Re: Apple 2e startup/help

[moxie@panix.com (Mark Mentovai)]

Max Watson (maxw@blkbox.com) wrote:
: Hi there. I just purchased an (don't snicker now) Apple IIe, unexpanded 
: even, from a local high school auction for $10. I got the console, the 
: monitor, 2 disk drives (disk ][ kind) and a printer. The problems started
: immediately:
: 1.) I realized I knew nothing about apple computers.
: 2.) One of the disk drives doesn't work.
: 3.) I own no apple software, not even a DOS disk.
:  
: So now I have this bit of computer history sitting there on my desk,
: doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Can someone out there give me a hand?
: I would like to know where to at least get a DOS disk so I can boot this 
: thing
: up into BASIC. (Oh, yeah, I bought some old computer games for the apple, 
: and they're running fine, so I know the machine works.) 
: Any tips or comments?
: Thanks,

: maxw@blkbox.com=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
: -=-=-==-=-=-=-=--=The devils of truth steal the souls of the free.-=-=-

Well, what you need to do is stop off at your Apple II dealer and get an 
Apple II system disk, about $5.  Don't worry about DOS, that's an old 
operating system and isn't used for most of today's Apple II things.  
Instead, use ProDOS, a newer operating system.  If the version of ProDOS 
you get is higher than 2.0, you will also need to check to see if your 
computer is enhanced.  Do this by turning on the //e and if the opening 
screen says Apple ][, you're unenhanced.  If it says Apple //e, you're 
enhanced.  If you have an unenhanced //e and ProDOS 2.0 or higher, you'll 
need to get the computer enhanced - it takes $100 and a trip to the 
dealer ($60 for the kit, about $40 for the dealer stuff.)  The kit is 
actually a new microprocessor and a ROM upgrade.  From the ProDOS system 
disk, select the option to Exit to BASIC, wait for BASIC.SYSTEM to load, 
and then start programming from the ] prompt.  The current system disk 
version is something like 4.0.1, containing ProDOS 2.0.3, Basic.SYSTEM 
1.5, System Utilities 3.1, and FastCopy 1.1.  If you must use DOS 3.3, 
just start up the DOS 3.3 System Master Disk and you'll be greeted by the 
] prompt, just start entering commands.
If you don't want to get this disk, there's a stupid method of doing the 
above, except you can only load and save the programs on a cassette, 
which you probably don't have, and certainly don't want.  If you use this 
method, start up the computer and press CONTROL+RESET once the computer 
is on.  It's a weird way to do it, but it works, except you can't access 
your disk drives.
As for your problems with your Disk ][: I also have two Disk ][ drives 
and they stop working every now and then.  Try running the bad one for a 
few minutes with no disk, this sometimes helps mine.  If not, you could 
try cleaning the heads with one of the head-cleaning disks.

I hope I helped you out, if you don't mind taking advice from a 13-year-old.

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