How to config VHD for New Acorn Atom Core

[jca]

My apologies to everyone for the total misinformation I posted.
Stupidity has no limits.
I just revered FTPed my boot.vhd, mounted it under windows and surprise, surprise!!!!!!
My disk contains only the contents of the TD directory .
At some point, while playing with the command line and not knowing how to *RUN a file from a sub-directory I created a new vhd file containing only the contents of the TD directory and I named it? You guess right: boot.vhd.
Since then, each time I ftp my boot disk I upload that disk.
Using the proper VHD the Atom is back to life.
I was right on one thing: something was stored on MISTer.
The Atom did not decay but my brain sure did.

For those having the problem with Shit+F10 double, triple check your vhd. Who knows? THe vhd posted in this thread works very well.

[JamesH]

Just a data point. I fired up ao486 core, booted from FreeDOS ISO and mounted the boot.vhd downloaded from this thread. Ran defrag, no issues, no fragmentation, image is 100% healthy. Still no dice with Atom core. It goes a bit further with BBC mode (can read directory) but still fails when accessing the files.

Also tried to use a physical SD card with my digital I/O board. Got it detected and works fine.

I think we need to collect information about the hardware setups, perhaps the next step would be try it on bare DC10 first, at least without I/O board. If the boot.vhd works for you, do you have digital or analogue I/O board? Or no I/O board at all?

[kathleen]

@JamesH
I think you put the finger on the problem, after having read your post, I decided to use the external µSD card by preparing it via RUFUS with the FAT16 VHD that I have created where this image did not work when I tried to mount it.
And now BINGO, it works. so for me, maybe because I've the external µSD addon, it works but only if I use the external µSD card and while it does not work if I put the image on the main µSD.
So happy to see this nice screen, thank you for your help

[JamesH]

Good to know we found solution for those with I/O boards (finding SD card smaller than 256Mb was a challenge for me, though ).

Well, not so good news about further troubleshooting, I am afraid. I have completely disconnected my [digital] I/O board but it only made things worse. Without I/O board the core cannot even partially mount a VHD, *HELP always says "CARD TYPE: N/A".

[tontonkaloun]

New version of AcornAtom Core
- changed SD access to 8bit - allows SAVE and LOAD

[oldgit]

I have just placed an updated core in releases.
It now allows LOAD and SAVE as it should have done.
I also created a boot.vhd in Windows 10 disk management, Create, Initialise and format FAT32.
I placed all the AtomArchive folders and files on it and it worked.

I also formatted an 8Gb SD card with Fat 32 and loaded all the AtomArchive folders and files on it. Placed it in the 2nd SD slot on the expansion board and that works. One partition only.

Can someone who had problems with the original test this please. I cannot make mine not work so difficult to test.
Remember to take out the 2nd SD card if you have one.

[breiztiger]

IT WORK !!!

load boot menu at SHIFT+F10

but Disk fault sometime

good work

[tontonkaloun]

I have just placed an updated core in releases.
It now allows LOAD and SAVE as it should have done.
I also created a boot.vhd in Windows 10 disk management, Create, Initialise and format FAT32.
I placed all the AtomArchive folders and files on it and it worked.

I also formatted an 8Gb SD card with Fat 32 and loaded all the AtomArchive folders and files on it. Placed it in the 2nd SD slot on the expansion board and that works. One partition only.

Can someone who had problems with the original test this please. I cannot make mine not work so difficult to test.
Remember to take out the 2nd SD card if you have one.

Hello

Thank you for this work

[Alkadian]

I have just placed an updated core in releases.
It now allows LOAD and SAVE as it should have done.
I also created a boot.vhd in Windows 10 disk management, Create, Initialise and format FAT32.
I placed all the AtomArchive folders and files on it and it worked.

I also formatted an 8Gb SD card with Fat 32 and loaded all the AtomArchive folders and files on it. Placed it in the 2nd SD slot on the expansion board and that works. One partition only.

Can someone who had problems with the original test this please. I cannot make mine not work so difficult to test.
Remember to take out the 2nd SD card if you have one.

Thanks from me as well. I do love this core. It is such a joy to explore its library especially during the Christmas season as it reminds when I was a kid and I was constantly dreaming of new videogames/consoles

[lamarax]

718tw71.jpg (20.67 KiB) Viewed 6060 times

@oldgit you're ace! Meet you in the 'Atom forum' pages*

*sorry, there wasn't any dedicated press for the Atom before Acorn User came about

[kathleen]

Can someone who had problems with the original test this please. I cannot make mine not work so difficult to test.
Remember to take out the 2nd SD card if you have one.

1st of all, thank you so much for new release @oldgit.

I tested it on my side and the boot.vhd placed on the main SD card still does not work. I noticed this time that when I do a *HELP, sometimes I can see the card type being N/A and sometimes being SDHC but every time I get NOT READY or DISK FAULT after shift+f10.
Of course I removed the external SD card to make the tests. I replaced it (it is the same boot.vhd but written on the external SD card) and it works like a charm. I do not know if I'm alone still having this issue especially with the new core (I hope not, unless the Acorn Atom has something against the woman . I continue to use the external SD which is not really a problem for me but I wanted to keep you aware of the result of my tests.

[remowilliams]

I've noticed that the VHD has to be mounted/Shift F10 every time the core is loaded. I get an 'ERROR 102' trying Shift F10 after core load (with the vhd mount config saved)

I've been able to get to the main menu of the VHD image and load some things from the commercial category, some things throw disk faults. Not sure if there's any pattern.

VHD is on the MiSTers internal microsd.

[oldgit]

Release 20201229
I have changed the SD card access timing, could someone test this release please.
Thanks

[juandyzz]

Release 20201229
I have changed the SD card access timing, could someone test this release please.
Thanks

thank you very much!!! , now it works perfect from my side!!!
Regards

[JamesH]

This is great! AcornAtom_20201229.rbf works fine for me with all variants of VHD files (from this thread, created myself from scratch and created using blank.zip template).

AcornAtom_20201229.rbf, Bad Apple!

atom-ba.png (21.11 KiB) Viewed 7725 times

Thank you very much, Dave!

[oldgit]

*sorry, there wasn't any dedicated press for the Atom before Acorn User came about

There was 'THE ATOM' issue 1 august 1981 cost 60p for 8 pages rising to £1 in February 1982 for 15 pages.
Issued by Bug-byte software

[kathleen]

Release 20201229
I have changed the SD card access timing, could someone test this release please.
Thanks

Just tried on my side and YES YES YES, the release 20201229 works like a charm now with VHD or with second SD card. This is now perfect !
Thanks again for your hard work !

[lamarax]

There was 'THE ATOM' issue 1 august 1981 cost 60p for 8 pages rising to £1 in February 1982 for 15 pages.
Issued by Bug-byte software

Of course How could I forget BeebBug and their "user clubs"

Fact is, you've made a stellar job with the Atom core, which not even Mike Bibby could have done

*sigh* I maybe am older than you "oldgit"

[BlueIn2Red]

Has anybody had any luck getting the Atom Core to output to a CRT TV via RGB SCART please? I just get a blank screen (it does of course work fine via HDMI).

[akeley]

I just get a blank screen.

Same here.