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16610
East Laser Drive #10 |
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How do I transfer files to the SBC?
- Compact Flash
On systems with a Compact Flash adapter, the CF can be moved from the SBC to the host computer like you would with a floppy. There are three ways I am familiar with to connect a CF with your host development system:
- USB adapter - This has a USB cable with a CF adapter on the end. Under Windows the CF appears as the next available hard drive on the system. This is hot pluggable but the hard drive emulation is limited, you can't run fdisk as far as I know. Under Linux this is /dev/sda, This is also hot pluggable and you can use fdisk and dd and other hard drive utilties.
Note: Both Windows and Linux work better if you boot up with a CF installed in the adapter, you can hot plug after that, but just boot with one in there.....
- PCMCIA adapter - This looks like any PCMCIA card with the CF fitting completely inside the card. Under Windows 98, this is hot pluggable but the hard drive emulation is limited, you can't run fdisk but you can run syslinux and windows version of format.exe. Under Linux this is /dev/hde, This is also hot pluggable and you can use fdisk, dd, LILO, syslinux and other hard drive utilties.
Note: This is the most convenient and reliable in my opinion, if you have a laptop
- IDE adapter - This is a small PCB with a standard 40-pin IDE connector on one side and a CF socket on the other. You must change the CMOS settings on your host system, just like installing any standard hard drive. Any hard drive utility on any operating system should work fine with this technique, since the CF is an IDE device.
All of these adapters are available from Technologic Systems.
- Z-modem transfer
- Connect the host computers serial port to COM2 on the SBC.
- Run \util\dl from the directory where the file will download
- Use Hyperterm or Minicom on the host machine to send the file using Z-modem.
Description of dl.bat |
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\util\console /p:0 /q |
turn off console redirection |
\util\dsz port 2 pB16384 z pl16384 d rz -y |
start Z-modem download on COM2 |
\util\console /p:2 /q |
turn on console redirection on COM2 |
If you are using a TS-9500 with video/keyboard enabled don't use dl.bat, use dl-9500.bat so you won't change to console to COM2.
See FAQ on Zmodem problems for hints
AP-100 Application note describes console commands.
AP-101 Application note 101 describes Z-modem transfer.
If your host system can be configured as a web server, you can take advantage of the higher bandwidth of Ethernet to download files to the SBC.
Edit the "wattcp.cfg" file for your local network, you can use the DOS editor "ed.exe" See the getting started document for details. (text version)
run "htget.exe" with the proper command line parameters for your web server. The text document describing htget is in the ethernet directory.
example: htget 192.168.0.1
Allows the use of any FTP client package to transfer files to/from the SBC. The 2net FTP and web server software runs as a TSR which allows FTP or web connection to the SBC in the background, while a DOS prompt or any user program is running in the foreground. Requires Datalight ROM-DOS.
Allows serial connection to host PC. The Flash drive (A:) on the SBC will be mapped as the next available hard drive in the host system. See the Manf. mode FAQ.
Programs such as laplink, fastwire, fastlynx or PCanywhere should work also.
I have tested Fastwire and FastLynx using COM2 at 115K baud, both were reliable and fast and the slave executable that runs on the SBC is less than 40kb.
What version of DOS is pre-installed on all systems?
Each SBC ships with General Software ROM-DOS 4.04 pre-installed. Even when ordered with the Linux option, DOS-ROM is installed, perhaps just not used. Since it is free and useful it is always installed, even though it is no longer supported by General Software, nor has it been maintained in years. This version of DOS is functional enough for most users, it attempts to be MS-DOS 6.22 compatible and is successful in many ways.
What versions of DOS are available?
Other versions of DOS will run on Each Systems' hardware because it is PC compatible. Some versions of DOS are still under active development and have features like TCP stacks and web and FTP servers/clients available. If you require a different version of DOS on your system, Each Systems is considering selling and pre-installing other versions of DOS. Please contact us if you have an interest in purchasing other versions pre-installed (with proper licenses and appropriate fees, of course). Here is a list of other DOS versions that work with our SBC's
- Datalight DOS - This seems to be an excellent version of DOS with TCP stack and web/ftp software available. This DOS is under active development and works well. Datalight DOS has a per unit license fee.
- DR-DOS - This is another very good version of DOS, a lot like MS-DOS 6.22 with some good utilities and networking support. This DOS is not currently being maintained, but it pretty stable. DR-DOS has a per unit license fee.
- freeDOS - This is an open source version of DOS that is currently under active development. We have conducted limited tests on version 0.83 and it seems stable, although we had some trouble with the memory manager. There are a lot utilities being developed by the users of freeDOS, most should run on any version of DOS. This project is worth a look. This DOS is free.
How can I free up more lower memory for my DOS application?
Warnings - all products:
- Memory managers and linear Flash drives cannot be used together, you must boot to C: and not access the A: or B: drives. The best approach is to un-map the Flash drives in CMOS setup if himem and emm386 are required.
- The himem.sys and emm386.exe that come pre-installed with each embedded PC are limited versions that are provided with GS-DOS (see the GS-DOS manual for details). himem.sys is a limited version compared to full versions of DOS. emm386.exe is only capable of moving DOS and device drivers into UMB's. You have to be careful to include/exclude the right memory regions to avoid conflicts. If you need fully functional versions of these programs you may have to change to Datalight DOS-ROM, DR-DOS, MS-DOS or FreeDOS.
Easiest way to free up 100 KB - Use a better version of DOS
The default version of DOS which ships with all products is GS-DOS 4.04 which is somewhat inefficient in its use of lower memory. Using Datalight DOS, DR-DOS or MS-DOS will inherently free up about 100 KB more of lower memory than GS-DOS, without using any memory manager or sacrificing access to the Flash drives. This is the easiest way to free up lower memory, but will add $20 or more cost to each unit to cover the DOS license. Not including FreeDOS of course, which only frees up around 50 KB more of lower memory, but is free.
MS-DOS 6.22 using memmaker works the best of all the DOS versions tested.
TS-5x00 products - 586 processor
Add the himem.sys and emm386.exe device statements to the config.sys file so they will be loaded during system start up.
device=a:\dos\himem.sys
device=a:\dos\emm386.exe /I=C800-CFFF /I=D200-DEFF /X=A000-C7FF /X=D000-D1FF /X=DF00-FFFF
Note: With SRAM option installed:
device=a:\dos\emm386.exe /I=C800-CFFF /I=D800-DEFF /X=A000-C7FF /X=D000-D7FF /X=DF00-FFFF
Note: Use the /PS2 option when available to enable the PS2 compatible method of A20 gating (required for Datalight DOS)
device=a:\dos\himem.sys /PS2
Note: Datalight DOS and maybe others allow/require grouping of the regions like this:
device=a:\dos\emm386.exe /I=C800-CFFF,D800-DEFF /X=A000-C7FF,D000-D7FF,DF00-FFFF
Note: Loading DOS high causes DOS to crash, other drivers can be loaded high and will work.
TS-3x00 products - 386 processor
MS-DOS 6.22 EMM386 using memmaker is the only memory manager that tested good on our 386 products, all others exhibited serious flaws. This is different than DPMI, which works fine on our 386's
How can I make a bootable DOS-ROM floppy?
- Download DOS.zip
- Unzip into some directory C:\DOS-ROM
- Run C:\DOS-ROM\format a: /s
- The floppy will now boot to DOS-ROM from floppy
How can I stop autoexec.bat and config.sys from executing?
You must hit Ctrl-C at just the right time and the startup files will be bypassed. The perfect instant must be discovered between the display of the CMOS configuration box and the message "Starting DOS". It will work eventually, keep trying.
How do I use the console based DOS editor (ed.exe)?
We have ed.exe installed because it works over the serial console, and every other editor we tried wouldn't. If you have video/keyboard available you could use something more civilized.
ed is similar to the 'ed' version found on a Unix system. Ed has two modes:
- command mode (where you enter commands)
- edit mode(where you type text).
basic commands needed to know:
(default lines affected are shown in parenthesis)
(.,.)p |
prints out specified line(s) |
(.)a |
appends text after specified line |
(.)c |
changes specified line |
(.,.)d |
deletes specified line(s) |
. |
refers to current line. When in edit mode, on a seperate line by itself, exits edit mode and enters edit mode |
n |
move to specified n line number. |
$ |
specifies last line in buffer |
w(file) |
saves (write) file. defaults to currently open file if none specified |
q |
soft quit.. Will not exit program if file has not been saved after changes were made. |
Q |
hard quit. Exits program whether or not changes were saved. |
over ride defaults to affect more than one line. to print out entire buffer, type 1,$p To move to first line in buffer, type a period;to move to last line, type a dollar sign.
How do I create a RAM disk?
Edit the config.sys file to load the RAM disk device driver. This example uses 1024kB of extended memory as a RAM disk. The next available hard drive letter is assigned to the RAM disk, usually C:.
device=a:\dos\ramdisk.sys /kbtouse=1024
How can I use flashup.exe to backup/restore Flash drives? (A:\ & B:\)
Flashup is a DOS program that can save and restore Flash disk images. This is useful for production runs, because it can create exact copies of a Flash drive and copy it to other units. It is also useful if the Flash drive has been corrupted. To restore the Flash this requires a binary Flash image and another storage device such as DiskOnChip or Compact Flash for storing the image while running flashup. Send email to info@embeddedARM.com if you need the binary image sent to you, please specify the product and OS in use.
Read the application note about Flashup
Why is Zmodem download not working?
The Zmodem download program is "\util\dsz.exe". This program has trouble with the inherent latencies in the BIOS Flash drive routines. DiskOnChips and Compact Flash don't have these latencies and shouldn't have any problem. When using Zmodem to download to A: or B: you must specify the extended buffer parameters on the command line.
Here is an example: (all units shipped after Apr 2002 have this in \util\dl.bat)
dsz port 2 pB16384 z pl16384 d rz -y
This will download Zmodem on COM2 with carrier detect disabled and overwrites allowed, using the largest buffer sizes possible. This will only work well at 9600 baud on the 386 products. See the dsz manual on the floppy disk sent with each product for more info. (\util\source\dsz.zip). You can download floppy zip files from the product pages if needed.
Another option is to download to a RAM disk for debugging then copy the files from there to the Flash drive, this works very well and avoids any possible Flash corruption caused by aborted downloads.
Run "chkdsk /f" to correct problems caused by aborted downloads and to recover lost clusters.
If you are still having trouble, you could try downloading on COM1 so you can see the output from the dsz.exe program on COM2, this can allow you to see error messages that will help troubleshoot the problem. Use the command line above and change "port 2" to "port 1".
Why is my A: drive flaky, where did my disk space go?
If you are have problems with directory structures or are suddenly missing space on your Flash drive, there may be some corruption of the Flash file system. Run chkdsk with the 'fix' option to repair the damage.
chkdsk /f
The A: drive (and B: on TS-5x00) is an emulated floppy drive in the onboard Flash. The BIOS supports the standard interrupt calls for floppy drives and then translates this to/from the Flash chip. Since Flash chips have to write 64k bytes sectors any time even 1 byte is changed in a file, there can be some latencies in disk writes to the Flash drive. Programs must use the BIOS interrupts to read/write from the A: drive and do no direct hardware access since the hardware is emulated in software. It is a bad idea to do any data logging to the A: drive, power loss during write cycles can cause Flash drive corruption.