3.5" Disk Images with CFFA3000 and an Apple IIGS

General forum for support issues related to the CFFA3000

3.5" Disk Images with CFFA3000 and an Apple IIGS

Postby alelee » Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:27 pm

Hi all,

at last I'm back in Australia and I'm playing with the CFFA3000 after ordering it sometime in 2011!

It's pretty damn awesome, and I've upgraded to v3.1b2 of the firmware and I intend to write a full review on What is the Apple IIGS? (including improved boot times from the original v3.0 firmware), but at the moment, I have a question that I haven't found answered in the manual.

How do I boot into FTA demos (or anything else that doesn't use ProDOS or GS/OS?

Given that the 2images I have for the Xmas Demo and Modulae (two I've tried) can't be mounted into the Disk II assignments and mounting them into the Smartport and rebooting results in a black screen for the Xmas Demo and a Module Boot Error for Modulae, how do you boot them? I've tried the Space Harrier Demo, the Delta Demo...as well as Alien Mind and Tomahawk, which also use custom operating systems.

The only demo/custom operating system that has worked is the ROM03 edition of the Nucleus Demo.

Currently, I am trying out the CFFA3000 on a ROM03 and otherwise it's been working well. I have been using it on a ROM01, but just this morning, the power supply decided to give up the ghost. I can try with a ROM01 as well if that would help with testing.

Has something broken with the beta version of the firmware? Even before the CFFA3000 was released, I asked David Schmidt to test these types of tricky disk images and he was having more success then than I am now.

Thanks in advance!

- Alex
alelee
 
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Location: Australia

Re: 3.5" Disk Images with CFFA3000 and an Apple IIGS

Postby alelee » Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:53 pm

I've now tried with a ROM01 and I'm getting the same problems with these custom OS disks. We can also add Photonix I and II to the list of disk images that aren't booting.

If it makes any difference, I'm loading images from a USB thumb drive.

- Alex
alelee
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2003 6:00 pm
Location: Australia

Re: 3.5" Disk Images with CFFA3000 and an Apple IIGS

Postby alelee » Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:34 pm

I thought I'd throw some other tricky disk images at the Smart port to see if they worked. Unfortunately not :-(

I tried 3.5" disk versions of some 8-bit games that don't use ProDOS (custom OSs?) such as Prince of Persia, Bard's Tale III and the Ancient Art of War at Sea. When attempting to assign those titles to the smart port, the CFFA puts them below the available slots in the list presented and when highlighting the disk image at the bottom, it says there aren't any available slots. Needless to say, you can't boot from them.

However, some 3.5" disks of some 8-bit games DO work and they're not using ProDOS either. Such as Wings of Fury and the recently discovered 8-bit California Games on 3.5" disk.

If anyone else wants to try these images, they're available here:

http://www.whatisthe2gs.apple2.org.za/8 ... -3-5-disk/
alelee
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2003 6:00 pm
Location: Australia

Re: 3.5" Disk Images with CFFA3000 and an Apple IIGS

Postby david__schmidt » Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:10 am

alelee wrote:Has something broken with the beta version of the firmware? Even before the CFFA3000 was released, I asked David Schmidt to test these types of tricky disk images and he was having more success then than I am now.

Hmmm, we remember that differently - I called out FTA specifically as not working:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=463&sid=b0c0c66dcf504c3a1a2b20d83ec8c6fa#p1194

Bear in mind that the Smartport support is just that - a virtual device "plugged into" the smartport. It isn't a 3.5" disk drive emulator. Software that is expecting and programming for specific hardware is unlikely to find what it's looking for.

That's a different story than the Disk II emulation - which is in fact emulating the physical Disk II hardware.
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Re: 3.5" Disk Images with CFFA3000 and an Apple IIGS

Postby alelee » Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:46 pm

david__schmidt wrote:
alelee wrote:Has something broken with the beta version of the firmware? Even before the CFFA3000 was released, I asked David Schmidt to test these types of tricky disk images and he was having more success then than I am now.

Hmmm, we remember that differently - I called out FTA specifically as not working:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=463&sid=b0c0c66dcf504c3a1a2b20d83ec8c6fa#p1194

Bear in mind that the Smartport support is just that - a virtual device "plugged into" the smartport. It isn't a 3.5" disk drive emulator. Software that is expecting and programming for specific hardware is unlikely to find what it's looking for.

That's a different story than the Disk II emulation - which is in fact emulating the physical Disk II hardware.


Apologies, I think my memory was remembering only the success stories when changing the slot for the CFFA3000 for Alien Mind and the Sales Demo.

I've misinterpreted the capabilities of the CFFA3000 and that's entirely my fault :-)

- Alex
alelee
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2003 6:00 pm
Location: Australia


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