Commodore 64 Disk Companion
Commodore 64 Disk Companion: Essential Routines for Commodore Disk Users is a 1984 book on using the 1541 disk drive with the Commodore 64, by David Lawrence and Mark England, published by Sunshine Books (an imprint of Scot Press Ltd), London. ISBN 0-946408-49-1.[1] Open Library gives the extent as x, 150 pages; the index starts on p. 145 and the publisher's lists end on p. 150.[2]
It covers the DOS commands and file types from BASIC: saving and loading, housekeeping commands, the error channel, sequential, program, relative and random files, the directory and the drive's machine code commands.[3]
Contents
[edit | edit source]Page numbers are from the contents list.[3]
- Notes on program listings, p. vii; Introduction, p. ix
- 1. Disks and Disk Drives, p. 1
- 2. Setting up Your System, p. 9
- 3. Saving and Loading Programs, p. 15
- 4. Disk Housekeeping Commands, p. 21
- 5. Pattern Matching, p. 47
- 6. The Error Channel, p. 51
- 7. Sequential and User Files, p. 57
- 8. Program Files, p. 75
- 9. Relative Files, p. 95
- 10. Random Files, p. 107
- 11. The Disk Directory, p. 121
- 12. Machine Code Programming Commands, p. 131
- 13. Changing Device Numbers, p. 137
- Appendices: A. Disk error messages, p. 139; B. Additional machine code commands, p. 141; C. DOS support commands, p. 143
- Index, p. 145
Chapter 13 changes a 1541's device number in software, with a memory-write command to drive locations 119 and 120. It mentions the hardware method, a modification to the drive's circuit board, only to recommend leaving it to a dealer.[4]
What this book does not contain
[edit | edit source]It has no schematics, parts lists or repair procedures for the drive. For 1541 repair see Commodore 1541 Troubleshooting & Repair Guide. The 167-page scan includes Sunshine's lists and offer pages, the covers and a closing page from retro-commodore.eu.
Download: SunshineBooks Commodore 64 Disk Companion.pdf (34 MB)
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ David Lawrence and Mark England, Commodore 64 Disk Companion (Sunshine Books, 1984), title page and copyright page (PDF pp. 2-3).
- ↑ Open Library, Commodore 64 disk companion, record OL15317959M. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lawrence and England, Commodore 64 Disk Companion, Contents and Contents in detail, pp. iii-vi.
- ↑ Lawrence and England, Commodore 64 Disk Companion, ch. 13, p. 137.