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Author Topic: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP? (Read 10424 times)

Offline gflorez

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #45 on: 2017.April.22. 02:41:59 »
You only can create a Ramdisk if have installed some form of drive system on your EP: Floppy controller, SD-reader or IDE card.  All these share the EXDOS Rom, and the code to create the Ramdisk on virtual unit E:



Extracted from the EXDOS manual

Type the command or write it on a batch file.




Offline Zozosoft

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #46 on: 2017.April.22. 07:39:20 »
You see, there was already available an EXDOS card with 512kB memory expansion in '88.
1987 :-)

Also available the internal 512K expansion from Bugtronics (Netherland), the German company released a Enterprise 576K with this expansion.
In Hungary also exist clone of this card, produced by Tibor Kulcsár and Tibor Koch. I added to my machine but also keept the original 64K expansion :-) Then I have 128K + 512K with this card, 512K on MICROTEAM EXDOS, + 2x 64K +1x 32K on other expansions = 1312K config. All these at the old good days.

Offline Sdw

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #47 on: 2017.April.22. 12:30:29 »
Thanks for the link to the EXDOS manual gflorez!
I have been able to test in  in ep128emu now!
What is even better, this very nice emulator allowed me to actually use my real physical USB 1.44mb diskdrive in the emulator, I didn't know this before.
So first I tested by copying all the files to a 720kb disk and running it from there, and I could hear the music starting to skip while loading (but it wasn't that bad at all I think, it only took 1 or 2 seconds to load. I'm guessing perhaps the windows pc disk system does some caching or something, and that it's much worse on a real ep128+diskdrive?)
Anyway, then I created a RAM-disk, copied all the files to that and ran from it, no skipping in the sound at all.

-edit- whoops, wrong name!
« Last Edit: 2017.April.22. 12:49:26 by Sdw »

Offline Zozosoft

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #48 on: 2017.April.22. 13:01:26 »
Yes, the ep128emu read whole track to cache.

Offline gflorez

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #49 on: 2017.April.22. 13:10:10 »
Better give thanks to Zozo, the manual is on his personal web page. Click the link under his nick to found a lot more information.

Offline Zozosoft

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #50 on: 2017.April.22. 13:40:00 »
My suggestion for the loader:
Check EXOS variable 3 (DEF_TYPE) with EXOS 16 function call.
-If it is 0 then tape only configuration, disable loading music.
-If not 0 then EXDOS used or ep28emu FILE device.
Check EXOS variable 71 (DEF_UNIT) (=current drive number)
-If not exist, then non EXDOS configuration, ep128emu FILE device used, enable loading music.
-If it is 5, already running from RAMDISK, enable loading music.
-If it is 6 or more then SD or hard disk used, enable loading music.
-if it is 1 to 4 then floppy disk used then needed:
1)check memory size with EXOS 20. It is enough for running the program plus enough RAMDISK size?
2)if not then disable loading music
3)if yes then execute these EXDOS command with EXOS 26 function call:
RAMDISK n
COPY demofile E:
E:
Then enable loading music.

Offline Sdw

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #51 on: 2017.April.23. 00:58:42 »
Thanks for the suggestions Zozosoft!

Though I think that adding an option to disable music will not make much sense. It's not like it's a separate loading music, it's the main music that will play through the entire demo.
If I were to stop calling the music player while loading, it will be out of sync totally anyway on slow loading systems when the next part starts (for example, if I want to load 10240 bytes, it will take 20 frames x 512 bytes. If I don't call the music player those 20 times while loading, it will be off by almost half a second when the next part starts).
Perhaps I could modify the music replayer to have an option to keep calling it the correct number of times while loading, but not outputting at all to the sound registers and have silence).
I don't think that would be good either, since my plan is to really have a high data flow, say 10-20 seconds of effect that can use the entire memory, then it's time to load 25-30kb of new packed code/data which will take a couple of seconds with my 512 byte/frame loader, and then the next effect and so on.
With a slow loader then it would be 10-20 seconds of effect and music, then maybe 10-20 seconds (with disk, I guess) or minutes even (with tape) with silence while the slow disk loader is loading, and then music resumes.
It would not be a good experience either way.

Perhaps something I will do it like this:

Use the probes you suggested, and then -
* If tape only or drive number 1-4 => Show warning "Demo will not work properly" - but let the viewer see it anyway, with crappy slow "music" (ie. notes that last several seconds...) while loading.
* If emu or 5/6 => Start demo as usual, no warning shown.

So for users with RAMDISK, it's up to them to copy the demo into it before starting the demo.

The truth is that I think most people will only watch the demo on YouTube, a few will use ep128emu and some real enthusiasts will use real Enterprise 128, but I think most of them will have either SD card or RAM expansion available!

Offline geco

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #52 on: 2017.April.23. 10:25:52 »
I think it is a good idea to show a warning and keep going :-)
I will check it ön ep128emu, and if i put together my configuration then with SD :-)
A separate EXDOS.INI starter can be made for RAMDISK users, which will create the RAMDISK, copy everything ans start the semo.
Probably it could be the following 3 rows.
RAMDISK 8
COPY *.* E:/    (i did nőt find backslash ön my phone)
LOAD loader.com

I do not remember if : has to be placed at the beginning of each EXDOS commaand in EXDOS.INI

Offline IstvanV

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Re: IRQ-loading - would this be possible on the EP?
« Reply #53 on: 2017.April.23. 10:47:21 »
Creating the RAMDISK and copying the files can also be in the program itself, as Zozosoft suggested.