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3]TEACHING TRANSFORMER SOME NEW TRACKS
By SUZANNE MITCHELL, Tyler, TX
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     Transformer was supposed to be the answer to IBM compatibility with the
Amiga. In my opinion, Commodore kissed off this little jewel before it
reached retail outlets.
     Still, many Amiga users have found, though there are limitations,
Transformer can be a useful and inexpensive addition to an Amiga system.
     And the real topic here is how to format 3 1/2" disks via Transformer
so they will hold 720K of IBM-compatible material, rather than the usual
360K.
     Several members of the Tyler Computer Club were dismayed because their
newly purchased laptops used the "new" 3 1/2" disks and the cost to
transpose their present software to the new disks would be high.
     I mentioned the answer might be to use Transformer to copy 5 1/4"
floppies to 3 1/2" disks. They could then consolidate the 360K format
programs to one 720K disk.
     I couldn't do it alone, and I want to give due credit to All Makes
Computer Repair Service in Tyler. They found the answer for me.
     The result: Running Transformer 1.1 and DOS 3.3 yielded the ability to
put everything but the kitchen sink on ONE DISK in 720K 80-track format.

3]WHAT YOU NEED
1]     You must use DOS 3.3, a config.sys file created with PC-Write or some
word processor, and an external Amiga 3 1/2" drive, along with Transformer.
I haven't tried the patched 1.2 Transformer, but there shouldn't be any
problem using it.
     The files used on DOS 3.3 for the 720K format are:
COMMAND.COM
FORMAT
CONFIG.SYS (this is added with a word processor)
DRIVER.SYS
The CONFIG.SYS file, which you create, will tell DOS to format a new drive
"C:".  Don't confuse this with Transformer Preferences, which should be set
with the 5 1/4" drive as A: and the external Amiga 3 1/2" drive as B:.
     What you need: MS/DOS 3.3, an external Amiga 3 1/2" drive, Transformer
with the 5 1/4" drive.

3]HOW YOU DO IT
1]     Start Transformer.
     Use a word processor to create a file called: CONFIG.SYS .
Write to that file:
BUFFERS=20
FILES=20
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /D:1
     Save this file. Copy it to the working copy of DOS 3.3 with the copy
command. (word processor in B drive):
B>:COPY B:CONFIG.SYS A:)
     From now on, every time you boot Transformer with DOS 3.3, DOS will
check the CONFIG.SYS file for information. This information turns B:drive
into a new drive "C". It will format 80 tracks (instead of 40), 720K
(instead of 360) on the EXTERNAL Amiga DRIVE.
     All drive commands are directed to "A:" or "C:".
     The "B:" drive no longer exists. Note that the "/D" in the Driver file
is NOT a misprint.
     Put a blank 3 1/2" disk in the external drive. Reboot with the new
3.3 DOS disk by pressing [Ctrl-Alt-Del].
     The new screen will display:
Loaded External Disk Driver for Drive C (and the usual date and time.)
     Type the command A>FORMAT C:
     Things will proceed as for any format except the screen will show
HEAD: 0 or 1 CYLINDER: nn.
     At Cylinder: 80 the format will be complete. The 5 1/4" drive may now
be used to copy and consolidate software to newly formatted "C" drive using
the command, A> Copy A:*.* C:
     For the technically minded, here are the CHKDSK facts after formatting
disk drive C. The total space comes out:
713K (total bytes/1024K per byte): 730112 bytes
Total disk space 381952 bytes
Total memory 730112
Bytes available on disk 327536
Bytes free DOS 2.1 - 360K format:
362496 bytes total disk space
381952 bytes total memory: 362496
Bytes available on disk: 348480 bytes free
     "DISKCOPY" was not used. The reason is that "DISKCOPY" will not format
in 720K. It would format in 360K because the 5 1/4 drive is a 360K drive.
     What does all this mean to a computer user? Twice as many files can be
put on one disk. The software can run with the data files on the 3 1/2
along with the .COM or .EXE program files. Instead of having to run on
floppies and 3 1/2" disks, everything is consolidated on one disk,
eliminating disks, saving money and storage and simplifying run time.

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