User guide

Acorn Risc PC Release note

DOS-formatted floppy discs

Dismounting DOS floppy discs

Mounting many DOS format floppy discs at once can generate the

error Too many discs'. If you encounter this, click on the error box

OK button, press F12 to go to the command line, then type *Shut

and press Return twice (this enters the command and returns to the

desktop). Note that *Shut should be avoided in normal use, as it

closes files that applications may expect to be left open.

Names to avoid calling your DOS discs

RISC OS disc drive numbers :0 to :7 can also be referred to as :A to :

G. Normally this does not cause a problem. However it is possible to

have a DOS disc that uses these names as disc labels. If you get

peculiar behaviour with a DOS disc, such as getting 'Disc drive not

known' errors, then this may be the problem. Cure this by taking the

DOS disc to a PC (or use Acorn PC Soft) and giving it a longer name

using the 'label' command.

Unrecognised DOS disc names

Some DOS utilities allow floppy discs to be given names including a '.

' character, for example AB.CD. Such disc names are not recognised by

the Filer, which may produce errors such as 'Please insert disc 'AB".

Using DOS discs with very little memory free

If your computer has very little free memory, it is possible that a DOS

disc won't be recognised. If you find that a known good DOS disc

gives the error 'Disc not recognised - has it been formatted?' then

check to see if you are low on memory.

Acorn PC Soft (PC Emulator) — UK keyboard layout

The Acorn Risc PC keyboard has a UK layout keyboard. DOS running

on PC Soft should always be installed with a UK layout (enhanced)

keyboard. The actual method of configuration a UK keyboard varies

between DOS versions, but commonly the command to use is

'keyb uk'.