SUPRBOOT allows the user to boot from drive a:, b:, or c:. It consists of a replacement for the boot record, and a helper file SUPRBOOT.SYS.
On a floppy in drive a:, by default it acts like DOS, except that if there is no system on the floppy, it automatically boots from drive c:.
If any of the Shift, Alt, or Ctrl keys are held down during initial booting,
you will be prompted for drive selection. You may then select drive a:, b:, or c:. The selected drive does NOT need to have SUPRBOOT installed.
On hard drive c:, by default it acts like DOS, except that if there is no system on the hard drive, you will be prompted for drive selection, as above. Holding down the Shift, Alt or Ctrl key also works the same way.
Note: Avoid pressing keys before the first sounds from your floppy drive, or the power on self test routine in your computer may tell you your keyboard is not working.
Installation: Copy SUPRBOOT.COM to a directory included in your PATH.
Put SUPRBOOT on a diskette in drive a: (or b:) with the command SUPRBOOT a: (or b:)
The target disk must be previously formatted, with DOS 4.0 or later already installed (with SYS or FORMAT) if a bootable disk is desired. Re-formatting the disk or re-installing DOS removes the SUPRBOOT function.
Putting SUPRBOOT on a disk replaces the boot record and adds SUPRBOOT.SYS, a 512 byte read-only file. If SUPRBOOT.SYS is somehow deleted, SUPRBOOT will function like DOS, but won't boot with the Shift, Alt or Ctrl key held down.
SUPRBOOT can be installed on your first hard drive also. As a safety measure, before doing so be sure you have a bootable floppy disk with a copy of SYS.COM (from your DOS directory) on it. Put SUPRBOOT on your hard drive with the command
SUPRBOOT c:
If your hard disk drive c: is compressed by DoubleSpace, and you install SUPRBOOT on drive c:, it will actually be installed on the host drive rather than drive c:, where it will operate correctly. Under unusual conditions, or if you use another compression program, it may be necessary to copy SUPRBOOT.SYS to the root directory of the host hard disk boot drive, with the command
COPY c:\SUPRBOOT.SYS h:\
where h: is the host drive letter.
The command
SUPRBOOT /*
provides a one-screen summary of features.
Special Considerations When Booting from Drive B: When drive b: is booted, the designations of drive a: and b: are swapped, so that all references to drive a: in DOS and BIOS calls are treated as applying to physical drive b:, and vice versa. (This is done because DOS contains several hard-coded references to drive a: in its initialization routines.)
Swapping means that drive a: becomes b: and b: becomes a: as far as your programs are concerned. Re-booting by any of the normal means (Ctrl-Alt-Del, Reset button, Power off-Power on) will remove the swap. If the physical b: drive is booted with a diskette with SUPRBOOT, and it re-boots to drive a: or c:, the swapping is also removed.
User registration and a copy of the latest version of this copyrighted program are available for $5.00 postpaid from Eric C. Olsen, Box 2328, Westport, CT 06880. Please specify 5.25" or 3.5".
Registered users are granted a permanent license to use SUPRBOOT.COM on one computer or terminal at a time, to install SUPRBOOT on as many disks as you choose, and to make as many back-up copies of SUPRBOOT.COM and SUPRBOOT.DOC as you desire for your own use.
Non-registered users are granted a temporary 30 day license with the same privileges.
System requirement: SUPRBOOT will not boot from its own drive unless the system is DOS 4.0 or later. There is no restriction on the level of the system on a selected non-SUPRBOOT drive.
LIMITATION: The swapping technique is incompatible with hardware features of the Heath-Zenith Z-100 and the TI Professional PC, and with the default interrupt used by MAGic, a TSR. I am aware of no other restrictions, and would appreciate notification of any problems you find.
