Apple II FAQs CD-ROM

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the Ground Apple II archive, 1997-1999. Administrator: Steve Nelson

Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground ref: Csa2CDROM.txt  rev015 5/29/1999






CD-ROM


 001- What do I need to get/do to use Music and Data CD's on my GS?
 002- What do I need discQuest for?
 003- How can I back up my files on write-able CD-ROM?
 004- Is a special driver needed for a Toshiba External 2X CD-ROM?
 005- How can I get sound from my Apple HSS card + CD300 CD-ROM?
 006- Where can I buy CD-ROM discs for the Apple II?
 007- Where can I find more info on CD-ROM drives, products, etc.?










From: Rubywand

Thanks to Jawaid Bazyar (Sequential Systems) and Tony Diaz (Alltech) for
information used in this mini-manual.

001- What do I need to use regular CD Music Discs and access
     data discs (like the Golden Orchard CD) on my Apple IIgs?

     What you need is ...

1- RAMFast, Apple, or other SCSI interface card.  The Slot in which the
card is located must be set to "Your Card" (e.g. via the Control Panel).

Note 1: Today, SCSI devices normally expect that a "termination voltage"
will be supplied by the SCSI interface card. RamFAST does this; but, most
other cards do not. If you have such a card and have a hard disk connected
and working, then, there should be no problem-- either the hard disk is
supplying the voltage or the card has been modified. Otherwise, be sure to
obtain information on the needed modification. (For the Apple Hi-Speed SCSI
card termination power mod, see the Hard Disk and SCSI FAQs in file
F00xHDNSCSI.TXT.)

Note 2: A version 1.01 ZipGS card needs to be upgraded to work with
RamFAST.


2- External CD-ROM disc drive (like Pioneer DRM-600, NEC MultiSpin, etc.)
which yuor SCSI card supports. For example, according to imformation
supplied by Sequential Systems, the Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card is known to
work with the Apple CD-150, Apple CD-SC+, and Pioneer DRM-600. The RamFAST
is known to work with many drives, including the Pioneer DRM-600, any NEC
or Texel, and any "SCSI Standard" drive.

Note 1: Check to be sure that the SCSI device number of your CD-ROM drive
does not conflict with the number for your hard disk, Zip Drive, etc.. Each
device on the SCSI chain should have a different number, usually in the
range 1-6. #6 is usually reserved for the device you wish to boot, such as
a hard disk. (A drive's SCSI number is usually set via a switch on the
back.)  SCSI number does not need to relate to position on the chain.

Note 2: The last device on the SCSI chain (i.e. the drive which is
physically at the end of the chain) should have its Termination set to ON
and Termination for other SCSI devices shoud be set to OFF. If your CD-ROM
Drive is the only SCSI device, Termination should be ON. (Actually, a SCSI
interface card may be able to handle two devices with Termination set to
ON. However, you are likely to have problems if the last device on the
chain has Termination set OFF.)


3- A SCSI cable. Common SCSI plug/socket sizes are 50-pin and 25-pin. Get a
cable which matches your CD-ROM drive and the device you plan to plug into
(i.e. a SCSI hard disk, Zip Drive, ..., or your SCSI interface card).

4- To hear music played from a CD, Stereo headphones, speakers, or hi-fi
cables need to be plugged into the CD ROM drive. Most drives have a
mini-Stereo socket in the front. To fit the socket, the plug for your
headphones, etc. must be a Stereo plug.

5- A Driver file which matches your interface card. For RamFAST, it is
Ramfast.Driver. For Apple SCSI cards it is SCSI.Manager and SCSICD.Driver.
The Driver file(s) should be in the SYSTEM/DRIVERS/ folder (i.e. the
DRIVERS folder in the SYSTEM folder).  To avoid conflicts, RamFAST users
should remove SCSI.Manager, SCSICD.Driver, and other Apple "SCSI ..."
drivers from the SYSTEM/DRIVERS/ folder.

6- In order to play standard Music CD's via your computer, you should have
the following:

     o A Media Driver which matches your CD-ROM drive. For example, RF.NEC
is a driver supplied with RamFAST which works with NEC drives. The Media
Driver should be in the SYSTEM/DRIVERS/MEDIA.CONTROL/ folder.

     o A standard System 6 control panel file (i.e. a "CDEV") named
"MediaControl". MediaControl should be in the SYSTEM/CDEVS/ folder

     o A standard System 6 media control New Desk Accessory file (i.e. an
"NDA") named "MediaControl.DA". MediaControl.DA should be in the
SYSTEM/DESK.ACCS/ folder.

7- In order to access files on data CD-ROM discs (like DigiSoft
Innovation's Golden Orchard CD), the standard System 6 High Sierra file
system translator file (HS.FST) should be in the SYSTEM/FSTS folder. This
lets you read ISO 9660 format data CD-ROM discs. You should already have
the ProDOS FST (PRO.FST) in the same folder. This lets you read ProDOS
partitions which may be included along with ISO 9660 partitions on a data
CD-ROM disc.


     Once the above items are checked, Shut Down your IIgs. Turn it OFF.
Turn OFF the CD ROM drive. Wait 10-20 seconds. Turn ON the CD ROM Drive.
Wait a few seconds and turn ON your IIgs. Boot System 6.01.

     Your SCSI card manual and/or information supplied by the CD-ROM drive
seller is the best guide for doing any necessary setup chores.  If a SCSI
hard disk or Zip Drive is already connected and working, it's likely that
no special setup will be necessary.

Note: If the CD-ROM drive is the only SCSI device on the chain and you are
using a RamFAST along with a ZipGS accelerator, be sure to run
RAMFAST.SYSTEM after booting in order to change at least one setting. You
want to click [O]ptions and set "TransWarpGS" to "NO".


Playing a Music CD

     Click on Control Panels in the Apple Menu. Select the Media Ctrl
control panel. I have "1" for Media Channel, "RF.NEC" (the name of the
driver) for Media Device, and "GAME PORT" for Port. After entering your
settings, close the panel. This will save your setup in a file named
"Media.Setup" in the same Media.Control folder which contains your media
control driver.

     From the Apple Menu click on Media Controller to show the CD ROM
player. Click Channel 1, the name of your CD ROM driver sould show in the
player display. Insert a CD. Click Play and adjust the volume on the drive.



Loading Data, Games, etc. from a Data CD

     Startup is the same as described above. It seems to be a good idea to
have a data CD in the drive before turning ON the computer. Some drive +
card combinations may not go on-line if no CD is present by the time you
turn ON the computer. You can experiment to see what works for your
particular system.

-----------------------------

Even more? discQuest

002- I've heard of a package called 'discQuest' which is
     supposed to open the way to accessing all sorts of
     commercial CD's. But, if I can play CD music and load
     files from data CD's, what do I need discQuest for?

     Below is a condensed discQuest review. It should help clarify things.



DiscQUEST v1.2.2
$99.95 list, for 2MB IIgs
  from Sequential Systems (800-759-4549)
CD ROM drive, interface, and System 6 or later required;
  hard disk and System 6.01 recommended


     There is a burgeoning library of CD-ROM releases. History of the World
from Library Reference is a case in point. discPassage is a PC/Mac
interface program which lets a user access text, pictures, and sound tracks
on CD's which employ a discPassage database.

     Typically, dP products carry the digital data disc symbol and are
labelled "for Mac or multi-media PC" with Mac and PC versions of
discPassage included on-disc.


    "Whoa! My IIgs has a CD-ROM reader, SCSI interface, and all the
standard System 6.01 drivers. It still can't do much with those disc CD's."

     Right. The basic IIgs setup CAN access data and programs on for-Apple
II CD's. If you've added the appropriate Media NDA and Control Panel, your
CD-ROM IIgs can also mimic a CD music disc player complete with all of the
usual controls. Audio is output directly from the CD-ROM drive to
headphones, a hi-fi amp, or a pair of amplified speakers.


    "Fine; but, how do I ask the Family Doctor a question, peruse an
encyclopedia, and use other neat CD-ROM data disc products?"

     Actually, with HS.FST in your SYSTEM/FSTs folder, you can click the
CD-ROM icon, display folders, and even load TEXT files from discPassage
CD's. Your IIgs is 'compatible enough' with ISO 9660 even if some of the PC
filetypes are unfamiliar. Still, this kind of access is hardly
satisfactory. What you lack is the software key to unlock the discPassage
database. Your IIgs cannot run PC or Mac versions of discPassage; but, it
CAN run a for-GS database unlocker named "discQuest"!

      How do the systems match-up? Well, I tried out several CD's under
discPassage on a 33MHz '486 PC and discQuest on a IIgs with 10Mhz/64K
ZipGSx. On the PC you get to see an intro pic (which discQuest skips); and,
in one case, a sound file which played fine with discPassage did not work
under discQuest. (Sequential Systems has been notified; and the designer
says an update is in the works.)

     As might be expected, pictures come in faster under discPassage
because discQuest must often spend extra seconds processing each PC-format
image. The larger the graphic and greater the number of colors, the bigger
PC's advantage. Based upon samplings of several CD's, discQuest often needs
about 15 seconds to load and display a pic that discPassage can handle in 3
seconds. Fortunately, you can reduce this delay by selecting Preferences
and setting Color to "Gray-scale".

     Both setups handled sound files well, consistently starting playback
in under 4 seconds. The big surprise of the face-off came when comparing
time required to open folders and display item choices-- for example, to
open "Ancient Civilizations" and list article titles. DiscPassage routinely
took 10-20 seconds; whereas discQuest seldom took even 2 seconds!

     Just click the discQuest icon and, in a few seconds, the name and main
folders of the current discPassage-compatible CD appear in a scrollable
Browse window. From here you can open folders, do searches (by word,
author, subject, or title) and read articles in scrollable windows. Of
course, you can also listen to sound tracks, view pictures, and obtain
printouts of text and pictures.

     A major benefit of having reams of text 'on the computer' is that you
can clip and save selections for use in articles, term papers, and other
projects. discQuest scores a "pretty good" here, since you are free to add
and delete text and can use Cut & Paste within whatever article you are
viewing. The result may then be saved to disk. At present, however,
discQuest does not maintain more than one text window on its desktop; nor
does it support loading text files from disk or opening a New (blank) text
window.

     The standard discQuest package includes a sample CD (such as "Family
Doctor" or "Total Baseball"), fifteen pages of information and
instructions, and two diskettes. One diskette lets non-hard disk users
start discQuest after a bare-bones System 6.0 boot. The other will Install
discQuest and a monospace font (CoPilot.8) to hard disk plus, if desired,
several support files. The latter include HS.FST and drivers for popular
CD-ROM readers plus the Media NDA and Control Panel stuff to support
playing music CD's.

     If you already have CD-ROM up and running on your IIgs, then hard disk
installation of discQuest should involve nothing more than creating a
folder named DISCQUEST, copying the program there and copying CoPilot.8 to
SYSTEM/FONTS. The other files are present in case you've purchased
Sequential's Complete System Package. The one sent to me included discQuest
software and info sheets, NEC MultiSpin (x2 speed) CD-ROM reader, RamFAST
SCSI interface card, cable, Labtec CS-150 amplified speakers, manuals, and
four more sample CD's. A company rep noted that CSP components and pricing
change regularly; so, if interested, be sure to check with Sequential.

___________________________



From: Matt Portune

   003- How can I back up files on CD-ROM?

     Compact disk recording opens up many possibilities. Obviously,
archiving software is one of them. Another is being able to record audio.
In my studio, I've placed a lot of important material on analog tape; and,
unlike the diskette situation, there is no doubt of the imminent danger of
degradation. Burning the audio to CD would maintain the original quality,
with the added bonus of random access.

     CDR also opens up business opportunities. Archiving data for
businesses and spinning off audio masters and mixes for bands and clubs are
just two good prospects. All of which more than justified the cost of a CD
Recorder.

     First priority, of course, was preserving my precious ][ goodies! I
began the whole process on a Wednesday afternoon, and worked non-stop
through Sunday.

     Step One was to archive programs and their support files into
compressed SHK files. Not only does this help keep everything organized,
but it also prevents loss of resource fork data when files are moved to the
PC for processing.

     I archived the data from every floppy I have plus files from each hard
drive partition. A few items were archived twice; but, this way, I can
choose from a 'raw' original or 'set up' version. (Besides, separating out
duplicates would have taken an extra day!)  Anyway, the entire backup only
reached about 105 megs. There would be plenty of breathing room on a 650
meg CD.

     Since all 10 of my hard disk partitions are ProDOS, I settled for
transferring data to the PC in 32MB chunks. This was done using a home brew
null-modem cable to connect the serial ports of both machines.

     It's surprising that so many computer users go to the trouble of using
diskettes for machine-to-machine transfers. Null-modem is so easy! I
attached my cable, launched Spectrum v2.0 on the GS and Hyperterminal on
the PC, and, then, told Spectrum to Zmodem-upload everything on the
transfer stuff partition to the PC.

     The machines held a steady transfer rate of about 4500 CPS. Since I
had a few 32-meg partitions to upload it was a good excuse for leaving the
computers to their work and indulging in Babylon 5 re-runs!

     Finally, on Sunday afternoon, the uploading was complete. On the PC,
everything wound up in a folder called "GS Backup". Inside this folder, I
created other folders (Games, Graphics, etc.). All in all, 100+ floppies
and a 340 meg hard drive had been turned into a nice, organized 105 meg
archive.

     After double checking the archive, I slapped a blank CD into the
recorder, started EZ-CD Pro, and selected "New" from the file menu. I
scanned the displayed listing of burn formats for "HFS" because it is
recognized by both GS System 6 and Mac. Unfortunately, HFS was not in EZ-CD
Pro's list; so, I selected ISO-9660, which System 6 can handle via the
HS.FST.

     Actually, the whole process went very smoothly. I chose the "GS
Backup" folder as the data to burn to the disc, and, after about 7 minutes,
the CD recorder spit out a shiny new GS archive!

     Or, so I thought...  I put the CD in the GS drive. It mounted fine,
but upon opening the CD, I found that EVERY file was placed in the root
directory, instead of in it's proper folder.  Also, every filename had a
";1" after it?!

     It turns out that the ";1" is an end-of-filename character (the ";")
followed by a an ISO-9660 version number. Versions of ISO-9660 which do not
support the Apple Extensions require such a suffix for non-directory files.
The cure is to find a CD burner program which supports either High Sierra
Group format or a more up-to-date version of ISO-9660.

     The directory problem was _my_ fault. I was still learning the
software's "parenting" feature, and had mistakenly told EZ-CD to make the
disc with every file in the root directory!

     Anticipating some such screw-up, I had made sure to not select "close
disc" on the first burn. This makes a disc "multisession", which means you
can do later burns ("sessions") and write new stuff until the disc is full,
or until you "close" it. (You cannot, however, erase anything.)  So, I told
the software to make the first session inactive, and burn a second session
which would have the files in their directories.

     After another 7 minutes, out popped attempt #2. Sure enough, in the
PC's CD-ROM drive the first session showed as ignored, and the new, Version
2, session was active! Alas, on the GS, the situation was reversed. Version
2 was ignored. I found out later (by asking someone) that HS.FST does not,
currently, support multisession discs! As Poor Richard once observed in his
Almanac: "Experience keeps a dear school ... ."

     Despite a few tribulations, I'm pleased to report that my first CD was
not a waste. If you have the Balloon NDA installed and double-click a file,
it is recognized as an SHK archive and is opened accordingly. Opening the
files from GSHK worked fine, as well. It 'ain't pretty'; but, the archives
are all intact, and perfectly readable on the GS.

     Since I have more things to add to a future CD (like GNO v2.0.6), I'll
soon be ready to pull all the data off "disc 0" and burn a fresh one, doing
it right this time. At least, for now, I have everything backed up on a
safe, long-lasting medium, thus taming my dying-floppy paranoia. Now, if I
could somehow archive the II hardware ...!

---------------------------


From: M. Kelsey

     I made a ProDOS 8 CD-ROM just today for the first time. I used Windows
'95 since it has APSI driver emulation in an MS-DOS prompt and a *freeware*
utility called DISK2CD from http://www.goldenhawk.com .

It consisted of only these few steps:

        1.  Get all software onto youir Apple II hard drive that you
                want written to CD.
        2.  Disconnect the hard drive.
        3.  Reconnect the hard drive to a Windows '95 or DOS machine
                with appropriate ASPI drivers.
        4.  Run DISK2CD.
        5.  Test the CD out on your Apple II =)

     Now I can use Copy II+ 6.5 to make disk images in an uncompressed
form, store them with their file attributes, and have a bootable CD-ROM
from which I can access the utilities and disk images!  (WooHoo!)  Bye bye
to all those 300 5.25" disks!

___________________________



From: Supertimer

004- Is a special driver needed for a Toshiba External 2X CD-ROM
     drive on a IIGS with Apple Hi-speed SCSI interface?

     Yes, you need an SCSI-2 driver. Sequential Systems,
www.sequential.com, sells such a driver for the Apple Hi-speed card. This
driver works well with an Apple CD-300 and a quad-speed Hi-Val drive tested
against it. The Toshiba drive is also an SCSI-2 standard CD-ROM. They all
use the same commands and need this driver.

----------------------------


005- I have an Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card and CD300 CD-ROM drive on
     my IIGS. How can I get sound from my CD's?

     Sequential's new driver allows the audio to work. It allows the Apple
Hi-Speed interface to work with all new CD-ROM drives.

___________________________



From: Joe Kohn

006- Where can I buy CD-ROM discs for the Apple II?

     Shareware Solutions II ( http://www.concentric.net/~joko ) currently
offers four CD-ROMs for the Apple IIGS:
 
 - The Golden Orchard CD-ROM
 - The TABBS CD-ROM
 - The Studio City CD-ROM.
 - The Script Central CD-ROM.

---------------------------


From: Charles T. "Dr. Tom" Turley

     Having both The Golden Orchard CD and The TABBS CD, I can assure all
Apple II and IIgs users that they both contain a wealth of Apple II/IIgs
programs, graphics, music, information and a multitude of fantastic
archives of great interest and value to any Apple II and IIgs user.
  
___________________________



From: Stephen C. Davidson

Related FAQs Resources: R014CDROMIN.TXT (text file)

007- Where can I find more information about specific drives,
     interfaces, and CDROM software?

     See the Apple II CD-ROM Info resource file R014CDROMIN.TXT . For
additional SCSI interface information see the Apple II Hard Drives and SCSI
Interface Manual file F004HDNSCSI.

_________________________