[Coco] Booting OS9 on my CoCo 3

Tormod Volden lists.tormod at gmail.com
Tue Aug 8 12:19:36 EDT 2017


On Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 5:42 PM, Dave Philipsen wrote:
> Yeah, that might be a good idea. The only problem is that I'm not exactly
> sure what I'll need in the CoCo3, software-wise, to accomplish that.  Is it
> best to boot from an alternate disk system with dw support built in?  I can
> easily burn a new ROM if you can direct me to an image.

I think DWDOS is great because it reads everything included boot track
(kernel) over DriveWire. You just need to load the small DWDOS command
from floppy or even tape. Get it from the Files section at
toolshed.sf.net and use for the CoCo3 one of the files called
dw3dos*cc3*
- wav is for tape
- bin is for loading off a floppy
- trk is for writing into a boot track on a floppy, so that "DOS" will run DWDOS
- dsk rom is for putting in a cartridge
- mb rom is for replacing the BASIC ROM

Tormod



>
> Dave
>
>
>
> On 8/8/2017 10:37 AM, Bill Pierce via Coco wrote:
>>
>> Dave, I agree with Robert. It could be that you have 128k and the boot is
>> requiring 512k due to the ramdisk.
>>
>> Why not make a drivewire cable, boot from drivewire, then you can
>> explore/modify your real disks and see what the problem is.
>>
>>
>>
>> Bill Pierce
>> "Charlie stole the handle, and the train it won't stop going, no way to
>> slow down!" - Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull
>>
>> My Music from the Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 & 3
>> https://sites.google.com/site/dabarnstudio/
>> Co-Contributor, Co-Editor for CocoPedia
>> http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
>>
>> E-Mail: ooogalapasooo at aol.com
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com>
>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
>> Sent: Tue, Aug 8, 2017 3:12 am
>> Subject: [Coco] Booting OS9 on my CoCo 3
>>
>> Ok, so it's been a REAL long time since I booted OS9 on my real CoCo 3
>> from a floppy disk.  Like almost thirty years.  So I picked up a used FD501
>> controller from eBay awhile back and I just now hooked up a 3.5" floppy to
>> it.  I can format a floppy and I can save/load programs from it.  But when I
>> try to boot an old disk (probably 30 yrs old) I get the familiar "OS9 BOOT"
>> screen and then the floppy does a seek at what sounds like a faster step
>> rate and then it does nothing.  Frozen with "OS9 BOOT" on the screen and the
>> floppy is still selected with the motor running.This is a very old boot disk
>> that I labeled "OS9 Level II System Master with ramdisk".  My old setup was
>> a CoCo 3 with 512K and a multipak and one of the old full-size floppy
>> controllers and an RS232 Pak.  My new setup is a CoCo 3 with 128K, no MPI,
>> the FD501, and a 63C09.I've got some 5.25" OS9 disks too but I don't
>> currently have a 5.25" drive so I'm hoping to get things worked out with the
>> 3.5" drive. It may be that the floppy is just so old it's lost some of its
>> retentivity but I just thought I'd put it out there to see if anyone has an
>> idea.  Maybe I'm missing something obvious.  The FD501 does not seem to work
>> at hi-speed. Could that be the problem?Dave-- Coco mailing
>> listCoco at maltedmedia.comhttps://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>>
>
>
>
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