CPC Thread !!! - Page 3

Shatterhand · 27 October 2001, 23:27

I still haven't tried CPC 1943..

I love Silent Shadow, at least in the Speccy. The CPC version doesn't seem to be much different.

Amiga1992 · 29 October 2001, 01:46

Ukrul. 3.5 inch drive?

RetroMan · 29 October 2001, 01:48

Quote:

Originally posted by Akira
Ukrul. 3.5 inch drive?

Sure, very simple .... go read here : http://www.trans-it.de/cordes/amstrad/

29 October 2001, 02:02

And here: http://www.terra.es/personal/diegovp/

More info:

Posted by Chris at comp.sys.amstrad.8bit

You'll have to start with an old style floppy disk connector and then
massacre it. Cut everything after the first 5,25" connector off
(leaving a few centimeters of cable trailing. You will then have
something that looks like this (this is where the fixed width comes in
handy!)

II => PC's 3,5" connector
OIO => old style 5,25" connector
X => cut here

II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X

Now that you've got that you must remove the plastic blob on the 3,5"
connector that stops you inserting it the wrong way round. The reason
for this is that you actually want to insert it the wrong way around
(because the CPC's pins are reversed - I don't really know why!)

Now you should have the following: (impressive, huh!)

II => PC's 3,5" connector
OIO => old style 5,25" connector

II---34------RED-WIRE-------------1-----OIO----1-----X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II--------------------------------------OIO----------X
II----1---------------------------34----OIO---34-----X

Now for the cunning part:

You need to strip the following wires at the cut end of the cable-
1 & 2 - connect these together to provide a signal the CPC requires
to recognise the 3,5" floppy.

3 & 4 - connect these with an on|off switch. This is needed to swap
sides of the floppy disk (the CPC cannot do this automatically like
the PC).

23 & 24 - connect these with a second on|off switch. This is needed
to swap drive letters (i.e. make the internal 3" drive your drive B).
This is needed becuase some programs and games don't like being run
from the B drive (actually, I've even got some old PC software that
is fussy like that!)

As far as power supplies go, I'm not really sure what to do - at the
moment I'm using an old PSU from a IBM 486 PS/2. Perhaps I'll build
it a box or something...

Now it is ready to connect up... remember to connect the floppy drive
round the wrong way (!) and boot up the machine.

The CPC is not capable of recognizing high density disks, so you need
if you don't got no 720k ones, just fill up the little hole in the
corner and it should work fine.

This next little bit of info is from Simon Matthews (who I'm sure
won't mind me repeating it) and concerns file management...

############################################################################
|USER,0-15 selects a different user area (a bit like directories).
When you catalogue the disc, you only see files in the current USER
area (default 0).
When a file is deleted, it is placed in USER 229, so to recover an
accidentally deleted file :

poke &a701,229 (sets user to 229)
cat
load"deleted.bas" (for example)
poke &a701,0 or |USER,0
save"deleted.bas"

|ERA and |REN are used to erase and rename, but if your 464 doesn't have a
664/6128 basic chip (BASIC 1.1) then you have to be a bit longwinded

f$="deleted.bas":|ERA,@f$ will delete a file

o$="old.bas"
n$="new.bas"
|REN,@n$,@o$ will rename old.bas as new.bas (I think it's that way
around)

|A and |B select drive a and b, and I seem to remember that |DRIVE,0-1 will
do the same thing (totally superfluous, which is why Parados uses
|DRIVE to
enter the menu). Peeking and poking at &a700 also lets you change the
drive, 0 being A and 1 being B.
############################################################################

The next step is to get some software.

Most of the stuff that was ever released for the Amstrad is available
from ftp.nvg.unit.no/pub/cpc (/games (!)) and disk images can be
downloaded.

When you've got hold of one get this bit of software:
http://phenixinformatique.free.fr/load/cpdw103.zip

It's Ulrich Doewich's program which allows writing of these disk
images to floppy disks (the instructions are a must read before using
it! - I've also found it doesn't get along well with EMM386 on mine,
so booting to ms-dos 6 skipping all the startup files is a must!).

As I can't figure out how to initialize the disks for use on the
Amstrad I'm using this program (cpdwrite) to create a disk image and
then deleteing all the files. Perhaps not the totally correct way of
doing it...

As for a 5,25" drive, it should be just as easy as connecting the
drive straight into the CPC (remembering that it too needs to have all
pins reversed). You shouldn't need to mess around with joining wires,
however in order to use both sides of the 5,25" disk you will need to
cut new index and write protect holes on the left side.

RetroMan · 29 October 2001, 02:09

And maybe here : http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~iedowse/amstrad/

29 October 2001, 02:21

Quote:

Originally posted by RetroMan
And maybe here : http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~iedowse/amstrad/

Wow! I want that CPC!!

RetroMan · 29 October 2001, 02:24

well, except the 3,5" drive I got that kinda CPC here

but I really don´t care about 3,5", cause I got more than 100 3" disks and 150 5 1/4" disks with games for my CPC

And if I really want to transfer Software, I built myself a cable for the Centronics Port

29 October 2001, 02:28

Retroman = Luckyman

RetroMan · 29 October 2001, 03:04

Nope, I would be lucky (happy) if I get one of those 6128, cause I have the original of GUILD OF THIEVES and that one can only be played on a 6128, not on a 464 with memory expansion

But I´m on it

Amiga1992 · 29 October 2001, 19:34

That's not what I meant you two, I thought he was geting an official CPC 3.5 drive! I know I Can adapt a 3.5 to my CPC (I have to do this with my 6128).

Lucky for you its already modified

Retroman: buy a 6128 on eBay.. you can find them a=plenty. I got mine for 15 dollars, great shape.

RetroMan · 29 October 2001, 21:52

I know I can buy one from Ebay and btw. there was NO official released 3,5" drive from any company for the CPC, only for Amstrad Joyce and Amstrad PC .....

Shatterhand · 31 October 2001, 05:59

I've played CPC Silent Shadow for a little longer today...

It's more sluggish than the Speccy version (It runs in a lower frame rate), and it also seems to be harder than the speccy version too (I didn't remember there were SO MANY enemies coming from behind). Or maybe it's just harder because of the lower frame rate...

06 November 2001, 00:01

The CPC 6128 arrived and works like a dream.

- The A600 is dead long live the CPC!!

Amiga1992 · 06 November 2001, 19:37

You cant kill the A600 with paramecium alone!

Uukrul, I want pics of your stuff in teh GAme Room thread!

06 November 2001, 20:26

The CPC was my first love and you know that first love is always the best

BTW, Akira you MUST add a 3.5" drive to your CPC if you want a real computer and not that crappy Commodore stuff you love so much

About pics, I don't have a camera and 'para lo que hay que ver'

Amiga1992 · 06 November 2001, 20:37

Hehehe, ok, you might be right

I know about the 3.5 drive, I just have to adapt it, it's SO easy, but the problem now is that my 1084 monitor is DEAD So I cant even connect the CPC anywhere!

So, first I fix the 1084 (I will want to use my new MSX2 with it too!), then I adapt a drive

08 November 2001, 04:22

I'm crying now. After playing more than two hours with Dragon's Lair 2 I know - NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING + TM AKIRA + -

DL2 has the best music, graphics and gameplay that a CPC is capable of and only for 8$

Amiga1992 · 08 November 2001, 18:22

See, I don't talk from the ass mate, emulators are nice but they are NOTHING compared to the real experience

. As I said, like comparing going to a concert to listening to a CD recorded live at that concert. Nothing comes close.

My 1531 +4 datassette arrived, and so did my tapes. This is the first time I'm going to use tapes to load games!

RetroMan · 08 November 2001, 22:02

Maybe someone is interested

CPC Flood on a.b.e.m

get them all .....

10 November 2001, 02:42

Nope. Get all CPC disks (GoodCPC v0.999.3) at http://www.aceroms.com/cpc/cpc.htm

29 October 2001, 02:02	#44
Uukrul Posts: n/a	And here: http://www.terra.es/personal/diegovp/ More info: Posted by Chris at comp.sys.amstrad.8bit You'll have to start with an old style floppy disk connector and then massacre it. Cut everything after the first 5,25" connector off (leaving a few centimeters of cable trailing. You will then have something that looks like this (this is where the fixed width comes in handy!) II => PC's 3,5" connector OIO => old style 5,25" connector X => cut here II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X Now that you've got that you must remove the plastic blob on the 3,5" connector that stops you inserting it the wrong way round. The reason for this is that you actually want to insert it the wrong way around (because the CPC's pins are reversed - I don't really know why!) Now you should have the following: (impressive, huh!) II => PC's 3,5" connector OIO => old style 5,25" connector II---34------RED-WIRE-------------1-----OIO----1-----X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II--------------------------------------OIO----------X II----1---------------------------34----OIO---34-----X Now for the cunning part: You need to strip the following wires at the cut end of the cable- 1 & 2 - connect these together to provide a signal the CPC requires to recognise the 3,5" floppy. 3 & 4 - connect these with an on\|off switch. This is needed to swap sides of the floppy disk (the CPC cannot do this automatically like the PC). 23 & 24 - connect these with a second on\|off switch. This is needed to swap drive letters (i.e. make the internal 3" drive your drive B). This is needed becuase some programs and games don't like being run from the B drive (actually, I've even got some old PC software that is fussy like that!) As far as power supplies go, I'm not really sure what to do - at the moment I'm using an old PSU from a IBM 486 PS/2. Perhaps I'll build it a box or something... Now it is ready to connect up... remember to connect the floppy drive round the wrong way (!) and boot up the machine. The CPC is not capable of recognizing high density disks, so you need if you don't got no 720k ones, just fill up the little hole in the corner and it should work fine. This next little bit of info is from Simon Matthews (who I'm sure won't mind me repeating it) and concerns file management... ############################################################################ \|USER,0-15 selects a different user area (a bit like directories). When you catalogue the disc, you only see files in the current USER area (default 0). When a file is deleted, it is placed in USER 229, so to recover an accidentally deleted file : poke &a701,229 (sets user to 229) cat load"deleted.bas" (for example) poke &a701,0 or \|USER,0 save"deleted.bas" \|ERA and \|REN are used to erase and rename, but if your 464 doesn't have a 664/6128 basic chip (BASIC 1.1) then you have to be a bit longwinded f$="deleted.bas":\|ERA,@f$ will delete a file o$="old.bas" n$="new.bas" \|REN,@n$,@o$ will rename old.bas as new.bas (I think it's that way around) \|A and \|B select drive a and b, and I seem to remember that \|DRIVE,0-1 will do the same thing (totally superfluous, which is why Parados uses \|DRIVE to enter the menu). Peeking and poking at &a700 also lets you change the drive, 0 being A and 1 being B. ############################################################################ The next step is to get some software. Most of the stuff that was ever released for the Amstrad is available from ftp.nvg.unit.no/pub/cpc (/games (!)) and disk images can be downloaded. When you've got hold of one get this bit of software: http://phenixinformatique.free.fr/load/cpdw103.zip It's Ulrich Doewich's program which allows writing of these disk images to floppy disks (the instructions are a must read before using it! - I've also found it doesn't get along well with EMM386 on mine, so booting to ms-dos 6 skipping all the startup files is a must!). As I can't figure out how to initialize the disks for use on the Amstrad I'm using this program (cpdwrite) to create a disk image and then deleteing all the files. Perhaps not the totally correct way of doing it... As for a 5,25" drive, it should be just as easy as connecting the drive straight into the CPC (remembering that it too needs to have all pins reversed). You shouldn't need to mess around with joining wires, however in order to use both sides of the 5,25" disk you will need to cut new index and write protect holes on the left side. Last edited by Uukrul; 29 October 2001 at 03:29.

06 November 2001, 00:01	#53
Uukrul Posts: n/a	At last! The CPC 6128 arrived and works like a dream. - The A600 is dead long live the CPC!!

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27 October 2001, 23:27	#41
Shatterhand Warhasneverbeensomuchfun Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Age: 41 Posts: 3,450	I still haven't tried CPC 1943.. I love Silent Shadow, at least in the Speccy. The CPC version doesn't seem to be much different.

29 October 2001, 01:46	#42
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,644	Ukrul. 3.5 inch drive?

29 October 2001, 02:09	#45
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	And maybe here : http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~iedowse/amstrad/

29 October 2001, 02:24	#47
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	well, except the 3,5" drive I got that kinda CPC here but I really don´t care about 3,5", cause I got more than 100 3" disks and 150 5 1/4" disks with games for my CPC And if I really want to transfer Software, I built myself a cable for the Centronics Port

29 October 2001, 02:28	#48
Uukrul Posts: n/a	Retroman = Luckyman

29 October 2001, 03:04	#49
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Nope, I would be lucky (happy) if I get one of those 6128, cause I have the original of GUILD OF THIEVES and that one can only be played on a 6128, not on a 464 with memory expansion But I´m on it

29 October 2001, 19:34	#50
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,644	That's not what I meant you two, I thought he was geting an official CPC 3.5 drive! I know I Can adapt a 3.5 to my CPC (I have to do this with my 6128). Lucky for you its already modified Retroman: buy a 6128 on eBay.. you can find them a=plenty. I got mine for 15 dollars, great shape.

29 October 2001, 21:52	#51
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	I know I can buy one from Ebay and btw. there was NO official released 3,5" drive from any company for the CPC, only for Amstrad Joyce and Amstrad PC .....

31 October 2001, 05:59	#52
Shatterhand Warhasneverbeensomuchfun Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Age: 41 Posts: 3,450	I've played CPC Silent Shadow for a little longer today... It's more sluggish than the Speccy version (It runs in a lower frame rate), and it also seems to be harder than the speccy version too (I didn't remember there were SO MANY enemies coming from behind). Or maybe it's just harder because of the lower frame rate...

06 November 2001, 19:37	#54
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,644	You cant kill the A600 with paramecium alone! Uukrul, I want pics of your stuff in teh GAme Room thread!

06 November 2001, 20:26	#55
Uukrul Posts: n/a	The CPC was my first love and you know that first love is always the best BTW, Akira you MUST add a 3.5" drive to your CPC if you want a real computer and not that crappy Commodore stuff you love so much About pics, I don't have a camera and 'para lo que hay que ver'

06 November 2001, 20:37	#56
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,644	Hehehe, ok, you might be right I know about the 3.5 drive, I just have to adapt it, it's SO easy, but the problem now is that my 1084 monitor is DEAD So I cant even connect the CPC anywhere! So, first I fix the 1084 (I will want to use my new MSX2 with it too!), then I adapt a drive

08 November 2001, 04:22	#57
Uukrul Posts: n/a	I'm crying now. After playing more than two hours with Dragon's Lair 2 I know - NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING + TM AKIRA + - DL2 has the best music, graphics and gameplay that a CPC is capable of and only for 8$

08 November 2001, 18:22	#58
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,644	See, I don't talk from the ass mate, emulators are nice but they are NOTHING compared to the real experience . As I said, like comparing going to a concert to listening to a CD recorded live at that concert. Nothing comes close. My 1531 +4 datassette arrived, and so did my tapes. This is the first time I'm going to use tapes to load games!

08 November 2001, 22:02	#59
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Maybe someone is interested CPC Flood on a.b.e.m get them all .....

10 November 2001, 02:42	#60
Uukrul Posts: n/a	Nope. Get all CPC disks (GoodCPC v0.999.3) at http://www.aceroms.com/cpc/cpc.htm

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