James, just checked the hundred or so email here. I don't think you ever ran any utilities to rebuild your REX did you? In some cases I send out software that retests and rebuilds REX, but if you never did that then it should be still "as shipped". steve
On Tue, May 26, 2015 at 7:59 AM, James Zeun <[email protected]> wrote: > I just looked back, here is the link. This guys board looks just like > mine, except I have more ram fitted > > http://www.mvcsys.de/doc/remem_install.html > > On 26 May 2015 at 12:52, James Zeun <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Steve >> >> Under other circumstances, say if we lived in the same country, I would >> post you the machine and the REX to you, no questions asked. But given the >> distance and the age of the M100, I dont think it would be good for the >> computer or my nerves. As I would be having kittens, wondering if it was >> going to get lost in the post. Plus there is the matter of shipping, I can >> see posting the M100 would be expensive. >> >> This is a totally new platform to me, while I know what a binary is, I've >> not really encountered HEX files before. Aside from HEX archives on the >> Macintosh Plus. My understanding of ROMs and checksums is not shall we say >> that good, in fact it's down right rubbish! The closest I've come to >> playing with ROMS is on a BBC Micro computer and even then i was only >> fitting them. So I think it is fair to say your knowledge on this subject >> surpassed mine in leaps and bounds. Which is probably why your building the >> REX and I'm not :-P >> >> I am very happy to post you the REX, as I would like to know what the >> heck is going on myself. Is my machine faulty? is the REX faulty? Are all >> European M100's built like mine? Could the REX not working in my machine, >> be an indication of an inherit incompatibility between US and EU models? Am >> I going to struggle with other expansion modules? >> One way or the other its all a process of learning more about these >> little machines. I've done a little research on EU M100's and found >> another guy here in the UK who has a machine like mine. I think I sent you >> a link / picture of it a while back. So we at least know mine isn't a one >> off. The guy in question was trying to fit something to his machine but >> discovered his mobo didn't match up with the US machines. >> >> The REX is installed like it is shown in the wiki page, with the two >> lines on the PCB lining up with the gaps in the plastic surround. I wont >> deny getting stung with the extra charges really wasn't great, since then >> it's sort of felt like everything that could go wrong HAS. It's been a >> struggle to keep up my enthusiasm but I do like using this little computer, >> it's leagues better then the Amstrad NC100 and other machines of that ilk. >> >> If you want to email me your address, I will sort out sending you the >> REX, is there any point me posting you the new ROM as well? >> >> Cheers >> James >> >> >> On 26 May 2015 at 12:00, Stephen Adolph <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> James, >>> Sorry, I thought you would understand that the 32k file is a binary >>> file, and the file you extracted from your now modified laptop would be hex >>> ascii. >>> And yes, the goal is for you to be able to verify that you got what you >>> asked for, and that involves confirming that your installed ROM matches the >>> binary that I sent. Does that clarify? >>> There are lots of things online to help you out. >>> I used winhex to convert your file from hex ascii to binary, then >>> compute the hash 16. Your extracted ROM has a checksum of A8AF - as >>> expected. >>> >>> So, as I said in the off list thread, I can't do anything further. You >>> have hardware that I have never seen, which could be defective for all I >>> know. It also could be a broken REX. >>> >>> If you want you can send REX to me on your dime and I can test it out. >>> If it is "no fault found" then I suppose you would want a refund which I am >>> fine with but you will need to contact Ken and understand what he is >>> willing to do. >>> >>> I am assuming that REX is correctly installed. Did you check that? >>> Please go to to the wiki to understand how to install REX. >>> >>> If you'd rather avoid shipping costs I'm happy to refund my portion of >>> this now. >>> >>> In the past I have had people send me their machines to debug, which >>> generally is a learning opportunity. But since you are in the UK and >>> already unhappy about the money you have spent, I'm not interested in >>> pursuing this option as there are no guarantees that anything can be made >>> to work for you. >>> >>> If I had more of these different UK machine data points, I would be >>> comfortable with saying that REX does NOT WORK in a UK machine. But, with >>> a data point of ONE unit, I don't think it is correct to make that >>> statement. >>> >>> >>> >>> ..Steve >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Tue, May 26, 2015 at 5:32 AM, James Zeun <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Hey guys! >>>> >>>> So since posting in April that I was having trouble getting REX to >>>> work, there's been a little progress, but not a lot. Stephen kindly >>>> supplied me with a ROM file that was compatible with the REX and using a >>>> company Kurt had told me about. I had a new System ROM burnt for my >>>> machine. >>>> >>>> The ROM arrived last week and after installing it, the REX still >>>> doesn't respond to the CALL63012 command. When I input that command, the >>>> machine locks up and only by pressing the RESET can I get it back. This >>>> also has the side effect of wiping clean the computers memory, which I >>>> thought was interesting, because pressing the RESET shouldn't do that. Only >>>> a hard reset zaps your ram (unless I'm mistaken?). >>>> >>>> Stephen asked me if i could do a system dump and compare results with >>>> (I believe) the original file he sent me. However I'm not entirely clear on >>>> the method he wants me to use, e.g Am I comparing the file sizes of each >>>> file or something more involved like comparing the contents? The latter of >>>> which I wouldn't have a clue about. The system dump I made over the weekend >>>> curiously comes to 64kb, while the image file Stephen sent me weights in at >>>> 32kb. I'm a little confused why the dumped file is twice the size, surely >>>> it should be the same size as the file Stephen sent me. >>>> >>>> File size aside, everything else about the ROM seems to work, except >>>> I'm still having issue with the REX. So either the fault is with the module >>>> or my M100, or there is something else about the EU M100 that makes it >>>> incompatible with REX. As its been established the motherboard and the >>>> system rom of my machine differ from US machines. The only part of that >>>> which bothers me, is compatibility. It just seems like bad business sense >>>> to make US and EU machines so radically different. that they can't share >>>> addon modules. >>>> >>>> Well thats the slog so far, big thanks to those people who have helped >>>> me on this. It sucks big time that it didn't worked out the box, but at >>>> least we know that EU M100's are funny buggers...well mine is at least! lol >>>> >>>> <http://www.buyicnow.com/it.php?i=72> >>>> >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> My retro tech blog and general ramblings >> http://bytemyvdu.wordpress.com/ >> > > > > -- > My retro tech blog and general ramblings > http://bytemyvdu.wordpress.com/ >
