Z*Magazine: 23-Feb-87 #40
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/09/93-10:58:13 AM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 23-Feb-87 #40
Date: Fri Jul 9 10:58:13 1993
-----------------------------------
Zmagazine February 23, 1987
Issue 40
-----------------------------------
Zmag Staff:
Publisher/Editor in Chief:Ron Kovacs
Editor/Coordinator:Alan Kloza
-----------------------------------
ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
*** C.H.A.O.S. ***
Capitol Hill Atari Owner's Society
Lansing, Michigan
Call Their BBS at:
(517) 371-1106
____________________________________
This Week in Zmag......
<*> ATARI CORP. POSTS EARNINGS--
1986 A PROFITABLE YEAR
<*> EXPRESS! STATUS REPORT--
NEW VERSIONS FORTHCOMING
<*> LEDBETTER RESIGNS AS
SIG*ATARI SYSOP
<*> CHICAGO ZMAG EXCERPTS--
WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI MAGS
<*> GAMES COMPUTERS PLAY NOW
PLAYING WITH THE ST'S
<*> FIRM ACCUSED OF PIRATING
SHAREWARE PROGRAMS
<*> ADDING A HARD DRIVE TO YOUR
ATARI 8-BIT--STEP BY STEP
All this and more in this weeks
edition of Zmagazine.....
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG NEWSFILE--ATARI NEWS
....Atari Corp. Posts Earnings......
_____________________________________
FEB 20,1987
(ATARI) (ATC) Atari Corp.
Reports 1986 sales up 82 percent.
Net income up $59 million
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BW)--Atari Corp.
reported Friday record results of
operations for the year ending
Dec. 31, 1986.
Sales for the fourth quarter were
$92,667,000 vs. $65,350,000 for the
prior year, an increase of 41.8
percent. Income before extraordinary
credit for the fourth quarter was
$11,950,000. Net income was
$22,997,000, or 87 cents per share,
vs. $14,899,000, or 64 cents per
share for 1985.
Sales for the year ending Dec. 31,
1986, were $258,131,000 vs.
$141,987,000 for 1985, an increase of
81.8 percent. Income before
extraordinary credit for 1986 was
$25,050,000 vs. a loss of $14,314,000
for 1985.
Net income for 1986 was $44,516,000.
Net income per share was $1.89 in
1986 vs. a loss of 62 cents in 1985.
"Our strong performance in 1986 is
the result of growing consumer
awareness of the value of the ST
personal computers and a resurgence
in demand for video game systems,"
said Sam Tramiel, president.
The ST is steadily gaining market
share in the United States and is
already one of the largest selling
personal computers in Europe. Sales
of video game systems continued to be
strong, with the company enjoying one
of its best Christmas seasons for
video game sales in recent years.
Tramiel said the introduction of
advanced computer and video game
products will drive the company's
growth in 1987. Atari announced
important new products in January,
including an IBM PC clone that will
sell for less than $500; more
powerful multi-megabyte versions of
its ST computer line and a laser
printer for desktop publishing; and
the powerful XE video game system.
"We're operating from a position of
strength now," Tramiel said. "We are
virtually debt free and have a solid
equity base on which to build the
company's future."
Atari Corp. is one of the largest
manufacturers and marketers of
personal computers and video game
systems in the world. Atari Corp. is
located at 1196 Borregas Ave.,
Sunnyvale, Calif. 94086. Telephone:
408/745-2000.
CONTACT: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale
Greg Pratt, 408/745-2349
or
Amidei and Co., San Francisco
Gary Frank or Hunter Gooch,
415/788-1333
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG NEWSFILE--8-BIT NEWS
....Express! Status Report
_____________________________________
[The Terminal Programs]
1030 Express-Currently at Version 2.1
850 Express-Currently at Version 3.0
MPP Express-Currently at Version 1.0
The scheduled release of 3.0 for
the 1030 and MPP has been delayed.
Probably won't be released till
summer at the earliest.
[The BBS Programs]
1030 Express-Currently at Version 2.0
850 Express-Currently at Version 1.0
ST Express-Currently in Beta Test
The ST version of BBS Express! is
currently running in beta test. Call
the Midnight Express BBS at (804)
379-4156 and at elf Express (219)
233-5777 to check it out for
yourself.
We are currently recording all
suggestions for additional features
for the 1030 and 850 versions of BBS
Express!. We are also looking into
ways to incorporate some of these
suggestions. At this time and until
a solution to the memory limitation
can be worked out, we do not have any
scheduled release dates for upgrades
to the 1030 and 850 versions.
As the status of the Express! series
of programs change, we will update
the status here, so you can get the
inside scoop here instead of the
'Rumor Mill'.
If you currently own the 1030/XM301
version of BBS Express! and would
like to upgrade to the 850-compatible
version, send your original disk
(again?!?), $14.95, plus $2 to cover
shipping and handling (total $16.95)
to us. Please include a note saying
that you are upgrading to the 850
version of the BBS.
The 850-compatible version of BBS
Express! is now shipping! To run the
850 version, you must have an 850
interface (or compatible [P:R:]) and
your modem MUST be able to hang up
with the DTR lead.
Watch for more Express updates and
status reports as they become
available.
_____________________________________
Xx..Ledbetter Leaves SIG*ATARI......
_____________________________________
**********************
From: Keith Ledbetter
To: SIG*ATARI Members
**********************
Effective Saturday, 2/14/87, I am
resigning as a SYSOP on SIG*Atari. I
have accepted a new job that requires
relocation, and I feel that the
requirements of the job will no
longer leave me the time needed to
hold a SYSOP title here.
I plan on staying active on
Compu-Serve as time permits, and can
be reached under my non-SYSOP ID of
72457,3442.
I would like to thank everyone on
Compu-Serve for the enjoyment that I
have gotten out of this job. And, a
big thanks to the other SYSOPs of
SIG*Atari. I have greatly enjoyed my
time here, and look forward to
continuing to be a part of the fine
SIG*Atari network.
Keith Ledbetter
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG NEWSWIRE--CHICAGO ZMAG
...Excerpts From The 2-10-87 Issue..
_____________________________________
Bruce Kennedy (the originator of
Zmag in Chicago) is now at work on a
local Rhode Island edition in
conjunction with RIACE (Rhode Island
ACE). This will bring the number of
local Zmag editions up to 3 (that I
know of)-- Chicago, New Jersey, and
Rhode Island.
If you know of any others, drop me a
line. If you'd like to write to
Bruce, send it to:
Bruce Kennedy
310 Spring Valley Drive
E. Greenwich RI 02818-1912
***********************************
* Mag-Bytes *
* Atari Points of interest from *
* Antic and Compute *
***********************************
February Antic:
If you're worried about 8-bit
support, one look at Datasoft shows
that there are still companies who
are still interested in supporting
our machines. They have 4 new
programs out, with 6 more on the way.
Present titles include 221B Baker
Street, Alternate Reality (The
Dungeon), Theatre Europe, and Mind
Pursuit.
The six new ones are Video Title
Shop, Mercenary:The 2nd City,
Tobruk, Bismark, Swords and Sorcery,
Saracen, and Black Magic.
If you're interested in using the
extra memory of the 130xe, Bill
Wilkinson (normally seen in Compute)
has an informative article on how to
do it.
What goes on at the Atari Corp BBS? A
great deal of work to provide us
users with a direct-link to Atari.
Check out the article to see how they
do it and why.
February 28th is the deadline for the
Batteries Included Buy one get One
free offer. Purchase any BI product
and choose between Home-Pak and
B-Graph on the 8-bit or Timelink and
I*S Talk on the ST. The coupon and
details are on page 65.
March Antic
First off, there are some impressive
new changes to Antic Online.
1. You will be able to d/l Antic
programs, and as they're replaced
they'll be placed in the Sig*Atari
file section.
2. Vidtex Pictures will be in Antic
Online, allowing you to see
pictures that accompany the story.
3. You can subscribe to any Antic
publications online and be billed
for them later.
The STEREO-TEK 3-D glasses are now
available for $149.95. The first 3-D
titles are Stereo-CAD 3-D 2.0,Stereo
Cybermate, Stereo Ray Tracing, LCS
Wanderer, and Stereo Maps and Legends
3.0.
QMI's New Deskcart! gives you 14
powerful desk accessories for the ST
on a cartridge that doesn't use up
memory. It also has a built-in
clock device. The 14 accessories
include: Terminal program with u/l
and d/l, Keyboard Macros for any
program use, Ramdisk, Print
Spooler, Screen Dump, Memory Test,
and Control Panel with load and save
options. The cartridge goes for
around $70.
Compute March
First off, there's 2 demo disk offers
that ST owners can take advantage of.
For $2.75 Epyx will send you a demo
version of their new Sub Battle game.
This is the first program in their
Masters Collection. The coupon is on
page 1.
Activision will send you a demo of
their strategy game Shanghai for
$3.00. This demo contains a sample
puzzle. Send your check or money
order to:
Activision,Inc.
P.O. Box 7287
Mountain View,CA 94039
Commodore has just released their new
Amiga 2000. It costs $1500.
Features include 1 megabyte of
memory, standard printer and modem
ports, operating system in Rom,
built in clock, and card slots. I
wonder where they got the ideas for
some of those features? Too bad
that the MegaST 1 will have the same
features for $500 less.
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG NEWSFILE--ST NEWS
...GCP Expands Horizons...
_____________________________________
Finally! The long awaited ST version
of GCP is now available. You ST
owners no longer have to feel short
changed because you can't access GCP.
We are happy to welcome you back and
we have much to offer.
Lords of Space has been released,
revised, and is about to be expanded
further, online rates have been
lowered, and upload time is now FREE!
The ST software is GEM-based and runs
in low or medium resolution (color
system required), so you can have
your desk accessories available
online.
The entire system fits on a single
disk, so you won't have to shuffle
disks anymore. This disk combines
the Boot, City, and Lords of Space
disks of the 8-bit version (sorry,
CyberWorld and BioWar are not
available for the ST).
As you would expect, the ST version
is much faster than the 8-bit
version, and the Lords of Space
graphics are stunning!
The ST version is posted as a
download in the ST SIG on GCP's new
text service (see below). Since text
service does not require special
software, you can logon with your
favorite terminal program and just
download the program from the ST SIG.
Detailed instructions on how to do
this are posted in the ST SIG.
If you do not wish to download the
software, you can order the software
from GCP for only $9.95. This
includes the disk, shipping, and
$5.40 worth of online time. You may
also order the software through the
GCP Office by leaving your name,
address, and MasterCard or Visa
number.
GCP is no longer just the most
advanced graphics online service. It
is now the least expensive text
service. With the recent
introduction of a new text-only
service, GCP introduces a truly
affordable system.
The text service offers a variety
of SIGs. They all offer conferences
(message bases) and download
libraries where you can find the best
in public domain software. Since
uploading is free, the libraries are
expected to grow faster than ever.
Since GCP is now also a text service,
you can logon without the special GCP
software. Boot your favorite terminal
program, and you're off!
If you have any questions, you can
leave a note in the GCP SIG, or call
GCP at (717)848-2660.
GCP has reduced its online rates to
the following:
[TEXT SERVICE ONLY]
BUDGET TIME..............$2.95/Hour
(2am-7am Weekdays)
(2am-10am Weekends)
STANDARD TIME............$4.50/Hour
(6pm-2am Weekdays)
(10am-2am Weekends)
PRIME TIME..............$15.00/Hour
(7am-6pm Weekdays)
For graphics service (standard GCP
service), add .90/Hour to text rates.
All times above are LOCAL times.
Rates are the same for 300 and 1200
baud access.
Lords of Space (LOS)is expanding and
improving! GCP has been collecting
comments and suggestions that the LOS
players have made over the past few
months and are now working on
dramatic new features for Lords of
Space.
These new features include faster
colonization, improved team activity,
more effective planetary defenses,
and expanded fleet rules. Full
details of the proposed changes are
available online in the new text
service in the GCP SIG and in the
LOS bulletin board in your company's
station. User comments are welcome,
so get your opinions to GCP and you
may see your suggestions
incorporated into the game!
Games Computers Play, Inc.
112 East Market Street
York, PA 17401
(717)848-2660
_____________________________________
ZMAG GENERAL NEWSFILE
....Computer With A Sniffer.........
_____________________________________
You might say Dr. Michael Baudry has
a real nose for computers.
Working with a team of experts, the
University of California computer
scientist has invented a computer
that can smell.
The computer can recognize more than
20 odors by analyzing their chemical
makeup.
Here's how it works:Researchers feed
the computer an odor in the form of
it's chemical components and the
computer matches it by sorting
through it's memory bank.
Why make a computer with a sniffer?
Baudry says programming a computer
with the capability of smell is the
first step in creating computers that
work like the human brain.
Other applications of such a
brainlike computer system include
voice recognition, speedy information
retrieval and automatic data sorting.
Source: Copley Radio Network
Submitted by: Dave Brehm
_____________________________________
Xx Money And Banking Software
_____________________________________
COMPUTER PROGRAM TELLS STUDENTS
ABOUT MONEY -
ELKHART, IN - A special computer
software program known as "Money and
Banking is being made available by
Midwest Commerce Banking Company.
The program, developed by Data Trek
of Encinitas, Calif., is used in
twelve states and allows students to
learn the fundamentals of credit,
savings, checking and budgeting.
Software for IBM and Apple is
available. Teachers can duplicate
this "freeware" as well as the
accompanying Teachers Guide in
unlimited quantities.
Money and Banking comprises in-depth
tutorials on credit, savings and
checking, plus a simulation excercise
that allows students to develop a
savings plan. The program was
recently distributed to high schools
in Elkhart County, Indiana by Midwest
Commerce Banking Company and it's
parent Company NBD Bancorp Inc.
Through color graphics and
computer-generated sound, students
make decisions, manipulate variables
and solve problems. Feedback is
immediate, the program's providers
said.
"Money and Banking" is suitable for
use in business education, social
studies or home economics curriculum.
If you're interested in the program,
I suppose you could check with your
local back or with Data Trek.
Source: South Bend Tribune
Submitted by: D. Brehm
____________________________________
Xx Pirating 'Shareware'
____________________________________
FIRM ACCUSED OF PIRACY
(Feb. 19)
Jim Weisz, author of the Ramtest
shareware package, feels that some
commercial firms may be taking
advantage of shareware authors.
Weisz released Ramtest about two
years ago but recently began
receiving calls from users who had
no documentation, and had purchased
their copies from commercial outlets.
Further investigation led to two
mail-order firms who were copying the
software and selling it at what Weisz
considered to be an illegally
inflated price.
One of the firms was convinced by
Weisz's attorney to desist from
selling the program. However, the
second firm was not so accommodating.
Weisz says that USA Electronics has
neither responded to threatened legal
action nor stopped shipping Ramtest.
In addition, USA Electronics is
accused of supplying pirate copies of
IBM's PC-DOS with the shareware.
Understandably, Weisz feels strongly
about firms that appropriate the work
of software authors. He also points
out that commercial copiers charge
users 2-3 times the suggested
registration price of shareware. And
too often, users are supplied with an
outdated and unsupported version of
the shareware.
Weisz's comments were blunt:
"Places like USA Electronics give the
entire industry a bad name with their
blatant disregard for both the law
and the customer. [Users should]
take a firm stance against this sort
of piracy. Perhaps public pressure
can accomplish what asking nicely
couldn't."
____________________________________
Xx ZMAG PANORAMA
....Hard Disks For The 8-Bits.......
____________________________________
This is the story of how one user
achieved the 8-bit Atari owner's
dream--upgrading his floppy disk
system to 1/4 meg RAM and a 10
megabyte hard disk.
It all began when I heard the rumors
about a device called MIO promised
from a little cottage industry
company called ICD in Rockford, Ill.
The specs for the MIO looked
impressive enough; RS-232 Serial
interface, parallel interface, built
in print spooler, additional memory
for RAMdisk in 256K or 1mb flavors,
resident configuration program in ROM
and communication along the long-
neglected Atari parallel buss.
What really captured my imagination,
was the promise of a SCSI/SASI
interface!
The original impression that I got
was that you could hook up a Hard
Drive right to the MIO and be in
business. Not quite! Admittedly, ICD
had done most of the difficult stuff
inside the MIO, but there are
several important steps to follow
before getting your HD online.
Before I go on, let me say a word
about a subject that people have
given me a rough time about for quite
some time. Yes, I confess, (just like
the Kellogg Frosted Flake
commercials) I am a SpartaDOS user,
and I love it! A lot of people have
said to me, "how can you USE
SpartaDOS, there are so many commands
to learn, and there is no
prompting!".
Since I use MS-DOS based systems so
heavily at work, the similar commands
in SpartaDOS are welcome indeed.
For those of you who don't feel good
without a menu, SpartaDOS 3.2 has a
MENU command file built in that
looks similar enough to good old
Atari DOS 2.x to get most people up
to speed.
Programmers and people who keep big
software libraries will appreciate
the Time/Date stamping of each file
too. When all is said and done,
SpartaDOS brings your Atari into the
"Big Time," but still keeps full DOS
2.x compatibility.
Back to the hard drive. What
they really don't explain very
clearly is a minimum parts list for
a successful HD installation on an
8-bit Atari. The following list
gives you an idea of how much a
hard drive and its associated
cables and interfaces will set
you back:
ICD MIO 256K model $199.00
Adaptec 4000a Controller 135.00
(if you can find one)
Controller to MIO Cable 14.95
Controller to HD Cable 12.95
Power Supply (HD & Cont.) 40.00
Case For PS, HD, Cont (opt.) 30.00
Hard Disk (10mb) 250.00
Now Put on Your Peril-Sensitve
Sunglasses- The answer is: $681.90!!
I guess that the only good news on
this price chart is that adding
another HD Unit will only cost you
the drive itself as the controller
will support 2 HD units and
the MIO will support 2 controllers.
According to ICD, a single 8-bit
Atari now has a practical maximum
storage size of just a shade under
100 million bytes.
Now that we have the cost factor
out of the way, if you are still with
us, let's go through the steps needed
to install a HD on an 800XL (XE's
require an additonal $20 adapter for
the ECI).
Hooking up the MIO to your Atari is
easy, just take a screwdriver and pop
the cover off of the parallel buss
cover plate on the back. This done,
carefully slip the short ribbon
cable on the front of the MIO into
the buss opening and onto the
edge connector. It is a perfect fit.
You should have no problem doing it
right the first time. Next, plug in
the MIO power supply (actually the
same as an 850 p/s or a Disk Drive
p/s). The MIO installation part is
now done unless you have serial or
parallel devices to connect.
The first stumbling block that I ran
into was finding a 50-conductor SCSI
cable to connect the MIO to the
Adaptec Controller. I looked around
the area a bit, and even asked some
computer repair shops that I do
business with, but had no luck. I
finally gave up and bought one from
ICD directly. They sent me a cable
that was about 50 times longer than I
really needed, so if you are going to
install one sometime soon, let me
know; since I have a LOT of cable
left over after I shortened it to a
more manageable length (two feet).
If you buy a MIO with the intent of
hooking up a HD to it, save yourself
some hassle and buy all of the cables
that you need at the same time, their
prices at ICD aren't too bad.
Once you have the cable in your paw,
you need to get a flat file and take
about 1/16" off of the ends of the
cable clamp that will go into the
MIO. Maybe it was the cable that I
had, but it was just barely too wide
to slip into the slot on the right
side of the MIO. Make sure that the
colored stripe on the cable points
toward the REAR of the MIO as this
identifies pin#1.
This is an ongoing problem with
connecting cables in this
installation. Most ribbon cables
are "keyed" so that you can't put
them on wrong. ALL of the supplied
cables and hardware are NOT KEYED, so
it's easy to put them on wrong and
go nuts wondering why things don't
work right.
The next task is to connect the SCSI
cable to the Adaptec controller.
Before we do that, I might suggest
that you make a modification to your
controller board that I did.
Place the controller board on a flat
surface with the "select" LED in the
upper right-hand corner (away from
you). The Drive control edge card
pins can be seen on the lower left
side next to the power jack. The
drive control connector is marked
"J2" in white letters on the PCB.
With GREAT CARE, take a fine-tooth
hacksaw and CAREFULLY cut a notch in
the PCB between pins 2 and 3 of J2.
This will "key" J2 so that you can
use standard cables that are keyed on
the pin 1 end. The reason that I did
this is because I was making my own
cables out of junk cables and
had only keyed female edge
connectors. If you buy ICD's cables
YOU DO NOT have to do this.
That done, hook the SCSI cable from
the MIO to the 50 pin connector on
the top right side of the controller
(next to the red LED). BE SURE to
have the controller on a flat surface
so that you don't screw up the PCB
traces when plugging in cables! Make
sure that the colored stripe on the
cable points toward the LED or things
won't work right.
Now is a good time to hook up the
data line cable, it should be a 20
pin ribbon cable. Plug it into the
plug on the lower right side. This
plug is marked "J0" and has an
identical plug right next to it, the
second plug would be used if you were
hooking up 2 disk drives to one
controller. Make sure that the
colored stripe on the cable points to
the LEFT. I am using a Seagate ST-412
MFM Disk drive, so I did not want any
special options enabled on the board.
Make sure that there are no jumpers
between the jumper blocks (marked J5)
in the middle part of the board (as
they come from ICD they are set up
with no jumpers). There is only one
other jumper set to worry about, It
is not identified on the PCB, but is
in plain sight just above the plug
marked "J1". Most drives should have
this jumper set for R-PU (Write
Precompensation Turned off for both
drives), fortunately this is how they
come from ICD, so unless you are
using a weird drive, you should not
change ANY jumpers on the
controller.
The manual that comes with the
Adaptec ACB-4000 series controller
is very clearly illustrated and
contains more information than you
will ever need. Just for the record-
I never had to refer to it once
during my installation.
Once both drive cables are attached
to the Controller board, you need to
find the corresponding edge
connectors on the back of your hard
drive. In the case of the Seagate,
the connectors are clearly marked and
keyed so there should be no problems
with hookup. Just be sure that the
colored wire on the cable points to
the side of the connector marked "pin
one" or maybe just with a "1".
You might want to check the switch
settings or jumpers on your HD to be
sure that it is set as unit #0 and
that it has a TERMINATION RESISTOR
installed (most drives come this way
from the factory). You may have to
consult your drive manual for more
information on this. Again, I lucked
out and didn't have to change a
thing.
The last step on the hardware side is
to hook up your power supply to both
the controller and the HD. If you are
using a standard HD power supply it
will have white Keyed power plugs
that are difficult to install wrong.
They are a bit of a snug fit though,
so take it easy, especially on the
controller board.
At last, plug in and turn on your
MIO and HD Power supply.
Basically there are 6 steps you have
to go through to "prepare" the HD
before use.
Step One: SET MIO CONFIGURATION.
After you have Booted your 800XL
from a SpartaDOS diskette and set
the date and time, hold down SELECT
and press RESET. this will take you
to the MIO configuration menu.
Now you have to tell the MIO
what device you want the HD to be.
It can be any device number from D1:
to D8:. Make sure that you do not
have address conflicts with
diskettes and RamDisks already on
the system (including the MIO
ramdisk). The slick part of this
is that later you can SWAP drives
after the system is up! If you want
to make your HD Drive 2 and a
diskette Drive 1, you can change your
mind later and SWAP addresses for
these devices. This makes it possible
to BOOT from the HD, or from a
RamDisk for that matter! This is an
extremely powerful feature.
In configuring the MIO for the HD,
you need to know some specs on your
hard drive, such as: the number of drive heads, cylinders, and max number of sectors for your type of
drive. MIO manual appendix D lists
33 popular HD types by manufacturer.
The ST412 is a 4 head, 306 cyl,
39,168 sector device. Just enter
this information in on the
configuration menu. Make sure that
if you are using one controller and
drive that ID/LUN is 0/0. This is
not well explained in the docs.
Press RESET when you are done and
you will return to DOS.
Step Two: PHYSICALLY FORMAT THE HD
The MIO comes with a diskette of
utilities to help you set up the HD.
The low-level format program is
called HDFMTPH.COM in the docs and on
the disk. I found out when I bought
the MIO that there was a revised
HDFMTPH program called HDFMTPH4.COM.
You can get this revision off of the
ICD BBS.
This program asks you some questions
about the HD hardware much the same
as the MIO config does. Enter in the
# of heads, etc. etc. at the prompts.
The actual formatting takes a while,
so go out and have a beer. Mine took
about 15 min for the format process.
When the program finishes, it will
display a "total number of available
sectors on drive" which may be
different than the "official" number
of sectors for your drive. Make sure
that you write this number down,
because you will need to change the
MIO configuration to reflect the
actual number of sectors formatted.
The reason that this is important is
that the Physical Format Program will
"lock out" bad sectors it finds on
the media, and the MIO config needs
to be told of the exact number of
available sectors. Just for
information, mine came out a little
larger than its "official"
specs. The number? 40,392 double
density sectors- about 10.3mb!
Step Three: PARTITION THE DRIVE
This is only necessary if you have a
drive that is larger than the
SpartaDOS maximum of 16mb or 65535
double density sectors. This is done
by going back to the MIO config
program by pressing SELECT-RESET and
entering in the Start sector (in my
case "0") and End Sector+1 (in my
case 40393). The configuration menu
is well documented in the MIO manual
so you should have no trouble with
this.
Step Four: SAVE THE CONFIGURATION
When you take option "4" from the MIO
config menu and answer "Y" to the
"Are you sure?" prompt, the entire
MIO configuration is written to HD
number 0/0. This will automatically
reconfigure the MIO if you should
happen to turn it off by saving the
config. information to sector 0 of
the HD.
Step Five: DIRECTORY BUILD
Again, ICD supplies a utility to
write a main SpartaDOS directory to
your HD. If you are using another
DOS, you will have to fend for
yourself. When asked for the "drive
number?," give the DOS ID number for
the LOGICAL unit, such as D1:, D2:
etc. (in my case I entered in "2".
This program takes about 30 seconds
to create the main directory.
Final Step: SET UP DOS
Copy SpartaDOS 3.2d to each logical
Drive partition that you may want to
boot from, as I said earlier, the MIO
will let you boot from whatever drive
you want, so there is no reason not
to have DOS on your HD even if it is
not D1:. Once DOS is copied into the
Main directory, use the "BOOT"
command to set the boot flag to that
file. The syntax is "BOOT
Dn:X32D.DOS" where "n" is your drive
ID. The BOOT command is well
documented in the MIO manual and in
the SDCS manual.
That's it!! Now you are ready to
amaze your friends with HUGE online
storage! Even with making up cables,
the total time for installation
for me was around 1 hour. If you
are a BBS operator or a user with
a large file inventory, it makes
good sense to upgrade to a hard
drive. If you've got the bucks to
do it, it's easy!
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Zmagazine #40 February 23,1987
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