!PCconfig patch for OS 4.39

I’m trying to install a PC card on a RISC PC with OS 4.39.

I understand that the !PCconfig (v 3.06) application included with PC Pro 3 requires a patch to work with RISC OS Adjust? https://www.riscos.info/index.php/PC

Something like the script below?

Any ideas please why this isn’t working?! Probably something to do with the script below being for an earlier version of !PCconfig probably?

I’ve searched the interweb but there are a lot of broken web links hence my somewhat desperate plea . . .

Application:!PCConfig &2000
Description:Maintain PC configuration files.
Patch:Allows PCConfig 0.85 to work with RISC OS Select.
File:RunImage &FF8
Transform:Copy
Location:&00006BC4
ChangeString:<60>Boot$Dir<62>.Choices.PC <60>Choices$Write<62>.PC<0><0><0>
Location:&00006C59
ChangeString:<60>Boot$Dir<62>.Choices.PC.%s <60>Choices$Write<62>.PC.%s<32><32><32>
Location:&0000D084
ChangeString:<60>Boot$Dir<62>.Choices.PC.v <60>Choices$Write<62>.PC.v<0><0><0>

Can you define “isn’t working”?

!PCconfig won’t launch because OS 4.39 (RISC OS ADJUST) boot directory structure differs ever so slightly from earlier OS versions (‘Choices’ folder is in a slightly different location?).

After running the above patch !PCconfig still does not launch.

The patch file must contain an error (or two)?

I am guessing the Runimage file for !PCconfig version 3.06 is different hence the patch doesn’t work . . .

Ideally I need a copy of !PCconfig from a (4.39 OS) RPC that actually runs okay (which must have been successfully patched at some point I mean)?

Alternatively I am going to downgrade to OS 4.02 to get PC card to work which is not ideal.

@ Jonathan

I have PCPro (both 3.06 and 3.08) working fine with RISC OS 4.39. You do not necessarily need to apply that patch. Basically the issue is that 4.39 introduced the “multi-user” Choices which drives !PCConfig nuts (and PCPro has never been upgraded for this).

One way to fix it is to just copy the PC Configuration directory from !Boot.Choices to !Boot.Choices.Users.Single

Once there, !PCConfig will see it and use it fine. If you have installed PCPro via the old installer it should have created the PC directory in !Boot.Choices.

Hope this helps

Thanks Paolo. I’ve switched to PCPro 3.08 and it’s now working okay with OS 4.39. Phew!

Nice! :)

Ha ha spoke too soon :o)

Now I’m having problems installing Windows 95!

After successful installation of W95, !PC crashes when I try to install BOTH the acorn friendly video and sound drivers.

First, I successfully installed the (DirectX/256 colours) video driver but then !PC crashed when I tried to install the (soundblaster) sound driver.

Then (after installing W95 again from scratch), I successfully installed the sound driver but then !PC crashed when I tried to install the video driver.

I’m not even going to attempt to make Windows 95 use my net card! But it would be nice to be able to hear/see stuff properly . . .

Should I give up trying to install a PC card on an OS 4.39 RPC?! I am using a 233 Strongarm processor . . .

Has someone managed to tweak the sound/video drivers on the PC DOS boot disk that PCPro3 generates (to work with OS 4.39)?

BTW I managed to install PCPro3 on another (OS 3.60) RPC and Windows 95 works perfectly (both sound and video drivers work).

Has anyone had problems using a PC card on a Strongarm machine with OS 3.70 or OS 4.02? It may be easier if I downgrade the OS?

I’m not even going to attempt to make Windows 95 use my net card! But it would be nice to be able to hear/see stuff properly . . .

AFAIR, 3.06 supported the NIC, but not so sure about 3.08 I need to double check that.

Should I give up trying to install a PC card on an OS 4.39 RPC?! I am using a 233 Strongarm processor . . .

As I said, I am using it totally fine on 2 RISC PCs, one with an overclocked StrongARM @ 274Mhz (which in theory should be less stable than your 233Mhz one ;) ) and on another RiscPC using a Kinetic which does require some more invasive patches to make the PC Card use the Kinetic RAM (which also makes the PCCard faster BTW).

So it works. I remember in the past also being able to install Windows 98 (using the 5×86 card), but it was too slow and just abandoned the idea.

Has someone managed to tweak the sound/video drivers on the PC DOS boot disk that PCPro3 generates (to work with OS 4.39)?

I mostly use it with Windows 3.11 also because I use !WinRisc which allows me to run the Windows 3.11 apps within RISC OS itself, very handy for things like Borland C++ etc…, not useful at all if you want to game.

Anyway, with Win 3.11 (if you configure MS DOS memory correctly) everything works fine on 4.39.

I’ll give it a go with Windows 95 and let you know.

Has anyone had problems using a PC card on a Strongarm machine with OS 3.70 or OS 4.02? It may be easier if I downgrade the OS?

I have one RiscPC with RISC OS 4.03 and have no problem with it (this is the RiscPC with the Kinetic card I have mentioned above)

I have PCPro 3.08 and 3.09 working with RISCOS4.39 and 6.20 and Windows 95/98 OK.

This is with a 486dx4 and 586 PCCard.

Think 3.09 was a test version that Dave Daniels gave me to try out on 6.20?

It is so long ago now since I installed the one on the Kinetic but I installed the one in a StrongARM RiscPC that I obtained a couple of years ago without issue.

I think the thing is to install DOS first and then the specific drivers and then 95/98.

Also there were some issues with certain cards and StrongARM systems and I also remember a patch for it to work on Select which I think 3.08/3.09 sorted out.

See CJEMicro
troubleshooting information as well.

Has anyone had problems using a PC card on a Strongarm machine with OS 3.70 or OS 4.02? It may be easier if I downgrade the OS?

Some combinations of RiscPC, StrongARM, memory and PC Card did cause random timing problems. This could often be cured by some combination of removing C32 from the motherboard, swapping some links on the SA card and/or exchanging the memory.

This might help

Thanks for that link Andrew. Good to know that my issue is not unique!

So I switched the StrongArm CPU (for another identically looking one) and now I have a stable working Windows 95 with both 256 colours and sound! Woo hoo :o)

I am guessing that the previous StrongArm CPU is either faulty or has been modified at some point to work with a different configuration (or the replacement SA CPU has been modified to work with my current configuration?).

The OS 4.39 machine that I installed the PC card in is a MK2 board (with 16 bit sound upgrade/board). I’m going to try a MK3 board next (OS 4.39) to see if my possibly faulty StrongArm CPU prefers it.

The first (OS 3.60/610 CPU) machine I installed a PC card in was a (repaired) MK1 board (with 16 bit sound upgrade). There were no issues at all (even when I switched the PC card for a ‘modern’ faster card).

So I guess the thing to learn from this is to try different configurations of boards, CPUs, PC cards and OS until it works?! It may just be a random fluke though . . .

I will update this post with my findings to hopefully assist anyone else that may have a similar issue.

Thank you all for your tips!

UPDATE: The StrongARM 2.33 CPU works perfectly (no crashing whatsoever) with different PC cards (and Windows 95) in another (OS 4.39/MK3 board) RISC PC!

I assume it (SA CPU) must have been modified at some point to work with a MK3 board (or perhaps the other StrongARM 2.33 CPU was modified to work with a MK2 board?).

I am updating this from the MK3 board RPC in question :o)

P.S. The MK3 board RPC also has four times as much RAM . . .

Timing issues often don’t seem to follow “logic”, one unmodified SA card will show them, and another seemingly identical card will allow everything to work just fine. There’s obviously some very close to the edge timing!

>I have PCPro 3.08 and 3.09 working with RISCOS4.39 and 6.20 and Windows 95/98 OK.
@Doug did you have to do anything special to get PCPro 3.08 to run on RO6.2? I can run it fine on 4.39 but run into issues on 6.20 – PCConfig runs fine on 6.20 but running !PC returns the error “Unable to start application (corrupt file – file is over-long)”. Is the 3.09 version of PCPro necessary?

PCConfig runs fine on 6.20 but running !PC returns the error “Unable to start application (corrupt file – file is over-long)”.

OS6.20 by default is fairly strict about checking code headers, however there are some compatibility options in Configuration that may, or may not, help.

@Doug did you have to do anything special to get PCPro 3.08 to run on RO6.2?

Well the help file for 3.08 says but I think it is designed to overcome issues with RISC 6.1x not 6.2x versions:

1) !PC was failing with the error message ‘Unable to start application (compression or patching call failed)’. This was caused by the length of the program ‘Loadauto’ not being a multiple of four bytes.

Like I said I had a test version called 3.09 from Dave Daniels though I am not sure of the state of play of making it generally available so best try him first?

You could try emailing him using the contact details within the Readme file with the 3.08 zip?

@Paolo, please could you share the Kinetic patch or tell us where to find it? interested to see what difference the faster RAM makes, and it’s a good excuse to get the RiscPC out!