spierce@pnet01.CTS.COM (Stuart Pierce) (05/19/87)
There are a number of disk-intensive, copy-protected programs that I would like to be able to run from a ram disk as they don't seem to take much advantage of extra RAM. Some of the programs must be started from a warm- reboot. Is there any way to do this? -- Stuart Pierce --
hatcher@INGRES.BERKELEY.EDU.UUCP (05/20/87)
In article <1117@crash.CTS.COM> spierce@pnet01.CTS.COM (Stuart Pierce) writes: >There are a number of disk-intensive, copy-protected programs that I would >like to be able to run from a ram disk as they don't seem to take much >advantage of extra RAM. Some of the programs must be started from a warm- >reboot. Is there any way to do this? -- Stuart Pierce -- Assuming you have sufficient expansion ram, you can do this by copying all files from the copy-protected disk to a directory in ram. Usually only one file is protected, and it is checked upon startup of the program. Once you start the program and it checks the copy protection, use Amiga-N/M to switch back to a workbench screen (if the software disallows this then you're probably out of luck). Assume the diskette is named "Defender". Pop it out of the drive, and use CLI to "assign Defender ram:dirname", where "ram:dirname" is the place that you copied the files from the diskette. Then go back to the game, which will continue getting files from the device named "Defender", not noticing that you've pulled a switch on it. The basic idea is to go ahead and let the software validate the copy- protected file on its diskette as usual, then once it's running have it access all its other, non-protected files from ram disk. The main problem with copying the files is that the copy command will want to stop as soon as it fails on the one copy protected file. You must get around this by either using a fancier copy command (e.g. dirutil) or by setting up a script to copy each file individually. This procedure has worked on lots of different games I've tried it out on, but there are some that capture all keystrokes, so that Amiga-M/N doesn't switch screens. Conceivably something might screw you up by using the workbench screen rather than a custom screen, too. PopCli might still help you in such a case, if you can do a A-ESC to get a CLI on top of the game's screen. The most foolproof scheme is to use something like Marauder to deprotect the disk, then just copy the whole disk to ram disk, and go ahead and execute the "s/startup-sequence" script that they provide for warm-booting their software. Doug Merritt ucbvax!ingres!hatcher
jms@antares.UUCP (Joe Smith) (01/30/89)
In reference to Neil Weinstock who mentioned creating your own icon for the RAM disk: I found a disk.info file on one of the Fish Disks that is an image of a male sheep; a ram's head. It is an alternate image icon; the head faces the other direction when it is selected. My startup-sequence has the command "copy SYS:RAMicon RAM:disk.info" I found this particular icon the hard way, by looking all all the drawers on the Fish disks for disks.info, copying it to the root directory of a disk, popping the disk out and put it back in and wait for workbench to show it. Very slow. Eventually I got SIT (Set Icon Type) from Fish disk #137 and converted a bunch of disk icons into drawer icons so they are visible. So I have this icon but don't know which disk it came from. In article <2779@ukecc.engr.uky.edu> (Kenneth Herron) writes: >As near as I could tell, the exact behavior is: When LoadWB starts up, >if RAM: has no disk.info, then SYS:disk.info is copied to RAM:disk.info. >So whatever icon your boot disk has, your ram: disk will have the same one. All my bootable disks have custom disk icons. In particular, my workbench SYS:disk.info is a wooden table with tools on it. Since I get a generic disk for RAM: if I don't use my RAMicon, this is proof that SYS:disk.info does not get copied. Workbench has the generic disk icon embedded in it. -- Joe Smith (408)922-6220 | jms@antares.Tymnet.COM[131.146.3.1] or jms@opus McDonnell Douglas FSCO | UUCP: {ames,pyramid}!oliveb!tymix!antares!jms PO Box 49019, MS-D21 | PDP-10: JMS@F74.Tymnet CA license plate: "POPJ P," San Jose, CA 95161-9019 | narrator.device: "I didn't say that, my Amiga did!"
vernon@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Vernon Wheeler) (02/14/90)
After reading this net for about 3 years I would like to ask a question, but first I have gotten some good info from this net but there is a lot of garbage. I would like to thank all of you that stick to real info not my computer is better, this is a better game , CBM stinks, ect. What I would like to do is be able to set up a ram disk called df3: and copy a copy protected disk to df3:. I can set up the disk and copy a nonprotected disk, this makes disk loads very fast. After playing a game like fairy tale and waiting for disk loads can you see the advantage of doing this. I have the ram to do it but all of my disk copy programs refuse to recognize a ram disk called df3:. Does anyone know of one that will 1. copy protected disks . 2. recognize a ram disk called df3: (or any other label you would like to name.) Thanks for any help in advance. VERNON