CosmosEx - updates

[Marakatti]

@marakatti
You can try to use ID 0 for SD
Create an AUTO folder in the boot drive
and place CE_DD in this folder this should always work (even if ID 1 is not set to CE_DD)

It is in auto folder but nothing happens that's the problem...

[DrCoolZic]

Hum very strange?
Does it gives a message?
Have you tried once the system is started to double click on CE_DD and see if it loads?

[DrCoolZic]

Another things that comes to mind.
When you update the software it update the programs in the config file.
You have to MANUALLY copy the new version of CE_DD to the AUTO folder
sometimes using incompatible version can be a problem

EDIT:
I always keep latest version of everything on a floppy. So when a new version comes I copy everything from config drive to this floppy

[Marakatti]

Yes i tried to doubleclick. Driver reloads but that's all. When doubleclicking drive icon nothing happens. Not error message from TOS. This way it worked before update but not anymore. I have the latest files in USB-stick.

I can't use floppy because the device is internally installed. And i can't access SD-card with pc because it's TOS-formatted. So there's no way to put the correct driver to my boot-partition other than rip the ST apart, install CosmosEx externally, reinstall floppy drive and then build everything again?

[DarkLord]

If you're running Linux, you can access TOS formatted SD cards with mtools:

http://linuxcommand.org/man_pages/mtools1.html

I use it all the time here to transfer back and forth between my Kubuntu box
and my STacy.

HTHs.

[Marakatti]

Thanks for the tip

[Jookie]

MainApp – 2014-11-12:
- added support for CE_CONF running directly on Raspberry Pi – after update to this version you can run the /ce/ce_conf.sh script on Raspberry Pi (e.g. through ssh) to see the same config console as from your Atari ST
- format of CE_DD boot drive changed – each sector now contains checksum, has to be used with the newest boot sector (included in this update)

CE_DD boot sector (.bs) (contained within Main App):
- now when loading the CE_DD, the checksum is verified and if it’s bad, the sector is reloaded – this is a workaround for communication issues with TOS 1.00 machines, which resulted in 4 bombs after ‘CEDD boot loader’ message

CE_DD (contained within Main App):
- fix for Fread() and Fwrite() for TT, when trying to read / write to TT RAM, which is not accessible for DMA chip – done by ggn / KUA

[DrCoolZic]

update my CosmosEx guide added config from SSH
http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 79#p261779

[Jookie]

MainApp - 2014-11-26:
- floppy image upload through web interface - by tIn/absence
- config console through web interface - by tIn/absence
- forcing disk change on floppy image selection change, or floppy image upload

Franz - 2014-11-26:
- forced retrieving of new track on disk change

Note to the forced disk change - please see if this does improve or worsen the floppy change situation. I had a TOS 1.02 crash when I was viewing content of A: and then forced disk change on other floppy image I'm not sure whether the TOS 1.02 doesn't handle this situation very well, or there's some issue (and what it actually is).

[wietze]

MainApp - 2014-11-26:
- floppy image upload through web interface - by tIn/absence
- config console through web interface - by tIn/absence
- forcing disk change on floppy image selection change, or floppy image upload

Franz - 2014-11-26:
- forced retrieving of new track on disk change

Note to the forced disk change - please see if this does improve or worsen the floppy change situation. I had a TOS 1.02 crash when I was viewing content of A: and then forced disk change on other floppy image I'm not sure whether the TOS 1.02 doesn't handle this situation very well, or there's some issue (and what it actually is).

Lovely, I will do some testing tonite and post my findings!

[Jookie]

CE_DD (contained within Main App) - 2014-12-02:
- fix for missing data when read / written from / to translated drive on TT - by ggn/KUA
- fix for a crash on handling XBRA stuff - fix by tIn/absence
- FLOCK checking before setting added to avoid clash with other ACSI drivers

[Jookie]

Franz - 2014-12-21:
- step limiting enabled to avoid one step too soon after another - this could fix some reported floppy issues, there were some sector read issues (in up to 5% of reads, on some machines - was working fine on my STFM, had 5% problematic reads on my STE)
- track request limiting raised to minimum 10 ms of no-step-time before sending request (lowers bus load)

MainApp - 2014-12-21:
- added remount of shared drive when network becomes available, also added missing new line char on wifi config - by tIn/absence

[Jookie]

The linux image which contains the stuff needed for using wifi dongles with CosmosEx is now available for download as 'Raspberry Pi SD card image for running the device' here:
http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=474

What you need to do:
- download the .zip file, unzip it
- remove the SD card from Raspberry Pi
- write the .img file to the SD card using some tool (e.g. like this: http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=332 , but using this .img instead of that one mentioned there)
- put the SD card back to Raspberry Pi
- update the firmware using the config tool, because the app contained in the linux image is outdated
- set the wifi configuration using the config tool (e.g. SSID, password)
- wait few seconds (~30 ?), turn off device, plug in the wifi dongle to USB, turn on the device
- if everything goes well, then after a while you should get connected to your wifi access point... If it doesn't work, please report to wifi thread here:
http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 3&p=262869

[Jookie]

Hans - 2015-01-02:
- added retrying on initialization of SD card reading, which could fail and result in whole read to fail
- added timeout checking on some endless loops where the code could hang (e.g. when the previous SD card reading start failed), and this could make Hans hang until next restart of device (or main app)
- added some emptying of internal SD card buffer after init of SD card, without which it might have resulted in the 1st read / write operation to fail after hot swap of SD card

(These changes improve situation only on some weird SD cards - in my case it was 1 weird out of 5 cards - the other 4 worked just fine.)

[HuggyOne76]

Thank you for all the things you did for the Atari in 2014 ! CosmosEx is fantastic ! Happy new year !

[Jookie]

Thank you for all the things you did for the Atari in 2014 ! CosmosEx is fantastic ! Happy new year !

Sheesh, thanks The thanks also goes to tIn/absence and ggn / KUA, which help me a lot with fixes and features! Praise be upon them!

...and happy new year to all of you, too (but please don't change this thread to 'and to you too' )

[Jookie]

MainApp - 2015-04-08:
- code added for STiNG networking support, still needs a bit of work to make it fully usable
- some things changed as a preparation for future SCSI extension
- made fixes to IKDB code related to absolute mouse coordinates configuration and reporting - it didn't work well and caused issues (e.g. in Lemmings)

Hans - 2015-03-25:
- solo mode added - with newer HW (made in 2015) CosmosEx can work without Raspberry Pi as just a hard drive replacement using a SD card - just like SatanDisk or UltraSatan
- added retrieving HW version and interface type from XILINX - this is a preparation for future SCSI extension

XILINX - 2015-03-25:
- added state for retrieving the HW version and interface type - this is a preparation for future SCSI extension

[Jookie]

Linux image update
Due to some things changed in Raspberry Pi B+ the previous linux image causes that the USB and LAN on Raspberry Pi B+ doesn't start. If you are using CosmosEx device with RPi B+ (4 USB ports instead of just 2), you can verify that it's your situation by plugging in USB keyboard to USB port of RPi, power on the device, wait ~25 seconds to make sure linux has booted, and if you press Num Lock / Caps Lock and the Num Lock / Caps Lock LEDs won't turn, then your setup is also affected.

What to do:
1) download the 'Raspberry Pi SD card image for running the device' from the CosmosEx download page: http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=474 and unzip the content to some directory on your PC
2) remove the SD card from your Raspberry Pi (either use tweezers, or unmount CosmosEx PCB and then remove the card by bare hands) - the SD card slot on RPi B+ is push-push, that means don't just try to pull the SD card out, but try to push it inside first until you hear a click, and then it will go outside easily
3) use some tool to write the image to SD card (e.g. USB Image Tool, like here: http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=332 )
4) reinstall the SD card back to your RPi B+ device

That should be everything you need to do. Turn on the device and verify that your USB port works now.

[Jookie]

Main App – 2015-04-25:
- setting of timezone added, also some fixes related to timezone – now your UTC offset (which you set in config -> other -> UTC offset) affects the shown time of your files of translated drives
- added generating of DESKTOP.INF / NEWDESK.INF depending on your current setup (e.g. if your config drive is G, it should show desktop containing that icon after reset).
- fix for not creating directory from desktop on TT – by ggn/kua

[Jookie]

Main App - 2015-05-02:
- main app can (and will) update scripts in other directories, so any user will have newest scripts (which are used for update and other stuff)
- update process now relying on calling the scripts instead creating the scripts
- the created DESKTOP.INF in the config drive now has info about opening .ST and .MSA images, so when you double-click on those files, it should launch CE_FDD.TTP from config drive and automatically upload the image
- fix for joystick button not working in North vs South - joystick 1 button press reporting fixed when mouse is in relative reporting state
- fix for mouse buttons not working in Cannon Fodder - added 'report mouse clicks as keys' code (this feature was missing and is used in Cannon Fodder)

[Jookie]

Main App – 2015-05-08:
- if you boot from config drive where the generated DESKTOP.INF is, you can now specify your required desktop screen resolution – in Config -> Others -> Screen res

CE_DD and bootsector – 2015-05-08:
- added a small delay with text before and after installing CE_DD in RAM, during which you can press a key to boot that drive letter (e.g. ‘A’ for floppy — useful for running games)
- added Mfree() when the CE_DD is not installed in RAM (either by pressed ALT or a boot drive letter) – without this around 65 kB of RAM was lost even when you didn’t let the CE_DD install in RAM, and some games then crashed with bombs (e.g. Missile Command)

[HuggyOne76]

Hi Jookie ! Juste a "very" little problem when tried to boot from drive A...
My french "AZERTY" keyboard doesn't want of my "A", I have to use "Q". Yes, you understand where is the problem ? I HAVEN'T A QWERTY KEYBOARD !!! LOL !!!
That doesn't really matter, but I prefer to let you know.

Bye everybody !

Edit : Oh... another little thing. This is only true with TOS 2.06, not with TOS 1.62. So, you can probably forget it, my Atari "4096" STE is perhaps too special (switch to change TOS when I boot).

[Jookie]

Too many things have been changed as there has been a lot of development around the SCSI version, so I won't go into details. Users of devices bought in 2014 and spring 2015 should not update yet as it has not been properly tested for their device (although it's almost the same), users of new devices (autumn 2015) might want to update. There will be more updates in the upcoming days / weeks as things need to be sorted out for the new devices.

I've also added a page describing switching between SCSI and ACSI interface:
http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=668

[alexh]

Looking forward to the update. What are the chances the SCSI version will operate with an Amiga SCSI controller?

[Jookie]

Looking forward to the update. What are the chances the SCSI version will operate with an Amiga SCSI controller?

Well, the SCSI should be the same, so it should work. The main problem here is the Atari software - most of the functionality is hidden there, so on Amiga without that it would be missing out a lot.