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notsys.doc
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1988-05-28
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NOTSYS - Bootblock Fastram Remover/Modifier program V1.2
GRAB - Bootblock saver program V1.0
RESTORE - Saved Bootblock restorer V1.0
Programmed by Nic Wilson
© 1988 N.P. Wilson.
159 RAMSAY STREET
TOOWOOMBA QLD 4350
AUSTRALIA
PH. (076) 359221 AH
(076) 358539 WH
[Ed: Note - Make sure you read through this document, as it will
help you get round a lot of problems in using your Amiga,
especially running games that don't seem to work well at the
moment. And the programs here will also be very useful if you ever
get attacked by a virus - you'll be able to restore disks that
otherwise would have been dead for ever! There was an early version
of Notsys on MD7, which is superseded by this one.]
NOTSYS
This program was written in 68000 assembly language using ASM68k v1.0.1.
This program in primarily designed for Amiga users with Autoconfig Fast Ram.
As you are aware there are many programs on the Amiga which do not function
properly in FastRam. Some of these programs operate through normal
bootblocks while others have special boot blocks.
Before this program was written, users had to use the command NOFASTMEM on
these programs. The drawback to this is that some disks do not have the
space to put the file, others simply will not work with it, while those
with special boot block loaders, NOFASTMEM cannot be used at all
THIS PROGRAM WORKS ON ALL PROGRAMS, no matter what type of boot block or
loader they have. The way it works is to load the boot block from the disk
into memory then modify the code in the block to remove all available
FASTRAM, then it writes the boot block back to the disk. The extra code
added to the disk is transparent to the original code and in no way affects
its performance. What it will do is to remove all fastram available and
allow the program to operate correctly.
It has been tested on a variety of Amiga models and a wide variety of
software and has performed flawlessly.
USING NOTSYS
The syntax for NOTSYS is :- NOTSYS <DF0: DF1: DF2: DF3:>
e.g. > notsys df1:
where the disk you want to fix is in the external drive.
THE WRITE PROTECT TAB MUST BE SET TO THE WRITEABLE POSITION
Sometimes when a special boot loader disk is inserted from CLI, the Amiga
will pop up a System Request box telling you the disk is unreadable. Any
requesters of this type should be cancelled and ignored as NOTSYS will still
be able to read and write to the disk.
Once NOTSYS has been performed on a particular disk, that disk is then
permanently modified and will boot normally.
NOTSYS has complete inbuilt error checking that will inform you of any
errors that it encounters. A successful operation will display a copyright
sign on the screen along with a description of NOTSYS and a version number.
Any errors will display a message pertaining to the error encountered.
There may be occasions where NOTSYS could render a disk unbootable. This
slight chance has been taken into account and two other programs have been
supplied to overcome this possibility.
GRAB
GRAB will read a bootblock from any disk, including non standard dos disks.
It will then turn this bootblock into a file and save it to the current
directory of the current drive under the filename you specify.
We very strongly recommend that this program be used before NOTSYS is used.
If NOTSYS renders a disk unbootable, the boot block saved by GRAB can then
be reinstalled on the disk totally undoing any modifications performed by
NOTSYS, making the disk once again bootable.
***This program can also be used of course to repair boot blocks destroyed
by viruses. [ie, when you get your games disk, use GRAB to save the
bootblocks to a file - then if the disk ever gets infected with a virus,
you can simply use the program RESTORE to put the original bootblocks
back on the disk.]
USING GRAB
The syntax for GRAB is:- GRAB <drive> <filename>
Where <drive> is a valid drive name (eg. DF0: DF1: DF2: DF3:)
and <filename> is any valid AmigaDos filename.
e.g. > grab df1: df0:Barbarian.bootblocks
RESTORE
RESTORE takes a file saved by GRAB turns it back into a bootblock and
reinstalls it on the drive that you specify.
USING RESTORE
The syntax for RESTORE is:- RESTORE <drive> <filename>
Where <drive> is a valid drive name (eg. DF0: DF1: DF2: DF3:)
and <filename> is any valid filename that has been GRABbed.
With these three utilities your collection of disks will be totally safe
from VIRUSES and your Expensive FASTRAM will no longer be a headache.
Should you experience any problems with these programs do not hesitate to
contact me at the above phone number or address, stating your problem and
all attempts will be made to rectify your problem.
[Ed: Anyone who appreciates the efforts of Nic Wilson and Andy Clay could
give a bit of thought to encouraging their efforts by some feedback in
the form of a shareware donation, or by sending them your own
programming efforts, or whatever. There are more useful programs coming
from them in the next issue.]
HAPPY COMPUTING
NIC WILSON
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