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DALTON DISK DISINTEGRATER ][
(C)SPRING 85
PROGRAM WRITTEN BY: DALTON
TUTORIAL BY -> THE NECROMANCER
DISTRIBUTED BY: THE DISKETTEER
..............
Introduction
..............
In This Intro, I Will Simply But
Briefly Emphasize On D.D.D's Primary
Features. Dalton's Disk Disintegrater
1.0 Malfunctions With Catsend 3.0 For
Known Reasons. Following Several Tests
On This Matter, Dalton Spotted A Huge
Error In Catsend (Every Version) That
Would Not Enable DDD 1.0 Compressed
Files To Be Successfuly Transmitted
Over The Phone Line. Therefore Dalton
Recently Modified DDD 1.0 To Function
With Catsend, Despite The Ugly And
Nasty Bug That Contaminates It!
DDD 1.2 Is Identical To The Original
1.0 Version, Although Version 1.2 Is
Now Fully Compatible With Catsend.
Refer To -> Dalton Disk Disintegrater
1.2 Documentation For More Information
Concerning This Topic.
Obviously This New DDD ][ Version
Has Been Modified To Perform Properly
With Catsend. So Please Do Not Hold Any
Grudges Against It. Version ][ Has Been
Beta-Tested Over And Over, Resulting
To Our Expectations (Pretty Awesome!)
..................
Primary Features
..................
Here Are The Primary Features
Dalton's Disk Disintegrater ][ Will
Have To Offer You:
o This Second Version Was Designed
With 64k Of Memory In Mind.
DDD And Your Extra 16k Go Hand
In Hand To Offer You Some Pretty
Awesome Advantages.
o DDD Packs & Unpacks Programs Very
Fast. Unlike Disk Rigger 2.0, which
Consumes Too Much Time.
o 85 Percent Of All Programs Will
Entirely Compress In 2 Drive Passes
Only! [For 64k Systems!!]
o Squeezes Every Bit Out Of Your Extra
16k Of Ram, To Enable Maximum Speed
And Minimum Disk Access.
[For 64k Systems!!]
o Autochecks For 64k Of Memory On Boot.
If Not Present, Will Configure Itself
To A Standard 48k System.
o DDD ][ Contains A Perfected,
Powerful And Flawless Crunching
Algorithm Which Utilizes Every
Packing Technique In Order To
Achieve Maximum Data Compression.
o Amazingly Compresses Any Program
Into Only 1 Super File!!
Example: *B 248 SUPER ZAXXON<248>
Instead Of: *B 135 SUPER ZAXXON.00
*B 135 SUPER ZAXXON.01
*B 060 SUPER ZAXXON.02
o Arrow Driven Commands. This Allows
Swift Access To All The Options.
o Dos Commands. This Permits You To
Access Important Dos Commands From
Within The Program Without Having
To Exit Then Reenter Once Again.
..............
Menu Options
..............
[1]Pack
[2]Unpack
[3]Source:1 Target:2
[4]Catalog drive 1
[5]Catalog drive 2
[6]Dos commands
[7]Boot drive 1
[PACKING A DISK] - OPTION 1
o Enter Any Filename You Wish The
Superfile To Occupy.
o Maximum Filename Length Is 25
Characters Long.
o Make Sure Your Target Disk Has
Sufficient Disk Space For The
Packed Version.
o Your Target Disk Needs At Least
200 To 300 Free Sectors Before
You Begin The Pack. Otherwise
A Disk Full Error May Result!
Use Option [6] From Main Menu,
(Dos Commands) To Either Format
Your Target Disk Or To Delete
Useless Files On It.
o When Packing, Make Sure The Filename
You Use Is Not One Identical To A
Filename On Your Target Disk. And If
So Delete Or Rename That File Before
Attempting The Pack.
o If A Disk Full Error Does Occur While
Packing, DDD Will Obliterate Whatever
Packing It Has Achieved And Leave The
Exact Diskspace Your Original Target
Disk Occupied Before The Pack Was
Executed.
o If You Have Formatted A 40 Track
Disk And Wish To Use It As A Target
For The Pack, Go Ahead.
DDD Supports 40 Track Capabilities,
Which Means It Will Write On A 40
Track Preformatted Disk (There Is
No Need To Use A 40 Track DOS).
If DDD Detects A 40 Track Disk,
It Will Write On The Extra Tracks
Only If Necessary.
[UNPACKING A DISK] - OPTION 2
o When Unpacking A Disk, The Source
Is The Disk With The Compressed
File And The Target Is The Disk
You Wish To Merge Onto.
o Your Target Disk (Merge Onto)
Doesn't Necessarily Need A
Preformatted Disk. It Will
Automaticaly Initialize Your
Target Disk Before Commencing
Decompression.
o When Entering The Filename You
Wish To Unpack, Do Not Include
The < Less Than Sign, XXX (Where
XXX Is The Sectors) And > Greater
Than Sign Following The Filename.
Only Enter The Bare Filename And
DDD Will Do The Rest.
Example Enter:SUPER ZAXXON
Do Not Enter:SUPER ZAXXON<248>
[SOURCE:1 TARGET:2] - OPTION 3
o This Option Will Permit You To
Configure Your Drive Setup In The
Manner You Wish! To Change The
SOURCE Disk, Press "1" For Drive #1
Or Press "2" For Drive #2 (Or You Can
Hit RETURN). Same Process To
Configure The Target Disk.
DDD ][ Predefines To Support 2 Drives
(SOURCE:1 TARGET:2).
o Obviously Few Cycles Of Changing
Disks Must Occur If You Only Have
A One Drive System. Therefore DDD
Will Adjust Itself To Tell You
When To Insert SOURCE And When To
Insert TARGET Disks.
[CATALOG DRIVE 1] - OPTION 4
[CATALOG DRIVE 2] - OPTION 5
o These Options Were Added To DDD
Because They Are So Oftenly Used.
Catalog Your Disks When You Are
Unsure Of Filenames.
o Following The Directory, The Free
Sectors Remaining On The Disk Will
Be Illustrated For Your Convenience.
o If You Only Have One Drive, Option
5 May Be Quite Useless To You.
[DOS COMMANDS] - OPTION 6
o This Option Was Added As Well Because
Of Great Demand. Many Irrelevant DOS
Commands Were Omitted.
Here Is A List Of Accessible DOS Cmds:
(XXX Symbolizes The Chosen Filename)
=> INIT XXX
=> DELETE XXX
=> LOCK XXX
=> UNLOCK XXX
=> RENAME XXX,YYY
=> CATALOG,DX
=> PR#X
=> IN#X
[BOOT DRIVE 1] - OPTION 7
o This Option Is Quite Useful Once
You Have Terminated To Unpack A
Program. You Simply Insert The
Unpacked Version Into Drive 1 (Slot
6 Only!) And Watch Her Boot Up...
.....................
The Track Indicator
.....................
o Instead Of Useless Twirling
Cosmetics Appearing On The
Screen While DDD Is Active,
Dalton Chose To Add A Rather
Complete Track Status Indicator
Oftenly Found In Bit Copiers.
o Here Is A Complete Legend Of
The Abbreviated Significations
Used On The Status Line:
=> MEMORY : 48k Or 64k
Determines The Amount Of Random
Access Memory Your Apple Can Provide.
=> DRIVE : 1 Or 2
Highlights The Drive Presently Active.
=> LEN : XXX Sectors
Displays Amount Of Sectors The File
Actually Contains. The LEN Gradually
Accumulates As The Packing Or Unpacking
Goes On, Until It Has Reached Its Final
Limit Or Maximum.
LEN Abbreviates LENGTH (Sector Wise).
=> TK Abbreviates Track
=> ST Abbreviates Status
=> R R)eading A Track
=> W W)riting A Track
=> C C)ompressing A Track
=> D D)ecompressing A Track
=> I I)nitializing All Tracks
The 'I' Is Illustrated
Simutaneously As DDD ][
Formats Each Track.
=> . Displays A Decimal Point
On Each Individual Track
Once It Has Successfuly
Been Read/Compressed Or
Decompressed/Written.
.................
Various Details
.................
o Ctrl-A Toggles UPPER/Lower Case.
(Press Ctrl-A From Main Menu)
o Ctrl-K Prints Open Bracket: [
Ctrl-L Prints Backslash: \
o XXX Equals Sectors. The <XXX> Printed
At The End Of The Packed Filename Was
Added Because Some DOS'S CATALOG Wrap
Around The Sector Counter To 0 When
A File Exceeds The Limit Of 256 Sect.
Therefore Many Files Will Seem Too
Small. So Just In Case, A Backup
Counter Was Added At The End Of Each
Compressed Filename In Order To
Identify The Correct File Length.
o Hitting ESC From Anywhere Within
DDD Will Return You Directly To
The Main Menu Prompt.
o DDD ][ Will Fully Operate In Slot X.
Therefore, BRUN DDD ][ From Any Valid
Slot Number, Appending Drive 1 Or 2.
All The Options From The Main Menu
Will Work Properly Once DDD Has Been
BRUN'ed From A Different Location
Other Than Slot 6, Drive 1 (Note:
You Must Press CTRL-RESET Once, From
The Main Menu).
Example: BRUN D.D.D. ][,SX,D1
Or : BRUN D.D.D. ][,SX,D2
X Equals The Prechosen Slot Number.
o In Order To Tell DDD ][ Apart
From DDD 1.0 And From DDD 1.2,
Verify The Last Characters Of The
Compressed Filename:
[Dalton Disk Disintegrater 2.0]
SUPER ZAXXON<248>
Notice How DDD 2.0(New Version)
Compresses The Program Into Only
1 File! Also Note That There Are
Always 3 Digits In The <XXX>.
[Dalton Disk Disintegrater 1.0]
SUPER ZAXXON<0>
SUPER ZAXXON<1>
SUPER ZAXXON<2>
DDD 1.0(Old Version) Very Rarely
Compresses A Whole Program Into
1 File. Notice There Is Only 1
Digit In The <X>.
[Dalton Disk Disintegrater 1.2]
SUPER ZAXXON<<0>>
SUPER ZAXXON<<1>>
SUPER ZAXXON<<2>>
Notice The <<X>> At The End Of The
Filename. Version 1.2 Is A Slightly
Modified DDD 1.0 In Which It's Now
Fully Compatible With Catsend.
Now You Can Tell All Three Versions
Apart When Unpacking Files.
...................
Comparing Results
...................
o Dalton And I Have Done Several
Comparisons Between DDD ][ And
Disk Rigger 2.0. In Every Case,
DDD Defeated Rigger In Both Speed
And Packing Tests. Therefore We
Are Quite Convinced That No Other
Present Disk Compresser Can Surpass
DDD's Overall Qualifications.
As For Other Disk Crunchers Like,
Compact It 1.0 And Disk Slicer,
We Didn't Bother Comparing Statistics
Because Next To DDD ][, Disk Rigger
Performed The Best.
o I've Included A Sector/Speed Test
Chart That Compares DDD And Rigger
Back To Back. The Main Objectives
Of These Tests Are To Simply Point
Out That DDD Is More Versatile And
Convenient To Use Especially For
Ae/Catsend/Catfur Sysops.
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SECTOR TEST D.D.D. ][ RIGGER II
(PACKING DISKS) sect/file sect/file
--------------------------------------
SUPER ZAXXON 248 [1fi] 330 [3fi]
SQUADRON 617 306 [1fi] 445 [4fi]
MEGATERM 3.0 388 [1fi] 472 [4fi]
GREMLINS(ATARI) 153 [1fi] 199 [2fi]
MR. PIXEL'S KIT 311 [1fi] 402 [3fi]
WILLY BYTE SIDE1 302 [1fi] 352 [3fi]
WILLY BYTE SIDE2 457 [1fi] 528 [4fi]
--------------------------------------
SPEED TEST D.D.D. ][ RIGGER II
(PACKING DISKS) disk time disk time
--------------------------------------
SUPER ZAXXON [1.5mins] [3.5mins]
SQUADRON 617 [1.7mins] [4.2mins]
MEGATERM 3.0 [2.0mins] [4.0mins]
GREMLINS(ATARI) [1.2mins] [3.2mins]
MR. PIXEL'S KIT [1.5mins] [4.2mins]
WILLY BYTE SIDE1 [2.3mins] [3.8mins]
WILLY BYTE SIDE2 [3.0mins] [5.0mins]
--------------------------------------
............
Beta Tests
............
DDD Has Gone Through Several
Tests And It Has Performed Flawlessly.
Here Is A List Of Tests DDD Has
Successfuly Passed:
o DDD Operates Fine With Any DOS.
Such As Diversi Dos, Pronto Dos,
Hyper Dos, Original Dos, Etc..
I Suggest That You Don't Use David
Dos Because The Init Command Was
Purged From That Operating System.
We Suggest That You Use Pronto Dos.
o DDD Operates Fine On Any Apple ][,
][+, ][e, ][c, Apple Compatible
(48k or 64k), With Either 1 or 2
Disk Drives Online.
There Was An Error In The Original
DDD 1.0 Which Made The Apple ][e
Inoperatable With 1 Drive Because
The ][e's Monitor ROM Differs From
The Original Apple ][ or ][+'s ROM.
DDD ][ Now Operates Perfectly With
1 or 2 Drives On The Apple ][e.
o We Have Transfered DDD Packed Files
Over The Modem Using Almost Every
Transfer Program.
DDD Compressed Files Transmit Fine
With Every X-fer Program With The
Exception Of Catsend 3.0. When The
Compressed File Exceeds 256 Sectors,
Catsend Crashes (Bug In Catsend...).
Therefore Catsend Will Work Fine
Under The Condition That The DDD
Compressed File Doesn't Exceed
256 Sectors!
The Authors Of Catsend Will Have
To Make Certain Modifications To
Their Catsend Program In Order
To Enable Files Exceeding 256
Sectors To Transmit Properly.
Hopefully They Will Release A
New Good Working Version Soon!
o The Following Transfer Programs
Check Out Perfectly With DDD ][:
/
o\/ ASCII EXPRESS (AE)
[V3.0 - V4.0 - V4.2]
/
o\/ DOS FILE EXCHANGE (DFX)
[V2.0 - NEW V2.0]
/
o\/ CATSEND (Applecat X-fer Program)
[ALL VERSIONS ON CONDITIONS]
/
o\/ DISKFER (Applecat X-fer Program)
[V1.0 - V2.0]
/
o\/ CAT-FUR (Applecat X-fer Program)
[V1.1 - V2.0]
............
Conclusion
............
o I Hope This Tutorial Has Helped
You Make The Change From Disk
Rigger 2.0(Absolete!) To DDD ][.
o DDD ][ Was Written Especially For
AE/CATSEND/CATFUR Sysops Who Kindly
Donate Their Computer Systems To
Maintain Massive Software Piracy.
(You're Welcome Dudes..)
o Special Thanks To The Micron
For His Radical Catfur ][.
Catfur Is A Major Breakthrough
In Transfer Programs And Surely
Enriches Pirates All Over North
America.
o We Urge All Catsend Sysops To Make
The Switch To Catfur ][. It's A
More Reliable, Faster, And Very
User Friendly Transfer Program!
(It Works Very Well With DDD ][...)
Catfur Compares With Commercial
Transfer Programs Such As:
Ascii Express And D.F.X. ][!