Loading .HDS files into an emulator

[Pixoshiru]

Good day everyone,
First off, my apologies if that's a topic that's been clarified already, I've looked for it through the search engine of this forum and couldn't find anything satisfactory.
My problem is simple : I'm new to this scene, which I discovered by falling in love with the x68000's sound.
I'm thinking about getting a x68k machine at some point to make music with it but before that, I'm trying to play around with that awesome MDX collection Eidis put up here recently, as a large .HDS file.

How can I load it into XM6 or Winx68k?

I'll have other questions later, but that's a good place to start.

Thanks in advance, and kudos for that crazy cool forum, I'm learning a lot of things already!

ピ。

[lydux]

Hi Pixoshiru !

Welcome to this board, and to the x68000 scene !

.HDS files are SCSI hard drive images and so, can only be accessed by scsi ready x68k.
You are just missing an SCSI rom !

Sharp never give legal points on those scsi rom, that's why you can't find them on internet. You normally have to generate it yourself from an human68k floppy image.
But well... Today, I guess this does not really matter anymore. So I've uploaded mines on our file archive.

http://nfggames.com/X68000/Uploads/

SCSIINSU : Original internal SCSI from a Super-HD.
SCSIINCO : Original internal SCSI from a Compact XVI.

These are dumps that I have provided to the MESS team.

Just take any one of them, and rename it to SCSIINROM.DAT and drop it into XM6 folder. Then SCSI image selection should be available in option.


Have fun !

[Pixoshiru]

Oh my! Thank you so much! I don't want to put anybody into legal blurriness though, I got the files, so feel free to remove them if you feel uncomfortable having them up here.
Thank you very much, though, I'll look into that during lunch!

Have a good day!

ピ

[Pixoshiru]

Hm, in fact, I still can't get to it.
Here's what I do :
- I've set an SCSI drive up through the config menu, which means I actually set 3 up, here's what my SxSI menu looks like :
0 SASI Fixed Drive
1 SCSI, into which I load the .HDS image I want to use
2 SCSI MO Drive
7 Initiator

Past that point, I don't know how to launch it, rather than the floppies (I still get the japanese no floppy error message).

I'm sorry I'm that clueless.

[Pixoshiru]

Ok I got it too work, finally, using the info gathered in that Wiki http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:sxsi_disk_image_with_games_and_lots_of_mdx_files (which I did not see before because I'm a dummy.)

I replaced my SRAM.dat file with the one from the Wiki set of files and modified my SxSI setup according to the Wiki.

Thank you guys for the great deal of information you've put together! That's astounding!

ピ

[neko68k]

FWIW you can get SCSI to work in xm6 without using SxSI. I was never able to boot from SCSI so I use boot disks, its more convenient for me to do that anyway. I had to set a SASI disk _and_ a SCSI disk or it acts weird. My setup looks something like this.

http://imgur.com/a/7VxRA#0

Also, thanks for the real SCSI ROMs lydux. You're my hero

@Pixoshiru
If you're interested in making music you might also be interested in these:
http://www16.atwiki.jp/mxdrv/
http://www.z-z-z.jp/zmusic/index.html

[Pixoshiru]

Wow many thanks to you, Neko68k! I'll definitely look into that!
Z-Music  looks promising! I'd be curious to see what Koshiro Yuzo used for Etrian Odyssey's score, as I understand he used an x68000 machine for that.

[neko68k]

Maybe his own thing. He was known for writing a cross platform MML that I know at least runs on the pc98.

[Pixoshiru]

Interesting, and not very surprising, indeed, he seems to be much more than a composer. Thanks for everything, sir! I'll look into all the great links you sent when I get the time, things are a bit hectic here, these days.

[craiganderson]

Hm, in fact, I still can't get to it.
Here's what I do :
- I've set an SCSI drive up through the config menu, which means I actually set 3 up, here's what my SxSI menu looks like :
0 SASI Fixed Drive
1 SCSI, into which I load the .HDS image I want to use
2 SCSI MO Drive
7 Initiator

Past that point, I don't know how to launch it, rather than the floppies (I still get the japanese no floppy error message).

I'm sorry I'm that clueless.

sorry to be so clueless...but im kinda stuck where this guy was
any help is appreciated
thanks
craig

[eidis]

 Hi CraigAnderson !

Download these:

Internal SCSI ROMS
http://nfggames.com/x68000/Misc/BIOS/Internal_SCSI_ROMS.zip

Rename any of the SCSI ROM images to SCSIINROM.DAT and place it in the main directory of XM6 emulator.

Tools -> Options -> SxSI - Make sure that Drives parameter is set to 0
Tools -> Options -> SCSI - Select "Internal", make sure that Drives parameter is set to 1 and mount the HDD image as Drive with ID 0

Download and boot from this:

MasterDisk V2
http://nfggames.com/x68000/Misc/Drivers/SxSI%20V5%20with%20DMA%20patch%20Translated%20by%20Eidis/MasterDisk_V2.zip

Type "switch" and press enter
Set "BOOT" parameter to "SCSI0"
Press enter on the very last option in the list and press "Y" when asked
Remove floppy disk and reboot

By the way, I noticed that boot times with native SCSI are 10 seconds compared to 6 seconds when using SxSI

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[craiganderson]

Thank you.
I will give this a try.

Do you think this will mess up my ability to load .hdf games?

I only ask because the last time I followed the instructions a few post above, all of a sudden .hdf games would not load (and I still could not load .hds) and would lead to the floppy disk error.

(obviously I was doing something wrong)

Luckily I had saved a copy of the emulator folder before I made the changes so I was able to switch it back.


thank you very much

[eidis]

 Hi CraigAnderson !

Do you think this will mess up my ability to load .hdf games?

Not at all. Just make sure that you have a backup of SRAM.DAT file so in case something goes wrong you can revert to previous settings. Have a look at the attached sram.zip  It has two SRAM files. One for SCSI which is set to boot from ID0 and the other one for SxSI.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[craiganderson]

again, please forgive my newbie question

So will my emulator ONLY be able to load EITHER .hdf or .hds (depending on which sram i have in the folder)??

thanks

I think i have way too many files in my folder......if i were to post a list .....would u be able to tell me which ones i can delete?
(and still be able to load .dim .xdf, .hdf. .hds, .d88, .XM6)

thank u very much

[craiganderson]

here is what i have in my folder
way too many files
when i was trying to get this working i put everything i could find in there
thanks for any help

would u be able to tell me which ones i can delete?
(and still be able to load .dim .xdf, .hdf. .hds, .d88, .XM6)

[craiganderson]

and one more question
thank you
i know this is silly but the terminology "boot from" is not clear to me
other than clicking on the emulator icon...i do not know how to tell the emulator to "boot from" this or that

thank u very much for your patience and i appreciate your time very  much
craig

[eidis]

 Hi CraigAnderson !

The following table will explain which mode supports which formats:

SASI - HDF
SCSI - HDS
SxSI - HDF and HDS

I personally prefer using SxSI because it boots faster.

The following files are required for XM6G to work:

cgrom.dat - X68000 Character ROM
iplrom.dat - X68000 BIOS
mfc110.dll - Runtime library
scsiexrom.dat - Optional External SCSI ROM
scsiinrom.dat - Optional Internal SCSI ROM
sram.dat - X68000 SRAM data
xm6g.exe - Main executable
xm6g.ini - Configuration file

Every time we switch on the X68000 it tries to boot from something. Most of the times it is a floppy disk or a hard drive. Boot from means to start system.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[craiganderson]

thanks

so when you say


"Download and boot from this:

MasterDisk V2
http://nfggames.com/x68000/Misc/Drivers/SxSI%20V5%20with%20DMA%20patch%20Translated%20by%20Eidis/MasterDisk_V2.zip"

that means to just have that file inside the emulator folder in order to "boot from it"??

thanks
craig


edit 1: got my folder cleaned up
i have the sxsi sram.dat in there
so far eveything loading (hdf, dim, xdf, xm6)

not to try hds

thank u

EDIT 2
GOT .hds racing champ to load
thanks

[craiganderson]

sorry to keep bugging everygody
very excited to add .hds files to my hyperspin set up
if anybody has a collection of .hds games they would like to share i would be most appreciative

thanks
craig

[eidis]

 Hi CraigAnderson !

that means to just have that file inside the emulator folder in order to "boot from it"??

That means Download, unarchive and then
Floppy #0 -> Open -> MasterDisk_V2.xdf
File -> Reset

And it should start the system from the inserted floppy disk. Press and hold OPT.1 after reset to force booting from floppy, if the system starts only from hard drive.

if anybody has a collection of .hds games they would like to share i would be most appreciative

Here you go
http://nfggames.com/x68000/Games/

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[craiganderson]

Hello again,

Here is something kinda weird.

Ever since I started using the SxSI SRAM.DAT, I have noticed something weird with the software keyboard in the XM6g emulator.

Whenever I open up the software keyboard, it opens with the "INS" key "depressed/red"

If i USE the SRAM.DAT for SCSI in the emulator folder...it does not do it anymore

tested it like 10 times
on 3 different emulator folders

is this a known issue?

why would the "INS" key be automatically depressed
not an .ini thing.....erased that etc

happens inside and OUTSIDE of hyperspin so not a hyperspin thing

just curious
thanks
craig

[eidis]

 Hi CraigAnderson !

This must have something to do with SWITCH.X (BIOS setup). SxSI SRAM.DAT was my main workhorse so I must have altered the settings at some point. The problem goes away if you exit the emulator, delete the SRAM file, then boot from MasterDisk_V2.XDF and use BOOTSET.X to install a fresh copy of SxSI driver to SRAM.

Update: In order to avoid confusion, use the attached SRAM file. It has a clean copy of SxSI.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[craiganderson]

edit

[Sugo77]

Hello!
I use and working in emulators from Computer Sharp x68000:
xm6_typeg_332L30_20201231
xm6_typeg_336_20230523
XM6 Pro-68k

My 2 qesutions:

1.:
I have already mastered a lot for a very long time and have gradually delved into a lot of things, understood them for myself, discovered them, and figured them out... But there is still something left that I can't figure out on my own...
I barely figured out on my own how to create a Virtual Hard Disk HDD in .HDF format and install and run games from HDD (.HDF) in the xm6_typeg_332L30_20201231 emulator - it wasn't difficult, but I just can't figure out the HDD format (.HDS) - it's easy to create, but not I may not see it through the editdisk program (Disk Explorer), and emulators don't see it - not in DOS, not in shells ala Windows (Human 68k v2.01 (1989) (Sharp - Hudson), what could be the matter? Can you tell me ? I haven't found any information on this on the Internet... Does it need to be formatted somehow or something? After all, when creating an HDD (. HDF) there is Logical Formatting - formatting, when creating .HDS - there is no... It's the same as on modern PCs, you need to start by formatting the Hard Disks before working with them... editdisk (Disk Explorer) after creating .HDS does not open it at all, or rather does not see it... I have not worked with them before... I also opened it through Human 68k HDD and through Human 68k HDD SCSI In the graphical shell (Human 68k v2.01 (1989)(Sharp - Hudson)) - it also doesn't see... I know, about the walking X68000_V4SP2.HDS created by someone with a bunch of games on it - the system sees it, but I wanted to create my own large HDD (.HDS), and work with it, create it - I created it, and then what?
Of course, I inserted it where necessary, I already learned what was what in the meantime... HDD (.HDF) in SASI (Everything is easy and clear there), I created a new HDD (.HDS) in SCSI (Selecting Internal\Internal) Specifying everything correctly in BIOS, well, boot from what\Boot, etc., etc. I have already mastered the basics over time (For a long time...) But with .HDS I still don't understand...

Tell me, who knows?
I visited foreign forums, and even Japanese ones, read a lot of information, downloaded thousands of files and programs on Sarp x68000 - all in vain...

2.:
I also remembered the second question:
How to reconfigure controls for 2 players on one keyboard? It only worked out halfway... It was on the xm6_typeg_332L30_20201231 emulator, and it was on this version, because there are 2 Ports with 00 JoyKeys, customizable for 2 players, it is possible on the same keyboard! Only I haven't figured out how to make different arrows yet, but I was able to reassign the buttons to JoyKey Devices A btn.1 Port 1-1 A Button btn 2 Port 1-2 B Button and Devices B btn.1 Port 2-1 A Button btn 2 Port 2-2 B Button, all this gives me in one of the fighting games, different buttons for two players, on one PC keyboard! But, so far I can't reassign the arrows, no matter how hard I tried, and whatever I downloaded, even a certain Joyport U-kun, it is available, by the way, in the latest version (As of today, October 2023, when I am typing this text) of the xm6_typeg_336_20230523 emulator, but there for some reason the usual 00 JoyKeys are not available, it says not found, or the required resources are not available (for some reason) (A required resource was unavailable), although I downloaded a lot, a lot from different sites, even from Japanese ones, from Japanese developers, and from the authors themselves - just a lot of time...
For now, here are 2 questions for experts - people who know, have information, knowledge and experience in this, I'm getting used to the rest, I'm still delving into it on my own, and gradually, step by step, slowly I'm studying everything, experimenting, something new for myself I open it, it opens, and something happens in the knowledge of these old Japanese Sharp x68000 Computers...

P.S.:
I managed to launch games from the Japanese Computer Sharp x68000 on MAME right away...
There, different controls on one keyboard from a PC for two players are easily customizable, and everything else... Everything there is easy, simple, and not interesting...
I would like to fully understand the emulators:
xm6_typeg_332L30_20201231
xm6_typeg_336_20230523
XM6 Pro-68k

[Sugo77]

In other, simple words, withou big text...
This short question:
How to do, what new, empty HDD (.HDS), which i create in \ by use emulators can be visible and usable in editdisk (Disk Explorer)? For work with it...
Need special programs for formating HDD ( .HDS ) before use it or what? (Then which programs? )
Why emulators have option "Do logical formatting" only for HDD ( .HDF ), and do not have for HDD ( .HDS ) ?

Any ideas, who have information about it?
How creators of popular in internet archives  " X68000 " ; "X68000V4" - " X68000_V4.HDS ", with many games in it on HDD ( .HDS ) , have sucesfull with thsi task? WHat they used for it?

Btw, editdisk (Disk Explorer) opened their X68000_V4.HDS...
My new created by me in Emulators of Sharp x68000 empty HDD ( .HDS ) - no...
Any ideas, information, TIP's, Hints?
Need your help, guys... (  Need your information, TIP's, Hints, Tutorials or Lessons )

I want to know, understand, and use HDD ( .HDS ) for - tests, and because this can be have huge sizes of space (Even in Gbs ), much more than  in .HDF ( Which limited just in 40 Mb. )
But, sies not main reason, just want understand - how use .HDS?!
This main, reason, and can't do this task only by myself need your help, who have knows about it and expirence with work with this...

I just know, whta it is possible ( On example with X68000_V4.HDS by developers of this ), just not know how...
Need your help, guys...