16BIT ROM CART THOUGHTS

[Atarian Computing]

I only have 2 64K banks left, and 2 versions of YAART will use up both of those.

Or are you meaning the actual PRG file as thats about 8K ?

Would be cool on a RAM disk with both programs. Though I am not sure about it needing to get to the desktop over simply booting right up from cartridge.. Though I guess it does beg the question that other smaller programs could be loaded into the RAM disk as well I guess ?

You can do pretty much anything. You can have several small programs on regular cart image and ramdisk. The advantage of ramdisk is that it's not read-only, and you can use accessories and other file types as well.

[exxos]

Ah, I didn't know you were using 64KB banks. But why use separate banks for the ram tests? Here's a 64KB cart image with both tests.

I have perfected several methods to be able to pretty much put anything on a cart. Only the size is a limit after packing. There's room on this image for more as well.

If I understand this correctly, your booting to desktop and installing a RAM disk and I assume copying the programs to the RAM Drive ? Which means more RAM is used and then not tested ? If the RAM is not stable or has issues, then its all better all running from ROM ?

I guess what I could do is rip apart one of the lower address lines and splitting a 64K block into 2x 32K blocks, then I could fit YAART in that way as its only about 8K per program.. Then it would leave a 64K block to run your RAM disk on.. but not sure what programs be useful for diagnostics and be small ?

[Atarian Computing]

Ah, I didn't know you were using 64KB banks. But why use separate banks for the ram tests? Here's a 64KB cart image with both tests.

I have perfected several methods to be able to pretty much put anything on a cart. Only the size is a limit after packing. There's room on this image for more as well.

If I understand this correctly, your booting to desktop and installing a RAM disk and I assume copying the programs to the RAM Drive ? Which means more RAM is used and then not tested ? If the RAM is not stable or has issues, then its all better all running from ROM ?

I guess what I could do is rip apart one of the lower address lines and splitting a 64K block into 2x 32K blocks, then I could fit YAART in that way as its only about 8K per program.. Then it would leave a 64K block to run your RAM disk on.. but not sure what programs be useful for diagnostics and be small ?

For the ramtest a ramdisk is obviously not viable, hence the image above being just a regular cart with the programs in it. But again, why not keep both yaarts in one image?

[Atarian Computing]

Here's what it looks like on the desktop.

yaart-cart.png

[rpineau]

I'll take a PCB, I can assemble it myself :)

[exxos]

Here's what it looks like on the desktop.

Right, so you mean YAART on a cartridge drive, not on the RAM drive then ? In which case, what are you running on the RAM drive ?

I was just trying to see if I could fit both YAART into a single 64K block, The range I have free is a 64K block at $60000 and $70000. So YAART could go at $60000, and $68000.. That would leave the $70000 block free for a "cartridge drive"

Or do as you say, have the 2 YAART programs on a cartridge drive which would probably be more effective on space..

Its a shame GB6 wasn't smaller, that would be a great tool to have copied onto a RAM drive. Wonder if that would work if it was all compressed and extracted onto a RAM drive ? Saying that, the extraction code would probably take up a fair bit of room as well...

EDIT:

Ah nop, even ZIP on BEST has GB6 at 53KB.. thats probably pushing it.. I don't think the ST packers which would do this would even compress that well ?

[exxos]

OK so STZIP built a TOS self extracting file in 58K... So the question is, could the RAM drive be created with just 6K left ?

I'm assuming a AUTO folder could be created on the RAM drive and the GB6.TOS archive could be run from there so it would auto extract... :shrug:


EDIT:
Or just copy the GB6.TOS to the RAM drive and maybe desktop.inf could auto run it to extract...

[Atarian Computing]

OK so STZIP built a TOS self extracting file in 58K... So the question is, could the RAM drive be created with just 6K left ?

I'm assuming a AUTO folder could be created on the RAM drive and the GB6.TOS archive could be run from there so it would auto extract... :shrug:


EDIT:
Or just copy the GB6.TOS to the RAM drive and maybe desktop.inf could auto run it to extract...

Here's the latest GB6 in a cart image I managed to squeeze under 64KB. This is not a self-extracting file but uses other blackmagicfuckery to contain all files in one executable and therefore not needing a ramdisk. This is then further packed with upx.

GB6_CART_1.png

GB6_CART_2.png

[exxos]

Here's the latest GB6 in a cart image I managed to squeeze under 64KB.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

That is just way to cool!!!

How you manage that, and so quickly ?!

[PhilC]

Well done both, very interesting thread