Re: Trackstar 128 Problems - Please Help

[Mike <moose@rocknet.net.au>]

Supertimer wrote:

> Mike <moose@rocknet.net.au> wrote:
>
> >So, I don't know if my PC's SVGA monitor hooked up to my PC's video card is
> >sufficient.  Does a monitor need to be connected to the Trackstar card ?
> >
> >I also don't know about the role of my PC drives.  Do these need to be also
> >connected to the Trackstar ?  If they are connected to the Trackstar, do they
> >function exactly like an Apple ][ floppy drive or are there some
> >incompatibilities ?
>
> I don't have a Trackstar, so my understanding of them is limited.

Don't worry - mine is to !!

> However,
> I've read that the card confers video and drive functions through the slot
> it sits in.  Thus, what your Trackstar is doing with the bootup screen is
> waiting for an Apple II disk to boot, just as a real IIe would hang.

No, the Apple ][ drive I have connected does not spin and the light does not come
on at all.

> The
> Trackstar is supposed to be able to read regular Apple II 5.25" disks
> through the PC 5.25" drive.  Now the 5.25" PC drives used to be drive
> A: once upon a time.  I'd try finding an old PC 5.25" drive and installing
> it in your system as drive A: and inserting an Apple II 5.25" disk in there
> to see what happens.

I have done that - thankfully, I scrounged an old 5.25 inch drive about 6 months
ago.

But, I haven't tried inserting an Apple boot disk it in after starting Trackstar -
simply because the Trackstar program doesn't seem to complete loading - I don't
get to see the menus, etc mentioned in the manual.

> When it seems to be trying to run itself from
> drive A:, it might actually be looking for an Apple II boot disk.

This sounds reasonable !  However, my PC 5.25 inch drive loads Trackstar (STAR
program), but it doesn't get past the "Please Wait" message.  The Apple ][ drive -
connected to the Trackstar does not spin or light up.

> Similarly,
> you don't need a IIe monitor.  The Trackstar makes your SVGA monitor into a IIe
> monitor.

This is good news, although I remembered this afternoon that I do have an old CGA
monitor lurking at home, which I believe could be connected to the Trackstar - at
least I read something like that somewhere this afternoon in one of the Trackstar
Help WEb sites.

Thanks for your very helpful replies !  ;)

Mike