THE STE SIG ########### By Gary Spiteri There a few new members who have STE's, and haven't been introduced to the joys of using one (in other words - the bugs!). So this months column will be dedicated to information for new users. Bug Hunting =========== Currently there are two versions of the STE operating system, TOS version 1.6 and TOS v1.62. Unfortunately there is a fair deal of confusion about these two version's and the bug fixes that TOS v1.62 actually contain. I'd like to spend a little time explaining this. The original STE (both 520 and 1040STE) had TOS 1.6, this is a port of TOS v1.4 reassembled to include routines that are compatible with the higher end Motorola 680x0 processors like the 68020 and 68030 (as in the TT030). Its only real major bug is the infamous Medium Resolution Bug. This bugs' only effect is that when a STE is in Medium Resolution and you save the Desktop, TOS 1.6 writes a DESKTOP.INF file telling the machine to boot in Low Resolution instead of Medium Resolution and hence the machine won't boot in Medium resolution. Have is a copy of the DESKTOP.INF I'm running at the moment. #a000000 #b000000 #c7770007000600070055200505552220770557075055507703111103 #d #Z 01 C:\NEODESK3\NEOLOAD.PRG@ #E 98 13 #W 00 00 16 02 26 16 08 A:\*.*@ #W 00 00 0A 01 39 0B 09 C:\*.*@ #W 00 00 24 01 17 0E 00 @ #W 00 00 1C 02 13 0B 00 @ #M 00 07 00 FF F Utils/WP@ @ #M 00 06 00 FF E Adv/Game/Com@ @ #M 00 05 00 FF D DTP/Graphics@ @ #M 00 04 00 FF C Dem/Appl/Lng@ @ #M 00 01 00 FF A FLOPPY DISK@ @ #M 00 02 00 FF B FLOPPY DISK@ @ #T 07 07 02 FF TRASH@ @ #F FF 04 @ *.*@ #D FF 01 @ *.*@ #G 03 FF *.APP@ @ #G 03 FF *.PRG@ @ #P 03 FF *.TTP@ @ #F 03 04 *.TOS@ @ Notice the sixth line down "#E 98 13". This tells the STE to boot in Medium/High Resolution (depending on the monitor connected) and with the Blitter chip turned on. The segment that tells the STE this is the "13" part. The "1" is the blitter switch - where 1 is on and 0 is off. The "3" is the resolution switch - where 3 is Medium/High resolution and "2" is Low resolution. The Medium resolution bug is that while in Medium resolution, TOS 1.6 writes a "2" instead of a "3" in the DESKTOP.INF file... This problem doesn't occur in High Resolution (in this case TOS 1.6 writes a "3" correctly) and I hope its apparent that a DESKTOP.INF saved in High Resolution _will_ boot in Medium Resolution when connected to a colour monitor. So how does one fix this bug then? The simpliest thing to do is include STE_FIX.PRG (which is included on your language disk) in your \AUTO\ folder of your bootup disk and the problem is fixed - TOS will now save the DESKTOP.INF file corrently. Or, you can load your DESKTOP.INF file into a wordprocessor and edit the line, changing the "2" to a "3". So where does TOS 1.62 come into it? Well reading bits and pieces from STReport and ZNET it seems that TOS 1.62 is actually TOS 1.6 with the code from STE_FIX.PRG already builtin. So in effect, when you run STE_FIX.PRG under TOS 1.6, you are actually "upgrading" your machine to TOS 1.62. TOS v1.62 doesn't really advertise itself - the only way to find out if you have TOS 1.62 in your STE is if there is a "90" under the copyright display from the "Desktop Info..." option. There is also the chance that TOS 1.62 mayleave a "STE FIX Installed" cookie in the cookie jar without actually running the program (this has not actually been proven, this is only speculation on my part, and I'd like to find the answer. If someone could do this experiment and let me know I'd appreciate it. For more details on the STE cookie jar and a program to read the jar, see Inside Info #50). Another way to find out if you have TOS 1.62 is if your machine saves a Medium Resolution DESKTOP,INF file correctly. Another "bug" that plagues TOS 1.4x and 1.6x is the double click problem. Sometimes when double clicking on a program, instead of running it, the Desktop will ask if you want to SHOW/PRINT/CANCEL. To fix this Charles F. Johnson (from Codehead Software) has coded a _tiny_ accessory (its only 400 bytes long ie. 0.4K) which fixes the problem - its called "Button Fixer" and everyone that has TOS 1.4x or 1.6x should have it! Its available on the ACE BBS and in the ACE PD library. Also remember the DMA problems mentioned in last months Inside Info! If you are thinking of connecting a Hard Drive to your STE please check the article or contact me for details. As an aside - Reading in the European Echo ATARIST, its been found that the ROM chips from a MegaSTE (TOS 2.1) atually work very well on a standard STE. These chips, as well as including TOS 2.1 include GEM 2.2 which is actually "NewDesk". New Software ============ ACE has just got its hands on NeoChrome v2.20 and NioseTracker v1.5, both are brilliant and you should read this months "PD Chat" by Yours Truly for more details. FASTECH - TURBO 20 SIZZLE! Jim Allen of Fast Technology has announced a number of fine new products destined to breathe "dazzle and sizzle" into the STe line of computers. The Turbo 20 adapter for the 1040 STe will have an onboard clock and the ability to take the 1040 STe ram to 14mb! he said. Also, for the Stacy, a special treat for STACY owners, the adapter for the Turbo 20 will have two ROM sockets (Cartridge Oriented). The Mega STe has its own adapter for the Turbo 20 and it will allow the Mega STe to zip right up to 10mb of RAM. He said. When asked about the '030' and its future, he said when the time comes, (RSN), the performance curves are far in excess of all expectations. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Turbo 20 are also downwardly compatible as a direct replacement of the current Turbo 16 better known as T-16. Until next time - Gary Spiteri. FidoNet 3:712/520.5 <<<<*>>>><<<<*>>>><<<<*>>>>