Re: Dos 3.3 w/800k disks

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Randy Herx writes ...
> 
> Hello again..  I have 12 - 5-1/4" disks from Softside magazine from years
> ago.  I would like to put these files on a 3.5" disk but they won't work
> with prodos due to the way prodos handles filenames with spaces in them...
> 
> ex: PR LOSE.BAS becomes PR.LOSE.BAS in prodos.
> 
> What I would like to do, is format a 3.5" disk to Dos 3.3 and copy the files
> there.  Can this be done?
 ....

     Most Softside software was, originally, stuff you typed in which sticks to
using standard DOS commands from BASIC. Programs like this should run fine
using one of the techniques for accessing DOS 3.3 software from 3.5" diskette
on an Apple II.

     There are two fairly popular approaches. One is to copy a program to a
specially formatted 3.5" diskette which boots a modified DOS 3.3 such as AmDOS
or OzDOS. Typically, you get two "400k disks" on each 3.5" diskette.

     A very different approach is used by DOS 3.3 Launcher. It offers two
options:

1- You can save some DOS 3.3 programs to ProDOS disk (including 3.5" disk or
hard disk).  These must be single-file programs that do not access the disk
once they are loaded into memory. DOS 3.3 Launcher's Copier is used to set
launch options.

2- Using the DOS 3.3 Launcher Copier, you can save an entire DOS 3.3 disk as a
disk image to a ProDOS 3.5" diskette, hard disk, etc..

>>
Any disk that uses a standard RWTS (Read/Write Track/Sector) routine can be
copied in this manner. This includes not only DOS 3.3 disks, but also many old
games which use a standard RWTS, but are not actually DOS 3.3. They can then be
launched by DOS 3.3 Launcher, which "boots" the large file directly from your
hard disk.
<<

     To run a program on a ProDOS-8 system, you start DOS 3.3 Launcher from a
program selector such as ProSel-8 which supports the ProDOS 8 startup
protocol-- i.e. it can make applications automatically open a data file. (The
DOS 3.3 Launcher docs tell how to setup a ProSel entry for a program.)

     Running a program from the IIgs System Finder is much easier. 

>>
If you have properly installed DOS 3.3 Launcher, your DOS 3.3 programs should
appear with DOS 3.3 icons when viewed through the Finder. To launch them, you
simply double click on them, which launches them via ProDOS 8.
<<


     Of the two basic approaches (a special 3.5" DOS 3.3 or DOS 3.3 Launcher),
DOS 3.3 Launcher seems to be the better way to go:

First, it is easy to set up the contents of a DOS 3.3 disk prior to converting
it to disk image form-- you can use any of the popular disk management
utilities such as Copy II Plus. Moving DOS 3.3 files onto an AmDOS or OzDOS
disk with the crude FID-type copiers available is a hassle.

Second, DOS 3.3 Launcher turns out to create and use standard 143,360-byte
ProDOS order (.po) disk image files. These can easily be moved to any ProDOS
disk including hard disk, RAM disk, or Zip Disk. Also, you should be able to
download .dsk disk images on your PC, use an emulator to transfer the contents
to a DOS 3.3 format .po disk image, and transfer the .po file via NULL modem
for use under DOS 3.3 Launcher. Or you could convert 5.25" .sdk (shrinked disk)
files to .po disk image form using Nulib and transfer these via NULL modem. 


     You can find  AmDOS at ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/8bit/utils/ and
OzDOS at ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/ .

     You can find DOS3.3.Launcher.2.2.shk on ACN Florida at
ftp://24.96.48.134:6502/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/ and on ACN Tarnover at
ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/. (ProSel 8 is available in the same
folder as DOS 3.3 Launcher on both sites.)

     On your Apple II, use ShrinkIt to unshrink the file(s) you download.
Normally, directions will be included in a Readme or other Text file.
     


Rubywand