Q68 Software SD Card

[NormanDunbar]

I would not use tar.bz2 compression, as most people will struggle with the decompression. Which is a pity as it is the most efficient.

Hmm. I wonder if most people are familiar with 7Zip? I have to use Windows at work, and this is the "zipper/unzipper" of choice. It's free and better than just about anything I've had to use in the past.

Right-click a zip file and "open with 7Zip" or "extract here" and it's done.

The web site is at https://www.7-zip.org/ and from there the list of files covered is:

* High compression ratio in 7z format with LZMA and LZMA2 compression.

* Supported formats:
Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM
Unpacking only: AR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DMG, EXT, FAT, GPT, HFS, IHEX, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, QCOW2, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, VDI, VHD, VMDK, WIM, XAR and Z.

* For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
* Strong AES-256 encryption in 7z and ZIP formats

That should be enough for everyone! Of course, we have to convince "most people" to get their finger out and do something for themselves!


Cheers,
Norm.

[QLvsJAGUAR]

I would not use tar.bz2 compression, as most people will struggle with the decompression. Which is a pity as it is the most efficient. I can only share single files on Mega, but that is not a problem.

The reason for not implementing this down-able SD Card image was there was little adverse opinion on users not having the knowledge to create SD Card images and how to write boot files. So I did not do it.

I would go for ZIP format, because this needs no 3rd party software to be installed on any OS.

I would not fear the skills of people to write an Image to an SD card, just propose them Win32DiskImager. Anyone using Linux normally has the skills to do such tasks anyhow.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

I will consider this, what Q68 SD Card images would be required?

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

A backup SD Card image is now available at:

https://www.theqlforum.com/downloads/q68 ... -12-30.zip

This a compressed 4Gb SD Card image, which includes:

SMSQ/E v3.34
QL/E v3.19
Black Phoenix v1.5
Q-Dock
Qpac2
Sample boot files
Documentation on FAT drive

The image file should be unzipped and use WIN32IMAGER to write to a 4Gb SD Card.

The image creates:
FAT32 partition with QWA container files, SMSQ/E QWA file
FAT partition with Q68, QL/E documentation, SD CARD Format software.

Replacement SD Cards are available priced:£10 plus postage

I can produce any specific type of SD Card for the Q68.

[Chr$]

To dig this one up again. I just attempted to write that image onto a new 4gb SD card and at first it looks good, but it's a bit fragile and when I try to boot e.g. QLE I get a lot of 'Medium check failed' messages.

Is that due to fragmentation? I used WIN32IMAGER as suggested. Do I need to tick any boxes there or change any options? Unless of course my SD card is not suitable.

It's not a major issue, I still have the original SD card (and one I did myself). I was just exploring it and thought I'd create a fresh one first from the image.

And, as an aside, is there a newer image available Derek?

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Chr$,

The image file is a direct copy of the Q68 Distribution SDHC Card, withe FAT32 and Fat partitions setup.

I use WIN32DiskImager to create the SDHC Card image.

To write new SDHC Card images, I just select the correct image file and use the Write option. Which should overwrite all the partition space on the SDHC Card.

You try making an image of your Q68 Distribution SDHC Card and writing the image to a new SDHC Card.

I will download the image file and see if there is a problem.

The link to the image file has SMSQ/E 3.34, which 2 versions out of date. The current version is 3.36

This highlight a problem of updating files, which I do not really want to do.

[Chr$]

Hi Chr$,

The image file is a direct copy of the Q68 Distribution SDHC Card, withe FAT32 and Fat partitions setup.

I use WIN32DiskImager to create the SDHC Card image.

To write new SDHC Card images, I just select the correct image file and use the Write option. Which should overwrite all the partition space on the SDHC Card.

That appeared to work, but it simply trips up on the Q68. I then formatted the first partition and tried putting the files on manually, one by one, but it still gets stuck. Perhaps it's a dodgy SD card.

You try making an image of your Q68 Distribution SDHC Card and writing the image to a new SDHC Card.

Ok.

The current version is 3.36

I know. My mind gets blown when I look at Wolfgang's SMSQ/E page - I have no idea how to just update the version on the card to 3.36.... but I know there are readme files and do need to explore that further when I get a moment.

[bwinkel67]

I downloaded the latest source for SMSQ/E...why are the date stamps on most files 1899?

[NormanDunbar]

What do you get when you print the FUPDT, from Toolkit 2, of one of the affected files? The value returned is the date in QDOS format, ie. the number of seconds since Midnight 1st January 1961.

I imagine the value for the file's date was written on a device that had not had the date set. But 1899????


Cheers,
Norm.

[tofro]

I downloaded the latest source for SMSQ/E...why are the date stamps on most files 1899?

Like many tasty things that get better with age.....