Re: RAM Drive + Wiz I

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Christopher J Lewandowski-pearson <lewandow@u.arizona.edu> wrote:

> I have no experiance with PRODos, so please forgive me...
> 
> I am in the market for a RAM expansion card for my Apple //c. 
> (see my post in c.s.a2.marketplace).  One reason I want it is
> so that I can use the RAM as a RAM drive under PRODOS.

Which Apple IIc model do you have?

If it is the original motherboard, your only option is the Applied
Engineering Z-RAM, which is plugged into the computer in place of the
CPU and MMU chips (which are then plugged into the Z-RAM).

If you have the "memory expansion" model of the IIc, you need Apple's
IIc memory expansion card.  I believe there is a third party alternative
(can anyone else confirm this)?  I'm not sure if the Z-RAM works in this
model.

To find out which IIc firmware version you have, get into BASIC and type
PRINT PEEK(64447).  If the value printed is 255 or 0, you almost
certainly have the original motherboard.  If the value printed is 3 or 4
you probably have the memory expansion motherboard.

(If the value printed is 5, you have a IIc+, which should also work with
the IIc memory expansion card - can anyone confirm this?)


In the case of the Z-RAM, you need a patched version of ProDOS to be
able to use the extra memory as a RAM disk.  (You should be given the
driver for the card on disk with the card, but I'm sure it is easy
enough to obtain a copy from another owner.)

Applications also need to be patched or include special support for the
Z-RAM.  For example, AppleWorks 3.0 and later automatically support this
card, but earlier versions need to be patched (and the patcher is
included with the card).


In the case of the Apple IIc Memory Expansion card, it automatically
appears as a RAM disk under ProDOS, without having to use any patches.
You can probably even boot from it if it is set up properly.

> Would it be possible to copy the Wizardry I scenario disk onto the 
> RAM drive.

Wizardry is a copy protected program which uses the Apple II UCSD Pascal
operating system.  It is probably using a runtime version of Pascal 1.0
or 1.1.

To be able to use a RAM disk with Wizardry would require patching the
operating system used on the game disk (likely to be very difficult), or
somehow managing to run Wizardry from a standard Pascal system, and use
Pascal 1.3 (this is likely to be equally difficult).

Pascal 1.3 doesn't support the Z-RAM, but would recognise the IIc memory
expansion card as a RAM disk.  Earlier Pascal versions only support
5.25" drives unless a special driver is loaded off floppy.

I haven't looked into deprotecting Wizardry, but this is basically what
you need to do for this to even be feasible.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand