Booting network: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:35, 27 February 2026

Now that you have finished setup, it is time to boot the BBS. If you are running your system using a REU, the "√sys.ramove" program will automatically copy your Network overlays from the Program Files.

Regardless of how you boot the system, ensure the two main modules (√bbs.nw1 & √bbs.nw2) are located on the Program Files drive. If you use RAMDOS, verify that these files are copied into the REU when it is loaded. Forgetting to include these two modules in a RAMDOS system is the most common cause of boot failures. The BBS will not complete the boot process without them present in RAM.

REU users should also confirm that sufficient memory space is available before loading. Insufficient REU space is another common issue.

The Wait-For-Call Screen

Boot the BBS. When you reach the call waiting screen, note the following items:

Two status line values are now displayed: Nets Holding and Nets Due Out.

Nets Holding shows the number of public network messages waiting to be released. If you are not using the holding feature described in section 5, this value will always remain 0.
Nets Due Out shows the number of nodes scheduled to be called. It does not indicate the number of messages pending, only the number of nodes due for contact. If a node is locked, it will continue to appear as due until a call attempt is made, at which point the status will adjust accordingly.

Press any function key (F1–F8) and review the menu.

You will notice that the CHANGE TIME/DATE function previously assigned to F4 is no longer shown. It has been replaced with NETWORK MENU. Press F4 to enter the Network Menu.

Next Section: Network Menu Options

Color 64 Network

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Network64|Color 64 Network]] - <strong>Booting Network</strong>
-Now that you have finished with the setup (it wasn't that bad, was it?), it's time to boot up the BBS.  If you are running your system using a REU, then your "√sys.ramove" program will automatically copy your Network overlays from the Program Files
+Now that you have finished setup, it is time to boot the BBS. If you are running your system using a REU, the "√sys.ramove" program will automatically copy your Network overlays from the Program Files.
-Regardless of which way you boot up, make certain that the two main modules (√bbs.nw1 & √bbs.nw2) are on the Program Files drive. If you use RAMDOS, make sure that these files are getting stashed into the REU at the time the REU is getting loaded.  Leaving out these two main modules in a ramdos system is the number one thing people forget to do!  You can't get the bbs booted all the way without these files being in RAM. Also for REU users, make sure you have sufficient space available!  This is the second most common problem.
+Regardless of how you boot the system, ensure the two main modules (√bbs.nw1 & √bbs.nw2) are located on the Program Files drive. If you use RAMDOS, verify that these files are copied into the REU when it is loaded. Forgetting to include these two modules in a RAMDOS system is the most common cause of boot failures. The BBS will not complete the boot process without them present in RAM.
+REU users should also confirm that sufficient memory space is available before loading. Insufficient REU space is another common issue.
-<strong>The Wait-For-Call Screen </strong>
+=== The Wait-For-Call Screen ===
-Boot up your BBS now.  When you get to the familiar call waiting screen, you might want to take note of a couple items:
+Boot the BBS. When you reach the call waiting screen, note the following items:
-* There are two "status line" values which were not previously updated.  They are labeled Nets Holding and Nets Due Out.
+* Two status line values are now displayed: '''Nets Holding''' and '''Nets Due Out'''.
-: [[File:netstatuswfc.png|center|300px]]
-: * Nets Holding shows you how many (if any) public messages which have come in from the network, are waiting to be released. If you are not using this holding feature as described in section 5, then this number will always be 0.
+[[File:netstatuswfc.png|center|300px]]
-: * Nets Due Out shows you how many calls are due to be made.  It does NOT show you how many messages are due out; it only shows you the number of nodes which are due to be called.  If a node is locked for some reason (read on for info on locking nodes), it will show this node as due to go out until it tries to go out, in which case it will adjust itself.  More on this later...
+* '''Nets Holding''' shows the number of public network messages waiting to be released. If you are not using the holding feature described in section 5, this value will always remain 0.
+* '''Nets Due Out''' shows the number of nodes scheduled to be called. It does not indicate the number of messages pending, only the number of nodes due for contact. If a node is locked, it will continue to appear as due until a call attempt is made, at which point the status will adjust accordingly.
+Press any function key (F1–F8) and review the menu.
-Ok, now hit any one of your function keys (F1-F8) and review the menu again.
 [[File:sysopmenuwithnet.jpeg|center|250px]]
-The CHANGE TIME/DATE function for F4 is gone!  Don't worry, it’s still around.  Instead, you'll see what's called NETWORK MENU - Hit F4 now.  Now you are at the Network menu.
+You will notice that the CHANGE TIME/DATE function previously assigned to F4 is no longer shown. It has been replaced with '''NETWORK MENU'''. Press F4 to enter the Network Menu.
 Next Section: [[network menu options|Network Menu Options]]
 [[Network64|Color 64 Network]]