I'm afraid I do not possess a standalone programmer. If that is really the problem, then I don't have a chance. Do you still need the diagnostic output of FDTST? If yes, I can send it this afternoon (~7hours). The WRITESYS output is ok now (like that of Basic).
Hi Norbert,
Well, the problem with WRITESYS is very odd. That looks like it might actually be corruption in the EEPROM itself. There have been a couple instances of bits in the EEPROM not getting programmed quite right. Your comment on the Wiki about MBASIC printing out as "MBASI" adds some weight to this idea. In the past, this has been resolved by reprogramming the EEPROM in a standalone programmer. Do you have one?
Regarding the floppy, it does seem like removing JP3 made things a bit better. You now seem to be getting the "DRIVE NOT RESPONDING" error. That is new, correct? That is a much better situation than when when FDTST just went back to the menu with no results. The "DRIVE NOT RESPONDING" error would tend to point to either:
- Selecting the wrong UNIT number in FDTST. When you start FDTST, the first thing you need to do is use the SETUP command to amke sure FDTST is properly configured for your situation. The most critical setting is the UNIT number. Not selecting the correct "UNIT" number in FDTST will result in the error you are seeing and no light. If your floppy drive is connected after the twist in the cable, you want to use UNIT 00. If the floppy is on the connector before the twist, you want to use UNIT 01. If in doubt, try both UNIT 00 and UNIT 01.
- A general cabling problem could exist. Is your cable a standard pre-built PC-type floppy cable or did you make one? If you have a PC with a floppy connector, it is ideal if you can plug the cable and floppy into that and confirm that it works on the PC.
Can you tell if the floppy drive motor starts spinning when you try to execute commands from FDTST? The floppy motor control is independent of the floppy select light. You need to just listen very carefully as you execute an FDTST command and see if you can hear the sound of the disk spinning. The disk should spin up as it starts a command and then stop when the command completes (or fails in your case). The sound is faint, but definitely audible if you listen carefully.
One more thing you can do to help me diagnose this. When you use the SETUP command to configure FDTST, can you set the TRACE option to 01 instead of the default of 00? You will now get a lot more diagnostic output when you try to run a FORMAT command. I would like you to cut and paste that diagnostic output into your next message here.
Thanks!
Wayne
On Sunday, June 10, 2012 1:01:36 AM UTC-7, Norbert Joppen wrote:
Hi Wayne,
the message now is
'Reset drive
*** Drive not responding ***
Continue? (A)bort, (R)etry, (I)gnore ===>'
-Norbert
Am Sonntag, 10. Juni 2012 09:36:58 UTC+2 schrieb Norbert Joppen:
One more Zeta sbc working!!!
The only problem: FD is still not working.
I have the Zeta SBC board Version 1.3.
I'm using a stabilized 5V 3A switching power supply, FDC_int is jumpered at JP3.
The CPU clock oscillator is 6MHz.
Exactly the same behavior as Brian Pitt described on the N8VEM Zeta homepage (at the end).
I try to format a 720 disk with FDTST, choose the necessary options but no LED on at FD.
'Reset drive' is shown in the terminal programm, then the menu appears again.
STAT tells me that there are 3 devices (A,B,C) but they all are R/O.
I'm afraid I do not exactly understand the solution Brian Pitt describes:
"Hi Wayne
Now got it working. Have taken out link J3 . Screen print on PCB is ambiguous.
Can now successfully format copy and read Floppy.Thanks for all your help.
Last question for now ( I am new to CP/M ) How do I amke a bootable floppy.
Thanks
Brian"
Someone here who can give me a hint?
Thanks Norbert