[Atari STE] Suska-III-B (to be updated, last update 13-SEP-2022)

Interesting FPGA Atari STE clone, in fact a WIP project, def not a PnP device

/!\ HAS BUGS (see below)  - my advise so far: NOT recommended to buy!

This is not like MiST/MiSTer/Minimig etc FPGA :

* Project DEAD , stopped, probably will move on github.

* Just one "core" is loaded , you will need to re-program the FPGA (via cable)

currently supports 68000/68010 and I think 68030L (L=Lite no MMU/FPU)

* lack of OSD (to control eg scanlines, ROM, HDD)

* support for (virtual) floppies is way primitive : dd the floppy image on a specific location of the SD card - only 2 images / time (drive A + B) 

* You can't access the HD partition under Linux (big minus there) , I managed it with an ... XP box .. lolz

 This device has serious BUGS (will update if/when fixed)

- Works better with EmuTOS , on other TOS (eg 2.06) bombs and/or freezes

- Some games (goldrunner) have broken gfx

- RTC clock does not work 

- miniUSB power socket that is not supported properly == NOT good news ( fragile!)

- User Manual -> unacceptable

- Support ->  AVERAGE

[Win10] Unable to rename files mounted under NFS (invalid device error)

 Some solution (tested on ancient ReadyNAS) : mount using the "full" NFS share of the server - again in the case of ReadyNAS :  I used to mount the shares as  \\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\data (xxx=IP of the NAS) the correct is : \\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\c\data (as on the NAS drive!) 

YMMV!

Notes: NT 4.0 with "ICH AC97" audio under VirtualBox

It was PITA to make the f NT 4.0 to have "ICH AC97" audio under VirtualBox*

No idea what helped but I did install the following:

* (post install M$ SP6a) 

* vbox driver CD - make sure the  "VBoxGuest Support Driver" is enabled on Boot not System

* Intel 440 Chipset driver

* AC97 Driver from RealTek

I have the feeling the last one is unnecessary, maybe too lazy to re-install that crap again :-}

* tested on OpenSUSE with Vbox 6.1.32 YMMV

Notes on upgrading the IDE2 (Primary Slave) SSD of the Asus EEE PC 901 mSATA to SATA Mini PCIE

The most easy way to upgrade the darn slow 8/16GB SSD on the IDE2 of the 901 is to get an  "mSATA to mini PCIe" and of course an mSATA SSD something like this (make sure it is for SSD not an adapter for WiFi/GPS etc card)

 

 The problem is that by installing this adapter you will "lose" the internal SSD (IDE1, aka Primary Master) and every time you boot the EEE PC you will see a message to press F1 as the Primary Master is "missing". There are two ways to bypass this :

1. The best one is to isolate some pins on the adapter - by using Kapton or very thin sticky tape - as per instructions on this site : https://apavlov.ru/zamena-ssd-v-asus-eee-pc-901/  , by doing this then the IDE1 will be active again.

2. The other way is to enable the "Boot Booster" on the BIOS, this option can be enabled if you setup a small eg 8MB partition on IDE2 SSD and setup it as "EF" (EFI type)  , this wont bring back the internal SSD but will bypass the F1 error.

 

BTW: Don't even think to replace the primary SSD or even the secondary one with an mSATA without using an adapter! They are NOT COMPATIBLE, please note that some mSATA SSDs are being sold as "mSATA miniPCIe" , total BS...

Left: mSATA , Right: the original mini-PCIe SSD

[debian] slow startup of GTK3 apps like firefox/seahorse etc as user (runs ok as root)

 This issue happens mainly when you start the X11 session via console, running those apps as root is without any slowdowns.

A solution that works is to source the systemd user session to your X11 environment, eg by entering this line into the .xinitrc

  systemctl --user import-environment DISPLAY XAUTHORITY &




ctwm : 'forgets' key-bindings after a while...

 This is f evil!! It seems this is a bug: sometimes key-bindings stopped working on ctwm 

luckily there is a solution, put this on your .ctwmrc file

# Ignore Num Lock and Caps Lock
IgnoreModifier {
  lock
  m2
}
 

hat tip to this message of the ctwm message-list.

[NetBSD] fluxbox-generate_menu doesn't work

This is an issue mainly on NetBSD , looks like a bug since 2009? I bet that not even it's maintainer does not use this window manager - well well no surpices if some people hate BSD's , primadonna maintainers that usually boot to windoze...

how to fix it:

• edit the /usr/pkg/bin/fluxbox-generate_menu as root
  
• at the line 1223 there is :    USERFLUXDIR="\${HOME}....... 
• remove the \ before the ${HOME}

"lean" debian? ... try NakeDeb

nakeDeb is a french* Debian based derivative distribution intended to deliver an ultra-minimal debian installation allowing you to quickly install a working system or use it as a lightweight live backup.

*fear not, the distro is way useful for non-French speakers , like me. It is in fact my main OS on the PC , at least not the crap-o-bloat of Gnome/KDE , Fluxbox is bit ancient here - 1.3.5 from... 2011 ! the "latest"  one is 1.3.7 (2015? IIRC)  not that much of difference as no super-duper new features are there.

Feel free to install - play and customise this gem!

for more info: https://nakedeb.arpinux.org/

cheers to Arnault !!

Easy templates in Org >= 9.2 (emacs) are not working?

Easy templates on org-mode allowed you to type quick the block codes eg 

<s [tab] would produce

#+BEGIN_SRC 

#+END_SRC

Things were changed after org-mode v9.2, so now you have to type C-c C-,

or

add  (require 'org-tempo) to your init file