Subject: Extended Basic v2.7 Suite cartridge upgrade

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 05:52:59 -0400

Important notice regarding the Extended Basic v2.7 Suite cartridge
There are several versions of this cartridge software that I created 
'out in the wild'.
The one that I was most concerned about has recently been updated. (He 
was my beta
tester for the process, so I know it works.) There are some unstable 
beta versions out
there that definitely need to be upgraded. There are also some version 1 
carts that can
be upgraded to version 2 at the discretion of the owner.
The newest version, version 2, has an undocumented feature. There is 15k 
of GRAM memory
from g>6000 to g>9BFF on page 9, or recently referred to as Grom Base 
 >9820. This memory
can be used to run GPL code (which I've tested and is pretty cool) or 
can be used by an
assembly language program as 15k of extra data storage space.
To check which version of the cartridge that you have, press fctn-7 at 
the main
white-on-blue menu screen. You will see the green credits screen. If it 
is outlined in black,
you have version 2 and are up to date, so don't bother with this 
upgrade, you're good.
If the entire screen is green with no black around the edges, there are 
2 possibilities.
#1, you have a version 1 cartridge you purchased directly from me. The 
code in this
cartridge is stable, and you're ok unless you have a need for the 15k of 
Gram Memory.
#2, you have a Beta version bootleg cartridge that you didn't purchase 
from me. The code
in this cartridge is not stable and you should definitely upgrade it.
Now that you know what you have, and what you need to do, you know 
whether you need the
XB v2.7 Suite upgrade disk image attached to this post or not.
To use the XB v2.7 Suite upgrade disk image:
Make a real 40 track DSSD floppy disk from the image provided and put it 
in the DSK1 drive.
Do not put this disk in an 80 track drive when used with the TI disk 
controller, I've taken steps
to insure it will fail if you do so. (and that's just a dumb thing to 
do, anyway) If you have an
80 track drive as DSK1, contact me and I will provide you with an 
appropriate disk image.
Load the GROMCFG program with the XB v2.7 Suite cart in the cartridge 
port. You can do
this 3 ways, Select the TI Writer/Assembler cart (B), press 6, type 
'DSK1.GROMCFG', and
press enter. The program will load.
Select Extended Basic v2.7 (A), and the program will load automatically.
Select TI Basic (Z), type 'OLD DSK1.BASICLOAD', type 'RUN', and the 
program will load
automatically. The 3rd option is the most cool, as you can recover from 
a bricked cart
with this, thanks to Tursi and Senior Falcon with their assistance on this.
Now that you've got the program loaded, follow these steps to 
upgrade/restore your XB v2.7
Suite cartridge.
Press ctrl-L. You'll be asked a question, press 'Y'. Type 'DSK1.XB27', 
and press enter.
Let the process complete! It will take some time. One the process has 
completed successfully,
press fctn-= (quit), and you'll be presented with the XB v2.7 menu. 
Press fctn-7 and you'll
see the green credits screen with the black edges.
If the process didn't work correctly, do not despair. Use the TI Basic 
load option for
GROMCFG and repeat the process until you are successful.
Have fun,

Tony

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
http://www.avast.com

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 18:16:47 -0400

Here's another option, DSSD disk image is attached.

This option is if you want to eliminate the autostart function of the XB 
v2.7 Suite cart and use the Review Module Library function of the 
console instead.

It might be useful if you have another device that loads an autostart 
program that you prefer to use instead of the XB v2.7 Suite menu. 
<http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229718-extended-basic-v27-suite-cartridge/page-9#entry3143554>

Follow the directions in the previous post for this disk, but instead of 
using 'DSK1.XB27' to flash the cartridge, use 'DSK1.XB27NOMENU'.

Have some more fun,

Tony

---