30 Dec
1997
30 Dec
'97
9:07 a.m.
I've been working with an H-89 that was given to me a few months ago,
trying to make backups of the HDOS boot disk, both for myself and for
Don Maslin, Keeper of the Dina-SIG CP/M System Disk Archives. I've
gone through the manuals and followed the instructions for copying the
HDOS system perhaps 20 times, but with only one working copy to show
for it. I had 4 blanks from Don, as well as another 4 of my own that
I tried. The media tests available in HDOS seem to indicate
everything is okay; in fact, I've used one of the same disks that
failed with HDOS to make a copy of NorthStar CP/M on my IMSAI since
then. The steps I've gone through are to INIT the diskette, then
SYSGEN *.* to copy the system files and utilities. According to the
manual, this is supposed to produce an exact copy of the boot disk.
It appears to work, in that it asks me to swap disks 5 or 6 times
(when I try doing a single drive copy), and it accesses both drives
repeatedly (when using a two-drive copy). After it has been at this a
while, it prints the message "20 files copied" and asks me to insert a
bootable diskette to reboot from. If I go back to the original boot
disk, it boots. With any of my copies (except one, which I thought I
made exactly the same way as the others), the system gives the normal
"H:" prompt, to which I respond "B" for "boot"; it spins the
disk and
then hangs. Normally, if the disk is bootable, it says "Action?
(Boot)" and boots if you hit Return. Out of all these attempts, I've
actually gotten one bootable disk. I've tried bulk-erasing the disks
and starting over, thinking that perhaps that would help, but with the
same results. I'm out of ideas... Can anyone offer any suggestions?
I'm out of ideas...
-Bill Richman
bill_r(a)inetnebr.com
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When they took the fourth amendment, I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment, I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun.
Now they've taken the first amendment, and I can say nothing about it."
-www.paranoia.com
30 Dec
30 Dec
1:35 p.m.
worth checking whether your system uses hard sectored or soft sectored
disks. the original H8 and early H89 "all in one" systems were based on
hard sectored (10 sectors) diskettes. it's just a guess but if you got a
hard sectored diskette mixed in with some soft sectored ones then the only
one that would successfully INIT and SYSGEN is the hard one. the HDOS BIOS
may or may not be smart enough to report this problem. take a careful look
at the original bootable diskette and count index holes (hard sectored
disks will have 10 plus 1 = 11).
if that doesn't do it a good head cleaning isn't a bad idea. i recently
dusted off my old H8 and had lots of disk problems 'til i cleaned the heads.
finally, if it *does* use hard sectored diskettes one has to wonder how
usable they are given that these haven't been manufactured in at least 10
years. i can post or send you instructions that someone posted on how to
make your own hard sectored disks by punching additional holes in a more
modern diskette (tho i haven't tried this myself).
- glenn
At 11:07 PM 12/30/97 GMT, you wrote:
I've been working with an H-89 that was given to me
a few months ago,
trying to make backups of the HDOS boot disk, both for myself and for
Don Maslin, Keeper of the Dina-SIG CP/M System Disk Archives. I've
gone through the manuals and followed the instructions for copying the
HDOS system perhaps 20 times, but with only one working copy to show
for it. I had 4 blanks from Don, as well as another 4 of my own that
I tried. The media tests available in HDOS seem to indicate
everything is okay; in fact, I've used one of the same disks that
failed with HDOS to make a copy of NorthStar CP/M on my IMSAI since
then. The steps I've gone through are to INIT the diskette, then
SYSGEN *.* to copy the system files and utilities. According to the
manual, this is supposed to produce an exact copy of the boot disk.
It appears to work, in that it asks me to swap disks 5 or 6 times
(when I try doing a single drive copy), and it accesses both drives
repeatedly (when using a two-drive copy). After it has been at this a
while, it prints the message "20 files copied" and asks me to insert a
bootable diskette to reboot from. If I go back to the original boot
disk, it boots. With any of my copies (except one, which I thought I
made exactly the same way as the others), the system gives the normal
"H:" prompt, to which I respond "B" for "boot"; it spins the
disk and
then hangs. Normally, if the disk is bootable, it says "Action?
(Boot)" and boots if you hit Return. Out of all these attempts, I've
actually gotten one bootable disk. I've tried bulk-erasing the disks
and starting over, thinking that perhaps that would help, but with the
same results. I'm out of ideas... Can anyone offer any suggestions?
I'm out of ideas...
-Bill Richman
bill_r(a)inetnebr.com
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
"When they took the fourth amendment, I was quiet
because I didn't deal
drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment, I was quiet
because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun.
Now they've taken the first amendment, and I can say nothing about it."
-www.paranoia.com
31 Dec
31 Dec
2:23 a.m.
On Tue, 30 Dec 1997 22:35:38 -0500, groberts(a)mitre.org (Glenn Roberts)
wrote:
worth checking whether your system uses hard sectored
or soft sectored
disks. the original H8 and early H89 "all in one" systems were based on
I know the difference between hard and soft sectored disks; they're
all hard (10) sectored diskettes.
if that doesn't do it a good head cleaning isn't a bad idea. i recently
dusted off my old H8 and had lots of disk problems 'til i cleaned the heads.
That's the next thing; I just haven't made it out to pick up a head
cleaning kit yet. Although it *does* seem to read the diskettes just
fine to boot from them and run programs, and it passes the read/write
tests that write data to the whole disk and then read it back several
times with no problems.
finally, if it *does* use hard sectored diskettes one has to wonder how
usable they are given that these haven't been manufactured in at least 10
years. i can post or send you instructions that someone posted on how to
make your own hard sectored disks by punching additional holes in a more
modern diskette (tho i haven't tried this myself).
I was able to format and use some of the same diskettes with NorthStar
DOS and CP/M on my IMSAI that failed to boot the H-89. This, coupled
with the successful media tests, seems to indicate that the diskettes
themselves are fine. I've got the instructions for punching
additional sector timing holes in new diskettes; I haven't tried it
either. Thanks, though. I'm thinking of trying one of the drives I'm
using on the IMSAI in the H-89 to see if that makes any difference.
That will also take care of the problem if the heads are worn or dirty
on the current drive, but I can't see how that's possible in light of
the other evidence. Thanks for the suggestions, at any rate.
-Bill Richman
bill_r(a)inetnebr.com
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When they took the fourth amendment, I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment, I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun.
Now they've taken the first amendment, and I can say nothing about it."
-www.paranoia.com
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