[Freedos-user] Away from email
Hi everyone, A personal emergency has come up, and I'm going to be offline for the next few days, possibly a few weeks. Sorry. If news items come up, Eric Aitor have the ability to post news to the web site. I'll leave it to them to catch news items as they happen and get them on the www.freedos.org front page. Thanks, -jh - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] required BIOS services FAQ item
Hi Hans, I just updated my BIOS to report any unsupported INT/service calls, Can you give a short overview of your hardware and of the functions your BIOS already does support? :-) I cannot resist answering before the FAQ is up again (still needs config fixes after SF update) so here you go... It's also fresher. Enjoy :-). Here is the summary of the summary first: Provide 40:0e, 1e, 6c, 71, 96, int 08, 11-12, 1c (easy), set int 1e geometry info, int 10 func 0e, int 1a func 0-5, int 13 func 0-3/8, int 16 func 0-2, if 102+ keys FreeDOS also uses int 16 func 10-12 :-). Optional: int 13 func 5, d, 15-18, 41-43, 48 and int 14 func 0-3, int 17 func 0-2 - provide stubs! Int 15 functions 87, 88 and maybe c0, 24: HIMEMX but func 88 + A20 always on should be enough... Some extra 40:nn for keyboard and textscreen and more int 10 func and b800:0 make more apps happy. Overview BIOS services versus FreeDOS kernel: DOS overwrites int 20-2f and some others, some drivers assume the first IRQs to be at int 08-0f and the usual 8086 CPU exception numbers 0-6 are assumed. RAM usage starts at 50:nn or 70:nn, is tweakable. Int 1e floppy data and 40:6c timer should be more or less related to reality, also int 08 / int 1c. Core int 10 screen functions: 0e TTY, occasionally others (00 set mode, 02 / 09 cursor and print...) but DOS *apps* and shell may require some more. Config option screen uses int 10 func. 00 / 11. Core int 16 keyboard functions: 0-2 but if you do have 100+ keys you should also support 10-12, this is detected by testing 40:96 and 10 flag but you can force to 86 key compat mode with SWITCHES=/K. Core int 13 disk functions: 0-3 and 8, some more can return dummy values: LBA check, format, change check and similar... FreeDOS can probe drives 0-1, 80-87, be prepared to get probes for drives you do not have, simply return a suitable error code... The dummy-able other int 13 functions: 05, 0d (?), 15-18, 41-43, 48. Core simple functions: int 11 / int 12 / int 19 to get some flags / memory size / do reboot (optional). Int 11 and 12 basically only return a flag bitmask. Core communication functions: int 14 and int 17 for COM / LPT only used if they exist according to int 11. Int 14 func 0 to 3 and int 17 func 0 to 2 are used when accessing COM / LPT and when initing them. Core time functions: int 1a functions 0 / 2 / 4 at boot, functions 1 / 3 / 5 if you change date/time, also timer tick count at 40:6c and maybe int 8 / 1c. Minimal CPU: 8086, 286 or 386 depending on compile time option. Recommended is 386 with int 15 for ext RAM size info so you can use HIMEM for HMA and the XMS swap of our command.com :-). HIMEM might also use PS/2 A20 access and RAM copy (both int 15) and mouse drivers can use PS/2 int 15 mouse stuff... Several DOS apps will be happy if you have a text screen buffer at b800:0 and some of the 40:xx BIOS data. The kernel uses very little 40:xx data itself: IF you use the full screen config sys menu, you need int 10 function 02 and 06 and the 40:4a and 40:84 values. Using numlock / keybuf config sys OPTIONS modify 40:17 and 40:1a/1e and 40:80/82. EBDA move OPTION uses 40:0e / 40:13. Ctrl Break handling *uses* 40:71... Treating 1 drive as both A: and B: uses 50:04. Boot drive is at 50:e0 and timer tick is *expected* at 40:6c. The 50:xx are written by DOS but 40:xx are expected from BIOS. Eric - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] MS-DOS as open source? (was - Re: Games report...)
On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 8:51 AM, Travis Siegel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't know about opensource, but there are versions of msdos 6.22 source floating around on the net. It appears to be a complete source version, including things like qbasic as well as all the kernel code and such. Perhaps it's escape wasn't entirely accidental? In any case, I know that means it can't be used in this case, but the fact that it's out there would seem to indicate that ms might be willing to at least entertain the idea assuming appropriate individuals could be reached. Unfortunately, the MS-DOS source code release was a leak, and is not a sanctioned open source MS-DOS in any way. In fact, it would be dangerous for any FreeDOS developers to look at the MS-DOS source code, as then your code would be tainted and we would be unable to use it, or put the FreeDOS Project at significant risk. - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] MS-DOS as open source? (was - Re: Games report...)
Hi! I don't know about opensource, but there are versions of msdos 6.22 source floating around on the net. It appears to be a complete source version, including things like qbasic as well as all the kernel code and such. Perhaps it's escape wasn't entirely accidental? Still it would be absolutely illegal to use those sources for anything unless you are an employee of Microsoft... I am pretty sure the escape WAS accidental. I mean even if it was not, I cannot imagine anything more intentional than some frustrated employee neglecting the security of a computer which contained a copy of those sources. fact that it's out there would seem to indicate that ms might be willing to at least entertain the idea assuming appropriate individuals could be reached. I disagree, see above. Borland hasn't open sourced their pascal compiler, but they have released it for free on their museum page, perhaps... Yes. Quite nice. Also their Turbo C. On the other hand, they never released TASM and by now we have nice open alternatives such as OpenWatcom, FreePascalCompiler, FreeBASIC, NASM, JWASM. contact them and ask if it would be possible to include copies of tp55 with freedoss, it's likely they'd give permission Good question. We usually prefer to have open source with no limitations of for example commercial use in our distro. So if Borland (technology got sold once or twice since they put their stuff in the museum!!) prefers free for personal use or closed source, it is still nice and we will still be happy to put a link on freedos.org but I would prefer not to put Borland products on our ISOs in such a case. Eric :-) - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] BIOS services
Hi Aitor, Hans, a 286 or newer processor). If EDIT or KEYB fail on your 80186, try EDIT 0.7d and MKEYB, which should work even on 8086. Or use no keyboard driver at all (if you use US keyboard layout). Let us know if you find other programs which do not work on 80186 processors. FD-KEYB is supposed to work on 8088 (although not reports yet), where MKEYB does NOT, because MKEYB relies on some BIOS int15h... Oops sorry I remembered KEYB and MKEYB exactly the wrong way round! Thanks for letting us know that EDIT 0.9a is compiled for 8086 :-) I did not mean to make your programs bad - more trying to say if X should fail, you could try Y instead... Eric PS: My caches require 386+ because they need XMS: Only fdxms286 which is not extremely stable can provide XMS on 286, and I did not bother to make caches 286 compatible as they are rare now. - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] invalid opcode when loading mode
Hello, 2008/9/21 Eric Auer [EMAIL PROTECTED]: prompt $p$g set path=a:\dos set NLSPATH=A:\DOS\NLS set LANG=PT lh DISPLAY CON=(VGA,,1) Maybe vga,437,1 instead? LH makes no sense without emm386... I don't see in what sense will notifying that his machine is codepage 437 help out. From his AUTOEXEC he does not seem to be using codepage 437 at all, but 850 (unless in later operation he performs a codepage select of 437, that would, with his configuration, fail otherwise). I wouldn't use LH, because it is highly unlikely that you'll have an UMB as big as for almost the 64KB that DISPLAY needs to run (because it does not know beforehand how many buffers you'll need), even if after running it just uses about 11Kb (9Kb of which are data). mode con codepage prepare=((850) a:\dos\ega.cpx) mode con codepage select=850 a:\doskeyb br,850,a:\dos\keyboard.sys /ID:275 Try MKEYB instead, just in case. ??? Where do you see the hint that KEYB is behind this? He mentions that it is after he loads FDAPM. Wouldn't it be more sensible to advice him NOT TO USE an unstable kernel? In NONE of the reports so far such crashes have ever been reported as s bug of KEYB. Sincerely, Eric, I think it does not good to the project that whenever there's a problem you just suggest to use the programs that you prefer just in case, first of all because there is no relation between the bug reported and the programs you mention, and second, because you are bringing suspicion to programs to which you do not have a solid argument. From his configuration, he is configuring a codepage. The difference between FD-KEYB and MKEYB is precisely the support for the codepage management (present in FD-KEYB) as opposed to the smallest size of MKEYB. Aitor - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] invalid opcode when loading mode
Hello Eric! Am Sonntag, 28. September 2008 schrieb Eric Auer: How about COUNTRY=049,437 or COUNTRY=049 ... Thanks, I'll give it a try. As soon as my ancient i486DX-50 is running again... If the plan holds this will be next year. And it will be running FreeDOS and all those DOS programs I've missed for the past years. As for these past years I've just played around with FreeDOS in emulators such as QEMU, VirtualBox and DOSEMU. (After I stopped using Windows 95, which had DOS built-in.) But for the purpose - mostly great DOS games - DOSBox was more suitable. so you have no Euro sign in DOS tststs ;-) Back in the 90's there was no €uro. After the Millenium I was already with Windows, shortly after with Linux. I'm very happy with Gentoo Linux now. (Although I miss my old 4DOS environment a bit... And the games...) BTW I didn't like the zeros 0 in MS-DOS 4.01 - it had a dot inside the circle, DR DOS had the zeros crossed out with a line Okay so either this is a difference in your VGA BIOSes or you did use DISPLAY and MODE to load a MS or DR DOS font yourself. I think MS-DOS 4.01 had different CPI's compated to them from DR DOS 5.0 - but also, after removing the DISPLAY.SYS and MODE lines, the VGA BIOSes must have been different, too. Anyway, I was able (with a borrowed MS-DOS 4.01 - shhh!) to get the same font like my friend had (with the ugly zeros) after a fresh MS-DOS installation. DISPLAY.SYS and MODE was active at that time. Well, thank you, Eric. It was a pleasure! I'm looking forward to using my original 80486 PC with FreeDOS. Andreas. - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Looking for a word processor...
Skyler Orlando wrote: ...like Edit, but with word wrap. And, a substantially higher size limit, if any. (multiple MB) I've never seen anyone writing multiple Mbytes of *plain text*! Are you really sure, that this is what you want? Maybe other tools would fit much better. Does anyone know of one? Preferably menu-oriented, not like Vi. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~knassen/aurora.html is very powerful. Robert Riebisch -- BTTR Software http://www.bttr-software.de/ - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
[Freedos-user] Application crash
Hello. I have many silent and verbose crashes with Nautilus Digital Voice Communicator -- Version 1.5a. However, in the same time Nautilus works very well in DR-DOS. Will be 100% crash when 'NAUTILUS_CONFIG_FILE' variable are set or '-s arg' (port lock speed) and sometimes '-e arg' (cipher) arguments are present in command line. run-time error M6111: MATH - floating-point error: stack underflow Invalid Opcode at 0108 0017 00D0 037C 058E 00D0 1B04 08E4 DB1D 00D0 6698 00D0 -- D.A. id 0xC4D22CDD fp 8F52 8619 6918 DAE3 5E61 3146 C89F BDB8 C4D2 2CDD - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Cyrillic charset.
Hi Aitor, How difficult is it to change menu and controlkeys in Edir 0.9 to mimic M$ Edit in Portuguese? Alain Aitor Santamaría escreveu: Hello, 2008/10/1 Eric Auer [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hi! 1) I have discover strange behaviour in the 'FreeDOS Edit 0.7d'. When I type cyrillic 'п' (hex AF), then 'п' will disapper and 1-5 following symbols will stay invisible. I have a suggested patch for that but you can use it for EDIT 0.9 not for EDIT 0.7 now ;-). Please do the following: Edit the dflat.h file and modify the following two lines: If you read the release notes, EDIT 0.9a does already have your patch, so easiest thing: just use EDIT 0.9a. Regards, Aitor - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] invalid opcode when loading mode
Hi! It seems there was some delay in some emails here so some of my replies today might be out of context. lh DISPLAY CON=(VGA,,1) Maybe vga,437,1 instead? Sorry that was just a guess - basically because I use the VGA,437,1 setting and it works for me :-) From his AUTOEXEC he does not seem to be using codepage 437 at all, but 850 As far as I understood, the number mentioned when you load DISPLAY is about the hardware codepage, not about the codepage loaded by DISPLAY...? I wouldn't use LH, because it is highly unlikely that you'll have an UMB as big as for almost the 64KB that DISPLAY needs to run (because it does not know beforehand how many buffers you'll need), even if after running it just uses about 11Kb (9Kb of which are data). I believe it always needs only 11 kB as long as it has enough XMS to put those 64 kB? So and if you do not have XMS, you also have no UMB... What I am trying to suggest: If DISPLAY does not say to DOS (via the DISPLAY exe header) that it needs 64 kB then it will still work: Because either you have UMB - then you probably also have XMS - or you do not have UMB - then you load DISPLAY into low DOS memory which is almost always 400 kB or more :-). mode con codepage prepare=((850) a:\dos\ega.cpx) mode con codepage select=850 a:\doskeyb br,850,a:\dos\keyboard.sys /ID:275 Try MKEYB instead, just in case This was, again, just a guess. Wouldn't it be more sensible to advice him NOT TO USE an unstable kernel? True. I would suggest to use stable 2038 or 2036. Then the country sys filename option of the COUNTRY line in config sys will be ignored and CHCP will not work. But DISPLAY and MODE will still work fine and you have a stable kernel :) I think it does not good to the project that whenever there's a problem you just suggest to use the programs that you prefer just in case Sorry about that. It was more meant to say try replacing programs by other programs which do the same, it might help, and if it does not, then neither the original nor the alternative program are likely to be related to the original problem. In another situation I would probably have suggested to load no drivers at all... But then you no longer have your 850 font, of course :-). I did not mean to suggest that some version is good because I do like it and the other is probably broken because I do not like it. Sorry again, not my intention... Talking about alternatives: You can try both classic FreeDOS HIMEM and EMM386 and the japheth.de HIMEMX and JEMM386, or the both in one JEMMEX. Again not because I think that we have one good and one bad version. But it MAY be the case that changing versions has good influence on the problem :-) From his configuration, he is configuring a codepage. The difference between FD-KEYB and MKEYB is precisely the support for the codepage management (present in FD-KEYB) as opposed to the smallest size of MKEYB. Hmmm okay. You mean when using CHCP? But if you do use CHCP then unfortunately it requires the unstable kernel. On the other hand, giving DISPLAY / MODE / KEYB the right options manually already works without CHCP and with any kernel :-) Eric - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Application crash
Hi! I have many silent and verbose crashes with Nautilus Digital Voice Communicator -- Version 1.5a. However, in the same time Nautilus works very well in DR-DOS. Hmm okay. Will be 100% crash when 'NAUTILUS_CONFIG_FILE' variable are set or '-s arg' (port lock speed) and sometimes '-e arg' (cipher) arguments are present in command line. What do the -s ARG and -e ARG options port lock speed and cipher do exactly? Are they documented to be harder for DOS or hardware? run-time error M6111: MATH - floating-point error: stack underflow Invalid Opcode at 0108 0017 00D0 037C 058E 00D0 1B04 08E4 DB1D 00D0 6698 00D0 Hmmm floating point stack underflow or stack underflow? You can try a few of the following: STACKS=9,256 (or at most 16,384) instead of the 0,0 default Run CALC387 to check if your floating point behaves okay in FreeDOS in general - maybe also useful to use it at all before you run Nautilus Digital Voice Communicator...? Might be that DR DOS does some init which FreeDOS does not but CALC387 does? Try to use no or another emm386: FreeDOS EMM386, JEMM386, JEMMEX? Also read the docs for the compatible safe settings :-) Eric - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Looking for a word processor...
Hi Robert, ...like Edit, but with word wrap. And, a substantially higher size limit, if any. (multiple MB) I've never seen anyone writing multiple Mbytes of *plain text*! Well for example RBIL (intlist / ralf brown's interrupt list) is several MB, but you only want to view it, not edit it. PG can do that... On the other hand, even quite normal C or ASM source code files can be up to a few 100 kB and FreeDOS EDIT can only do a bit less than 64 kilobytes per file... www-personal.umich.edu/~knassen/aurora.html is very powerful. Eric :-) - This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100url=/ ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
