Megaflash - which ROMs?

[Gryzor]

Ok, now that the Megaflash is under production I've been doing a little wet-dreaming (ahem), and would like to ask you, which ROMs will people be installing?
My list, in no particular order:

   
• TMF's ROManager, once it exists in ROM form
• QuickCMD (of course!)
• SymbOS
• FutureOS (along with bryce's mouse adaptor these should be brill)
• Some word-processor, because word-processing on the CPC is extra-geeky (which one though? Protext? Brunword?)
• Discology (hell yeah)
• Routeplanner (when they release maps for Greece, I've been waiting for ages)
• Xexor
• ...?

[norecess]

Additionnally to your list, actually, I see two kind of ROMs :
- the real ones, that extend the system with new functionalities, executed from ROM :


Arnor ones of course (Protext, Maxam, Utopia, Promerge if you are a Protext hardcore user)

Oddjob (old utility from 1985, but still useful and pleasant from times to times)
Parados (of course !)
Arkos ROM is useful too if you are also a CPCBooster owner


- the ones that actually are programs stored in ROM as simple storage :
the "big" tools : OCP Art Studio, Starkos, Soundtracker..
You mentionned Discology, do you have a "proper" version of the software ? I found ones, but they were missing presentation screen etc..
HxC Floppy Emulator Manager if you have an HxC device


WHERE TO DOWNLOAD ?
For both HxC Floppy Emulator & QuickCMD, they can be downloaded from www.norecess.net
Genesis8 and CPCRulez are also great source for download
Most of interesting ROMs are available on the cpcwiki anyway

[Pentagon]

I would flash:

Parados
BDos
HxC Floppy Manager
BDos Addon 1 & 2
Maxam

Done ;-)

Kindly Regards
Pentagon

[Gryzor]

Ah yes, I forgot to mention the HxC loader, of course, though I did think about it. Programming utilities are not for me...
   
What do you mean, "proper" Discology? All the versions I've seen have the central screen (is there a loading/presentation screen?). I do have an original Discology disk (but earlier version, around v3), though I haven't tried loading it yet.

[redbox]

Oooh yeah, some nice ideas here.

Can't wait to get mine.  The speed of turning on the Arnold, typing |WHATEVER and having a program instantly is just awesome[nb]Yeah! F*ck PCs! I got me a CeeePeeeCeeee!!![/nb].

[Bryce]

Well because every MegaFlash goes through a sequence of read / write tests to check that everything works, the MegaFlash you receive will already have MAXAM 1.5 in ROM Position 4 and ParaDOS in ROM Position 7 when you get it, but you can delete these if you don't want them obviously.

Bryce.

[Terje_Norway]

Hello  ,


What would I flash ? ? ?


I think the following setup might be a nice start :


PROTEXT (4 ROMS) (Protext, Promerge+, Prospell and Proprint)
MAXAM 1.5
UTOPIA
ParaDOS
SYMBOS (4 ROMS)
CPM+ ROMS (4 ROMS)
DES (2 ROMS)
NIRVANA
SILIDISC (Dk'tronics)


Just to mention a few nice ROMS


Yours


Terje Grind
NORWAY

[rpalmer]

I would flash:-

1.  HDOS (for a better file system and device handler, IMHO  )
2.  HDOS Driver (obviously)
3.  TCP/IP  (ROM version) - Currently under development.
4.  Utopia (wonderful suite of utilities)
5.  C compiler (Arnor)
6.  Laser Basic Compiler.
7.  Wordprocessor (Protext)
8.  Promerge
9.  Prospell.
10. Some sort of email program to work with TCP/IP.
11  Some sort of chat program to work with TCP/IP.

I already have programs 1-9 (although 6 is a disc version), but 10 and 11 would make the CPC a super-CPC....

rpalmer

[Gryzor]

Ah yes, Utopia, too.

Terje, the Silicon Disk AFAIK has both the software ROM and the RAM in the same package? Or am I wrong? Because if so there's no meaning in loading the software this way...?

[Terje_Norway]

Hi,


If I was using both a dk'tronics 256K memory extension and a dk'tronics 256K silicon disc I would have a Amsdos RAM disk of 254K. Under CPM+ it would be 444K.  (According to a test with WinApe)


I have to agree that a RAMdisk under Amsdos is a bit useless, but it would be faster than a real disc for slideshows and perhaps music I think ! !


Yours


Terje Grind
Norway

PS The complete dk'tronics pack has originally THREE units.

1. dk'tronics 256K Memory Extension

2. dk'tronics 256K Silicon disc

3. dk'tronics Silicon disc (1 slot ROM board)

[Gryzor]

Ah, so you'll be using the SDisk software on ROM in conjunction with a simple mem expansion?

[Terje_Norway]

Yes, thats right 


Since the Megaflash doesn't have any through connectors, additional memory has to be connected BEFORE it. The dk'tronics memory is the only one I can think of that has these through connectors.


Other memory extensions like "Inicron RAM-Box" doesn't have through connectors either  .


Yours


Terje Grind
NORWAY

[Gryzor]

Good thinking; you've really maxed it out there!

[Terje_Norway]

Hi (again)


My present setup consists of a CPC6128 with a green screen.
- 1 x HxC B-drive,
- 1 x Rombo Rombox (Protext, Promerge+, Prospell, Utopia and Parados)
- 1 x Inicron 512K RAM-Box. 


The rest of my CPC goods are stored away at the moment ! ! !
(It is a HUGE lot of both hardware and software, but that's another story)


Yours


Terje Grind
Norway

[TFM]

Well because every MegaFlash goes through a sequence of read / write tests to check that everything works, the MegaFlash you receive will already have MAXAM 1.5 in ROM Position 4 and ParaDOS in ROM Position 7 when you get it, but you can delete these if you don't want them obviously.

Bryce.

Hey, and don't forget the other ROMs we have been talking 

[TFM]

Since the Megaflash doesn't have any through connectors, Terje Grind
NORWAY

Just press a second adapter on the cable, or let the cable flow throu the adapter of the MegaFlash. That keeps it compact. You can even pack a MegaFlash and a RAM expansion in one case and let the expansioin-port-cable flow out of it.

[TFM]

Here my configuration:


1: RDOS (provides 444 KB RAM disc)

3: Promerge
4: Maxam
5: Protext
6: XD-DOS
7: Amsdos (parked, umparked of some games)

10: FutureOS (ROMs B,C,D at 20,21,22)

15: ROM-Booster (enables ROMs 16-31 to be expansion ROMs)

The others are filled dynamically, when needed.

[Ythcal]

Hm, I really would like to put DISC'o'MAGIC into the MegaFlash... I found it packed for the Inicron-Box, but don't like the RSX |magic. I ever prefered the filename "dom.", but every attempt to recreate it with |dom with Softbrenner resulted in a corrupt file

[TFM]

Hm, I really would like to put DISC'o'MAGIC into the MegaFlash... I found it packed for the Inicron-Box, but don't like the RSX |magic. I ever prefered the filename "dom.", but every attempt to recreate it with |dom with Softbrenner resulted in a corrupt file

Send me that file to futuresoft@gmx.de. I can adapt that for you. But only when you promise to use FutureOS *hehe*    Ok, the latter one is just an option 

To change the name of the RSX will be no problem. (MAGIC 2 DOM).

[norecess]

15: ROM-Booster (enables ROMs 16-31 to be expansion ROMs)

I did not know about that. Can you tell us more about this ROM ? Where to download, how to use it, manual ?..


Thank you !

[Bryce]

You can download it here http://genesis8.free.fr/frontend/roms.php (it's in the RRB.zip file) or from the WSX Inicron site here: http://inicron.gmxhome.de/downloads.html. But there's not a lot of documentation available for it. It doesn't need any though, because it's a simple as mentioned above: Save it to ROM 15 (doesn't work on a Classic 464) and when you restart, the CPC will initialise all 32 ROMs instead of just 16.

Bryce.

[TFM]

On a CPC464 maybe ROM slot 6 may work though, but I never tried.

BTW: In the Booster ROM, there is about 15 KB free space. So you can add own apps in that ROM too.

[Ythcal]

Mine so far:

1: DISC'o'MAGIC
2: QuickCMD
3: Protext
4: Maxam
5&6: Starkos
10-13: FutureOS

I have some problems with the HxC-Software. While running from disc perfectly, when starting as ROM it accepts the HxC-SD as Drive B only!? But as long as it is just one button press more to get to the HxC-Manager I can live with that.

[TFM]

Well, slowly I like to realize one of my ideas... I try to create a 0.7 MB (Vortex format) DSK / disc that contains the ROManager and a LOT of ROMs. Means the ROMs that people use the most / or like the most... Such a disc can contain roughly 40 ROMs. What do you think? Which ROMs are wanted?

[Terje_Norway]

Hi 


Top "40s list of ROMs" should contain at least the following ROMs (in my humble opinion). 


These ROMs are taken from memory, and I haven't personally tested all of them, but they have all been useful at their time.
That does of course means that some of them has been superseded, by now. They are not listed in any particular order :


01-PROTEXT
02-PROMERGE+
03-PROSPELL
04-PROPRINT
05-UTOPIA
06-MAXAM 1.5
07-BCPL
08-PARADOS
09-NIRVANA
10-DES (ROM 1)
11-DES (ROM 2)
12-CPM (ROM 1)
13-CPM (ROM 2)
14-CPM Accessory ROM-Nsweep/Format/PCW/Unera/D
15-CPM Accessory ROM-Cruncher
16-DISCOLOGY
17-DOSCOPY & CRIME
18-EXTENDED BASIC V1.1
19-JL UTILITIES
20-LOCKSMITHS ROM
21-DISC'O'MAGIC
22-MASTERFILE 128 ROM
23-MUZAK ROM
24-NIG DOS
25-ODDJOB22
26-CPC PROCOPY V1.2
27-PROTEXT HELP ROM
28-RODOS V2.15
29-SILICON DISC ROM
30-SUPER V1.0 ROM
31-SYMBOS-ROM A
32-SYMBOS-ROM B
33-SYMBOS-ROM C
34-SYMBOS-ROM D
35-FutureOS-ROM 1
36-FutureOS-ROM 2
37-FutureOS-ROM 3
38-FutureOS-ROM 4
39-VORTEX DOS V2.11
40-ARKOS ROM V1.0
41-BUNNYDOS V1.72


I'm probably already out of space on that Vortex formatted disc. Perhaps it should be made up as TWO discs ? ? ?


Yours


Terje Grind
NORWAY