ÐROFILE 80 
BY ÊANE Í. ÖOSKAMP

ÈAVE YOU EVER NEEDED TO CREATE AN AUTOBOOTING DISK AND BEEN UNABLE TO FIND THAT ROUTINE YOU KNOW WAS SOMEWHERE AMONGST ALL THE UTILITY PROGRAMS YOU'VE BEEN COLLECTING ?  ÉF YOU HAVE, THEN YOU NEED "ÐROFILE 80".

ÐROFILE 80 IS A PROFESSIONAL FILE UTILITY PROGRAM FOR 80-COLUMN MODE ON THE Ã128 USING A 1571 DSK DRIVE. ÂUT ÐROFILE 80 OFFERS MORE THAN JUST CREATING AUTOBOOT SECTORS FOR YOUR OWN ÄISKS AND/OR PROGRAMS. ×ITH ÐROFILE 80 YOU CAN ALSO CREATE A ÐROTECT FILE, WHICH ALLOCATES TRACK 1, ÓECTOR 0 ON THE ÂLOCK ÁLLOCATION ÍAP (ÂÁÍ) ON YOUR DISK, SO THE BOOT SECTOR CANNOT BE OVERWRITTEN WHILE YOU ARE PLACING FILES ON YOUR DISK.

ÏNE OTHER TROUBLE YOU MAY HAVE FOUND WITH AUTOBOOTING DISKS IS THAT YOU CANNOT COLLECT, OR VALIDATE THE DISK AFTERWARDS. ÐROFILE 80 GETS AROUND THIS PROBLEM BY DISABLING THE AUTOBOOT CODE FIRST, COLLECTING THE DISK, THEN RE-ENABLING THE AUTOBOOT CODE BEFORE EXITING THE COLLECT ROUTINE. ÐROFILE 80 ALSO OFFERS DISK ROUTINES SUCH AS VIEWING THE DIRECTORY, RENAMING AND SCRATCHING FILES, AND FORMATTING DISKS, PLUS THREE METHODS TO EXIT THE PROGRAM.

ÈOW  IT WORKS

ÂEFORE THE ÔITLE SCREEN IS DISPLAYED, THE START OF ÂASIC MEMORY IS RELOCATED. ÁT THE ÔITLE ÓCREEN PROMPT, THE MACHINE LANGUAGE ROUTINE IS LOADED WITH A KEYPRESS. ÔHE ROUTINE IS "Ã-128 ÃUSTOM ×INDOWS" BY ÆREDERICK ÇODDARD, PUBLISHED IN ÒÕÎ ÍAGAZINE ÍAY 1987.

ÔHE ÍÌ REMAINS IN CONTROL OF THE WINDOWS' BORDERS, THEIR NUMBERS, AND THEIR 3-Ä SHADOW EFFECT, AND RESULTS IN A POLISHED LOOK. ÅACH WINDOW HAS A NUMBER (1-3) DISPLAYED IN THE UPPER-LEFT CORNER, INDICATING THE SEQUENCE IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN ACCESSED, AND THE REVERSE ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARE CLOSED.

ÔHE ÍAIN ÍENU

ÔHE OPTIONS AVAILABLE ARE DISPLAYED, AND REMAIN ON SCREEN DURING ALL ACCESSES.

Æ1 - ÄIRECTORY    Æ2 - ÃOLLECT ÂOOT ÄISK
Æ3 - ÒENAME ÆILE  Æ4 - ÓCRATCH ÆILE
Æ5 - ÐROTECT ÂOOT Æ6 - ÍAKE AUTOBOOT
Æ7 - ÆORMAT ÄISK  Æ8 - ÅXIT ÐROFILE 80

ÓTATUS ÒEPORT

ÁFTER AN OPTION HAS FINISHED, OR YOU'VE EXITED THE ROUTINE, A ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW IS DISPLAYED. ÉF NO OPERATION HAS BEEN PERFORMED, OR THE STATUS IS 'ÏË', THE WINDOW DISAPPEARS WITH A BEEP. ÉF THERE HAS BEEN AN ERROR, OR ANY PROBLEMS DURING THE ROUTINE SELECTED, THE ÅRROR ÍESSAGE AND DISK STATUS ARE SHOWN. ÙOU ARE PROMPTED TO CHECK YOUR DISK, THEN PRESS A KEY TO DISPLAY A NEW STATUS AND EXIT TO THE MENU. ÔHE ROUTINES CONTAIN EXTENSIVE ERROR CHECKING FOR POSSIBLE PROBLEMS.

ÁLL THE OPTIONS ARE EASY TO USE, AND MOST HAVE SELF-CONTAINED INSTRUCTIONS, OPTIONS OR ÅXITS TO THE ÍENU. ÂUT SOME NEED FURTHER INFORMATION.

Æ2 - ÃOLLECT ÂOOT ÄISK. ÏN ACCESSING THIS OPTION, A WARNING IS DISPLAYED IN THE WINDOW. ÉT IS BEST TO AVOID COLLECTING, OR VALIDATING A DISK WITH ÇÅÏÓ FILES ON IT, OR THE FILES MIGHT BE DESTROYED.  Á Ù/Î PROMPT TO CONTINUE IS GIVEN. ÏN Î, THE WINDOW IS CLOSED AND THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND ÍENU IS DISPLAYED. ÏN Ù, THE PROGRAM CHECKS FOR AN AUTOBOOT ON TRACK 1, SECTOR 0. ÉF NONE IS FOUND, A NORMAL COLLECT, OR VALIDATION IS PERFORMED AND WHEN DONE, THE WINDOW CLOSES AND THE ÍENU REAPPEARS.

ÉF AN ERROR OCCURS, THE COLLECT ABORT, AND ÄÏÓ ÓTATUS IS DISPLAYED. ÉF THE DISK CONTAINS AN AUTOBOOT TRACK, THE BOOT SEQUENCE IS DISABLED, THEN RE-ENABLED AFTER THE VALIDATION PROCESS. ÔHE WINDOW IS THEN CLOSED AND THE PROGRAM DISPLAYS THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND THE ÍENU.

ÔHE STANDARD ÃOLLECT, OR VALIDATION FUNCTION DOES NOT HAVE THIS CAPABILITY, AND DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE BOOT SEQUENCE, THE PROGRAM MIGHT NOT RETURN FROM TRYING TO COLLECT A BOOT DISK. ÔHE REASON IS DUE TO THE CHARACTERS WRITTEN TO DISK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOT SEQUENCE. ÁLL NORMAL SECTORS BEGIN WITH ÂYTES 0 AND 1 POINTING TO THE NEXT TRACK AND SECTOR FOR A PARTICULAR FILE, OR WITH $00 IN BYTE 0 TO INDICATE NO MORE SECTORS.

ÈOWEVER, ON A BOOT SECTOR, BYTES 0 AND 1 CONTAIN $43 (67) AND $42 (66), AND REPRESENT ÁÓÃÉÉ CHARACTERS 'ÃÂ', (PART OF 'ÃÂÍ'), INDICATING THAT IT IS A BOOT SEQUENCE. ÃONSEQUENTLY, THE STANDARD ÄÏÓ COLLECT TRIES TO READ TRACK 67, SECTOR 66, BUT AS THIS SECTOR DOESN'T EXIST ON ÃÂÍ DISKS. ÉNSTEAD, THE DRIVE CONTINUES TO SPIN AND IT NEVER RETURNS TO UPDATE THE ÂÁÍ WITH THE NUMBER OF USED BLOCKS ON THE DISK.

ÏNE POSSIBLE PROBLEM THAT COULD OCCUR DURING THE COLLECT, IS THAT AFTER DISABLING THE AUTOBOOT SEQUENCE, THE COLLECT ENCOUNTERS CORRUPTED SECTORS ON THE DISK AND ABORTS THE COLLECT WITHOUT CONTINUING THROUGH THE RE-ENABLE AUTOBOOT SEQUENCE. ÔHE WINDOW WILL CLOSE AND THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW WILL BE DISPLAYED WITH ERROR MESSAGES. ÉN THAT CASE YOUR DISK WILL NO LONGER AUTOBOOT.

ÉF THIS SHOULD HAPPEN, AND YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE PROGRAM THAT IS AUTOBOOTING, ONE SOLUTION IS TO USE Æ6 -  ÍAKE ÁUTOBOOT OPTION TO RE-WRITE THE AUTOBOOT SECTOR. ÉF YOU DON'T KNOW THE PROGRAM, BUT YOU WANT TO RESURRECT THE SECTOR, REBOOT WITH A SECTOR EDITOR AND EXAMINE TRACK 1 SECTOR 0. ÒEINSTATE BYTES 0 AND 1 TO $43 AND $42 RESPECTIVELY.

ÁN ALTERNATIVE IS TO GET A NEW DISK AND  PRESS Æ7 TO FORMAT, THEN USE Æ5 - ÐROTECT ÂOOT, AND Æ6 - ÍAKE ÁUTOBOOT, THEN EXIT ÐROFILE 80.  ÔHEN USING A FILE COPY PROGRAM, TRANSFER THE AUTOBOOTING FILE TO THE NEW DISK, AND AS MANY UNCORRUPTED FILES FROM THE OLD DISK AS POSSIBLE, AND THEN FORMAT THE CORRUPTED DISK. ÄON'T USE YOUR OLD DISK IF IT HAS CORRUPTED FILES ON IT.

Æ3 - ÒENAME ÆILE. ÅNTER THE FILE TO BE RENAMED (UP TO 16 CHARACTERS), AND PRESS RETURN. ÔHEN ENTER THE NEW NAME FOR THE FILE (UP TO 16 CHARACTERS), AND PRESS RETURN. ÎEXT, AT THE Ù/Î PROMPT ENTER Ù TO CONTINUE, OR Î TO EXIT. ×HEN THE RENAME IS COMPLETED, THE DIRECTORY IS AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAYED ON SCREEN. ÐRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND ÍENU. ÉF AN ERROR IS DETECTED DURING RENAMING, THE PROGRAM ABORTS, CLOSES THE WINDOW AND DISPLAYS THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW, THE ÅRROR MESSAGE AND ÄÏÓ ÓTATUS.

Æ4 - ÓCRATCH ÆILE. ÁT THE '?' PROMPT, ENTER "$" TO VIEW THE DIRECTORY, OR RETURN TO EXIT TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND ÍENU. ÏTHERWISE, ENTER THE FILENAME TO BE SCRATCHED. ÉF YOU ENTER A FILENAME EXACTLY 16 CHARACTERS LONG, YOU WILL RECEIVE A 'NAME TOO LONG' MESSAGE. ÔHAT'S BECAUSE THE RETURN KEYPRESS IS COUNTED AS A CHARACTER.
×HEN YOU REALLY HAVE TO SCRATCH A 16 CHARACTER FILENAME, ENTER THE FIRST 14 CHARACTERS, THEN AN ASTERISK, THEN PRESS RETURN.  ÁN ALTERNATIVE IS TO USE Æ3 - TO RENAME THE FILE, AND THEN SCRATCH IT. ÁT THE Ù/Î PROMPT TO CONTINUE, ENTER Ù TO SCRATCH THE FILE FROM DISK, OR Î TO EXIT TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND THE ÍENU.

×HEN A SCRATCH IS COMPLETED, THE DIRECTORY IS AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAYED ON SCREEN. ÐRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND ÍENU. ÉF AN ERROR IS DETECTED DURING SCRATCHING, THE PROGRAM ABORTS, CLOSES THE WINDOW AND DISPLAYS THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW, THE ÅRROR MESSAGE AND ÄÏÓ ÓTATUS.

Æ5 - ÐROTECT ÂOOT. ÔHIS OPTION PROTECTS THE AUTOBOOT SECTOR BY CREATING A ÕSER (ÕÓÒ) FILE CALLED ÐROTECT, AND ALLOCATING TRACK 1 SECTOR 0  TO IT ON THE ÂÁÍ. ÙOU SHOULD USE THIS OPTION ONLY AFTER FORMATTING A NEW DISK, AND BEFORE ADDING ANY FILES TO THE DISK, AND BEFORE USING  Æ6 - ÍAKE ÁUTOBOOT OPTION (THE PROGRAM WILL KNOW IF YOU HAVE DONE THIS IN A DIFFERENT ORDER).

ÁT THE Ù/Î PROMPT TO CONTINUE, ENTER Î TO EXIT TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND THE ÍENU. ÏN Ù, INSERT THE DISK TO BE PROTECTED AT THE PROMPT, AND PRESS ANY KEY TO HAVE THE ÕÓÒ FILE WRITTEN TO DISK. ÉF THE ÐROTECT FILE IS NOT THE FIRST FILE ON THE DIRECTORY, THE ROUTINE WILL ABORT TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND THE ÍENU.

ÈOWEVER, WHEN THE ÕÓÒ FILE IS WRITTEN AND ALLOCATED TO TRACK 1 SECTOR 0, THE COLLECT ROUTINE IS CALLED, WHICH WILL CHECK FOR AN AUTOBOOT SECTOR BEFORE COMMENCING. ×HEN COMPLETED, THE DIRECTORY IS AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAYED ON SCREEN. ÉF AN ERROR IS DETECTED DURING THE ÐROTECT, THE PROGRAM ABORTS, CLOSES THE WINDOW AND DISPLAYS THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW, THE ÅRROR MESSAGE AND ÄÏÓ ÓTATUS.

Æ6 - ÍAKE ÁUTOBOOT. ÔHIS OPTION SHOULD ONLY BE USED ON A NEWLY FORMATTED DISK AFTER USING Æ5 - ÐROTECT BOOT OPTION. ÁNY DATA STORED ON TRACK 1 SECTOR 0 WILL BE OVER-WRITTEN AND LOST DURING THIS PROCESS. ÙOU CAN MAKE AUTOBOOTS FOR ÍACHINE ÌANGUAGE PROGRAMS OR FOR ÂASIC PROGRAMS. ÉN THE CASE OF ÍÌ PROGRAMS THE COMMAND 'ÂÏÏÔ' IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOT SEQUENCE WITH THE PROGRAM NAME, FOR ÂASIC PROGRAMS,  'ÒÕÎ' IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOT SEQUENCE.  ÅNTER Ù AT THE PROMPT TO ENTER THE NAME OF THE PROGRAM  TO BE AUTOBOOTED. ÔHE PROGRAM THEN PROMPTS TO ENTER THE PROGRAM TYPE, ÂASIC OR ÍÌ.

ÅNTER EITHER ÂASIC OR ÍÌ,  NOT JUST Â OR Í. ÔHE PROGRAM THEN WRITES THE AUTOBOOT SEQUENCE SPECIFIED TO TRACK 1 SECTOR 0. ÂYTES 0 TO 2 WILL HOLD $43 (67) 'Ã', $42 (66) 'Â', $4Ä (77) 'Í' RESPECTIVELY, ÄÏÓ CHECKS THIS SECTOR AND ALL THE CODE NECESSARY IS CONTAINED IN IT. ÏNCE THE SEQUENCE IS WRITTEN THE PROGRAM CONTINUES TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND ÍENU. ÉF AN ERROR IS DETECTED DURING AUTOBOOT, THE PROGRAM ABORTS, CLOSES THE WINDOW AND DISPLAYS THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND THE ÅRROR MESSAGE AND ÄÏÓ ÓTATUS.

Æ7 - ÆORMAT ÄISK. ÏN ACCESSING THIS OPTION, A WARNING IS DISPLAYED IN THE WINDOW, ANY PREVIOUSLY USED DISK YOU FORMAT WILL BE TOTALLY ERASED, IT CANNOT BE RECOVERED LATER IF YOU HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS. ÙOU ARE THEN PROMPTED TO CONTINUE. ÔHE NEXT PROMPT IS FOR THE DISKNAME. ÅNTER A DISKNAME UP TO 16 CHARACTERS, THEN TWO CHARACTERS FOR THE DISK ÉÄ. ÙOU ARE PROMPTED TO CONTINUE. ÔHE ROUTINE CHECKS IF THE DISK IS PRESENT, AND WHETHER IT HAS BEEN USED BEFORE. ÁN UNFORMATTED DISK RETURNS THE SAME INFORMATION AS A MISSING DISK.

ÆOR A DISK THAT HAS BEEN USED BEFORE, THE DIRECTORY SCROLLS IN THE WINDOW BRIEFLY. ÉF ALL IS IN ORDER, THE DISK IS FORMATTED, AND THE DIRECTORY IS AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAYED ON SCREEN. ÐRESS ANY KEY TO EXIT TO THE ÓTATUS ÒEPORT WINDOW AND ÍENU. ÉF AN ERROR IS DETECTED DURING THE FORMAT, THE PROGRAM ABORTS AND THE ÄÏÓ ÓTATUS APPEARS.

Æ8 - ÅXIT ÐROFILE 80  ÔHIS OPTION GIVES YOU 3 WAYS TO ÅXIT:
1. ÂOOT THE DISK
2. ÇO 64 MODE 
3. ÅXIT TO ÂASIC 7.0  OR RETURN TO ÐROFILE 80.

ÏPTIONS 1 AND 2 GIVE A WARNING THAT THERE IS NO RETURN FROM THIS FUNCTION, AND PROMPT YOU TO CONTINUE OR REMAIN IN THE PROGRAM. ÏPTION 3 PROMPTS IF YOU ARE SURE Ù/Î?. ÁS YOU RETURN TO ÂASIC THE FUNCTION KEYS ARE RE-ACTIVATED AND THE CREDITS WINDOW REMAINS ON THE SCREEN.