Re: PLEASE HELP: Prosel 16 and Prodos 16

[mfumu@alphalink.com.au (Bill Robbins)]

In article <3VJ14.1210$qT6.57658@laxnws02.socal.rr.com>, "Joel Ostroski"
<junkmail@youlazybum.com> wrote:

>I posted this message earlier but it has not appeared on the news server.  I
>am sorry if I am posting over again.
>
>I have the prodos 16 system disk, it loads right to a graphical launcher.
>I have prosel 16 as well.
>
>I was Prosel 16 to load automatically when I boot my IIgs, I am installing
>onto a Focus Hard Drive.
>
>When I install Prosel 16 I get a window asking me if I want to reboot, run
>the START program and enter a path of a program.
>
>I remember way way back that you could boot Prodos 16 and have it go right
>into Prosel 16.
>
>Can you guys please tell me how to get this to work in detail?  I have
>copied files all over the place from other recommendations from chatting but
>they have not worked.  You guys seem to be on the ball! :-)
>
>I do not want to run GS/OS (people have been trying to tell me to run it but
>I dont like it - and I dont care if I cannot use all of my hard drive since
>it is a 750M hard disk)
>
>Thank you for your help.

As has been pointed out here already, ProSel 16 is a GS/OS program, if I
remember correctly it was not released until after the first version of
GS/OS appeared.  I remember quite clearly Glen Breddon complaining on
GEnie about how slow it was for file copying, slower than ProSel 8 but
that the fault was the operating system, not his programming.  I didn't
like that first version of GS/OS either, for the same reason.  Make sure
you have tried GS/OS 6.0.1 which is a very muchly improved beast.  If it's
the Finder you don't like, you can easily arrange to boot directly into
ProSel 16 either by renaming the ProSel 16 file in the System folder
(sorry, I've forgotten what it's called) to "Start" (which is what I've
done) or by using the SetStart NDA.

ProSel 16 was actually a 16 bit shell over the top of ProDOS 8.  In other
words it was not actually a descrete operating system but rather a
translator of 16 bit commands into those which ProDOS 8 could understand. 
If I remember correctly the "Finder" which came with ProDOS 16 was a stand
alone, third party ****ProDOS 8*** product.  It used a monochrome GUI
interface, and (again if memory does not fail) WOULD RUN ON AN APPLE II
(non-GS).  I remember because I figured out how to but the correct bits of
the program on each of two sides of a 5.25 inch disk so that I could run
it from a single one of those drives.  I remember it as being a very
capable program in its own right, arguably better than the first version
of the IIgs Finder.  While I don't remember ever trying it, I don't know
any reason it shouldn't run on a GS/OS booted IIgs, the switching to
ProDOS 8 is of course transparent.

You would gain wide door to the world of IIgs programs by coming to terms
with GS/OS 6.0.1.
-- 
Bill Robbins, mfumu@alphalink.com.au