tools - cayce-msx/msxpp-quick-ref GitHub Wiki

What tools are available?

SD-BIOS Pack

When you install SD-BIOS, the TOOLS folder will contain a great many programs. A summary of the purpose of all these. Note that these tools come from multiple sources; it's a bit of a mixed grab-bag.

  • CFG8266.COM: command line tool to configure ESP-8266 Wi-Fi
  • CONCLUS.COM: verify whether the specified file uses consecutive clusters on disk - useful for OCM-BIOS.DAT. Only works on Nextor.
  • CPUSPEED.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) show, change or lock MSX++ CPU speed (tPR & tMSD modes) 3.58MHz > 5.37MHz > 8.06MHz - see also F12 key (v1.4)
    • param a: 3.58MHz
    • param b: "" with tMSD
    • param c: "" with tPR
    • param d: 5.37MHz
    • param e: "" with tMSD
    • param 0..7: 3.58..8.06MHz with tMSD+tPR
    • param r: restore default
    • param l/u: (un)lock keyb toggles
    • example: -4l sets the CPU speed to (approximately) 5.39MHz and locks the F12 key
  • DELALL.COM: Nextor tool to quick format a partition
  • DEVINFO.COM: Nextor tool for device information
  • DRIVERS.COM: Nextor tool for driver information
  • DRVINFO.COM: Nextor tool for drive information, e.g., mapped partitions
  • EMUFILE.COM: Nextor tool for full and multidisk emulation
  • EP.COM: ESE utils - FD emulate table setter for MEGA-SCSI (v0.10)
  • EPTCFT.COM: Extended Partition Type Code Fix Tool. Run without params to see usage. (v1.0 by Konamiman, 11/2023)
  • ESET.COM: ESE utils - MEGA-SCSI setup utility (v0.04, 1995)
  • ESPSETUP.COM: interactive tool to configure ESP-8266 Wi-Fi
  • EXTCLOCK.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) show (no params) or change synchronisation of external bus clock to either CPU speed (/s/-s; variable 3.58~8.06MHz) or fixate at 3.58MHz (/3/-3) (v1.6)
  • EXTRAVER.BAT: report version of 12 MSX++ tools
  • FASTOUT.COM: Nextor tool for fast text output
  • FA_TIME.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) RTC SET Tool - unfortunately all documentation is in Japanese. On my device, fails with 'SD Card read error:code=1'?!
  • FDCOPY.COM: ESE utils - Sector to Sector copy tool
  • FDLOAD.COM: ESE utils - File to Sector convert tool
  • FDSAVE.COM: ESE utils - Sector to File convert tool
  • FIRMINFO.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) print OCM-PLD firmware version (OCM-EXTRA Pack samples\firminfo.asc shows the same as firminfo /rt) (1.2)
    • with param /r/-r: also print I/O revision number
    • with param /t/-t: also print MSX++ system type ("computer" or "compatible")
  • GETRESET.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) without parameters, performs a warm reset. Can also lock reset button (!), cold reset or warm reset to 2, 4, 6 or 8MiB RAM. (v1.3)
    • param /c/-c: cold reset
    • param /w/-w: warm reset
    • param /2/-2: warm reset to 2MiB RAM mode
    • param /4/-4: warm reset to 4MiB RAM mode
    • param /6/-6: warm reset to 6MiB RAM mode (OCM-PLD 3.9.1+ and SDRAM>=16MiB)
    • param /8/-8: warm reset to 8MiB RAM mode (OCM-PLD 3.9.1+ and SDRAM>=16MiB)
    • params l/u: (un)lock reset button
  • HOTKEY.COM: show/edit hotkey related to ROMLOAD.COM
  • KEYBOARD.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) show (no params) or change keyboard layout: Japanese-106 keys (/J) or International-102/105 keys (/N: "Non-Japanese") (v1.4)
  • KMODE.COM: (re)set Kanji text mode
  • KONAMICC.BAT: load 2 KONAMI [C]artridges in [C]ombination, i.e., load one into slot 1 and another into 2, using ROMLOAD.
  • LDIR.COM: (Nextor only) show long filenames, i.e., files and directories with name longer than 8.3 characters
  • LOCK.COM: Nextor tool for drive (un)locking - speeds up file access for removable devices (read: μSD-card) that you don't actually remove.
  • MAPDRV.COM: Nextor tool to map a (μSD-card) partition or a disk image to a drive.
    For disk images, can be combined with MAPPER.COM to run software that does not expect DOS2/Nextor.
  • MAPPER.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) disable MSX-DOS2 memory mapper to enable running MSX-DOS1 software
  • MC.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) MSX Commander, 'feels' like Norton Commander, Midnight Commander, etc. (v1.1.05)
  • MGLOAD.COM: ESE utils - MegaROM loader for MegaRAM/MegaSCC+
  • MGLOCM.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) MGLunch MegaRAM loader for MSX++ (v2.3b)
  • MGSAVE.COM: ESE utils - MegaROM to File convert tool - creates a ROM image from a real cartridge.
  • MIDPLAY.BAT: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) play a MIDI file through joystick port 2 using MIDRY.COM /i5 %1
  • MIDRY.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) MIDI player - unfortunately all documentation is in Japanese, and hardly any information on the internet. See the howto for a translation attempt.
  • MORE.COM: Displays output per screen. Type HELP MORE for usage information.
  • MPCM.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) PCM wave sound player. Unfortunately all documentation is in Japanese. (v1.07) See OCM-PLD msxtools for an example, and question 'Does MSX++ support PCM output?' in the Q&A.
  • NEXBOOT.COM: Nextor tool for one-time boot key configuration
  • NSYSVER.COM: Nextor tool for specifying DOSVER output - to fix some tools that require (MSX-DOS) version 2.20
  • PLDFLASH.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) flash a PLD firmware to 1chipMSX, Zemmix Neo, SX-1 and SX-1 Mini/Mini+.
    • USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION! The flash tools do not check to see if the right firmware file is supplied. You'll need special equipment to unbrick your device if anything goes wrong.
    • SMXFLASH.COM: the same, for SM-X & SX2 devices. The only check this does is whether EPCS4 (with enough FlashROM space) is available.
    • It's unclear whether fragmented PLD firmware files are supported. To be on the safe side, first run CONCLUS.COM to prevent nasty surprises.
    • See OCM-PLD Pack firmware/howto.txt & firmware/details.txt for details.
  • RALLOC.COM: Nextor tool to speedup free space calculation by providing a fake answer
    Did not have a huge effect on my machine; counting up to 32KiB vs. (almost) 2GiB takes almost as long
  • READSID.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) identify EPCS1, EPCS4, EPCS16 & EPCS64 devices in 1chipMSX, Zemmix Neo, SX-1, SM-X, Altera DE0, Altera DE1, etc.
    Output on my SX1-mini+: (EPCS4) SiliconID=b'0001 0010 and SX2: (EPCS64) SiliconID=b'0001 0110
  • ROMLOAD.COM: load ROMs into ESE-RAM (⚠ not available as secure HTTPS!) (version 1.99w)
  • RTCSAVE.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) save RTC settings on SD card (v3.0)
  • RUNIT.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) RunIt emulates DOS1 diskrom, loading a disk image (.DSK)
    • EMUDSK.ROM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) floppy disk emulation ROM loaded by RUNIT.COM
  • SAVEROM.COM: Enables you to save your (EP-/SD-)BIOS ROMs to disk, or (more useful) the BIOS of your real MSX (v1.2 2009)
  • SDBIOS.BTM: switch SD-BIOS version, optionally rebooting. Requires OCM-PLD firmware v3.9.1.
  • SETAUDIO.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) show (no params) or set audio output to mono (/m/-m) or pseudo-stereo (/s/-s). Not for volume - neither master volume nor per device. (v1.6)
  • SETSMART.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) send SMART commands to MSX++ for live reconfiguring. See switched io ports revision xx.pdf for all commands. Run without params to see usage. (v1.4)
  • SLOTMODE.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) show, change or lock MSX++ cartridge slot 1/2 mode - see also Shft-F12/Shft-ScrLck keyboard mapping (v1.5)
    • param /0../7 binary-encodes two values:
      • b0=0: slot 1 external cartridge
      • b0=1: slot 1 SCC-I/SCC+
      • b2-1=0: slot 2 external cartridge
      • b2-1=1: slot 2 SCC-I/SCC+
      • b2-1=2: slot 2 ASCII 8k
      • b2-1=3: slot 2 ASCII 16k
    • param l/u: (un)lock keyboard toggles Shft-F12/Shft-ScrLck
  • SPLITIT.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) split/extract a file into disk images (probably intended for use with EP.COM) (v1.0, 2009)
  • SWAPEIDI.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) speed up batch files by disabling the interrupt used by input peripherals. No further documentation; handle with care!
  • TED.COM: TED v2.66d (Text Editor)
  • TEDC.BAS: Control-key installer for TED v2.66d
  • TIMEIS.BAT: print time and date as set manually or by the Wi-Fi ROM using SNTP
  • TPAMEM.COM: show the user's memory free (TPA) for MSX-DOS commands
  • TYPEWW.COM: Displays data from a file. A variant of TYPE that features word wrap. Type HELP TYPEWW for usage information.
  • UNDEL.COM: Recovers a previously deleted file. Type HELP UNDEL for usage information.
  • VDPSPEED.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) show (no params) or change VDP mode: normal (/n/-n) or fast (/f/-f; MSX2+ 9958 only) (v1.4)
  • VGARATIO.COM: (see OCM-EXTRA Pack utils) visual tool to help you adjust your LCD to get 1:1 pixel ratio on MSX++ (v1.5)
  • VGMPLAY.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) play VGM and VGZ music - supports many many sound chips (v1.3)
  • VSFT.COM: disk Volume Size Fix Tool V1.0 by Konamiman
  • WAITWIFI.COM: (from UNAPI tools) waits until Wi-Fi connection is available
  • XCOPY.COM: Copies files and directories from one disk to another. Type HELP XCOPY for usage information.
  • XDIR.COM: MSX-DOS2 DIR extension
  • XSYS.BAT: exchange MSXDOS2.SYS and NEXTOR.SYS files on disk, then reboot
  • YENSLASH.COM: (see OCM-PLD msxtools) change Yen (Japanese) to backslash (other locales) character and vice versa

Note:

  • all Nextor tools are included, except Z80MODE.COM; for Turbo-R only - (de)activate Z80 access mode for an MSX-DOS driver.
  • The same with OCM-PLD msxtools - also there, not all tools made it into this set.

OCM-PLD msxtools

OCM-PLD Pack v3.9.1 contains a folder msxtools with another set of tools, partially overlapping with SD-BIOS Pack tools. All overlapping files are of the same version.

Ignoring files ending in txt|doc|1st|md|jpg|asc|src|zip|asm|lzh|mac|gen|mnu|hlp|pcm|nfo|his, these are mostly also included in the SD-BIOS Pack. Only the 8 unique ones are described here.

Note that these msxtools come with documentation and a folder structure; SD-BIOS tools do not.

  • eseutils/ep.com
  • eseutils/eset.com
  • eseutils/fdcopy.com
  • eseutils/fdload.com
  • eseutils/fdsave.com
  • eseutils/mgload.com
  • eseutils/mgsave.com
  • mapper/mapper.com
  • vgmplay/vgmplay.com
  • mc/mc.com
  • rtcsave/rtcsave.com
  • zexall/zexall.com: Z80 instruction set exerciser - test tool for OCM-PLD developers. Seems to either halt or run (uninterruptably!) very long on my device.
  • mpcm/aroid.bat: MPCM AROID.PCM /T /W1A
  • mpcm/mpcm.com
  • mglunch/mglcook.exe: rom file scanner for Windows
  • mglunch/mglocm.com
  • mglunch/mglunch.com: MSX ROM launcher for MSX++ - requires a romlist file (from mglcook.exe) to run
  • readsid/readsid.com
  • swapeidi/swapeidi.com
  • runit/adapt.com: helper for RunIt.com - not sure why not included in SD-BIOS Pack. No further documentation.
  • runit/emudsk.rom
  • runit/readit.com: read floppy image to HDD - use this on an MSX with a physical floppy drive
  • runit/runit.com
  • runit/splitit.com
  • midry/midplay.bat
  • midry/midry.com
  • flashair/fa_reg_v.com: FlashAIR - no documentation
  • flashair/fa_time.com: FlashAir RTC SET Tool v0.01 - translation attempt
  • flashair/fa_clock.com: FlashAir RTC Synchronize Tool v0.03 - translation attempt
  • yenslash/yenslash.com
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