

SEPARATE FOLLOW-THROUGH ARTICLE (A DO-IT-YOURSELF GUIDE)


                      TeraBoot Step-by-Step

1.  Gather the needed PD programs listed in the article.  They
are also found on 'Current Notes' Library Disk No. 843.
'Teradesk at Tuxedo Junction', except for the accessory
Chameleon.

2.  Have on hand a text editor or wordprocessor that produces
ASCII files.  It is well to have an editor that can handle hex
files because we shall be performing a small operation on the
program FastRAM by Smeton.  Harvey's PD  editor, 'Diary', which
is on the CN Library disk, is suitable.(1)  The operation may
also be performed with a program like STart magazine's 'Disk
Doctor', or Michtron's 'MUtil'.

3.  Load FASTRAMD.PRG into the editor.  It contains the reference
'RAMDISK.INF', which is easy to spot with any of the tools listed
under point 2.  With 'Diary', toggle to the 'hack' option to
find it.  That notation, 'RAMDISK.INF, calls for an information
file by this name.  With the editor, place the cursor on the
period, then backspace three positions and type __C.  Then save
the program as 'FASTRAMC.PRG'.  Do another such operation to
create 'FASTRAMD.PRG' in which '__D' takes the place of 'ISK'.

4.  Prepare and save four ASCII files with your text editor:

C1500.
and save this text as 'RAMD__C.INF'.

D225.
and save this text as 'RAMD__D.INF'.

#320,200 LOW_REZ.CFG
#640,200 MED_REZ.CFG
#640,400 HIGH_REZ.CFG
and save this text as 'DESKTOP.BAT'.

A:\TO_RAM_D\*.*,    D:\
A:\*.AC,            D:\
and save this text as 'RAMFILES.LST'.

C1500 calls for a 1500-K RAM Disk labelled 'C'.  If your overall
RAM is 2 meg, cut the RAM disk down, for the time being, to 500 K
or so.  The size of Drive 'D' determines how much one can load
onto it.  You might cut it to, say, 200 K without significant
loss of features.

5.  Format a double-sided disk to serve as your Tera-boot disk. 
Lots of room is nice, so why not go for, say, 82 tracks, 10
sectors/track, which gives you about 830 K.  FastCopy will do
this as will various other formatters.  Create on this boot disk
three folders: AUTO, DESKTOP, and TO_RAM_D.

7.  Put the desired self-starting programs in the auto folder,
making sure that such programs as POOLFX92.PRG go in first. 
There is no need for STE_FIX.PRG because the Teradesk takes care
of what it aims to fix.  (The computer executes programs in the
order they are loaded, not in any of the orders shown under the
item 'View' in the desktop's menu bar.)  Next comes HAZEL.PRG. 
Also include in the auto-folder your homemade FASTRAMC.PRG and
FASTRAMD.PRG, but not your original FASTRAMD.PRG!  Also
include a copy of Garvey's RMFILES6.PRG.

8.  From the Teradesk supply file copy the following items into
the folder named DESKTOP:  DESKTOP.PRG, DESKTOP.RSC, and
ICONS.RSC.  (You may want to use instead of the last item a
copy of 'ICONS_XX.RSC' found in the 'TUXEDO_J' file or folder. 
This should then be renamed 'ICONS.RSC' because the Teradesk
program will look for an icon file by this name.)  Also put in
the folder a copy of DESKTOP.BAT created under point 4.  You
'may', if you so wish, add the three configuration files I put in
TUXEDO_J: HIGH_REZ.CFG, MED_REZ.CFG, and LOW_REZ.CFG.  In that
case you can skip steps 12 - 16.

9.  Put your favorite accessories in the so-called root directory
of your boot disk.  Provide full .ACC extenders for six of them. 
It is suggested you include Sanders' clock (SDS_ZEIT.ACC) and a
text editor.  Personally, I'd include a Fleabyte calculator
accesssory as well, but I must confess to being somewhat biased
here.(2)  If you are limited to 2 meg, look for small
accessories.  As for that tiny German Wunderkind, CHAMLEON.ACC,
if you don't have a copy and you have no GEnie account, check
around with fellow Atarists.  If all else fails, ask me for a
copy by mailing me a stamped (Canadian stamps), self-addressed
envelope with disk.  If you only have U.S. stamps, ask the editor
of 'Current Notes', Joe Waters, for a copy.  Also put in the root
directory additional favorite accessories, but make their
extenders .AC.  The old Atari control panel, CONTROL.AC, may be
included here.  (As described in te main article, I keep
XCONTROL.AC on a special disk for CPX's.)  Include THE_RAM.AC, if
you wish to have an extra RAM disk on tap.  For quick notes
during a working session you might include one of the Notebook
accessories listed in Ref. 25 of the main article, but know that
the Fleabyte accessory lets you write and store one-line memos.

10.  Put in the folder named TO_RAM_D copies of FCOPY_3.PRG,
ARCX.TTP, LHARC.TTP or LZH201K.TTP, ZIP2TOS.PRG.

11.  Put in your root directory the files RAMD__C.INF,
RAM__D.INF, and RAMFILES.LST.  You wrote them in Step 4.  You may
also need an ASSIGN.SYS file to go with any GDOS or GDOS-plus or
what-have-you.  Certainly you need a DESKTOP.INF file to give
proper signals to the TOS arrangements that underlie the
Teradesk.  I put a DESKTOP.INF file in the package TUXEDO_J.  It
includes the lines:

#Z 01 A:\DESKTOP\DESKTOP.PRG@ 
 
and 

#G 03 FF   *.PGM@ @ 

The first one lets TOS run the Teradesk, the other accomodates
the extender of the program launcher, MAIN_A.PGM.

                                *

Having done all this try out your rough diamond by booting up
in high or medium resolution.  

If, in Step 8, you did include the three configuration files, you
may then skip to Step 17.  Else you will get sometime during the
boot-up procedure an error message: "Error while loading the
configuration file: File not found".  Not to worry, just press
the RETURN key and click on the option 'Save settings' under the
menu-bar heading 'Options'.  Reboot and the result will be
something like this:

                    INSERT COPY OF SCREENDUMP
                    "FIG_A" HERE.  NOT WIDER
                    THAN THE COLUMN. 

Now we are ready to do some polishing.

12.  Drag the various icons to where you want to place them on
the desktop.

13.  Create menu windows by clicking on Disk icons A to D (and
maybe a few more extra menu windows).  You may consult the manual
that comes with Teradesk for detailed instructions.  Size and
position the menus to your liking.  You may alter the size of the
characters used for the menus by calling for 'Window options...'
(I prefer size 9).  This will also let you pick a desktop
background pattern.  There is no need, really, to see the
contents of Drive D and it is just as well to click it out of
sight (left-top button) along with the extra windows.  That just
leaves Menus A to C visible.  That keeps the desktop nice and
tidy.

14.  Use the Chameleon accessory to activate 'The RAM' on Drive D
and then create an icon for Drive E with the aid of 'Install desk
icon...' under 'Options'.

15.  Open the menu for Drive D by double-clicking on its desktop
icon.  Change 'View' from 'Show as text' to 'Show as icons' and
click 'once' on 'FCOPY_3.PRG' to create a reverse video.  Copy
the icon onto the desktop by dragging its image from the menu
window to where you want it.

16.  Click on a desktop icon to cause reverse video and call for
the option 'Change icons...'.  Select a desired replacement icon
and write a replacement label to your liking.  For example, for
'FCOPY_3.PRG' on the menu, I have 'FastCopy' on the desktop. 
Repeat the process for all desk icons.  Save your Teradesk layout
by clicking on 'Save settings' under 'Options'.

                                *

Now for the hot-clicks: 'Copy to C' and 'Main A pgm'.

17.  Insert in Drive A an application disk, '1st Wordplus, say'. 
Copy onto the disk from the TUXEDO_J folder the launching program
for WORDPLUS.PRG.  Its name is the same, but its extender is
.PGM, 'i.e.' WORDPLUS.PGM.  Rename WORDPLUS.PGM to MAIN_A.PGM. 
Also copy to the root directory of that disk Garvey's
RMFILES6.PRG.  Write, like you did under point 4, a file called
RAMFILES.LST with the names of the files you might like to
automatically transfer from Drive A to Drive C, e.g.

A:\WORDPLUS.PRG,            C:\WORD\
A:\WORDPLUS.RSC,            C:\WORD\
A:\WORDPLUS.STR,            C:\
A:\PRINTER.CFG,             C:\WORD\
A:\SNAPSHOT.AC,             C:\WORD\

Put the RAMfiles listing in the root directory of the 1st
Wordplus disk.

'Notes': 
  1.  No need to first put on Disk C a folder named 'WORD'.  It
      will be created by this script  
  2.  WORDPLUS.STR 'must' be in a root directory.

18.  Again change 'Show as text' to 'Show as icons' and drag-copy
the icons that go with RMFILES6.PRG and MAIN_A.PGM onto the
desktop.  You may now alter these icons and/or their labels with
the 'Change icons...' option..

19.  You may use 'Install application...' to have files
automatically calling associated programs.  Take .LZH files, for
example.  Click on the program LHARC.TTP or LZH201K.TTP (on Drive
D) and then on 'Install application...'.  In the small box click
on ADD and type in '*.LZH'.  Change the command line to read

e %f C:\FROM_LZH\

Make 'Window' the 'Current directory', then click on 'INSTALL'. 
This will let you click on any .LZH file to have it automatically
decompressed into a folder names 'FROM_LZH' on RAM drive C. 
For any .ARC and .ZIP files, see the main article, 'Teradesk at
Tuxedo Junction'.  Again, click on the desktop's 'Save settings'
option.


References:

1.  Craig Harvey, "Diary". GEnie ST Lib.  24679:DIARY24B.ARC.
2.  Henry K. van Eyken, Fleabyte Accessories, 'Current Notes'
    Library disk #770: Utility No. 20 (1993).