I have been setting up RPCEmu on a newly-acquired machine running Linux Mint
17.2 Rafaela (x86_64). I compiled RPCEmu from source downloaded a few days
ago, and brought across the 4.02 ROMs, hd4.hdf, CMOS and hostfs from an older
laptop where these were running successfully. I got networking set up, and
everything was looking good till I tried to tackle the monitor configuration.
I decided that rather than messing about creating a 1280 x 800 MDF to suit
the laptop screen, I would use the AnyMode module, so I downloaded tthat and
created an Obey file to load it and set the mode:
RMEnsure AnyMode 0.00 RMLoad ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Utilities.AnyMode.AnyMode
WimpMode X1280 Y800 C32k
I tested it and it worked nicely.
I then double-clicked !Boot, and opened the section of configuration to run
things at boot, and dragged the new Obey file from the Filer window to here,
and clicked Set. Various problems occurred after this, not least being
unable to complete the boot sequence next time I restarted the emulator.
After some investigation I have found that it's reproducible to a large
extent.
This is what happens:
On clicking Set it takes ages to save the new Desktop boot file to
!Boot.Choices.Boot (the Set button stays depressed and the machine
single-tasks) but eventually it comes back to multitasking. If I go looking
in !Boot.Choices.Boot then I find that the new line to run the Obey file has
appeared in the Desktop file but the Desktop file sometimes has filetype Data
instead of Desktop, and the file is about a megabyte long (exactly how long
varies when I try to reproduce). A few lines further on from the new line it
switches to garbage that looks like it has come from elsewhere on the hard
disc. For example, some bits look like the !RunImage of an application I
wrote (I recognise the function names) and another bit looks like some sort
of NetSurf log.
My first thought was that perhaps the hard disc image I was starting with was
corrupted somehow. I have checked the hard disc image with *checkmap and
with DiscKnight before and after adding the extra item to be Run on boot, and
they report all is well. After moving the Desktop file to DesktopBad to
allow rebooting to take place, the hard disc image is still reported as fine.
This suggests to me that some part of the configure application is not
functioning correctly under emulation for some reason.
(If the corrupted !Boot.Choices.Boot.Desktop file is moved out of the way,
then double-clicking !Boot then clicking Boot then Run crashes the emulator
entirely (it just exits). I've not tested on a RISC OS 4 machine but on RISC
OS 5 in this circumstance I get an unhelpful error, so it's not very clever
about that file not being present. Putting a blank Desktop file of type
Desktop in place cures this problem, but I am surprised at the emulator
quitting like that.)
Trying the same process with RISC OS Select 3i4 (on a different hd4.hdf) does
not have the long pause at the point of clicking Set on the "Run at startup"
dialogue. You can click Set there and then immediately click Set on teh
"Boot sequence" dialogue. But then the next dialogue, a signle tasking
"Message from Boot Setup", which warns that changes will only take effect
from the next boot, hangs around for ages and does not seem to respond to a
click on "OK" at all. Eventually I get it to click. But aside from this
peculiarity the Desktop boot file gets written correctly.
Do you think this indicates a problem with the emulation that warrants
further investigation? In which case can I provide any logs that would help?
Or would it be better for me just to start from scratch with a blank hard
disc image and set up a new boot sequence, rather than trying to use one
copied from an installation on another machine?
--
Matthew Phillips
Durham
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