[Coco] Re: OS-9 as Replacement for DECB.

[Robert Gault]

Stephen H. Fischer wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have been thinking about this a little more.
> 
> The first Target:
> 
> A new rom that is installed into a "normal CoCo 3" in place of the 
> original.

Possible but problematic as the Coco3 ROM is not socketed while the disk 
cart ROM is. Removal of the Coco3 ROM and replacement with a socketed 
EPROM is not a job for the untrained or timid user. Complete destruction 
of the Coco3 is a likely outcome. Who is going to program your EPROM and 
do the soldering?

If you are referring only to the disk ROM, there is nowhere near enough 
room for a self contained OS-9.

> 
> Plug the CoCo into the Wall and connect a monitor.
> 
> Turning power on the exact same messages are displayed and it is not
> possible to determine that anything has changed, but OS-9 is running.

You want Extended Color Basic displayed even though it no longer exists 
on the Coco? That does not make any sense unless you want to confuse the 
user.

> 
> Plug in a game and it runs just as before. Remember, the rom is available
> and will get control after the 3 wise men are displayed so control can be
> given to a game completely.

If by this you mean a game cart. for a Basic or ml. game, it might work 
but only if the game is completely self contained and does not expect 
the presence of the Coco3 ROM.

> 
> No learning of OS-9 is necessary.

Please explain how the exchange of a ROM will teach you OS-9. Do you 
mean that it is no longer needed to learn how to create a bootable OS-9 
disk? The latter is true but you would lose the ability to customize 
OS-9 disks with individualized os9boot files, unless only the contents 
of track 34 are ROMed.

> 
> Now this is a goal that may not be reached, but it is the starting target.

Some of it unrealistic as requested.

> 
> I have not played with RGBdos and I do not know if it can be turned into a
> OS-9 Shell.

As stated in another thread, both RGBDOS and HDBDOS will automatically 
run an AUTOEXEC.BAS file from a hard drive on power up or a hard RESET. 
If the AUTOEXEC.BAS is programmed to use the DOS command on a Disk Basic 
partition of the hard drive containing an OS-9 boot disk, then the net 
result will be exactly what you want from changing the ROM. However, 
there would be much more flexibility, no os9boot size constraint, and 
Disk Basic would still be present for 100% compatibility with any 
program requiring it.

> 
> Can someone knowledgeable tell me more and think about what is needed in
> OS-9 to run on a diskless system. I consider 2 Meg Memory as a requirement
> so a ram disk can be used.

Not good enough because the RAM will be wiped clean at power off. You 
will need something like a flash card that would be semi-permanent or a 
hard drive. You still need a method of populating the semi-permanent 
memory which means a disk somewhere.

> 
> Stephen H. Fischer

Why this burning desire for a disk less system? There are no advantages 
and many disadvantages to such a system. If you hate floppies, use a 
hard drive system with an RS-232 pak.