Re: New IIGS owner, looking for help/resources

[Sean Fahey <a2fan@hotmail.com>]

On Monday, September 26, 2011 11:26:03 AM UTC-5, Chris Hafner wrote:

> I'm a long-time PC guy who just picked up a IIGS on a bit of a whim -
> I remember my time on IIe and IIc machines fondly, and always thought
> the IIGS seemed like an incredibly cool computer.

Welcome. You've found a great community of Apple II users here.

> - When I boot without anything in the drives, I get a message like
> "Check Boot Devices" (don't remember the exact terminology) and an
> animated apple bouncing between the sides of the screen. Don't these
> computers have a basic form of OS or at least BASIC in ROM?

BASIC is in ROM, press Control-Reset to break into BASIC. There is no operating system in firmware, so DOS, ProDOS or GS/OS has to be loaded from somewhere.

> - I remember the IIGS having a GUI - either GEOS or a proprietary
> Apple software. I would assume you boot that off floppy and then swap
> floppies to load other software? How much software needs to be loaded
> this way and how much is self-booting?

You didn't mention what version of the IIGS you have, or how much RAM it's equipped with.

To get the most out of your GS, you'll eventually want to invest in the following items: more RAM (assuming your machine is 'stock') and some kind of mass storage, like of the compact flash hard drive options available.

> - Do I need ProDOS to do anything (or GS OS)?

You'll need ProDOS at least, GS/OS if you want GUI.

> - I've been looking around for ways to get software to the IIGS, and
> it sounds like it's pretty difficult from a PC. There are a bunch of

It's SUPER easy, just use ADT-Pro.

http://adtpro.sourceforge.net/

Need a cable but don't want to make one?

http://www.retrofloppy.com/products.html

> - Any must-have pieces of software for the II or IIGS specifically?

Yes, tons - but let's get you going with basics before turning you into a power user overnight.