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PUTTING A NEW SET OF
[W H E E L S]
ON YOUR C64
by K. Dale Sidebottom
[Dave's PreRamble:] The Homestead
maillist is the "happening" place for
C-64 power users. K. Dale Sidebottom,
President of the LUCKI Club and
Publishing Editor of UCUGA's Commodore
Digest decided to help everyone out
with a step by step explanation on how
to get Maurice Randall's WHEELS up and
running on a C-64 with a RamLink.
I realize that many LOADSTARites are
quite satisfied with their current
systems. However, as Dale will tell
you, if you want a 21st Century
Commodore with 21st Century
productivity, then WHEELS is certainly
one way to go.
This article was originally a letter
to Arndt Dettke -- who became both a
guinnea pig and a happy user of
WHEELS!
You need not follow my suggestions
to the letter, but it can save us a
lot of time. Then if you have a
problem, at least I will know what you
have tried. :-)
Please maximize the memory in your
RAMLink to 16 MB. Hopefully, you
already have 16 MB of memory. If not,
please try to get it. Because you
like to use a lot of graphics, you'll
probably need it sooner than later.
Please make three partitions for
Wheels on your RAMLink. These need
not consume the whole 16 MB, but try
to set aside approximately one-third
(at least 5-6 MB) of your RAMLink's
memory for WHEELS. Your "RAMLink
Utilities Disk" allows you to create
partitions, but some disks have an
error that pops up when you are trying
to make BIG partitions. If yours
shows an error during this procedure,
tell me and we will arrange for you to
get a copy of a RAMLink Utilities Disk
that will correct the error. :-)
So now you are ready to run "RAM
TOOLS" from the RAMLink Utilties Disk.
The first thing is to change the
drive# of the RAMLink from 16 to 8, 9,
10, or 11. You cannot use the RAMLink
to boot WHEELS unless it is configured
to be a drive numbered between 8 and
11! Then you want to use RAM TOOLS to
create three partions on the RAMLink
for use with WHEELS.
First, you need a boot partition
for Wheels. You will do NOTHING from
this partition except to boot Wheels,
so you do not want it to be too big. I
suggest 2048 blocks (around 500 KB).
If possible, make it the very first
partition on the RAMLink, native mode
format, 2048 blocks. Later, you will
run MakeSysDisk from the WHEELS MASTER
disk to create a boot partition here.
I actually have two boot partitions on
my RAMLink, one named "WHEELS 128
BOOT" and the second named "WHEELS 64
BOOT"! But put the one you will use
most often in the RAMLink's first
partition.
Second, create a large partition
called "WORKSPACE" or something like
that. Make it as big as you can. Mine
is 10 MB in size. If you want to have
space for GoDot in another partition,
you may want yours smaller, but please
try to make it at least 4-5 MB at a
minimum. This must also be a "native
mode" partition.
Third, you must have at least 128
KB of RAM space reserved for WHEELS.
You must format it to be a "DACC"
partition with a minimum of 512 blocks
(though I suggest you use more if you
have the room). Why use this RAM
instead of the SuperRAM in the SCPU?
Because the SCPU will lose memory when
the 64/128 is turned off.
The RAMLink can keep memory while
the computer is turned off, allowing
you to come from work and pick up
almost right where you left off the
night before.
When you boot up from your RAMLink
for the first time, one of the
dialogue boxes you encounter will list
five options. The third has to do with
reformatting the DESKTOP everytime you
boot up. Click on #3 to clear it
because you do not want WHEELS to
clear the DESKTOP. You want to be able
to start your next session where you
left off.
This is a special option which
Maurice created at my suggestion. By
clearing this (saying no), your
DESKTOP will boot up the next time
exactly as you left it, with the same
windows open and everything. This can
only happen, however, when your WHEELS
RAM is "kept warm" by the RAMLink!
You need to be careful to prevent
too many programs from cluttering up
your WORKSPACE. This will be easier if
you open a "sys dir" inside the main
partition. Just go up to the Command
line and select the "directory" option
to the far right. Click on it and then
click on "make sys dir".
This will give you a space
equivalent to the "border" area in
regular GEOS, except that instead of
being limited to only eight files, it
can hold as many file as space will
allow. Put all your work files here,
such as applications, Desk Assecories,
fonts, etc. In other words, place
here all the files what you will use
to create data files. Only your data
files need be placed in the "main
directory"! Yet if you click on any
application within the "sys dir", it
will search first the main directory
and then the sys dir to find all the
data files of that type.
The other vast advantage here is
that when you want to work on
different projects within WHEELS, you
can simply open a sub-partition and
"begin with a clean slate," so to
speak. But all those work files you
need to work within that new
sub-partition can be carried with you!
Just open up a new sys dir, and a
dialogue box will ask if you want to
use the same one that is currently
used in the "parent directory"? Say
yes, and all those work files will
immediately become available to you in
your new sub-directory.
So when I want to use WHEELS, I
hold down the CONTROL key and press
the "D" key twice. This will put the
drive #9 (my RAMLink) on the screen.
Then I press the UP-ARROW followed by
the ASTERISK and then RETURN. Five
seconds later, WHEELS is booted up.
(Did I forget to mention that I also
have a SuperCPU. That has something
to do with the fast start-up. ;-)
I always have the WORKSPACE main
directory open at the top of the
screen and the sys dir (system
directory) open in a window at the
bottom. The most used applications
(GeoWrite, GeoPaint, GeoPublish, and
PostPrint) are sitting in the top row
of my sys dir and ready to use
instantly.
The problem with giving advice is
that you often have to eat a lot of
crow afterward. The above system
works for me, but I may have errored
here or there, so how better to find
my errors than to share them with you.
;-) However, I hope this information
stirs discovery and introspection
which may, in the end, enrich all of
us who seriously value Maurice
Randall's extraordinary GEOS upgrade.
Thank you for everything you do to
support Commodore (and WHEELS), :-))
K. Dale Sidebottom
President of the LUCKI Club
Editor of the LUCKY REPORT (in 2001)
Publishing Editor of UCUGA's
Commodore Digest (in 2002)