Antigrav Toolkit Notebook
by Randy Winchester

Copy Protection Eliminated!

I know I promised more articles on PostScript programming, but some things just can't wait. We now bring you this late breaking story . . .

An aggravating problem with GEOS is the copy protection on the system boot disk. Not only are GEOS owners unable to make archival backup copies of our GEOS boot disks by most normal means, we are also limited by the boot disk itself. The 5.25 inch disk BSW provides is intended to be used only in a Commodore 1541 or 1571 disk drive.

Judging by the mail response to my last article (in which I aired my copy protection gripes), many other people are also annoyed. Purchasers of software have a legal right to protect their purchases by making backup copies for their own use, but the backups won't work. Some disk drives are left in less than perfect condition after a protection routine performs a Buddy Rich drum solo.

As comedian Stephen Wright bluntly states, "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" He must not be using the 1581 disk drive, or he'd know the likely answer to that question! The 1581 stores 790K on a 3.5 inch (90 mm) double sided, double density disk. The disks, often referred to as "micro floppydisks" are any- thing but floppy. The magnetic media portion of these disks are housed in a rigid plastic case. A built-in write protect tab that resembles a small sliding switch can be found on the bottom of the case. A metal door protects the surface of the disk from damage when it is not in the drive. It's hard to beat the 1581 disk drive and 3.5 inch disks in terms of storage capacity, durability and con- venience. In terms of "How can I boot GEOS on my 1581?" they've been a big looser. If you fold a GEOS boot disk in half, you can insert it in a 1581, but you still won't be able to boot from it.

Better Living Through Software

VORPAL AID V4 is available on QLink and finer BBSs. VORPAL AID attempts to remedy problems with using fast loaders (Vorpal is one version) to load multiple machine language programming utilities without the computer blowing up. VORPAL AID saves specified areas of memory to a file that can be loaded as a single BASIC PRoGram, even with a fast loader that may be incompatible with original versions of the programs.

Ironically, VORPAL AID will probably not attract the interest of the pirating and cracking clubs. It simply can- not copy most protected programs.

Scormus (is that Dr. Scormus?), author of VORPAL AID V4, has placed a "secret message" in his program that can only be seen by running it from GEOS. Double click on VORPAL AID V4 from the deskTop. When you see the VORPAL AID menu, select 'P' for parameters. You will be prompted to insert a disk onto which GEOS will be saved. It saves the GEOS kernal with the installed printer and input drivers in a 109 block file named "SCORMUS WAS HERE." If you place a copy of SCORMUS WAS HERE on a disk with the deskTop, the disk is now bootable! Additionally, almost any soft- ware or hardware fast loader can be used to get things up and running in a hurry.

A major advantage of VORPAL AID deprotected pro- grams is that they don't care where they are booted from. Put a copy of SCORMUS WAS HERE (rename it to GEOS if you like) along with the deskTop on a 3.5 inch disk, and you can boot GEOS from a 1581 drive!

Almost Foolproof Instructions

It took some experimentation for me to get VORPAL AID to work consistently. If you follow these steps, you should get the desired results. VORPAL AID might require some additional tinkering for some systems.

1) Turn on your computer system and one disk drive. The drive should be a 1541 or 1571 (in 1541 mode). The drive should be set up as device #8.

2) Load GEOS from a BSW supplied boot disk as you would normally. When the deskTop appears, select the input device and printer driver you will use most fre- quently. Do not use the CONFIGURE program to add disk drives at this time.

3) Run VORPAL AID by double clicking on it's icon. Select 'P'arameters from the VORPAL AID menu. At this point, you'll see the secret message. Insert a disk on which to save the new version of GEOS. This disk must have at least 109 blocks free.

4) When VORPAL AID is finished saving the new GEOS system file, it will return to the deskTop. You can now put your brand new homemade boot disk in the drive and rename the file "SCORMUS WAS HERE" to "GEOS." This disk will also need a copy of the deskTop. In addition, I like to include a Preferences file, the GEOS CONFIGURE program, my printer driver, and the RBOOT program. I also use TURBO, a public domain fast loader, so my disk also contains a short BASIC boot program to first load and activate TURBO, then GEOS.

5) Test your new boot disk. Turn the computer off, then back on, again with only one disk drive (#8) turned on. Place the new boot disk in the drive and type LOAD "GEOS",8 and RUN to get it started. After the disk drive stops spinning, you should see the deskTop and be ready to roll.

6) To add additional disk drives or RAM disk to the deskTop, use the CONFIGURE program. This is the trick- iest step so far and might require some fiddling to get the hang of it. One wrong move, and you'll probably see a 'System error near XXXX' Panic box and you'll have to reboot. My strategy is to work through CONFIGURE backwards. I first select 'Fast Reboot' and 'DMA' before selecting 'RAM 1541' for drive B. With GEOS 2.0 (and CONFIGURE 2.0) three different disk drives can be se- lected. As with GEOS 1.3, I first select the REU options, then specify drive C, drive B, and drive A, in that or- der. If a dialog box appears requesting that you turn a drive on or off, you'd better do it, or the computer is likely to crash.

Booting GEOS from a 1581

This part is easy. Simply copy all the files from your new boot disk to a 3.5 inch disk. Proceed to steps 5 and 6 above, but make sure the disk drive mentioned in step 5 is a 1581 set up as device #8. That's all there is to it!

A GEOS Cartridge?

I recently have been having fun with a cartridge called the Quick Brown Box. It looks like most other cartridges for the C64/128, except for a couple of switches on the case. Inside the Quick Brown Box is either 32K or 64K of RAM powered by a small battery with an estimated life of 10 years. Unlike the 1764 and 1750 RAM Expansion Units, programs stored in the Brown Box stay there after the computer's power is switched off.

You can also boot GEOS from the Quick Brown Box at an incredible speed. Store the VORPAL AID version of GEOS in the Box and if you care to, make the Box autoboot it when the computer is turned on. Unfortunately, GEOS still expects to find the deskTop on a disk in a real disk drive, and if one isn't there, GEOS will ask for it. Even so, with the Brown Box and VORPAL AID, GEOS boots on my machine in only 15 seconds from the time the power is switched on!

VORPAL AID V4

Public domain software by

Scormus (Eric D. Whitaker)
4909 Stockdale Hwy #230
Bakersfield, CA 93309

available from Qlink
or a BBS near you!

Quick Brown Box

Brown Boxes, Inc.
26 Concord Road
Bedford, MA 01730
(617) 275-0090

I enjoy your mail. If you have any questions or comments, please write.

Randy Winchester
P.O. Box 426074
Cambridge, MA 02142

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