ACE32 Jupiter Ace Emulator for MS-DOS.
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Update April 2013 Ace32 for Windows XP Ace32 was compiled with an old DOS extender and gives compatibility problems when used with Windows XP. Ace32 version 1.4 will run correctly in Windows when called from the utility DOSDOX which emulates the MSDOS environment on a Windows XP machine (see below). We have now found a patch for Ace32 to run in Windows without the need for DOSBOX,
to stop any confusion between the two versions we have called it version 1.5 Ace32XP
(Ace32XP.exe). Ace32 for MSDOS Ace32 is a DOS Emulator for the Jupiter Cantab ACE, written by Paul Robson and Last updated 3rd November 1997. Download here [45.1k zip file]
But, I now run Windows XP so cannot run MS-Dos programs, can I? Well, Yes and No!, Windows XP cannot run 16bit ms-dos coded programs, but there is an emulator that emulates an MS-Dos box on a Windows XP systems called DOSBox. When installed you can run most ms-dos programs which includes ACE32. A bit About DOSBox Latest version 0.73 (April 2013) DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library which makes DOSBox very easy to port to different platforms. DOSBox has already been ported to many different platforms, such as Windows, BeOS, Linux, MacOS X... DOSBox also emulates CPU:286/386 real mode/protected mode, Directory FileSystem/XMS/EMS, Tandy/Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA graphics, a SoundBlaster/Gravis Ultra Sound card for excellent sound compatibility with older games... DOSBox website and download See below the screen shots of Ace32 running under DOSBox on Windows XP. Setting up DosBox for Ace32(Updated April 2013 for use with Windows 7 64bit)I would recommend extracting Ace32xp in to a new folder called ace32xp on your C drive. Next install the current version of DosBox, during the install Dosbox will create a short cut on your deskop. If you click on the short cut DosBox will run, a dos or terminal window open with the command prompt, you will also be in Z drive. This is dosbox's' normal startup window, from here you can mount or make Dosbox aware of a folder which it will emulate as a C drive, to do this we use the command 'mount c c:\ace32xp' From theNow back to Ace32 The current version is 1.4 - it supports most of the Ace hardware, including the Tape I/O (.TAP files and Snapshots are used). The distribution includes a copy of the Jupiter Ace ROM image. Features
Using the Jupiter Ace Emulator To run type ACE32 file. There are two types of file : Snapshots (.ACE) which
merely record the emulators status and Tape Files (.TAP) which are copies
of Jupiter Ace tape programs. The .TAP file has the same format as the
Spectrum Emulator tap file (blocks of data preceded by block lengths).
The following keys are available. (The Symbol Shift key is emulated through the PC's Ctrl key.) F1 : Reset (holding Ctrl will allow you to change the RAM available) F2 : Configure F3 : Change Colour Scheme (toggles through available schemes) F4 : View Keyboard F5 : Load Snapshot / Select tape file F7 : Save Snapshot (to SNAP.ACE) (see FAQ for ACE format details) F9 : Spool from SPOOL.TXT into Ace F10 : Enter Debugger Escape : Quit Pad+ : Switch between normal and turbo (border red in turbo mode) When loading .TAP files, all that happens is that the given file is
selected for tape input. It is necessary to type "load" to get a
.TAP file into memory. The filename checking has been disconnected.
The DebuggerThe default configuration settings are 3 frames per IBM PC Tick and 3 skipped frames per displayed frame. Increasing the frames per tick will make the emulator run faster. Increasing the skipped frames is useful if the emulator is too slow on your hardware, but it will not help the display readability. The debugger is simple but functional. There are 3 windows - machine status
disassembled program and data.
The values are set by the same keys. To set the breakpoint address, use the Alt key. To set the Data Address, use the Ctrl Key. Changing the address in the 'disassembly' area does NOT change the program counter. At present it is not possible to change the Z80 registers. 0-9,A-F Rotate address right,insert digit Up/Down/PUp/PDn Move Up or Down by 1 or 16 bytes Home Set equal to PC
Using F10 to break into a running program will only break in at the
start of the frame.
Debugger Function Keys F1 Break = Disassembly Address F5 Display Current Screen F7 Step Through (until SP = value before call) F8 Single Step F9 Run until Breakpoint ESC Run normally (no Breakpoint)Shift Keys When shifted, most of the keys produce an upper case character, except
for the following.
Space: Break 1: Delete Line 2: Caps Lock 4: Inverse Video 5..8: Left,Up,Down,Right cursor 9: Graphics 0: DeleteSymbol Shift Keys The following punctuation characters are available using Symbol Shift + Char
1: ! 2: @ 3: # 4: $ 5: % 6: & 7: ' 8: ( 9: ) 0: _
R: < T: > Y: [ U: ] I: © O: ; P: "
A: ~ S: | D: \ F: { G: } H: ^ J: - K: + L: =
Z: : X: £ C: ? V: / B: * N: , M: .
I: Copyright symbol
A: Wavy horizontal line (proper ASCII name is tilde)
S: Vertical line
H: Up arrow
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These options are available by pressing F4 when running the emulator.
Ace32 F3 option key - Change Colour Schemes