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Packing and crunching DOS 3.3



OK, this is a weird idea I came up with and don't know how to implement. :P

This is an Exomized image of my DOS 3.3 variant:
  http://xtra.usotsuki.info/pakastos.zip

Inside the .ZIP there is a file with a short (12 bytes, I think) BASIC stub that loads at $0801. (No doubt it'll need relocated, or a wrapper that loads it from a different address, since boot sectors load at $0800-$08FF - I know this much.)

I don't know much about the disk ][ firmware or hardware, but I figured...

The file size is 6788 bytes - 0x1A84. so it takes $1B (27) sectors. As long as the bootstrap takes less than 5, that's a win - the disk will still take less space than a disk normally formatted with this system. (Yes - a normally formatted disk with this variant has only 2 system tracks, not 3 as in standard DOS 3.3. The hack comes from AAL.)

So, I'm thinking I want to do a reasonably snappy load of this image into memory, then jump over the stub to decompress DOS.

Also - I'm thinking of adding options that can load additional tracks to show an image on the screen, or to forceload BASIC, etc., and a tool to ease with the formatting of such disks?

-uso.