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+--- Thread: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue (/thread-976.html)
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RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - greg221b - 21-12-2025
Thanks SO.
I like the idea of using the monitor to test the interface.
Re Goteks - I have a couple in an A500 and A600. To connect one to a bee I would just plug it into the disk interface in the back of the bee - what else would I need to do?
I'm curious to see how it would go.
Greg
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - ChickenMan - 22-12-2025
A Gotek with Flashfloppy just plugs into the 34 way floppy connector in the back of the 'Bee. You need to supply 5v to the Gotek. You then just copy any Microbee *.DSK image to your USB key using your PC/Laptop/etc. A Gotek with a LCD screen fitted is, I feel, essential to make it easy to select the disk image you wish to boot. Also check whether the Gotek is set to A: or B: via its jumpers, change as needed, mine all initially came set to B:. I wrote it all up and its in the Repo, see gotek_drive_on_the_microbee.zip in the Documentation\Articles\Technical folder.
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - greg221b - 22-12-2025
Brilliant, thanks CM.
Your document looks great - I'm going to do it.
Greg
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - CheshireNoir - 22-12-2025
I'm another vote for Gotek here. Original media is great but Gotek is just so convenient.
John
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - greg221b - 23-12-2025
I'm with you John. I'm going to be quite limited on this machine without one.
The boot disk Ewan sent me works a treat with my 128K bee and CIAB drive. Thanks Ewan!
In case anyone here is taking a break from their Xmas atmos, I thought I'd bug you.
I've been reading the Microbee CP/M quick reference and Googling - I can't find what I'm after.
The Init program on this boot floppy has a Copy System Files option, but the bottom four options are unpopulated, so I can't format a new disk and copy BASIC.COM, CCP.SYS etc files to it. So, new disks are a bit useless.
Would anyone know if there's a way to either:
1) Copy/Transfer files from A: to a different floppy in A:? I tried A: -> B: - this doesn't work.
2) Modify the four unpopulated options in the Init command on the boot floppy to include BASIC.COM etc?
I saw a forum entry about using DDT and SAVE - perhaps I'll look into this more.
Thanks,
Greg
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - someone - 23-12-2025
(23-12-2025, 07:14 PM)greg221b Wrote: I'm with you John. I'm going to be quite limited on this machine without one.
The boot disk Ewan sent me works a treat with my 128K bee and CIAB drive. Thanks Ewan!
In case anyone here is taking a break from their Xmas atmos, I thought I'd bug you.
I've been reading the Microbee CP/M quick reference and Googling - I can't find what I'm after.
The Init program on this boot floppy has a Copy System Files option, but the bottom four options are unpopulated, so I can't format a new disk and copy BASIC.COM, CCP.SYS etc files to it. So, new disks are a bit useless.
Would anyone know if there's a way to either:
1) Copy/Transfer files from A: to a different floppy in A:? I tried A: -> B: - this doesn't work.
2) Modify the four unpopulated options in the Init command on the boot floppy to include BASIC.COM etc?
I saw a forum entry about using DDT and SAVE - perhaps I'll look into this more.
Thanks,
Greg
Someone is an old timer uses 56K CP/M CLI (CCP.SYS in its original form) with PIP (Peripheral Interface Program) or microbee CP to copy files between drives.
Note: SAVE copies memory pages to a file.
Note: ZSID is a Z80 version(ish) of DDT.
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - ChickenMan - 23-12-2025
(23-12-2025, 07:14 PM)greg221b Wrote: The Init program on this boot floppy has a Copy System Files option, but the bottom four options are unpopulated, so I can't format a new disk and copy BASIC.COM, CCP.SYS etc files to it. So, new disks are a bit useless.
Would anyone know if there's a way to either:
1) Copy/Transfer files from A: to a different floppy in A:? I tried A: -> B: - this doesn't work.
2) Modify the four unpopulated options in the Init command on the boot floppy to include BASIC.COM etc?
INIT your new disk to format and put a system & ccp.sys on it, thats essential to get started. Then put your boot disk back in and use PIP M:=A:BASIC.COM to copy Basic to your M: (memory) drive. Then PIP M:=PIP.COM to copy PIP to M: drive also. Replace your boot disk with the new INIT'ed disk and hit Control C. Move to M: drive and then type in PIP A:=M:BASIC.COM which will write Basic to your new disk.
Did the disk come with BACKUP on it, then run it with Source as A: and destination as A: and follow it instructions. Then boot that disk and delete all the file you dont want on that disk.
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - greg221b - 23-12-2025
Thanks CM.
The problem is that Init will not copy CCP.SYS to the new disk - it refuses to list/copy any of the four files (CCP.SYS, BASIC.COM, the two others
. The four entries below Copy System Files in Init have the phrase "-- unavailable option --" - this is where CCP.SYS, BASIC.COM etc should be listed (that's what I see when I run Init on my 256TC).
So, I can run PIP when I boot from the boot disk, but there's no CP/M (CCP.SYS) on the new disk (there are no files at all) - so I can't run PIP from the new disk.
BACKUP.COM is not on the boot disk - no joy there.
So, would you know of any way to insert references to CCP.SYS etc into the Init menu replacing the unavailable option entry?
Thanks,
Greg :|
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - ChickenMan - 24-12-2025
Sorry I dont know why the CCP.SYS option or the others are not available nor how to get them available. But what I would do after INIT'ing the System onto the new disk, I would then use the PIP option to put CCP.SYS & PIP.COM into the M: drive. Move to M: drive, replace orig boot disk with new System'd disk and do NOT hit Ctrl C then proceed with PIP'ing CCP to the A: drive. Then try booting that disk and if it boots, proceed with the PIP options above for Basic & PIP.
RE: Standard bee and CIAB drive booting issue - greg221b - 24-12-2025
Thanks again CM! Brilliant!
The key was to use the M: drive.
I used the transfer program in the shell to copy files via the M: drive - works well.But now, the 1.44M floppies I'm using are failing to work after a couple of writes - ugh. I'll buy some of those disks from ebay I reckon.
And get a Gotek.
Greg