Re: Copy II Plus Question

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Nathan Olson writes ...
> 
> About four months ago I got my hands on a platinum Apple IIe, a DuoDisk, a
> single Apple 5.25 drive, and an Apple Color Composite Monitor.  I ordered a
> 40MB Focus HDD from Alltech with ProDos installed on it, so I've got an OS.
> What I need are utilities to help me get started...:^)  I read in one of the
> Apple II faq's that Copy II Plus version 7.1 or 7.2 is the version to aim
> for.

     Since it is a later version, v7.2 should be better in some way-- maybe it
has more Copy parms. V7.4 should be even better.


> My question is, I've seen higher versions of this software (forgive my
> version-itis, I come from PC land...).  Is Copy II Plus 7.1 or 7.2 still the
> all-around "best" (cough) version to acquire?  If so (or if not so), would
> someone be willing to mail me a diskette with the "correct" version of Copy
> II Plus on it...:^)

     The 7.x versions work with DOS 3.3 and ProDOS and were the last to include
the capability for creating disk images. The images are not compatible with
popular emulators; but, they are a handy way to archive DOS 3.3 disks on a hard
disk. Probably, the best 7.x is v7.4-- it is likely to have the biggest
selection of 5.25" Auto Copy parms of the v7.x series.

     Version 8.x and later versions do not allow creating disk images. Version
8.x does add 3.5" bit copying and Auto Copy parms for 3.5" disks. Overall, it
may offer more to the Apple //e/ Laser 128EX /IIgs user with 3.5" drives than
v7.x. One catch is that IIc+ (and, evidently //c) users can't use the 3.5" bit
copy stuff.

     Version 9.x requires an enhanced //e, //c, Laser, IIc+, or IIgs. Version
9.0 is too buggy and not really safe to use. Version 9.1 _seems_ to be safe;
but, it does not work correctly with the IIgs /RAM5 RAM disk. A major plus is
the Compare Files option. Another plus for users who want to make copies of
original diskettes is the large 5.25" and 3.5" Auto Copy parm files.

     A IIgs owner is normally going to use the System Finder for moving around
ProDOS files and copying ProDOS disks. So, for a IIgs user, Copy II+ v7.x comes
out a bit ahead of other versions. It adds the DOS 3.3 file/disk handling
features the Finder lacks, works with ProDOS, doesn't seem to screw up /RAM5,
and gives you the option of creating disk images.


     The last pure DOS 3.3 Copy II+ seems to be v5.x. One big advantage of v5.x
(and some earlier versions) is that the Sector Editor is part of the Utilities
(instead of Bit Copy as in later versions). You get a pretty comprehensive DOS
3.3 disk/file management utility with just Utilities and have plenty of space
for other programs on a 5.25" diskette.

     What most of the above boils down to is that, depending upon your Apple II
model or models, you may want to keep around several versions of Copy II+.



> Also, is there a list anywhere with what came packaged with each part of the
> Apple IIe?  What I'm wondering is what came with each piece of equipment
> (Cpu, disk drive, monitor, etc.) as far as documentation, etc.  Basically,
> my question is "What came with a base Apple IIe system (If you were to
> travel back to the eighties and pick one up at Radio Shack)?

     We've never owned an Apple IIe; so, I don't know what documentation,
software, etc. may have come with a typical IIe system. However, you probably
would not have picked one up at Radio Shack. They were competing with Apple.



> Also, as this
> is a bit on the wordy side already, I also need the "correct" version of
> ShrinkIt..:^)
 ....

     If your IIe is an Enhanced (128k, does double-hires, etc.) //e, you want
8-bit ShrinkIt version 3.4. It should be available, with directions, in
self-extracting form on the Texas II site at ...
http://members.aol.com/A2MG/dl.html .

     For a 64k Apple II, there are separate SHRINK and UNSHRINK programs. You
can find them, with directions, on the ACN Tarnover site at ...
ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/ .




Rubywand