Cracking HomeWord

["N.N. Thayer" <nnthayer@hotmail.com>]

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.

- Neil