Posted By
Kirk
on 2009-07-16
06:48:44
|  Star Commander
Does anyone here have experience of Star Commander and could tell me how to use it?
I'm not sure - but it seems to just lock up on me. I can get into the Transfer Options
but SPACE, up down arrows and numbers 1, 2, etc don't do a thing! I can't exit either.
After about three mouse clicks, that stops responding too.
Is there something else you have to do first? The documentation is a nightmare and it's not really clear what file to run first.
Thanks - Kirk
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Posted By
Luca
on 2009-07-16
07:59:58
 | Re: Star Commander
In general: pleas refer to the SC homepage's FAQ's to find better answer than ours.
In this case: X1541 is obsolete nowadays, Star Commander operates in Windows XP/Vista with several families of contemporary cables (XM1541 for example, as explained on the SC page, once again).
Apart of this, you can even set the SC in order to work with X1541 cable, but you need to run SC in a DOS/Win95/Win98x environment.
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Posted By
Kirk
on 2009-07-16
10:27:47
| Re: Star Commander
Hi Luca, I made up the xe1541 cable but haven't connected it because the SC program
won't run. Is there a Windows version? I thought I had the latest version but it operates in a DOS window - well, so far for me it does !
Do you need the cable and drive connected before it will run ? So far it seems to just lock up after a few keyboard or mouse events.
I have a old DOS comp I'll try it on. Sorry, the SC homepage isn't much help - bloody awful in fact e.g somewhere it says 1581 isn't supported, then you see it as an option for it in one of the menu's. Then mention of various other "Commanders"... what are they, one might wonder ? There's too much detail without explanation.
The difficulty here is a classic case of the developers losing touch with new users trying to figure it all out ! That's why I was hoping someone who's been through it all can pass on the info needed. Any volunteers, pleeez???
Cheers - Kirk
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2009-07-16
12:08:06
| Re: Star Commander
Kirk, when not using SC with an X-anything-1541 cable the Commander does indeed lock up. There is a command line option somewhere that tells him not to wait on the user port or somesuch and then it'll work. To be honest I never had the nerves to try either but others are not complaining that much.
Note that there's the cbm4win package that is designed to transfer software from/to a real machine under multitask OS-s. Only that works from the command prompt of Windows (XP/Vista) but in general ideal for the task. At least there were plans to update SC to be able to utilize cbm4win in the background but I have no idea how far those plans materialized.
You need an XA or XM 1541 cable, not sure exactly which one but it's outlined on the SC page anyway. XE1541 is obsolete and will only work on older HW and DOS.
Currently only VICE supports using real hardware (disk drive) through the XA(M)1541 cable and it is not too reliable as far as I remember though your mileage may vary.
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Posted By
SVS
on 2009-07-16
14:54:56
 | Re: Star Commander
Summarizing:
SC = is the best for D64 image/files editing and managing. Without a great luck #-) you'll not able to communicate with a real serial device, if you run XP/W2000 (even if started from a DOS window).
The referring to 1581 is for D81 images managing.
CBM4WIN = is the best for transferring to/from a real serial device (I use XA1541 cable).
Possible problems can be solved by turning on the real device(s) before to turn on the PC.
Bye
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Posted By
Kirk
on 2009-07-17
06:37:49
| Re: Star Commander
Thank you all for the information. I will certainly try those programs suggested.
I'm just building up an old DOS-6 machine to see if XE1541 will work and if I can figure out how to use SC. (I don't really know much yet e.g what a D64 images are).
Then onto the Windows one. I think again on a second machine so nothing breaks on the main one.
I see how to change xe1541 to xm1541.
Hope you guys are around if I get stuck.
Thanks and all the best
Cheers - Kirk
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