I am trying to make InterNestor Lite run on MSX-DOS, loaded from tape into diskless MSX2 with 128K RAM. I have feeling that it doesn't work (hangs after installing) because there is some problem with DRIVER.COM (also called "fossil driver".

I tried to mail the author, erik.maas@tip.nl, but this address doesn't respond anymore.

I have a NO$MSX snapshot, which shows the problem, and, because NO$MSX has a good debugger in it, it should be easier to find the solution.

Another thing I'd like to do is to write a driver for the Yamaha MSX2 RS232 network card, so I'll be able to hook it to the net. There is a HUGE amount of these machines across ex-USSR - that's why I think enabling networking on these machines can result in a significant rise of active MSX-users.

Can anybody help me ?

Is there any chance that this RS232 interface will be supported by UZIX ?

The Sunrise ide/r232c interface supports it as well as the accnet interface from spain.
I think but I am not sure it might be have to with your lack of DOS2
Btw I have sent you a message as the continuing questions about CF for diskless MSX2.
If some one has a diskless MSX2 with ( I prefer 128K) at least 64 k for sale well contact me.

sunrise: 10x, I saw your mail, but I prefer to wait until you confirm CF interface will work on diskless MSX. In addition to our last conversation, I can say that - as you see - now I am able to run MSX-DOS on a ramdisk, so, there are chances that flash update tool will work even as is, in DOS+ramdisk I loaded from tape port.

But this is off-topic.

I am not trying to solve my own problems, like absence of floppy drive or non-standart network interface. This is easy - I just can buy the missing parts.

As I said, I want to enable networking on Yamaha machines that already have serial interface in their side-slot. Thousands of MSX users can benefit from this.
All of them, including myself, have this RS232 interface, which most of them can't use, because existing software is intended for inter-MSX communication only.

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The Sunrise ide/r232c interface supports it as well as the accnet interface from spain. I think but I am not sure it might be have to with your lack of DOS2 Btw I have sent you a message as the continuing questions about CF for diskless MSX2. If some one has a diskless MSX2 with ( I prefer 128K) at least 64 k for sale well contact me.

I have to say that driver patched for me that avoid that system goes to basic doen't suport DOS2 (I am sure of this ). I am not sure if the original can works in a DOS1 envirotment.

k0ga:
Original DOES work in MSX-DOS 1 environment.
My problem is running in a non-standard environment - on a specific ramdisk.
The same driver runs perfectly when executed from regular floppy or floppy image in emulator.

That's why I'd like somebody to help me finding driver's sources or driver's author himself.

10x in advance.

I tried to mail the author, erik.maas@tip.nl, but this address doesn't respond anymore.

erik <at> maas-rijt <dot> demon <dot> nl is his e-mail-adress.

Where he will enjoy a nice amount of spam from now on

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Where he will enjoy a nice amount of spam from now on

Hehehe, indeed ^_^;;. SolidEric, if you would be so kind to edit that email adress to make it unreadable for robots? Replacing @ by <AT> should do the trick.

Oh, and uh, cax, ofcourse the Sunrise CF-IDE will work on an MSX without diskdrive. As long as it is an MSX2 computer.


~Grauw

Grauw:

Did you see any Sunrise CF-IDE working on a diskless MSX2 or you just think it will ?
Because I'm not so sure it will - I've heard Sunrise CF-IDE needs a diskrom, and a diskless machine just has no diskrom. Makes sense ?

No, the CF-IDE has a diskrom inside. It will work, it would make no sense if it didn't...

I have used the CF-IDE on a diskless MSX2, but that's just because the drive was broken, not because it didn't have a DiskROM .


~Grauw

I saw one running on a NMS 8220 in Bussum, which is a diskrom-less MSX2 system.

The Sunrise IDE has a diskrom inside, one that knows how to handle attached hard disk(s) in the MSX standard diskrom way.
The diskrom in the IDE does not handle floppy disk drives though.
In fact, a diskrom and a disk controller belong together. When you have an IDE interface in a MSX-2 like e.g. the NSM8250 you have the builtin floppy drive diskrom and the IDE diskrom both enabled. The order in (sub-) slots determines the drive letters assigned by each diskrom, called one after another at boot.
A standard floppy drive diskrom takes two drive letters for the max 2 floppy drives you can attach. Hard disk roms take more and, depending how intelligent, leave some letters to the floppy drives and/or MSX-2 ram disk.

In a MSX-2 without floppy drives and therefore no floppy diskrom (NMS8220) the IDE will function fine. Ofcourse you need a hard disk already partitioned and formatted.

MSX-DOS 2 inside the IDE makes it unfriendly to machines without MSX2 ROM and memory mapper.

Thank you all for giving me a green light - now I am sure I will buy myself a CF-IDE cartridge.

The only open question is how would I partition, format and fill a CF card with data.
Is it possible to make some CF card image file that I can write onto CF card via PC's card reader device so MSX will boot from this card ?

Another option I can try is to load a ram disk with MSX-DOS 1 and CF partitioning software on it via cassete port (I can do it with MicroWAVer), but I am not so sure it will work... maybe I can try this with OpenMSX first.

Hello,
I also want to connect my CF/HD/CD to my 8220. However, I have an earlier compact flash adapter from Sunrise (I guess there is no diskrom inside?).
Furthermore I have a sunrise IDE interface without msxdos build in. I use a separate msxdos2 cartridge. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to use CF/HD/CD with this configuration?
Or, for example, can i solve the problem by buying an exernal diskdrive, with interface? (which i want to have anyway). Thanx in advance.

RJ.

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Hello, I also want to connect my CF/HD/CD to my 8220. However, I have an earlier compact flash adapter from Sunrise (I guess there is no diskrom inside?). Furthermore I have a sunrise IDE interface without msxdos build in. I use a separate msxdos2 cartridge. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to use CF/HD/CD with this configuration? Or, for example, can i solve the problem by buying an exernal diskdrive, with interface? (which i want to have anyway). Thanx in advance. RJ.

I have never seen a Sunrise IDE adapter withour flashrom inside. The programs you can download from the Sunrise website allow you to load the diskrom and MSXDOS2 into the flashrom adapter, no need for separate MSX DOS 2 carts.
But you do need a floppy drive for the initial loading and partitioning and install DOS on the IDE.