MSX - MISCELLANEOUS FAQ


How can I let most of the MSX1 software work on MSX2 machines/what is the universal slot-select-correct POKE?

The universal poke to do this is:
POKE -1,1.0625*(NOT(PEEK(-1))AND&HF0
The same POKE, but a bit shorter:
POKE -1,(15-PEEK(-1)\16)*17
Try this in case a program gives trouble. Always use this universal poke if you put it in a (BASIC) loader, never use POKE -1,170 or POKE -1,255! This will guarantee the program will work on all MSX computers.

If this doesn't work to get the (MSX1) software running, you can also try to boot the MSX with the CTRL-key pressed. This lets the MSX not reserve memory for a second diskdrive and gives you a little more memory. Since most MSX1 games were on cassette, the programs don't expect that memory was reserved for diskdrives and disabling one might just give you enough memory to run the program.

Another thing that might help is setting the width of the screen to 40 (or less) columns. Some MSX1 games don't expect the width to be 80 columns. Type this before loading: WIDTH 40. You can also set the screen-mode to screen 2 and then load, like this: SCREEN 2:RUN"PROGRAM.LDR", because some games expect the computer to be in screen-mode 2, because originally there was a loader that displayed some nice graphics to amuse you while loading (from cassette), which are most of the time in screen 2.


My Philips VG-8235 (or NMS-8245) gives disk-errors, whatever I try! What is this?

This is probably caused by a weared-out string in your diskdrive. This string makes the disk in your drive spin. You can buy a new string in your local electronics-shop. After replacement the drive will probably be fine again. But note that the VG-8235 has a Single Sided diskdrive, so you can only use Single Sided disks.

I installed the password on my MSX, but I forgot it. What now?

This password, which is stored in the MSX2 or higher's real time clock IC, can easily be overrode. Just press the GRAPH and STOP buttons while booting the MSX! Then the Password: prompt will be skipped. Then you can change the password with SET PASWORD "passwordstring". Or just remove it with SET PASSWORD "" or by making another change in the RTC options (e.g. SET PROMPT "Files").

A problem for emulators is to find what the STOP and GRAPH key are... On RuMSX e.g., GRAPH is the PAGE DOWN key, and STOP the F8 key. Check your emulator documentation.


Where can I get info on JoyNet, the MSX network standard?

Because it would be useless to dedicate a whole section of the FAQ to it and copy all info from the JoyNet page, I'm giving you the URL here: so check out The JoyNet homepage, by Laurens Holst (~Grauw). Some other info is on Maarten ter Huurne's hardware page. I hope this helps!

The sound on my Philips NMS 8250/55/80 sounds terrible. How can I fix it?

Yes, a lot of NMS8250/55/80 computers have an assembly error in the audio output circuitry. This is probably the case. To fix it:

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