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Re: [Sharp-pc3k] Serial/Parallel Converter



Actually SRAM cards *are* supported in W98 at least, but you need to load
the Trueffs/fftl/Tffs9x module from the CAB files that don't install
automatically

The software for reading these cards in the Win98SE CD-Rom disc under
\drivers\storage\ftl. Right click on the trueffs.inf and select install.

Upon thinking about all this again, I have only quickly tried inserting the
SRAM card in  XP but it seems that as the PC3K only formats at 16bit, this
is unrecognised by XP and although XP sees the card, wants to format to
32bit or NTFS which is no good when placing back in the PC3K.

W98 sees both FLASH and SRAM at 16bit - both then are recognised upon card
insertion. But, as the battery in my SRAM card had failed, I have lost the
setup for autobooting all the required drivers to format the SRAM in the
PC3k so that Windows sees it. It sees itself in the PC3K, but I need to
copy data! I need to therefore go and get the Backpack external floppy out
and load the Dipsys files and format the SRAM again. God! USB and Bluetooth
are so so welcome nowdays!

Once you have installed Trueffs.inf, it should create a directory in
Windows called Tffs9xIn there are also format and card check utils and a
vague txt and help files. 

Here is the .txt blurb that comes with them (forget the fact your card type
might not be listed, it shouldn't matter). The important bit is where it
tells you to load from ADD NEW HARDWARE from the Control Panel...:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
                           TrueFFS-9x
                          User's Guide

      For Intel, AMD, Fujitsu, M-Systems and compatible
                     Linear Flash Cards

                           Sep-97

   This document is for information only and is subject to
   change without prior notice. No part of this document
   may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a
   retrieval system, or translated into any language or
   computer language, in any form or by any means,
   electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical,
   manual, or otherwise, without the prior written consent
   of M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd.
   (c) Copyright 1995-1997 M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd.

   Corporate Headquarters        North American Headquarters

   M-Systems Ltd.                M-Systems Inc.
   Atidim Industrial Park        39899 Ballentne Drive
   P.O.B. 58036                  Suite 335
   Tel-Aviv 61580                Newark, CA 94560
   Israel                        USA

   Tel: +972-3-647-7776          Tel: (510) 413-5950
   Fax: +972-3-647-6668          Fax: (510) 413-5980
   info@xxxxxxxxx                info@xxxxxxxxx
   http://www.m-sys.com

   TrueFFS is a registered trade mark of M-Systems Ltd.
   The TrueFFS software is protected by US Patent no. 5404485.
   All other trade marks, service marks, trade names are the
   property of their respective owners.


             TrueFFS for Windows-9x User's Guide

1.1   Introduction

   TrueFFS-9x is TrueFFS for Microsoft's Windows-9x: A new
   version of M-Systems' TrueFFS Flash File System
   supporting the FTL standard data format.
    In keeping with the spirit of Windows 95, TrueFFS
   breaks all ties with  real-mode DOS, and is a true 32-
   bit protected mode VxD. TrueFFS-9x works in
   coordination with the protected-mode Card Services &
   Socket Services, with the plug-and-play configuration
   manager and with the Windows-9x I/O Supervisor.
   To TrueFFS for Windows-9x are attached several
   utilities: TFORMAT to format Flash cards, and TCHECK to
   verify and correct the TrueFFS format.
   At installation time, these utilities are copied to your
   \WINDOWS\TFFS95 directory.
   The utilities are console applications, which means that
   they have the general appearance of DOS commands, and
   will run in what appears to be a DOS box (although in
   fact they are Win-32 applications).

1.2   Requirements & Compatibility

   A PCMCIA adapter that is supported by Windows-9x Card &
   Socket Services. It is assumed that the PCMCIA adapter
   was properly configured and that Windows-9x Card
   Services is accessing PC cards on it.

   TrueFFS-9x works with:
 ú   Intel Series-2 PC cards
 ú   Intel Series-2+ PC cards
 ú   Intel Value-100 PC cards
 ú   Intel miniature cards
 ú   AMD Series-D PC cards
 ú   AMD miniature cards
 ú   Fujitsu Series-D PC cards
 ú   Fujitsu miniature cards
 ú   M-Systems D-Series, V-Series & S-Series PC cards
 ú   M-Systems Series-2000 PC cards
 ú   Static RAM cards

   This version of TrueFFS-9x has been tested and is compatible
   with all Windows-95 retail releases, OEM service releases
   and Windows-98 release.


1.3   Installation

   Follow these steps to install TrueFFS/9x:
   1. If you have not yet read the "Requirements" section
      above,   please read them now.
   2. Is your PCMCIA socket installed ? If not, or you do not
      know, refer to details on PCMCIA Socket installation in this
      section below.
   3. Insert the disk with TrueFFS installation files into a
      drive.
   4. Remove any Flash memory cards from the PCMCIA slots.
   5. From the Windows-9x display, open "My Computer" on your
      desktop or open the Windows Explorer.
   6. Open the disk with TrueFFS installation files.
   7. Click with the right mouse button on the file Trueffs.inf.
      You will see a menu.
   8. In the menu choose "Install" and click on it.
   9. After  Windows-9x finishes copying installation files you
      are ready to work with Flash Memory Cards.


1.4   Installing the PCMCIA Socket

   To find out if your PCMCIA Socket is installed:
   1.   From the Windows-9x display, choose "Start", then
      "Settings", then "Control Panel".
   2.   Open "System".
   3.   Click on "Device Manager".
   4.   Scan the list of devices class for "PCMCIA socket". If
      you find it, open it (click on +). It should contain at
      least one line. If you do not find it, or it contains no
      lines, your PCMCIA socket is not installed.

   If your PCMCIA Socket is not installed, but the actual
   PCMCIA hardware exists on your system, proceed to
   install it:
   1.   From the Windows-9x display, choose "Start", then
      "Settings", then "Control Panel".
   2.   Open "Add New Hardware".
   3.   Click "Next".
   4.   If the "Add new hardware wizard" suggests that Windows
      look for your new hardware, click on the "No" button and
      then click "Next".
   5.   Choose "PCMCIA Socket" and click "Next".
   6.   Choose from the list of known sockets, or click "Have
      Disk" as appropriate to the PCMCIA hardware installed.

1.5   Removing installed components

   Follow these steps to uninstall TrueFFS/9x:
   1. From the Windows-9x display choose "Start", then "Settings",
      then "Control Panel".
   2. Open "Add/Remove Programs". You will see the list of the software
      that can be automatically removed by Windows.
   3. Select "M-Systems TrueFFS driver" from the list and click
"Add/Remove".
   4. Windows-9x will remove all installed components.

1.6   Formatting Flash Cards

   Before TrueFFS can access a Flash medium, the medium must
   be formatted. Formatting initializes the medium and writes
   to it a new and empty DOS file system. When formatting
   is complete, the medium contains only a root directory.
   The DOS FORMAT command cannot be used for formatting
   Flash media driven by TrueFFS.

   The medium may be formatted more than once. However, all
   data on the medium is destroyed each time it is
   formatted.

   There are two ways of formatting a flash card. You may use
   a flash card formatter or the TFORMAT utility.

1.6.1   Flash Card Formatter

   To use the TrueFFS formatter, you should start the Windows Explorer.
This
   can be done through the desktop icon, or by right-clicking the "Start"
   button on the task bar and selecting "Program", then "Windows Explorer".
   Once Windows Explorer is running, the TrueFFS formatter can be invoked
   in one of three ways:
    * Select the "File" menu, and choose "Flash Card Format".
    * With the mouse pointing to a TrueFFS drive, click its right
      button, then select "Flash Card Format" from the pop-up menu.
    * At the same pop-up menu, select "Properties", then choose "TrueFFS
      formatting".

   Once the formatter is running, The formatting process is only one step
   away. Choose a volume label if you wish, then hit "Start" to begin the
   formatting process. The bar graph will show you the progress.
   When done, you can hit "Ok" or "Cancel".
   Help is available through the "Help" key or by clicking the "?" icon on
   the upper right side of the formatter window.

1.6.2   TFORMAT - The TrueFFS Format Utility

   After installation, the TFORMAT.EXE utility will be found in your
   WINDOWS\TFFS95 directory.

   The syntax of the TFORMAT command is:

   TFORMAT  { drive-letter }
      [ /S:boot-image-file-name ]
      [ /S:drive-letter:]
      [ /S:! ]
      [ /S:* ]
      [ /BOOTSIZE:boot-image-size ]
      [ /USE:nnn ]
      [ /LOWMEM:size ]
      [ /LABEL:label ]
      [ /DOSVER:dos-major-version ]
      [ /SIZE:size ]
      [ /SPARE:n ]
      [ /Y ]

       Note   An equal sign (=) may be used wherever a
               colon (:) is required.

      Examples:
        TFORMAT E:
        TFORMAT D:  /SIZE=8M

   All sizes specified in TFORMAT options are in bytes if
   specified as simple numbers, in KBytes if specified with
   the suffix K, or in megabytes if specified with the
   suffix M.

   The TFORMAT options are:
   drive-letter     DOS drive letter of the TrueFFS drive.
   /S:boot-image-file-name                       Create a
                     boot-image partition with a boot-image
                     copied from the file specified. The
                     partition size will be the smallest
                     that may contain the file contents,
                     unless overridden by the /BOOTSIZE
                     parameter described below.
   /S:drive-letter: Create a boot-image partition, with a
                     boot-image copied from a memory card
                     residing on a different TrueFFS drive.
                     The amount copied from the socket must
                     be specified by the /BOOTSIZE
                     parameter. The partition size will be
                     the smallest that may contain the boot-
                     image.
                     This variation of the /S parameter is
                     useful to create boot-images which are
                     clones of another memory card.
   /S:!             Do not create a boot-image partition.
                     This option is necessary if, upon
                     reformatting, an existing boot-image
                     partition is to be deleted.
   /S:*             Retain the previous boot-image
                     partition. This is the default action.
                     If no boot-image existed previously,
                     this option acts like the /S:0
                     parameter.
   /BOOTSIZE:boot-image-size                     The size
                     of the boot-image partition in bytes.
                     This parameter must be specified when
                     copying a boot-image from another
                     socket. Otherwise it is defaulted as
                     follows:
                       /S:file-name   Number of bytes in the
                                                        file
                                                 /S:!      0
                                /S:*      Old partition size
   /USE:nnn         Percentage of available space on the
                     Flash medium to be used for file
                     storage. nnn can be any number from 1
                     to 100. Default is 99 (99%).
                     The value of this option may affect
                     the write performance of TrueFFS. For
                     more details, see Performance
                     Considerations, later in this manual.
   /LOWMEM:size     The low-memory part of the TrueFFS DOS
                     medium may be handled using a faster
                     access mechanism than the rest of the
                     medium.
                     Since the FAT and root directory
                     reside in low sector numbers, this may
                     improve performance. However, this
                     option has an overhead in TrueFFS
                     memory requirements.
                     For more details, see Performance
                     Considerations, later in this manual.
                     The default is 64 KBytes. In
                     principle, it is possible to specify a
                     size that will span the entire medium,
                     if the memory required to handle this
                     is available.
   /SIZE:size       The size of the Flash medium to be
                     formatted (including the boot-image).
                     By default the entire medium is
                     formatted by TFORMAT. This option may
                     be used to limit the formatted size to
                     a smaller size.
                     This option is useful if the memory
                     card will be transported to a machine
                     that is physically able to address
                     only a part of Flash memory.
   /LABEL:label     A string to be used as the DOS label
                     of the formatted medium.
   /DOSVER:dos-major-version                     Format for
                     a target system running the specified
                     DOS version. The default is the
                     current DOS version (the one on which
                     TFORMAT is executed). E.g. /DOSVER:3
                     formats for DOS 3.x. Valid values are
                     1 to 6.
   /SPARE:n         Leave n Flash erase units as spare
                     units for garbage collection. The
                     default is 1. At least one unit should
                     be specified for the Flash medium to
                     operate as a true read-write device.
                     More than one spare unit may be
                     specified to format media that have
                     bad Flash units. In such a case the
                     number of spare units should exceed
                     the number of bad units by at least 1.
                     It is also possible to specify more
                     than one spare unit in anticipation of
                     Flash units becoming bad in the
                     future.
                     A value of 0 spare units may be
                     specified to create a WORM  (Write-
                     Once-Read-Many) disk. When formatting
                     with this option, the Flash medium can
                     be written once only, after which it
                     will become a read-only medium.
                     TrueFFS will report that the medium is
                     write-protected when space for writing
                     is exhausted. This option provides
                     very limited functionality, and should
                     not be used except in special cases.
                     The option has the advantage of
                     lowering the formatting overhead of
                     TrueFFS, since a spare Flash erase
                     zone is not needed for space
                     reclamation.
   /Y               Do not pause for confirmation before
                     beginning to format.


1.7  TCHECK - Format Verification Utility

   The TCHECK utility is used to verify the underlying
   TrueFFS format and, optionally, to correct formatting
   inconsistencies. TCHECK is comparable to the SCANDISK
   program or the Norton Disk Doctor, which do the same for
   the DOS FAT format.
   You may run SCANDISK or a Disk Doctor on a TrueFFS
   drive, just as you may for any other standard DOS drive.
   These utilities, however, will diagnose and fix DOS
   errors. The TrueFFS format is transparent to them, as it
   is to you.

   After installation, the TCHECK.EXE utility will be found in your
   WINDOWS\TFFS95 directory.

   The syntax of the TCHECK command is as follows:
       TCHECK  { drive-letter }  [ /F ]

   For example,
       TCHECK  D:

   The TCHECK options are:

   drive-letter DOS drive letter of the TrueFFS drive.
   /F           Attempt to fix inconsistencies when they
                 are found. The default is not to fix, but
                 only to report errors.

   TCHECK performs the following consistency scans of the
   TrueFFS format:
      It checks that the spare transfer units are
       erasable. An error indicates that your system's
       power supply to the Flash medium is insufficient, or
       that the Flash unit involved is faulty.
      If there is no problem in power supply, and all
       transfer units are no longer erasable, the medium
       should be reformatted with a larger value of the
       /SPARE parameter. To do this without losing data,
       download all files on the TrueFFS medium to a backup
       medium, reformat with the new /SPARE value, and then
       reload all files from the backup medium.
      Logical-to-virtual scan of the format tables.
      Logical-to-virtual errors are usually not serious,
       and do not indicate damage to user data, unless they
       occur often and in large numbers. They are usually
       the result of occasional power failures or Flash
       hardware failure. Fixing them will usually result in
       regaining a sector that was inaccessible.
      Virtual-to-logical scan of the format tables.
      Virtual-to-logical errors will never occur unless
       there is a serious malfunction in TrueFFS operation,
       Socket Services operation, or hardware. Although
       such errors can be fixed by TCHECK, such fixes will
       often not prevent loss of user data."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If anyone needs these files mail me - they are available from the web if
you use Altavista to search. My Googling missed it first time...

I wish I hadn't read this thread - I've spent hours going over old stoney
ground again for nothing!

Its a shame the machine *looks* more purposeful than it really is...

Chhers afor your feedback...

Mark
UK

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