FATSPEED.PRG 1.9
Copyright 1988 by Ulrich Kuebler
All rights reserved
WHAT IT DOES
- Speeds up the search for free clusters in file write operations
( only for drives with 16 bit FAT )
- Dfree works faster
- Fixes the GEMDOS bug, which bombs at redirection of Cconout, Cauxout
and Cprnout.
- replaces the sector buffer copy routines by faster ones
ENVIRONMENT
This program works with the rom versions dated 85/11/20, 86/2/6 and
87/4/22 (Mega). It is tested with different harddisk configurations
and harddisk drivers.
! This is NOT a working-in-any-case patch to GEMDOS !
! FATSPEED may get in conflict with other programs in the AUTO folder
! or accessories, which may cause unpredictable things to happen.
! Some applications or games may refuse to work with FATSPEED installed.
! If you want to use the program, you do it at your own risk.
INSTALLATION
To install the program, simply put it into the AUTO-folder of
your boot drive or start it from a shell. Starting from desktop
is not recommended since error messages disappear when the desktop
returns.
Since this is very rom dependent code, I have included some
checkpoints to verify address validity. If one of these checks fails,
the message 'Installation failed' appears with an error code,
and no modification is done to any vector or TOS data.
It is not possible to install the program twice, you will get an
error if you try to.
At installation time, FATSPEED tries to find out all needed addresses
by looking at your TOS version date and some information in rom.
If the TOS date is unknown, a warning message will appear and FATSPEED
will attempt to continue installation.
If you want to use the program, PLEASE do a hard disk backup before.
Don't flame me if you end up with a damaged hard disk or floppy (!),
the use is at your own risk ! I dont't know about interfering with
other resident utilities, it works for my configuration.
To avoid problems when calculating rom addresses you should install
FATSPEED in the AUTO folder in the order below :
1. SETINIT.PRG ( if you use it )
2. AHDI.PRG ( or your favorite hard disk driver )
3. FOLDRxxx.PRG ( you *should* use it :-)
4. FATSPEED.PRG
5. your other utilities
If you get a 'Installation failed' error or run into problems when
working with FATSPEED installed, you should try it again WITHOUT
any other auto programs or accessories loaded ( except those listed
above ). If the problem remains and you are still interested in using
this program, drop me a mail with the full error message included
or a detailed description of the problems you have. You may also look
at the source and try to fix it. The source is available upon request.
There is no original Atari rom code included in this program,
the needed code is copied from your roms. It needs about 30k ram space.
IMPORTANT !
I am not responsible for anything which happens when you use this
program. There may still be bugs in it, and if something is
damaged by its use, you are on your own.
In order to minimize the risk to screw up files on the hard disk,
every free cluster found by my program will be checked up in the
old way, and if it differs, a dot ( . ) will be printed onto the
screen and the cluster is not used. Since now nobody claimed about
FATSPEED printing dots.
Any bug reports and suggestions for improvement are most appreciated.
Obviously, there will be no more need for FATSPEED when Atari's new
roms are available.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
'FATSPEED.PRG' and this document are copyrighted by the author.
All rights reserved. Permission is granted for noncommercial copy
and usage provided that both 'FATSPEED.PRG' and this 'README'
remain together and unchanged.
Enjoy !
Uli Kuebler
University of Kaiserslautern
West-Germany
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