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Re: GS woes...please help
"Thom & Nancy Burrell" <luxapan@mpinet.net> wrote:
>Hi everybody!
>
>I recently purchased a GS (1mb Ram, 2 3.5" floppies, 1 5.25 floppy, Apple
Welcome to the IIGS. I'm sending you the full specs of the
IIGS at the end of this post.
>RGB monitor, and some funky Apple SCSI card) and am having some problems
>with it.
>
> First, the SCSI card: I pieced an 80 MB hard drive together for it but
>it only works if I use it for Prodos 8 files. Whenever I load up a GS/OS it
>tells me the drive is unreadable and asks if I want to format it. The funny
>thing is, I already formatted it as a simple Prodos volume (32 mb) and
>installed a Prodos system. Whenever I do format it with GS/OS... it won't
>let me partition it, it comes up with a generic icon, and it is completely
Under GS/OS, you need to use Advanced Disk Utilities (ADU)
to partition the disk. First thing I'd do is install the HFS FST.
This is in the System/FST folder in either System Tools 1 or
System Tools 2 disk. Copy the HFS FST to the System/FST
folder of your System 6.0.1 boot disk. If you need to free up
space to install the HFS FST, just delete some control panels
from the CDEV folder on the System 6.0.1 boot disk.
Now boot the System 6.0.1 boot disk with the HFS FST
installed. What the HFS FST gives you is the power to use
the HFS file system (Macs use it too) and thus larger than
32MB partitions. Now at the Finder, boot ADU from one of
the other System 6.0.1 disks. The file name is Adv.Disk.Util
I believe. Use ADU to partition the disk into two partitions,
the first one 32MB in size and the second one 48MB in size.
Now format the two partitions. Notice that now in the format
dialog box under file system HFS is an option as well as
ProDOS. Format the 32MB partition as ProDOS and the
48MB one as HFS.
Now go back to Finder. Copy your System 6.0.1 files to the
root directory of the ProDOS partition. Just open both icons,
select all from the floppy disk's root directory, and drag to
the hard drive's ProDOS partition.
Only then, reboot the system with the Install disk in the
floppy drive. Select Custom Install and select the System
6.0.1 HD full install option. Select as target the ProDOS
partition.
After you are done, restart the system, booting from the
hard drive (make sure to go to the control panel and set
startup slot to the SCSI card's slot first).
Finder should boot up.
You can use the 48MB HFS partition to store files and
the beauty of it is that HFS is not limited to 15 letters,
numbers, and periods for filenames. You can use Mac
naming conventions for the HFS partition!
>unusable... As long as I only use Prodos 8... well, it just works fine (with
>the small exception of not being able to partition it, therefore getting
>less than half of the drive space for use). Oh by the way - If I boot using
>a GS/OS 6 or 6.0.1 I'm told that the SCSI card is old and should have it's
>ROM updated to Revision C (and that my local Apple dealer will be more than
>happy to do this free of charge, oh my...)
Well, ok I'm not sure a pre-revision C ROM on this card
will work at all with newer versions of GS/OS. Assuming
it does, make sure you put a terminator BEFORE the
drive and AFTER the drive (assuming the drive is the only
SCSI device on the chain). This card lacks an internal
terminator, unlike Macs and ALL OTHER Apple II SCSI
cards. See if it works now. Another possibility, change
the SCSI ID of the drive. The SCSI ID of the drive and the
SCSI card must not be the same.
> Second, disk images (of all sorts): I also have an Apple ][e that I
>would also like to get running (it's amazing that those $2000 dollar
>machines of old can be picked up for $10 at a thrift store, much to my
>wife's annoyance), but I need to be able to transfer the files across to
Ah, that's because there were about 6 million IIe units.
However, for old computers, if enough attrition of numbers
happens, the value goes up. Just to give you an idea,
there were only 200 Apple I units ever made. These go
for THOUSANDS of dollars now. Original mint condition
Apple II units (not IIe or II+, just plain II) with full
documentations go for hundreds of dollars in some parts
of the world. There were only 100,000 of them made
and MANY were junked which makes them rather rare
now, especially in like-new condition that collectors like.
>both machines first. I am successfully running both Bernie and Catakig on
>my Mac and I have close to all the images to be found online... but I can
>only get a small amount transferred over to to my GS (which would be
>probably be easier if I could get the bloody hard drive working...). I've
>downloaded & read all the FAQ's available and am currently (attempting) to
>use Asimov & Shrinkit to transfer the files from image to disk but have had
>very little success. I've been able to get programs like Appleworks,
>Uninvited, Leisure Suit Larry, and a handful of utilities to transfer but
>not much else (considering the massive amounts of images at my disposal). So
>if anyone has any idea of how to do this successfully.... you have my
>undivided attention. (Should I invest the small amount of cash for a tool
>like DSK2File or ][2Mac?)
Can't help with the IIe stuff, but are you saying you can
successfully get stuff accoss and unshrink them? If so,
I'd be happy to email some IIGS demos for you. Stuff
that DOES NOT work on emulators but shows the true
colors of the real IIGS.
Welcome. Since you are new to csa2, I'm sending you the full
specifications of the IIGS.
Since you are new to the IIGS, please allow me to give
you a tour of the system.
The IIGS is an amazing machine given its age. It
can run a free version of Wolfenstein 3D, has its
own UNIX, and even its own TCP/IP capable of
32 simultaneous sockets! Email is due to be released
soon and and ftp is here.
A web browser of sorts is already here as is telnet!
Here are some information and specs for the IIGS:
There are two things you need to do to get the IIGS usable.
First, get a hard drive for it. http://www.allelec.com/ Alltech
Electronics sells an internal hard drive for the IIGS that is
a hard drive on a card. No extra controller needed. It is
an IDE controller plus notebook mechanism. It costs $79.
For that price, you also get the most modern Apple IIGS
System Software, GS/OS (System 6.0.1), which is normally
on six separate floppy disks (a hard drive is needed to get
the most out of it). You also get tons of freewares and
sharewares. The hard drive is called the Focus hard
drive card. Look for it on the Alltech site.
The other thing is memory. Alltech (see above for web
site) also sells the Sirius RAM card. They are revising
their web site, so this product may not yet be on there,
but just call them and ask. It is a 0-8MB memory card
that can be expanded in 1MB increments using 1MB
30 pin SIMMs. I'm sure you have an old 386 lying around
that you can gut.
The IIGS' minimum recommended standard is 4MB.
Here are the specs for the IIGS:
1. Make and Model:
Apple IIGS
2. Released:
1986 (256K model) and 1989 (1.125MB model)
3. Follows:
Apple IIc
4. Followed by:
Apple IIc Plus
5. CPU:
Western Design Center (not to be confused with Western
Digital, the hard drive maker) 65C816 running at 2.8Mhz.
Processor has 24-bit addressing (16MB memory space).
Speed can be dropped down to 1Mhz for compatibility
with emulation of IIe applications. Speed can be
increased to 15Mhz with an add-on CPU card.
6. ROM:
128K in the 1986 "ROM 1" model
256K in the 1989 "ROM 3" model (Apple skipped ROM 2
so as not to confuse "Apple II" with "ROM 2")
ROM is expandable to 8MB (some cards use ROM
space as non-volatile battery backed virtual disk
storage for instant on applications [RamKeeper]).
The ROM contains much of the GS Toolbox routines.
These routines are patched by disk loaded code in
later system software revisions.
7. RAM:
The 1986 model has 256K built-in to the motherboard.
The 1989 "ROM 3" revision has 1.125MB built into
memory. The Apple IIGS is expandable to 8MB of RAM
with the right memory card. Many applications, such
as Apple Computer's HyperCard program for the GS (GS
version of the famous Macintosh program) need at
least 2MB. Extra RAM goes into a special memory
expansion slot on the motherboard. Both Alltech
Electronic (http://www.allelec.com ) and Sequential Systems
(http://www.sequential.com ) are selling 8MB memory cards
as of October 1998.
8. Case:
Attractive platinum ABS impact resistant plastic. The
keyboard and mouse are separate from the unit, as are
all disk drives.
9. Keyboard:
Full layout keyboard with numeric keypad. The keys
have good tactile feel and click slightly with each
keypress. They have rollover for fast typist. The
Apple IIGS uses Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) standard
keyboards and mice. This means it can use many such
input devices designed with the Macintosh in mind.
Any Mac made after 1986 has an ADB port, but the IIGS
was the first computer with one.
10. Display:
The Video Graphics Chip (VGC) is a custom video chip
that provides all of the GS' graphics modes. All modes
use a 12-bit palette for 4096 colors.
--320x200 with 16 colors
--320x200 with 256 colors: in this mode, the VGC
is taking advantage of the fact that it has memory
for 16 separate palettes. Each scan line can be
assigned any one of these 16 palettes for a total
of 256 possible colors. This mode requires no CPU
assistance and is often used in games.
--320x200 with 3200 colors: in this mode, the CPU
is used to swap palettes into and out of video
memory such that a separate 16 color palette can
be used on each of the 200 scan lines for 3200
possible colors. This mode is often used for
viewing graphics.
--640x200 with 4 pure colors: this mode is bland
and is not often used.
--640x200 with 16 dithered colors: in this mode, the
pixels in the graphic screen are grouped into
even and odd columns. The even columns can have a
palette of 4 pure colors out of a of 4096 possible.
The odd columns can have a second palette of 4
pure colors. The GS dithers the adjacent colors
for 4x4=16 dithered colors. This mode is widely
used in productivity programs and also in Apple's
Finder for the GS.
--Fill mode: for faster rendering of graphics, the
fill mode is a hardware mode in which an outline
of a graphic can be drawn and the outline filled
by a solid color without needing to draw in all the
pixels.
--Combinations and variations: the Apple IIGS has
scan line interrupts. Part of the screen can
be in 640x200 mode and part of it can be in 320x200
resolution. Such split modes are sometimes used
in paint programs, where the menu bar is in 640x200
while the graphic is in 320x200.
SVGA modes with 24-bit color can be added with an additional
video card (see the Second Sight SVGA card at Sequential
Systems http://www.sequential.com/ ). The card is capable
1024x768 resolutions with an SVGA monitor.
The Apple IIGS also has all the graphics modes found on
the Apple IIc.
--Text mode: 40x24 and 80x24. Characters are formed
by a 7x8 pixel matrix. Text mode is monochrome but
can be set to a specific color. The background
and boarder can each be set to different colors.
Text mode is rarely used in GS programs since the
OS, GS/OS, has a graphic desktop.
--Low Resolution: 40x48 pixels in 16 colors.
--Double Low Resolution: 80x48 pixels in 16 colors.
--High Resolution: 280x192 pixels in 6 colors
--Double High Resolution: 560x192 pixels in 16 colors.
--Combinations/Variations: 4 lines of text mode can
be mixed with a truncated Low Resolution or High
Resolution mode graphic. The text in mixed mode can
be either 40 column or 80 column.
11. Audio:
The Apple IIGS uses the 32 channel Ensoniq 5503 DOC
wavetable sound chip used in Ensoniq's Mirage and ESQ-1
synthesizers. Although classics today, the Mirage and
the ESQ-1 were professional synthesizers into the late
1980s. The 32 channels are commonly paired by the OS
tools of the GS into 16 stereo voices, with one voice
being reserved by the system for timing and the system
beep. The GS is commonly called a 15 voice unit.
Programs that don't use the OS and hit the hardware
directly (games and demos) can use the 32 channels as
32 separate voices.
See this link for more information:
http://www.ensoniq.com/multimedia/semi_html/index.htm
12. Media:
The "SmartPort" external drive port supports both Apple
IIe/IIc UniDisks (3.5" and 5.25" models) and Apple IIGS
daisy-chain 3.5" drives and Apple 5.25" disks. It is
also designed to support the Chinook CT-series 20MB to
100MB SmartPort hard drives, but Apple IIGS users
usually add an SCSI card to the system for faster hard
drive access.
The difference between a UniDisk and a IIGS 3.5" drive
is that the IIGS drive is controlled directly by the
computer while the UniDisk has a separate processor.
The UniDisk is thus much slower (up to 4x slower) than
a IIGS 3.5" drive.
The SmartPort can support two 800K 3.5" drives, two
140K 5.25" drives, and one 100MB CT100 hard drive
simultaneously daisy-chained to each other.
The Apple IIGS often shipped with the Apple High Speed
(DMA) SCSI controller in an expansion slot for
controlling SCSI devices. Even 100MB Zip Drives and
1GB Jazz Drives work on this SCSI port.
A SuperDrive controller card can be added for using
1.44MB high density floppy drives.
The Apple IIGS' operating system, GS/OS, is modular.
Like the Macintosh OS, INIT, extension, Desk Accessory
and Control Panel files can be added. These appear
under the Apple menu in GS/OS programs such as Finder.
GS/OS also supports the installable file system concept.
Apple made several file system translators (FST)
available: ProDOS, DOS 3.3, Pascal (UCSD), MS-DOS,
ISO9660 (CD-ROM), and HFS (Mac). Using the HFS file
system, the GS can access a single storage partition
of up to 2GB. It also supports multiple partitions,
some ProDOS (32MB per partition) and some HFS.
13. Input/Output:
Two RS-423 ports (uses Zilog chip, same as Mac, for
Appletalk and 56.7k serial port max)
Composite display output (NTSC or PAL depending on the
country)
ADB port (for keyboard and mice)
RGB monitor output (Drives an analog RGB monitor.
Besides Apple's, Amiga and Atari ST
monitors work with the right cable)
External Drive "SmartPort" (IIGS daisy chain 3.5" or
UniDisks 3.5" drives, Apple 5.25"
drives, and CT-series 20MB to 100MB
hard drives)
Joystick port
Headphone connector
Seven Apple Bus expansion slots (inherited from IIe)
One Ensoniq sound connector (for input to the ADC for
recording samples and access to the raw synthesizer
output signals).
One special memory expansion slot (supports up to 8MB
of RAM expansion and 8MB of ROM expansion).
14. Trivia:
The Apple IIGS was designed in response to the
Amiga 1000 and Atari 520ST computers. It was and is
a quantum leap for the Apple II line. Sales were
strong initially and the IIGS even outsold the
black and white Macintosh units that were its
contemporary. Sadly, Apple wanted Macintosh to be
its future. The total number of advertisements and
commercials can probably be counted on one hand. If
the computer had been introduced a year or two earlier,
things might have been different. As things stood,
the Apple IIGS disappeared from the market in 1992.
In one final gasp, the Apple II supporters at Apple
designed the Apple IIGS Plus, code named "Mark Twain."
It had an 8Mhz 65C816, a built in SuperDrive, 2MB
on the motherboard, and a hard drive. Prototypes
were leaked and one user group has one and wrote a
series of articles about it. Apple management vetoed
this unit.
The Ensoniq chip in the Apple IIGS was a brilliant
move by Apple, but it drew a lawsuit by Apple Records,
the Beatles' company. Apple never again put a synth
chip in any computer. Even today, Macintosh does not
have hardware synthesizers. Macintosh needs to go
around this with software based synthesis.
In a twist of irony, you can currently do preemptive
multitasking (like Amiga) on the Apple IIGS with the
addition of a free product called GNO/ME, providing a
UNIX like multitasking kernal under the GUI, much like
AmigaDOS...while Macintosh lacks such a capability
until Rhapsody is released (well, there was a UNIX
variant for Macintosh, but it was discontinued by Apple).
The Apple IIGS also has the ability to do cooperative
multitasking (Macintosh style) with a product called
The Manager...works to turn the GS Finder into a
Macintosh type Finder (allows more than one program
open and overlapping on the GUI and cooperative time
slicing).
15. Emphasis:
Small business, Home, Education, Gaming, Programming
16. Net Resources:
http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/ (1.7GB A2 knowledge and
software repository)
http://www.sequential.com/ (Video cards and storage)
http://www.allelec.com/ (Various hardware and software)
http://www.hypermall.com/byteworks (OS, programming,
books, software)