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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:AMIGA NOTES
Notice:Join us in the *NEW* conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:HYDRA::MOORE
Created:Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5378
Total number of notes:38326

2090.0. "Installing programs on a Hard Disk" by CIMNET::KYZIVAT (Paul Kyzivat) Sat Jan 07 1989 23:37

    Since Santa brought a hard drive, I have suddenly taken an interest in
    installing all sorts of software on it.  While PD software generally
    presents few if any problems, each piece of commercial software seems
    to present a new challenge.  It seems that even when they aren't copy
    protected, the authors of these things have gone out of their way to
    make installation on a HD difficult or impossible.

    I will put what I have done/learned in as replies to this note, and
    hope others will do likewise.

	Paul
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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2090.1Scribble!CIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Jan 08 1989 00:0014
    The problem with scribble! is that it has hard coded references to SYS:
    all through it, and I didn't want to put it in SYS:.

    What I finally decided to do was change all references to SYS: to SC!:,
    using NewZap.  I then installed the result in a convenient
    subdirectory, and defined SC!:, DICT:, UDICT: to point to that
    directory (from s:startup-sequence).  This causes scribble to create
    new project icons with SC!:Scribble! as the tool reference.  (Of course
    the tool name must be changed manually in all old project icons.) 

    Updating old project icons is the only real pain in this.  Seems to
    work fine.

	Paul
2090.2DPaintIICIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Jan 08 1989 00:5734
    I don't quite recall all the problems I had with DPaintII.  I started
    with a version which had been unprotected using Marauder.  As I recall,
    it almost worked after being installed in a subdirectory - until I
    tried to read in a file.  Then I got a requestor asking me to insert
    disk DF1.  (I don't have a DF1, just DF0 and DF2.)  This comes from it
    using DF1: as a default device when initializing its file requestor.
    It doesn not give an opportunity to manually change the device.

    I was able to make the program usable (but not convenient) by using
    AssignDev to equate DF1: to DF2:.

    Investigating with NewZap, it appears that the only device references
    in the program are in its file requestor, where they are DF0:, DF1:,
    and DH:.  The initial defaults seem to be created directly from the
    strings in the requestor, and there seem to be multiple tries to find
    something reasonable, using both DF0: and DF1:, with and without a
    subdirectory derived from the resolution.  It never seemed to try to
    use DH:. 

    I wanted to install DPaintII and all of its supporting files in a
    directory, and I wanted it to find the supporting files when it started
    up.  I also wanted to be able to use DPaintII's file requestor easily
    to get to DF0, DF2, or the hard disk.  It is easy to NewZap the file
    requestor, changing DF1: to DF2:, and also easy to define DH: to point
    to the hard disk, but then Dpaint still doesn't find its
    subdirectories.  What I finally decided was to change the DF1 requestor
    button for DF1: to DP:, and define that (in s:startup-sequence) to be
    the DPaintII directory.  Then DPaintII starts up correctly.I needed the
    old DH: button for DF2:, but only was one character short of space to
    do it, so I changed it to D2: and used AssignDev to equate D2: to DF2:.

    After these thing are done, dpaint is finally usable, but not elegant.
    
	Paul
2090.3AmigaBasicCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Jan 08 1989 00:5719
    I hoped that AmigaBasic would install gracefully, since it is supplied
    by Commodore.  In some sense, I guess it does, but not the way I wanted
    it to.

    There is only one absolute pathname reference coded in to Basic.  It is
    the one used to create project icons.  It is ":AmigaBasic".  This means
    that the interpreter must be installed in the top level of each device
    which contains programs, if those programs are to be invokable using
    their project icons.  This sucks!

    In the same amount of space, I as able to replace :AmigaBasic with
    BASIC:Basic (using NewZap).  Then I installed the interpreter (with
    name changed to Basic) in a directory on the hard disk and defined
    (in s:startup-sequence) BASIC: to point to the directory.

    The only remaining problem is that all old basic programs need to have
    their project icons changed.  This is a pain.

	Paul
2090.4Instant MusicCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Jan 08 1989 00:589
    Help!  For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make Instant
    Music work reasonably.  It starts ok, but can't find its instrument
    directory.  It seems to use some obscure algorithm to decide where to
    look, and no patching which I have tried has gotten it to look in any
    reasonable place.

    I hope someone has found a way to make this work.

	Paul
2090.5Mavis Beacon Teaches TypingCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Jan 08 1989 01:029
    I haven't had any luck with Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing either.  I
    think the problem is just copy protection.  I have a working copy of
    the floppy using Marauder verbatim mode, but this has presumably left
    the copy protection code intact.  I need to get it out before I can get
    a successful installation on the HD.

    Has anybody done this?  Can you buy an unprotected copy?

	Paul
2090.6F/A-18 InterceptorCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Jan 08 1989 01:1313
    Interceptor is FILLED with references to DF0:!

    What I did is use NewZap to patch them all to F18:.  I put the result
    in a subdirectory, together with the various other required files and
    directories.  Then I converted its icon into a project icon, with ICONX
    as the tool.  The corresponding command file Assigns F18 to the
    directory and runs the program.

    This runs fine.  The only problem is that there does not seem to be any
    way to exit, short of rebooting.  Is there a way to do this, or does
    the program wipe out AmigaDos?

	Paul
2090.7How about DIGI-PAINT?MQOFS::DESROSIERSTout est possible Mon Jan 09 1989 14:5912
    I also have a few problems installing stuff on the HD.  The one
    that gets me is DIGI-PAINT, no mention of a hard disk is made in
    the book and just copying everything in a drawer does not work,
    that is clicking on either the 320x400 or 320x200 icons gets me
    an error 205 and no matter what I do, (assigns...) it just will
    not run.  The program works fine from the floppies and the HD is
    seen in the open file requestors.
    
    help.
    
    Jean
    
2090.8More on MavisCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatMon Jan 09 1989 21:3529
    When I wrote .5, I forgot about all the other trouble I have had with
    Mavis...

    But first, I want to say that this is an incredible typing tutor.

    My 12 year old son was the first to touch the original Mavis disk out
    of the box.  He says that all he did was write protect it and verbatim
    copy it with Marauder.  I *think* I believe him.  In any case, when I
    first saw it, both the master disk and copy were messed up.  There was
    both "Mavis" and its icon, and a "copy of Mavis" and its icon, as if
    someone had single clicked Mavis and selected Duplicate from the menu.
    The copy was incomplete and the disk was out of space.

    Taking the obvious approach of deleting the copy worked at first, until
    Mavis tried to create a file to record user info.  Then it got a disk
    error.

    I have succeeded in getting it to work (off the floppy) by leaving the
    bad copy (just renaming the info file so it doesn't display), and
    deleting a bunch of printer drivers to free up some space on the disk.

    Even then, I had a disk error reappear yesterday, forcing me to repeat
    the above process.  Copy protected programs which write on their disk
    suck!

    This just puts more of a premium on finding a way to install this thing
    on a hard disk.

	Paul
2090.9loading pains -- but faster accessDPDMAI::MARASKYTue Jan 10 1989 04:4327
    On DigiPaint I created a directory for DPaint and called it Dpaint.
    I then modified my startup-sequence as follows.
    
    		Assign DPaint: DH0:DPaint
    		Assign DF1: DPaint
    
    I also do not have a second floppy and this seemed to work.  All
    files that were edited were put into my DPaint directory.
    
    I found AmigaBasic easy to do by just copying the AmigaBasic lang
    into the system directory DH0:.  I know that may seem wasteful by
    having the lang in two different directories but it is easy to use
    and I don't have to do any assigning.  The only thing that I can
    say about Mavis since I don't own a copy (it is on my wish list
    right after a memory expansion) is to be sure that a the library
    files point to the system libs & l files.  I usually do this by
    loading utility manager or some type of window driven UM and comparing
    the difference between the original disk and the disk you want to
    copy.
    
    One last note I have found that if you write or call the software
    company for that individual piece and tell them that you want to
    put it on your HD alot of the time they will charge you a small
    charge to send you an unprotected copy of the disk.
    
    Don
    
2090.10KindWordSAUTER::SAUTERJohn SauterTue Jan 10 1989 11:049
    I had a curious problem with KindWord that seems to be the reverse
    of the usual one.  It installs on a hard disk fine, following the
    instructions in the manual, but it won't read files from the hard
    disk!  The requestor allows you to look on the hard disk, but any
    attempt to select a file from there gets an error.
    
    Our solution is to copy the file to RAM before editing, and remember
    to copy it back to the hard disk afterwards.  Wierd!
        John Sauter
2090.11DigiPaintCHEOPE::ZABOTMarco Zabot-Adv.Tech.mgr-Turin ACTTue Jan 17 1989 09:069
    I not at home, so I may be wrong.
    Digipaint uses the two different icons to select the resolution
    by putting different specs into the DEFAULT TOOL. 
    The only thing to do is to change the two DEFAULT TOOL lines to
    reflect the actual location of the program 
    
    I do not remeber if I had to NewZap it for putting it on the HD
    since I always Newzap the programs to enlarge the window size to
    PAL standard.
2090.12problems installing F-18 and ICFTSHARE::DOYLEThu Aug 23 1990 15:1814
    
      I recently got my hard-drive up an running, and tried to install a
    copy of f-18 interceptor.
      I followed the reply in this note and did a disk search for the
    string DF0: so I could replace it with F-18, but I could not find the
    string on the disk. Am I doing something wrong?
      Also someone mentioned that they had installed It Came From The
    Desert on hard disk and gave it an Icon, does this mean you don't need 
    the first disk to boot?.
      How is it done?
    
    						Thanks 
    							Ed
    
2090.13DICKNS::MACDONALDVAXELN - Realtime Software PubsFri Aug 24 1990 13:104
    A "copy?"
    
    Perhaps it has been packed. If so, you wouldn't be able to do a search
    for DF0: unless it was unpacked.
2090.14NewzapMEALA::COLLINSSTEVEFri Aug 24 1990 13:268
    
    
    I think you should be searching the file not the disk for occurences
    of df0: . You should use Newzap on the executable file to do the
    searching , Newzap is is on one of the usual systems on the net.
    
    
    Steve..
2090.15Further Explanation.SHARE::DOYLEFri Aug 24 1990 13:3216
    Yes a "copy!", I'm not about to change data on my original....
    As you know, f-18 is non-copy protected so that you may make a backup.
    Of course there is still a code wheel protection involved.
      In an earlier reply some one said that the F-18 is hard coded with
    references to DF0:, he said he used new-zap to change them to F-18 then
    assigned F-18 to his hard-drive and it ran smoothly.
     All I know is that when I looked for DF0: doing a disk search,  with a 
    track & sector editor, I couldn't find it.
     When I tried to install my "copy" (there he goes using that C word
    again! Quick warm up the tar & feathers ;') ) and ran the icon, it kept
    saying something like no disk in unit 0.
     
    						 Thanks;
    							Ed 
    							Ed
    
2090.16Some Light at the end of the TunnelSHARE::DOYLEFri Aug 24 1990 13:368
    re: .14
    
    	Thanks,
               I figured just searching the whole disk would find it,
     perhaps searching files is what I need to do.
    
    							Ed
    
2090.17CLO::COBURNGrowing older, but not up...Fri Aug 24 1990 17:424
    Ed,
    
    Be sure to change all occurrences of "DF0:" to "F18:". There are more
    than one. 
2090.18"It Came From The Desert" from an iconBOMBE::MOOREEat or be eatenFri Aug 24 1990 21:2526
    re: .12
    I have installed "It Came From The Desert" on my hard disk with an icon
    to run it.  I don't remember exactly, but I think I followed their hard
    disk installation procedure for the most part.  Then I looked at how
    they said to use it and decided it could be done a lot better.  So I
    created a script to be run via IconX which brings up the game, it looks
    like this:
    
    	; The system may GURU if you have background tasks running, so
    	; shutdown stuff like SNAP, mouse accelerators, etc. before starting
    	; the game...
    	; c:Snap Quit
    	; c:DMouse QUIT
    	; etc.
    
    	; Make the necessary assignments.  This script resides in the same
    	; directory where the game files were installed...
    	Assign Desert2: ""
    	Assign Desert3: ""
    	Assign DES4:    ""
    
    	; Now start the game...
    	DShell
    
    My brother made a nice icon for this one, I'll try to remember to
    upload it over the weekend.
2090.19Additional InfoLODGE::LENDavid M. LenSat Aug 25 1990 02:0718
    re: NEWZAP for F18
    
       If you are new to the idea of file zapping please remember that
    you should not change the size of the zapped field.  In the case of
    F-18 you are changing all occurences of DF0:, therefore you should
    not exceed 3 characters.  Reply .17 shows a valid replacement with
    F18:, but an earlier reply indicated a replacement of F-18: which
    would not work.
    
       After you have zapped the file create a new directory on your hard
    drive.  Copy all the required F-18 files and directories to the hard
    drive and use the ASSIGN command to create the logical name.
    
       Example: I zapped DF0: to F18: and created the directory F18 in my
    hard disk partition labeled REC:. So I have the following ASSIGN
    command in my startup-sequence
    
    	ASSIGN F18: REC:F18
2090.20It's getting there...SHARE::DOYLEFri Aug 24 1990 13:0720
    re:-1
    
    	I successfully installed F-18 this weekend, Phew... 
        It's nice having this stuff on hard-disk, and not having 30
    different floppies laying all over my desk.. (not to mention the time
    spent searching for em).
    
    re:-2 
    
        That'd be great if you could upload the ICON.. Up till now , I've
    been using ICONMK program. This automatically makes the correct icon
    for the file, but sometimes doesn't include the right information.
        My assign list has grown fairly large in my startup-sequence, and
    the delay is quite noticable on startup. I've been reading up on the
    icon to see if I can have the assigns run from the Icons as opposed to
    including them in my startup-sequence.
    
    							Thanks
    								Ed
    
2090.21BOMBE::MOOREEat or be eatenTue Aug 28 1990 06:074
    OK, I have uploaded my "It Came From The Desert" script and icon to:
    
    	TAPE::USER2:[UPLOAD]DESERT.ZOO
    
2090.22Thankyou..SHARE::DOYLEThu Aug 30 1990 15:4610
   re:-1 THANX,
    
          This works like a charm, I think I'll use it on ICTFD2..
          I got quite abit of software using the techniques described to
    run from my hard-drive, (some are hard coded though.. :'(  ie:
    neuromancer.. needs a disk in df0:).
    
    
							Ed