ticalc.org
Basics Archives Community Services Programming
Hardware Help About Search Your Account
   Home :: Archives :: News :: Flash Drives on a Calculator

Flash Drives on a Calculator
Posted by Michael on 12 September 2006, 04:43 GMT

[I have mass storage devices on a mass storing calculator!]As the result of a group effort between myself, Brandon Wilson, and Dan Englender, we have released msd8x v0.94, which allows the use of ordinary USB flash drives with a TI-84 Plus. Brandon has been laboring all summer long on finishing the driver and GUI to be acceptable for public usage, and thanks to his dedication and adding of nifty features it is at last at the stage for a general release. Information on downloading and running msd8x can be found at the WikiTI calculator wiki.

With the appropriate cable, you can browse, modify, and copy (in both directions) files between a flash drive and the 84+'s RAM and/or archive. msd8x also supports the running of ION and MirageOS programs directly from a flash drive.

  Reply to this article


The comments below are written by ticalc.org visitors. Their views are not necessarily those of ticalc.org, and ticalc.org takes no responsibility for their content.


Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matthew Baron  Account Info

Isn' this a bit of reinvention, we already have usb8x, don't we?

Or is there somthing that I missed?

Reply to this comment    13 September 2006, 01:10 GMT


Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Dan Englender Account Info
(Web Page)

msd8x uses usb8x to communicate with the drive. msd8x contains the UI stuff, the import/export code, etc and usb8x contains all the code that directly communicates with the flash drive.

You could think of it like msd8x is TI-Connect, and usb8x is the DLL file sitting in your system directory somewhere that TI-Connect calls to handle the connection to the calculator. Except that msd8x is much faster and more stable than TI-Connect :)

Reply to this comment    13 September 2006, 01:52 GMT

Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
bob7  Account Info
(Web Page)

What?! No EXT3 support?!

Reply to this comment    13 September 2006, 01:21 GMT


Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
CajunLuke  Account Info
(Web Page)

Pish on ext3 - I want HFS+ support so I can surf my iPod.

Reply to this comment    13 September 2006, 03:00 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

NTFS is more worthwhile

Reply to this comment    13 September 2006, 14:18 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Andy Janata  Account Info
(Web Page)

FAT32 would be the next logical step. It's similar to FAT16 (which is what is implemented), and uses 32bit numbers like the rest of them.

Of course, at that point you're using almost all of the processor's registers just to store the sector you're looking up...

Reply to this comment    13 September 2006, 15:58 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Zarel  Account Info
(Web Page)

Even Linux only recently got a good NTFS driver. And now you're expecting a CALCULATOR to work with NTFS? It's not like flash drives are usually formatted with NTFS, anyway.

Reply to this comment    14 September 2006, 01:08 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

I'm sure a calculator would be better then linux -- just shows how much slower stuff progresses there.

Even DOS has had a decent NTFS driver for a bit! (just have to find it)

Reply to this comment    14 September 2006, 13:45 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

<sarcasm> Oh yeah, you know how easy it is to put together an entire OS for a PC, with desktop environments and other software, and make it interface to a lot of hardware where the manufacturers keep the specs secret like they're the CIA or something. Why can't all that stuff develop as fast as some little easy-to-program Z80 calculator with a few hundred KB of memory? </sarcasm>

Reply to this comment    14 September 2006, 19:38 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Just what I was going to say... If you want a good NTFS driver for the calc (I'm sure it would be really complex, though) try convincing MS to open up their specs.

Reply to this comment    14 September 2006, 19:33 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
patz2009  Account Info
(Web Page)

First off... Microsoft isn't going to open ANYTHING up, let alone an NTFS driver source.

Secondly, an EXT2 filesystem driver would probably be the best bet for 4 main reasons.
1. It can handle up to 4 terrabytes of disk space, floppy to HDD.
2. It will be easier to port since it is a more open sourced. (as compared to FAT32 and especially NTFS)
3. It can be installed on to Windows. There are drivers floating around on SourceForge.
4. EXT3 is reverse-compatible with EXT2. Therefore, you can mount EXT3 drives with an EXT2 driver.

Reply to this comment    14 September 2006, 21:19 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

BUT WHY THE __________ AM I GOING TO FORMAT A USB DISK SO I CANT USE IT ANYMORE FOR WINDOWS?????

PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID IF THEY THINK THAT EXT2 IS BETTER -- IT'S NOT! FAT16, FAT32, AND NTFS ARE ALREADY MORE UNIVERSAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply to this comment    15 September 2006, 14:12 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Andy Janata  Account Info
(Web Page)

Dude. Take a chill pill. He JUST SAID that there are ext2 drivers for Windows (and there are, I've used them). ext2 is MUCH better than NTFS, and especially any FAT variant... http://www.fs-driver.org/ Go there, get that. Instant ext2/ext3 read-write support in XP.

However, mounting an ext3 as ext2 and writing to it kind of defeats the purpose of having a journal.

Reply to this comment    15 September 2006, 14:47 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Yeah, I don't see what the problem is, since (1) ext2 is better than FAT12 (or even NTFS), (2) there are programs which let you write to ext2 from Windows. IMHO, ext2 support in msd8x would be great.

Reply to this comment    15 September 2006, 19:44 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

Let me lay this out...

1. USB drive must be used for school
2. School computers lock out all software installs
3. Last time I tried to load the program on windows at home I had to reinstall EVERYTHING and format the hard drive
4. My drive is a U3 disk and must be a native windows format for the U3Launchpad to load

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 14:39 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

5. I've only seen 1 formated in non-windows format and they ended up going back to fat32 to use it at school

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 14:41 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Then get a different drive to format with ext2. My sister got one a couple days ago for $15.

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 22:29 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

great...that'd be my weekly lunch for 2 weeks...I have enough trouble keeping the $8 for subway once a week

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 13:00 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Well then keep on using FAT16 or something and don't bother the people who want to use ext2.

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 14:25 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Lewk Of Serthic  Account Info

Exactly!

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 21:54 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Brandon Wilson  Account Info
(Web Page)

Can't argue with this.

Most drives (at least the ones I came across) come preformatted as FAT16.

But like I said up above somewhere, if you want another file system, you're free to write it using the assembly interface.

Reply to this comment    15 September 2006, 14:50 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

See? Event the people who make them think that it would be a bad idea. If it's so great, why don't they preformat them for wierd formats

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 14:44 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

I don't think he's saying that it's a bad idea, just that FAT32 and NTFS are more universal, and so a driver for them would be more useful since more people would use it.

>If it's so great, why don't they preformat them for wierd formats

Um, it has nothing to do with the details of the format itself. It's because Windows doesn't natively support anything but FAT and NTFS. This is sort of like the "if [insert name of your favorite universal but buggy product] has problems, why does everyone use it" argument.

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 22:39 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

>"[insert name of your favorite universal but buggy product]"

um, computers...need I say more?

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 13:01 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Not specific enough, the problems with computers come 90% from the software. Anyways, the point still stands, that the reason flash drives aren't sold preformatted with ext2 is because it wasn't created or even used by Microsoft.

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 14:28 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

maybe we should all switch to mac? I've got one from early 90's with a Motorola 68K processor that runs ~20Mhz and it works more reliably than anything else I've seen -- including new macs

Otherwise we could go back to a old IBM with DOS/Win3.1?

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 15:08 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

I don't see how this has anything to do with what we were discussing before...

Reply to this comment    19 September 2006, 19:03 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

What is it with you and open-source stuff anyways? You don't need to get so worked up over filesystems...

Reply to this comment    15 September 2006, 19:47 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

who's getting worked up? THEY'RE JUST WRONG!!!!!!!!

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 14:44 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

>who's getting worked up?

Um, after seeing your first post written entirely in caps, with more than 10 exclamation points in a row...I'd say...you? ;-)

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 22:33 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

oh, +10 ... I didn't mean to put that many, I'll count next time...

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 13:02 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Lewk Of Serthic  Account Info

I do hope your joking...

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 21:58 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

not really, it's a fact that FAT16 is the most universal and therefore best choice. 2nd is FAT32, 3rd is NTFS -- there ARE 3rd party drivers for dos, linux, and other os's

Reply to this comment    18 September 2006, 00:43 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Just because it's the most universal doesn't mean it's necessarily the best choice. It's got FAT support already, so I don't see anything wrong with doing something completely different like ext2/3. In fact, I bet it would be a lot easier to do that than to write an NTFS driver, as mentioned before.

Reply to this comment    18 September 2006, 19:06 GMT

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

>Microsoft isn't going to open ANYTHING up, let alone an NTFS driver source.

Heh, that was my point.

Reply to this comment    15 September 2006, 19:38 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

I don't think they need to -- people have already made ntfs drivers for dos without the source

Reply to this comment    18 September 2006, 00:44 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

That doesn't mean it's easy... Much more worthwhile to just let Windows users use FAT (which is already supported) and people who like ext2 use that. Seriously, who formats their USB drives with NTFS anyways?

Reply to this comment    18 September 2006, 19:30 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

Well, I tried NTFS w/ encryption for a bit, then I switched to FAT-bootable, then FAT32 for a bit, and now I'm running on a FAT-16 streak

Reply to this comment    20 September 2006, 01:11 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

btw, who in their right mind needs 4 terabytes????

I have a 30GB HD and it's got 36% free!

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 15:41 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Being able to expand, even beyond what seems like reasonable limits, is *always* a good thing to make sure that a standard can be used far into the future when requirements have changed. Remember, just 10 years ago, people would've thought "who in their right minds needs 4 GB of RAM?"

Reply to this comment    16 September 2006, 22:32 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

I'd still say that. For graduation, I got a card to update from 768MB to 1GB

Everything worked just as well as now...even with the standard 256MB it came with.

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 13:05 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

*I* don't need 4 GB either (I'm using 256 MB on a 1 Ghz PIII system and doing fine), but some high-end stuff, like servers (even some people's gaming computers) does need 4 GB. If you still don't buy that, substitute 256 MB. In 1990 it would've seemed like insane overkill.

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 14:31 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
Matt M Account Info

I personally believe 1GB is overkill but, I can understand RAM more than HD space...unless you're running a server and then you'd fill it all up...

Reply to this comment    17 September 2006, 15:10 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

>unless you're running a server and then you'd fill it all up...

That's sort of the point. Who knows how large hard drives are going to be in another 10 years?

Reply to this comment    18 September 2006, 19:31 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Flash Drives on a Calculator
burntfuse  Account Info
(Web Page)

Oh, now I get what you mean. No, you wouldn't fill it up, it would just have a RAID array. Seriously, do you think that servers now (which don't even have 4 TB drives) just have one hard drive? Now you're just grasping at whatever you can to make ext2 seem bad... It's just a filesystem, and no one's going to force you to use it. :-)

Reply to this comment    19 September 2006, 01:24 GMT

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  

You can change the number of comments per page in Account Preferences.

  Copyright © 1996-2012, the ticalc.org project. All rights reserved. | Contact Us | Disclaimer