MGT SAM drive Manuale utente

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 2

This pdf by Steve Parry-Thomas

Version 1

03-Jan 2005

For Sam Users everywhere

www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk

Printed and Published by Miles Gordon Technology plc.

3rd edition

NO PART OF THIS MANUAL MAY BE REPRODUCED OR ADAPTED BY ANY MEANS,

UNLESS FOR THE PURPOSES OF REVIEW OR FOR THE USE OF THE OWNER OF

THIS MANUAL IN ENTERING PROGRAMS INTO THEIR SAM COUPE.

EVERYTHING IN THIS MANUAL IS OFFERED TO YOU IN GOOD FAITH, AND

MILES GORDON TECHNOLOGY plc WILL NOT BE LIABLE IN ANY EVENT FOR

ANY LOSS, HOWEVER ARISING. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ALTER THE

SPECIFICATIONS DESCRIBED HEREIN AND TO UPDATE THIS MANUAL AS

NECESSARY.

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 3

SAM DISK DRIVE

THE USER'S GUIDE

Contents Page

Disk drives - the basics 4

3.5" disks 4

Tracks and sectors 5

Installing your disk drive(s) 5

This is your disk drive calling! 6

Write-protect 7

The System Disk 7

The Menu screen 8

Making new system disks 8

Explanation of the menu 9

The Directory 10

Explaining the Directory 10

Saving a file and Verifying 12

Loading a file 12

Escaping from a program 13

Renaming a file 13

Copying a file 13

Making back-ups 13

Erasing a file 14

Short-cuts to loading 14

Wild cards 14

File-name extensions 15

More about formatting 15

Sector by sector copying - two drives 16

Short directories 16

Printing the directory 17

Protection - 17

-is not infallible 17

Hidden files 17

Reading and writing to a sector 17

DISCiPLE/PLUS D users 18

Snapshot files 18

Good housekeeping 19

Error messages 20

Drive variables 21

User Defined Graphics Design program 22

Index 24

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 4

DISK DRIVES –

THE BASICS

"Life is too

short to stuff

amushroom.

(Shirley Conran)

3.5" DISKS

Not so long ago, home computers didn't use

disk drives. The basic way to load in your

software was from cassette tape. This is

much slower than using a drive, but most

homes already had a cassette recorder.

Cassette loading made computers affordable.

But with computer memories - and therefore

computer programs - growing ever larger,

home users began to get irritated. Things

eventually reached the point where you could

brew more than one cup of tea while waiting

for software to load. That's why - for you

committed users - MGT has made it possible

to add either one or two disk drives to your

SAM Coupe.

Whether your software is on tape or disk,

the raw materials are the same. Information

stored in your computer's memory is

transferred to magnetic-coated tape or disk,

and can be placed back into the computer

memory (the RAM) whenever you're ready.

To find the file you want on tape you have

to start at the beginning and carry on until

the end, or until you reach what you're

looking for. But with a disk, you can move

the head (just like the stylus on a record

player) directly to the place you want.

There's no need for "fast forward" with a

disk.

You'll find the difference in speed

dramatic. SAM Coupe disk drives can store up

to 780K of data on a single disk, and you'll

be able to load even very large programs in

afew seconds. Say goodbye to the kettle!

Take a disk. No, not just any disk, but a

3.5" 135 tracks per inch (tpi) disk, because

these are the ones that you'll need for your

SAM Drives.

So why are they called disks when they're

square? Well, what you're looking at is the

plastic casing which protects the delicate

disk inside. You can see the disk if you

slide across the metal shutter at the top.

But don't do this if you're prone to

accidents: the actual disk is very sensitive

to finger-prints, dust, heat, liquids and

magnetic (or electrical) fields.

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 5

"Any sufficiently

advanced

technology is

indistinguishable

from magic."

(Arthur C Clarke)

TRACKS AND

SECTORS

INSTALLING YOUR

DISK DRIVES(S)

Now, a little theory. When you're using SAM

drives, the disk is divided into 80

concentric tracks. (Unlike an LP, there's

not one continuous groove: each track is

separate from the next.) And in turn, each

track is sub-divided into 10 sectors -

segments of a track. That's 800 sectors in

all, with another 800 on the other side of

the disk - 1600 sectors altogether. The SAM

Coupe uses 40 of the sectors to store

essential indexing, or DIRectory,

information, leaving 1560 sectors for your

programs. Each sector can store 0.5K of

data, which means that on a single disk,

your total capacity is 780K.

Not all computers work like the Coupe. They

may have different numbers of tracks or

sectors. This means that generally a disk

created by one make of computer cannot be

read by another make. And when you buy your

disks, the manufacturers have left them

empty of track and sector information, so

that they can be used with any type of

computer. Before you use them, you'll need

to FORMAT them - to tell them the correct

track and sector format for your computer.

But we'll come to this later.

First disconnect the power supply from the

Coupe.

Now set the computer in front of you. The

front of the machine is divided into three

sections. The middle section is a permanent

fixture. But the panels to the left and

right of the middle section are removeable.

When you take them off, they leave slots

into which the SAM Drives fit.

If you have only one drive to install,

you'll need to remove the left-hand panel.

Gently praise it off by exerting upward

pressure on the bottom of the panel. No

tools are required.

If you now look into the recess left by the

panel's removal, you'll see a connector deep

inside the computer, ready to receive the

connector on the end of your SAM Drive. Now

let's make sure you've got the drive the

right way up. The blue slot for your disks

should be uppermost, with the disk indicator

light and the disk eject button below.

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 6

THIS IS YOUR DISK

DRIVE CALLING!

Insert the disk drive into the recess and

press it home until the connection is fully

made and the front of the drive is flush

with the front of the computer. (You can

make sure of this by looking through the

slots in the base of the computer.) Now make

the connection really secure: take the two

screws from the SAM Drive packaging, and

screw them into the holes you'll find on the

underside of the Coupe towards the left-hand

side. FAILURE TO USE THE SCREWS WILL DAMAGE

YOUR DRIVE, but they MUST NOT BE TOO TIGHT.

That's one drive. If you're have two, do

exactly the same, on the right-hand side of

the computer. Now, you're all set up and

ready to go. Almost...

Turn the power back on. With your drive

installed, you might expect that you'd be

ready to start saving and loading with it.

But you're not yet. The problem is that the

computer needs to be told whether it's

dealing with a cassette recorder or a disk

drive.

Read and understand this section, but don't

do anything yet. We'll give you further

instructions in the next section.

DEVICE is the command which tells the

computer which storage device it's

communicating with.

Without instructions, the computer normally

defaults to DEVICE T - it assumes that

storage is to a cassette tape. To use disk

drive number 1 (the left-hand drive), you

could simply type:

DEVICE d or

DEVICE d1 or

DEVICE D1

and press the <RETURN> key as usual.

This would mean that all subsequent SAVE,

LOAD, MERGE and VERIFY commands would apply

to disk drive 1. To revert to tape or move

to disk drive 2 for a long session, you'd

simply type in DEVICE T or DEVICE D2.

But to save you typing DEVICE D at the

beginning of every disk drive session, we

give you a short-cut: when you press the F9

function key, the Coupe automatically sets

DEVICE D1.

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 7

WRITE-PROTECT

"I am just a

computer card –

do not spindle,

fold, tear or

mutilate"

(Berkeley

University

graffiti)

THE SYSTEM

DISK

"Build a system

that even a fool

can use, and only a

fool will want to

use it.

(Arthur Bloch -

"Murphy's Law")

In addition pressing F9 causes the system to

'boot'. Boot is computer jargon for: "copy

the Disk Operating System into memory, and

load and run an AUTO file if present."

If you have a particularly important disk,

you can prevent accidental erasure or

formatting. Turn the disk bottom side up. In

the bottom right-hand corner there's a black

switch. Use a finger-nail to press the

switch down, leaving a hole showing in the

disk. This write-protects the disk: you can

only load programs from it - not erase or

format the disk. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MASTER

SYSTEM DISK IS WRITE PROTECTED BEFORE GOING

ANY FURTHER.

The computer takes control of the disk drive

from a number of different points. SAM BASIC

contains the essential commands. But we also

store some of the control instructions on a

disk - the System Disk - and these are

loaded into the computer's memory at the

beginning of each session with a disk drive.

The advantage of this is that we - or others

-may later want to add new disk drive

facilities. By keeping some of the DOS (the

Disk Operating System) "soft" on a disk, it

means that we will easily be able to offer

upgrades without recalling machines.

Take your System Disk: make sure that it is

write-protected (see previous section). On

one side of it, you'll see an arrow. This

shows you how to insert it into your drive.

Press it fully into drive 1. You'll notice

that the disk eject button pops out of the

drive and the drive light goes on for a

moment. When the drive light switches off

press the eject button and you'll eject the

disk. Now push the System Disk back into the

drive.

Next, press the F9 function key. This sets

your DEVICE as D1 and issues the command

'BOOT' which tells the computer to load the

disk operating system (SAMDOS) into memory.

On the System Disk there is an AUTO file,

and when F9 is pressed this is LOADed and

RUNS giving you a menu of options. After the

list of menu options the number of disk

drives and how much memory you have fitted

is displayed. Your screen will look similar

to this:

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 8

THE MENU

SCREEN

MAKING NEW

SYSTEM DISKS

Sam Coupe Disk System 2

A-Backup Current Disk

B-Format New Disk

C-Demonstration Program

D–Flash!

E-Directory

F-Spectrum Emulator

G-BASIC Translator

H-UDG Designer

I-Font Loader

J-Screen Dump Loader

K-LOAD File by Number

L-Exit to BASIC

Disk Drives 1 RAM 256K

Enter Menu Option

If you haven't yet seen the Demo program,

type C to see a little of the Coupe's

potential. The demo returns you to the menu

when it has finished.

we said that your System Disk was important.

That's why the first thing you should do is

copy the System Disk.

Select option A from the Menu, and follow

the on-screen instructions, making sure that

you put a new disk in the drive where

requested to do so. The new disk will be

formatted (wiping out any information stored

on it, so only use a brand new blank disk).

After formatting the disk will be verified

to make sure that it is in good condition.

You will then be asked to place the source

disk (ie your System Disk, in drive 1). From

now on you will be asked to alternately put

in your target disk (the new disk) and your

source disk (the System Disk), until the

System Disk has been completely copied onto

the new disk. The process involves lots of

disk swaps because the disks store such a

large amount of data, (a 100,000 word

novel's worth with room to spare!).

Once the copy is complete a directory of

your System Disk is displayed on-screen.

Press the spacebar to get back to the menu.

You should remove your System Disk and put

it away in a safe place, (see the Good

Housekeeping section near the end of this

manual for disk care information). From now

on you should ONLY USE THE COPY of the

System Disk.

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 9

EXPLANATION

OF THE MENU

If you wish to create a disk which only has

SAMDOS on it, ie a disk which you can start

up the computer with but which has plenty of

room for your own work select option e,

using a blank disk.

ABackup Current Disk

This option will make an exact duplicate of

the disk in the drive. Use this option to

duplicate your master system disk.

B Format New Disk

Use this option to prepare blank disks for

use. It offers the option of copying SAMDOS

onto the disk. NB tracks on the disk are

numbered 0 to 79 on side 1 and 128 + 0 to 79

(ie 128 to 207) on side 2.

C Demo Program

Chose this option to get a taste of the

Coupes capabilities.

D Flash!

This is the professional quality art package

included with every Coupe. Refer to the

Flash! manual on how to get the most from

it. There are SCREEN$ files on the disk

which you can load into Flash! and work

with. Flash! saves screens to disk as CODE

files. If you wish to view a screen saved

from Flash! outside of Flash!, or load a

Flash! screen into your own program, load

the file as a SCREEN$ file, eg: LOAD"Astro2"

SCREEN$

E Directory

This option displays a list of every file on

the disk.

F Spectrum Emulator

This is the Spectrum Emulator program,

designed to allow you to run many Spectrum

48K programs on your SAM Coupe.

G BASIC Translator

This program will translate most Spectrum

BASIC programs into SAM BASIC.

H UDG Designer

This program allows you to create your own

characters, see the detailed notes further

on.

I Font Loader

This program loads in the international

character set.

JScreen Dump Loader

This program loads in a machine code

extension to SAM BASIC to allow DUMP and

DUMP CHR$ to work.

K LOAD File by Number

This will display a directory of files and

ask for the number of the file you want

LOADed. -

L Exit to BASIC

This clears the menu from memory and returns

you to the start-up screen.

SAM Coupe Disk Drive Manual 10

THE DIRECTORY

EXPLANING

THE DIRECTORY

Put your new System Disk back into drive 1.

As well as SAMDOS, there are several other

programs on the disk. If the menu is on the

screen select K. To see a list of the files

on the disk type: DIR 1 followed by <RETURN>.

From now on whenever you have a command to

type in we will print the command and assume

that you will type <RETURN> afterwards.

DIR displays on screen the DIRectory of the

disk drive which is your current DEVICE. If

you want a DIRectory of drive 2, type: DIR 2

You'll see a screen similar to this:

*SAM DRIVE 1 - DIRECTORY *

1samdos2 20 C 229385,10000

2 auto 7 BASIC 10

3 demo 30 BASIC 10

4 screen1 49 SCREEN$

5 screen2 49 SCREEN$

6 screen3 49 SCREEN$

7 screen4 49 SCREEN$

8 astro 49 SCREEN$

9 king 49 SCREEN$

10 flash 4 BASIC 9800

11 flash1 13 C 32768,57344

12 flash2 83 C 105312,42000

13 fontld 2 BASIC 10

14 font 1 C 21648,328

15 dumpld 2 C 20224,512

16 UDG Design 19 BASIC 10

Number of Free K-bytes = 472

Your screen won't look exactly like this, but

we've included most of the features you'll

come across later, so that we can explain

them here.

Each named item on the disk is a file. Some

files are BASIC programs, others machine

code programs, and others are screen

pictures. on each disk you can have as many

as 80 files, provided there's still space

left on the disk.

Most of the information on the DIRectory

screen is put there by the Coupe. The only

information you'll have to supply when you

create a file, is the file-name, which is

shown in the second column.

File-names can be up to 10 characters long,

in upper or lower case, or a mixture of the

two. File-names can include spaces too.

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