Just a repository of scripts for working with Amstrad CPC Roms
All files are Python3
If you have requests or bug reports, please open a GitHub issue here
This script will display the name, version and command list for a ROM, including any hidden commands, meaning any that can only be called from code.
Some roms have a really disordered list of commands that make it hard to find a given command, so I added a -c option that only displays the commands so that these can be easily sorted with another command.
romdetails.py v2.50
Usage:
This will display the RSX commands (if any) available in a ROM:
romdetails.py ./SourceROM.rom
Examples:
./romdetails.py TestROM.rom
Rom type: Background
Version: 1.21
TESTROM
RSX1
RSX2
Hidden Command: 0x0
Hidden Command: 0x1
-h or --help - this message
-c or --commandonly - only list the commands
The script will also decode Graduate Software Accessory ROMS:
./romdetails.py ./CPM_Plus_Acc_1.rom
Rom type: Graduate Software CP/M Accessory ROM
Name: Graduate (C)1988
CP/M Accessory Rom 1
Version: VER 2.30
Apps:
NSWEEP
FORMAT
PCW
RUN
UNERA
D
This dumps a .ROM file showing any printable ascii characters and strings. There are two options parameters that can be used.
-x This is useful for looking at the encoded information in Graduate Software CPM+ roms.
Usage: dum.py romfile.rom -x <xor hex value>
Example: dum.py CPM1.rom -x 0x4e
Known XOR values are:
0xaa - password
0x4e - name, address, serial etc
Usage: dum.py romfile.rom -o This is useful if you are reverse engineering a ROM and want to know where strings occur. Roms usually start at 0xC000 Example: dum.py CPM1.ROM -o 0xc000
This was written for patching Graduate Software CPM+ roms. For more details see here: https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Graduate_Software
This patches the first CPM rom so you can use your own name, address, password etc
Usage:
To display the details of what is stored in the ROM:
cpmrompatch.py --src SourceROM.rom --display
To update the ROM, you must specify --src and --dest and one of the following:
cpmrompatch.py --src SourceROM.rom --dest DestROM.rom
--quiet - Disable the noisy, large default ROM boot message and replace it with a short version
--name "<Name>" - Sets the name of the ROM owner
--address "<Address>" - Sets the address of the ROM owner
--serial <serial number> - Sets the serial number of the ROM
--password <password> - Sets the password for |PASSWORD
You can also just pass a filename and it will display the details for that ROM
eg cpmrompatch.py CPM1.ROM
Examples:
cpmrompatch.py --src CPM1.rom --dest CPM1-updated.rom --name "John Smith" --address "123 Acacia Ave, Sometown"
This script will build an accessory ROM. It can also extract a .COM file from a prebuilt ROM file.
The name of the ROM file is required.
If you are extracting a .COM using -e then all the other possible arguments will be ignored if supplied.
usage: ./make_accessory_rom.py [-h] [-i "ROM ID String"] [-n "ROM Description"] [-v "ROM Version string"] [-e [filename, or blank for all files ...]] ROM_filename [.COM_file ...]
This is a utility to build accessory ROMs for Amstrad Graduate Software CP/M ROMs
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
Required:
A name for a ROM file is required
ROM_filename This is the name of the ROM file that you are creating.
Building:
These options relate to building a ROM
.COM_file This must be a CP/M program.
-i "ROM ID String", --id "ROM ID String"
ROM Identification. It must start with G, and be no more than 16 characters. The default is "Grad ROM 06/2024"
-n "ROM Description", --name "ROM Description"
This is the name that will be shown in commands such as |OHELP or romcat. It must be no more than 32 characters.
-v "ROM Version string", --romversion "ROM Version string"
This is a string that will dictate the version of the rom.
Extracting:
These options relate to extracting files from a ROM
-e [filename, or blank for all files ...], --extract [filename, or blank for all files ...]
Extract files from a ROM.
Note: -e can only be used by itself and not with any other argument.
Examples:
To recreate the original accessory rom:
./make_accessory_rom.py CPM_ACC1.ROM NSWEEP.COM FORMAT.COM PCW.COM RUN.COM UNERA.COM D.COM -i "Graduate (C)1988" -n "CP/M Accessory Rom 1" -v "VER 2.30 "
Extract PCW.COM from CPM_ACC1.ROM:
./make_accessory_rom.py CPM_ACC1.ROM -e PCW