All the *.$$$ files on my Kaypro are of zero length, as expected.
Thanks for answering the question. That fills in the details and means the software doesn't seem to be the problem. But Kaypros are tricky things when it comes to software. When you bought the computer new, all the software was guaranteed to match the machine. (If there was a mismatch your dealer could fix that.) Purchasing the computer now, one can't be so sure, and there is no dealer to fix things.
Yes. No difference. RPIP.COM is a lightly modified version of PIP.COM which was distributed in the 1908s by either MicroCornucopia or Plu*Perfect Solutions. It allows changing of diskettes in PIP without the BDOS R/O problem. I used it and other software from these and other companies at that time, with totally satisfactory results.
Good. Since you were purchasing the computer and trying to match up disks (or disk images) with it, I just wanted to be sure we knew what programs were being used.
My initial message to this group was two months ago. I have been encouraged by the kindness of those who have taken the trouble to respond, particularly durgadas311 and Larry Kraemer, and thank them in gratitude.
@durgadas311 and
@ldkraemer are the two most responsive and knowledgeable members we have regarding Kaypros. There are a number of times when I'd normally reply to a thread about these computers, but they've beaten me to it and with well thought out and informative responses. You are right to single them out with your gratitude. (Realizing that you also include all who've tried to help out, of course.)
Generally, and this is not a criticism of anyone who has participated in this thread, I am disappointed that as far as I can tell, the vast majority Kaypro owners are not using them for productive work, which is a pity,
No offense taken. Just to clarify: while it may appear that members' Kaypros are being used just for a hobby, that is not necessarily the case. There are many ways for a Kaypro to interact with more modern computers besides the serial port. If you have more than one computer from previous decades, you have more options. For example, there are several programs that can read Kaypro disks in IBM PCs that have 5.25" drives. This makes it easy to swap disks from machine-to-machine and directly access the 5.25" disk over a LAN to your present day workhorse.
The HXC2001 allows you to transfer data by SD card. The Kaypro files are stored in a disk image, but can be extracted on the newer computer. You can also make Kaypro disk images on the PC and read them directly on the Kaypro. There is a little extra effort this way, but it does work in both directions.
Most people who sell Kaypros do not know whether what they are offering is in a working state, mostly selling computers with inadequate photos, lack of keyboard or keyboard cable and, most importantly, no software. Indeed, access to diskettes, real or virtual, of useful programs is extremely limited.
Form what I've seen, most people selling Kaypros have found them in an attic or basement and know nothing about them, having never used them before themselves. They probably only offer them on Ebay, etc. because they found out people will pay a lot for them. Otherwise, they probably would have thrown out the "useless machine" as soon as they found it. These people wouldn't be able to know how to determine which disks are the right ones from the pile in the box beside the computer or even what makes an adequate photo set to show you which Kaypro they are trying to sell.
In regards to the software, though, this can be an especially difficult part of the problem, because Kaypro corp. was constantly changing the insides of the computer while leaving the outside practically unchanged. CP/M isn't like later OSs such as Windows, Linux, or even DOS where a newer version will easily replace the older. I've seen instances where the wrong version of CP/M 2.2 appeared to work properly on a Kaypro, only to crash later on for no apparent reason. If you think "I've got Kaypro CP/M so it will work with my Kaypro" you can easily be wrong. There were several Kaypro CP/M 2.2 versions, 2.2F, 2.2G, and 2.2U, (to name three) that were intended only for specific Kaypro models.
This may be a reason why durgadas311 can get the version of PIP.COM to work for him and you can't get it to work for you. It's also possible that your serial port has something wrong with it.
Many thanks to all. When I have time over the next 3 or so weeks, I shall continue to read postings here, but I shall have little time for experiments.
Like durgadas311 said, it's too bad you are having so much trouble getting this to work. It really shouldn't be this hard. But, such is life sometimes with all computers.
