STonX Documentation

This page last updated on Sun May 4 1997

Index

Using ``Diskfiles'' , Suggested command-line options

Using ``Diskfiles''

For dealing with ``Diskfiles'', which are sector-by-sector copies of Atari ST floppy disks and harddisk partitions to files, I recommend the mtools package. Version 3.6 can be configured easily to work on ST disk images. You can also create new disk images for STonX to work with. Here are some examples:

Creating a disk image for use with the FDC emulation (drives A: or B: with STonX >= 0.6.7)

Put the following in your ~/.mtoolsrc:

  #Atari ST disk with 40 sectors/track (ED disk image)
  drive p: 
  file="/usr/local/lib/STonX/disks/FLOPPY-4MB"

Then create the disk image with

  mformat -C -t 100 -h 2 -s40 p:

STonX should be able to handle this size with the FDC emulation. (Tested only with TOS 2.06).

Creating a disk image for BIOS-level disk access (drives >= C:)

Put the following in your ~/.mtoolsrc:

  #Atari ST "harddisk", 16MB
  drive q: 
  file="/usr/local/lib/STonX/disks/Harddisk-16MB"

Then create the disk image with

  mformat -C -t 100 -h 4 -s80 q:

BIOS level disk images can (hopefully) be of any size that your TOS version can handle.

Examining disk-files, copying from or to the local filesystem

Use mdir p: to display the contents of the disk-file created as shown above. Use mcopy to copy files. Consult the mtools documentation for more information.

Suggested command-line options

(0.6.7-delta and later) For applications etc. I use monochrome mode and the following:

  stonx -refresh 2 -vbl 2 -chunky -boot c -noaudio

For games I use this:

  stonx -refresh 1 -vbl 2 -realtime -chunky -color -timer-a

Using audio slows down the emulation quite a bit; use it only when necessary. The Timer A doesn't slow down the system unless it is used actively. The use of -chunky is always recommended (as of 0.6.7-delta combined with -private on an 8-bit display because of a bug). For games, the SVGAlib version feels better but is a bit risky, since the SVGAlib seems unstable.

Marinos "nino" Yannikos, nino@complang.tuwien.ac.at