------------ ************ Topic 4 Tue Jan 13, 1987 TIGLON.G [*SysOp*] at 21:20 EST Sub: The 1571 Disk Drive A companion drive to the C=128 computer, the 1571 is a marvel! 4 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 17, Topic 4 Message 1 Tue Jan 13, 1987 TIGLON.G [*SysOp*] at 21:24 EST The 1571 disk drive sported a new style and color to match the C=128 machine. Since its release, a lot of information has passed through our message base. You will find the messages have been archived and placed in Software Library #1 for easier access: 3150 1541/1571 COMPATIBILITY 1240 1571 SECOND SIDE SECRET 2433 2 DRIVE 1571.INFO Feel free to continue any discussion in this new topic devoted strictly to this drive! ------------ Category 17, Topic 4 Message 2 Wed Jan 14, 1987 TIGLON.G [*SysOp*] at 02:56 EST See also files: 3158 1571 COMPATIBILITY #2 3160 1571 ROM UPDATE ARCHIVE 3161 TWO DRIVE OPS/1571 ------------ Category 17, Topic 4 Message 3 Sun Jan 18, 1987 KEVIN-S. [KeS] at 10:48 PST I had a certain amount of success in dealing with the large Digital Solutions demo files with my single 1571. To avoid the problem of files crossing from side one to side two, I downloaded the demo (500+ blocks) onto a freshly formatted disk, then copied a "junk" text file onto that disk, of sufficient size to just cross onto the second side of the disk. THEN I used Greg Pfountz' Library 1.3A to de-lib the demo. Since each file was being written to the second side, I had no problems with the resulting dissolved demo! Also, Library 1.3A doesn't have the delayed access when dealing with the second side of a disk... another kudo for Mr. Pfountz! KeS ------------ Category 17, Topic 4 Message 4 Sun Jan 18, 1987 DEB [*SysOp*] at 16:03 EST KeS: the troubles with the 1571 trashing disks are not neccesarily with files which span two sides...under certain conditions, using the second side for ANY writing at all can screw up otherwise good files. How...? Well...it seems that sometimes dealing with the second side needs a little more room in RAM to work...and the DOS steals the RAM from the BAM's buffer...when it finishes writing and closing the file, it updates the BAM from the buffered information and *blooooey* you have a screwed up disk. ** ------------ ************ Topic 20 Fri Feb 13, 1987 L.BURNS [Larry] at 19:54 CST Sub: BURST Mode On The 1571 This topic should be used for problems, general questions and answers for the 'burst' mode of the 1571 drive. 6 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 17, Topic 20 Message 1 Fri Feb 13, 1987 L.BURNS [Larry] at 19:57 CST Does anyone know of a good source for info on programming the burst mode in the 1571? It would be ideal if the source is easy to understand and informative, but any sources are better than none! ------------ Category 17, Topic 20 Message 2 Sat Feb 14, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 00:05 EST Larry - A couple of books have sections dealing with Burst Mode in the 1571: Commodore 128 Programming Secrets (McGraw/Hill) gives a table of all the burst mode commands, and also covers the basics of the subject. It does not show how to use the syntaxes, but gives a type-in source listing for a routine using some of them. The most comprehensive publication concerning the 1571 would probably be the book by Abacus: 1571 Internals. It may or may not be easy to understand, depending on your experience, but it is considered an essential tool for getting the most out of your 1571. -=:Mike:=- ------------ Category 17, Topic 20 Message 3 Sat Feb 14, 1987 SPARROW.J at 00:24 EST Miklos Garamszeghy (alias the king of burst mode) has written extensive burst mode programming pieces in back issues of Twin Cities 128. --Sparrow James ------------ Category 17, Topic 20 Message 4 Sat Feb 28, 1987 L.BURNS [Larry] at 10:58 CST Mike and Sparrow - Thanks for the help. Sparrow, would it be possible to upload those articles to the board? It would be available to a lot more people. ------------ Category 17, Topic 20 Message 5 Sat Feb 28, 1987 SPARROW.J at 22:54 EST Well, not to sound greedy, but they are available to everyone right now...if you know what I mean. --Sparrow James ------------ Category 17, Topic 20 Message 6 Fri Sep 25, 1987 PBE at 19:41 CDT the April, 1987 issue of COMMODORE MAGAZINE has pretty good article on the subject. ------------ ************ Topic 24 Mon May 04, 1987 JMAXWELL [Aileron] at 20:32 EDT Sub: 1571 problems After trial and error, I discovered the 1571 acts like a 1541. 16 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 1 Mon May 04, 1987 JMAXWELL [Aileron] at 20:37 EDT While using CP/M and trf files from Drive M: to Drive B: everything froze and I thought the worst. Sysop Mike came through with the solution to my RAM Disk problem, which left me with the problem with the 1571. They are[ a. In C128 mode will format only one side of disk (664 blocks) b. In CP/M using NFORMAT will provide with a format error and no formatting takes place c. Will read only one side of a DS disk when in u9 or drive b: d. Using Align Check 1571 (from GEnie) only reads to track 35 regardless of whether testing the good 1571 or the poor one. If this isn't a serious problem, and if I can get along for a short while with one good 1571 and the 1750 would I be betteoff waiting for whatever necessary repairs until the new ROMs are available and can be installed at the same time. Thanks. John ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 2 Mon May 04, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 22:16 EDT John - When you boot up the 128 in 128-mode (or resetting in 128-mode) it issues a U0>M1 command which places the drive in 1571-mode. (Are we tired of the word 'mode' yet?) Try and see if you are able to issue the command successfully yourself. I am not totally familiar with drive differences, but I'd suspect that replacing your old ROM's with the new should clear up the problem. If not, the culprit could even be the Commodore controller, a gate-array chip which Commodore doesnt support in the way of pin layouts and such so this is just a guess on my part. If you were planning on giving the Upgrade ROMS a go, call your local service center to see if they have them in stock yet. From what we are hearing, CBM themselves have neither ROM sets sitting on the shelf anymore and it could be a long wait. Lastly....it couldnt hurt to try placing that piece of cardboard that came inside the drive back *in* the drive, and give the thing another try. God knows, this dumb little move has cleared up lots of strange problems for folks. (Essentially placing the head back where it belongs.) Good Luck! ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 3 Mon May 04, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 22:22 EDT John - Almost forgot. Switch your two drives around (use the dipswitches and make your old drive 8 into drive 9 and your old 9 into 8) and see if you have the same problem with the same drive as a new device, and whether you encounter the same problem with the other drive as device 9. Keep us posted. - Mike ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 4 Mon May 04, 1987 DEB [*SysOp*] at 23:51 EDT Also, ALWAYs keep both drive 8 and drive 9 *on* if they are connected to the computer! ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 5 Tue May 05, 1987 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] at 05:45 EDT Ahh Mike, About the WD1770, the disk controller, it executes the commands not make them. It's responsible for other things like burst read/write, burst track read/write (read entire tracks and writes to an entire track all in one revolution which theorically can kick 64Kbytes/sec. (jumpin jehosaphat!) and does the nice 2mhz things in life...Much like the Z80B does in the C128 (even though I like the Z280..more on thst later)...so anyway, just letting ya know! ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 6 Tue May 05, 1987 JMAXWELL [Aileron] at 19:02 EDT Re msg #3. I have switched them around and the one that gives me the trouble remains a 1541. Additionally, when the troubled drive is hooked up, the 1750 doesn't work. Must be something amiss. Thanks everyone who took the time to reply. I'll keep working on it. John ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 7 Tue May 05, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 20:08 EDT Good luck, John! Ken - Do you have (or know where to find) pin layouts on that puppy? ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 8 Fri May 08, 1987 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] at 05:29 EDT To John: Of your drive messed up your 1750 then your either having I/O problems or something is shorting (Direct Memory Access Controllers -DMAC- suspend the 8502 in a sleep mode and takes over the I/O for it's own purpose- if it can't use it when it suppose to then either you crash because of garbage causing computer to go haywire or it just returns you to noraml state wthout doing what it' suppose to do). To Mike: As a matter of fact I should have the pin layouts for the disk controller around here someh ? ooops-somewhere around here...you should be able to get them from the Winchester (it's a winchester chip) company or maybe Fred Bowen might spot you a few pointers on how he hooked up the controller and it's importance in the 1571. ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 9 Fri May 08, 1987 S.LEWIS at 06:48 MDT Unless I got line noise, didn't I see the a reference to the troublesome drive being a 15-4-1 and NOT a 1571? Seems to me (acknowledged dummy on CP/M) that this could be the problem. Steve ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 10 Fri May 08, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 20:14 EDT Ken - Pointers I can concoct.....pin-layout is what I can dearly use. Steve - No, he has a 1571 that doesnt want to shed its 1541 clothing while in 128-mode. (Uh, 1541's can be used for CP/M too) ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 11 Sat May 09, 1987 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] at 16:59 EDT Mike - Ok, even though it is in my mind what you want it for but doesn't make a difference to me. Didn't spend 4 years in Electronic Tech/Enginr. to just read books on Low level TTL's ya know! Will try to draw something up on CAD/CAM or just a rough draft picture. ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 12 Sun Sep 13, 1987 EMJAY at 02:39 EDT Does anyone know whether the new Roms are being installed in 1571s when shipped? If so, is there any way to determine whether the drive have the new Roms installed other than opening the case which would be difficult in most stores? Can it be determined by serial number. etc.? ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 13 Sun Sep 13, 1987 SPARROW.J at 05:25 EDT A new batch of 1571s are on the way. These are the CR (cost reduced units) minus the WD1770 controller, as in the internal drive on the C-128D. These drives do have the ROM upgrade in them. Very soon, there will be a very definite way of telling what flavor 1571 you own by running a little program Fred Bowen is writing that will be published in TC-128, and uploaded here. It looks like it will be like about 10 lines of BASIC. --Sparrow James ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 14 Fri Sep 18, 1987 BKODADEK at 00:19 EDT Just read the drive ROM and check the signature. Shouldn't take more than a minute or two! Bob ------------ Category 17, Topic 24 Message 15 Mon Dec 28, 1987 T.WHITE2 at 21:57 CST A friend of mine is having a problem with a C-128 that he suspects is a drive problem. He is running a program called Superscript. It used ine with no problems, but now his computer freezes whenever he tries to load it. He took the disc to a dealer and ran it on their computer with no problems. All his other software loads and runs OK. This same type of thing happened to me once with my old Apple, where some would work and some wouldn't, and mine was a defective disc drive under warranty. Has anybody else ever had this type of problem? Do the cheap do-it-yourself head cleaning discs work? Does this sound like a drive problem? He would appreciate any advice. Thanks, Tom ------------ ------------ ************ Topic 52 Fri Apr 15, 1988 LSD (Forwarded) Sub: 1571 disk drive trouble. I have a brand new C128/1571 combo The 1571 won't copy files using 'uni-copy' program on the demo disk. 2 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 17, Topic 52 Message 1 Fri Apr 15, 1988 JBEE (Forwarded) When you get to the menu after hitting the F1 key, put the colored box on the "set up disk/printer" option and hit the space bar. This will allow you to set up your drives to allow copying with one drive. JBEE XWELL [Aileron] at 19:02 EDT Re msg #3. I have switched them around an