Re: Lost /RAM5 ram disk

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

Adalbert Goertz <goertz@cyberspace.org> wrote:

> David Empson wrote:
> >The /RAM5 disk will only be available to ProDOS-8 applications if you
> >have slot 5 set to SmartPort, not to "Your Card".
> 
> Not so, I got /RAM5 back. It is a mystery why it came back.
> I always put slot 5 and 6 on YOUR CARD.

I find this hard to believe.

The only way for ProDOS-8 to access any volume is to have a driver from
somewhere.  Its only built-in drivers are for the 64K auxiliary memory
RAM disk (/RAM) and for 5.25" drives.

Everything else must be supplied by a patch, or by firmware in a slot,
either built in to the machine (IIc and IIgs slot 5 firmware, also the
memory expansion card firmware in late IIc models) or in a card in the
physical slot.

The ProDOS-8 driver for /RAM5 is provided by the IIgs SmartPort
firmware, which resides in the internal slot 5 address space.  If you
have slot 5 set to "Your Card" then this driver is not accessible.

What card do you have installed in slot 5?

If it is a memory card (e.g. an Apple II Memory Expansion Card, or an AE
RamFactor) then it will appear as a ProDOS volume, and will probably be
called /RAM5.  (These cards use the slot number as part of the volume
name - it would be /RAM7 if it was in slot 7.)

(The PC Transporter works on the same principle, but its RAM disk is
called /RAMAEPC.)

> The strange thing was that GSOS6 would recognize /RAM5, but not
> ProDOS 8 (temporarily).

GS/OS (System 6.0.1 at least, but nothing earlier than 6.0) includes a
native driver for /RAM5.

If you have slot 5 set to "SmartPort", then you can access /RAM5 in any
version of ProDOS-8, ProDOS-16 or GS/OS.

If you have slot 5 set to "Your Card", then you must boot into GS/OS and
have the RAM5 driver installed on your startup disk in order to access
/RAM5.  Even then, it won't be available in ProDOS-8, because the GS/OS
driver only supports GS/OS.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz