Archives of Genesis8 Amstrad Page from 1999 to 2024 about utility, page 13 / 15





Samdisk v3.2 by Simon Owen, disks tranfers

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SAMdisk v3.2 by Simon Owen is out.

The utility supports transfers between floppy disks and disk images, and is designed to work with almost any soft-sectored disk format compatible with the PC floppy controller, including some copy-protected formats.

Low-level floppy device access requires the fdrawcmd.sys driver to be installed.

Version 3.2 (2012-04-08)
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- Added general support for 1Mbps data rate, used by ED disks
- Added 1Mbps support to IMD images, using new track modes 6+7
- Added --tty option to output console messages to non-console streams
- Fixed crash reading gap data from oversized sectors (thanks Philippe!)
- Fixed crash using --verify when writing non-simple images
- Fixed gap data trimming when writing FDI+IMD images


GrafX2 v2.3, a graphical bitmap editor by Pulkomandy

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GrafX2 is a bitmap paint program inspired by the Amiga programs Deluxe Paint and Brilliance. Specialized in 256-color drawing, it includes a very large number of tools and effects that make it particularly suitable for pixel art, game graphics, and generally any detailed graphics painted with a mouse. The program is mostly developed on Linux and Windows, but is also portable on many other platforms.

GrafX2 v2.3 has been released in April 2011. It can of course be used to draw Amstrad CPC screens.



Samdisk v3.1 by Simon Owen, disks tranfers

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SAMdisk v3.1 by Simon Owen is out.

The utility supports transfers between floppy disks and disk images, and is designed to work with almost any soft-sectored disk format compatible with the PC floppy controller, including some copy-protected formats.

Low-level floppy device access requires the fdrawcmd.sys driver to be installed.

Changelog:

Version 3.1 (2012-03-18)
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- Added --repair option to help combine damaged image dumps
- Added write support for D88 images
- Added support for IMD mixed sector sizes
- Added record name from source basename, if no label available
- Added more file sizes for raw image recognition
- Added verbose track output for floppy->image dumping
- Fixed IMD creation using 500Kbps instead of 250Kbps
- Fixed bit alignment during IPF track wrapping
- Fixed converting images to BDOS format when setting label
- Increased --rescan matching distance from 32 to 64 bytes
- Updated to zlib 1.2.5, using zlibwapi.dll instead of zlib1.dll


The disk utility ManageDsk v0.20g by Demoniak is available

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ManageDSK v0.20g by Ludovic Deplanque is out. Its interface is available in english, french and spanish. It features :

  • create an empty .DSK file,
  • add files in a .DSK file,
  • extract files from an .DSK file,
  • rename files in a .DSK file
  • delete files in a .DSK file,


How to write a double side DSK for use on an Amstrad CPC

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To write a single DSK image file you can either use :

Beware, WriteDSK works on the CPC (you must have a PC 3,5" with the .DSK which will be copied on the same 3,5" drive or another 3" drive). It supports the CPC Booster by Antitec.

But if you want to write a double sided DSK, you will have to use CPCDiskXP by Mochilote for the moment.

P.S. : from the WriteDSK documentation, it should support double side DSK.



QuickCMD v2.3 by NoRecess

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QuickCMD v2.3 is out, a shell-based user interface by NoRecess.

This adds support for a new command history to be used through UP and DOWN keys (was requested by many of you !). Also, a critical crash has been fixed with ROMS command when listing ROMs having corrupted names. Another critical problem (involving stability) has been fixed with direct drive parsing. And finally, the RSX got renamed to |Q for even faster switching from BASIC to QuickCMD.

QuickCMD v1.0 in action




QuickCMD v2.2 by NoRecess

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QuickCMD v2.2 is out, a shell-based user interface by NoRecess.

These are the changes:

  • Added support for Bryce's MegaFlash
  • Renamed RO and RW commands to READONLY and READWRITE
  • Removed CRTC command
  • Reset screen to QuickCMD’s default if external RSX changed video mode
  • DELROM now clears a rom with &FF value (was using &00)
  • Fixed: was overwriting first byte after HIMEM
  • Fixed: not assuming anymore than Amsdos area is always at &A700

QuickCMD v1.0 in action





QuickCMD v1.0 by NoRecess, be lazy !

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QuickCMD v1.0 is a new utility by NoRecess. It's a shell-based user interface running on top of the system. Its aim is to provide a faster way to launchprograms. The idea actually came from a fact about NoRecess own usage of a CPC : most of the times, he turns on my computer to only execute CAT/RUN commands. He thought there were rooms to improvethat process :

  • a really fast text output (really appreciated for discs containing lots of files)
  • no need to type RUN" prefix anymore, simply typing a filename is required to execute a file
  • faster approach to execute a file : even if the pattern Shift+Arrows + copy/paste a filename + Control+LeftArrow + Control+Enter is handy to fast-launch files after a CAT command, I found myself more efficient to uniquely deal with program's filename
  • autocompletion : just type F then I letters then TAB key ; if FILENAME.BIN exists on disc then it will be automatically completed !
  • fully compatible with the system : you can launch BASIC as BINARY files the same way, you can quit to BASIC then getting back to QuickCMD, DIR command also supports Cat'Art, etc.
  • extensible command system : instead of typing a filename to launch, you can also specify a Resident System eXtension (RSX) ! By example, to launch HxC Floppy Emulator Manager, instead of getting back to BASIC and type |HXC, you just have to enter HXC as any other command. Parameters are also supported, so by example you can use default REN command or Arnor UTOPIA's COPY commands !
  • respect the system : if an external command use the classic char output routine (BB5A), then its output will be merged to QuickCMD's user interface. This is possible thanks to usage of hardware scrolling provided by the system.
  • handy shortcuts : pressing two times TAB key acts as a DIR, ESC two times acts as a quick exit to BASIC, etc.
  • history management ! It's working like MSDOS's DOSKEY does (use up/down keys)
  • auto-launch. When QuickCMD is installed on your system, it will get launched automatically after all other ROMs will get properly initialized
  • not intruisive : credits are voluntary kept hidden behind ABOUT command ; the aim is to provide a neutral program, not a front-end for personal advertising or whatever
  • clean, efficient and simple Z80 implementation using a mix of C and assembly programming language

QuickCMD v1.0 in action QuickCMD help screen



ManageDSK v0.18 for windows is out

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ManageDSK v0.18 by Ludovic Deplanque is out. It features :

  • create an empty .DSK file,
  • add files in a .DSK file,
  • extract files from an .DSK file,
  • rename files in a .DSK file
  • delete files in a .DSK file,


With your SDCard HxC emulator, select a disk image directly on the CPC

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First, you should download the latest firmware of the SDCard HxC floppy emulator, the v1.3.11.0 corrects some timing problems with Asic 3 (CPC+) and 4 (pre-CPC+), and some bugs. It's best to freshly format (FAT32) your SD card, then copy the *.upd and *.cfg to the card. Press Left and Right buttons before power up and keep it pressed at least 1 seconds at power up. Wait some seconds, it's done.

There is now an Amstrad CPC program to directly choose an image. This program (just run"hxc) is in the autoboot.hfe disk image. By pressing the middle button, the autoboot.hfe disk is automatically selected. It has been compiled with Small Device C Compiler and still need to be optimized (slow drawing using system calls). The program has been converted to a ROM by Krusty, but as the original program is changing fast at the moment, it could be a bit early to download it.

choosing a disk image directly on the Amstrad CPC with a SDCard HxC emulator




Cpcdsk and the Caprice Reloaded emulator

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Cpcdsdk is a project aiming to collect the various bit of existing sourcecode in one common place for the linux OS relative to the Amstrad CPC, add the missing features, and make life easier for all developpers :

  • The Caprice Reloaded emulator, with integrated assembler and debugger, for windows and linux,
  • gfx2crtc, a tool to convert pictures to the amstrad sceen format,
  • An imporved version of Ramlaid's cpctools, now running under linux, with (limited) support for usb floppy drives
  • A special version of STSound from Leonard, modified to emulate an AY3 more accurately (the original emulates the slightly different YM chip used in the Atari ST)
  • Hideur Maikeur by Downwater for handling AMSDOS headers
  • iDSK from sid for manipulating dsk images and files inside.


SAMdisk v3.0 by Simon Owen

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SAMdisk v3 by Simon Owen is out, it's a command-line disk image utility for Windows 2000 or later. The utility supports transfers between floppy disks and disk images (DSK/MGT/IMG/HDF), and is designed to work with almost any soft-sectored disk format compatible with the PC floppy controller, including some copy-protected formats. Low-level floppy device access requires the fdrawcmd.sys driver to be installed.

You can use a java GUI written by DevilMarkus : SAMdisk GUI.

This utility requires a floppy drive connected to a standard motherboard connector. USB floppy drives cannot be supported as there is no way to access their embedded floppy controller chip.



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