The Sinclair QL Forum

As per the subject.

I am trying to create the 'virtual hard disk' file on my disk using the following:

Format "WIN1_250" (I tried with and without quotes, and also with 100 as per the manual example)

I get Access denied error.

Are there any requirements for the host OS partition?

It's currently about 70G in size and running a command line only installation of Windows 98 - I am presuming it's FAT32 - is that the problem?

I have tried with the original, with SMSQ 276 and also latest 3.41 version - all fail in the same way.

SMSQ/E wants a WIN_FORMAT 1 to "unlock" the disk for formatting as a prerequisite.

You do have a "QXL.win" file on your C: hard disk?

No - no file yet - the manual says I need to run the format command to create it

win_format 1 was the ticket - thankyou tofro.

The Miracle systems manual makes no mention of this at all!

Pr0f wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 9:59 pm win_format 1 was the ticket - thankyou tofro.

The Miracle systems manual makes no mention of this at all!

That's not much of a surprise. The WIN_FORMAT hard disk lock was introduced into SMSQ/E long after the Miracle manual was written. I think Dilwyn has made a very nice, modern SMSQ/E manual that you should use instead.