Re: -> Advice needed: drive & //gs

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

In article <1994Oct10.134029.74486@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>,
Steve <skohns@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> wrote:
> 
> Anyway, my problem is how to run software that requires (nearly) that 1MB of
> RAM.  Is there a way to bypass the Finder (Windows) setup, so I just run
> something from my harddrive in ProDOS?

Removing Finder won't help much - it doesn't hang around in memory
after you've launched a program.

If you need more memory to run some programs, you really only have
three options:

- Get more RAM.

- Remove as many system extensions as possible (desk accessories,
INITs, drivers, etc.) that you don't need.

- Use an older version of the system software, which requires less
memory.

> For example, I have the game Gnarly Golf.  It requires two 3.5 disks
> to play.  I have only one 3.5 drive, so when it needs to change
> disks, it grinds through the 5.25 drives a few times, and checks
> everything before asking for the swap.

Someone has suggested leaving a blank (but formatted) disk in the
drives to avoid this.  Another possibility is to disable the 5.25"
drives, especially while using native IIgs software.

You can use the Control Panel to set slot 6 to "Your Card".  The next
time you reboot, the 5.25" drives will be disabled.  If you want them
back, set slot 6 to "Disk Port" and reboot again.

If you're booting from the hard drive and using recent versions of
GS/OS, you can disable the 5.25" drives in GS/OS but retain them in
ProDOS-8 by disabling or removing the APPLEDISK5.25 driver.

> I've thought of copying the files to my HD (old Vulcan 40MB), but it
> will not run the software since the Finder program already takes up
> the needed memory.  It just crashes.

It won't work from the hard drive because it is incompatible with
current system software.  Finder and the amount of memory have nothing
to do with it.

> The way to start the program is by pressing Ctrl-Reset during bootup
> to get to the Basic prompt, then type PR#5 to boot the 3.5 floppy.
> Is there a way to boot from a partition on the hard drive?

Probably not.  The RAMFast SCSI card is the only card I'm aware of
that can boot from other partitions.

> Or any other tricks? 

One idea comes to mind: if you don't mind booting the hard drive into
ProDOS-8, you could use my QUITTER.SYSTEM program as your startup
program.  You would need to rename the PRODOS file to GSOS, copy the
P8 file in the system folder into the root directory and rename it to
PRODOS, and rearrange the files so that QUITTER.SYSTEM is the first
file with a name ending in .SYSTEM.