Apple II Csa2 FAQs: File Utilities, Part 10/25
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2FLUTILS.txt rev139 October 2009
File Utilities
001- What are "binscii" files and how are they used?
002- What are .SHK files and how do I use them?
003- How do I get ShrinkIt or GS-ShrinkIt going on my Apple II?
004- How do I deal with the $00 type Apple II files I get on my Mac?
005- Can I work with .zip files on my Apple II?
006- What are DSK, NIB, 2MG, HDV,... disk image files & how do I use them?
007- Where can I get ShrinkIt, binscii, DSK2FILE, ASIMOV, etc.?
008- I have downloaded files in "gz" format? How do I use them?
009- Which programs can change ProDOS filetype?
010- What is Copy II Plus and where can I get it?
011- How do I use Copy II Plus to create and convert IMG files?
012- How do I set write protection for an emulator disk image?
013- How can I create a disk image from a ShrinkIt .sdk file?
014- How can I convert a .po image to/from a .dsk or .do image?
015- What do file name extensions mean and how do I access the files?
016- How do I tell what kind of file this is?
017- How can I create new .dsk, .nib, etc. disk images?
018- How can I convert .dsk image <--> .nib image?
019- How can I convert Diskcopy images to diskette or to other formats?
020- How can I move files to/from .dsk and .2MG disk images?
021- How can I unfork forked files on my Apple II?
From: Rubywand
001- What are "binscii" files and how are they used?
The term "binscii" comes from combining "binary" with "ASCII". A file in binscii form has been changed so that it can be transmitted as text to/from net servers and services which do not handle pure binary transfers.
Today, practically all servers can handle pure binary transfers; so, binscii is no longer in popular use. However, quite a few old A2 files are still in binscii form and binscii is used for files uploaded to comp.binaries.apple2.
To convert binscii'd files to their un-biniscii'd form, you can use a program named "BINSCII" or, on a GS, the New Desk Accessory named "GScii". These programs can, also, create binscii files.
Note: Binscii is in no way related to Binary II. Binscii changes the entire file into Text. Binary II is just a small block of bytes tacked onto the front of a file, mainly to identify the file's filetype.
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002- What are ShrinkIt (.SHK) files and how do I use them?
ShrinkIt files are the Apple II world's answer to .ZIP files in PC-ville. An .SHK file is a file which contains one or more files which are almost always in compressed form. Usually, they are produced by GS-ShrinkIt (also called "GSHK" or "ShrinkIt-GS") or the Balloon NDA, or by 8-bit ShrinkIt. Some .SHK files are produced by Macs; these may not always be compatible with A2 ShrinkIt programs.
An .SHK file can be unshrinked by ShrinkIt even if it shows up on the Apple II with a TXT or BIN filetype and even if the name does not end with ".SHK" or ".shk". If a ShrinkIt file does not show up as available for unshrinking, you can toggle an "All files" option to see the file and then select it. If an .SHK file has a Binary II header, ShrinkIt will automatically remove it and assign the correct filetype. (Of course, this will usually be SHK.)
Other kinds of ShrinkIt files include .SEA and .SDK. An Apple II .SEA file is a IIgs executable self-extracting archive-- i.e. you can click it on the GS Finder and it will unShrink. There are also Mac .SEA files and these are not GS-compatible.
A ShrinkIt whole-disk archive is an .SHK file which is usually labeled ".SDK" to show that it is a Shrinked diskette. An .SDK file can archive a 3.5" diskette (both sides) or 5.25" diskette (one side). Most are archives of 5.25" DOS 3.3 diskettes produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt.
A whole-disk ShrinkIt archive retains all data bytes on a diskette, including files, Catalog/Directory sectors, empty tracks, and DOS if present. An .sdk file of a DOS 3.3 5.25" disk created by 8-bit ShrinkIt also preserves volume number-- important for some games and utilities which depend upon volume numbers to identify disks. (5.25" whole-disk archives created by GS-ShrinkIt do not preserve volume number.)
8-bit/IIe ShrinkIt can be used to fully unshrink any Apple II .SHK file _except_ .SHK files which contain files with GS/OS resource forks and .SEA files. For this reason, 8-bit ShrinkIt should not be used to unshrink .SHK file archives containing GS programs unless you know that none of the contained files has a resource fork.
GS-ShrinkIt can handle nearly all kinds of Apple II .SHK and .SDK files. It will not handle shrinked 5.25" DOS 3.3 .SDK files created by 8-bit ShrinkIt. In fact, most users automatically use 8-bit ShrinkIt to create and unshrink .SDK files of old 5.25" wares. (Balloon does not currently support whole-disk archives.)
Naturally, things are somewhat more crowded on 64K Apple II's. On these machines, the functions are separated. SHRINK creates .SHK files and UNSHRINK unshrinks them.
On a PC, the utility NuLib (v3.24) lets you view contents and unshrink most kinds of .SHK files. (There is a handy option to unshrink and convert Apple II text files to PC text format.) It will not unshrink IIgs files with resource forks.
Here is a simple one-line batch (text) file program for easily viewing the contents of .shk files you download to a PC (just double-click on the file name):
c:\nulib\nulib v %1 |more
The above is for NuLib.exe located in folder c:\nulib . Save the text as nulibv.bat in c:\nulib and tell Windows to use c:\nulib\nulibv.bat as the 'application to perform action' for doing an Open. (You do this by selecting View--Options in the My Computer window and editing the file type info for .shk files.)
NuLib can also convert 5.25" .SDK files into .PO (ProDOS order) disk images which can be used by Apple II emulators. This works for .SDK files produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt but not for those produced by GS-ShrinkIt.
The unshrinking process is very speedy and the size of a compressed ShrinkIt file is, often, around half that of the original files it contains. This makes .SHK files very handy for archiving your software. And, since a ShrinkIt file also preserves filetype information of contained files, ShrinkIt has become the preferred format for uploading and storing Apple II files on the internet.
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003- How do I get ShrinkIt or GS-ShrinkIt going on my Apple II?
Getting GS-ShrinkIt v1.1
If you do not already have Balloon or an earlier version of GS-ShrinkIt, there are several ways to get GS-ShrinkIt going once a file is downloaded and transferred to your IIgs. Here are the two easiest ways:
A. The Self-Extracting (.sea) version
A IIgs .sea file is a IIgs application which self-extracts the file contents when executed from the usual Finder desktop display. Since the file gshk.sea will, most likely, arrive as a Text type file, you will need to change the file's filetype to $B3 (S16) before it can be executed.
Several utilities can change ProDOS filetype. If you do not have one, you can download tchange.bin and follow the directions* in tchange_info.txt to get it going on your Apple II.
You can find GS-ShrinkIt in an .SEA file (e.g. gshk.sea) and tchange.bin on several archive sites. (See Q&A 007 below.)
B. The Shrinked Disk (.sdk) version
GSUTILS.sdk is a shrinked whole-disk file which can be unshrinked to 800k 3.5" diskette using 8-bit ShrinkIt (or GS-ShrinkIt). If booted, this diskette starts a bare-bones System 6.0.1 and launches GS-ShrinkIt.
Besides GS-ShrinkIt, also on the disk (in .SHK files) are the ZLINK shareware telecom utility and ASIMOV for converting .dsk files. Coolwriter (for reading Text) is on the disk as a non-shrinked file. All of these can be copied to hard disk or to other diskettes.
GSUTILS.sdk is available on Ground in the useful.stuff/ folder mentioned above. The 8-bit ShrinkIt in a self-extracting version can be found in the same folder.
Getting SHRINK and UNSHRINK (for 64k Apples)
SHRINK and UNSHRINK permit 64k Apple II users to work with .SHK files. These files are usually maintained in non-shrinked form. You can find them on several sites. (See Q&A 007 below.)
To get these utilities going on your Apple II, download SHRINK, UNSHRINK, and SHRINK2PLUS.TXT (e.g. as separeate files or on a .dsk disk image). Once the files are transferred to your Apple II, follow the directions* in SHRINK2PLUS.TXT.
*Note: If you download an Apple II file to a PC and transfer to a Mac and get filetype $00 ("Unknown"), the process described in the directions will not work when the $00 file is moved to your Apple II. One solution is a Mac utility to set filetype to $04 (TXT). See ProTYPE info in the next Q&A below.
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Getting 8-bit ShrinkIt
From: Beverly Cadieux
The easiest way to get the current (3.4) version of 8-bit ShrinkIt going is via the self-extracting archive, SHRINK.EXE.
o- Download the file, (transfer to your Apple II if necessary,) and get into AppleSoft BASIC (run BASIC.SYSTEM and get to the AppleSoft "]" prompt).
o- Be sure to set the ProDOS PREFIX to the location of SHRINK.EXE on your Apple II. For example, if it is in the main directory of volume HD1, you would enter
PREFIX /HD1
o- Now, enter -SHRINK.EXE (that's a dash, then the file name):
-SHRINK.EXE
Shrinkit will self-extract, along with a documentation file. (ShrinkIt v3.4 consists of two files. One is a small start file which may be named "Shrinkit.System", "ShrinkitST.sys", or something similar. The other is the main program file which must be named "Shrinkit".)
You can find SHRINK.EXE in Ground's useful.stuff/ folder (See Q&A 007 below).
____________________________
From: Randy Shackelford
004- How do I deal with the $00 type Apple II files I get on my Mac?
Some II users like to download Apple II files to a PC and transfer them to a Mac for eventual transfer to Apple II ProDOS diskettes. Unfortunately, under most circumstances, PC Exchange writes files onto ProDOS disks as extended typeless ($00) files which are difficult to work with on the Apple II.
What you need is to get hold of a Mac application named "ProTYPE". You drag 'n drop the files on ProTYPE, then copy 'em to the floppy. The files will work then.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
005- Can I work with .zip files on my Apple II?
The GS can unZIP .zip files via PMPunZip by Paul Parkhurst.
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From: Supertimer
Tony Marques wrote Angel, the fastest unzipping utility for the Apple II. It can create .zip files, but only one file per archive.
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From: Jim Pendarvis
To zip a file using Angel, highlight the file to zip and press OpenApple-Z. You'll get a file named ZIPDFILE.ZIP. If you then select another file to zip, it will overwrite the first one. (Don't forget to set your destination directory first. That is the hardest thing to remember about using Angel.)
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From: Rubywand, Orgone Accumulator, Greg E. Nelson, Eric Shepherd, Roger Johnstone
006- What are DSK, PO, DO, HDV, NIB, and 2MG "disk image" files
and how do I use them?
A "disk image" is typically a file containing every data byte on a diskette-- i.e. Catalog tracks, files, DOS (if present) etc.. One kind of disk image, NIB, tries to preserve all disk information (e.g. sector headers, sync bytes, etc.).
Apple II emulators running on a PC, Mac, etc. treat disk image files like diskettes. Disk image files are also a handy way to archive Apple II disks on hard disk and to maintain wares on ftp and other download sites.
DSK's (.dsk, .do, .po and .hdv files)
DSK (usually .dsk) files are disk image files used by popular Apple II emulators like AppleWin to run A2 wares on the PC or Mac. Usually, they are images of Apple 5.25" game, utility, etc. diskettes. A standard 5.25" DSK file is 143,360 bytes in length:
1 side x 35 Tracks/side x 16 Sectors/Trk x 256 Bytes/Sec = 143,360 Bytes.
DSK files of 800k 3.5" disks are much less common.
Data in a DSK disk image file can be arranged in the sector order used by DOS 3.3 or in the sector order used by ProDOS. The filename suffixes relate chiefly to how data is arranged in the file:
.dsk- technically, this may be an image which has its data in DOS 3.3 or ProDOS order. (The emulator program is supposed to check a .dsk file to determine the ordering used.) It has become standard practice to use the .dsk suffix for only DOS 3.3 order files.
.do- an image which is in DOS 3.3 order. This suffix is seldom used today. DOS 3.3 order image file names usually end with ".dsk".
.po- an image which is in ProDOS order. If an image is in ProDOS order, its name should end with ".po" (not ".dsk") to avoid confusion.
.hdv- typically an image 800k (819,200 bytes) or greater in size in ProDOS order. The image is intended for use as a virtual hard disk by various Apple II and IIgs emulators (e.g. Apple Oasis). The IIgs program ASIMOV2 can create .hdv files (select "Raw image"). The file name should end with ".hdv".
Note: data order does not relate to whether a disk image is a DOS 3.3 or ProDOS disk. In fact, nearly all 5.25" disk image files (of both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS disks) are in DOS 3.3 order; and, DOS 3.3 order is the default setting for image creation programs like DSK2FILE and ASIMOV and the transfer/creation program ADT.
On a PC, NuLib can create disk images from 8-bit ShrinkIt whole-disk (.sdk) files (but not from .sdk files which were produced by GS-ShrinkIt). These images will be in ProDOS order. You can convert a .po disk image to a DOS 3.3 order .dsk by using a disk copier like Disk Muncher on an emulator to copy from the .po image to a .dsk image.
On ftp sites, DSK files are usually in a ZIPped form to conserve space. For example, on the Asimov site, narfgames.dsk.gz is a DSK file of the narfgames disk which has been g-zip compressed. Other archive sites may use standard ZIP compression and the file name might be "narfgame.zip" or "narfgame_dsk.zip". On a PC, WinZIP will uncompress g-zipped and ZIPped DSK files.
A DSK file can be converted to actual diskette form on an Apple II using DSK2FILE or (GS-only) ASIMOV. If a 5.25" .dsk disk image file is transferred to your Apple II using ADT (or ADTgs for IIgs), it is automatically converted and written to 5.25" diskette. For more about ADT and ADTgs see Telecom-1.
Most 5.25" DSK (.dsk and .do) files are of a DOS 3.3 or some related DOS disk. The target diskette should be INITed for DOS 3.3. (or, it can be formatted using Copy II Plus, etc.) and you should use the default DSK2FILE or ASIMOV "DOS 3.3 Order" setting. If a disk image file has a .po suffix, use the DSK2FILE or ASIMOV "ProDOS Order" setting.
Note: In most cases it is okay to use either a DOS 3.3 or ProDOS formatted diskette as the target (and; the target disk does not need to be empty of any files). However, ProDOS formatting uses a default Volume Number of 1, which is different from the DOS 3.3 default of 254. Since ProDOS stuff does not care about Volume numbering and DOS 3.3 stuff may, the target disk should generally be one INITed with the default Volume Number-- e.g. INIT HELLO .
Here is a quickie step-by-step guide for getting a 5.25" DSK disk image file into useable form:
1. Download the file in binary mode from an ftp archive site via ftp:// ...
2. If file length is not 143,360, use WinZIP or equivalent to unZip it.
3. Transfer the DSK file to your GS via Mac diskette or a NULL modem transfer. One way or another, the file needs to end up on a ProDOS diskette or ProDOS hard disk volume on the GS.
4. If you are using DSK2FILE, jot down the complete path name of the DSK file (e.g. /RAM5/NARFGAMES.DSK ) because DSK2FILE will ask you to type it in.
5. Insert the formatted 5.25" target diskette into Drive 1 (Slot 6). This diskette needs to be 16-sector formatted. Plain DOS 3.3 formatting with the default Volume number is, generally, best and easiest. (You can boot a DOS 3.3 or Prontodos disk and do an INIT HELLO to format a 5.25" diskette.)
6. Start DSK2FILE or ASIMOV. Normally, you will accept the defaults (5.25", DOS 3.3 order). If you know the DSK is a ProDOS image in ProDOS order-- like the file name ends with ".PO", select "ProDOS Order". (ProDOS disk images are, fairly often, in DOS order to make them more universally transferable.)
7. Select the "Image file ---> Diskette" option, follow prompts, and you should end up with a good diskette. (If everything seemed to go well but the disk does not work, try repeating the process using the other "Order" option.)
DSK2FILE and ASIMOV can, also, create disk image (.dsk or .po) files. Similarly, using ADT to transfer a 5.25" disk automatically creates a .dsk disk image on the PC. The source disk can be for a game, etc. so long as the diskette is not copy protected.
Note: DOS 3.3 products which depend upon Volume numbering to identify diskettes will normally not work in disk image form on an Apple II emulator because Volume number information is embedded in non-data parts of a disk and is not included in a standard .dsk disk image file.
NIB (.nib)
Some copy protected diskettes can be converted to another kind of disk image called "NIB". Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST) incorporates bit copy routines to attempt to produce a nibblized disk image of a 5.25" diskette.
On your Apple II, SST reads the disk bytes from half a disk and stores that data on a whole normal disk. Then it does the same for the second half. These two disks can be converted to .dsk disk images and moved to a PC or Mac. There, the .dsk images are merged into a NIB image using SST running on an emulator.
If successful, you have a .nib file which can be used like a diskette on popular Apple II emulators. (For one or two older emulators, .nib files are the only useable images.)
The standard length of a .nib file is 232,960 bytes-- much larger than a DSK. However, since .nib files include sector address header and other non-data 'embedded' diskette information, they can be used to image many protected disks.
Naturally, a .nib file preserves DOS 3.3 volume numbering. This allows programs which use volume numbers to identify their disks to run on emulators. Many disks with no copy protection are in .nib form instead of .dsk because the game, etc. which uses the disks needs to check volume numbering.
2MG (.2mg; sometimes .2img)
Today, more and more IIgs software is being converted to 2MG disk image format used on XGS and other IIgs emulators. These are .dsk or .nib images with a prefix (usually 64 bytes) which includes information about size, format, sector ordering, volume number, locked/unlocked, etc..
2MG files may also have a Comment and/or extra file information added following the disk image data. The format can accommodate disk images ranging from 5.25" diskette up through hard disk. For 2MG format details, see http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Docs/DiskImage_2MG_Info.txt .
The usual length of an 800k .2MG image (with no Comment or extra data) is 819,264 bytes*.
You can use ASIMOV2 to convert .2MG files back to diskette form as well as for creating .2MG files from 800k diskettes. The utility Imgutnew.exe can be used to convert most available Diskcopy images to 2MG format on PC.
*See ... Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk (at bottom of this page)
____________________________
From: Rubywand
007- Where can I get ShrinkIt, Shrink (64k), Unshrink (64k),
GS-ShrinkIt, binscii, GScii, BISCIT, TCHANGE, DSK2FILE, ASIMOV,
PMPunZip, Angel, FileManager, 2qwk!, GZPK, Disk Muncher, Copy II Plus,
NuLib, Balloon, DskIn & DskOut, Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST),
FishWings, UnforkIt, XTRAX, StuffIt Expander, Diskcopy, Clone,
Imgutnew.exe, DiskDup+, ProTYPE, MECC Copy, BlockWarden, BlockWork,
ProDOSifier, DISK2FDI, CiderPress, ProDOS File Navigator, FID
and Apple Commander?
For links, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
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008- I have downloaded a bunch of files for the Apple II
lately that are in a format called GZ. I understand it
is some variation of Zip but I don't have a translator for
it on my GS. Does anyone know where I can find one?
5.25" disk image files downloaded from Asimov, mod files, and some others are, often, in GZ g-zipped format and usually have the .gz file name extension (like narfgame.dsk.gz). If you download the files to a PC, you can use WinZIP to unzip the file.
Note: Due to the use of an extra period, names of g-zip compressed files-- names such as "narfgame.dsk.gz"-- do not always survive downloading to PC's. Some setups may remove the ".gz" from the name when saving the file. In order to be correctly recognized by WinZIP, the file's name should be repaired so that it ends with ".gz".
Usually, once unzipped, an Asimov GZ image file will end up as a 143,360 byte DSK file with a name ending with ".dsk". The file may be used as a virtual diskette on an emulator like AppleWin; or, it may be transferred to a real Apple II via NULL modem and converted to Apple-readable diskette form using DSK2FILE or (GS-only) ASIMOV. (Or, it may be NULL modem transferred directly to 5.25" diskette via a version of ADT.)
If you download a GZ file directly to your Apple you can use a program named "GZPK" v2 to convert it from gzip form to a zip format which can be unzipped via PMPUnzip 2.0 or Angel. A GZ file from the Asimov site should end up as a DSK file.
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From: lachlan_arnott and Byron Desnoyers Winmill
On a Mac, you can use MacGzip to unZIP g-zipped (.gz) DSK files into uncompressed form. Another choice (for doing the same job as WinZIP on a PC) is Aladdin's StuffIt Expander and the DropStuff Expander Pack. These utilities can be found on many Macintosh related ftp sites. (See Q&A 007.)
____________________________
From: Slick
009- Which programs can change ProDOS filetype?
I prefer More Info or Disk Witch, myself. I'll go through a list of stuff on my hard drive to manipulate filetypes:
DAs:
Alter (NDA)
Conchshell (CDA)
Disk Witch (CDA)
File Manager (NDA)
File Info2 (NDA)
File Info Edit (NDA)
Super Info II (NDA)
Utilities CDA (CDA), not very good
Finder Extras:
More Info
GS/OS Applications
Instant Access
File Passage
ProDOS 8
FAZ II (File Attribute Zap II)
----------------------------
From: Boris Guenter
File-A-Trix by Karl Bunker should do the job. Best of all, the latest (and last) version 1.1.1 of this program is freeware.
Since I had a few troubles with the latest version, I suggest trying both versions 1.1 and 1.1.1.
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From: Tony Ward
I also prefer File-A-Trix. It performs a wide variety of functions including copy, move, delete, rename, catalog, make new folder, set file attributes (lock, unlock, filetype, auxtype), find file, format (floppy only), view text, Teach and AWP files. Best of all, it's a CDA that works from GS/OS and ProDOS 8, although there are some restrictions under P8 (i.e. no HFS disk access, no viewing forked Teach files, etc.)
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From: Gareth Jones
I use either File-A-Trix, Change-A-File 4.20, or Deliverance (part of the Salvation Utilities).
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From: Rubywand
Some programs which can be used to change filetype are ...
Jeff Hartkoph's File Manager- a GS NDA which lets you change Type, Auxtype, Date, and Access attributes. It is handy for modifying several files in quick succession.
Paul Parkhurst's PMPunZip- a GS application which includes an option for changing Type, Auxtype, and Access attributes. (In the File menu click on Modify File Attributes.)
Glen Bredon's ProSel (ProDOS 8 utilities)
Roger Wagner's Filetype Changer- a vintage BASIC utility which lets you change just the Type. A BRUN-able .BIN version is on Ground. (This is good enough for getting the GS-ShrinkIt .SEA file's filetype set correctly so that it can self-extract.)
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From: Beverly Cadieux
And a biggie - AppleWorks v5.1-> File Activities, Change File Type.
----------------------------
From: Jay Edwards
TimeOut FileMaster does a great job and never argues about it. Best of all, it likes so many versions of AppleWorks.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
010- What is Copy II Plus and where can I get it?
Copy II Plus is the best general purpose utility for copying disks and managing files on DOS 3.3 and ProDOS diskettes. Most of the Copy II Plus functions also work with disk images (e.g. .dsk files) on emulators; however, COPY DISK and FORMAT are important functions which do not work correctly with emulators. Good versions which handle both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS files are 7.x - 8.x.
Note: Versions 9.x require at least an enhanced IIe and have a few notable bugs. Version 9.0's Catalog Sort option can mess up your directory. Neither version 9.0 nor 9.1 works correctly with the /RAM5 RAM disk. The best added capability of Version 9.x is being able to compare files.
No version of Copy II Plus will copy files which include a resource part, usually called a "resource fork". In some cases the copy may seem to be successful; but, it will be a mess. Only some, relatively new, IIgs files include a resource fork. No DOS 3.3 files or files intended for access under ProDOS 8 have resource forks.
The most versatile releases of the utility are, probably, Versions 7.1 and 7.2. They include the capability for creating disk images. The images are not compatible with popular emulators; but, they are a handy way to archive DOS 3.3 disks on a hard disk.
For places to get Copy II Plus in ShrinkIt shrinked disk and emulator disk image files, refer to Q&A 007 above.
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From: tturner, Rubywand, Greg Buchner, Labelas Enoreth
011- How do I use Copy II Plus to create and convert IMG files?
First, to the best of my knowledge, only versions 6.x and 7.x of Copy II Plus can create a disk image file (called an "IMG" file). The feature was gone by version 8, for sure.
To create an IMG file you COPY--> DISK to an over-size target volume. Versions 6 and 7 will create a type "IMG" file instead of complaining about a "size mismatch" (which is what other versions of Copy II Plus do). It is fairly common to end the name of the new IMG file with ".img".
Doing the opposite lets you convert an IMG file back to diskette. That is, you select the COPY --> DISK option and pick the large volume with the IMG file as Source and a blank unformatted 5.25" diskette in the Slot 6, Drive 1 drive as Destination. You pick an IMG file on the Source volume and it is transferred to the diskette.
Copy II Plus IMG files are not compatible with DSK2FILE or ASIMOV and will not work on emulators such as AppleWin. Also, not all files ending with ".img" are Copy II Plus disk image files. I have seen ".img" (and ".image") used for Diskcopy disk image files.
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From: Rubywand
012- I'm using an Apple II emulator to play games. The game directions
say the boot disk must have a write protect tab. How do I set
write protection for a disk image?
Under Windows on a PC, you can right-click on the file name, select Properties, and adjust the "Read-only" attribute. Checking "Read-only" turns ON write protection; unchecking it turns write protection OFF.
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From: Jon Bettencourt
On a Mac, you select the file, go up to File --> Get Info..., and click on "Locked."
____________________________
From: Rubywand
013- How can I create a disk image from a ShrinkIt .sdk file?
NuLib v3.24 can be used to make .po disk images from ShrinkIt 5.25" whole-disk archives-- e.g. .sdk files.
Note: NuLib v3.24 can create 5.25" disk images only for .sdk files created by 8-bit ShrinkIt (not ones created by GS-ShrinkIt). Since most .sdk files were created by 8-bit ShrinkIt, there is usually no problem.
For instance, suppose you have downloaded a whole-disk archive (.sdk file) of a 5.25" disk of modem utilities named "modem1.sdk" and wish to convert it into a disk image. For this example, it is assumed that you have downloaded NuLib v3.24 and unZIPed it and, now, have all of your Nulib stuff (nulib.exe, docs, etc.) in C:\nulib on your PC:
o- After downloading to the PC, check the file name of the .sdk file you want to convert. The name should have from 1 to 8 characters followed by ".sdk". If it doesn't, rename the file so that it does. The file modem1.sdk follows the above rule; so, there is no need to rename it.
o- Move or copy modem1.sdk to the C:\nulib folder.
o- Since you are probably in Windows95 (or later) open an MS-DOS window.
o- In the DOS window, go to the nulib folder ...
C:\WINDOWS>cd\
C:\>cd nulib
o- Enter the xd command to create the disk image from modem1.sdk:
C:\nulib>nulib xd modem1.sdk
You should get a message saying the 'NEW DISK' image is being extracted ending with "...done".
o- Exit the MS-DOS window-- e.g. click on the "X" in the corner.
o- Open the C:\nulib folder. Probably, your new disk image will be named "new.dis". Rename the new file to "modem1.po". It should show up with a size of 140k in the usual Windows listing. (If it shows size 0, go to "View" for the window and click "Refresh".)
If the new modem1.po has some size other than 140k-- like size is shown as 75k, etc.-- it means that modem1.sdk was probably created by GS-ShrinkIt and can not be converted to a disk image using NuLib. (You might as well scrap the bad modem1.po .)
Most likely, though, the conversion will work and modem1.po will be a good disk image.
----------------------------
014- How can I convert a .po image to/from a .dsk or .do image?
Most emulator programs have no problem using .po, .do, or .dsk disk images. So, the usual reason for wishing to change ordering is to go from .po (ProDOS order) to .dsk (typically, DOS 3.3 order) to permit transferring the image to your Apple II via ADT. In a few cases, it may be useful to go from DOS 3.3 order to ProDOS order, too.
Since a disk copy done on an emulator (like AppleWin) adjusts ordering to match the target, doing a disk copy from, for example, a .po image to a .dsk image (in DOS 3.3 order) is a simple way to do a conversion*. A good emulator choice for Windows users is AppleWin. A good disk copier program is Disk Muncher-- it is included on the TNILUTIL.DSK available from Ground and GSWV.
An easy way to check ordering of a bootable .po or .do disk image is to boot it under AppleWin. If it boots correctly, the ordering is as claimed-- .do = DOS 3.3 order and .po = ProDOS order. For a bootable .dsk image, you can change the suffix to ".do" or ".po" and boot it to check that it is really in the order you expect.
*Note: AppleWin, evidently, checks the ordering of a .dsk image used as a target for copying. It does not check actual ordering of .po or .do images. So, for example, if the target image has the ".po" suffix, the copy to the image will be in ProDOS order. Some emulators may work differently.
____________________________
From: David Kopper, Dan DeMaggio, Boris Guenter, Nathan Mates,
Phil Abro, Rubywand, Labelas Enoreth, Tony Turner
015- What do the different popular file name extensions, like ".BSC",
mean; and, how do I access the files?
File name extensions tell you what sort of file you are dealing with so that you will know which program(s) to use to unpack, unShrink, display, etc. the file. Many programs which create such files do not automatically add an extension-- for example, most of the disk images on the Golden Orchard CD are Diskcopy files with no name extension. Many other programs which create files suggest a default extension as part of the name-- GS-ShrinkIt generally suggests ".SHK"-- but, the user can change this and
save under any legal name desired. (One popular change is using ".SDK" for ShrinkIt whole-disk archive files.)
Some extensions indicate a filetype recognized by Apple II ProDOS; but, often, the extension is just for user information or to help some utility recognize the file as one it can deal with. For such files the actual ProDOS filetype is usually TXT, BIN, or SHK.
What is it? (What program do I use?)
------------------------------------------------------------
.2MG also .2IMG- XGS IIgs disk image file usually 800k or
larger (GS ASIMOV2; PC Imgutnew.exe)
.AAF Apple Archive Format [TEXT] for source code (aaf.unpacker)
.ACU NuFX Applelink archive (ShrinkIt*)
.ALU usually a multi-file, non-compressed A2 archive (ALU)
.APF GS super-res "Apple Preferred" packed graphics format
(Platinum Paint, Convert 3200, etc.)
.ARC PC Archive (GS-ShrinkIt* or DeArc2E or PC Arc program)
.BMP Windows Bit-Mapped graphics format (GS Convert 3200;
many PC viewers)
.BNX NuFX with BLU header. (ShrinkIt*)
.BNY BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*)
.BQY NuFX with BLU header. (ShrinkIt*)
.BSC BinScii file. [TEXT] (BinScii or GScii)
.BSE A GSHK* .SEA file with a Binary II header (ShrinkIt*)
.BSQ BinScii'd NuFX file. [TEXT] (BinScii plus ShrinkIt* on
the result)
.BXY NuFX archive with a Binary II header. (ShrinkIt*)
.CPT Compactor Pro archive (Compactor Pro on a Mac only)
.DIMG Diskcopy disk image file usually produced by a
Mac (GS Clone or Diskcopy; Mac Diskcopy; PC Imgutnew.exe)
.DO a .DSK file specified as having data in "DOS 3.3 Order"
i.e. uses DOS 3.3 sector ordering (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.DSK standard emulator disk image-- length is 143360 bytes for
5.25" disk images (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.EXE A2 Executioner file [TEXT]. (On A2; some files may EXEC
properly under only DOS 3.3.)
.GIF Graphics Interchange Format: Compressed picture (IIGIF for
//e; Super Convert, ... on GS; PC, etc.: many viewers
and editors)
.GZ GZip PC archive format often used for storing A2 emulator
disk images (GS GZPK v2 plus PMPUnZIP or Angel; PC WinZIP)
.HDV Raw (DSK) ProDOS ordered disk image file 800K or greater in
size; used by emus as a virtual hard disk (ASIMOV2 on IIgs)
.HQX Mac BinHex file. [TEXT] (BinHex on Mac or GScii)
.HTM HTML [TEXT] with embedded Text commands (Web
browsers, web editors, etc.)
.IMAGE Diskcopy images (see .DIMG)
.IMG Type IMG or "user #7" Copy II Plus disk image file (A2
Copy II Plus v6.x or v7.x)
.IMG is sometimes used for Diskcopy images (see .DIMG)
.JPG PC JPEG hi-res, hi-color graphics format (GS JPEG.VIEWER,
etc. B/W only or PC, Unix viewers)
.LBR a multi-file, non-compressed A2 archive (Librarian)
.LHA LHA Archive (PC/Amiga LZH program)
.LZH LZH Archive (PC/Amiga LZH program)
.NIB emulator disk image (typical length: 232960) for protected
5.25" software (A2 Saltine's Super Transcopy)
.PCX PC graphics format (GS Convert 3200; PC many viewers)
.PD compressed GS multi-palette graphics file w/o
palettes (GS SuperPac)
.PNG PC PING hi-res, hi-color graphics format (PC viewer)
.PO a .DSK file specified as having data in "ProDOS Order"
i.e. uses ProDOS sector ordering (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.PS compressed GS multi-palette graphics file with
palettes (GS SuperPac)
.QQ BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*)
.SDK ShrinkIt disk image, usually NuFX-compressed (ShrinkIt*)
.SEA Self-extracting A2 ShrinkIt* or Mac ShrinkIt archive
(depending upon kind, run on Apple IIgs or Mac)
.SHK usually an A2 NuFX-compressed archive; non-A2-compatible
Mac .SHK archives also exist (GS ShrinkIt* / Mac unshrinker
utility / PC Nulib-- does not extract GS resource forks)
.SIT Mac StuffIt archive. (Stuffit on Mac or GS ShrinkIt)
GS-ShrinkIt will not decode StuffIt Deluxe files.
.TAR Unix Tape Archive (Unix tar with -xvf option, GS EXE tar)
.TGZ Gzipped .TAR file
.uu Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.uue Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.TIFF Graphics format (GS SHR Convert)
.TXT [TEXT] An ASCII text file (Text editors,
word processors, etc.)
.UU Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode)
.UUE Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode)
.Z Compressed file (GS-ShrinkIt or Unix uncompress)
.ZIP PC Zip Archive (GS PMPUnZIP or UNZIP [GS Shell EXE]
or PC WinZIP, PKUNZIP, Unix unzip)
.ZOO PC Zoo Archive (GS-ShrinkIt??? or PC ZOO program)
* Note: GS-ShrinkIt (= GSHK) can handle all ShrinkIt files except
.SDK (shrunken disk) files of 5.25" DOS 3.3 disks created by
8-bit ShrinkIt. 8-bit ShrinkIt does not work for GS
files having a resource fork or GS .SEA files.
----------------------------
From: Apple's ftp site ...
Most files are in one of a few common formats, and many are a combination.
.sit StuffIt 1.5.1 archives
.hqx BinHex 4.0 file
.bin Binary file
.image Diskcopy 4.2 image file
.txt plain ASCII text file
.bsc Apple II BinSCII file
.shk Apple II ShrinkIt file
Most of the Macintosh files are BinHexed StuffIt files. This means you need to transfer the file, then read the license agreement which is prepended to it (with any text processor), use BinHex or any utility which can read BinHex 4.0 files to decode the BinHex to a StuffIt archive, then use UnStuffIt or the StuffIt Expander (or a similar utility) to decompress the .sit file into the final file.
In some cases the final file is a .image file. These are exact duplicates of floppy disks (with verified checksums). Use Diskcopy to convert these files into floppy disks for installation. Some Apple System Software is in this format.
Most of the Apple II files are either straight text or BinSCII'd ShrinkIt files. This means you need to transfer the file, then use BinSCII to convert the .bsc file to a ShrinkIt file, then use ShrinkIt to create the final file or disk.
Note: Apple calls their BinSCII'd .SHK files ".bsc" instead of ".bsq". It is fairly common for uploaders and ftp sites to tag any BinSCII'd file as ".bsc". The rationale is that, once a user un-BinSCII's a file, he or she will find an .SHK, .ZIP, etc. file and know how to continue.
____________________________
From: David Kopper
016- How do I tell what kind of file this is?
Here is a simple guide to help you identify a file. You should always go by filename extension first, but not everybody uses those. In Unix, you can use the 'head' command to look at the first couple of lines of a file. If it turns out to be a binary file, you may be in for a surprise. You may want to use the Unix 'file' command to find out if it is a text file or not first. Once you have identified the file, check the earlier info on filename extensions for how to deal with it.
If there are lines in the file that look like this (there can be other text before it--search for 'FiLeStArT'):
FiLeStArTfIlEsTaRt
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789()
GBINSCII AQhmAAAAA8)4MIAI02DA9ARMQEDtAQhmAIVZ
gYITA6u7xADA0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwYURzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
CFUOFR0QxAjR0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwAQRzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
...
then you've got something encoded by BinSCII. You must decode _all_ the parts using BinSCII. Then, if the resulting file is in some compressed form, you would use an appropriate utility to uncompress it. (For example, you would use 8-bit ShrinkIt to uncompress a whole-disk .sdk archive file.)
On the other hand, if you have a binary file which resembles:
NuFilei][![/#NuFX_<:c[[[ H`F-fGSCII~[
cRJ0)fNN^P)3'A2p6SF6X#GPd<9#'LC^08N7n\NB7Dd!eMN&eYX0Am=fXp
dsPAsp7rh`I'NS0ALAfi2)2ysGEQ$k9CP%L9
...
then you have a NuFX file (note the key words NuFile and NuFX). You should be able to extract the files it contains using ShrinkIt.
On the third hand, if you have a text file which resembles:
begin 666 nonsense.bny
M4W5N3U,s4F5L96%S92 T+C$s\%-$4U0V,"Ds(SsZ(%1U92!/8W0s.2 Q,CHS
M...3HT.2!%1%0s,3DY, HT
then you have a uuencoded file.
On another hand, if you have a text file which begins with
(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)
:$&4)48C28N0&,P009!"6593K8dP8)3%!!!#Ls!!!!!!Qie009#%!!3!!SPKb6'&
e!3!!!!!!!!!#!!P8D'8J4QpbBf9P)IN33)(4$N#"d4K!JG%S!!!!!`!'VfJ!"VP
then you have a BinHex file. The GScii NDA by Derek Taubert decodes BinHex files on an Apple IIGS. You can also use a variety of macintosh programs to do the decoding. There is also a Unix implementation of BinHex called mcvert.
On one more hand, if you have a text file which resembles:
CALL-151
E00:38 A5 FF D0 32 D8 20 8E FD AD 30 BF 8D 6A 0E 20
E10:00 BF C7 6D 0E 0D 80 02 D0 1D 20 00 BF C5 69 0E
and more lines like that, followed by a bunch of lines that look like:
A90885A420732090242039FB2058FCA200BD9220F00620EDFDE8D0F5200CFDA9
008DF2038DF3038DF4036CFCFFE6A4A5A4C96F90CFA9008DFCBFA9018DFDBFA0
A90885A420732090242039FB2058FCA200BD9220F00620EDFDE8D0F5200CFDA9
then you have an Executioner file.
___________________________
From: Rubywand
017- How can I create 'blank' .dsk, .nib, etc. disk images?
The simplest way to get a new .dsk or .nib is to copy an existing one and delete the files. Under Windows, you can just Right-click drag-and-drop a file in the same folder to get a copy. If you want a DOS 3.3 formatted image, pick a DOS 3.3 image to copy. If you want a ProDOS formatted image, pick a ProDOS image to copy. You can use a utility like Copy II Plus v7.4 to delete the files.
If you want a DOS 3.3 image, it's a good idea to boot DOS 3.3 and INIT HELLO the new image. This guarantees that the new image is correctly formatted. Doing an INIT also allows you to pick the version of DOS 3.3 that the new image will boot-- i.e., it will be the version of the DOS 3.3 (e.g. regular DOS 3.3, ProtoDOS, EsDOS, ...) which does the INIT. And, the INIT command allows you to set Volume Number on a .nib (which may be important if the image is supposed to work with a game, etc. which looks fo
r a particular Volume Number).
DOS 3.3's INIT works fine as a way to format images; but, the routines used by many utilities are not reliable. In general, you should be wary of using utilities like Copy II Plus and Apple's ProDOS Utilities to handle formatting of images on an emulator.
Another way to obtain fresh disk image files is to download 'blank' .dsk and .nib images from the Apple II archives which offer them.
However you create or obtain a 'blank' disk image of the sort you want, once you have one, you can save future bother by making multiple copies of it-- e.g. via multiple drag-and-drop copies-- and naming the copies something like "D33blank1.dsk", "PDblank1.dsk", "D33blank1.nib", etc..
----------------------------
018- How can I convert .dsk image <--> .nib image?
You can use a whole-disk copier such as Disk Muncher to copy from one to the other. For .nib --> .dsk, the .nib must not be a copy protected image.
For a .dsk --> .nib copy on an emulator using most whole-disk copiers, one result will be to set the Volume Number of the .nib to the default assigned to the .dsk. For example, converting a normal .dsk image this way will result in a .nib with VN set to 254.
If you want to 'convert' from .dsk to .nib without changing the VN of the .nib, use a copier that transfers just the contents. The old Apple program, COPYA, will do this if the program is modified to eliminate formatting of the target disk. Change the Line which does the INIT (usually Line 250) to ...
250 FT= 1
----------------------------
019- How can I convert Diskcopy images to diskette or to other formats?
Diskcopy is a Mac disk image format with names ending in ".dimg", ".img", ".image", or with no suffix. (Sometimes, incorrectly, ".dsk" is used.) The typical length of a Diskcopy file used for an Apple II 800k image is 838,484 bytes*. On a Mac, you can use the Mac Diskcopy utility to convert diskettes to images or images to diskettes.
On a IIgs, you can use Clone or Diskcopy to convert a Diskcopy image to diskette. (It may be necessary to set filetype to $E0 and auxtype to $0005 in order for the file to be recognized as a Diskcopy image.)
Clone is more user-friendly. Both utilities work fine for converting Diskcopy images (such as those on the Golden Orchard CD) to 3.5" diskette. If the Diskcopy file was created under a version greater than 4.2, you will probably need to do any conversions on a Mac which can run a later version of Diskcopy.
On a PC, the XGS utility Imgutnew.exe can be used to convert most available Diskcopy images of Apple II software to 2MG image format. The Diskcopy image name may need to be changed (spaces removed, etc.) to fit PC DOS format in order for Imgutnew.exe to work.
*See ... Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk (at bottom of this page)
___________________________
From: Charlie Danemark and Andy McFadden
020- How can I move .shk and other kinds of files to/from .dsk
and .2MG disk images?
If you are using Windows 95 ('98, 'Me) you can use FishWings or CiderPress to import .shk and other kinds of files onto .2MG or .dsk disk images formatted for ProDOS. You can also export files from disk image to your PC.
___________________________
From: Rubywand
021- How can I unfork forked files on my Apple II?
You can do it 'by hand' using a block editor to change filetype, etc. information in a directory block; or, you can use UnforkIt. UnforkIt is a BASIC program by Ivan Drucker which splits a forked file into two files, neither of which is forked.
___________________________
Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk
Although 2MG, Diskcopy, and some other 800k image formats have file sizes greater than 800k, on a ProDOS diskette they will often occupy a good deal less space. You will often be able to transfer such files (e.g. via a NULL modem connection) to an Apple II 800k diskette so long as you employ a protocol which does not pre-send size information, such as X-modem.
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2ACCEL.txt rev139 October 2009
Accelerators
001- What are the correct settings for a ZipGS?
002- Why should Appletalk Delay be disabled with a ZipGS?
003- How do I set up a Transwarp on my IIe?
004- Is there a way of disabling Transwarp for games?
005- What are specs & jumper settings for a vintage SpeeDemon?
006- How does the SpeeDemon rate as an accelerator?
007- My SpeeDemon accelerator board seems to run hot. A fix?
008- How should the DIP switches be set on a v3.03 SpeeDemon?
009- How can I get a 'Cache Hit' indicator for my ZipGS?
010- How can I program the ZipGS registers?
011- How can I set up a ProDOS sys file to turn my ZipGS OFF/ON?
012- Is there some ZipGS mod that will improve performance?
013- I have a 7MHz ZipGS. How fast can the board be pushed?
014- What Oscillator freq corresponds to what upgrade speed?
015- How do I experiment with different oscillator frequencies?
016- How do I modify my ZipGS to accept the new "skinny" RAM chips?
017- Is it really necessary to increase board voltage
018- What kind of performance increase can I expect?
019- How can I modify my ZipGS for more cache and more speed?
020- Do I need new GALs to speed up my TransWarpGS?
021- How does a TWGS cache upgrade compare with a speed upgrade?
022- How can I upgrade my TWGS to 32k cache?
023- How can I upgrade TWGS speed?
024- What kind of RAMs do I need for a TWGS or ZipGS speedup?
025- How can I tell the firmware version of my TWGS?
026- For my TWGS, do I need the 2B GAL to use a SCSI interface card?
027- Why are my ZipGS settings via the Zip CDA forgotten?
028- What do the check-marks mean in the ZipGS CDA?
029- Why don't my ZipGS settings match DIP switch settings!?
030- I have a ZipGS. Sometimes my GS 'hangs' on power-up. Why?
031- The speedup has led to system crashes. What's the problem?
032- A new accelerator board has led to crashes. What's the problem?
033- How can I get a display of IIgs speed?
From: Marc Sira, David Empson, Rubywand
001- What are the correct settings for a ZipGSx? I've tinkered
with "CPS Follow", "Counter Delay", and the like but have
no idea what I'm actually doing.
Bank C/D Cache Enable-- Leave this at the default setting (SW1-1 set to ON).
This tells the Zip if it's OK to cache bank-switched RAM (the old language
card area). Zip's own docs say "there is no known software requiring this";
but, that is why it's there, in case somebody ever finds software that doesn't
like it you can try setting it the other way.
Correct "Misc Settings" CDA panel display*: C/D Cache Disable Off
Defeat Paddle Delay-- The delay is necessary for playing most 8-bit games
which use paddles or a joystick. Recommended setting is to have the delay
active (SW1-2 set to OFF) unless you feel like experimenting.
Correct "Misc Settings" CDA panel display: Joystick Delay On
Defeat AppleTalk Delay should always be enabled (SW1-3 set to ON). The
desktop will run much slower with the delay active. The reason most people
needed it was for AppleTalk under System 5, and now there is an init on tybalt
that fixes that. System 6 fixed the problem but requires CPS Follow to be
enabled for the fix to work.
Correct "Misc Settings" CDA panel display: AppleTalk Delay Off
Defeat Counter Delay is present so that the ZipGS can be set to avoid the
delays needed to pass one of the IIgs diagnostic self-tests. When set OFF, the
ZipGS will "deaccelerate" (it temporarily ignores that any data can be read
from the cache instead of the motherboard) for about 5 milliseconds any time
you read one of the Video Counters. The delay lets the IIgs get past the
particular self-test. Otherwise, the recommended setting is SW1-4 set
to ON (delay inactive).
Recommended Correct CDA "Misc Settings" panel display: Counter Delay Off
Defeat CPS Follow should always be disabled (SW1-5 set to OFF). This lets
the ZipGS automatically 'follow' the IIgs-- e.g. when it switches to "Normal"
speeds the ZipGS is disabled. This is a requirement for a reasonable amount of
timing-critical software. If CPS Follow is not active you will have problems
with Disk ]['s and System 6's AppleTalk driver and anything else that expects
the Zip to slow down to 1MHz when the IIgs is instructed to slow down to 1MHz.
For instance, border text demos (like the FTA XMAS demo) won't work. Expect
weird things to happen if you play with this one.
Correct CDA "Misc Settings" panel display: CPS Follow On
ZipGS Enable-- The card should normally be enabled (SW1-6 set to ON).
SW1-7 and SW1-8 should be set to correspond to the size of your ZipGS's
cache memory. (see below)
SW2-1 through SW2-7 set access speed for Slots 1-7. Set the switch OFF for
slower access to the corresponding Slot. This is generally only needed for
a small number of cards that are speed critical but not IIgs-aware. 5.25" disk
interface cards are covered by the CPS FOLLOW option (1-5) if they are in
slots 4 to 7.
I have found that it is necessary to enable the delay for slot 6 when using a
3.5" drive connected to the IIgs disk port. There are a few rare cases in
which a long timed operation is performed in fast mode, and the ZIP throws the
timing out unless this delay is enabled. In my case, I had some strange disk
errors with certain disks until I enabled this delay.
Defeat Speaker Delay lets you turn off the delay required for "old Apple II"
1-bit sounds to play the way they would on 8-bit Apple II's or on a IIgs which
is unaccelerated. Since the delay is necessary for getting correct sound from
most 8-bit games, I recommend having the delay active (SW2-8 set to OFF).
Recommended Correct CDA "Misc Settings" panel display: Speaker Delay Off
*Note: Display refs are for ZipGS CDA version 1.3.7 (ZipDAv137shk.zip at
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/System/ ).
Summary
The normally recommended SW1 settings are identical to the
factory default settings except for SW1-4 ...
ON x x x x m m
OFF x x m m
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1- Cxxx/Dxxx Cache: ON= enabled.
2- Defeat Joystick delay: OFF= allow delay.
3- Defeat AppleTalk delay: ON= no delay.
4- Defeat Counter Delay: ON= no delay. Set OFF to pass
IIgs diagnostic self-test #05 ("Speed Test").
5- Defeat CPS Follow: OFF for floppy drives to work.
6- ZipGS enable: ON. Set OFF to allow powerup boot in
slow mode.
7 & 8- Set these to installed Zip cache memory size:
ON ON 8k
ON OFF 16k
OFF ON 32k
OFF OFF 64k
The factory default SW2 settings are ...
ON x x x x x
OFF x x x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SW2-1 through SW2-7 control whether a card in Slot 1-7 is accessed
at full speed (set ON) or "normal" speed (set OFF)**.
SW2-8 sets Defeat Speaker Delay. To play 'old Apple' music and
effects correctly, the switch should be OFF to permit the delay.
**Note: Whether or not a particular card can work without a slow-down is
something you can determine by experimentaton. This is easiest using the
ZipGS CDA accessed via the Desk Accessories menu (OpenApple-Control-Escape).
The CDA settings are not permanent. Once you find the settings you like,
you can turn OFF the computer and set the switches on the board to match
the settings that work best.
____________________________
From: Todd P. Whitesel
002- Why should Appletalk Delay be disabled with a ZipGS?
Because it saps performance every time an interrupt occurs.
The Appletalk delay was originally called the "Interrupt Delay" but they renamed it at the last minute because somebody actually tried an 8/64 on an Appleshare network and it dropped packets like crazy.
With "Appletalk delay" on, every time an interrupt occurs your Zip will disable acceleration for 5 ms, just like it does with the paddles and the speaker and the others. This is a significant effect because with VBL interrupts going you have one every 16 ms, so your Zip spends nearly 1/3 of the time not accelerating you.
Why this "fixes" appletalk: in system 5 and earlier (including the ROM appletalk code), there are software timing loops which assume 2.8 mhz operation. As you speed the system up, it gets more and more likely to drop incoming packets because it thinks they are being sent too slowly to be correct, when in reality the appletalk code is timing out too fast.
Why the Appletalk delay is not a complete solution: a full-size Appletalk packet that you'd get from a file server takes about 14 ms to transmit. The Appletalk delay covers the first 1/3 of the packet, the VBL interrupt covers at most another third of the packet, but nothing is guaranteed to keep acceleration off for the whole packet. If you speed the Zip up more, say to 10/64, it starts dropping long packets no matter what.
This latter problem was why I originally wrote ZipTalk. It required a slot delay to be enabled (in, say, slot 6 or 7), and before each appletalk packet was received I tweaked that slot -- slot delays are 50 ms, so the Zip stays unaccelerated way past the end of the packet and everything works. (I also patched packet sending, to be safe.)
In system 6 Apple fixed things correctly in the appletalk drivers. I removed the code from ZipTalk and released what remained as ZipFix. As of 6.0.1, the cursor flicker problem was fixed by apple in the control panel, so now you only need ZipFix for the GS/OS SET_SYS_SPEED hook, which nobody seems to use.
______________________________
From: Jeff Brielmaier
003- How do I set up a Transwarp on my IIe?
Bank1: Sw 1-7 -> Change to OPEN if there is a memory card that uses the "Langauge Card bank switching technique". (Normally CLOSED)
Bank1: Sw 1-7 -> Change to OPEN if the plug in card must be accessed at 1 MHz (Normally CLOSED. OPEN for Floppy diskette controllers)
Switch 8 on both Banks: Sets the power up speed of Transwarp
Bank1 Bank2
3.6 MHz OPEN OPEN <<Normal>>
1.7 MHz CLOSED OPEN
1 MHz OPEN CLOSED
1 MHz CLOSED CLOSED
----------------------
004- Is there a way of disabling Transwarp for games?
Press <Esc> at power-up will disable Transwarp completely until the next power off/on cycle.
A better way is to write a 01 to $C074. This will slow Transwarp down to 1 MHz without disabling it completely. Writing a 00 to $C074 will restore Transwarp to it's 'fast' speed.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
005- I recently bought an "M-c-T SpeeDemon" board. It's dated 1984
and draws a small apple on the screen after power-up. What kind
of cache RAM does it have? There's a place for jumpers near the
top of the card. Is there a way to control this thing through
software or hardware?
Your card may be a slightly later model. (I've never noticed ours draw a hires apple on the screen-- darn it!) Possibly, McT came out with a revision aimed at 128K IIe's.
The RAMs on our vintage model SpeeDemon are 100ns 2048x8 9128's (for a total 8K of pretty speedy cache).
I once asked McT about the jumper block you mention, they said the jumper is set at the factory to adjust on-card timing and to Leave It Alone. (On our card, the jumper block has 5 pairs. The pair 2nd from the top is jumpered.)
There is also a jumper pair near the bottom middle of the card. This is the Speed Jumper. Jumper it if you want 'demon to slow down for I/O accesses to Slots 4 & 5. (The 'demon always slows for Slot 6 I/O ($C0E0 - $C0EF.)
According to the "Manual" (a folded card), pressing PDL-1 (Closed-Apple on a IIe) upon power-up will engage a self-test. Pressing ESC at power-up will turn OFF the card and allow running at normal speed. To turn OFF the card later on, do a POKE (49152+256*S) where S= Slot # of the slot the card is in; then, press RESET.
You can put the 'demon into any Slot; but, if you put it in Slot 0 (Slot 3 in a IIe), the card will not respond to any KB shut-off commands.
------------------------
006- How does the SpeeDemon rate as an accelerator for II+ and IIe Apples?
In terms of raw performance (once you arrange for cooling), SpeeDemon may be the best of the 4MHz accelerators for early II's. I've never noticed any compatibility problems and the approx. X3.5 speed increase puts real 'snap' into your machine's response. (Besides, it's great for games like Elite!)
------------------------
007- My SpeeDemon accelerator board seems to run hot in my II+.
Is this normal? Should I add cooling?
Indeed, the 'demon is a power gobbler-- roughly 1.5A as I recall-- and some of the IC's run hot. When the board bombed after one long session, we cut out a square section on the back of the II+ and added a mini-fan, just to blow air across the 'Demon board. This ended the heat problem.
____________________________
From: Douglas M. Howell
008- How should the DIP switches be set on a version 3.03
SpeeDemon board?
This is from the 1-page manual that comes with the card:
For owners without a Bank Switch Language Card in thier Apple, the first seven DIP switches control the access speed of the following:
switch 1 -- controls -- slot 1
switch 2 -- " -- slot 2
switch 3 -- " -- slot 3
switch 4 -- " -- paddle/joystick port
switch 5 -- " -- slot 5
switch 6 -- " -- slot 6
switch 7 -- " -- slot 7
OFF indicates slot/port is accessed at High Speed.
ON indicates slot/port is to Slow Down for access.
All slots that can be accessed at High Speed and all empty slots should have the corresponding Dip switch set to "OFF" (this is the non-bank switch setting).
Special Note about Switch 4:
Switch 4 on the SpeeDemon DIP switch no longer controls the access speed to slot 4. It now controls how the joystick and paddles are read.
If switch 4 is in the "ON" position, the SpeeDemon will slow down to normal Apple speed for 50 milliseconds each time the joystick is accessed. This allows the software to read the joystick or paddles correctly. If switch 4 is in the "OFF" position, the SpeeDemon will not slow down when they are accessed.
Access to slot 4 is always at SLOW (normal) Apple speed.
Certain programs, such as Appleworks, use the joystick location, even when the joystick is not in use. If dip switch 4 is set to "ON" then these programs will not show any speed for some functions, such as calculations and sorts. Therefor, unless you need youysticks for your applications, switch 4 should be set in the "OFF" position.
If you have a Bank Switch Card (extended 80-col card, Ramworks II, Titan Saturn 128k card, excetera..) set switch 8 to the "ON" position.
Bank Switch Language Card Location:
Dip Switches 1-3 encode the location of your Bank switch language card. Use the following table to find the appropriate setting for your machine:
Dip Switch Bank Switch Card Location
1 2 3 Slot #
--- --- --- ------
off off off 0
off off on 1
off on off 2
off on on 3
on off off 4
on off on 5
on on off 6
on on on 7
If you have two bank switch cards in your system, one must reside in slot 0. The other must be in the slot selected by DIP switches 1-3 above.
Special Note: Because the first three switches are used to encode the location of the Bank Switch Language Card, you can no longer control the speed of all the slots. Specifically you can not control slots 1,3, or 6. These slots woll now always run Fast except for slot 6 which will always run Slow.
Special Note: The slot that the SpeeDemon card resides in should be set to the "Off" position
____________________________
From: Will Baguhn
009- How can I get a 'Cache Hit' indicator for my ZipGSx?
This latest ZipGSx modification is pretty straightforward. When I decided I wanted a Cache HIT light instead of a Cache MISS light, I went to Rat Shack and bought a pack of Green LEDs (I like green. Blue or Orange will work just as well.)
I tried adding an inverter to the circuit but it just didn't want to play (obviously a cache HIT is the opposite of a cache MISS, and the LED on the board lights up for cache MISSes). Through the experimenting, I found that I could get the LED to light as desired without any "extra" hardware except the LED itself.
Simple mod: solder in the Anode of the LED to the Anode of the Cache Miss. Solder the Cathode to the Cathode of the Power LED.
(Even easier way to say it: there are four solder points for the existing LEDs. We use the two in the middle. The long lead goes to the yellow side, the short to the red. position as is comfortable. I can only guess that this would be a nice thing to attach to the TURBO light on the front of a tower case, should anyone ever mount a IIgs/ZipGSX inside a tower case... (also, it might be nice to turn SW1-6 OFF and connect the pins to the TURBO button on front. I don't know how useful it would be, but it m
ight come in handy one of these days...)
____________________________
From: David Empson
010- How can I program the ZipGSx registers?
ZipChip GS Special Registers Ex ZIP Technology, 12 October 1990
Registers must be unlocked before they can be accessed (see $C05A). Locking them will re-enable the annunciators.
Writing to any I/O location $C058-$C05F (whether registers are locked or unlocked) will reset delay in progress.
$C058 R No operation
$C058 W Write any value to force power-on/reset bit to COLD (forces
next reset to restore ZIP registers to defaults/switch settings).
$C059 R/W 76543210
*....... Bank Switch Lang Card cache disable=1/enable=0?
.*...... Padl delay (5 ms) disable=0/enable=1 $C070/$C020
..*..... External delay (5 ms) disable=0/enable=1
...*.... Cntr delay (5 ms) disable=0/enable=1 $C02E/$C07E
....*... CPS follow disable=0/enable=1
.....*.. Last Reset warm? READ ONLY
......*. Hardware DMA READ ONLY
.......* non-GS (0)/GS (1) READ ONLY
$C05A R 76543210
****.... Current ZIP Speed, 0=100%, 1=93.75%,..., F=6.25%
....1111
$C05A W Write values as follows:
$5x Unlock ZIP registers (must write 4 times)
$Ax Lock ZIP registers
other Force ZIP to follow system clock (disable card)
$C05B R 76543210
*....... 1msclk - clock with 1 ms period
.*...... cshupd - Tag data at $C05F updated
(read $C05F to reset)
..*..... Bank Switch Language Card cache (0), don't (1)
...*.... Board disable - 0=enabled, 1=disabled
....*... delay in effect (0=ZIP, 1=Slow)
.....*.. rombank (0/1) - not in development version
......** Cache RAM size (00=8k, 01=16k, 10=32k, 11=64k)
$C05B W Write any value to force ZIP to current speed
(i.e. enable card)
$C05C R/W 76543210
*******. Slot 7-1 delay enable (all slots 52-54 ms)
.......* Speaker delay enable (5 ms)
$C05D R Current 65816 bank
$C05D W 76543210
****.... Set ZIP speed, 0=100%, 1=93.75%, ..., F=6.25%
....**** Don't care
$C05E R Read last Tag data written and force the next write
to create a trash tag value.
$C05E W No operation
$C05F R Read last Tag data written and reset cshupd.
Note: apparently any write to a ZIP register
(unlocked) will clear cshupd, but cshupd
says that this location must be read.
$C05F W No operation
----------------------------
011- Is it possible to set up a simple ProDOS-8 application
(SYS) file which turns the ZipGS OFF or ON?
From the usual BASIC prompt, get into the Monitor (e.g. CALL -151) and type in the following code to turn OFF the ZipGS ...
2000:A9 50 8D 5A C0 8D 5A C0 8D 5A C0 8D 5A C0 8E 5A
2010:C0 0A 8D 5A C0 20 00 BF 65 1D 20 00 00 04 00 00
2020:00 00 00 00
A 2000L should look something like this ...
2000: A9 50 LDA #$50
2002: 8D 5A C0 STA $C05A ; write $50 to $C05A four times to
2005: 8D 5A C0 STA $C05A ; enable access to the ZIP registers
2008: 8D 5A C0 STA $C05A
200B: 8D 5A C0 STA $C05A
200E: 8E 5A C0 STZ $C05A ; write $00 to $C05A to disable ZIP
2011: 0A ASL = SLOW mode
2012: 8D 5A C0 STA $C05A ; write $A0 to stop accessing ZIP
2015: 20 00 BF JSR $BF00 ; Do a ProDOS QUIT call
2018: 65 $65
2019: 1D 20 $201D
201B: 00 00 BRK $00
201D: 04 00 00 00 00 00 00
Use the following commands to save it:
CREATE SLOW,TSYS
BSAVE SLOW,TSYS,A$2000,L$24
To enable the ZipGS (= FAST mode), simply change one byte:
200F:5B
(this changes the STZ $C05A to STZ $C05B)
CREATE FAST,TSYS
BSAVE FAST,TSYS,A$2000,L$24
____________________________
From: William Baguhn
Reference: FAQs resource file R005SPLITC.GIF (pic file)
012- Is there some ZipGSx mod that will improve performance
without going to a faster crystal, etc.?
There is; you can do the ZipGSx Split Cache Mod. As your manual explains, Zip GSX speed comes from having a faster processor which can access code and data from its high-speed cache RAM. The standard 'GSX has a unified cache, which means data and code have the possibility of overlapping. If the cache controller sees a need to bring in a lot of code, it will go to main memory and bring in up to 64k of code (or 16k in a 16k cache system) and, possibly, overwrite useful data.
The reverse is also true. If the controller feels that a lot of data needs to be brought in, it will cache the data, and, possibly, overwrite useful code, causing another slowdown when the code needs to be fetched again.
With a split cache, the code and data segments no longer overlap. Caching code cannot overwrite data, caching data cannot overwrite code. The drawback is that only 32k of data and 32k of code can be cached at once (in a 64k system), but usually this provides for more speed than being able to cache a 64k mix of both.
To do the mod, you'll need a ZipGSX version 1.02 with either 16k or 64k cache on it. If you're not sure exactly what board you have, it's pretty straightforward to figure things out: open the computer and look at the Zip. The board revision is silkscreened on just beneath the processor.
The cache size can be determined from the DIP switch settings. However, a simpler guideline is look at the TAG/DATA sockets and count the number of chips. If there are only 2 chips, you have either an 8k or a 32k cache. If there are 4, then you should have 16k or 64k.
To modify your Zip for the Split Cache, you'll need a good hobby knife that can cut the traces without damaging the board underneath too badly, as well as two or three small lengths of wire. You will also need a good pencil-style soldering iron, desoldering pump or braid, and high quality rosin core (NOT acid core) solder. I use Radio Shack's .032 60/40 rosin core solder. Kester makes excellent quality solder which is sold at many electronics supply shops.
There is a potential of damaging expensive and delicate hardware. For example, when cutting a circuit trace be careful not to cut deeply, lest you cut a trace in the next layer of the circuit board. If you're not experienced with cutting traces or soldering on circuit boards, find an old board and take some time to practice.
The actual mod is very simple. Steps 1-3 and 5 are for all boards. Step 4 is for 16k cache boards only. (Note: The picture in FAQs resource file R005SPLITC may be helpful for doing these mods.)
1. Locate J6 and J7. They are both blocks of 3 pinholes, which may or may not have been soldered-in, near the bottom of the board next to connector J1, where the gray cable attaches.
2. Cut the SMALL trace between pins 2 and 3 of both J6 and J7. This trace is on the back (solder side) of the board.
3. Solder in a piece of wire between pins 1 and 3, of both J6 and J7. A wire that has been bent into a U shape before soldering seems to work best, both for ease of installation and aesthetic value.
4. 16k systems ONLY: (See the "16k" insert on the picture in FAQs resource file R005SPLITC.) Cut the trace between pins 1 and 2 of J8 on the top side of the board. (J8 is below the Cache SRAM sockets) Then, solder a piece of wire between pins 2 and 3 of J8.
5. Set the DIP switches appropriately. The DIP switches needing to be set are SW1-7 and SW1-8, they control the cache size. SW1-7 should be OFF for 64k, ON for 16k. SW1-8 should be ON.
Reversing these changes is fairly easy. If you decide that the performance change was detrimental, simply desolder the wires that you installed, and solder in wires to replace the traces that were cut.
I found that the split cache sped up my system notably, especially under the Finder and other desktop applications. Improvement was much less noticeable under text applications. (I haven't checked affect on compiling speed, yet.)
----------------------------
From: Rubywand
I tried the split-cache mod on my 10MHz/64kB ZipGSx. Before/after timings were done for several tasks including Scrolls through Finder windows, Scrolls and Find/Replace through Coolwriter (super-res) and Appleworks (plain text) documents, and Platinum Paint fills.
Timing differences were very small-- usually within the error normally experienced when clicking a stopwatch for repetitions of identical events. Where a difference was observable, it favored the unified 64kB cache.
Evidently, at least on a 64kB board, the ZipGS does a fairly good job of managing the unified cache. Possibly, the mod comes out ahead in some tasks not sampled; or, it may work better on 16kB boards.
____________________________
From: Richard Der
013- I have a 7MHz ZipGS. How fast can the board be pushed without
getting new SRAMs or a new CPU? What parts do I need?
You may be able to get it to run at up to 10MHz by just replacing the oscillator with a faster one for less than two dollars!
I have a Zip GS that came as a 7/32 and was used at 7MHz for a long time. The board came with a socketed oscillator, so one day I swapped out the 28MHz oscillator for a 36MHz one. The computer booted up at 9MHz. When the 36MHz osc was replaced with a 40MHz osc, the Zip ran at an amazing 10MHz!
Your mileage may vary, though. The GS that this upgraded Zip resides in has a high output power supply. Still, considering these oscillators cost $1.39 each, it is worth getting three or four and trying an oscillator swap alone first. If a faster oscillator alone won't do the trick, then a faster CPU and/or faster cache chips may be necessary.
Good Luck!
____________________________
From: Frank M. Lin
014- What Oscillator freq corresponds to what TWGS/ZipGS operating speed?
For TWGS and ZipGS, the crystal oscillators runs at 4 times the speed of the 65816. Below is a chart showing osc and corresponding TWGS or ZipGS speed.
Osc Frequency MHz TWGS/ZipGS Speed MHz
28 7
32 8
33.3333 8.3333
36 9
40 10
42 10.5
46 11.5
48 12
50 12.5
55 13.75
60 15
My understanding is that, if you over-clock a CPU. It just won't function. You can't damage it. As the disclaimer said, do it at your own risk. I have tried to run my TWGS at 20 MHz, system won't boot at all. No damage.
----------------------------
015- How do I experiment with different oscillator frequencies?
Most of the following is from a piece on ZipGS upgrading by Long. It is also a useful guide for TranswarpGS owners.
The ZipGS can use three types of crystal oscillators: the common 4-pin "full size" oscillator module (about the size of a 14-pin TTL IC), a 4-pin "half size" oscillator module (also used on TWGS), or an on-card circuit with a separate crystal (little 2-pin metal canister). To be able to use a separate crystal, your ZipGS must have a resistor at R1 and capacitors at C13 and C14. These three parts are often omitted from Zips which use an oscillator module.
If your accelerator does not have a socket for the oscillator module, you should probably install one (14-pin for ZipGS; 8-pin for TranswarpGS). Experimenting with different frequencies will be much easier. (If your ZipGS has eyelets for a 16-pin socket*, leave the top two pins open.)
On ZipGS boards, only 6 of the 14 socket pins are connected (picture A). The Ground (GND) pins 1, 4, and 7 are connected together. The Power pins 11 and 14 are connected together; and, pin 8 is the module Output. Full size oscillator modules use pins 1, 7, 8 and 14 (refer to picture B). Half-size oscillator modules use the bottom four pins (4, 7, 8 and 11; picture C).
TranswarpGS uses an 8-pin socket intended for holding a half size oscillator module (picture D).
Make sure the module is oriented with the marked end (usually having a dot, squared corner, and/or notch) facing upward. Make sure the module is oriented with the marked end (usually having a dot and/or notch) facing upward. The lower two pins of the module should be in the lowest two pins of the socket.
WARNING: The oscillator may be damaged if installed incorrectly.
ZipGS
* x x * _______
GND 1 o o 14 POWER 1 |o \ 14
NC x x NC | |
NC x x NC | FULL | ______
GND 4 o o 11 POWER | SIZE | 1 |o \ 8
NC x x NC | | | HALF |
NC x x NC | | | SIZE |
GND 7 o o 8 OUTPUT 7 \______/ 8 4 \_____/ 5
(A) (B) (C)
TranswarpGS
______
GND 1 o o 8 POWER 1 |o \ 8
NC 2 x x 7 NC | HALF |
NC 3 x x 6 NC | SIZE |
GND 4 o o 5 OUTPUT 4 \_____/ 5
x - no connection (NC)
----------------------------
016- How do I modify my ZipGS to accept the new "skinny" RAM chips?
With a little modification you can make a Zip with wide sockets accept both the wide (600 mil) and the newer 300 mil skinny 32k x 8 Static RAMs (SRAMs). Ground yourself then carefully pry out the static rams. Look at the socket and you will notice two or three horizontal bars holding both sides of the socket together (Picture D). Carefully snip those out (wire cutters work well for snipping plastic). This will expose a column of holes. Now, solder in half of a socket.
Refer to Picture E below. Plug your skinny SRAMs into the left and center columns making sure the notch on the static ram is facing up-- i.e. toward top edge of board. (Applying power with a chip incorrectly socketed could damage the chip.)
_______ Added center strip
Snip out |
___ ___________ Skinny RAMs plug in here
| | | | notched end facing up.
____ ____ _ _ _
|o __V__ o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o|__o__|o| |o| |o| |o|
|o _____ o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o|__o__|o| |o| |o| |o|
|o _____ o| |o| |o| |o|
(D) (E)
-----------------------------
017- Is it really necessary to increase board voltage
to do a TWGS/ZipGS speedup?
With the new 14 MHz parts, you should not need to mess with the voltage at all. It _may_ be necessary to increase voltage at 15-16MHz and will likely be necessary at higher frequencies (e.g. 20MHz).
-----------------------------
018- If I do a TWGS/ZipGS speedup mod, what kind of performance
increase can I expect?
This is just to give you a rough estimate of how much faster you might be able to achieve...
BenchMark v5.0 results:
CPU Stock TWGS TWGS TWGS ZipGS ZipGS ZipGS
Version ROM 01 1.8s 1.8s 1.8s 1.0.2 1.0.2 1.0.2
Cache/Spd 32k/15 32k/15 32k/15 64k/?? 64k/?? 64k/??
Clock Spd 2.8 15 13.75 12.5 16 15 14
======= ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ======
Sieve 410.00 99.00 108.00 117.00 98.00 99.00 110.00
String 1151.20 270.00 292.00 303.67 259.00 262.00 282.00
Float 1 472.00 92.33 87.00 111.33 123.00 128.00 135.00
Float 2 1535.00 317.00 394.00 381.67 395.00 415.00 432.00
Fibinacci 2006.00 605.00 634.00 645.33 507.00 523.00 548.00
Integer 1553.40 307.00 330.00 346.67 420.00 431.00 443.00
Dhrystone 236 1136 1063 1000 NA NA NA
* 1351 1183 1282 NA NA
* Dhrystone v1.1 re-compiled under ORCA/C v2.0.1
System Software 5.0 QuickDraw II improvement test:
Stock //gs: 5648 ticks
TWGS 15 MHz: 1332 ticks (over 4x faster than stock)
If you look at the numbers, a 12 MHz or faster TWGS/Zip will make everything just about 4x faster than a stock //gs.
____________________________
From: Scott G.
019- How can I modify my ZipGS for more cache and more speed?
The process described below is very simple. It aims for a speed of 12.5MHz (or better) with 64k cache.
First, you will need one of the new Western Design Center 14MHz 65C816's. Students, teachers, and professors can order the IC in single quantities directly from WDC ( http://www.wdesignc.com ). Otherwise, the minimum order is $100. Price is about $20 each.
adapters: Nearly all of the newer, faster 32k x 8 SRAMs are in skinny 300-mil packages. If you would rather not modify your ZipGS for the skinny SRAMs, Digi-Key stocks 28-pin 300-mil to 600-mil adapter sockets from Aries Electronics for about $12 each (Aries no. 1106396-28). You can plug a 28 pin SRAM into the 300-mil adapter socket and the adapter in turn plugs into the 600-mil socket on the Zip. (If you have some spare sockets lying around, you can build your own cheap, but that's another story.)
2-4 32k x 8 SRAM chips: There are many sources for 32k x 8 SRAMs and several types that will work. I got mine (HM62832-15, $5 each) from JDR Microdevices. You'll want 15ns in the Tag RAM sockets. Up to around 12.5MHz, you want 70ns or faster Data RAM. If current cache size is 64k, your old TAG RAM chips will, usually, work as Data RAM and can be transferred to the Data sockets. Otherwise, go ahead and get two 25ns-35ns 32k x 8 SRAM chips for the Data RAM.
Data RAM should always be slower than Tag RAM. Barry Rees posted his experiences on this matter (that Data should be significantly slower than Tag) and I found that the original Tag chips were fast enough.
A "full size" oscillator module: Digi-Key, JDR, Mouser, ... have these. Divide oscillator speed by four to get Zip speed. JDR has the OSC50.0 (50MHz oscillator), which will make a 12.5MHz Zip. The oscillators are cheap enough to get two or three for experimenting with higher speeds.
So, you just plug your Tag and Data RAM chips into the Digi-Key adapters and plug the adapters into the Tag and Data sockets of the Zip. Then, you install the new 65C816 and oscillator and make sure DIP switch 1-7 and 1-8 are both set OFF (for 64k cache). That's it, done completely without soldering.
ZipGS boards vary. On some you may be able to go above 12.5MHz by just plugging in a faster oscillator. On others, you may have to choose between getting faster Data RAM or settling for a lower speed. The new 65C816 is rated for 16MHz and many users have gone to 14MHz and above. For speeds above 12.5MHz, the usual recommendation is to get Data RAM rated at 35ns or better.
For a step-by-step guide, download my ZipUpgrade.SHK HyperCard stack at
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple16/ in the
Hypermedia/Hypercard/ folder.
----------------------------
From: Wayne Stewart
I've sped up several ZipGS's and always topped out at 12 or 12.5MHz until I replaced the 74F00 on the board with a 74HC00. I'd strongly suggest taking the ZipGS as far as you can with plug-in parts, which'll likely be to about 12MHz; then, give the 74HC00 swap-in some thought.
____________________________
From: Scott G. and Andrew Roughan
020- Do I need new GALs to speed up my TransWarpGS?
Probably not. The new 14MHz 65C816's available from WDC make it generally unnecessary to swap in new GAL chips to go to higher speeds. In fact, one user with the faster GALs already installed reports that his TransWarpGS would not work until GAL 3E was replaced with an older GAL 3A.
If you are attempting to use an older 65C816-- e.g. a 10MHz chip released in the early 1990's-- then, it may be necessary to upgrade the GALs (especially GAL 3A) to run reliably above 10MHz. Due to variations in boards and parts, about the only way to find out is to experiment.
----------------------------
From: Henry S. Courbis
A source for upgrade GALs is GSE-Reactive at http://www.gse-reactive.com/.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
021- I have an 8kB TransWarpGS. How does a cache upgrade compare
with a speed upgrade?
John Link charted some comparisons in 1991 involving nine setups: no-TWGS, and 7, 8, 9, 10mHz boards before and after the 8kB-to-32kB cache upgrade. He used three benchmarks:
1. time to calculate page breaks in a 218-page Appleworks document
2. time to scroll through a 39-page Awks-GS document
3. time to compile 4800 lines of MD-BASIC source code
For a 7mHz 8kB TWGS, the speed gain for the 32kB cache upgrade is roughly 33% to nearly x2.5 plain GS speed.
For a 10mHz 8kB TWGS, the speed gain for the 32kB cache upgrade is roughly 33% to about x3.25 plain GS speed.
His charts shows that a 7mHz TWGS with the 32kB cache performs slightly better than a 10mHz TWGS with 8kB cache on tests 1 and 3; it is a bit slower on test 2.
----------------------------
022- How can I upgrade my TWGS to 32k cache?
SHH Systeme ( http://www.wbwip.com/shh/ ), a German company, sells the cache upgrade piggyback board in various states of 'do-it-yourself' readiness. The ready-to-go version is $69 (+ $14 S&H). It includes three 32K cache RAMs (62256-15 or equivalent) and can support speed upgrades to 14MHz or better.
SHH does not automatically include the firmware ROM. If your firmware version is not v1.7 or v1.8, you will also need to order the v1.8 EPROM which SHH sells for $12.
____________________________
From: Scott G., Andrew Roughan, Rubywand
023- How can I upgrade TWGS speed?
The process is very similar to that described earlier for the ZipGS. That is, you swap in a new 14MHz 65C816, a higher speed oscillator module, and, possibly, faster 32k x 8 SRAM chips. As mentioned in Q&A 020, you should not have to upgrade to faster GAL chips. Users with the newer GAL 3E in place may actually need to swap in an older GAL 3A.
According to a 1992 Appleworks Forum article by John Link, you can get to 12.5MHz with an older 10MHz 65C816, a 50MHz oscillator, and 35ns SRAM without upgrading to the faster GAL chips.
As with ZipGS, TransWarpGS speed = Osc Speed divided by 4. One difference is that the TransWarpGS oscillator module is of the "half-size" kind. Another is that, if RAM is upgraded, the usual practice is for all three to have the same speed rating. If you do the SHH cache upgrade, there should be no need to worry about replacing SRAM.
TransWarpGS boards vary just as do ZipGS boards. Some can be pushed to higher speeds than others. If you decide to do a speed upgrade, get two or three oscillators to allow for some experimentation.
For a step-by-step guide, download Scott G's TWGSupgrade.SHK. HyperCard stack. (See Q&A 019 above)
----------------------------
From: Wayne Stewart
I have a TransWarpGS with rev A GALs and a rev 1.5 ROM. It came as 7mhz with an 8k cache. It was pretty unstable when I recieved it, so I put in a spare 14mhz 65c816 I had which stabilized it. Since I had a lot of rectangular oscillators from my ZipGS upgrade experimenting, I made up an adapter so I could use them in the TransWarp. With those two changes it's running at 14mhz.
----------------------------
From: Andrew Roughan
It's time (June 2003) for an update on this article. I have recently purchased some more oscillators from Clarke & Severn Electronics. They can now provide custom programmed oscillators in 1/2 TTL packages for AU$6.98 each.
I am currently running my ROM 3 system at 14Mhz. I have a Transwarp GS with ROM 1.8S and the 32k cache from Applied Engineering (35ns SRAMs). The GAL versions are TWGS1A1, TWGS2B1, TWGS3B1, TWGS4B1, TWGS5A1, TWGS6A1, TWGS7A1, TWGS8A1. I have the 14Mhz 65816 available from WDC. I have not purchased faster SRAMs or modified the power supply.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
024- What kind of RAMs do I need for a TWGS or ZipGS speedup?
If you upgrade your accelerator RAM, go for fast 32k x 8 Static RAM in a 28-pin Dip package. If your RAM sockets are "skinny" (about as fat as a typical 74xx TTL IC), you want a 300-mil wide package. Otherwise, you will need a 600-mil wide IC or a socket adapter for 300-mil (or do the socket mods described earlier in this FAQ).
Fast 600-mil package 32k x 8 SRAMs are fairly rare. However, the IDT71256 is supposed to be available at good speeds (25ns-40ns) in a 600-mil version from Integrated Device Technology.
The selection of 300-mil 32k x 8 SRAMs is much larger: Cypress's CY7C199, Hitachi's HM62256, ... .
____________________________
From: Sandy
025- How can I tell the firmware version of my TWGS?
With the IIGS turned on, press CONTROL-Apple-ESCAPE And go to the Transwarp CDA The ROM version will be displayed on the screen.
____________________________
From: Mitch Spector
026- Do I need I need the 2B GAL for my Transwarp-GS to use a
SCSI interface? If I do, where can I get one?
The TWGS-2B GAL was a DMA fix Applied Engineering issued for the board. It is an absolute requirement for Transwarp to work at all with at least some RamFAST SCSI boards (e.g. the revision C boards).
With Applied Engineering long since out of business and the GAL virtually impossible to duplicate by convential means, that leaves no good source for replacement GALs. I found it much more affordable (and less hassle) to just purchase a used TransWarp GS board with the 2B GAL to replace your old one.
----------------------------
From: Supertimer
RamFAST revision D does not require the 2B GAL. The Apple High Speed SCSI card works with all TransWarps GS units.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
027- When I change my ZipGS's Speed, Misc, and Slot settings via
the Zip CDA, they are always lost after turning OFF the GS.
What's wrong? Do I need a new BatRAM battery?
No. The reason the settings are forgotten is that they are not saved in BatRAM or on-disk. ZipGS settings made via the Zip CDA or via the Zip Control Panel are only in effect for the current session of computing.
----------------------------
028- What do the check-marks mean next to settings in the ZipGS
CDA? Are they original factory settings or what?
More like "or what". The check-marks indicate the settings of the DIP switches on your ZipGS board.
----------------------------
029- After installing my ZipGS along with the ZipGS CDA and other
software I've noticed that my ZipGS settings never seem to
match the ones I originally set via the on-board DIP
switches!?
There are two likely explanations. One is that your interpretation of the settings is confused due to the rather poor explanations provided in the Zip on-disk HyperStudio 'manual'. It does not help that names/descriptions of the settings are not quite the same in the 'manual' and in the CDA or NDA.
For info on setting your on-board DIP switches, see question 001.
Another possibility is that when you installed the ZipGS software, you installed ZipInit in your SYSTEM/SYSTEM.SETUP folder. If you did, then whatever settings ZipInit is set up for will be the settings for your ZipGS after booting. That is, ZipInit will over-ride your DIP switch settings.
ZipInit is intended for use on diskettes which, when booted, will set up the ZipGS in some special way to match the software on the diskette. For example, you might want to turn OFF the ZipGS or reduce its speed when booting an arcade games diskette.
The cure for unwanted influence from ZipInit is to delete it from your SYSTEM/SYSTEM.SETUP folder.
----------------------------
030- I have a ZipGS. Usually, it runs like a champ; but, sometimes
when I power-ON my GS, I get an all-white screen and the computer
just 'hangs'. What's going on?
It may be that your ZipGS card is not making good contact in its Slot socket. This is a fairly nasty problem which has led users to pursue a number of false cures.
With power OFF, pull your ZipGS board and inspect the bottom-of-card connectors. What you will, most likely, notice is that the connector traces end approximately 1/8 inch or so from the bottom of the card.
Unfortunately, the GS Slot sockets make contact rather near the bottom of cards plugged into them-- roughly 1/8 inch or so from the bottom. The reason your GS sometimes hangs is that, sometimes, the ZipGS card is not making good contact with all Slot connectors.
One 'cure' is to make sure the ZipGS card's contacts are clean and that the card is thoroughly plugged in-- i.e. well lined-up with Slot contacts and inserted as far as it will go into the Slot socket.
A mildly tricky additional step is to use a small jeweller's screwdriver to reach into the Slot socket and _carefully_ twist/pull/bend-out each contact very slightly (naturally, with power OFF). You do not want any contact to normally touch a contact across from it.
Whatever, if your GS starts okay and does not exhibit the same kind of hanging in the future, you know that the ZipGS card is well socketed.
A more permanent, reliable cure is one _not_ recommended for someone without experience working on circuit boards: You find a better Slot connector socket-- one with gold contacts which touch plugged-in cards higher up and with circuit board connections which will fit into the original holes-- and replace the connector. This is a _very_ tricky replacement which requires careful de-soldering of the original Slot socket, cleaning of contact holes, and soldering-on the new socket-- all without burning th
e circuit board or slicing traces on either side. Actually, slicing traces is okay, IF you are prepared to repair the damage. (Yes; I did this replacement on our GS. It works; but, If I had known what a hassle it would be, I probably would never have done it!)
----------------------------
031- Ever since my accelerator speed upgrade it seems like my GS is
always experiencing random system crashes. What's the problem
and how can I fix it?
When a GS equipped with an accelerator experiences frequent crashes into the monitor after a speed upgrade, the usual explanations are ...
1. the accelerator is over-clocked for the microprocessor or RAM;
2. there are serious noise spikes on the Slot power lines.
If you are 'pushing' your current RAM or using an old 65C816, you can upgrade to faster chips or swap in a slower oscillator.
Often, the problem will be noise spikes related to increased current load and/or increased sensitivity to noise related to faster clocking. See the POWER FAQs for Power Supply and motherboard mods which should help.
----------------------------
032- I added a new accelerator board to my Apple and now my
system is constantly bombing. What's the problem and how
can I fix it?
Most likely, the accelerator board's current load has led to increased noise on the +5V bus. See the POWER FAQs for Power Supply and motherboard mods which should help.
----------------------------
033- How can I get a display of IIgs speed?
You can use SpeedGS. This is a STARTUP program selector for ProDOS-8 on the Apple IIgs which features display of Boot Volume, Date/Time, and current Speed. Speed is shown as a rounded multiple of 'Normal'-- i.e. 1MHz. For download sites, see Csa21MAIN4.txt .
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2APPLICS.txt rev139 October 2009
Applications
001- What Operating System environments does the GS support?
002- What GS programs are there for viewing/converting graphics?
003- What Apple II emulators are available and where can I get them?
004- What is a good file copier program for the IIgs?
005- Where can I find PEEKs & POKEs and monitor routine info?
006- How can I boot a good GS System with no hard disk?
007- Can I do Reverse Speech on my IIgs?
008- Is it possible to run PaintWorks from hard disk?
009- How can I read a single ProDOS block into memory under BASIC?
010- Is there an Apple II program for ham radio CW code practice?
011- Can my GS do file sharing with a Mac's hard drive?
012- How can I use a Mac as a network server with my GS?
013- How can I set up an Appletalk network for 30 IIgs's
014- How can I capture a GS super-res screen to disk?
015- What programming languages are available for the Apple ][?
016- How can I see and edit what's in a Text file?
017- How do I save a BASIC program in ASCII text form?
018- Where and how do I get GS System 6.0.1?
019- Is a graphical user interface (GUI) available for 8-bit A2's?
020- Where can I get Applesoft shape table info and programs?
021- How can I get a Postscript file from a GS document?
022- Where can I get Appleworks and Appleworks info?
023- Where can I get Apple II languages and programming info?
024- How can I boot DOS 3.3 images on the Bernie IIgs emulator?
025- Is there a way to convert two-column Text to one column?
026- Where can I find an Apple II memory map?
027- How can I move A2 programs to Quick BASIC on my PC?
028- How can I read .doc files under Windows?
From: Rubywand, David Empson, and Michael G�hrken
001- What Operating System environments does the GS support?
The GS can support several. Some of the more popular OS environments include ...
DOS 3.3- usually Beagle's Prontodos or some other speeded version of the original DOS 3.3. This is the 5.25" diskette-based disk operating system used for years on earlier Apple II's. It's commands are designed for use from BASIC programs or from the keyboard. Many old Apple II games and other wares are on 5.25" diskettes which boot DOS 3.3.
ProDOS 8- e.g. ProDOS v2.0.3. This is a disk operating system which supports a variety of devices (e.g. 3.5" drives, hard drives, etc.) and allows sub-directories. Commands are very similar to DOS 3.3 and are designed for use in BASIC programs or from the keyboard. BASIC and 'system' programs can also utilize direct CALLs to well-defined ProDOS Machine Language Interface routines.
Apple Pascal- This is an early 1980's implementation of UCSD Pascal which can run on 40-column and 80-column Apple II's.
System- Originally called "ProDOS 16" and later "GS/OS", the collection of 'system stuff' (which includes GS/OS) is today called "System". The System Finder utilizes Toolbox routines to supply a super-res desktop, Windows-like environment. Both ProDOS 8 programs and 'GS Applications' (i.e. wares that need GS/OS to run) can be started from the desktop.
The current System, v6.0.1, can run on ROM-01 and ROM 3 IIgs's with at least 1MB of installed RAM. An earlier (smaller) System, v5.0.4, is sometimes chosen in order to obtain more free memory to run applications. Many modern IIgs applications expect to run under System 6.0.1 on a ROM-01 or ROM 3 machine with 4MB (or more) installed RAM.
____________________________
From: Dan DeMaggio and Rubywand
002- What GS programs are there for viewing/converting graphics?
The Graphics Exchange converts between many formats of graphics.
816 Paint's File Utilities work well for converting hires or double-hires pics to GS super-res.
Prizm v1.0 Converts .GIFs, Amiga IFFs, Raw Files, and some other types to Greyscale (very fast), 16 colors, 256 colors, and 3200 colors!
SuperConvert (now at version 4) loads all GS formats, plus GIFS and other non-GS specific formats and saves in all GS formats including Finder Icon files. It has more dithering options than most of the other programs, but you may have to play with it to find the best one.
Platinum Paint is a commercial program that can import all GS formats plus MacPaint. It can only save in SHR and Apple Preferred. Version 2.0 can make Animations too!
ShowPic 6 is a shareware NDA that can display most GS formats. You can also save the resulting graphic as a IIgs SHR painting.
SuperPac is a commercial program which can create/display SuperPac format compressed pics and pic pieces
Dream Grafix supports all 3200 color picture types and also 16 color and 256 color pictures. This is a very impressive commercial paint program.
Convert 3200 will handle several popular PC and Mac formats in up to 256 colors.
Jpeg.Viewer can be used to view JPEG images in black & white.
____________________________
From: Rubywand, Deacon Blue
Related FAQs Resources (ref. FAQs Contents Csa21MAIN2): R026GSEMUS.html (HTML chart)
003- What Apple II emulators are available and where can I get them?
The most popular 8-bit Apple II emus are AppleWin and Apple Oasis, which run under PC Windows, and Apple-PC, which runs under PC DOS and includes support for Mockingboard sound. These programs can turn your PC into an enhanced Apple //e running at least as fast as the real thing using software from virtual disks (disk image files). There are also 8-bit Apple II emus for Macs (one, Catakig, emulates a II, II+, or IIe) and Amiga (Apple 2000).
For IIgs emulation some good choices include Bernie ][ The Rescue (for Mac Power PC), KEGS (which runs under Win32, Mac OS X, Linux, and Unix's), ActiveGS (an Active-X port of KEGS), XGS (runs on PC's and Macs under a variety of OS's including DOS, Windows, and Unix), plus KEGS/32 and XGS/32 (for PC Windows). Another good looking IIgs emu is Sweet-16.
Running on modern machines, the current emulators do well on benchmarks vis-a-vis an accelerated IIgs. To get some idea of how the GS emus stack up, see the benchmarks comparison chart by Gilles Tschopp in FAQs resource file R026GSEMUS.htm . (This benchmark is a bit old and doesn't include all IIgs emus or take into account improvements to later versions of the emulators listed.)
For more emulator information, check out the comp.emulators.apple2 newsgroup and visit some of the emu websites.
For details and software relating to a specific emulator see ...
ActiveGS (IIgs emu for Windows PC)
http://www.freetoolsassociation.com/
Apl2Em
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.com/pub/apple_II/emulators/apple_2_for_windows/
Apple IIe (Macs and PowerMacs)
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/IIe/
ref. http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
Apple In PC (or "AppleInPC")
ref. http://kldp.net/projects/appleinpc/
Apple Oasis Page
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/4414/A4W.HTM
Apple PC (DOS)
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/applepc/
Apple2000 (Amiga)
ref. http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/Emulators/
ref. http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/misc/emu/index.html
AppleCE (II+ emu for PocketPC)
http://www.geocities.com/bonelyfish/applece.html
Applelet Page (Java applet)
http://www.fasterlight.com/hugg/projects/applelet.html
Applemu (PC DOS)
ref. http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
Appler
ref. http://www.simtel.net/pub/msdos/emulate/
AppleUni Page
http://dr.ea.ms/inside.html
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/appleuni/
AppleWin (Three development paths: "Applewin", "Applewin2", "Applewin3")
http://www.tomcharlesworth.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ -Applewin
http://pages.ripco.net/~wizwom/applewin/ -Applewin2
ref. http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/ -all current
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/applewin/
Bernie (PowerMacs)
http://www.bernie.gs/
Catakig Page (Macs and PowerMacs)
http://www.radix.net/~cklipsch/ctkgdoc/
ref. http://catakig.sourceforge.net/dload/Catakig-2.00a5.dmg
Dapple Page (developing II+ and //e emu for DOS PC)
http://dapple.sourceforge.net/
Florence (IIgs emu in Java for Windows and Mac OS-X)
http://cgi.zipworld.com.au/~kashum/florence.pl?cmd=help
Gus (IIgs emu for PowerMacs)
ref. http://www.macscene.net/emulation/
iGS (XGS-style IIgs emu for Mac OS)
ref. http://www.macscene.net/emulation/
KEGS (IIgs emu for Mac OS-X, Win32, Linux, and almost any Unix with X11)
http://kegs.sourceforge.net/
ref. http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/Emulators/
KEGS OS-X Page (Mac)
http://www.casaGS.net
KEGS32 Page (IIgs emu for Windows PC)
http://www.geocities.com/akilgard/kegs32/
M.E.S.S. Page (8-bit A2's on PC and Mac)
http://www.mess.org/
Mess and xmess BIOS ROMs for Apple II, etc. at ...
http://mess.slor.net/
http://users.aias.gr/lagakis/bk/mess.htm
OSXII Page (Apple //e Emulator for Mac OS X)
http://apple2.intergalactic.de/
Pocket //e (PocketPC)
ref. http://www.freewareppc.com/utilities/pockete.shtml
PsiApple Page: 64k II+ emu on a Psion
http://www.fasterlight.com/hugg/projects/psiapple.html
Stop the Madness (Mac)
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/stm/
Sweet16 for BeOS
http://www.sheppyware.net/
Sweet16 for Carbon
http://www.bernie.gs/
Virtual ][ (II/II+ Emulator for Mac OS X)
http://www.xs4all.nl/~gp/VirtualII/
XGS-DOS (PC) Page
http://www.casaGS.net
ref. http://www.inwards.com/xgs/xgs_resources.html
XGS/32 Page
http://xgs32.emucamp.com/
XGSMac (68k Macs)
ref. http://www.inwards.com/xgs/xgs_resources.html
YAE Page
http://quark.netfront.net:6502/
ref. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/yae/
____________________________
From: Mitchell Spector
004- I'd like to have a program for my //gs that can perhaps do more
reliable file copies than Finder does, especially in the case
of a damaged floppy. Any suggestions?
I would recommend either ZZCopy or Photonix II, both are freeware and do a very quick and reliable job at duplicating 3.5 floppies (the former even works with 400K MFS and 800K HFS Macintosh disks). Either of the two programs work around damaged sectors on disks.
____________________________
From: kbu...@pts.mot.com, David Empson, Rubywand, The Enforcer
005- I'd like to do some 'serious' Apple II programming. Where can I
find a information about soft switches (i.e. "PEEKs & POKEs"),
monitor routines, and standard names used for these?
You can find listings of Apple II soft switches and popular monitor routines in a manual for your computer-- e.g. the Apple II Reference Manual (for II and II+), the IIe Technical Reference Manual, the Apple IIgs Firmware Reference Manual, etc..
An excellent guide to many PEEKs & POKEs and monitor routines is the famous "Peeks, Pokes, and Pointers" poster from Beagle Bros (early 1980's). A fairly exhaustive guide to important memory locations in the Apple II is What's Where in the Apple II: An Atlas to the Apple Computer by William Luebbert (1981).
For a good on-line listing of PEEKs, POKEs, pointers, and CALLs, see the comp.sys.apple2.programmer FAQs:
html- http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/csa2pfaq.html#004
text- ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/apple2/programmerfaq/part1
____________________________
From: Rubywand
006- How can I boot a good GS System with no hard disk?
You can boot a decent System 5.0.4 or very modest System 6.0.1 from a 3.5" diskette. With two 3.5" drives, you can boot a decent System 6.0.1; but, disk swapping becomes a significant hassle when you want to run most
applications.
A much better solution is available if you have a 4MB mem expansion card installed. (Actually, you can make do with about 2.5MB of RAM.) You can use a utility named "Flash Boot" by Jerry Kindall. Flash Boot auto-loads System from one or more 3.5" diskettes to /RAM5 RAM disk and boots it.
What you do is create a large enough /RAM5 to hold the System you want to boot. Next, you boot System as usual from diskette(s) and use the Flash Boot utility to prepare /RAM5 and install the auto-loader. Then, you copy the stuff you want to auto-load to /RAM5 and use the Flash Boot utility to create one or more 3.5" "image disks".
To install and boot System you start by booting from the first image diskette and feed in any others as prompted. System then boots from /RAM5 and works very much as though it were on hard disk.
---------------------------
007- Can I do Reverse Speech on my IIgs?
Yes. Sound Studio and Sound Shop are two utilities which allow loading and reversing sound samples.
(ref. David John Oates; http://www.reversespeech.com/ )
-----------------------------
008- Is it possible to run PaintWorks from hard disk? Will it load
files from an HFS partition?
The Kzin Warrior published a block edit patch version in Computist #73 which lets you do this, at least on a ROM-01 GS. Using ProSel's Zap utility (also called "Block Warden") you search for $C9 08 00 D0 CE on the PaintWorks Gold diskette or a copy. (I found these bytes in Block $3D5 starting at byte $1DF.) Change the 08 to 7F and save the change.
Copy Paintworks.Gold and the PaintTools folder (with its contents) to a folder on your hard disk.
The Patch allows you to to start PWG under System 6 and use most PWG features. However, some Palette selection options will bomb the program.
A few tests showed PWG will load files from an HFS partition.
----------------------------
009- How can I read a single ProDOS block into memory using
Applesoft BASIC?
After booting ProDOS, you can do a CALL-151 to enter the monitor and type in ...
300: 4C 09 03 03 60 00 20 00 00 20 00 BF 80 03 03 85 FF 60
Do a CTRL-C to get back to the Applesoft prompt and enter ...
BSAVE PROZAP.BIN,A$300,L$20
The routine does a ProDOS Machine Language Interface CALL which reads the block into $2000-$21FF. It saves the Error# in $FF.
300: 4C 09 03 start
303: 03 3 parms in this parms block
304: 60 unit # DSSS0000 Drv 1 (D=0) Slot 6 (SSS=110)
305: 00 20 buffer start
307: 00 00 block # Low, High ex: block 256 is 307: 00 01
309: 20 00 BF JSR to do MLI command
30C: 80 command (80 for READ BLOCK; 81 for WRITE BLOCK)
30D: 03 03 loc of parms block
30F: 85 FF save error # (00= no error)
311: 60 exit
A BASIC program could use the routine by POKE-ing the block # into $307,$308 (775 and 776 in decimal) and doing a CALL768. The MLI command code is POKEd into $30C (780). If a PEEK at address $FF (255) gives a result of zero, there is no error.
100 LOMEM: 8704
105 REM Sets start of var space above $2000-$21FF buffer
110 TEXT: HOME: PRINT CHR$(4)"BLOAD PROZAP.BIN"
115 B= 2
120 REM Sets block to read/write (block 2)
125 C= 128
130 REM Sets MLI READ command ($80); MLI WRITE is 129 ($81)
135 BH= INT(B/256): BL= INT (B-256*BH)
140 POKE 775,BL: POKE 776,BH
145 REM POKEs block to read/write
150 POKE 780, C
155 REM POKEs MLI command
160 CALL 768
165 REM Does the block read/write
170 PRINT "BLOCK ";B
175 E= PEEK(255)
180 REM E= error number
185 IF E<1 THEN 195
190 PRINT "ERROR ";E;"!";CHR$(7)
195 END
After running the program for a BLOCK READ, the block contents should be at $2000-21FF.
____________________________
From: Joseph M Barbey
010- Is there an Apple II program for amatuer radio CW code practice?
I have a such a program at home. It's called QSO Kid. It requires a IIgs, and from what little I've used it, it seems like a really good program.
____________________________
From: Gabriel Morales
011- Can I can use a Mac's hard drive with AppleTalk to do File
Sharing just like it was a drive directly connected to the GS?
You can. Be aware however that some software may not like to be used over an AppleTalk system.
This is more likely to be an issue for ProDOS-8 programs. The main problem under ProDOS-8 is with programs that insist on referring to devices by unit number (or slot and drive). Network volumes do not have a unit number.
Another issue is with filenames. GS/OS programs which assume ProDOS naming conventions will have problems with AppleShare or HFS volumes. ProDOS-8 programs have more problems: unless the file server hard drive or shared folder (and all relevant subfolders and files) are named using ProDOS-8 naming restrictions, then the files in question cannot be accessed by ProDOS-8 programs on an Apple II client.
A third issue (with both GS/OS and ProDOS-8) is with programs that bypass the file system calls and try to do block-level access to the volume. This is not permitted for file server volumes. (Examples: Copy II+, many functions in Prosel.)
One caveat: transmission is slow. Assuming an otherwise unused network, you get about the speed of a 3.5" floppy.
____________________________
From: O Aaland
012- How can I use a Mac as a network server with my GS?
In order to use the Mac as a server with a useable system folder you will have to have AppleShare version 3 running on the Mac. It sounds like you are wanting to use a local boot disk on the GS and then log on to the Mac to use tha Mac hard drive. This will work with file sharing active on the Mac. The disk you need to make for the GS is a Network: Local Startup and not a Network: Server Startup disk. When booting from this disk you will be able to log on to the Mac and will be left in the program lau
ncher. There is not enough room on a 800k disk for the finder along with the network files. I believe that you will also need to add the HSF FST to your statup boot disk also because it is not put there in the default install. Check in the drivers folder to be sure.
On the Mac set up a folder for the GS to use and turn on file sharing. On the GS, from the launcher get into the finder on your system disk and then copy the finder to the new folder on the Mac. Now you should be able to reboot the GS and after logging on the Mac, from the launcher, run the finder on the Mac hard drive. You will now return to the Mac hard drive when you quit your GS applications. You can put both applications and data files on the Mac and run them from there just like it was a drive a
ttached to the GS. The speed in about the same as running from a 3 1/2 floppy, maybe a little faster. You are limited in what you can put in your system because of the 800k disk but having the finder on the Mac really helps.
If you can find a copy of AppleShare version 3 then you can boot directly from the Mac without any disk on the GS and the system size can be whatever the memory in the GS can handle.
____________________________
From: David Empson
013- How can I set up an Appletalk network for 30 IIgs's using a
donated LCII as a server? So far, I can get just 10 IIgs's
connected.
I assume you are using System 7.x File Sharing on the server? If so, you've just discovered one of its inherent limits. Changing computers will make no difference.
To be able to have more than ten clients, you will have to run the full AppleShare server software.
If you use AppleShare version 3.0, the IIgses can even boot over the network and won't require a local boot disk.
If you use AppleShare 4.0 or later, you lose the network boot capability, but in theory the Apple IIgses should still be able to use the server (I've never used anything later than 3.0).
You probably cannot run AppleShare 2.x on an LC III, because it only runs under Mac System 6.x.
Apart from the number of users, the full AppleShare server adds many useful features, such as administration tools, potentially acting as a print server, and faster performance. It ties up more resources on the machine than File Sharing.
AppleShare is commercial, but you might be able to get hold of a cheap copy of version 3 from somewhere.
As far as the multiple server option goes: that should work fine. If you have no need to communicate over the network between the servers, it would be a good idea to break the network up into separate segments (server and its block of clients). This will reduce confusion for the users (seeing more than one server), and will improve network performance.
In particular, note that LocalTalk is only intended to support a maximum of 32 devices per network segment. If you want 30ish or more computers on the same network, you should be using a router (which physically separates the network segments).
____________________________
From: Rubywand
014- How can I capture a GS super-res screen to disk?
For super-res game screens and many other graphics displays an ancient Classic Desk Accessory (CDA) known as "EA Screen Saver", "SDUMP.EA", etc. works well. The CDA (named "ScrnCapEA.CDA") and a Text info file have been uploaded to popular Apple II ftp sites. Look for a .SHK file named "ScrnCap.SHK" or "ScrnCapEA.CDA.shk".
ScrnCapEA.CDA lets you capture game, etc. 320 or 640 mode graphic screens as standard type $C1 GS unpacked Screen files which can be loaded by Platinum Paint and many other GS utilities. To use the CDA to capture a screen, you must be able to access the Desk Accessories menu via the usual OpenApple-Control-Escape keypress.
Supertimer mentioned Clipit. This is a very nice capture New Desk Accessory (NDA) which lets you grab a part or all of many super-res displays, including desktop displays. The grabbed display is saved to the Clipboard. You can get the pic from the Clipboard onto a Platinum Paint work screen by going to Platinum Paint and doing a Paste.
A limitation of Clipit and similar NDA's is that you must be able to get to the 'Apple' menu or some NDA activation list or, if there is one, activate a 'Hot Key'. Also, these NDA's generally limit your grab to the Clipboard. Usually, this means you end up with just one pic per game, etc. session.
Games and other programs which shut off access to interrupts will, often, be a problem. You will usually not be able to get to the Desk Accessories menu and any screen capture 'Hot Key' keypresses will be ignored. Usually, the 'Apple Menu' is not available, so screen capture NDA's you use via the menu will not be available, either. Sometimes, these programs include a built-in screen save feature; otherwise, capturing a screen will take special measures.
One way to capture most otherwise un-grabbable super-res screens is via a ProDOS-8 super-res utility which can save the super-res screen. The utility must be one which does not, itself, change the super-res screen upon startup (e.g. Nibble's SuperPac or a save/disp program you write yourself).
Make sure your Startup Slot is set to Slot 5. Start the game, etc. as usual. At some point insert a bootable ProDOS-8 diskette with the super-res disp/save utility into Slot 5, Drive 1. When you see the display you want to grab (and you are sure no Disk writes are occuring) do an OpenApple-CTRL-Reset boot, start the disp/save program and save the screen. Obviously, a disadvantage of this approach is that you get kicked out of whatever game, etc. you are running at the time of the boot.
----------------------------
From: TWS
You can get the ScreenPrint NDA, and save the screen to a file, or print it out.
----------------------------
From: Mitchell Spector
In addition to several CDA's and NDA's, you might want to try Ninjaforce's PicRipper program (useful for games and demos that lock out interrupts, rendering any desk accessories useless). It can grab Super-Hi-Res images still in memory and save them to disk. It is available at: http://www.ninjaforce.home.ml.org .
----------------------------
From: Boris Guenter
Try the SHR Capture CDA which allows you to enter the Control Panel and save as many screen pictures as you want. For programs which disable the Control Panel, you will need PicRipper2 or Antic's PicSaver, however.
Most of the screen capture programs mentioned here can be downloaded from Ground's mirror of Marvin's Apple II Infinitum:
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/Mirrors/uni-kl/gs/
from the graphics/screensavers/ folder or
from the graphics/misc/ folder.
____________________________
From: Rubywand and Michael G�hrken
015- What programming languages are available for the Apple ][?
Quite a few. Apple Integer BASIC (in-ROM on the first Apple II's), can be loaded into II+ and later models. Applesoft, a floating point BASIC, is in-ROM on all models starting with the II+. Older Apple II's can load-in Applesoft or, via a plug-in board, access it from ROM.
The best way to write Applesoft BASIC programs is using Program Writer, a full-screen editor from Beagle Bros. Users who want to speed up their Applesoft programs can use a BASIC compiler such as TASC or Einstein.
Then, there is MD BASIC, the BASIC-like MacroSoft from MicroSparc, a beta version of Apple's GS BASIC, and the new (1998) Byte Works GSoft BASIC!
Other Apple II languages are Apple Fortran, UCSD Pascal, Orca (Byte Works) Pascal, Terrapin Logo, Apple Logo, two Logos from ByteWorks, Isys Forth, Master Forth, (and many other Forths), Modula2, Aztec C, Orca/C, ... . Hyperstudio and HyperCard let you create stacks.
To the above you can add several assemblers including Merlin, Orca/M, an assembler from Ninja Force, and the MicroSparc Assembler.
Here are some good places to look for language software:
Ground
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple8/Languages/
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple16/Languages/
GS WorldView
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Sel/ ; click "Utilities"
Syndicomm (sells languages by Byte Works)
http://store.syndicomm.com/
----------------------------
016- How can I see and edit what's in a Text file?
A handy utility for quickly viewing Text files under DOS 3.3 or ProDOS is Copy II Plus.
On the IIgs under the system Finder (the usual "desktop" display showing drives, folders, etc.) you can, probably, double-click on a text file to start up an application (program) which will display the Text and let you make changes.
Note: If you get an error message about not being able to find an application, you will want to think about setting up a link between Text type files and some Text editor program such as Teach. Some Text editor New Desk Accessories (like Shadowrite) will automatically establish a linkage.
Another way to view and edit Text files is to run a Text editor or word processor program and load in the file. On 8-bit Apple II's, some choices include Screenwriter II, AppleWriter, and, depending upon machine, some versions of Appleworks. On the IIgs you have many choices including Teach, Shadowrite NDA, CoolWriter, and Appleworks.
____________________________
From: David Cross
017- How do I save a BASIC program in ASCII text form?
The following line added to the front of your Applesoft BASIC program will save it in a Text file named "LISTFILE". It works in DOS 3.3 or ProDOS.
1 HOME:PRINT CHR$(4)"OPEN LISTFILE": PRINT CHR$(4)"WRITE LISTFILE": POKE 33,33: LIST 2,: PRINT CHR$(4)"CLOSE": END
If you have a line 1 which you'd like to leave alone, you can enter the above at Line 0 and change LIST 2, to LIST 1,.
POKE 33,33 causes the text display routine to not insert any unneccessary spacing into your BASIC program listing, which cleans up the text file output nicely.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
018- Where and how do I get GS System 6.0.1?
GS System 6.0.1 is available from a number of sources and in several formats-- e.g. downloadable ShrinkIt archives, diskettes, etc.. For links, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
____________________________
From: Paul Schultz
019- Is a graphical user interface (GUI) available for 8-bit Apple II's?
For the 128k Enhanced //e and //c series, the ones which come to mind are GEOS, Quark's Catalyst, and MouseDesk (aka Apple II Desktop).
GEOS was probably the most popular of the three although it never reached the popularity it gained on the C64 platform. The downside with GEOS is that it isn't ProDOS compatible. So, you are stuck with only using the GEOS compatible programs (GeoPublish, GeoCalc, GeoWrite,....)
Catalyst and MouseDesk are both very similar. They provide a ProDOS compatible version of the familiar Apple desktop GUI. MouseDesk was purchased by Apple and renamed Apple II Desktop. This was included in the original System Disk which shipped with the Apple IIgs. While shipped with the 16bit IIgs, A2 Desktop is an 8 bit program which works very well with my IIc+. I assume it would work with your IIe :-)
----------------------------
From: Supertimer
Actually, GEOS is ProDOS compatible, at least in the sense that Catalyst, MouseDesk, and Apple II Desktop are. GEOS can act as a program launcher for ProDOS programs. Obviously, for GEOS programs, GEOS acts like the full OS (much like GS/OS on the IIGS and MacOS on the Mac, actually), but it can do everything MouseDesk can do in regards to launching ProDOS programs. On the GEOS desktop, the files show up as icons stamped with "ProDOS; and, the user can copy and delete ProDOS files.
One neat thing about GEOS is the ability to expand the root directory past the 51 file limit on a ProDOS disk. If you have a bunch of stuff converted from DOS 3.3 to ProDOS you may find that things don't fit on the root directory of the ProDOS disk. Using GEOS, you can copy all the files to the root directory.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
020- Where can I get Applesoft shape table info and programs?
Go to the Ground archive's Beagle Bros folder at ...
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple8/Beagle.Oldies/
and download SHAPE.MECH1.SHK and SHAPE.MECH2.SHK
For information on using shapes in BASIC, go to Ground's Applesoft information folder at ...
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/MiscInfo/Applesoft/
and see the file hires.routines .
____________________________
From: Sandy
021- How can I get a Postscript file from a GS document?
To get a Postscript file from any GS document, press OpenApple-F when clicking "Ok" in the LaserWriter driver. This'll kick out a Postscript file in your */system/drivers folder.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
022- Where can I get Appleworks and Appleworks info?
You can obtain the classic Appleworks word processor for the Apple II series from ...
Asimov (most versions)
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/word_processing/
GS WorldView (v5.1)
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Misc/
Complete documentation does not seem to be available on-line. You can find decent documantation at ...
Aple II Text Files
http://www.textfiles.com/apple/DOCUMENTATION/appleworks
Gareth Jones's web pages
http://modena.intergate.ca/personal/gslj/appleworks.html
----------------------------
023- Where can I get Apple II languages, programming software,
and programming info?
Byte Works develops and publishes the Orca series of Apple II and IIgs languages including Pascal, C, Assembler, and the new IIgs BASIC. Byte Works also produces manuals, learning packages, and other language materials.
You can find several very good collections of Apple II languages and programming software plus loads of programming information on the net. A few major sources include ...
Asimov
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/programming/
Ground
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple8/Languages/
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple8/Beagle.Oldies/
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple16/Languages/
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup
The comp.sys.apple2.programmer Usenet newsgroup
For more details and links, see Q&A 006 in Csa21MAIN4 and the Apple II Programmer FAQs at ...
http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/csa2pfaq.html
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/apple2/programmerfaq/part1
____________________________
From: Charles T. Turley
024- I'm running the Bernie IIgs emulator on my Mac. How can I boot
DOS 3.3 disk images? I've tried everything and nothing works!
Using my Mac PPC, I just change the file type of any 5.25 DOS 3.3 disk image to this:
New Type: DSK5
New Creator: Gus!
Then, I drag and drop it over the icon of either Gus or Bernie. Both launch just fine for me in this way (assuming that the disk image is actually a boot disk).
____________________________
From: Beverly Cadieux
025- Is there a way to convert two-column Text to one column?
Yes. AppleWorks version 3.0 with TimeOut TextTools will do this.
First you have to install TimeOut. Then you copy the TimeOut accessories to the TimeOut directory. The one you want is TimeOut CopyBlock. To copy only column two, press OA-C (OpenApple-C) to highlight and copy the block of text on the right. Then scroll down to the end and paste it there.
Unfortunately this is only a copy. It is not a move and the second columns stays where it was. You can delete it by pressing OA-Y at the end of each line of the first section.
Here's another scenario to separate two columns into one on a IIgs under Awks 5 with Ultra Macros:
Starting at the first letter of column 2, press OA-X and select a key for the macro to begin recording. Do a Tab, then down, and OA-left. Press OA-X to end recording.
Use the new macro all the way down column 2. Now you have a TAB on each line between the two columns.
COPY the entire text to the clipboard, and create a new spreadsheet. Copy the data into the spreadsheet. Because of the TAB, the two columns will come in as separate columns.
Use the spreadsheet's Block Move function to move column 2 to the foot of column 1. Sort (arrange) alphabetically if necessary. Copy the block and paste it back on your word processor documant.
____________________________
From: David Empson
Related FAQs Resources (ref. FAQs Contents Csa21MAIN2): R032MMAP128.TXT (Text file)
026- Where can I find an Apple II memory map?
A memory map for a 128k Apple II along with related soft-switch, etc. information is available as FAQs resource file R032MMAP128.TXT.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
027- How can I move AppleSoft BASIC programs to Quick BASIC
on my PC?
Transferring Applesoft programs on an Apple II to QBASIC, GW-BASIC, etc. on the PC is mainly a matter of moving a text copy of the program to the PC. (To make a text copy of an Apple II program, you LIST the program to a Text file. See Q&A 017 above.)
On the PC, you bring the A2 program text into your BASIC editor. BASICs available on a PC are not 100% compatible with Applesoft. Once you can list the Applesoft program on the PC under QBASIC (or whatever), you will, almost certainly, need to modify it.
It will be necessary to replace some Applesoft commands with their PC BASIC equivalents. Some commands are very similar but differ slightly in syntax; and you are likely to find that some conventions, such as the numerical value of "True" from boolean tests, are different.
The more an Applesoft program is "pure BASIC", the easier it will be to get it working on a PC. Programs which employ lots of PEEKs and POKEs, do monitor CALLs, and access other features specific to the Apple II will be more troublesome.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
028- How can I read .doc files under Windows?
Quite a lot of information on Apple II websites, other sites, and on-disk is in .doc files. However, the .doc file format allows including pictures, which can lead to hacker vulnerability. Once this was discovered by Microsoft updates to XP switched OFF the legacy converters which allow reading and editing .doc files via such handy apps as WordPad.
Under ME and other early versions of Windows, there should be no problem reading .doc files. Otherwise, reading and editing .doc files could be a real chore.
Microsoft eventually suppied info for modifying a registry entry by hand to turn the converters back ON. Even better, someone at http://helpdesk.graniteschools.org came up with a simple script you can execute to do the job. The website is no longer active; but, the script file with a directions file is available from GS WorldView's Archive. There's also a file to flip the converters back OFF.
Go to http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/ and download these files:
EnableLegacyConverters_ON.txt
EnableLegacyConverters_OFF.txt
EnableLegacyConverters-forReadingDocFiles_Directions.txt
Mainly, the directions tell you to rename the _ON and _OFF files from .txt to .reg for executing.
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2CDROM.txt rev139 October 2009
CD-ROM
001- What do I need to get/do to use Music and Data CD's on my GS?
002- What do I need discQuest for?
003- How can I back up my files on write-able CD-ROM?
004- Is a special driver needed for a Toshiba External 2X CD-ROM?
005- How can I get sound from my Apple HSS card + CD300 CD-ROM?
006- Where can I buy CD-ROM discs for the Apple II?
007- Where can I find more info on CD-ROM drives, products, etc.?
008- Where can I find out more about CD-ROM recording?
From: Rubywand, Jawaid Bazyar, Tony Diaz, George Rentovich,
Wayne Stewart, Dave
001- What do I need to use regular CD Music Discs and access
data discs (like the Golden Orchard CD) on my Apple IIgs?
What you need is ...
1- RAMFast, Apple, or other SCSI interface card. The Slot in which the card is located must be set to "Your Card" (e.g. via the Control Panel).
Note 1: Today, SCSI devices normally expect that a "termination voltage" will be supplied by the SCSI interface card. RamFAST does this; but, most other cards do not. If you have such a card and have a hard disk connected and working, then, there should be no problem-- either the hard disk is supplying the voltage or the card has been modified. Otherwise, be sure to obtain information on the needed modification. (For the Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card termination power mod, see the Hard Disk and SCSI FAQs in fil
e Csa2HDNSCSI.txt.)
Note 2: A version 1.01 ZipGS card needs to be upgraded to work with RamFAST.
2- External CD-ROM disc drive which your SCSI card supports.
The Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card is known to work with ...
Apple CD-150
Apple CD-600i
Apple CD-SC+
Pioneer DRM-600.
The RamFAST is known to work with many drives, including any "SCSI Standard" drive and practically any NEC or Texel. Some specific models are ...
Apple CD-150
Apple CD-300
Nec CDR38
Nec CDR25
Nec CDR74
Nec CDR84
Nec CDR-501
Nec CDR-502 (reads CDs fine but the front bezel music playing controls
don't work when connected to a RamFAST)
Philips CM425A
Pioneer DM600 (which is a 6 disc CD changer)
Pioneer DR-U06S (slot loading)
Sony CDU8002
Sony CDU8003
Sony CDU555S
Texel DM3X1S
Texel DM3028
Texel DM5028
Toshiba 3401
Toshiba XM-3501
Toshiba XM640LB (40speed)
Note 1: Check to be sure that the SCSI device number of your CD-ROM drive does not conflict with the number for your hard disk, Zip Drive, etc.. Each device on the SCSI chain should have a different number, usually in the range 1-6. #6 is usually reserved for the device you wish to boot, such as a hard disk. (A drive's SCSI number is usually set via a switch on the back.) SCSI number does not need to relate to position on the chain.
Note 2: The last device on the SCSI chain (i.e. the drive which is physically at the end of the chain) should have its Termination set to ON and Termination for other SCSI devices shoud be set to OFF. If your CD-ROM Drive is the only SCSI device, Termination should be ON. (Actually, a SCSI interface card may be able to handle two devices with Termination set to ON. However, you are likely to have problems if the last device on the chain has Termination set OFF.)
3- A SCSI cable. Common SCSI plug/socket sizes are 50-pin and 25-pin. Get a cable which matches your CD-ROM drive and the device you plan to plug into (i.e. a SCSI hard disk, Zip Drive, ..., or your SCSI interface card).
4- To hear music played from a CD, Stereo headphones, speakers, or hi-fi cables need to be plugged into the CD ROM drive. Most drives have a mini- Stereo socket in the front. To fit the socket, the plug for your headphones, etc. must be a Stereo plug.
5- A Driver file which matches your interface card. For RamFAST, it is Ramfast.Driver. For Apple SCSI cards it is SCSI.Manager and SCSICD.Driver. The Driver file(s) should be in the SYSTEM/DRIVERS/ folder (i.e. the DRIVERS folder in the SYSTEM folder). To avoid conflicts, RamFAST users should remove SCSI.Manager, SCSICD.Driver, and other Apple "SCSI ..." drivers from the SYSTEM/DRIVERS/ folder.
6- In order to play standard Music CD's via your computer, you should have the following:
o A Media Driver which matches your CD-ROM drive. For example, RF.NEC is a driver supplied with RamFAST which works with NEC drives. The Media Driver should be in the SYSTEM/DRIVERS/MEDIA.CONTROL/ folder.
o A standard System 6 control panel file (i.e. a "CDEV") named "MediaControl". MediaControl should be in the SYSTEM/CDEVS/ folder
o A standard System 6 media control New Desk Accessory file (i.e. an "NDA") named "MediaControl.DA". MediaControl.DA should be in the SYSTEM/DESK.ACCS/ folder.
7- In order to access files on data CD-ROM discs (like DigiSoft Innovation's Golden Orchard CD), the standard System 6 High Sierra file system translator file (HS.FST) should be in the SYSTEM/FSTS folder. This lets you read ISO 9660 format data CD-ROM discs. You should already have the ProDOS FST (PRO.FST) in the same folder. This lets you read ProDOS partitions which may be included along with ISO 9660 partitions on a data CD-ROM disc.
Once the above items are checked, Shut Down your IIgs. Turn it OFF. Turn OFF the CD ROM drive. Wait 10-20 seconds. Turn ON the CD ROM Drive. Wait a few seconds and turn ON your IIgs. Boot System 6.01.
Your SCSI card manual and/or information supplied by the CD-ROM drive seller is the best guide for doing any necessary setup chores. If a SCSI hard disk or Zip Drive is already connected and working, it's likely that no special setup will be necessary.
Note: If the CD-ROM drive is the only SCSI device on the chain and you are using a RamFAST along with a ZipGS accelerator, be sure to run RAMFAST.SYSTEM after booting in order to change at least one setting. You want to click [O]ptions and set "TransWarpGS" to "NO".
Playing a Music CD
Click on Control Panels in the Apple Menu. Select the Media Ctrl control panel. I have "1" for Media Channel, "RF.NEC" (the name of the driver) for Media Device, and "GAME PORT" for Port. After entering your settings, close the panel. This will save your setup in a file named "Media.Setup" in the same Media.Control folder which contains your media control driver.
From the Apple Menu click on Media Controller to show the CD ROM player. Click Channel 1, the name of your CD ROM driver sould show in the player display. Insert a CD. Click Play and adjust the volume on the drive.
Loading Data, Games, etc. from a Data CD
Startup is the same as described above. It seems to be a good idea to have a data CD in the drive before turning ON the computer. Some drive + card combinations may not go on-line if no CD is present by the time you turn ON the computer. You can experiment to see what works for your particular system.
-----------------------------
From: Jason Kettinger
I've got a Chinon CDA-435 1X speed (150Kps) SCSI-1 CDROM hooked up to my IIgs using the Apple HS SCSI card, and it works great. I don't have any encyclopedias, and CD-Audio disks do not get detected; but, the IIgs detects ISO/HFS CD removals and insertions fine without a reboot.
___________________________
From: Rubywand
002- I've heard of a package called 'discQuest' which is
supposed to open the way to accessing all sorts of
commercial CD's. But, if I can play CD music and load
files from data CD's, what do I need discQuest for?
Below is a condensed discQuest review. It should help clarify things.
DiscQUEST v1.2.2
for 2MB IIgs from Sequential Systems
CD ROM drive, interface, and System 6 or later required;
hard disk and System 6.01 recommended
There is a burgeoning library of CD-ROM releases. History of the World from Library Reference is a case in point. discPassage is a PC/Mac interface program which lets a user access text, pictures, and sound tracks on CD's which employ a discPassage database.
Typically, dP products carry the digital data disc symbol and are labelled "for Mac or multi-media PC" with Mac and PC versions of discPassage included on-disc.
"Whoa! My IIgs has a CD-ROM reader, SCSI interface, and all the standard System 6.01 drivers. It still can't do much with those disc CD's."
Right. The basic IIgs setup CAN access data and programs on for-Apple II CD's. If you've added the appropriate Media NDA and Control Panel, your CD-ROM IIgs can also mimic a CD music disc player complete with all of the usual controls. Audio is output directly from the CD-ROM drive to headphones, a hi- fi amp, or a pair of amplified speakers.
"Fine; but, how do I ask the Family Doctor a question, peruse an encyclopedia, and use other neat CD-ROM data disc products?"
Actually, with HS.FST in your SYSTEM/FSTs folder, you can click the CD- ROM icon, display folders, and even load TEXT files from discPassage CD's. Your IIgs is 'compatible enough' with ISO 9660 even if some of the PC filetypes are unfamiliar. Still, this kind of access is hardly satisfactory. What you lack is the software key to unlock the discPassage database. Your IIgs cannot run PC or Mac versions of discPassage; but, it CAN run a for-GS database unlocker named "discQuest"!
How do the systems match-up? Well, I tried out several CD's under discPassage on a 33MHz '486 PC and discQuest on a IIgs with 10Mhz/64K ZipGSx. On the PC you get to see an intro pic (which discQuest skips); and, in one case, a sound file which played fine with discPassage did not work under discQuest.
As might be expected, pictures come in faster under discPassage because discQuest must often spend extra seconds processing each PC-format image. The larger the graphic and greater the number of colors, the bigger PC's advantage. Based upon samplings of several CD's, discQuest often needs about 15 seconds to load and display a pic that discPassage can handle in 3 seconds. Fortunately, you can reduce this delay by selecting Preferences and setting Color to "Gray-scale".
Both setups handled sound files well, consistently starting playback in under 4 seconds. The big surprise of the face-off came when comparing time required to open folders and display item choices-- for example, to open "Ancient Civilizations" and list article titles. DiscPassage routinely took 10- 20 seconds; whereas discQuest seldom took even 2 seconds!
Just click the discQuest icon and, in a few seconds, the name and main folders of the current discPassage-compatible CD appear in a scrollable Browse window. From here you can open folders, do searches (by word, author, subject, or title) and read articles in scrollable windows. Of course, you can also listen to sound tracks, view pictures, and obtain printouts of text and pictures.
A major benefit of having reams of text 'on the computer' is that you can clip and save selections for use in articles, term papers, and other projects. discQuest scores a "pretty good" here, since you are free to add and delete text and can use Cut & Paste within whatever article you are viewing. The result may then be saved to disk. At present, however, discQuest does not maintain more than one text window on its desktop; nor does it support loading text files from disk or opening a New (blank) text
window.
The standard discQuest package includes a sample CD (such as "Family Doctor" or "Total Baseball"), fifteen pages of information and instructions, and two diskettes. One diskette lets non-hard disk users start discQuest after a bare-bones System 6.0 boot. The other will Install discQuest and a monospace font (CoPilot.8) to hard disk plus, if desired, several support files. The latter include HS.FST and drivers for popular CD-ROM readers plus the Media NDA and Control Panel stuff to support playing musi
c CD's.
If you already have CD-ROM up and running on your IIgs, then hard disk installation of discQuest should involve nothing more than creating a folder named DISCQUEST, copying the program there and copying CoPilot.8 to SYSTEM/FONTS. The other files were present in Sequential's Complete System Package. The one sent to me included discQuest software and info sheets, NEC MultiSpin (x2 speed) CD-ROM reader, RamFAST SCSI interface card, cable, Labtec CS-150 amplified speakers, manuals, and four more sample CD
's.
___________________________
From: Matt Portune
003- How can I back up files on CD-ROM?
Compact disk recording opens up many possibilities. Obviously, archiving software is one of them. Another is being able to record audio. In my studio, I've placed a lot of important material on analog tape; and, unlike the diskette situation, there is no doubt of the imminent danger of degradation. Burning the audio to CD would maintain the original quality, with the added bonus of random access.
CDR also opens up business opportunities. Archiving data for businesses and spinning off audio masters and mixes for bands and clubs are just two good prospects. All of which more than justified the cost of a CD Recorder.
First priority, of course, was preserving my precious ][ goodies! I began the whole process on a Wednesday afternoon, and worked non-stop through Sunday.
Step One was to archive programs and their support files into compressed SHK files. Not only does this help keep everything organized, but it also prevents loss of resource fork data when files are moved to the PC for processing.
I archived the data from every floppy I have plus files from each hard drive partition. A few items were archived twice; but, this way, I can choose from a 'raw' original or 'set up' version. (Besides, separating out duplicates would have taken an extra day!) Anyway, the entire backup only reached about 105 megs. There would be plenty of breathing room on a 650 meg CD.
Since all 10 of my hard disk partitions are ProDOS, I settled for transferring data to the PC in 32MB chunks. This was done using a home brew null-modem cable to connect the serial ports of both machines.
It's surprising that so many computer users go to the trouble of using diskettes for machine-to-machine transfers. Null-modem is so easy! I attached my cable, launched Spectrum v2.0 on the GS and Hyperterminal on the PC, and, then, told Spectrum to Zmodem-upload everything on the transfer stuff partition to the PC.
The machines held a steady transfer rate of about 4500 CPS. Since I had a few 32-meg partitions to upload it was a good excuse for leaving the computers to their work and indulging in Babylon 5 re-runs!
Finally, on Sunday afternoon, the uploading was complete. On the PC, everything wound up in a folder called "GS Backup". Inside this folder, I created other folders (Games, Graphics, etc.). All in all, 100+ floppies and a 340 meg hard drive had been turned into a nice, organized 105 meg archive.
After double checking the archive, I slapped a blank CD into the recorder, started EZ-CD Pro, and selected "New" from the file menu. I scanned the displayed listing of burn formats for "HFS" because it is recognized by both GS System 6 and Mac. Unfortunately, HFS was not in EZ-CD Pro's list; so, I selected ISO-9660, which System 6 can handle via the HS.FST.
Actually, the whole process went very smoothly. I chose the "GS Backup" folder as the data to burn to the disc, and, after about 7 minutes, the CD recorder spit out a shiny new GS archive!
Or, so I thought... I put the CD in the GS drive. It mounted fine, but upon opening the CD, I found that EVERY file was placed in the root directory, instead of in it's proper folder. Also, every filename had a ";1" after it?!
It turns out that the ";1" is an end-of-filename character (the ";") followed by a an ISO-9660 version number. Versions of ISO-9660 which do not support the Apple Extensions require such a suffix for non-directory files. The cure is to find a CD burner program which supports either High Sierra Group format or a more up-to-date version of ISO-9660.
The directory problem was _my_ fault. I was still learning the software's "parenting" feature, and had mistakenly told EZ-CD to make the disc with every file in the root directory!
Anticipating some such screw-up, I had made sure to not select "close disc" on the first burn. This makes a disc "multisession", which means you can do later burns ("sessions") and write new stuff until the disc is full, or until you "close" it. (You cannot, however, erase anything.) So, I told the software to make the first session inactive, and burn a second session which would have the files in their directories.
After another 7 minutes, out popped attempt #2. Sure enough, in the PC's CD-ROM drive the first session showed as ignored, and the new, Version 2, session was active! Alas, on the GS, the situation was reversed. Version 2 was ignored. I found out later (by asking someone) that HS.FST does not, currently, support multisession discs! As Poor Richard once observed in his Almanac: "Experience keeps a dear school ... ."
Despite a few tribulations, I'm pleased to report that my first CD was not a waste. If you have the Balloon NDA installed and double-click a file, it is recognized as an SHK archive and is opened accordingly. Opening the files from GSHK worked fine, as well. It 'ain't pretty'; but, the archives are all intact, and perfectly readable on the GS.
Since I have more things to add to a future CD (like GNO v2.0.6), I'll soon be ready to pull all the data off "disc 0" and burn a fresh one, doing it right this time. At least, for now, I have everything backed up on a safe, long-lasting medium, thus taming my dying-floppy paranoia. Now, if I could somehow archive the II hardware ...!
---------------------------
From: M. Kelsey
I made a ProDOS 8 CD-ROM just today for the first time. I used Windows '95 since it has APSI driver emulation in an MS-DOS prompt and a *freeware* utility called DISK2CD from http://www.goldenhawk.com .
It consisted of only these few steps:
1. Get all software onto youir Apple II hard drive that you
want written to CD.
2. Disconnect the hard drive.
3. Reconnect the hard drive to a Windows '95 or DOS machine
with appropriate ASPI drivers.
4. Run DISK2CD.
5. Test the CD out on your Apple II =)
Now I can use Copy II+ 6.5 to make disk images in an uncompressed form, store them with their file attributes, and have a bootable CD-ROM from which I can access the utilities and disk images! (WooHoo!) Bye bye to all those 300 5.25" disks!
___________________________
From: Supertimer
004- Is a special driver needed for a Toshiba External 2X CD-ROM
drive on a IIGS with Apple Hi-speed SCSI interface?
Yes, you need an SCSI-2 driver. Sequential Systems sold such a driver for the Apple Hi-speed card. This driver works well with an Apple CD-300 and a quad-speed Hi-Val drive tested against it. The Toshiba drive is also an SCSI-2 standard CD-ROM. They all use the same commands and need this driver.
----------------------------
005- I have an Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card and CD300 CD-ROM drive on
my IIGS. How can I get sound from my CD's?
Sequential's driver allows the audio to work. It allows the Apple Hi- Speed interface to work with all new CD-ROM drives.
___________________________
From: Joe Kohn
006- Where can I buy CD-ROM discs for the Apple II?
Shareware Solutions II ( http://users.foxvalley.net/~joko ) currently offers several CD-ROMs for the Apple IIGS:
- The Golden Orchard CD
- The TABBS CD
- Studio City CD
- HyperCard-based Script Central CD
- Bernie ][ The Rescue Starter Kit CD
- Apple IIGS Photo CD
- Open-Apple/A2-Central CD
---------------------------
From: Charles T. "Dr. Tom" Turley
Having both The Golden Orchard CD and The TABBS CD, I can assure all Apple II and IIgs users that they both contain a wealth of Apple II/IIgs programs, graphics, music, information and a multitude of fantastic archives of great interest and value to any Apple II and IIgs user.
---------------------------
From: A.P.P.L.E. Webmaster
Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange ( http://www.callapple.org/ ) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its User Group founding by releasing the following Apple II Related CD-Rom Books:
- The Wozpak ][ CD
- Call-A.P.P.L.E. In Depth (Vol. 1-4) CD
- Call-A.P.P.L.E. 1978 Special Edition CD
- The A.P.P.L.E. Basic PDS Library CD
- Peeking at Call-A.P.P.L.E. Vol. 1 CD
___________________________
From: Stephen C. Davidson
Related FAQs Resources (ref. FAQs Contents Csa21MAIN2): R014CDROMIN.TXT (text file)
007- Where can I find more information about specific drives,
interfaces, and CDROM software?
See the Apple II CD-ROM Info resource file R014CDROMIN.TXT . For additional SCSI interface information see the Apple II Hard Drives and SCSI FAQs file Csa2HDNSCSI.txt.
_________________________
From: Charles T. "Dr. Tom" Turley and Ed Eastman
008- Where can I find out more about CD-ROM recording?
Andy McFadden's CDR FAQ's answered all the questions and concerns I had with making an Apple II CD for use on all computer platforms. The URL is http://www.cdrfaq.org/ .
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2DSKETTE.txt rev139 October 2009
Diskettes
001- How many tracks can I use on a 5.25" diskette?
002- Can I use high-density 3.5" and 5.25" diskettes on my A2?
003- How can I tell DD from HD diskettes if they are not labeled?
004- Some old 5.25" disks with splotches don't boot. What gives?
005- How can I defragment a diskette and what is the speed gain?
006- Why aren't my old diskettes recognized by GS/OS?
007- Can I read Apple II diskettes on my PC?
008- Where the heck can I buy double density 3.5" & 5.25" diskettes?
009- Where can I find out about different floppy disk formats?
010- How can I copy disks?
011- How can I read Apple II 5.25" floppies on a Mac?
012- Can I create standard 3.5" IIgs diskettes on a Mac?
013- Can I transfer files on MS-DOS disks to my IIgs?
From: Rubywand
001- How many tracks can I use on a 5.25" diskette? So far,
I've heard 35, 36, and 40. What's the actual number?
The standard number of tracks on a 5.25" diskette is set by DOS 3.3 and ProDOS at 35, numbered 0-34 ($00-$22 in hexadecimal).
The original Disk ][ drive can usually handle 36 tracks with no problem. Newer 5.25" drives can handle 40 tracks.
Various modified versions of DOS 3.3 allow using 36 tracks and a few allow using 40 tracks. These mods, especially the 36-track versions, were fairly popular before the advent of 3.5" diskettes when an extra track made a noticable difference in capacity. However, unless the extra capacity is vital for some specific application, it is best to stick with 35 tracks in order to retain full compatibility with disk utilities (such as Copy II Plus) and other wares.
----------------------------
002- Can I use high-density 3.5" and 5.25" diskettes on my Apple II?
I did some magnetization tests on Double Density (800kB) and High Density (1.4MB) diskette surfaces. The tested DD surface produced more than twice the deflection of the tested HD surface. Clearly, there is a big difference in signal levels required to reliably store data on HD vs. DD.
In fact, 5.25" HD (1.2MB) diskettes will not work at all on Apple Disk ][ drives. The 3.5" HD's may work fine on your 800k drives; or, they may just seem to work fine. Either way, there's no question: a drive optimized for DD will not be optimized for HD. If you'd rather not 'roll the dice' on your software collection, stick with Double Density diskettes.
____________________________
From: Rubywand, George Rentovich, Mad ATARI user alternate, Joel
003- How can I tell the difference between unlabeled DD and HD diskettes?
3.5" HD (1.4MB) diskettes come with a square notch in the upper left corner. DD (800kB) 3.5" diskettes do not come with this notch. In the early days of PC computing, some PC users punched or drilled notch holes in DD diskettes and used them as HD diskettes. If a 3.5" diskette has a circular notch in the upper left corner, it is likely to be a DD diskette.
DD 5.25" (360kB) diskettes look very much like HD 5.25" (1.2MB) diskettes; however, HD diskettes seem to almost never have a hub ring, while DD diskettes usually do. The hub ring may be white paper, etc. and easy to spot or cut from the same material as the diskette and barely noticeable. This difference has been mentioned by Peter Norton (of Norton Utilities fame) in one of his books.
The hub ring makes it easier for the Apple Disk Drive II and other older DD 5.25" drives to clamp and hold the diskette. Older DD drives also tend to damage the center when there is no hub. If the hub ring of a DD diskette has fallen off due to age, it's a good idea to transfer the contents to a new diskette.
Otherwise, about the only observable difference is that DD diskette surfaces often exhibit a more brownish cast whereas HD diskette surfaces are generally dark grey or black.
The surest test for 5.25" diskettes is to place the diskette into an Apple Disk II 5.25" drive and try to do a DOS 3.3 format. If it formats okay, it is almost certainly a DD diskette. (This test will not always work with the newer 40-track drives. Some of these can get through a format with an HD diskette.)
____________________________
From: Rubywand
004- Recently I found that some of my old 5.25" disks would
not boot. A check showed splotches etched on the surface
of the media. What's going on?
As you may recall, a number of the classier 5.25" diskette brands employed (still employ?) a lubricant on their jacket liners. While the lube worked to reduce drag and noise, it also, evidently, served as a growth medium for a particularly nasty plastic and/or oxide-eating fungus!
It's probably a good idea to check each of your old diskettes. Immediately backup any diskettes with splotchy discolorations.
----------------------------
005- How can I defragment a diskette and what is the speed gain?
You can defragment a diskette by doing a File Copy of all files to a blank formatted* diskette or RAM disk which is the same size as the original. The Files on the copy diskette or RAM disk will be almost completely unfragmented.
*Note: If the diskette is supposed to be bootable, the target disk should be INITialized for the DOS (e.g. DOS 3.3 or ProDOS) used on the original before doing the copying. For DOS 3.3, you INIT a disk. For ProDOS, you can do an "Initialize" from the IIgs Finder or a "FORMAT" using Apple's ProDOS FILER utility or a ProDOS version of Copy II+.
A whole-disk copy back to the original completes the process. Tests show that this method produces much speedier diskettes than using a utility intended for optimizing hard disks.
For a nearly full 'workhorse' diskette which has seen may deletions and additions, you can expect the File Copy defragmentation method to yield a 30% to 40% improvement in access speed.
----------------------------
006- Why aren't my MECC and many other old diskettes recognized
by GS/OS and mounted on the Finder display?
The problem you mention is fairly common. GS/OS via its FSTs has pretty strict definitions for what qualifies as a valid DOS or ProDOS diskette. For example, perfectly good 36-track DOS 3.3 diskettes will not be mounted by the Finder just because the number of tracks is 36 instead of the expected 35.
Naturally, copy-protected diskettes have practically no chance of being recognized. Almost certainly, this is the reason the Finder will not mount your MECC disks.
You can, still, run software from most copy-protected diskettes by just booting them.
____________________________
From: Vincent Joguin, Charlie, Rubywand
007- Can I read Apple II diskettes on my PC?
Yes. There is a way for some PCs to read Apple II DOS 3.3 and ProDOS 5.25" floppies which are not copy-protected.
By "some PCs" I mean that the PC must have two floppy drives (only one has to be a 5.25" drive) and it must be running MS-DOS or Windows 95, 98, or ME. (It won't work with NT, 2000, and XP).
You also need a program called "DISK2FDI". (For a link to the program, see Csa21MAIN4.txt.)
DISK2FDI reads the Apple floppy and creates a disk image (.do) on the PC. These images will work on most emulators.
You may find that DISK2FDI has difficulty reading some sectors which read fine on your real Apple II. If that happens, try making a fresh copy of the diskette using Disk Muncher or some other fast whole-disk copier.
For a collection of postings on using Disk2FDI see ...
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Docs/Disk2FDI_InfoPostings.txt .
----------------------------
From: Chris Norley
A while back I requested some information regarding the reading of Apple II floppies by an PC:
ORIGINAL POST:
--------------------
We have some old data from a small NMR spectrometer that was run from an Apple IIe. The same spectrometer is now run from a DOS machine and we'd like to be able to access the old data from the PC.
Does anyone know of or possess some utility to allow the data from the 5 1/4" Apple II floppies to be read from the PC? Any hints as to program names, ftp sites, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES:
--------------------
>From u...@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
>From news ...
Les Ferch
There is a card called the MatchPoint PC card that will let you read and write Apple II DOS, ProDOS, and CP/M disks on a PC 5.25" 360K drive. We used to have one installed in an XT here and it worked fine.
The other common way of moving the data is to connect an Apple II to a PC using a NULL modem cable and using comm programs such as Kermit to transfer the data.
-------------------
Michael Hoffberg
About a year ago, I picked up card for my ibm made by TrackStar. It is basically an apple II that sits inside your IBM. When you enable it, it can boot off an apple drive, it uses the ibm keyboard and monitor.
In any case, I think that it is possible to transfer files between the IBM and Apple II with the card.
------------------
Fred R. Opperdoes
Any Apple II (E or GS) owner having an Applied Engineering PC Transporter card is able to do the job easily. It is maybe not easy to find such a person in your neighborhood.
Another possibility would be that you ask someone with an Apple IIGS to have your 5 1/4" Dos 3.3 or Prodos disk transcribed to a 3.5" Prodos disk. Every IIGS owner would be able to do so. Files on such disks can then easily be converted to MsDOS files on an MsDOS disk on a Macintosh using the Apple File Exchange Utility that comes with every modern Mac.
------------------
Leonard Erickson
You can use a COPYIIPC deluxe option board or some such. Central Point Software used to sell them.
----------------------------
From: Peter Maloney
You could use an Apple Turnover, a PC/XT card that allows older IBM floppy drives to read/write Apple 5.25" diskettes. It was made by Vertex Systems Inc..
____________________________
From: Rubywand, Brian Hammack, Jay, Joan Sander, Simon Williams,
Matthew S. Carpenter
008- Where the heck can I buy the double density (DD) 5.25" and
3.5" diskettes required for my Apple II drives?
Here are places to try ...
GarberStreet Electronics ( http://www.garberstreet.com/ ) sells 5.25" and 3.5" DD diskettes ($3 per box of ten.)
GSE-Reactive ( http://www.gse-reactive.com/ ) sells boxes of 10 5.25" DD floppies for $5.
Albert Franklin (email: jfra...@mindspring.com) sells 5.25" DS/DD diskettes.
XDR2.com ( http://www.xdr2.com/ click on "Disks") sells 5.25" and 3.5" DD diskettes in bulk (e.g. 50 3.5" for $13).
Meritline.com ( http://store.yahoo.com/meritline/floppydisk.html ) sells 3.5" DD diskettes in bulk (e.g. 100 for $14).
Peripheral Manufacturing, Inc (800-468-6888; email: peri...@periphman.com ) sells 5.25" DD diskettes in 10 packs ($2.95) and 50 packs (with sleeves, $15.00)..
Commodore 64 & 128 Products ( http://www.oldsoftware.com/Commodore.html search the page for disks for sale) sells 5.25" & 3.5" DD diskettes.
Floppydisk.com ( http://www.floppydisks.com/ ) sells 5.25" and 3.5" DS/DD diskettes.
Check the non-Apple sections on eBay. Sometimes you'll see boxes of a thousand disks going for the cost of shipping -- if they're listed outside of Vintage Apple they seem to go a lot cheaper.
Thrift shops: you may find packs of used 5.25" DD diskettes at bargain prices.
____________________________
From: David Wilson
009- Where can I find out about different floppy disk formats?
Here is a table of floppy disk formats I have built up over the years:
disk speed rate encode trk sector trk/hd size disk
size" rpm kb/s scheme kb cnt*sz count kBytes type
---------------------------------------------------------------------
8 360 500 FM 41.67 26*128 77/1 260 SSSD (8)
8 360 500 FM 41.67 26*128 77/2 520 DSSD (8)
8 360 500 MFM 83.33 26*256 77/1 520 SSDD (9)
8 360 500 MFM 83.33 26*256 77/2 1040 DSDD (9)
5.25 300 250 FM 25.00 8*256 40/1 80 SSSD
5.25 300 250 FM 25.00 8*256 40/2 160 DSSD
5.25 300 245 GCR 49.00 16*256 35/1 140 SSDD (1)
5.25 300 250 MFM 50.00 8*512 40/1 160 SSDD (3)
5.25 300 250 MFM 50.00 9*512 40/1 180 SSDD (3)
5.25 300 250 MFM 50.00 8*512 40/2 320 DSDD (3)
5.25 300 250 MFM 50.00 9*512 40/2 360 DSDD (3)
5.25 300 250 MFM 50.00 9*512 80/2 720 DSDD
5.25 360 300 MFM 50.00 9*512 40/2 360 DSDD (4)
5.25 360 300 MFM 50.00 9*512 80/2 720 DSDD
5.25 360 500 MFM 83.33 15*512 80/2 1200 DSHD (4)
3.5 300 250 MFM 50.00 9*512 80/2 720 DSDD (5)
3.5 300 250 MFM 50.00 5*1024 80/2 800 DSDD (2)
3.5 var var GCR var var*512 80/2 800 DSDD (7)
3.5 300 500 MFM 100.00 18*512 80/2 1440 DSHD (6)
3.5 var var GCR var var*512 80/2 1600 DSHD (A)
3.5 300 1000 MFM 200.00 36*512 80/2 2880 DSED
(1) Apple ][
(2) Applix
(3) IBM PC
(4) IBM PC/AT
(5) IBM PS/2 25,30
(6) IBM PS/2 > 30
(7) Macintosh & Apple //
(8) IBM 3740
(9) IBM System 34
(A) AE 1.6MB drive on Apple //
____________________________
From: Rubywand
010- How can I copy disks?
Neither ProDOS nor DOS 3.3 includes a built-in Disk Copy command. So, to copy diskettes you will need to use some kind of copy utility. The ProDOS standard Utilities Disk includes a Disk Copy option. The DOS 3.3 System Master disk includes a Disk Copy program named "COPYA".
A very good Disk Copy utility for 5.25" (DOS 3.3, ProDOS, ...) diskettes is Disk Muncher. It is fast; and, the current version will automatically try to copy 36 tracks (used on some diskettes) and it includes verification checks. A good fast-copy utility for 3.5" diskettes is Diversi-Copy. The newer version of the ProDOS Utilities may be adequate for copying many 3.5" diskettes, too. The popular diskette utilities Copy II Plus and Locksmith include plain Disk Copy options, too.
Most of the above will work with standard disk images on emulators. However, Copy II Plus's regular DISK COPY will not work on emus (whereas, Locksmith's Fast Copy seems to work fine).
If you are on a PC running Windows, an easy way to copy a .dsk, .nib, etc. disk image file is to do a Right-click drag-and-drop of the file in the same folder.
On a IIgs, the easiest way to copy ProDOS diskettes is on the usual Finder desktop. You drag the icon of the disk you want to copy to the icon of a same-size target disk.
The above options are fine for copying diskettes which are not copy protected. COPYA and some other copiers which use the current DOS's RWTS routines can get around some forms of protection via POKEs to DOS which turn off checking of Address header bytes, checksums, etc.. Otherwise, a bit copier, such as the ones included in Copy II Plus, Locksmith, and Essential Data Duplicator, may get the job done. Using it's built-in parms library, Copy II Plus can reliably make copies of many copy protected disks
.
If a lot of the software you need to copy is from MECC, a good try is to get an MECC copy program by John Kielkopf named "meccopy". It makes deprotected copies of many MECC diskettes.
You can find Disk Muncher, Copy II Plus, and other utilities mentioned above on several archives as separate files, on disks in ShrinkIt whole-disk (.sdk) form, and on emulator disk images (.dsk files). To download see links in Csa21MAIN4 Q&A 001.
____________________________
From: Streaming Wizard, Phil Beesley
011- How can I read Apple II 5.25" floppies on a Mac?
Reading Apple II 5.25" floppies on a Mac requires the addition of special hardware. One company, Kennect, did make two drives that would handle this trick: the Drive 360 and the Drive 1200. They were primarily meant for reading 5.25" PC disks but were also advertised as having the ability to read Apple II DOS 3.3 and ProDOS floppies. Both required a device called the "Rapport", which plugged into the Mac's external floppy port and also gave the internal 3.5" drive the ability to read 720K PC disks.
If your Mac is an LC or some later model with the LC Processor Direct Slot (PDS) and it supports 24-bit memory addressing, you may be able to plug in a IIe LC Card (or "IIe Emulation Card"). This, basically, installs an Apple //e in your Mac to which an Apple II 5.25" Platinum drive can be connected. For more information, see Main Hall Q&A #14.
____________________________
From: Supertimer
012- Can I create standard 3.5" IIgs diskettes on a Mac?
You are most likely to succeed with an older Mac. However, even older Macs that have built in compatible 800k (DD) drives will often produce a IIGS diskette that is not quite right-- such as a diskette that should boot gives the "Unable to Load ProDOS" error message.
If you have an older Mac that should write standard IIgs disks properly and it does not, clean your Mac drive and keep trying. For instance, you may need to extract a diskcopy archive a few times for the disk to write properly.
Newer Macs are, generally, less likely to succeed. Some Macs, such as iMacs with a floppy drive option, cannot format IIgs-compatible 800k diskettes.
----------------------------
From: Simon Williams
There was a thread discussing the impossibility of creating bootable ProDOS disks from a Mac with a 'force-feed' floppy drive. Seems it ain't necessarily so.
Using Bernie ][ the Rescue on a G3 iMac with a cheap USB floppy, I first create a Diskcopy 4.2 800KB image, which I copy to a 1.44 MB diskette with the finder.
Then I transfer the disk image to a PowerPC 6100/66 which has the non-auto-inject disk drive (running System 7.5)... copy the image to the HD. Format an 800KB ProDOS disk with the finder and then use DiskDup+ to copy the image to the floppy...
So far it's worked perfectly. I've made both GS/OS 5 & 6 and ProDOS startup disks this way... :) The one oddity is that GS-formatted disks take a long time to write, whereas the ones formatted under MacOS seem to write much quicker...
DiskDup+ is the key. I wondered myself why I hadn't tried Diskcopy... so I tried it -- without success.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
013- Can I transfer files on MS-DOS disks to my IIgs?
You can use Peter Watson's MUG! program on your IIgs to transfer files via MS-DOS Iomega Zip disks. MUG! will let you read Zip disks on a IIgs equipped with a Zip drive and a SCSI interface.
MUG is an NDA; so, it can be installed like other NDA's-- e.g. having the main MUG! file (probably MUG.1.01) in the System/Desk.Accs/ folder when booting.
For easy use, start with a regular ProDOS Zip disk in your IIgs Zip Drive. Start a standard IIgs desktop program that does not test inserted disks. A good choice is PMPUnzip. Swap in the MS-DOS Zip disk. Start MUG! from the Apple menu on the top menu bar.
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2ERRLIST.txt rev139 October 2009
Main Error List
001- What does error #___ mean?
002- How do I do the IIgs Self-Test; what does Error Code ___ mean?
003- What does RamFAST Fatal Memory Fault Error ___ mean?
004- What is the explanation for getting a ___ error?
005- Where can I find more information on Apple II series errors?
From: Jeff Hurlburt (in II Alive, 1996 plus updates)
001- What does error #___ mean?
Error Codes
Codes are in hexadecimal and are listed in numerical order. Except for a few IIgs System Failure codes, the system or sub-system reporting the error is shown along with the error description.
Most IIgs tool set error 'descriptions'-- like divByZeroErr-- consist of just the error name as published in the Toolbox References. When such an error is reported, the first two digits identify the Tool Set; the last two identify the error# (sometimes this identifies the individual Tool involved in the error). The name and number of each Tool Set which reports errors is identified in the listing by labeling the first error in each Tool Set group.
Many of the descriptions for 00xx codes refer to GS/OS errors. Usually, these codes have the same (or a very similar) meaning as ProDOS 16 (P16) codes, SmartPort codes, and 8-bit ProDOS 8 (P8) Machine Language Interface (MLI) codes. When there is a significant difference, other meanings are shown.
Note 1: Thanks to information supplied by David Empson several early System Failure Code messages (e.g. "File map destroyed") are now considered to be suspect as to accuracy. Yes, some kind of error has occurred; but, as David points out, the messages seem to have been incorrectly copied from Mac with no particular regard to relevance on the IIgs:
For example, all the errors referring to "Can't load a package" make no sense - the IIgs doesn't have any such thing as a package (but early Macintosh system software does). Here is another big clue: error $30 is allegedly "Please insert disk (File Manager alert)". There is no such thing as the "File Manager" on the IIgs, but there is on the Mac."-- David Empson
Basically, it appears that the faulty messages function as defaults (place holders) when more accurate third-party messages are not supplied. The suspect messages may appear; so, they remain in this listing; but, now they are marked.
Error messages marked ** indicate a System Failure message considered to be suspect.
Note 2: Error messages marked **** indicate that a more detailed discussion is available in Question 004.
Error Codes List
0000 No error
0001 GS/OS: bad system call
0001 Tool Locator: dispatcher does not find toolset
0001 P16: System Failure- unclaimed interrupt
0001 P8: Invalid MLI function number
0002 Tool Locator: routine not found
0004 GS/OS: bad parameter count
0004 System Failure- division by zero **
0006 SmartPort: bus error in IWM chip
0007 GS/OS is busy
000A P16: System Failure- unusable Volume Control Block
000B P16: System Failure- unusable File Control Block
000C P16: System Failure- Block Zero allocated illegally
000D P16: System Failure- interrupt occurred while I/O shadowing off
0010 GS/OS: device not found
0010 Tool Locator: specified Version not found
0011 GS/OS: bad device number
0011 P16: System Failure- wrong OS version
0015 System Failure- Segment Loader error **
0017-0024 System Failure- Can't load a package **
0020 GS/OS: invalid driver request
0021 GS/OS: invalid driver control or status code
0022 GS/OS: bad call parameter
0023 GS/OS: character device not open
0024 GS/OS: character device already open
0025 GS/OS: interrupt table full
0025 System Failure- Out of Memory **
0026 GS/OS: resources not available
0026 System Failure- Segment Loader error **
0027 GS/OS: I/O error ****
0027 System Failure- File map destroyed **
0028 GS/OS: no device connected
0028 System Failure- Stack overflow **
0029 GS/OS: driver is busy
002B GS/OS: disk write protected
002C GS/OS: invalid byte count
002D GS/OS: invalid block address
002E GS/OS: disk/volume switched
002F GS/OS: device offline or no disk in drive
0030 System Failure Alert- Please Insert Disk **
0040 GS/OS: bad pathname syntax
0042 GS/OS: max number of files already open
0042 P8: too many files open (can lead to NO BUFFERS AVAILABLE)
0043 GS/OS: bad file reference number
0044 GS/OS: directory not found
0045 GS/OS: volume not found
0046 GS/OS: file not found
0047 GS/OS: duplicate filename/pathname ****
0048 GS/OS: disk/volume full ****
0049 GS/OS: volume directory full ****
004A GS/OS: incompatible file format
004A P8: incompatible ProDOS version
004B GS/OS: unsupported (or incorrect) storage type
004C GS/OS: End Of File encountered
004D GS/OS: position out of range
004D P8: position past End Of File
004E GS/OS: access not allowed
004F GS/OS: buffer too small
0050 GS/OS: file is already open
0051 GS/OS: directory damaged ****
0051 P8: file count is bad
0052 GS/OS: unknown volume type
0053 GS/OS: parameter out of range
0054 GS/OS: out of memory
0055 P8: Volume Control Block table full
0056 P8: bad buffer address (can lead to NO BUFFERS AVAILABLE) ****
0057 GS/OS: duplicate volume name
0058 GS/OS: not a block device
0058 P8: bad volume bit map
0059 GS/OS: file level out of range
005A GS/OS: bad bitmap address (block# too large/ damaged disk) ****
005B GS/OS: invalid pathnames for ChangePath
005C GS/OS: not an executable file
005D GS/OS: Operating system/file system not available
005F GS/OS: too many applications on stack/ stack overflow
0060 GS/OS: data unavailable
0061 GS/OS: end of directory
0062 GS/OS: invalid FST call class
0063 GS/OS: file doesn't have a resource fork
0064 GS/OS: invalid FST ID
0065 GS/OS: invalid FST operation
0066 GS/OS: FST Caution- weird result
0067 GS/OS: device Name error/ internal error
0068 GS/OS: device List full
0069 GS/OS: supervisor List full
006A GS/OS: FST Error (generic)
0070 GS/OS: resource exists, cannot expand file
0071 GS/OS: cannot Add resource to this type file
0088 network error ****
0100 System Failure- can not mount sys startup volume **
0103 [01] TOOL LOCATOR: invalid StartStop record
0104 tool cannot load
0110 specified minimum Version not found
0111 specified message not found
0112 no message numbers available
0113 message name too long
0120 request not accepted
0121 duplicate name
0122 invalid send request
0201 [02] MEMORY MANAGER: could not allocate memory ****
0202 emptyErr
0203 notEmptyErr
0204 lockErr
0205 purgeErr
0206 handleErr
0207 idErr
0208 attrErr
0301 [03] MISCELLANEOUS TOOL SET: bad input parameter
0302 noDevParamErr
0303 taskInstlErr
0304 noSigTaskErr
0305 queueDmgdErr
0306 taskNtFdErr
0307 firmTaskErr
0308 hbQueueBadErr
0309 unCnctdDevErr
030B idTagNtAvlErr
034F mtBuffTooSmall
0381 invalidTag
0382 alreadyInQueue
0390 badTimeVerb
0391 badTimeData
0401 [04] QUICKDRAW II: QD II already initialized
0402 cannotReset
0403 notInitialized
0410 screenReserved
0411 badRect
0420 notEqualChunkiness
0430 rgnAlreadyOpen
0431 rgnNotOpen
0432 rgnScanOverflow
0433 rgnFull
0440 polyAlreadyOpen
0441 polyNotOpen
0442 polyTooBig
0450 badTableNum
0451 badColorNum
0452 badScanLine
0510 [05] DESK MANAGER: Desk Acessory not available
0511 notSysWindow
0512 badNdaTitleString ****
0520 deskBadSelector
0601 [06] EVENT MANAGER: EM startup already called
0602 emResetErr
0603 emNotActErr
0604 emBadEvtCodeErr
0605 emBadBttnNoErr
0606 emQSiz2LrgErr
0607 emNoMemQueueErr
0681 emBadEvtQErr
0682 emBadQHndlErr ****
0810 [08] SOUND: no DOC or RAM found
0811 docAddrRngErr
0812 noSAppInitErr
0813 invalGenNumErr
0814 synthModeErr
0815 genBusyErr
0817 mstrIRQNotAssgnErr
0818 sndAlreadyStrtErr
08FF unclaimedSntIntErr- "UNCLAIMED SOUND INTERRUPT" ****
0910 [09] APPLE DESKTOP BUS: command not completed
0911 cantSync- "FATAL SYSTEM ERROR 0911" ****
0982 adbBusy
0983 devNotAtAddr
0984 srqListFull
0B01 [11] INTEGER MATH: bad input parameter
0B02 imIllegalChar
0B03 imOverflow
0B04 imStrOverflow
0C01 [12] TEXT TOOL SET: illegal device type
0C02 badDevNum
0C03 badMode
0C04 unDefHW
0C05 lostDev
0C06 lostFile
0C07 badTitle
0C08 noRoom
0C09 noDevice
0C0B dupFile
0C0C notClosed
0C0D notOpen
0C0E badFormat
0C0F ringBuffOFlo
0C10 writeProtected
0C40 devErr
0E01 [14] WINDOW MANAGER: parm list first word is wrong size
0E02 allocateErr
0E03 taskMaskErr
0F01 [15] MENU MANAGER: menu started
0F02 menuItemNotFound
0F03 menuNoStruct
0F04 dupMenuID
1001 [16] CONTROL MANAGER: Window Manager not initialized
1002 cmNotInitialized
1003 noCtlInList
1004 noCtlError
1005 notExtendedCtlError
1006 noCtlTargetError
1007 notExtendedCtlError
1008 canNotBeTargetError
1009 noSuchIDError
100A tooFewParmsError
100B noCtlToBeTargetError
100C noFrontWindowError
1101 [17] LOADER: id not found / segment not found
1102 OMF version error ****
1103 idPathnameErr
1104 idNotLoadFile (often: file incompatible with system) ****
1105 idBusyErr
1107 idFilVersErr
1108 idUserIDErr
1109 idSequenceErr
110A idBadRecordErr
110B idForeignSegErr
1210 [18] QUICKDRAW AUX: pic empty
1211 badRectSize
1212 destModeError
121F bad picture opcode
1221 badRect
1222 badMode
1230 badGetSysIconInput
1301 [19] PRINT MANAGER: driver not in DRIVERS folder ****
1302 portNotOn
1303 noPrintRecord
1304 badLaserPrep
1305 badLPFile
1306 papConnNotOpen
1307 papReadWriteErr
1308 ptrConnFailed
1309 badLoadParam
130A callNotSupported
1321 startUpAlreadyMade
1401 [20] LINE EDIT: LE startup already called
1402 leResetErr
1403 leNotActiveErr
1404 leScrapErr
150A [21] DIALOG MANAGER: bad item type
150B newItemFailed
150C itemNotFound
150D notModalDialog
1610 [22] SCRAP MANAGER: scrap type does not exist
1701 [23] STANDARD FILE OPERATIONS: bad prompt description
1702 badOrigNameDesc
1704 badReplyNameDesc
1705 badReplyPathDesc
1706 badCall
1901 [25] NOTE SYNTHESIZER: NS already initialized
1902 nsSndNotInit
1921 nsNotAvail
1922 nsBadGenNum
1923 nsNotInit
1924 nsGenAlreadyOn
1925 soundWrongVer
1A00 [26] NOTE SEQUENCER: no room for MIDI NoteOn
1A01 noCommandErr
1A02 noRoomErr
1A03 startedErr
1A04 noNoteErr
1A05 noStartErr
1A06 instBndsErr
1A07 nsWrongVer
1B01 [27] FONT MANAGER: duplicate FM startup call
1B02 fmResetErr
1B03 fmNotActiveErr
1B04 fmFamNotFndErr
1B05 fmFontNtFndErr
1B06 fmFontMemErr
1B07 fmSysFontErr
1B08 fmBadFamNumErr
1B09 fmBadSizeErr
1B0A fmBadNameErr
1B0B fmMenuErr
1B0C fmScaleSizeErr
1C02 [28] LIST MANAGER: listRejectEvent
1D01 [29] AUDIO COMPRESSION EXPANSION: ACE already started
1D02 aceBadDP
1D03 aceNotActive
1D04 aceNoSuchParam
1D05 aceBadMethod
1D06 aceBadSrc
1D07 aceBadDest
1D08 aceDataOverlap
1E01 [30] RESOURCE MANAGER: resource fork used, not empty
1E02 resBadFormat
1E03 resNoConverter
1E04 resNoCurFile
1E05 resDupID
1E06 resNotFound
1E07 resFileNotFound
1E08 resBadAppID
1E09 resNoUniqueID
1E0A resIndexRange
1E0B resSysIsOpen
1E0C resHasChanged
1E0D resDiffConverter
1E0E resDiskFull
1E0F resInvalidShutDown
1E10 resNameNotFound
1E11 resBadNameVers
1E12 resDupStartUp
1E13 resInvalidTypeOrID
2000 [32] MIDI: MIDI tool set not started
2001 miPacketErr
2002 miArrayErr
2003 miFullbufErr
2004 miToolsErr
2005 miOutOffErr
2007 miNoBufErr
2008 miDriverErr
2009 miBadFreqErr
200A miClockErr
200B miConflictErr
200C miNoDevErr
2080 miDevNotAvail
2081 miDevSlotBusy
2082 miDevBusy
2083 miDevOverrun
2084 miDevNoConnect
2085 miDevReadErr
2086 miDevVersion
2087 miDevIntHndlr
2110 [33] VIDEO OVERLAY: no Video device
2111 vdAlreadyStarted
2112 vdInvalidSelector
2113 vdInvalidParam
21FF vdUnImplemented
2201 [34] TEXT EDIT: TE already started
2202 teNotStarted
2203 teInvalidHandle
2204 teInvalidDescriptor
2205 teInvalidFlag
2206 teInvalidPCount
2208 teBufferOverflow
2209 teInvalidLine
220B teInvalidParameter
220C teInvalidTextBox2
220D teNeedsTools
2301 [35] MIDI SYNTHESIZER: MS already started
2302 msNotStarted
2303 msNoDPMem
2304 msNoMemBlock
2305 msNoMiscTool
2306 msNoSoundTool
2307 msGenInUse
2308 msBadPortNum
2309 msPortBusy
230A msParamRangeErr
230B msMsgQueueFull
230C msRecBufFull
230D msOutputDisabled
230E msMessageError
230F msOutputBufFull
2310 msDriverNotStarted
2311 msDriverAlreadySet
2380 msDevNotAvail
2381 msDevSlotBusy
2382 msDevBusy
2383 msDevOverrun
2384 msDevNoConnect
2385 msDevReadErr
2386 msDevVersion
2387 msDevIntHndlr
2601 [38] MEDIA CONTROLLER: MC unimplemented
2602 mcBadSpeed
2603 mcBadUnitType
2604 mcTimeOutErr
2605 mcNotLoaded
2606 mcBadAudio
2607 mcDevRtnError
2608 mcUnrecStatus
2609 mcBadSelector
260A mcFunnyData
260B mcInvalidPort
260C mcOnlyOnce
260D mcNoResMgr
260E mcItemNotThere
260F mcWasShutDown
2610 mcWasStarted
2611 mcBadChannel
2612 mcInvalidParam
2613 mcCallNotSupported
4201 [66] FINDER: bad input
4202 fErrFailed
4203 fErrCancel
4204 fErrDimmed
4205 fErrBusy
4206 fErrNotPrudent
4207 fErrBadBundle
42FF fErrNotImp
----------------------------
002- How do I activate the IIgs Diagnostic Self-Test; and,
what does Self-Test Error Code ___ mean?
The IIgs self-test is activated by holding down Open-Apple and Option and turning ON the computer. Or, with the computer ON, you can hold down the Open-Apple and Option keys and do a Reset (press Control and Reset).
During the test, the test number (in hexadecimal) is visible on the bottom of the screen followed by six zeros. After all tests are complete, a continuous 6 KHz one-second beep sounds and the screen displays a System Good message.
If a test fails, the screen immediately displays a message "System Bad:" followed by an eight-digit code (in hexadecimal) on the lower left hand side. The code is also displayed staggered in the upper left hand area to help you read it in the event of a display RAM failure. In case there is a video failure, the code is also sent to the printer port.
Example 1: You get the message "System Bad: 05020000"
This indicates failure of Test #05, the Fast Processor Interface Speed Test. The "02" says that the FPI got stuck in Fast mode (i.e. it could not switch to "Normal" Slow speed when asked to). Test #05 does not use the last four digits.
Note: If a ZipGS accelerator card is installed and not disabled
and DIP Switch 1-4 (Defeat Counter Delay) is not set OFF (the
default setting), your GS will bomb on Test 05. John Link reports
that a TransWarp GS with the v1.5 ROM will fail the Speed Test.
In neither case does failure indicate any actual malfunction.
Example 2: You get the message "System Bad: 080200D4"
This indicates failure of Test #08, the Battery RAM Test. The "02" says that there was a problem reading and writing a test value to some address. Next, the "00" says that the test value was $00. "D4" says that the problem occurred with address $D4 in the Bat RAM.
IIgs Diagnostic Self-Test Error Codes
From: a list by Jeff Tarr, Jr., Apple IIgs Technical Reference
by M. Fischer, and IIgs TechNote #095 by Dan Strnad
Error Codes are eight hexadecimal digits in the format 'AABBCCDD'. The first two digits (the "AA" part) always show the test number. The meaning of the remaining six digits depends upon the particular test. (There may be a few differences in the GS diagnostic self-test depending upon ROM version. For example, earlier GS's may not include Test #0C (AA= 0C).)
ROM Test:G
AA= 01 BB= Failed checksum DD= 01: RAM error
Note: A ROM failure will also be denoted by "RM" in the top left
hand corner of the screen.
RAM 1 Test:H
AA= 02 BB= __: Bank number CC= Bit(s) failed
FF: ADB Tool error
Soft Switches:M
AA= 03 BB= State Register bit CC= Read addr. Low Byte
Address Test:K
AA= 04 BB= __: Bank number CCDD= Failed RAM Address
FF: ADB Tool error
Speed Test (FPI):
AA= 05 BB= 01: Stuck slow
02: Stuck fast
Note: If a ZipGS accelerator card is installed and not disabled
and DIP Switch 1-4 (Defeat Counter Delay) is not set OFF (the
default setting), your GS will bomb on Test 05. John Link reports
that a TransWarp GS with the v1.5 ROM will fail the Speed Test.
In neither case does failure indicate any actual malfunction.
Serial Test:1
AA= 06 BB= 01: Register R/W
04: Tx Buffer empty status
05: Tx Buffer empty failure
06: All Sent Status fail
07: Rx Char available
08: Bad data
Clock Test:H
AA= 07 DD= 01: Fatal error occurred - test aborted
Bat RAM Test:F
AA= 08 BB= 01: Addr. unique CC= bad addr
02: NV RAM pattern CC= bad patt DD= bad addr
ADB Test:J
AA= 09 BBCC= Bad checksum DD= 01: Fatal error
Shadow Register:
AA= 0A BB= 01: Text page 1 fail
02: Text page 2 fail
03: ADB Tool call error
04: Power on Clear bit error
Interrupts Test (Mega II and Video Graphics Controller):
AA= 0B BB= 01: VBL interrupt time-out
02: VBL IRQ status full
03: 1/4 sec interrupt
04: 1/4 sec interrupt
06: VGC IRQ
07: Scan line
Note: There are reports that if a ZipGS accelerator card is installed
and not disabled, then, your GS may fail parts of this test depending
upon DIP Switch settings. Such a failure does not necessarily indicate
a hardware fault.
Sound Test:3
AA= 0C DD= 01: RAM data error
02: RAM address error
03: Data register failed
04: Control register failed
05: Oscillator interrupt timeout
Note: If a ZipGS accelerator card is installed and not disabled,
then, depending upon DIP Switch settings, your GS may fail parts
of this test-- such as the Oscillator interrupt timeout check.
Such a failure does not necessarily indicate a hardware fault.
Other
AA= FF (test number= $FF) According to M. Fischer this shows a likely
problem with the Mega II chip because that test number is used only
during manufacturing testing.
____________________________
From: Paul Creager
003- What does RamFAST Fatal Memory Fault Error ___ mean?
$00 Unknown, probably means that the RamFAST is very confused
$01-08 DRAM memory test failure
$09 EPROM checksum failure
$0C Z180 processor crashed, indicates some hardware fault
$0D Error writing cache data to disk
$0E Termination power error
____________________________
004- What is the explanation for getting a ___ error?
0027 (ProDOS Error $27, ...)
0047 (ProDOS Error $47, ...)
0048 or 0049 (e.g. ProDOS Error $48, ...)
004B (ProDOS Error $4B, ...)
0051 (ProDOS Error $51, ...)
005A (ProDOS Error $5A ...)
0088 "network error"
0201 "could not allocate memory" error
0400 (see 0911)
0512 (FATAL SYSTEM ERROR 0512) "badNdaTitleString"
0681 and 0682 "bad event que" and "bad que handler"
0682 "bad que handler"
08FF "UNCLAIMED SOUND INTERRUPT"
0911 and 09010001 (FATAL SYSTEM ERROR 0911)
0C000003 GS Diagnostic Self-Test error
1102 "OMF version error"
1104 "file is not a load file"
1301 "Unknown error $1301"
IIe Self-Test RAM error display
RamFAST-SCSI FATAL MEMORY FAULT CODE=08
RamFAST MLI Error!
RamFAST: RAMFAST.SYSTEM "Incompatible configure.dat"
"CHECK STARTUP DEVICE"
"NO BUFFERS AVAILABLE"
"UNABLE TO EXECUTE BASIC.SYSTEM"
"UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS"
0027 (ProDOS Error $27, ...)- In trying to access an apple SCSI hard drive hooked up to a GS I keep getting a $27 error!?
This is an I/O error (input/ouput error). It may indicate that there is a problem on the SCSI chain, such as a loose connector, SCSI ID# conflict, absence of termination at the end of the chain, or absence of termination power. Another possibility is that one or more hard disk files have become corrupted. Replacing a few files may fix things; or, you may need to repartition or, even, low-level re-format the hard disk. --Rubywand
-------
0047 (ProDOS Error $47, ...)- A "Duplicate pathname" error indicates that an attempt has been made to create a file which already exists or to rename a file to one which already exists-- i.e. the full pathname of a new or renamed file equals the full pathname of a file which already exists.
Note that it is okay to have a file or folder named, say, "PICS" inside a folder named "PICS"; and, you can have files named "PICS" in different folders. Also, ProDOS will permit overwriting a file with a file with the same name so long as the original and replacement file have the same filetype.
What ProDOS does not like is an operation which tries to _create_ a file or folder whose _full_ _ pathname_ is the same as an existing file or folder. For example, you cannot create a "GAMES" folder on /RAM5 (i.e. /RAM5/GAMES) if there is already a file or folder there named "GAMES"-- i.e. one whose pathname is /RAM5/GAMES.
This error might easily occur when running a self-extracting file if the self-extracing file has a name which matches the name of a contained file-- a solution for this problem would be to rename the self-extracting file. A more general solution for duplicate name creation is to create a new folder and use the extraction utility (e.g. ShrinkIt-GS), instead of doing a self-extraction, to extract files from the source file to the folder. --Rubywand
-------
0048 or 0049 (e.g. ProDOS Error $48, ...)- Error $48, of course, means "volume full"-- you are out of space on the target volume. Unfortunately, "volume full" is, sometimes, incorrectly reported when the actual problem is too many entries in the volume's main directory. (see below)
A $49 "volume directory full" error means the main or "root" directory of the target volume has 51 entries and that an attempt has been made to create a 52nd entry. When it is incorrectly reported as "volume full" it can be very confusing to a user who CATALOGs the volume and discovers plenty of free blocks. The solution is to move some of the files in the main directory to folders. Only a volume's main directory has this low limit on number of entries. You can have many more than 51 files in a folder
. --Rubywand
-------
004B (ProDOS Error $4B, ...)- is an "unsupported (or incorrect) storage type" error. I suspect you are on the GS and that the game or whatever you are trying to run is supposed to have a forked file and now the program can not find it. This has happend to me when Dragging files around. I recommend you recopy the game from your original disk, or re-unShrinkIt to the location you wish it be. If you believe a file may have a resource fork, avoid copying it with Copy-II Plus or moving it around on the GS des
ktop under an old operating system-- either process could result in losing the resource part of the file. --thedm
-------
0051 (ProDOS Error $51, ...)- My 3.5 copy of AppleWorks 3 said "Error loading ATINIT" (on my //c, no less), so I tried using Copy ][+ 9.1 to copy ProDOS 2.0.3 over the top of the apparently broken copy of ProDOS 1.7 on the AppleWorks disk. It then ran the drive, cleared the screen, and informed me so: Error $51. Does anybody know what the heck this means?
The error indicates the directory is damaged. You MIGHT be able to salvage stuff by doing a FILE copy, rather than a disk copy. --Jim Lowe
-------
005A (ProDOS Error $5A ...)- Today, I discovered that one of my Appleworks files had been overwritten by nulls. Luckily, I have a backup copy of that file. When I tried to delete the bad file and rename the backup I got ProDOS error $5A. Any insight into what this error message means and what I can do about it?
Error $5A "block number out of range" (sometimes known as "baked bit- map") means there's a bit set in the bit map which corresponds to a nonexistent block on that volume. You could try taking a block editor and writing zeroes to the upper bit map blocks on the volume to cure it. --Randy Shackelford
-------
0088 "network error"- Can anyone enlighten me as to why Copy-II Plus and ProSel-8 are unable to work with a network volume that the Apple utility (and plain-old Basic) has no trouble with?
Simple answer. Copy-II Plus and ProSel-8 bypass the file system and do direct block I/O to disk volumes. This is verboten with server volumes, and you get error $88 for your trouble when you try. You'll have to use network friendly apps whenever you access the server volume. --Randy Shackelford
-------
0201 "could not allocate memory" error- After using the installer to install the basic Sys6 over Sys 5.04 on my hard drive, I couldnt run a ProDOS-8 program. Before the ProDOS 2.0.1 sign comes up, it says "Error $201". I have more than 4MB! What's wrong?
A $0201 error when switching to ProDOS-8 usually means some utility has left part of bank 0 or bank 1 allocated. You have enough memory free, but some particular memory that ProDOS 8 needs is not available.
I have seen occasional $0201's after using Find File 1.0 (included with 6.0) before switching to ProDOS-8. --Dave Lyons
-------
O512 (FATAL SYSTEM ERROR 0512) "badNdaTitleString"-- comes from FixAppleMenu (in the Desk Manager). It means that one of your installed New Desk Accessories does not have a well-formed menu title string. In particular, the required backslash (\) character was not found (make sure bit seven is off). --IIgs TechNotes
-------
0681 and 0682 "bad event que" and "bad que handler"-- What do these error codes mean? How does the GS determine if an error is FATAL (as in FATAL SYSTEM ERROR)???
The errors are 'Event Manager errors'. A key press and mouse button press are examples of "events". The errors indicate a record of events was messed up. One of many places this might occur is while you are typing-in text. "FATAL" usually means that System believes that things are so messed up in memory that restarting is necessary. Sometimes, "FATAL" means that System suspects that there may be a hardware failure. --Rubywand
-------
0682 "bad que handler"-- My IIgs crashes with a Fatal Error $0682 whenever I have my expansion memory card plugged in and try to access the Control Panel. Also the Alternate Display mode seems to be missing and stuff won't boot. What's wrong?
Error $0682 indicates a data structure maintained by the Event Manager is corrupted. It is either the Event Queue itself, or something related to it. The most common cause for this is buggy software which has overwritten memory.
The second most common cause is a faulty or incorrectly configured memory expansion card (or bad RAM on that card). The event queue normally lives near the top of "fast" memory, so it is always located in the memory expansion card if you have one.
Similarly, the list of items in the Desk Accessories menu is in RAM, so lack of Alternate Display Mode points to memory corruption of some kind. -- David Empson
-------
08FF "UNCLAIMED SOUND INTERRUPT"-- A sound interrupt has occurred but none of the available interrupt handlers were willing to deal with it. The Sound tool set thinks this is pretty serious; so, it notifies the System Failure Manager and you get the error message. A possible cause is that the table of interrupt vectors or the pointer to the table has been messed up in memory. --Rubywand
-------
0911 and 09010001 (FATAL SYSTEM ERROR 0911); was error number 0400 on ROM-00 machines. Fatal System Error 0911 and Diagnostic Self-Test error code 09010001 mean the same thing: You are experiencing an ADB "can't sync" problem which, usually, seems to relate to a hardware malfunction.
See Csa2HDWHACK.txt for more discussion and possible fixes.
--Rubywand, David Kopper, Guenther Unger, Gabriel Hawkins, Michael Mahon
-------
0C000003 GS Diagnostic Self-Test error/ Sound Test: Data register failed
There is one possible reason for this failure code being reported by the self- test: do you have a ZIP GS accelerator in the machine? The ZIP GS, if enabled, causes the IIgs to fail some of its self-tests (only because the tests are relying on the speed at which the processor normally operates, and get confused because the CPU is running faster than expected). If this is the case, you must turn off the computer and disable the ZIP GS by setting switch 1-6 OFF before you can run the self-test properly. --
David Empson
-------
1102 "OMF version error"- When trying to launch some GS programs I am encountering the following error message:
Sorry, system error $1102 occurred while trying to run the next application. Return to launching application or restart system.
So, whats wrong with my IIgs and how do I fix it?
Probably, there is nothing wrong with your IIgs. The "incompatible Object Module Format" error appears to indicate that your versions of the problem programs are, in some ways, not compatible with your operating system. Try launching the program from an earlier version of System or after booting an old "ProDOS-16" diskette. --Rubywand
-------
1104 "file is not a load file"- I downloaded some GS Desk Accessories fine; but, when I try to use them I get this error. How come?
Error $1104 is reported by tool $0B11 LoadSegNum (tool $0B in toolset $11). The error is reported if a check of a file's directory entry shows that the file is not file type $B3-$BE.
If an NDA or CDA were downloaded and its file type were not preserved, then the file might be okay, but it would not be recognized as a load file. Try changing the file type ($B9 for a CDA; $B8 for an NDA). An NDA named "File.Manager" by Jeff Hartkopf and Glen Bredon's ProSel-16 are two utilities that allow changing file type. --Rubywand
-------
1301 "Unknown error $1301"- When I tried to open a file in Platinum Paint, I got this error message. What's wrong?
I got the same error message when I tried to run Platinum Paint with Bernie ][ The Rescue on a G3 Power Mac. The error code refers to a missing driver; but, even if the correct printer driver is present, what Platinum Paint really wants is for the D C Printer Control Panel settings to be correct. --Jim Pittman
-------
IIe Self-Test RAM error display: RAM 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0- I get this error message when doing a selftest on my //e enhanced boot up. What's it mean?
The indication is a bad or loose RAM chip in the Bit 6 position. The RAM chips are in Row F at the front of the motherboard starting with Bit 0 and running to the right when viewed from the front of the computer.
| Row
| E
| Bit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
| _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
| Row | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| F |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |
| IC# 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 |
|______________________________________________________|
Front of Apple IIe
If your RAM chips are in sockets, try removing and re-socketing the second chip from the right. If this does not work or if your chips are soldered in place, the chip is probably bad and will need to be replaced. -- Rubywand
-------
RAMFAST-SCSI FATAL MEMORY FAULT CODE=08- Could it be a problem with my SSCI card?
It looks like RamFAST thinks there is a problem with the on-board memory. Before calling Alltech, you might try pulling the board from the Slot-- do this only with GS power turned OFF-- and wedging-up and re-seating each memory IC. (This assumes the mem IC's are socketed.) If you're not sure which IC's are memory chips, do them all. Re-seating the IC's may reestablish a pin- to-socket contact which has been broken due to oxidation coating on an IC pin or due to the IC working loose over time. --Rubyw
and
-------
RamFAST MLI Error!
Command: 04-03 86 00 60 05 00 00 00 00
Status: 2F
I have a new 530MB hard drive, and a ROM 03 GS with a RamFAST (ROM F, I think). From the Ramfast utilities, I could do a low-level format on the drive with no problem. However, when I attempted to partition it, I saw the error message listed above.
As it turns out, this drive has a place for a jumper documented to "Disable TI Negotiation." Before giving up all hope, I put a jumper in there. This apparently made it possible to partition the disk, and things look good now. -- John David Duncan
-------
RamFAST: RAMFAST.SYSTEM "Incompatible configure.dat"- My 10 year old came to me this weekend upset because of something that's happened to his GS. When he boots it up, he is getting a message about an incompatible configure.dat file, then ends up in the ramfast scsi utility!?
If the GS ends up displaying the RamFAST.System screen, and "Incompatible ..." message, click on the error message to clear it and then click Options. Set these according to your system-- mainly, click TransWarp to "No" if you do not have a TransWarp installed. Probably, you will want Password, RomDISK, HD Backup, and Short Timeout set to "No", as well. (You can experiment with Short Timeout and DMA; but, for now, set them to "No".) The other options should be "Yes".
Click Save, then Quit. If you get the <<BOOT>> prompt, click it. If you end up looking at a BASIC prompt, try entering PR#7 (assuming your SCSI interface is in Slot 7) to see if the hard disk will boot.
If either of the above gets you into the Finder where you can copy files, then you will have a way to make backups.
To check that the config has been correctly written to hard disk you will need to turn OFF the machine. (i.e. from the Finder, do a Shutdown and then turn OFF the GS.)
After 10-20 seconds, turn ON the computer and see if it boots correctly. If it does, fine. If it does not, you may have to reformat the hard disk. -- Rubywand
-------
"CHECK STARTUP DEVICE" - Why do I get this message when I try to boot a disk?
This error message usually means that there is no diskette in the boot drive, the drive door is not closed, or that the disk is not bootable. On a system which has several drives-- e.g. 3.5" and 5.25" drives and/or a hard disk-- the message indicates that no bootable disk was found on any of the drives tried.
If you know that a bootable disk is present, the indication is a problem with the drive (see Q&A above) or with the drive controller (which may be a card plugged into a Slot) or with a cable connecting the drive or with settings which affect recognition of the drive with a bootable disk.
The problem may be that the bootable disk is not detected because the IIgs Control Panel is not set correctly-- e.g. the Startup Slot is set below the number of the Slot associated with the drive and/or the Slot with an interface card is not set to "Your Card". Note: After changing a Slot setting in the Control Panel, especially for a SCSI interface, it may be necessary to turn Off the computer and do a fresh power-up for the new setting to be in effect.
If the expectation is to boot from /RAM5 RAM disk, make sure that /RAM5 is initialized before copying files to it. (/RAM5 is normally automatically formatted as a ProDOS volume when you first power up; but, it will not have the required boot block unless it is initialized or unless you do a whole-disk copy to /RAM5 of a bootable disk.) --Rubywand
-------
"NO BUFFERS AVAILABLE" error message. What does this mean?
This message often indicates that there has been an attempt to load into an area protected by ProDOS. For example, many old DOS 3.3 programs like to directly load a text message or lo-res pic into Text Page 1 ($400-$7FF), an area protected by ProDOS. Running such a program under ProDOS would be likely to produce the "NO BUFFERS AVAILABLE" message. You can recover from the error via a CALL48888. --Rubywand
-------
"UNABLE TO EXECUTE BASIC.SYSTEM" - Why do I get this message when I boot a ProDOS disk?
BASIC.SYSTEM has been loaded; but, startup code has detected one of two conditions:
o- It did not find a $4C at $E000 (which it takes to mean Integer BASIC
may be installed).
o- It did not find at least 64K of RAM.
The usual reason for getting this error message is that ProDOS with BASIC.SYSTEM has been booted on a 48K or smaller Apple II; or, the Apple II has a faulty Language Card (try re-seating IC's on the card). --Sandy Mossberg, Rubywand
-------
"UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS" - Why do I get this message when I try to boot a ProDOS diskette?
For a ProDOS disk to boot properly, you need a good copy of the PRODOS file. It can be copied from any bootable ProDOS diskette. Or, from IIgs System, copy the file named "P8" (in the SYSTEM/ folder) to your diskette and rename it to "PRODOS". --Adam Myrow
The error message means that enough of boot track (e.g. Track 0) was read to tell that the disk is formatted for ProDOS; but, for some reason, the system file named "PRODOS" is failing to load. Possibly, PRODOS is not present on the disk or the file is corrupted or there is a problem with the drive which prevents reading the file.
If the disk boots okay from a different drive, this usually indicates that your original drive has dirty heads, may be poorly connected, has a problem with head alignment, or (5.25") needs a speed adjustment. If the disk is a 5.25" diskette created on a newer model 5.25" ("40-track") drive, it may be an HD (high-density) diskette. Standard Apple 5.25" drives cannot reliably read HD diskettes-- see the Diskettes FAQs page. --Rubywand
____________________________
From: Rubywand
005- Where can I find more information on Apple II series errors?
Resources & Credits
IIgs Diagnostic
Jeff Tarr, Jr.
Apple IIgs Technical Reference by M. Fischer (pg. 213-217)
IIgs TechNotes #95: ROM Diagnostic Errors by Dan Strnad Sep, 1990
GS/OS
Apple IIGS GS/OS Reference (pg. 438-439).
For info on Expressload and System Loader refer to pg. 200-234.
ProDOS 16 and System Loader
Apple IIgs ProDOS 16 Reference (pg. 302-311)
ProDOS 8
ProDOS Technical Reference Manual (pg. 77-79)
Beneath Apple ProDOS by Worth & Lechner (pg. 6.59-6.61)
RamFAST
Paul Creager (wi...@svpal.svpal.org)
SmartPort
Apple IIGS Firmware Reference (pg. 156).
Tool Sets
Volumes 1-3 of the Apple IIGS Toolbox Reference set.
A good on-screen listing of errors encountered on the IIgs (plus lots of other toolbox, softswitch, etc. info) is available via Dave Lyons's NiftyList CDA package ($15, Shareware). Another good on-screen list is Jeff Tarr Jr.'s ErrorCodes CDA v1.7 ($5, Shareware).
Applesoft, DOS 3.3, ProDOS BASIC.SYSTEM, and ErrorWindow error codes are not listed because errors are reported directly in text messages. For codes and descriptions see ...
Applesoft
Basic Programming Reference Manual (pg. 81)
DOS 3.3
The DOS Manual (pg. 114-115)
Beneath Apple DOS by Worth & Lechner (pg. 8.20)
BASIC.SYSTEM
Exploring Apple GS/OS and ProDOS 8 by Little (pg. 249)
ErrorWindow
'Toolbox Reference: Volume 3 (pg. 52.53-52.56)
____________________________
Search Help
IIgs Diagnostic Self-Test --> look for "IIgs Self-Test"
IIe Diagnostic Self-Test --> look for "IIe Self-Test"
//e Diagnostic Self-Test --> look for "IIe Self-Test"
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2DOSMM.txt rev139 October 2009
DOS & ProDOS
001- What is a "DOS"?
002- What DOS's are available on Apple II computers?
003- Are there any faster better versions of DOS 3.3?
004- What commands are available in DOS 3.3?
005- How do I use DOS commands from the keyboard? a program?
006- How do I use variables in a DOS command?
007- How do I create new DOS 3.3 diskettes?
008- How much storage space is on a 5.25" diskette?
009- Can I format a DOS 3.3 diskette for just data storage?
010- What is the "Volume Table of Contents" or "VTOC"?
011- Can I assign names to my DOS 3.3 diskettes?
012- What does it mean to "Boot" a disk?
013- What file types does DOS 3.3 have
014- What do the entries in a DOS 3.3 Catalog display mean?
015- Re. DOS 3.3 file names: How long? What characters are legal?
016- How can I use DOS 3.3 to read/write sectors from machine code?
017- How many 'official' versions of DOS 3.3 are there?
018- How can I find out the address and size of a BLOADed file?
019- What information is included in the VTOC and Catalog sectors?
020- How does DOS 3.3 remember which sectors are used?
021- What are the formats of DOS 3.3's main file types?
022- How can I run DOS 3.3 programs from 3.5" disks and hard disk?
023- How can I get DOS 3.3 from the net without an A2 tcom utility?
024- What is ProDOS?
025- What are ProDOS's major features?
026- Which Apple II's can run which versions of ProDOS?
027- How can I create bootable ProDOS diskettes?
028- How do I make a ProDOS disk that will boot and start a BASIC program?
029- What is the maximum size of a ProDOS volume?
030- How do I LOAD, SAVE, etc. files under ProDOS?
031- What is a "pathname"?
032- What is the default volume and folder when ProDOS boots?
033- How can I set default volume and folder under ProDOS?
034- How can I discover the volume name of a just booted disk?
035- How do I create a folder?
036- How can I access ProDOS routines from machine language?
037- How can I convert DOS 3.3 wares to run under ProDOS?
038- How can I modify ProDOS to do BLOADs to Text Page 1?
039- How can I boot ProDOS on my Franklin computer?
040- What are some good DOS 3.3 and ProDOS references?
041- How can a BASIC program tell which DOS it's running under?
From: Rubywand
001- What is a "DOS"?
"DOS" means "Disk Operating System". A DOS is a collection of machine language routines and data which lets a computer Read and Write information to/from disk. A DOS also includes commands, such as SAVE and LOAD, which you can use to create and access files on disk.
Apple II DOS, Commodore 64 DOS, and the DOS used on PC's are all called "DOS"; but, they are different systems. Their commands are similar, sometimes identical, because what users want to do with disks is about the same whatever the computer. However, the way each DOS arranges and keeps track of data on disk is very different. You will not, for example, be able to read files from a C-64 diskette on your Apple II running under DOS 3.3.
----------------------------
002- What DOS's are available on Apple II computers?
DOS 3.3 is the first DOS to be widely used on Apple II computers. Many programs were written to use DOS 3.3 commands and saved on DOS 3.3 diskettes. Apple 'officially' replaced DOS 3.3 with ProDOS back in the early '80's. However, DOS 3.3 continues to be popular with II users. To get DOS 3.3 from the net, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
Another Apple II DOS is the one introduced with Apple Pascal. Compared to DOS 3.3 or ProDOS, the Apple Pascal DOS is a very limited, cumbersome operating system.
----------------------------
003- DOS 3.3 seems kind of slow. Are there any faster
better versions of DOS 3.3?
Yes. Today, most "DOS 3.3 users" do not actually use DOS 3.3. Long ago, Beagle Bros introduced patches which resulted in much better speed, freed-up extra disk space, and added a CATALOG command which shows number of Free Sectors. Their Prontodos or some modification of it is, for practical purposes, the "current version" of DOS 3.3.
ES DOS ][ adds a few mods to Prontodos. CATALOG shows Free Sectors and Number of Tracks and it scrolls the entire Catalog (scrolling stopped by pressing any key) instead of stopping when the screen is full. ES DOS ][ also lets you use the semi-colon as a terminating 'wildcard' character. This DOS includes a CATALOG fix to show correct size of files bigger than 255 sectors.
Other popular, higher speed versions of DOS 3.3 include David DOS and Diversi-DOS; and, there are several small, special-purpose versions of DOS 3.3. (For example, one game maker used RDOS to save space and to make its diskettes harder to copy.) Below is a chart which compares speed and features for standard and speeded versions of DOS 3.3.
BLOAD Time Does Large Files Frees 15 Disp Free Error
Test*** INIT CATALOG fix Sectors Sectors Msg
Std DOS 3.3**- 8.9 sec Yes No No No Yes
DavidDOS- 2.8 sec No Yes No Yes Yes
DiversiDOS- 2.9 sec Yes Yes No Yes err#
EsDOS- 2.3 sec Yes Yes Yes Yes abbr*
ProntoDOS v1- 3.0 sec Yes No Yes No Yes
ProntoDOS v2- 3.0 sec Yes No Yes Yes Yes
* abbr: shows abbreviated error messages
** 1980-1983 versions
*** time to BLOAD MUFFIN from the 1983 DOS 3.3 System Master disk
You can get standard and high-speed DOS 3.3's from a number of places on the net. See Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
----------------------------
004- What commands are available in DOS 3.3?
To get very far with "DOS 3.3" you will need the DOS Manual. This is especially true when it comes to using TEXT files. Other good sources of DOS 3.3 info include _Beneath Apple DOS_ and _Apple II User's Guide_. For now, the following is a quickie guide to most Apple II DOS 3.3 commands:
LOAD NARF- loads a BASIC file named NARF.
SAVE NARF- saves current BASIC program in memory as file named NARF.
DELETE NARF - deletes file named NARF
CATALOG - lists contents of diskette to screen
RENAME NARF, NEWNARF - renames file NARF to NEWNARF
RUN NARF- loads and starts a BASIC file named NARF.
BLOAD NARF.PICTURE, A$2000 - loads in a binary file named NARF.PICTURE starting at address $2000.
note: $2000 is a hexadecimal number ($2000 = 8192 in decimal). DOS commands can use hex or decimal numbers.
BSAVE NARF, A$300, L$7F - saves $7F bytes of memory starting at address $300 as a binary file named NARF. (BSAVE NARF, A768, L127 uses decimal numbers to do the same thing.)
note: The above command statement illustrates typical DOS syntax ...
BSAVE-- the DOS command
NARF-- the file name (the space between the command and file name
is not a requirement; BSAVENARF is okay)
,-- a comma to separate file name from parms which follow
A-- means an Address follows
$300-- the address from which you want to start saving bytes (the $
indicates a hex value; $300= 768). Again, spaces do not matter;
A768, A 768, A $ 300 are all okay
,-- a comma to separate one parm from another
L-- means a Length follows
$7F-- the length in hex (= 127); this is the number of bytes to be saved
The command statement says Save $7F bytes, starting at address $300, to a file named "NARF". NARF will have the bytes found at addresses $300 through $37E.
note: The order of parms following a file name does not matter.
BRUN NARF.DISP, A$1000 - loads in a binary file named NARF.DISP starting at address $1000 and starts executing machine instructions at address $1000
LOCK NARF- locks file NARF (indicated by * in a CATALOG). LOCKed files cannot be deleted, over-written, etc.
UNLOCK NARF - cancels LOCKed status of NARF.
VERIFY NARF - uses checksums to verify that NARF is not a damaged file
MON C, I, O - tells DOS to display Commands, Inputs from disk, Outputs to disk. You can specify one, two, or all three (e.g. MON C, O etc.).
NOMON C, I, O - cancels all MON requests. NOMON I cancels just the "I" request.
MAXFILES 7 - sets the number of file buffers to 7. (Upon booting DOS, the default for the MAXFILES value is 3.)
PR#1 - sets the destination for Apple outputs to the device in Slot 1 (usually a printer). PR# 3 sets it to Slot 3, etc.. PR# 0 sets the destination back to the display screen.
PR#6 - normally, boots the diskette in Drive 1, Slot 6.
IN# 6 - sets the source for Apple inputs to the device in Slot 6.
IN# 0 - sets the source for Apple inputs to the keyboard (default).
INT - (integer) puts system into Integer BASIC if it is present.
FP - (floating point) puts system into standard Applesoft BASIC.
OPEN NARFOO - prepares to read or write a TEXT file named NARFOO.
READ NARFOO - tells DOS that INPUT and GET statements will obtain characters from a TEXT file named NARFOO.
WRITE NARFOO - tells DOS that PRINTed characters will go to a TEXT file named NARFOO.
CLOSE NARFOO - used to terminate access to a TEXT file named NARFOO. Just CLOSE terminates access to all OPENed TEXT files.
EXEC NARFGO - tells DOS to execute the BASIC and DOS commands found in a TEXT file named NARFGO
The above TEXT file commands handle 'normal' sequential TEXT files. DOS can also OPEN, READ, WRITE, ... random access TEXT files. (See DOS manual.)
Most DOS commands also let you specify Drive and/or Slot. For example CATALOG, D2 lists the contents of the diskette in Drive 2 to screen. SAVE NARF,S5,D2 saves NARF to Drive 2 in Slot 5.
NOTE --> Using Drive or Slot parms in a DOS command sets the default Drive or Slot. So, after CATALOG, D2, a plain LOAD or SAVE will access Drive 2.
----------------------------
005- How do I use DOS commands from the keyboard? ... from a program?
To use a DOS command from the keyboard, type it in. (A few commands can be issued only from a program.) To use a DOS command in a program enclose it in quotes preceded by PRINT CHR$(4). For example:
100 PRINT CHR$(4) "BLOAD NARF, A$2000"
----------------------------
006- How do I use variables, say for file length, in a DOS command?
Use variables in a command this way:
120 PRINT CHR$(4) "BSAVE NARF, A$2000, L"; NB
Line 120 says that the Length of NARF is the value of variable NB. NB is used here to represent the number of bytes (in decimal) to be saved.
----------------------------
007- How do I create new DOS 3.3 diskettes?
One of the best features of DOS 3.3 is that any bootable DOS diskette can create other bootable diskettes.
INIT HELLO - formats one side of the diskette in the currently active drive, adds DOS, and saves the current program as HELLO.
The program that's automatically placed on the new diskette is the one in memory when INIT is executed. It is called the "greeting program" or "hello program" because it is the program which will be run when the diskette is booted. Usually, the program is named HELLO; but, you can INIT HOWDY, or any name you like. The hello program can be very simple, such as ...
100 PRINT CHR$(4) "CATALOG"
110 END
You are free to load in and change the hello program or even delete it, just like any other. The one restriction is that once a diskette is INITed, the name of the hello program is fixed for that diskette unless you use a utility (like Copy II+) to make a change. This is why it's a good idea to stick with the name HELLO. You will always know what the hello program's name is.
Once a diskette is INITed it can be used to store your programs and data files.
----------------------------
008- How much storage space is on a newly INITialized 5.25" diskette?
A standard DOS 3.3 diskette has 35 Tracks. Each Track contains 16 256- byte Sectors. This gives 35 x 16 x 256 = 143360 bytes per side. Current versions of DOS 3.3-- e.g. Prontodos, etc.-- use Track 0 and Track 1 plus a sector on Track 2 for DOS; and, Track 17 is used for holding the Catalog of files and other disk information. This leaves roughly 130k bytes per side free for your HELLO program and other files.
By the way, when it comes to the way it is stored on-disk, DOS 3.3 is not like the PC's MSDOS or Apple's ProDOS. DOS 3.3 is 'hidden' on reserved tracks, mainly Tracks 0 and 1. There is no "DOS 3.3" file which will show up on a CATALOG.
----------------------------
009- On my PC I can FORMAT diskettes with or without adding the
operating system. Can I format a DOS 3.3 diskette for just
data storage? -- i.e. without adding DOS or a HELLO program?
Yes. DOS 3.3 does not have a plain "FORMAT" command; but, you can use utilities such as Copy II+ to easily format a diskette without adding DOS or a HELLO program.
A format will create 35 Tracks of 16 256-byte sectors each and verify that each Track is good. Then, it will allocate the Catalog track and create a disk info record called the "Volume Table of Contents" or "VTOC".
----------------------------
010- What is the "Volume Table of Contents" or "VTOC"?
The VTOC is a Sector which stores such basic information as Number of Tracks, Sectors per Track, DOS version, ..., and the 'map' of used/un-used Sectors. DOS 3.3 writes the VTOC at Track 17, Sector 0. (For more details on VTOC content see Question 019.)
----------------------------
011- Can I assign names to my DOS 3.3 diskettes?
DOS 3.3 has no way to name a diskette "NARF", "DISK 100", "DATA DISK ", etc. which DOS will recognize. You can, however, 'name' a diskette by giving it a Volume Number in the range 1-255.
Volume Number is set at the time a diskette is initialized. For example ...
INIT HELLO, V19
INITs a diskette as Volume 19. If no number is specified, the default Volume Number used by INIT is 254.
Several DOS commands can specify a Volume Number in order to decide whether a diskette is the right one for some application.
LOAD NARF, D2, V5 ... for example, will not load NARF from Drive 2 unless the diskette's Volume Number is 5.
A few early pieces of commercial software used Volume numbering; and, new users often like to Volume number their diskettes. In practice, this turns out to be a bad idea. A diskette with any Volume Number except the default (254) is often difficult to work with via standard utilities. Also, once a diskette is INITed for a certain Volume Number, changing the number is difficult because Volume Number is embedded in each Sector. (i.e. You'll end up having to copy every file to another diskette and, then,
re-INITing the source diskette to the new Volume Number.)
Besides, there's an easy way to give descriptive names to your DOS 3.3 diskettes which will not interfer with normal access. Just write the name ("GAMES DISK ONE", or whatever) to a Text file named, say, "DISK.ID".
DOS 3.3 will not know about the name or show it in a CATALOG. However, your programs will be able to find out the name by just reading DISK.ID.
----------------------------
012- What does it mean to "Boot" a disk?
BOOT comes from the idea of 'pulling yourself up by your bootstraps'. The Apple II disk controller ROM has just enough smarts to load-in DOS's Bootstrap Loader from Track 0, Sector 0 (it comes in at address $800 ...).
The Loader loads in a still smarter, bigger routine from several sectors of Track 0. This routine is the one which loads in the rest of DOS, moves it to the proper place in memory, and ends up going to DOS's Cold Start routine. Finally, the hello program is loaded and executed.
----------------------------
013- What file types does DOS 3.3 have and how is file
type information saved in the Catalog?
In a DOS 3.3 Catalog sector, the third byte in each file's entry tells the type of the file:
Byte Value* File Type
00 Text
01 Integer BASIC
02 AppleSoft BASIC
04 Binary
08 S type
10 R: Relocatable object module
20 new A type
40 new B type
*DOS 3.3 sets bit 7 of the byte if the file is locked. (e.g. 84 --> a locked Binary file)
Type R files show up in just a few applications. An R file begins with 6 bytes which a "loader" routine can use to tell the Target location of file contents, How many bytes to move, and Source location to move from.
Although S, new A, and new B are included, no official application was defined for them and no DOS commands were created to make any special use of these files.
----------------------------
from David Empson
There was an "R" type relocating loader included with the toolkit for use with BASIC programs and relocatable routines being loaded into upper memory.
"S" was used by some programs for a generic image file, or something that was not likely to be touchable with normal code.
The LISA assembler used the second "B" type for its source files. It had a patched version of DOS that changed the file type list to read "LARSBAIT", so the source files appeared in the catalog as "L" if you booted LISA, or "B" if you booted a normal disk.
The "B", "A", "R" and "S" special file types cannot be accessed by BASIC programs (unless you patch DOS) - commands are only provided for dealing with "B", "A", "I" and "T" files.
The four special types can only be accessed using direct calls to the File Manager.
____________________________
From: Dave Althoff, Jr.
014- What do the entries in a DOS 3.3 Catalog display mean?
A standard DOS 3.3 Catalog display looks something like this:
DISK VOLUME 254
*A 002 HELLO
B 033 TETRA/SOFT LOGO.BIN
T 142 DAVE'S LIST OF DOS COMMANDS
I 002 INTEGER BASIC PROGRAM
^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|| ||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|| ||| |___________________________________Filename
|| |_______________________________________File length (in Sectors)
||_________________________________________File type
|________________________________________* means the file is locked
-----------------------------
015- How long can a DOS 3.3 file name be and what characters
can it include?
DOS 3.3 filenames may be up to 30 characters long, and must conform to the following restrictions:
a. The first character must have an ASCII code value greater than 63. This excludes numerals, SPACE, and most punctuation. The "@" character is allowed as well as letters, and some special chars such as "]", "~", "_", and a few others.
b. Commas and colons may not be used at all. Apart from these restrictions, anything goes. All kinds of characters, including uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols, and CONTROL characters can be used after the first character.
____________________________
From: Andy McFadden
016- How can I use DOS 3.3 to read and write sectors from machine code?
DOS 3.3 works like this:
JSR $3E3 ;get address of RWTS IOB (low in Y, high in A)
(you can either change the stuff that Y/A point to, or set up
your own IOB and skip the call to $3E3)
JSR $3D9 ;call RWTS (with IOB address in Y/A)
The IOB (Input/Output Block) is small but non-trivial. Here's what Beneath Apple DOS says:
$00 table type (always $01)
$01 slot *16
$02 drive (1 or 2)
$03 volume expected ($00 for any)
$04 track ($0-$22)
$05 sector ($0-$0f)
$06-07 address (lo/hi) of the Device Characteristics Table
$08-09 address (lo/hi) of the 256 byte buffer for read/write
$0A not used
$0B byte count for partial sector ($00 for 256 bytes)
$0C command code (0=seek, 1=read, 2=write, 4=format)
$0D return code (carry set on error):
$00 = no errors
$08 = error during initialization
$10 = write protect error
$20 = volume mismatch error
$40 = drive error
$80 = read error (obsolete)
$0E volume number of last access (must be initialized)
$0F slot number of last access *16 (must be initialized)
$10 drive number of last access (must be initialized)
Device characteristics table:
$00 device type (should be $00 for DiskII)
$01 phases per track (should be $01 for DiskII)
$02-03 motor on time count (should be $EFD8 for DiskII)
NOTE: RWTS uses zero-page location $48, which is also used by the Apple monitor to hold the P-register value. Location $48 should be set to zero after each call to RWTS.
____________________________
From: Edhel Iaur, Esq.
017- How many 'official' versions of DOS 3.3 are there
and how can I tell which is running?
According to The Dostalk Scrapbook, there are 3 official (as in Apple made 'em, I think) versions of DOS 3.3. PEEK (46725) supposedly tells you which is running:
165: oldest (1980)
186: better (January 1, 1983)
182: latest (?)
I remember one had something to do with the way text files are handled.
----------------------------
From: Dave Althoff
The second version would be the IIe release ("DOS 3.3e") which contains yet another APPEND patch, and an additional bit of code which shuts off the 80- column firmware during boot. That version comes on a new System Master which uses the LOADER.OBJ0 program to fast-load INTBASIC (or FPBASIC), and a revised "HELLO" program which displays the "BE SURE CAPS LOCK IS DOWN" reminder on a IIe.
----------------------------
From: Rubywand and Olcott
One big problem with DOS 3.3e (and, probably, any later versions) is that it uses some memory in the DOS area which the 1980 release leaves alone. This means it can not be safely patched with Beagle's "Prontodos" speed-up mods.
With DOS 3.3e, you get an APPEND patch (which turns out to introduce a new APPEND bug), a IIe display frill, and a DOS which is _much_ slower than the 1980 DOS 3.3 patched for Prontodos.
____________________________
From: David Empson
018- How can I find out the address and size of a BLOADed
DOS 3.3 file?
After you BLOAD a file, you can use the following command to find out the exact length of the file you just BLOADed:
PRINT PEEK(43616) + 256 * PEEK(43617)
Use another PEEK to find out where it was loaded:
PRINT PEEK(43634) + 256 * PEEK(43635)
The value displayed is the load address of the binary file.
____________________________
From: Neil Parker and Rubywand
019- What information is included in the DOS 3.3 VTOC and
catalog sectors?
VTOC
The Volume Table of Contents (VTOC) is Sector $00 (0) on Track $11 (17). This is the key sector from which all searches start out.
Example: A typical DOS 3.3 Disk's VTOC sector
Byte 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E
0000- 04 11 0F 03 00 00 FE 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0010- 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0020- 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 7A 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0030- 15 01 00 00 23 10 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
....
0080- 3F 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
....
00F0- 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 7A 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00 Unused (always $04 on my disks)
$01-02 Track/Sector location of first catalog sector-- the standard
location is Track $11/Sector $0F (17/15)
Note: The location of first catalog sector may be different on some
disks. DOS 3.3 can adjust; but, some utilities (e.g. Copy II Plus)
assume T/S $11/$0F and will not be able to find the catalog.
$03 DOS version number ($03 for DOS 3.3)
$04-05 Unused
$06 Volume Number-- $01-$FE (1-254) is the standard range;
$FE (254) is the standard default VN
Note: This entry merely records the VN for handy reference.
VN is set when a disk is INITed and it is embedded in the
Address header of each sector.
$07-26 Unused
$27 Max number of Track/Sector pairs in each sector of
a file's Track/Sector list-- normally $7A (122)
$28-2F Unused
$30 Last track where sectors were allocated-- in the example
it is Track $15 (21)
$31 Direction of allocation-- $01 (+1)=inward; $FF (-1)=outward
$32-33 Unused
$34 Number of tracks per disk-- normally $23 (35)
$35 Number of sectors per track-- normally $10 (16)
$36-37 Number of bytes per sector-- normally $0100 (256)
$38-3B Bit map for Track $00-- four bytes per entry (only two bytes are
used); each bit in the two-byte entry indicates whether a sector
is in use (0) or free for use (1). See example just below.
$3C-3F Bit map for Track $01
....
$80-81 Bit map for Track $12 (18)
Example: The entry shown is 3F 7F 00 00. Only the first two
bytes (3F 7F) are used:
Sector- F E D C B A 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Bit- 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Hex- 3 F 7 F
This shows that on Track $12 only sectors $F, $E, and $7 (15, 14,
and 7) are used. The other sectors on the track are free for use.
....
$C0-C3 Bit map for Track $22 (34)-- usually the last track
$C4-FF Unused on normal disks (may contain extra bit maps on disks with
more than 35 tracks)
Catalog
Starting at Track $11/Sector $0F (17/15 in decimal) and working downward in the track (e.g. Sector $0E, $0D, ...), each catalog sector contains a pointer to the next catalog sector, and seven file entries:
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00 Unused
$01 Track number of next catalog sector ($00 if no more)
$02 Sector number of next catalog sector
$03-0A Unused
$0B-2D First file entry
$2E-50 Second file entry
$51-73 Third file entry
$74-96 Fourth file entry
$97-B9 Fifth file entry
$BA-DC Sixth file entry
$DD-FF Seventh file entry
Each file entry looks like this:
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00 Track number of this file's first track/sector list
$01 Sector number of this file's first track/sector list
$02 File type:
Bit Meaning
--- -------
7 0=unlocked, 1=locked
6-0 File type ($00=Text, $01=Integer, $02=Applesoft,
$04=Binary, $08=S, $10=Relocatable, $20=A, $40=B)
$03-20 File name (high bits set; padded with blanks on right)
$21-22 Number of sectors allocated to this file
----------------------------
020- How does DOS 3.3 remember which sectors are used to store a file?
Every file has a set of one or more Track/Sector List sectors. A Track/Sector List (T/S List) lists sectors (by Track and Sector number) which make up the file. Each T/S List sector points to up to 122 data sectors If the file is too long for one T/S List sector, a second one is allocated, and a pointer to it is stored in the first one, and so on.
Note that DOS 3.3 supports "sparse" files...there may 0/0 pairs in the T/S List indicating parts of the file that were never written. When DOS 3.3 is reading a file and encounters a 0/0 pair in the T/S List, it passes a buffer full of binary zeros back to the calling program.
A Track/Sector List sector looks like this:
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00 Unused
$01-02 Track/Sector location of next T/S List sector (00 for Track means
the list uses no more sectors since Track 0 can not be used)
$03-04 Unused
$05-06 Sector number in file (offset) of first sector represented in this
T/S List sector (starting at byte $0C below).
Ex: 00 00 = file sector #0 (i.e. the sector specified is the first
sector in the file). In a second T/S list sector, if required,
the first sector listed would be file sector #122 (i.e. the 123rd
sector) indicated by 7A 00-- hexadecimal $007A = 122 in decimal.
$07-0B Unused
The rest of the T/S List sector lists sectors in which the file is stored ...
$0C-0D Track/Sector location of first sector (in this T/S List sector)
$0E-0F Track/Sector location of second sector (in this T/S List sector)
... etc.
----------------------------
021- What are the formats of DOS 3.3's main file types?
A machine-language program is free to store whatever it wants in any file, but most programs (including DOS 3.3's own command interpreter) expect the data in each type of file to conform to certain formats:
A sequential text file consists of lines of ASCII text separated by carriage returns, and ending with a $00 byte. The high bit of each character (except the $00 at the end) is set.
A random-access file may be thought of as a set of mini sequential access files separated by strings of $00 bytes. Each "mini-file" begins at a file position which is a multiple of the random-access record length. (Note that sequential and random-access text files share the same file type. It is up to individual programs to know whether their data files are sequential or random-access.)
Applesoft and Integer BASIC files have the following format:
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00-01 Length of tokenized BASIC program
$02-end Tokenized BASIC program
Binary files have the following format:
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00-01 Load address
$02-03 Length of binary image (i.e. file contents)
$04-end binary image
A Relocatable file contains the image of a program, followed by a relocation dictionary containing the information necessary to relocate the program to an arbitrary memory location. The file format is as follows:
Byte Meaning
---- -------
$00-01 Original program load address
$02-03 File length (program image + relocation dictionary)
$04-05 Length of program image alone (not including relocation
dictionary)
$06-xx Program image
$xx-yy Relocation dictionary
(The format of the relocation dictionary is a bit too complex to describe
here. I can provide details if anybody's interested.)
The other three file types (S, A, and B) have never been consistantly defined by anybody. Several programs use these file types (especially type S) to store their private data files, but there doesn't seem to be any agreement on their internal format.
For further information I recommend the book "Beneath Apple DOS" by Don Worth and Pieter Lechner.
P.S. By the way, all two-byte fields in the above are stored in normal Apple II byte order, low byte first.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
022- How can I run DOS 3.3 programs from 3.5" disks and hard disk?
You can run quite a few DOS 3.3 programs from 3.5" disk, a large RAM disk, or hard disk. However, there are numerous DOS 3.3 programs which will not run this way and which could even damage files and directories on the larger media.
Problems are especially likely when a program modifies and CALLs machine code routines such as Read/Write Track-Sector (RWTS) and/or makes assumptions about the physical locations on disk of important DOS 3.3 areas such as the Volume Table of Contents, CATALOG track, and DOS itself. Using a special routine to save "High Scores" to a specific Track/Sector is just one of many ways a DOS 3.3 program might create havoc on a hard disk.
On the other hand, you have programs which stick to using standard DOS commands from BASIC such as, probably, most of your own DOS 3.3 programs and most 'type-in' software from publications like SoftSide. Programs like these should run fine using one of the techniques for accessing DOS 3.3 software from 3.5" diskette or hard disk.
There are two fairly popular approaches to running DOS 3.3 software from 3.5" diskette on an Apple II. One is to copy it to a specially formatted 3.5" diskette which boots a modified "DOS 3.3" such as AmDOS or OzDOS. Typically, you get two "400k disks" on each 3.5" diskette.
A very different approach is used by DOS 3.3 Launcher. It offers two options:
1- You can save some DOS 3.3 programs to ProDOS disk (including 3.5" disk or hard disk). These must be single-file programs that do not access the disk once they are loaded into memory. DOS 3.3 Launcher's Copier is used to set launch options.
2- Using the DOS 3.3 Launcher Copier, you can save an entire DOS 3.3 disk as a disk image to a ProDOS 3.5" diskette, hard disk, etc.. According to 'Launcher's docs:
>> Any disk that uses a standard RWTS (Read/Write Track/Sector) routine can be copied in this manner. This includes not only DOS 3.3 disks, but also many old games which use a standard RWTS, but are not actually DOS 3.3. They can then be launched by DOS 3.3 Launcher, which "boots" the large file directly from your hard disk. <<
To run a program from ProDOS-8, you start DOS 3.3 Launcher from a program selector such as ProSel-8 which supports the ProDOS 8 startup protocol- - i.e. it can make applications automatically open a data file. (The DOS 3.3 Launcher docs tell how to setup a ProSel entry for a program.)
Running a program from the IIgs System Finder is much easier.
>> If you have properly installed DOS 3.3 Launcher, your DOS 3.3 programs should appear with DOS 3.3 icons when viewed through the Finder. To launch them, you simply double click on them, which launches them via ProDOS 8. <<
Of the two basic approaches (a special 3.5" DOS 3.3 or DOS 3.3 Launcher), DOS 3.3 Launcher seems to be the better way to go:
First, it is easy to set up the contents of a DOS 3.3 disk prior to converting it to disk image form-- you can use any of the popular disk management utilities such as Copy II Plus. Moving DOS 3.3 files onto an AmDOS or OzDOS disk with the crude FID-type copiers available is a hassle.
Second, DOS 3.3 Launcher turns out to create and use standard 143,360-byte ProDOS order (.po) disk images, except, at least on the IIgs, the 'Launcher requires a special filetype-- e.g. $F1 to run at 1MHz, $F2 to run at "Fast" speed. These filetypes make it possible for the DOS 3.3 Launcher icons (included) to link images to the program for easy launching under the Finder-- you just double-click on the image's icon.
So, you should be able to download any .dsk disk image on your PC, use an emulator to transfer the contents to a .po disk image, and transfer the .po file via NULL modem to your Apple II. Here you just need to adjust the filetype for use under DOS 3.3 Launcher. Or you can convert 5.25" .sdk (shrinked disk) files to .po disk image form and transfer these via NULL modem.
To download AmDOS, OzDOS, DOS3.3.Launcher, and ProSel, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
----------------------------
023- How can I get DOS 3.3 from the net without an Apple II
telecom utility?
DOS 3.3 Dump is DOS 3.3 in an Apple II Text file. The purpose of the the dump file (dos33.dmp)is to make it possible for users without DOS 3.3 and without any Apple II telecom program to obtain DOS 3.3 from the net.
Once you have DOS 3.3, you can obtain ADT and have a way to transfer 5.25" .dsk disk image files from your net computer to your Apple II. (And once you can transfer disk images, you can get a good Apple II telecom utility and have a way to transfer all kinds of files!)
You can find DOS 3.3 Dump along with directions on several net sites. See Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
============================
024- What is ProDOS?
ProDOS
ProDOS is the official Apple II DOS which came after DOS 3.3. Do not confuse "ProDOS" and "Prontodos". Prontodos is a slightly modified DOS 3.3 which provides much faster disk I/O than standard DOS 3.3. ProDOS is a whole new disk operating system. To get ProDOS from the net, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
----------------------------
025- What are ProDOS's major features?
ProDOS has lots of nice features-- mainly, you can create sub- directories, diskettes ("volumes") can be named, and ProDOS works well on hard disks. The GS System 6 Finder can handle ProDOS files and launch programs from ProDOS diskettes. ProDOS's BASIC command interpreter shares many commands with DOS 3.3, too; so, it is not difficult for DOS 3.3 users to get started with the newer operating system.
____________________________
From: David Empson
026- Which Apple II's can run which versions of ProDOS?
Apple II's from an Apple II+ with 64k RAM through the IIgs can run versions of ProDOS up through version 1.9 and run Applesoft BASIC programs under these versions.
An older Apple II (with Integer BASIC in ROM) or any Apple II with less than 64k RAM can run ProDOS 1.0 or 1.0.1 but can not use the ProDOS BASIC interpreter (BASIC.SYSTEM). This is not a very useful setup as there are few applications that will work in this environment.
Versions 2.x.x of ProDOS require an Apple II equipped with a 65C02, 65C802, or 65C816 such as an Apple IIe-enhanced, //c, IIc+, or IIgs. The current ProDOS is version 2.0.3.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
027- How can I create bootable ProDOS diskettes?
Creating bootable ProDOS diskettes is more bother than creating bootable DOS 3.3 diskettes because ProDOS does not have any way to duplicate itself from memory-- i.e., it has no INIT command.
One way to make a new bootable ProDOS diskette is to first use Apple's ProDOS FILER utility or a ProDOS version of Copy II+ to FORMAT a diskette for ProDOS. This creates tracks filled with blank blocks so that the diskette can be used to hold ProDOS files. It also writes boot startup code in Blocks 0 and 1 on Track 0.
ProDOS is in a file on a bootable ProDOS disk and so, usually, is the ProDOS 'connection' to BASIC, named "BASIC.SYSTEM". To finish the job you copy BASIC.SYSTEM and PRODOS from some bootable ProDOS disk to the new diskette.
Another way is to use Disk Muncher or some other whole-disk copier to copy some bootable ProDOS diskette which includes BASIC.SYSTEM. You can delete any files you don't want from the copy.
Things are a bit easier on a IIgs running GS System. In the Finder (the usual GS main 'desktop'), you can insert a blank diskette and let Finder "Initialize" it for ProDOS. Then you can mouse 'drag and drop' PRODOS and BASIC.SYSTEM from a bootable ProDOS disk to your new disk. (Or, even easier, if you have a 'stock' blank bootable ProDOS diskette the same size as your new disk, you can just drag and drop the bootable disk onto your new disk.)
Note: If you want to copy the ProDOS used by GS/OS, copy the file P8 from the SYSTEM/ folder and rename it to "PRODOS" on your diskette.
----------------------------
028- How do I make a ProDOS disk that will boot and start a BASIC program?
If you want ProDOS to boot and start a BASIC program, then both PRODOS and BASIC.SYSTEM must be present. (BASIC.SYSTEM should be the first .SYSTEM file on the diskette.) The "hello" program on a ProDOS diskette is named "STARTUP". This is the program which will be run upon booting the diskette. (If there is no "STARTUP" program, you will end up at the usual BASIC prompt after booting.)
A simple STARTUP program you can type in and save to your new ProDOS diskette is ...
10 TEXT: HOME
20 PRINT CHR$(4)"CAT"
30 END
After typing in the program, just enter SAVE STARTUP. Next time you boot the diskette, the above program will run and the diskette's CATALOG will be displayed.
A good ready-made STARTUP program and program selector for launching ProDOS 8 programs on a IIgs is available as speedgs.shk. The file unShrinks to the Startup program and a Readme directions file. To get speedgs.shk from the net, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
____________________________
From: David Empson
029- What is the maximum size of a ProDOS volume?
When a diskette is formatted for ProDOS it is given a name by the user. A ProDOS diskette is also called a "volume". A ProDOS hard disk will, usually, be partitioned into two or more named volumes. The maximum size of a ProDOS volume is 32767.5 kilobytes (65535 blocks).
____________________________
From: Rubywand
030- How do I LOAD, SAVE, etc. files under ProDOS?
LOAD (SAVE, RENAME, etc.) work very much as in DOS 3.3.; so, you can use Slot and Drive parms to specify the target volume. However, to get the most from ProDOS you will usually be working with volume names and folders. (or, "directories").
If GAME3.PIC is a binary file in a directory named "PICS" on a volume named "NARF", you could load it into memory starting at address $2000 via
BLOAD /NARF/PICS/GAME3.PIC,A$2000
or, in BASIC
100 PRINT CHR$(4)"BLOAD /NARF/PICS/GAME3.PIC,A$2000"
So, in ProDOS, you can access a disk (or volume) by name ...
RUN /GAMES/CHINA.SEA
will find the disk (volume) named "GAMES", then, find, load, and run CHINA.SEA.
You can, also, refer to a disk by its location ...
CAT,S6,D1
will do a short-form catalog of the main directory of the diskette in DRIVE 1 connected to SLOT 6.
----------------------------
031- What is a "pathname"?
Suppose the file BARDS2.PIC is in the folder PICS on the diskette (volume) named "NARF". Then ...
/NARF/PICS/BARDS2.PIC is BARDS2.PIC's complete "pathname".
/NARF/PICS/ is a "pathname prefix" for all files in the PICS directory on the volume named "NARF".
A leading "/" indicates a volume name (/NARF).
The "main directory" or "root directory" is the one in which the files PRODOS and BASIC.SYSTEM (along with any other files the user wants there) are usually located on a ProDOS diskette. NARF's main directory pathname prefix is just /NARF/.
____________________________
From: Rubywand and David Empson
032- What is the default volume and folder (directory) when ProDOS boots?
When ProDOS boots, it will assume that LOADs, SAVEs, etc. refer to the main directory of whatever volume is in the boot Slot and Drive. It does not automatically establish a default volume or folder by name.
So long as no default volume name is set, references to disks by Slot and/or Drive (e.g. CAT,S6,D2) will set the default device (by Slot and Drive) much as happens with similar commands entered from the keyboard under DOS 3.3.
----------------------------
033- How can I set default volume and folder (directory) under ProDOS?
The ProDOS PREFIX command followed by a pathname lets you set the default volume and folder (or directory) by name-- i.e. you set the default pathname prefix. For example,
PREFIX /NARF
or, in a BASIC program
100 PRINT CHR$(4)"PREFIX /NARF"
tells your computer to find the ProDOS volume (e.g. disk, hard disk partition, etc.) named "NARF" and, once it is found, set the current default directory to /NARF/-- i.e. the main or "root" directory of the volume named "NARF". From then on, commands like CAT, RUN GRAFIX, BLOAD STARTPIC, etc. automatically reference /NARF's main directory.
If you enter CAT PAINTERS/, ProDOS will go to the PAINTERS/ folder on /NARF and display a CATALOG of the folder's contents.
If you move your /NARF diskette to a different drive and do a CAT, ProDOS will scan your drives to find /NARF and do the CAT. If you remove /NARF completely and do a CAT, ProDOS will say there is a "PATH NOT FOUND" error.
Naturally, you can set the default prefix to a specific folder. For example,
PREFIX /NARF/EAMON/
or, in a BASIC program
100 PRINT CHR$(4)"PREFIX /NARF/EAMON/"
sets the volume (/NARF/) plus folder (EAMON/) as the new default prefix. A program running in that folder can BLOAD picture, etc. files and RUN games in that folder without worrying about the names of the volume and folder in which your Eamon stuff is located.
If you know that the EAMON folder is in the currently active directory, you can use
PREFIX EAMON/
or, in a BASIC program
100 PRINT CHR$(4)"PREFIX EAMON/"
to set the folder as the default location without having to specify volume name. If the current default is /NARF/, the command will result in the new default being /NARF/EAMON/. If the current default is /NARF/GAMES/, the new default will be /NARF/GAMES/EAMON/.
If there is no default path at the time the command is executed, ProDOS will read the volume name, check for the EAMON/ folder, and add "EAMON/" to create the complete default pathname prefix.
Setting a default pathname prefix does not prevent using commands which specify other locations. For instance
CAT /PICS/BOXES/
will look for the BOXES/ folder on the volume /PICS/ and do a CAT.
To clear (eliminate) the default pathname prefix, use
PREFIX/ ("PREFIX" followed by a "/")
____________________________
From: Rubywand
034- How can I discover the volume name of a just booted disk?
You can discover the name of a ProDOS volume in a drive by doing a CAT. The volume name will be shown at the top of the screen listing (e.g. "/NARF/").
Another way-- one which works in programs as well as from the keyboard-- is to use the PREFIX command:
PREFIX
This command will normally return one of two results:
o- If there is an established default prefix, then, the result will be the current default prefix.
o- If there is no established default prefix, then, ProDOS will read the volume name of the volume in the default Slot and Drive.
Note: PREFIX used in this way does not establish or change a pathname prefix.
Booting clears any default prefix and sets default Slot/Drive to the boot drive. For your STARTUP program to discover the name of the volume on which it resides, it could execute the following:
100 PRINT CHR$(4)"PREFIX": INPUT"";P$
The volume name of the just booted disk (e.g. "/NARF/") will be saved in P$.
____________________________
From: David Wilson
035- How do I create a folder?
Creating folders (or directories) is the one time you do not need to provide a type parameter (e.g. TDIR) for the CREATE command. Hence
CREATE GIFPICS
would create a folder named "GIFPICS" in the current default directory.
____________________________
From: Neil Parker
036- How do I access ProDOS routines from machine language?
You use the ProDOS Machine Language Interface (MLI). The MLI is responsible for carrying out nearly all of the functions (Read Block, Write Block, and 24 others) which ProDOS can perform.
Machine language programs call ProDOS by doing a JSR to the MLI at $BF00. To determine which function to perform, ProDOS examines the "command" byte immediately following the JSR instruction. Immediately after the command byte come two more bytes that point to the command's parameter list. When the call completes, it returns to the code immediately following the parameter list pointer. A ProDOS MLI call looks something like this:
20 00 BF JSR MLI
80 DB COMMAND_CODE
50 03 DW PARAM_LIST_LOCATION
B0 __ BCS ERROR
In the above, the command code ($80) says "Read a block" and the parameter list is located at $0350. The MLI call returns with the carry flag set and an error code in the accumulator if an error occurred; so, a simple error check (the Branch if Carry Set instruction) is often the next instruction which is executed.
For a detailed description of functions including command codes and parameters, see a ProDOS manual or one of the other references mentioned in Q&A 040 below.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
037- How can I convert DOS 3.3 wares to run under ProDOS?
Quite a few DOS 3.3 programs will run fine under ProDOS with no change at all. Unless you have some reason to believe a DOS 3.3 program will not run under ProDOS, it's worthwhile to just copy it to a ProDOS diskette and give it a try.
Note: A few 'DOS 3.3' programs, mainly old commercial games, include routines which do direct writes to one or more sectors. This could overwrite parts of a file or a ProDOS directory. It's a good idea to copy risky-looking software to a ProDOS disk you can afford to lose (e.g. a bootable disk with no favorite programs, etc. on it). Boot this disk and try out the program.
The main barriers to running DOS 3.3 programs under ProDOS are ...
1. Size: DOS 3.3 leaves more space for programs than ProDOS + BASIC.SYSTEM. Some DOS 3.3 programs are too large for ProDOS. To use them you will need to find ways to reduce program size.
2. Areas of memory used: ProDOS reserves parts of memory, such as Text Page 1 ($0400-$07FF), for various pointers. Some DOS 3.3 programs LOAD or BLOAD into one or more of these areas. For example, some games BLOAD a lo-res pic or Text for you to look at while the rest of the game loads. Normally, ProDOS will refuse to do such loads and the result will be a BUFFERS NOT AVAILABLE error message. To run these programs you will need to unmark the reserved areas which get in the way (see next Q&A) and/or change
the location(s) of the program's troublesome LOADs and BLOADs.
When ProDOS loads it uses most of the memory in the "language card" areas. Some DOS 3.3 programs also use this memory. If a DOS 3.3 program uses the "language card" it will probably have to be modified in order to run under ProDOS.
ProDOS handles buffer allocation differently than DOS. If a DOS 3.3 program lowers HIMEM in order to create space for BLOADing code or data, it may need to be modified to guarantee that the code/area is safe. (See page 237 of Exploring Apple GS/OS and ProDOS 8 or page 7-4 of Beneath Apple ProDOS.)
3. Names: DOS 3.3 file names can be longer and have more kinds of characters than ProDOS names. If a DOS 3.3. program BLOADs, WRITEs, etc. to any files, you will need to be sure that the file names used are compatible with ProDOS.
4. DOS/ProDOS Commands and Syntax: There are, really, very few DOS 3.3 command and syntax differences likely to cause problems under ProDOS. Still, there are some and you will need to check for these and make any indicated mods.
5. Integer BASIC: Int BASIC programs can be transferred to a ProDOS diskette; but, you can not run them directly under ProDOS. If you are willing to move an Int BASIC program to a Text editor, convert the syntax to Applesoft BASIC, and EXEC the resulting Text file, you can obtain an Applesoft BASIC program which you can modify as necessary for ProDOS.
6. It's not DOS 3.3: Very old software, old commercial copy-protected software, and deprotected copies of old software may not be on DOS 3.3 disks. Your first challenge with such software is getting it into a form which will permit transferring files to a ProDOS diskette.
When checking and modifying a DOS 3.3 program for ProDOS a good program editor is essential. You will save untold hours of work when you invest in Beagle's tried and true "Program Writer".
____________________________
From: Jeff Blakeney
038- How can I modify ProDOS to do BLOADs in the input buffer
and Text Page 1 areas?
You can use a POKE 48984,192 to modify the bit map. This protects pages $00 and $01, and unprotects pages $02-$07.
Note: Because the firmware and I/O cards make use of the "screen hole" bytes in the $0400-$7FF area, BLOADing over these can interfere with some devices.
For this reason, it is best to have special DOS wares on a separate ProDOS diskette with a STARTUP program which does the POKE 48984,192. This way you will know that the system has been changed to run the DOS wares and not inadvertently try to run a program like Appleworks, etc.. under the modified ProDOS.
----------------------------
From: David Empson
A safer method is to BLOAD the file elsewhere, and copy data onto the text screen in a loop, copying 120 bytes and skipping 8 bytes, repeated 8 times.
____________________________
From: Supertimer, Rubywand, David Wilson, Steve Jensen
039- How can I boot ProDOS on my Franklin computer?
In an old Apple Clinic note, Stephen Craft listed specific locations to change after your Franklin freezes. You could then restart via a 2000G from the monitor. Here is an updated listing showing the locations to change for several versions of ProDOS:
v1.1.1 $269E: EA EA
v1.4 $282B: EA EA
V1.6 $282B: EA EA
v1.7 $282B: EA EA
v1.8 $2836: EA EA
v1.9 $2865: EA EA
v2.0.3 $2836: EA EA
It turns out that the bytes Stephen was diddling are D0 03 in the sequence 69 0B D0 03 A5 0C 60. The sequence is near the end of a routine that checks for the "APPLE ][" string found in all genuine Apple II ROMs but not in most Apple II clone ROMs.
To fix the booting problem, do this:
Start Copy II+ and select "Sector Editor"
Swap-in the ProDOS diskette
READ Track 0, Sector 0
Search for (Hex bytes): 69 0B D0 03 A5 0C 60
When you find the above, change the D0 03 to EA EA
and write the changed sector back to diskette.
The patch eliminates the checksum test/branch and allows ProDOS to boot on Apple II clones which would normally fail the check. This patch has no effect on ProDOS functioning on regular Apple II's.
The above patch is absolutely necessary to get a bootable ProDOS working for many Apple II clones. Jim Sather (inCider, March 1986) recommends a second patch which is optional. It prevents ProDOS from erroneously reporting that a //e-style 64K 80-column card is present when running on a Franklin.
Note: This patch should not be applied except by Franklin 1000 and, possibly, some other clone users. On a //e, //c or IIgs it causes ProDOS to not see an 80-column card or some extra memory.
The patch is not needed for Franlin 2000 series machines (the ones that emulate a IIe and IIc) or any of the Laser 128 series. You would not want to apply the patch to these units because they have emulated 80 column cards and 128k (expandable to 1MB on Lasers).
To do the patch, procede as described for the main patch and also do this ...
READ Track 0, Sector 0
Search for (Hex bytes): AE B3 FB E0 38
When you find the above, change it to A2 EA EA E0 38
and write the changed sector back to diskette.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
040- What are some good DOS 3.3 and ProDOS references?
DOS Books
The DOS Manual from Apple
Beneath Apple DOS by Worth & Lechner
Apple II User's Guide by Poole, Martin, and Cook
ProDOS Books
ProDOS Technical Reference Manual from Apple (Addison-Wesley)
Beneath Apple ProDOS by Worth & Lechner
Exploring Apple GS/OS and ProDOS 8 by Little
ProDOS Inside and Out by Doms and Weishaar
____________________________
From: Dennis Jenkins, Rubywand, Dave Althoff
041- How can a BASIC program tell which DOS it's running under?
A pretty good way is to check the three-byte JMP command starting at $03D0. If it's 4C 00 BE, you're running ProDOS; if it's 4C BF 9D, you're running DOS 3.3 or a compatible variant (such as Prontodos).
Two (moderately rare) factors may change the DOS 3.3 JMP: 1- On old "slave disks" created on sub-48k Apple II's, DOS loads in at a lower address; 2- DOS 3.3 is sometimes moved up into the Language Card. So, your best procedure is probably to check for ProDOS and, if it isn't ProDOS, just presume that it's DOS 3.3.
ruby...@swbell.net
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2009/10/01
URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the II Computing Apple II site, 1997-2009.
Csa2 FAQs file ref: Csa2HDNSCSI.txt rev139 October 2009
Hard Disks & SCSI Interfaces
001- How difficult is it to add a hard drive to my IIgs?
002- What kinds of hard drive systems are available?
003- What do SCSI ID numbers mean?
004- What is "SCSI-2" and how is it different from SCSI-1?
005- Will a SCSI-2 hard drive work with an Apple II system?
006- Will my Rev. C SCSI Card work with a SCSI-2 drive?
007- What is SCSI "termination power"?
008- Can I avoid the "RamFAST/SCSI is searching SCSI bus" delay?
009- What is the pinout for the standard 50-pin SCSI cable?
010- What's the SCSIHD.DRIVER patch to ignore DRIVER43 partitions?
011- What is the "bad bug" in the ROM 3.01e RamFAST?
012- What are correct HS SCSI settings, etc. for a Bernoulli drive?
013- What are the settings for a CMS hard drive controller card?
014- Does it matter when I power-ON my SCSI hard disk?
015- Can I leave SCSI devices I'm not using turned OFF?
016- Is there a generic SCSI tutorial available for downloading?
017- What is the correct time-out setting for a Focus hard drive?
018- How do I modify my Apple HSS card to supply Termination Power?
019- Can I get a Focus drive bigger than a couple hundred MB?
020- My hard disk is on a CMS SCSI. How do I install System 6.0.1?
021- How is DMA set for SCSI cards with 8MB RAM cards on the GS?
022- My 20MB Focus bombs and there's some goo on the card. A fix?
023- Where can I find the RamFAST manual on the net?
024- How can I tell which Apple SCSI card I have?
025- Where can I find Profile maintenance and formatting info?
From: Bradley P. Von Haden
001- How difficult is it to add a hard drive to my IIGS?
Adding a hard drive is not much of a problem. Usually, you will need to insert an interface card, possibly connect a cable or two, and change a Slot setting in the Control Panel Desk Accessory.
---------------------------
002- What kinds of hard drive systems are available for Apple II users?
The most versatile and most common hard drive set-up is an internal SCSI interface card and an external SCSI drive. Hard drives, cd-rom drives, removable media (SyQuest, Iomega), flopticals, and scanners all can be added to the SCSI chain. Insert the card in a slot, connect a cable or two, and change a slot setting.
The preferred SCSI card is the RamFAST Rev. D SCSI card. The next best card is the Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card.
Here are some RamFAST notes:
- faster than Apple Hi-Speed, especially in ProDOS
- provides termination power to the SCSI chain
- allows partitions to be mapped in ProDOS
- device drivers come on the card in the upgradeable ROM chip
(3.01f)
- allows up to 8 devices to be added to the chain
- allows up to 12 partitions to be active at any one time
(switchable)
- allows up to 12 partitions per drive
- about $130 new
Here are some Apple High Speed notes:
- no longer produced or supported by Apple
- does not provide termination power to the SCSI chain (can be
modified to provide termination power)
- does not allow partitions to be mapped in ProDOS
- device drivers are software
- allows up to 7 devices to be added to the chain
- allows over 100 partitions to be active at any one time
- allows up to 20 (?) partitions per drive
- about $110 new (if still available)
For the hard drive itself, look for a SCSI drive in an external enclosure with the following features:
- 30 day money-back guarantee
- external SCSI ID switching
- dual 50 pin SCSI connectors
- no or switchable termination (use an external terminator at
end of SCSI chain)
- switchable termination power (on/off) is a plus for users of
SCSI interface cards which do not supply termination power
---------------------------
From: Rubywand
Another way to go is a 2.5" IDE drive mounted on an IDE interface card. This "hard card" plugs into a Slot-- usually Slot 7. Alltech sells the Focus Hard Card in varying sizes (e.g. 60MB for $99) with system software installed. SHH Systeme offers the FileCard (about $170 + cost of drive) as well as a series of IDE controller cards to which you can add a 2.5" IDE drive (about $120-$170 including mounting kit).
The IDE hard card approach offers speed and capacity comparable to SCSI, very easy installation, and, it eliminates hassles with external boxes and cables. Of course, you will still need to add a SCSI interface card if you want to connect a SCSI CD-ROM and/or Zip Drive.
Note: If you want your system to include a SCSI CD-ROM drive, it is best to have a SCSI Zip Drive or SCSI hard disk connected to the SCSI interface, too. This provides a write-able medium for saving SCSI interface card setup parms.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
003- What do the SCSI ID numbers mean?
SCSI ID numbers identify devices on the SCSI chain. Each device should have its own, unique ID number in the range 0-7. (If two devices on the SCSI chain have the same ID number, there will be a conflict and your system will not function correctly.) Higher numbered devices have higher priority-- get 'looked for' first-- so, it is standard practice to set the device you boot from to 6 or 7.
Most external SCSI devices have a thumbwheel switch, slide switch, or jumper block on the back to set ID number. Some, like the Creative x2 CD-ROM drive let you click through 0-7. The Zip Drive lets you pick 5 or 6. (By the way, SCSI ID numbers have nothing to do with which Slot the SCSI interface card is in.)
---------------------------
From: David Empson
SCSI ID 7 is usually special because the Apple SCSI and Hi-Speed SCSI cards count as a device set to ID 7 by default (and every Macintosh has a hard- wired SCSI ID of 7). The only thing that is special about ID 0 is that it is the standard ID used for an internal drive on a Macintosh.
There is no problem using SCSI ID 0 on an Apple II. On a RamFAST SCSI card, it is also safe to use SCSI ID 7 for a drive. The RamFAST doesn't have a SCSI ID, but every other SCSI card does.
___________________________
From: David Empson
004- What is "SCSI-2" and how is it different from SCSI-1?
For hard drives, "SCSI-2" basically means that the drive supports a stricter command set. The physical interface is usually identical.
For other device types, "SCSI-2" means a lot more, because the original SCSI standard didn't define much in the way of device types and command sets, so most devices use proprietary command sets. SCSI-2 standardises the command sets for most types of devices.
There are three special types of interface that you might see mentioned:
"Fast SCSI" supports data transfer at twice the speed of the original SCSI standard (10 MB per second vs 5 MB per second). This will not be a compatibility issue, as it is just the maximum transfer speed supported by the drive. The Apple II cannot transfer more than one megabyte per second.
"Wide SCSI" uses a different cable arrangement to double the width of the data path (16 bits instead of 8 bits). A wide SCSI drive cannot be used with an Apple II, unless it can also operated in "narrow" mode with the original 50-pin connector. (There is also "Fast Wide SCSI", which doubles the data rate and the width of the bus.)
"Differential SCSI" involves a different type of interface to the computer, where every data signal has a balanced positive and negative pair of wires, rather than a single wire and a ground line. I believe it has a different type of connector. Differential SCSI drives cannot be used with an Apple II."
Some drives use a proprietary connector, but the standard (narrow, non- differential) SCSI bus uses the same 50-pin connector for SCSI-1 and SCSI-2.
The only significant problem you might run into is termination, and supply of termination power. SCSI-2 devices tend to be fussier about termination than older devices.
------------------------------
005- Will a SCSI-2 hard drive work with an Apple 2 system?
Usually, yes. I'm on my second Quantum drive that is described as "SCSI- 2".
There is a major caveat to this answer. Some newer drives require a host which implements the arbitration phase of the SCSI communication dialogue. The RamFAST doesn't do this, and as a result there are some drives that cannot be used with a RamFAST SCSI card. A notable example is the Quantum Fireball series. However; the Trailblazer and all older Quantum models work fine.
------------------------------
006- I have a plain ol' Rev. C SCSI Card, will this work with a
SCSI-2 drive?
My Quantum LPS240 is working fine on an original Apple SCSI card.
Note: With the original Apple SCSI card, the card itself is not terminated, so if you are connecting more than one device, you need to add a second terminator between the computer and the first drive (using a "pass-through" external SCSI terminator, or internal termination on the first drive).
------------------------------
007- What is SCSI "termination power"?
At least one device (SCSI card or any SCSI drive) must provide power for the SCSI terminators by feeding 5 volts onto the TERMPWR line on the SCSI bus.
Usually, termination power is fed through a diode to prevent backfeeding from a higher voltage source in case some other device is also supplying termination power. A good implementation will have a fuse to protect against shorts and a capacitor to cope with a sudden rise in termination power drain.
The Apple SCSI cards do not provide termination power (though some recent Apple Hi-speed SCSI cards were modified by Apple to provide termination power). The RamFAST SCSI card can supply termination power.
If a drive can supply termination power, I recommend letting it do so. The TERMPWR line can, in some cases, represent a significant load on the +5V rail going to the Slots. Both of my Quantum drive mechanisms provide termination power to the SCSI bus, avoiding the need to supply it from anywhere else.
----------------------------
From: Rubywand
On the RamFAST SCSI RevC card, DIP switch #1 is set to ON to supply termination power. On other RamFAST SCSI cards, a jumper is placed at JP1 to supply termination power.
According to RamFAST documentation, it is okay to have the card set to supply termination power whether or not another device does with a few notable exceptions. If a connected hard disk (e.g. a Sider drive) has a sticker saying that the drive supplies termination power and that the interface must not, then the RamFAST must be set to _not_ supply termination power.
____________________________
From: LJSilicon
008- I just reinstalled System 6.0.1. Now every time I cold boot
I get this message 'RamFAST/SCSI is searching the SCSI bus
for devices' and have to wait several seconds. WEIRD?!
When you reinstalled the software, the RamFAST set itself for a long search. This is an option that you can change using the RamFAST utility. What it is doing is giving your scsi devices a chance to spin up. If you want a fast check, go to the options menu on the utilities and reset the Short Timeout option there to "YES".
__________________________
From: David Empson
009- I would like to make my own SCSI cable. Does anyone on csa2
know the pinout for the standard 50-pin SCSI cable?
The cable pinout is documented in the technical reference manual for the Apple High-Speed SCSI card (and the original one as well).
This pinout is not a simple mapping from one end to the other; it is NOT easy to make one of these yourself. Apart from any issues of wiring errors, you also need a properly shielded cable to minimise noise being picked up or radiated. You should definitely not use a ribbon cable.
Here is the pinout, assuming I haven't made any typos (I can't see any).
DB-25 50-pin Function
1 49 -REQ
2 46 -MSG
3 50 -I/O
4 45 -RST
5 44 -ACK
6 43 -BSY
7 16,18,19 Ground lines
8 26 -DB0
9 20,21,22 Ground lines
10 29 -DB3
11 31 -DB5
12 32 -DB6
13 33 -DB7
14 1,2,3 Ground lines
15 48 -C/D
16 4,5,6 Ground lines
17 41 -ATN
18 7,8,9,11 Ground lines
19 47 -SEL
20 34 -DBP
21 27 -DB1
22 28 -DB2
23 30 -DB4
24 23,24,25 Ground lines
25 38 TERMPWR
The unlisted pins in the 50-pin connector (10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42) are ground.
Note: the numbers for the 50-pin connector are counted along each row, like a Dsub-25. They are NOT the wire numbers in a ribbon cable.
____________________________
From: Steve Reeves
010- Is there some patch for SCSIHD.DRIVER to make it ignore
APPLE_DRIVER43 driver partitions?
Yes; you can change the counter in the string comparison routine that checks for the "Apple_Driver" partition type string so that it only checks the first 12 characters. This counter is at byte $3574 in the System 6.0.1 SCSIHD.DRIVER file and is originally $1F. Change this to $0B and the driver will then ignore "Apple_Driver43" partitions.
If you make this or any other patch to the driver, I also you recommend you bump up the version number. Change byte $01FF from $10 to $2E (for version 6.02 experimental).
____________________________
From: Harold Hislop
011- Someone told me there's supposed to be a bad bug in the
ROM 3.01e RamFAST. What is it?
Don't use the built in backup/restore in 3.01e!!! The restore operation will nuke the partition map on the drive being restored to, as well as all existing partitions on that drive!
____________________________
From: Bradley VonHaden
012- What are correct HS SCSI settings, etc. for a Bernoulli drive?
My system is as follows:
ROM 1 Apple //gs
4MB AE RAM card
8MHz ZIP GS
Apple High-Speed SCSI card
90MB Bernoulli hard drive
System 6.0.1
Three things I can think of to check:
One possibility is DMA compatibility. If your memory card is not DMA compatible, then switch 1 on the Apple HS SCSI card should be open (up).
Another possibility I guess is a SCSI ID conflict. The Apple HS SCSI card's ID at the factory is set to 7. Here are the Apple HS SCSI card switch combinations:
note1: Switch 1 controls DMA; open (up) turns DMA off
note2: Switches 2-4 control SCSI card ID
note3: 'U' means open (up), 'D' means closed (down),
'z' means Set for correct DMA (see note1)
SWITCH: 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234
SETTING: zUUU zUUD zUDU zUDD zDUU zDUD zDDU zDDD
CARD ID: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Third, the scsi chain needs termination power to work properly. This is different from termination. Both are required for a properly functioning scsi chain. It is possible that neither the Bernoulli drive nor the Apple HS SCSI card is supplying termination power. If this is the case, and there is no other device on the scsi chain to supply said power, it probably won't work. There is a modification (requires soldering skills) to the Apple HS SCSI card to make it supply termination power.
____________________________
From: Jack Countryman IAC
013- I want to configure a CMS hard drive controller card to run a
20 meg drive for a //e. Could someone supply info on settings?
According to the CMS manual for the 1990 ROM, the six sets of eight pairs of jumpers (u1....u6) are for the following purposes.
Note: This description of the jumpers is only true for the 1990 ROM.
On the 1987 ROM the jumpers have a different usage.
_______________________________________________________________
/ |
/ u 1 u 2 u 3 u 4 j2 |
/ |
/ |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| u 5 u 6 |
|___________________________________________ j1 |
| |
|______________________|
u 1: Boot Scan delay....manual shows no jumpers here in default
configuration
u 2: first (left) jumper is 'Enable I.C.P. (Yes/No)', middle 6 not
used, last (right) is 'multiple initiators (Yes/No)'...manual
shows no jumpers in default configuration
u 3: Selection phase time out delay....I believe this sets how long
the card waits for the drive to come up to speed(?)...manual
shows the default as having 4, 5, and 7 with jumpers installed
u 4: Arbitration phase time out delay....manual shows default as no
jumpers installed
u 5: Bus Free phase time out delay...manual shows default as jumper
on number 1
u 6: Interrupt recovery delay....manual shows jumpers on 3, 4,
and 5
J1 and J2 are single sets of pins. The manual says J2 is not used, but J1 is to be jumpered.
The card I have here, came out of a IIGS where it was hooked to first a twenty meg CMS drive, and later a forty meg CMS drive. It has the following jumpers set (for use with 1990 ROM only):
u1: jumper on 7
u2: no jumpers
u3: jumpers on 4, 5, and 7
u4: no jumpers
u5: jumper on 1
u6: jumpers on 3, 4, and 5
j2: no jumper
j1: jumper
As I recall, this setup yeilded a rather long pause for the hard disk to come up to speed (about 40 to 45 seconds) that we found necessary at the time to avoid boot problems.
----------------------------
From: Andrew Roughan
The CMS SCSI card has three ROM revisions.
The 1987 ROM uses jumpers on the card to define the partitions on the drive. These partitions cannot be greater than 32MB and only two partitions are supported. The manual should be considered a MUST HAVE.
The 1989 ROM is similar to the 1987 ROM in functionality, but it has an annoying habit of shutting down the drive after a period of inactivity. It needs an access attempt to start it up again, but this access will return a failure error code (ok when you can redo the action but not too good otherwise :). A plus in its favour is that the jumper settings are available from the utility software. Because of this, the manual is not a necessity.
The 1990 ROM gets around the problem of jumper based partitions by assuming that each partition on the drive will be 32MB (or as much as is left less than 32MB). This ROM will therefore support > 60MB of storage on multiple drives. The drawback is that only two partitions can be accessed at a time. The ROM supports switching them in and out at boot time (hold down the Open Apple key). The jumper settings are once again available in the utility software.
For the sake of compatibility with the Apple Partition Map, (do you wish to use the same drive on a RamFAST or Apple SCSI card? or on a Macintosh?) the CMS SCSI card should not be considered.
However if you just wish to access one 60MB SCSI hard drive from an Apple II, then the CMS card will do the job well.
The CMS SCSI card has one advantage over the RamFAST and Apple SCSI cards. It can be used to share a hard drive between computers. For example it is possible to use two 1989 ROM cards (in an Apple //e and a //gs) to share a 60MB drive with a second //gs which has a 1990 ROM card.
The CMS utilities disks for all ROM versions are available on the following mirror of the ground archive:
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/apple8/Utils/
CMS.NOV87.SHK
CMS.OCT89.SHK
CMS.APR90.SHK
I also scanned in the manual for the 87 ROM and currently host it here:
http://home.datacodsl.com/kalandi/apple/CMS88_OwnersManual.pdf
The manual is also available on GSWV at http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Docs/ .
____________________________
From: B.J. Major
014- Does it matter when I power-ON my SCSI hard disk?
From the Apple IIgs Owner's Reference, page 267:
"In order for the Finder to recognize a hard disk, the hard disk must be switched on and up to speed before you start up (or restart) the computer. Switch on the hard disk, wait about 10 seconds for it to come up to speed, and then restart the computer."
From the Macintosh User's Guide for desktop Macs, page 216:
"IMPORTANT: Always turn on any external SCSI devices connected to your Macintosh before turning on the computer itself. Otherwise, your computer cannot recognize the SCSI devices."
___________________________
From: Randy Shackelford
015- Can I leave SCSI devices I'm not using OFF when I turn ON my GS?
If it were not okay, I would have fried plenty of hardware. I do this all the time. I have seen no problems with having some devices off. As I have mentioned, I keep my magneto optical off most of the time; and, my buddy who uses my 700 now has a flatbed scanner and leaves it off most of the time. Both work fine.
____________________________
From: Daniel L. Miller
Related FAQs Resources (ref. FAQs Contents Csa21MAIN2): R008SCSITUT.TXT (text)
016- Is there a generic SCSI tutorial available for downloading?
Yes. Bus signals, commands, etc. for the Small Computer Serial Interface are described in the text resource file R008SCSITUT.TXT .
____________________________
From: Rubywand
017- What is the correct time-out setting for a Focus hard drive?
Supposedly, the purpose of having the Focus spin down and stop after 2, 10, or whatever minutes of idleness is to prevent over-heating and unnecessary wear. After a few days of trying various TO settings, I set my "Time Out" to "Never" and have had no problems with over-heating or crashes even after many all-day sessions.
____________________________
From: Harold Hislop, Dan Brown, Rubywand
Related FAQs Resources (ref. FAQs Contents Csa21MAIN2): R009SCSIMOD.GIF (GIF pic)
018- How do I modify my Apple Computer High-Speed or Rev C SCSI
card to supply Termination Power?
The Termination Power modification for Apple SCSI cards consists of adding a diode. The mod for each card is shown in resource file R009SCSIMOD.GIF.
The High-Speed card pic shows a simple sketch of the back of the Apple High Speed SCSI card near connectors 26-33. The directions say that you connect a 1N914 diode between two points:
The anode (non-banded end) of the diode goes to the *top* of L1. The cathode (banded/striped end) of the diode goes to the >bottom< of RP2
The pic shows the *top* of L1 to be a solder pad (just a solder pad with no trace showing) a little ways up from a point between connectors 32 and 33.
The >bottom< of RP2 is just a bit up and to the left of the *top* of L1. It is the lowest of several points (the pic shows 8) arranged in a vertical column and should have a trace going off to the left.
The other pic shows where to connect the diode on an Apple Rev C SCSI card.
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From: Scott G
019- Can I get a Focus drive bigger than a couple hundred MB?
Get a 40MB Focus Hard Card from Alltech. Get an 800MB IDE 2.5" Quantum GO-drive from Computer Shopper sources for pennies. Replace the original drive on the Focus Hard Card with the big one (VERY easy and self-explanatory, just use a screw driver). Low level format, partition, and high level format. That's it!
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From: Gary Black
020- On my ROM-03 GS the hard disk is connected to a CMS SCSI card.
How do I install System 6.0.1?
It turns out that the SCSI drivers that come on the Sys 6.0.1 Install Disk downloaded from ftp.apple.com are incompatible with CMS ver 3.0 (and probably earlier) SCSI cards.
What I did was to replace scsi.manager and scsihd.driver in the System 6.0.1 Install disk SYSTEM/DRIVERS folder with scsi.manager, scsihd.driver, AND CMS.driver from the CMS Utility disk.
With the replacement scsi drivers installed, the Install disk recognizes the hard drive and installation went smoothly from that point. (The CMS files are dated 1989 and 1990, so they are a bit older than the 6.01 files, which are dated 1993. But, they work!)
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From: Scott G
021- How is DMA set for SCSI cards with 8MB RAM cards on the GS?
DMA needs to be turned off with the Apple HS SCSI card or the RamFAST revision C card. It does not need to be turned off with the RamFAST revision D card (differentiated by being half sized). Current RamFAST cards are revision D as are late model CV Tech cards. It is the RamFAST revision D that is designed to DMA into any RAM card, even 8MB models. It was made around the time of the CV RAM 8MB model that turned into the RAM GS Plus, but functions just as well with the Sirius card.
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From: Louis Cornelio
022- My 20MB Focus bombs and there's some goo on the card. A fix?
The goo is leaking from the drive due to a failed seal which seems to plague some of the older Conner drive modules. The fix is to check with the seller of the drive for a replacement. At Alltech, a good Apple II person to contact is Tony Diaz.
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From: Joe Walters
023- Where can I find the RamFAST manual on the net?
You can find the RamFAST manual at ...
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Docs/RamFASTManual.txt (Text file)
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/Docs/ (.BSQ binscii file)
ftp://apple2.tffenterprises.com/pub/apple2/miscinfo/ (.BXY ShrinkIt file)
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From: Chuck Newby
024- How can I tell which Apple SCSI card I have?
The Apple High Speed SCSI card has a set of Dip Switches on it; the Rev C doesn't, and the ROM chip date is older than 1989, if it shows at all. The Apple SCSI cards older than REV C don't work in my IIe or IIgs......
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From: Supertimer
The Apple High Speed SCSI card has a printed label on one of the chips showing the name "Sandwich II" on it.
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From: David Empson
The ROMs for the three (non "High Speed) Apple SCSI card firmware revisions are ...
341-0112A revision A firmware
341-0112B revision B firmware
341-0437-A revision C firmware
There is only one firwmare revision for the high-speed card
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From: Patrick Schaefer and Dakin Williams
025- Where can I find Profile maintenance and formatting info?
See the ProfileHardDriveMaintenance.txt file on Ground at ...
http://www.apple2.org.za/mirrors/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/upl2000/Apr/ .