Re: Some IIgs questions

[CUTjefbla@bconnex.net (Jeff Blakeney)]

On Tue, 03 Nov 1998 07:56:54 -0600, Glenn Fisher <Fisher@uh.edu>
wrote:

>I have just received a hand-me-down IIgs.  It is a ROM3 version.
>I have no software for it, but I have lots of ][,][+ and //e
>software and hardware.  The IIgs does not have any disk drives.
>I have tried to move a disk ][ to it with the interface in slot 6
>without any success in getting it to even try to read a disk there
>by setting startup to slot 6 with the boot control panel.  Anyway,
>here is a few questions that I have.

When you went to the Slots Control Panel to set the startup slot to 6,
did you change slot 6 to "Your card"?  If not, then the IIgs is
looking for the 5.25" drives on the Smartport on the back of the IIgs
and isn't seeing your controller card.  Change the slot 6 setting to
"Your card" and try again.  It should work fine.

>1) There is a empty battery slot on the motherboard.  Does this
>need a battery and if so what kind?

I don't think it NEEDS one but I'm sure you're going to want one.
Otherwise all the control panel settings will revert to the defaults
every time you turn on the machine.  I don't have a ROM 3 so I can't
tell you exactly what voltage or style of battery you will need.  I'm
sure someone else will answer that for you.

>2) Is there a key combination that will do a reset i. e. force
>reboot with cycling the power switch?

CTRL-Reset, CTRL-OpenApple-Reset both work like they do on the //e.
(The reset key is the one with the triangle on it sitting by itself at
the top of the keyboard.)  If you wish to simulate turning off the
computer and turning it back on again without using the power switch,
you can put the IIgs into a self-test and either wait for the
self-test to finish and then reboot or reboot while the IIgs is
performing the self-test.  The second method isn't recommended as you
might catch the self-test at an inappropriate time.  To start the
self-test use CTRL-OpenApple-Option-Reset.

>3) I have an external 800k floppy drive on a MacPlus.  Can this
>drive be used with the IIgs by plugging it in to the disk port
>on the back?

It should work just fine.

>4) Is there anything like the "monitor" mode of the old IIs that
>can be used with the IIgs at boot time?

There is a much better system monitor in the ROM of the IIgs but I'm
not sure what you mean by using it at boot time.  Typing CALL -151
from the Applesoft prompt ( ] )will take you to the monitor just like
on the //e.  The monitor's prompt is an asterisk ( * ).

>5) According to the "RamDisk" setup in the "Control Panel" it has
>1.3 MBs of memory.  Is this enough to run the GSOS?

Barely.  System 4 and System 5 will be get along better than System
6.0.1 in this amount of memory, however, you'll still be limited with
any of them.  You'll most likely want to be using System 6.0.1 to be
able to use all the latest software.  With that amount of memory
you'll be able to boot as long as you have very little to no add-ons
like CDEVs, desk accessories, inits and the like.  You'll also be very
limited in what programs you can run or what you can actually do with
programs that do successfully run.

System 6.0.1 really should have at least 2 MB of memory and more if
you want to get the most out of using the IIgs.

>Thanks in advance for any and all answers.

Your welcome.

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    Jeff Blakeney - Dean of the Apple II University on Delphi
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