Re: Sider (Xebec/Datamac SASI) drive and UCSD Pascal 1.1 (Apple Pascal)

[msg <msg@REMOVETHIScybertheque.org>]

Note: our work involves Xebec software V2.2 and firmware V3.1.

> Progress made; I can now access the Sider volumes from a floppy-booted
> system.

In summary:  After setup of the Pascal partitions and volumes using
"INSTALL PT#4", create a Pascal 1.1 boot floppy which contains the
'SYSTEM.ATTACH' and the proper 'ATTACH.DRIVERS' and 'ATTACH.DATA';
boot from this floppy to access the Sider volumes.

One may now copy files from floppy to the hard disk's volumes.

Problems remain in creating the proper Pascal boot area on the
Sider. The program 'XBOOT.COM.CODE' will write a copy of the
running system (including the bound hard disk drivers) to the
boot area; however when this system is cold booted, it expects
volume #4 to be in floppy drive A regardless of what unit numbers
are assigned to the hard disk volumes (using the Xebec utility
for that purpose -- resident on the DOS3.3 VOL001).  This boot
area is evidently separate and distinct from the root volume
boot sectors which are unused.

The only file referenced on the floppy (unit #4) is 'SYSTEM.PASCAL';
there is no need for the driver 'attach' files to reside on
the floppy or on the 'root' hard disk volume; this explains
their absence from our original hard disk.

If one could change the assignment of the root volume after
booting from floppy, from #4 to (say) #9, and then write the
boot area, the cold boot process should work.

Can anyone help with this?  Or perhaps someone versed in the
internals could advise where to look in memory or in the
written system image for the root volume parameters,
and how to patch them.

Regards,

Michael