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Re: Cracking HomeWord
I've run into similiar problems with games from Sierra and Epyx. I found
that sometimes the reason that even "cracked" software won't run in an
emulator is because the program used the volume number of the floppy to
identify the disk. A .DSK image does not maintain the correct volume
number. Examine the floppy with CopyIIplus or Bag of Tricks and see if it
has a particular volume number.
"N.N. Thayer" <nnthayer@hotmail.com> wrote in message
1c8fe717-5997-44c9-81a6-160109bba4b1@d4g2000yqa.googlegroups.com">news:1c8fe717-5997-44c9-81a6-160109bba4b1@d4g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 12, 2:22 pm, "N.N. Thayer" <nntha...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Aug 12, 2:02 pm, schmidtd <schmi...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Aug 12, 2:40 pm, Ivan X <ivan...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > I love HomeWord. Its preview mode at the bottom right of the screen
> > > was
> > > really innovative.
>
> > > If you can get it to work in AppleWin at all, and they're truly
> > > cracked,
> > > then you should be able to just use COPYA (or C2+ or Disk Muncher or
> > > whatever) to copy them to a regular .DSK in drive 2. Of course, I have
> > > no
> > > way of predicting whether it will work under ][+ emulation, but at
> > > least you
> > > could try it on other emulators easily.
>
> > > Or if you want to snailmail me a copy on a floppy, I can easily make a
> > > .DSK
> > > image with my LC IIe Card.
>
> > > On 8/12/09 2:30 PM, in article
> > > bdd87fbf-249e-499b-a70a-183afd1c4...@g31g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
> > > "N.N.
>
> > > Thayer" <nntha...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > > I'm no expert on cracking, or the Apple II disk subsystem, which can
> > > > be something of a barrier in my perpetual mission to rip and archive
> > > > images of every single piece of Apple II software that I come across
> > > > (since 500 years from now, the images are all that will exist). :)
> > > > My latest obstacle: Sierra On-Line's HomeWord!
>
> > > > In terms of UI, this is an excellent piece of software - I've found
> > > > it
> > > > far easier to use than any of the other word-processing programs of
> > > > the time, with the possible exception of Bank Street Writer. (Funny
> > > > how that ease of use seems to disappear with more professional-level
> > > > utilities...) HomeWord Plus, the version on Asimov, requires a 128k
> > > > //
> > > > e or //c or later; only the original HomeWord runs on a ][/][+.
>
> > > > I actually have two versions of HomeWord: version 1.1, released in
> > > > '83, and version 2.4, released the following year. Both are pirated
> > > > copies from my dad's old collection. I know they weren't originally
> > > > copied via a nibble-copier or Copy II Plus, because when I tried
> > > > those
> > > > methods, the results were unusuable. I was able to use ADT to rip
> > > > DSK
> > > > images - but those turned out to be unusuable as well.
>
> > > > Puzzled, I dug around and found this cracking doc for HomeWord:
>
> > > >http://www.skepticfiles.org/cowtext/apple/krack2ap.htm
>
> > > > Examining the track and sector that the doc specified, I found what
> > > > it
> > > > referred to in HomeWord 1.1, but not in 2.4. I made the change it
> > > > described, saved, and it worked as advertised - I was able to make
> > > > straight copies of HomeWord 1.1 to other disks. So however my dad
> > > > had
> > > > originally managed to copy this disk, it was without the aid of this
> > > > particular crack.
>
> > > > What I was still *not* able to do, however, was rip it to a DSK
> > > > image
> > > > over ADT; the images produced were unusuable. In a last-ditch
> > > > effort,
> > > > I used the Saltine's Super Transcopy method to create a NIB image...
> > > > with interesting results. When loading it in the AppleWin emulator,
> > > > the image will boot and function perfectly if I'm set to //e
> > > > emulation, but in ][+ emulation it simply halts claiming that
> > > > "HomeWord will not run with a joystick plugged into the game port."
> > > > This is an odd claim for it to be making, since (1) I have the
> > > > joystick disabled in the emulator and (2) I have a real joystick
> > > > connected to my real Apple ][+, with no ill effects (although it is
> > > > through a 9-pin adapter).
>
> > > > So, that's my status at the moment - a NIB image of HomeWord 1.1
> > > > that
> > > > functions in one specific emulation mode. Better than nothing, I
> > > > suppose, but I'd like to get it into the more desirable DSK (for
> > > > what
> > > > I do, that's far and away the best image format), and I'd also like
> > > > to
> > > > get HomeWord 2.4 ripped as well, especially since the physical disk
> > > > for that one is on its last legs. If anyone would like to assist, or
> > > > is just curious, I can post the NIB or even send out disks.
>
> > There's a Hardcore Computist article showing a de-protect for version
> > 2.1 - worth looking at. Volume 39, page
> > 23:http://victa.jamtronix.com/display/page/1397
>
> Man, I don't know why it didn't occur to me to check Computist. I
> also found a crack in their first "Book of Softkeys," for the older
> version of HomeWord, that is slightly different from the one I
> linked. I will be trying both of these tonight. Thanks guys!
Update!
After applying the Computist crack for version 2.1 (which was, in
fact, the other version I had - I was mistaken about the number), I
can now copy physical disk to physical disk. I'm glad for that,
because the only disk I had of 2.1 was degrading, and now I can relax
a bit until the imaging issue is resolved.
I was unable to rip a DSK from my newly-cracked copy of 2.1, but I was
able to create a NIB. Unfortunately, the same issue I had in the NIB
of 1.1 is also present in 2.1: AppleWin, in ][+ mode, claims there's a
joystick present and refuses to load, but //e mode works fine. As
lyricalnanoha notes below, this issue does *not* exist in ApplePC.
As for 1.1, it turned out that the crack found in Computist's Book of
Softkeys had actually already been applied to my copy. So whatever is
preventing DSK imaging remains elusive.
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