EricN

Has anyone had any success setting up a CP/M partition on the new
CFFA3000 for the Applicard? I've been attempting to use the PCPIPro
and ProPart tools provided by Steve but no success so far. Here's
what I'm seeing:

PCPIPro method (from PCPIPro.txt):
- Everything successful up to -FBOOT then when the system reads in the
drivers from the recently created boot diskette, the pdoshd driver
errors on loading and is not able to detect a CP/M hard disk
partition.

ProPart:
- Thought perhaps I first needed to use ProPart first to create a CP/M
partition
- Run pro/part.com, run through menu settings, then program hangs when
attempting to write the data blocks to a ProDOS partition not he
CFFA3000.

Any help is much appreciated.

Chuck Morris

On Nov 15, 12:06*am, EricN <ericn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Has anyone had any success setting up a CP/M partition on the new
> CFFA3000 for the Applicard? *I've been attempting to use the PCPIPro
> and ProPart tools provided by Steve but no success so far. *Here's
> what I'm seeing:
>
> PCPIPro method (from PCPIPro.txt):
> - Everything successful up to -FBOOT then when the system reads in the
> drivers from the recently created boot diskette, the pdoshd driver
> errors on loading and is not able to detect a CP/M hard disk
> partition.
>
> ProPart:
> - Thought perhaps I first needed to use ProPart first to create a CP/M
> partition
> - Run pro/part.com, run through menu settings, then program hangs when
> attempting to write the data blocks to a ProDOS partition not he
> CFFA3000.
>
> Any help is much appreciated.

This may be off target, but I seem to recall that Rich had indicated
that some formatting operations did not work properly, such as
formatting of Pascal volumes. For simpler problems such as that one,
Ciderpress can provide a solution since it can format a virtual Pascal
volume that can be copied onto a CF or USB stick for use with the
CFFA3000. If that is the root cause of your problem AND if it is
possible to run the same setup procedure on an emulator to partition a
virtual hard drive, then you should be able to transfer that to the
CFFA3000 as a workaround. Plenty of "ifs" there, but it might be a
workable solution.

David Schmidt

On 11/15/2011 1:06 AM, EricN wrote:
> Has anyone had any success setting up a CP/M partition on the new
> CFFA3000 for the Applicard? I've been attempting to use the PCPIPro
> and ProPart tools provided by Steve but no success so far. Here's
> what I'm seeing:
>
> PCPIPro method (from PCPIPro.txt):
> - Everything successful up to -FBOOT then when the system reads in the
> drivers from the recently created boot diskette, the pdoshd driver
> errors on loading and is not able to detect a CP/M hard disk
> partition.
>
> ProPart:
> - Thought perhaps I first needed to use ProPart first to create a CP/M
> partition
> - Run pro/part.com, run through menu settings, then program hangs when
> attempting to write the data blocks to a ProDOS partition not he
> CFFA3000.

How are you configuring the CFFA3000? Are you starting with a ProDOS or
Pascal disk image, and mounting that as a SmartPort drive? What slot is
the CFFA3000 in?

It seems like you should be able to start with a hard drive image that
is already prepared for the Applicard and just mount and use that.

Steven Hirsch

On 11/15/2011 06:57 AM, David Schmidt wrote:
> On 11/15/2011 1:06 AM, EricN wrote:
>> Has anyone had any success setting up a CP/M partition on the new
>> CFFA3000 for the Applicard? I've been attempting to use the PCPIPro
>> and ProPart tools provided by Steve but no success so far. Here's
>> what I'm seeing:
>>
>> PCPIPro method (from PCPIPro.txt):
>> - Everything successful up to -FBOOT then when the system reads in the
>> drivers from the recently created boot diskette, the pdoshd driver
>> errors on loading and is not able to detect a CP/M hard disk
>> partition.
>>
>> ProPart:
>> - Thought perhaps I first needed to use ProPart first to create a CP/M
>> partition
>> - Run pro/part.com, run through menu settings, then program hangs when
>> attempting to write the data blocks to a ProDOS partition not he
>> CFFA3000.

> How are you configuring the CFFA3000? Are you starting with a ProDOS or Pascal
> disk image, and mounting that as a SmartPort drive? What slot is the CFFA3000 in?

Both the partitioning tool and driver assume a device that ids and behaves as
a ProDOS block device. It does not have to be a SmartPort drive. I've yet to
see anything it wouldn't work with, including a ProFile. I have one of my
original CFFA cards configured with a CP/M partition on it and don't recall
any issues during setup.

> It seems like you should be able to start with a hard drive image that is
> already prepared for the Applicard and just mount and use that.

That might work, but sizings would have to match up precisely. The driver is
looking for a fingerprint on the volume and uses the size to get its bearings.

I'll refresh my memory a bit and see if I can offer more concrete advice in a
follow-on post.

Steve

David Schmidt

On 11/15/2011 7:38 AM, Steven Hirsch wrote:
> On 11/15/2011 06:57 AM, David Schmidt wrote:
>> On 11/15/2011 1:06 AM, EricN wrote:
>>> Has anyone had any success setting up a CP/M partition on the new
>>> CFFA3000 for the Applicard? I've been attempting to use the PCPIPro
>>> and ProPart tools provided by Steve but no success so far. Here's
>>> what I'm seeing:
>>>
>>> PCPIPro method (from PCPIPro.txt):
>>> - Everything successful up to -FBOOT then when the system reads in the
>>> drivers from the recently created boot diskette, the pdoshd driver
>>> errors on loading and is not able to detect a CP/M hard disk
>>> partition.
>>>
>>> ProPart:
>>> - Thought perhaps I first needed to use ProPart first to create a CP/M
>>> partition
>>> - Run pro/part.com, run through menu settings, then program hangs when
>>> attempting to write the data blocks to a ProDOS partition not he
>>> CFFA3000.
>
>> How are you configuring the CFFA3000? Are you starting with a ProDOS
>> or Pascal
>> disk image, and mounting that as a SmartPort drive? What slot is the
>> CFFA3000 in?
>
> Both the partitioning tool and driver assume a device that ids and
> behaves as a ProDOS block device. It does not have to be a SmartPort
> drive. I've yet to see anything it wouldn't work with, including a
> ProFile. I have one of my original CFFA cards configured with a CP/M
> partition on it and don't recall any issues during setup.

Then the CFFA3000 should be good when it hosts a disk image. The
trouble with 'formatting' comes in when something tries to write timing
nibbles during low-level formatting - something that I doubt your code
is doing. If it is coloring inside the lines, there's no reason why
hosting an image on a CFFA3000, mapped into a slot+drive combination,
wouldn't work.

I'd recommend against the old scheme of using hard-coded partitions on a
CF card and using the new, much more flexible image hosting capabilities.

>> It seems like you should be able to start with a hard drive image that is
>> already prepared for the Applicard and just mount and use that.
>
> That might work, but sizings would have to match up precisely. The
> driver is looking for a fingerprint on the volume and uses the size to
> get its bearings.

The sizing will match up precisely... because the CFFA3000 can host the
image file directly. ;-)

EricN

More details on mounting a CP/M partition. Good suggestions from
everyone, but still no luck so far:

- CFFA is in slot 7 of an enhanced //e with SmartPort assigned
CompactFlash image (set to both drive 1 and drive 2 with same results)
- Started with stock bootable 32MB ProDOS image and attempted to use
ProPart to partition. ProPart hangs towards the end of the partition
process where it's trying to write the data blocks
- Image was generated by CiderPress and one was also derived from
stock CF image shipped with CFFA card. Same results from both

The emulation idea was a good one, however, I don't know of any
emulator that supports the Applicard. I tried running Pro/Part in
Virtual ][ with the generic-Z80 card, but Pro/Part won't run in that
environment so I can't make a CP/M partition image to transfer over to
the CFFA.

So no issues booting any kind of ProDos image I can create. I just
can't seem to create a CP/M image from any Pro-DOS image, and I don't
have an exiting CP/M hard disk image to transfer onto the CFFA.

If anyone has an existing CP/M image for Applicard, that would be very
helpful.

Thanks,
Eric

David Schmidt

I tried creating a PCPI boot disk with the PDOSHD.DVR configured (and
the printer driver unconfigured) but it crashes on boot. I'm using a
platinum IIe with an Ace 80 cad in slot 4. It boots PCPI CP/M just fine
otherwise. Running PRO/PART without the driver seems to just send me
back to the CP/M prompt with no error messages.

Steven Hirsch

On 11/16/2011 08:46 AM, David Schmidt wrote:
> I tried creating a PCPI boot disk with the PDOSHD.DVR configured (and the
> printer driver unconfigured) but it crashes on boot. I'm using a platinum IIe
> with an Ace 80 cad in slot 4. It boots PCPI CP/M just fine otherwise. Running
> PRO/PART without the driver seems to just send me back to the CP/M prompt with
> no error messages.

Are the folks wrestling with ProPartition and the hd driver following the
directions carefully? If so, this is bizarre. I'm starting to wonder if
there isn't a corrupted distribution of my code floating around, since it's
worked fine for a lot of folks.

One thing does occur to me about Dave's situation. The Ace card was not
exactly the same as the later production Applicards, and it's possible the
system software is too old to support the 6502 host BIOS calls required by the
partitioner.

Still just guessing. When my CFFA3000 gets here, I'll try an install and see
what transpires.

Steve

EricN

On Nov 16, 8:41*am, Steven Hirsch <snhir...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/16/2011 08:46 AM, David Schmidt wrote:
>
> Are the folks wrestling with ProPartition and the hd driver following the
> directions carefully? *If so, this is bizarre. *I'm starting to wonder if
> there isn't a corrupted distribution of my code floating around, since it's
> worked fine for a lot of folks.

I'm using the ProPart image from Asimov: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/cpm/os/

I've seen the Pro/Part software exit out to the CP/M prompt like David
described above when I tried to run it on my emulator with a non-PCPI
card. With my Applicard the software lets you get through all of the
partitioning steps, starts to write out the data and then seems to get
stuck on the third step where it's trying to write data blocks.

> Still just guessing. *When my CFFA3000 gets here, I'll try an install and see
> what transpires.
Thanks. The CFFA3000 is a very nice piece of hardware to have
regardless of CP/M support, but it would be very nice to have both
ProDOS and CP/M functionality on the card.

Steven Hirsch

On 11/16/2011 11:00 AM, EricN wrote:
> On Nov 16, 8:41 am, Steven Hirsch<snhir...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 11/16/2011 08:46 AM, David Schmidt wrote:
>>
>> Are the folks wrestling with ProPartition and the hd driver following the
>> directions carefully? If so, this is bizarre. I'm starting to wonder if
>> there isn't a corrupted distribution of my code floating around, since it's
>> worked fine for a lot of folks.
>
> I'm using the ProPart image from Asimov: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/cpm/os/

Ok, thanks. I just downloaded and checked that against my master and it's
fine. So we can rule out corruption. You did see the warning about removing
the print buffer driver from the DRIVERS file, didn't you?

> I've seen the Pro/Part software exit out to the CP/M prompt like David
> described above when I tried to run it on my emulator with a non-PCPI
> card.

That makes perfect sense. It doesn't have a prayer of working in any
environment other than a PCPI/Starcard 2.x CP/M system. I rely on low-level
driver calls through the documented Z80/6502 interface, and that's completely
specific to the Applicard. What version does your Applicard system report?

> With my Applicard the software lets you get through all of the
> partitioning steps, starts to write out the data and then seems to get
> stuck on the third step where it's trying to write data blocks.

Can you try the partitioning on some other ProDOS block device? Do you have a
3.5" drive connected? Might even work on a ProDOS ramdrive (never tried this).

>> Still just guessing. When my CFFA3000 gets here, I'll try an install and see
>> what transpires.

> Thanks. The CFFA3000 is a very nice piece of hardware to have
> regardless of CP/M support, but it would be very nice to have both
> ProDOS and CP/M functionality on the card.
>

Since it's always worked properly on the original CFFA, I have to think this
is going to be solvable. My card has apparently not been shipped yet, and I'm
running out of time before leaving town for Thanksgiving. So, might be a few
weeks.

Steve