Next video post is up! This one is the demonstration of installing Color 64 BBS on a Commodore Computer using legacy disk drives (1541/1571/1581).
do you think i could do this with one drive like a 1571 and my 128 with my BBS being msgs only as it is? it would be cool too if there was a native 128 mode version since the 128 is faster with a 1571. i also have a 1541-ii now which could be a second drive if needed for the main programs or for making backups. is there a way to bounce over an existing BBS entirely or would you have to start over using this install. the idea certainly intrigues me if it’s a good fit and not a massive undertaking. i could even try and run it from my breadbin with jiffy dos and my 1541-ii if it will fit. The breadbin just hates SD drives… It doesn’t mind the wifi modem though. Then I could use my 128 to screw around with in all its 128 glory and use my upcoming c64cU for gaming, bbsing, bbs dev and modern retro computing!
I think it may be possible - but you are extremely limited by # of files that can be stored on the disk.
If running the 1571 in 1571 mode, you get 1328 blocks and a total of 144 files; and if you include the 1541-II, that gives you another 664 (total of 1992 blocks) and an additional 144 files.
Note: there is an issue with using 1571 in burst mode causing incompatibility with a WifiModem(?). But if you can get past that, you would need:
Steps:
- Setup the system to do a boot disk separately (+bootmaker program) if possible.
- Boot disk to contain:
- Program / System drive (1571 operational disk for bbs) to contain:
√bbs.init
√bbs.msgs
√bbs.xfer
√bbs.ovl
√bbs.ov2
√bbs.ov3
√bbs.profile
√bbs.ansi
√bbs.ascii
√bbs.parms
√menu files
√REL files
√text & help files
√password file
√messages
anything stored in AUX1 (this may break the bank if your users are utilizing it because of the number of files!) You could delete these and just kill off the “1” command in setup by setting it to level 9.
Look at the files listed above in your directories and see what the block sizes are (not to include the boot files I mention above - they can be on a separate boot disk). The password REL file and the public/private messages are areas of concern as they grow. Add them up to see if you break your overall block allocation.
Tallying totals from files in the D64 images:
bbs.init: 101 blocks
bbs.msgs: 98 blocks
bbs.ovl: 59 blocks
bbs.ov2: 90 blocks
bbs.ov3: 23 blocks
bbs.profile: 39 blocks
bbs.ansi: 4 blocks
bbs.ascii: 4 blocks
help files (not to include sysop): 123
screens: approx 85 blocks (not counting “mod menu”- they’re not needed, also dont need “upload” screens)
Total: 626 blocks.
Remaining on 1571 in 1571 mode: *** 702 ***
702 blocks avail for password file and messages.
Size management is the key. The SD2IEC build really didn’t take size constraint into account.
If necessary, remove unused level menus, help and text files if no one is using them.
Also, recommend that you pull the main overlays (bbs.init, bbs.xfer, bbs.ovl, bbs.ov2, bbs.ov3, bbs.profile, bbs.msgs) from the D64 images from the latest download version. The overlays you are using for your SD-bbs has code specific for the SD2IEC.
- in your setup, remove commands (option 7) for File Transfer, Games, and Aux 3 by setting them to level 9 permission only.
You’ll see them as:
- Download Directory
- Download File
- Change Drive #
- Upload file
- New Downloads
- Scratch Download
- Multi-Upload
- View Download Desc
- Release Download
- Spare 1 (the new Games area that uses Aux3)
- Games Menu (should be level 9 already)
- Select Protocol
If you decide to remove help and text files, set those commands to level 9 as well.
If you add your 1541-II to the mix, that could be a bonus as you could make that your sole disk for the public/private message forum. The 1571 can only store 144 files TOTAL. Going beyond that will cause “disk full” error. This severely limits you after all the bbs files are on there. The 1541 would relieve this by allowing up to 144 individual files / messages on the 1541.