Re: Some IIgs questions

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Jeff Blakeney <CUTjefbla@bconnex.net> wrote:

> On Tue, 03 Nov 1998 07:56:54 -0600, Glenn Fisher <Fisher@uh.edu>
> wrote:
> 
> >1) There is a empty battery slot on the motherboard.  Does this
> >need a battery and if so what kind?
> 
> I don't think it NEEDS one but I'm sure you're going to want one.

If the computer seems to be working without it, then it is probably not
required.  Some battery powered clock chips do NOT work unless the
battery is present (and has sufficient volts left).  From past
experience, this is not the case with the IIgs clock/PRAM chip.

I quite agree that it is a very unpleasant experience to run a IIgs
without a battery for anything more than a day or two.

> I don't have a ROM 3 so I can't tell you exactly what voltage
> or style of battery you will need.  I'm sure someone else will
> answer that for you.

It is a 3.6V lithium battery, but I can't tell you much more than that
without pulling my one out.  It looks like the positive terminal goes
towards the back of the computer.

It used to be possible to buy a replacement battery from Nite Owl, but I
don't know if that is still available.  They had seperate ones for the
original IIgs (ROM 00/01) and 1MB IIgs (ROM 3), because the battery is
soldered onto the original motherboard, and has a socket for the revised
one.

> If you wish to simulate turning off the computer and turning it back on
> again without using the power switch, you can put the IIgs into a
> self-test and either wait for the self-test to finish and then reboot or
> reboot while the IIgs is performing the self-test. The second method isn't
> recommended as you might catch the self-test at an inappropriate time.

I never have any problems if I start the self-test and then reboot
within a second or two.  I wouldn't expect anything to go wrong unless
you reset it during one of the later tests that play around with the
softswitches.

> >3) I have an external 800k floppy drive on a MacPlus.  Can this
> >drive be used with the IIgs by plugging it in to the disk port
> >on the back?
> 
> It should work just fine.

It depends which version it is.  If it is an Apple 3.5 Drive ("platinum"
coloured case, same colour as the IIgs, with an eject button) then it
will work.

If it is the standard beige coloured Mac Plus external 800K drive (with
no eject button), then it will not work.

> >4) Is there anything like the "monitor" mode of the old IIs that
> >can be used with the IIgs at boot time?
> 
> There is a much better system monitor in the ROM of the IIgs but I'm
> not sure what you mean by using it at boot time.

The only thought that occurs to me is that Glenn might be referring to
the original Apple ][ (or the Old Monitor ROM running in an Integer
BASIC card for the ][+).  With this version of the monitor, turning the
computer on or pressing Ctrl-RESET (or just RESET originally) puts you
into the monitor.  There is no autostart code, and no automatic warm
recovery into BASIC.

The IIgs does not have this capability.  You can invoke the monitor
using CALL-151 from the BASIC prompt, as Jeff described.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand