Cmd: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:22, 23 February 2026

Specific System Requirements – CMD HD

Creative Micro Designs Hard Drive

The Creative Micro Designs (CMD) HD series hard drives are well suited for operating a Color 64 BBS. Disk space may be allocated flexibly by dividing storage into partitions. In Native Mode, CMD partitions also support subdirectories, allowing dynamic organization of file groups without requiring fixed drive assignments.

If you plan to store your Program Files on the CMD HD, improved disk performance is strongly recommended. This can be achieved by:

Installing JiffyDOS or another compatible fast disk system
Using a Commodore 17XX-series REU with RAMDOS
Adding a CMD RamLink device for parallel operation

The CMD HD should not be used in conjunction with fastloader cartridges unless the cartridge manufacturer explicitly confirms compatibility. Certain fastloader cartridges have been known to cause data corruption on CMD HD systems.

For details on selecting partitions and subdirectories, refer to the section titled “Drive Initialization Commands.”

The Real Time Clock

Sysops using a CMD HD or CMD RamLink equipped with a Real Time Clock may enable automatic time synchronization by merging the file cmd.init into √bbs.init.

Before using this merge, ensure the CMD device clock is set accurately. Once merged, √bbs.init will read the current date and time directly from the CMD device during system startup.

After merging cmd.init, the following lines may be removed from √bbs.init:

24030 24190 24210 24220 24230 24250

Line 24007 contains a GOSUB 481 call that selects the System Files drive in order to read the time. If your System Files are not located on the CMD device, this call may need to be adjusted.

Note: In cmd.init, line 24020 sets the year prefix. If the value is set to 19, the system will interpret the year 2024 as 1924. For current systems, this value should be changed to 20 unless operating in the 2100s.

Specific System Requirements

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-[[Specificsystemrequirements|Specific System Requirements]] - <strong>CMD HD</strong>
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:CMD Hard Drive}}
+[[Specificsystemrequirements|Specific System Requirements]] – '''CMD HD'''
-The HD series of hard drives from Creative Micro Designs is another excellent choice for running a BBS system.  You can allocate your disk space in almost any configuration you can think of, dividing the storage up into partitions.  The CMD HD's Native Mode partitions also support subdirectories, which allow you to dynamically allocate space to individual file directories.
+== Creative Micro Designs Hard Drive ==
+The Creative Micro Designs (CMD) HD series hard drives are well suited for operating a Color 64 BBS. Disk space may be allocated flexibly by dividing storage into partitions. In Native Mode, CMD partitions also support subdirectories, allowing dynamic organization of file groups without requiring fixed drive assignments.
-The only "requirement" for using the CMD HD might be this: If you plan to have your Program Files on the CMD, then I strongly suggest you invest in the JiffyDos fast disk system.  Or, since the CMD HD is fully compatible with any of the Commodore 17XX series REU's, you could also configure your BBS system to use RAMDOS for faster loading.  Also, you could also invest in CMD's RamLink device, which would give you the benefit of fast parallel operation.
+If you plan to store your Program Files on the CMD HD, improved disk performance is strongly recommended. This can be achieved by:
-The CMD HD should NEVER be used along with any type of fastloader cartridge, unless the designers of the fastloader specifically say it is compatible with the CMD HD.  It has been found that the use of some fastloader cartridges can corrupt the data stored on your CMD HD.
+* Installing JiffyDOS or another compatible fast disk system
+* Using a Commodore 17XX-series REU with RAMDOS
+* Adding a CMD RamLink device for parallel operation
-See the section "Drive Initialization Commands" for information on how to select partitions and subdirectories on your CMD.
+The CMD HD should not be used in conjunction with fastloader cartridges unless the cartridge manufacturer explicitly confirms compatibility. Certain fastloader cartridges have been known to cause data corruption on CMD HD systems.
+For details on selecting partitions and subdirectories, refer to the section titled “Drive Initialization Commands.”
-<strong>The Real Time Clock  </strong>
+----
-SYSOPs using a CMD HD (or a CMD RamLink with Real Time Clock) should merge "cmd.init" ** into "√bbs.init" to take advantage of the built-in clock on the CMD device.  MAKE SURE the clock is set to the correct time before starting the system up with this merge in place.  The √bbs.init program will now read the time off the CMD device upon booting up.  After making this merge you may delete the following lines from √bbs.init: 24030, 24190, 24210, 24220, 24230, 24250.
+=== The Real Time Clock ===
-Also, there is a GOSUB481 located in line 24007.  This is meant to select the CMD device to input the time.  Since GOSUB481 selects the system files drive, this may need to be changed if your system files are not stored on your CMD device.
+Sysops using a CMD HD or CMD RamLink equipped with a Real Time Clock may enable automatic time synchronization by merging the file cmd.init into √bbs.init.
-Note: line 24020 of CMD.INIT has “19” set for Year, which in our current year of 2024, would equate to “1924” to the BBS. Change this line to “20” unless you are reading this in the 2100s.
+Before using this merge, ensure the CMD device clock is set accurately. Once merged, √bbs.init will read the current date and time directly from the CMD device during system startup.
+After merging cmd.init, the following lines may be removed from √bbs.init:
+Line 24007 contains a GOSUB 481 call that selects the System Files drive in order to read the time. If your System Files are not located on the CMD device, this call may need to be adjusted.
+Note: In cmd.init, line 24020 sets the year prefix. If the value is set to 19, the system will interpret the year 2024 as 1924. For current systems, this value should be changed to 20 unless operating in the 2100s.
 [[Specificsystemrequirements|Specific System Requirements]]