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2IN1 (Amstrad Action) | 2IN1 (USER MANUAL) |
How to invoke the ROM All parts of the 2in1 software system, both separately and as a whole, as well as all associated documentation, technical bulletins, including this manual, and all future releases, enhancements and upgrades of any or all of the above, are wholly copyrighted by Moonstone Computing, (c) 1987. All rights are reserved. Mo part of the 2in1 software may be copied other than for the purposes of personal security backup by the registered owner; no part of said software or its associated manuals or supplementary technical information may be otherwise duplicated or distributed by any person whosoever without the express written permission of Moonstone Computing. If copies of the software are made, these must only be for the purpose of security backup as described above. Only one such copy, or the original, may be in use at any one time. Multiple use licenses are available directly from Moonstone Computing. No changes whatsoever may be made to any part of the 2in1 software system or its associated manuals and technical information without the express written authorisation of Moonstone Computing; failure to observe this condition will immediately absolve Moonstone Computing of any and all liability for any subsequent use, and any consequences thereof, of any part of the 2in1 software system. IBM-PC and PC-DOS are trademarks of International Business Machines. (c) 1987,1989 Moonstone Computing Published by Moonstone Computing 1989 Printed in the U.K. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION APPENDIX A INSTALLING 2in1 A.1 Configuring the Terminal SECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION 2in1 is a powerful utility program which allows you to transfer files between an Amstrad PCW and an IBM PC, or close compatible - including, of course, the Amstrad PC1512. There are no restrictions on the types of files which may be transferred using 2in1 but it is expected that most users will U3e the program to transfer data files between word-processors, databases, spreadsheets and similar programs. The data produced by such programs is often in a format which can be used by a variety of different programs, running on different machines, and thus the ability to transfer this data between machines can often save considerable time and effort. This is particularly true where data produced by a number of different deépartments, using different machines, has to be collated and put onto one machine for printing or for further processing, or where the same data may be required by users with different machines. 2in1 makes all this possible, not only by allowing individual files to be transferred between 3" Amstrad discs and 5i" or 3J" IBM PC discs but also by allowing the SAME data disc to be used on BOTH machines. It does this by allowing you to create special 'dual-format' discs which can be used INTERCHANGEABLY between the Amstrad and a PC and which can be freely read from and written to just like any other disc! This feature was pioneered by Moonstone Computing and makes 2in1 unique among DOS CP/M transfer programs - we know of no other program which offers a similar facility. SECTION TWO - USING 2in1 in order to make use of 2in1 you must have a 5"¼ 40 or 80 track, or a 3"½" 80 track disc drive fitted to your Amstrad in place of the normal 3" second drive. Suitable drives can be purchased from us if required - these drives are easily connected to the Amstrad and we supply step-by-step instructions with each drive. Note that 2in1 will only run under Amstrad's CP/M BIOS version 1.4 (for a PCW8256/8512) or 1.0 (for a CPC464/664/6128). You can determine your BIOS version by looking at your computer's sign-on message when you boot. If you have a different version of CP/M, 2in1 will NOT run. If you find that you have an earlier version of CP/M, you should contact Amstrad themselves and request an upgrade of your CP/M and LocoScript disc to the current release; they will supply this free of charge. Please do NOT ask US for an updated CP/M -we CANNOT supply it! 2in1 is supplied on a XFORMATted XCP2 3" disc (for PCW8256/8512) or a standard 3" Amstrad Data format disc (for CPC6128), which 13 intended to be used in D,rive A. Each side of the disc contains the following files:
CPC users should backup the disc using DISCKIT3; PCW users should use XFORMAT (supplied with 2in1) to format a blank disc and then copy the distribution disc onto it. Before using 2in1 you may have to install it to cater for the particular type of disc drive you wish to use. The program comes already installed for an 80 track (96 tpi) disc drive (unless you have requested a special version). Installation for a 40 track (48 tpi) disc drive can be accomplished using the program 2IN1INST.COM - see Appendix A for full details. Because of the relatively small amount of program memory available on the Amstrad and because 2in1 is such a large and powerful program it has been split up into a number of smaller overlay file3. Each of these files deals with a particular 2in1 function and is loaded and run automatically from the main 2in1 program whenever the appropriate option is selected. Although all the necessary files reside on the same disc, and are loaded and executed as efficiently as possible, it is inevitable that some delays will be experienced when using 2in1. To overcome these delays it is recommended that you use 2in1 from a RAMdisc (Drive M on the PCW) if you have one, by transferring the necessary files from Drive A to the RAMdisc at the start of each session. This can be done using the PIP program supplied with your Amstrad. You will probably find it helpful to have a copy of PIP on your 2in1 working disc. This can be achieved as follows:
2.1 Running 2in1 2in1 requires CP/M Plus to be loaded before It can be run. To load CP/M, Just turn on (or reset) the computer and Insert your CP/M Plus disc. CP/M will then load In the same way as Locoscript, but will sign on and diplay a simple prompt -
Pile Transfer This option allows you to transfer files between a DOS disc in Drive B and a 3" Amstrad disc In Drive A. Alternatively, you may use a RAMdlsc (e.g. Drive M on a PCW) Instead of Drive A. Pile transfer can be in either direction, I.e. from DOS to CP/M or from CP/M to DOS. Dual Format This option allows you to create and manipulate special dual-format discs in Drive B. These discs can be used Interchangeably between CP/M and DOS.
**> Abort Operation (y/n) ? will then appear and pressing 'Y' will abandon the current operation and allow you to return to the Main Menu. SECTION THREE - PILE TRANSFER Selecting this option allows you to transfer files from CP/M to DOS and vice-versa. Piles can be transferred between a 3" Amstrad disc in Drive A (or a RAMdisc) and ANY standard DOS disc in Drive B. The following types of DOS discs can be used with 2in1: Single-sided 40-track with 8 sectors per track Single-sided 40-track with 9 sectors per track Double-sided 40-track wltb 8 sectors per track Double-sided 40-track with 9 sectors per track Double-sided 80-track with 9 sectors per track You needn't worry if you do not know which of these disc3 is used by your PC since 2in1 automatically adjusts itself according to the type of disc used. When you select the Pile Transfer option from the main menu the following sub-menu will appear: FILE TRANSFER MENU
Note that all file transfer operations take place using the root DOS directory. This means that files cannot be transferred to or from sub-directories. This restriction is necessary because of the limitations imposed by CP/M, and by some earlier versions of MS-DOS, which do not support sub-directories. In practice this should not be a problem since any PC which supports subdirectories will al30 provide the facilities to transfer files between these and the root directory. 3.1 Transferring files from DOS to CP/M If you wish to transfer file3 from a DOS disc to a 3" Amstrad disc then select option A from the Pile Transfer Menu. Amstrad disc in Drive A or to a RAM disc. After selecting the destination drive you will be asked to enter a 'filespec' for the files you wish to copy. This may be anything from a single filename, such as DATABASE.DAT, to a filename containing 'wildcards', such as *.DOC (this would specify ALL files on the disc which have the extension .DOC -see your Amstrad User Guide for a full explanation of wildcards in filenames). Simply pressing RETURN will allow you to specify all files on disc. The directory of the DOS disc will then be scanned to find if there are any files on disc which match your specification. If so then the number of matching files found will be displayed and you will be asked if you wish to copy them all. Answering 'N' will cause a list of all matching filenames to be displayed and you may select which of these you wish to transfer. NO MORE ROOM ON DESTINATION DISC FOR PILE(S)
If you have a PCW with a full-capacity, 368K RAM disc then this should be sufficient to hold even the largest DOS file since a standard 40-track DOS disc can only hold a maximum of 360K. Once you have such a file in the RAM disc you can then transfer it - using PIP - to a large-capacity CP/M format disc in Drive B. 3.2 Transferring flies from CP/M to DOS This option allows you to transfer files from a 3" Amstrad disc in Drive A to a DOS disc in Drive B. (Alternatively, you may use a RAMdisc as the source.) The sequence of operations which mu3t be carried out is very similar to that used to transfer files from DOS to CP/M, except that the source and destination drives are reversed. The process is Initiated by selecting option B from the Pile Transfer Menu. You will then be prompted to select the source drive (A or M) containing the files which you wish to transfer. Next you will be asked to Insert the destination disc into Drive B. This disc should be formatted to one of the standard MS-DOS formats BUT SHOULD OTHERWISE BE BLANK. (If it is not blank then any existing files on the disc will be over-written by the transferred files). When you have inserted the disc you will be prompted to enter a filespec, as In the previous section, and also the CP/M user number where your source files are to be found. This will usually be User 0, in which case you may simply press RETURN, but otherwise you must enter the user number (1 to 15) then press RETURN. After this has been done you may select Individual files for copying, as in the previous section, or copy all those files which match your filespec. You are then given the opportunity to add a volume label to the DOS disc if desired. The program will then proceed to transfer the chosen files to the DOS disc and you can then return to the Main Menu.
These options allow you to create and manipulate special 'dual-format' discs which can be used interchangeably between CP/M and MS-DOS. This means that you can use the same data discs to store files which can be used by both the Am3trad and a PC. All you have to do is to 'update' the disc (using 2in1) each time you transfer it to a different machine. The Dual Format Menu offers the following options:
Dual-format discs are specially prepared discs which can be used both on the Amstrad under CP/M, and on a PC, under MS-DOS. The format of these discs depends on the type of disc drive you are using. If you have a 5"¼ drive then you must use double-sided 40-track MS-DOS discs with 9 sectors per track and if you have a 3J" drive then you must use double-sided 80-track MS-DOS discs with 9 sectors per track. These are options D and E, respectively, of the Format Menu. Other formats, such as single-sided ones, are not suitable. If your PC uses 5i" discs but you are not sure in which format then you should be able to tell from the MS-DOS version number and/or the total disc capacity. All versions of MS-DOS from 2.0 onwards should be suitable but you can make sure by using a program such as CHKDSK to show the 3ize of your discs. If this is 360K then your discs are suitable for dual-format use - anything less than this means that you cannot use these discs in dual-format mode. Before you can use a disc in dual-format mode you must first 'prepare' the disc using option 'P' below. After this has been done you may use the disc under either CP/M or MS-DOS. When you have finished using it under one system and wish to use it on the other you must first 'update' it so that it will be recognised by the other machine. Because dual-format discs have a special format there are some limitations to what you may and may not do with them. Under DOS you will notice that you lose some space when using a disc in dual-format mode - the total free space on a newly-prepared disc becomes 2t7K under both MS-DOS and CP/M. Another limitation Is that you must NOT create sub-directories on the di3c but must only use the root directory to store files. This Is necessary because CP/M has no way of manipulating DOS-like sub-directories. There is nothing to prevent you from using sub-directories under DOS but they will NOT be recognised by CP/M - in fact you will be unable to update the disc for use by CP/M until you have removed all sub-directories from the disc. The only limitation when using a dual-format disc under CP/M is that you mu3t only store files in User 0. This is similar to the above limitation on the use of sub-directories and Is Imposed for the same reason of incompatibility between the two systems. As with sub-directories there is nothing to prevent you from using different user areas but you will be unable to update the disc for use by DOS until you have deleted any files which are not in User 0. You MAY use hidden and/or read-only files in both DOS and CP/M and these attributes will be recognised by both systems. 4.1 Preparing a disc for dual-format use This option 13 used to create dual-format discs which are suitable for use by both CP/M and MS-DOS. Each disc used must first be formatted to a standard MS-DOS double-3ided 40 or 80-track format with 9 sectors per track. This can either be done on a PC, using the FORMAT program supplied with your machine, or on the Amstrad itself using 2in1's format utility. When you have a blank, formatted disc you can then use this option to prepare the disc for dual-format use. Simply insert the disc into drive B when requested and press RETURN. The disc will then be checked, to ensure that it is of the correct format, and will then be 'prepared'for dual-format use. After this it may be used freely by EITHER CP/M or MS-DOS. Remember that you MUST 'update' the disc each time you transfer it between machines. This can be done using the 'update' option from the Dual Format Menu (see below) or by inserting the dual-format disc into drive B (on the Amstrad) and typing UPDATE. The latter action will load and run a special update program which will have been placed on the disc when it was prepared for dual-format use (of course you must first have set up the Amstrad to recognise dual-format discs in drive B - see section 4.3 below). It is essential that this file be present on all dual-format discs and thus you should NEVER attempt to delete it. It is stored as a hidden file and thus it will NOT normally be shown when you list the directory. Nevertheless, it IS still present in the directory and, although it has been made a read-only file for protection, it can still be deleted if you try hard enough! Note that dual-format discs also contain a hidden DOS file called RESERVED.CPM which must never be deleted.
4.2 Updating a dual-format disc for use by CP/M This option will allow you to re-use a dual-format disc under CP/M. You MUST use this routine after you have written to the disc using MS-DOS and then wish to use the disc with CP/M. Otherwise any additions or changes you have made to the disc will NOT be recognised by CP/M, and old files may be corrupted. Note that the disc must first have been prepared for dual-format use; this is done using option 'P' above. 4.3 Dpdatlng a dual-format disc for use by MS-DOS This option will allow you to re-use a dual-format disc under MS-DOS. You MUST use this routine after you have written to the disc using CP/M and then wish to use the disc with MS-DOS. Otherwise any additions or changes you have made to the disc will NOT be recognised by MS-DOS, and old files may be corrupted. Note that the disc must flr3t have been prepared for dual-format use; this is done using option 'P' above. 4.4 Installing the dual-format for drive B Before you can use a dual-format disc on the Amstrad you must first use this option to let the system know that It has a special disc in drive B. You will be asked to select whether you wish to install the format for a 5{" or 3J" drive and you should respond by pressing 5 or 3 as appropriate. The special dual format will then be installed and you may now exit to CP/M where you will be able to use dual-format discs in drive B Just as you would any other CP/M discs. 4.5 Restoring original format on drive B After having used dual-format discs in drive B you may wish to return to using standard Amstrad (CP2DD) format discs. However, these will no longer be recognised by the PCW since the system expects to find a special dual-format disc in drive B. You could of course re-boot your machine in order to restore the old format but selecting this menu option will save you having to take such drastic action.
Selecting this option allows you to access some utilities which you may find useful when using DOS discs. When you select the Utilities option from the main menu the following sub-menu will appear: UTILITIES MENU
5-1 Analysing a DOS disc This option gives technical information which will probably only be useful to those who have some knowledge of the structure of a DOS disc. Nevertheless, it can be used by anyone who simply wishes to have a 'look' at a DOS disc or to find out why a particular disc cannot be used by 2in1. As usual, you will be a3ked to insert the disc into drive B and press RETURN. When you have done this then, if the di3c is indeed a DOS disc, the following Information will be displayed: ; BIOS PARAMETER BLOCK (This particular display indicates a standard 360K double-sided DOS dl3c - other DOS discs will have different parameters.) You will notice that there are in fact two BPB3 displayed -ACTUAL and EXPECTED. The actual BPB is extracted directly from disc and contains information about the precise format of the disc. The expected BPB is calculated by 2in1 from a separate byte on disc known as the media descriptor byte. This byte determines the overall format of a disc, as shown In the table below: Media Byte ; Disc Format Normally, the two BPBs displayed will be exactly the same. However, some DOS discs may have slightly modified formats in which case the actual BPB will differ slightly from the expected one. 5.2 Displaying a DOS directory This option will save you from having to transfer a DOS disc to a PC if all you want to do Is examine the disc's root directory. In addition to displaying the normal files on a disc it will also list any hidden or system files present as well as the disc volume label and any sub-directories. The3e are displayed on the 3creen in the following order: 5.3 Formatting a DOS disc This option allows you to format DOS dlsc3 on the Amstrad without the need for a PC. When you select this option the following menu will appear: FORMAT OPTIONS
APPENDIX A - INSTALLING 2in1 This section describes the use of the program 2IN1INST.COM which is supplied as part of the 2in1 system. This program allows you to alter some of the defaults used throughout 2in1 to suit your particular requirements. CONFIGURATION MENU
A.1 Configuring the Terminal 2in1 can send control strings to the Amstrad's VT52 terminal emulator. If you want to have a special setup (perhaps you prefer to work In inverse video, for example) then you can reconfigure 2in1 provide this. When you ask to alter a terminal string, 2in1 will display the current contents of the string in hex and will prompt you for replacement input. If you simply press RETURN at this point, the string will be emptied. Otherwise, you may type in up to 15 bytes in hex, separating each with a space, tab or comma. Within a byte, DELete allows you to correct a mistake. You cannot move backwards in the 3tring or forwards other than by entering values. A.1.1. Terminal Initialisation string 2in1 automatically sends an initialisation string to the terminal emulator when it starts to run. A.1.2. Terminal Exit string 2in1 also sends a command string to the terminal emulator when you quit the program. If you want to ensure that the terminal is left in a particular state, then configure this string accordingly. The default string is a "Home and Clear" command -27h, 48h, 27h, 4Ah. If you have set the Terminal Initialisation string to produce inverse video then use the following Terminal Exit string to restore the screen to normal video on exit. A full list of permissible terminal commands can be found in the appropriate section of your Amstrad User Guide. A.2 Configuring the Disc Drive This option allows you to alter the parameter which specifies the type of disc drive you have attached to your Amstrad. For normal operation of 2In1 - EVEN WHEN USING A 40 TRACK FORMAT - Drive Type should be left set to 80 TRACK. 2in1 will automatically compensate and force the BIOS to double-step when a 40 track format is Installed with an 80 track disc drive. There is normally NO need to alter this parameter -though doing so will do no harm. For convenience, if you have a switchable drive, leave both this parameter and the disc drive set to 80 track at all times. A.3 Configuring the RAM Disc This option allows you to specify the CP/M designation of the temporary drive that 2in1 will allow you to use as a RAM disc. On a PCW this will normally be configured to be Drive M while a CPC version of MP0 will normally have this default set to None. On a CPC, you might want to change this if you have a third-party add-on RAMdisc and want the same benefits of speed and temporary storage capacity that PCW owners have. However, please note that 2in1 offers no specific support for any available CPC RAMdisc units, and will only work with drivers which do not compete for the same memory and system functions used by 2in1. 2in1 performs all disc I/O using BDOS functions, and so a properly written CP/M Plus device driver RSX should be compatible. Again, however, please note that non-Amstrad hard disc BlOSes may well themselves not be compatible with 2in1 at all. |
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