Re: SD: Getting ROM dump of TI-73

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Re: SD: Getting ROM dump of TI-73


First off, that ".exe wrapper" is a self extracting zip file.  You can open
it with WinZip or extract all the files to a directory, or whatever.  Once
you get past that little puzzle, you find the base14.hex file.  Oh no, it's
in some weird format, what will I do?  It's Intel hex format, or something
like that.  This format is used when writing to memory chips that are in a
banked memory system, such as on the calc.  At least that is one of the
uses.  Essentially it stores address information with the raw data.  You can
find an explanation of the format in the help file in Zilog Developer
Studio, that bloated IDE they wanted you to download to use with the 83+
sdk.  If you notice the signature in the hex file, you will see at the end
it says "CONVERT 2.6".  That happens to be TI's program, which you can get
with the 83+ sdk.  I turns out to be of no use at converting the hex file
into a binary image.  Or at least I couldn't get it to work.  But it
wouldn't do you any good anyway, I don't think, since it's not a complete
image.  I took a look at the addresses, and it appears to be missing all the
base code, which would be paramount to being useful in an emulator.  So if
you want a rom dump, you are going to have to do it by hand, by hacking
variable files, like how they hacked the 85.  Or bug TI for a developer's
kit, and maybe just use that to write a shell.

This is the reason Rusty never added 73 support to VTI.

> > Yeah, I tried that, but the damn rom is inside a .exe wrapper. I tried
the
> >  Mac version and disassembled it, but I only got about 14 lines of code.
If
> >  there was a .73u file in existance, however...
>
> If it isn't compressed, you could scan the file looking for a Z80
signature.
> Because of the RST system, there is usually a $C3 at 8,16,24,32,40 and 48
> (RST0-38h).... or within a byte or two. If it is compressed, it might be
> worth looking in Windows.Tmp while the program is running, it would be
> logical for the program to uncompress it to a file somewhere, then
> copy it across the link.


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