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ADTPro / adtpro

Apple Disk Transfer ProDOS (ADTPro)
http://adtpro.com
GNU General Public License v2.0
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Win10 64bit. Apple IIc "No Serial Ports or RXTX Library is not installed" #79

Closed Androdoxia closed 5 years ago

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Hi, I'm new to ADTPro and collecting older tech.

My original issue of getting ADTPro to work has somehow self-resolved.

I'm currently having issues where every disk I write completes with errors. The X's on the progress bar only appear when the data is being received, not while it's writing it.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

I suspect the issue earlier was due to a missing driver on your host computer.

As for the X's - have you formatted your disks before trying to write them? And, you're using double density (DD) and not high density (HD) disks, right?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Yeah I figured it would be something missing. But I didn't do anything different. I reinstalled java with the same one, 64bit latest version. Rebooted a couple of times etc. Moved to IIc cable from modem to printer then back to modem and it just... Worked?

The X's occur when receiving data from the laptop. The disks are double density.

The ADTPro software wrote successfully after a few attempts but if I try using it, it still says Error $24 when selecting serial on the menu.

It seems to be temperamental. Sometimes it receives with no errors. Then it does get errors etc. Other times it just complaints of a timeout. Or it just stops with no message given.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Hmmm, I don't really know how to address temperamentality. What chipset does the USB adapter are you using have in it?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

I don't know, there isn't any writing on the adaptors. I had to buy it on ebay from California because retrofloppy does not ship to the UK.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

If you go to the Windows Device Manager, you should be able to find your COM port and it will tell you details about it.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

USB Serial Port (COM3) Manufacturer: FTDI bits/s: 9600 Data bits: 8 Parity: None Stop bits: 1 Flow control: None Driver: FTDI, 16/08/2017 v2.12.28.0. Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher

I've not seen anything about chipsets.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

FTDI is your chipset - and that's good news. They don't get cloned like the Prolific chipset does, so it's not a likely source of problems. Have you been successful in creating a disk at all yet that will boot?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Only the ADTPro disk. But it just flags up with an error when going to Serial. I was going to make a diagnostics disk to test the computer itself and make sure it's working but I can't find one that's compatible with the IIc (I test all disks on a II emulator and none of the diagnostic ones I can find will work)

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

But it just flags up with an error when going to Serial.

Can you instead boot the disk and quit to BASIC - and then do a CAT to see what's on the disk?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

/ADTPRO.2.0.3

After selecting (S)ERIAL it reads the disk for a bit then says "ERROR $27 - PRESS ANY KEY" which then brings up a black screen with BITSY BYE by J.Brooks P.Ferrie and says RESTART SYSTEM-$0B

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

$27 is a generic I/O error. So it could be that your media is bad (or the drive is not always successful at writing). What if you try either of the other ADTPro versions - audio or ethernet? Do either of those start successfully?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

No. They all give the same error. Which is weird cause the write had no errors

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Pretty strange set of circumstances you have there. If you have at least a ROM 0 IIc, you can run internal diagnostics: https://apple2.fandom.com/wiki/Built-in_Diagnostics

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Okay. I'm running the diagnostics now. How long does it normally take? It's been at it for 5-10min maybe. Just repeating a screen of lines/boxes with it changing from time to time.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

It'll run forever; the fact that it's continuing means it didn't find anything wrong.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Ah okay then. I thought maybe it would stop and say it's fine. So where do I go from here?

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Good question. I don't have a concise enough problem statement, so I don't know what to suggest. Maybe take a video of start-to-finish copying of a disk, and we can spot what's going wrong?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Okay then. I'll upload one to google drive and link it when it's done. I tried writing to a disk with ADTPro but it again failed half way and said time out.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

The floppies I use: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1--rxathj9dQ-vkluCy6JM9iTRMnvF8Kt/view?usp=drivesdk

The video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cbP6KS-09qx_OMwhshAosXU8gDRSEIkm/view?usp=drivesdk

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

That's a good walkthrough. I can clearly see it successfully bootstrap and format disks, so I think everything on the Apple II side is fine. Given that the serial port craps out halfway through, I'm left suspecting the USB serial port and/or its driver are at fault here.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Thanks. So would I be best buying a new adaptor? The driver has been installed and reinstalled. I don't know of any UK vendors for these adaptors. The only sure place I could of checked went bankrupt a couple of years ago.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Have you tried sourcing them on Amazon?

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

No to be honest. I tend to avoid Amazon since it can be pricey. There are a few USB to RS-232 cables but none of those adaptor heads. I'll try buying one. Like say this one, https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-20210-Converter-Connecting-Controller-grey/dp/B00QUZY4UG/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=USB+to+RS-232&qid=1564507284&s=gateway&sr=8-4

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Nope, PL Chipset=Prolific=Bad. You get what you pay for.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Ah. Unfortunately almost all Amazon UK ones are using Prolific chipsets.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Keep looking... I found the right one in the "related" section of yours (maybe influenced by my own searches, though).

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

Ah. I did find one, towards page 12. I just kept searching for FTDI. There were a few that claimed to be FTDI but in the reviews people mentioned they're actually prolific. I'll order this FTDI one and get back to you with how it worked. I'll also try getting it to work on my PC encase its my laptop that is being weird. But the PC is being more of a pain to get working. FTDI Drivers are installed, Java Dev kit installed same as the laptop etc. But for whatever reason this PC is simply uninterested. Could be an age thing, this PC is very new compared to the 6 year old laptop.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

A new PC will be fine. Ensure you've got the 64-bit version of Java installed; Oracle automatic downloader will generally pick the wrong one if left to its own devices.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

I've got a cable on the way, coming between the 1st and 2nd. However I've noticed a couple of things 1) ADTPro keeps "Stopping". I have to press disconnect then serial and then it seems to act like it remembers it was doing something. I've had to do this while doing a speedyboot.

2) The errors occuring while writing to disk are occuring both at write and receive.

I suspect the issue could be the drive. It does make an unsavory sound similar to the sound it makes during boot when the error occurs.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

Let's reserve judgement until the new cable arrives. It sounds to me that it is something to do with the serial connection, and the most likely culprit so far is the USB cable/driver pair.

Androdoxia commented 5 years ago

New cable arrived today. It is definitely a 50/50 issue.

New cable works flawlessly. No timeouts and 7 out of 10 disks wrote flawlessly.

The 3 disks that did fail, failed because they're bad disks. I/O Error etc. Seller claims Apple IIc can't read Double Density disks and he's "Genuinely surprised" I managed to get 7 done. Even though I can't find any documentation that says Apple IIc's can't read double density disks.

david-schmidt commented 5 years ago

I think I saw that guy on Facebook - Dave Duke? Yeah, you only want to use DS/DD disks. HD will positively not work. But of course you do need to format them before trying to write.

Good news on the cable. That's what it is almost all of the time.