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How to find the latest stable bitstream and convert it to .COR?

    Here you'll find the latest bitstream for R3 board:
    https://mega.scryptos.com/shar…/271-8d240cf/mega65r3.bit
    here is the converted .COR 201227.rar

    (converting a .bit to .cor is absolutely easy with m65connect. download from our fileserver:

    https://files.mega65.org/


    you should also update your SDcard essential files (make a backup beforehand). The Freezer has been updated on the latest bitstream.
    download the SDcard essentials from our fileserver here:
    https://files.mega65.org/


    With best regards,


    Anton

    Even after flashing the latest bitstream I am not able to make use of the internal 3.5'' floppy drive. I am confident that it is properly connected because it makes the appropriate noise when there is access to the SD card but I cannot format a floppy disk with the command "header". I scanned the messages on discord and had the impression that it should work after installing the latest bitstream. I am also uncertain what kind of internal settings I have to change (if any) before using the internal floppy drive ... :(

    Hmmm, using the latest bitstream, i don't have any issues anymore with the internal drive.


    can you confirm, that you're on the latest bitstream ?

    - once MEGA65 is booted, press MEGA & TAB key and check the bitstream version there

    - post a picture here

    - press MEGA & TAB again to leave "Matrix-mode"


    Do you have an external drive connected ? If so please disconnect and try again to access the internal drive.

    We are atm in process of getting the IEC bus completely sorted.


    once you can confirm the above, just enter the Freezer menu, press 0 (to select drive 0 content), move to internal drive, press Return, then leave the freezer the drive should now be accessible as drive 8.

  • adtbm

    Added the Label wird geprüft

  • adtbm

    Added the Label Problem!

    Hmmm, the Bitstream is from the 27th of december, so one of the most recent ones.

    Did you update the FREEZER.M65 on your SDcard as well ? Paul made an update there too.

    https://files.mega65.org/files…ssentialsNoROM_LMihuR.rar


    Please remember, before changing files on the SDcard make a backup on the PC.

  • adtbm

    Set the Label from diagnosing! to Information!

    adtbm Thank you for your support, much appreciated, and apologies that it has taken so long for me to respond, but I wanted to test the new environment thorougly and not bother you with half-baked results. However, it still doesn't work as it should be, I believe:


    1. Thank you for the reference to the new FREEZER.M65, I had loaded the version from the "news" section of the filehost server, but should have used the "files" section with the more up-to-date version instead.. The updated version now does allow me to select the internal 3,5'' drive and assign drive #8 to it, that is fine.

    2. However, for a bizarre reason (at least I have no explanation for it), I can no longer mount any d81 file from the internal SD card other than "IFFSHOW.D81". Already during the boot process it displays "CANNOT MOUNT D81 - <ERRNO: 8B>" ("ERRNO" should probably read "ERROR", right?] (see screenshot attached) and "MEGA65.d81" is not started automatically, rather the cursor appears. While it is possible to load the directory of the mounted "IFFSHOW.D81", it is not possible to load any file.

    3. I then inserted the external micro SD card with the essential files and the D81 files in order to override the internal SD card and this time "MEGA65.D81"booted automatically and I could also mount the other D81 files both in C65 and C64 mode and load and start programs.

    4. However, I still cannot format a disk in the internal 3,5'' drive, neither in C65 mode (with command "header") nor in C64 mode (with command "open"). I tried both DD and HD disks. After typing in "HEADER"TESTM65",IBS,U8" it asks "ARE YOU SURE?" and after typing in "Y" it starts with formatting noises but then stops after 2 seconds with "?DOS READ ERROR". In C64 mode after typing in "OPEN 1,8,15,"N:MEINEDISK,MD":CLOSE1" nothing happened and just "READY" appeared without any formatting.

    Quote from Fraburm

    2. However, for a bizarre reason (at least I have no explanation for it), I can no longer mount any d81 file from the internal SD card other than "IFFSHOW.D81". Already during the boot process it displays "CANNOT MOUNT D81 - <ERRNO: 8B>" ("ERRNO" should probably read "ERROR", right?] (see screenshot attached) and "MEGA65.d81" is not started automatically, rather the cursor appears. While it is possible to load the directory of the mounted "IFFSHOW.D81", it is not possible to load any file.

    This sounds like a buggy SDcard. This happens from time to time, with that FAT32 file system.

    (that's the reason why i always suggest to do un SD backup when playing with the files on the SDcard)

    It still should be possible to do:

    - make a Backup of your SDcard on the PC

    - re-prepare the SD card with the SD utilities of the MEGA65 Configure menu (hold ALT while powering up and choose SD utilities. Hint: the internal SDcard is "0")

    - copy the backup from the PC back to the SDcard.

    now the SDcard should be fully accessible again.


    Quote from Fraburm

    However, I still cannot format a disk in the internal 3,5'' drive, neither in C65 mode (with command "header") nor in C64 mode (with command "open")

    This is a known issue and we're on it already, best thing (if available), prepare a blank disc on the PC with appropriate tools.

    Reading and writing to the floppy disc should work nevertheless.

    Thank you for your promt response. However, when I start the Factory Core rather than the latest version, the internal SD card works fine ...

    did you remove the external microSD again ?

    One thing i have seen in your picture.

    Do you mount the D81 image by changing the Default D81 image in CONFIGURE ?

    If you change the Default image in CONFIGURE you have to be very accurate regarding, Filename, Capital/lower case, file name length and File extension .D81 (not .d81).


    Apart from that mounting works fastest in the Freezer menu.

    Quote from adtbm

    One thing i have seen in your picture.

    Do you mount the D81 image by changing the Default D81 image in CONFIGURE ?

    If you change the Default image in CONFIGURE you have to be very accurate regarding, Filename, Capital/lower case, file name length and File extension .D81 (not .d81).


    Apart from that mounting works fastest in the Freezer menu.

    Nope, thus far I have only mounted in the freezer menu

    Then according to the picture you've posted, there are only 3 possible solutions:


    1. MEGA65.D81 is not existent on the SDcard

    2. The D81 images name is written wrong in the CONFIGURE menu - it should be MEGA65.D81

    3. The Sdcard got buggy (please recover like written above)


    PS: you can stop the autoboot of the Default MEGA65.D81 by renaming the autoboot.c65 inside the image to something different, i.e. MEGAmaze

    even if the MEGA65 is not able to mount the image anymore, due to screwed up FAT32,

    the PC is normally still able to read the SDcard and to make a backup.


    To prevent the File allocation table to get screwed, the following helped me:

    If i need to replace a file on the SDcard, i first rename that file to something totally different.

    then i Delete that file.

    Then i copy the replacement file to the SDcard.

    For whatever reason that helped me quite alot.


    Apart from that, normal .PRGs i send directly from the PC via m65connect,

    i don't even make the hassle to put them in a D81 image and then copy the image over to SDcard, mount the image, load the PRG....m65connect is far quicker and doesn't screw your SDcards FAT32 ;-)

    Morning all,


    A few important points:


    1. The internal drive on the MEGA65 is currently READ ONLY until we implement the MFM writing routines in the VHDL in the bitstream. This is on my list.

    2. You can only mount D81 images if they are _not fragmented_ on the FAT 32 file system (because the MEGA65 hardware emulation of the floppy drive needs a contiguous slab of SD card space to do the emulation efficiently.)

    3. The message "ERRNO" is correct, and means "Error Number" following the C convention. The list of error codes can be found in https://github.com/MEGA65/mega…r/src/hyppo/constants.asm Here we see that the error is, indeed, "dos_errorcode_image_fragmented", i.e., the D81 image is fragmented on the FAT file system.


    Ideally the freeze menu would handle this error more gracefully than it does right now, preferably by offering to defrag the image (or doing it automatically). A general purpose defrag utility would also not go astray. These would be great contributions if someone in the community is willing to work on them. They would both be written in C, so you wouldn't even need to be able to programme in assembly language.


    LG

    Paul.

    Hi Anton,


    I'm just now getting a chance to perform these steps, but I'm still unsure about a few things:


    1. Do I copy the .COR file to the SD Card that installed in the slot underneath the devkit (the one containing the C65 and C64 demos/games)?

    2. Do I just copy the .CORE file to the root of that SD Card, or does it have to be in a certain folder?

    3. You also mentioned updating "SDcard essentials". Is this the "MEGA65 SD card essentials - No ROM" rar file and do I just extract all those files onto the same SD card, overwriting anything that is currently there?


    I appreciate your help. I'm sure once I go through this process once I will be fine, but this is all new to me and I don't want to brick my devkit.


    Thank you!

    Hi matthewpomar,

    1. Yes to the SDcard in the slot near the Trapdoor
    2. Yes to the root
    3. Are you a Devkit owner ? if you're registered your serial at the Filehost you can also download the SD Essentials with ROM.
    If you take the No ROM version, you have to look for the ROM yourself.

    If you have more questions, pleasde feel free to ask.