Supersafe And Speedload - AMSTRAD CPC464 User Manual

RUN"
instruction, the computer will search for the first program it can find on the tape, and start to load it.
When the computer has found the first correctly recorded program on the tape, the following
message will appear:
Loading WELCOME 1 block 1
This advises you that the computer has located the first of a series of blocks of the program entitled
' Welcome 1' . Each program is saved on the tape in the form of blocks of data (up to 2kbytes long) that
are read into the computer - each data block is separately identified on the tape, and the message on
the screen advises you of the current block being read. After each block of data, the tape pauses
momentarily, and then starts again - shortly after restarting, the message ' updates' to include the
block number presently being read.
If at any time the computer detects bad data, it will display an error message (listed in Appendix
VIII) that advises the nature of the problem. It is not generally possible to do anything other than
attempt to run the program again until it loads without an error.
Assuming that your tape is loading, read the instructions on the screen, and your Welcome tape will
do the rest.. . . . .

2.5 Supersafe and Speedload

The CPC464 offers two speeds to the user: a Supersafe speed of 1000 baud (bits of data per second),
and a Speedload rate of 2000 baud. The Speedload rate thus writes and reads data at twice the
Supersafe rate, although it sacrifices the safety margin sometimes required to account for
inconsistencies in low cost tapes and the errors that can arise from the different alignment of tape
heads in different recorders.
For programs saved and loaded on the same machine, the Speedload rate should prove to be
acceptably reliable using reasonable quality tapes. Speedload will also be capable of loading most
commercial software tapes directly without errors – although AMSTRAD advise that all such
software be recorded using the option of both speeds.