------------------Original Message-------------- From: "Bill Sudbrink" &lt;wh.sudbrink(a)verizon.net&gt; To: &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Subject: RE: Any Cromemco USERS? Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 09:51:34 -0500 Reply-To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <snippage> The hard way (and the fun way)! I wrote my own CBIOS, bootstrap, and a program to format a diskette, cross-compiled on a modern intel box, wrote a program to massage the compiler output into a text stream that the ROM monitor on the 16FDC would like and then used the monitor to run the formatter. Finally, pumped over the bootstrap, CP/M and my CBIOS and used the sector write facility of the 16FDC ROM to write the whole thing to a diskette a sector at a time. It was very gratifying when the sucker booted up the first time. MS: !!!!!! Very gratifying indeed, I'll bet!!! Wow - that's REALLY doing it the hard way, but maybe it was the only way...! How long did that take? ----------------------------------------- Actually, a pair of SA-851s. MS: Ah yes, you did say Imsai chassis, not Cromemco... ------------------------------------------ Something about the 16FDC doesn't play nice with the IMSAI front panel. You can't deposit or examine memory with it on the bus. Even with the schematics, I don't see what the problem is. Do you know a solution by any chance? MS: Afraid not, the Cromemcos I worked with were all essentially stock. Someone else asked me about that a while back; apparently there is a document somewhere talking about using a 16FDC with a front panel. I assume you have the complete manual, esp. PP 64-65, and have set the switches to map out the RDOS ROM? I wouldn't think the interrupt chain or the serial port have anything to do with it, but if your front panel uses I/O ports, I don't think they can easily be disabled on the FDC. Sorry, wish I could help. mike