Utilities for working with TR DOS disks from Windows NT
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Hello, All
Here are the actual promised utilities + driver.
I'm waiting for your feedback.
File: wintrd10.rar http://zx.pk.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=1966
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Is it possible to describe in more detail how to work with them? Starting from settings in
Bios and so on...
Hello Striker
Dear forum users, has anyone managed to work with these utilities?
Share your experience!
Hello Striker
Str> Is it possible to describe in more detail how to work with them? Starting from
Str> settings in BIOS and so on...
There is no need to touch the BIOS, everything should be installed correctly there.
Install the driver for the corresponding operating system once
32bit or 64bit. If the RealSpectrum emulator is already installed along with the driver,
then you do not need to reinstall the driver.
Launch FAR, and from it the necessary utility, for example a formatter. She gives out
hint, to read it press ctrl+o, when you read it press ctrl+o again.
If you read carefully, there should be no further questions.
Now you can format the disk again by running the formatter but with
parameters, for example
formatt a 1 1
and the counter of formatted tracks will run on the tap.
If an error occurs, the standard Abort, Retry, Ignore will appear.
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> There is no need to touch the BIOS, everything should be installed correctly there.
Ale> Install the driver for the corresponding operating system once
Ale> 32bit or 64bit system. If the RealSpectrum emulator is already installed
Ale> together with the driver, then you do not need to re-install the driver.
Ale> Launch FAR, and from it the necessary utility, for example a formatter. She
Ale> gives a hint, to read it press ctrl+o when you read it
Ale> -- ctrl+o again.
Ale> If you read carefully, there should be no further questions.
Ale> Now you can format the disk again by running the formatter but
Ale> already with parameters, for example
Ale> formatt a 1 1
Ale> and the counter of formatted tracks will run on the tap.
Ale> If an error occurs, the standard Abort, Retry, Ignore will appear.
The thing is that I kept getting a disk error. I thought maybe you
Alexander, at least tell me how you connected the drive and under what conditions
tested their utilities
Hello Striker
Str> The thing is that I kept getting a disk error.
So what?
But it doesn’t work for me :)!
Actually, we need to write in more detail who is throwing the error and which one, which one is installed
OS, etc., so how do I know what happened there?
I remind you that the OS should be Win NT, 2k, 2k3, xp, vista and not Win 9x or Me.
First you need to install the driver, is it installed?
If it’s my uliliths who are swearing, then I need to know what exactly is being given out, on
at what stage does this happen, with what parameters they were launched and at what
disks/drives?
ALSO REMINDER that ONLY TR DOS disks (16 sectors of 256 bytes) are readable.
How does the RealSpectrum emulator behave with this disk, does it read it?
The only possible error may appear in the first sectors of all tracks,
in this case, you need to seal part of the index hole of the 5.25 disk.
You need a normal bugreport, otherwise I can't help you.
I REPEAT AGAIN ABOUT BIOS, no changes (such as instead of a 5.25 floppy drive
specify 3.5 or disable CPU cash), it is NOT necessary to enter!!!
Those. The drives must be installed as they are.
My drives are connected as standard A-3.5-1.44Mb B-5.25-1.2Mb.
These were the conditions in which everything was tested, and not on just one computer.
2 all
It’s very strange that the utilities even somehow ended up on World Of Spectrum, but the reviews
almost none. Do no one really need them?
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
By the way, it’s a very necessary job, you shouldn’t do that. And on the topic - I only read
at dtr = 300 kbps. And the question is - what does the second parameter on the command line mean?
I intuitively guess that the method of marking a track on the 1st side of the disk, 0 -
as by default in tr-dos or 1, but I would like to clarify :)))
Hello Kurles
Kur> By the way, it’s a very necessary job, you shouldn’t be doing this.
Since it’s needed, we’ll develop it further.
If there are no serious errors, I will release plugins for FAR.
Kur> And the question is - what does the second parameter on the command line mean? Intuitive
Kur> I guess that the method of marking the track on the 1st side of the disk, 0 -
Kur> as by default in tr-dos or 1, but I would like to clarify :)))
Yes exactly. 0 is if using the TR DOS format command, and if using formatting like
ADS, DCU, RDS or something else, it can be either 0 (rarely) or 1 (most often), that’s all
depends on how the author of the formatting intended it.
In general, many formatters are designed so that disks are better readable on a PC.
Hello Kurles
Kur> By the way, it’s a very necessary job, you shouldn’t be doing this.
Since it’s needed, we’ll develop it further.
If there are no serious errors, I will release plugins for FAR.
Kur> And the question is - what does the second parameter on the command line mean? Intuitive
Kur> I guess that the method of marking the track on the 1st side of the disk, 0 -
Kur> as by default in tr-dos or 1, but I would like to clarify :)))
Yes exactly. 0 is if using the TR DOS format command, and if using formatting like
ADS, DCU, RDS or something else, it can be either 0 (rarely) or 1 (most often), that’s all
depends on how the author of the formatting intended it.
In general, many formatters are designed so that disks are better readable on a PC.
Hello Alexander!
Monday November 28, 2005 22:54:10 Alexander Medvedev -> All:
AM> Very strange, the utilities even on World Of Spectrum somehow
AM> hit, but almost no reviews
AM> none. Do no one really need them?
If they are silent, it means it is working.
It works for me too. Thank you.
It’s not clear why you need to choose speed and why not
Is the system sector of the floppy disk initialized?
[REAL ZX]
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> If it is needed, then we will develop it further.
Ale> If there are no serious errors, I will release plugins for FAR.
Yes, better with plugins, not utilities!
Hello, CHRV
CHR> Or you can open the driver level, because you want to be able
CHR> work with images *.td0, *.fdi, CPM and IS-DOS formats.
The driver is not mine and I do not have its source code. Most interesting text
look at the drivers.
CHR> Or at least do an absolute read/write of the floppy disk image format
CHR> and do the rest as plugins.
I don’t understand anything, what does absolute reading mean?
Is it now relative?
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> Here are the actual promised utilities + driver.
Ale> Waiting for your feedback.
Or you can open the driver level, because you want to be able to work with
images *.td0, *.fdi, CPM and IS-DOS formats. Or at least do the absolute
reading/writing the floppy disk image format, and do the rest in the form of plugins.
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> The driver is not mine and I do not have its source code. Most interesting
Ale> look at the driver text. I don’t understand anything what absolute means
Ale> reading?
Ale> Is it relative now?
Absolute reading is when we receive all the information with intersectoral and other
affairs. Those. full track contents. ;-)
Hello, CHRV
CHR> Absolute reading is when we receive all the information with cross-sector
CHR> and other matters. Those. full track contents. ;-)
The controller on the PC does not allow reading all the information from the track.
The only way is if there is at least one sector on the track, then read it
specifying an overestimated sector length, for example 8kB. Thus, all
information from the first sector encountered and everything beyond it. But with this
When reading after each sector, desynchronization is possible (shift by half a bit) and
the information will be read incorrectly.
Theoretically, it is possible to do such a reading, but how to extract from such a block
sectors and I don’t know how to correct them.
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
а что даёт вот это, не пробовал?
dri> ┌─- CODE ───
dri> IOCTL_FDCMD_READ_TRACK
dri>
dri> Description: Raw track read
dri>
dri> Input: FD_READ_WRITE_PARAMS
dri> Output: Buffer for received data
dri> └── CODE ───
dri>
Hello SMT
SMT> this is what the driver author sent me
Yes, indeed, that command reads the entire track, but only from this
no benefit. Half of the sectors are shifted by half a bit due to desynchronization and
it is impossible to restore them. So automatically get a full disk image
It won’t work, you can only study the structure of the tracks.
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
writing from an image to a floppy disk seems much easier
Hello SMT
TeleDisk can only read the sectors themselves (this is not a problem) question
as I understand it, read the entire track along with the markings (intersector
intervals, synchronization zones, etc.).
Hello SMT
SMT> what about TV disc? there you only need to know the list of sectors. It seems possible
SMT> dig around, calling 'read next id header' for quite a long time
The task is very simple, you need the ability to write disks from fdi, td0 formats
(games with protections based on non-standard partitioning into sectors - you can
store only in these formats). For now I do this with a teledisk from W98 or DOS.
I also have a bunch of disks from other platforms (BK, UKNTs, ORION-128), if possible
If we could make a plugin system, it would be very convenient. ;)
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> TeleDisk can only read the sectors themselves (this is not the case
Ale> problem) the question, as I understand it, is to read the entire track together
Ale> with markings (inter-sector gaps, synchronization zones, etc.
Ale> etc.).
This is an ideal case for particularly sophisticated protections (I’ve only met one of these and
not on spec).
Hello Striker
Str> persistently writes an error on the first sectors...
Str> The disk is actually readable.
Everything is correct. I wrote about this in detail. I'll write again. The point is that if
the disk is formatted from TRDOS with the FORMAT command or a formatter using
STANDARD formatting function, then there is no gap on such a disc
between the start of the track and the first sector on the track. For controller on Spectrum
this gap is NOT IMPORTANT, but for a PC controller the absence of this gap
fundamentally. The controller does not start reading data immediately after starting
tracks and after some pause necessary for synchronization and thus
does not have time to read the first sector.
Now let's talk about how to deal with this. There are several ways.
1) If there is a real Spectrum, then everything is very simple. Take another disk and
formatted with normal (by PC standards) formatting, such as ADS, DCU, RDS,
FUT. You can also format the disk on a PC using any TR DOS formatter.
Then the readability on the PC is checked and if everything is in order, then on
A freshly formatted disk copies information from the disk that does not contain
The first sectors are read (naturally on a real Spectrum). The resulting disk
can be read on a PC without any problems.
2) If the first sectors are not readable on a 5.25 disk, then tape halfindex hole and check readability, if the first sectors are not readable,
then we glue a little more than half, if nothing is readable, then vice versa
reduce the glued portion. And so on until the disk begins to be read.
Usually a FEW attempts at re-gluing are enough.
3) Boot into DOS and read the disk via AmdCopier by Paul Pavlov or MAKEFDI with
key -T. These utilities use a clever method of reading the first sectors.
Before reading the first sector, the drive motor stops and then
turns on and immediately, without waiting for the motor to spin up, a read command is issued
first sector. Usually the controller manages to read it.
Str> but somewhere on half of the disk there were errors.
Str> (by the way, when formatting I noticed that the head had become too painful
Str> body to fight.
Str> and it seemed like it was far from the end of the floppy disk).
It looks like the drive type is set incorrectly in the BIOS, probably 40 tracks instead of 80.
You need to set it to 5.25 1.2Mb and everything will work.
Str> Okay, I started reading the disk with the recorded image using the maketrd utility -
Str> started reading without any questions!
Str> But when bad sectors started appearing, errors obviously started..
Elementary, if the disk is broken, then there will be errors.
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Yesterday I dug up a hundred of my Spekov disks on the mezzanine, with a bunch of stuff
junk that I wrote about 10 years ago... Only this one was able to lift the disks
utility, the others refused to read.
THANK YOU, AUTHOR!
At five in the morning I went to bed, I could not tear myself away from the nostalgic contemplations of my
works ten years ago... ;)
Hello demon_zx
dem> writetrd.exe a 0 2 file.trd
yes, indeed, it worked out, and formatt a 0 2 is best read in
for real...
to Alexandr Medvedev it’s not clear why writetrd is trying to write tracks 80-83...
in fact, everything *.trd is 655... bytes, why write above track 79? You can enter
option for discs with a maximum number of tracks....
PS RealSpec still does not read formatted disks normally, even formatt, at least
FUT....
Hello demon_zx
By the way, this could also be an option
writetrd.exe a 1 2 file.trd, this is if the side number when formatting
was entered, but if it is formatted in tr-dos, then the first option goes
Hello, do_se
2do_se: just give him an abortion 8-), but I have a normal idea
copywriter to draw under this driver, now my hands don’t get around to it
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> Personally, all my floppy disks were formatted to maximum
Ale> number of tracks, and besides, the last track was always made
Ale> copy of the system track.
Ale> If you don’t like this behavior of utilities, click Abort on track 80.
Or maybe the number of tracks can be set as a parameter?
I personally already use these utilities with all my might, but unfortunately I’ll give up completely
I can’t use DOS on my car.
The following functionality is missing:
- support for *.td0 (TeleDisk) or *.fdi disks.
Will this be done or is it not planned at all?
Hello, CHRV
CHR> Or maybe you can set the number of tracks using a parameter?
It is possible, of course, in the next version.
CHR> The following functionality is missing:
CHR> - supports *.td0 (TeleDisk) or *.fdi disks.
These formats are equivalent; supporting them is not entirely easy. I don't know
how to get a list of available sectors on a track, especially if there are
non-standard sectors.
If these formats are needed only for iS-DOS, I can make an iS-DOS reader.
Hello, CHRV
CHR> Or maybe you can set the number of tracks using a parameter?
It is possible, of course, in the next version.
CHR> The following functionality is missing:
CHR> - supports *.td0 (TeleDisk) or *.fdi disks.
These formats are equivalent; supporting them is not entirely easy. I don't know
how to get a list of available sectors on a track, especially if there are
non-standard sectors.
If these formats are needed only for iS-DOS, I can make an iS-DOS reader.
do_> Yesterday I hit a 3.5 flop of 1.44 from a pussy, worked, peed.... decided
do_> drag WinXP software from PC..... No such luck!
do_> ...
do_> 3. Launched RealSpec and tried to read... Error on sector 3 or 9
The thing is that for 3.5 floppy disks you need to seal the second hole (not to be confused with
write protection), which is responsible for the type of floppy disk HD or SD/DD.
If it is also difficult. The fact is that there is no single standard for 3.5 floppy disks
on the data transfer rate (for my utilities this is the parameter). Therefore for
first you need to try to format floppy disks with different dtrs and then
read in the RealSpectrum emulator and find the desired value.
Hello, Alexandr Medvedev
Ale> These formats are equivalent; supporting them is not entirely easy to implement. I
Ale> I don’t know how to get a list of available sectors on a track, especially
Ale> if there are non-standard sectors.
Ale> If these formats are needed only for iS-DOS, I can make an iS-DOS reader.
Is this a problem with the driver you are using?
(i.e. the API of the corresponding functionality is not known)
No, of course, this functionality is needed not only for iSDOS (although in my case,
this is primarily), but also for CP/M and also for protected floppy disks (although there are already
little).
Hello, CHRV
CHR> Is this a problem with the driver you are using?
CHR> (i.e. the API of the corresponding functionality is not known)
I just don’t know how to get a list of sectors on a track.
CHR> No, of course, this functionality is needed not only for iSDOS (although in mine
CHR> case, this is primarily), but also for CP/M and also for protected ones
CHR> floppy disks (although there are few of them anymore).
I will do it for iS-DOS in the near future.
But what is the track structure of CP/M disks, isn’t it 16 sectors of 256 bytes each?
I saw software for ATM Turbo in trd files, which TR-DOS readers do not
are they suitable?
For protected floppy disks, it is better to use the latest version of MakeFDI, and do
immediately udi files.