Morrow Micro Decision MD5 User manual

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NOTICE! TWO -HARD DISK RULES OF THE ROAD- THAT *
* YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF IMMEDIATELY ARE: *
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* 1. PARK THE HARD DISK BEFORE TURNING OFF *
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THE MICRO DECISION (page 2-12) *
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2. BACK UP YOUR HARD DISK FILES ONTO *
* FLOPPY DISKS REGULARLY (page 2-10) *
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-- (*) --
Consider this booklet your tour guide. It is written
for people like yourself who have chosen one of Morrow's
Hard Disk Micro Decision computer systems. It is meant
to get you started with the Micro Decision, and to show
you some good maintenance habits. Be aware that it
doesn't teach you how to use your software (NewWord,
Personal Pearl, etc.), since these are covered in their
own manuals.
We want to get you hooked up and running right away.
So, if you're a complete newcomer to Computersville, you
may want to skim Chapter 6 for a few fundamentals like
how to handle diskettes. Chapter 6 also lists the Micro
Decision's general specifications.

Copyright (c) 1985 by Morrow Designs, Inc.
World Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, trans-
mitted, stored in a retrieval system, or translated
into any language or computer language, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanica 1, magnetic,
optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without prior
written permission of Morrow Designs Inc.
DISCLAIMER
No
representations or warranties, express or implied,
are made with respect to the contents hereof,
including but not limited to the implied warranty of
merchantibility or fitness for a particular purpose.
Further, Morrow Designs Inc. reserves the right to
revise this publication and to make changes from time
to time in the content hereof without obligation to
notify anyone of such revision.
NewWord is a product of NewStar Software, Inc.
SuperCalc is a registered trademark of Sorcim Corp.
MBASIC-80 is a product of Microsoft, Inc.
Personal Pearl is a product of PearlSoft, Inc.
Quest is a trademark of Quest, Inc.
Micro Decision, Correct-It, PILOT, and the Co-Pilot
Menus are products of Morrow, Inc.
CP/M 3.0 is a product of Digital Research.

HARD DISK MICRO DECISION USER'S GUIDE
CONTENTS
This manual pertains to all hard disk
Micro Decision models, including
MD-5, MD-11, MD-16, and MD-34.
CHAPTER 1. WIRING IT UP AND FIRING IT UP
1-1
1-2
1-3
1-4
• • •• 1-5
• • •• 1-6
1-7
1-7
1-8
1-9
1-9
1-9
• 1-11
• • • • • • 1-11
• 1-12
• 1-13
• 1-14
• 1-16
• 1-17
Materials Checklist •••••
Terminals That Work Well With the MD.
Printers That Will Prove Convenient to Use •••
Unpacking • • • • • •• ••• •
Setting Things in Place •
Connecting the Terminal •
Connecting the Keyboard • •
Connecting the Printer.
Parallel Printers. • • • • •
Serial Printers. • • • •••••••••
Unfortunately You're Not Quite Finished.
Terminal Setup •
Checkpoint A. •••
The Next Steps •••
Fire That Baby Up •
Checkpoint B. • •
Checkpoint C. • •
If You Didn't Make it to Checkpoint C.
Setting Up Serial Printers ••••••••
CHAPTER 2. USING YOUR MICRO DECISION FOR THE FIRST TIME
The-Main Menu, Revisited ••••
A Sampling of the Software.
NewWord. •
SuperCalc.
Correct-It
Persona I Pear I •
Quest. • • • •
The Backfield.
Microsoft BASIC. ••••
PARK • • • • • • • •
ESC: Exit to CP/M ••
2-2
2-3
2-3
2-6
• • • • •• 2-7
• • •• 2-8
2-9
• 2-10
• 2-12
• 2-12
• 2-13

CHAPTER 2 continued
The Utility Menu: Your Tool Box • • • 2-14
Display a Directory. • • •••••••• 2-14
View or Print a File • • • • • • 2-15
Copy a File or Files • • • • • • • • 2-17
Format a Diskette. • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2-18
Check Space and File Size. • • • • • • 2-19
Execute aCP/M Command • • • • • • • 2-20
Rename or Erase a File • • • • • • • 2-22
Fundamental Training in CP/M • • • 2-23
Load Quest Bookkeeper. • •• •••••• 2-23
Installing Quest • • • • • • 2-24
Improvements in Bookkeeper II. • 2-25
Upgrading from Bookkeeper I to II. • • 2-25
Whew1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2-26
CHAPTER 3. ABOUT THE PROGRAMS IN USER 0
PARK. COM. • • •• •• ••••••• •• 3- 3
FORMAT.COM. • • • • • • • • •
3-3
KEY.COM • • • • • • • • • •• 3-4
SETUP.COM • • • • • • 3-4
PILOT.COM • • •• • • • • 3-5
PROFILE. SUB • •• • • • • • •• 3-6
BACKUP. COM. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3-7
CPM2.COM, CPM3.COM and CPM2.RSX •••• 3-8
FOREIGN.COM • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 3-9
IMS.COM ••••••••••••• •• 3-10
INIT.COM. • • • • • • • • • •• •••••• 3-10
COPYSYS.COM, SYSLDR.COM, and CPM3.SYS ••••• 3-11
HDL.COM, HDBOOT.COM, and HDPIP.COM ••••••• 3-13
BNKBIOS3.MAC and BIOS.SUB • 3-14
VERIFILE.COM. • • • • • • • • • •••••••• 3-14
CHAPTER 4. MICRO DECISION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
General
When to Press RESET, and When Not To. • • • 4-1
Restrictions on File Names. • • • • • • • • 4-2
Disk Drive Letters. • • • • • • • • • • • • 4-3
Booting From the Floppy (Rebuilding Hard Disk). 4-7
Changing Hardware After Installing the Software 4-11

CHAPTER 4 continued
Co-Pilot Menus
Adding Programs to the Menus.
Disabling the Menus • •
Translating the Menus • • • •
CP/M
Learning About CP/M • • •
Relationship Between CP/M and Other Software.
Booting Defined • • • • •
Compatibility Among CP/M Computers.
Running Programs Straight From CP/M
Built-In vs. Transient Commands •••
NewWord and Printing
Modifying NewWord •••••••••
Printing and Typing Simultaneously.
Printing What Appears Onscreen. •
Non-Morrow Systems and Software
Adding Software to the Hard Disk.
Dealing with Foreign Diskettes ••
CHAPTER 5. ERRORS AND OTHER NUISANCES
Ope~ator Error Messages
Disk Error Messages • •
Recoverable Errors
Drive Not Ready ••
Write Protected. •
Not Found. • • • •
Data Address CRC Error • •
ID Address CRC Error •
Data Error • • • •
Equipment Failure.
Media Failure. • • • • • •
Seek Error • • • •
Unable to Remap. • • •
Unknown Error Code
Error Message Responses
R - to Try Again •
A -
to Abort •
I -
to Ignore.
Nonrecoverable Errors
Select Error •••
Disk Read Only
File Read Only
Summary • • • • • • •
• 4-14
• 4-14
• 4-15
• 4-18
• 4-18
• 4-18
• 4-20
• 4-21
• 4-24
• 4-25
• 4-26
• 4-28
• 4-29
• 4-31
5-1
5-3
5-4
5-4
5-5
5-5
5-5
5-5
5-5
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-7
5-7
5-8
5-8
5-9
5-9
5-9

CHAPTER 6. ABOUT YOUR SYSTEM
The Absolute Essentials • • • • • • 6-1
Hardware & Software. 6-1
Types of Software. • • • • • 6-2
Computer Hardware. • • • • • • • • 6-3
Disks and Disk Drives. • 6-4
System Hardware Specifications. 6-4
System Software Specifications. 6-5
System Requirements 6-6
Optional Hardware • • • • • • 6-7
Printers •••• 6-7
Modems • • • • • • • • • 6-7
Additional Software • •••••••• •• 6-8
The Micro Decision's Disk Drives. ••••• 6-9
The Hard Disk. •••••••• •• •• 6-9
How Floppies Fit Into the Picture. • 6-11
Do's and Don'ts for Diskettes. • 6-12
Formatting Diskettes. • ••••• 6-12
Write Protection. • • • • 6-13
Inserting Diskettes • • • 6-14
Disk Drive Letters • • • • • • • • 6-15
Virtual Floppy Drives ••••••••••• 6-15
The Co-Pilot Menus. • • •• 6-16
About Your Keyboard • • • • 6-16
ESC Key. •••••••••• • 6-17
CAPS LOCK Key. • • • • • • 6-17
SHIFT Key. • 6-17
CTRL Key • •••••• 6-18
BACK SPACE Key • • 6-18
DELETE Key 6-18
RETURN Key •••••• 6-18
NO SCROLL Key. • 6-19
Numeric Keypad • • • • • • • • 6-19
Function Keys and Special Symbol Keys.. 6-19
Cursor Keys. ••••••• •• 6-20
Each Appendix has its ~ table of contents.
APPENDIX A. BACKFIELD USER'S GUIDE
APPENDIX B. PROGRAMMING MDT-60 I MT-70 FUNCTION KEYS (KEY.COM)
APPENDIX
C. RUNNING CP 1M 2.2 SOFTWARE ON THE MICRO DECISION
APPENDIX D. CORRECTING DEVICES TO THE MICRO DECISION
APPENDIX E. MOTHERBOARD JUMPER OPTIONS
APPENDIX F. GLOSSARY

CHAPTER 1
WIRING
IT UP AND FIRING IT UP
By the end of this chapter, you will be through all
the rigamarole of unpacking, connecting cables, testing
the hardware, and install ing the software. This should
take less than an hour.
MATERIALS CHECKLIST
To
make sure you have everything you're supposed to,
check your pile of manuals, diskettes and hardware
against this list. If anything's missing, contact your
dealer.
Hardware
o Micro Decision computer (the unit with the disk
drives) with power cord & four rubber stick-on feet
o Terminal (Display screen plus keyboard and keyboard
cable)
o Terminal serial cable (if Morrow brand, will be 4
feet long, usually colored white) to connect termi-
nal to Micro Decision
o Printer (optional) with its cable, ribbon, and
printwheel, if it's a wheel printer
Diskettes and Manuals
o 2 CP/M Diskettes and CP/M 3.0 five-book set
o 1 MBASIC Diskette and Manual (may also say SmartKey
on the label, but you can't use SmartKey on the hard
disk systems. Use KEY.COM instead -- see Appendix
B. )
o 1 NewWord Diskette and Manual
o 1 SuperCalc Diskette and Manual
o 1 Correct-It Diskette and Manual
1-1

o 2 Personal Pearl Diskettes and Manual
o 4 Quest Bookkeeper Diskettes and Manual
o Backfield Diskette (details in Appendix A)
o Warranty Registration Booklet
oPILOT Manual
o Hard Disk Micro Decision User's Guide
oYou should have bought your own box of 10 blank 5.25
double-sided soft-sectored diskettes.
You can get by with just one diskette for the mo-
ment, so don't rush off to the dealer if you don't have
ten.
The only thing that can hang you up is having a
truly unusual terminal or printer. Check the lists below
to find your hardware, or a model that operates exactly
the same as yours. If you don't find them, ask your
dealer about the "emulation capabilities" of your termi-
nal or printer. Emulation is the built-in ability of some
terminals and printers to act exactly like certain other
more popular models.
In any case, you'll still be able to work through
all the steps but you may be left wishing you'd bought a
more popular model.
Terminals That Work Conveniently With the Micro Decision
Any Morrow model (MDT-60 or MT-70 recommended)
ACT 5A
ADDS Viewpoint
DEC VT52 or VT100
Hazeltine 1420 or 1500
Heath H19 (same as Zenith Z19)
IBM 3101
Lear Siegler ADM-3A, ADM-5, ADM-22, and ADM-31
Qume 102
SOROe IQ~120
Teleray
Televideo 910, 912C/920, and 925/950
Yisual 200
Wyse
Any ANSI
standard terminal
1-2

NOTE: You will see the list above if you answer "N"
when you are asked whether you are using a Morrow
MDT-60 /MT-70 terminal. The question appears soon
after you start the system for the first time.
If your terminal (or one that works exactly the
same as yours) isn't up there, select "None of the
above". Pay special attention to the message that
appears on screen at this point. See also INIT.COM
on page 3-10.
Printers That Will Prove Convenient to Use
-- -- --- -- --
The Micro Decision wi 11 work with practically any
printer, but certain programs have their own preferences.
Your wordprocessing program, NewWord, is a one of these.
When you reach the point of install ing NewWord, you'll
see this list:
Simple
Draft printer
Typewriter printer
Qume Sprint 11
Silver Reed EXP550
Diablo 1610/20/40/50
Diablo 630
NEC Spinwriter 2000 series
NEC Spinwriter 3500 series
NEC Spinwriter 5500 series
Okidata Microline 84 (step 2)
Okidata models 92/93
Epson MX80/100 & FX80/100
C.Itoh Prowriter
Morrow's MP100/200/300 series
If you see yours in there (or one yours can emu-
late), great. If not, you'll have to figure out whether
yours qualifies as a "Draft" or II Typewriter" printer.
Read about this under Printers in the Encyclopedia sec-
tion of the NewWord User's Guide. (Hint: if in doubt,
pick Draft printer.)
With those preliminaries behind us, let's move on.
1-3

UNPACKING
You don't really need instructions for unpacking, do
you? Since you're reading this, you must have exercised
a little initiative already. However:
NOTE: Keep your packing materials. The Micro
Decision carton was specially designed to give
maximum shock protection for the hard disk
during shipment.
Attach the Four Rubber Feet
----- ---
Turn the Micro Decision upside down. Stick one of
the four rubber feet (supplied in the Micro Decision box)
onto each of the outer corners of the unit's bottom.
1-4

SETTING THINGS IN PLACE
There is only one safety restriction: Leave two or
three inches clearance behind the Micro D~ion-for
ventilation from its fan.
As a base, any sturdy desk or table top is alright.
Treat the hardware as you would a fine component stereo.
Here are a few hints that might help you out:
1. Consider the comfort of your arms and shoulders when
deciding where to put the keyboard. Most normal
desk tops are really too high for long-term typing.
2. Put the screen at a convenient level for your eyes,
especially if you wear bi-focals.
3. Make sure you can reach the power switch on the rear
of the Micro Decision without too much strain. (It
was intentionally put in a less-than-convenient
place so you'd never shut it off by accident.)
4. Don't strive for the perfect arrangement just yet.
You'll still be moving things around when you're
attaching the cables, which comes next.
D
1-5

connecting the Terminal
DON'T PLUG ANYTHING INTO POWER SOCKETS YET.
Locate the cable that came with your terminal. If
you happen to have a serial-type printer, the terminal
and printer cables might look almost identical. Endeavor
not to confuse them. If you do, note that the terminal
cable probably has only four pins in each connector,
while the printer cable will have six or more.
You'll be happy to know that the plugs on the termi-
nal cable cannot be connected upside down, and it doesn't
matter which end of the cable is which. So proceed to
connect one end to the TERMINAL socket on the Micro
Decision, and the other to the socket on the terminal.
'" /
I" /
lJ/IJIIJIBOIOJBIDfIDfIUKBJDmRftBBBIJJOOfr
D
I
Figure 1-1: Terminal Cable Connection (MT-70 Terminal shown)
If the terminal has two possible places to connect
the cable, pick the one labelled MAIN, RS-232, or MODEM.
Avoid connectors labelled PRINTER or AUX. (No damage
results, but nothing works either.)
1-6

connecting the Keyboard
Some terminals won' t require this step. But most
that have detachable keyboards will have a coiled cable
that plugs into the terminal somewhere. Check your ter-
minal manual should the socket elude you.
Figure 1-2: Connecting the MT-70 Keyboard
Connecting the Printer
There are two possibilities: you have a serial
printer, or a parallel (also called "Centronics") print-
er. A few printers can play it either way.
Parallel printers usually have wide, flat cables
wi th connectors that differ from one end to the other.
Serial printers have thin round cables with connectors
just like those on the terminal cable.
1-7

Parallel Printers
It should be obvious that one end of the cable
matches the oblong connector on the printer. Go ahead
and make this connection. You can't do it upside down.
If there are little metal clips that fasten the plug to
the printer, try clipping them. But if they give you too
much trouble, don't worry about them.
Figure 1-3: Connecting the 34-pin Plug
Now'comes the only place where you could go wrong.
The other end of the parallel cable attaches to the edge
of the board sticking out of the Micro Decision's rear
(labelled CENTRONICS PARALLEL). It is possible to con-
nect this one upside down. If you follow the illustra-
tion above you'll be alright. The ribbon of wires should
flow out of the BOTTOM of the connector.
rn
©
Figure 1-4: Connecting a Parallel Printer (MP-100 shown)
1-8

Serial Printers
This is about the same as connecting the terminal.
One end of the printer's cable goes to the Micro Decision
connector labelled PRINTER / MODEM, and the other goes to
the printer. Enough said.
III
o
rn
Figure 1-5: Serial Printer Connection (Mythical printer shown)
UNFORTUNATELY,
YOU'RE
NOT QUITE FINISHED
That was easy enough. Now things can get a little
murky. The Micro Decision comes from the factory with a
few assumptions built in; you have to make sure that the
printer and terminal adhere to these assumptions, and if
that's not possible, that you change the Micro Decision's
picture of the world accordingly. We'll deal with the
terminal now, and the printer a little later.
Terminal Setup
Most terminals have tiny switches on them that
determine how they'll communica te wi th a computer.
Others use .. software settings" instead of switches. In
either case, you need to verify that the terminal is set
up right for the Micro Decision. The procedure for doing
so is different for every model of terminal, so consult
your terminal manual or make your dealer do it. There is
a real possibility, however, that your terminal will be
set up correctly even before you unpack it.
1-9

We'll use the Morrow MT-70 terminal as an example.
The assumptions that the Micro Decision is making are
these:
Baud rate: 9600
7 data bits
2 stop bits
Full duplex
No parity - parity bit set to "space" (0)
The figure below shows the proper switch settings
for the MT-70. (These switches are clearly visible on
the rear of the terminal.)
1
----------- Baud rate • 9600
1
--------7 data bits, parity bit held to 0
~---Character set USA
...---..- ....--... IFunction keys in Morrow mode
OFFCJ 0 0
ON DO DOD
2 3 567 8
Figure 1-6: MT-70 Setup Switches, ProPerly Set for the
Micro Decision
The few terminals that use software settings for
these functions instead of switches (such as the Morrow
MDT-20) will require that you plug them in and turn them
on before you can check anything. Feel free to do this,
but LEAVE THE MICRO DECISION UNPLUGGED.
In the extremely unlikely case that you have an
ancient terminal that can't talk at 9600 baud, tell your
dealer "Hey - how about running SETUP on this Micro Deci-
sion to match my terminal's baud rate?" (a five-minute
operation that requires only your Micro Decision to be
present, but you'll probably want to take your terminal
along to make sure everything's working). He'll have to
use a 9600 baud terminal to boot and run SETUP. Then
your terminal can take over.
1-10

There are several other details about your termi-
nal's operation that are under the control of additional
swi tches • Don't worry about them now. Just focus on
baud rate, full duplex, and bit patterns.
Incidentally, we're not pausing to define every term
at this stage. If not understanding words like "baud
rate" makes you nervous, refer to the glossary in Appen-
dix F. But you can certainly work through these steps
without knowing such details.
Checkpoint A
o Your terminal and printer are connected to the Micro
Decision.
o You've verified that your terminal is set up for the
Micro Decision.
THE NEXT STEPS
-- --- ----
1. This next step is very important: REMOVE THE CARD-
BOARD PACKING MATERIAL FROM THE INSIDE OF THE FLOPPY
DISK DRIVE. Leave the latch open. Never try to
close it with no diskette inside, by the way.
You may want to save this cardboard for pro-
tecting the floppy drive whenever you move the Micro
Decision. You should always keep the cardboard or a
spare diskette in the drive while moving the unit;
this keeps the drive's heads from bumping into each
other.
2. Make sure the power switch on the Micro Decision's
rear is turned OFF. Down is off.
3. Connect the Micro Decision power cord into its sock-
et on the rear panel.
1-11

ON/OFF SWITCH
POWER CORD
CONNECTOR
Figure 1-7: Micro Decision Power connector and Switch
4. Plug the power cords for the Micro Decision, termi-
nal, and printer into a wall outlet or power strip.
USE ONLY GROUNDED OUTLETS. And don't just break off
the grounding lead from the plugs. This is a compu-
ter, not a power saw.
5. If you like, go ahead and arrange the hardware into
its final positions now.
FIRE THAT BABY UP
-------
Turn the terminal on first. You may hear a beep.
In a few seconds, your cursor should appear. The cursor
is a small rectangle or bar of light, about the size of
one character. It may blink. If you don't see anything
on the screen after a reasonab Ie pause, check the
terminal's brightness or contrast control. Rotate it
from one extreme to the other. If you're sure you have
power and you still don't see a cursor, tell your dealer.
Assuming your cursor is there, reach around the
right side of the Micro Decision and flip the power
switch ON. You should hear the hard disk start to whir.
A light should be glowing on the lower right corner of
the front panel.
And voila. The computer has sprung to life.
1-12

Checkpoint B
o
The cursor was clearly visible on the terminal
screen.
o When you turned on ~he Micro Decision, a message
immediately appeared on the screen. Among other
things, it reported that it was "Testing memory:".
After passing this test, the software installation
process commenced automatically.
If everything's gone right so far, stop reading this
and read your screen IriSte~
Several things could have gone wrong at this point,
although they're unlikely if you've followed the instruc-
tions carefully.
First possibility: When you turned on the Micro
Decision, nothing happened. No hum, no lights glow-
ing. Check its power cord connections and the
outlet.
Second: Upon turning the Micro Decis ion on, it
hummed etc., but nothing happened on the screen.
Assuming the cursor is visible, check the terminal's
cable connection.
Third: You saw some kind of gibberish appear on the
screen. Most likely your terminal is set to the
wrong baud rate. After being sure it's 9600, turn
the terminal off and back on to make the new rate
take effect. Then press the RESET button on the
front of the Micro Decision (the little button on
the lower right with the light in it). This starts
everything over.
Fourth: The Micro Decision failed the memory test,
as indicated by the message "RAM (or ROM) error."
We've yet to see this happen, but if you're that one
in a million, report it to your dealer.
-- (*) --
1-13