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Tuesday, 08-Oct-2024 00:30:29 BST
Z88 Software
Untitled Document
RomUpdate for Cards
Quick
Update for
If you have a copy
of OZ 4.2 on a 1M or 512K flash chip running in slot 1 on
our 1M Flash card these files (which contains ROMupdate), allows
this software to be updated in the Z88 without removing the card.
Minimum
system requirements
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- This COMPUTER with Internet connection
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- Z88 link e.g. Eazylink for PC or MacLink for Macs, to get these files to your
Z88
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- EXPANDED Z88
(a Z88 that has at least a 128K RAM card in Slot 1).
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- Flash card with the
application that needs updating
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All
the downloadable files are ZIPped, so you need to unzip them on
the main computer to save space on the Z88.
Assumptions
This quick method assumes
the configuration of your Z88 to be as follows:-
1M
Flash Card
NOTE:-
The RAM in Slot 2 can be a 512K size instead if a 1M.
512/512K FLASH/RAM
Instructions
This operation will
remove ALL FILES and APPLICATIONS that you may have on your Z88,
so please save any files you wish to keep to your PC before you
start.
Check the version of OZ you are using by selecting
INDEX
HELP
LEFT ARROW
You will see Version 4.2 build xxxx
Unzip one of the following files onto your PC. I would suggest
saving them into a separate directory.
1M files
512K/512K files
HARD RESET your Z88
Use Eazylink to transfer the 25 files from the PC to :RAM.1.
on the Z88.
On the Z88
Select BBC BASIC []B and the type the following line
RUN ROMUPDATE.BAS
There will be a bit
of checking and then these files will be blown into the Flash
card as directed
Do not do anything until the operation has completed.
When it is finished, you can check to see you have the correct
version,
You can check the version of OZ you are using by selecting
INDEX
HELP
LEFT ARROW
You will see Version 4.2 build 3520
Update Applications & insert
in your flash card
There
are three ways you can update your flash cards
- Easy
- Send your flash card back to us with a £5.00 note and
we will do it for you.
- Moderately
easy - If you have enough RAM to update the application,
ROMupdate does this automatically for you.
- Difficult
- All other options require using ROMcombiner which requires
some understanding on what to do. After you have done it this
way twenty times or so, it gets easier.
Frequently
asked questions
Why
should I upgrade flashstore?
Why should
I upgrade eazylink?
What
happens if the program gets corrupted during transfer
What
do I need to use this?
Why should I upgrade
flashstore?
- The latest version of FlashStore
is significantly better than all previous versions.
- Supports new AMD Flash Cards
from Rakewell (save files to File Area in all slots!)
- Interactive file selection of
active & delete files in File area.
- Graphical view of amount saved/deleted/free
space
- Easy selection of other file
cards/areas in other slots.
- Better overwrite prompt logic
(default overwrite or not) for
- Flash -> RAM, and
- RAM -> Flash
- Copy all files from one file
area to another file area when using 2 devices.
- Override the default device
(RAM in Panel)
- All file actions implemented
as shortcut commands (or using MENU). Good for CLI scripts...
- A large number of 'under-the-hood'
improvements in program logic and bug fixes.
- See screenshot
Why should I upgrade
Eazylink?
- EasyLink 5.0.5 fixes some compatibility
problems with programs like
- 'z88transfer' (PC-LINK II client)
- and should now work with the
original Mac programs that also used the PCLINK II. (We are still
awaiting confirmation).
What happens if the
program gets corrupted during transfer
- RomUpdate checks itself first
(it does a CRC check for the technical minded) before it runs.
So if the BBC BASIC file is corrupted it should not run.
- There is no error checking with
ROMcombiner,
ROMupdate
v ROMcombiner
ROMupdate
and ROMcombiner are two BBC BASIC programs that allow you, the
Z88 user, to update or blow new applications onto your Flash card(s).
The main differences between them is:-
ROMupdate needs all the
16K files in RAM before you run it.
ROMcombiner is able to
blow the 16K files individually.
RomUpdate
either adds or replaces a single 16K application. Individual applications
that are in Application 2005 (or previous versions, even going
back to Application 98) for example, can now be updated with ease.
With the release of
OZ 4.2 (which can either be run in slot 0 (which is where the
existing Z88 ROM is) by replacing this with a 512K flash chip,
or in slot 1 on our 1M Flash card), ROMupdate allows this
software to be updated in the Z88 without removing either the
chip or card. This allows users to update their Z88 with this
in situ, and even go back to the original version, V3 UK ROM version
using the 512K Flash chip in slot 0 if required.
Amount
of RAM required
ROMupdate
runs in RAM and 'currently' requires enough RAM to run the application
and store the files to update. To update flashstore for example,
this would only require 16K for the application and a bit more
to run BBC BASIC and ROMupdate.
If on the other hand you want to update OZ 4.2, you need 192K
and a bit more for ROMupdate. In reality, this means that unless
you have a 512K or a 1M RAM pack you won't have enough RAM. Fortunately
the software team knows all about this restriction and they are
working on ROMupdate to allow the files to be stored in the file
area of the flash chip instead of the RAM. This will allow in
the future, Z88s with just a 128K RAM pack to do this upgrade
- so watch this space!.
ROMcombiner is able to add individual 16K banks
to the flash card. This allows Z88 users with only a small amount
of RAM to update their external flash card in stages, thereby
not requiring the complete application to be stored in RAM at
any one time. This is not as easy as using ROMupdate, but is acheivable
with a little bit more care.
Providing you have the program (eazylink or pclink) as a separate
application you can download 2 or 3 banks at a time and build
your new copy of OZ with the flash card in slot 3.
The important thing to note here is that although you have a copy
of Eazylink and Flashstore with OZ 4.2, these are NOT the same
copies of the 'stand alone' versions. If you have a spare EPROM
pack, you could blow a copy of Eazylink
and Flashstore in
that first, (using ROMcombiner) so that after you have erased
OZ 4.2 from the 1M flash you are still able to fetch files from
your PC and save them onto the Flash card if required.
Quick
example on how to Blow OZ4.2 with files onto a Flash card in slot
3.
At
the moment ROMcombiner works more reliably than ROMupdate so follow
this thread if (for example) you want to make a copy of the
latest OZ4.2 with files. Here is a summary
Downloading
ROMupdate or RomCombiner
Check that you have
the current version by
- clicking on the screen
logo above.
- compare that image
with the one on your Z88.
- The image can also
be in the help section.
- Press the 'HELP'
key and scoll up and down the application.
You should reach the one you want to compare.
- Download two files,
the RomUpdate and an Application file by clicking on the 'download
logo' above.
- Follow the operation
guide below..
Download
either of the two programs above and follow the instructions below.
Type of Files
supplied
Whether
you download a single application or a compilation there are several
sorts of files supplied in the zipped file that deserve a mention,
just in case you wanted to know what they do!
Both ROMupdate and ROMcombiner work with 16K length files. The
filename used gives the name of the program and the extension
is used for its location. Applications reside at the top of the
Flash cards or EPROMs. The top number is 63. So valid application
filenames would include flashstore.63 or eazylink.63. If they
were combined, the filenames might be combined.62 and combined.63.
The file area is at the other end of the 1M space, so you would
expect to see filearea.2 filearea.1 and filearea.0. ROMcombiner
only uses these types of files.
ROMupdate
requires two extra files in addition to the ones above.It
has been designed to be a bit more robust. These
are:-
- a romupdate.crc - this contains a number
that is the sum of the complete program that gets compared the
first time it is run
- a .cfg file which contains further checks
and information that tells ROMupdate what to do
Finally
there may be a .bin or .epr file. These aren't used by either
of these programs. They can be used with the Z88 emulator or an
EPROM programmer and are the sum of the 16K length files, all
lumped together.
Operation using ROMupdate or ROMcombiner
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- Download two sets
of files
ROMupdate or ROMcombiner and the Application
or Combination you wish to update from the internet to
your computer.
- Either
- Unzip the files on
this computer or
- on
the Z88 with Unzip.
- This gives you either
four or five groups of files
- for
ROMupdate
- romupdate.crc
- romupdate.bas
- or
for ROMcombiner
- RomCombiner.bas
- romcombiner.bin
- RomUtil.bas
- Application
files -
- (application.epr
or application.63
- or
application.52 - application.63)
- File
Area Files (if requested) -
- application.2, application.1 and application.0
romupdate.cfg
Note this cfg file
is not used by ROMcombiner.
Transfer these
files or the zip file to your Z88.
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- On the Z88
- Unzip the file (see above)
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Operation
using ROMupdate
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- RomUpdate updates
flash cards in the slot that is specified in the .cfg,
so make sure you have the right card there. For applications,
this is normally slot 3, whist with OZ 4.2 it is slot 1. There
is a picture at the top of each compilation to remind you what
you should have in each slot.
- If you normally use
your card in slot 2, make sure you read
this.
- KILL all your SUSPENDED
ACTIVITIES in the INDEX by moving the cursor over each suspended
activity, and then issue the "<>KILL" command.
- Start a new copy
of BBC BASIC either from the menu or with the []B command.- Type
the following (and then the ENTER key).
- RUN "ROMUPDATE.BAS"
- You should then see
the program replace the application.
Click here to see a demonstration on
how easy it is and what you should expect to see.
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Operation
using ROMcombiner
Click here for the ROMcombiner
manual.
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- RomCombiner only
updates flash cards in slot 3, so make sure you have the right
card there.
- If you normally use
your card in slot 2, make sure you read
this.
- KILL all your SUSPENDED
ACTIVITIES in the INDEX by moving the cursor over each suspended
activity, and then issue the "<>KILL" command.
- Start a new copy
of BBC BASIC either from the menu or with the []B command.- Type
the following (and then the ENTER key).
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ERASE
the Flash card.
Please check that you have the correct card you want to use in
slot 3.
- Select
(F) Flash EPROM block erase
and
then
When
it has done this,
- select
0 to end this process.
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If
you are making a compilation from scratch then you need to use
the Add function and load each file starting at the top of the
list and work down. For example to build the Flashstore compilation
you do the following:-
Combine image
files of cards, and
- Add flashstore,
- Add forever-202
and
- Add ziputils,
in that order.
You
can also add more applications if you wish, but bear in mind
that the Flash Card can only format in 64K blocks, so adding
just a 16K application can waste 48K in the Application area.
Select
Techy
- change
card ID to 400,
- leave
the other settings alone apart from
- EPROM
filing system. Change that to Yes.
Create
- Destination
card name? FLZIP
- Delete
source images (Y/N)? Yes (if you are short of space).
Select
INDEX - OPEN CARD FLAP - remove Flash Card - CLOSE CARD FLAP
- OPEN CARD FLAP - INSERT Flash Card - CLOSE CARD FLAP
The
first time you run Flashstore []J, it will ask you if you want
to format the unused section. Yes you do.
Otherwise,
you can just elect to Blow the completed 'already built' compilation
into the Flash card.
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Blow
image files to blank EPROM
What EPROM type is in slot 3:
When you get to Card name, you
can go into the Filer with []F to remind yourself what the file
was called. Just use the filename, do not enter the dot or the
numbers. I am asuming
that the reason you are using this is because you do not have
enough memory, so at the next command you should
- select (R) for Range of banks.
You need to start at the lowest
number first say .52 leaving the .63 file until last. The
number of steps that you do this in depends on both the size
of the application and the amount of RAM you have.
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When
you have finished,
- go
into the INDEX,
- open
the card flap,
- take
the Flash card out of slot 3,
- Close
the card flap,
- Open
it again and
- put
the card into the slot you want to use it in and
- shut
the card flap again.
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Applications,
Compilations and Files
You
may be wondering why we just don't supply just Flashstore with
our Flash cards. The reason is simple. Although individual applications
can be 16K long, the Flash card can only erase blocks of 64K.
This means that if a single 16K application is required, 64K is
alocation for applications. If another application then goes over
the next 64K boundary, another 64K block is allocated whether
this space is used or not. Compilations are groups of useful applications
in 64K blocks
When
we ship the Flash card with either OZ 4.2 or on its own, we normally
add files to the file area that may be useful. You can also choose
whether to have these files in the compilation or not. The files
are also available separately, so that you can pick which one
to have, if you don't want all of them. So although the following
list may look a bit complicated, it only looks that way because
of the number of options open to you. If (for example) you just
wanted OZ 4.2 without all the other applications, then this is
what you can have.
The
version number of Flashstore is 1.9 The
build number of OZ is 3520
The size of the remaining File Area, is 1024K minus the application
area.
There
are several different compilations you can choose to download.
Compilation
name |
Description |
Flashstore |
This
is the standard version that we normally ship out with our Flash
cards.
Flashstore User Manual Flash
Flyer |
Eazylink |
This
has all the applications that Flashstore has with the addition
of Eazylink. Z88Chess
and Zetriz are supplied to use up the extra space. |
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This
is similar to the Eazylink compilation above with OZ 4.2, but
with no Bootstrap or Z88 Chess. |
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Just
in case you want to have a hard time modifying your Z88 by fitting
an internal 512K flash chip - this is for you. |
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and
this one allows you to return to the orginal v3.0 ROM with the
same 512K Flash chip. |
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In
the following tables you will see the normal memory configuration
with applications that are displayed on the Z88 on the left-hard
side.
Just
choose the one you wish to use, either the individual files if
you want to build it up from scratch, or choose one of the compiled
files that save you all the bother.
Flashstore
Eazylink
OZ 4.2 Slot 1
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OZ
4.2 Version |
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Slot
1 3227 |
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These
are the new Z88 applications in OZ 4.2. Eazylink and Flashstore
have been added
384K
The
additional ones get added below the existing ones as follows:-
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Forever-202
32K
Use
the forever-boot version. |
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ZIPutils
16K
Zetriz
16K |
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Compilation |
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OZ 4.2 3227
OZ 4.2 + Applications
Applications
& Files (NOT
AVAILABLE YET) |
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OZ
4.2 Slot 0
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OZ
4.2 Version |
Slot
0 |
v3520 |
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Z88
applications in OZ 4.2. Eazylink & Flashstore have been added.
384K |
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Applications
cannot be added to OZ 4.2 in slot 0.
Put the additional applications onto a separate Flash or ERPOM
card. |
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OZ UK 3.0 Slot 0
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OZ
3.0 Version |
Slot
0 |
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144K |
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These
are the normal Z88 applications in OZ. The compilation file below
may be used to downgrade a flash chip in slot 0 so that the Z88
is how it was with the original ROM |
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Applications
cannot be added to OZ 4.2 in slot 0.
Put the additional applications onto a separate Flash or ERPOM
card. |
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Compilation |
Applications |
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Applications
and File Bank
Here
are some older versions of the software above, just in case you
need to get access to them, or that the versions above do not
work. Please let me know if you are having any bother with this
section as it has been difficult to put it together so that it
easy to use.
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©
Rakewell Limited 1998 - 2024
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