AXDFM@ACAD2A.BITNET (04/05/88)
For those of you interested in creating boot disks:
You may create the boot sector just fine, but you must put the file
on the disk correctly too. My bet is that you ARE using some kind of DOS
for your program development. If that is true (which it is), then the
program itself will saved in individual files, right? You have to get the
program into a "pure" sector format manually. Here is what I mean:
At the end of each sector, Atari DOS 2.x places three bytes for dos usuage.
These bytes contain the file number and (most importantly) the link to the
next sector. If you are creating a boot disk, and just try to modify the boot
sector to force load an 2.0 program, then you will run into problems. SIO
doesn't know about these extra three bytes, and will read them in as program
data and not DOS information. You are going to have to write the program
itself to the disk in a pure format, eg = without the three trailing bytes.
Omnimon is the easiest way to do this, but not always feasible. The best way
is to write a small BASIC program that will do the job quick and dirty. (You
will need less than a screen of code for the BASIC program.)
Creating a boot disk involves knowing more than just reading w/o a DOS,
but includes writing the information in the first place. This is not a
difficult thing to do, but it does require a thorough knowledge of what you
are wanting to do.
Note: For those who are intimate with SpartaDOS on a very low level
might want to look through their manual. Sparta doesn't put a 3 byte trailer
on each sector, but uses seperate sectors to form a file sector map with
the program taking up complete sectors (eg= no trailers). An enterprising
programmer could use this information to create a boot disk on a sector level,
but why not just use Sparta's BOOT command for this? Read your manual for
details....
Any further help I can be in actually getting the information on the disk
into the first place, please holler at me....
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: Frank Murphy - University of Alaska, Anchorage :
: Computer User Consultant - Home of the Seawolves :
: Office of Information and Technology - NCAA Division II - Final Four :
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