MINT_IT/MAC_IT v1.1

... some slight bugfixing by Karl Anders ygard

XXXX_IT  didn't  behave  properly when  another  drive  than  the 
bootdrive was specified,  so I added support for this.

Furthermore I made it switch to medium resolution if the computer 
is  booted  up in low resolution.  Having MiNT running  in  a  40 
columns environment isn't too great...

Apart from this I optimised the code a bit,  made the config file 
reading  a  bit more foolproof and crammed the programs  down  to 
about half the original size... ;-)

Email: Karl Anders Oygard <karleoy@aahs.no>

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Mac_it/Mint_it v1.0   (hereafter refered to as xxxx_it)

by Worried Owl Freeware Inc.

Documentation
-------------

Copying
-------
These  programs  are  supplied under the same terms  as  the  GNU 
software, (see GNU General Public License latest version, This is 
fairly  freely  available,  so I'm not going to  waste  space  by 
posting it) i.e.  they are free, as is the source code, feel free 
to  modify  the code if you wish,  you cannot  charge  for  these 
programs,  and  most  importantly  these programs  come  with  NO 
WARRANTY & NO GUARANTEE.
 
Quick Info
----------

These  programs is for users of MiNT & Spectre mainly.  They  are 
really for hard drive users only,  I can't see floppy only  users 
having much use for them.

XXXX_IT  allows  users of MiNT,  to keep MiNT & it's shell  in  a 
directory,  rather  than having to keep them in the auto  folder, 
and  still be able to boot straight into MiNT,  rather  than  the 
desktop,  simply by pressing a key during boot up, if this key is 
not pressed, boot up continues as normal with absolutely no delay 
at all. (MINT_IT.PRG & MINT_IT.CNF)

The same is also true of Spectre 128/GCR except using  MAC_IT.PRG 
& MAC_IT.CNF



Description
-----------
XXXX_it  is an auto folder program designed for use by hard  disc 
owners  who  use  Spectre 128/GCR or MiNT although  it  could  be 
modified  to work with any program (see restrictions  in  Various 
Bits below).  It looks for a file called XXXX_IT.CNF in the  root 
directory  of  the boot drive.  The name of this  file  and  it's 
location could be changed by altering the source code.

The file XXXX_IT.CNF must be of the following format,

PATH<CR>
NAME<CR>

where  name  is  the  name of the  program  to  be  run,  usually 
LAUNCH.PRG, or MINT.PRG, and path is the path to the file.

I.e.  to  execute  C:\SPECTRE\LAUNCH.PRG the  configuration  file 
would look like,

c:\spectre\
launch.prg

XXXX_it  also  sets the palette to the  correct  colours,  before 
calling the program launch program.  This is important when using 
Spectre,  as the Mac screen look weird in reverse video. However, 
this could be changed by editing the source code,  as some people 
may want their MiNT shell to run in reverse video colours.

Installing XXXX_IT
------------------

* If you are using mac_it, then:

Place  mac_it first in order in your auto folder,  configure  the 
mac_it.cnf  file  as  described above and place it  in  the  root 
directory of the boot up drive.  When you boot up your system, if 
you  want to boot into Spectre,  press the 's' (for Spectre)  key 
once as your system boots up (just as the hard disc driver is run 
is a good time).  If, however you just want to boot as normal (ie 
to  the  desktop),  do  nothing and your computer  will  boot  as 
normal.

The  reason for putting Mac_it first in your auto folder is  that 
when  Spectre  runs it kicks everything else out  of  memory,  so 
there  is no point in loading in programs such as GDOS  from  the 
auto folder if they are not going to be used anyway. However, you 
may need to put programs such as ICDTIME.PRG before mac_it.prg if 
you  want the time to be correct in spectre.  There may be  other 
programs to which this applies,  but this will depend on  indivi-
duals hardware setups.

* If you are using mint_it, then:

Place mint_it after any other auto folder programs which may need 
to be run before MiNT,  such as poolfix,  clock setting  programs 
etc.

As with mac_it,  when the system is booting and you want to  boot 
into MiNT,  rather than GEM, press 'm' as the hard disc boots (as 
above).


Various Bits
------------

The  programs  described above could be modified to  always  boot 
into Spectre/MiNT,  unless a key is pressed or modified for other 
programs.  Due to the nature of these programs ie they run things 
before GEM is out of it's bed,  they can only be used for TOS  or 
other programs that do not use GEM.

Possible changes :
look for config file elsewhere,
use different key,
run other program.....

Feel  free to modify this program in any way you  like,  if  it's 
good, sent me a copy.


Sean Gordon
Worried Owl Freeware Inc.
Edinburgh
Scotland
12/04/91.

Email - sean@uk.ac.hw.cs

