CPC 464 commands
Uwe Raddatz
Hi,
yesterday I've got an Amstrad CPC 464 with a green monitor, a 3" and a
5,25" floppy drive and some disks. You have to know that I never saw
such a system before. Unfortunately I have no manual. I tried some basic
commands and saved the program on tape. That's no problem.
Now I would like to know how to access the floppy drives. On the disks I
have there are some applications and games I would like to check out. Is
there someone who can give me a hint which commands I need to read the
floppy disks? I already read the FAQ file but found no answer.
I hope you will help me. Thanx.
ur
--
Uwe Raddatz
rad...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de
Stephan Sommer
## Nachricht vom 22.02.98 weitergeleitet
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## Ersteller: Stephan Sommer@2:2480/3504.2
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Mailzeit, Uwe!
UR> yesterday I've got an Amstrad CPC 464 with a green monitor, a 3" and a
UR> 5,25" floppy drive and some disks. You have to know that I never saw
UR> such a system before. Unfortunately I have no manual. I tried some basic
UR> commands and saved the program on tape. That's no problem.
UR> Now I would like to know how to access the floppy drives. On the disks I
UR> have there are some applications and games I would like to check out. Is
UR> there someone who can give me a hint which commands I need to read the
UR> floppy disks? I already read the FAQ file but found no answer.
If a Amstrad's floppystation DDI-1 is connected, the CPC uses automaticly
the disc drive.
Perhaps Your 5,25"-drive is installing another DOS. Do you get some other
screen output than
Amstrad 64K Microcomputer (v1)
(c)1984 Amstrad Consumer Electronics plc
and Locomotive Software Lrd.
BASIC 1.0
Ready
Such as something like VDOS (Vortex) or DDOS (Dobbertin)?
Which number do You get, if you type the command
print himem
If the output is 43903 it seems, like no Expansion-ROM, also no DOS-ROM,
is initalising.
(Please excuse my bad english.)
Viel Spass noch,
Stephan
Kev Thacker
>Now I would like to know how to access the floppy drives. On the disks I
>have there are some applications and games I would like to check out. Is
>there someone who can give me a hint which commands I need to read the
>floppy disks? I already read the FAQ file but found no answer.
|DISC to choose disc drive (if it is in tape mode)
CAT gives a list of the files on the disc with their sizes, and space
remaining on disc.
LOAD" <filename>"
Loads a file from disc. If it's basic you can list it.
RUN"<filename>"
loads and executes it.
|ERA,"<filename>"
deletes a file
|REN,"<new name>","<old name>"
renames a file
To get the "|" press SHIFT and @ together.
Hope that's some help
Kev
Pete Robinson
In article <34EF45D5...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de>, Uwe Raddatz
<rad...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de> writes
>Hi,
>
>yesterday I've got an Amstrad CPC 464 with a green monitor, a 3" and a
>
http://www.madhippy.demon.co.uk/8-bit/amstrad/amstcommref.html
--
Pete Robinson
http://www.madhippy.demon.co.uk - Classic 8-bit Computers
http://www.madhippy.demon.co.uk/faqs - Usenet FAQ's
Uwe Raddatz
Kev Thacker wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Feb 1998 22:23:33 +0100, Uwe Raddatz
> <rad...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de> wrote:
>
> >Now I would like to know how to access the floppy drives. On the disks I
> >have there are some applications and games I would like to check out. Is
> >there someone who can give me a hint which commands I need to read the
> >floppy disks? I already read the FAQ file but found no answer.
>
> |DISC to choose disc drive (if it is in tape mode)
It does not work. All the basic commands do but not these with the "|"
at the beginning. I am sure that I pressed the right keys to get this
character, it also appears on the screen but I always got the message
"unknown command". I also tried |CPM, |DIR, |A and |B.
Maybe this is because it is an older model.
When I turn it on I get the following text:
Schneider 64K Microcomputer (v1)
@1984 Amstrad Consumer Electronics plc
and Locomotive Software Ltd.
BASIC 1.0
Ready
You see it is called a Schneider computer. Its official name is
"Schneider 64k Colour Personal Computer CPC 464". I somewhere read that
the Schneider company distributed the Amstrad CPC 464 computers in
Germany for the first time. Later Amstrad sold them itself. So I think
my CPC is one of the first. Maybe these first models do not support the
commands beginning with the "|". But then I do not understand how the
previous users accessed the disk drives. Or could it be possible that
only this part with the "|" commands is out of order? I don't know.
On the box on the floppy disk port there are a reset button and another
switch I do not know what it is for. Do you know?
> Hope that's some help
Thank you for the tip but you see I still have problems.
Bye.
Cliff Lawson
Uwe Raddatz wrote in message <34F1F9D2...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de>...
>It does not work. All the basic commands do but not these with the "|"
>at the beginning. I am sure that I pressed the right keys to get this
>character, it also appears on the screen but I always got the message
>"unknown command". I also tried |CPM, |DIR, |A and |B.
That suggests that the ROM in the disk interface is not being initialised.
Make sure the drive is connected and switched on before switching on the CPC
to make sure the ROM board is powered.
Cliff
Richard Fairhurst
Uwe Raddatz <rad...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de> wrote:
> You see it is called a Schneider computer. Its official name is
> "Schneider 64k Colour Personal Computer CPC 464". I somewhere read that
> the Schneider company distributed the Amstrad CPC 464 computers in
> Germany for the first time. Later Amstrad sold them itself. So I think
> my CPC is one of the first. Maybe these first models do not support the
> commands beginning with the "|".
Nope, any CPC has that ability: type |BASIC for an example.
It sounds like either you don't have a DDI-1 interface plugged into your
floppy disc port, which interfaces the CPC to the disc drives (you can't
just plug the drives straight in): the disc drives aren't plugged in or
switched on: or the DDI-1 is faulty.
> On the box on the floppy disk port there are a reset button and another
> switch I do not know what it is for. Do you know?
That doesn't sound much like a DDI-1 interface to me - more like a
ROM-board, or Siren Software Hackit. The DDI-1 is distinguishable by
having no through connector, by the cable from the back right of it
which leads directly to the disc drive, and by the protrusions from the
front of it which fit neatly onto the CPC's back.
--
Richard Fairhurst http://www.systemed.u-net.com/
A million years on and still in trouble:
put down your fists and enter with a shovel
Greg Malewski
Richard Fairhurst <ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma> wrote in article
<199802241...@p53.nas1.is4.u-net.net>...
> Uwe Raddatz <rad...@wiwi.htwk-leipzig.de> wrote:
>
>
> It sounds like either you don't have a DDI-1 interface plugged into your
> floppy disc port, which interfaces the CPC to the disc drives (you can't
> just plug the drives straight in): the disc drives aren't plugged in or
> switched on: or the DDI-1 is faulty.
>
> > On the box on the floppy disk port there are a reset button and another
> > switch I do not know what it is for. Do you know?
>
> That doesn't sound much like a DDI-1 interface to me - more like a
> ROM-board, or Siren Software Hackit. The DDI-1 is distinguishable by
> having no through connector, by the cable from the back right of it
> which leads directly to the disc drive, and by the protrusions from the
> front of it which fit neatly onto the CPC's back.
Can anyone tell me why the hell DK'tronics managed to come out with nice
plug ons (remember them? they were in a similar style to the CPC unit
itself). Whereas for example, DDI-1 was just a little box ?!?!?
Cliff Lawson
Greg Malewski wrote in message <01bd4136$e4c50b00$160993c3@gm-100ct>...
>
>Can anyone tell me why the hell DK'tronics managed to come out with nice
>plug ons (remember them? they were in a similar style to the CPC unit
>itself). Whereas for example, DDI-1 was just a little box ?!?!?
Because Amstrad designed the DDI1 box first and at that point didn't see the
likely need to daisychain things out of the back (cos there were no other
CPC peripherals at that time). It became quickly obvious that a feed through
of the edge connector was needed as other bits appeared so when we did the
RS232 interface we had that sort of wonderous T connector in the expansion
cable (cos we already had tooling for the box without pass through). The
likes of DK'tronics had the luxury of seeing what we'd done wrong and then
tooling something better with the advantage of hindsight.
Cliff
Andrew Cadley
Cliff Lawson wrote:
> Because Amstrad designed the DDI1 box first and at that point didn't see the
> likely need to daisychain things out of the back (cos there were no other
> CPC peripherals at that time). It became quickly obvious that a feed through
> of the edge connector was needed as other bits appeared so when we did the
> RS232 interface we had that sort of wonderous T connector in the expansion
> cable (cos we already had tooling for the box without pass through). The
> likes of DK'tronics had the luxury of seeing what we'd done wrong and then
> tooling something better with the advantage of hindsight.
On the other hand though, DK'tronics made loads of those loving styled
cases for the speccy which then utterly refused to fit if you upgraded.
AndyC
ShadowTD
>Can anyone tell me why the hell DK'tronics managed to come out with nice
>plug ons (remember them? they were in a similar style to the CPC unit
>itself).
Can anyone tell me how DK`tronics managed to make some of the most essential
CPC kit going (ram packs, Art Studio mouse) and get away with carp like THAT
BLOODY LIGHTPEN??? Ahem, sorry. The years do nothing to sooth the pain.
Shadow the Darkstar
Interstellar Alliance station Babylon 5
(Sometimes known as Simon at Loughborough University)