New CP/M 2.2 implelentation for 16FDC and 64FDC

[Martin Eberhard]

I've just released a new CP/M implementation for Cromemco machines.

The BIOS buffers an entire floppy disk track, using a separate bank of RAM, making accesses super fast. (And this is an excellent use of an old 16KZ DRAM board, once you have switched to a 64KZ... Or you can use another 64KZ...)

Because the track buffer is in its own memory page, this is a tight BIOS, allowing for a 63K CP/M build. (If you want, you can assemble the code to place the track buffer in main memory, but this will consume an additional 10K of RAM.)

The BIOS automatically detects and configures itself for pretty much any type of floppy drive, or any combination of:

• 2SDD 80-track 3.5" drives, 256, 512, or 1024 bytes/sector
• 5.25" 40-track drives, 1SSD, 1SDD, 2SSD, 2SDD, all possible sector sizes
• 5.25" 80-track, 2SDD "quad density" drives, 256, 512, or 1024 bytes/sector
• 5.25" 80-track 2SDD "high density" drives, 256, 512, or 1024 bytes/sector
• 8" 77-track drives, 1SSD, 1SDD, 2SSD, 2SDD, all possible sector sizes
• PerSci 277 and 290 "voicecoil" drives, same formats as other 8" drives

Along with CroBIOS, I have written:

• CroBoot, boot code that's compatible with the RDOS PROM on the disk controller
  
• CroForm, a disk formatter for all the above drive types
• CroGen, a SYSGEN for the Cromemco disk controllers that also formats the system tracks
• CroFlex, a floppy disk exerciser for debugging and tuning floppy drives
• Reboot, a simple command to cause a cold boot from floppy

If you are interested, you can find documentation and code here.

The source code is extensively commented, especially the BIOS source. These comments include guidance for how to set up the jumpers and switches for the ZPU, the 16FDC or 64FDC, the main memory board (64KZ or 64KZ-II), the track buffer memory board (16KZ, 64KZ, or 64KZ-II), the TU-ART, and the PRI, if you choose to use one.

Your feedback is encouraged :-)

Martin E.

[Richard Deane]

Sounds good  but for those of us without a real Cromemco, I wish there was an fpga implementation.

Richard 

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[Emil Sarlija]

Hi Richard,

You can emulate a Cromemco system in simh with the altairz80 simulator. I'll probably use it to attempt to build this before putting it on physical media for my real Cromemco.

Martin - this is exciting stuff. Thanks for your efforts.

Thanks,

Emil

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[Richard Deane]

Thanks for the info. I hope you can post the simh altairz80 config when you get it all set up. I am familiar with altairz80, but only used it as plain z80 cp/m. Great piece of software from Peter Schorn.

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[cro memcos]

Wow!    I've just began to look at the documentation link   i.e.

https://deramp.com/downloads/mfe_archive/005-Documentation%20and%20Code%20by%20Martin/010%20Code%20by%20Martin/CPM%20Code/Cromemco/

Very impressive.    I  do feel good documentation is a lost art these days.

I will take the code and try it on a physical and virtual system and report back.

[Emil Sarlija]

Hi all,

If anyone is able to make an IMD image of a running system on an 8" DSDD floppy, please let me know.

Many thanks,

Emil

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[fpflyers]

hi everyone 

i recent got my old system running again and would like to take advantage of the new features in this cpm build. however it seems all the links are gone. does anyone know if they have been moved somewhere else?

i would like to format larger disks until i can get a functional hard drive added to my system.

thanks 

bill

[Udo Munk]

https://deramp.com/downloads/mfe_archive/005-Documentation%20and%20Code%20by%20Martin/030%20Code%20Reconstruction/Cromemco%20Code/CPM%20on%20Cromemco/

[Richard Bromagem]

Looks like just change end of that link from "cromemco" to "cromemco cpm" and it gets you there. Web page was renamed, that's all.

Rick Beomagem

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cromemco/b2460d35-ac5a-4065-8758-e35c2d23601bn%40googlegroups.com

.

[bill]

THANKS .with that link i was able to navigate to all the necessary other files.

bill

On Thu, Feb 17, 2022 at 3:29 PM Udo Munk <udo....@freenet.de> wrote:

https://deramp.com/downloads/mfe_archive/005-Documentation%20and%20Code%20by%20Martin/030%20Code%20Reconstruction/Cromemco%20Code/CPM%20on%20Cromemco/

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[Martin Eberhard]

Here is an updated link to my super-fast track-buffered CP/M 2.2 for Cromemco, also including several useful utilities (such as format  [CroForm] & sysgen [CroGen]):

https://deramp.com/downloads/mfe_archive/005-Documentation%20and%20Code%20by%20Martin/010%20Code%20by%20Martin/CPM%20Code/Cromemco%20CPM/

[Emil Sarlija]

Hi all,

Just wondering what people have been using to build this as I haven't had much success. Been using a Cromemco Z-1, assembling for a non-banked version. I tried it under ITC CP/M and Micah CP/M, used the supplied CROGEN program after following the instructions in "How to Install a New BIOS.txt" to install it on the 8" DSDD disk I was building under. On both occasions, when booting, it didn't go further than the bootloader and I discovered afterwards that CROGEN borked the filesystem on the floppy.

Obviously I'm doing something very wrong, so I'm wondering which process did you use to build a successfully booting system? Sorry if I'm missing something obvious.

Many thanks,

Emil

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[fpflyers]

hi emilsarlija

i have a similar system with a zpu, 64fdc, 64k bank selectable ram and will be trying this software in the next 2 months. i had to pause my project of rebuilding my system for a while. currently it is running cdos 2.58 on a Hxc floppy emulator, but eventually i will pull out one of my brand new 8" cdc drives i have been saving . my goal for my system is to recreate the war games computer including the screens and sounds. check back here from time to time for any progress using martins work

bill

[Roger Hanscom]

Just wondering what people have been using to build this as I haven't had much success. Been using a Cromemco Z-1, assembling for a non-banked version. I tried it under ITC CP/M and Micah CP/M, used the supplied CROGEN program after following the instructions in "How to Install a New BIOS.txt" to install it on the 8" DSDD disk I was building under. On both occasions, when booting, it didn't go further than the bootloader and I discovered afterwards that CROGEN borked the filesystem on the floppy.

I never had a great deal of luck with the Micah stuff.  Something wrong with it, I think.  It just "sorta'" works.   ITC CP/M is excellent.

Not sure why you used CROGEN.  I don't think it will work with versions of CP/M.  Please be aware that the filesystems with something like CP/M, CDOS, and Cromix are NOT compatible.  I use CDOS to format a diskette (with INIT).  That format will work with CDOS or CP/M, but you have to pick one -- you can't mix them.  I use RDOS commands to copy the system tracks of a bootable diskette to a new diskette.  Not a lot of details here, I know, but not exactly sure what you are trying to do.

Roger

[MikeS]

Hello, Emil,

 

I'm a little confused; Crogen is normally the program used to configure a Cromix system, nothing to do with CP/M AFAIK.

 

How did you format the disk, what files are you using, and where did you get them, especially the "How to Install a New BIOS.txt" ?

 

mike

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[Emil Sarlija]

Hi Mike etc,

I'm trying to build Martin's new CP/M implementation under an existing CP/M system, ITC and/or Micah. All information is in this thread. The text file I'm using, and all the ASM files and CROGEN program, are on the Deramp site linked elsewhere in the thread.

Sorry about the confusion. Just wondering if anyone was successful in building it and how they did it.

Thanks,

Emil

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[MikeS]

Sorry, haven't been able to locate it on Martin's site; do you have a working link?

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[Emil Sarlija]

Here 'tis - https://deramp.com/downloads/mfe_archive/005-Documentation%20and%20Code%20by%20Martin/010%20Code%20by%20Martin/CPM%20Code/Cromemco%20CPM/

The text file is in the CroBIOS directory.

Many thanks,

Emil

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[Martin Eberhard]

The CroGen that Emil is referencing is my own CroGen, which is simply a customized Sysgen for the Cromemco hardware. (Nothing to do with Cromix, sorry about the name confusion!)

[MikeS]

Hi Martin,

 

Yeah, I saw that once I went back to look at your files; a little confusing, yes, but it makes sense and the suffix will keep you out of trouble.

 

Gonna try to install it from CDOS one of these days; kudos for the detailed documentation.

 

m

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