Issue with RD failing after format #6
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Have 26-3808 running on Xubuntu 24.04 on an old Latitude E6410 and while I can format (apparently) and save individual files, the RD function fails after format in both FDC and operating mode. Tried a hail mary in WSL but same outcome, WSL also seemed to work for other operations but not RD. Tried PCMCIA serial as well as USB serial, but the same error message writing any PDD1 disk image. After format I can get directory (empty) no problem. Drop a file on the disk, get DIR no problem, but am trying to make a utility disk since I got just a bare drive and an arcadeshopper cable which both seem to work fine. After formatting completes Being a Linux newb I don't have any other boxes to try this on, but am out of troubleshooting ideas. **** EDIT *** |
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Replies: 3 comments 2 replies
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In a little while I will give you some specifice things to try to produce diagnostic info to compare with myself. I'll have to run through a few things myself first get my ducks in a row. If you can do a directory then probably the cable and your usb adapter is ok. I don't fully trust the code these days. A couple years ago it was working pretty solid, and worked on mac and freebsd too, but lately it no longer works on either mac or freebsd, and I don't know if it might be a timing issue. It seems to be kind of fragile or close to the edge even though it's working on my own main machine with several different drives. I might go back and test a few different old git commits and maybe tag some as milestones and have you try those. One thing for sure is to be suspicious of the disks. I have had some disks where basically every disk in a common batch were junk. They would seem to work if used very lightly like do a format and then a dir lsiting, and it's ok, but then try to save a file and the file is corrupt, and then after a little more use it no longer even formats. There is both a verify and non-verify version of the format command in the drive firmware, the same for all other commands that write too, and I have it only ever using the with-verify versions, and so doing a format is a quick way to test a disk. If the disk is bad it will cause an error during the format. Some disks format successfully once or a few times and then fail every time after that. And those marginal disks sometimes work ok at first and only after you think you've established that a disk is good, it turns out it is bad and screwing up your trial & error trying to figure things out. So try a few different brands or at least a few different batches/ages to be sure you get the same behavior with different disks. In the mean time you can try just setting verbose to 3 or more and trying something and just paste the whole session here inside ``` |
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Thank you for the very prompt response. I am on my last 720k disk but have another box coming. Tested this one by formatting in DOS and then wrote a large file to it and read it back. Disk was fine in DOS. I pulled the cover off the drive and see it stepping when formatting in PDD. As it formats, I get all the tpdd_check() responses, but just clipped it down for readability. I also tried the other PPD1 image and it similarly fails with the error. First time really using Linux and first time with github, so please excuse any faux pas. :) |
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I forgot to ask something dumb, Does the drive have a good belt? All drives need a new belt unless you check it or know that it was replaced in the last few years. Another thing you can do is use dl2 to install TS-DOS and use TS-DOS to format a disk from the 100. You don't actually need the original util disk for anything except to use the original Floppy dos for academic reasons. What you really want for using the drive is TS-DOS in option rom form (ideally from a REX Classic or REX#), so you get the full-featured dos, without consuming ram, and survives crashes and hard resets without needing a tedious install like the serial bootstrap procedure below. But that's a seperate conversation. For now I'll assume nothing but ram and serial cable. Connect the 100 to the linux box by one of these cables: Follow the prompts on both the pc and the 100. The terminal will tell you to go into BASIC on the 100 and type Now you have ts-dos on the 100. This takes the place of the Floppy app that came on the util disk except better. Connect the drive to the 100 and run ts-dos and format is F5. This will show whether the problem is in the drive or in pdd.sh or your usb-serial adapter or what. If it works, then the drive, cable, and disk are good. If it fails, then I don't have to try to figure out a mystery in pdd.sh ;) |
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The drive does have a new belt. I ordered up a null modem cable and will give it a shot, but it looks like REX classic is the best option anyway. I really think the drive and serial are working as I made a small text file in nano, used the PDD save command to write it to the disk. It appeared in a directory listing and was able to use load to copy it back to the host. It seems everything is working fine except for disk dump and restore disk. BTW, here is a verbose level 3 output of a disk dump attempt that fails followed in the next code block by a successful copy of a file from the disk to the host. Here is the successful read of a test file on the disk and saving to the host |
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Moved from discussion to an issue since it seems like your drive and serial connection are ok, and file transfers work, only restore-disk doesn't. So that means there is a problem with restore-disk. |
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I forgot to ask something dumb, Does the drive have a good belt? All drives need a new belt unless you check it or know that it was replaced in the last few years.
Another thing you can do is use dl2 to install TS-DOS and use TS-DOS to format a disk from the 100.
You don't actually need the original util disk for anything except to use the original Floppy dos for academic reasons.
It just contains a tpdd client called Floppy that isn't as good as ts-dos and isn't as small as teeny. It's only special feature is that it can be bootstrapped from the drive (in fact it's the only way to install it, there is no cassette or BASIC loader.)
But on a TPDD1 the bootstrap procedure is not exactly con…