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comp.sys.apple2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) part 1/3
- Subject: comp.sys.apple2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) part 1/3
- From: nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)
- Date: 1996/09/01
- Expires: 1 Oct 1996
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
- Organization: Vector Internet Services, Inc.
[Administrative note: As this FAQ is now more than 100K, I decided to
split it into 3 files for posting to usenet. Also, there are lots of
changes since last month's posting, and I'm planning a lot more work
over the next month. The latest version will always be at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html
This is version 4.5.7, dated Aug 31 1996.]
The Apple II FAQ
This is the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting of the
comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup). Copyleft 1996 by Nathan Mates
(nathan@visi.com)
This FAQ is posted on the WWW for 24 hour a day (barring system and/or
internet malfunctions) availability from
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html. As I am constantly
updating and fixing sections of this FAQ, making a link to the
document over the WWW is preferred-- that way, there aren't obsolete
versions floating around.
Big thanks to Dan DeMaggio (dmag@umich.edu), the previous maintainer
of the comp.sys.apple2 FAQ, and anyone who took up that mantle before
him.
_________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
Archive-name: apple2/html
Last-modified: Aug 31 1996
Version: 4.5.7
Q#1 What's a FAQ? 8/30/96
Q#2 How do I get to comp.sys.apple2 and what is it? 8/30/96
Q#3 How do I get files off the net? 8/26/96
Q#4 What are Binscii & Shrinkit, and why do I need them? 8/26/96
Q#5 Where do I look on the net for Apple II files and info?
Q#6 How do you download files off the net?
Q#7 How do I download and unpack binscii?
Q#8 How do I download and unpack a Shrinkit unpacker?
Q#9 How do I unpack a generic .SHK or .BSQ file?
Q#10 Apple Archive Format
Q#11 A quick note about ProDos filetypes
Q#12 Net standard formats
Q#13 What do the file extensions mean?
Q#14 What is an Apple II? 1/1/95
Q#15 The Apple I
Q#16 The Apple ][ and Apple ][+
Q#17 The Apple //e
Q#18 The Apple //C and IIC+
Q#19 The Laser 128EX
Q#20 The Apple IIGS
Q#21 The Apple ][e Emulation Card
Q#22 Some Common Questions (with answers!) 2/8/95
Q#23 Info about A2's:
Q#24 What is 8 bit and 16 bit?
Q#25 How can I tell what version my computer is?
Q#26 What programming languages are available for the Apple ][?
Q#27 Adding Hardware:
Q#28 Can the Apple II connect to SCSI devices?
Q#29 Can the Apple II connect 3.5" drives for other platforms?
Q#30 Can I use Macintosh RGB or IBM VGA/SVGA Monitors with my ][?
Q#31 Can I hook up a LaserWriter, DeskJet, etc to my Apple //e?
Q#32 Can I hook up a LaserWriter, DeskJet, etc to my Apple IIGS?
Q#33 Can I hook up a scanner up to my //e or IIGS? Can it do OCR?
Q#34 Can a Disk ][ be used on a GS smartport?
Q#35 What's the scoop on the HD (1.44MB) 3.5" drive?
Q#36 I want a Y-adapter for my GS keyboard.
Q#37 How about hooking up cheap IDE Hard Drives?
Q#38 File Transfer:
Q#39 How can I transfer stuff to/from an IBM/Mac?
Q#40 File transfer: Apple //e --->Macintosh
Q#41 File transfer: Apple //e <-- Macintosh
Q#42 File transfer: Apple //e --->IBM
Q#43 File transfer: Apple //e <-- IBM
Q#44 File transfer: Apple IIGS --->Macintosh
Q#45 File transfer: Apple IIGS <-- Macintosh
Q#46 File transfer: Apple IIGS --->IBM
Q#47 File transfer: Apple IIGS <-- IBM
Q#48 How do I USE stuff I have transferred to/from an IBM/Mac?
Q#49 How do I get cool Mac Icons and fonts onto my GS?
Q#50 What programs are there for conversion of graphic images?
Q#51 I have an old CPM / PASCAL / DOS 3.3 disk. How do I get it into ProDos?
Q#52 How do you copy from a 5.25" disk to 3.5" disk?
Q#53 Strange problems:
Q#54 How do I get out of Basic (that little "]" prompt and flashing cursor?
Q#55 What are the problems with GSCII?
Q#56 AppleWorks won't print to my printer. What gives?
Q#57 My GS control panel keeps resetting to the defaults and/or forgetting th
e date.
Q#58 I'm getting Error XXX. What's it mean?
Q#59 Why does my Apple II lose characters when I'm using the modem?
Q#60 Where do I get support for AE boards now that they are closed?
Q#61 Is there a QWK reader for the Apple //e?
Q#62 System 6.0 mini-FAQ
Q#63 Common Problems
Q#64 Tips &Hints
Q#65 If you have a RamFast
Q#66 If you have a Vulcan or AE High Density disk
Q#67 If you have ProSel
Q#68 If you have an AMR 3.5"
Q#69 GSCII+ &HFS Note
Q#70 What to do with an Apple ][? 2/8/95
Q#71 What can you hook up to an Apple ][?
Q#72 What can you do with an Apple ][?
Q#73 What can the //e can "borrow" from other computers?
Q#74 What can the GS can "borrow" from other computers?
Q#75 Resources for the Apple II 8/31/96
Q#76 Apple II Groups
Q#77 Getting Parts &Software
Q#78 Fun hardware add-ons
Q#79 Periodicals &Books
Q#80 Misc Resources
Q#81 General guidelines on How To Troubleshoot
Q#82 General troubleshooting
Q#83 Trouble shooting and good maintenance
Q#84 GS Trouble shooting
Q#85 SCSI
Q#86 Tips on setting up a SCSI system:
There are a lot more questions with answers not included directly in
this FAQ; please see http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/index.html for
more of them.
_________________________________________________________________
Q#1 What's a FAQ? 8/30/96
Hi! Welcome to the comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup! As the major usenet
group for discussing all models of the Apple I, II and /// family, we
get lots of questions that are asked fairly often. This document is an
attempt to collect the most common answers and provide everyone with
answers. It would be ideal if everyone read this before asking a
question that's answered in here, but nobody's perfect. Referring them
to this FAQ is still a good idea even if they missed it.
I, Nathan Mates, took over the maintenance of this FAQ in mid July
1996. There are still probably some sections that have fallen out of
date and I haven't noticed or verified them yet. There are also some
sections I'd like to rewrite as soon as I get the time. Please feel
free to email me comments, criticisms, or reminders to post it. It
should be posted to comp.sys.apple2 monthly on or about the first of
the month.
I hope it becomes a valuable resource. If not, what's it missing??
Nathan Mates (nathan@visi.com)
_________________________________________________________________
Q#2 How do I get to comp.sys.apple2 and what is it? 8/30/96
comp.sys.apple2 (commonly abbreviated 'c.s.a2' or 'csa2') is a USENET
newsgroup. Usenet is a service for transferring messages, called
articles, in many different groups and hierarchies. USENET posts can
originate from your local newsreader and spread to hundreds of
thousands of machines throughout the the world. You normally need some
sort of internet connection on your machine or a connection to one to
access usenet. The best way to get help is ask for help from a friend
with a clue or from the support staff at wherever you get your
internet connection.
Usenet has its own set of FAQs and guidelines; please read the group
'news.announce.newusers' (no 's) for a good introduction. While the
following list is not intended as a substitute for reading that group,
this is a short list of guidelines culled from those lists:
1. Be relevant. Each newsgroup was formed to contain messages for a
set of topics, so please try to respect that. Especially, do not
post questions to a newsgroup for binaries (programs), and vice
versa.
2. Be respectful of content size. If you are quoting a large article,
please try and trim it down to only what is needed to respond to.
Adding only a few lines to a few hundred quoted lines is annoying.
3. Keep your lines to a manageable length. Although modern
newsreaders can use pretty fonts, most of usenet is still carried
and read over terminals with 80 columns on the screen. Making sure
your lines have a return every 70 or so characters lets your posts
be quoted neatly.
4. Be terse with a .signature. Certain newsreaders let you attach a
file automatically to the bottom of your posts. Anything over 4
lines and 80 columns per line is considered excessive.
5. Chain letters (especially those promising lots of money by sending
a small amount to a few people, and adding your name to a list)
are very much illegal and a quick way to get the IRS (or the local
equivalent) to audit you. Do NOT participate in them.
6. Although news is something internet wide, everyone's connection is
maintained by a local administrator. Ask them first if you are
experiencing problems.
Back to the subject at hand, the Apple II newsgroups. There are
several of them; here is a list of what they are and general
guidelines for what is relevant on them.
comp.sys.apple2 - General discussion and questions
relating to all Apple II's
comp.sys.apple2.comm - Communications and networking related
issues
comp.sys.apple2.gno - Discussion of program GNO/ME for the
Apple IIGS (UNIX for the Apple IIGS)
comp.sys.apple2.marketplace - Buying, selling and promoting Apple II
related products
comp.sys.apple2.programmer - Discussion relating to any aspect of
programming the Apple II
comp.sys.apple2.usergroups - Discussion relating to Apple II
usergroups
comp.binaries.apple2 - Public Domain/Shareware Software for all
Apple II's. Only programs should be posted
here
comp.sources.apple2 - A moderated newsgroup for the posting of
Apple // related source code
comp.emulators.apple2 - Discussion relating to the use of Apple II
emulation software/hardware on non-Apple II
compatible system
alt.emulators.ibmpc.apple2 - Mostly obsoleted version of
comp.emulators.apple2
If you only have e-mail access to the Internet, you will find the
following addresses helpful. Make sure you have a large mailbox and
the time to sift through lots of messages per day. Consider getting
better connected to the Internet; http://www.thelist.com has a list of
internet service providers worldwide. (For an alternate set of Bitnet
addresses reachable from VMS systems, please see the obsoleted section
of this FAQ at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.old.html)
For this: Send a message body of "help" to:
--------------------------- ---------------------------------
Subscribe to C.S.A2 (internet) LISTSERV@vm1.nodak.edu
APPLE2-L archives (internet) LISTSERV@brownvm.brown.edu
Games from APPLE2-L (internet) LISTSERV@utarlvm1.uta.edu
More files via E-Mail (i-net) archive-server@plains.nodak.edu
Kermit file transfer program KERMSRV@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu
Apple /// files (internet) APPLE3-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU
Once you are getting c.s.a2 in your mailbox, you may want to post.
Just use the addresses listed below. People with direct access to the
newsgroups do not need these, as they can use their news software to
post. (These services may have been discontinued; I haven't tried
verifying them as of 8/30/96)
Post to any newsgroup group.name@news.demon.co.uk
OR group.name@news.cs.indiana.edu
OR group-name@pws.bull.com
OR group-name@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Post to comp.sys.apple2 info-apple@apple.com
Comp.binaries.apple2 is a newsgroup used for ONLY non-commercial Apple
II software. Questions and answers should be asked in comp.sys.apple2.
Programs posted there may be Public Domain (may be used and copied
freely), Freeware (similar to Public Domain except that the original
owner retains the Copyright) or Shareware (the author expects you to
pay for using it if you use for longer than some specified period of
time).
Software distributed on comp.binaries.apple2 is expected to be a
BinSCII text file containing a ShrinkIt archive. Please post a text
description of your program and what it requires to run so people can
tell if they want to download it or not. You may cross-post the
description (only) to comp.sys.apple2. Remember, distribution of
commercial software is illegal.
Comp.sources.apple2 is a newsgroup used to distribute Apple II source
code. The posts in comp.sources.apple2 should be in Apple Archive
Format. Contact jac@openix.com for details; an archive of all postings
to it is at http://www.openix.com/~jac
Discussions concerning the software posted in these groups, or the
methods of locating, decoding, or accessing this software, or
questions on locating archive sites of this software, or any OTHER
discussions are to be held in comp.sys.apple2. If someone DOES either
intentionally or accidentally post to the binary/source groups, please
respond only in E-mail - do not compound the problem!
_________________________________________________________________
Q#3 How do I get files off the net? 8/26/96
Quick summary:
1: Make sure you know how to download files from ftp sites
2: Make sure you have a Binscii decoder
3: Make sure you have a Shrinkit unpacker
4: Unpack with the programs
And, in more detail, starting with a word of explanation:
[There used to be details about older Apple II packing programs in the
FAQ, but as they're pretty much never used anymore, the info on them
has been relegated to the 'obsolete' section of the comp.sys.apple2
FAQ at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.old.html]
Q#4 What are Binscii & Shrinkit, and why do I need them? 8/26/96
Shrinkit was written by Andy Nicholas to be able to take multiple
files or disks and compress them into one file. This allows a authors
to distribute programs, documentation, and anything else as one
complete file. It is analogous to (but NOT the same as) Stuff-It or
[PK]ZIP for Macs and IBMs. Shrinkit comes in many different forms, as
is noted in the section on downloading it.
Binscii is a method of turning Apple II files into pieces that can be
safely transmitted by the internet, such as usenet and email, and
restored to the Apple II file later. It is used for two major reasons:
1) Since it splits files up into manageable pieces, it lets huge files
be transmitted without fear of being cut short. 2) Since it translates
files to strictly printable characters, mediums that cannot safely
send binary files (i.e. files put through Shrinkit) such as email and
usenet can send binscii'd files.
Binscii is similar to the unix 'uuencode' protocol, but it is not
identical, and far superior. It allows Apple II filetype information
to be restored when the file is unpacked. Secondly, binscii is usually
not concerned about email or news headers (it ignores them when
unpacking), and also can unpack the various pieces of a binscii'd file
in any order, and the original file will be be intact as long as all
the pieces were unpacked. Finally, you do not have to rejoin all the
binscii pieces into one file before unpacking.
Why these two programs are so necessary in downloading is the
following: pretty much all Apple II programs are first compressed with
Shrinkit, and if they are to be sent via email or to
comp.binaries.apple2, the shrunk file is then binscii'd. To unpack,
you will need to first un-binscii the file, if appropriate, and then
un-Shrink it.
Ok, fine. What do Binscii and Shrinkit files look like?
If you are given a file, first look at the end of the filename. If it
ends in ".BSC" or ".BSQ" (no quotes, and upper/lower case doesn't
matter), you most likely have a binscii file. Shrinkit files tend to
end in ".SHK", but ".BXY" is also used.
If that isn't helpful, or you have a file without a name, then take a
look at the first few lines of content. After any optional news or
email header, a binscii file should look like this:
FiLeStArTfIlEsTaRt
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789()
GSOMEFILE.SHK AQhmAAAAA8)4MIAI02DA9ARMQEDtAQhmAIVZ
gYITA6u7xADA0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwYURzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
CFUOFR0QxAjR0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwAQRzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
The first two lines are constant throughout all binscii files; the
third contains the filename ('BINSCII' here) and then the encoded
file.
On the other hand, a .SHK file cannot have any news or email header,
and has only about 6 characters at the start (not all viewable on a
normal screen, especially non-Apple IIs) that identify it. Thus,
trying to look at the first few lines is pointless.
Finally, you can always try to unpack the file, as the binscii and
Shrinkit programs will notify you if the file is not in the format
they can unpack. As files are always binscii'd last, you should thus
try and unbinscii unknown first, then try to unshrink them.
Enough technical discussions, now on to the specifics of how to get
binscii and shrinkit running on your system.
_________________________________________________________________
Q#4 Where can I get Apple II software and info on the net? 8/31/95
[A quick note about URL notation: For those of you with full net
access, you can run a web browser (like Lynx if you are dialed in from
your Apple), which will understand URLs directly. Otherwise, ignore
the 'http:' ones and see the next section on how to use the FTP ones.)
Hint:
ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu /apple2
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^
Hostname Directory
OK, so here's a bunch of resources:
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html- Hypertext version of
this FAQ
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/index.html - Even more FAQs on all
sorts of questions and subjects
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/emulate-apple2-faq - Emulation FAQ
http://www.crl.com/~joko/ssii.html - ShareWare Solutions II Homepage
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/index.html - Nathan Mates's Apple II
Links. Lots of 'em.
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/bbs.html - Mike Shecket's BBS listing
ftp://names.wvu.edu/pub/apple3 - Apple III stuff
Major FTP sites and mirrors:
ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2 We (The Apple II users of the
internet) paid a good chunk of money for this drive, so it's the
biggest, and may have the best selection. During normal daytime hours,
it may be busy, but the WWW interface at
http://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2/ is almost always available
ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2 Maintained by Dan Zimmerman, this
large Apple II Archive also has a WWW interface at
http://apple2.caltech.edu/a2archive.html, which supports automatic
binary downloading for most files, which is very nice.)
ftp.apple.com, dts/aii Get Technical Info, System Software, etc. here.
ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu/archive/apple2 Another large Apple II
archive. Once again, the WWW interface at
http://www.umich.edu/~archive/apple2 can be less overloaded.
ftp://archive.orst.edu/pub/mirrors/archive.umich.edu (Umich mirror)
ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/apple2 Usually overloaded; try the
WWW interface at http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/apple2
ftp.support.apple.com, pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Apple_II/HyperCard_IIGS
Hypercard GS, but really only unpackable on Macs. The .bxy files are
not readable on Apple IIs unless you manyally strip off the 512 byte
header
http://www.openix.com/~jac Archive of all postings to
comp.sources.apple2.
Other FTP Sites:
ftp://ftp.ms.uky.edu/pub/appleII Mostly very old Apple II software
ftp://ftp.cc.utexas.edu/gifstuff/apple GIF viewing software for Apple
IIs only. (And outdated. Major sites listed above have better
selections)
ftp://info2.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive Looks
like a umich mirror again
ftp://syr.edu/software/kermit/appleII Kermit sources for the Apple II.
ftp://watsun.cc.columbia.edu/kermit/a Kermit stuff in forms that look
unusable to Apple II users.
Archives of C.S.A2 Newsgroups:
http://www.dejanews.com is an excellent searchable archive of pretty
much all major usenet groups, including all of the Apple II
newsgroups. It's only good back to about March 1995 as of 8/31/96, but
they may be trying to extend that back.
Other, more limited archives:
===============================
wuarchive.wustl.edu /usenet/comp.sources.apple2 (complete!)
/usenet/comp.binaries.apple2
?ftp.tohoku.ac.jp /pub/news/comp.binaries.apple2
hp4nl.nluug.nl /pub/newsarchive/comp/sources/apple2 (incomplete)
mcsun.eu.net /pub/newsarchive/comp/sources/apple2 (incomplete)
nic.funet.fi /pub/archive/comp.sources.apple2 (complete?)
relay.cs.toronto.edu /pub/lists.1989 (1989 only)
If you have a Shell account, you can use 'archie' to find ftp sites
with a particular file.
_________________________________________________________________
Q#6 How do you download files off the net?
This is important because once you're on the internet, most of the
files are available only on 'ftp' and www sites. ('ftp' stands for
File Transfer Protocol, but all you need to know is where to get Apple
II files from. See above for a list.
1. (For ProLine users) Get files to your host
1. Dial up your host and log in.
2. I'm not familiar with ProLine, so I'll be vague here. Just go
into the files section and look... Anyone wanna clue me in?
2. (for those with a Shell account) Get files to your host
1. Choose an FTP site from the FAQ
2. At your UNIX prompt, type "ftp _____" (fill in hostname)
3. At the "Login:" prompt, type "anonymous" (or "ftp" if you are
a bad speller like me ;)
4. Type in your e-mail address when prompted for a password.
5. Type "bin" unless you are only getting text files
6. Type "cd ______" (directory) to move to the right directory.
7. type "ls" to see a list of files.
8. Locate each file (more "cd ___"'s and "ls"). Also, "cd .."
will move up a directory in the tree.)
9. use "get ______" (filename) to get it
10. When you are done using FTP, type "quit"
3. From a WWW browser, most browsers are not set up to download .SHK
files in binary, which will make them impossible to unpack. There
are some solutions to this. Dan Zimmerman has made the Apple II
archive at Caltech automatically send files in binary mode; go to
http://apple2.caltech.edu/a2archive.html
If you are using Lynx, when the cursor is on the file to download,
you can hit 'd' to download the file, which for most people forces
a binary download. [Lynx has too many versions with the same
version 'number' and possible configurations to be able to list
which ones will work.]
Using most WWW browsers under unix (Netscape, Mosaic, lynx, maybe
some others) you can try editing the file '.mime.types' (no 's) in
your home directory on most unix systems. (Contact your local
sysadmin or guru for help on unix editors). Add the following
lines to the file:
application/x-Shrinkit shk SHK sdk SDK
application/x-BinaryII bny BNY bqy BQY bxy BXY
This will work for most files downloaded with lynx, netscape, and
mosaic. Non-unix browsers can do similar things, but you'll need
to read the documentation on them.
4. From email or comp.binaries.apple2, the files are pretty much
always in BINSCII format, so you do not need to worry about binary
downloading. Simply save the email or news articles to disk (most
things do have multiple parts, so be sure to get all of them), and
download that to your Apple II. You can keep the posts as separate
files, no need to paste them all together when saving or
downloading. For a multiple part binscii file, the order in which
you unpack them does not matter as long as you unpack every part.
5. Get files to your Apple II
1. Find out what file transfer protocols your Apple
communications package supports. (see below for a list)
2. On your local comm program, set your file transfer type to
Text (TXT) or Binary (BIN) depending on what type of file you
are downloading. If there is an option to "strip incoming
linefeeds", try turning it on.
3. Get your host to send you the file. I don't know about
ProLine, but UNIX users can use these commands: For Z-Modem:
"sz ___ ____ ____" (file names) For X-Modem: "sx ____" (one
at a time) For Kermit: "kermit", then "put _____" (filename)
4. If needed, tell your local communications program to Receive.
You must do this quickly, or the other host will give up
trying to send the file.
5. Write down the full pathname of the files you downloaded and
where you put them. There will be a quiz later. Pathnames
look like "/DISK/DIR/FILE.NAME"
Note: If something goes wrong, hit ESC, Ctrl-X or Ctrl-C 3
times. If you can't get one protocol to work, try the next
one down. Z-modem is much faster than the others. You will
want to find a program that supports it.
For those who haven't picked a program to download with, here are the
biggies. All of the non-commercial programs are available from FTP
sites. If you don't have a comm program already, your best bet is to
have someone mail you one on a disk or buy ProTerm. (See resources).
Program Comp Emulations Protocols Note
---------|----|---------------------------------------------------------------
ProTerm E$ PSE, VT-100 Kermit, X,Y,Z-modem From InSync
PTP E$, VT-100 X-Modem, (Y-mdm D/L) From Quality Computers
Kermit-65 E VT-100 Kermit, X-modem Hard to use,Works on ][+
Z-Link E VT-100 X-modem Good.
CommSys E none X-modem Works on ][+
TIC E$ VT-100 (+) X-modem Small, Scripting.
Agate E mono ANSI X,(Y,Z D/L only) Unpacks ZIP, Buggy
ColorTerm GS color ANSI X-modem Desktop based
MegaTerm GS color ANSI none ProDOS 8
ANSITerm GS$ color ANSI, PSE X,Y,Z-modem Editor, scrollback, etc.
SnowTerm GS VT-100 (+) none Desktop based
FreeTerm GS none X-modem Desktop based
GenComm GS none none Text, Shell Compat.
GSVT GS VT-100 none Desktop
GTerm GS color ANSI none Written in BASIC/ML
Telcom GS VT-100, PSE X, (Y D/L only) Shell compat
----------Key:---------
| Key: $ = A commercial program + = And other obscure ones
| Computer: E = works on GS and //e, GS = only works on GS
| D/L = Download from other computer
---
PTP = Point-To-Point. I don't think it's being sold anymore. Anyone
know? See the resources section for where to buy the commercial
programs.
Q#7 How do I download and unpack binscii?
[If you'd rather skip this and most of the next step, Steve Cavanaugh
(who took over this service from Chuck Orem) has a disk containing
this and Shrinkit 3.4. See the Resources section below.]
1. Binscii has many programs that can unpack it, but if you have none
of them, you will need to first get 'BINSCII.TXT', the only
binscii program that can be transferred without any of the others
or Shrinkit. After you have this binscii program and Shrinkit, you
can unpack other binscii decoders.
2. Make sure you have a method of getting files to a ProDOS disk on
your Apple. That may include downloading with a communications
program, or copying to a disk from another computer. Please note
that Apple II and IBM PC 5.25" and 3.5" disk formats are different
at a hardware level, so without (rare) addon hardware on one or
both sides, you cannot use an IBM PC to download stuff to an Apple
II disk.
Macs running system 7 can write to ProDOS 3.5" 800K disks, but
please note that the Macintosh system software has the bad habit
of adding a "resource fork" to files. This makes them UNREADABLE
from most Apple IIs, unless you run a special program on them from
the Macintosh side. Please see the section (#39) on file transfer
from Macintosh to Apple II for where to get that program.
If you do not have ProDOS, please contact your local Apple II User
Group for a copy-- they can copy it free of charge. If you do not
have a modem program, but do have a modem or null modem to another
computer, Steve Cavanaugh's disk that was mentioned above has some
simple comm programs. Alternatively, the commercial program
ProTERM 3.1 by Intrec is by far the best general Apple II
communications program, so if you have at least a 128K Enhanced
Apple //e, a //c, IIc+, or Apple IIGS, it is worth it to invest in
this program. See the sections on dealers below for Intrec's
address and phone number.
The rest of this tutorial assumes that you have read the above
sections and have a basic clue as to how to navigate the internet
and download files.
3. Download the file 'BINSCII.TXT', written by Todd Whitesel to your
Apple II. A copy is linked in at Nathan Mates's Apple II Resources
WWW pages, http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/binscii.txt Or, check
the major Apple II ftp sites (see above), as well as
ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu, pub/nathan/binscii.txt
This is a _text_ file. (Previous versions of it were named
'binscii.exe', which most people confused as being a MS-DOS
executable, which the program most definitely is not.) It must be
downloaded in text mode to your computer, or it will require some
work to get it working. Check the ftp and [z]modem transfer
options to make sure binary mode is off before downloading it to
your Apple II.
If you used a Macintosh to write the file to a ProDOS disk, be
warned that it'll sometimes add a 'resource fork' to the file,
rendering it unusable under ProDOS and Basic with a "FILE TYPE
MISMATCH" error on trying to access it. To avoid that, see the
section (#39) on file transfer from Macintosh to Apple II for a
Mac program to clean up after that problem.
4. See if you can unpack it. You will need to get to Applesoft Basic
under ProDOS to do this. [ProDOS identifies itself as such when
booting, and Basic is the ']' prompt available by running
'BASIC.SYSTEM' if you booted to the Finder]. From the prompt,
change to the disk/directory with the BINSCII.TXT file in it. [A
quick list of Dos 3.3 and ProDOS commands is not part of this FAQ,
but is available at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/doscmds.html] Next, verify that
the file was transferred as a text file. From the prompt, type the
following:
PR#3
CATALOG
If the "PR#3" command causes your computer to crash, hang, or display
garbage, you do not have an 80-column card in the normal place.
[This is rare, and only happens on ][+s, or stock //es.] Reboot
your computer and try again without the PR#3 command. The catalog
should have a line like the following (though the date and time
will vary)
BINSCII.TXT TXT 12 20-AUG-96 20-AUG-96 3:14 5645
[If not in 80-column mode, that'll be wrapped to 2 lines.] Anyhow, the
number we wanted was the very last number, which should be 5645.
If tha number is 5737, you downloaded in binary mode off an IBM
PC. That's fixable. If the number is 512, you disregarded the
warnings above about how the Macintosh will make an Apple II file
unreadable; see the section (#39) on file transfer from Macintosh
to Apple II for a Mac program to clean up after that problem.
Also, note the file type in the second column, which is 'TXT'
here. If it is already TXT, you can skip forward to step 5. Fixing
the filetype. First, note what it currently is. If it's not 'TXT',
common alternatives are 'BIN' or '$00', but almost anything is
possible. The second and fourth line of the following commands,
assume it's '$00', with file length 5645. Modify those two values
to match what you saw in the catalog listing above:
RENAME BINSCII.TXT,BINSCII.ORIG
BLOAD BINSCII.ORIG,A$2000,T$00,L5645
CREATE BINSCII.TXT,TTXT
BSAVE BINSCII.TXT,A$2000,TTXT,L5645
This first renames the old file, loads it up, creates a file of the
right length and then writes the new file.
5. Now that the file type is correct, trying to install binscii. Type
the following:
EXEC BINSCII.TXT
If you get a lot of ?SYNTAX ERRORs and beeps, then you most likely did
not download it in ascii mode. You should try again, making sure
of ascii mode, or try typing in this program. If the file size you
got from the CATALOG above is not 5645, change the 5645 in line 10
to whatever it is.
10 D$=CHR$(4): L=5645
20 PRINT D$"BLOAD BINSCII.TXT,A$2000,TTXT,L"L
30 FOR I=8192 TO 8192+L: IF PEEK(I)=10 THEN POKE I,13
40 NEXT: ONERR GOTO 60
50 PRINT D$"DELETE BINSCII2.TXT"
60 PRINT D$"CREATE BINSCII2.TXT,TTXT"
70 PRINT D$"BSAVE BINSCII2.TXT,A$2000,TTXT,L"L
Use the basic command 'RUN' (no 's) to run this program. After it is
done, you should have a better chance at being able to "EXEC
BINSCII2.TXT" and run it.
6. After all of this is done, you should have the 'BINSCII.SYSTEM'
program on the disk/directory you EXECd binscii from. To run it,
type
-BINSCII
That should start it. For now, with no files to decompress, just exit
it. Congratulations, you can now unpack BINSCII files.
7. There are fancier BINSCII decoders, but this one is the only that
can be easily transferred. If you have a GS, you might want to
consider downloading the gsciiplus program from some of the
following ftp sites:
apple2.archive.umich.edu, apple2/gs/archivers/gscii.bsc
apple2.caltech.edu pub/apple2/addons/nda/gscii231.shk
However, to unpack this, you will need a Shrinkit program
(detailed in the next section) to unpack them before you can use
them. Once unpacked, you will need to copy the 'gsciiplus' NDA to
the DESK.ACCS folder inside the SYSTEM folder on your boot GS/OS
disk.
Q#8 How do I download and unpack a Shrinkit unpacker?
Ok, getting and downloading binscii is the hard part, promise. Because
binscii takes care of the worry of filetypes, end of lines and the
like, you don't really need to worry about those problems again.
Which Shrinkit program you should download depends on which model of
Apple II you have. These programs are listed in increasing order of
features and better user interfaces, so Unshrink ][+ will run on
preetty much anything that you got binscii running on, while
GS-Shrinkit 1.1 will only run Apple IIGSs. Apple IIGS programs can
have file formats known as 'forked files' which ProDOS 8 and regular
Shrinkit cannot unpack, so if you wish to download and unpack most GS
programs, GS-Shrinkit is required. (The exceptions are demos and the
like distributed as a shrunk copy of a disk)
At least an Apple ][+ with 64K running ProDOS:
Your only option is Unshrink ][+ and Autounshrink, available
via ftp from
apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/unshk2plus.bsc
apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/autounshk.bsq
At least an Enhanced Apple //e with 128K, or //c, IIc+, IIGS:
Although you can run Unshrink ][+, Shrinkit 3.4 is far better.
Get
apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/shrinkit34.bsc
At least an Apple IIGS with at least 1.5MB Ram, running GS/OS System
5.0.4 or later, hard drive recommended:
GS-Shrinkit is the best choice, though if you spend most of
your time in ProDOS 8, you may also want to get Shrinkit 3.4 as
well as detailed above. You can get GS-Shrinkit from
apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/gshk11.bsc
Download the appropriate file(s) to your computer, and unpack them
with the binscii decoder.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The gscii plus NDA (and related unpackers, like the
sscii command) can NOT correctly unpack the GS-Shrinkit 1.1 file. You
_MUST_ use the binscii program that was mentioned and downloaded in
stage 1, or wait for GS-Shrinkit 1.1A.
Run them Shrinkit program you just unpacked. GS-Shrinkit can be run by
double-clicking on its icon in the Finder or the eqivalent for other
launchers. For the other programs, from the Basic ']' command in the
disk/directory where you unpacked the program type 'CAT' to get a list
of files. Find the filename of the program, and then '-FILENAME' to
run it. (Replace 'FILENAME' with the name you saw in the list)
Q#9 How do I unpack a generic .SHK or .BSQ file?
Now that you have all the files you want on your Apple II, you will
first need to run the binscii program on any BINSCII'd files you
downloaded, and then the Shrinkit program on the results of the
un-binsciiing and/or any .SHK/.BXY files you downloaded. Once you're
done with that, it's up to you to play around with the files you
unpacked.
After unpacking the .BSQ files, you'll notice that .SHK files are
usually produced. You do not need to keep the .BSQ files around to
unpack the .SHK files; you may delete the .BSQ file(s) at your
convenience. Similarly, once the .SHK file is unpacked, you can delete
it if you do not expect to need to unpack it again anytime soon.
Q#10 Apple Archive Format (aaf)
Apple Archive Format was invented as a standard way to post source
code to comp.sources.apple2. The C and Basic source code to aaf
unpackers are available on the various FTP sites, in aaf format.
Fortunately, files in aaf format can be turned back into source code
with a simple text editor. Just break the file up into component files
and remove the first character of each line.
ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/unix
_________________________________________________________________
Email suggestions to nathan@visi.com. As always, let me know of any
mistakes, updates, corrections, additions, etc.
There are a lot more questions with answers not included directly in
this FAQ; please see http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq for more of
them.
CopyLeft 1996 by Nathan Mates (Nathan Mates)
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/ <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? -R.A. Heinlein