No idea where to start

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By Stefan Schnitzler

Supporter (6)

Stefan Schnitzler's picture

27-06-2016, 22:42

Hello,

i recently found a philips VG-8235 MSX2. I want to get it running but i have no idea where to start. When i try to start it the "FDD Busy" light goes on and it makes the usually floppy noises. I´ve got no floppy disc´s or anything else apart from the MSX itself. The Screen stays black. Should it do anything without a disk?
Is there a way to get DOS2 onto a disk without having an original Bootdisk? I have a lot of working 2DD Floppy disk and a Windows XP PC with a drive. I also have a working Amiga 1200 if that helps.

Thanks a lot

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By Latok

msx guru (3960)

Latok's picture

28-06-2016, 09:32

It doesn't boot to BASIC? It should, even without a diskette inserted...

By jepmsx

Champion (281)

jepmsx's picture

28-06-2016, 09:50

Maybe you can remove the power of the disk and see if the MSX boots to BASIC.

By meits

Scribe (6572)

meits's picture

28-06-2016, 11:30

To check if it's "just" the video, start your computer without a disk inserted and turn up the volume of your speakers. Check if you hear a beep a few seconds after you turned the machine on. Otherwise wait a few seconds longer and press ctrl+G. This makes a beep as well. If that works a lot of things are going very well Smile

The 8235 has several ways to connect with a screen, try them all and be sure you got your screen setup the right way to receive the signal. Try different cables as well. If you use a scart cable, know that not all scart cables will have all the right pins connected. If you're in an NTSC region, know that this machine is a PAL one. Can your screen handle that?

By TheKid

Paragon (1238)

TheKid's picture

28-06-2016, 12:58

And since a VG 8235 has single sided drive, you have no use for the 2DD disks eithter Smile You need to format them to 360kb.

By Stefan Schnitzler

Supporter (6)

Stefan Schnitzler's picture

28-06-2016, 17:21

hey i´ve got it working! After restarting multiple times to hear if it beeps it loaded MSX Basic. I haven´t changed a thing and i have no idea why its working now. Smile Thank you very much for the help

I now see this screen:

What do i need to get some Games running? Is there a way to copy roms to a disk?

By Wild_Penguin

Hero (644)

Wild_Penguin's picture

28-06-2016, 17:59

Your screenshot does not show (probably the forum doing something ... or we don't have permissions to show if it is a link). EDIT: I assume it is the basic screen... start programming away in basic Cool

You can put ROMs on a disk and load them, but you need loads of RAM to load most of games (and the smaller ones are not the best games on the platform).

If you are adept (can make your own cable - or, get a DIN <-> 4xRCA adapter, you probably got the right pin on one of the RCAs), you can have loads of fun with msx2cas.

If you have a floppy drive connected to a PC, you may be able to write 360kb disks with it (but it may be quite a hassle...). There was another thread about it here just a while ago... EDIT2: Here is the thread, look at page 6. For short: 1) format a disk on MSX, 2) make sure you have covered the hole (if a HD disk) 3) try to write on it on PC. Depending on your OS the disk might be 4a) readable after this on your MSX! Writing on MSX disks might work in Windows XP, it most probably will not work on newer windowses, however (AFAIK they assume 720kb disks) - but will work on Linux (I've heard!). Some USB floppy drives do not support DD disks. 4b) If your MSX can not read the disk, or you are unable to write on it on a PC, you need to change your OS and/or PC floppy drive (is it is a USB drive), or upgrade your MSXs floppy drive intoa 720kb drive, as that may be a little bit more compatible.

If you are willing to shell out a bit money, I recommend the MegaFlashRomSCC+SD :)

By meits

Scribe (6572)

meits's picture

28-06-2016, 18:26

Internal PC diskdrive will write on MSX formatted 360kB disks in Windows XP and the MSX will be able to read it. I tested this for that other thread.
The megaflashromscc+sd (with 512kb extra mainram) is a big plus. You won't need your diskdrive anymore and there's no shortage of ram so you can run everything which is written for MSX1 and MSX2.

By MickAri

Supporter (16)

MickAri's picture

29-06-2016, 13:52

msx2cas is a great way to start as pointed by Wild_Penguin. You can get a cable from here and they are pretty cheap as well € 4,99. I have no experience with the site myself.

[url=MSX Retro Cables]http://retrocables.es/tienda/index.php?id_category=79&controller=category&id_lang=1[/url]

By Wild_Penguin

Hero (644)

Wild_Penguin's picture

29-06-2016, 16:16

If you have a local electronics shop, you may find this kind of adapter (so you do not necessarily need to order online):

https://www.google.fi/search?q=RCA+5-PIN+DIN&client=firefox-...

That is enough for connecting a CD player, an Android tablet/device (remote signal will be useless fot those in any case). Even a 5-pin 2 2xRCA might be enough, if it is the LINE_OUT kind!

These adapters were for 5-PIN A/V equipment (such as cassette decks) from the 70s and 80s. Coincidentally, the line out (L) is in the same pin position as CMT_IN. See:

By Stefan Schnitzler

Supporter (6)

Stefan Schnitzler's picture

01-07-2016, 20:47

okay the first think i tried was to format a 720kb dd to a 360kb disk on the msx. Unsurprisingly this didn´t work. So i thought the best think to do is to replace the pretty much useless 360kb floppy drive with a bigger one.

I was prepairing to open the case of the msx until i discovered it actually has a "ext FDD" port. I took the power supply and the floppy drive out of my arcade maschine and connected it to the msx. In BASIC i wrote "CALL FORMAT". It ask´s for drive "A or B" but no matter wich i choose it always tries to load the internal floppy (the red floppy light goes on).

Do i need to change something so it recognizes the ext FDD or am i doing something completely wrong?

here´s a picture of the connection (i hope you can see it this time)

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