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@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ RomWBW
Z80/Z180 System Software
Version 2.9.2 of March 18, 2020
Version 2.9.2
Friday 20 March 2020
Wayne Warthen wwarthen@gmail.com
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ RomWBW provides a complete software system for a wide variety of
hobbyist Z80/Z180 CPU-based systems produced by these developer
communities:
- Retrobrew Computers
- RetroBrew Computers
- RC2014
- retro-comp
@@ -73,12 +74,12 @@ The latest RomWBW distribution downloads are maintained on GitHub in the
RomWBW Repository. The fully-built distributions are found on the
releases page of the repository. On this page, you will probably see
both pre-releases as well as normal releases. Unless you have a specific
reason, I suggest you stick to the most recent normal (not pre-release)
release. Expand the “Assets” drop-down for the release you want to
reason, I suggest you stick to the most recent normal release (not
pre-release). Expand the “Assets” drop-down for the release you want to
download, then select the asset named RomWBW-vX.X.X-Package.zip. The
Package asset includes all pre-built ROM and Disk images as well as full
source code. The other assets called Source Code do not have the
pre-built ROM or Disk Images.
source code. The other assets are Source Code only and do not have the
pre-built ROM or disk images.
The pre-built ROM images will automatically detect and support a
reasonable range of devices including serial ports, video adapters,
@@ -105,44 +106,44 @@ files all end in “.rom”. Based on the table below, carefully pick the
appropriate ROM image:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Platform ROM Image File Baud Description
Platform ROM Image File Baud Description
---------- ---------------- -------- -------------------------------------
SBC V1/V2 SBC_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew SBC v1 or v2 ECB Z80
SBC V1/V2 SBC_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew SBC v1 or v2 ECB Z80
Zeta V1 ZETA_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew Zeta V1 Z80, ParPortProp
Zeta V1 ZETA_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew Zeta V1 Z80, ParPortProp
(optional)
Zeta V2 ZETA2_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew Zeta V2 Z80, ParPortProp
Zeta V2 ZETA2_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew Zeta V2 Z80, ParPortProp
(optional)
N8 N8_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew N8 Z180, date code >= 2312
N8 N8_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew N8 Z180, date code >= 2312
Mark IV MK4_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew Mark IV ECB Z180
Mark IV MK4_std.rom 38400 RetroBrew Mark IV ECB Z180
RC2014 Z80 RCZ80_std.rom 115200 RC2014 w/ Z80 CPU, requires 512K
RC2014 Z80 RCZ80_std.rom 115200 RC2014 w/ Z80 CPU, requires 512K
RAM/ROM module
RC2014 RCZ180_ext.rom 115200 RC2014 w/ Z180 CPU & 512K banked
RC2014 RCZ180_ext.rom 115200 RC2014 w/ Z180 CPU & 512K banked
Z180* RAM/ROM module
RC2014 RCZ180_nat.rom 115200 RC2014 w/ Z180 CPU & 512K native
RC2014 RCZ180_nat.rom 115200 RC2014 w/ Z180 CPU & 512K native
Z180* RAM/ROM module
Easy Z80 EZZ80_std.rom 115200 Sergey Kiselev’s Easy Z80
Easy Z80 EZZ80_std.rom 115200 Sergey Kiselev’s Easy Z80
SC126 SCZ180_126.rom 115200 Stephen Cousin’s SC126 Z180
SC126 SCZ180_126.rom 115200 Stephen Cousin’s SC126 Z180
SC130 SCZ180_130.rom 115200 Stephen Cousin’s SC130 Z180
SC130 SCZ180_130.rom 115200 Stephen Cousin’s SC130 Z180
SC131 SCZ180_131.rom 115200 Stephen Cousin’s SC131 Z180
SC131 SCZ180_131.rom 115200 Stephen Cousin’s SC131 Z180
Dyno DYNO_std.rom 38400 Steve Garcia’s Z180 Dyno Computer
Dyno DYNO_std.rom 38400 Steve Garcia’s Z180 Dyno Computer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
*The RC2014 Z180 requires a separate RAM/ROM memory module. There are
two types of these modules and you must pick the ROM for your type of
memory module. The “ext” ROM supports Spencer’s official 512K RAM/ROM
banked memory module. The “nat” ROM supports any of the thrid-party Z180
banked memory module. The “nat” ROM supports any of the third-party Z180
native memory modules.
RomWBW will automatically attempt to detect and support typical add-on
@@ -150,8 +151,8 @@ components for each of the systems supported. More information on the
required system configuration and optional supported components for each
ROM is found in the file called “RomList.txt” in the Binary directory.
All pre-built ROM images are simple 512KB binary images. If your system
utilizes a 1MB ROM, you can just program the image into the first 512KB
of the ROM.
utilizes a larger ROM chip, you can just program the image into the
first 512KB of the ROM.
Connect a serial terminal or computer with terminal emulation software
to the primary serial port of your CPU board. You may need to refer to
@@ -198,16 +199,19 @@ not been updated and the next time you boot your system, it will revert
to the system image contained in ROM. You may find that you are unable
to load the .com file because it is too large to fit in available
application RAM (TPA). Unfortunately, in this case, you will not be able
to use the .com file to start your system.
to use the .com file mechanism to start your system.
If you do not have easy access to a ROM programmer, it is entirely
If you do not have easy access to a ROM programmer, it is usually
possible to reprogram your system ROM using the FLASH utility from Will
Sowerbutts. This application called FLASH.COM can be found on the ROM
drive of any running system. In this case, you would need to transfer
the new ROM image (.rom) over to your system using XModem. The ROM image
will be too large to fit on your RAM drive, so you will need to transfer
it to a larger storage drive. Once the ROM image is on your system, you
can use the FLASH application to update your ROM:
the new ROM image (.rom) over to your system using XModem (or one of the
other mechanisms described in the Transferring Files section below). The
ROM image will be too large to fit on your RAM drive, so you will need
to transfer it to a larger storage drive. Once the ROM image is on your
system, you can use the FLASH application to update your ROM. The
following is a typical example of transferring ROM image using XModem
and flashing the chip in-situ.
E>xm r rom.img
@@ -240,9 +244,9 @@ device yet. Review the boot messages to see if any issues have occurred.
Once you are satisfied that the ROM is working well, you will need to
update the system images and RomWBW custom applications on your disk
drives. The system images and custom applications are matched to the
RomWBW ROM firmware in use. If you attempt to use a disk or applications
that have not been updated to match the current ROM firmware, you are
likely to have odd problems.
RomWBW ROM firmware in use. If you attempt to boot a disk or run
applications that have not been updated to match the current ROM
firmware, you are likely to have odd problems.
The simplest way to update your disk media is to just use your modern
computer to overwrite the entire media with the latest disk image of
@@ -286,7 +290,8 @@ The systems supported by RomWBW all have the ability to use persistent
disk media. I am referring to all kinds of disk devices including floppy
drives, hard disks, CF Cards, and SD Cards. Some systems have disk
interfaces built-in, while others will require add-in cards. You will
need to refer to the documentation for your system.
need to refer to the documentation for your system for your specific
options.
In the RomWBW bootup messages, you will see hardware discovery messages.
If you have a disk drive interface, you should see messages listing
@@ -318,7 +323,7 @@ an example of this:
C:=IDE0:0
D:=IDE0:1
You will probably see mroe drive letters than this. The drive letter
You will probably see more drive letters than this. The drive letter
assignment process is described in more detail later in this document.
Be aware that RomWBW will only assign drive letters to disk interfaces
that actually have media in them. If you do not see drive letters
@@ -336,13 +341,13 @@ is also explained later in this document.
Once you are seeing drive letters referring to your disk media, you can
follow the instructions below to begin using the disk media with the
operating system. Your disk media must be initialized prior to be used.
There are two ways to initialize your media for use.
operating system. Your disk media must be initialized prior to being
used. There are two ways to initialize your media for use.
You can initialize the media in-place using your RomWBW system. This
process is described below under Disk Initialization. In this scenario,
you will need to subsequently copy any files you want to use onto the
newly initialized disk.
newly initialized disk (see Transferring Files).
Alternatively, you can use your modern Windows, Linux, or Mac computer
to copy a disk image onto the disk media. RomWBW comes with a variety of
@@ -380,16 +385,14 @@ directory of the distribution. It is not necessary to run CLRDIR on a
floppy disk after physically formatting it – the directory is cleared as
part of the formatting.
Booting Disks
Once you have initialized a disk device and copied your desired files
onto it, you may want to boot directly to this disk device at startup.
On CP/M filesystems, you must perform one additional step to make a disk
bootable. Specifically, you need to place a copy of the oeoprating
system on the system tracks of the disk. This is done using the SYSCOPY
command. Let’s say you have prepared drive C: by initializing it with
CLRDIR and copied some files onto it. You can now make C: bootable by
running the following command:
onto it, you may want to make the disk bootable. On CP/M filesystems,
you must perform one additional step to make a disk bootable.
Specifically, you need to place a copy of the operating system on the
system tracks of the disk. This is done using the SYSCOPY command. Let’s
say you have prepared drive C: by initializing it with CLRDIR and copied
some files onto it. You can now make C: bootable by running the
following command:
B>SYSCOPY C:=B:ZSYS.SYS
@@ -408,10 +411,89 @@ Here is a full example of this process.
Transfer system image from B:ZSYS.SYS to C: (Y/N)? Y
Reading image... Writing image... Done
After successfully putting the operating system on the disk, you can
restart your system. When you get to the boot loader, notice the line
starting with “Disk:”. This line lists the disk devices that you can
choose to boot directly.
Once this process succeeds, you will be able to boot directly to the
disk from the boot loader prompt. See the instructions in Booting Disks
for details on this.
Disk Images
As mentioned previously, RomWBW includes a variety of disk images that
contain a full set of applications for the operating systems supported.
It is generally easier to use these disk images instead of copying all
the files over using XModem. You use your modern computer (Windows,
Linux, MacOS) to place the disk image onto the disk media, then just
move the media over to your system. In this scenario you do not run
CLRDIR or SYSCOPY on the drive(s). The directory is prepared and the
disk is already bootable, if it is an operating system boot disk image.
To copy the disk image files onto your actual media (floppy disk, CF
Card, SD Card, etc.), you need to use an image writing utility on your
modern computer. Your modern computer will need to have an appropriate
interface or slot that accepts the media. To actually copy the image,
you can use the dd command on Linux or MacOS. On Windows, in the “Tools”
directory of the distribution there are two tools you can use. For
floppy media, you can use RawWriteWin and for hard disk media, you can
use Win32DiskImager. In all cases, the image file should be written to
the media starting at the very first block or sector of the media. This
will destroy any other data on the media.
The disk image files are found in the Binary directory of the
distribution. Floppy disk images are prefixed with “fd_” and hard disk
images are prefixed with “hd_”. The floppy images are specifically for
1.44M floppy media only. Each disk image has the complete set of normal
applications and tools distributed with the associated operating system
or application suite.
The following table shows the disk image files available. Note that the
images in the “Hard” column are fine for use on CF Cards, SD Cards, as
well as real spinning hard disks.
Floppy Hard Description
-------------- -------------- ------------------------------
fd_cpm22.img hd_cpm22.img DRI CP/M 2.2 boot disk
fd_zsdos.img hd_zsdos.img ZSDOS 1.1 boot disk
fd_nzcom.img hd_nzcom.img NZCOM boot disk
fd_cpm3 hd_cpm3.img DRI CP/M 3 boot disk
fd_zpm3 hd_zpm3.img ZPM3 boot disk
fd_ws4 hd_ws4.img WordStar v4 application disk
In addition to the disk images above, there is also a special hard disk
image called hd_combo.img. This image contains all of the images above,
but in a single image with 6 slices (see below for information on disk
slices). At the boot loader prompt, you can choose a disk with the combo
image, then select the specific slice you want. This allows a single
disk to have all of the possible operating system options.
This is the layout of the hd_combo disk image:
Slice Description
--------- ------------------------------
Slice 0 DRI CP/M 2.2 boot disk
Slice 1 ZSDOS 1.1 boot disk
Slice 2 NZCOM boot disk
Slice 3 DRI CP/M 3 boot disk
Slice 4 ZPM3 boot disk
Slice 5 WordStar v4 application disk
Note that unlike the ROM firmware, you do not need to choose a disk
image specific to your hardware. Because the RomWBW firmware provides a
hardware abstraction layer, all hard disk images will work on all
hardware variations. Yes, this means you can remove an SD Card from one
system and put it in a different system. The only constraint is that the
applications on the disk media must be up to date with the firmware on
the system being used.
All of the disk images that indicate they are bootable (boot disk) will
boot from disk as is. You do not need to run SYSCOPY on them to make
them bootable. However, if you upgrade your ROM, you should use SYSCOPY
to update the system tracks.
Booting Disks
When starting your system, following the hardware initialization, you
will see the Boot Loader prompt. In addition, to the ROM boot options,
you will see another line listing the Disk boot options. This line lists
the disk devices that you can choose to boot directly.
You will notice that you do not have an option to boot a drive letter
here (like C:). This is because the operating system is not yet loaded.
@@ -447,83 +529,10 @@ failed to properly run SYSCOPY on the target disk or you have selected
the wrong disk/slice.
Note that although MD1 (RAM disk) and MD0 (ROM disk) drives are listed
in the Disk boot line, they are not currently “bootable” disks because
they have no system tracks on them. Attempting to boot to one of them,
will fail with a “Disk not bootable!” error message and return to the
loader prompt.
Disk Images
As mentioned previously, RomWBW includes a variety of disk images that
contain a full set of applications for the operating systems supported.
It is generally easier to use these disk images instead of copying all
the files over using XModem. You use your modern computer (Windows,
Linux, MacOS) to place the disk image onto the disk media, then just
move the media over to your system. In this scenario you do not run
CLRDIR or SYSCOPY on the drive(s). The directory prepared and the disk
is already bootable, if it is an operating system.
To copy the disk image files onto your actual media (floppy disk, CF
Card, SD Card, etc.), you need to use an image writing utility on your
modern computer. Your modern computer will need to have an appropriate
interface or slot that accepts the media. To actually copy the image,
you can use the dd command on Linux or MacOS. On Windows, in the “Tools”
directory of the distribution there are two tools you can use. For
floppy media, you can use RawWriteWin and for hard disk media, you can
use Win32DiskImager. In all cases, the image file should be written to
the media starting at the very first block or sector of the media. This
will destroy any other data on the media.
The disk image files are found in the Binary directory of the
distribution. Floppy disk images are prefixed with “fd_” and hard disk
images are prefixed with “hd_”. The floppy images are specifically for
1.44M floppy media only. Each disk image has the complete set of normal
applications and tools distributed with the associated operating system
or application suite.
The following table shows the disk image files available. Note that the
images in the “Hard” column are fine for use on CF Cards, SD Cards, as
well as real spinning hard disks.
Floppy Hard Description
-------------- -------------- ------------------------------
fd_cpm22.img hd_cpm22.img DRI CP/M 2.2 bootable disk
fd_zsdos.img hd_zsdos.img ZSDOS 1.1 bootable disk
fd_nzcom.img hd_nzcom.img NZCOM bootable disk
fd_cpm3 hd_cpm3.img DRI CP/M 3 bootable disk
fd_zpm3 hd_zpm3.img ZPM3 bootable disk
fd_ws4 hd_ws4.img WordStar v4 application disk
In addition to the disk images above, there is also a special hard disk
image called hd_combo.img. This image contains all of the images above,
but in a single image with 6 slices (see below for information on disk
slices). At the boot loader prompt, you can choose a disk with the combo
image, then select the specific slice you want. This allows a single
disk to have all of the possible operating system options.
This is the layout of the hd_combo disk image:
Slice Description
--------- ------------------------------
Slice 0 DRI CP/M 2.2 boot disk
Slice 1 ZSDOS 1.1 boot disk
Slice 2 NZCOM boot disk
Slice 3 DRI CP/M 3 boot disk
Slice 4 ZPM3 boot disk
Slice 5 WordStar v4 application disk
Note that unlike the ROM firmware, you do not need to choose a disk
image specific to your hardware. Because the RomWBW firmware provides a
hardware abstraction layer, all hard disk images will work on all
hardware variations. Yes, this means you can remove an SD Card from one
system and put it in a different system. The only constraint is that the
applications on the disk media must be up to date with the firmware on
the system being used.
All of the disk images that indicate they are bootable (boot disk) will
boot from disk as is. You do not need to run SYSCOPY on them to make
them bootable. However, if you upgrade your ROM, you should use SYSCOPY
to update the system tracks.
in the Disk boot line, they are not “bootable” disks because they have
no system tracks on them. Attempting to boot to one of them, will fail
with a “Disk not bootable!” error message and return to the loader
prompt.
General Usage
@@ -532,18 +541,18 @@ are sophisticated tools in their own right. It is not reasonable to
document their usage here. However, you will find complete manuals in
PDF format in the Doc directory of the distribution. The intention of
this section is to document the RomWBW specific enhancements to these
OSes.
operating systems.
ROM Disk
In addition to the ROM-based operating systems and applications, the ROM
also contains a ROM disk with a small CP/M filesystem. The contents have
been optimized to provide a core set of tools and applications that are
helpful for either CP/M 2.2 and ZSDOS. Since ZSDOS is CP/M 2.2
compatible, this works fairly well. However, you will find some files on
the ROM disk that will work with ZSDOS, but will not work on CP/M 2.2.
For example, LDDS, which loads the ZSDOS date/time stamper will only run
on ZSDOS.
also contains a ROM disk with a small CP/M filesystem. The contents of
the ROM disk have been chosen to provide a core set of tools and
applications that are helpful for either CP/M 2.2 or ZSDOS. Since ZSDOS
is CP/M 2.2 compatible, this works fairly well. However, you will find
some files on the ROM disk that will work with ZSDOS, but will not work
on CP/M 2.2. For example, LDDS, which loads the ZSDOS date/time stamper
will only run on ZSDOS.
Drive Letter Assignment
@@ -590,8 +599,8 @@ accessible to any of the operating systems.
Since storage devices today are quite large, RomWBW implements a
mechanism called slicing to allow up to 256 8MB filesystems on a single
large storage device. This allows up to 2GB of useable space on a single
media. You can think of slices as a way to refer to the first 256 8MB
chunks of space on a single media.
media. You can think of slices as a way to refer to any of the first 256
8MB chunks of space on a single media.
Of course, the problem is that CP/M-like operating systems have only 16
drive letters (A:-P:) available. Under the covers, RomWBW allows you to
@@ -607,10 +616,10 @@ devices, you will see that each device is allocated four drive letters.
Referring to slices within a storage device is done by appending a :n
where n is the device relative slice number from 0-255. For example, if
you have an IDE device, it will show up as IDE0: in the boot message
meaning the first IDE device. To refer to the second slice of IDE0, you
would type “IDE0:1”. So, if I wanted to use drive letter L: to refer to
the second slice of IDE0, I could use the command ASSIGN L:=IDE0:1.
you have an IDE device, it will show up as IDE0: in the boot messages
meaning the first IDE device. To refer to the fourth slice of IDE0, you
would type “IDE0:3”. So, if I wanted to use drive letter L: to refer to
the fourth slice of IDE0, I could use the command ASSIGN L:=IDE0:3.
There are a couple of rules to be aware of when assigning drive letters.
First, you may only refer to a specific device/slice with one drive
@@ -635,18 +644,18 @@ that yourself using CLRDIR. Since CLRDIR works on drive letters, make
absolutely sure you know what media and slice are assigned to that drive
letter before using CLRDIR.
While it probably obvious, you cannot use slices on any media less than
8MB in size. Specifically, you cannot slice RAM disk, ROM disk, floppy
disks, etc.
While it is probably obvious, you cannot use slices on any media less
than 8MB in size. Specifically, you cannot slice RAM disks, ROM disks,
floppy disks, etc.
Inbuilt ROM Applications
In addition to CP/M 2.2 and Z-System, there are several additional ROM
applications that can be launched directly from ROM. These applications
are not hosted by an operating system and so they are unable to save
files to disk devices.
In addition to CP/M 2.2 and Z-System, there are several ROM applications
that can be launched directly from ROM. These applications are not
hosted by an operating system and so they are unable to save files to
disk devices.
The following options are available at the boot loader prompt:
The following ROM applications are available at the boot loader prompt:
Application
------------- --------------------------------------------------------
@@ -670,8 +679,8 @@ The operation of the RomWBW hosted operating systems is enhanced through
several custom applications. These applications are functional on all of
the OS variants included with RomWBW.
The following custom applications are found on the RomWBW ROM disk and
are, therefore, globally available.
The following custom applications are found on the ROM disk and are,
therefore, globally available.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Description
@@ -703,7 +712,7 @@ are, therefore, globally available.
FLASH Will Sowerbutts’ in-situ ROM programming utility.
CLRDIR Format the directory areas of a CP/M disk.
CLRDIR Initialize the directory area of a CP/M disk (Max Scane).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some custom applications do not fit on the ROM disk. They are found on
@@ -728,9 +737,9 @@ identical for all hardware supported by RomWBW because RomWBW hides all
hardware specifics from the operating system.
Note that all of the operating systems included with RomWBW support the
same basic filesystem format. As as result, a formatted filesystem will
same basic filesystem format. As a result, a formatted filesystem will
be accessible to any operating system. The only possible issue is that
if you turn of date/time stamping using the newer OSes, the older OSes
if you turn on date/time stamping using the newer OSes, the older OSes
will not understand this. Files will not be corrupted, but the date/time
stamps may be lost.
@@ -777,7 +786,7 @@ Digital Research CP/M 3
This is the Digital Research follow-up product to their very popular
CP/M 2.2 operating system. While highly compatible with CP/M 2.2, it
features many enhancements. It makes better use of banked memory to
features many enhancements. It makes direct use of banked memory to
increase the user program space (TPA). It also has a new suite of
support tools and help system.
@@ -790,14 +799,14 @@ Simeon Cran’s ZPM3
ZPM3 is an interesting combination of the features of both CP/M 3 and
ZCPR 3. Essentially, it has the features of and compatibility with both.
Like CP/M 3, to make ZPM3 boot disk, you put CPM3.SYS on the system
Like CP/M 3, to make ZPM3 boot disk, you put CPMLDR.SYS on the system
tracks of the disk.
FreeRTOS
Note that Phillip Stevens has also ported FreeRTOS to run under RomWBW.
FreeRTOS is not provided in the RomWBW distribution, but is available
from Phillip.
FreeRTOS is not provided in the RomWBW distribution. You can contact
Phillip for availability.
Transferring Files
@@ -819,18 +828,18 @@ your RomWBW system. Then, you will use your modern computers terminal
program to complete the process.
The XM application generally tries to detect the hardware you are using
and adapt to it. However, you must ensure that you have a realiable
and adapt to it. However, you must ensure that you have a reliable
serial connection. You must also ensure that the speed of the connection
is not too fast for XModem to handle. Alternatively, you can ensure that
hardware flow control is working properly.
is not too fast for XModem to service. Alternatively, you can ensure
that hardware flow control is working properly.
There is an odd interaction between XModem and partner terminal programs
that can occur. Essentially, after launching XM, you must start the
protocol on your modern computer fairly quickly (usually about 20
protocol on your modern computer fairly quickly (usually in about 20
seconds or so). So, if you do not pick a file on your modern computer
quickly enough, you will find that the transfer completes about 16K,
then hangs. The interaction that casuses this is beyond the scope of
this document.
then hangs. The interaction that causes this is beyond the scope of this
document.
Disk Image Transfers
@@ -852,7 +861,7 @@ computer is:
This process is a little complicated, but it has the benefit of allowing
you to get a lot of files over to your RomWBW system quickly and with
little change of corruption.
little chance of corruption.
The process can be run in reverse to get files from your RomWBW computer
to a modern computer.
@@ -864,14 +873,14 @@ documents.
Note that the build scripts for RomWBW create the default disk images
supplied with RomWBW. It is relatively easy to customize the contents of
the disk images that are part of RomWBW. This is described in more
detail in the Source\Images driectory of the distribution.
detail in the Source\Images directory of the distribution.
FAT Filesystem Transfers
RomWBW provides a mechanism that allows it to read and write files on an
RomWBW provides a mechanism that allows it to read and write files on a
FAT formatted disk. This means that you can generally use your modern
computer to make an SD Card or CF Card with a standard FAT32 filesystem
on it, then place that media in your RomWBW computer and read/write the
on it, then place that media in your RomWBW computer and access the
files.
When formatting the media on your modern computer, but sure to pick the
@@ -897,23 +906,24 @@ and can be found in the Doc\Contrib directory of the distribution.
Startup Command Processing
Each of the operating system supported by RomWBW provide a mechanism to
Each of the operating systems supported by RomWBW provide a mechanism to
run commands at boot. This is similar to the AUTOEXEC.BAT files from
MS-DOS.
With the exception of ZPM3, all operating system will look for a file
With the exception of ZPM3, all operating systems will look for a file
called PROFILE.SUB on the system drive at boot. If it is found, it will
be processed as a standard CP/M submit file. You can read about the use
of the SUBMIT facility in the CP/M manuals included in the RomWBW
distribution.
distribution. Note that the boot disk must also have a copy of
SUBMIT.EXE.
In the case of ZPM3, the file called STARTZPM.COM will be run at boot.
To customize this file, you use the ZCPR ALIAS facility. You will need
to refer to ZCPR documentation for more information on the ALIAS
facility.
Note that automatic startup processing generally requires booting to a
disk drive. Since the ROM disk is not writable, there is no simple way
Note that the automatic startup processing generally requires booting to
a disk drive. Since the ROM disk is not writable, there is no simple way
to add/edit a PROFILE.SUB file there. If you want to customize your ROM
and add a PROFILE.SUB file to the ROM Disk, it will work, but is a lot
harder than using a boot disk.
@@ -929,10 +939,11 @@ a build script, but it is quite easy to do.
Essentially, the creation of a custom ROM is accomplished by updating a
small configuration file, then running a script to compile the software
and generate the custom ROM image. There are build scripts for Windows,
Linux, and MacOS to accommodate virtually all users. All required build
tools (compilers, assemblers, etc.) are included in the distribution, so
it is not necessary to setup a build environment on your computer.
and generate the custom ROM and disk images. There are build scripts for
Windows, Linux, and MacOS to accommodate virtually all users. All
required build tools (compilers, assemblers, etc.) are included in the
distribution, so it is not necessary to setup a build environment on
your computer.
The process for building a custom ROM is documented in the ReadMe.txt
file in the Source directory of the distribution.
@@ -978,6 +989,11 @@ Please refer to the UNA BIOS Firmware Page for more information on UNA.
RomWBW Distribution
All source code and distributions are maintained on GitHub. Code
contributions are very welcome.
RomWBW GitHub Repository
Distribution Directory Layout
The RomWBW distribution is a compressed zip archive file organized in a
@@ -1002,13 +1018,6 @@ are:
process or that may be useful in setting up your system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source Code Respository
All source code and distributions are maintained on GitHub. Code
contributions are very welcome.
RomWBW GitHub Repository
Acknowledgements
While I have heavily modified much of the code, I want to acknowledge