TBACK

Overview

TBACK is a program for 32-bit Windows which will rapidly back up the "state" (RAM contents) of your Model 100 or Tandy 102 to a PC.

Compatibility

Operating System

TBACK has been tested for software compatibility on

Windows 98SE	Sometimes TBACK gets stuck if verbose (debug) mode is enabled
Windows XP Home Edition	No problems have been reported

Cabling Requirements

The cable from the PC must be a proper full-null cable which implements the hardware flow control (CTS/RTS) lines. TBACK will not work with a cable that is missing the flow control signals (3-wire cables) or which loops back flow control. The author uses a Belkin Serial Laplink cable.

TBACK is not designed to work with a T200, though a variant for the T200 is possible. Certainly variants are possible for the T200 and the Model 100 workalikes.

Experimental Release

TBACK is currently in an experimental stage, but it does work.

Download the zipped executable Here.

Usage

• Download TBACK.ZIP, unzip somewhere on your drive where you can easily find it from the command prompt (perhaps c:\tback\ ).
• Start a command prompt;
  • Windows XP: Start -> Run -> cmd
  • Windows 98: Start -> Run -> COMMAND
• cd to the directory where you unzipped TBACK.EXE, i.e. cd c:\tback
• On the Model 100, enter BASIC and type:
  

  RUN"COM:98N1E

• Hit the ENTER key on your Model 100.
• From the directory you unpacked TBACK.EXE on the PC type:
  

  tback com1

• Hit the ENTER key on your PC.
• Wait about 9 seconds and you should have a file BACKUP.CB in your directory.

TBACK supports several options. Not all work in this experimental version. To investigate them, type:
tback --help and hit enter.

C:\projects\model_t\TBACK>tback --help
tback, Model 100/102 Memory Backup Utility
*EXPERIMENTAL* PROVIDED AS-IS WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
Copyright (C) 2009 DevWrights

Usage:

 tback -b|-r [-n] [-q] comport [ <filename> | - ]
   --backup, -b         receive a backup from laptop
   --restore, -r        restore a backup to laptop (TBI)
   --quiet, -q          quiet mode (no prompts)
   --noinject, -n       do not inject transmit/receive utility
   --verbose, -v        print debug trace messages
   <filename>           filename to save image to
                        defaults to BACKUP.CB
   -                    write received image to STDOUT, not a file
   --help               this message


C:\projects\model_t\TBACK>

--restore is a placeholder, and currently does nothing.

Suggested Applications

• Clone your laptop state wholesale and pop it open in VirtualT
• Offload RAM state after a cold start
• Quick backups

Future Improvements

• Add a "recover" feature to load the saved image back onto M10x
• Offer "quick mode" where unused RAM (free space) is not transferred to the PC
• Add a extraction feature that can extract any files (DO, BA, CO, ...) in the captured data as files on the PC file system.
• Although a proper serial port and cable is highly reliable, it would be nice to have a checksum feature.

Design Notes

The background concepts for this utility are described in this article.