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Geoffg

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Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 3194

Posted: 03:51am 13 Jul 2011

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Hi all,

Does any old timer remember how you could select the default disk drive from within Microsoft BASIC when running CP/M? Also, how you could find out what the current default drive was?

I have checked my references on this and while they talk about drive A: and B: (under CP/M) they do not say how you change the default.

Thanks
Geoff

Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net

donmck

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Joined: 09/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 1313

Posted: 04:38am 13 Jul 2011

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Geoffg said Hi all,

Does any old timer remember how you could select the default disk drive from within Microsoft BASIC when running CP/M? Also, how you could find out what the current default drive was?

I have checked my references on this and while they talk about drive A: and B: (under CP/M) they do not say how you change the default.

Thanks
Geoff

Basically all old timers around here Geoff. Well, one or two exceptions.

I never ran Microsoft BASIC under CP/M, so I don't know if the info I have provided below is what you are chasing or not. It is CPM obviously under 86, and looks more like standard DOS commands to me.

At least by supplying this, you can tell me if I am way off the mark, and others will be better prepared for what they should be looking for.

Perhaps it may even fire up a few old memory banks on this sort of stuff.

Cheers Don...

[code]
More CP/M -86 drive features

Changing the default drive
2-10

At any given time during operation ofCP/M-86, there is one
drive called the default drive. Unless you put a drive
specification in your command line, CP/M-86 and the utilities
look in the directory of the diskette in the default drive for all
program and data files. You can tell the default drive from the
CP/M-86 system prompt.

For example, the message
A>
tells you that the A drive is the default drive. When you give
commands to CP/M-86, you should remember which diskette
is the default drive. Then you will know which files an
application program can access if you do not add a drive
specification.

Drive A is the default drive when you start CP/M-86. If you
have more than one drive, you may want to change the default
drive. Do this by typing the drive specification of the desired
default drive next to the system prompt and pressing the Enter
key.

A>B:
This command, for example, changes the default drive to B.
Unless you change the default drive again, all system prompt
messages appear as:
B>
The system prompt now indicates that CP/M-86 and its
utilities will check in the directory of the diskette in drive B for
any file that does not have a drive specification included in the
file specification.
[/code]

https://www.dontronics.com

rhamer
Senior Member

Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 174

Posted: 06:32am 13 Jul 2011

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I think from memory it was;

STAT DEV:

or perhaps

STAT DSK:

And by the way, I'm only old because the people I work with can't remember black and white TV and I can.

Cheers

RohanEdited by rhamer 2011-07-14

Rohan Hamer
HAMFIELD Software & Hardware Solutions

Makers of the Maximite Expander.

http://www.hamfield.com.au

aargee
Senior Member

Joined: 21/08/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 255

Posted: 06:57am 13 Jul 2011

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As far as CPM is concerned, are you trying to see the current default drive? Not change it?

The old grey matter is being taxed a bit, but I think the only way I remember 'knowing' which drive I was looking at was to manually set it.
(short of jumping out of BASIC and back to the A> prompt)

This is really sad but I tossed my old CP/M and MP/M manuals out six months ago...

- Rob.

Edited by aargee 2011-07-14

For crying out loud, all I wanted to do was flash this blasted LED.

Nick

Guru

Joined: 09/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 512

Posted: 10:32am 13 Jul 2011

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I don't know if you could under BASIC in CP/M.

I know A: or B: would switch the default at DOS level.

TRS-DOS used the CMD command to issue certain disk commands to DOS but I don't think setting the default drive was one of them.

The Tandy Color Computers Disk Basic used the DRIVE command.

stuarts

Senior Member

Joined: 15/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 199

Posted: 11:49am 13 Jul 2011

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Geoff, I dont ever remember setting a default drive under mbasic. If I wanted to open a file on drive b:, c: or where ever, I'd do an

open "b:file.txt" for input as file 1

or output, or random or whatever mode you wanted to open it in. Otherwise the default drive was the one that you were in when you started mbasic.

I know that somewhere I have an mbasic manual, but I doubt I could find it in a dozen years. It was bad enough the other day when Don asked me to put my hands on Excalibur 64 circuit diagrams that I hadn't touched in more than 25 years.

Stuart

Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once.

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