Re: Quadram Quadlink

[nparker@cie-2.uoregon.edu (Neil Parker)]

In article <3088.678.uupcb@yob.com> jeff.brielmaier@yob.com (Jeff Brielmaier)
writes:
>
>NP>But when I got it home and plugged into the old XT, it didn't work.  The
>NP>bootup program asks for the Filer disk, so I insert the Filer disk, and
>NP>the disk drive runs for a few moments, and then reports a "problem", and
>NP>loops back to the ask-for-the-Filer-disk prompt.
>NP>
>NP>I know the Filer disk isn't the cause of the problem, because it boots and
>NP>runs on my IIGS just fine.  I'm pretty sure it's not a problem with the
>NP>Quadlink board itself, since both boards from the package fail identically.
>NP>
>NP>So are there any old (or even current) Quadlink users out there who
>NP>remember what kind of tricks are necessary to get it to work on an IBM XT
>NP>clone?  (I think it might be a disk drive problem--the Quadlink cable
>NP>wants to connect to an old-style edge connector, but my disk drive
>NP>conroller has the newer 34-pin connectors, so I had to hook up the cables
>NP>in rather bizarre ways.  The IBM drive still worked properly as an IBM
>NP>drive in this configuration, but not as an Apple II drive.)
>
>Ah, memories.  I worked for QuadRAM when QuadLink was released.  My job was to 
>test various software packages (mostly games) to see if they would boot on the 
>QuadLink (could we handle their copy protect routine).  If the didn't bootm 
>then I got to deprotect the program, isolate the copy protection code being 
>used, and pass that onto the main engineer so that the board (tyically the 
>disk PAL) could be updated to work with it.
>
>It was designed to work with the 360K disk drive/controller.  Use on "newer"
>disk drives/controllers could be a problem.

I suspected as much.

I've managed to locate an old disk controller with the edge-connector hookup.
It seems to help a little--the disk read/write head makes a much healthier
sound when it seeks--but it hasn't cured the problem.

Could I/O address conflicts be a factor?  I did some disassembling of the
system software, and discovered that it uses I/O ports in the $200-206 range,
which Thom Hogan's _PC_Programmer's_Sourcebook_ says are also used by the
joystick.  So I disabled the joystick port on the I/O card, but that hasn't
helped.

>The "disk" PAL (an R4 type device) also had a high failure rate.  Although
>most of the failures will seen during the final testing prior to shipment.

Sigh.  I suppose there's no way to get replacement PALs anymore?

>Note: Be sure that you have an >original< Filer diskette.  The reason for this 
>is that the QL system software does direct sector reads to read in the 
>FPBASIC (AppleSoft + monitor ROM code) into the QL's upper memory.  If the 
>diskette you are using was created by copying the files onto the diskette 
>(instead of doing a disk copy), the copy will NOT work since FPBASIC will 
>not be in the same sectors on the diskette.  [Sorry, I don't have a copy of 
>the FILER diskette and I cannot remember the sectors FPBASIC used.]

Oh, fun.

As far as I know, it's an original Filer disk.  It has the original Central
Point Software label on it, and no write-protect notch.  But it contains
a large text file (called "LESSON5") whose contents have nothing whatsoever
to do with either the Quadlink or the Filer, so it's possible somebody has
modified the disk.

I guess I'll have to try to extract the list of sectors from the Quadlink
system software.  Ugh...

               - Neil Parker
-- 
Neil Parker                       | No cute quote, no cute ASCII art, no cute
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