Re: Boot Dos3.3 progs/games from .dsk image on HD? (REAL IIgs)?

[a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

 obsbedia2@aol.com (Obsbedia2) wrote:

>> My question:  Is there *ANY* way to use disk image files without having to
>>write them to a disk first? 
>
>Yes, I think so.  Nathan Mates put out a shareware program that created a
>disk-sized portion of RAM for copying disk images into, thus eliminating the
>need for a physical disk.

    That would be SwatterDisk. It's purpose was as an alternative to
using the GS's built-in RAM Disk function (or a "Slinky" RAM Disk 
for that matter). The limitation of the IIgs's RAM Disk was it required

a warm-boot to create or resize (or on the ROM 01, powering down
or running the self-test) and could only be sized in 32K increments.
Also it is always stealing from main memory.

    SwatterDisk was cool because it let you create RAM Disks on-
the-fly from the NDA menu. And just as easily remove them by
"ejecting" them, freeing up memory again. Plus two other features 
was the ability to create multiple RAM Disks at once, and volumes 
of ANY SIZE--including 800K and 140K which is useful for decom-
pressing disk images to. The only drawbacks were they'd disappear 
when rebooting and not accessible from ProDOS-8. Otherwise it's a 
must have utility no IIgs should be without!

Mitchell Spector
a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca