Re: Booting a IIe without a system disk

["Ernest" <ernestls@home.com>]

"David Empson" <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote in message
1eixi0p.1c99o46166rm8oN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz">news:1eixi0p.1c99o46166rm8oN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz...
> **** **** <***@***.com> wrote:
>
> > Guys,
> >     Just our of curisoity, would it be possible to offer a minimal
system
> > disk as a PC 'wav' file? While not the most ideal method of doing the
PC<->
> > apple2 software transfer... it might come in useful.
>
> I assume you mean that you would connect the sound output of the PC to
> the cassette input of the Apple II, and use this to "download" the
> system software?
>
> This won't work very well, since all you can do with the tape interface
> is to LOAD a basic program, or load some machine code (if you know how
> to use the relevant monitor commands and the details are known in
> advance).  You can't boot from the tape input.
>
> It should be possible to hack together a bootstrap version of DOS 3.3
> which is wrapped in an Applesoft BASIC front end, so after using LOAD
> and RUN, DOS 3.3 would be moved into its normal position.  You would
> then need another LOAD/RUN procedure to get something else useful into
> the machine.  It may be possible to combine these to produce an OS
> bootstrap loader and pseudo-comms program.
>
> If you wanted to do this with ProDOS, the initial "bootstrap" program
> would have to include an image of the ProDOS kernel, and a machine code
> program which handled subsequent communication (you could probably
> manage without BASIC.SYSTEM).
>
> It would be much easier (and probably faster) to do this with a serial
> interface.  Assuming the interface is configured correctly, all you need
> to do is IN#2 and the PC can directly drive the Apple II command line.
> It could "type in" a bootstrap loading program, which could then use a
> reliable protocol like XMODEM to transfer the operating system image and
> proper file transfer utility.

Yes. I had to do this with the ADT disk when I got my first Apple IIe. I
couldn't get the ADT transfer software across the way that it was explained
in the directions (wrong cable) but I was able to send text one way to the
apple. The initial program that is sent is fairly small, and you have to do
a bit of hand typing with the first and last couple of lines but otherwise,
this worked great. In Hyperterminal, you type the first couple of lines of
the ADT program, then copy the bulk of the program into Hyperterminal, and
then hand type the last line or two, which saves it. Very easy.

Ernest