Date : Tue, 27 May 1997 19:36:53 +0100 (BST)
From : Rich <rst20@...>
Subject: Re: BBC Questions......
On Tue, 27 May 1997, Bala Amavasai wrote:
> I've just bought a BBC Master 128 (this is my first!) after having some
> fun with an Electron which I bought a couple of weeks earlier. Now, I've
> got a few questions and I would appreciate any answers. Here goes :
>
> 1. Why is it that many programs that I download from BBC Lives! won't
> work? I've noticed that files in each archive come with a duplicate
> filename with a .INF extension. Does this hold the key to running
> the program? How do I convert these programs that I download onto
> my BBC, once I've copied it over with BeebDOS?
Yep, you need to do a little bit of messing around before they'll work.
As far as I know, there's not a program on the Beeb that does it for you
(though it would be easy enough to write), so here's the long winded way.
If you *TYPE the .INF file (or note down its contents on your PC), you'll
see it looks something like:
<program name> Start: 2000 Exec: 78ED Len: 5F00 or similar.
I think sometimes it has CRC: as well.
Anyway, all you have to do now is set these file addresses up on the file
on your beeb, so:
*LOAD <filename> 1100
*SAVE <filename> 1100 +<Len> <Exec> <Start>
where <Len> <Exec> and <Start> are the hex four-digit figures from the
.INF file.
As you can imagine, if you've got a lot of files, this could get a bit
tedious, so it might be worth seeking out a program that does all this for
you. If I have a spare minute I'll try writing one.
I'll leave your other questions open to others as I can't really help (I
haven't got my Master with me so I can't check out whether there's a
potentiometer for volume control or not)
Regards,
Rich
+----------------------------------+
| Richard Talbot-Watkins, | "Time is just nature's way
| Room H4, St Catharine's College, | of making sure that everything
| Cambridge. (01223) 500 858 | doesn't happen at once..."
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