Extending RAM with arnold or xcpc

[Doug713705]

Hi all,

I'm using different CPC emulators on a Linux host:
- arnold
- xcpc
- rwcpc (in a dosbox)

All of them a running perfectly using the PARADOS rom.

Now, i'm trying to run a demo that is stored on a .dsk file that is a
extended DSK format.

After inserting it, I can list the content of the disk with the cat
command but I can not run any programm on it because of lack of RAM.

My questions are:
- Is it possible to extend RAM with all or some of the emulator listed
above ?
- If yes, how ?
- If no, is there an other emulator runnable on Linux host (eventually
on dos host) that can achieve this ?

I googled for days, read many FAQ dans docs but none of them seems to
speak about RAM extension (I may have missed it).

I'm exclusively running Linux so any solution based on Wine or Windows
are not options.

Thank you for your help.

--
Mais je veux vivre encore plus ivre de cramer.
Je veux ronger le mal jusque dans ses recoins.
J'ai traîné mes vingt siècles d'inutilité.
Je n'ai plus rien à perdre, mais j'en veux pour ma fin.
-- H.F. Thiéfaine, Exil Sur planète fantôme

[Matthew Phillips]

In message <ofqi7n$jap$1...@golgoth99.redatomik.org>

on 21 May 2017 Doug713705 wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm using different CPC emulators on a Linux host:
> - arnold
> - xcpc
> - rwcpc (in a dosbox)
>
> All of them a running perfectly using the PARADOS rom.
>
> Now, i'm trying to run a demo that is stored on a .dsk file that is a
> extended DSK format.
>
> After inserting it, I can list the content of the disk with the cat
> command but I can not run any programm on it because of lack of RAM.

Could you tell us which model of CPC you are emulating? The RAM available
does depend on the model (e.g. 464, 664, 6128).

And how much RAM have you available in the emulator? The Amstrad had various
RAM expansion modules available, such as those by dk'tronics, and some of the
emulators will emulate RAM expansion packs.

> My questions are:
> - Is it possible to extend RAM with all or some of the emulator listed
> above ?

Your problem may not be anything to do with how much RAM is configured in the
emulator. Most demos will have worked with the CPC 6128 without any
additional RAM as having RAM expansion on that machine would have been rare.

I think it is more likely that the problem results from the ROMs you have
installed on the emulator. You could try using AMSDOS instead of PARADOS.
Also make sure that you disable any other ROMs you might have (e.g. Protext,
MAXAM) before running the demo.

ROMs usually take a little bit of RAM work their workspace, and it could be
that the demo is very tight in the main RAM. The Z80 can only address 64K of
RAM natively, with additional RAM being paged in, usually in the &4000 to
&7FFF address range. This makes the RAM in the range &8000 to &BFFF
particularly valuable as that is where the firmware jump blocks are, and any
working space needed by the disc ROM and other ROMs.

If you could tell us what the demo is, and where you got it (if the DSK file
is available online) then other people can say whether they have trouble
running it too.

--
Matthew Phillips
Durham

[Doug713705]

Le 21-05-2017, Matthew Phillips nous expliquait dans
comp.sys.amstrad.8bit
(<e7bc9b3f5...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk>) :

> In message <ofqi7n$jap$1...@golgoth99.redatomik.org>
> on 21 May 2017 Doug713705 wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm using different CPC emulators on a Linux host:
>> - arnold
>> - xcpc
>> - rwcpc (in a dosbox)
>>
>> All of them a running perfectly using the PARADOS rom.
>>
>> Now, i'm trying to run a demo that is stored on a .dsk file that is a
>> extended DSK format.
>>
>> After inserting it, I can list the content of the disk with the cat
>> command but I can not run any programm on it because of lack of RAM.
>
> Could you tell us which model of CPC you are emulating? The RAM available
> does depend on the model (e.g. 464, 664, 6128).

Oh sorry, this is a 6128.

> And how much RAM have you available in the emulator? The Amstrad had various
> RAM expansion modules available, such as those by dk'tronics, and some of the
> emulators will emulate RAM expansion packs.

Now with cpcemu, I have 576KB RAM and this allowed me to run the demo.

>> My questions are:
>> - Is it possible to extend RAM with all or some of the emulator listed
>> above ?
>
> Your problem may not be anything to do with how much RAM is configured in the
> emulator. Most demos will have worked with the CPC 6128 without any
> additional RAM as having RAM expansion on that machine would have been rare.
>
> I think it is more likely that the problem results from the ROMs you have
> installed on the emulator. You could try using AMSDOS instead of PARADOS.
> Also make sure that you disable any other ROMs you might have (e.g. Protext,
> MAXAM) before running the demo.
>
> ROMs usually take a little bit of RAM work their workspace, and it could be
> that the demo is very tight in the main RAM. The Z80 can only address 64K of
> RAM natively, with additional RAM being paged in, usually in the &4000 to
> &7FFF address range. This makes the RAM in the range &8000 to &BFFF
> particularly valuable as that is where the firmware jump blocks are, and any
> working space needed by the disc ROM and other ROMs.

The problem was a RAM problem, solved by using cpcemu which allow memory
extension up to 576KB.
From the demo creator Parados is needed to run it.

> If you could tell us what the demo is, and where you got it (if the DSK file
> is available online) then other people can say whether they have trouble
> running it too.

The demo is not an old demo, in fact this demo is a new one made by a
friend for the Toulouse Hacker Space Factory, a hacking festival in
Toulouse, south of France.

https://www.thsf.net

The demo itself can be downloaded from here (WIP):
http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=70063

This demo may not be what you can expect as a demo :)

Thank you for your help.
--

Et j'attends que se dressent vos prochains charniers
J'ai raté l'autre guerre pour la photographie
J'espère que vos macchabées seront bien faisandés
-- H.F. Thiéfaine, Aligator 427

[Kevin Thacker]

On Sunday, 21 May 2017 00:07:36 UTC+1, Doug713705 wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm using different CPC emulators on a Linux host:
> - arnold
> - xcpc
> - rwcpc (in a dosbox)
>
> All of them a running perfectly using the PARADOS rom.
>
> Now, i'm trying to run a demo that is stored on a .dsk file that is a
> extended DSK format.
>
> After inserting it, I can list the content of the disk with the cat
> command but I can not run any programm on it because of lack of RAM.
>
> My questions are:
> - Is it possible to extend RAM with all or some of the emulator listed
> above ?
> - If yes, how ?
> - If no, is there an other emulator runnable on Linux host (eventually
> on dos host) that can achieve this ?

Hi,

There is an updated arnold for linux released last month. You can build it from the source:
http://www.cpctech.org.uk/arnsrc.zip

In this version you should do this through the menus:

1. Control->Change Configuration->CPC6128 (English)
(or French if you prefer)

2. Settings->Devices->Expansion Port Devices...

Select "Symbiface 2". Right click on mouse to show menu and choose "Enable".
Now you can run the demo.

Enjoy.

[Doug713705]

Le 01-06-2017, Kevin Thacker nous expliquait dans
comp.sys.amstrad.8bit
(<8d2b7144-fcdd-4f6f...@googlegroups.com>) :

> Hi,

Hi,

> There is an updated arnold for linux released last month. You can build it from the source:
> http://www.cpctech.org.uk/arnsrc.zip

Looks interesting but unfortunately it does not compile.
The comoilation went to error with:

arnold/src/arngui/ArchiveDialog.cpp: Dans la fonction membre ‘void ArchiveDialog::FillListI()’:
arnold/src/arngui/ArchiveDialog.cpp:363:2: erreur: ‘wxStringToStringHashMap’ was not declared in this scope
wxStringToStringHashMap Folders;
^

My system is Slackware64 14.2 with wxGTK-2.8.2, wxGTK3-3.0.2 and wxPython-2.8.12.1 installed.

I have a previous version of Arnold that comile with no problem (arnold-nurgle from arnold.berlios).

Thanks.
Doug
--
Les temps sont durs. C'est pas mariole.
Vivement que revienne le choléra.
Je pourrai changer de chignole
Et me payer le cinéma
-- H.F. Thiéfaine, La maison Borniol