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From: nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2,comp.answers,news.answers
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Followup-To: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: comp.sys.apple2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Part 4/4
Archive-name: apple2/faq/part4
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: March 31 1998
Version: 5.1.38
URL: http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html
This part 4 of 4 of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting of the
comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup. Copyright (c) 1997 by Nathan Mates
(nathan@visi.com) This document can be freely copied so long as 1) it
is not sold, 2) any sections reposted elsewhere from it are credited
back to this FAQ with the FAQ's copyright info and official WWW
location left in place.
This may not be the latest version of this FAQ-- this is an archived
copy. For that, drop by http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html
--- Begin part 4 of 4
Some Common Questions (with answers!) 8/30/97
7.1 Can my Apple II connect to the Internet?
A: Short answer: yes, any 80 (maybe even 40) column Apple II with a
serial card (and almost always a modem) can connect to an Internet
Service Provider that provides a shell account. (Please note that
"connect to the internet" is the better term for it; avoid the media's
popularizing of metaphors related to driving or surfing.)
Longer answer: As of 3/8/97, the only available method is to have a
serial (modem or null modem) connection to another computer which can
translate and run stuff on it. Most of the time, this means that you
will need to find an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which supports a
plain "shell" connection. (Telling them you have an Apple II will
likely confuse them; just tell them that a VT-100 shell is what you
want). For a list of ISPs, try checking local newspaper
advertisements, or drop by http://www.thelist.com.
This will give you a straight text connection to the internet; no
fancy graphics. Yes, it's a lot less eye candy, but the advantage is
that files transfer faster. You can still download files, pictures,
and the like, and deal with them later. Once you are signed up for a
shell account, you will need to connect up, usually via modem and
terminal program. 99% of shell accounts are in unix systems; you
should talk to the tech support desk of wherever you get your
connection from for information on how to do items such as email,
usenet, and the like.
If you have a GS have Seven Hills Software's Spectrum (modem
communication program), they have just announced a set of addons that
allow WWW browsing from an Apple II. According to their WWW press
releases at http://www.sevenhills.com/applesoftware/iigs/sis/, you
will need a GS with 4MB RAM (HD and accelerator recommended), Spectrum
2.1, a modem, and a GEnie or dialup Unix shell account. It does not
appear to support any form of TCP/IP connection such as SLIP or PPP.
If you do not have a GS capable of running Spectrum's browser, the
program 'lynx' runs on unix/vms/etc machines and lets people access
the World Wide Web and display it on VT-100 terminals. It's not on
every system by default; if not, ask your sysadmins to install it. The
default ProTerm setup for VT100 is not too friendly to Lynx-- you will
need to turn off inverse text for 'bold' and 'underlined' text if on.
(Consult your manual for information on how to do so). Alternatively,
when starting Lynx, you may want to start it with the "-show_cursor"
option. As noted above; you can download graphics to your Apple II and
view a number of formats-- see the section on dealing with graphics
for more information.
As of 28 Aug 1997, Richard Bennett's freeware implementation of a
TCP/IP stack for the GS is in BETA initial release, and available from
its home page at http://www.zip.com.au/~kashum/marinetti/. It appears
to support SLIP (PPP promised for availability shortly) right now, and
is not guaranteed to be fully functional or stable.
One package is in a state of perpetual near completion: GS/TCP for the
GNO/ME unix-like environment for the IIGS. As of January 13th 1998, it
is NOT released yet. GNO/ME requires 1.5-2MB of RAM and a HD on your
GS to use, so you may not be able to run it with your current setup.
For more information from the author, Derek Taubert, see
http://www.geeks.org/~taubert/gstcp/index.html. Documentation on
GNO/ME in general can be found at http://www.gno.org/gno/ .
7.2 I don't have an OS/Boot disk for my Apple II or want an update.
Where do I get it from?
First, consult the following chart to help determine what you should
be looking to run on your Apple II-- there's a lot of possible OSs.
Downloads usually require you to have comm programs up and running on
your Apple II and/or Mac with a 3.5" disk that fully supports 800K
disks (a lot of Powermacs are flakey in that area). Without such an
ability, see below for places to purchase/copy it from. See FAQ
Section 2.* on the Apple II models or FAQ section 7.7 on determing RAM
to determine what your Apple II has if the limitations in the
following are confusing.
* Any Apple II, 5.25" drive, 32K or more RAM: DOS 3.3. This is not
legally available online to the best of my knowledge, as Apple
still holds the copyright and distribution restrictions on it.
However, Diversi-DOS, a Shareware enhanced version (may require
48K or 64K RAM) of it with many speedups is available online:
ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2/apple8/OS/divdos41c.bxy
* Apple II+ or better, 5.25", 3.5", or HD, 64K RAM: ProDOS 8
v1.0-1.9. [Avoid v1.3 if using a ][+ or unenhanced //e].
ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/A
pple_II/Apple_II_Supplemental/Apple_II_System_Disk_3.2.bxy [Note:
have not verified that this is ProDOS 1.9]
* Apple //c or IIc+, Enhanced //e, GS, 5.25", 3.5", or HD: ProDOS 8
v2.x. A shrunk 800K 3.5" disk with this version is at
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/sys.soft/8bit.system.4.0.2/sysdisk402.
bsc [Not available in 5.25" format online]
* Apple IIGS, 3.5" disk or HD, 512K or more RAM: ProDOS 16. Very old
and slow. Not available anywhere online legally to my knowledge.
* Apple IIGS (ROM version 01 or 3), 3.5" disk or HD, 768K or more
RAM: GS/OS version 5.0.4. Get the .bsc files from
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/sys.soft/gs.system.5.0.4/
* Apple IIGS (ROM version 01 or 3), 3.5" disk or HD (HD highly
recommended), 1MB or more RAM: GS/OS version 6.0.1. Download from
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/sys.soft/gs.system.6.0.1/ or a Mac
'Disk Copy' format at
ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/A
pple_II/Apple_IIGS_System_6.0.1/ See this FAQ's Section 9 (System
6.0 Mini-FAQ) for more info on bugfixes, updates, problems with
this version.
All of the above were always distributed as full versions of the
system software; there is no need to 'upgrade' thru system 4 or 5 to
get to 6. Consequently, don't look for any patches to save download
time; those never existed.
[Note: there are some other versions of the System Disks not listed
above; the ones listed are the latest versions, which you should be
running to get as many features and as few bugs as possible. Most of
the older (and especially the very buggy) versions are not available
online for that reason.]
Without an operating system, you can't run a comm program to download
the operating system, so you're in a bit of a quandry. One method is
to call 1-800-SOS-APPL and try and find an Apple II user group in your
area. They should be able copy things for you.
If you are unable to find a local user group, one of the next best
options is to contact Steve Cavanaugh (section 10.2), who is licensed
to copy ProDOS 8 [runs on pretty much all Apple IIs with at least 64K
of RAM], along with a 5.25" disk full of comm programs, etc. The comm
program disk costs only $3, which is a great deal. Ask him for more
details if interested.
Alltech Electronics (see FAQ section 10.2) is licensed to sell many of
the above, such as GS System Software 5.0.4 and 6.0.1, Apple // System
Disk 4.02, and ProDOS 1.1.1. Contact them for details on pricing, etc.
7.3 How I connect my Apple II to an Appletalk (and/or Ethertalk)
network?
A: Appletalk support is pretty much available for the //e and GS only;
the functionality never made it into the ][, ][+, //c or IIc+ models.
Appletalk software on the Apple II will allow you to connect to
'Appleshared' volumes on server machines (Macs, WinNT4.x, and many
unix platforms), and also certain printers shared on the network;
there is no current way for Apple IIs to share their local drives to
any other Appletalked boxen. Also, note that you'll need some sort of
Appletalk to Ethernet gateway if you want to use Appletalk with any
non-Apple hardware; see next section below on Ethernet.
Filesharing over Appletalk is possible if the non-Apple II machines
share their drives. Macs can do that with System 7.x and 8.x's
personal filesharing; see the documentation and online help, as this
is outside the scope of this FAQ. Windows NT 4.0 is reported to
support Appleshare also (see its docs and help again); Unix machines
can use the 'Columbia Appletalk Protocol or for for Linux, see
http://thehamptons.com/anders/netatalk/. [Netatalk supports sharing
volumes and printers]. To access shared volumes, turn the sharing on
the host machine, and from the GS, use the 'Appleshare' graphical
control panel to connect up.
Booting an Apple II over Appletalk is not a trivial task, even though
the System 6.0/6.0.1 include "disks" to support it. To boot an Apple
II over Appletalk, you must also own Apple's Appleshare 2.x or 3.x
software for Macs; 1.x or 4.x (and anything newer than that) won't
work. This software reportedly cost near $1,000 new; while you may be
able to find it for less nowadays, the cost and slowness of Appletalk
may not make this worth it. You may either want to boot the GS off a
3.5" and run applications from an Appleshared volume, or invest in a
HD for the Apple II (Alltech Electronics has 20MB HDs for $59 as of
8/19/97, which will prove far faster and overall more useful).
Some printers can be connected to an Appletalk network; Imagewriter
IIs with an addon board (either Apple's board or Sequential System's
'MegaBUFF'/'Q:Talk lto' boards) can be networked, as can all Apple
Laser printers supporting PostScript and the Appletalk serial port.
Although several inkjet printers support Appletalk (various
Stylewriters and HP Deskwriters), there is no GS support for them over
a network, even if they'll work when directly connected.
To get Appletalk running on a //e, you will need a //e Workstation
card, which provides an Appletalk port, and the associated software,
which is bundled with it. That way, you can connect to an Appletalk
network and use shared drives and/or printers. Once that is ready,
install the Appletalk software.
From a GS, Appletalk is slightly more complex in terms of deciding
which slots you want to dedicate to it. In a ROM 01, Appletalk
requires turning slot 7 to 'Appletalk' (use the control panel,
accessible by pressing Control-Open Apple-Escape), and either one of
slots 1 or 2 set to 'Your Card'. If you have something in slot 7 that
you care about (usually a hard drive controller), what you can do is
move that card to slot 1 or 2, and set the boot slot to 1 or 2. A ROM
3 is simpler-- set one of slots 1 or 2 to Appletalk. The Appletalk
cable plugs into the back of your GS in the printer port (ROM 1 if
slot 1 is 'Your Card', ROM 3 if slot 1 is Appletalk) or the modem port
(slot 2 is Your card/Appletalk). Once the GS is set up, from the
System 6.0 or 6.0.1 (recommended) installer, select "Custom Install"
and then select the Appletalk, Appleshare, Appletalk'd Imagewriter
and/or Laserwriter packages to install.
Once you have Appletalk set up on the various machines, you'll need to
decide how to connect them. If there are only 2 machines and both are
connecting via the serial port, a printer (i.e. null modem) cable
between the two will suffice. If you want to connect more than two
devices, you can use either Apple's Localtalk wiring scheme (expensive
and pretty much phased out) or the 'Phonenet' style connectors that
let you run ordinary phone wire between the different machines. Look
for phonenet hardware at computer stores or mailorder catalogs.
Unfortunately, the serial ports in Apple's Super Serial Cards, //c and
IIc+, and PC clones' serial ports are not capable of putting out
Appletalk signals. From a PC, you'd probably have to find one of the
rare (and therefore pricey) PC Appletalk boards that exist. As
ethernet (and TCP/IP to a lesser degree) has taken over the Unix, PC
and Mac networking setups, see the next section (7.4) below for some
possible workarounds.
7.4 Is there any Ethernet capabilities for Apple IIs?
A: There is no publically available Ethernet setup for any Apple II
model. There are also rumors of an independently designed Ethernet
board, but it's not released.
There were several models of Appletalk <-> Ethernet gateways that can
be used to connect up Apple IIs to Ethernet networks for use in a
mixed network of Apple IIs, Macs, PCs and unix boxes. Shiva's FastPath
4 or 5 have been recommended as working well in this capacity.
(Apple designed and made an ethernet card to be released at about the
same time as GS/OS 6.0.1, but canned the project when they decided to
try and write off Apple IIs as a bad memory, and shoved the cards
produced in a warehouse or worse. Fewer than five of these cards are
known to be owned by people outside of Apple. That's very stupid,
considering Apple could have made a nice profit on those things. Don't
ask me where to get one of those; I don't know, and if I did, I'd get
one for myself before telling any of you-- Nathan :) Tony Diaz has a
web page up with more details on this card; check out
http://www.hypermall.com/~tdiaz/AIIEthernet.html. [While this card had
OS-level support (until they axed that code along with the card) for
Ethertalk, since Ethertalk is merely Appletalk packets over Ethernet,
this card is therefore an Ethernet card])
There are a number of SCSI - Ethernet transcievers available for Macs
and the like, but they are EXTEMELY unlikely to work at all on the GS.
Essentially, the RamFAST SCSI card does not support interrupts or
devices feeding it data. In addition, all of these transcievers use
proprietary (and info is not publically available) protocols.
7.5 What is 8 bit and 16 bit?
A: That indicates how big the chunks of data are that the CPU can
manipulate at once. The Apple IIGS is a 16 bit machine and all other
Apple ]['s are 8 bit machines. (It is possible to put a 65802
(extremely rare nowadays) as a replacement for a 6502 or 65C02, and
get limited 16 bit functionality, but as the GS has a lot of extra
chips to support what it does, you still would not be able to run
99.9% of GS software on such a machine)
7.6 How can I tell what version my computer is?
A: Look at the case of the computer to determine which Apple II you
have, then in the section on Apple II model information (sections 2.x)
for that model. The methods of determining the versions of each model
are integrated into the other information for that model.
7.7 How much RAM is in my Apple II?
A:This is easiest to determine with an Apple IIGS. Go to the text
control panel by pressing the control, open apple, and escape keys at
once, then select the RAM Disk option under the Control Panel option.
Note the 'Largest Selectable' entry, and add 256K to that-- that's how
much RAM is available to GS programs. (The GS reserves a minumum of
256K for programs, though pretty much only older Apple II software
will run in that space). Note that this does not count ram on cards in
slots 1-7, though you're pretty much limited to only using RAM Disks
or Appleworks addons in there.
With earlier models of the Apple II, this is a much more difficult
problem, because any software that wants to take advantage of extra
RAM has to be written to recognize any RAM past the first 64K of
memory. [Applesoft BASIC, for example, only cares about the lower 48K
of RAM unless you use addon packages.] As noted in the sections on
Apple II models above, the system has a default of anywhere from
4K-128K built in. The extremely common 'Extended 80-column card' for
the //e added 64K to the //e's default 64K.
Most Apple II RAM cards did come with a diagnostic disk and possibly
patcher programs to allow them to determine how much RAM is in the
system, as well as allowing programs like Appleworks access to the
extra RAM. If you suspect you have more than the defaults, but can't
be sure, asking on comp.sys.apple2 is probably the best bet.
7.8 Can I use High Density disks on my double density Apple II drives?
A: Only if you don't care about what's written to them. Basically, the
magnetic properties of High Density disk media is different, and
though you may be able to write to them and immediately read it back,
after a few months, odds are pretty good that the disk is unreadable.
In short, I strongly recommend not using anything other than Double
Sided, Double Density (DSDD) disks in Apple II 140K 5.25" drives.
Some people report that they have successfully used HD 3.5" disks in
their 800K drives without problems, while others have had some
problems. Use them with some caution; as with everything else, making
sure that there are adequate backups of all files you care about is a
good insurance plan in case of any problems.
Of course, should you have a high density drive (1.2MB 5.25" or 1.44MB
3.5"), then use high density disks in it. Although the local computer
store may not carry DSDD disks, many national mailorder places do
carry them. Check them out.
7.9 Why do partitions have a maximum size of 32MB?
A: ProDOS, the usual choice for Apple II disks (Hard Drives, CD-ROMs,
etc), is limited to 32MB per partition. It would require rewriting
large chunks to get it to work with larger partitions. Just use the
partitioning tools (included with the SCSI card or the like) to make
several 32MB partitions.
If you have a GS with System 6.0, you can install the HFS FST (you
must do a customized install, not the Easy Update), which lets you
have partitions larger than 32MB. The System 6.0.1 HFS FST should have
the patch applied to it before it is used with volumes larger than
64MB, but I (Nathan Mates) have had volumes corrupted and don't really
trust the HFS FST. (See the System 6.0 Minifaq in this FAQ for details
on where to download the patch.
The differences between HFS and ProDOS are as follows:
ProDOS partitions: Limited to 32MB, your boot (first) partition MUST
be a ProDOS volume. Disk integrity checkers exist (ProSEL by Charlie's
Appleseeds, Salvation by Vitesse) to make sure your disk remains
uncorrupted as possible.
HFS partitions: Requires GS/OS System 6.0 or higher, and therefore
1.5MB RAM. You can not boot a HFS disk on an Apple II. Maximum volume
size is either 2 or 4 gigabytes (pretty darn big either way). System
6.0.1's default HFS FST has bugs that are know to corrupt disks >64MB;
even with the Apple-approved patches it may not be stable. The only
way to verify that a partition is uncorrupted is to take the HD to a
Mac and run Apple's Disk First Aid or Norton Utilities on it-- no GS
HFS disk verification programs exist.
Keeping good backups of your files is a real lifesaver when problems
happen, no matter what filesystem they're saved to.
As a side note, DOS 3.3 volumes are limited to 400K each; my having
multiple 400K volumes per disk (same theory as multiple 32MB
partitions on a HD), patched DOS 3.3s can access up to approx 100MB
(254 volumes * 400K each) at once. Such patches are not really
available to the general public to my knowledge, however. There were a
few DOS 3.3 patches that let them use 2 400K volumes on a 800K drive,
though I've never used them.
7.10 How do I convert from an Appleworks file to a text file without
formatting codes?
Appleworks lets you 'Print' to a file on disk-- hit Open-Apple-P, and
select "A file on disk." That should do a reasonable job of
translating the Appleworks file into text without formatting such as
boldface and italic, but leaves in the centering.
Others have reported that setting up a special printer entry can yield
slightly better results. (The exact procedure for that depends on the
version (1-5) of Appleworks. Consult your manual for more
information.) Make a new printer, which is identified as a 'Silentype'
printer, but prints to disk. Make sure the printer interface code is
empty.
7.11 What programming languages are available for the Apple ][?
A: Larry W. Virden (lvirden@cas.org) maintains The Apple II
Programmer's Catalog of Languages and Toolkits. The official version
is at http://www.teraform.com/~lvirden/Misc/apple2-languages.txt.
7.12 Can I install DOS 3.3 stuff on my hard drive?
A: This mostly depends on what you're trying to do. As noted in the
section on HD partitions above, DOS 3.3 volumes are limited to 400K
each. Thus, they can be highly inconviencing trying to put those on a
regular HD. (And no publically available software really exists to do
that)
A far better solution is to use DOS 3.3 Launcher. It lets you copy
unprotected DOS 3.3 140K disks to your hard drive, and run DOS 3.3
under ProDOS. Such functionality does have some requirements, though:
programs must only use 48K of RAM (the upper 16K is reserved for
ProDOS, which is running at the same time), not do any copy protection
or disk hackery, and generally behave themselves. DOS 3.3 Launcher is
available from the normal Apple II ftp sites:
ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/utils/dos3.3.shk
7.13 Is there any form of Unix that I can use on my Apple II?
A: Yes, a pretty good commercial variant exists, but only for the GS:
Procyon's GNO/ME. Since the GS (nor any other A2 model) doesn't have
any form of memory protection or virtual memory, and the 65816 is
limited to a maximum of 64K of stack space, programs that assume they
can use whatever amounts of ram they want (gcc, X Windows, etc) can't
be run at all.
New info as of 8/16/97: GNO/ME v2.0.4 has been reclassified by Procyon
to be freely copyable; it is now available for download from
ftp://ftp.hypermall.com/pub/gno or
http://www.gno.org/pub/apple2/gs.specific/gno/base204/ . Online
documentation can be found at http://www.gno.org/gno/ .
GNO/ME runs on top of GS/OS, so you can multitask text-based programs
with at most one GS desktop GUI program.
7.14 Can I generate Postscript from my Apple II?
A: The GS most certainly can with the right software; certain packages
like Publish-It (at least versions 3 and 4; maybe also earlier
versions as well) for the //e or //c also have such functionality. The
GEOS family of programs for the Apple II can also generate postscript,
but those programs are not available anymore to my knowledge [I
believe that maybe the Springboard Publisher can do that also; more
info would be appreciated]
To print to a postscript file on the GS with any program that follows
the GS's methods for printing (Print Shop GS and pretty much all
non-GS programs won't work), install the Laserwriter driver to System
6.0 or 6.0.1. You do not need to have a Laserwriter; just install the
driver. [This will install Appletalk as well; to avoid the annoying
message about Appletalk not being available at boot, disable the
'SCC.Manager' file in the drivers folder inside the system folder on
your boot disk.]
Once this is done, select the Laserwriter as your printer driver.
Select 'Print' from within a GS application, and at the standard
dialog which appears, do not press return to print. Instead, hold down
the Open Apple and 'f' keys while you click on the 'OK' button with
the mouse. That will force a print to disk. The resulting postscript
file is saved to the Drivers folder inside the system folder on your
boot disk with the name 'Postscript.GSxx', with 'xx' being a 2-digit
number that starts at 00. You can then take the postscript file to
another system and view or print it.
The Laserwriter driver from System 6.0.1 may not be compatible with
all Postscript printers (especially the non-Apple ones); if you're
having problems, you may wish to try using the driver from System 6.0.
Note that the GS's Laserwriter driver does not properly handle
Truetype fonts in documents (which requires 'Pointless' from Westcode
Software), so you may want to use only the fonts your postscript
printer knows. [Those lists vary; everything knows Times, Courier and
a few more, but check your printer's manual for info on what it
supports.]
7.15 How do you copy from a 5.25" disk to 3.5" disk?
A: ProDOS has no problems with this, as long as you copy by files.
Note that ProDOS can only have 51 files in the main directory. If you
try to exceed that, it will give you a cryptic 'Disk Full' error. If
there really is space left on the disk, you can copy all the files
into a subdirectory to get around the 51-file limit. Subdirectories
can support more files in them than any ProDOS volume has to store
them as different files, but in practice, you should limit them to a
few hundred files per directory.
Copy protected 5.25" disks and DOS 3.3 programs tend not to want to
copy to other disks. You may have to put up with them as is.
7.16 My Apple II is running too fast. How do I slow it down?
A: If you have a GS without an accelerator card, use the builtin
control panel (accessible by hitting control-open apple-escape at once
or holding down the 'option' key on poweron) to change the system
system between 'Normal' (1Mhz, same as a stock ][, ][+, //e, or //c)
and 'Fast' (2.5Mhz). With accelerators installed in the GS, the
'Normal' speed still means 1Mhz, but 'Fast' is whatever the card is
set to run at. The Transwarp GS has in its ROM a CDA (accessible from
the text control panel as above) for configuring the speed; the Zip GS
has both official and 3rd party (better) utilities to configure its
speed in 16 levels.
Pre-GS accelerators (AE Transwarp models, Zip Chip and Rocket Chip,
among others) tended to be disableable if you held down the 'Esc' key
when the system [re]booted. That would drop the system back to 1Mhz
until the next [re]boot and/or poweron.
_________________________________________________________________
Strange problems:
8.1 How do I get out of Basic (that little "]" prompt and cursor?
A: Type the word "BYE" and press return. For more information on
Applesoft, see Nathan Mates's Applesoft FAQ at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/asoft.html You can also get more
information on DOS 3.3/ProDOS commands at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/dos.html
8.2 What are the problems with GSCII?
A: GSCII is a great program, but has two subtle problems: First, it
won't work correctly if you extract to a HFS disk (so extract to a
ProDOS disk). Also, it won't set the size correctly on S16 files. This
should only be a problem when downloading Shrinkit GS. In that case,
use BINSCII. The rest of the time you will be extracting .SHK files,
which don't care about extra bytes at the end.
8.3 AppleWorks won't print to my printer. What gives?
A: AppleWorks will refuse to print to a slot that has a disk device.
In the past, this worked well because if you try to print to a slot
that has a disk controller in it, you will re-boot. But now, this can
cause problems when a disk device is 'mapped' into your printer slot
(due to a limitation in ProDOS, you can only have 2 drives per slot.
Extra partitions on your hard drive will be re-mapped to other slots).
If you have a RamFast, you can re-map the drives to different slots.
Otherwise, (for AW 3.0) use this patch:
POKE 768,128: POKE 769,10
BSAVE APLWORKS.SYSTEM,TSYS,A$300,L2,B$AE3
If you didn't understand that, e-mail me, or look into John Link's
SuperPatch program, which includes many more patches.
8.4 My GS control panel keeps resetting to the defaults and/or
forgetting the date-- the battery is dead.
A: It's probably your battery. If you have a ROM 03 GS, can you just
pop it out an get another. On the ROM 01, you will need a Slide-On
Battery Replacement Kit from Night Owl Productions. See address in
hardware & software vendors section (10.2).
8.5 I'm getting Error XXXX or YY. What's it mean?
A: Some common errors and their cause:
A larger list of all error messages, but not always the best
description of the cause is at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/gserrors.html.
ProDOS Errors:
UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS - You can't boot a disk unless it has ProDOS and a
something.SYSTEM file on it (Pre-1.9 ProDOS)
$27 I/O Error. Possibly a bad disk? Verify it with Prosel or Copy II Plus
$44 Path not found (You gave an invalid directory name)
$45 Volume not found (you didn't type in the right disk name)
$46 File not found (you didn't type a valid filename)
GS/OS errors:
0201 Out of memory
0911 Either your GS is overheating, or the ADB port is having problems
0301 Bad TransWarp
0308 (Also see 8021) Something has trashed critical parts of memory
11xx GS/OS could not successfully load an application or program
8020 Either random TransWarp, or SCSI (try using different SCSI connector)
8021 If you get this at random times and you have a HS Apple SCSI, it's
probably a version conflict. Install the SCSI drivers from your GS/OS
disk, not your HS Apple SCSI disk.
8.6 Why does my Apple II lose characters when I'm using the modem?
A: Check the following: 1) Your software may need interrupts enabled.
Examine DIP Switch 2-6 on your Super Serial Card. 2) If you have an
unenhanced //e, you need to enhance your //e. 3) If you have a //c, it
may be one of the ones that had a serial port problem. Talk to your
dealer about upgrading it for 2400 baud support. Also, to use a modem
faster than 9600 pretty much requires a 'Hardware Handshaking' cable,
not a cheap one.
8.7 Where do I get support for AE boards now that they are closed?
A: Bruce BABB, ex-AE bench tech, is offering support out of his home
for customer support of AE's boards. He also hints that another
company is opening that will sell many of the Apple II products the AE
made. You can reach Bruce via Email at 76004.1575@compuserve.com
8.8 Is there a QWK reader for the Apple //e?
A: Yes, it's called 2qwk!. To use 2qwk! you must patch ProDOS to allow
filenames sent by MS-DOS machines. The Apple II version is now
available via ftp from ground and caltech.
8.9 I've got a problem. How do I troubleshoot it?
* Asking others for help is fine, but if you do, please provide the
following information. (And the act of finding out this
information may help you find the cause on your own)
1. Is it reproducible? One system crash that happened out of the
blue and never reoccurred is almost impossible to track down
and fix.
2. When did the fault appear? During boot? After a fixed amount
of time? Whenever you do X in program Y?
3. Any and ALL error messages reported by the system. Copy them
down and repeat them exactly; saying "it gave an error" is
not useful.
4. How dead the system is. Does the mouse still work, but clicks
do nothing? Does it do anything at all?
5. System configuration. What cards in what slots, how much RAM,
which SCSI controller and rom version (if applicable), what
size HD, etc.
* If you have just purchased a bunch of new hardware and/or
software, resist the temptation to install all your new toys at
once. Take it one step at a time and test everything after adding
each item. (i.e. Run the diagnostics and try your old programs.)
* If you have an enhanced //e, //c, IIc+, or GS, try the system
self-test: hold down the Control key, the Open Apple key, and the
Option (or Solid Apple) key. Then press and release Reset. Lastly,
let up on the other keys. Sit back and 'Watchen Der Blinken
Lighten.' If you run into a problem, please see the next section
on self test errors and what they mean.
* Leave the computer plugged in, but turned off when installing
cards. Touch the top of power supply before and often during your
work. Better yet, use a wrist strap tied to ground through a 1
Megaohm resistor.
* Make sure you have the required components for the program. Does
it require an Enhanced //e? More RAM? A separate boot disk?
* Never use your original disks. Make a backup and store the
write-protected original in a safe place.
* Be sure to keep your disks away from stray magnetic fields, such
as those emanating from phones, monitors and speakers.
* If you have an accelerator, try to disable it or take it out
entirely. It may not be compatible with the new item. (This is
actually rare; the one consistent thing accelerators have problems
is the GS's self test)
* Check all your cable connections. Do not disconnect or connect any
cables with the computer on-- this includes disk/hard drives,
keyboards, mice, etc.
* Try pulling out other cards and disconnect your joystick. If you
have a lot of cards, you might consider a Heavy-Duty Power Supply
from A.E. It supplies 6 Amps instead of a measly 2.5 Amps. Test
the power supply with a voltmeter while the computer is on.
* Call the manufacturer to see if there is an upgrade or a fix with
the program.
* Most RAM cards come with a memory tester. Try running it in
continuous mode for several hours, even if your RAM seems to be
working.
* Verify your disk(s) with Copy ][+ or the Finder to see if you have
any bad blocks. A better choice is ProSEL, which provides a
comprensive set of disk verification and fixing errors.
* On a GS, check your control panel (control-open-apple-escape)
settings: What is the startup slot set to? Is the slot set to
"Your Card"? Check your RAM disk setting. Is it taking up all your
memory? Try setting the speed to normal if it's a non-GS program.
* On a GS, try take out or disable your INITS, CDAs, NDAs, and
CDEVS. (With System 6, just hold down the shift key while
booting). If the system is fine when shiftbooted, then there is
probably a conflict between some of them. Try manually disabling a
few at a time, and seeing if the problem disappears. You can
narrow down a problem to an init or few that way.
* If you have a hard disk, try booting from a System Disk and/or
reinstalling the latest system software. Using the installer that
came with the system software the the best and safest way to
install system software; hand installing parts can cause problems.
* AppleWorks GS 1.1 comes with a memory tester (try it).
* The TransWarp GS has a continuous test on the CDA (try it too).
8.10 My GS reported a problem with the Self Test. What do the numbers mean?
The full list with explanations of these codes are available in
Apple's technotes, archived here at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/tn/iigs/095.html or
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/tn/iigs/tn-iigs-095. In short, the error
code should be an 8-digit number in the form AABBCCDD. Look at the AA
number, and check the following table:
01: Failed checksum in motherboard RAM/ROM.
02: Failed ram on motherboard.
03: Failed softswitch and register test.
04: Failed RAM address test
05: Failed Speed test
06: Failed serial port test
07: Failed clock test
08: Failed Battery RAM test
09: Failed Apple Desktop Bus (ADB- usually keyboards & mice) test
0A: Failed shadow register test
0B: Failed interrupts test
0C: Failed Sound test
Please note that with a Zip GS in the system, the system will always
report an error, even if none exists. You will get an 05xxxxxx if DIP
switch 1-4 is ON, but if that's off, you're likely to get 0Bxxxxxx
(not on all Zips) or 0Cxxxxxx errors. If you suspect a real problem,
then you can either switch off the Zip (1-6 off), or remove the Zip
from the system and try with the normal processor. Do all
modifications to DIP switches or cards in general with the computer
off, as usual.
8.11 My Apple II goes into a self test or reboots when I turn it on.
Try unplugging any joysticks, paddles, or anything else plugged into
the back joystick port or the internal game port. Since the primary
and secondary joystick buttons appear the same to the system as the
open and closed (option on the GS) apple buttons, if your joystick's
buttons are misreported as down, the system can assume you're trying
to continually do a self test. If your system works without the
joystick plugged in, your joystick is defective.
This is a general rule of thumb for troubleshooting, as noted above.
Pull out EVERYTHING not needed for the problem (go down to computer,
monitor, and optionally the keyboard for the base problems), and
slowly add components until the problem reappears. When it does,
you've isolated the problem. [As usual, only plug or unplug devices
with the power off.]
8.12 My Hard Drive (or other disk) crashed! What do I do?
If you have adequate backups, reformat it, and copy the data back. If
you don't have backups, this would be a good time to start praying.
Dead disk recovery is a delicate art at best; be forewarned that there
is a good chance that some to all data will be lost.
Reminder: Keep good backups of any files you care about!
There are two commercial programs that can do a decent job at
recovering as much as possible from a ProDOS disk: ProSEL (8 and 16
bit versions published by Charlie's Appleseeds) and Salvation:
Deliverance (published by Vitesse). ProSEL-8 is the only package that
runs on non-GS Apple IIs, so it may be your only choice. ProSEL-16 and
Salvation both require GSs.
Refer to their manuals for the specifics on how to attempt volume
restoration with them, though from what I've heard, they have a much
better chance of restoring files in subdirectories, not the top-level
directory. Thus, it may be prudent to store important files in
subdirectories so that they can restored later. [With a limit of 51
files in the top directory, you'll be forced into using subdirectories
sooner or later on hard drives.]
If you managed to repartition or erase your drive, at least with
ProSEL (and possibly also Salvation, though I have not used that or
heard from any owners), you have a decent chance of restoring most
files if you repartitioned it EXACTLY as it used to be partitioned:
same partition sizes in the same order. Do NOT reformat the drive or
partitions-- that'll write to all disk blocks, which will make
recovery essentially impossible. Then, run ProSEL on it and tell it
not to assume a valid volume bitmap for each partition. You'll
probably lose files in the root directory, but it's a better than
nothing.
8.13 My Apple II is reporting the wrong year. How do I fix that?
First, if you have a GS, and the internal clock is reporting the wrong
year each time you boot up, you probably have a dead battery. See
section 8.4 for where to get a replacement.
ProDOS 8 does have a problem in its year calculating code-- the
designers assumed that a table holding only 6 years would be
sufficient. They were wrong. You'll have to patch ProDOS every few
years to keep it up to date; a text file including a Basic program is
on Apple's FTP site:
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/sys.soft/slotclock-patch.txt
The above is a Applesoft Basic source code inside a text file; you may
want to instead download the program included on the latest ProDOS 8
system disk:
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/sys.soft/8bit.system.4.0.2/sysdisk402.bsc
8.14 My RamFAST board is reporting an error. What's the number mean?
Here's a list of the RamFAST Fatal Memory Fault codes:
$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
8.15 What does "UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS" mean when I boot a disk?
ProDOS is not automatically installed on every disk formatted under
ProDOS. All that is writted to disk is a very short boot stub that
looks for a system (type 'SYS') file in the root directory called
'PRODOS'. If that file is present, it is loaded, and ProDOS installs
itself. If there is no PRODOS file found, the error message of "UNABLE
TO LOAD PRODOS" is displayed on the screen.
To make such a disk bootable, all you need to do is copy the file
'PRODOS' from a working ProDOS boot disk to the root directory of the
disk you want to be able to boot from, assuming there is enough free
space to copy that file.
You will also want to copy at least one other system (type='SYS') to
the root directory of any disk you want to boot, as ProDOS scans the
root directory for the first SYS file with name ending in ".SYSTEM" to
execute, or it'll be unhappy. A good candidate for such a file is
Apple's "BASIC.SYSTEM", providing the Basic interpreter and command
line interface to ProDOS.
If you choose to use Macs and Disk Copy to download System 6.x, make
sure to use Double Sided/Double Density (DSDD - 720K or 800K) disks--
1.44MB (HD) disks will be written to as 1.44MB disks, which most GS
drives cannot deal with. Also, if your GS is refusing to boot off the
install disk (with an 'UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS' message), and you have a
Quadra or Powermac, you may be a victim of Apple's costcutting in 3.5"
drives-- those drives may report disks as successfully written, but
GSs will be unable to read them. Switch to an older Mac with a usable
drive, or use a null modem program to transfer the files.
_________________________________________________________________
GS System 6.0 mini-FAQ
9.1 Where can I get System 6, and what fixes are there for the known bugs in
it?
First off, if you don't have it on your GS, you may want to consider
upgrading to System 6.0.1. Like all GS/OS releases, you will need to
make sure you've got a ROM 01 or ROM 3 before you even think about
running it. Although you may be able to get it to boot in less RAM,
1.25MB of RAM is pretty much a minimum; 1.5-2MB RAM is recommended if
you want to run a lot of the fun addons. Secondly, an 800K floppy is
rather cramped for space as a boot disk; a Hard Drive helps immensely.
(If you're looking to strip a boot disk down to get as much space as
possible, please see my reference of files in the GS/OS installation
at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/sys6files.html.)
System 6.0.1 has a number of bugfixes and small addons from System
6.0; they both have similar RAM requirements, so you should consider
moving to System 6.0.1 if at all possible. Also, many problems that
existed in System 6.0 and 6.0.1 have only been fixed in patches to
System 6.0.1, such as the HFS FST and programs that GUPP fixes. (See
below)
Next, you'll want to download them. On the internet, they're available
in Apple II (.BSQ) form from Apple's FTP site at
ftp://ftp.apple.com/dts/aii/sys.soft/gs.system.6.0.1/. There are 6
disks to either System 6.0 or System 6.0.1; you should download and
unpack them (with Binscii and Shrinkit. Then, boot the Install disk.
When unpacking the .BSQ files from Apple's FTP site without a hard
drive, you'll notice that some of the disks can be larger than 800K,
even when partially unpacked. Creating a Ramdisk from the control
panel greater than 800K will let you unpack these big disks without
any problems. (Remember to kill off that ramdisk before trying to run
GS/OS if you have less than 1.5MB of RAM)
If you have access to a Mac with "Disk Copy", you may want to instead
try downloading the disks in that format from
ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/Apple
_II/Apple_IIGS_System_6.0.1/
If you choose to use Macs and Disk Copy to download System 6.x, make
sure to use Double Sided/Double Density (DSDD - 720K or 800K) disks--
1.44MB (HD) disks will be written to as 1.44MB disks, which most GS
drives cannot deal with. Also, if your GS is refusing to boot off the
install disk (with an 'UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS' message), and you have a
Quadra or Powermac, you may be a victim of Apple's costcutting in 3.5"
drives-- those drives may report disks as successfully written, but
GSs will be unable to read them. Switch to an older Mac with a usable
drive, or use a null modem program to transfer the files.
While a little too big for this FAQ, Nathan Mates has written a
reference detailing the various files installed by System 6.0.1 with
comments on their use, as well as which files are required for minimal
disk usage. Please see
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/sys6files.html.
9.2 Common Problems
If you are still using System 6.0, it is recommended that you upgrade
to the latest and greatest version, 6.0.1. It is available at Apple's
FTP site (see section for the address).
The HFS (Macintosh) FST (File system translator) included with System
6.0.1 does contain at least one bug, which can corrupt a HFS volume of
64MB or larger. It is strongly encouraged that you download and
install the patch. (You'll need to copy all the files off to non-HFS
volumes, install, and copy back for safety). The patch is available
from ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/addons/patches/patchhfs.shk
I (Nathan Mates) have had HFS volumes corrupted, so I'm pretty
confident that there are more bugs in the FST. There are no native GS
HFS volume checkers; you'll have to take the drive to a Mac anytime
you need to run a checker such as Apple's Disk First Aid or Norton
Utilities. (Also, Macs want a special driver, which may require you to
[re]format the drive on a mac, or use a special program to insert it.
This boils down to the general computer rule of thumb: If you care
about your files, make sure you have backups!
Despite the hard work of the Apple Computer programmers, some bugs
slipped through in System 6.0.1. Both as a recommendation for system
stability, and as a plug for a program of his, Nathan Mates
(maintainer of this FAQ) has found and fixed a number of them. These
include memory trashing bugs in the 6.0.1 Finder, the Pascal FST not
recognizing legal punctuation in disk names, and many more. Get the
free program 'GUPP' (Grand Unified Patch Program) from a major Apple
II FTP site, or directly from Nathan's ftp site for his programs:
ftp://ftp.visi.com/users/nathan/a2software/gupp.shk
Copy ][+ may be a great program for making the one personal backup
copy of a piece of software that you are legally entitled to, but its
file copy, delete, and directory sorting functions will corrupt a disk
when used on a directory with GS/OS 'forked' files. (Pretty much all
of the system software is forked, as are most GS applications). Do NOT
use it on disks or HD partitions with such files. ProSEL 8 or 16 can
repair some of the damage done, and provide safe disk and file
utilities.
If the mouse cursor wipes out everything it moves over, you may have a
software conflict with Closeview. To deactivate it, from within the
Finder, open the 'System' folder on your boot disk, then the
'System.Setup' folder. Find the icon named 'Closeview', and click once
on it. Then, from the 'Special' menu, choose 'Icon Info...'. A window
will open up, with a check box for 'Inactive' in the top right. After
setting it to inactive, reboot. You can do the same thing for any
other Desk Accessory, Control Panel (CDev), or Init (in the
System.Setup folder, should you decide not to want to run it.
Easy Access also can and does cause lockups with programs, especially
on the ROM 01. Deactivate it just like you did with the Closeview
program-- it's in the same folder.
If you are getting an annoying message about Appletalk not being
available at boot, but you're not using Appletalk in general, disable
the 'SCC.Manager' file in the drivers folder inside the system folder
on your boot disk.
Missing features of system 6? Perhaps you just used easy install,
which doesn't install all the bells and whistles. Try clicking on the
'Custom' install (versus the easy install) in the Sys 6.0 installer
and add the nifty things like Calculator, Find File, HFS FST, etc. You
can also read the Shortcuts file on the 'SystemTools2' disk for some
great keyboard shortcuts.
Finder 6.0 icons that match by name and have a leading wildcard
require uppercase letters. For example, a name like "*.txt" never
matches, but "*.TXT" works fine (it matches regardless of a file's
actual capitalization). (This was accidental; the 5.0.4 Finder did not
care about capitalization in icon files.)
Two misconceptions about System 6: The A2.RAMCARD is not for the GS's
/RAM5. It only works with "slinky" (i.e. standard slot) cards. Also,
the DOS 3.3 FST has nothing to do with MS-DOS.
9.3 Tips & Hints
The AppleShare logon programs have always looked for a folder named
"Mail" inside your user folder whenever you log onto a user volume. If
there's any items in there, they present a dialog that says "You have
mail." With the Sounds control panel, you can make it play a sound of
your choice then.
If you don't want to see your icons on boot, set bit 1 (i.e. the 2nd
LSB) of BRAM Location $5F. Be sure not to mess with the other bits.
Use the toolbox calls!
The FinderExtras folder goes in the same folder as the Finder
(generally the System folder).
If you don't like yellow folders in the Finder you can change the byte
at offset +65 in the Finder resource with type $C001 and ID 1. Change
the $E0 to whatever you want (the first digit is the default folder
foreground color, and the low nibble is for the outline color). Only
folders that do not already have a color recorded in a Finder.Data
file get the default color.
9.4 If you have a RamFAST
The RamFast and ProDOS 2.0.1 both try to do re-mapping of drives to
unused slots. This can cause problems, mostly when launching and
returning from ProDOS 8 applications (crashes or wants you to insert
disk). Solution: Configure the RamFast not to re-map. If you have a
RamFAST with a ROM revision less than 2.01a, you need to get a newer
ROM from Sequential Systems. Otherwise, V2.01c allows setting Slot
Priority Allocations to 0 which will let ProDOS deal with them. V3.0
allows you to choose between RamFast mapping (works now) and ProDOS 8
mapping. If you can't wait, you can Patch ProDOS 2.0 not to re-map
slots. Look for "10 BF C9 A5 D0 07" and change the $A5 to $00 (should
be byte $1A3 in the 5th block of the file). Hack at your own risk.
9.5 If you have a Vulcan or AE High Density disk
Due to problems with the Vulcan, when booting, it asks for your System
Disk. Just put the Vulcan driver on your boot disk, boot it, and then
launch the installer. Alternately, put the driver on the installer
disk and boot it. (but you have to delete some of the installer
scripts first) For the AE High Density Drive, be sure to remove
Apple's 3.5" driver when putting on AE's.
9.6 If you have ProSel as your program launcher
Rename start to something else before running the installer, or else
the Finder won't be installed. Also, ProSEL as a launcher will cause a
bogus $0040 error on some programs such as the first DOTW release.
9.7 If you have an AMR 3.5" drive
If the computer hangs (mostly at the Standard File Save/Open dialog
box) with no disk in the drive, try putting one in. What's happening
is that GS is reading the status from the drive, and the drive won't
return anything unless there is a disk in the drive. Just stick a disk
in and all will be fine. If it really annoys you, either deactivate
the 3.5" driver (get IR so you can double-click to re-activate it) or
simply keep a disk in the drive at all times. This is not a problem
under ProDOS 8.
9.8 GSCII+ & HFS Note
There is a problem with the HFS FST, but only GSCII seems to be
affected. When de-binscii-ing files, put the output onto a ProDOS
volume, not an HFS one.
[ Mega-thanks to Dave Lyons & friends for these. ]
9.9 Finder 6.0.1 is displaying garbage in the windows!
System 6.0.1's Finder occasionally gets some of its files corrupted,
and then fills a window (or the screen) with multicolor garbage when a
window is opened. This is extremely annoying, but there are ways to
fix it. First, try installing Grand Unified Patcher Program (see the
section above (9.1) on system 6.x patches).
If that doesn't work, go to the 'Preferences...' menu item under the
Finder's 'Special' menu, and turn off the hiding of invisible files.
Inside the 'Icons' folder on each disk/partition, there's a file
called 'Desktop'. Trash it, and reboot. [This file contains window
sizes and custom icon placements, as well as duplicate copies of icons
from System 6-savvy applications with 'rBundles' attached. No real
harm other than losing the window placements is done by trashing it.]
Lastly, you can look for bad icon files-- make a new folder (such as
'Icons2') on each hard drive, and move all files except 'Ftype.Apple'
out of the Icons folder on each disk/partition to the new folder.
Reboot and see if the problem still occurs. If not, move a few files
back at a time, reboot, and see if you have the problem. When you've
isolated the problem file, don't use it anymore.
9.10 Icons no longer point to apps. How do I rebuild the desktop database?
Easiest way: from Finder, go to prefs, turn off hide invisible files.
In each disk partition's 'Icons' folder, there should be a file named
'desktop'. Delete it. That'll just force a new desktop database file
to be created next time you start the Finder; you'll still have to
click on each file that put its rBundles into there to rebuild it.
Better way: Softdisk G-S #47 or 48, program I (Nathan Mates) wrote
called 'Rebuilder'. Deletes the desktop file, then scans the drive for
all rBundles and adds them.
9.11 How do I make a 3.5" disk that boots and runs an Application?
Assuming that this (or any other program) is a ProDOS 16 or GS/OS app,
the way to put it on a self-booting disk is:
1) Format disk, install GS/OS on it, with any desired extensions, etc
2a) Copy the app you want to run to the system folder of that disk,
and rename it 'Start'
-OR-
2b) Copy the app you want to run to the root directory (lowest level)
of the disk, and make sure its filename ends in ".SYS16", renaming it
if necessary. If you do this, delete any 'Start' program in the system
folder.
This assumes that the program is small enough to fit on that disk; if
space it tight, you may want to consult either
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/mini.601.html and/or
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/sys6files.html for lists of what
files you might be able to remove.
9.12 What's the difference between 2:1 and 4:1 3.5" formatting?
These two ratios are possible interleave factors for 3.5" disks.
Unidisks 3.5"s maximum speed is at the 4:1 interleave factor; if 2:1
disks are inserted in them, a lot of time will be wasted while the
disk blows revolutions reading sequential sectors. Apple 3.5" drives
best speed is at 2:1; 4:1 disks in them can be accessed slightly
slower than 2:1, but not anywhere near as bad as 2:1 disks in Unidisk
drives. Thus, if you don't have Unidisk drives, 2:1 should be
selected, but if you're using a mix of drives or Unidisks, 4:1 is the
optimal speed.
9.13 What do I do with icon files for the Finder, and how can I customize how
they appear?
Under System 6.0, each volume you have online can (and the Finder will
occasionally auto-add this) have a folder named 'Icons' in the root
directory. Applications with separate icons files (as identified by a
Finder 'Get Info') can have that icons file copied to the Icons folder
of that partition. For example, the application
/Games1/OneArmBattle/OneArmBattle should have its icon file copied to
/Games1/Icons/ . Most icons files are simply cute fluff, and are not
needed to run things correctly. A lot of files may also slow down
loading of the Finder, as it must reload all icons files each time.
The 'FType.Apple' file installed to the Icons folder of the boot disk
along with the rest of the System Software is a required file for the
Finder, GS Shrinkit, and possibly other applications. Do not mess with
it; it does not contain any icons, but the text descriptions of file
types you can see from the Finder.
If you want to make your own icons, or point them at various
applications, the best way to do this is to make up a custom icon for
the filetype, and set the icon application path to the application you
want to run. IconED 2.0 is a good icon editor, and is available from
ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/utils/. Once your icon file is
created, it should be saved in an Icons folder on one of your disks,
preferably the boot volume. As the first match of an icon is used, you
may want to do a directory sort to move your custom file to the top of
the Icons folder or elsewhere if things are matching oddly.
_________________________________________________________________
Resources for the Apple II 6/12/97
Listed below are some places to get information about the Apple II.
You should also try your local user group (and the user group
library), friends, relatives, library, school, FTP sites, books, and
etc. One good book is "The Whole Internet Users Guide & Catalog" by Ed
Kroll, published by O'Reilly & Associates Inc.
Nathan Mates has a set of WWW pages with all sorts of online
resources, more Apple II FAQs and more; visit
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/index.html
10.1 Apple II Groups
You can become an associate in the Apple Developer Program for $350
(for Mac and Apple II) or a mere $150 (for Apple II only) by calling
1-408-974-4897. That gets you Develop magazine, Apple Technical notes,
the Apple Developer CD, discounts on Apple products, and more! If you
want to license Apple Software for distribution with your product you
can get information by calling 1-408-974-4667. (Note: You need a
license to distribute Apple System Software, including ProDOS, and the
Installer.)
USUS (Keith Frederick (Secretary), P.O. Box 1148, La Jolla, CA 92038)
is an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and
influencing software standards to aid in the development of portable
software. They have a large software library including a lot of source
code (for almost every language or computer).
NAUG, the National AppleWorks Users Group used to be a group devoted
to that wonder program, AppleWorks. Joe Kohn and SSII have taken over
distribution of their materials; see
http://www.crl.com/~joko/naug.html
10.2 Hardware and Software Vendors
There is a larger set of lists with more WWW links available at Nathan
Mates's set of Apple II Companies pages at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/com/index.html. The following list is
in alphabetical order by company name; no guarantees are made about
the suitability of products listed, companies, or anything else.
Alltech Electronics (http://www.allelec.com/, 760-724-2404 orders,
760-724-8808 FAX, 2618 Temple Heights, Oceanside CA, 92056;
info@allelec.com) sells all kinds of hardware and general software for
Apple II's-- one of the best 1-stop shopping areas.
The Apple User Group Connection (800-538-9696 ext 500) can tell you
the closest Apple II (or Macintosh) User Group.
The ARC (Apple Resource Center, http://www.thearc.com/ (209) 832-4300,
FAX (209) 832-3270, Orders (800) 753-0114, thearc@thearc.com, 1014
Central Avenue
Tracy, CA 95376, U.S.A.) has a number of replacement parts for Apple
II items as well as some repair facilities.
Atlaz Computer Supply (616 Burnside Ave, Inwood, NY 11096.
516-239-1854 phone, 516-239-1939 fax, 888-here-fax fax,
atlaz@pipeline.com)is reported to sell cables for connecting //cs to
other devices like printers and modems, as well as other items.
Adrian Vance's 'AV Systems' (http://www.webmag.com/AVCatalog/
702-395-3572, P. O. Box 26533, Las Vegas, NV 89126) publishes a "Apple
II Survival Manual" has 450 disks in it for the Apple II, all models.
Stephen Buggie, (buggie@unm.edu, 200 College Rd. Gallup NM 87301)
modifies IBM PC power supplies to fit Apple IIs, as well as Disk ][
modifications. Contact him for pricing, availability and specific
product details.
The Byte Works (http://www.hypermall.com/byteworks/index.html 8000
Wagon Mound Drive N.W. Albuquerque, NM 87120 (505) 898-8183 email
mikew50@aol.com) is still selling Apple IIGS assemblers, compilers,
and utility programs such as a spreadsheet and a morphing program.
They are also one of the few sources for Apple II books full of
technical and programming information.
Steve Cavanaugh (appleblossom@delphi.com,
http://people.delphi.com/appleblossom/ 8 Ardley Street, Brockton, MA
02402) has now taken over the distribution of a 5.25" disk with modem
utilities, a terminal program (Comm.System 2.5), Shrinkit 3.4, BinSCII
1.0.3, UU 1.1, Sneeze 2.2 and UnShrink 2.1 in ready to run format.
Also included are all the docs for the above programs, plus Zlink (in
archived format). this service. Send $3 to cover postage and materials
to Steve Cavanaugh, Apple Blossom Publishing, P.O. Box 120434, Boston,
MA 02112-0434. [Chuck Orem used to provide this.] He is also licensed
to copy ProDOS 8; contact him for details. He also publishes The Apple
Blossom, a "bimonthly newsletter reviewing new hardware and software
for the Apple II computer as well as presenting original how-to
articles and interviews." He's also involved in Hyper Quarterly, "our
new disk-based subscription for Apple IIGS users. Every three months
subscribers will get two disks of the latest and greatest in HyperCard
IIGS stacks. The premier issue will be sent out at the end of April,
1997."
CCV Software (http://catalog.ccvsoftware.com/ is still selling many
Apple II commercial educational and productivity titles.
Charlie's Appleseeds (chuckn@pro-nsdapple.cts.com 9081 Hadley Place
San Diego CA 92126-1523 (619) 566-1297 (weekends, try 619 566-0387)),
sells ProSEL-8 and ProSEL-16, which includes disk fixing utilities for
ProDOS disks.
The Tulin IIGS SCSI driver for Flopticals (possibly also Zip disks)
and Apple's HS SCSI cards are available from Wing Cheung 4901 Corona
Court Union City, CA 94587 email wing_cheung@compuserve.com Ask for
pricing and availability.
Compu-Teach Educational Software (http://www.wolfenet.com/~cmpteach/
), 1-800-448-3224, still sells various Apple II educational software
titles.
Creative Solutions (http://members.aol.com/CreatSltn/
CreatSltn@aol.com, (513) 429-5759 M-F 9-5) is located in Beavercreek,
OH, and "Specializes in hardware, software, and repairs of AppleII,
Macintosh, Laser, and Franklin computers."
The Cynosure BBS (410-549-2584 Settings: 8 data bits, No parity 1 stop
bit, up to 14400 bps) has a license to distribute system Apple
software (ProDOS and GS/OS). Contact Doug Granzow at
dig@pro-cynosure.cts.com.
Digisoft Innovations (digisoft@hypermall.com) has a CD called Golden
Orchard that is full of Apple II-specific programs. 18MB is accessable
from 8-bit //e's, the rest is in HFS partitions that can be accessed
with GS/OS System 6. Cost is around $60. They also have published
Twilight II, a screen saver for the IIGS.
The 'Duncan Institute' has a large library of educational software for
Apple IIs; their web site is http://www.gate.net/~duncanin/
Edlie Electronics (800-645-4722 or 516-735-3330) is selling "The
ProDOS User's Kit". It seems to be your basic ProDOS operating system
and a manual. I doubt that it's a current version, but it's worth a
look if you need ProDOS on 5.25".
Educational Resources (800-624-2926) sells educational programs for
the II.
EGO Systems (http://www.hypermall.com/ego/ 423-843-1775, Fax
423-843-0661 e-mail diz@chattanooga.net), has discontinued their GS+
Magazine, and is closing down their line of various Apple II hardware
and software items.
Intrec Software (http://www.intrec.com/) is still selling ProTERM 3.1,
the best text comm software for 8 and 16 bit Apple IIs.
Kitchen Sink Software ( http://www.kitchen-sink.com/ email:
info@kitchen-sink.com, 1169 Stroud Ct. Westerville, OH 43081-1134
800-235-5502, 614-891-2111 (voice) 614-891-4545 (fax)) is still
supporting its Apple II products.
Kula Software (http://www.angelfire.com/hi/kulasoft/ 2118 Kula Street
Honolulu, HI 96817, (808) 595-8131 kulasoft@pixi.com) has a number of
disks full of software, as well as misc books, used software, and
indices of various magazines.
Michael Lutynski (626-335-7506, animasia@rocketmail.com), the author
of Animasia 3D (GS desktop animation application) is still selling
copies for $99, contact him for details. [Manuals may need to be
reprinted occasionally.]
LYBEN Computer Systems at (800) 493-5777 is reported to sell cables
for connecting //cs to other devices like printers and modems.
Marin Macroworks, 1675 Grand Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901-2211.
MECC (http://www.mecc.com/ 800-685-MECC) is a well-known educational
software shop.
Memory Plus Distributors (602-990-2327) has a number of hardware items
available; contact them for details.
M&M Software has a large collection of mainly educational software for
the Apple II, Macintosh, DOS and Windows. Their web site is at
http://www.mm-soft.com/ 800-642-6162, M&M Software, P.O. Box 15769,
Long Beach, CA 90815.
National Communications Inc.
(http://www.thomasregister.com:8000/olc/natcomm/apple.htm) sells a
number of cables such as modems that they claim to be compatible with
Apple IIs, //cs, Laser 128s, and the like.
Parkhurst Micro Products (510-837-9098) sells ANSITerm, a GS-only
communications program that supports X/Y/Z-Modem (plus variants),
Kermit, VT-100, Color ANSI, and offers features like a text editor, a
large scrollback buffer, and macros.
Procyon Enterprises, Inc (http://www.hypermall.com/companies/procyon/
PO Box 641 Englewood, CO 80151-0641 (303) 781-3273) published many
Apple II products such as GNO/ME and Splat!; GNO/ME has been
reclassified into the freely copyable category.
Ready Access Memory (http://readyaccessinc.com/ ) apparently sells a
number of Apple II related items.
Redmond cable (206-882-2009) makes and sells all sorts of custom
cables.
Roger Wagner Publishing, Inc (1050 Pioneer Way, Suite P, El Cajon,
California 92020, 619/442-0522) is still publishing Hyperstudio for
the GS, and Merlin (assembler/disassembler) packages for the Apple II
family.
Scantron Quality Computers, http://www.sqc.net/ (800-777-3642 or
810-774-7200, 810-774-7740 Tech Support, 810-774-2698 FAX) not only
sells Apple II products, but maintains a list of user groups and
publishes an informative newsletter geared towards educators (called
Enhance). They also published AppleWorks 5.0. To get a QC catalog and
a free subscription to Enhance, just call! Contact QC (on GEnie),
QualityCom (on AOL) or sales@sqc.net.
Sequential Systems (http://www.sequential.com/ 800-759-4549 or
303-666-4549, 800-999-1717 tech, 303-666-7797 BBS) has many products,
including GS software that reads some (but not all) multimedia
CD-ROMs, VGA display, Memory, SCSI, and other boards for Apple IIs.
Contact inquiries@sequential.com.
Seven Hills Solution Specialist
(http://www.sevenhills.com/applesoftware/ email: shss@nettally.com,
904-575-0566 phone, 904-575-2015 FAX, 1254 Ocala Road, Tallahassee, FL
32304) publishes the Spectrum Internet Suite (WWW browsing from a GS
and dialup shell account), Graphic Writer III (GS Desktop Publishing),
Independence (Black and White printer drivers for several printers
from the GS) and Spectrum (GS Desktop Telecom program), among other
programs.
Joe Kohn's Shareware Solutions II (http://www.crl.com/~joko/ 166
Alpine Street, San Rafael, CA 94901-1008, joko@crl.com) publishes a
bimonthly Apple II newsletter, the NAUG (National Appleworks User
Group), the WestCode Software GS software (Pointless, HardPressed,
etc) line, many older and newer games, several HyperStudio and
HyperCard IIGS's 3.5" and CD-ROM collections, many freeware/shareware
disks, and the Harmonie set of printer drivers originally published by
Vitesse.
Shreve Systems (http://www.shrevesystems.com/ has some Apple II parts,
reconditioned, and other stuff.
Smart Kids Software (http://www.smartkidssoftware.com/apple.htm email
max@smartkidssoftware.com) has many Apple II software, specializing in
educational titles.
Software & More (http://members.aol.com/AppleSWHP/APPLE.html 7250
Auburn Blvd Citrus Heights CA 95610 (916) 725-0228, SWMoreTP@aol.com)
carries a number of hardware and software items for the Apple II
series.
Sun Remarketing, http://www.sunrem.com/ (800-821-3221) also sells used
Apples parts and books.
Vitesse, authors of the Harmonie series of printer drivers, can be
reached at 248 North Orange Ave. West Covina, CA 91790-2018
(818)813-1270 (818)813-1273 (FAX). Joe Kohn's Shareware Solutions II
has taken over distribution of Harmonie; see above.
Washington Apple Pi (http://www.wap.org/ 301/984-0300, BBS
(301/984-4070 [12 lines, 9600 and up] and 984-4066 for the 2 line at
2400), info@tcs.wap.org) has an extremely active Apple /// Special
Interest Group. They have 250 PD disks and have funded a new revision
of the OS. Contact Dave Ottalini at 72457.2401@Compuserve.com or at
the email address above.
Westcode Software (http://www.westcodesoft.com/ ) has mostly moved on
to the Mac world, but their Pointless, TypeWest, and HardPressed
packages for the GS are still being sold by Joe Kohn's Shareware
Solutions II. (see above).
10.3 Fun hardware add-ons
///SSH Systeme, http://users.ids.net/~kerwood/shh.html (Write to: SHH
SYSTEME, Dipl. Ing. Joachim Lange, Bergstrasse 95, 82131 Stockdorf,
Germany) is selling several cards for the Apple II, allowing you to
connect IDE drive(s), PC Floppy drives, or expand a Transwarp GS's
cache. Contact jlange@tasha.muc.de.
Night Owl (913-362-9898) makes a slide-on battery for ROM 01 GS's. You
need a replacement if the time and system settings go back to their
defaults whenever you turn the computer off.
Lightning Systems, (414) 363-4282 BBS, P.O. Box 4, Mukwonago, WI
53149-0004 sells a 'Turbo ASP' addon to the Super Serial Card which
lets it communicate at up to 230,400bps.
Various companies sell cables for the Apple //c; check out Atlaz
Computer Supply (516-239-1854) or LYBEN Computer Systems at (800)
493-5777
Conversion Technology (801-364-4171) sells a drive that allows you to
hook up cheap IBM 3.5" and 5.25" disk drives to you Apple II.
Silicon Systems (714-731-7110) makes that 22 pin DIP DTMF decoder chip
that Apple-Cat modem owners are always looking for. Part #: SSI 75T201
- Integrated DTMF Receiver.
10.4 Periodicals & Books
The Apple Blossom is published by Steve Cavanaugh; see listing in
section 10.2 above.
Howard Katz publishes the 'Appleworks Gazette'. 1104 Lorlyn Circle #
2D Batavia, IL 60510.
Adam Barr ( barr@railnet.nshore.org) and Cindy Field (former
InCider/A+ editor) thought about starting a new (email) Apple II
newsletter, but nothing apparently ever came of that.
The Byte Works ( http://www.hypermall.com/byteworks/index.html, email
mikew50@aol.com) is one of the few sources for Apple II books full of
technical and programming information.
A free monthly archive of postings, full of tips, tidbits, etc.,
called GenieLamp has been discontinued. Back archives of it are
available at http://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2/gelamp. For a while,
the edition for programmers (the 'a2pro.*' files in the directory
mentioned) ran at the same time. "The Lamp" is the replacement, and
will be available shortly on the internet after an initial Delphi-only
posting.
Hyperstudio Network (609-446-3196) is a quarterly newsletter about
HyperStudio. They put out an annual 'Best of HyperStudio' disk of
stacks, and have discounts on HyperStudio accessories. They even do
some teacher-oriented stuff.
Juiced.GS is another Apple II newsletter started by Max Jones. As of
9/4/96, a 1-year's subscription is $14. For more information, email
Max at m.jones145@genie.com, or write to him at Max Jones, Juiced.GS,
2217 Lakeview Drive, Sullivan IN 47882.
Scantron Quality Computers (previously mentioned above) also publishes
periodicals, such as II Alive
Shareware Solutions II (166 Alpine Street, San Rafael, CA 94901) is a
new Apple II magazine with the latest scoops, written by long time
Apple II writer Joe Kohn. Mail joko@crl.com for details. You can also
check out his WWW homepage at http://www.crl.com/~joko/ssii.html
Softdisk and Softdisk GS (800-831-2694 or 318-221-8718) were monthly
disk magazines containing a variety of software (PD/SW, clip art,
reviews, etc). Softdisk and Softdisk GS are no longer published, but
you may still be able to purchase back issues on 5.25" or 3.5" disks.
Softdisk GS is available only on 3.5" disks. See
http://www.softdisk.com
Kingwood Micro Software publishes Texas II, a newsletter and disk for
users of AppleWorks. 2503 Sherbrook Lane McKinney, Texas 75075.
10.5 Misc Resources
If you need a IIc upgrade, it used to be free, but that has expired.
Try a few Apple dealers or call Apple to seek help. The number is
1-800-767-2775 (SOS-APPL).
Sequential Systems ( http://www.sequential.com, 800-759-4549 or
303-666-4549, 800-999-1717 tech, 303-666-7797 BBS) have taken over
CVTech's products.
Larry Beyer (312-735-9010) likes to fix InnerDrive hard drives.
Apple has a toll-free customer assistance line for handling sales
questions and user concerns. This toll-free line is not designed to be
a technical support hotline, but instead is an extension to the
comprehensive Apple customer relations effort. The Customer Assistance
Center is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific
time by dialing 1-800-776-2333.
_________________________________________________________________
Email suggestions to nathan@visi.com. As always, let me know of any
mistakes, updates, corrections, additions, etc.
There are a lot more questions with answers not included directly in
this FAQ; please see http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html for
more of them.
Copyright 1997 by Nathan Mates (Nathan Mates)
--- End Part 4 of 4