Special keys on startup

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بواسطة Tisse

Expert (66)

صورة Tisse

07-12-2022, 14:47

I'm trying to find if there is a list somewhere over buttons you can hold on startup that do specific things.
I realize the different models probably have different options, but holding crtl on startup seem to disable extra diskdrives on most (or all?) models, for example.
I've also read that holding 1 when booting a Turbo-R will boot to DOS1 instead of DOS2.
Do you know any more?

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بواسطة Tisse

Expert (66)

صورة Tisse

07-12-2022, 15:01

Tried a few buttons on my SVI 738 just now, and found out that holding shift on startup will make it skip loading diskbasic.

بواسطة NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6092)

صورة NYYRIKKI

07-12-2022, 18:41

Yes, those are the "universal" boot keys. In MSX2 and up there is also combo GRAPH+STOP that can be used to skip password prompt. Rest are pretty much computer model/cartridge specific keys that are usually documented on the manual... This also sometimes causes collisions... Ie. with ESC-key you can skip internal software on Phillips MSX-AUDIO, but also prevent partition mapping on Sunrise IDE and skip flash booting on Megaflash ROM... as a bonus in MSX tR A1GT it also clears the RTC memory. Smile

بواسطة sd_snatcher

Prophet (3675)

صورة sd_snatcher

08-12-2022, 21:21

This seems to be a nice topic for an article on the MSX-Wiki.

بواسطة NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6092)

صورة NYYRIKKI

09-12-2022, 00:12

Well... You said it, now go and start adding / fixing Smile

https://www.msx.org/wiki/Boot_keys

بواسطة Tisse

Expert (66)

صورة Tisse

16-12-2022, 08:49

That's a great list! Thanks to you both, SD Snatcher and Nyyrikki!

بواسطة eimaster

Champion (285)

صورة eimaster

18-12-2022, 14:29

NYYRIKKI wrote:

Well... You said it, now go and start adding / fixing Smile

https://www.msx.org/wiki/Boot_keys

I don't know how to add or fix. I didn't see an option to add/fix there, so if you could tell me how I can do it (I'm using my mobile to browse the site in case it is different than PC site.
Anyway...
What I wanted to add concern all Arabic Sakhr MSXs + Arabic almithali (Perfect 1 & 2). Holding down CTRL in boot screen prevents the machines from loading Arabic language support and enters directly into international MSX1/MSX2.
I couldn't verify Arabic MSX made by Spectravideo which is called ARAB MSX (MSXعرب) because the machine configuration files are not with me for openMSX emulator, though they are there for BlueMSX. Still the main problem I still face since I started using openMSX is how to convert BlueMSX machines' configuration files to the format understood by openMSX and nobody of those who have ability to do it seems to care. I know it isn't too hard and someone could write a small converter between the two formats using any kind of programming languages they know, but unfortunately they are ignoring it. I hope they hear me and do it for the sake of MSX community to make life easier. It should be easy for MSXers that machines' configuration files exchangeability between the most famous emulators, openMSX and BlueMSX becomes automatic via some kind of software tools.

بواسطة Manuel

Ascended (19678)

صورة Manuel

18-12-2022, 16:30

Why do you need to convert them? openMSX comes already with more than 200 of them... As for the Arab Spectravideo, if there is no clear source from the configuration info, I wouldn't add it to the openMSX repo.

بواسطة eimaster

Champion (285)

صورة eimaster

19-12-2022, 23:31

Manuel wrote:

Why do you need to convert them? openMSX comes already with more than 200 of them... As for the Arab Spectravideo, if there is no clear source from the configuration info, I wouldn't add it to the openMSX repo.

I need a converter because there are machines running well on BlueMSX which totally are not there on openMSX such as Arabic Spectravideo MSX.
Another thing I would like to make clear. Arabic almithali Perfect MSX 1 & 2 seems not correct maybe due to strange memory mapping of slots or the firmware ROM had not been dumped successfully, because the built-in Arabic firmwares does not work like those of Sakhr. Some firmware's software are missing and are not operable. Whatever application you choose to run, you find yourself in the BASIC! So please recheck the ROMs and the configuration files and try to get them to work well or issue a declaration that the ROMs are bad dumps and not complete and ask for a good dump if someone can do it of those who have the actual machines. Maybe someone will do it.

بواسطة Manuel

Ascended (19678)

صورة Manuel

19-12-2022, 23:58

Can you list:
- which machines are in blueMSX, but not in openMSX. Preferably, point me to someone who owns the real machines, so we can check the origin of the ROM dumps. Several blueMSX ROM dumps have been altered, so I do not dare to assume these dumps are reliable
- what exactly is not working correctly in the Bawareth_Perfect_MSX1, unless you mean another Arabic machine. There are no "Al Mithali" machines in openMSX right now, so please let me know which configurations you are testing exactly.
- which firmware ROMs are missing and not operable exactly. On which openMSX machine configurations? How to test?

بواسطة eimaster

Champion (285)

صورة eimaster

20-12-2022, 12:10

Manuel wrote:

Can you list:
- which machines are in blueMSX, but not in openMSX. Preferably, point me to someone who owns the real machines, so we can check the origin of the ROM dumps. Several blueMSX ROM dumps have been altered, so I do not dare to assume these dumps are reliable
- what exactly is not working correctly in the Bawareth_Perfect_MSX1, unless you mean another Arabic machine. There are no "Al Mithali" machines in openMSX right now, so please let me know which configurations you are testing exactly.
- which firmware ROMs are missing and not operable exactly. On which openMSX machine configurations? How to test?

OK.
First, Bawareth is not the name of the two machines (Perfect 1 & 2), it is the name of the man who owned a general trading company called by his own name "Bawareth". Bawareth company released two Daewoo machines with Arabic support and called them "alMithali MSX1" and "alMithali MSX2" respectively. Note that one of the Arabic meaning of the English word "Perfect" is "Mithali". The "al" at the beginning is simply means "The" which makes it mean "The Perfect". So, alMithali is the Arabic name of the computer just like Sakhr, and Bawareth is its company's name just like Alalamiah.
So, just like saying Alalamiah Sakhr MSX AX-170 which is an MSX1, you can say Bawareth alMithali Perfect MSX1 and Alalamiah Sakhr AX-370 you can say Bawareth alMithali Perfect MSX2.

So you begin by the company name weather it is Alalamiah, Bawareth, or Barq, then the MSX Arabization project's name weather it is Sakhr, alMithali, or Barq, then the machine model weather it is AX-xxx (which does not convey which MSX generation it is (for all Sakhr models), or Perfect 1 or 2 for alMithali machines, or MSX1 or MSX2 for Spectravideo's Barq Arabic machines.

I tested the machine called "Bawareth_Perfect_MSX1" on openMSX on my Android mobile phone and after the intro screen and it's music a menu of 10 options appeared. Its options are translated as follows:

0 BASIC
1 Arabic Writer
2 Latin Writer
3 Music Player
4 Painter
5 International Time
6 Arabic Countries Flags
7 Calendar
8 Accounting
9 Inventory

Options 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 are working fine, but options 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are not. Whatever option you choose you find yourself in the BASIC interpreter again as if you chose option 0. This means that maybe applications from 0 to 4 is stored on the same slot and it was dumbed correctly, but it seems that applications from 5 to 9 is stored on another slot which was ignored and not dumbed at all by the person who did the dumbing. That's the only explanation I can think of as a logical reason for those applications not to work as they should. In the same time, I cannot say alMithali machines work perfectly on BlueMSX because I don't have a PC to examine them now but I'll try to test them ASAP when I get the chance.

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