New standalone flash tools

Discussion forums for users of the Cambridge Z88 Portable Computer
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patters
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:34 pm

New standalone flash tools

Post by patters »

Hi all,

After a lot of poking about to understand the code, and to get a grip of Z80 ASM in general, I have managed to back port the improved flash memory support from OZ 5.0 to the Z88 standard library:
https://bitbucket.org/cambridge/z88/pull-requests/1
Z88 Flash EPROM support was substantially improved in 2018 when support for many new device types was added to OZ 5.0 and to OZ 4.7.1.
Unfortunately applications dependent on the standard library were excluded from these improvements, in particular:
  • RomUpdate - for writing and updating card applications, and essential for upgrading an unmodified Z88 to a modern OZ version
  • RomCombiner - for combining card applications onto a single card
  • FlashStore - for file backups/restores to and from RAM
  • FlashTest - for diagnosing flash card hardware
  • EazyLink Standalone - for reliable serial file transfers to/from a Z88 running an older OZ ROM
This had become problematic since the obsolescence of AMD AM29Fx flash chips. New cards sold by Rakewell are now SST type.

I attach new builds of those tools. This version of Romupdate will allow even an unmodified Z88 running OZ 3.0 to write a newer version of OZ to any flashcard from the supported list:

Code: Select all

+----------+-------------+-----------+-------------+---------------+
|          | 512KB       | 1MB       | Write       | Compatibility |
+----------+-------------+-----------+-------------+---------------+
| Intel    | I28F004S5   | I28F008SA | Slot 3 only | Intel         |
| Intel    |             | I28F008S5 | Slot 3 only | Intel         |
| AMD      | AM29F040B   | AM29F080B | All slots   | AMD (AM29F)   |
| AMIC     | AMIC29F040B |           | All slots   | AMD (AM29F)   |
| AMIC     | AMIC29L040  |           | All slots   | AMD (AM29F)   |
| Eon      | EN29LV040A  |           | All slots   | AMD (AM29F)   |
| Macronix | MX29F040C   |           | All slots   | AMD (AM29F)   |
| ST       | ST29F040B   | ST29F080D | All slots   | AMD (AM29F)   |
| SST      | SST39SF040  |           | All slots   | SST (SST39SF) |
+----------+-------------+-----------+-------------+---------------+
Attachments
z88-new-standalone-flash-tools.zip
(176.96 KiB) Downloaded 47 times
Last edited by patters on Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:45 am, edited 15 times in total.
patters
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:34 pm

Re: New standalone flash tools

Post by patters »

I updated FlashStore (now V1.9.6 in the attachment above) to label cards which use SST flash memory (see screenshot below), and I have updated the documentation.
https://bitbucket.org/cambridge/z88/pull-requests/2

Image

WARNING - OZ 5.0 includes a file area of its own, which contains shell utilities. DO NOT use FlashStore to erase an OZ 5.0 file area or it will render this OS unable to boot. This is particularly important if you have a modded Z88 with a flash chip in Slot 0 (replacing the ROM).
patters
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:34 pm

Re: New standalone flash tools

Post by patters »

I added an updated EazyLink Standalone binary, to include the new flash memory support.
I updated RomCombiner (now V2.12 in the attachment above) to support SST flash memory 16KB bank erase, and I have updated the documentation.
https://bitbucket.org/cambridge/z88/pull-requests/3

Binaries are also updated on the official Z88 SourceForge site: https://sourceforge.net/projects/z88/fi ... lications/
patters
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:34 pm

Re: New standalone flash tools

Post by patters »

Updated RomCombiner to V2.13 to fix offered bank/sector ranges for flash erase in slot 0, which has RAM and flash addressed in a different order:
https://bitbucket.org/cambridge/z88/pull-requests/6
Last edited by patters on Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
patters
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:34 pm

Re: New standalone flash tools

Post by patters »

Updated FlashStore to V1.9.7 to fix failure to format a file area in slot 0:
https://bitbucket.org/cambridge/z88/pull-requests/7
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