Tandy 1000-series FAQ Version 1.26 August 3, 2004 How to use this FAQ: First look at the table of contents to find the heading for what you're looking for, then use your word processor to search for the number followed by two spaces. For example, to find information about books on the 1000-series, look through the table of contents to find "IV.D. What are some good books about the 1000's?" Then search for the string "IV.D. ". (You might have to hit the "search again" key a couple times.) Updates are marked with an asterisk (*) and new questions are marked with a plus sign (+). Contents -------- I. Introduction I.A. Sources and Credits I.B. What is comp.sys.tandy? I.C. Where is comp.sys.tandy archived? I.D. What is an FAQ? I.E. Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ? I.F. How can I contribute to the FAQ? I.G. Help me with my 1000! [no model given] ... And how to tell 1000's apart. II. Hardware Questions II.A. Memory II.A.1. How do I add additional DOS memory to my system? II.A.2. I added 128k of RAM to my 1000TL, but DOS only gave me 32k more. What happened to the other 96k? II.A.3. When I boot, it tells me I have 640k of RAM, but Chkdsk says I only have 576k. What gives? II.A.4. How do I add additional expanded memory to my system? II.A.5. How do I add additional extended memory to my system? II.A.6. What were the prices for various memory kits? II.B. Video II.B.1. Can I install VGA on my system? II.B.2. I installed VGA, but most programs still think I have CGA. How to I get VGA to work right? II.B.3. Can I emulate EGA with Tandy video? II.B.4. What is the difference between a CM5 and a CM11 (or a CM2 or ...)? II.B.5. What is this weird video Tandy has? II.B.6. Can I emulate Tandy video with EGA or VGA? II.C. Floppy Disks II.C.1. Can I upgrade the BIOS to add high-density floppy drives? II.C.2. Can I take a floppy drive out of and use it in my 1000? II.C.3. Can I take a floppy drive out of my old 1000 and use it in my new 100MHz Pentium? II.C.4. There's a port on the back for an external floppy drive. Where do I get those? II.C.5. Where do I get a replacement floppy drive? II.D. Hard Disks II.D.1. How can I install a hard drive? II.D.2. I have a 1000TL/2 with Smart Drive connector on the motherboard. How can I install a drive larger than 40 Meg? II.D.3. Can I chain two Smart Drives together? II.E. Keyboards II.E.1. My keyboard died. Where can I get a new one? II.E.2. Can I replace my old 90-key Tandy keyboard with a 101-key keyboard? II.E.3. I can get a standard XT keyboard real cheap. Can I buy/make an adapter to attach it to my old 1000? II.E.4. How can I make my old keyboard more compatible? II.E.5. What are the scan codes for the old Tandy keyboard? II.F. Processors, Coprocessors and Motherboards II.F.1. How can I increase the speed of the main processor? II.F.2. Can I install a math coprocessor? II.F.3. Can I replace the motherboard? II.F.4. I want to slow my computer down so an old game will run. Where is the turbo switch? II.G. Serial Ports, Modems, and Mice II.G.1. Can I use a fast modem with my 1000? II.G.2. Windows doesn't recognize the mouse on my RLX. What's wrong? II.G.3. My system doesn't have a serial port. Can I add one? II.G.4. Can I add another serial port? II.G.5. What kind of mouse is this, and where do I get a driver for it? II.H. Parallel Ports and Printers II.H.1. My printer keeps double-spacing. How do I make it stop? II.H.2. What kinds of printers can I use with a 1000? II.H.3. What is the pinout for the card-edge printer connector? II.H.4. Can I connect my old Tandy printer to my new computer? II.H.5. Can I use a parallel-port peripheral (other than a printer) with my card-edge printer port? II.I. Expansion Slots II.I.1. How can I get standard expansion slots on a 1000HX or EX? II.I.2. How can I add additional expansion slots? II.I.3. What kinds of cards will work in the slots on a 1000? * II.I.4. What is the pinout for the PLUS expansion connector in the 1000HX and EX? II.J. Game Ports, Joysticks, and Sound II.J.1. Can I use a standard joystick? II.J.2. Can I emulate SoundBlaster with the Tandy DAC? II.J.3. Can I install a Tandy DAC in a normal PC? II.J.4. What is the pinout for the Tandy joystick? II.K. Miscellaneous II.K.1. Radio Shack wants $4000 for a 20 Meg hard drive. Where can I get it cheaper? II.K.2. When I turn my computer on, it just beeps a lot and refuses to boot. Why does it do that? II.K.3. Where can I get diagnostic software for the 1000's? II.K.4. What is this connector marked "light pen"? II.K.5. I just got a 1000 at a yard sale, and it didn't come with disks or manuals or anything. Where can I get some? II.K.6. What are the jumper/switch settings for my 1000 or my Tandy adapter card? II.K.7. I just got a 1000 secondhand, and it has some expansion card in it that I can't identify. How do I find out about it? II.K.8. When I turn the system on, it just displays the memory size and sits there. What's happening? III. Software Questions III.A. DOS III.A.1. My system has DOS in ROM. How do I upgrade the DOS version? III.A.2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading DOS? III.A.3. How can I change CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT? III.A.4. I screwed up my CONFIG.SYS on my hard drive, and now I can't boot the system to fix it - it ignores bootable diskettes! III.B. DeskMate III.B.1. My system has DeskMate in ROM. How do I upgrade? III.B.2. I recently upgraded from my old 1000, and I really miss DeskMate! How can I get it back? III.B.3. I upgraded my DOS version, and now DeskMate is gone. How do I get it back? III.B.4. DeskMate Sound and Music won't work when the printer is connected but not turned on. What gives? III.B.5. How can I write my own programs for DeskMate? III.B.6. I upgraded my video to VGA, and now DeskMate refuses to run. What do I do? III.B.7. Is there a program for DeskMate that does (x)? III.B.8. Where can I get a DeskMate driver for printer (x)? III.B.9. I just got a 1000. What is this @#&$ "DeskMate" thing it boots into, and how do I get rid of it and run DOS? III.B.10. I've been using DeskMate on my trusty 1000 for many years, but now it's time to upgrade. How do I transfer the data to Windows? III.B.11. DeskMate is asking me for a password, and I don't know it. How do I get in? III.C. Windows III.C.1. Can I run Windows on my 1000? III.C.2. Can I run DeskMate under Windows? III.C.3. Where can I find a Windows driver for my Tandy printer? III.D. Unix and Other Operating Systems III.D.1. Can I run Unix on my 1000? III.D.2. What other operating systems are available? III.E. ROM BIOS III.E.1. What is the key combination to bring up the CMOS setup on a 1000? III.E.2. How do I upgrade the ROM BIOS on a 1000? III.F. System Setup Programs III.F.1. I just got an old 1000 secondhand, with no disks or anything. Where can I get the system setup program for it? III.F.2. What are the options to the system setup command? III.F.3 Why does my 1000 RLX say I have an invalid configuration? III.G. Applications III.G.1. Some compilers do not detect my hardware. Is there an explanation for this? III.G.2. What C compilers will work on my Tandy 1000? III.G.3. Where can I find a program for the Tandy 1000 that does (x)? III.G.4. What games are there for the 1000's? III.G.5. How can I access the Internet with my 1000? III.H. Basic III.H.1. What are the Basic patches? III.H.2. How do I get information on Basic programming? III.H.3. What is the "Child of Basic" problem? IV. Miscellaneous Information IV.A. How do I contact Tandy? IV.B. Ftp sites, Web pages, BBS's, etc. IV.B.1. What ftp sites are there for the 1000's? IV.B.2. What WWW sites are there for the 1000's? IV.B.3. What BBS's are there for the 1000's? IV.B.4. What online services have 1000-related areas? IV.C. What magazines and newsletters are there for the 1000's? IV.D. What are some good books about the 1000's? IV.E. What other newsgroups are of interest to 1000 owners? IV.F. Where can I get other FAQ's? * IV.G. Where can I get upgrade/replacement parts for my 1000? IV.H. Why is this @#$%!! machine so incompatible? IV.I. What happened to Tandy? I. Introduction I.A. Sources and Credits The maintainer of this FAQ is Jeff Hayes . My sources include the Delphi Tandy forum, the CompuServe TRS-80 Professional forum, the America Online DeskMate and Tandy forums, the comp.sys.tandy newsgroup (and the many knowledgeable people there), some of the books listed in section IV.D., and a few back issues of _PCM_ magazine. Antony D. Gordon was the maintainer for a while, but he's no longer involved with the FAQ. He's got a paying job now, but every so often I hear from him. Other contributors' names appear next to their contributions, but I'm afraid I left some people out. None of this information is guaranteed to be accurate or complete. If the information in this FAQ causes you to reformat your hard drive, blow out your power supply, replace all occurrences of "the" in your dissertation with random expletives, or remember how you were abused as a child and must therefore murder your parents, I am not responsible. Suing me is not a wise proposition anyway since I am poor as a pauper. If you see something wrong here, or have something that should be added, please contribute (see section I.F.). I.B. What is comp.sys.tandy? comp.sys.tandy is a Usenet newsgroup for discussion of any and all Tandy computers, both hardware and software. To get access to the group, you will generally need to have an account at an Internet site that carries the group and some newsreading software. If your site does not carry the group, ask your system administrator or news administrator about adding it. It is also possible to access Usenet via WWW. Go to this site: http://groups.google.com/ It is appropriate to post any of the following to comp.sys.tandy: system- specific questions about your 1000 or any other Tandy model; discussions of solutions and workarounds you have found for your Tandy-specific problems; announcements of Tandy-specific hardware or software you have privately for sale, or requests to purchase the same; or basically anything else that is Tandy-specific. It is *not* appropriate to post any of the following to comp.sys.tandy: general questions about DOS, Windows, or an application that are not Tandy- specific; general questions about programming PC-compatible computers or using your compiler; and general questions about IBM PC hardware. There are other newsgroups for discussion of those things (and plenty of books on them). If you have a problem and are not sure whether it is due to a compatibility problem with your machine, you can ask in comp.sys.tandy; if your problem is a general one, you will probably be referred elsewhere. Bear in mind that some TRS-80 owners just barely tolerate us in "their" newsgroup, and it gets their dander up if you ask a lot of questions about how to format a floppy. I.C. Where is comp.sys.tandy archived? Google has messages going back to 1987: http://groups.google.com/ I.D. What is an FAQ? An FAQ (short for "frequently asked questions") is a compilation of information frequently asked for and given in a newsgroup. It also usually states the newsgroup's purpose and the etiquette to be followed when posting. Its purpose is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in the group by reducing repetitive threads and eliminating flame wars caused by breaches of etiquette. The FAQ is usually in question-and-answer format. comp.sys.tandy does not currently have a bandwidth problem, but an FAQ for the 1000's is still useful, since the people who know the answers may not be following the group when a particular question is asked for the fifth time, or they may be tired of answering it. I.E. Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ? The latest plaintext version will be on my ftp site in directory: tvdog.shacknet.nu:/tandy1000/documents/ The latest HTML version will be accessible via my home page on the WWW: http://tvdog.shacknet.nu/index.html I.F. How can I contribute to the FAQ? I thought you'd never ask ;-). Send your corrections and additions to . Where possible, refer to the section number that contains the mistake or omission. Questions not in the FAQ that should be there are also wanted, even if you don't know the answer. I don't update this thing very often, but I'll keep your email for when I get around to it :-). I.G. Help me with my 1000! [no model given] ... And how to tell 1000's apart. You won't get much (useful) help if you post a question in comp.sys.tandy saying, "Such-and-such won't work on my Tandy 1000, what do I do?" The 1000-series range from the original 1000, which came standard with a 4.77MHz 8088, PCjr-compatible graphics, and 128k RAM, to the 1000RSX, which came standard with a 25MHz 80386SX, SVGA graphics, and can be upgraded to 9 megabytes of RAM (1 meg standard). You have to tell us which *model* 1000 it is. The choices are (in more-or-less chronological order): original 1000 (no letters), 1000HD, 1000A, 1000AX (rare, mostly the same as the SX), 1000SX, 1000EX, 1000HX, 1000TX, 1000SL, 1000PC (rare, mostly the same as the SL), 1000TL, 1000SL/2, 1000TL/2, 1000TL/3, 1000RL, 1000RL-HD, 1000RLX, 1000RLX-HD, 1000RLX-B, 1000RLX-HD-B, 1000RSX, and 1000RSX-HD. In the following, I often refer to "TX and earlier" and "SL and later." The later ones are much more compatible with the IBM PC - the earlier ones are more compatible with the IBM PCjr (see section IV.H.). I will also abbreviate the names - "TL" means 1000TL; "TL/2" means 1000TL/2; and "TL's" means 1000TL, 1000TL/2, and/or 1000TL/3. II. Hardware Questions II.A. Memory II.A.1. How do I add additional DOS memory to my system? On the 1000 and 1000A, you need to add an expansion card. This card will contain both additional RAM and a DMA chip, improving the speed and compatibility as well as the memory size. Tandy used to sell such a card, but it has been discontinued. You can still get one from third parties, though (see section IV.G.). The EX and HX will also need an expansion card, one made for their slots. One or more additional PLUS-type slots may also come with the memory expansion. Tandy used to sell a memory card for these systems too. Third parties still have the cards. The other systems will only need standard DRAMs. You can get these anywhere. It is OK to use faster chips than required (i.e., 100ns instead of 120ns). The SX will take 8 256k x 1 150ns DRAM chips. The chips go behind the other RAM chips near the front of the machine. You also need to remove the jumper labelled E1-E2. The TX uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAM chips. The chips go in the sockets labelled U54-57. Remove the jumper labelled E9-E10. The TL uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. The chips go in the sockets labelled U36-39. There is no jumper to move. The TL/2 uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. The chips go in the sockets next to the other RAM chips, in front of the expansion slots. There is no jumper. The TL/3 uses 4 64k x 4 100ns DRAMs. The chips go in the sockets labelled U4-7. There is no jumper. The SL uses 8 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. They go in the sockets next to the other chips. There is no jumper. The SL/2 uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. They go next to the other chips. There is no jumper. The RL and RL-HD use 2 256k x 4 100ns DRAMs. They go in the sockets labelled U19 and U23. There is no jumper. The RLX uses 4 256k x 4 100ns ZIP DRAMs. This not a common type of chip. They go in the sockets labelled U23-26. There is no jumper. The RLX-B uses 4 256k x 4 100ns ZIP DRAMs. They go in the sockets labelled U2, U4, U5, and U9. There is no jumper. The RLX-HD, RLX-HD-B and RSX's came from the factory fully populated with conventional RAM. See Section II.A.6. for pricing information. II.A.2. I added 128k of RAM to my 1000TL, but DOS only gave me 32k more. What happened to the other 96k? II.A.3. When I boot, it tells me I have 640k of RAM, but Chkdsk says I only have 576k. What gives? All of the 1000-series except for the 1000RLX's and RSX's have special video controller circuitry that allocates some of the video memory for DOS if there is less than 640k of conventional RAM installed. The video controller has 128k or 256k (depending on the model), which is more than it really needs under most circumstances, since CGA programs only use 16k, and even most programs that use the special Tandy video modes only use 32k (Hercules mono graphics also requires 32k). About the most that is *ever* used is the 64k that the special 640x200x16 video mode on the 1000SL's, TL's, and RL's requires. (All video RAM could conceivably be used by some programs for animation.) The original 1000 was a clone of the IBM PCjr (see section IV.H.). The PCjr came with 128k RAM that was *both* video RAM and system RAM - whence the 128k attached to the video controller. Among other things, this enabled IBM to leave out the DMA controller the IBM PC had, since the RAM was continually being refreshed by the video controller. The original 1000, 1000A, 1000EX, and 1000HX have no DMA controllers on the motherboard either (one is included with the memory expansion card). Tandy added a DMA controller to later systems, but the video stayed the same, at least at the BIOS and memory-mapping level, up till VGA was added with the RLX. On Tandy's with PCjr-compatible video, that 128k or 256k is still both video and system RAM - and since not all of it is normally needed for video, part of it is normally "stolen" by DOS, up to a limit of 640k system RAM. When the BIOS displays the system memory at bootup, it's telling a little white lie, since it includes the video memory in the total. There is, after all, no way to know who owns what memory, DOS or the video, so it is all lumped together. You can change the amount that the video keeps for itself with the /A option on your system setup program, if you have it (see section III.F.2.). (There is also a shareware program called Adjmem that can change the amount at runtime.) When you install additional conventional memory in your system, whatever video memory was being "stolen" by DOS goes back to the video, if DOS has 640k. The amount of DOS RAM you gain by the upgrade thus may not be equal to the amount of RAM you install, since whatever was stolen before is lost. There is no way to make the Tandy BIOS allocate more than 640k for DOS, and no way to do it by programming either, at least on the SL and later systems (ask me by email - it would be too long to explain here). If you are still using the built-in video, the memory upgrade is definitely worthwhile since every byte of conventional RAM counts these days. If you upgrade the video, though, all of the motherboard video RAM will go to DOS to make up whatever is missing from 640k. VGA (and EGA) cards have their own memory, so they don't need what's on the motherboard. With VGA, in a sense it is useless to expand your total system RAM beyond 640k on these systems; as far as I know, there is no program available that will make any use of the motherboard video RAM on a 1000TL with 768k and VGA (my program Vswitch will allow you to use both VGA and the motherboard video). One thing to note, however: some programs (such as Windows 2.11) and expansion cards (such as Acculogic and Intel EMS cards) may not work properly without the extra 128k memory upgrade, even if VGA is installed. There are two causes for this: First, the RAM that is "stolen" by DOS from the video is actually accessed through the video controller, making it slower than the rest of system RAM; time-critical things like sound programs are affected by that. Second, an LIM 4.0 EMS driver may "see" that there is, say, 576k system RAM, and erroneously conclude that the memory between 576k and 640k is available to be mapped as EMS, when in fact part of it is double-mapped video memory (the double-mapping is another PCjr fossil). Hence, it is a good idea in any case to add as much motherboard memory as your system will take - which on most 1000's is quite cheap to do these days. II.A.4. How do I add additional expanded memory to my system? On older 1000's (i.e., pre-SL) with standard slots, four EMS cards will work: the Micro Mainframe 5150T, the Intel Matched Memory Classic, the Intel Above Board ISA, and the InvisiSOFT Invisible EMS board. The latter three are hardware LIM 4 and can be used for upper memory blocks with DOS 5 or 6 (possibly requiring Qram or equivalent); the 5150T does not supply upper memory blocks. Upper memory blocks may not be available on systems with DOS in ROM, even if DOS is upgraded, because the memory segment (E0000h) that would be used as an upper memory block by the EMS card is already occupied by the ROM drive (whether the ROM drive is accessed or not). Problems have been reported with the Acculogic RAMPAT!-Plus card on pre-SL systems (causes lockup). A few multifunction cards were made for the original 1000, A, and HD that had expanded RAM as an option. The PBJ XRAM card was another EMS card that would work in those systems. The EX and HX will need a special EMS card because of their nonstandard slots; see section IV.G. for sources. (With those systems, conventional RAM and EMS may be added on the same card.) Lloyd W. Kuhn writes: Some years ago I put an Intel expanded memory board in my TL, but I had a heck of a hard time getting the Intel software to configure the board to the computer. I called Intel and although they they tried, they couldn't help me. Because the TL has an 80286 processor, the software tried to make the computer out as an AT clone. But when the software sensed the 8 bit expansion slots, it was sure the computer was an XT clone. Therefore I couldn't configure it as an AT nor as an XT. However out of frustration, I tried configuring the TL as an IBM model 30. That worked and the board has been working ever since. The SL's, TL's, RL's, and RLX's can use any 8-bit expanded memory card that is 10" or less in length. The RSX's do not need expanded memory; use extended. II.A.5. How do I add additional extended memory to my system? The RLX's can have 384k of extended RAM, installed at the same time as you upgrade the conventional RAM (see section II.A.1.). The RLX-HD and RLX-HD-B came fully populated with 1M system RAM, though. You add RAM to the RSX by putting either 2 70ns 1Mx9 SIMMs or 2 60ns 4Mx9 SIMMs in the empty sockets. You have to run Setuprsx after installing to make the system recognize the new memory. If HIMEM.SYS does not recognize your extended memory, use the /M:2 option. None of the other 1000's can have extended RAM. II.A.6. What were the prices for various memory kits? Ken Udut provided the following information: 128K Memory Kit Tandy 1000 TX TL TL/2 SL SL/2 [not TL/3] Radio Shack #: 25-1078 Price: $29.99 NOTE: The SL requires 2 kits. 256K Memory Kit Tandy 1000 SX Radio Shack #: 25-1079 Price: $39.99 256K Memory Kit Tandy 1000 RL [also 4800 series and 25-1640/1641 MMPC desktops] Radio Shack #: 25-1082 Price: $39.99 512K ZIP Memory Kit Tandy 1000 RLX Radio Shack #: 25-1083 Price: $59.99 Memory PLUS expansion adapter Tandy 1000 EX HX Radio Shack #: 25-2062 Price: $189.99 NOTE: On sale every few months. Note: These prices were as of several years ago. Check with Tandy for current prices. Also, most systems use common DRAMs, which need not be purchased from Tandy (see section II.A.1.). II.B. Video II.B.1. Can I install VGA on my system? On the original 1000, 1000A, and 1000HD, no. On those systems, the BIOS will not scan for a video ROM or disable the onboard video. Matthew Electronics once manufactured a special EGA card for the original 1000, A, and HD, but it is no longer available. That said, it is generally possible to get a standard EGA card to work to some degree if you make a program for AUTOEXEC.BAT to enable it; see file ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/documents/egat1k.txt An MDA or Hercules card would probably work as well or better, though again you would probably need to make a program to enable it. One other problem you are likely to have is that an EGA or Hercules card will want to use IRQ 2 for vertical retrace, which conflicts with the hard drive; you need to have a hard drive controller that does not use an IRQ (or do without a hard drive). Upgrading the video on the original 1000, A, or HD is definitely a "hacker upgrade." The EX and HX can have VGA but will need a special card because of their nonstandard expansion slots. The SX and TX need to have DIP switch 1 turned off. The SL's, TL's and RL's won't require any hardware changes; just plug in the card. The RLX's and RSX's came standard with VGA. Both can accept upgrade video cards as well. All 1000's that don't come standard with VGA will require that a special program be placed in AUTOEXEC.BAT to make sure the new video is recognized (see section II.B.2.). II.B.2. I installed VGA, but most programs still think I have CGA. How do I get VGA to work right? The Tandy BIOS fails to set the Video Configuration Code byte at 0040:008A. The default value of this byte is 3Fh. The correct values are: 0Bh, for a single VGA color card; 0Ch, for a dual-monitor system with VGA color and MDA mono; 0Dh, for a single VGA mono board; and 0Eh, for a dual-monitor system with mono VGA and MDA. The solution is to put a short program in your Autoexec.bat file that will set this byte to the correct value. Without the fix, the VGA card will function, but some programs will misidentify it as EGA or CGA. There are various programs around to do this. Radio Shack included one with their version of the Paradise card, and if you get your VGA card from a place that specializes in 1000's, they will give you one. There is also a bug in the BIOS of the Paradise VGA PLUS card sold by Tandy. This card fails to return the correct video ID information for Int 10h AH=1Ah. This is also easily fixed by a small program in Autoexec.bat. There are free programs available to fix these problems. Get vgafix.zip from my site, for example. (See section IV.B.1.) II.B.3. Can I emulate EGA with Tandy video? No. Although the SL's, TL's and RL's have a 640x200x16 video mode that is similar in resolution to EGA, the register programming and memory mapping are different. The same applies vis-a-vis the 320x200x16 video mode that all 1000's (except the RLX's and RSX's) have. II.B.4. What is the difference between a CM5 and a CM11 (or a CM2 or ...)? The CM5 and CM11 are both CGA monitors. The difference is the resolution. The CM11 is much clearer due to its smaller dot pitch (and was about twice as expensive as the CM5). Some say the CM5 can't display 640x200 graphics. That is a function of the controller, though, not the monitor. The CM5 will work in all Tandy graphics modes. Whether it looks good is another story. The CM2 and CM10 are older versions of the CM11. The CM4 is an older version of the CM5. The CM1 is another animal entirely. It was a color monitor made for use with the Tandy 2000 and had a resolution of 640x400. Tandy made at least three video cards that would permit the CM1 to be used with an IBM PC. With the Dual Text Display Adapter, catalog number 25-3046, the CM1 displays only text. With the Dual Graphics Display Adapter, catalog number 25-3047, the CM1 can display CGA-compatible 640x200 graphics, or 640x400 graphics with special software. With the Enhanced Graphics Adapter, catalog number 25-4037, the CM1 displays 640x350 EGA graphics. The VM1, a monochrome monitor for the 2000, works with the same cards. No non-Tandy card will work with the CM1 or VM1. The CM8 is only for use with the Color Computer; there is no adapter card for an IBM PC. The VM2 and VM4 are monochrome composite monitors made to plug into the composite CGA port on the original 1000, HD, A, HX, EX, SX, and TX. The VM1, VM3, and VM5 are monochrome TTL (MDA/Hercules) monitors. They can be used with the 1000SL's, TL's, and RL's. The EGM1 is an EGA monitor. VGM* are VGA or SVGA monitors. You do not have to use a Tandy monitor; any CGA monitor will work. If you have problems with a non-Tandy CGA monitor, try "MODE 200" at the DOS prompt (Tandy DOS only). One non-standard thing that Tandy did was to use 225 scanlines for text modes in CGA, giving somewhat clearer text. IBM standard is 200 scanlines. II.B.5. What is this weird video Tandy has? The original 1000 was a clone of the IBM PCjr (see section IV.H.). The PCjr video is BIOS- and memory-mapping compatible with CGA, though not register-compatible. It also has 160x200x16, 320x200x16, and 640x200x4 video modes that CGA does not have. Most programs using CGA video modes use the BIOS to interface with the video adapter (except for setting pixels) and will work. Pre-SL systems have this type of video, also known as Tandy Video I, TGA, TCGA, or ECGA. Digital or mono composite CGA monitors can be used. Some of the books in section IV.D. contain programming information on Tandy 1000/PCjr video. The video on the SL's, TL's, and RL's is known as Tandy Video II or ETGA. The video adapter takes either a digital CGA or Mono TTL monitor; pressing ---V reboots the system and switches monitor types, saving the type in EEPROM. When a Mono TTL monitor is used, the video is compatible with the Hercules adapter. When a CGA monitor is used, the video is register-compatible with CGA and BIOS- and memory-mapping compatible with PCjr. Any program using CGA will work, and most (but not all) programs using PCjr video will work. This adapter also has the 160x200x16, 320x200x16, and 640x200x4 modes of Tandy Video I, as well as a 640x200x16 mode (the BIOS does not support this mode - you need to program controller registers to get it or use a TSR such as grafix.zip (see section IV.B.1. for a site)). The technical reference manual for your system has information on ETGA (see section IV.G.). The RLX's have basic (256k) VGA built in; it is not upgradeable. The RSX's 256k VGA is upgradeable to 512k and can display 1024x768 with an appropriate monitor. Both can display Hercules graphics on a VGA monitor. Most systems can also take upgrade video cards (see section II.B.1.). II.B.6. Can I emulate Tandy video with EGA or VGA? In principle, this could be done using virtual 86 mode on 386 and later processors, and someone once made noises about doing it, but as far as I know nothing ever came of it. (If you're trying to make DeskMate work with EGA or VGA, see section III.B.6.) II.C. Floppy Disks II.C.1. Can I upgrade the BIOS to add high-density floppy drives? The TL/3, RLX's, and RSX's can take high-density drives, though the TL/3 did not come with one. The RLX's will not take low-density drives. Other models require that a secondary controller be installed in an expansion slot to add high-density drives. There was a rumor that an AMI or Phoenix BIOS upgrade for the IBM XT could be used in a Tandy 1000-series, permitting high-density drives to be used with the built-in controller, and providing BIOS support for hard drives. The rumor was false. In most 1000-series, the built-in controller cannot support high-density drives because the data separator will only run at 250k bps. In the SL and TL, the data separator is capable of running at 500k bps, but the data rate pin is hard-wired to 250k and the drive speed pin on the floppy cable is not connected. In addition, an IBM BIOS chip would not support Tandy-specific features such as the weird video memory mapping and the digitized sound functions on the SL/TL. Tandy says: Tandy Corporation/Radio Shack does not support installing a high density drive in your Tandy 1000TL computer as the on-board Floppy Drive Controller (FDC) circuitry is not designed to work with this type of drive. The FDC circuitry only has the capability of recognizing a low density disk drive. As well, since the FDC circuitry has no option for being disabled through jumpers or dipswitches, this circuitry cannot be changed to setup as the secondary address. The BIOS ROM does not support a secondary FDC address, thus precluding the installation of a controller card set to the secondary address. THANK YOU, RADIO SHACK COMPUTER SUPPORT SERVICE CC/dp Of course, this is just another case of "we don't sell it, therefore it can't be done." In reality, there are secondary cards available that contain their own BIOS, providing either bootable or non-bootable high- density drives (see section IV.G.). (My mother has an ancient Seagate hard drive controller with this feature.) II.C.2. Can I take a floppy drive out of and use it in my 1000? If it's a 5-1/4" drive, generally yes. Note that the data connector is upside-down on the SX. It needs to be the right-density drive for the machine. For 3-1/2" drives, maybe. The HX, TX, SL/2, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's use a special floppy drive that draws power through the data cable. Connecting a standard 3-1/2" drive not designed to do that can damage both the drive and the computer. If your existing floppy drive does not have a four-wire (red, red, black, yellow) power cable going to it, you *MUST NOT* replace it with a standard drive (unless you modify the floppy cable, see below). Tandy-style drives were made by Teac and Sony; here are some: Sony MP-F11W-72 Sony MP-F11W-71 Sony MP-F17W-72 Sony MP-F17W-70D Teac 235HF-106U Tandy continued using the drives long after the 1000-series ended (my 4033LX has one in it - high density of course). In the case of systems with drives that draw power through the data cable, you can connect a standard drive if you modify the cable. You need to punch holes in the data cable to cut the power; look at the 5-1/4" cable in the same machine. Specifically, +5V is supplied on pins 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, and +12V is supplied on pins 29, 31, and 33. All of these are ground pins on a standard floppy cable, so you need to cut them. Use a Tandy-style (straight-through, not twisted) floppy cable, like the original that came with the machine. NOTE: If you don't feel confident about modifying your floppy cable in this way, don't. If you make a mistake, you can blow out your power supply, your motherboard, your floppy drive, or all three. To fix the cable, extract the wires you need to cut by cutting the cable lengthwise between the wires with a utility knife, taking care not to cut the wires themselves. Pin 1 is marked on the cable in red. On a standard floppy drive, all the grounds are connected together, so you don't need to worry about connecting an actual ground wire to the pins you cut. If you want to continue to use a Tandy drive in the same machine, place the standard drive at the end of the cable and the Tandy drive in the middle, and make the cuts above the connector for the Tandy drive, so that the power coming from the motherboard gets to the first (Tandy) drive but not to the second (standard) drive. Of course, you need to connect a power cable to the standard drive. Another problem you might have with 3-1/2" drives is that the drive may not physically fit in the machine due to the placement and length of the eject button, since the drive bezel is built in to the case. Finally, note that unlike most every other PC, the floppy cable in the 1000-series is *not* twisted, so you need to set the drive select jumper or switch on the drive. Also, if you put a high-density 3-1/2" drive in a machine that doesn't support one, it works, but only as a low-density drive. II.C.3. Can I take a floppy drive out of my old 1000 and use it in my new 100MHz Pentium? Some 1000's use special floppy drives that draw power through the data cable, so it may take some hardware hacking to do this. The 3-1/2" drives are the culprits. See section II.C.2. A dead giveaway for a Tandy drive is that it has no power connector. What you would need to do to put a 3-1/2" Tandy-style drive in a standard machine is cut out the wires in the data cable that the Tandy drive wants power on, disconnecting them from the motherboard, then solder the wires to a power cable. The red wire on the power cable is +5V, the black is ground, and the yellow is +12V. II.C.4. There's a port on the back for an external floppy drive. Where do I get those? II.C.5. Where do I get a replacement floppy drive? See section IV.G. II.D. Hard Disks II.D.1. How can I install a hard drive? The RSX's have a built-in AT IDE interface. You can get those drives anywhere. The TL/2, TL/3, RL's, and RLX's have a built-in XT IDE ("Smart Drive") interface. These drives can be hard to find new and don't come larger than 40MB. AT IDE drives (what everybody means when they advertise IDE drives for sale) do not work with the built-in interface. The Seagate ST351A/X is a 40MB drive. It is a combination XT/AT IDE drive; you will need it jumpered for the XT. Some other XT IDE drives are the Seagate ST325X, ST325A/X, and ST351X, and the Western Digital WD93028, WD98028, WD93038-X, WD93044-X, and WD98044-X. Tandy once sold a full line of XT IDE drives, so your local Radio Shack may be able to locate one. DCS Industries also carries XT IDE drives; see section IV.G. There can be a problem with 40MB drives in the RL, in that it refuses to recognize more than 20MB of the drive. The system setup program must be used to force the BIOS to recognize the drive type by manually entering the number of heads and cylinders. Call Tandy customer support for more information (see section IV.A.). Tandy provides the following information on adding an XT IDE "Smart Drive" to a 1000RLX that did not come with one (the information should be relevant for other models): If you choose to add a SmartDrive to your floppy RLX computer later, you'll find the installation a very easy task. The 20 (25-1047) and 40 (25-1048) Megabyte SmartDrives feature the HINSTALL initialization program that runs under DeskMate. Four keystrokes and you're finished. Even a labeled blank diskette is included! The MS-DOS/GW-BASIC diskette installs to the SmartDrive under DeskMate as well. Just start DeskMate, press , highlight INSTALL, put your MS-DOS/GW-BASIC diskette in Drive A, and MS-DOS is installed in its own directory. It even creates or modifies the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and sets the ROM. Other systems do not have a built-in controller and will need one on an expansion card, and even if you have a built-in IDE interface you can go this route. It needs to be an 8-bit card, and if it's an IDE controller it needs to have a special Tandy BIOS if (a) your computer is an old (pre-SL) system, or (b) it has a built-in XT IDE interface. The Silicon Valley ADP50T ("T" for Tandy BIOS, ADP50 is not the same) is a good 8-bit AT IDE card that cooperates with your existing XT IDE drive and can chain two AT IDE drives, and it does not use DMA or IRQ. Acculogic also makes 8-bit AT IDE controllers that some in comp.sys.tandy swear by, but be careful as some Acculogic controllers will not work with some Tandy's. Your local Radio Shack sells an 8-bit AT IDE controller for the 1000's, catalog number 25-1095, for $99. The card does not conflict with the built-in controller in the TL/2, TL/3, RL's, and RLX's. Regarding the RL, a poster in comp.sys.tandy wrote: For the RL, you have to cut away a little of the bracket that comes with it or it will hit the motherboard. It says that it is not recommended for the RL, but that is only because of the size problem ... about 5 minutes of cutting, and it will work just fine. (Such cutting is probably best done with a grinding wheel.) The 25-1095 card is very wide and needs to be placed in the innermost expansion slot, or it will take up two adjacent slots. It will not fit in a 16-bit slot. There may also be a problem with the hard drive interrupt. Normally, the hard drive in an XT-class system uses IRQ5, and the video uses IRQ2. The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, and HX have these reversed; they will need special hard drive controllers (some, but not all, controllers have a jumper to set the IRQ, and some do not use an IRQ). The EX and HX have weird slots and tiny cases and will need special controllers anyway. The SX and TX are the same with regard to the interrupt, but in their case you can turn DIP switch 2 off on the motherboard to swap the interrupts back and use a standard controller. All other systems have the interrupts right. The original 1000 may need a BIOS upgrade before installing a hard drive. See section III.E.2. for information on upgrading the BIOS. FYI, the problem is that the BIOS programs the DMA controller for extended write cycles rather than normal write cycles, causing timing problems. Two changes to BIOS version 01.00.00 would correct the problem: Address Current byte Correct byte F000:C7B7 24 20 F000:C7FC 20 00 (All numbers are hex.) Alternately, two instructions added to the hard drive controller BIOS would work around it: XOR AL,AL OUT 8,AL Tandy once offered to take the Memory Plus expansion adapter back and replace the PAL chip (U14) to correct the problem. It is probably better just to upgrade the BIOS. Quantum IDE drives may not work in a Tandy. Some people think they can't install a drive and controller and need a "hardcard" instead, because the owner's manual mentions the latter and not the former. A hardcard is just a controller and drive combination mounted on a card, though, and some companies sell brackets that enable a person to make their own hardcard out of a controller and a 3-1/2" hard drive - a useful option if you're out of drive bays. DCS Industries markets hardcards for the 1000's and may be willing to sell you the bracket (see section IV.G.). Beware that the 1000's have shorter slots than the IBM XT - if you get a hardcard, it needs to be specially made for the 1000's. If you are out of drive bays, it may be possible to install a hard drive by attaching it to the bottom of an existing bay with Velcro. It really doesn't matter how you shove it in there, as long as you don't block the vents :-). The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX and HX will generally need to have the memory expanded above the base configuration to add DMA before installing a hard drive (see section II.A.1.), though there are a few controllers designed to get around that problem. It is wise to upgrade the memory anyway. It is reported that some software will not work properly with Tandy hard cards if you have Tandy DOS below 3.2. If you get a hard drive, you should make it bootable even if you don't plan to boot from it, in case you decide to upgrade your DOS version later (see section III.A.1.). An 8-bit hard drive controller must be paired with a drive appropriate for it. In other words, you should get your hard drive and controller at the same time, from the same company, to avoid compatibility problems. Because of the complications involved, you probably should get your hard drive and controller from a company that specializes in the 1000's, or at least is familiar with them. See section IV.G. II.D.2. I have a 1000TL/2 with Smart Drive connector on the motherboard. How can I install a drive larger than 40 Meg? Put an AT IDE, MFM, RLL, or SCSI controller in a slot and attach a drive to it. See section II.D.1. II.D.3. Can I chain two Smart Drives together? No. XT IDE drives cannot be chained. II.E. Keyboards II.E.1. My keyboard died. Where can I get a new one? On the EX and HX, the keyboard is built in and can't be replaced. For other systems, see section IV.G. II.E.2. Can I replace my old 90-key Tandy keyboard with a 101-key keyboard? On the EX and HX, no. On other systems, yes, but it won't work exactly like a standard 101-key keyboard since the Tandy keyboard BIOS is different. A special 101-key keyboard made for the 1000's must be used. See section IV.G. (SL and later systems came with a 101-key keyboard, and a compatible BIOS.) II.E.3. I can get a standard XT keyboard real cheap. Can I buy/make an adapter to attach it to my old 1000? Don't know. Tandy used to sell such an adapter, but not any more. It would not be a straightforward wiring job, since the signals are different. II.E.4. How can I make my old keyboard more compatible? There are a couple of TSR's that will remap your keyboard to make it more compatible. Some Tandy DOS versions come with such a utility; also see section IV.B.1. II.E.5. What are the scan codes for the old Tandy keyboard? Keyboard ASCII/Scan codes The first table in this appendix lists the keys on the Tandy 1000 keyboard in scan code order, along with the ASCII codes they generate. For each key, the following entries are given: SCAN CODE - A value in the range 01H-5AH which uniquely identifies the physical key on the keyboard that is pressed. KEYBOARD LEGEND - The physical marking(s) on the key. If there is more than one marking, the upper one is listed first. ASCII CODE - The ASCII codes associated with the key. The four modes are: NORMAL - The normal ASCII value when only the indicated key is pressed SHIFT - The shifted ASCII value CTRL - The control ASCII value ALT - the alternate ASCII value REMARKS - Any remarks or special functions The following special symbols appear in the table: x - Values preceded by an "x" are extended ASCII codes, preceded by null - - No ASCII code generated * - No ASCII code is generated but the special function described in the remarks column is performed. The ALT key provides a way to generate the ASCII codes of decimal numbers in the range 1 to 255. Hold down the ALT key while you type ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD any decimal number in the range of 1 to 255. When you release ALT, the ASCII code of the number typed is generated and displayed. NOTE: When the NUM LOCK light is off, the NORMAL and SHIFT columns for these keys should be reversed (referring to the keypad). All numeric values in the table are expressed in hexadecimal. "!" means the scan code is different from the standard. Note that the ASCII codes may still be different if not marked with "!". QWERTY (USA) - Tandy 1000 Scan Kybd Code Legend normal shift ctrl alt remarks 01 ESC 1b 1b 1b x8b 02 1 ! 31 21 xe1 x78 03 2 @ 32 40 x03 x79 04 3 # 33 23 xe3 x7a 05 4 $ 34 24 xe4 x7b 06 5 % 35 25 xe5 x7c 07 6 ^ 36 5e 1e x7d 08 7 & 37 26 xe7 x7e 09 8 * 38 2a xe8 x7f 0a 9 ( 39 28 xe9 x80 0b 0 ) 30 29 xe0 x81 0c - _ 2d 5f 1f x82 0d = + 3d 2b xf5 x83 0e BACK SPACE 08 08 7f x8c 0f TAB 09 x0f x8d x8e 10 q 71 51 11 x10 11 w 77 57 17 x11 12 e 65 45 05 x12 13 r 72 52 12 x13 14 t 74 54 14 x14 15 y 79 59 19 x15 16 u 75 55 15 x16 17 i 69 49 09 x17 18 o 6f 4f 0f x18 19 p 70 50 10 x19 1a [ { 5b 7b 1b xeb 1b ] } 5d 7d 1d - 1c ENTER 0d 0d 0a x8f MAIN KEYBOARD 1d CTRL * * * * CONTROL MODE 1e a 61 41 01 x1e 1f s 73 53 13 x1f 20 d 64 44 04 x20 21 f 66 46 06 x21 22 g 67 47 07 x22 23 h 68 48 08 x23 24 j 6a 4a 0a x24 25 k 6b 4b 0b x25 26 l 6c 4c 0c x26 27 ; : 3b 3a xf6 xf8 28 ' " 27 22 xf7 xf1 ! 29 UP ARROW x48 x85 x90 x91 2a SHIFT * * * * LEFT SHIFT ! 2b LEFT ARROW x4b x87 x73 x92 2c z 7a 5a 1a x2c 2d x 78 58 18 x2d 2e c 63 43 03 x2e 2f v 76 56 16 x2f 30 b 62 42 02 x30 31 n 6e 4e 0e x31 32 m 6d 4d 0d x32 33 , < 2c 3c xf9 x89 34 . > 2e 3e xfa x8a 35 / ? 2f 3f xfb xf2 36 SHIFT * * * * RIGHT SHIFT ! 37 PRINT 10 * 72 x46 SCR PRINT TOGGLE 38 ALT * * * * ALTERNATE MODE 39 SPACE BAR 20 20 20 20 3a CAPS LOCK * * * * CAPS LOCK 3b F1 x3b x54 x5e x68 3c F2 x3c x55 x5f x69 3d F3 x3d x56 x60 x6a 3e F4 x3e x57 x61 x6b 3f F5 x3f x58 x62 x6c 40 F6 x40 x59 x63 x6d 41 F7 x41 x5a x64 x6e 42 F8 x42 x5b x65 x6f 43 F9 x43 x5c x66 x70 44 F10 x44 x5d x67 x71 45 NUM LOCK * * * * NUMBER LOCK ! 46 HOLD * * * * FREEZE DISPLAY 47 7 \ 37 5c x93 * 48 8 ~ 38 7e x94 * 49 9 PG UP 39 x49 x84 * ! 4a DOWN ARROW x50 x86 x96 x97 4b 4 | 34 7c x95 * 4c 5 35 xf3 xfc * 4d 6 36 xf4 xfd * ! 4e RIGHT ARROW x4d x88 x74 xea 4f 1 END 31 x4f x75 * 50 2 ` 32 60 x9a * 51 3 PG DN 33 x51 x76 * 52 0 30 x9b x9c * ! 53 - DELETE 2d x53 x9d x9e ! 54 BREAK x00 x00 * * CTRL BREAK is the ctrl brk routine ALT BREAK is the scroll lock ! 55 + INSERT 2b x52 x9f xa0 ! 56 . 2e xa1 xa4 xa5 NUMERIC KEYPAD ! 57 ENTER 0d 0d 0a x8f NUMERIC KEYPAD ! 58 HOME x47 x4a x77 xa6 ! 59 F11 x98 xa2 xac xb6 ! 5a F12 x99 xa3 xad xb7 Keyboard layout (main keypad): esc 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = backsp tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] control a s d f g h j k l ; ' enter shift z x c v b n m , . / shift capslock alt space II.F. Processors, Coprocessors and Motherboards II.F.1. How can I increase the speed of the main processor? You can replace an 8088 with an NEC V-20, or an 8086 with an NEC V-30, for about a 30% speedup. Both chips are extremely cheap. The V-20 will work in about 70% of original 1000's and 1000A's; in the other 30%, the machine will either fail to boot or behave erratically with the V-20 installed. There is no way of knowing in advance which machines the V-20 will work with. DCS Industries and PC Enterprises sell V-20's and V-30's (see section IV.G.). The 1000 and 1000A can take a daughterboard called the "PC Sprint" that doubles the clock speed. The upgrade comes with both V-20 and 8088-2 processors, since as noted above it may be necessary on some systems to stay with an Intel chip. The speedup from the PC Sprint is up to 100%, depending on the application and whether the NEC chip can be used. DCS Industries sells the PC Sprint. There was a "286 Express" card made by PC Technologies for the 1000, 1000A, and 1000SX and sold by Tandy. Those cards are no longer available new, incompatible with some programs and expansion cards, and the SX tends to lock up a lot with one. Other 286 or 386 in-circuit emulator cards will not work. Results with the 286 Express card are reportedly better when using the card's TSR driver in AUTOEXEC.BAT rather than the CONFIG.SYS driver. It may be necessary to disable 286 mode on the card to load some TSR's, such as a mouse driver, and to run some programs. For 286's, Evergreen made 386 and 486 daughterboards that you can replace the 286 with. The daughterboards will fit in the TL, TL/2, and TX, but not in the TL/3 or RLX's (due to space limitations inside the case). Improve Technologies made similar daughterboards (theirs were called "Make it 386" and "Make it 486"). PC Enterprises sells upgrade daughterboards for 286's. There are programs to speed up the system by reducing the RAM refresh rate. You can get 10-20% speedup with them, but be careful: setting the refresh rate too low makes the memory unstable - and since the memory in the 1000- series is not parity checked, the only sign that the rate is too low is inexplicable system crashes. The Cyrix 486SRx2 is a clip-on upgrade for 386SX's that should work in the 1000RSX's - if you can find it. (I've been looking for the 486DRx2, the upgrade for 386DX's, for some time, and it is nowhere to be found.) II.F.2. Can I install a math coprocessor? On the EX, HX, RL's, and RLX's, no (there's no socket). On the original 1000, you have to add a socket before you can add a chip (see below). Otherwise, yes. DCS Industries and PC Enterprises sell math coprocessors for the 1000's (see section IV.G.). To install a math coprocessor in the original 1000, you had to remove the 8088 and plug a daughterboard in in its place. The 8088 and 8087 were plugged into the daughterboard. The daughterboard was manufactured by Trionix, 3563 Roosevelt #B, Carlsbad, CA 92008 and sold by Tandy. I don't know whether it is available any more or not. II.F.3. Can I replace the motherboard? Blasphemy! :-) Seriously, this is a definite "maybe." You need to make sure (a) that the board is small enough to fit in the case, and (b) that the slots in back line up with the openings in the case. You are likely to have trouble with (b). DCS Industries sells 486 and Pentium replacement motherboards for the SL's, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's; see section IV.G. You are unlikely to be able to fit a replacement motherboard in the EX or HX. Replacement motherboards for the 1000's were reviewed in the December 1992 issue of _PCM_ (see section IV.C.). II.F.4. I want to slow my computer down so an old game will run. Where is the turbo switch? Some of the 1000-series have two speeds, usually normal speed and half- speed, but there is no hardware turbo switch. Instead, additional para- meters to the DOS Mode command are used: MODE SLOW (for half speed) and MODE FAST (for normal speed). This is a special feature of Tandy DOS and will disappear if you upgrade the DOS version (see section III.A.2.). If you've already upgraded (so it's too late), you can try this program: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/utilities/speed.zip It was written for the 1000SX, but it works on the 1000TL and might work on other 1000's as well. On older 1000's, the speed may be toggled by pressing a key at boot time. Ryan Davies writes: At least on the Tandy 1000 TX, you can slow down the system by pressing F4 (I think that's the key) at startup to slow it down for the whole session. This is necessary for DOS upgraders (I did to 6.2 -- big mistake, I think). It changes mine from 8Mhz to 4Mhz.... [I]t says right above the four function keys what they do at startup. Just remove the writeable tab covering them. There are also TSR's around to slow down a PC that you can use; check any large ftp archive. II.G. Serial Ports, Modems, and Mice II.G.1. Can I use a fast modem with my 1000? If it's a Winmodem, no. Otherwise, it's an internal modem, generally yes. A problem can arise with external modems in that the serial port on (most?) of the 1000's has an 8250A UART, which is not suitable for high-speed data transfers; you will need to install another serial port with a 16550AN UART chip (see section II.G.4.). On early models with 8088 or 8086 processors, you might not be able to use a 28.8k modem at its full rate. Marc Williams writes the following: One BBS I call I set PCPLUS up at 115K and the board works fine. Checked with the W2 command and the connect is either 26.4K or 28.8K. When I got this present batch of mail the connect was 28.8K but the modem did what I expected. On only two boards in the past my modem had the habit of its CD light blinking like crazy. Sometimes for only a few seconds, sometimes so long the board will disconnect for inactivity. At present when it does happen with the ISP (like today) I'll be disconnected immediately. Anyhind, back to the rate. Depending on the board I'm calling I usually get 21.6K or 24K (IIRC) and with the internet stuff it's 26.4K with no problems. He has a 1000HX with a 16550AN UART and an external 28.8k modem. 14.4k modems should work fine in any system. II.G.2. Windows doesn't recognize the mouse on my RLX. What's wrong? Windows expects the PS/2-type mouse on the RLX to use IRQ 12. The RLX doesn't have IRQ's above 7. The solution is to buy a serial (Microsoft) mouse. To use the PS/2 mouse port on the RLX, you have to emable it with SETUPRLX. There is a special (DOS) driver for it at Tandy's support WWW site (see section IV.B.2.). II.G.3. My system doesn't have a serial port. Can I add one? II.G.4. Can I add another serial port? The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, HX, and SX did not come with a serial port. Of these, the original 1000, 1000A, HD, and SX can take a standard serial port card that you can get anywhere. The EX and HX need a special card because of their nonstandard slots; see section IV.G. for sources. You can add a second serial port to any system, but the BIOS may not recognize more than two. Again, the EX and HX need special cards. Having the BIOS not recognize the port may not really be a problem, depending on the software for the serial device involved (i.e., communication programs usually program the port directly rather than through the BIOS). There are also programs available to "manually" patch the BIOS serial port list in low memory if need be, and you could easily make one with Debug. On my 1000TL, I found that a third serial port on COM4: would work, but COM3: would not; the BIOS does not recognize the third port, but that's OK. Be careful with multi-function cards that come with game ports and hard drive or floppy drive controllers. If your system has built-in joystick ports, you will have to use them instead of the ones on the card, since they can't be disabled. Likewise, if the card comes with a hard drive controller, you will have to disable it. None of the 1000's can use the "el cheapo" AT IDE controllers that come on an I/O card. The floppy drive controller on the card will also have to go. You can add a secondary floppy controller, but you will need one with a built-in BIOS (see also section II.C.1.). II.G.5. What kind of mouse is this, and where do I get a driver for it? Tandy sold at least 5 different types of mice for the 1000-series. First, there was the standard Microsoft (serial) mouse. Second, the RSX's came with a port for a standard PS/2 mouse. You can use the standard MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS for those two. Third, the RLX's have a connector for a PS/2 mouse, but it needs a special mouse driver because it uses a nonstandard interrupt. The driver is on Tandy's support WWW site (see section IV.B.2.). Fourth, the DigiMouse is a bus mouse using a special controller card, which was available both as a standard 8-bit card (cat. no. 26-5144 or 25-1010) and as a PLUS card (25-1015). Contact Tandy if you need a driver for it (see section IV.A.). Fifth, the Color Mouse is a joystick made up to look like a mouse (it plugs into a 6-pin joystick port). The driver for it is called JOY.SYS; again, contact Tandy if you need it. The Color Mouse is so called because it was the mouse used on the Color Computer (see section IV.H.). II.H. Parallel Ports and Printers II.H.1. My printer keeps double-spacing. How do I make it stop? According to Tony Gordon: Well, on some Tandy printers, specifically the DMP models that I have used (DMP 130, 130A) there are a bank of dip switches that control various functions of the printer. One of them controls the LF/CR signals. You can set it to LF=LF or LF=LF/CR (double spacing) LF=LF just interprets the line feed. It will interpret the carriage return when it is sent. LF=LF/CR means that when a LF is sent, the carriage is also returned to home position, and since most lines come to the computer with a CR/LF, you get double spacing. Some people are hesitant about modifying dip switches and such, so you can run LPINST and it will ask you a couple of questions about your printer (whether it double spaces when you want single spacing or if it prints on the same line without advancing the paper). It then creates/updates an AUTOEXEC.BAT file with the correct DOS commands, (i.e. LF and MODE) for your printer so that it will space properly. II.H.2. What kinds of printers can I use with a 1000? Most types of printers can be used with a Tandy 1000 provided you use an appropriate printer cable to connect to your computer. Be careful of laser printers that expect a bidirectional parallel port, however (see section II.H.5.). The printer port on the RSX's is bidirectional. The TL/3, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's have a standard 25-pin connector. However, a veteran programmer with Tandy writes: "WARNING: Some newer printers can be blown out (or blow the computer out) by connecting them to a TRS-80 model I, II, III, 4, 4P, 12, 16, or 100; or a Tandy 6000, 1000, 1200, or 2000. These systems used a Centronics-standard printer interface and newer printers usually have a IBM-PC printer interface. Trust IBM to not follow an existing industry- standard and to use the same connector and 95% of the same signals. Don't get burned." Radio Shack sells a variety of different printer cables to solve such problems, and your best bet is to check with them. The following information was provided by: William K. Walker North Valley Digital P.O. Box 1941 Kalispell MT 59903-1941 +1 (406) 257-2306 71066.24@compuserve.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINTER CABLE SELECTION GRID (PARTIAL) -------------------------------------- COMPUTER TYPE "OLD": Any Tandy 1000 series except 1000RL's, PRINTER "OLD" "NEW" RLX's, RSX, and TL/3. (These systems ------- ----- ----- have a card-edge printer port.) CGP 115 A C "NEW": All other IBM compatibles, including CGP 220 A C laptops. (These systems have a DMP 100 A C normal 25-pin printer port.) DMP 105 A C Tandy cable catalog numbers: DMP 106 A C 6 foot 12 foot DMP 107 A C A 26-0225 26-0222 DMP 110 A C B 26-0289 26-1259 DMP 120 A C C 26-0227 26-0223 DMP 130 A C D 26-0288 26-1258 DMP 130A A C E 26-1416 DMP 132 A C DMP 133 A C DMP 134 B D DMP 135 B D DMP 136 B D DMP 137 B D DMP 200 A C DMP 202 B D DMP 203 B D DMP 204 B D DMP 205 B D DMP 206 B D DMP 207 B D DMP 2100 A C DMP 2100P A C DMP 2102 A C DMP 2103 B D DMP 2104 B D DMP 2110 A C DMP 2120 A C DMP 2130 B D DMP 2200 A C DMP 240 B D DMP 250 B D DMP 300 A C DMP 302 B D DMP 310 B D DMP 400 A C DMP 420 A C DMP 430 A C DMP 440 A C DMP 442 A C DMP 500 A C DWP I (Qume) A C DWP II A C DWP 210 A C DWP 220 A C DWP 230 A C DWP 410 A C DWP 510 A C DWP 520 A C FP 215 A C JP 250 B D Line Printer I A C Line Printer II E Line Printer III A C Line Printer IV E Line Printer V A C Line Printer VI A C Line Printer VII A C Line Printer VIII A C LMP 2150 A C LP 400 B D LP 410 B D LP 800 B D LP 950 B D LP 990 B D LP 1000 A C Plotter Printer A C Quick Printer II E Screen Printer E TRP 100 A C IBM type printers B D EPSON type B D Panasonic type B D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (I've added some to the above.) Printers that use cable types "B" or "D" have a standard port. Printers that use cable types "A" or "C" have a port that looks like a standard one but isn't. Printers that use cable type "E" have a card edge connector. Cable type "D" is the standard cable that you can get from your local computer store. If you need one of the other cable types, you need to get the special Tandy cable. If your Tandy printer is not listed, contact Tandy customer support at 1-800-THE-SHACK (or email support@tandy.com) to find out which cable you need. If your non-Tandy printer is not listed, use cable "B" or "D", depending on what type of computer you have. It is possible to make your own printer cable, but it is certainly not worth it, considering the modest cost of the Tandy cables. If you want to anyway, check out the article by David P. Miller, "Talking to Your Printer," in _Computer News PC_, vol. 3, no. 12, pp. 12-14. (This is a good article to read even if you're not making your own cable.) See also sections II.H.3. and IV.G. You can also install a standard parallel port in an expansion slot, if you have a system with a card-edge printer port. The serial ports on older Tandy printers are for connecting to the Color Computer. They are not compatible with an IBM PC serial port. (I'm printing postscript at 240x218 dpi on my DMP 132, using Linux ghostcript and cable 26-0223. Don't throw it out if it ain't broke!) II.H.3. What is the pinout for the card-edge printer connector? You probably don't need to know this. See section II.H.2. Tandy 1000 Card Edge Connector Printer Port Pinout -------------------------------------------------- [Reprinted from Delphi forum message #20063, Dec. 19, 1991, by SANDLINJ.] Ok, I looked up the pinout for the Tandy 1000 SX printer port - hopefully it is the same as that on the HX. This is for a 34 pin CARD EDGE connector cable (to centronix, but that is irrelevant). The diagram I got this from did not show how the pins are numbered physically. pin Designation pin Designation --- ----------- --- ----------- 1 PPSTROB* 2 Ground 3 PPDATA0 4 Ground 5 PPDATA1 6 Ground 7 PPDATA2 8 Ground 9 PPDATA3 10 Ground 11 PPDATA4 12 Ground 13 PPDATA5 14 NC 15 PPDATA6 16 Ground 17 PPDATA7 18 Ground 19 PPACK* 20 Ground 21 PPBUSY 22 Ground 23 PPPAEM 24 Ground 25 PSEL* 26 NC 27 PPAUTOF* 28 PPFAULT 29 NC 30 PPINIT* 31 Ground 32 NC 33 Ground 34 +5V That is how the data is listed in the Technical Reference for the Tandy 1000 SX. I couldn't find a note to explain the (*) on some of the pins. I think it might mean the signal is inverted (using a NOT gate), but I'm not positive. I'm also not sure but I think the numbering works like this: The odd numbers are on the bottom, the even on the top of the card edge. They should count from left to right going from lowest to highest. You should be able to verify this with a voltmeter, since the 5V pin and the Grounds are listed above. II.H.4. Can I connect my old Tandy printer to my new computer? The short answer is "yes," as long as you use the right cable; see section II.H.2. If you want the gruesome details, read the following. Tandy confirmed (in a user newsletter) that permanent damage to the computer can result when attaching old Tandy printers (DMP 133, 440 and 107, the LP 1000, and older models) to newer clones, particularly the Packard Bell. The problem results from +5V being supplied by the printer on pin 18, which is not standard for IBM. There is a problem with double-spacing on old Tandy printers when connected to newer machines. This problem is solved by covering pin 14 on the printer cable at the computer end with Scotch tape (or by using a Tandy cable). The problem can also be handled by a MODE LFOFF command at the DOS prompt, but this will not work with all programs, particularly those with their own printer drivers. Old DMP's use Centronics pin 33 as the INIT line, while the IBM standard is to tie that pin to ground. This places the DMP's in a permanent INIT state, so they do not work. Some old Tandy printers do not support the IBM/Epson control code set. Reportedly, they can be upgraded to do so by replacing the printer's ROM chip (the only such ROM upgrade that I know of is for the DMP 2110). Wayne Day <76703.376@compuserve.com> writes: A.D. You obviously saw the PC-to-Tandy cable comparison. Here it is, again, so you can put it into the FAQ. Note, one of my members on CompuServe did the work, and I don't know who it is, so please don't credit me with this. [Sorry, Wayne ...] IBM Cable Tandy Cable 25pin 36 pin 25pin 36 pin 1 --------- 1 1 --------- 1 2 --------- 2 2 --------- 2 3 --------- 3 3 --------- 3 4 --------- 4 4 --------- 4 5 --------- 5 5 --------- 5 6 --------- 6 6 --------- 6 7 --------- 7 7 --------- 7 8 --------- 8 8 --------- 8 9 --------- 9 9 --------- 9 10 -------- 10 10 -------- 10 11 -------- 11 11 -------- 11 12 -------- 12 12 -------- 12 13 -------- 13 13 -------- 18 14 -------- 14 14 -- 15 -------- 32 15 -------- 32 16 -------- 31 16 -------- 33 17 -------- 36 17 -- 18 ----*--- 16 18 -------- 23 19 ----|--- 19 19 -------- 24 20 ----|--- 20 20 -------- 25 21 ----|--- 21 21 -------- 26 22 ----|--- 22 22 -------- 27 23 ----|--- 23 23 -------- 28 24 ----|--- 24 24 -------- 29 25 ----|--- 25 25 -------- 30 |--- 26 -- 13 |--- 27 -- 14 |--- 28 -- 15 |--- 29 -- 16 |--- 30 -- 17 *--- 33 -- 19 -- 15 -- 20 -- 17 -- 21 -- 18 -- 22 -- 34 -- 31 -- 35 -- 34 -- 35 -- 36 Look at pins 13, 14, and 16, from the 25 pin side, and you'll find the culprits. These three signals go to different places in the 36 pin connector. All of the signals that are tied together in the IBM cable are grounds, and the grounds in the Tandy cable are separate, so that grounding takes place after the cable is hooked up. But pin 33 in the Tandy printers is the initialize printer signal, and with the IBM cable, it's hooked to ground, and knocks the printer off line. Chances are that swapping pins 31 and 33 (at the printer end of the cable), plus disconnecting pin 14 will probably do the job. If necessary, also swap pins 13 & 18. It's probably less bother just to buy a Tandy cable (see section II.H.2.). II.H.5. Can I use a parallel-port peripheral (other than a printer) with my card-edge printer port? You will need an adapter to convert the card-edge parallel port to a standard one; PC Enterprises sells them (see section IV.G.). John D. Patrick reports that an external IOmega ZIP drive can be used that way. Beware, though. Ryan Davies writes: Please make mention to users wanting to attach other peripherals (especially laser printers) to the existing card-edge printer port on all Tandys with that kind of port that it is 4-bit (not bi-directional) and any bi-directional attempt on this port can possibly even damage the motherboard and fry the peripheral's system board. (not like I'm speaking from experience or anything....) He adds that "my Tandy's parallel port is dead." He has a 1000TX. You should preferably get a bidirectional parallel port on an expansion card and use that, unless you know from a reliable source that the peripheral you plan to use will work on a unidirectional port. II.I. Expansion Slots II.I.1. How can I get standard expansion slots on a 1000HX or EX? DCS Industries used to sell a slot box you can use to add standard slots, but it's expensive - see section IV.G. The slot box comes with four additional drive bays and a 200-watt power supply. Otherwise, you can make an adapter. As with any project where you're modifying your computer's electronics, do this at your own risk. The "PLUS"-style expansion slots in the 1000EX and 1000HX are not quite electrically the same as an 8-bit IBM-standard expansion slot (see section II.I.4.). One major difference is the lack of DMA in the EX and HX as they came from the factory. A DMA chip is included on the expansion cards that increase memory above 256k, available from Tandy and from the suppliers listed in section IV.G. Unfortunately, expansion cards that use the "PLUS" connector tend to be a lot more expensive than the same cards that use the standard card-edge connector - and there are a lot fewer of them available. (See section IV.G. for some companies that sell such cards.) I got this third hand; a gentleman named Jay Wigginton originally posted this on some online service, perhaps America Online, in 1989. You need the following parts: (1) Radio Shack Plus Adapter Board, catalog number 25-1016. It was $14.95 in 1989; you might still get it from 1-800-THE-SHACK. This was a standard 8-bit card to which one of the special "PLUS" cards made for the 1000EX and HX could be attached - essentially the reverse of the adapter you're making. (2) Female "PLUS" header connector, part number 8519257. This is a part off of the 1000EX/HX "PLUS" memory expansion card referred to above. Get it from Tandy National Parts (see section IV.G.). (You still need to have the memory card itself if you want to get DMA, as noted above.) (3) 31/62 pin edge connector, part number 8519236. This is a part off of the 1000SX. It comes from Tandy National Parts also. It is the female (motherboard) side of a standard 8-bit slot connector. According to Mr. Wigginton, you first remove the male PLUS connector (by desoldering) from (1), "being careful not to damage the board." Next, cut the top off of (1) down to just above where the "PLUS" connector was. Cut the "edge finger" (male edge connector) off of the bottom of (1), "leaving about 1/8 inch of the gold fingers exposed below the solder mask (the green covering on the board)" (Wigginton notes that that cut is optional - the cutting is probably best done with a grinding wheel). Now solder the female edge connector (3) to the holes left when you removed the "PLUS" connector from (1). "It will be necessary to bend the pins so that they fit," Wigginton notes. The connector should be attached on the side of (1) with printing. Finally, solder (2) to the edge fingers on (1). "Check all pins for shorts to other pins. Use a continuity checker. This is very important; it will not function if any pins are shorted together." OR ... you could do it the easy way. Just get some 62-pin ribbon cable and crimp-on connectors, 62-pin female to connect to the Plus memory card and 62-pin card edge to plug standard cards into. Crimp them together and you have your adapter. As above, check for continuity on all pins and shorts on adjacent ones. II.I.2. How can I add additional expansion slots? You can get a slot box, but it's expensive and may be cheaper to get a whole new (secondhand) system. DCS Industries sells the slot boxes - see section IV.G. If you're handy, you may be able to modify an old XT to work as a slot box. II.I.3. What kinds of cards will work in the slots on a 1000? The EX and HX will require special cards made for them. Other systems can use most standard 8-bit cards. The cards will need to be 10" in length or shorter to fit in the case; the types of cards to watch out for here are hard cards and EMS cards - it's mostly old cards that are too long (the original 8-bit IBM VGA card is also too long). The slots on the original 1000 and 1000A are physically the same as a standard 8-bit slot, but electrically just *slightly* different; verify before purchasing that the card will work, or take your chances (the odds are in your favor, though). Only the RSX's can take 16-bit cards - though some 16-bit cards will work in an 8-bit slot (some ISA VGA controllers, for example). Again, ask before purchasing. * II.I.4. What is the pinout for the PLUS expansion connector in the 1000HX and EX? (Back of machine) A1 NMI B1 Ground A2 D7 B2 BRESET A3 D6 B3 +5 Volts A4 D5 B4 IRQ2 A5 D4 B5 N/C A6 D3 B6 FDCMRQ A7 D2 B7 -12 Volts A8 D1 B8 N/C A9 D0 B9 +12 Volts A10 RDYIN B10 Ground A11 AEN B11 MEMW* A12 A19 B12 MEMR* A13 A18 B13 IOW* A14 A17 B14 IOR* A15 A16 B15 N/C A16 A15 B16 N/C A17 A14 B17 N/C A18 A13 B18 N/C A19 A12 B19 REFRESH* A20 A11 B20 CLK A21 A10 B21 RFSH* A22 A09 B22 BREQ* A23 A08 B23 N/C A24 A07 B24 IRQ4 A25 A06 B25 IRQ3 A26 A05 B26 FDCDACK* A27 A04 B27 DMATC A28 A03 B28 ALE A29 A02 B29 +5 Volts A30 A01 B30 OSC A31 A00 B31 Ground For reference, here is the pinout for a standard 8-bit slot: (Back of machine) B1 Ground A1 IOCHCHK* B2 RESET A2 D7 B3 +5 Volts A3 D6 B4 IRQ2 A4 D5 B5 -5 Volts A5 D4 B6 DRQ2 A6 D3 B7 -12 Volts A7 D2 B8 NOWS* A8 D1 B9 +12 Volts A9 D0 B10 Ground A10 IOCHRDY B11 MEMW* A11 AEN B12 MEMR* A12 A19 B13 IOW* A13 A18 B14 IOR* A14 A17 B15 DACK3* A15 A16 B16 DRQ3 A16 A15 B17 DACK1* A17 A14 B18 DRQ1 A18 A13 B19 REFRESH* A19 A12 B20 CLK A20 A11 B21 IRQ7 A21 A10 B22 IRQ6 A22 A09 B23 IRQ5 A23 A08 B24 IRQ4 A24 A07 B25 IRQ3 A25 A06 B26 DACK2* A26 A05 B27 DMATC A27 A04 B28 ALE A28 A03 B29 +5 Volts A29 A02 B30 OSC A30 A01 B31 Ground A31 A00 Note that it is identical to a standard XT slot on the "A" side, but there are several differences on the "B" side. Only IRQ's 2, 3, and 4 are available on the Plus expansion bus. DMA signals on B15-18 are added by the memory expansion card if installed. Side "A" is the component side on a standard XT card. -5 volts is often not implemented on a standard slot. All that said, most cards will work if you make an adapter (see above). Some expansion cards used in the 1000-series have the same connector. II.J. Game Ports, Joysticks, and Sound II.J.1. Can I use a standard joystick? On the RSX and RSX-HD, yes. You need to get an expansion card with game ports on it. Otherwise, no, since you have built-in game ports that cannot be disabled. The following systems have two 6-pin DIN (round) joystick ports: original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, HX, SX, TX, SL's, TL's, and RL's. To install a joystick on those systems, you need to use a Tandy-style joystick; you can get a used one for about $10 and a new one for about $30 (see section IV.G.). The RLX's have two 8-pin mini-DIN joystick ports. There is an adapter available from Tandy for connecting a 6-pin joystick to the RLX's ports. The 6-pin Tandy joystick is the same as used on the Color Computer. The Tandy 1000 game ports are not 100% compatible with standard ports, but they work most of the time, with most software. If you have built-in game ports and try to use a standard joystick with an expansion card, the new joystick will only work with some software, or only when a joystick is connected to the built-in port, or only when it isn't - or only when the moon is full on a Friday. (It seems to work on my 1000TL, for now, though - not that I've given it much tryout.) It may be possible to make an adapter to attach a standard joystick to the 6-pin port (see section II.J.4.). II.J.2. Can I emulate SoundBlaster with the Tandy DAC? No. There are some programs for the Tandy DAC at my ftp site (see section IV.B.1.). If you want SoundBlaster compatibility, you can install a SoundBlaster or SoundBlaster Pro in an expansion slot. If you do so, you will have to stop using the Tandy DAC, since the SoundBlaster drivers will be confused by the DAC BIOS routines. It is possible to emulate the Covox Speech Thing (dumb DAC) with the Tandy DAC, if your program supports that. Get file: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/sound/tspak181.zip II.J.3. Can I install a Tandy DAC in a normal PC? Probably not. Tandy once made a PSSJ expansion card ("PSSJ" is the name of the sound chip), but they are very rare. If you find the card, you will need to jumper it for IRQ 7, DMA 1, as software for the Tandy DAC expects those settings. The "SayIt" card from Roar Technology of Canada may be the same (see section III.B.7.). II.J.4. What is the pinout for the Tandy joystick? The pinout for the 6-pin joystick connector is: 5 X 1 6 4 2 3 Where: 1 is Y-axis 2 is X-axis 3 is Ground (0V) 4 is Button 1 5 is +5V 6 is Button 2 The pinout for a standard joystick is: -------------------------- \ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / \ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 / ---------------------- pin assignment 1 +5V 2 stick 1 button 1 3 stick 1 X-axis 4 ground (0V) 5 ground (0V) 6 stick 1 Y-axis 7 stick 1 button 2 8 +5V 9 +5V 10 stick 2 button 1 11 stick 2 X-axis 12 ground (0V) 13 stick 2 Y-axis 14 stick 2 button 2 15 +5V II.K. Miscellaneous II.K.1. Radio Shack wants $4000 for a 20 Meg hard drive. Where can I get it cheaper? See section IV.G. II.K.2. When I turn my computer on, it just beeps a lot and refuses to boot. Why does it do that? BEEP ERROR CODES It is normal for a XT or AT clone to beep once or twice during the POST test. More that this indicates a severe error. Beep codes are issued as a sequence of three sets of beeps. For example, BEEP {pause} BEEP BEEP {pause} BEEP BEEP is the code represented as 1--2--2. The Phoenix ROM name is listed by each beep code. 1--1--3 CMOS WRITE/READ FAILURE 1--1--4 ROM BIOS CHECKSUM ERROR 1--2--1 PROGRAMMABLE INTERVAL TIMER FAILURE 1--2--2 DMA INITIALIZATION FAILURE 1--2--3 DMA PAGE REGISTER WRITE/READ FAILURE 1--3--1 RAM REFRESH VERIFICATION FAILURE 1--3--3 FIRST 64K RAM CHIP OR DATA LINE FAILURE, MULTI-BIT 1--3--4 FIRST 64K ODD/EVEN LOGIC FAILURE 1--4--1 ADDRESS LINE FAILURE 64K OF RAM 1--4--2 PARITY FAILURE FIRST 64K OF RAM 2--1--1 BIT 0 FIRST 64K RAM FAILURE 2--1--2 BIT 1 2--1--3 BIT 2 2--1--4 BIT 3 2--2--1 BIT 4 2--2--2 BIT 5 2--2--3 BIT 6 2--2--4 BIT 7 2--3--1 BIT 8 2--3--2 BIT 9 2--3--3 BIT 10 2--3--4 BIT 11 2--4--1 BIT 12 2--4--2 BIT 13 2--4--3 BIT 14 2--4--4 BIT 15 FIRST 64K RAM FAILURE 3--1--1 SLAVE DMA REGISTER FAILURE 3--1--2 MASTER DMA REGISTER FAILURE 3--1--3 MASTER INTERRUPT MASK REGISTER FAILURE 3--1--4 SLAVE INTERRUPT MASK REGISTER FAILURE 3--2--4 KEYBOARD CONTROLLER TEST FAILURE 3--3--4 SCREEN INITIALIZATION FAILURE 3--4--1 SCREEN RETRACE TEST FAILURE 4--2--1 TIMER TICK FAILURE 4--2--2 SHUTDOWN TEST FAILURE 4--2--3 GATE A20 FAILURE 4--2--4 UNEXPECTED INTERRUPT IN PROTECTED MODE 4--3--1 RAM TEST ADDRESS FAILURE 4--3--3 INTERVAL TIMER CHANNEL 2 FAILURE 4--3--4 TIME OF DAY CLOCK FAILURE 4--4--3 MATH COPROCESSOR FAILURE II.K.3. Where can I get diagnostic software for the 1000's? Call Tandy National Parts (see section IV.G.). II.K.4. What is this connector marked "light pen"? The original 1000, 1000A, HD, and SX had a connector for a light pen. This is not a serial port. It is pretty useless since there are very few light pens around to plug into it. Remember the cassette port on the original IBM PC? Another useless port. There were two light pens sold for the 1000. The CPT/S color/monochrome light pen (Radio Shack cat. no. 90-2085) sold for $179.95. It could not be used to emulate a mouse. The CPT/S was made by The Light Pen Company, 12500 Beatrice Street, Los Angeles, CA 90066. The WS-250 light pen (cat. no. 90-2069) sold for $199.99. There was a Penmouse program available for it that might enable it to emulate a mouse. Penmouse was originally sold separately for $49.99, though later it was included with the pen. The WS-250 was made by Warp Speed Computer Products, 555 S. Inglewood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90230. If you have a light pen, it is software-compatible with the PCjr light pen, according to Frank Durda. There are not very many programs around that support a light pen, but there are some. I don't have a list. Consult a book on the PCjr for programming information (the light pen is programmed through the video controller). II.K.5. I just got a 1000 at a yard sale, and it didn't come with disks or manuals or anything. Where can I get some? Your local Radio Shack can get replacement disks for you at around $7.99 per diskette. They can also get replacement manuals, photocopied if need be. They may even have a CDROM on premises with the stuff you want, from which they can make copies. Some Radio Shacks, unfortunately, pretend they can't do it, however. (Your luck may be better at busy Radio Shacks in the bigger cities - they tend to have more knowledgeable staff.) If all else fails, call Tandy customer support (see section IV.A.) or Tandy National Parts (see section IV.G.). If Tandy National Parts no longer carries the manuals you need, call Tandy Publications at (817) 390-3861 to arrange for a photocopy. II.K.6. What are the jumper/switch settings for my 1000 or my Tandy adapter card? Some of them may be given in your owner's manual. Use Tandy Technical Faxback to find out about the others (see section IV.A.). _1000's Tech Notes and Jumper Manual, Volumes 1 and 2_ contains jumper/switch settings for all 1000's and Tandy adapter cards (see section IV.D.). II.K.7. I just got a 1000 secondhand, and it has some expansion card in it that I can't identify. How do I find out about it? If it's a Tandy card, check Tandy's support WWW site for information (see section IV.B.2.). Note that the 1000's can use most any expansion card that works in an IBM XT, so the possibilities are nearly endless. For the original 1000, 1000A, and 1000HD, which were less compatible than later models, several companies marketed custom cards, and most of those companies are long gone now. Since those systems only had 3 expansion slots, multifunction boards were popular. The boards commonly included a DMA chip, memory upgrade to 640k, a serial port, a clock chip, a PLUS connector for an additional PLUS-type expansion card, and/or EMS memory. Some of these were: PBJ MFB-1000, sold by PBJ, 5725 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, NJ 07047 TanPak, sold by Hard Drive Specialist, 16208 Hickory Knoll, Houston, TX 77059 Micro Mainframe 4N1, sold by Micro Mainframe, 120 Blue Ravine Road #2, Folsom, CA 95630 Zuckerboard Multifunction Board, sold by Advanced Transducer Devices, 1287 Lawrence Station Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Matthew Electronics Master/Card, sold by Automation Facilities Corp., 6383 Rose Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013 PCA Multiboard, sold by PCA Technology, 2512 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308 Z Multifunction Board, sold by Howard Medical Computers, 1690 Elston, Chicago, IL 60622 PIC DMA Half Megaboard, sold by PIC (no address known - phone was (714) 261-0503) Several of the above companies also sold other cards for the original 1000 and 1000A, as well as PLUS cards for the EX and HX. The FCC has a BBS you can call to get the name and address of the manufacturer of any item with an FCC ID number on it. Call (301) 725-1072 with 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity. II.K.8. When I turn the system on, it just displays the memory size and sits there. What's happening? If you're not getting a beep code indicating a hardware problem (see section II.K.2.), then the EEPROM is seriously messed up. If you have a hard drive, try unplugging the data cable and see if it boots then; also try removing *all* the expansion cards. If it still doesn't work, you will have to take the machine in to Radio Shack for an EEPROM replacement. The current price for service at Radio Shack is $95 flat rate for labor, plus parts. DCS Industries sells used motherboards that may be cheaper, depending on the system (see section IV.G.). FYI, it is possible to wipe the EEPROM by removing it from the machine and placing it pins down on a flat metal surface for a day or so - BUT removing the EEPROM chip requires a special extraction tool, and you are likely to damage the motherboard if you try to remove it yourself. Some 1000's have a lithium coin battery in them, but that battery is not connected to the EEPROM - it operates the (nonstandard) clock chip. Hence, it is useless on these systems to remove the battery and wait for the EEPROM to discharge, which will never happen. III. Software Questions III.A. DOS III.A.1. My system has DOS in ROM. How do I upgrade the DOS version? If you're using a hard drive, run FDISK to make sure the first partition is marked "active" (bootable), then install the DOS upgrade on the drive. Run the system setup program. Set PRIMARY START-UP DEVICE to DISK (not ROM), and set INITIAL START-UP PROGRAM to MS-DOS (not DESKMATE). You also have to specify where to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. There are two options. If you tell SETUPxx to look for the files on C:, then the machine will always use the files on C:, regardless of whether there is a floppy in the drive at startup. If CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on C: get messed up, the machine becomes unbootable (see section III.A.4.). It is probably safer to tell SETUPxx to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A:. That way, it will check the floppy drive for the files, and if there is no diskette in the drive it will use the files on C:. This will allow you to override CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on your hard drive if they get messed up. If you don't have a hard drive and you set PRIMARY START-UP DEVICE to DISK, you will have to use a bootable floppy. It is, of course, invalid to specify that CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are on C: in that case. Even if you have a hard drive, you should make a bootable diskette with the new version of DOS and the system setup program on it for emergencies (see section III.A.4.). Note that your ROM drive disappears when you upgrade DOS (see section III.A.2.). III.A.2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading DOS? The advantages are pretty much common knowledge. Upgrading DOS can give you upper memory blocks (saving conventional memory), online help, task switching, Interlink (for transferring files between computers), and hard drive compression. Many people have upgraded successfully. Here are the disadvantages, according to Tandy: The early 1000's up to and including the 1000TX computer have problems formatting and reading floppy drives to their fullest capacity with any DOS higher than DOS 3.2. These formatting and reading problems show themselves as a 720K drive behaving as a 360K drive. The 1000's have also shown problems with hard drive FAT tables being scrambled or corrupted by DOS version higher than 3.2, thereby rendering the hard drive inoperable! The 1000's ROM DOS-Based systems will lose the use of Deskmate if any other version of DOS is loaded other than the one it was shipped with. The Tandy 1000 ROM DOS based computers are either 8088, 8086, or 286XT's, because of this they can't load DOS into high memory. Therefore all of DOS must reside in base memory, (640K) leaving less of it free for programs to run in. The original DOS 3.2 or 3.3 leaves between 557K to 575K of free memory for programs to run in. Installation of DOS 5.0 or 6.0 may scramble the EEPROM chip beyond recoverability on the Tandy 1000 ROM-DOS based computers. This will [cause] the computer to lock with the 640K memory size displayed on the screen and fail to boot any further. To correct this problem the computer will have to have it's EEPROM chip replaced at a repair depot. The Kernel of DOS 6.0 is the same size as that of DOS 5.0 but 17K larger than that of DOS 3.3. After the DOS kernel and a mouse driver have been loaded into memory you are left with approximately 538K to 545K of free memory. If you use DoubleSpace to increase the hard drive size, DOS 6.0 will automatically load a 42K driver to support the compressed drive. This will leave approximately 496K to 503K of free memory for software to run in. As most programs for these machines require between 540K to 580K of free memory, this will leave insufficient base memory for these programs to run in. If you have any questions about DOS upgrades on any systems call COMPUTER SUPPORT at (705) 728-7474 /Ext. 4327 before installing. Here's more: MS-DOS 4.01 This operating system is exclusively for use on true (i.e. AT Compatible) 80286, 80386 and 80486 computer systems. It is not to be used on any Tandy 1000 computer available as of this date. It will not work properly on any Tandy 8088 or Tandy 8086 based computer system. We will not support this configuration and will recommend the immediate return to and re-installation of MS-DOS 3.2 or 3.3 depending on the particular Tandy 1000 involved. In addition to this, MS-DOS 4.01 is significantly larger and consumes more conventional memory than any other version. MS-DOS 5.0 Tandy 1000, 1000A, 1000SX, 1000TX, 1000HD, 1000SL, 1000SL/2, 1000HX, 1000EX, 1000TL, 1000TL/2, 1000TL/3 and 1000RL only have 640K of RAM available maximum for MS-DOS and therefore will result in less available memory for software if MS-DOS 5.0 is installed. This is a major limitation and in most cases more than offsets the benefits listed above.... If one complains of software not loading we will recommend a return to the original MS-DOS version. This will likely mean the potential loss of data on the hard drive since it is extremely difficult to move large data files to an earlier version of DOS. One final consideration concerns the 'ROM based computers' that we recently and currently sell with MS-DOS Version 3.3. If these computers are 'upgraded' to MS-DOS 5.0, then DeskMate becomes unavailable. Since MS-DOS 5.0 does not recognize a DOS 3.3 ROM, one will be forced to purchase a generic version of DeskMate (25-1351) and may not be able to transfer the related files to the new version.... In addition some systems, even with the generic version of DeskMate, may require further hardware upgrades to allow even this version to load with MS-DOS 5.0. There is a problem reported with frequent lockups on the 1000SX, corrected by upgrading the DOS version from Tandy DOS 3.20.00 to 3.20.22. Tandy does not support any higher version than this on the SX; they are said to be unstable. In addition, the task swapper in DOS 5 Dosshell will lock up a 1000SX. DR DOS 6.0 is reported not to recognize a second floppy drive on a 1000TL. DRIVPARM, DRIVER.SYS, and SETUPTL/A were all tried without success (there is a workaround). There has also been a problem with reformatting the hard drive to make it a single partition. It is also reported that 720k disk access is very slow with DR DOS; this was corrected (4/92) by an update disk from Novell. Intermittent problems occur in reading diskettes formatted with the "quick" format option in DR DOS on Tandy machines. The standalone version of DeskMate is incompatible with the SuperStor disk compression bundled with DR DOS; DeskMate must use an uncompressed disk partition. Older-model 1000's have problems when the DOS is upgraded, in that 720k drives are seen as 360k drives. That problem can be fixed by using DRIVPARM or DRIVER.SYS in CONFIG.SYS; see your DOS manual. There is also a program called Setbpb35 that can fix the problem. You can get it from: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/utilities/setbpb.zip Kevin Kramer reported the same problem (720k formatted as 360k) with MS-DOS 2.0 on the 1000HX, so the problem apparently exists with *any* version of DOS other than one designed for the machine. Kevin is using a shareware program called "make720" to solve it. IBM PC-DOS 7 is recommended over MS-DOS for older computers. PC-DOS comes with REXX, the powerful batch-programming language used on IBM mainframes, and PC-DOS works well on even the oldest PC-compatible. As far as Microsoft goes, MS-DOS 3.3 is probably the best version for XT-class systems (the entire 1000-series, excluding the RLX's and RSX's.) Ryan Davies reports that DOS 6.2 will not run at 8MHz on the 1000TX (see section II.F.4.). It is often necessary on the 1000-series to use the /I option with the DOS 6 Setup program to disable hardware detection. The internationalization features of MS-DOS 3.3 were sold separately for Tandy DOS 3.3. The catalog number for the internationalization disk was 700-4109. Tandy DOS 3.3 was 25-4109. On the 1000TL with the original DOS and video, it is possible to change the code page (character set) to European characters with SETUPTL /A. Given the disadvantages, you may choose to add third-party utilities to get the new DOS features you want, rather then upgrading the DOS version. For example, there is a shareware task switcher called Back and Forth that works very well with Tandy DOS 3.3. 4DOS is a replacement shell (it runs instead of COMMAND.COM) that provides many of the features of newer DOSes with your existing DOS. Norton Commander is also said to be a good shell. If you do upgrade your DOS, you should save the disks for the original DOS, since it contains some customized features for your machine. The MODE command can often be used to change the CPU speed or the screen colors, for example. If you have a Color Mouse, you will need to retain JOY.SYS, the device driver for it. The customized GW-Basic is another thing you need to keep, since it includes support for Tandy graphics and sound that the Basic in the DOS upgrade will not. You need to keep the HINSTALL program as well on systems that support an XT IDE drive. III.A.3. How can I change CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT? On systems with DOS in ROM, these files (if they exist) are, by default, on the ROM drive and so cannot be modified. To get a modifiable CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT, you need to run your system setup program and tell it to look for CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive or on the first floppy drive. III.A.4. I screwed up my CONFIG.SYS on my hard drive, and now I can't boot the system to fix it - it ignores bootable diskettes! On a system with DOS in ROM, there are at least three ways of making the machine unbootable. First, if you have a hard drive and you're set up to boot from DISK, the first partition on the hard drive needs to be a valid bootable partition. If it does not contain valid copies of the MS-DOS system files, the machine will not boot. Second, if you have a hard drive and you set up the machine to look for CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on C:, those files, if they exist, need to be valid. If they are not, there is no way of overriding them, so if the commands in those files mess up the machine so it won't run, you're locked out. Third, it is possible to mess up the EEPROM to such a degree that the BIOS can make no sense of it at all. The symptom of that is that the system freezes at the memory size display and refuses to boot further. The only way to fix that is to take the machine in for an EEPROM replacement (see section II.K.8.). For the first two problems, you need to open up the machine and physically disconnect the hard drive, for example by disconnecting the data cable at the controller - with the power off, of course. Close the machine back up and turn it on. Depending on your setup, one of two things may happen. If you have the machine set up to look for CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on C:, the BIOS will complain that the setup is invalid and boot from ROM into DeskMate (the factory default). Hit to exit DeskMate and get to a DOS prompt. Otherwise, the machine will ask you to insert a bootable floppy. Do so. How you proceed from here depends on what kind of problem you're trying to fix. If the problem is that CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive is messed up, run SETUPxx from a floppy and tell it to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A:. Save the changes. Unplug the machine and reconnect the hard drive data cable. Close the machine up again, put a floppy with valid CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on it in the drive, and turn on the machine. Fix CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive. If your hard drive is not bootable (so you are booting from ROM), run SETUPxx again and tell it to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on C:. Otherwise (if you are booting from DISK), you can just leave it as looking for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A: to avoid this problem in the future. If you boot from DISK and have it set to look for the files on A:, it will use the files on C: if there is no floppy in the drive at boot time. If you are running the original version of DOS, and the problem is that you are set up to boot from DISK but the hard drive is not valid for booting for some reason other than a messed up CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT, run SETUPxx from a floppy and tell it to boot from ROM. Save the changes. Unplug the machine and reconnect the hard drive data cable. Close up the machine again. If you have it set up to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A:, put a floppy with valid files in the drive. Turn on the machine and fix the hard drive, then run SETUPxx again and set it up the way you want. If you have upgraded your DOS version, and the problem is that the hard drive is not valid for booting for some reason other than a messed up CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT, run SETUPxx from a floppy. Tell it to boot from ROM and not to use CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT (i.e., set "CHECK FOR CONFIG.SYS ON DRIVE" and "CHECK FOR AUTOEXEC.BAT ON DRIVE" to NO). Save the changes. Unplug the machine and reconnect the hard drive data cable. Close up the machine again. Turn it on; it will boot from ROM into the original DOS. Put a bootable floppy with your current version of DOS, whatever device drivers you need, and valid CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in the floppy drive. Locate the ROM drive, which may be C:, D:, or E:. Run RESTART.COM from the ROM drive. Press F1 to restart from the floppy, booting your current DOS. Fix the hard drive. Run SETUPxx again and tell it to boot from DISK and look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A:. If you boot from DISK and have it set to look for the files on A:, it will use the files on C: if there is no floppy in the drive at boot time. I don't know whether every 1000 with ROM DOS comes with RESTART.COM. If you've upgraded your DOS, but you don't have RESTART.COM, you might have to repartition and reformat your hard drive. I'm sure I haven't covered all the possibilities, but you get the general idea. III.B. DeskMate III.B.1. My system has DeskMate in ROM. How do I upgrade? You can upgrade your DeskMate to version 3.05 (the last) in one of two ways, either (a) buy the retail (PC-compatible) version of DeskMate 3.05 (see section III.B.2.); or purchase a BIOS upgrade (see section III.E.2.). If you want to upgrade your DOS version as well, it is preferable to get the disk-based DeskMate, since upgrading DOS requires that you disable the ROM DeskMate (see section III.A.2.). III.B.2. I recently upgraded from my old 1000, and I really miss DeskMate! How can I get it back? You can buy the generic PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05, catalog number 25-1351, through your local Radio Shack. This version runs from disk and does not require a ROM. This may only be me and my peculiar system, but I was unable to run DM 3.05 on my Tandy 4033LX (386DX/33), owing to an apparent incompatibility between 3.05 and DOS 6.22 EMM386. DeskMate 3.05 ran fine with DOS 5.0 on my 386. Anyway, since upgrading to DOS 6.22 I am now using the PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.03, catalog number 25-1350. This older version of DeskMate is prone to trouble with hard drive partitions larger than 32 megabytes, but in my case that has not been a problem, since while my drive is larger than that it is not large enough to trigger the arithmetic miscalculation in the DeskMate get_free_space() function that causes the trouble. I surmise that the problem is due to the fact that DeskMate 3.05 will attempt to use expanded or shadow RAM if available, and that that access is somehow in conflict with DOS 6.22 EMM386 (but not DOS 5.0 EMM386). DeskMate 3.03 does not use either expanded or shadow RAM, and like DM 3.05, you can still order it from Tandy. III.B.3. I upgraded my DOS version, and now DeskMate is gone. How do I get it back? I've written a device driver to reenable access to the ROM drive where DeskMate resides after the drive has been rendered invisible by a DOS upgrade. The driver is on my ftp site: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/utilities/romdrive.zip Romdrive is known to work on the 1000TL and TL/2. If you try it on another system, let me know whether it works. There may be an older version of Romdrive floating around out there. That version does *not* work. Get the one from my site above. The correct version is dated May 1997 or later. DeskMate earlier than 3.05 has trouble with hard drive partitions larger than 32 megabytes, so if you reformatted your drive when you upgraded DOS you may have trouble with the original DeskMate. If Romdrive does not work, or you don't want to use it, you can buy the generic PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05; see section III.B.2. Otherwise, as a somewhat inconvenient workaround, you can run your system setup program, set the boot device back to ROM, and reboot with the original DOS and DeskMate. To go back to the new DOS version, run SETUPxx again, go back to booting from disk, and reboot once more. This may not work if you reformatted your hard drive when you upgraded DOS, since the old DOS may not be able to access the drive. III.B.4. DeskMate Sound and Music won't work when the printer is connected but not turned on. What gives? Ken Udut provided the following information: Re: Deskmate sound/music doesn't work with printer turned [off]. I will find the offical Tandy explanation. But it has to do with the fact that the digitial chip is also used with the printer (as well as the joysticks). I don't know how/why they did it, and the official explanation says more. Solutions: 1) Make certain that your printer is on *before* you boot the computer up. This usually works. 2) Unplug the printer cable from the back of the computer, or the back of the printer. This *always* works. NOTE: If you boot up the computer without the printer on, and Deskmate Sound/Music or other programs using the Tandy DAC don't work right (plays only a portion then stops, doesn't play at all, or makes an awful bleep-bleep-bleep-bleep while playing the music), turn the printer on -now-, and see if that helps it. Here is the official Tandy explanation: Does your sound sometimes fail to work when you have a printer connected to your 2500 XL? There's a simple answer. There is a single chip that controls printer, sound and joystick. If you have a printer connected to your 2500 XL, it should be powered on before you boot the computer. If it's connected and not powered up, the chip will get confused. Turn the printer on, and reboot. Everything should work fine. If the printer is disconnected, of course, it will also work fine. (The 2500XL has the same PSSJ chip as the 1000SL's, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's.) III.B.5. How can I write my own programs for DeskMate? You need to get a copy of the DeskMate Software Developer's Kit for DeskMate 3.0x (there is no SDK for DeskMate 1, 2 or Personal DeskMate). The SDK was originally sold by Tandy for $299. You might find used copies around; check with companies that used to develop for DeskMate and see if they're willing to part with their copy. (It may also be said that many copies of the SDK around are pirate copies - ask for them in comp.sys.tandy.) Tandy doesn't have any legit copies around to sell anymore, though sometimes they can get replacement disks if one of yours is damaged. BTW, AST now holds the rights to DeskMate, and they have the source code in their archives, but they're not set up to answer questions about it. (AST Works was originally built on the DeskMate code base.) The SDK includes libraries, a dialog box editor and other utilities (with varying degrees of bugginess), and 2 8.5x11" manuals. It supports Microsoft C, Microsoft Macro Assembler, Turbo Assembler, Turbo C, and Borland C (or any compiler that supports Microsoft libraries - which is most). The compiler needs to be ANSI-compliant, unless you want to edit all the header files to delete the formal parameters in the function prototypes. Each version of the SDK comes with that version of DeskMate and supports that version's features (any version can make programs that run under any version of DeskMate 3). The DeskMate runtime (used if you want your programs to be able to run under bare DOS) is available free of charge to licensed owners of the SDK, but is not distributed with it. The best compiler for DeskMate is probably Microsoft C 6.0 Professional Edition; that compiler contains "altmath" libraries which are compatible with DeskMate's task-switching scheme. (Otherwise, you use floating-point math in a DeskMate program at your own risk - DeskMate will not swap the coprocessor emulation vectors on a task switch.) The DeskMate libraries only support the small and medium memory models, though one could make other models work with appropriate use of the "near" keyword. According to Steven Lindell : I called Star software (800) 443-5737, the last developer to market a DeskMate product (Outliner and Graph companions: they are multiwin- dowed!). The person there said that they did not recommend the devel- oper's kit, but that they might be willing to sell their copy for $200. It is C-based, has poor documentation, some bugs, and does not offer good support in that Star claimed they had to write most things them- selves anyway. However, the decision to get and use this should be up to the individual. If anyone does get and use it, the rest of us in TandyLand would like to know your impressions." If you get a copy of the SDK, two people with some experience with it are Robert Stinnett and me . III.B.6. I upgraded my video to VGA, and now DeskMate refuses to run. What do I do? You need to get the DeskMate VGA driver. The driver is either DMVDVGA.RES (for DeskMate 3.00 to 3.02) or DMVSVGA.RES (for DeskMate 3.03 or later). For DeskMate 3.05, you also need DMVEVGA.RES for font support. You can get a copy through your local Radio Shack, or from a Tandy ftp or WWW site (see section IV.B.1.). Note: DMVSVGA does not mean it's for SVGA; all the video drivers for DM 3.03 or later are DMVS*.RES. There is no SVGA driver for DeskMate (the VGA driver will of course work). You might actually have the video driver you need under another name, if you have any third-party applications for DeskMate. Most (if not all) third-party DeskMate applications came with a DOS runtime version that includes all the video drivers, but runtime versions 3.02 and earlier use different names for resources - resource.RRS instead of resource.RES. The runtime video resources are the same as the DeskMate resources and will work under DeskMate 3.02 or earlier if you change their names. In the meantime note the following. By default, DeskMate will detect the video present in the system and use the appropriate video driver, DMVD*.RES. There is a program to alter this behavior, however: DMVID.EXE. DMVID can cause DeskMate to use a particular video driver without going through the autodetect routine. Note that without running DMVID, DeskMate will not run unless it finds the driver it thinks it needs. Thus, if you have an EGA driver but not VGA, you could go DMVID EGA at the DOS prompt to get you by till you get the right driver. (You will need to run DMVID AUTO when you have the driver.) III.B.7. Is there a program for DeskMate that does (x)? Kenneth Udut furnished the following list: Here is a list of previous Deskmates and their approximate dates. I would like information on the CoCo and Model IV Deskmates, as I don't know much about them. Deskmate 1 - Versions bundled with Tandy 1000/A/HD/EX/SX [The SX actually came with DeskMate 2, but it was not Personal DeskMate or Professional DeskMate. The EX came with Personal DeskMate.] Deskmate 2 - Included Personal Deskmate and Professional Deskmate. Bundled with Tandy 1000 HX, TX. Look and feel are VERY similar to Deskmate 3, and the programs will almost ALL work with Deskmate 3. Some third party applications were written for Deskmate 2, but I don't know what they were. Anyone know? Deskmate 3 - Versions bundled with Tandy 1000 RL/SL/TL/RLX, 2500SX, and available for the 1000 RSX, the most mysterious and last Tandy 1000. Was also available standalone to work with *any* computer (version 3.05). Each version bundled with the Tandy computers was different. 3.00 - on ROM chip in SL/TL 3.01 - Mysterious "SWITCH.EXE" is really Deskmate 3.01. 3.02 - on ROM chip in SL/2 TL/2 3.03 - on ROM chip in TL/2 3.04 - on ROM chip in RL 3.05 - on ROM chip in 2500SX, 1000RSX(?). Available for $99.95 at Radio Shacks for standard IBM compatibles. Discounted at $19.95 and is worth picking up. Spanish version still for sale as of late 1994. 3.05.22 - on ROM chip with RLX(?). Includes some VERY customized programs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DESKMATE PROGRAMS THAT RUN WITHOUT REQUIRING THE DESKMATE 3 PROGRAM. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *DESKMATE 3 Main program. Includes many programs. Friendly! Made by Tandy Corp. [DeskMate 3.05, catalog number 25-1351, is still available from Tandy - see section IV.A.] *QUICKEN 2 Checkbook balancer, personal accounting program. Made by INTUIT. *MEMORYMATE Freeform database program. Allows you to store an unlimited amount of text and other things and search through it all at will. I (Ken) have been using this program since 1988, and I have to say that I will be using it forever. All of my little scraps of notepaper go into MemoryMate, and I use it. I could not live without it. Oh, and you can make HyperText documents with it very very easily. All of my important E-mail is kept in MemoryMate, and linked together with buttons. Made by Broderbund. *VENTURE Business Plan writer. Includes its OWN text editor, as well as schedulers, and others for the small businessman. Made by Star Software. *HOME LAWYER Home Legal Advisor. It allows you to create professional legal documents without a lawyer. Bill of sale, letters to creditors, and other things adults unfortunately need to do once in a while. Made by ? *Q&A WRITE Word processor. Uses printer fonts. Includes ability to mailmerge in more flexible ways than TEXT. You can edit much larger files. Made by Symantec. *HOMEWORD II Word processor. WYSIWYG. Made by Sierra. *GRAMMAR CHECKER I may have the wrong name of this. Corrects grammar mistakes. Made by ? [This is probably a reference to RightWriter, see below.] *PC-LINK How could I forget this? Online nationwide service. Requires modem. I was a member for about 2/3 years before running low on money and leaving. Still active. It runs right along with America Online - it is the same service, but two different pricing schemes, and one uses Deskmate, the other uses Geoworks. Messages appear in pretty, scrollable screens and it is a whole other universe. Online games such as Neverwinter Nights, take full advantage of your Tandy 1000's enhanced graphics and sound capabilities (no digital sounds though). Made by Quantum Computer Services Now known as America Online Inc [PC-Link has now been folded into America Online, see below.] *ONLINE! Terminal Program for Deskmate. Hard to find, but I've heard it is excellent! Does not include Zmodem protocol, but includes all of the others. Made by Sierra. *FIRST PUBLISHER Desktop Publishing program that set certain standards and formats in the IBM world. Prints at 75dpi, but allows you to use laser printer downloadable fonts! *EXPRESS PUBLISHER Desktop publishing program. Has stricter requirements than any other Deskmate program I've seen. Requires 580K to be FREE, which is easy enough using MS-DOS 3.30, but if you've moved up to MSDOS 5/6 you may not have enough free memory on your 1000. It prints at the highest resolution of the printer. Uses Deskmate 3.05 fonts (Atech fonts), and includes lots of clip art. It's not nearly as speedy as First Publisher, but it does the trick. Requires hard drive, unlike most Deskmate programs. Made by ? *FORM FINISHER If you fill out forms repetatively, like UPS forms, federal documents, etc., Form Finisher helps you create a reproduction of forms in Form Finisher, and then you treat it like the paper form, only it's on the computer now! Say goodbye to the thrice copied-by-the-time-you-got-it EPA forms! Put it in Form Finisher, and you have something nice to send back, with less work. Prints on all printers. Made by Power Up! Software Corporation. *MUSIC STUDIO 3 Sophisticated music creating/editing/printing program. Allows multiple staffs, and plays over Tandy 3-voice sound (and digitized, if the *L series). Compatible with Roland MPU and some other MIDI systems! Not compatible with SoundBlaster, unless someone has an emulator for the Roland/other systems listed. Includes its OWN sound editor, and the sounds are compatible with Deskmate's SOUND.PDM. Many many songs are available for this on PC-Link/AOL. Made by Activision. *FILEPRO Surpurb Database program! Import/Export Deliminated ASCII, Lotus 1-2-3, and Dbase III/IV formats! The Query screen is the same as the Form (which is RARE, and something I wish Paradox for Windows here at work had!). It is very fast, and includes a very sophisticated Screen Painting program, which allows you to made your data entry/data viewing screens look just like you want them to. And, as always, you can copy to the clipboard from DRAW, and paste it in filePro! A friend of mine on Delphi uses filePro to keep track of milk on her dairy farm. Made by The Small Computer Company, Inc. *LOTUS 1-2-3 Home version of Lotus 1-2-3. Completely compatible with regular Lotus 1-2-3 except for Macros and Add-ons. Spreadsheet, graphing, database functions. Made by Lotus. *MAVIS BEACON Surpurb typing tutor! I've watched my speed go from 55 wpm up to 85 wpm in a matter of months! Accurately! The original disks are copy protected. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is its official name. Made by The Software Toolworks. *TYPING TUTOR IV Another excellent typing tutor! I bought and installed it in the local Cerebral Palsy center where I once volunteered. I started some of the older kids on the tutor, and watched them go from being only able to play games on the computer, to being able to type accurately! Includes Letter Invaders, a game that is rather like Missle Command. Letter Invaders also comes with the Tandy 1000 RLX Deskmate. Made by ? *DESKMATE SDK The Deskmate Software Development Kit! Includes everything you need to write programs in Deskmate. Requires Microsoft C compiler (version 4.0 is fine) Includes sections on programming with the Tandy sound chips and special graphics modes. Tandy was the first company to put out a development kit for their integrated environment (Deskmate). Available from Tandy Corp @ $299. You may be lucky enough to find a used copy, but not too likely! Made by Tandy Corp. *ESPER Directory/File management program. Allows you to run most common MS-DOS commands from within Deskmate! Look in PCM Magazine or 1000 Magazine for advertisements. Made by Bob Jack Software. Independently sold. [_PCM_ and _1000_ are both defunct now; see section IV.C.] There are also tons of education software made under Deskmate's Interface. Can anybody help me with the names/what they do? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DESKMATE COMPANIONS: Programs that require Deskmate 3 to be installed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THESARUS I'm at work and without Deskmate & spell checker, so I probably spelled it wrong. Look up alternative words in Deskmate TEXT - one of the handiest things I've used! Made by Tandy Corp. HOME ORGANIZER 15 extra programs, originally bundled with RL, offered separately due to HUGE customer request. It carries the Goodhousekeeping Seal of Approval! Made by Tandy Corp. [Home Organizer was bundled with the RL's, RLX's, and RSX's. It is still available from Tandy - see section IV.A.] MACROS For making boilerplates, running everyday tasks, you can automate them with Macros. When installed, it's found either under F10 or under F10 | SETUP | F2 Very simple to use! Made by Tandy Corp. GRAPHS Make colorful graphs using data generated by anything, as it imports Deliminated ASCII, as well as other formats. Includes special color printer driver that only works with GRAPHS for the Citizen/Tandy color dot matrix printers/emulators! Made by Star Software. FINANCIAL ASSISTANT Make complex calculations easily! Even Amortization! Made by Star Software. SCHOOLMATE Networks school computers together, provides special Deskmate programs for teachers and students. Includes a DeskMate BBS (internal) and E-Mail. Made by Tandy Corp. WORKGROUP COMP. Workgroup Companion. Connect two computer together with serial cable, or many computer with LAN cards. Run Deskmate software from another computer! A Tandy 1000 HX, for example, hooked with a TandyLink card, can run the Deskmate programs off of a Tandy 1000 TL/3, even if the HX only has floppy drives!! Includes Deskmate BBS (internal), chat modes, and E-Mail. Also a special shared calender and address book, so that many people can access their stuff, but not yours! Made by Tandy Corp. [The Workgroup Companion supported TandyLink and Artisoft network cards as well as serial connections. It is incompatible with DeskMate v3.05.] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- AVAILABLE ONLINE SOMEWHERE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Recipe Importer - allows you to import recipes into the recipe database in Home Organizer. DMCLIP - Convert DRAW files into .CLP art! Both made by Tandy Research and Development. Available on PC-Link/AOL, as well as ftp site musie.phlab.missouri.edu under pub/trs/Tandy1000. *Test Drive of LOTUS 1-2-3 Available on PC-Link/AOL *Test Drive of Q&A WRITE Available on PC-Link/AOL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mysteries - Deskmate programs that might have existed, but I just don't know. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *DACEASY ACCTING I haven't tracked it down, but I've spoken to people who have used it in the past. DacEasy made a version of their fabulous personal/business accounting software for Deskmate. If anyone tracks it down, please let me know. *PAINT POWER I may have the name wrong, and it may not have ever truly existed. In the 1990 catalog, there exists a painting program for Deskmate. You can create .GIF and .PCX with this program, save them, print them, contort them, etc. Tandy has no record of anything ever having existed with its catalog number, and software replacement (which has EVERYTHING!) from Tandy hasn't heard of it. *FILEPRO PROFESSIONAL Everything regular filePro does, but with absolutely NO limits. filePro allows unlimited records, but limits you to 99 fields (as if that's a limitation!). But filePro Professional allows an unlimited amount of fields, which is a rarity indeed! Includes many many extra features. Unfortunately, it never made it to the stores. A listing on the back of filePro's box is all that I know of it. NOTE: A * before name means it can run standalone - without Deskmate. A ? somewhere means I'm not sure, or I don't know. It also means, if you know - please tell me :-) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- There are a couple programs for DeskMate 3 at my ftp site (see section IV.B.1.). PC-Link was a separate service of America Online and is now defunct (AOL has DOS software available on request that will run on the 1000's; it will not work with CGA, though - it works with Hercules, EGA, or VGA). I don't know of any third-party applications for DeskMate 1 or 2, and I doubt they existed. Tandy did not publicly release a software development kit for DeskMate 1 or 2, so if there are any third-party apps they are bound to be few and far between. There were some DeskMate-*related* applications that ran under DOS for DM 1 or 2, though. Here are a few more programs for DeskMate 3 known to have existed: RightWriter from RightSoft, Inc. This program uses artificial intelligence to correct your grammar, style, punctuation, and usage. Utilities! from POP Computer Products. A sort of Norton Utilities for DeskMate. (The real Norton Utilities will of course run.) Alge-Blaster Plus from Davidson. Interactive program teaches algebra to schoolchildren. DeskMate Outline Companion from Tandy. "Organizes reports, essays, speeches, with up to ten user-defined levels of detail." Print Magic from Epyx. A desktop publishing program. "Create cards, flyers, certificates, stationery and banners." Your Personal Trainer for the SAT from Davidson. Drills students to prepare them for the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Instant Pages from Electronic Arts. Over 100 ready-to-use forms and newsletters. KidsTime PC from Great Wave Software. Three games for the kiddies: connect-the-dots, a musical game, and a reading game. Backup Pro from The Software Toolworks. A hard drive backup utility. CheckFree 2.0 from CheckFree. This is a service that pays your bills automatically for a monthly fee. The DeskMate program was to access the service. CheckFree's current software requires a 386 with Windows 3.1, VGA, and 2 meg RAM. Don't know whether the old DeskMate software will still work. Solitaire/Poker from Star Software. If you wanted Windows for the solitaire program, here you go :-). John Ball mentioned these two: Quick Start from Roar Technology. A DeskMate companion voice recognition program - adds voice command capability to DeskMate. Requires Tandy DAC. TalkMate from Roar Technology. A DeskMate companion program that allows networked Tandy's with the DAC to exchange voicemail messages. Brian Evans states that Cliffs StudyWare was still available in computer stores as of January 1997. These are electronic Cliff's Notes (test review aids); the programs are: DOS ACT DOS BIOLOGY DOS CALCULUS DOS CBEST DOS CHEMISTRY DOS ECONOMICS DOS GEOMETRY DOS GMAT DOS LSAT DOS PHYSICS DOS STATISTICS DOS TRIGONOMETRY They sold for $19.95 each and included the printed version of Cliff's Notes. I guess since I'm the maintainer I can plug my own DeskMate programs :-). They're on my ftp/WWW site: Dmgif is a .gif/.jpg viewer. It supports rescaling, dithering, panning, zooming, and color adjustment on all supported video cards. It can also print or copy small parts of the picture to the clipboard. Includes online help. Dmsound is a sound file player. You need either a 286 or above, or a soundcard with DMA (SoundBlaster-family or Tandy DAC). Plays several formats, including some compressed formats. Can also convert files to .wav or Tandy .snd. As you can see from the list, Tandy was giving Apple a run for its money in the educational market, back in the days. Don't ask me where you can get these programs now. In some cases, the companies that produced them still have copies around, so check with them - or ask in comp.sys.tandy if anybody has a used copy for sale. DeskMate's origins go back at least as far as the TRS-80 Model II, which had a version available for $299, according to . There were three versions of DeskMate 2. Basic DM 2 came with the 1000SX. Enhancements over DM 1 included task switching between a DM and DOS application and networking support. Personal DeskMate came with the 1000EX. Enhancements over basic DM 2 included the Paint drawing program and several accessories; internal support for common DOS functions such as disk copying, directory listing, and running DOS programs; and an improved user interface very similar to DM 3. Professional DeskMate was available as an option for some 3000-series models. I don't know much about it; supposedly it was even more like DM 3 than Personal DeskMate, perhaps to the point that DM 3 programs would run under it. There were also generic PC-compatible versions of DeskMate 3.02 (cat. no. 25-1250) and 3.03 (25-1350), but the 3.05 version is preferable in that it deals correctly with drive partitions larger than 32MB (however, see section III.B.2.). DeskMate 3.03 and 3.05 are still for sale. III.B.8. Where can I get a DeskMate driver for printer (x)? Most, if not all, of the available DeskMate printer drivers are at the ftp and WWW sites listed in sections IV.B.1. and IV.B.2. DeskMate supports the IBM Graphics Printer (and compatibles like the IBM Proprinter); Epson 9- and 24-pin dot matrix printers (and compatibles); the HP LaserJet (and compatibles); and various Tandy printers. Color printing is only supported on certain Tandy printers. The ftp sites may not have the drivers for those. If you have a Tandy printer not supported by the DeskMate version you have, check with Tandy (see section IV.A.). There was a DeskMate Printer Developer's Kit to be used with the DeskMate 3.03 SDK (see section III.B.5.), but it is nowhere to be found. If you find it, or find DeskMate printer drivers not on the ftp sites, please upload them or write to the maintainer. III.B.9. I just got a 1000. What is this @#&$ "DeskMate" thing it boots into, and how do I get rid of it and run DOS? Some Tandy 1000-series have an enhanced ROM that contains the DOS kernel and the DeskMate kernel. They were set up at the factory to boot into DeskMate, a proprietary GUI (graphical user interface) from Tandy. A number of programs were written for this GUI (see section III.B.7.), but it isn't an operating system, it runs under DOS, and you can run DOS programs from inside DeskMate (use the Run... option in the File menu - you can also make icons for DOS programs you frequently use via the F7 menu). Think of DeskMate as a sort of "Windows lite." If you're missing the DeskMate disks (which have the apps on them), you can get replacements through your local Radio Shack. To get out of DeskMate to the DOS prompt, just hit or select "Exit" from the File menu. You may or may not be asked for confirmation. You can reenter DeskMate (if it's in ROM) by pressing the F12 key at the DOS prompt. To change the setup so that you boot into DOS rather than DeskMate, you need to get a copy of the system setup program (see sections III.E.1. and IV.B.1.). If you have the original disks, the program is called SETUPxx, where xx is your model, ex., HX, SL, SL2, TL. The program runs from the DOS prompt. Just tell it you want to boot into DOS rather than DeskMate, and save. You will still be booting from ROM, which is fast and virus- proof. If you want to boot from disk (perhaps because you want to upgrade the DOS version), tell it so, then tell it which disk to boot from (you might have a choice between C: - the hard drive - and A:). On some systems, it is also possible to reboot the system from a floppy, even if you normally boot from ROM. Systems with DOS and DeskMate in ROM have a ROM drive with a couple programs on it - C: if you don't have a hard drive, D: if you do. (If you upgrade the DOS version, the ROM drive disappears entirely.) Check the ROM drive for a program called RESTART.COM. If you have it, it reboots your system, but looks for DOS on the floppy drive. Among other things, this is a way of running some old games that came on bootable disks on a system that usually boots from ROM. DeskMate has some nice Windows-like features that you might like once you get used to them, and it runs very well on a 4.77MHz 8088 with CGA, especially if DeskMate is in ROM, but if you're bound and determined, well, there you go :-). III.B.10. I've been using DeskMate on my trusty 1000 for many years, but now it's time to upgrade. How do I transfer the data to Windows? Unfortunately, this is more easily said than done. If you were using DeskMate 3.0x, the easiest thing to do is just get a copy of DeskMate 3.05 and run it under Windows (see section III.C.2.). For Filer or Address Book databases, I've written a program to convert them to dBase III format, which most programs can import: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/deskmate/f2d01.zip Lotus-DM (Lotus spreadsheet for DeskMate) comes with a program called TRANSLAT.PDM which can convert DeskMate 3 worksheets to Lotus 2.x format, which again most programs can import. Lotus-DM is proprietary, so I can't put it on my site, but if you have some spreadsheets you need converted, you could email them to me as MIME attachments and I'd mail them back. (I will expect some remuneration if you have 100 of them, though!) DeskMate sound files (created by SOUND.PDM) can be converted to .wav with this program: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/sound/c2snd202.zip They need to be loaded into SOUND.PDM and saved without compression first. If you don't have DeskMate any more, and your .snd files are compressed, Dmsound can convert some of them to .wav. See: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/sound/dmsound.txt DeskMate Q&A Write can import some DeskMate Text files with minimal formatting (it cannot import files with embedded Draw graphics, though). There was also a version of Q&A Write for DOS, so perhaps that would work if you had both versions. You can download the demo version of Q&A Write from: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/deskmate/gwd1.exe Michael A. Banks (author of _Getting the Most out of DeskMate 3_, see section IV.D.) offers the following tips on converting a DM 3 Text file to ASCII: Formatting Text Files for Export to ASCII When you are going to print a document to a disk file, you should first use the To ASCII command to eliminate formatting codes, then set these parameters in the Page Setup dialog box: * "portrait" (up and down) printing * a left margin of 0 and a right margin of 80 or less (65 is ideal * number of lines per page and number of lines printed per page at the maximum of 84 (this prevents page breaks being inserted in the file) * single spacing and no pause between pages (these are defaults, so all you have to remember is to not check either of the check boxes at the bottom of the page) DM 3 Text saves ASCII-format files (converted with the "To ASCII" option in the File menu) with the end-of-line sequences reversed (i.e., 0Ah, 0Dh, instead of 0Dh, 0Ah), but they are otherwise standard ASCII files. If your word processor is smart enough, you will be able to read them in with no trouble. With most DeskMate applications, you can print the data to a file. I have a program to adapt the result of that so that it's a regular editable ASCII file (when you print using the ASCII printer in Setup): ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/deskmate/prn2fil2.zip Prn2file deletes empty lines, so you may have to edit the resulting file some. For Draw graphics, QuickLink II is a shareware fax/communications program that might help. Set up QuickLink II for DOS on your old 1000. Set the printer type to HP Laserjet in DeskMate, load your graphics into Draw, and print. When QL2 is resident, the printer output will not be printed but saved instead as a fax document in QL2's proprietary format. Get the file from the directory where QL2 for DOS saved it, and move it over to your Windows machine. Start up QuickLink II for Windows. That program can convert the fax document to PCX or another common graphics format. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to convert the data files from Calendar, Home Organizer, or Music. If you have a DeskMate runtime program (there are a couple on my site), and that program has a "Run..." option in the File menu, you can run your old DeskMate 3 programs using those programs. For example, if you had some schematic diagrams that you created in Draw a long time ago (and your Tandy is long gone), you could install the DOS version of Dmgif v1.2, then run Draw (assuming you have your old Tandy disks) from the "Run..." option in Dmgif's File menu. It's not something you want to be doing on a regular basis, but it would work. Perhaps I shouldn't tell you this, since you'll hate me for it :-), but anybody who has the DeskMate SDK could create DRAW.EXE, TEXT.EXE, WRKSHEET.EXE, etc., to enable you to run your old DM applications under DOS, in about 5 minutes. I am not going to do it, though, since I'm basically a law-abiding person, and that would violate my SDK license :-). In fact, it is possible without much trouble to patch any DM runtime application so that it runs the DM DeskTop. But, again, I'm not going to tell you how to do it (not that it is hard to figure out). If you have DeskMate 1 or 2, there are a couple programs on my ftp site (see section IV.B.1.) that you can use. The programs are in the tandy1000/deskmate directory. filer.zip converts a DM 1 or 2 Filer database to an importable ASCII format. undesk.zip converts DM 1 or 2 Text documents to ASCII. There were also commercial programs written for converting DM 1 or 2 data files to more common formats; I don't know where you'd get them now (try _Computer News PC_ - see section IV.G.). III.B.11. DeskMate is asking me for a password, and I don't know it. How do I get in? Some older versions of DeskMate (as on the original 1000 and 1000SX) had a password option that, if activated, would require the user to enter a password before proceeding. The password was set by hitting F6 at the main DeskMate menu. I don't know how you bypass it. Maybe someone can help me out here? III.C. Windows III.C.1. Can I run Windows on my 1000? All 1000-series models can run Windows up to 3.0 in real mode if they have 640k RAM and a hard drive (6MB or more is required). For adequate performance with Windows 3.0, a 286 processor and at least 2M of expanded RAM is recommended. EGA or better graphics is also a plus. Minimum, though, is only 8088, 640k, CGA, no EMS. The TX and earlier will need to use a keyboard TSR that comes with Windows (see the Windows documentation files). There are two things to consider in running real-mode Windows 3.0: video and applications. Generally, any application written for Windows *2.x* will run under real-mode Windows 3.0, while most applications written for Windows 3 will not run. You will be hunting for used copies of older versions. As far as video, if you have an XT-class Tandy with Tandy/PCjr Video (TGA) or Tandy Video II (ETGA) (both versions of enhanced CGA), you will have to use either the Windows CGA driver, which gives a pretty crappy display, or the Tandy video driver from Windows 2.x (see below). If you have Tandy Video II (the SL's, TL's, and RL's have it), you can plug in a mono TTL monitor ($10 used) and run Windows in Hercules mode for a much better screen. There is a Tandy video driver for Windows 2.x or 3.0 on my site at: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/utilities/tandydsp.zip One other thing. Real-mode Windows 3.0 will use EMS RAM if you have it (no later version of Windows will). It needs to be LIM 4.x EMS, preferably hardware, but software 4.x EMS will do. If you have the old Micro Mainframe EMS card that was formerly sold by Tandy (it is hardware 3.2), there is a freeware 4.1 driver for it at my ftp site (see section IV.B.1.). James S. Blackmon installed Windows 3.0 on his 1000TX and said: "I just got Windows 3.0 on my computer and it works fine. The only thing is that it is in black and white." The RLX's can run Windows 3.1 in standard mode only, if they have the RAM upgraded to 1M. The RLX just barely meets the minimum hardware require- ments for Windows 3.1, however, and performance will be poor. Windows will not recognize the built-in mouse (see section II.G.2.). One user says of Windows 3.1 on the 1000RLX: Windows' performance is tolerable on a 486DX2/66. I like it on the RLX because I can start a program, go to the bathroom, and when I come back only have to wait a few minutes before I can actually use the #@$% thing. The RSX's can run Windows 3.1 (or 3.11) in 386 enhanced mode if the memory has been upgraded to 2M or more. There is a Windows sound driver for the RSX's built-in sound at my ftp/WWW site and at Tandy's support WWW site (see sections IV.B.1. and IV.B.2.). Tandy does not officially support the use of Windows on any model of the 1000-series. The RSX's could theoretically run Windows 95, but Microsoft does not recommend Win95 for 386's. III.C.2. Can I run DeskMate under Windows? To run DeskMate under Windows, create a .PIF file for DESK.EXE. Try these settings in your DESK.PIF: Video Memory: High graphics Memory Requirements: KB Required 512 KB Desired 640 EMS Memory: KB Required 0 KB Desired 1024 XMS Memory: KB Required 0 KB Desired 0 Display Usage: Full screen Execution: Exclusive Advanced: Reserve Shortcut Keys: Check if any are used by your DeskMate applications - probably not. The PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05 uses approximately 90k of LIM 4.0 EMS to load the core, if available. Other programs written for DM 3.05 may also use EMS. My programs Dmgif and Dmsound will use XMS as well if there is insufficient EMS available, but that is not standard for a DeskMate program. III.C.3. Where can I find a Windows driver for my Tandy printer? There are no special drivers for Tandy printers. Instead, you select the driver for the IBM, Epson, or Hewlett Packard printer with which the Tandy printer is compatible. You will generally have to set DIP switches on the printer to enable the desired emulation mode; refer to the printer's manual (Tandy's WWW site also has the DIP switch settings - see section IV.B.2.). The following information was provided by Bill Walker : Windows/Tandy Printer Compatibility List [This] is a Windows 3.1 printer driver compatibility list for Tandy printers. It cross-references the various Tandy printers and printer modes with the printer driver support available under Windows 3.1. Note that support under Windows for printers set to Tandy mode is limited to plain text-only output via the "Generic/Text-Only" driver. As far as I know, no one has written a driver that supports Tandy mode. The driver information is based on a MOM ["Radio Shack Computer Merchandising Memo of the Month"] published in May(?) 1992. It has also been updated somewhat. Please notify me of any corrections or additions. William K. Walker North Valley Digital P.O. Box 1941 Kalispell MT 59903-1941 +1 (406) 257-2306 71066.24@compuserve.com ====================================================================== The following is list of Tandy printers with their appropriate Windows drivers. In many cases, the Windows driver you will use depends on the printer mode. For example, if you are using a DMP 440 in Tandy mode, you'd use the "Generic/Text Only" Windows 3.1 driver; if it's set up for IBM mode, use the "IBM Graphic Printer" driver. PRINTER TANDY MODE IBM MODE EPSON MODE OTHER ------- ---------- -------- ---------- ----- DMP 100 Generic/Text DMP 105 Generic/Text DMP 106 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 107 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 110 Generic/Text DMP 120 Generic/Text DMP 130 Generic/Text DMP 130A Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 132 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 133 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 134 Proprinter DMP 135 Proprinter II FX-850 DMP 136 Proprinter II FX-850/FX-80 DMP 200 Generic/Text DMP 202 Proprinter X24 DMP 2100 Generic/Text DMP 2100P Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 2102 Generic/Text Proprinter XL24 DMP 2103 Proprinter X24/XL24 LQ-1050/LQ-850 DMP 2104 Proprinter XL24E LQ-1050 DMP 2110 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 2120 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 2130 Proprinter XL DMP 2200 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 240 Proprinter X24 LQ-850/LQ-2550 DMP 300 Generic/Text Proprinter X24 DMP 302 Proprinter X24 LQ-850 DMP 310 Proprinter X24 DMP 400 Generic/Text DMP 420 Generic/Text DMP 430 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 440 Generic/Text IBM Graphic DMP 442 Generic/Text Proprinter XL DMP 500 Generic/Text DWP II Generic/Text DWP 210 Generic/Text DWP 220 Generic/Text DWP 230 Generic/Text DWP 410 Generic/Text DWP 510 Generic/Text DWP 520 Generic/Text LP 950 Graphic/Proprinter FX-80 HPLJII (1) LP 990 Graphic/Proprinter FX-80 HPLJII (1) LP 1000 Generic/Text Proprinter HPLJ+ (2,3) Note 1: HP Laser Jet II driver Note 2: HP Laser Jet plus driver Note 3: The current HP Laser Jet II driver (HPLJII) supports the LP 1000. It can be downloaded from the HP Peripherals Forum (HPPER). -- Bill Walker North Valley Digital 71066.24@compuserve.com The DMP 133 reportedly works better with the Proprinter driver than with IBM Graphic. Tandy says that the DMP 134 works best with the Proprinter II driver. For the DMP 430, try the Epson FX-850 driver. For the DMP 130 and 130A, try the IBM Graphic, Epson FX-185, or Epson FX-85 driver. For the DMP 136, try the driver for the Epson JX-80 or IBM Proprinter III; the Epson FX-86e driver might also work. The DMP 137 emulates an IBM Proprinter III or Epson FX-850 or EX-800. The LP 950 can use the driver for the Diablo 630 or 630 ECS in addition to the above. The DMP 2130 can also use the driver for the Epson FX-286e. Windows drivers can be downloaded from Microsoft's ftp site: ftp.microsoft.com:/Softlib/ Also check Epson's WWW site: http://www.epson.com/ And Hewlett-Packard's WWW site: http://www.hp.com/ III.D. Unix and Other Operating Systems III.D.1. Can I run Unix on my 1000? Probably yes. The following is from Kenneth Udut: > I have an old TL2 w/40MB HD and 640RAM sitting upstairs gathering > dust... > [...] What about the possibility of loading > LINUX? Any help would be appreciated! Linux won't work on the TL2 unless you get a Make-It-386/Make-It-486 CPU for the TL2. But you can run Minix, which includes a C compiler, and other C compilers are available for it. The latest version of Minix is free, and runs on the TL2. Subscribe to comp.os.minix and ask questions (they're a friendly group like comp.sys.tandy is). You can find it at: ftp.cs.vu.nl under /pub/minix/1.7.2/i86/* There are plenty of README files on that site, so read up and it will show you how to install it onto 720K diskettes, then the hard drive. FYI: Linux is a product of Minix source code. The only reason Linux was able to use the Minix source code is that Linux is completely free. The current version of Minix is 2.0 (C compiler is now ANSI, yay!). Here are the sites: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ast/minix.html ftp://ftp.cs.vu.nl/pub/minix/ You might have to modify Minix for your machine, especially if you have a pre-SL system. Get file ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/documents/minixfix.txt ... and check with the experts on comp.os.minix. I have Linux on my Tandy 4033LX, and it requires at least 2MB RAM to run (EMS doesn't count), preferably 4, and if you want to run X Windows, 8. Hence, the only 1000 that can run Linux is the RSX, and you will want it maxed out to its full 9 meg if you want to see Linux in all its glory. You should also have at least 200MB of hard drive space for Linux, though you can get by with less (maybe a lot less if you're an expert). There is a subset version of Linux for the 8086 called ELKS ("Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset") currently under development. Read about it at: http://elks.sourceforge.net/ And download it from: ftp://ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/elks/ If your system boots from ROM, you will need to set it to boot from disk. See section III.A.1. III.D.2. What other operating systems are available? Some people have had success with Geos (sometimes called Geoworks). It is a GUI like Windows and DeskMate that runs under DOS. For most 1000's, you will have to use Geos v1.2.x or earlier; the RSX's and possibly the RLX's can run Geos v2.x. Marc Williams says that most shareware for Geos requires 2.x. James S. Blackmon writes: Though I have only recently gotten Pc/Geos and have yet to test it's full potential I am sure I can point out some advantages. One of my favorites is the construction and viewing of batch files. The combination of Play3voi.exe (a program by Jeffrey Hayes), a bunch of wave files, and a custom made batch file, kept A handfull of College students thoroughly entertained for hours. (Strangely enough some had their own Pentium 133 and were still in there.) A lovely thing about PC/geos is that I have not had any software conflicts. (Although I generally keep all of the large complex programs in separate directories to keep this from happening.) Its speed on my Tandy 1000 TX, which has not been suped up yet (same 640K ram as when it was built), is comparable to that of Windows 3.1 on a 386 or 486. Safe to say it is much more stable than running from DOS 3.2. It has its own communication software which is VT-100 compatible. Personally I prefer to use Procomm. It has Tetris, and Solitaire on it like the ones that you will find on Windows 3.1. You can get more information on Geos from these sites: http://www.geoworks.com/ Geos is discussed in the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.geos.misc. OS/2 v2.x or Warp will run on the RSX's, if the memory is upgraded to 4M or more (6M+ recommended). IBM says: OS/2 Warp is explicitly supported on non-IBM PC compatibles. IBM is offering a money back compatibility guarantee in the U.S. Should OS/2 Warp fail to work on your compatible within the first 90 days of use, and should IBM be unable to fix the problem, your purchase price will be refunded. To date over 2000 non-IBM models have been tested in IBM's own labs. Check out the OS/2 FAQ at: http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/os2/faq/os2faq0000.html The RLX might or might not be able to run OS/2 v1.1 if its memory is upgraded to 1M. Other 1000's will not run OS/2. III.E. ROM BIOS III.E.1. What is the key combination to bring up the CMOS setup on a 1000? There isn't any. The system setup information is stored in an EEPROM, not CMOS. To change the EEPROM, you run the system setup program from the DOS command line (or sometimes from a bootable floppy). Each model and submodel in the 1000 line has its own specific setup program. The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, SX, and TX have neither EEPROM nor CMOS (treat them like old XT's, which don't have CMOS either, and use jumpers and switches on the motherboard for setup). III.E.2. How do I upgrade the ROM BIOS on a 1000? You generally do not need to upgrade the BIOS and should only do so if there is some problem the upgrade can fix. Because of the proprietary features of the 1000-series, only Tandy BIOSes made for the particular model can be used. Here are the latest BIOS versions; get the upgrade through your local Radio Shack, or from Tandy National Parts (see section IV.G.). Model Latest Version Problems Corrected ----- -------------- ------------------ 1000 01.01.00 Upgrade required for most hard-drive controllers.**** 1000A 01.01.00 none (original version) 1000HD 01.01.00 none (original version) 1000EX 01.02.00 none (original version) 1000HX 02.00.00 none (original version) 1000SX 01.02.00 none (original version) 1000TX 01.03.00 none (original version) 1000SL 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v3.05.* ** 1000SL/2 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v3.05.* *** 1000TL 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v3.05.* 1000TL/2 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v3.05. Also corrects possible loss of sound with VGA installed.* 1000TL/3 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v3.05.* 1000RL 02.00.01 Lockups in DeskMate due to mouse driver bug. 1000RL-HD 02.00.01 Lockups in DeskMate due to mouse driver bug. 1000RLX 02.00.00 none (original version) 1000RLX-HD 02.00.00 none (original version) 1000RLX-B 02.00.00 none (original version) 1000RLX-HD-B 02.00.00 none (original version) 1000RSX 01.10.00 none (original version) * The BIOS upgrade to DeskMate 3.05 sold for $99.95 in 1991; no information about the current price (Kenneth Udut told me it was still available, as of 1995). DeskMate 3.05 provides scalable fonts, unlike older versions. Manual and diskettes are included with the upgrade. ** There are two different versions of the BIOS upgrade for the SL. To determine which you need, look at the three-letter CPU configuration code on the bottom of the computer: SYSTEM CPU CONFIG CODE(S) PART 1000 SL UAA, UAF, UAG, UBF, UBG, UBI 70B-1360 UAB, UBB, UBH, UBJ 70D-1360 *** There are two different versions of the BIOS upgrade for the SL/2. To determine which you need, look at the three-letter CPU configuration code on the bottom of the computer: SYSTEM CPU CONFIG CODE(S) PART 1000 SL/2 UAA 70B-1360 UBA 70C-1360 **** If you have the two-chip version of the original 1000 BIOS (version 01.00.00), you also need to upgrade the PAL chip when you upgrade the BIOS. The PAL chip goes in the socket labelled U9. The new one is part number MXP-0081. I seem to recall something in comp.sys.tandy about Tandy being out of the PAL chips, but you can ask. The BIOS upgrade for the original 1000 is not completely straightforward and should be performed by a technician. III.F. System Setup Programs III.F.1. I just got an old 1000 secondhand, with no disks or anything. Where can I get the system setup program for it? The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, SX, and TX do not have a setup program (they tend to use jumpers on the motherboard instead). For other models, see section IV.B. for sites. III.F.2. What are the options to the system setup command? It depends on the system; all of them are undocumented. On the 1000TL, there are three. Entering, say SETUPTL without options will give you access to only one screen of setup options - only "safe" things. SETUPTL /A will give access to several additional screenfuls of setup. /A is mainly useful for controlling the amount of video RAM (see section II.A.2.). SETUPTL /B will display the actual binary EEPROM contents and allow you to change individual bits. It is not much use since nobody has mapped the EEPROM. Beware of /A and /B: it is possible to mess up the EEPROM so as to make the system unbootable - in which case you will have to take the computer in to Radio Shack for an EEPROM replacement. Finally, SETUPTL /F will reset the EEPROM to the factory defaults; this option is sometimes useful if you've messed up the setup so that there isn't any screen output. It is also useful if your DeskMate DeskTop is messed up and you can't fix it from inside DeskMate (you should also delete DESKTOP.CFG, and you will have to rebuild your DeskTop). [Maintainer's note: Tell me about your options.] III.F.3. Why does my 1000 RLX say I have an invalid configuration? Anexsia posted in comp.sys.tandy: "I have a tandy 1000 rlx that upon start up tells me that I have an invalid configuration, and tells me to run the start up utility, which I have. The message will not go away. The computer seems to run otherwise fine." When a Tandy with EEPROM setup boots up, the BIOS does a sanity check on the EEPROM contents, and if the check fails, it uses some built-in defaults instead of the information in the EEPROM. The message is the BIOS telling you the EEPROM makes no sense and warning you that it's using the defaults. The solution to the problem is to run Setuprlx, as the BIOS tells you to do. When you do that, Setuprlx will examine the hardware installed in the system. If you then exit the program and "Save changes," the EEPROM will be updated to match the actual hardware. On the other hand, if you exit Setuprlx without saving, the EEPROM will not be changed and your problem will recur. Since the RLX is bootable, you can use SETUPRLX /F to set it back to the factory defaults, if you need to. If you did "Save changes," and you still have the same problem, try mouse on COM1: and modem on COM2:. The BIOS may be upset that you're not using the COM: ports in order [note: this user had mouse on COM1: and modem on COM4:]. If it still doesn't work, then you may actually have to take the computer in for service, since, unlike CMOS, you can't easily erase an EEPROM and start over. Frank Durda IV writes: You didn't mention if you did this, but I'll say it. If the CMOS has a checksum error, it will also say there is an invalid configuration and that you should run setup. However, on some systems, running setup is not enough! You must change something, anything to get setup to write the good values back to the CMOS. For example, change the type listed for drive B, then change it back, then hit F2, or whichever key is correct to store the settings. Running setup and saying "yep, its all correct" will not update the CMOS even if you press F2, unless you change something, at least on a lot of the older systems. I think the RLX was in this category. Later Tandy SETUPs would consider fields to be "changed" if you simply moved the cursor to them (they changed color), so all you have to do there is move the cursor around and hit F2 to write new CMOS values. The CMOS settings on ISA systems don't care about IRQ or DMA settings (it does matter on EISA, PCI and Plug And Play systems), so changing those settings on boards isn't going to make the CMOS happy. Memory- mapped devices can also cause problems if there isn't a gap between real memory and the addresses used by the memory-mapped adapter. CMOS on ISA systems is concerned with memory size, video type (Mono, CGA or EGA/VGA) floppy type and number of hard drives. Most systems CMOS checks can't tell if you got the hard disk drive type settings wrong, but they will know if the count is wrong or the floppy count or type settings are wrong. Verify these things, make a pointless change and then put things back correctly, and then save the settings and see if it shuts up. III.G. Applications III.G.1. Some compilers do not detect my hardware. Is there an explanation for this? Borland languages may not be able to detect an 8087 coprocessor on a Tandy 1000-series. WATFOR-77 has a similar problem on the 1000TL; it indicates that the 287 is not generating interrupts (the coprocessor error interrupt, Int 16h, is rerouted to Int 2 on the TL). Other than the above, all (older versions of) Borland and Microsoft languages will run in the 1000-series, although lockups have been reported with Microsoft Quick C. Programs compiled with QC (version 1.x) may not run on the 1000-series due to a bug in the graphics library. III.G.2. What C compilers will work on my Tandy 1000? The following C compilers will run on an XT: Turbo C v1.0, 1.5 and 2.0, Turbo C++ v1.0, QuickC up to 2.5, Microsoft C up to v6.0 (works but is slow), Zortech C/C++, and Mix Power C. With the exception of Mix Power C, these products are no longer available new. Mix Power C has been highly recommended in the Delphi Tandy forum, but it won't create Microsoft-compatible .obj files. Generally, one should look for used compilers for older machines rather than buying a new compiler (which probably won't run). If you're desperate, there's a shareware (free?) C compiler called Personal C available on ftp sites such as ftp.simtel.net. It compiles small model only, is K&R C, not ANSI, and does not support some features such as bitfields. I used it to make a version of Playsnd that supported EMS RAM, back before Playsnd had that feature, and it was *not* pretty. You're better off lurking on misc.forsale.computers.pc-specific.software and getting a used copy of QuickC. EMS Professional Software also sells old compilers: http://www.emsps.com/oldtools/ III.G.3. Where can I find a program for the Tandy 1000 that does (x)? Generally, you don't need a Tandy-specific program. The vast majority of DOS programs for the IBM PC or XT will work fine. You only really need or want a Tandy-specific program when you're trying to take advantage of special features the 1000's have, like the 640x200x4, 320x200x16, or (on some models) the 640x200x16 video modes. Programs to play sounds on the SN76496 3-voice tone and noise generator or the Tandy DAC (PSSJ) are another exception. You can find a couple nice GIF/JPG viewers and a couple nice sound file players at my ftp site (see section IV.B.1.). Tandy video is largely compatible with CGA, and programs that play sound on the PC speaker will work on the 1000's too. There are several good MS-DOS ftp sites with programs to meet practically every need. Try ftp.simtel.net or garbo.uwasa.fi, for example. The pc-blue archive at http://www.mirror.ac.uk/collections/hensa-micros/collections/pc-blue/ ... in particular has a lot of very old programs that will run in very limited memory. PC Enterprises and Computer News PC carry old commercial DOS programs that will run on the 1000's (see section IV.G.). III.G.4. What games are there for the 1000's? Most any game for the original IBM PC or XT will work (see section III.G.3.). The only thing different about the Tandy joystick is the plug; it is programmed exactly the same. In action games, it is of course best if you can find a game that supports your video and sound, but games that only require CGA and the speaker will work. Sierra (Sierra Online, Coarsegold, CA 93614) made several games that took advantage of the 1000's video and sound. Some of these have remained popular and continue to be put out in new versions (King's Quest is one that comes to mind). Other Sierra games were The Black Cauldron and Space Quest (Sierra also produced the Homeword word processor for DeskMate). Some of Sierra's old games are still available; visit their Web site at: http://www.sierra.com/ Other companies that made games for the 1000's were Spinnaker (Fraction Fever and Kindercomp), Infocom (Infocom Sampler), Microsoft (Flight Simulator), Broderbund (Lode Runner and Carmen Sandiego), Electronic Arts (Star Flight, One-on-One, and Pinball Construction Set), Epyx (Rogue), Columbia Pictures (Ghostbusters), and Microprose (F15 Strike Eagle and Silent Service). Those games were commercial, and they turn up for sale in comp.sys.tandy every so often. Most of them are "abandonware" - commercial software that is more than 5 years old and no longer for sale by any company. There is a certain merit in the view that such software should be freely distributed, and some people have made older games available on the Internet from time to time. According to James Blackmon , there are people trading copies of old commercial software on the #1980warez channel on Efnet (IRC). There are a few games that take advantage of 1000-series video and sound at my ftp site (see section IV.B.1.). One of them, Stormovik, is now commercial, and the (shareware) Tandy version is quite impressive. III.G.5. How can I access the Internet with my 1000? According to Will Baldwin <76200.275@compuserve.com>: There are 3 main ways to access the net using DOS text-based programs: 1) Thru a shell account to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can usually do this using any standard DOS terminal program. 2) Thru a SLIP connection directly to the Internet backbone. 3) Thru a PPP connection directly to the Internet backbone. There are some freeware and shareware software available to take care of 2 and 3 above. To use them, you have to be able to access a SLIP or PPP gateway on your ISP. On your computer, you have to use a packet driver or packet driver emulator. If you are a standalone computer wishing to communicate through a modem, you need a packet driver. If your computer is part of a LAN, chances are your server already has a packet driver, in which case you need to have a packet driver *emulator* on *your* machine. I have found the most widely used freeware/shareware packet drivers are UMSLIP (for SLIP), and Etherppp (for PPP). Once you have a SLIP or PPP driver, you then need a client program. I have found YARN, PINE, Minuet, DOSLynx, and SLippper. Despite its name, I believe Slippper can be used with either SLIP or PPP. I prefer Minuet and Etherppp on a Tandy 1000 through the Compuserve PPP gateway. Minuet offers Ftp, Gopher, Telnet, WWW, etc., all in one program. Program: Available at ftp:// PINE cac.washington.edu DOSLynx ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/DosLynx/ YARN Simtel mirrors, under /msdos/offline Minuet Minuet.micro.umn.edu/pub/pc/internet/minuet/latest UMSLIP boombox.micro.umn.edu/pub/pc/slip/latest/sliparc.exe Slippper Slip-olr.zip in the wuarchive site listed below, or email circular@delphi.com. Most of the above can also be found at ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu in the pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/incoming, DOSLynx, or internet tools directories. Also available there is a utility program I wrote, MYIP.zip, which makes it easier to use Etherppp w/Minuet (and other internet software) with PPP hosts that assign new IP addresses at each logon, by automatically passing the IP address to the client software, making it unnecessary for the user to type it in each time. It also helps software take full advantage of unattended mode features. Last I heard, the latest version of Etherppp (1.9.49 beta) can't be gotten by ftp, but only thru gopher, at gopher.merit.edu, under Merit Software, MS-DOS archive, communications, ncsa. The earlier Etherppp versions can be gotten by ftp, but I would stay away from them; people say they're rather buggy. For hints and tips about using the above, there are mailing lists for Minuet and DOSLynx, and usenet newsgroups for PINE (comp.mail.pine), and PPP (comp.protocols.ppp). Instructions to subscribe to the DOSLynx mailing list are in the documentation. Instructions to subscribe to the Minuet mailing list are available from the Minuet.FAQ file accessible at the URL shown in the opening screen. Good luck. I'm no expert, but feel free to netmail me on Fido, or send email to my internet box at: Will.Baldwin@nemspa.org. Marc Williams has the following notes on DOS Internet programs: Packet Drivers: Quakeppp works fine. Uses Klos Technologies PPP drivers/software. Dialer/terminal program can connect via scripts or manually. Etherppp works fine too but it's a memory hog. Causes some programs to error out like PC-Pine and Minuet. Slipper/Cslipper work flawlessly. Need dialer program or terminal software to connect first. Clients: Minuet. Integrated tools. Telnet, mail, gopher, ping, finger, news, web, ftp. Web does not support forms. Can't use News as it doesn't work on Stacker drive. Minuet is my main program for mail, gopher and ftp. Requires dial-up program. Companion UMSlip/phone package works fine. I use phone to load cslipper. Net-Tamer. Integrated tools. Telnet, mail, ping, web, news, ftp. Built-in PPP using scripts or dumb terminal mode. I'm using XT/286 version which does not support graphics/sound. Web leaves a lot to be desired. Reader module allows for offline newsgroup reading. My main program for usenet. You can download only subject headers so you can then pick which full messages to download for reading. Pretty cool. Three versions available: 386 (graphics, sound, fonts), XT/286, and Palmtop (no graphics/sound on last two). Latest versions at http://people.delphi.com/davidcolston/ NCSA Telnet w/FTP. Very good package. Also includes whois, finger, rsh/rexec, etc. CUTCP Telnet w/FTP. Based on NCSA work. Includes printing utilities like lpr/lpq/etc. TN3270 also. Trumpet. Cool nntp news reader. Not offline but windowing/menuing. DOSLynx. World Wide Web browser. Not a port of Unix Lynx. Too bad. Uses Borland Turbovision interface (like Minuet/Trumpet). Slow, buggy, crash prone. In alpha and doesn't seem to be supported. New note: DosLynx is being worked on by a private party and is now at 0.13a (UKansas' last version was 0.8a). It fixes some bugs. It can be had from http://www.fdisk.com/doslynx/ POPMail. Pre-Minuet. No longer supported. Incorporated into Minuet. Includes Webster module (not in Minuet). Includes telnet, finger, ping. PC-Gopher III. Pre-Minuet. No longer supported. Incorporated into Minuet. The version I use(d) is pretty fast with windows opening all over the place with no memory problems. Later version (1.1.x?) had major memory problems. NuPOP. POP mail. Based on Minnesota code (POPMail/PC-Gopher/Minuet). Telnet, ping, finger, and quite a few more. Will call external programs like Trumpet, html viewers, graphics viewers, etc. Those are some of the cool programs that work (except DOSLynx). Minuet, NuPOP, POPMail, PC-Gopher III, Trumpet, and DOSLynx use the Borland Turbovision interface so they're full windowing/mouseable programs. Tried PC-Pine but couldn't get it to work. Probably since Annex doesn't use the unix box/pine to receive mail anymore. Experimenting with Yarn (usenet SOUP) offline reader but haven't got it to work yet. Need the correct programs to import the packets. Most of the above (and a few more) can be found at my site: http://tvdog.shacknet.nu/internet.html ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/internet/ The programs on that site have been tested on the 1000HX and 1000TL. Obviously, if the 1000RSX is running Windows, OS/2 Warp, or Linux, there are Internet access programs for those environments. III.H. Basic III.H.1. What are the Basic patches? There is a bug in GW-Basic 3.20.20, which came with the SL, TL and TL/2. After a syntax error, the /8 key on the numeric keypad stops working until Basic is exited. The executable can be patched to fix the problem; the fix appeared in the December 1990 issue of _PCM_, page 138. Enter the following at the DOS prompt: PATCH BASIC.EXE,96A2,A483C702,FCA44747 GW-Basic v01.01.00, included with the original 1000, has a bug that causes the sense of the BEEP ON and BEEP OFF commands to be reversed. The fix is to patch the program with Debug as follows, as described in the October 1986 issue of _PCM_. First rename BASIC.EXE to BASIC.TMP. Go DEBUG BASIC.TMP, then type: E 6AA9 74 W Q Rename BASIC.TMP back to BASIC.EXE. Tandy GW-Basic v01.01.01 or later does not have the bug. III.H.2. How do I get information on Basic programming? With newer models, there may be a Basic command reference in the manuals that came with the system. On older models, the Basic documentation may have been sold separately. In either case, ask Tandy (see section IV.A.). See also section IV.D. _PCM_ magazine used to publish a lot of Basic programs for the 1000's - see section IV.C. III.H.3. What is the "Child of Basic" problem? The "Child of Basic" problem was caused by a bug in the Microsoft QuickBasic v1.0 compiler. Programs compiled with QB 1.0 would display the message, "Cannot execute as a child of BASIC" and refuse to run on the Tandy 1000. The solution was to run a program beforehand that would set a byte in the BIOS data area to the value that QB expected. There is a program on my ftp to do this: ftp://tvdog.shacknet.nu/tandy1000/utilities/t1qbfix.zip It is also possible to make a program to fix the problem with the following Debug session: a0100 push ds push dx mov ds,0050 mov ds,dx mov dl,00 mov [000f],dl pop dx pop ds int 20 f0111 0180 00 nqbfix.com rcx 80 w q Note the blank line after "int 20". The program QBFIX.COM is produced. The "Child of Basic" problem was Microsoft's fault, not Tandy's, and it had nothing to do with Tandy's GW-Basic interpreter. QuickBasic v2.0 or later does not have the bug. IV. Miscellaneous Information IV.A. How do I contact Tandy? Tandy can be reached by mail, by phone, by fax, or through the Internet. Tandy can be reached by mail at: Tandy Computer Support Services 400 Atrium One Tandy Center Fort Worth, TX 76102 Tandy Customer Relations can be reached by fax at (817) 338-2303. Support questions can be faxed to (817) 878-6804. The various phone numbers at Tandy have all been consolidated into 1-800-THE-SHACK (1-800-843-7422). Call this number to order Tandy products or obtain support. Outside North America, call Tandy International at 1-817-390-3475. Call the Radio Shack telephone order center to ask about the availability of old Tandy products: (800) 433-2024. Tandy publications can be obtained by using the toll-free fax-back service. To use it, call (800) 323-6586 with a touch-tone phone and enter a request for a catalog of catalogs in a particular subject (such as computers). This will get you a list of catalogs for particular computers. You then call to order the particular catalog (say, for the 1000TL). This catalog then lists publications that you can get, also by fax. The service is free. If you have a question about jumpers, switches, and that sort of thing, this is the way to get it answered. The documents on the fax-back service can also be obtained via WWW from Tandy's support site (see section IV.B.2.). Tandy can be reached by email at support@tandy.com. Replies can be slow by that route. Phone if you need an immediate answer. IV.B. Ftp sites, Web pages, BBS's, etc. IV.B.1. What ftp sites are there for the 1000's? The following site has setup programs, documentation files, and free/shareware programs for the 1000's, as well as Internet access software for old PC's. The latest version of this FAQ is also to be found there: tvdog.shacknet.nu:/ The vast majority of DOS programs will run on the 1000's, though they may not take advantage of the video and sound capabilities. See section III.G.3. for some sites. IV.B.2. What WWW sites are there for the 1000's? The official Tandy WWW site is: http://www.radioshack.com/ Tandy's site has a lot of support documents as well as most of the setup programs and utilities for Tandy computers. Get to the support page via: http://support.radioshack.com/productinfo/ My WWW site has links to the above as well as this FAQ and access to files in my ftp archive: http://tvdog.shacknet.nu/index.html IV.B.3. What BBS's are there for the 1000's? This BBS has some of the files on my ftp/WWW site (if you don't have Internet access). It is generally a gay-oriented BBS, and you have to be 18 to enter; the Tandy stuff is a hobby: Paul's Waka Waka BBS Seattle, WA, USA 1-206-783-7979 or Telnet to wakawaka.dns2go.com Sysop: Paul Casey Running Searchlight v5.1 at 2400-33600 baud Paul writes: "You must register as a NEW User to be able to download files. The BBS is totally 'FREE' with no time limits. No Registration Form is required." IV.B.4. What online services have 1000-related areas? CompuServe, America Online, Delphi, and BIX (is BIX still around?) have Tandy areas. CompuServe's is the biggest - GO TRS80PRO. IV.C. What magazines and newsletters are there for the 1000's? There is a bimonthly newsletter called _Computer News PC_. The publisher also sells shareware disks with old programs that will run on the 1000's, certain parts for the 1000's, ribbons for Tandy printers, and other stuff: Computer News PC P.O. Box 50127 Casper, WY 82605 ph. (307) 265-6483 This company also publishes _Computer News 80_, a newsletter for TRS-80's. The major magazine for Tandy 1000 owners was _PCM_. It is now out of print, but at last report the publisher still had back issues for sale: Falsoft, Inc. The Falsoft Building P.O. Box 385 Prospect, KY 40059 ph. (502) 228-4492 fax (502) 228-5121 The best years for _PCM_ were 1988-1991 if you can find back issues. When I was on Delphi, they had back issues of _PCM_ available for download for an extra charge ("PCM on Disk"); perhaps they still do (see section IV.B.4.). _PCM_ used to publish an index to the previous year's articles in each July issue. There was another, smaller magazine for the Tandy 1000-series. Reportedly it is out of print as well: 1000 Magazine Symbiotics, Inc. P.O. Box 1688 St. Louis, MO 63043-0688 IV.D. What are some good books about the 1000's? _Upgrading Your Tandy_, from DCS Industries (see section IV.G.). _1000's Tech Notes and Jumper Manual, Volumes 1 and 2_, from _Computer News PC_ (see section IV.G.). Volume 1 covers the 1000's themselves; volume 2 covers various adapters and accessories sold by Tandy for the 1000's. These books are a highly recommended. The technical reference manual for your system is your best source of hardcore technical data; see section IV.G. on how to get a copy. The technical reference may assume you are already familiar with commonly-used (or emulated) Intel chips. If not, the _Intel Microprocessor and Peripheral Handbook_ contains the data sheets for the 8088, 8086, 80286, 8259A, 8254, etc. The _IBM PCjr Technical Reference Manual_ can be helpful. It contains BIOS listings for that system and documentation on the Tandy 1000/PCjr video system and 3-voice chip that is a bit more complete than what is in Tandy's manuals. Many of the 1000's are intermediate between the IBM PC and the PCjr (see section IV.H.). From that point of view, a good book to get is _Compute's Mapping the IBM PC and PCjr_, which covers both systems. It covers programming the machines in Basic and assembler, including Tandy 1000/PCjr video and the 3-voice chip. A service manual, _Computerfacts Technical Service Data_, may be available for some 1000-series models from: Computerfacts Technical Service Data Howard W. Sams & Company 4300 W 62nd St. Box 7092 Indianapolis, IN 46206 ph. (800) 428-SAMS These are called "Sams" manuals. There was a manual sold with the Tandy 3000HL, catalog number 25-4109, _MS- DOS/GW Basic_, covering Tandy DOS 3.3. Radio Shack also sold a book by David A. Lien, _Learning Basic for the Tandy 1000/2000_. There was a book, _Tandy MS-DOS Reference Manual_, catalog number 25-1501, that came with the SX (DOS version 3.2). Lien also wrote DOS books for Tandy: _MS-DOS Volume 1: The Basics_ (cat. no. 25-1506) and _MS-DOS Volume 2: Advanced Applications_ (cat. no. 25-1507). The two DOS books and the Basic book by Lien were sold as a unit, cat. no. 25-1508. A useful book to get, if you can find it: _Getting the Most Out of DeskMate 3_ by Michael A. Banks, published by Brady. Contains whatever is left out of the DeskMate manual. All of those books are out of print and out of stock at Radio Shack, but you may be able to find secondhand copies. Radio Shack once sold a software package called "Fundamentals of the TL" containing introductory information on the 1000TL. They bring you into a town, called "Tandyland". You have a set of software packages with you. You go to each store, and each merchant has a problem they want to solve. You have to give them the right software. It also teaches you how to use MS-DOS, as well as how to use DeskMate, ver 3.01. There were also "Fundamentals" programs for other systems, including the original 1000, SX, and EX. Ken Udut provided the following information: DeskMate book that may still be available: From Ramon Zamora & Laran Stardrake in One_Thousand_Magazine, October 1991 "Your DeskMate Backpack - the ShareBook We are writing a sharebook called _Your DeskMate Backpack_ in 8.5" by 11" loose-leaf format. This sharebook may be freely copied and distributed. The first 10 pages are free. To get them, send a SELF-ADDRESSED, STAMPED (29 CENTS) ENVELOPE, to: Your DeskMate Backpack PO Box 1635 Sebastopol, CA 95473-1635 If you do, please tell us about your computer and what you would like to learn about DeskMate." I do not know if they are still providing this service. They also wrote a DeskMate book, which I used to have but gave away to a friend who received a used Tandy 1000 TX and wanted to learn more about DeskMate. I will find out the name of it. (I think my local library has a copy). Tandy sold not only the FUNdamentals for the TL, they also had a version for the 1000, 1000SX and 1000 SL, that I know of. I have a copy of the TL version, as well as the version for the original 1000. (The one for the original 1000 is splendid! I didn't know that the original 1000 could do all of the neat things it was showing!) Radio Shack once sold a book called _Graphics and Sound for the Tandy 1000 and PC Compatibles_ by William Barden, Jr. (catalog number 25-1512) for $7.95 (as of 1990). It was primarily oriented toward Basic but contained useful appendices. The information in the technical reference manuals for the various models is more complete. The *first* edition of the _Programmer's Guide to PC Video Systems_ by Richard Wilton contains a great deal of information on how to program the PCjr video (the second edition is of little or no use, since information on the PCjr video was deleted along with other "less-known" video cards). There are many general books about the IBM PC and MS-DOS available at any bookstore or library. For programmers, the _Microsoft MS-DOS Encylopedia_ is an excellent reference. The 1988 edition covers DOS up to 3.3 and contains information that was left out of later editions. IV.E. What other newsgroups are of interest to 1000 owners? There is a DeskMate group: alt.os.deskmate comp.sys.tandy is much more widely read, so it is probably better just to post your DeskMate-related messages there. For general IBM PC-related information, check out these hierarchies: comp.os.msdos.* comp.sys.ibm.pc.* comp.os.ms-windows.* To get used parts and software cheap, look in: misc.forsale.computers.pc-specific.* IV.F. Where can I get other FAQ's? FAQ's for most newsgroups are periodically posted to news.answers. Also check comp.answers for comp.* newsgroups and alt.answers for alt.* newsgroups. FAQ's are also available by ftp from: rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet A list of available FAQ's is to be found at: rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/periodic-postings Via WWW, check this site: http://www.faqs.org/ * IV.G. Where can I get upgrade/replacement parts for my 1000? Some parts are still stocked by Tandy. Check the faxback documents on the support WWW site (see section IV.B.2.) for the part number you need, then call 1-800-THE-SHACK. The following company sells memory chips for most models of the 1000- series. Check the list in section II.A.1. or consult the Tandy support site to find out what type of chips you need first: Jameco Electronics 1355 Shoreway Road Belmont, CA 94002-4100 ph. (800) 455-6119 email: info@jameco.com WWW: http://www.jameco.com Search for "DRAM" on their Web site to see what they have. If you need to replace the lithium coin battery in your system, Walmart has a pretty good selection. Make sure you bring the original battery to match it. You will often find upgrade parts for older PC's on eBay, as well as complete 1000 systems. Search Google for "computer liquidators" to find companies that still sell 8-bit cards and other old upgrade parts. Some cities have junk shops that sell all kinds of old electronic equipment (there is one in Virginia Beach); check locally. There used to be several places that specialized in parts for the 1000's; unfortunately, they are all gone now. One of them still has a WWW site: DCS Industries 7690 Meadowbrook Road Athens, OH 45710 ph. (790) 594-4180 fax (790) 592-1527 email: dcs@eurekanet.com WWW: http://www.dcsindustries.com/ You can't order anything off the site, but the email address is still valid. The owner says he has an 11,000 square foot warehouse full of stuff still, but he only sells on eBay nowadays. You can send him an email and ask whether he will sell you what you want anyhow. Generally, whatever works in an IBM XT can be made to work in a Tandy 1000. There are quite a few exceptions, though. If you are in doubt (and this FAQ didn't tell you), ask in comp.sys.tandy or, better yet, get one of the books listed in section IV.D. IV.H. Why is this @#$%!! machine so incompatible? The original Tandy 1000 was introduced to compete with the IBM PCjr, and it is compatible with it in most respects. Shortly before the 1000 came out, the PCjr was discontinued, and it is largely forgotten now. The 1000-series, by contrast, were quite popular, and Tandy continued to produce new models for a decade, adding enhancements and gradually improving compatibility with the IBM PC. The keyboard on the original 1000 through the 1000TX is an improvement on the original 83-key IBM PC keyboard, and most of the scan codes are compatible with that, though not with the later 101-key keyboard. The PCjr's poor keyboard was a principal reason for its demise. The joystick ports on the original 1000 were made compatible with the Color Computer, to enable owners of those machines to use their old joysticks and Color Mice with the new machines. Reducing manufacturing cost was another reason for some of the incompatibilities. IV.I. What happened to Tandy? Tandy Corporation is still around and still supports their computers, even the oldest TRS-80 model I. See section IV.A. for ways to contact them. In May 1993, Tandy sold its computer manufacturing facilities and the rest of its computer business to AST Research, which quickly closed the plants down. For a while, the desktop computers sold in Radio Shacks were made by AST, using Tandy's old engineering staff, who had been transferred to the new company. Tandy's laptops were mostly made in Japan, most by Panasonic, some by Seikosha, often with custom ROM's. Tandy printers were generally made in Japan as well, generally with custom ROM's. In May 1996, AST terminated its in-house software development efforts, and the remaining Tandy programmers scattered to the four winds (some were still left from the DeskMate days at that time). AST still holds the rights to DeskMate and Tandy WinMate, but no one at AST seems to know whether they still have the source code or not. (You can still get DeskMate 3.05 and DeskMate Home Organizer from Tandy.) Currently, Radio Shack is selling IBM and Packard Bell models.