#XETEC CDTV compat!
19 messages in this thread
You should have no problem reading IBM discs with the XETEC, as they are
both ISO9660 standard. With IBeM, you should (assuming you can get the
drivers up for the CDROM) be able to use software such as the Microsoft
Bookshelf, which is ALL text. The neato graphics stuff will have to wait
to come out on Amiga format, but you should have no prob running text
stuff.
ERIC exiut oops! 🙂
Don't have any problems reading the IBM CD's on the Xetec Eric. I can
access all of the data and text files just fine from the Amiga side. The
problem is that you can't use the search engines because they are IBM
executables. So I've got the Chinon IBM controller for the Bridgeboard, the
Microsoft and Chinon drivers, and plan to try and install it all next week.
I also plan on getting the Amax II plus when that becomes available and try
to set up the Xetec as a Mac CD Rom. So many projects, so little time 8^)
John (in beautiful downtown Walla Walla) – via Whap!
Well, actually…
Microsoft Booksehelf, for example, is all text and uses a very small TSR
program to "get" the text from the disk to the screen, as well as control
search routines, etc. It is one that should work fine under any software
IBM emulator.
ERIC
John,
Where did you get the Chinon Drivers ? Do I read it that you've also got
their hardware ? Can you review what (theoretically) I might need to usably
access a PC CDROM in a Xetec hung on the side of my machine ? E.g. CrossDos
mounts it as a PC drive/partition, IBem runs a PC-version search engine
talking to… ? – da – via Whap!
I received the Chinon Drivers with the Chinon IBM controller that I got
from Xetec. The Chinon controller will go in the IBM side with the
Bridgeboard hopefully sometime this week if everything goes OK. I'm
awaiting a cable from Xetec to finish up the project. You're probably right
about IBeM not working with the IBM search engines if they require
graphics. I haven't really used IBeM that much to find out what it can or
can't do. Ok, let me explain a little about the Xetec drive. It comes with
it's own filesystem called "cdxfilesystem" so it can properly read ISO-9660
or "High Sierra" format CD Roms. The install software creates a "mountlist"
entry for the CD Rom drive, specifying that filesystem and unit number for
the drive. After thinking about it for awhile, I didn't actually use
CrossDos for the CD Rom, just for my floppys. As you know, you have to
create mountlist entry's for all your floppy drives and any hard disk
partition that you wish to use with IBeM. So just for the heck of it I
created a mountlist entry:
IBMC: filesystem="cdxfilesystem"
unit = 5
etc.
etc.
The CD Rom drive is Unit #5 on the SCSI chain, and I used the same Head,
Track, and Sector numbers as the mountlist entry for the Amiga side.
Possibly the Chinon driver will not be needed because you can use Amiga
drives with IBeM, and I think all it does is basically the same thing as
the Xetec driver, read ISO-9660 format CD's. Now PC CD systems also use
some special software from Microsoft called "MSCDEX" aka Microsoft
Extensions. I'm not sure what this software does, but I guess I will find
out soon enough when I get the CD hooked up to the Bridgeboard. Anyway,
after I got the mountlist created and booted up MSDOS off of the floppy, it
was after it booted up, or I tried to do a dir on drive C: that I got the
error message that I have the shareware version, etc and would not let me
access the BIG hard drive. Not surprising since the CD Rom is 500megs and
the shareware version
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only allows a 2meg partition 8^). So my theory is, if IBeM recognizes the
drive, the Xetec driver handles the CD Rom reads, and if the MSCDEX
software can be installed, then why not? Like I said, its just something to
toy with, and since the author hasn't created CGA or EGA graphics emulation
for it yet, it probably won't be of much use, but you never know 8^)
John (in beautiful downtown Walla Walla) – via Whap!
John–
I believe that IBeM does do CGA – at least thats what Checkit 3.0
reported about my virtual PC…
Jonathan
– via Whap!
Don't have the xetec (am considering one though) but wouldn't it work with
the BB as a virtual drive hooked up on the amy side and be able to use the
search features? Then you wouldn't need the IBM controller. I know it
would be slower but wouldn't it work?
Curious,
Steve
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
Yes, I imagine it would.
I'm not sure that you would lose that much in data transfer speed,
though. not with a 2286 BB. It would be worthwhile to get a couple of
local people involved on the forum here together to test compatibility of
equipment and drop notes on the forum. I recently went a few miles away to
get the ICD AdIDE working in my 2000 in conjunction with an ATonce
emulator, even they are both 68000 socket components. The trick is that
the ATonce uses a card into a bus slot, and doesn't interfere with the
normal workings of the AMI 68000 side. There's more to it, but too much to
list here. Where are you located?
ERIC
Eric,
Yes some input on this would be useful. I have a XT BB and all my pc
slots are used up (but one, saving it for VGA card) so I have no room for
another controller. I have been thinking of the XETEC, but it would be of
limited use if I couldn't use it with the BB
I am in Moncks Corner, SC about 20 miles from Charlseton (You know the
place Hugo destroyed 2 years ago).
Steve
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
Oh well…
Charleston, SC is a bit far to travel from Bridgewater, NJ. I do, however,
have family (me brother) in Athens, GA, and friends from college in
Asheville, NC, so I get south quite often. If you want to go VGA cheap, I
have a CIRRUS LOGIC VGA board from my IBM days with an Award Software BIOS
dated 1989 for sale. Does all VGA modes but Mode 8 (1024 x 1024?). It's
the one that my monitor won't do anyway, only the expensive ones do. (NEC
MS3D, par example)… First $150 takes it. Or the same maker EGA board for
$50. Good hardware. The VGA has 256k video RAM onboard. I had planned on
using it in my Amiga, but I ended up getting a deal on an ATonce with the
A2000 adaptor board. I may dump it off to another 2000 user or even a 500
user and get an A2286, but I dunno. The XETEC can run off your existing
SCSI controller (I'm assuming you have one for your HD), and since the BB
can access the HD, I don't see why you can't load in some non-DMA drivers
for a CD-ROM and have it access it. Again, it will take some testing
before purchasing to be sure. I'd jump at getting a XETEC, but I'm going
to wait until I get a new HD. I got a Quantum ProDrive LPS 52AT for free,
so I got an ICD AdIDE interface for it for about a hundred bucks from MANTA
in Eatontown, NJ. When I get a SCSI and a SCSI HD, I'll get the XETEC.
ERIC
Eric,
Thanx, for the offer on the VGA but have other priorities at the moment.
I think my next hardware purchase will be Ben's Clickfax or some type of
FAX/VOICEMAIL pc card. Don't use the BB to much anymore as more Amy S/W
matures!. How do you like the ATOnce? Can you use the pc slots for it? I
have an old C= 2090A controller w/ Quantem Pro40 and a miniscribe ST506 20
megger so I have both SCSI and ST 506 capabilities. The 2090 has it's
problems but untill I can afford the GVP 3001 (w/SCSI) board it will do. I
was curious if anyone has hooked up the XETEC to an Amiga SCSI and accessed
it from the bridgeboard as a virtual drive. I think this would be possible
but don't know if any one has tried it. This would allow unlimited use of
all the CD-ROMs available for the MSDOS plus CDTV (what the xetec will
run)!!!
Steve
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
As far as the ATonce goes, no you cannot access the PC slots. You really
don't need to, because VGA is emulated by software, and unless you had a
specific IBM only card (i.e. voice-mail) you wanted to use, there's really
no reason, because all of the I/O for the IBM is emulated, also. Mouse
becomes Microsoft mouse, Parallel port becomes LPT1:, Serial is COM?: (you
select), etc, etc. EVERY aspect of the emulation is configurable in
software on the Amiga side. It's fantastic!
All is not well, though. The guys from MANTA in Eatontown, NJ, tell
me that they have had MANY customers with problems running the ATonce on
the 2000. Gurus, Crashes, incompatibility with hardware, etc. Maybe I've
been lucky, but I have had NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. You cannot follow the
instructions that come with it, however. You need to hand map out your
memory usage to configure it properly, or it will crash. There is NO
SUPPORT for the 2000. All instructions are for the 500.
Any other questions, just lemme know. ERIC
Steve, just to let you know I've got the Xetec CD Rom drive and plan on
using it with the Bridgeboard in the next couple of weeks. I've got the
Chinon controller for the PC side, the Chinon drivers and Microsoft
Extension software. The only thing I'm waiting on is a cable from Xetec,
and will probably order a 3 1/2 drive for the Bridgeboard next week. Once I
get everything hooked up, I'll let you know how well everything works. Just
to let you know, if you have a 3000 or accelerated 2000 or 500, not all of
the CDTV titles will work with a CD Rom drive. World Vista from Applied
Optical is one that doesn't work. The reason is that the programmers
compiled the code for the 68000 only, and so WV crashes. They didn't take
into account that World Vista might be used on platforms other than CDTV.
Xetec has done a pretty good job of keeping their software compatable with
CDTV and they post the latest software on their BBS. I usually find an
upgrade almost every week.
John (in beautiful downtown Walla Walla) – via Whap!
John,
My question was do you have to use a dedicated pc controller, or can you
use an amiga scsi controller thru the bridgeboard as say drive d or e? I
hate to sound ignorant (I really am!) about this but I have a multifunction
card and a 2 meg ram card for the BB, when I add a vga card, I won't have
any pc slots left for a controller to drive the cdrom.
If I have an accelerator for my 2000 I could still drop down to 68000
mode to run the few funny CDTV titles couldn't I?
Let me know how things work out!
Steve
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
Steve,
You cannot access an Amiga side drive as a "direct" MS-DOS drive.
That is, what you are accessing on the Amiga side is an Amiga FILE that is
laid out as if it were an MS-DOS filesystem.
Thus, to access and Amiga side CD-ROM drive, you'd first have to
have an Amiga FILE on that drive and that file would have to look like an
MS-DOS filesystem.
Don
Thanx Don,
I guess your right, I didn't think of it like that but as usual you are
correct!! It's a shame, I gueess now I will have to contemplate ATonce
before any CDROM. :-/
Steve
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
Steve, I don't think you can use a CDROM drive thru the bridgeboard like a
Hard drive. For one thing, you probably have to install the Chinon driver
so the computer will recognize the ISO-9660 format. And the Chinon driver
probably goes through the Chinon controller. Like I said, the emulator IBeM
may be able to access the Xetec drive as a standard drive because you are
using the Xetec driver, but it will take some experimenting to verify this.
Hopefully, I will have an answer for you soon.
John (in beautiful downtown Walla Walla) – via Whap!
Opps, need to scroll down the message before I reply 8^) Yes, if you get a
GVP Accelerator for your 2000, then you should be able to toggle down to
68000 mode to run the CDTV disks. I don't think you would need to do so for
most of them, just a few that don't follow the rules. Just for your
information, Applied Optical will release a version that will work on all
680×0's, but just not sure when.
John (in beautiful downtown Walla Walla) – via Whap!