This is a long episode with lots of parts, so I added an index to the description, and I might as well put it here too: 0:00 Some updates/news/thanks 1:55 Fast Load intro 5:50 Using Fast Load as a disk speeder 10:14 Advertising in RUN magazine 11:20 Epyx Fastload Reloaded 11:45 DOS Wedge 16:37 The First Menu 18:22 Sector Editor 21:50 Locking/Unlocking Files 25:40 Intermission - March Break 26:45 Machine Language Monitor
@@amirjawaid2362 I think it was this video about animated disk directories; towards the end I show how to use Fast Hack'em to edit the disk: th-cam.com/video/HVMjLUhOX90/w-d-xo.html
I had an unofficial dual cartridge with Fastload and Fastload 2 on the same circuit board, with a switch. Later I had placed that INSIDE the C64 case, I connected the PCB edge lines to the cartridge connector's soldering points with wires, and I applied a tri-state switch on the case, and a reset button, looked very good. And worked well, of course, I loved it. When I wanted to insert a separate cartridge (usually a freezer) then I set the switch to the neutral position, disabling Fastload, and it worked. I had probably a fully unique C64 this way, a first generation machine with internal Fastloads.
One funny memory about the Epyx Fast Load - I got one as a kid and it was great. But then software started including their own fast load routines and I found most new titles and even cracked games wouldn't work with it, so I stopped using it completely. I just went back to the slow Kernal routines. Now, when I buy retro computer lots, there is inevitably a Fast Load cartridge included. I tried it again and it works great! So I found my old Fast Load cartridge and found out that it doesn't work! So my original cart died on me in the 80s and I didn't realize it!
As a side-note, something that I did with my FastLoad cartridge was to add an on-off switch and a soft reset button. That way, on my C64, I had an easy way to reset the computer (remember, the C128 has a reset switch, but the C64 did not). Also, when using a 1571 or 1581 disk drive, the C128 is faster because both the computer and the drive have working hardware shift registers, but in GO 64 mode, it still uses the slow bit-banging Kernal routines. So, the on-off switch lets me boot the C128 in C128 mode (with the switch set to "off"), or in C64 mode with FastLoad support if the switch is set to "on" without having to frequently insert or remove the cartridge. All you need is a momentary pushbutton switch for the reset button, and a SPST toggle switch for the on-off switch. The pushbutton should be connected to pin 1, pin 22, pin A, or pin Z (all four pins are connected to Ground, so any one of them will do) and Pin C (Reset). To install the on-off switch, you have to scrape off part of the trace for pin 9 (EXROM) and solder the switch across the gap. To make this job a little easier, the FastLoad cartridge is held together by a single screw located under the label. So it's easy to open the cartridge to get access to the PCB. EDIT: Also, on the C64, it lets me turn the cartridge off when I want to play a game that FastLoad is incompatible with. I have found that on _very_ few games, even "Disable FastLoad" is not enough; the game won't load unless the cartridge is completely removed. Or, in this case, *turned off.* And yes, it is perfectly safe to flip the on/off switch with the power on. The on/off switch is wired to the EXROM line (pin 9), which is only checked when you power on the computer. It is not actually connected to any power circuits, such as pins 2 and 3 (+5V DC) or to pin 1, pin 22, pin A, or pin Z (ground). So you can change modes by flipping the on/off switch and then pressing the reset button.
Great info, thanks. I should have mentioned the reset button this episode. I see that the FastLoad Reloaded has one built-in, which is a great feature. I've mentioned the lack of reset button on a previous episode or two, and how it's extremely useful. I'm glad the 128D has one built in.
@@8_Bit I've got a confession to make. I was a teenager back when the C64 came out. It didn't take long before I got involved in the hacking scene... high school kids with an allowance of $5 a week didn't have money to spend on games, so we copied them, or figured out how to hack them so we could copy them. The reset switch on my FastLoad cartridge, which already had a machine language monitor, was one of my most important tools, because the RAM from $0801-$CFFF and $E000-FFFF are not erased when you perform a reset. ;-) EDIT: Well, okay, $0801 and $0802 might be overwritten with zeroes to indicate "end of program". But $0803 and up were not affected by the reset. It made it a lot easier to load the game, then hit reset and start looking for the code that performed the copy protection check.
I remember having the very first ever Freeze Frame cartridge where you could press a button and just dump the entire system state to disk or tape which I got from Evesham Micros, then they bought out anti-freeze in games to counteract it and the cartridge kept getting upgraded where you could trade in the old for the new, I did it every time. Later there was more advanced cartridges like Action Replay.
I remember writing my own fast loader. Even the simplest code was faster than the factory/ROM loader. I remember figuring out how to write to the 1541 memory by setting a bit of memory somewhere in the C64 and toggling a clock bit to let the 1541 side know that the next bit is ready (or vise versa). I wrote a very simple program for both sides, that transferred a block at a time (256 bytes, or 2048 bits). I then expanded it to do a whole track in quick succession, one block at a time with some interleave (don't remember what I used). But it didn't load the track quite as fast as FastLoad or WARP SPEED but it was a lot faster than the factory speed. It made me wonder WHY the heck they released a machine capable of so much more, but held back. And the technique listed above did not even need to put the C64 in 2 MHz mode (blanking the screen).
It was explained somewhere that there was a bug found with VIA chips, so data taransfer using VIAs wasn't reliable or possible, since the time was almost out before releasing C64, no hardware changes was actually possible without losing tons of money, that's why they came up with makeshift software communication protocol. I think that this was fixed in C128 (burst mode i think).
It was due to comparability issues, basically Commodore has fudged it and fuqed it up with the slows speeds. Many users didn't know that the disk drive was basically a computer with its own CPU. It was such a waste of resources making it much more expensive than it should be, instead they should have included the drive controller on the C64's mother board.
I remember traveling two hours on the train from Newcastle to Sydney in Australia to look at what software was out for the Commodore 64. I spotted this cartridge on the shelf of one of the stores and snapped it up. It became my all time favourite utility on the C-64, although I did modify mine with a small momentary button on the label side of the cartridge to act as a computer reset button. No doubt a hack I read about in some Commodore related magazine. It wasn't the fastest as you say, but it was very compatible and with the reset button and keyboard shortcuts for loading software, was very handy.
I had one when I was a kid, so the video was some great nostalgia, overall. My heart truly skipped a beat, though, at the mere mention of Compute's Gazette. Loved that magazine. 😍
I've had the EPYX Fastload cartridge since childhood. We bought it used at a swap meet and never knew it had a built in monitor! That would have been very useful.
My morning coding routine, when starting the c64 was to change the background color to black, and the text to yellow... sometimes I’d just change the text to yellow. Both were easier for me to read. I had the 1702 monitor too...
I had modded one of my Epyx Fast Load cartridges by adding a momentary-on pushbutton switch for reset, since the Commodore 64 didn't have one, and a toggle switch to disable the cartridge when not needed - that was to save wear-and-tear from physically removing and inserting the cartridge, which was useful when used with my Commodore 128 when booting in 128 or CP/M mode.
I haven't WANTED an 8-bit Commodore machine in just about 34 years. Thanks, Robin. You make me want to go back and explore all of the things I missed when I was twelve ^___^
My first Epyx Fast Load cart was the one I got from TFW8bit with the SD2IEC recently so this was very informative, thanks. Back in the nineties I used an Action Replay so I prefer to see white text on blue. I don't really like the Fast Load cart. The AR had convenient function key presses, without pressing return: F1 to load, F3 for a directory (that you can stop with RUN/STOP), F5 to list and F7 to run. I'm waiting on delivery of an Ultimate 64 now, and I have to admit one of the attractions is the support for the Action Replay cart!
Yes, and I prefer my (Canadian-made) Super Snapshot cartridge, which is very comparable to the Action Replay, to Fast Load. In fact I've heard the AR was actually a spin-off of the SS at an earlier stage of development. The SS has very similar function keypresses. However, the Fast Load is a very economical and easily-accessible alternative to the more advanced cartridges, and as I hope I showed in the video, is more capable than a lot of people think.
Thank you so much for making these videos. The Epyx Fast Load cartridge was a must have back then, at least until Jiffydos. I do enjoy that you're using a real commodore 64! I have recently started to revisit my Commodore passion from the past. I owned over $2000 USD worth of C= hardware and accessories and a huge library of Commodore related books and software. Unfortunately, I no longer have any of those items. But I am working on attaining these items again. PS I used to live 15 minutes away from Creative Micro Designs and would visit there frequently!
You're welcome, and wow, I wish I could have visited CMD in person! I phoned there occasionally (long distance from Canada was expensive!) and had some good conversations with Doug Cotton.
Wow, someone else remembers Jiffydos. Man that thing was the best! Kinda scary opening up my computer and disk drive as a kid and pulling and slotting chips, but the switch was the BEST!
As a kid I remember drilling a hole in my fastload cart housing and putting in a momentary switch between gnd and reset on the PCB. It was so nice to finally have a hardware reset button on the 64 like the plus/4 had.......
Great stuff. I really loved my C64 and it is fun to learn even more about it some 30 years later. Side note: I tend to call this channel the 8-bit moving hand.
Back in the early 90s, I remember how much people used to dump on the Epyx Fastload. The "serious" C64 users, especially in the US, used either Super Snapshot or JiffyDOS. Being the cheapest of the group, Epyx was of course the cartridge that I had, and I (eventually) found it to be invaluable, especially for its (slightly hobbled) monitor. The simplicity of it always appealed to me and even now, using a machine without a DOS wedge feels foreign. Jump ahead 30-ish years and, with the release of stuff like the TFW8B's Epyx Fastload Reloaded and SD2IEC (which supports it!) it has become the premier fast loader again, along with the FCIII. Nice to see it finally getting its due.
@8-Bit Show And Tell could you please do similar videos for the other cartridges please - the classical ones from back in the day, as well as the modern ones? this video was immensely useful for me!
and dolphin dos! Don't forget that. Parallel transfer on a 1541 by re-purposing the din connector pins! There is a long story behind that software... and Jim Butterfield is in that story!
@@StCreed I didn't. In fact, I didn't even have a 'Fastload' cartridge. I used the stock 1541 for almost 10 years. Some games like Battletech gracefully had a built in turbo disk loader. We actually only got a disk drive because it was so much faster than tape, and we didn't notice it was slow. To us, it was fast...we had nothing to gauge it against. Now, I have a super snapshot V5, 2 warpspeed, and 2 fastload carts. When buying bundles of carts you get redundants sometimes. truth be told, many games and software loaded within a minute, so it really wasn't a big deal. i should add that we didn't copy disks or have backups either. We took very good care of the disks and never had a problem.
Before I had Fast Load, I had Quick Load, which required loading from disk. Having the speed improvement as a cartridge was a godsend! As a side note, I also remember putting a lot of time and money into 1541 realignment kits.
Oh yeah totally forgot about Quick-Load, it was such a hassle having to load it from disk every time you restarted the computer, plus it wasn't compatible with more commercial games, only cracked one. lol
I'd never seen the Fastload manual but apparently it has a lot in it. I've learned that manuals to old C64 games have important information in them which can really change the game (like when to press 'B' in Ghostbusters to make the ghost bait appear). This has been a very useful video :)
@The Highlander That was back in the day when game manuals actually were printed on paper (and were often bundled with other "feelies"). For example, have you even seen the manuals for the Jane's flight sims like Jane's USAF or Jane's IAF? You might as well call it "everything you wanted to know about flying, but were afraid to ask"... the manual was so thick, it had to be ring-bound. These days, you're lucky if you get a slip of paper telling you that the manual can be found in PDF format on the CD, or giving you an URL where you can download the manual from the Internet. I will admit that not having to print a manual has its merits. Back in those days, manuals had to be printed months before the game's release date. If something in the game changed, it was usually too late (and expensive) to print new manuals. Electronic publishing solves that problem. I still miss the printed manuals, though. I like books and thick instruction manuals. There's nothing wrong with E-books, but you can't curl up with an E-book the way you can curl up with a real book. (Or to put it another way, I can take a book to bed with me, but I can't take my gaming tower.)
@@SpearM3064 I know..I had to do a long search to get a controller layout for Ghost Recon Wildlands. Ended up printing my own overview because I couldn't find it in a usable format anywhere else. I spent literally most of my life playing Ghostbusters on the C64 up until the point where the marshmallow man destroys the city and takes my money. Just because I didn't know I had to press B to lure it away. And all it needed was a flimsy little piece of paper. Seriously, manuals were gold. Just for the information they had in them. Try playing Iridis Alpha without a manual. Impossible.
First: I love watching your videos, especially on my lunch. They're great! I always learn something and am surprised at really how powerful these computers were for being 8bit, especially with an add on like the Fastload! Second: I always wanted one of these. I didn't play a lot of games just because of the time it took to load. I spent most of my time online on BBSes and reading messages and playing games there. But one of the games I did really like to play was Raid Over Moscow! I remember that taking a bit and I wished I had one of these.
the part about the assembly was the most interesting! i can't wait for the sd2iec + epyx fast cartridge i ordered. And congratulations, I'm Italian and I don't know 100% English but your explanations are very clear and not hasty, never change
God I LOVED my fastload cartridge! From the DOS wedge to the fast loading routines that sped up 90% of my pirated games, it never left my cartridge slot. There were very few games I used GO64 for, even most games with their own fastloader routines (Legacy of the Ancients, most other EOA games) still worked under the fastloader routines. Best thing Epyx ever made, even over Jumpman or Gateway to Apshai.
Just found this video. I have been investigating the 1541 for a few days now. The more advanced dos commands and of course fast-loaders. Next thing will be to try to execute some code within the 1541. Really good explanations. Thank you!
It struck me as being one of the most highly compatible fast load carts, and good bang for buck. There was not much software on the c64 that required you to remove it in order for them to work - other carts it was quite common.
Meant to add this a while ago for anyone whos interested, to get the pound key on a US keyboard with most emulators, just use the "ALT + \" key combination. I love using my Fastload cartridge and was curious to try it out on my BMC64 Pi 3 setup. Works a treat once I worked out how to input the pound symbol on a non UK standard keyboard. Love the channel keep up the good work. Maybe more in the series for teaching 6502/10 tricks would be an awesome addition.
RAT-A-TAT-A-TAT. Drive recalibration caused by copy protection schemes knocked the drives out of alignment. Thanks man. It's all coming back to me know. The late, great Jim Butterfield. His memory lives on.
@Rick Perez Yeah, that was (in my opinion) one of the most important engineering flaws in the 1540 and 1541. The head stop had no way to cushion the impact, so the drive head hit the stop at full force. I think if I'd been designing it, I would've replaced the head stop with an optical sensor or something, so that when recalibrating, the stepper motor would know when to stop. Or, better yet, instead of trying to move the head 40 tracks (which is what it does)… let's say it was supposed to be reading track 17. So move it 16 tracks and read the next header block to see if it was on track 1. If not, keep moving it one track at a time until it is on track 1. Recalibration might take a little longer that way, but it'd be a lot more gentle.
i loved the video - i wish I knew any of that when i had my c128, my first computer. i hope you'll make the same kind of video about other cartridges, and about more advanced functions in FastLoad! thanks a lot!
So who here has changed the default screen colors and then later forgot what mode they were in and tried loading a C64 program when in C128 mode (and vice versa)? Just me? It's probably just me. :P The white text on blue is very readable, though I usually switch to white text on black with a blue border. Thank you so much for these videos, Robin. After all these decades this old dog is still learning new tricks! I wonder how many of us started out with their Commodores on a little black and white TV...
Fascinating, I never heard of this before. Here in Europe KCS Power Cartridge was a defacto standard as well as the Final Cartridge III. I bought (well begged) my parents for the KCS Power so I had the monitor and could program in assembler. Not aware back then about TMP or other assemblers until 1988 :)
Robin, could you make an episode going into how the Epyx Fast Loader achieved its fast loading abilities? That is, what was the magic assembly which fixed the C64.
I love that I was reading a 1985 Computer Entertainment magazine, saw the ad at 10:25 then thought "how did that thing actually work?" and landed on your video from the Wikipedia page.... only to see the same ad again XD
I haven't used the C64 in a long time, but I still have the computer and everything I was using at the time. I used the Snapshot cartridge, and really liked it. I have Jim Butterfield's book on Machine language Programming, and have forgotten everything I knew. Good memories.
There was a way to see the directory of a disk on a stock C64 without software without overwriting your program. LOAD"$",8,1 ",1" will make it load at the start of screen memory (1024), because out of some luck the first bytes are 00 04, so it will force it to load into screen memory. It will look strange, but you can read the file names at least. Note that long directories will eventually overwrite BASIC programs once it surpasses byte 2048, so be sure to RUN STOP before the screen fills up fully on long disk directories.
Yeah, it was because the Commodore PET line started BASIC memory at $0400 that the directory loaded at that address, and then it never changed in later disk drives, presumably for backwards compatibility.
Cool to hear another kid getting a start without a way to save his/her programs. We also only had a 13" black and white. Thankful to my parents for spending money on a VIC-20 (1982) instead of an Atari game system -- set me on a good career path. :) I enjoy the trip down memory lane in your videos.
Thank you for another great informative video. We got our Commodore 64’s at the same time. My parents bought mine in Jacksonville FL in March of ‘84 as well. Too cool.
I bought the fast load mainly because it was way cheaper than the action replay. I wish I could remember what the syntax was, but you could write proper 3 letter code with the fast load and also list machine code. I used it when I was programming assembly. Sei, ldx# 00, ldy# 00, stx $d020, sty $d021 lol. I must have had a later version as you could bring up the machine code monitor while games were running. It gave me a chance to view code and learn so I could write my own routines. Ps great channel and subbed.
Great video! Very informative. The Directory feature alone makes this worth owning. You can view the contents of any disk when the $ command doesn’t work. Lots of games I didn’t know about on those disks….
I thought I had owned the Epyx fast loader, but it was actually the Mach 5 fast loader cartridge. I was never clever enough to use the extra features of it. I REALLY wish I had known about the super snapshot! There was so much about the c64 I didn't know as a youngster!
Very cool tip to automatically RUN a program from disk after LOADing! I suppose this works because the 3rd parameter to LOAD (relocate flag) actually doesn't care what value is passed -- it only checks if there is some value present.
It seems to parse the beginning of the 3rd parameter, because it seems to require the number 0 to 255 there (I tried a bunch of things, and that's all that worked - anything else gave ?ILLEGAL QUANTITY ERROR), but the LOAD can immediately trail without a colon or anything. So it's kind of weird!
@@8_Bit I can explain why it works, actually. BTW, putting an 0 there is the same as leaving off the 3rd parameter. LOAD"*",8,0 does a relocating load. I'm pretty sure that any non-zero value between 1 and 255 performs a non-relocating load. Anyway... because of the way the BASIC interpreter parses commands, it sees the 1 and then sees the letter L. (Actually, it sees the token for the LOAD command, because the line is tokenized first, and then interpreted.) The interpreter says "That's not a digit between 0 and 9, so that must be the end of the number." The reason it doesn't give you a ?SYNTAX ERROR is because CBM BASIC ignores everything between the end of the LOAD command and the start of the next line. It knows that a LOAD command has up to 3 parameters, so it says "That was also the end of the 3rd parameter, so I've reached the end of the command"... and ignores the rest of the line.
@@8_Bit Yep that makes sense.. without having examined the Kernal code, I'm going to assume they just check the byte for 3rd param, and ignore anything else that follows. Who needs input validation? haha
After my VIC-20 (like you with no storage at all at first!), then VIC-20 with tape drive, I leapt ahead to C-128D, skipping right over the slow loading of C-64 somewhat. The C-128D with its built in 1571 had fast loading built into ROM ("fast loaders" use the hardware shift register instead of bit-banging each bit onto the I/O line in software - it is the C64 kernel software's fault it is so slow, the hardware gave them the capability to fast load from day one). I'm sure you know all about it, perhaps a video on putting code on the drive and maybe some drive memory map and I/O map info would be awesome. IIRC there is a channel 15 command to put machine code into drive memory you mentioned once. I never got that deep into my C-128, was not advanced enough by then I think.
Fun video, such fond memories. I had/pref the Mach-5 cartridge. Funfact, it wasn't compatible with downloading/transferring data over the modem...had a fun time debugging that as a youth :)
I've used the Epyx Fast Load with my C64 and it was great. Then I read in some magazine, probably Compute! Gazette, that I can install a reset button on the cartridge which I did. It saved the power button!
Great video! (again!) One annoyance of the Fast Load cartridge is it does not speed the loading of the directory or sequentially read files. For all my programs, I make sure any secondary data files are loaded into memory using the LOAD"FILE",8,1 method with the first two file bytes defining the memory location. This way the data files load fast too with Epyx Fast Load.
One major feature not mentioned: It was one of the very few software fast loaders not blanking the screen. It would have been more obvious if you would have used a game which shows a loading screen. Like a lot of mastertronic tapes game copyied to disk by a "parameter" tool. I used to buy games on tape because the tape games were often 5 or 10 DM cheaper as disk games and then used freezer or parameter copy tools to play them from disk. BTW / half off topic: I made a turbo tape clone which could load without the screen banking. I just made the one bits shorter and the zero bits longer on save and added a command to disable screen blanking for loading. Of course it could only load files with screen unblanked which were saved with it, but the files saved with it could be loaded with any turbo tape clone. As a listing of a british c64 magazine I also found a tape speeder allowing to load with screen on which used the load/save vectors instead of arrow commands but it was not TT compatible and a little slower. But not as slow as most commercial built in game loaders. In the early days I used to backup programs on tape with turbo tape while disks were expensive. Off topic - suggestion: Later I had Dolphin Dos, which could use Tracks 36-40. I found that other hardware speeders also had such features but were not compatible because e.g. the densitiy settings for the additional tracks (or a flag indicating the 40 track usage?) were not the same. This would be an interesting topic for a video, and also if it would be possible to change the density settings for the other tracks to increase disk capacity. I wonder which densities would phyiscally work... At least track 18 should stay as it is so directory listing is still possible without a modified drive rom or software.
Hah! Haven't heard the phrase "Fast Hack'Em" since 1991. I finally retired using my C64 in 1992 when I got into Uni, but I with the C64 I learnt to code in BASIC & Pascal, and wrote a crap-ton of essays using Easyscript. I never knew how to get my hands on a machine code monitor back then, and ended up learning Assembler for the 8085 in Uni #memories
I'm always terrible at reading manuals - I'm certain I didn't know the order of turning things oof. In my house, these things were probably almost never turned off. I loved my FastLoad. It always always amusing how territorial people were with their fastloader cartridge selection.
By the way, if you want to update the BAM after "unscratching" a file by editing the file type, all you have to do is send the Validate (V) command. There's no need for a "proper unscratch utility" as long as you remember to validate the disk afterwards. Also by the way, you might want to get into the habit of specifying "drive 0", by adding an 0 to the end of the command (e.g. @V0), especially if you use save-with-replace. Surely you've heard of the save-with-replace bug, which has been accused of scrambling, swapping, duplicating, or overwriting disk files and of messing up the BAM? Well, I don't want to get super-technical, so the short version is that the DOS in the 1540 and 1541 is copied directly from the PET 8250, which is a dual-unit drive, so the 1540 and 1541 have a drive 0 and a phantom drive 1. What causes the bug is _not specifying the drive number on the previous operation before the save-with-replace._ The bug is most likely to occur when the disk is almost full, or if many files on the disk have been scratched and rewritten (which leaves gaps on the disk so that a file is scattered over many tracks). To avoid the save-with-replace bug, either specify the drive number for _every_ LOAD, SAVE, or disk command; for example, LOAD "$0",8 to load the directory. Better yet, just don't use save-with-replace at all. Scratch the old file, then save the new version. (Save-with-replace actually writes the entire file out to disk, and _then_ "scratches" the old copy. So if the disk doesn't have enough space for the program, then the old copy is deleted *and* the new copy doesn't get saved properly. If this happens, you need to Validate the disk, then save the program again.) I don't know if the 1571 or 1581 has the same problem. So this may not apply to you... but better safe than sorry.
Thanks, I'll give that Validate command a try. And yes, I do use the 0 whenever I do a save-with-replace. I'll probably make a video soon-ish showing my dual drive, and then there will be definite reason for using 0 and 1 :)
Just wanted to say this is great for the epyx fastload review as I had forgotten most of it. The @S command you did on a protected file showed 01 scratched, 0,0 which was 0 deleted which is what you showed but youi said it said 1 before you showed it. This is just for people that remember "white fang" on the soupy sales show, this made me laugh as you talked with the hand.
As I recall, the C64 kernel did load and save serially with asynchronous handshaking which was extremely stable but extremely slow. I remember hearing they had a good reason for this at the time, but I forget what it was. I don’t know exactly what Epyx did, but the C64 and the 1541 both were programmable with a 6502 compatible processors, so you could make loads and saves multi-bit parallel and fairly synchronous, which immensely improves speed. The two CPUs were very slightly different speeds, 63 cycles to 64 cycles, hence fairly synchronous. Going as parallel as possible violates the bus specs so it would interfere with other devices on the bus such as other drives and printers. So, you could make a fast loader that was spec friendly or a faster loader that is not spec friendly. It was really neat that these types of things were possible.
Yes, you've got the general idea. The 6502 in the 1541 drive is running at exactly 1 MHz, while an NTSC C64 runs at ~1.02 MHz, and a PAL C64 runs at ~0.985 MHz. Additionally, the VIC-II chip "stuns" the C64's CPU from time to time for ~42 cycles so that needs to be taken into account. So yes, the protocol needed to be asynchronous.
Oh, yeah, you’re right, I forgot that the VIC-II did that. I swore I saw a synchronous loader before, maybe at PageTable.com. When I search, though, maybe I was thinking of the article of the 15 second copy? I dunno. Makes me wish I still had my C64. It’s 3000 miles away from me.
@@DavidRomigJr You're right that many of the custom fast loaders are at least partially synchronous, and then re-sync periodically. Many of them blank the screen to remove the VIC-II "bad lines" complication to the timing.
Another great episode, Robin -- I super enjoyed this one. Also, I figured out why your talking hand format makes me smile -- it reminds me of The Friendly Giant. Now, although I prefer the default light blue on blue in person, I do prefer white text on blue for TH-cam episodes, as it is so much clearer to read. Oh! And I just noticed, almost 3100 subs! Fantastic stuff!
Look up. Look WAY up! Thanks as always :) I'll give the white on blue a try next time I do an episode with some BASIC, which probably isn't long from now :)
"Lumbering hippo" -- Dangerous and incorrect info from Epyx. From a proper source regarding the speed of hippos: "You cannot outrun them; they've been clocked at 30-40km/h (19-25mph). You cannot outswim them; on average, hippos can swim 8 km/h (5 mph)." :)
I remember the ad of a frustrated guy and it calling the 1541 a "Lumbering Hippo"...this cartridge was so required after I got it...used it until I sold my C64 for an Amiga 2000.
Fast Hack 'Em by Mike J. Henry. When I was working at Electronic Arts Canada and went to speak with Mike who was employed by them and thank him as an inspiration along with a friend of mine, he was VERY unwilling to talk to us about it......I wonder why....
@@8_Bit This was a long-ass time ago, late 1990s....but I just realized I may have mixed up his name with Kevin Pickell, coder of another great pirate program Super Kwik Copy and not Mike Henry. I will check with my friend in question, I don't want to pass false info.
I had an Epyx Fast Load for my C64, It was great for cracked games, but I was disappointed to learn that it didn't do much for most original copies. I seem to recall that my copy of Ghostbusters, which was in two files (a small loader and the main program), didn't work with Fast Load. At the time, I figured out what the problem was and fixed it, but I don't remember what I did now. I also used it to crack the game Suicide Strike. Again, I don't remember how I did it, beyond the fact that I used the ML monitor for it. Later on, I got a Super Snapshot cartridge and that replaced the Fast Load. It was faster and had many more functions.
I'm not a teacher professionally, but I have taught Scratch and C64 BASIC programming to groups of kids before. And both my parents are (retired) teachers, so maybe there's something to it :)
I used to add a short program at the end of my programs to read the directory since I lost a game I wrote by loading "$" over it. I can't remember the specific commands anymore, though.
I used to have a red cartridge - I can't remember what it was called but it loaded programs faster and had a reset button. It wasn't the Action Replay.
I find that the inclusive memory addressing on the Fast-Load is more logical than on other monitors... that's just how my mind works, including last specified byte. heh
I am very interested in how the fast loader for cassette works. My first game for the C64 I bought was zaxxon. The screen remained on during the loading process. How does it work with the VIC-II bad lines ? I can't explain it to myself.
My earliest computing memory is from I believe 3rd or 4th grade, and was a C64. The school also had an Apple 2E, but everybody wanted to play games on the C64 because it was so much better because of the color graphics. I also remember a year or two later programming my name in LOGO, but I don't remember what machine we used. Maybe someone here has an idea. This would have been around 1988-1990.
I remember a magazine type-in program that made _TAPE_ access 5 or more times faster, making it faster than a stock 1541 by a lot. I believe it was called Turbo Tape. If I remember correctly, you saved the tape program with this enabled and then it wasn't required when loading (or vice versa). It's been decades, so I might have the details wrong... (I do miss those fun type in programs from those old magazines, though)
@@8_Bit Hard to believe that 500 bytes per second could ever be considered "fast". But, then again, when I upgraded my 300 baud modem to a 1200 baud, I thought I was the Mario Andretti of modems.
@@8_Bit It's all relative, really. When I had my Amiga I was so proud of my 80 MEGAbyte hard drive (yes, mega, not giga) and thought "I will never fill this thing up!". Now my 1 terabyte HD seems tight...
Yup, I also typed in turbo tape. I guess I didn't carefully read the instructions before I did, and was pretty disappointed it didn't work with my commercial games.
This is a long episode with lots of parts, so I added an index to the description, and I might as well put it here too:
0:00 Some updates/news/thanks
1:55 Fast Load intro
5:50 Using Fast Load as a disk speeder
10:14 Advertising in RUN magazine
11:20 Epyx Fastload Reloaded
11:45 DOS Wedge
16:37 The First Menu
18:22 Sector Editor
21:50 Locking/Unlocking Files
25:40 Intermission - March Break
26:45 Machine Language Monitor
I love how your hand expresses itself as well as a face would
At 6:15 “what was up with that?”
Apparently “FIDG”
BTW. I am a doctor, your hands tell me you have heart problems. Get it checked my 🖐 friend!
hi, can you plz point me to the fast hack'em video that you referred to in this video?
@@amirjawaid2362 I think it was this video about animated disk directories; towards the end I show how to use Fast Hack'em to edit the disk: th-cam.com/video/HVMjLUhOX90/w-d-xo.html
I had an unofficial dual cartridge with Fastload and Fastload 2 on the same circuit board, with a switch. Later I had placed that INSIDE the C64 case, I connected the PCB edge lines to the cartridge connector's soldering points with wires, and I applied a tri-state switch on the case, and a reset button, looked very good. And worked well, of course, I loved it. When I wanted to insert a separate cartridge (usually a freezer) then I set the switch to the neutral position, disabling Fastload, and it worked. I had probably a fully unique C64 this way, a first generation machine with internal Fastloads.
One funny memory about the Epyx Fast Load - I got one as a kid and it was great. But then software started including their own fast load routines and I found most new titles and even cracked games wouldn't work with it, so I stopped using it completely. I just went back to the slow Kernal routines. Now, when I buy retro computer lots, there is inevitably a Fast Load cartridge included. I tried it again and it works great! So I found my old Fast Load cartridge and found out that it doesn't work! So my original cart died on me in the 80s and I didn't realize it!
64jim64 lyeah I was going to say, 95% of the games would work with it. ....
My V1 stopped working but I erased it and put in V2 and it worked. I still use in on my C64C as it has no sockets. I use JiffyDos on everything else.
You should go back in time and get a warranty exchange on it.
@ungratefulmetalpansy Yeah, I have it open and was thinking about swapping parts, re-burning the ROM, and seeing if I could get it to work.
If I had this information when I was nine years old I’d be ruling the world today.
Keep up the great content!
came to say this!
You would ? :)
@@Tech-geeky 💯
We need a "Back to the Past" machine to enjoy all this new info. hehe
As a side-note, something that I did with my FastLoad cartridge was to add an on-off switch and a soft reset button. That way, on my C64, I had an easy way to reset the computer (remember, the C128 has a reset switch, but the C64 did not). Also, when using a 1571 or 1581 disk drive, the C128 is faster because both the computer and the drive have working hardware shift registers, but in GO 64 mode, it still uses the slow bit-banging Kernal routines. So, the on-off switch lets me boot the C128 in C128 mode (with the switch set to "off"), or in C64 mode with FastLoad support if the switch is set to "on" without having to frequently insert or remove the cartridge.
All you need is a momentary pushbutton switch for the reset button, and a SPST toggle switch for the on-off switch. The pushbutton should be connected to pin 1, pin 22, pin A, or pin Z (all four pins are connected to Ground, so any one of them will do) and Pin C (Reset). To install the on-off switch, you have to scrape off part of the trace for pin 9 (EXROM) and solder the switch across the gap. To make this job a little easier, the FastLoad cartridge is held together by a single screw located under the label. So it's easy to open the cartridge to get access to the PCB.
EDIT: Also, on the C64, it lets me turn the cartridge off when I want to play a game that FastLoad is incompatible with. I have found that on _very_ few games, even "Disable FastLoad" is not enough; the game won't load unless the cartridge is completely removed. Or, in this case, *turned off.*
And yes, it is perfectly safe to flip the on/off switch with the power on. The on/off switch is wired to the EXROM line (pin 9), which is only checked when you power on the computer. It is not actually connected to any power circuits, such as pins 2 and 3 (+5V DC) or to pin 1, pin 22, pin A, or pin Z (ground). So you can change modes by flipping the on/off switch and then pressing the reset button.
Great info, thanks. I should have mentioned the reset button this episode. I see that the FastLoad Reloaded has one built-in, which is a great feature. I've mentioned the lack of reset button on a previous episode or two, and how it's extremely useful. I'm glad the 128D has one built in.
@@8_Bit I've got a confession to make. I was a teenager back when the C64 came out. It didn't take long before I got involved in the hacking scene... high school kids with an allowance of $5 a week didn't have money to spend on games, so we copied them, or figured out how to hack them so we could copy them. The reset switch on my FastLoad cartridge, which already had a machine language monitor, was one of my most important tools, because the RAM from $0801-$CFFF and $E000-FFFF are not erased when you perform a reset. ;-)
EDIT: Well, okay, $0801 and $0802 might be overwritten with zeroes to indicate "end of program". But $0803 and up were not affected by the reset. It made it a lot easier to load the game, then hit reset and start looking for the code that performed the copy protection check.
@@SpearM3064 You were doing it for the knowledge! :) Funny how much we learn when motivated, eh?
I remember having the very first ever Freeze Frame cartridge where you could press a button and just dump the entire system state to disk or tape which I got from Evesham Micros, then they bought out anti-freeze in games to counteract it and the cartridge kept getting upgraded where you could trade in the old for the new, I did it every time. Later there was more advanced cartridges like Action Replay.
I remember writing my own fast loader. Even the simplest code was faster than the factory/ROM loader. I remember figuring out how to write to the 1541 memory by setting a bit of memory somewhere in the C64 and toggling a clock bit to let the 1541 side know that the next bit is ready (or vise versa). I wrote a very simple program for both sides, that transferred a block at a time (256 bytes, or 2048 bits). I then expanded it to do a whole track in quick succession, one block at a time with some interleave (don't remember what I used). But it didn't load the track quite as fast as FastLoad or WARP SPEED but it was a lot faster than the factory speed. It made me wonder WHY the heck they released a machine capable of so much more, but held back. And the technique listed above did not even need to put the C64 in 2 MHz mode (blanking the screen).
It was explained somewhere that there was a bug found with VIA chips, so data taransfer using VIAs wasn't reliable or possible, since the time was almost out before releasing C64, no hardware changes was actually possible without losing tons of money, that's why they came up with makeshift software communication protocol. I think that this was fixed in C128 (burst mode i think).
It was due to comparability issues, basically Commodore has fudged it and fuqed it up with the slows speeds. Many users didn't know that the disk drive was basically a computer with its own CPU. It was such a waste of resources making it much more expensive than it should be, instead they should have included the drive controller on the C64's mother board.
I remember traveling two hours on the train from Newcastle to Sydney in Australia to look at what software was out for the Commodore 64. I spotted this cartridge on the shelf of one of the stores and snapped it up. It became my all time favourite utility on the C-64, although I did modify mine with a small momentary button on the label side of the cartridge to act as a computer reset button. No doubt a hack I read about in some Commodore related magazine. It wasn't the fastest as you say, but it was very compatible and with the reset button and keyboard shortcuts for loading software, was very handy.
I had one when I was a kid, so the video was some great nostalgia, overall. My heart truly skipped a beat, though, at the mere mention of Compute's Gazette. Loved that magazine. 😍
I feel the same, little flutters ... at our age better check on that pace maker. lol
When I was a kid, I didn’t believe this was real. I couldn’t understand how a cartridge could speed up disk reads/writes. I thought it was a trick 😂
I've had the EPYX Fastload cartridge since childhood. We bought it used at a swap meet and never knew it had a built in monitor! That would have been very useful.
My morning coding routine, when starting the c64 was to change the background color to black, and the text to yellow... sometimes I’d just change the text to yellow. Both were easier for me to read. I had the 1702 monitor too...
I had modded one of my Epyx Fast Load cartridges by adding a momentary-on pushbutton switch for reset, since the Commodore 64 didn't have one, and a toggle switch to disable the cartridge when not needed - that was to save wear-and-tear from physically removing and inserting the cartridge, which was useful when used with my Commodore 128 when booting in 128 or CP/M mode.
I bought my C64 used and it came with the Epyx FL. I cant imagine loading anything without it.
I haven't WANTED an 8-bit Commodore machine in just about 34 years.
Thanks, Robin. You make me want to go back and explore all of the things I missed when I was twelve ^___^
If only everybody would turn their computers on last, then the world and everything in it would finally be OK 😂
Loved the video 👍
This is the channel I needed in 94.
This is the channel that I needed in '84 !!!! ;) ...Hehehe...!
My first Epyx Fast Load cart was the one I got from TFW8bit with the SD2IEC recently so this was very informative, thanks. Back in the nineties I used an Action Replay so I prefer to see white text on blue. I don't really like the Fast Load cart. The AR had convenient function key presses, without pressing return: F1 to load, F3 for a directory (that you can stop with RUN/STOP), F5 to list and F7 to run.
I'm waiting on delivery of an Ultimate 64 now, and I have to admit one of the attractions is the support for the Action Replay cart!
Yes, and I prefer my (Canadian-made) Super Snapshot cartridge, which is very comparable to the Action Replay, to Fast Load. In fact I've heard the AR was actually a spin-off of the SS at an earlier stage of development. The SS has very similar function keypresses.
However, the Fast Load is a very economical and easily-accessible alternative to the more advanced cartridges, and as I hope I showed in the video, is more capable than a lot of people think.
Thank you so much for making these videos. The Epyx Fast Load cartridge was a must have back then, at least until Jiffydos. I do enjoy that you're using a real commodore 64! I have recently started to revisit my Commodore passion from the past. I owned over $2000 USD worth of C= hardware and accessories and a huge library of Commodore related books and software. Unfortunately, I no longer have any of those items. But I am working on attaining these items again. PS I used to live 15 minutes away from Creative Micro Designs and would visit there frequently!
You're welcome, and wow, I wish I could have visited CMD in person! I phoned there occasionally (long distance from Canada was expensive!) and had some good conversations with Doug Cotton.
Wow, someone else remembers Jiffydos. Man that thing was the best! Kinda scary opening up my computer and disk drive as a kid and pulling and slotting chips, but the switch was the BEST!
As a kid I remember drilling a hole in my fastload cart housing and putting in a momentary switch between gnd and reset on the PCB. It was so nice to finally have a hardware reset button on the 64 like the plus/4 had.......
Yes, too bad the C64 didn't include one standard like the Plus/4 and C128. At least they weren't too difficult to install in various ways.
@V will reconstruct the BAM after an undelete.
Also SYS57194 will re-enable Fastload
Great stuff. I really loved my C64 and it is fun to learn even more about it some 30 years later.
Side note: I tend to call this channel the 8-bit moving hand.
"The 8- tit Magic Hands" ;D
Back in the early 90s, I remember how much people used to dump on the Epyx Fastload. The "serious" C64 users, especially in the US, used either Super Snapshot or JiffyDOS. Being the cheapest of the group, Epyx was of course the cartridge that I had, and I (eventually) found it to be invaluable, especially for its (slightly hobbled) monitor. The simplicity of it always appealed to me and even now, using a machine without a DOS wedge feels foreign.
Jump ahead 30-ish years and, with the release of stuff like the TFW8B's Epyx Fastload Reloaded and SD2IEC (which supports it!) it has become the premier fast loader again, along with the FCIII. Nice to see it finally getting its due.
@8-Bit Show And Tell could you please do similar videos for the other cartridges please - the classical ones from back in the day, as well as the modern ones? this video was immensely useful for me!
and dolphin dos! Don't forget that. Parallel transfer on a 1541 by re-purposing the din connector pins! There is a long story behind that software... and Jim Butterfield is in that story!
@@peterlamont647 wow, interesting.
@@peterlamont647 Everyone I knew that was serious about the C64 used Dolphin Dos in the 80's
@@StCreed I didn't. In fact, I didn't even have a 'Fastload' cartridge. I used the stock 1541 for almost 10 years. Some games like Battletech gracefully had a built in turbo disk loader. We actually only got a disk drive because it was so much faster than tape, and we didn't notice it was slow. To us, it was fast...we had nothing to gauge it against. Now, I have a super snapshot V5, 2 warpspeed, and 2 fastload carts. When buying bundles of carts you get redundants sometimes. truth be told, many games and software loaded within a minute, so it really wasn't a big deal.
i should add that we didn't copy disks or have backups either. We took very good care of the disks and never had a problem.
Before I had Fast Load, I had Quick Load, which required loading from disk. Having the speed improvement as a cartridge was a godsend! As a side note, I also remember putting a lot of time and money into 1541 realignment kits.
Oh yeah totally forgot about Quick-Load, it was such a hassle having to load it from disk every time you restarted the computer, plus it wasn't compatible with more commercial games, only cracked one. lol
I'd never seen the Fastload manual but apparently it has a lot in it. I've learned that manuals to old C64 games have important information in them which can really change the game (like when to press 'B' in Ghostbusters to make the ghost bait appear).
This has been a very useful video :)
@The Highlander That was back in the day when game manuals actually were printed on paper (and were often bundled with other "feelies"). For example, have you even seen the manuals for the Jane's flight sims like Jane's USAF or Jane's IAF? You might as well call it "everything you wanted to know about flying, but were afraid to ask"... the manual was so thick, it had to be ring-bound.
These days, you're lucky if you get a slip of paper telling you that the manual can be found in PDF format on the CD, or giving you an URL where you can download the manual from the Internet. I will admit that not having to print a manual has its merits. Back in those days, manuals had to be printed months before the game's release date. If something in the game changed, it was usually too late (and expensive) to print new manuals. Electronic publishing solves that problem.
I still miss the printed manuals, though. I like books and thick instruction manuals. There's nothing wrong with E-books, but you can't curl up with an E-book the way you can curl up with a real book. (Or to put it another way, I can take a book to bed with me, but I can't take my gaming tower.)
@@SpearM3064 I know..I had to do a long search to get a controller layout for Ghost Recon Wildlands. Ended up printing my own overview because I couldn't find it in a usable format anywhere else.
I spent literally most of my life playing Ghostbusters on the C64 up until the point where the marshmallow man destroys the city and takes my money. Just because I didn't know I had to press B to lure it away. And all it needed was a flimsy little piece of paper. Seriously, manuals were gold. Just for the information they had in them.
Try playing Iridis Alpha without a manual. Impossible.
First: I love watching your videos, especially on my lunch. They're great! I always learn something and am surprised at really how powerful these computers were for being 8bit, especially with an add on like the Fastload!
Second: I always wanted one of these. I didn't play a lot of games just because of the time it took to load. I spent most of my time online on BBSes and reading messages and playing games there. But one of the games I did really like to play was Raid Over Moscow! I remember that taking a bit and I wished I had one of these.
the part about the assembly was the most interesting! i can't wait for the sd2iec + epyx fast cartridge i ordered. And congratulations, I'm Italian and I don't know 100% English but your explanations are very clear and not hasty, never change
God I LOVED my fastload cartridge! From the DOS wedge to the fast loading routines that sped up 90% of my pirated games, it never left my cartridge slot. There were very few games I used GO64 for, even most games with their own fastloader routines (Legacy of the Ancients, most other EOA games) still worked under the fastloader routines. Best thing Epyx ever made, even over Jumpman or Gateway to Apshai.
I have the Warp Speed cart. It seems just like this. Its great.
Just found this video. I have been investigating the 1541 for a few days now. The more advanced dos commands and of course fast-loaders. Next thing will be to try to execute some code within the 1541. Really good explanations. Thank you!
It struck me as being one of the most highly compatible fast load carts, and good bang for buck. There was not much software on the c64 that required you to remove it in order for them to work - other carts it was quite common.
I remember 1 or 2 games max- and they weren’t great games
Meant to add this a while ago for anyone whos interested, to get the pound key on a US keyboard with most emulators, just use the "ALT + \" key combination. I love using my Fastload cartridge and was curious to try it out on my BMC64 Pi 3 setup. Works a treat once I worked out how to input the pound symbol on a non UK standard keyboard. Love the channel keep up the good work. Maybe more in the series for teaching 6502/10 tricks would be an awesome addition.
RAT-A-TAT-A-TAT. Drive recalibration caused by copy protection schemes knocked the drives out of alignment. Thanks man. It's all coming back to me know. The late, great Jim Butterfield. His memory lives on.
@Rick Perez Yeah, that was (in my opinion) one of the most important engineering flaws in the 1540 and 1541. The head stop had no way to cushion the impact, so the drive head hit the stop at full force. I think if I'd been designing it, I would've replaced the head stop with an optical sensor or something, so that when recalibrating, the stepper motor would know when to stop.
Or, better yet, instead of trying to move the head 40 tracks (which is what it does)… let's say it was supposed to be reading track 17. So move it 16 tracks and read the next header block to see if it was on track 1. If not, keep moving it one track at a time until it is on track 1. Recalibration might take a little longer that way, but it'd be a lot more gentle.
Memories..... I wish we had this sort of information back in the day! Back then we had to wait for someone to reply to your message you left on a BBS!
i loved the video - i wish I knew any of that when i had my c128, my first computer. i hope you'll make the same kind of video about other cartridges, and about more advanced functions in FastLoad! thanks a lot!
So who here has changed the default screen colors and then later forgot what mode they were in and tried loading a C64 program when in C128 mode (and vice versa)? Just me? It's probably just me. :P
The white text on blue is very readable, though I usually switch to white text on black with a blue border.
Thank you so much for these videos, Robin. After all these decades this old dog is still learning new tricks! I wonder how many of us started out with their Commodores on a little black and white TV...
The standard speed gives you that relaxing, ASMR sound from the drive, like the Sears cash registers in the 80's.
Fascinating, I never heard of this before.
Here in Europe KCS Power Cartridge was a defacto standard as well as the Final Cartridge III.
I bought (well begged) my parents for the KCS Power so I had the monitor and could program in assembler. Not aware back then about TMP or other assemblers until 1988 :)
What a great guy. I just imagine an guy in 2019 solving forgoten Iphone lock code.. and then this video. It hurts damn.
Robin, could you make an episode going into how the Epyx Fast Loader achieved its fast loading abilities? That is, what was the magic assembly which fixed the C64.
I love that I was reading a 1985 Computer Entertainment magazine, saw the ad at 10:25 then thought "how did that thing actually work?" and landed on your video from the Wikipedia page.... only to see the same ad again XD
Awesome tutorial. Showing how to access the EPYX menu using the GBP key was exactly what I needed! Thanks for this!
Thank you for explaining the fastload cartridge. Now I know what functions it has.
I haven't used the C64 in a long time, but I still have the computer and everything I was using at the time. I used the Snapshot cartridge, and really liked it. I have Jim Butterfield's book on Machine language Programming, and have forgotten everything I knew. Good memories.
There was a way to see the directory of a disk on a stock C64 without software without overwriting your program.
LOAD"$",8,1
",1" will make it load at the start of screen memory (1024), because out of some luck the first bytes are 00 04, so it will force it to load into screen memory.
It will look strange, but you can read the file names at least. Note that long directories will eventually overwrite BASIC programs once it surpasses byte 2048, so be sure to RUN STOP before the screen fills up fully on long disk directories.
Yeah, it was because the Commodore PET line started BASIC memory at $0400 that the directory loaded at that address, and then it never changed in later disk drives, presumably for backwards compatibility.
@@8_Bit Yes. And that can be used for good now :)
Cool to hear another kid getting a start without a way to save his/her programs. We also only had a 13" black and white. Thankful to my parents for spending money on a VIC-20 (1982) instead of an Atari game system -- set me on a good career path. :) I enjoy the trip down memory lane in your videos.
Thank you for another great informative video. We got our Commodore 64’s at the same time. My parents bought mine in Jacksonville FL in March of ‘84 as well. Too cool.
I bought the fast load mainly because it was way cheaper than the action replay.
I wish I could remember what the syntax was, but you could write proper 3 letter code with the fast load and also list machine code. I used it when I was programming assembly. Sei, ldx# 00, ldy# 00, stx $d020, sty $d021 lol. I must have had a later version as you could bring up the machine code monitor while games were running. It gave me a chance to view code and learn so I could write my own routines.
Ps great channel and subbed.
Great video! Very informative.
The Directory feature alone makes this worth owning. You can view the contents of any disk when the $ command doesn’t work. Lots of games I didn’t know about on those disks….
That copy writer has clearly never seen a hippo run. Those hell spawned river cows are fast, and angry
I thought I had owned the Epyx fast loader, but it was actually the Mach 5 fast loader cartridge. I was never clever enough to use the extra features of it. I REALLY wish I had known about the super snapshot! There was so much about the c64 I didn't know as a youngster!
Can´t believe i watched through all of this. Im such a nerd. But a very well made video. Good work.
Finally I begin to understand all this crisp and clear... Thank you!
Very cool tip to automatically RUN a program from disk after LOADing! I suppose this works because the 3rd parameter to LOAD (relocate flag) actually doesn't care what value is passed -- it only checks if there is some value present.
It seems to parse the beginning of the 3rd parameter, because it seems to require the number 0 to 255 there (I tried a bunch of things, and that's all that worked - anything else gave ?ILLEGAL QUANTITY ERROR), but the LOAD can immediately trail without a colon or anything. So it's kind of weird!
@@8_Bit I can explain why it works, actually. BTW, putting an 0 there is the same as leaving off the 3rd parameter. LOAD"*",8,0 does a relocating load. I'm pretty sure that any non-zero value between 1 and 255 performs a non-relocating load.
Anyway... because of the way the BASIC interpreter parses commands, it sees the 1 and then sees the letter L. (Actually, it sees the token for the LOAD command, because the line is tokenized first, and then interpreted.) The interpreter says "That's not a digit between 0 and 9, so that must be the end of the number."
The reason it doesn't give you a ?SYNTAX ERROR is because CBM BASIC ignores everything between the end of the LOAD command and the start of the next line. It knows that a LOAD command has up to 3 parameters, so it says "That was also the end of the 3rd parameter, so I've reached the end of the command"... and ignores the rest of the line.
@@8_Bit Yep that makes sense.. without having examined the Kernal code, I'm going to assume they just check the byte for 3rd param, and ignore anything else that follows. Who needs input validation? haha
After my VIC-20 (like you with no storage at all at first!), then VIC-20 with tape drive, I leapt ahead to C-128D, skipping right over the slow loading of C-64 somewhat. The C-128D with its built in 1571 had fast loading built into ROM ("fast loaders" use the hardware shift register instead of bit-banging each bit onto the I/O line in software - it is the C64 kernel software's fault it is so slow, the hardware gave them the capability to fast load from day one). I'm sure you know all about it, perhaps a video on putting code on the drive and maybe some drive memory map and I/O map info would be awesome. IIRC there is a channel 15 command to put machine code into drive memory you mentioned once. I never got that deep into my C-128, was not advanced enough by then I think.
BMX Racerswas the first ever game I played on the C64 back in 1986 :D
For the ZX Spectrum there was the great Multiface by Romantic Robot. With build in compressor/decompressor.
Very interesting, I just read the article about it on Wikipedia. I had never heard of it!
Jumpman Junior was my first game on the C64. I still love it.
The C64 mini includes Jumpman and Jumpman 2(jr). It plays exactly like my original JJ cartridge.
I totally agree. I don't even remember how much time I spent playing Jumpman and Jumpman Junior.
It's been a looong time since I've been anywhere near a physical C64 yet I watch all of your videos with interest. Keep 'em coming Robin!
Fun video, such fond memories. I had/pref the Mach-5 cartridge. Funfact, it wasn't compatible with downloading/transferring data over the modem...had a fun time debugging that as a youth :)
I've used the Epyx Fast Load with my C64 and it was great. Then I read in some magazine, probably Compute! Gazette, that I can install a reset button on the cartridge which I did. It saved the power button!
Amazing video. These videos are extremely educational and will help future generations to learn and use 80's computers.
Learned a couple new things even though I owned a fastload back in the day. Yes, white on blue is easier to see in the videos. Another great video!
Like many, I had one as well. I also installed a reset button on the cartridge.
Great video! (again!) One annoyance of the Fast Load cartridge is it does not speed the loading of the directory or sequentially read files. For all my programs, I make sure any secondary data files are loaded into memory using the LOAD"FILE",8,1 method with the first two file bytes defining the memory location. This way the data files load fast too with Epyx Fast Load.
One major feature not mentioned: It was one of the very few software fast loaders not blanking the screen. It would have been more obvious if you would have used a game which shows a loading screen. Like a lot of mastertronic tapes game copyied to disk by a "parameter" tool. I used to buy games on tape because the tape games were often 5 or 10 DM cheaper as disk games and then used freezer or parameter copy tools to play them from disk.
BTW / half off topic: I made a turbo tape clone which could load without the screen banking. I just made the one bits shorter and the zero bits longer on save and added a command to disable screen blanking for loading. Of course it could only load files with screen unblanked which were saved with it, but the files saved with it could be loaded with any turbo tape clone. As a listing of a british c64 magazine I also found a tape speeder allowing to load with screen on which used the load/save vectors instead of arrow commands but it was not TT compatible and a little slower. But not as slow as most commercial built in game loaders. In the early days I used to backup programs on tape with turbo tape while disks were expensive.
Off topic - suggestion: Later I had Dolphin Dos, which could use Tracks 36-40. I found that other hardware speeders also had such features but were not compatible because e.g. the densitiy settings for the additional tracks (or a flag indicating the 40 track usage?) were not the same. This would be an interesting topic for a video, and also if it would be possible to change the density settings for the other tracks to increase disk capacity. I wonder which densities would phyiscally work... At least track 18 should stay as it is so directory listing is still possible without a modified drive rom or software.
Hah! Haven't heard the phrase "Fast Hack'Em" since 1991. I finally retired using my C64 in 1992 when I got into Uni, but I with the C64 I learnt to code in BASIC & Pascal, and wrote a crap-ton of essays using Easyscript. I never knew how to get my hands on a machine code monitor back then, and ended up learning Assembler for the 8085 in Uni #memories
I'm always terrible at reading manuals - I'm certain I didn't know the order of turning things oof. In my house, these things were probably almost never turned off.
I loved my FastLoad. It always always amusing how territorial people were with their fastloader cartridge selection.
Impressive Commodore channel with excellent content. Thanks.
By the way, if you want to update the BAM after "unscratching" a file by editing the file type, all you have to do is send the Validate (V) command. There's no need for a "proper unscratch utility" as long as you remember to validate the disk afterwards.
Also by the way, you might want to get into the habit of specifying "drive 0", by adding an 0 to the end of the command (e.g. @V0), especially if you use save-with-replace. Surely you've heard of the save-with-replace bug, which has been accused of scrambling, swapping, duplicating, or overwriting disk files and of messing up the BAM?
Well, I don't want to get super-technical, so the short version is that the DOS in the 1540 and 1541 is copied directly from the PET 8250, which is a dual-unit drive, so the 1540 and 1541 have a drive 0 and a phantom drive 1. What causes the bug is _not specifying the drive number on the previous operation before the save-with-replace._ The bug is most likely to occur when the disk is almost full, or if many files on the disk have been scratched and rewritten (which leaves gaps on the disk so that a file is scattered over many tracks).
To avoid the save-with-replace bug, either specify the drive number for _every_ LOAD, SAVE, or disk command; for example, LOAD "$0",8 to load the directory. Better yet, just don't use save-with-replace at all. Scratch the old file, then save the new version. (Save-with-replace actually writes the entire file out to disk, and _then_ "scratches" the old copy. So if the disk doesn't have enough space for the program, then the old copy is deleted *and* the new copy doesn't get saved properly. If this happens, you need to Validate the disk, then save the program again.)
I don't know if the 1571 or 1581 has the same problem. So this may not apply to you... but better safe than sorry.
Thanks, I'll give that Validate command a try. And yes, I do use the 0 whenever I do a save-with-replace. I'll probably make a video soon-ish showing my dual drive, and then there will be definite reason for using 0 and 1 :)
We had the fastload cart back in the day, probably still around here somewhere. Also had BMX Racer, but on tape!
Just wanted to say this is great for the epyx fastload review as I had forgotten most of it. The @S command you did on a protected file showed 01 scratched, 0,0 which was 0 deleted which is what you showed but youi said it said 1 before you showed it. This is just for people that remember "white fang" on the soupy sales show, this made me laugh as you talked with the hand.
I didn't even know it did anything besides disk speed augmentation. I have two of them and I had no idea until today!
I don't remember how many yards I had to mow in order to buy that cartridge. Worth every penny at the time!
As I recall, the C64 kernel did load and save serially with asynchronous handshaking which was extremely stable but extremely slow. I remember hearing they had a good reason for this at the time, but I forget what it was.
I don’t know exactly what Epyx did, but the C64 and the 1541 both were programmable with a 6502 compatible processors, so you could make loads and saves multi-bit parallel and fairly synchronous, which immensely improves speed. The two CPUs were very slightly different speeds, 63 cycles to 64 cycles, hence fairly synchronous. Going as parallel as possible violates the bus specs so it would interfere with other devices on the bus such as other drives and printers. So, you could make a fast loader that was spec friendly or a faster loader that is not spec friendly.
It was really neat that these types of things were possible.
Yes, you've got the general idea. The 6502 in the 1541 drive is running at exactly 1 MHz, while an NTSC C64 runs at ~1.02 MHz, and a PAL C64 runs at ~0.985 MHz. Additionally, the VIC-II chip "stuns" the C64's CPU from time to time for ~42 cycles so that needs to be taken into account. So yes, the protocol needed to be asynchronous.
Oh, yeah, you’re right, I forgot that the VIC-II did that. I swore I saw a synchronous loader before, maybe at PageTable.com. When I search, though, maybe I was thinking of the article of the 15 second copy? I dunno. Makes me wish I still had my C64. It’s 3000 miles away from me.
@@DavidRomigJr You're right that many of the custom fast loaders are at least partially synchronous, and then re-sync periodically. Many of them blank the screen to remove the VIC-II "bad lines" complication to the timing.
I definitely prefer the white text on the blue background. It must be my tired, old eyes. Cheers from Ottawa :-)
Another great episode, Robin -- I super enjoyed this one. Also, I figured out why your talking hand format makes me smile -- it reminds me of The Friendly Giant.
Now, although I prefer the default light blue on blue in person, I do prefer white text on blue for TH-cam episodes, as it is so much clearer to read.
Oh! And I just noticed, almost 3100 subs! Fantastic stuff!
Look up. Look WAY up! Thanks as always :) I'll give the white on blue a try next time I do an episode with some BASIC, which probably isn't long from now :)
@8-Bit Show And Tell, you have a very soothing voice.
"Lumbering hippo" -- Dangerous and incorrect info from Epyx. From a proper source regarding the speed of hippos: "You cannot outrun them; they've been clocked at 30-40km/h (19-25mph). You cannot outswim them; on average, hippos can swim 8 km/h (5 mph)." :)
Not only that, but they can be excellent ballerinas, as seen in Disney's _Fantasia_ .
I had the Cinemaware Fastload cartridge back in the day.
That cartridge is interesting to me because I've heard it supports Commodore 128 mode too. I believe it was called Cinemaware WarpSpeed.
I remember the ad of a frustrated guy and it calling the 1541 a "Lumbering Hippo"...this cartridge was so required after I got it...used it until I sold my C64 for an Amiga 2000.
Apparently hippos can run 30 kph so it wasn't a very good comparison!
Fast Hack 'Em by Mike J. Henry. When I was working at Electronic Arts Canada and went to speak with Mike who was employed by them and thank him as an inspiration along with a friend of mine, he was VERY unwilling to talk to us about it......I wonder why....
Mike J. Henry moved to Canada to work for EA? Very interesting!
@@8_Bit This was a long-ass time ago, late 1990s....but I just realized I may have mixed up his name with Kevin Pickell, coder of another great pirate program Super Kwik Copy and not Mike Henry. I will check with my friend in question, I don't want to pass false info.
I miss Zellers... I didn't realize until now (as I am a recent subscriber) that you, like me, are Canadian. High five fellow Canuck.
Still an underrated channel :)
I had a few mastertronic games. They were fun.
The ones I recall having:
Kikstart
Henry's House
You are the only one I've ever seen who uses real chapters in youtube, and i thank you for it.
I had an Epyx Fast Load for my C64, It was great for cracked games, but I was disappointed to learn that it didn't do much for most original copies. I seem to recall that my copy of Ghostbusters, which was in two files (a small loader and the main program), didn't work with Fast Load. At the time, I figured out what the problem was and fixed it, but I don't remember what I did now. I also used it to crack the game Suicide Strike. Again, I don't remember how I did it, beyond the fact that I used the ML monitor for it.
Later on, I got a Super Snapshot cartridge and that replaced the Fast Load. It was faster and had many more functions.
i remember this Fastload ad in a Compute Gazette issue :) or meybe it was in a RUN issue...not sure to remember.
Yeah, I think that ad ended up in pretty much every magazine for a while!
You must be a teacher ! you're just too good at this !
I'm not a teacher professionally, but I have taught Scratch and C64 BASIC programming to groups of kids before. And both my parents are (retired) teachers, so maybe there's something to it :)
That Fast Load is a sweet cart ..still use mine today.
Jumpman Junior! That takes me back :)
3 of the games that the ad showed I had on my c64 and played alot of both Jumpman and Jumpman JR
Both brilliant games!
The original color scheme maybe is a bit harder to read, but it's also more pleasant to the eye.
I used to add a short program at the end of my programs to read the directory since I lost a game I wrote by loading "$" over it. I can't remember the specific commands anymore, though.
I think your TH-cam channel is going to be my new rabbit hole when I am bored at work. :)
Thanks for watching, I'm glad you found my channel!
I used to have a red cartridge - I can't remember what it was called but it loaded programs faster and had a reset button. It wasn't the Action Replay.
Maybe the KCS Power Cartridge? rr.pokefinder.org/wiki/Power_Cartridge
A lot of my friends had the EPYX Fastloader. I used Fast Hack’Em v3.99
I find that the inclusive memory addressing on the Fast-Load is more logical than on other monitors... that's just how my mind works, including last specified byte. heh
I am very interested in how the fast loader for cassette works. My first game for the C64 I bought was zaxxon. The screen remained on during the loading process. How does it work with the VIC-II bad lines ? I can't explain it to myself.
My earliest computing memory is from I believe 3rd or 4th grade, and was a C64. The school also had an Apple 2E, but everybody wanted to play games on the C64 because it was so much better because of the color graphics.
I also remember a year or two later programming my name in LOGO, but I don't remember what machine we used. Maybe someone here has an idea. This would have been around 1988-1990.
I remember a magazine type-in program that made _TAPE_ access 5 or more times faster, making it faster than a stock 1541 by a lot. I believe it was called Turbo Tape. If I remember correctly, you saved the tape program with this enabled and then it wasn't required when loading (or vice versa). It's been decades, so I might have the details wrong... (I do miss those fun type in programs from those old magazines, though)
Turbo Tape was amazing. I'm pretty sure that it basically matched the stock 1541 speed, both in the neighbourhood of ~500 bytes per second.
@@8_Bit Hard to believe that 500 bytes per second could ever be considered "fast". But, then again, when I upgraded my 300 baud modem to a 1200 baud, I thought I was the Mario Andretti of modems.
4 times faster is pretty good!
@@8_Bit It's all relative, really. When I had my Amiga I was so proud of my 80 MEGAbyte hard drive (yes, mega, not giga) and thought "I will never fill this thing up!". Now my 1 terabyte HD seems tight...
Yup, I also typed in turbo tape. I guess I didn't carefully read the instructions before I did, and was pretty disappointed it didn't work with my commercial games.