?IO ERROR
Dragon Data Dragon 32/64
Severity: ModerateWhat it means
?IO ERROR on the Dragon means a cassette tape or disk operation failed.
The most common cause is a dirty tape head or incorrect volume level.
Clean the head and adjust the volume on your cassette player.
Affected Models
- Dragon 32
- Dragon 64
- Dragon 200E
- XRoar emulator
Common Causes
- Cassette player volume too high or too low
- Tape head dirty or misaligned
- Tape worn, stretched, or poor quality
- Disk drive error (Dragon 64 with DragonDOS)
- Write-protected tape when trying to CSAVE
How to Fix It
-
Adjust the cassette player volume to about 65-75%.
The Dragon is quite sensitive to volume levels.
Too quiet and the signal is lost.
Too loud and it distorts. -
Clean the tape head with isopropyl alcohol.
Use a cotton bud lightly dampened with isopropyl alcohol.
Wipe the head gently, let it dry, then retry. -
Rewind the tape fully and try CLOAD again.
The Dragon searches for a program header on the tape.
Make sure the tape is at the correct position. -
Try a different cassette player.
Some players produce cleaner signals than others.
Older mono players often work better than stereo hi-fi units.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Dragon use the same cassette format as the TRS-80 CoCo?
Yes.
The Dragon and CoCo use the same cassette format and the same BASIC.
Tapes made on one machine can usually be loaded on the other.
Can the Dragon use a disk drive?
The Dragon 64 supports DragonDOS when connected to a disk drive unit.
The Dragon 32 can also use disk drives with the appropriate controller cartridge.
DragonDOS was sold separately as an add-on.