"ÕNIVERSAL ÁUTOBOOT ÃREATOR"

ÃREATES AUTOBOOTABLE DISKS.  ÔO USE, SELECT THE DEVICE NUMBER OF THE
DRIVE ON WHICH YOU WISH TO MAKE AN AUTOBOOTABLE DISK.  ÁND ANSWER THE
REMAINING PROMPTS.  ÙOU CAN ABORT THE WHOLE PROCESS AT A COUPLE OF
POINTS.  ÁT THE ENTER-PROGRAM-NAME PROMPT, SHOULD YOU THINK TO YOURSELF,
OH, É CAN'T REMEMBER THE FILENAME É WANT TO BOOT HERE, YOU CAN MERELY
SPACE OUT THE DEFAULT NAME TO QUIT THE PROGRAM SO YOU CAN CHECK THE
DIRECTORY BEFORE STARTING AGAIN.

ÔHE PROGRAM IS FLEXIBLE ENOUGH IT ASKS YOU FOR BOTH THE UNIT NUMBER OF
THE DRIVE ON WHICH SHALL BE MADE AN AUTOBOOTABLE DISK, AND FOR THE UNIT
NUMBER OF THE FILE TO RUN.  ÓO THOSE ARE INDEPENDENT SELECTIONS.  ÕSE
'*' FOR THE RUNTIME UNIT.  ÉF YOU DO USE ANY UNIT NUMBER OTHER THAN 8 AT
THE FIRST PROMPT, YOU WILL NEED TO USE THE ÂÏÏÔ COMMAND TO BOOT THE
DRIVE.

ÔHIS PROGRAM IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE AUTOBOOT MAKER PROGRAM ON THE 1581
DEMO DISK.  ÒEASON FOR THIS IS THAT IT DERIVES FROM THAT PROGRAM.  ÔO IT
WAS ADDED AN OPTION THAT SEEMED NEEDED.  ÉF YOU START OFF WITH A BLANK
DISK, YOU MAY WANT TO MAKE IT AUTOBOOTABLE LATER ON.  ÁND LIKELY YOU
COULDN'T DO IT LATER ON, BECAUSE THERE ARE A BUNCH OF FILES ON DISK, AND
THE BOOT SECTOR IS NOW ALLOCATED FOR ONE OF THOSE FILES YOU PUT THERE.

ÓO IT GIVES YOU AN OPTION TO PRE-ALLOCATE THE SECTOR.  ÙOU CAN DO THIS
WHEN STARTING OUT WITH A BLANK DISK.  ÎO AUTOEXEC.  ÔHIS MAY ALSO BE
USED IF YOU WISH TO STOP A DISK FROM AUTOBOOTING.

ÁUTOBOOTING DISKS CREATED WITH ÕÁÃ HAVE THIS PROPERTY: YOU CAN ABORT THE
AUTOBOOT PROCESS.  ×HEN YOUR Ã128 PROCEEDS TO AUTOBOOT THE DISK, HOLD
DOWN ÃONTROL-Ã AND THE PROCESS IS CANCELED.

ÕÁÃ ADAPTS TO THE FOLLOWING DRIVES: 1541, 1571, 1581, ÃÍÄ DRIVES, NATIVE
MODE PARTITIONS, EMULATED PARTITIONS...

ÏNE LAST TOUCH.  ÔHERE IS A PROVISION TO LET THE USER ARRANGE THE ÂÁÓÉÃ
COMMANDS TO EXECUTE UPON AUTOBOOT.  ÔYPE ÒÕÎ 9999 AND IT WILL LET YOU
ENTER A COMMAND.  ÉT MAY NOT BE INTUITIVE HOW THIS ALL WORKS, AND É
SHAN'T EXPLAIN ANY INTRICASIES ANY FURTHER, SO BEGINNEERS SHOULD
CERTAINLY AVOID THIS.  ÉF YOU TRY THIS, WHAT YOU ANSWER FOR THE PROGRAM
NAME PROMPT IS MERELY WHAT IS PRINTED ON BOOT-UP.

ÍOST OF THE AUTOBOOT MAKER PROGRAMS YOU MAY HAVE COME ACROSS HAVE A
NUMBER OF PROBLEMS.  ÔHE ONE ON MY 1571 DEMO DISK, THE ONE ON MY 1581
DEMO DISK, AND THE ONE ON MY ÈÄ DEMO DISK ARE ALL PERHAPS POORLY
FORMED... WELL, THEY WORK, BUT CERTAINLY ARE PRONE TO DO SOMETHING ODD
SOME TIME OR OTHER.  ÔHE 81 DEMO DISK ONE WAS THE NICEST ONE, AND FEWEST
PROBLEMS.

ÉF YOU EVER VALIDATE AN AUTOBOOTABLE DISK, YOU SHOULD RUN THIS PROGRAM
AGAIN, BECAUSE VALIDATING WILL DE-ALLOCATE THE BOOT SECTOR AND RESERVE
IT AGAIN FOR REGULAR FILE STORAGE.

- ÁDAM ÖARDY