DeltaDon
Veteran Member
Wanted a 5.25" Epson QX-16 formatted copy of MS-DOS. (Most likely 2.11 or 3.0 and the QX-16 is not PC compatible and also uses a different disk format)
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WTD: MS-DOS for Epson QX-16
- Thread starter DeltaDon
- Start date
smbaker
Experienced Member
If the same version works for the QX-10, with a Titan II board, I want it too! :D
(My Titan II board tests good, but then throws an error when it goes to boot off DOS. Not sure if this is a problem with my board itself, or that it's rejecting the format of the DOS disk)
(My Titan II board tests good, but then throws an error when it goes to boot off DOS. Not sure if this is a problem with my board itself, or that it's rejecting the format of the DOS disk)
DeltaDon
Veteran Member
Scott,
I have 2/3 of a DOS disk set (missing #1 the most important one) for the QX-16 One is bootable and the other has misc. files. I'm missing the main disk with all the utilities such as format, copy & etc. So I can boot to the c: prompt, but can't do much else. I don't know if there was a utility on disk #1 to allow reading a CP/M disk, but plain old QX MSDOS can't read CP/M formatted disks. I should be able to make flux level copies using my Supercard Pro and if I'm successful I'll get you copies.
Don
I have 2/3 of a DOS disk set (missing #1 the most important one) for the QX-16 One is bootable and the other has misc. files. I'm missing the main disk with all the utilities such as format, copy & etc. So I can boot to the c: prompt, but can't do much else. I don't know if there was a utility on disk #1 to allow reading a CP/M disk, but plain old QX MSDOS can't read CP/M formatted disks. I should be able to make flux level copies using my Supercard Pro and if I'm successful I'll get you copies.
Don
smbaker
Experienced Member
That would be awesome, Don!
Scott
Scott
DeltaDon
Veteran Member
Scott,
I just thought of a possible issue. My QX-16 has quad density drives and I'm not sure from memory if the DOS disks are quad or double density. I'll need a day or two to set up the QX and see plus if double density I'll need a day or so to make copies.
I also ran into a pause with the HDD cards. My 20 pin sockets I had here turned into 18 pin sockets when I wasn't looking. <G> So I had to order some 20 pin'ers from Mouser. I thought about building the 1st one without sockets, but figure Murphy would get me and I'd lose more time removing dead IC's than I'd gain by taking the short cut.
Any thoughts on if the QX-16 running DOS can read the CF card file system set up under CP/M? I assume that Epson must have had some way of allowing text and other files to be passed from one OS to the other. Or did they use one logical drive for DOS and a second for CP/M and not worry about passing data. Perhaps on the missing key floppy diskette? I guess I'll find out in a few days.
Don
I just thought of a possible issue. My QX-16 has quad density drives and I'm not sure from memory if the DOS disks are quad or double density. I'll need a day or two to set up the QX and see plus if double density I'll need a day or so to make copies.
I also ran into a pause with the HDD cards. My 20 pin sockets I had here turned into 18 pin sockets when I wasn't looking. <G> So I had to order some 20 pin'ers from Mouser. I thought about building the 1st one without sockets, but figure Murphy would get me and I'd lose more time removing dead IC's than I'd gain by taking the short cut.
Any thoughts on if the QX-16 running DOS can read the CF card file system set up under CP/M? I assume that Epson must have had some way of allowing text and other files to be passed from one OS to the other. Or did they use one logical drive for DOS and a second for CP/M and not worry about passing data. Perhaps on the missing key floppy diskette? I guess I'll find out in a few days.
Don
smbaker
Experienced Member
When I run out of normal 20-pin sockets, sometimes I break out my extra-special 20-pin sockets.
I'm not sure whether the IDE board will work in DOS-mode or not. The "HDPART.COM" tool does have an options to create partitions for DOS, so certainly it was intended to, but I'm not sure if some additional BIOS will need to be patched (you do need to use my patched CPM22.SYS; IDE is just ever-so-slightly different from the WD1002 controller in the comrex). These would have been separate partitions, and I think CP/M and DOS would have been unable to see or understand each others partitions. HDPART can also make a "Valdocs 2" partition, so apparently some variant of valdocs used yet another file system format.
Anxious to hear how your IDE board turn out.
Scott
I'm not sure whether the IDE board will work in DOS-mode or not. The "HDPART.COM" tool does have an options to create partitions for DOS, so certainly it was intended to, but I'm not sure if some additional BIOS will need to be patched (you do need to use my patched CPM22.SYS; IDE is just ever-so-slightly different from the WD1002 controller in the comrex). These would have been separate partitions, and I think CP/M and DOS would have been unable to see or understand each others partitions. HDPART can also make a "Valdocs 2" partition, so apparently some variant of valdocs used yet another file system format.
Anxious to hear how your IDE board turn out.
Scott
DeltaDon
Veteran Member
Scott,
I've done your special socket stretching method a few times in the past. I've also cut up 40 pin sockets, but then again in the past I've cut off one side of a broken laptop SODIMM socket to fix another SODIMM socket with the retaining tab broken off or if it suffered a few crunched contacts. Ask me about soldering new legs on a $0.20 TTL chip because I was too cheap to toss it away. I still have a few hundred reclaimed TTL and DRAM chips taken off old mini/mainframe boards purchased back in my early days. These days I tend to order and wait. <G> Mouser should have the sockets to me by Wednesday or Thursday. Meanwhile I'll solder on the CF sockets and other components. I'll get back to you as soon as I have one board finished and tested in the QX-16. I've got to do a search for your modified CPM22.SYS file to have it handy for that.
Don
I've done your special socket stretching method a few times in the past. I've also cut up 40 pin sockets, but then again in the past I've cut off one side of a broken laptop SODIMM socket to fix another SODIMM socket with the retaining tab broken off or if it suffered a few crunched contacts. Ask me about soldering new legs on a $0.20 TTL chip because I was too cheap to toss it away. I still have a few hundred reclaimed TTL and DRAM chips taken off old mini/mainframe boards purchased back in my early days. These days I tend to order and wait. <G> Mouser should have the sockets to me by Wednesday or Thursday. Meanwhile I'll solder on the CF sockets and other components. I'll get back to you as soon as I have one board finished and tested in the QX-16. I've got to do a search for your modified CPM22.SYS file to have it handy for that.
Don