Re: Does ROM 3 GS works with System 5?

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

limtc <thyechean@gmail.com> wrote:

>Right now I have a ROM 3 GS, I found that all the System 5 disks I
>booted will always crash halfway during booting. I am not sure whether
>it is because all my disks are kind of corrupted, or ROM 3 GS is
>incompatible with System 5?
>
>This is the first time I own a ROM 3... I didn't encountered these
>using ROM 1 in the past. Thanks!

    It's certainly not an incompatibility. The ROM 3 firmware actually
contains the System 5.0.x toolsets built-in (versus the System 2.x in 
the ROM 01) and that particular OS version is aware of the ROM 3
(note the "TS3" patch that load in at boot). System 5 disks even 
shipped with ROM 3 systems when Apple sold them.

    It could be bad RAM. It could also be that your booting floppies
on a stock machine that has _less_ RAM than expected by certain
programs. Remember there is only 1152K RAM built-in, versus 
1280K you get with a ROM 01 with a fully populated Apple memory
card installed (I remember several demos would crash if that extra
128K was missing).

    Another possibility, since you mentioned booting off floppy disks.
Do you have a RamFAST SCSI controller? I know a number of old
ProDOS 16 disks would crash unless I force disabled it (setting slot
number 7 to "Your Card"). Can't remember any System 5 disks 
crashing though, maybe it is a RAM issue...

Mitchell Spector