XETEC Lt. Kernal User manual

READMEFIRST
1-22-88
THANKYOUforpurchasingtheLt.Kernal.Pleasereadthefollow-
ingbeforeproceeding.
1. Makesurethatallfunctionsofyourcomputersystemareworking
properlybeforeaddingtheLt.KernalDiskdrivetoyoursystem
becauseanyproblemsthatyoursystemmighthave,couldbeseen
asLt.Kernalproblemsafteritisinstalled.
2. READtheLt.Kernalmanualthoroughlybeforedoinganyinstalla-
tion. Donotassumeanything.SeeSectionII,pages2-1through2-20.
3. Donotattemptanyoftheinstallationworkwiththepoweron.Do
notconnectanythingtoyourcomputerwiththepoweron.
4. Whendoingtheinternalhook-uponyourcomputer,DOUBLE
CHECKtheconnectionsbeforeclosingthecomputer.
5.Ifallof the abovehasbeendoneproperly,youarereadytocontinue
withthestepsinthemanualtobringyourLt.Kernaltolife.SeeSec-
tionsm andon.
6.Mostproblemsencounteredonaninitialsystembootareduetohav-
inga C-128computersystemsetforan80columndisplay.Thiswill
resultin a Commodoresign-onmessagewithnoapparentactivityfrom
theLt.Kernal.ThisisduetothefactthattheLt.Kernalisshipped
toboot-upinthe64 mode (40columndisplay).Simplymakesure
thatboththemonitorandcomputeraresetto40columnoperation
ORchangetheboot-updefaulttoC-128 mode withtheCONFIG
command.
7.Ifyouhavecarefullyfollowedtheinstructions,yourLt.Kernalshould
berunningandreadyforyouruse.Ifitisnotfunctioning,re-check
theinstallation and refer to theTroubleShootingsectionofthemanual.
8.Afteryouhavethesystemrunning,becomefamiliarwithitbefore
makingchanges.Learnhowtousethesimplecommandsbeforeat-
temptinga systemCONFIGuration,forexample.
9.DONOTDOa SYSGENunlessabsolutelynecessary.Readthe
REPLACEMENTpages2-25and2-26tidedTHESYSGENUTILI-
TYtodeterminewhenandhowtodoa SYSGEN.
10. Whenmakingchanges,recordtheconditionthesystemwasinprior
tomakingthechanges.
11. MostUsersgetintotrouble assuming. Makesureyouknow what you
aredoing,andthenquestiontheneedtodoit.
12. Ifyouhaveanydoubts,callusorcheckintotheBBSforhelp.The
BBSislistedonpageA-7ofyourmanual.
13. Ifpossible,savetheboxandpackingmaterialyourunitwasshipped
in. ThisboxwasdesignedtosafelyshiptheLt.Kernal.

Lt.Kernal
20or 40MegabyteSystems
Operating
Manual
Lt.Kernalisa registeredtrademarkofFiscalInformation,Inc.

LIMITEDWARRANTY
Xetec,Inc.warrantsthisXetecharddiskdriveknownastheLt.
Kernal,tobeingoodworkingorderfora periodofoneyearfromthe
dateofpurchasefromXetec,Inc.oranauthorizedXetecdealer.
Shouldthisproductfailtobeingoodworkingorderatanytimedur-
ingthisoneyearwarrantyperiod,Xetecwillatitsoption, repairor
replacethisproductatnoadditionalchargeexceptassetforthbelow.
Repairpartsandreplacementproductswillbefurnishedonanex-
changebasisandwillbeeitherreconditionedornew.Allreplaced
partsandproductsbecomethepropertyofXetec,Inc.Thislimited
warrantydoesnotincludeservicetorepairdamagetotheproduct
resultingfromaccident,disaster,misuse,abuse,ornon-Xetec
modificationoftheproduct.
Limitedwarrantyservicemaybeobtainedbydeliveringtheproduct
duringtheoneyearwarrantyperiodtoanauthorizedXetecdealeror
toXetec,Inc.,andbyprovidingproofofpurchasedate.Warrantywill
bevalidforregisteredownersonly.Ifthisproductisdeliveredby
mail,youagreetoinsuretheproductorassumetheriskoflossor
damageintransit,toprepayshippingchargestoXetec,Inc.,andto
usetheoriginalshippingcontainerorequivalant.ContactXetec,
Inc., 2804ArnoldRd.,Salina,Ks. 67401, [phone]forfurther
information.
Allexpressandimpliedwarrantiesforthisproductincludingthewar-
rantiesofmerchantabilityandfitnessfora particularpurpose,are
limitedindurationtoa periodofoneyearfromthedateofpurchase,
andnowarranties,whetherexpressedorimplied,willapplyafterthis
period.Somestatesdonotallowlimitationsonhowlonganimplied
warrantylasts,sotheabovelimitationsmaynotapplytoyou.
Ifthisproductisnotingoodworkingorderaswarrantedabove,your
soleremedyshallberepairorreplacementasprovidedabove.Inno
eventwillXetecbeliabletoyouforanydamagesincludinganylost
profits,lostsavingsorotherincidentalorconsequentialdamagesaris-
ingoutoftheuseof,orinabilitytousesuchproduct,evenifXetecor
anauthorizedXetecdealerhasbeenadvisedofthepossibilityofsuch
damages,orforanyclaimbyanyotherparty.
Somestatesdonotallowtheexclusionorlimitationofincidentalor
consequentialdamagesforconsumerproducts,sotheabovelimitations
orexclusionsmaynotapplytoyou.
Thiswarrantygivesyouspecificlegalrights,andyoumayalsohave
otherrightswhichmayvaryfromstatetostate.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
TheLt.Kernalprefacev
FCCStatement vi
SECTIONI
TheLt.Kernal1-1
DOSfeatures 1-1
Technicalspecifications 1-2
SECTIONII
Installation2-1
Powervoltage and frequency 2-1
Physicalhandlingprecautions 2-1
Equipmentinstallation 2-1
C-64installation 2-3
C-128installation 2-7
128Dinstallation 2-12
BurstModeModification 2-14
I/OModification forCP/M2-18
PowerApplication and Removal 2-20
SECTIONIII
ActivatingtheSystem3-1
What to expect 3-1
SECTIONIV
OperatingConcepts4-1
How theLt. Kernalworks 4-1
Operatinglimitations 4-1
SECTIONV
CommandsOverview5-1
Run-modecommands 5-1
Direct-modecommands 5-1
Review of DOSfeatures 5-2
SECTIONVI
SyntaxDefinitionsandConventions6-1
I

SECTIONVII
Run-modeFeaturesandCommands..
command page
autoaccessfeature 7-1
autostartfeature 7-2
bellfeature 7-3
BUILDKEYfile 7-4
COPY 8-13
DELETEkey 7-5
INSERTkey 7-6
LDLU 7-7
LG 7-8
LOAD 7-9
OPEN 7-10
SAVE 7-11
SCRATCH 7-12
SEARCHforkey 7-13
SHUFFLEkeyfile directory 7-14
SECTIONVIII
Direct-ModeFeaturesandCommands.
command page
Tt (restoredefaults) 8-1
ACTIVATE 8-2
AUTOCOPY 8-3
AUTODEL 8-4
AUTOMOVE 8-5
BUILD 8-6
BUILDCPM 8-7
BUILDINDEX 8-8
CHANGE 8-9
CHECKSUM 8-10
CLEAR 8-11
CONFIG 8-12
COPY 8-13
D(changedriveif) 8-14
DELeteBASIClines 8-15
DI(dumpkeyfiledirectory) 8-16
Filetypedefinitions 8-16
DIRectory 8-17
DUMPBASICtotext 8-19
ERAsefile 8-20
FASTCOPYbackuputility 8-21
FETCHtexttoBASIC 8-22
FIND 8-23
7-1
8-1
ii

Direct-ModeFeaturesandCommands continued
G064 8-25
GO128 8-26
GOCPM 8-27
ICQUBcaptureutility 8-28
Invokefeature 8-30
L(abbrieviatedLOAD) 8-31
LOAD 8-31
LKOFF 8-32
LKREV 8-33
LU(changelogicalunit #) 8-34
MERGE 8-35
OOPS(recovererasedfile) 8-36
QUERY 8-37
RECOVER 8-38
RENUMberBASICprograms 8-39
S(specialsave) 8-45
SAVEprogram to disk 8-46
SHIP(preparedrive to ship) 8-47
TYPEdiskBASIC to screen 8-48
UPDATEDOS 8-49
USER(changesubdirectory) 8-50
VALIDATE 8-51
SECTION IX
ProgrammingConsiderations 9-1
Generalprecautions 9-1
Backupcopying 9-2
Directlyinvokedapplications 9-4
Stackmanipulations 9-5
Reservedmemoryareas 9-5
Speedtips 9-6
Diskpartitioning 9-6
KEYFILES
KEYfileusage 9-7
Definitions ofKEY file terminology 9-7
KEYfile structure 9-7
Simple KEY file examples 9-8
KEYfile constraints 9-11
DIRECTORYlengths vsKEY lengths 9-12
KEYRun-modevalues 9-13
KEYcommandmodevalues 9-14
KEYcommandparameters 9-14
KEYcommandgeneralstatusreturns 9-15
BUILDKEYfile command 9-15
MachineLanguage key file access 9-16
iii

Programmingconsiderations continued
INSERT key command 9-17
DELETE key command 9-18
SHUFFLEdirectorycommand 9-18
SEARCHcommands 9-19
TheCONFIGprocessor 9-21
TheSYSGENutility 9-25
SECTION X
Addenda/Errata and UpdateDocumentation 10-1
SECTION XI
Trouble-Shooting and WarrantyService 11-1
Trouble-shootingguide 11-1
Functionaltests 11-2
Equipmentreturnpolicy 11-5
SECTION XII
DOSSystemEnhancements 12-1
Obtainingupdates 12-1
'BUG'reporting 12-1
'BUG'reportingform 12-2
SECTIONXIII ^
InstallingCP/MTM
0ntheLt.
Kernal 13-1
Using CP/M13-1
Building CP/M13-1
OperatingSpeed 13-3
SECTION XIV
Lt.KernalNetworking 14-1
SECTION XV
DIAGcommand 15-1
APPENDIX I
KEYFileProgrammingExample A-l
APPENDIX II
BulletinBoard A-7
APPENDIX III
20/40 Meg Add-onDrives A-8
Index X-l
iv

TheLt.Kernal
Welcome to the world of Serious Computing!
PLEASEREADTHISMANUALCAREFULLY
BEFOREATTEMPTINGTOINSTALLYOURLT.KERNAL!
IfthefirstfewpagesofsectionIIofthismanualseema littlestern,
pleaseunderstand— wewantyoutohavetheBESTpossibleservice
fromyourLt.Kernal.Theonlywaytoletyouknowaboutthepoten-
tialfordamageyoucoulddotoyoursystemistotellitlikeitis!
You'veinvestedinthemostadvanceddisksystemavailablefor
Commodore™computers,andanincorrectinstallationmaydamage
theLt.Kernal,yourcomputer,orboth.Readtheinstallationpor-
tionofthismanualcarefullybeforeconnectingtogetheranypartsof
thesystem.
TheLt.Kernalresultsfromeighteenyearsofexperienceindesigning
largemulti-user,multi-taskingmini-computersystems.Wehaveap-
pliedthetechnologyusedinthoselargersystemstoimprovethe
operatingcharacteristicsandspeedoftheC-64®andC-128®.
ThankyouforpurchasingtheLt.Kernal.Younowhaveatyour
fingertipsreallyhighspeedcomputingpoweranda comfortable,user-
friendlydiskoperatingsystemthatsignificantlyupgradesthefunctions
andusabilityofyourCommodorecomputer.Qualitysoftwarewritten
withtheuserinmind,andrugged,conservativelydesignedhardware
arecombinedtoproducethebestaccessoryeverforCommodore
computers.
Lt.Kernalisa registeredtrademarkofFiscalInformation,Inc.
C-64andC-128arereg.TMofCommodoreBusinessMachines,Inc.
v

FCCSTATEMENT
Thisequipmentgeneratesandusesradiofrequencyenergyandifnot
installedandusedproperly,thatis,instrictaccordancewiththe
manufacturer'sinstructions,maycauseinterferencetoradioandtelevi-
sionreception.Ithasbeentypetestedandfoundtocomplywiththe
limitsfora ClassB computingdeviceinaccordancewiththespecifica-
tionsinSubpartJ ofPart15ofFCCRules,whicharedesignedto
providereasonableprotectionagainstsuchinterferenceina residential
installation.However,thereisnoguaranteethatinterferencewillnot
occurina particularinstallation.Ifthisequipmentdoescausein-
terferencetoradioortelevisionreception,whichcanbedeterminedby
turningtheequipmentoffandon,theuserisencouragedtotrytocor-
recttheinterferencebyoneormoreofthefollowingmeasures:
•Reorientthereceivingantenna
•Relocatethecomputerwithrespecttothereceiver
•Movethecomputerawayfromthereceiver
•Plugthecomputerintoa differentoutletsothatcomputerand
receiverareondifferentbranchcircuits.
Ifnecessary,theusershouldconsultthedealeroranexperienced
radio/televisiontechnicianforadditionalsuggestions.Theusermay
findthefollowingbookletpreparedbytheFederalCommunications
Commissionhelpful:"HowtoIdentifyandResolveRadio-TVIn-
terferenceProblems."ThisbookletisavailablefromtheU.S.Govern-
mentPrintingOffice,Washington,D.C.,20402,StockNo.
004-000-00345-4.
MANUFACTURER'SWARNING:Usinga cablebetweenthe"Host
Adaptor"andthe"HardDriveAssembly",otherthanthatprovided
byXetecInc.mayresultininterferencetoradioandtelevision
reception.
vi

I
TheLt.KernalDiskOperatingSystemV7.1
DOSFEATURES
Runscertaincopy-protectedsoftware
Built-inKEYEDINDEXED-RANDOMACCESSMETHOD
SupportsbothC-64and128modesofoperationandCP/M®
58additionalorenhancedsystemcommandsandfeatures
Diskaccessspeedmorethan100timesfasterthanthe1541floppy
Automaticpower-upexecutionofanyapplicationprogram
BuiltinCP/M™- likecommand-linefeaturesinC-64and128modes
Userconfigurablesystemcharacteristicssuchasscreenandcharacter
colors,andlogicaldrivesizes
Uptoelevenlogicaldrivesmaybedefinedontheharddisk
Upto7 harddrivesinonesystem
DOSallowsuptosevenfiles tobeOPENforreadingandwriting
simultaneouslyinadditiontothecommand/errorchannel
DOSdifferentiatesbetweenBASICandmachinelanguageprograms
Built-inbackupandrestorefacilities
DirectinvocationofprogramsfromtheREADYprompt
Standardcapacityof20Megabytesconfigurableupto140Meg.
OptionalMultiplexerallowsupto16computerstoshare1 Lt.
Kernalsystem
1-1

TECHNICALSPECIFICATIONS
Standardcapacities,Formatted 20Megabytes
Bytespersector 512
Sectorspertrack 17
Trackspercylinder 4
Numberofcylinders 626
Mediasize 5'/4"(13.3cm)
Recordingdensity 10,200Bits/inch
Trackdensity 300tracks/inch
TransferratetoC-64memory 38,000Bytes/sec
TransferratetoC-128memory 65,000Bytes/sec
Rotationalspeed 3,600 RPM
Averagelatencytime 8.3ms
Positioningtime 18msmin.
192msmax.
Powerconsumption
20Meg.SCSIDriveunit
117VoltsA.C.60Hertz 30w typical
40w max.
HostAdaptor
+ 5 VoltsD.C. 250matypical
Size 20Meg.SCSIDriveunit
12" x 14"x 2.5
Weight
20Meg.SCSIDriveunit 10.80lbs.
1-2

II.
INSTALLATION
CAUTION!
UnlessyourLt.Kernalharddisksystemisspecificallylabeled
otherwise,yoursystemhasbeenfactorywiredfor:
115voltsA.C.60hertzonly
Donotplugthepowercordintoanyothervoltageorfrequency
outlet.
FordomesticAmericansystems,thecorrectoutlettypeisthe
threepronggroundedvariety.Useofa threeprongadapterina
twoprongungroundedoutletisstronglydiscouragedsincesuch
usepresentsa highshockhazardandmaydamageyoursystem.
CAUTION!
Alwayshandleyourharddisk/powersupplyassemblywiththeutmost
care. Mechanicalbumpsandshockstothedrivecouldirrepairably
damageit.
Nevermoveorshipthedrivewithoutfirstconditioningitforshipping
viathe"ship"systemcommand,describedlaterinthismanual.
Nevermovethedriveunlesspowerhasbeenoffforatleast30
seconds.
Nevershipthedriveinanycontainerexceptitsoriginalcarton.
INSTALLINGTHELT.KERNAL
InstallationoftheLt.Kernalhardwaretakesonlya fewmoments,but
MUSTbedonecarefullytoavoiddamage.Fora typicalsystemsetup
refertoFIG1.Begentle,andworkslowlyanddeliberately,referring
tothetextfrequentlyasyougo.
2-1

TypicalSystem
FIG.1
FIRST
Makesurepoweriscompletelyturnedofftoallcomponentsofyour
computerandtheLt.Kernal!!
SECOND
NEVER,NEVER,plugorunpluganyinterconnectionofthesystem
withpowerapplied!!
THIRD
Alwaysrememberthesecondruleoryouwilleventuallydestroysome
componentofyoursystem.
2-2

BEFOREBEGINNINGYOURINSTALLATIONOFTHE
LT. KERNAL,CAREFULLYCHECKYOURCOMPUTERFOR
PROPEROPERATIONWITHOUTTHELT.KERNAL
INSTALLED.THISWILLPREVENTFALSE
INDICATIONSOFTROUBLELATER.
TherearetwopossibleinstallationsoftheLt.Kernal.Oneisforthe
C-64computer,andtheotherfortheC-128.Toutilizethe128mode
intheC-128,theC-128adaptorboardmustbeinstalled.Bothinstalla-
tionswillvoidyourcomputer'swarranty,asyouwillberequiredto
openthecomputercaseinstallclipsand/oranadaptorboard.Ifyou
donotfeelcompetenttodothisinstallationproperly,seekthe
assistanceofa qualifiedcomputertechnician.CAUTION:Readeach
stepthoroughlyfirst beforeproceeding.
TOOLSREQUIRED:A #1phillipsscrewdriverandpossiblya T-10
TORXdriverplusneedlenosepliersforthe64C innershieldanda
smallflatbladescrewdriver.
C-64orC-64CINSTALLATION
Step1 - Removescrewsonthebottomofthecomputercase,un-snap
theupperkeyboardsectionandcarefullyunplugthekeyboardandin-
dicatorLEDcables.Placethissectionasidefornow.
Step2 - LocatetheHIRAMandCAECcableassemblies.Referto
FIGS2 and3 tofindyourmodelandattachtheHIRAMcliptothe
leadindicatedofresistorR44andattachtheCAECcliptoPIN6 of
chipU27.Besurethattheclipisnotshortingtoanyoftheadjacent
pinsofeitherchip.Securebothleadswithsmallpiecesofscotchtape
anddresseachendouttheopeningfortheexpansionslotonrearof
computer.NOTE:Onsomemodels,themetalshieldmustfirstbe
liftedbyremovingtheTORXscrewsasneeded,andthenun-twistthe
smallmetaltabsaroundtheperimeteroftheshield.Replacethisshield
aftertheaboveclipsareinstalled.
Step3 - Installthekeyboardsectionbyfirstconnectingthekeyboard
andLEDcablesandtheirlowersectionintoplace,snapcaseshutand
installbottomscrewsintocase.
Step4 - LocatetheHOSTADAPTORandpushtheHIRAMconnec-
torontotheleftmostpairofpinsofplugPIasshowninFIGS2 and
3. PushtheCAECconnectorontothe4thsetofpinsfromthelefton
plugPIagainasshowninFIGS2 and3.Thejumpersonthe3rdand
5thsetsofpinsmustalsobeinpositionasshown.TheHostadaptor
maynowbeinsertedintotheEXPANSIONconnectorontherearof
thecomputer.
2-3

C-64cableconnectionsversion2
Youmayhavea newerversionoftheC64computerboardthatissmaller
atabout5"wide.UsetheinformationbelowtomakeyourHIRAMand
CAECconnections.
HIRAMcabletopin28ofU6(MPU)ortopin6 ofU8(PLA)
CAECcabletopin5 ofU6(MPU)ortopin6ofU3.
2-5

Step5 - Locatethe25pinSIGNALcable,plugoneendintothecon-
nectorontherearoftheHostAdaptorandsecurethecablewiththe
attachedscrews.RefertoFIG4.
Step6 - Attachremainingendofthe25PINSIGNALcabletothe
HOSTADAPTORINPUTconnectoroftheHARDDISKenclosure.
Again,securethecablewiththeattachedscrews.RefertoFIG5.
Step7 - LocatetheACPOWERCABLEandplugfemaleendintothe
ACPOWERreceptableoftheHARDDISKenclosure.Makesurethe
PowerSwitchisintheOFFpositionandplugthemaleendintoa pro-
perlygrounded115voltAC,60Hzoutlet.RefertoFIG5.
Step8 - Re-connectanyothercomponentstoyoursystemsuchas
printers,floppydiskandotheraccessories.
Step9 - RefertoPowerApplicationSequencepage2-20.
2-6

RearviewofLt.Kernalharddiskenclosure
C-128INSTALLATION
Step1 - Removescrewsonthebottomofthecomputercase,un-snap
theupperkeyboardsectionandcarefullyunplugthekeyboardandin-
dicatorLEDcables.Placethissectionasidefornow.
Step2 - LiftthemetalshieldbyremovingtheTORXscrewsandun-
twistingthemetaltabsaroundtheperimeterofthecircuitboard
shield.Laythisshieldasidefornow.
Step3 - LocatetheC-128ADAPTORandlayontopoftheSHIELD
asshowninFIG7.CAUTION:Dischargeyourselffrompotential
staticelectricitybytouchingthemetalSHIELDbeforeproceedingto
thenextstep.
Step4 - LocatechipU7inFIG6.Gentlyremovethischipfromits
socketbyinsertinga smallflatbladescrewdriverasshownandthen
carefullyrotateortwistthebladeleftandright.DONOTUSEA
PRYINGACTION!Onceremoved,checkallpinsforstraightness,and
proceed tonextstep.
Step5 - CarefullyinsertchipU7intothesocketprovidedonthe
C-128ADAPTOR.CAUTION:BesurePIN1 ofchipmatchesPIN1
ofsocketorindentedendofchipmatchesindentedendofsocket.
RefertoFIG7.
2-7

RemovalofchipU7inC-128
On
INSIDEVIEWEiFC-128
FIG.6
2-8