About 32 bit Addressing

If you have more than 8 megabytes of RAM installed in your Mac, chances are you are using 32-bit addressing. Why?? Because if you're not using 32-bit addressing your Mac won't recognize more than 8 megs of RAM. What you might not know, is that some of your applications may not be “32-bit clean”. What does this mean?? If an application is not 32-bit clean, you may be experiencing strange System Errors, crashes, irritability, sleepless nights, etc. That's where “Check 32!” steps in. “Check 32!” looks at your applications to see if they are, indeed, 32-bit compatible. How?? Good question. Ya see, when a developer writes an application, their program contains what's known as a “SIZE resource”. The SIZE resource contains LOTS of information. Things like: whether or not the application is 32-bit compatible, how much RAM to eat, etc. According to Apple’s programmer guidelines, Developers are supposed to check  their applications using 32-bit addressing before setting the “is32BitCompatible” bit in the SIZE resource. Unfortunately, the only way ( until now! ) to check this bit, was to open the application using ResEdit, open the SIZE resource, and checking to see that the bit was set. (Well, at least that used to be the case. When I first came up with the idea for this program, ResEdit was the only way of checking applications. Shortly before I released version .9, several applications and at least one INIT hit the market that will also do what “Check 32!” does. ) One caveat; just because an application doesn't have this bit set, it may still be 32-bit compatible. Huh?? Yeah, that’s right, it MIGHT still be 32-bit compatible! If an application is reported as “Not 32-bit compatible” by “Check 32!”, it simply means one of the following: 1. the developer did not test it using 32 bit mode. 2. The program is old, and 32 bit addressing wasn’t around yet. (A lot of applications in this category aren't clean.) 3. The program was tested in 32 bit mode, and isn’t compatible. It may or may not be 32-bit compatible. If you have been using an application in 32 bit mode with no problems, and “Check 32!” reports it as incompatible, don't worry about it! However, if you have recently started using 32 bit addressing, and one of your old trusty applications starts crashing on you, check it with “Check 32!”. If it's reported as incompatible, you may have just discovered the reason for the crashes. Ask the publisher if a 32-bit clean version is available.

How Do I Use it??

Version 1.0 introduces several new ways. What I recommend is using the new volume searching feature to check all the applications on your volumes. You can search a volume by selecting “A Volume…” from the “Check” menu. Then whenever you get new applications, drag-and-drop them on the “Check 32!” icon. You can drag-and-drop more than one application at a time if you'd like. “Check 32!” will launch and check the applications you dropped sequentially. Individual applications can also be checked by clicking the “Check…” button in the main dialog window. If you have any additional questions about “Check 32!”, turn on Balloon help, and start pointing.

Volume searches can take a while. My Duo 210’s 80 megabyte hard drive (which has 2300+ files and over 100 applications on it) takes about 3 minutes. Your mileage may vary according to the speed of your Mac, disk drive, and how many files there are on the volume you’re checking. You can cancel a volume search by pressing command-period. I recommend that you don't have any background processes running that are using the disk (file copying, compressing, etc.) while “Check 32!” is searching a volume. It may cause some applications to get skipped, or checked twice. It will also dramatically increase the amount of time a volume search takes.

Known Conflicts:

So far, I’ve only found one significant incompatibility. Norton Utilities “Directory Assistance” INIT conflicts with the dialog box that appears when you select “A Volume…” from the “Check” menu. It isn’t a crashing bug, but it can cause some confusion. There is a chance that after selecting this command, the dialog box that appears will not initially show you your desktop and your mounted volumes in the dialog window. (Like it should). It may show you somewhere within a folder of one of your drives. (It shouldn’t). If this occurs, use the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box to move to the desktop. Then select the volume you wish to search. Don't push the “Desktop” button. It won’t work. Don’t worry if you accidently select something other than a volume from this dialog. I’ve added code that will prevent a crash, and let you try it again.

About me…

I’m a 26 year old commuter airline pilot who loves the Macintosh. Matter of fact, the darn thing intrigues me so much I’ve spent the last couple years teaching myself how to program. “Check 32!” is the very first application I have written. Over 400 hours went into writing it. I’d like to say I did it just for fun, but I also did it to see if ShareWare is a viable way of marketing software. The previous version of “Check 32!” received 460+ downloads from America Online, and 550+ downloads from CompuServe. Several ShareWare distribution companies have been distributing it, and I’ve found it on many BBS’s throughout the country. What’s the point?? Glad you asked!!  : ) Several thousand people have tried “Check 32!”, and only seven people bothered to send in some money. (Thanks to those seven, by the way! : )  ) Fifteen people sent me EMail. Now in a way I can understand this. The previous version wasn’t complete, and I can understand people not wanting to pay for an under-developed application. This version, however, is a fully functioning application. I’m not raising the price, it’s still a buck. I’m also not going to require that you send in a buck. The old deal is still good. If you like it, send me a buck. If you don’t like it, can’t afford a buck, or don’t think it’s worth it, don't. Go ahead and use it anyway. Even if you don’t send in a buck, please send me some EMail!! Half the fun of writing these things is getting EMail! Just keep in mind that I’m a new programmer who would appreciate some support!! Either monetary or moral!  : )

Thanks!! I hope you find “Check 32!” useful!!

Brandt Despain
777 South 400 East #68
St. George, Utah 84770
(801) 628-7497

E-Mail: brandtd@aol.com
America Online: BrandtD

Credits:

This program never would have made it without the help of Master C Programmer MIKE CARTER!  Thanks, Mike!  : )  Thanks also to the author of “Learn C on the Macintosh”, Dave Mark! This help dialog was developed with James W. Walker's wonderful “Show_help” code. Dave Heller was an incredible help in writing the volume searching routines in a way that would be compatible with AutoDoubler. Beta testing by: Brett Despain, Pete Todd, Steve Snider, Judd Stiff, Tracy Peek, and Mike Carter. Thanks for helping me crush the bugs!

Version History:

1/27/94     1.1  Added additional information in Volume Search Results window, added spinning beachball cursor during volume searches, improved searching speed, added default filename to “Save” dialog, and changed Balloon help strings ( Thanks, Judd!! ).

1/23/94    1.0   First full functioning release. Volume searches, Apple Events (drag-n-drop), text file saving, and Balloon help implemented.

11/15/93   .9ß4 Fixed a bug where the cursor wasn’t properly being reset after dismissing the “Help” dialog.

11/12/93   .9ß3 Removed online services distribution restriction. Fixed a small bug that didn’t reset the correct error sound after selecting “About Check 32!” from the Apple menu.

11/11/93   .9ß2 First public release.

Copyright:

“Check 32!” is copyright © 1993 by Brandt Despain. All rights reserved. “Check 32!” is ShareWare, please feel free to give a copy to your friends. Alteration of any portion of this program without the author’s permission prohibited. This program is distributed without warranty. Use at your own risk. “Check 32!” was developed in “Think C 6.0.1”. Some portions copyright © Symantec.