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General Topics Around the Kaypro
Last revision of this page: January 25, 2025
- System & Memory Maps
- Floppy Disk Formats
- I/O Ports
- Will CP/M talk to DOS
- Simulator
- External Links
- References
System & Memory Maps
Kaypro II
Floppy Disk Formats
Kaypro II
According to Micro Cornucopia [3] the very first single-sided Kaypro II can read (but not write) the "XEROX 820" floppy disk format by default.
According to Micro Cornucopia [4] the very first single-sided Kaypro II can read and write other floppy disk systems with the software package "UniForm" which is included on the boot disk.
CPMTOOLS (by Michael Haardt)
Douglas Miller
Be aware (beware) that older versions of cpmtools don't work great with Kaypro [II/IV] disks because Kaypro used part of the directory area for an extension to the boot tracks. You'll need a version that supports the "dirblks" parameter and has the kaypro diskdefs modified to set 'dirblks':
# setfdprm /dev/fd0 zerobased SS DD ssize=512 cyl=40 sect=10 head=1
# Kaypro II
diskdef kpii
seclen 512
tracks 40
sectrk 10
blocksize 1024
maxdir 64
#
dirblks 4
#
skew 0
boottrk 1
os 2.2
end
# setfdprm /dev/fd0 zerobased DS DD ssize=512 cyl=40 sect=10 head=2
# Kayro IV
diskdef kpiv
seclen 512
tracks 80
sectrk 10
blocksize 2048
maxdir 64
#
dirblks 2
#
skew 0
boottrk 1
os 2.2
end
Parameters for 22DISK and Others
BEGIN KAY1 Kaypro II/2 - SSDD 48 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 40 SIDES 1 SECTORS 10,512 SKEW 4
SIDE1 0 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
BSH 3 BLM 7 EXM 0 DSM 194 DRM 63 AL0 0F0H AL1 0 OFS 1
END
BEGIN KAY2 Kaypro 2X/4/10 - DSDD 48 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 40 SIDES 2 SECTORS 10,512 SKEW 4
SIDE1 0 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
SIDE2 0 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19
ORDER SIDES
BSH 4 BLM 15 EXM 1 DSM 196 DRM 63 AL0 0C0H AL1 0 OFS 1
END
BEGIN KAY3 Kaypro 2X/4/10 (Alternate) - DSDD 48 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 40 SIDES 2 SECTORS 10,512 SKEW 4
SIDE1 0 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
SIDE2 1 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19
ORDER SIDES
BSH 4 BLM 15 EXM 1 DSM 196 DRM 63 AL0 0C0H AL1 0 OFS 1
END
BEGIN KAY4 Kaypro, Pro-8 ROM - DSDD 96 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 80 SIDES 2 SECTORS 10,512 SKEW 4
SIDE1 0 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
SIDE2 0 20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29
ORDER SIDES
BSH 5 BLM 31 EXM 3 DSM 196 DRM 95 AL0 080H AL1 0 OFS 2
END
BEGIN KAY5 Kaypro Advent TurboROM - DSDD 48 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 40 SIDES 2 SECTORS 5,1024 SKEW 2
SIDE1 0 1,2,3,4,5
SIDE2 1 11,12,13,14,15
ORDER SIDES
BSH 4 BLM 15 EXM 1 DSM 195 DRM 255 AL0 0F0H AL1 0 OFS 2
END
BEGIN KAY6 Kaypro Advent TurboROM - SSDD 48 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 40 SIDES 1 SECTORS 5,1024 SKEW 2
SIDE1 0 1,2,3,4,5
BSH 3 BLM 7 EXM 0 DSM 185 DRM 31 AL0 0C0H AL1 0 OFS 3
END
BEGIN KAY7 Kaypro Advent TurboROM - DSDD 96 tpi 5.25"
DENSITY MFM , LOW
CYLINDERS 80 SIDES 2 SECTORS 5,1024 SKEW 2
SIDE1 0 1,2,3,4,5
SIDE2 1 21,22,23,24,25
ORDER SIDES
BSH 4 BLM 15 EXM 0 DSM 395 DRM 255 AL0 0F0H AL1 0 OFS 2
END
I/O Ports
Kaypro II
Actually, the Kaypro II has six I/O port addresses:
port 0 sets the RS232 baud rate
port 4 is the actual RS232 serial port
port 5 carries the 8-bit data from the keyboard
port 6 is the RS232 status (control ansd status for the Z80 PIO
port 8 is the 8-bit parallel printer port
port 1Ch is the R/W system port for system control (The various bits are used for memory bank selection, disk drive control and printer handshaking.) [60]
Will CP/M talk to DOS?
As my professor at the university said: The biggest problem between computers and programs are the interfaces. And it was precisely this problem that led to the creation of a new hardware and software branch in the early 1980s. Hundreds, if not thousands of programs had to make the change from CP/M to DOS. Hundreds of thousands of working and development hours lay in these programs. One could not simply let them get lost. And so it was with the Kaypro CP/M computers.
You can find some basic information on my web pages:
And now back to the question: Will CP/M talk to DOS? The answer is yes. Here some software examples:
- DOS to CP/M
- Sydex, USA ............. 22Disk, 22Nice
- Micro Solutions, USA ... UniForm-PC, UniDOS
- XenoSoft, USA .......... XenoCopy-PC
- Intersecting C., USA ... Media Master
- Generics, Germany ...... SuperCopy
- FBN, Australia ......... PC-Alien, PC-Eighty
- CP/M (Kaypro) to DOS
- Micro Solutions, USA ... UniForm
- Plu*Perfect, USA ....... MultiCopy
- Intersecting C., USA ... Media Master
You need more information? Here you are: Will MS-DOS talk to CP/M? and Multi-Format Programs.
Simulator
Virtual Kaypro Computer
The Virtual Kaypro by Douglas Miller has moved to this page.
External Links
- Douglas Miller: Virtual Kaypro Computer
References
- (↑) The Boston Kugel, Nov-Dec 1987, page 12
- (↑) Kaypro II Dealer Reference Guide, 1982, page 28 & 29
- (↑) Micro Cornucopia, Issue 10, Febrary 1983, page 26
- (↑) Micro Cornucopia, Issue 11, April 1983, page 24
- (↑) Facebook, Group: Kaypro Computer Users
- (↑) Kaypro Technical Manual (1484-F, 1985)
- (↑) Douglas Miller (durgadas311), Virtual Kaypro Computer
My Series About the KAYPRO
--> Go to Part 1 : Versions
--> Go to Part 2 : Hardware
--> Go to Part 3 : 8K EPROM Modification
--> Go to Part 4 : Formatting a Hard Disk
--> Go to Part 5 : USER areas
--> Go to Part 6 : MASMENU - Master Menu
--> Go to Part 7 : Terminal
--> Go to Part 8 : KayPLUS ROM
--> Go to Part 9 : Advent TurboROM
--> Go to Part 10: Multicopy Plu*Perfect
--> Go to Part 11: The Kay Family & Company
--> Go to Part 12: Kaypro Design Views
--> Go to Part 13: Micro Cornucopia
--> Go to Part 14: Repairing a Kaypro II
--> Go to Part 15: Kaypro Collections
--> Go to Part 16: Kaypro General
--> Go to Part 17: Kaypro Robie
--> Go to Part 18: MFM-Emulators
--> Go to Part 19: Roadrunner ROM
--> Go to Part 20: Software
--> Go to Part 21: FAQ
--> Go to Part 22: Kaypro Virtual
--> Go to Part 23: Formatting a Floppy Disk
--> Go to Part 24: ROM, EPROM
--> Go to Part 25: Kaycomp