > might try to boot on it.  If it is level 2, it won't boot on the coco 2,
 > but if it does boot and says "Version 2" (of either level), then it is
                       ^^^^^^^^ Darn... can't keep a thought straight... That
SHOULD have been
      "DOESN'T SAY"
 > incompatible with the coco3.
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^

#: 20374 S5/OS9 Users Group
    15-Sep-94  05:35:42
Sb: #20361-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: David Breeding 72330,2051 (X)
Good news... looking through the millions of disks that came with this computer
I realized that the version of OS/9 I was trying to get to work was version
1.00.... I then managaed to find Version 2.00... put it in and it workds like a
charm - well - if I knew how to use it - it would!
Next step - read the millions of manuals that came with this stuff and actually
DO something with this stuff...
Thanks again for the help...
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20379 S5/OS9 Users Group
    17-Sep-94  12:33:17
Sb: #20374-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
 > Good news... looking through the millions of disks that came with this
 > computer I realized that the version of OS/9 I was trying to get to work
 > was version 1.00.... I then managaed to find Version 2.00... put it in and
 > it workds like a charm - well - if I knew how to use it - it would!
Good.. I was almost certain this was the case.. Now, is your working version
Level 1, Version 2?  If so, and you want to do some neat stuff, see if you
have, Level 2.. If not, try to get a copy.. post here.. someone is sure to have
a spare copy they'll let you have cheap or nearly so.  It's far better,
windowing capability, 80-col screen etc (do you have a monitor?)
 > Next step - read the millions of manuals that came with this stuff and
 > actually DO something with this stuff...
If you are into playing with computers, you'll be truly amazed at what this
little computer can do.
I believe you'll be thrilled...
 > Thanks again for the help...
If I did help, I was glad to do so.  Any more questions... let us know.
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20395 S5/OS9 Users Group
    24-Sep-94  17:06:23
Sb: #20379-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
To: David Breeding 72330,2051 (X)
Gee, every time I think I'm getting the hang of this computer a little bit -
you guys ask me another question!  I'm not sure what Level the OS/9 disks
are... HOw do you figure that out?  There's a sticker on the disks that says
"2.00", but nothing else....
I was reading through one of the CoCo magazines that came with this and it
talked about all the great things that level 2 could do... sure seemed ahead of
its time...
The monitor I'm using is one from an Amiga in the school that's been sitting
around for more than a week - we kind of have a "use it or lose it" policy -
luckily for me...
I have a really silly question about os/9 - how do you get programs to run with
it... I have this huge book on OS/9 - it talks about all the great things it
can do, but I can't find out how after it's running I can stick in a disk that
runs under OS/9 and just run it (or load it, or EXEC it...) Maybe I'm just
overwhelmed and will figure it out eventually....
Jean
There are 2 Replies.

#: 20399 S5/OS9 Users Group
    25-Sep-94  11:33:48
Sb: #20395-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Pete Lyall 76703,4230
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020 (X)
Jean -
Simple - all you do is type the name of the program, and it will be loaded from
disk and executed.
There are some assumptions made:
   a) That the program is indeed executable code
   b) That the program is on the disk, and in the execution directory
      (usually /dd/cmds or /d0/cmds)
If you need to change disks to run your program, you need to help os9 find the
execution directory on the new disk. Your best bet here is to type the
following:
   chx /d0/cmds (or /dd/cmds)
   chd /d0      (or /dd)
   {program_name}
That should do it!
Pete Lyall

#: 20400 S5/OS9 Users Group
    25-Sep-94  18:52:45
Sb: #20395-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Jean Gagnon 72164,2020
 > Gee, every time I think I'm getting the hang of this computer a little bit -
 > you guys ask me another question!  I'm not sure what Level the OS/9 disks
 > are... HOw do you figure that out?
When you boot up, you should see a logo at the top of the screen. If it is
Level 2, it will say so.. There will also be a version #, but look for the
"Level #".  If you have your docs, they will be in a loose-leaf binder.  Also,
you can issue the command "mdir" and look for certain names.. Level 1 will have
a name "SysGo" there, Level 2 will have "CC3Go".
With Level 2, you will be able to access numerous windows, You will have to
start them up yourself (the docs should tell you how).  You can switch between
them using the "CLEAR" key.  Then you can start up numerous programs and have
them executing at the same time.  If you have "Flight Simulator" going in one
window, you can switch to another window and if you don't pause the program,
the plane may have crashed, because it will still be going, even though it is
not displayed.  If you want to print out a file to the printer, you can issue
the command "list {filename} >/p" and go to another window and do something
else.  (You can add "&" to the end of the above line and stay in that window
and the printout will proceed, and you can do something else in that window.
This will work with Level 1.
 > I was reading through one of the CoCo magazines that came with this and
 > it talked about all the great things that level 2 could do... sure seemed
 > ahead of its time...
Yes, it was.  It is still pretty up to date, except for the speed on some
tasks, and memory can sometimes be a little tricky for programmers.
 > I have a really silly question about os/9 - how do you get programs to run
 > with it... I have this huge book on OS/9 - it talks about all the great
 > things it can do, but I can't find out how after it's running I can stick
 > in a disk that runs under OS/9 and just run it
Pete Lyall did a good job in answering this question. To recap... OS9
"remembers" 2 directories..  an "execution" directory and a "data" directory.
If you issue the command "dir", OS9 first checks to see if the module (program)
named "dir" is in memory.  If not, it looks at the current "exec" directory to
see if a file by that name exists (the filename does not HAVE to be the same as
the module name, you COULD have a module named "cls" that will clear the
screen.  But, in this case if it is stored in the "exec" dir under the name
"dir" (and "dir" is not in memory), then it will load that file, and clear the
screen.
Lastly, if the file is not found in the execution directory, it will look in
the current "data" directory for a procedure file (same as "batch" file under
MS-Dos), and execute it if found.
You can also specify a specific full pathname for a command.  Suppose you have
2 drives (second drive is "d1").  There is a directory named "FOO" and say, in
that directory, there is a directory "FOO2", and in that directory, a program
(of either type) named "fooey".  You could, without doing a "chx", simply enter
"/d1/FOO/FOO2/fooey" and it will be found.
The best way to get the feel of it is to play with the "dir" command on various
disks.  One other thing.. filenames are not case-sensitive, but one standard
convention, although not required, is to have directory names in all upper-case
and filenames in lowercase.
Sorry to be so windy... just thought this might help.  Be sure you understand
Pete's msg.
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^

#: 20427 S5/OS9 Users Group
    29-Sep-94  22:57:57
Sb: #HELP! OS-9 TAPE C CODE
Fm: Rob Hilligoss 74503,2303
To: BOB VAN DER POEL 76510,2203 (X)
BOB,
I got past the initial problem of being able to transfer files to the tape
drive /mt0 by makeing a few system calls. But, now I need to somehow be able to
see the file after I transferred it using <frestore>. I believe the way to do
it is to update the index file. I looked at the the files in the /h0/sys dir
(backup_date etc.) but I am still not sure what needs to be updated and how to
go about it using "C" where it will be transparent to the user. I tried
manually updating one of the log files but when <Frestore> read in the index
file it read in a different date than the file I changed.
I know the file is there I did a <tape -r> but i am not sure how frestore is
supposed to tell what segment I wrote it to.
I would appreciate any hints or help anyone could contribute to the cause!
Thanks again
Rob
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20430 S5/OS9 Users Group
    30-Sep-94  21:33:33
Sb: #20427-HELP! OS-9 TAPE C CODE
Fm: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203
To: Rob Hilligoss 74503,2303
I'm certainly not a tape drive expert...I just use one to backup my hard drive,
but I've never tried to restore it. However, as I understand it, fsave writes
all the files into a single tape block and you have to use frestore to extract
stuff from an fsave file since normal os9 utilities don't know about the format
fsave uses. Of course, using frestore on something not created by save will be
sure to fail. I don't believe the index portion of the file is ever updated.
fsave just stores the date in backup_dates and uses this on incremental
backups.
Does this help?

#: 20433 S5/OS9 Users Group
    02-Oct-94  20:21:18
Sb: #20405-#OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203 (X)
 > Just thought I should add that if you are using a Amdeck Disk Drive (if
 > memory serves...) then these are a single sided drive using a 3" disk.
I don't have the 3" drives.. It was Jean Gagnon (sp?), don't have her acct no.
available right now.  If you missed the thread, she came across a CoCo 3 and I
believe she had a single RS Floppy, and some spare 3" drives around.
I was trying to give some suggestions RE: getting her OS9 up and running, and
blindly giving hints on hooking up the drives..  Not sure what you have to do
with RS controller/cable/drives to get DS operation.
Guess as I write, you are enjoying yourself in Atlanta.. I intended to go, and
one of my aims was to pick up a copy of ved/vpt for OSK.. still haven't gotten
it yet <SHAME>...  But my partners came up with a job that we had to get out
this weekend.. and I hated to  bug out on them... <SIGH>  Guess I'll have to
rely on good ol' US Snail...
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
There is 1 Reply.

#: 20436 S5/OS9 Users Group
    03-Oct-94  21:24:51
Sb: #20433-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203
To: David Breeding 72330,2051
Yeah, the stuff about the 3" drives was directed to the other person...but
since I just replied to the last message in the thread it got your name on it.
Hope see read it.
Nope, I couldn't afford (time or $$) to go to Atlanta. Hope those who did had a
good time. What, no ved/vpt yet! Better get with it <g>.

#: 20457 S5/OS9 Users Group
    08-Oct-94  22:36:56
Sb: #20436-OS/9 won't work - HELP!
Fm: David Breeding 72330,2051
To: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203 (X)
 > Nope, I couldn't afford (time or $$) to go to Atlanta. Hope those who did
I really intended to go, but just kinda got knocked out of going... well, could
have, but hated to bug out on my pards.
 > had a good time. What, no ved/vpt yet! Better get with it <g>.
Yah, I'm really good at procrastination.  Of course, I had aimed to get it at
Atlanta, but c'est la vie..  I'll just hafta get my order on the Snail.
BTW, this IS being composed with Ved on my CoCo.. That ought to make you feel a
little better <G><G><G>.
                   -- David Breeding --
                 CompuServe :  72330,2051
                     Delphi :  DBREEDING
         ***  Sent via CoCo-InfoXpress V1.01 ***
                       ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^

#: 20541 S5/OS9 Users Group
    10-Nov-94  12:34:23
Sb: Device Driver Help Neede
Fm: David M. Horn 73260,242
To: Peter Baxter 74650,2522
Microware has a full NFS package that sits on top of
their InterNet Support Package.  Does this meet your
needs?
David Horn

#: 20553 S5/OS9 Users Group
    15-Nov-94  07:00:39
Sb: #20541-Device Driver Help Neede
Fm: Peter Baxter 74650,2522
To: David M. Horn 73260,242 (X)
David -
I have a system where I need to create a device driver and file manager which
can then be mounted by NFS server.  I am looking for a full-blown device driver
and file manager sample - I can't believe I am the first one to write one of
these ... so I am hoping to get a _good_ sample.
If you hear of anything, let me know. Thanks for tip.
Peter Baxter

#: 20623 S5/OS9 Users Group
    12-Dec-94  15:01:08
Sb: Device drivers on OS9
Fm: Frank Poulsen 100424,2536
To: All
Is there anyone out there (there probably are!), who can help me with at little
devicedriver problem.
I want to call one device driver from another... but how?
I have a timer device which executes a IRQ every 1 ms., this routine should
call two other devicedrivers to set some IO-ports, is this possible?
Bye bye
Frank Poulsen