[N8VEM: 16849] Mounting N8VEM CF cards as drives is now possible

[oscarv]

All,

Maybe old news for some, but for me it was quite a discovery:

Using cpmcbfs (link) <http://www.nyangau.org/cpmcbfs/cpmcbfs.htm>, you can
now insert your CF or SD card and mount it as a drive under Windows. Same
on Linux with cpmfuse (link <http://www.nyangau.org/cpmfuse/cpmfuse.htm>).
It works fine on my 64-bit Win7 laptop, not on my older 32-bit XP one
though.

This is really nice, because you can now read and write the (RomWBW) N8VEM
CF card without going through the process of imaging the CF card, adding
stuff, then rewriting the image back on the CF card.

You will need to save the attached diskdefs file in the directory of
cpmcbfs.exe - this contains disk parameters for RomWBW partitions up to
number 230 or so.
usage after installing it (with cpmcbfs --install on an Administrator
command line and rebooting):

cpmcbfs -f hd<PARTITION NUMBER 0-229> -i <file or device> -v

Regards,

Oscar.

[oscarv]

All,

cpmcbfs (http://www.nyangau.org/cpmcbfs/cpmcbfs.htm) is now updated so it
runs on older Window machines as well.

Seriously useful as you can now pop a RomWBW CF card into your PC and
read/write N8VEM files straight away!

Regards,

Oscar.

Post by oscarv
All,
Using cpmcbfs (link) <http://www.nyangau.org/cpmcbfs/cpmcbfs.htm>, you
can now insert your CF or SD card and mount it as a drive under Windows.
Same on Linux with cpmfuse (link<http://www.nyangau.org/cpmfuse/cpmfuse.htm>).
It works fine on my 64-bit Win7 laptop, not on my older 32-bit XP one
though.
This is really nice, because you can now read and write the (RomWBW) N8VEM
CF card without going through the process of imaging the CF card, adding
stuff, then rewriting the image back on the CF card.
You will need to save the attached diskdefs file in the directory of
cpmcbfs.exe - this contains disk parameters for RomWBW partitions up to
number 230 or so.
usage after installing it (with cpmcbfs --install on an Administrator
cpmcbfs -f hd<PARTITION NUMBER 0-229> -i <file or device> -v
Regards,
Oscar.

[Wayne Warthen]

I have been using cpmtools for quite a while, but have never tried cpmcbfs.
I will definitely give that a try.

Thanks,

Wayne

Post by oscarv
All,
cpmcbfs (http://www.nyangau.org/cpmcbfs/cpmcbfs.htm) is now updated so it
runs on older Window machines as well.
Seriously useful as you can now pop a RomWBW CF card into your PC and
read/write N8VEM files straight away!
Regards,
Oscar.

Post by oscarv
All,
Using cpmcbfs (link) <http://www.nyangau.org/cpmcbfs/cpmcbfs.htm>, you
can now insert your CF or SD card and mount it as a drive under Windows.
Same on Linux with cpmfuse (link<http://www.nyangau.org/cpmfuse/cpmfuse.htm>).
It works fine on my 64-bit Win7 laptop, not on my older 32-bit XP one
though.
This is really nice, because you can now read and write the (RomWBW)
N8VEM CF card without going through the process of imaging the CF card,
adding stuff, then rewriting the image back on the CF card.
You will need to save the attached diskdefs file in the directory of
cpmcbfs.exe - this contains disk parameters for RomWBW partitions up to
number 230 or so.
usage after installing it (with cpmcbfs --install on an Administrator
cpmcbfs -f hd<PARTITION NUMBER 0-229> -i <file or device> -v
Regards,
Oscar.

[Jim Strickland]

I've gotten 1.44mb Zeta floppies working in cpmfuse as well. (Am I right
that the floppy format is the same for all RomWBW systems?)
I'm sure there's a better way to do this - I had to guess at the blocksize
and the boottrk values. I /think/ skew is right since the floppy is
formatted with 2-1 interleave. In any case, I can read and write files both
directions, and run executables from the floppy, but I've not done anything
resembling exhaustive testing.

diskdef definition:

# Zeta Floppies (and probably all N8/z80 floppies)
diskdef fd144
seclen 512
tracks 160
sectrk 18
blocksize 2048
boottrk 2
maxdir 512
skew 1
os 2.2
end

[Wayne Warthen]

Hi Jim,

That definition looks right. Yes, it is the same across all N8VEM platforms. Note that this definition does exist in the disk defy file distributed with RomWBW.

Thanks,

Wayne

[Jim Strickland]

What def is it listed as? I've found about defs for what are probably
1.44mb floppies, but none of them are obviously named for the N8/RomWBW.

-JRS

Post by Wayne Warthen
Hi Jim,
That definition looks right. Yes, it is the same across all N8VEM
platforms. Note that this definition does exist in the disk defy file
distributed with RomWBW.
Thanks,
Wayne

[Jim Strickland]

Nevermind. Found them in the one you posted in this thread:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/n8vem/diskdefs/n8vem/N9jcEQ0WkLo/ajEVW5mmNpEJ
Thanks. :)
-JRS

Post by Jim Strickland
What def is it listed as? I've found about defs for what are probably
1.44mb floppies, but none of them are obviously named for the N8/RomWBW.
-JRS

Post by Wayne Warthen
Hi Jim,
That definition looks right. Yes, it is the same across all N8VEM
platforms. Note that this definition does exist in the disk defy file
distributed with RomWBW.
Thanks,
Wayne

[Jim Strickland]

There are 3 diskdefs files in the RomWBW package, but neither the August
2012 nor the October 2012 versions seem to have the floppy defs. The one I
downloaded from the previous thread isn't right, unfortunately, as neither
of the 3.5 inch disk specs has the correct number of tracks, or the right
skew.

The corrected floppy defs go like this:

# N8VEM 720K floppy media
diskdef fd720
seclen 512
tracks 160
sectrk 9
blocksize 2048
maxdir 256
skew 1
boottrk 4
os 2.2
end

# N8VEM 1.44M floppy media
diskdef fd144
seclen 512
tracks 160
sectrk 18
blocksize 2048
maxdir 512
skew 1
boottrk 2
os 2.2
end

But wait, I hear someone saying. 3.5 inch disks only have 80 cylinders.
This is true, but it translates to 80 tracks on each side, and to make
cpmtools (or at least, cpmfuse) do that, you have to double the track
number.

Post by Jim Strickland
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/n8vem/diskdefs/n8vem/N9jcEQ0WkLo/ajEVW5mmNpEJ
Thanks. :)
-JRS

Post by Jim Strickland
What def is it listed as? I've found about defs for what are probably
1.44mb floppies, but none of them are obviously named for the N8/RomWBW.
-JRS

Post by Wayne Warthen
Hi Jim,
That definition looks right. Yes, it is the same across all N8VEM
platforms. Note that this definition does exist in the disk defy file
distributed with RomWBW.
Thanks,
Wayne

[Jim Strickland]

And, reading the rest of the thread in question, I find you already
discussed that. Nevermind. :)

Post by Jim Strickland
There are 3 diskdefs files in the RomWBW package, but neither the August
2012 nor the October 2012 versions seem to have the floppy defs. The one I
downloaded from the previous thread isn't right, unfortunately, as neither
of the 3.5 inch disk specs has the correct number of tracks, or the right
skew.
# N8VEM 720K floppy media
diskdef fd720
seclen 512
tracks 160
sectrk 9
blocksize 2048
maxdir 256
skew 1
boottrk 4
os 2.2
end
# N8VEM 1.44M floppy media
diskdef fd144
seclen 512
tracks 160
sectrk 18
blocksize 2048
maxdir 512
skew 1
boottrk 2
os 2.2
end
But wait, I hear someone saying. 3.5 inch disks only have 80 cylinders.
This is true, but it translates to 80 tracks on each side, and to make
cpmtools (or at least, cpmfuse) do that, you have to double the track
number.

Post by Jim Strickland
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/n8vem/diskdefs/n8vem/N9jcEQ0WkLo/ajEVW5mmNpEJ
Thanks. :)
-JRS

Post by Jim Strickland
What def is it listed as? I've found about defs for what are probably
1.44mb floppies, but none of them are obviously named for the N8/RomWBW.
-JRS

Post by Wayne Warthen
Hi Jim,
That definition looks right. Yes, it is the same across all N8VEM
platforms. Note that this definition does exist in the disk defy file
distributed with RomWBW.
Thanks,
Wayne