Re: New GS Owner ?'s

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <5100av$c64@clarknet.clark.net>,
Dave Downin <downin@clark.net> wrote:
>I just picked up a GS (Woz Limited Edition - ROM 01) system with the
>RGB monitor, keyboard, mouse, and 2 3&1/2" disk drives.  It also came
>with a little software but no documentation on anything.  As such I
>have a few questions.

   And I've got a lot of answers. I maintain the comp.sys.apple2 Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) post, which was posted here on the first of the
month. Your local news server _should_ still have a copy, as the posting
was configured to expire in a month. If it is not available, please
contact your local news admin to help fix your feed. If you skipped
over unread articles such as the FAQ before posting (a very bad habit),
you can read it on the WWW at
http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.html


>1) I also have a Performa 6116CD running 7.5.3.  I have found a few FTP sites
>with software but they all seem to be in .dsk format (disk images).  Is there
>anyway to download these to my Mac and save them to a floppy that I can then
>use on the GS?

   Go to a legit Apple II Ftp site, as mentioned in the FAQ. Most .dsks
are pirated games. 


>2) I also found that Apple's site has version 6.0.1 of the GS system (I have
>a disk with 5.0.4).  It's 7 disks...I guess intended for a hard drive.  I
>grabbed disk 2 (the system disk) figuring I could at least boot with that.
>I was able to use Disk Copy on the Mac to save it out to a disk.  When I
>insert it in the GS, I get "UNABLE TO LOAD PRODOS".  Looked at the disk on my
>Mac and did see a ProDOS file...what gives?

   Disk Copy 4.2 should be able to write to an 800K (not 1.44MB) disk,
then you can use that on your Apple II. Unfortunately, others have
reported similar problems to me over the past few weeks. Make some of
the A2/Mac geeks here can help you make DiskCopy work as it's
advertised to.

>3) Will the GS support a 14.4 modem (I have a LineLink 144 I'd like to use on 
>the system)?

   Yes. Get a hardware handshaking cable (probably already have that
if it's been used on a Mac) and then a comm program. ProTerm 3.1 is
the best.

>4) Will the GS support an Apple StyleWriter printer?

   Only the original Stylewriter.

>5) I noticed that when I opened it up there is some sort of memory card in it
>already...seems like I have about 1M of total memory.  What can be put in the
>other available slots?  Where can I get them?

   As noted in the comp.sys.apple2 FAQ, there's a newsgroup for buying
and selling Apple // stuff, comp.sys.apple2.marketplace. The FAQ also
lists lots of peripherals that are available. 

>6) Also noticed an empty white IC socket labeled "GAME".  What is/was this
>intended for?

   That's the game port connector. Joysticks, paddles, some random
i/o devices.

>7) What would be the cheapest way to hook a hard-drive up to the system?  Can
>you use regular SCSI hard drives?  If not, where could I buy one that would
>work?

   With a SCSI card, yes. The comp.sys.apple2 FAQ lists models and
vendors.

>9) Is there a newer version ROM that would work on the system?  Where can
>I find one?

   As noted in the comp.sys.apple2 FAQ, the only other version is the
ROM 3. The ROM 01 is perfectly usable for Apple II stuff; you need to
do a motherboard swap to go between 00/01 and 3.

>10) Are there any good web sites for Apple II GS info for someone who has
>never used one before?

   Start with the comp.sys.apple2 FAQ. Then follow the link at the
bottom to my list of Apple II resources and web pages.

Nathan Mates

--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?  -R.A. Heinlein