I need an IMI EPROM!

[Mike Arnold]

One of my IMI7710s has developed a fault and I am trying to diagnose the problem. To do this I need a different version of the Micrologic board EPROM, namely version 330063. This is on the top board of the three-card set in the back of the drive and is accessible without removing the 7710 boards themselves. I have all the other versions but not this one.

Does anyone have a 7710 from which they can read the 330063 code or even lend me the 2716 EPROM so that I can copy it? 

I would be eternally grateful. 

[Aron Hoekstra]

I just checked mine, unfortunately it's labeled 330092

[Mike Stein]

As is mine, alas; sorry!

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[Mike Arnold]

Aron, Mike,

Thanks for checking those ROMs - I think that the one I wanted is quite rare. 

I am proceeding to diagnose the problem chip by chip rather than board swap. The good news is that it is definitely an electronics problem rather than inside the sealed enclosure. It's all a bit of a pain having the drive die when it did because without a working reference IMI7710 I cannot complete the testing of my WDI to IDE adaptor. Perhaps by the end of it I can pass what I learn on to others who are trying to revive a 7710 (like Hansi).

Anyway, off on holiday in a few days so will resume (with new vigour) when I return.
Mike

[Mike Arnold]

HANSI this may be of interest to you as you try to get your hard disk fixed.

I have spent a stupid number of hours diagnosing why my IMI7710 stopped working. Fortunately, I have managed to sort it (two faulty chips and a transistor). 

Much of the time spent was trying to figure out what the drive was supposed to be doing and how it worked. I thought it may be useful to document this just in case someone else is also twisted enough to want to fix one. This document is guaranteed to work better than sleeping pills!

Mike

[Aron Hoekstra]

Wow this is an impressive amount of detail! So after all that and replacing those chips are you back up & running?

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[Mike Stein]

Wow! That's quite the document! Very nice; this is really turning into a major project.

How many people actually have a 7710 (or-20), and how many are working?

I think you (Mike) and Aron each have a working one, Hansi's is not working, and the status of mine is unknown; anybody else have one? Just curious..

m

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[Mike Arnold]

I am still testing the drive after its repair. HDTEST and 68000 Cromix are faultless but Cromix Plus is giving some issues. More investigation needed and then I can get back to testing my IMI simulator.

APPEAL: does anyone have a copy of Cromix Plus on floppy that is not 31.05? I don't have a Gotech just real drives (5.25in, 3.5in, 8in). I have a suspicion that 31.05 might have bugs in its IMI drivers.

Mike

[Mike Stein]

There were at least 9 versions of Cromix+ for 68000/010 processors, many of which are on github. I'm not in a position to download and forward anything right now but surely someone else will be; what formats would work for you?

Cro+ did have issues with the IMI drives; I don't recall the details but ISTR that the drivers were actually removed but later restored. I've never had problems with the latest versions but I'm using the 5 and 20 MB 5 1/4 drives.

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[Mike Arnold]

Thanks for your reply Mike. Interesting. 

With my WDI to IDE adaptor running under Cromix Plus 31.05 I was occasionally getting a write error which turned out to be the WDI writing a sector to the wrong location within the track (ie writing sector 10 into the location for sector 8). I have been working on the assumption that this is a bug in my embedded code but have not found it yet. Then I saw it happen once on the real IMI. Then the drive died in March so life was put on hold. The Cromix Plus drivers are completely different to those in other Cromix versions or CDOS and probably best described as "brave". In fact, they use undocumented features of the 7710.

The floppy formats that I can use are DSDD 5.25in (Cromemco standard), DSDD 8in (Cromemco standard) or 3.5in emulating an 8in. I have not yet rigged up a double tracked 5.25in drive to emulate 8in.

I can supply the blank media if someone were able to XCOPY from an original set. I realise that there are images on github but I have seen chatter than some are incomplete and I am not sure how I would get the image on to a real floppy.

Mike

[rlm2667]

I can get you most of the 31.xx series. 31.68 is the latest ASFIK. It's utilities are all 68000 code. 31.62 has a few utilities that are still Z80. Don't know if the IMI drivers are different. 

I also have the source code for 31.05 which includes the block device drivers and most of the utilities but not sure that would actually help.

I have a 3.5HD drive (8 inch emu) so can get you a bootable 31.68 3.5" disk if you like. The full install takes several disks. I think it is three. I can get you a set of those also if any of this would help.

Richard M

[Mike Stein]

Here's a question; sounds like Mike has no way to get a file from the internet onto a diskette; has anyone ever tried to copy binary files (e.g. a Cromix format disk image) with the built-in Cromix commands sfile & rfile ? I know Richard's systems are on line, is there any way for Mike to get his Cromemco on line somehow? There are some software RS-232 to ethernet 'modems' out there...

m

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[Richard Muse]

I have transferred a disk image from one Cromix machine to another with ccall (rfile/sfile).  I've only done this with a direct wired rs232 connection though. And of course, that works.

I have had little success sending files to a Cromix machine over a network connection.  Admittedly, I have not used an actual rs232 to TCP IP appliance. I use socat on linux to 'pipe' an assigned port to a usb to rs232 dongle which is in turn, connected to a port on a Cromemco system. All of these attempts have been using pccom or procomm on a remote machine connected over the network to the system with the dongle on it. socat has no effective flow control that I've been able to work out and that is likely the issue.

I haven't attempted to connect one cromix machine to another over the network and use ccall to attempt a transfer. Should be fairly straight forward with a couple of raspberry pi's. I'll have to give that a try and see what happens. Without actual rs232 to network appliances it may have the same problem. And the appliances may not manage flow control properly either.

Anyway, as I said, I can make 31.68 disks and use snail mail.

Richard M

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[Mike Stein]

I'm sure Mike'll appreciate that; better check how much memory he has, by 168 Cromix+ had gotten a little hungrier.

It'd be interesting and maybe even fun to try to use rfile and sfile between two Cro+ boxes without any extra hardware except for a Win or Linux box handling the Ethernet<>Rs232 conversion. Of course if POTS-compatible connections and suitable modems are available, that'd be just like the old days.

At 1200 bd maybe not practical for any serious transfers but good enough to transfer PCcom and/or CScopy to get started.

m

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[Mike Arnold]

Thanks to all especially Mike & Richard. This is a genuinely supportive group.

Richard, I think my route of least hassle will be to get a full install set of 8in emulation disks copied by you from the originals. 162 or better 168. I am guessing both have IMI drivers in sysdef and enabled. I have a single 1024KZ so I am hoping that Cromix Plus has not put on too much weight to fit in 1Mb. I can send you, say, four 3.5in disks (formatted and verified) if you reply (privately) with your address. I can include some dollars/pounds/euros in the packet to cover the postage. If you need a copy of XCOPY let me know.

Incidentally, I'm back in Ontario in the second half of August visiting relatives if anyone wants to catch a beer.

Thanks again to you.

Mike

[Hansi Tesarz]

thanks Mike

really impressive documentation.

i will power up my drive and try and find what's wrong. 

/hansi 

[Richard Muse]

Mike,

I have plenty of 3.5" disks so no need to send any. I'll make a set this weekend. 

1 meg of memory is plenty for 168. I'll gen a cromix with hd drivers and selectable boot drive. I have xcopy. I have copies of the 168 install disks in a directory on one of the Cromix machines so can make a set using cptree for the boot and ftar for the others directly from a Cromix system.  Same disks I did my original 168 installs from.

I'll make a set and test them before sending them.

Richard M

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[Mike Stein]

Does cptree give you a bootable disk?

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[Richard Muse]

It puts all the files there in all the directories including dev files, then you wboot fda for example to put the boot track on the disk.

Richard M

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[Mike Stein]

Ah, yes; that assumes you have a running system, which you and Mike have. I was thinking of DD etc. to create a bootable disk, but of course that depends on what format your source is.

m

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[Mike Arnold]

Hi Richard, did you receive my private email with my address etc?

Mike

[Richard Muse]

I did not. I have disks made. Was waiting for the email.

R

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[Mike Arnold]

Richard, I have sent you a private message.

Mike

[Richard Muse]

Hmm. How are you sending it. I'm getting these but not the private message.

R

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[Mike Arnold]

Sounds like I'm doing something wrong or Google groups need tweaking. To do a PM I go into the web portal rather than reply on the email copy.

To send a private message my understanding is that I select a message from the person to whom I want to send the PM and then click "Reply to author".

I attach a screen grab (in .doc format) of where I click. It then allows me to create the message and then send it. Obviously it then goes into a black hole.

Anyone have any ideas of where I am going wrong?

Mike

[arnol...@talk21.com]

Richard, did you receive this as a PM? I have replied to the email copy rather than the web portal.

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[Richard Muse]

I did get this. I also got the later one. Read it first and replied before I read this one. So I got both.

Richard

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