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 Amiga Forever Data Sharing Software (Amiga Side)


 Overview

 This document covers the Amiga side (opposed to the PC side) of the
 following software:

 - Amiga Explorer
 - DOS file systems
 - Transdisk
 - Amiga Forever boot floppy disk

 Please note that if you are already running Amiga Explorer you
 probably don't need either a DOS file system or the Transdisk
 utility, the functionality of which is included in Amiga Explorer.

 Additional documentation in HTML format is included on the PC side.
 The following internet resources also include tutorials, frequently
 asked questions (FAQ) and troubleshooting sections:

    Amiga Forever
    www.amigaforever.com

    Amiga Explorer
    www.amigaforever.com/ae/


 Introduction to Amiga Explorer

 The main data sharing tool, which is included in the same directory
 containing this text, is the Amiga Explorer network server software
 (to connect one or more PCs to the Amiga). This part of Amiga
 Explorer was designed to run on a "real" Amiga, but, thanks to the
 TCP/IP functionality, Amiga Explorer can also be used to improve
 communications between Windows and an Amiga emulation environment
 running on the same machine.

 The Amiga side of Amiga Explorer ("AExplorer") communicates over a
 serial or TCP/IP link with the Amiga Explorer part which resides on
 a Windows machine, exposing all Amiga drives. In this configuration,
 the Amiga is called the "server", because it is the computer which
 satisfies requests from "clients", which are Windows machines. All
 Windows clients can "see" what is stored on the Amiga server, and
 read and write to the Amiga. The Amiga itself does not see the
 drives mounted on the client machines, i.e. the drives of the
 Windows computers do not appear on the Workbench screen of the Amiga
 server.

 Amiga Explorer is available as a stand-alone package and as part of
 Amiga Forever. Amiga Explorer and the other utilities described here
 are fully independent from the Amiga emulation software, and can be
 used to share data between Windows and Amiga systems without using
 the Amiga emulation software.


 Installing Amiga Explorer

 If you intend to use Amiga Explorer over a serial connection
 (null-modem cable, optionally via a USB serial interface, or
 Bluetooth serial link), and you don't have a DOS file system on the
 Amiga, then the easiest way to copy the Amiga files from the PC to
 the Amiga is to install Amiga Explorer on the PC and then proceed
 with the Setup Wizard, which is available via a right-click on the
 Amiga Explorer icon on the Windows desktop.

 If instead your Amiga has a DOS file system or an optical drive you
 can use the same Setup Wizard to access the Amiga files on Windows,
 and then copy them to a floppy disk or CD (other options include
 transfer via email, etc.) If the DOS file system on your Amiga does
 not support "long" file names, be sure to rename the files after
 copying them to the Amiga, so that their names are:

    AExplorer
    AExplorer.info
    ReadMe.txt
    ReadMe.txt.info


 Starting Amiga Explorer

 On the Amiga side, double-click the AExplorer icon to start it. You
 can double-click it again to stop it. Stopping Amiga Explorer may be
 useful, for example, to free the serial port for other tasks, or to
 change some Amiga Explorer settings. To install Amiga Explorer,
 simply copy the "AExplorer" icon to the hard disk.

 On version 2.0 and newer of the Amiga OS, copying the "AExplorer"
 icon into the "WBStartup" drawer will cause Amiga Explorer to start
 automatically when the system boots.

 On all Amiga systems, Amiga Explorer can also be started
 automatically by entering the following line in the
 "S:Startup-Sequence" or "S:User-Startup" file:

    Run >NIL: <NIL: AExplorer >NIL: <NIL: [OPTIONS]

 (Instead of "AExplorer", in the above line, you will probably have
 to enter the path of the software as it is installed on the hard
 disk, e.g. "Work:Software/AExplorer/AExplorer", etc.)

 The optional [OPTIONS] part consists of one or more keywords each
 followed by a setting, e.g. "CONNECTION SERIAL SERBAUD 115200", etc.
 If no options are indicated, then the default settings are used. The
 option names and the default values are explained below. All command
 line options also have matching ToolTypes with the same name.

 This version of Amiga Explorer supports standard "null-modem" 7-wire
 serial cables (the schematics are included in the main
 documentation), as well as TCP/IP (Ethernet, ARCNet, internet,
 serial, etc.) Settings can be changed by clicking on the "AExplorer"
 icon once, and selecting the "Information..." (or "Info", on older
 systems) item from the Workbench menus. All settings are accessible
 by editing the appropriate "ToolType" entries, which are described
 here.

 CONNECTION: This entry may be set to AUTO, SERIAL or TCP/IP. AUTO,
 which is the default, means that Amiga Explorer uses TCP/IP if a
 TCP/IP environment is found, otherwise it uses the serial
 (null-modem) cable connection.

 SERDEVICE, SERUNIT, SERBAUD: These are the serial port settings. By
 default, the standard Amiga serial device, "serial.device", unit 0,
 is used. This does not require changes, unless non-standard serial
 ports and devices are used, in which case the corresponding
 documentation needs to be referred to. SERBAUD is preset to 19200
 bit/sec, which was tested to run well even on the slowest Amiga
 systems. Higher values allow for higher transmission speeds, but are
 not supported by all systems. If this setting is changed, it also
 needs to be changed to the same value on the Windows side of Amiga
 Explorer. Other possible values include (without being limited to):
 4800, 9600, 38400, 57600 and 115200.

 TCPLIBRARY, TCPPASSWORD, TCPCLIENT, TCPSERVER: These are the TCP/IP
 settings, which on the Amiga side by default do not require any
 specific configuration. The Amiga side of Amiga Explorer processes
 requests from all Windows clients. To limit potential security
 risks, Amiga Explorer gives the possibility to specify a password
 (TCPPASSWORD), and to optionally indicate the IP address of a single
 Windows client to which exclusive access is to be granted. A default
 password is preset on both the Windows and the Amiga side. If the
 password is changed, the new value must be set both on the Windows
 clients and on the Amiga server. Requests from clients with a
 different password are not processed. By default, the Amiga side of
 Amiga Explorer "listens" to all Windows clients. As an additional
 security measure, it is possible to program the TCPCLIENT setting to
 the IP address (e.g. "TCPCLIENT=10.0.0.5") of a single Windows
 client, which will then become the only client with which the Amiga
 server exchanges data. This provides an additional level of
 protection over the password solution, because the (encrypted)
 password is transmitted over the network, and, in theory, could be
 read by an unauthorized party on the same network path using a
 TCP/IP packet monitor. The TCPSERVER setting, which is also
 optional, can be programmed to the IP address of the Amiga server.
 This is required on multi-homed systems, i.e. where the Amiga has
 more than one network board and/or IP address, and Amiga Explorer
 may need to be told which one to use.

 PACKETSIZE: This value indicates the maximum size, in bytes, of the
 data packets sent by the Amiga server to the Windows clients. A
 "packet" is the unit of data which is transmitted from one side to
 the other at one time. Each packet has different checksums to ensure
 the integrity of the data, once the packet is received by the other
 side. If the line is not totally error-free, which may for example
 occur on a serial connection which is set to an excessively high
 speed, corrupt packets are detected and re-sent. If this happens,
 the overhead is in proportion to the size of the packet. Longer
 packets are more likely to be corrupt, because they contain more
 data, and they also take longer to be sent and re-sent. Shorter
 packets are more reliable, but they slightly increase the overall
 overhead on an error-free line, because each packet has some
 additional header and checksum data, which, if there are no errors,
 is not necessary. By default, PACKETSIZE is set to 512 bytes, which
 is a good compromise for different types of connections and
 operating systems. For optimum performance, the Amiga side and the
 Windows side should be set to the same values, because each side
 allocates input buffers based on the local setting. All Amiga
 Explorer packets are "dynamic", i.e. the packet size is only a
 maximum, not a constant. If the packet size is set to 4096, but only
 100 bytes need to be transmitted, then only 100 bytes (plus the
 header) are transmitted, not 4096.

 RETRIES: This parameter determines how often the Amiga side will
 request a corrupt packet to be retransmitted, before "giving up". By
 default, it retries 50 times. The Amiga and the Windows side do not
 need to be set to the same value.

 ADFVERIFY: Amiga Explorer can transform Amiga disks to ADF ("Amiga
 Disk File") images, and vice versa. When writing an ADF image to an
 Amiga disk, Amiga Explorer by default verifies that the data was
 written correctly, just like the Amiga OS does when formatting a
 disk, or like disk-copying programs can do during a copy. In this
 way, bad disks and other possible problems are immediately detected.
 If ADFVERIFY is set to NO, bad disks and other write errors are not
 detected, but the write process will be faster.

 OVERRIDEPROTECTION: If this setting is enabled (=YES), then Amiga
 Explorer overrides any Amiga protection bits which may indicate, for
 example, that a file cannot be deleted, read or written.

 LOGGING, LOGFILE: Logging can be enabled (LOGGING=YES) in case of
 persistent difficulties, to better track the origin of specific
 problems. By default, logging is disabled (LOGGING=NO). Please refer
 to the main documentation for additional information.

 QUIET: This setting can be set to YES or NO to respectively suppress
 or enable the initial and final status window which appears when
 Amiga Explorer is launched or stopped.

 DONOTWAIT: This ToolType ensures that the "AExplorer" icon can be
 dropped in "WBStartup" without leaving the Amiga OS waiting for
 Amiga Explorer to terminate.

 UNIT: This setting, which has a default value of 0, can be used to
 launch multiple Amiga Explorer servers, for example one running in
 serial mode and one in TCP/IP mode. Each server must be referenced
 by its unique UNIT number in the ToolType or command line (also to
 stop the server).


 DOS File Systems

 In order to read PC-formatted floppy disks, the Amiga must have a
 DOS file system, such as CrossDOS, MSH or XFS.

 Amiga OS versions 2.1 and higher include a version of CrossDOS,
 although it does not support "long" file names (i.e. longer than 8+3
 characters). When using CrossDOS, DOS format drives are accessible
 with device names such as PC0: and PC1:.

 The Amiga Forever boot floppy disk, described in more detail below,
 includes MSH, which is implemented as an Amiga file system handler
 that allows the Amiga to read and write DOS-formatted floppy disks.
 MSH does not support long file names, however it has the advantage
 of running even on older Amiga systems (e.g. systems with 1.2 ROMs),
 which may otherwise not be able to access DOS disks. When using MSH,
 DOS format drives are accessible with device names such as MS0: and
 MS1:.

 XFS (available for free download on Aminet) and the latest
 commercial version of CrossDOS support long Windows file names,
 meaning that file names longer than 8 characters appear properly
 when read on an Amiga.

 The most popular 3.5" floppy disk variants are DD (double density, 1
 MB unformatted capacity) and HD (high density, 2 MB unformatted
 capacity). HD disks can be recognized by the high density media
 identification hole (opposite the write-protect hole). Under the DOS
 file system these disks are formatted as 720 KB and 1.44 MB,
 respectively, which is a bit less than the capacity of Amiga format
 disks.

 High density DOS-formatted data (disks formatted for 1.44 MB) cannot
 be accessed by the Amiga unless the Amiga drive supports this
 functionality. Some drives shipping with the Commodore-Amiga A3000,
 A3000T, A4000 and A1200 models, as well as some newer third-party
 drives support this. If high density is not supported by the drive,
 then only disks formatted in the 720 KB format can be accessed.

 If in doubt, use the Amiga (not the PC) to format disks used for
 data sharing, or cover the high density hole with some opaque tape.
 Be careful not to damage the disk or drive with the tape.


 Transdisk

 The "Transdisk" utility can be used to create image files of Amiga
 floppy disks, for use with Amiga Forever or other Amiga emulation
 environments. Floppy disk images are usually referred to as "ADF"
 images. The same functionality is also part of Amiga Explorer, which
 is capable of creating "virtual" ADF files, so this additional tool
 is mainly interesting when Amiga Explorer is not used.

 Transdisk can be found on the Amiga Forever CD or DVD, on the Amiga
 Forever boot disk image, and in the "Shared/amiga_utilities"
 subdirectory in "Amiga Files", which is located at the root of the
 physical distribution medium, or by invoking File/Open Folder/Amiga
 Files in Amiga Forever.

 In order to share data stored on floppy disks between the Amiga and
 other systems which cannot read Amiga-format disks, the disks should
 be formatted using the DOS file system.

 Transdisk is designed to be used from the Shell. Before use, it is
 best copied to the C: directory, or to another location where the
 system looks for programs associated to Shell commands.

 The following are examples of command lines entered in a Shell (or
 CLI, on older systems) window.

 To install Transdisk (add file path as necessary):

    Copy transdisk C: CLONE

 To get instructions on the use of Transdisk:

    transdisk ?


 The Amiga Forever Boot Floppy Disk

 Amiga Forever includes a disk image in ADF format which can be used
 (e.g. with Amiga Explorer) to write a bootable Amiga floppy disk
 containing all the tools described in this document. The disk image,
 named "af-boot.adf", is stored in the "Shared/adf" subdirectory in
 "Amiga Files".

 The Amiga Forever boot floppy disk supports Amiga computers with
 version 1.2 or higher ROMs. At the end of the boot process both the
 Amiga side of Amiga Explorer and the MSH file system are running,
 and the boot disk itself is not required any more (it may be removed
 to access other disks). This means that by booting with this disk it
 is possible to use an Amiga computer without monitor as a "floppy
 drive" for the PC to read and write Amiga disks via Amiga Explorer.

 In order to use this default configuration you only need to make
 sure that the proper COM port is selected on the Windows side of
 Amiga Explorer for communications with the Amiga.


 Installing MSH from the Boot Floppy Disk

 If you prefer to install MSH on your system, execute the following
 in a Shell or CLI window (replace "AF_Boot:" with the path where the
 MSH files are located):

    Copy AF_Boot:devs/messydisk.device DEVS: CLONE
    Copy AF_Boot:devs/MountList.MSH DEVS: CLONE
    Copy AF_Boot:l/MessyFileSystem L: CLONE

 In the "S:Startup-Sequence" or "S:User-Startup" file, add one entry
 for each disk drive for which you wish to enable MSH, where the name
 of the device to be mounted is "MS" plus the unit number. For
 example, to add MS-DOS-support to drives 0 and 1, add:

    Mount MS0: FROM DEVS:MountList.MSH
    Mount MS1: FROM DEVS:MountList.MSH


 Notes

 Amiga Explorer is Copyright © 1997-2020 Cloanto. MSH is Copyright ©
 1989-1997 Olaf "Rhialto" Seibert, distributed under license.
 Transdisk is Copyright © 1995-1997 Bernd Schmidt, Joanne Dow, Marcus
 Sundberg, Rodney Hester and Stefan Ropke, distributed with
 permission. For additional copyright, distribution and other legal
 and technical information please refer to the main documentation or
 visit the Amiga Forever Home Page at www.amigaforever.com.