
                      The Star Commander, Beta Version #5A

                          written by Joe Forster/STA

          The ultimate PC-1541 copy utility with optional turbo mode


  This is still only a beta release of The Star Commander. Look out for further
releases. Please report bugs and ideas to me as I want  to  release  the  final
Version 1.0 as soon as possible. Sorry for all kinds of bugs that appear in the
Commander but I'm in a hurry - as always.



  INTRODUCTION:

  This is a Norton Commander like program being designed to copy  binary  files
between the PC and the 1541 drive and handle the .D64 and .T64 image files  for
the C64 Software Emulator (C64S, (C) by Miha Peternel and Seattle  Lab,  1994).
If you know The Norton Commander well, this program will surely be easy to use.
But first before starting, please, read the online help carefully for features,
differences from the other Commanders, the description of the  X1541  interface
and other details.

  You can find the following files in the package:

     Name        Size         Date           CRC-32           Function

  FILE_ID.DIZ     791    02-28-95 00:05     b047e3a2    Distribution info file
  SC.EXE        75791    02-28-95 00:05     3e432a3a    Main executable file
  SC.HLP        42234    02-28-95 00:05     b88d42fe    Online help
  SC.TXT         9859    02-28-95 00:05                 Short documentation
  SCC.EXE        6507    02-28-95 00:05     1e727281    External calibrator

  All what you need is only the SC.EXE file. However, you might need some  help
which is found in SC.HLP (if it doesn't exist no error  is  displayed  but  the
help won't pop up). Please, don't  modify  the  package  and  don't  distribute
single files only the whole package.



  ADVANTAGES:

- it is comfortable to  use  the  so  well  known  environment  of  The  Norton
  Commander, isn't it? You  don't  have  to  press  a  sequence  of  weird  key
  combinations only a familiar one  and  you  can  always  clearly  see  what's
  happening on the screen

- here's a benchmark of The Star Commander, Beta Version #5A using my  original
  1541 drive (the file is stored below track #18 with a 10 block interleave):

    ͻ
       Whole disk copy     from the 1541 drive     to the 1541 drive   
    Ķ
         Normal mode               7:50                  9:55          
    Ķ
         Turbo mode                2:25                  2:25          
    ͹
     210 block file copy   from the 1541 drive     to the 1541 drive   
    Ķ
         Normal mode               2:20                  2:25          
    Ķ
         Turbo mode                1:00                  1:00          
    ͼ



  BUGS FIXED SINCE BETA VERSION #5:

- the Commander didn't display the help for "Save setup" correctly

- the Commander couldn't copy a non-program file from a  disk  in  a  connected
  1541 drive (the main reason why this intermediate version was released)



  OTHER CHANGES FROM BETA VERSION #5:

- the help dialog doesn't flicker anymore - the display changes only  when  the
  next help item is successfully read

- the external calibration routine not only tests your machine in  a  loop  (if
  you use the /L option) but also can use the connected 1541 drive to fine tune
  the calibration (if you use the /Fxy option where x is the number of the  LPT
  port and y the device number - warning: this handles no errors, it might lock
  up your system if false values are entered)



  KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS:

- you must not let the Commander search for a connected 1541 drive if the X1541
  interface isn't plugged into the appropriate LPT port

- timeouts are not handled - as during data  transfer  all  PC  interrupts  are
  disabled, if the connection with the 1541 drive freezes you'll have to reboot

- you must enter the drive letter you want to change to and you  cannot  choose
  from a list of the valid drives

- it was reported that the Commander cannot use turbo  transfer  mode  on  LPT2
  (sorry but I can't check it because I have  no  computer  with  LPT2  in  the
  neighbourhood!)



  COMING SOON:

  Please tell me if I should start working on the items  marked  with  (?),  as
  well. However, unmarked items are of higher priority than marked ones:

- bug fixes, of course...

- timeout handling

- automatic calibration of the 1541  read/write  routines  -  possibly  with  a
  special routine that uses the connected 1541 drive itself to  fine  tune  the
  calibration

- offering the letters of valid drives when changing drive

- an option to change the block interleave for saving into .D64 files and  onto
  disks in a connected 1541 drive (?)

- disk editor for disks in a connected 1541 drive and disk image files (?)

- changing the labels of PC disks as well (?)



  CONNECTING A REAL 1541 DRIVE TO YOUR PC:

  The PC-1541 connection is done using the well known X1541 interface.

  As different kinds of PC's run with different speed you  have  to  slow  them
down differently to keep up with the strict timing  requirements  of  the  1541
drive. There is an external calibrator routine (SCC.EXE) in  the  package  that
displays you the delay value you have to use. Enter this value in  the  "Delay"
option of the "Configuration..." menu and try using the connected  1541  drive.
If it works, try lowering the delay  value.  If  the  connection  freezes,  try
raising the delay value. The lowest value with which  you  can  still  use  the
connected 1541 drive should be the best for the turbo mode as  well.  Hopefully
this will be done automatically in one of the next releases. Please let me know
if the displayed delay value worked for you perfectly at once or not.

  The Commander uses smart techniques to speed up reading and writing even when
you are not using the turbo mode (e.g. speeding up 1541 IRQ's means faster head
stepping and saves about 2% of read/write time; reading a disk unlinearly saves
about 15% of time - on my 1541 drive it reads a whole disk to a disk image file
in 7 minutes and 50 seconds instead of slightly more than 9 minutes!). You  can
use the BAM copy disk option to speed up the disk copy even  more  BUT  if  the
disk or disk image file contains used data in free sectors  they  will  NOT  be
copied!

  The Commander is equipped with turbo transfer mode which means  it  transfers
data from/to the connected 1541 drive about 2-3  times  faster.  It  has  turbo
command routines as well which speed up deleting files and validating disks  to
2-10 times the original speed (it depends on the number and length of the files
on the disk) and disk format takes only about 12 seconds.

  As I have had no experience with 1571 and 1581  drives  the  Commander  can't
make use of their features - it uses them only as if they were 1541 drives.

  WARNING: don't plug anything other than the X1541 interface into your PC  and
your 1541 drive. Connecting a printer to your PC or a C64 or C128 to your  1541
drive will probably mess up the data transfer or freeze the connection.



  BETA TESTING:

  As I do not have the possibility to test the program on many kinds of PC's  I
ask you to be my beta tester and write to me if you:

- found a bug in the program (you will possibly find some, as it is still under
  development)

- have an idea what improvements I should make in the future

- saw a grammatical error, misspelling, wrong punctuation, wrong  justification
  or something misunderstandable in the online help or this documentation

- know good FTP sites with C64 areas to which I should upload this program

- are just interested in this program or you simply like it and  want  to  have
  the final version as soon as possible

  Please E-Mail your bug reports along with the configuration of  your  PC (CPU
type and speed) and the configuration of the Commander  when  the  bug  occured
(especially the delay value and whether you used turbo mode or not if you  used
a connected 1541 drive). If the bug occured only with a certain  file  you  can
send it to me uuencoded or MIME'd, as well.



  HELP:

  Please help me with changing the volume labels of PC disks. I haven't got the
slightest idea how to do it and my DOS books don't give me a  hint.  But  maybe
this feature in the Commander isn't so important. What do you think?

  The other feature I'd like to equip the Commander with  is  the  offering  of
the letters of valid drives when changing drive. Please  help  me  how  to  get
information from DOS about the valid drives.



  WHERE TO FIND THE COMMANDER:

  I'll send the newest releases of the Commander, if possible, to:

  watson.mbb.sfu.ca     /pub/c64/utils
  frodo.hiof.no         /pub/c64/emulator
  ccnga.uwaterloo.ca    /pub/cbm/emulation
  nic.funet.fi          /pub/cbm/c64/emulation/c64s
  arch.kiae.su          /msdos/emulator/c64

  Usenet NEWS           comp.emulators.cbm

  And, of course, you can E-Mail me at any time to ask for an uuencoded copy.



  ADDRESS:

  Please do not hesitate and write an E-Mail to "sta@ludens.elte.hu".



        28th February, 1995                     Joe Forster/STA
