Commodore Remix

All the books and software tape inlays state that the way to load and run a piece of tape-based software automatically is to press down SHIFT and RUN STOP. And it does.

But I've also noticed that holding down the COMMODORE key instead of Shift allows me to perform an identical function, though there has never been any mention of this alternative printed anywhere I've ever seen.

Does anyone have an idea why? Does anyone know if using the Commodore key for loading performs a subtlely different function which I haven't realised?

I can't remember but with shift run/stop the games loads and then run, and with commodore key and run/stop the game loads but does not run.

I might be really way of with that, maybe dreamt it LOL

The Commodore key performs the exact same function. I've just confirmed it by loading a small BASIC program which doesn't run automatically.

I just wondered why nobody mentioned it.

[AFAIR] Concerning loading from tape and the COMMODORE KEY: When pressing play on tape (!) the computer starts searching for a program on the tape. When it prints FOUND XXXXX then you can press the SPACEBAR to skip the pause before the computer loads the program. If you press the COMMODORE KEY instead the pause and the whole program is skipped and the computer searches for the next program on the tape. But I guess you knew that already.

Concerning the COMMODORE KEY + RUN/STOP being the same as SHIFT + RUN/STOP: I guess nobody mentioned it because it is utterly unimportant Doesn't change a thing, really

I didn't know that, because it doesn't.

All the Commodore User Manual ever says about the Commodore key is that you should press it to load the program which the machine has just 'found' on the tape (p.19). Other than using it to type coloured text and toggle between small-case and capital, that's all we're told of this unassuming function key.


I was just kind-of hoping that some mystical, magical 'easter egg' may be linked to this key which can unlock some long-forgotten Commodore wonder.

Actually, I never tested the feature I described. But, hey, as I wrote it is AFAIR. To be honest, at the time I couldn't read English or understand it that much for that matter and since the Danish User's Manual was full of errors, someone read the English to me. But it's not important in 2009.

I didn't know what AFAIR meant.

As Far As I Remember.....?

Exactly, or Recall

Anyhoo, does the manual say anything about pressing the spacebar - which also skips the pause while loading?

No.

No high hopes for a mystical easter egg there

Every time you skip the loading pause with pressing "space", god kills a kitten...

Ok, just sh*tting around...

i seem to remember that you had to press the C= key to continue to load Impossible Mission ... space did nothing !

The reason it works is that Commodore and Shift (and Control) set different bits in a register in memory. So presumably the code that checks for Shift and Run Stop just compares that byte to zero, and if it isn't zero then it starts the routine to load from tape. I seem to remember one of the fast loader cartridges used Commodore and Run Stop to load the first program from disk...