Date   : Tue, 08 Feb 2000 16:17:38 +0000
From   : Matt Davis <mavzc@...>
Subject: Re: Help! BBC Ems for the uninitiated.

Gregg Stevenson wrote:
> 
> Can anyone tell me in 10 easy stages how to run programmes (e.g the
> level 9 adventures) on my PC from Windows?
> I have read the BBC lives! pages but most of it is jargon and way over
> my head.
> I have downloaded and can run a couple of the emulators (e.g.Beebem)
> with os and basic roms but what next?
> How do I :
> Convert the BBC Lives! archive games into the correct format for the
> emulator? Where do the converted games files go?
> What commands at the BBC prompt do I need to load / run the games?
> Which is the best (most straight forward) emulator to use for the above?

pcBBC is amazing but you have to pay for it, BeebEm is the close second.
However I think the format on The BBC Lives! is evil because we always
have to convert to images. The format used by RetroBBC (.img) was so
much easier to manage. I don't like that bbcim program at all.

Right. To run a normal disk image, press Shift-F12 (where F12 should be
the equivalent of the BBC Break key). If that doesn't work, there is no
!boot file, so do a *. which will list the contents of the disk. Then
you can usually type CH."LOADER" or something to run the loader program.
(Or whatever it's called. Try running all the programs - one will work.
If CH."" doesn't work, try */ instead.

To convert from that evil archive format into the proper Disk Image
format, extract the archive into a directory and type bbcim -a
NameOfImage.img file1 file2 file3 file4 ... (I think, it might be bbcim
a instead). If you want to do double-sided images, I think you have to
do two single-sided ones and merge them together. The full instructions
WERE on RetroBBC.

To Dextrovix, even if you don't reupload the games, please leave your
BBCIM instructions up and the links! They were useful too!

HTH

-- 
Cheers

Matt
______________________________________________________________________

The Saturday Breakfast Show                   DJ Matt in the Dance Mix
Saturday 8am - 10am   RaW 107.5FM over Coventry, Kenilworth and beyond
Live internet streaming on:      http://www.radio.warwick.ac.uk/audio/
This week:                                     Old-skool dance anthems
                       http://listen.to/dj.matt
______________________________________________________________________