@DATABASE AGA Solution V1.5D @VER$ Solve V1.3A ©1994 Matthew Hall aka Digit/Delite @WIDTH 80 @NODE MAIN "Solve V1.0 ©1994 Matthew Hall aka Digit/N&B" KICKSTART III SOLVE V1.5D CODED BY © DIGIT OF NUT & BOLT 1995 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <<=>> LIFE IS A BITCH - WITHOUT THE ROM KERNAL IT'S HELL! <<=>> @{" Introduction " LINK Introduction} @{" Copyrights " LINK Copyrights} @{" Accidents! " LINK Accidents} @{" Running " LINK Running} @{" Program Updates " LINK Updates} @{" Problems " LINK Problems} @{" Test Results " LINK Results} @{" Coders Address! " LINK Address} @{" To The Disbeliever! " LINK Disbelieve} @{" History " LINK History} @{" Greetings " LINK Greetings} @ENDNODE @NODE Copyrights KICKSTART III SOLVE V1.5D CODED BY © DIGIT OF NUT & BOLT 1995 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <<=>> LIFE IS A BITCH - WITHOUT THE ROM KERNAL IT'S HELL! <<=>> ... COPYRIGHT ... This program is spreadware, ie. if you like or dislike this piece of software then spread it - to anyone! All I want in return is that you keep all the files that come with the archieve together and that they remain all together when un-archieved for packs etc and ALL remain whole and intact and in their original content. Also no modifications and changes to the executable or the source can be done without the express permission of the author, Digit. @ENDNODE @NODE Accidents ... ACCIDENTS ... I do not guarentee that this piece of software will work properly on any machine and I am in no-way liable for any damages or accidents software or hardware oriantated. You use this program at your own risk and only you can be responsible for any accidents. Hopefully though no accidents will arise as this program has been thoroughly tested so don't expect it to destroy anything because it should'nt! @ENDNODE @NODE Introduction ... INTRODUCTION ... This program tries to fix in-compatability problems with any program on an AGA machine which in the past would crash or fail to run at all. There are many tools of this sort out and about doing the rounds but this one has a little difference to most (if not all). What this program tries to do is become part of the program you want to fix and in doing so gives a better assurance that the program is possible to run. There are many different things that this program tries to do to help get your program working from the simplest to more complicated functions. There are some tools that automatically patch the program you want to run but lack a number of functions which could easily get the program to work if they were implimented. For this version I have tried to include just about everything I can but of course there are some better and different ways of doing things (always?) but for this tools purpose the ones present are the best ways (I hope!). So what does this program do then? Heres a little list: \ CACHES / The program will automatically disable the computers cache which does a lot for old software which tend to use self-modifing code which in the end make the computer bomb out. If the program you are trying to run uses caches then it should always check to see if it is already on otherwise it has not been coded properly and is mainly a fault of the programmer of the software! \ VBR / The Vector Base Register is found on 68010+ machines. Some people try to move the vector base to fastmem which contains all autovectors, traps and exceptions to help increase the speed of their program which in most cases end up crashing on the new machines. \ MULTI-SYNC / With the new AGA machines they have a displaygeneration built in which will display other types of screens but for some people with multisync monitors problems can arise when using a display which can be really annoying. \ WORKBENCH / Because this program is mainly aimed at hard-drive users I have made sure that the Workbench always knows what is going on. For example you may want to run a demo or big intro from Workbench but you have found that after exiting you have not been able to run anything because your memory has done a runner. This is because Workbench has not been told what is going on properly so hopefully with this program up and running you will never see that happen again! \ SCREEN / Have you ever woundered why you could not get to see some programs when run from Workbench? This is a simple problem which can easily be fixed and the problem itself lies in the copperlist! That is just about it at the moment but I have a few ideas I would like to implement on later versions but at the moment it is doing it's job. So why have I chosen to write a program like this and especially now after all this time? Well it all began when I was coding a file header for the Treasure Island Pack Series which attaches itself to the beginning of an intro or demo. My idea at first was just to open a window and some text but some days later I decided to enhance it because even up to now some new intros and demos still do not work on AGA machines properly so I decided to encorperate a little patch to solve these problems without any fuss or confusion to the user (nice is'nt it!?). After I had done what I thought I needed I began to have ideas about coding a little tool to use on lots of other programs where problems occur especially ProTracker V2.3a which really pissed off new AGA owners because they could not run it from Workbench 3 without the screen screwing up! So now began a task to implement a file loading program and a few other ideas which entered my head at the time of coding it. So in the end you have what is at the moment in my eyes the best AGA fixer on the market without any doubt, it's no fuss or hassles and is completly oblivious to all users. @ENDNODE @NODE Running ... RUNNING ... Running and using Solve is very simple indeed, it can be executed from either Workbench or the CLI. Once executed Solve will display a little pointer at the top of the screen which is located at the top right of your screen indicating that Solve is still running. After that the ASL library brings up a file requester from which you can select the file which you wish to use. At present it reads the directory you are in and not a list of Volumes from which you can enter, this way you can stick it in the directory with the defective program without having to wade through draw after draw. Once a file has been selected it will turn the screen black and begin to load your requested program. That's about it! Hopefully your file should be loaded and it should be running differently from what it was before? @ENDNODE @NODE Updates ... UPDATES! ... I have plans on updating it by adding some other functions into it like fake fast memory that totally lies to the Amiga properly! When encorperated you will be able to choose from 0.5 meg up, 1 meg being as standard if you decide to choose the fake fast memory option without defining! A resident version like that of Degrader but of course will be a lot better (if I can get it to work properly!). Hopefully I will also be able to get it tested a lot better for the next version especially on an A4030/40 (T) when I can get my hands on one of these cool machines. At the moment though I am at the mercy of the users (that is you) for all the help and the advice you can give me because if I don't get any how am I supposed to improve it if I don't know any of it's hidden faults? So please send anything! Sometimes when you have a program running on Workbench that screws up the screen has a fault in the copperlist. When Solve is running it will fix the first screen that comes up, of course when you press AMIGA M you will probably go back to Workbench - press it again! You will notice that the screen has screwed up again. There is no proper way of solving this without actually recoding the program, but there is a way! The next version will let you fix it after every screen flick by pressing for example your mouse button. In this way you can externally fix this annoying programs! @ENDNODE @NODE Problems ... PROBLEMS? ... If you have a problem for some reason then I would surely like to know. Or if by chance you like this piece of software and you want to contact me to congratulate me then please do not hesitate in doing so. I am also looking for coding contacts so if you are a coder (systems mainly) then please get in touch. Before I forget, some programs will never be able to run because the programming fault lies deep inside the program itself. Solve V1.3A only externally handles all errors so to fix those that still do not work would require someone to actually find the fault and alter them in the program itself. There is nothing that either me or anyone else can do to solve these problems without doing the above. There are various patches and fixes around that have been done internally for various pieces of software that solve problems on AGA machines which have been physically recoded in the program itself. Look out for them if you have no hope with this program! @ENDNODE @NODE Address Okay the address and my telephone number for those interested are as follows: MATTHEW HALL, 2 BIDEFORD AVE, BLACKPOOL, LANCS, FY3 8PU, ENGLAND. or +44 (0253) 392812 between 5-11 PM Britsh time please! Please, no ass-holes or jack asses! @ENDNODE @NODE Results Of course a program is no good if it does not work properly so here (for those of you who find it enjoying) you will find some programs I have tested it on and what it has corrected. Of course all faults were gone! There are plenty of programs that this program can patch and fix during execution so a list would be pretty worthless in my eyes. What I will put here are a few things that I have noticed while testing. There are various programs which are used with the CLI but when an icon is applied to it so that you are able to boot from Workbench then a few errors might just creep in. For example a friends program called KwickCopy ran perfectly well from CLI but during execution from an icon things started to go wrong. The fault could not be discovered until you quit the program and then an error request would appear. All that was wrong was that d0 was not set to zero on execute, because this was not set the computer thinks that there was an error on finishing the program. Solve will fix these faults and many more little things that will normally cause your machine to meditate after running a program from Workbench. Many people have been waiting for the Re-Solve option now and I have had some mail regarding it so when I find the time I will plan on installing it. I have thought about how best to have the resolve option called and I should think that it would be from a standard key press. For those of you out there that have been missing out on the info Re-Solve is an option where it will fix the copperlist screen again for you because the screen may have screwed up. One example of this is ProTracker V3.2b which will cause the screen to screw up during each flick of the screens. One thing I have noticed with this program is that it uses a method of opening an intuition window and then running it's main screens from that. I suppose this method was applied to help with the multitasking but this is annoying because Solve will try to fix that intuition window and not the custom window with the bugged copperlist. I am working on figuring how to overcome these problems........ @ENDNODE @NODE Disbelieve ... DISBELIEVE ... Yes you ChazyB! It's really nice to find out that some people talk behind your back because it gives me the chance to find out who is pissing me about and who is'nt. I don't give you any grief or slaggings about you GFX so I don't expect you to do the same about my code. Most of my code is my own and yes some of it is from coding books which I myself have improved on or added and who does not? At least I do not get some code from Amiga Coders Club and assemble it with all my name all over it and say it is mine! Also me and Craig also found out that the module you supposedly did once seemed to have been done by another guy, also (strange!). If you slag me off especially behind my back I will sure as hell make your life on the scene look and feel like a mighty nightmare. If you don't beleive me try me as I am always open for offers - take the hint! @ENDNODE @NODE History At first this program (as was said previously) was intended for my file header on the Treasure Island Pack Series so I have included all the version updates for that little code because it was originally Solve but very basic so do not get confussed with all the version updates. So for those who like all this jargon read away! Updates (V1.5): / Optimised part(s) of code / Terminated some other crap! Updates (V2.0): / Now added PAL/NTSC switch at the beginning! / Better system handling now! All programs run that return to the CLI will/should always give your memory back, un-fragmented as well (at last!). / Other bits and bats! / Better looks & neater code - WOW! >> OFFICIAL SOLVE V1.0 UPDATE! << ************************************************************************* Updates (V1.0): / Now called Solve V1.0 for a totally new production / Now added an AGA check, if it's not present.....?! / Also kills caches just incase. Good programmers should make sure it is either switched on/off anyway! / Put in a routine to help make sure that programs run 100% on 68010+ machines with the vectorbase. / Added a routine to make sure that some programs which could cause multisync monitors to screw up DON'T! / Added little point into the copperlist to make sure that some screens don't screw up - without reason? Na! / Killed PAL/NTSC switch and various other bits. Updates (V1.1): / Optimized like fuck! Updates (V1.3A): / Virtually recoded to take advantage of the ASL requester and also added some more features. / This version been slightly optimized from V1.3A / Fully multi-tasks with the system so no more CPU chewing! Updates (V1.4): / Internal release. Tried to implement a few new features into the program. Had problems during execution on a 4000 or with even faster processors. Updates (V1.5C): / Scrapped a few routines to cut down on the errors until properly dubugged. Option for Re-Solve added....... Updates (V1.5D): / Removed Re-Solve option due to to much hazordous CPU chewing. Killed a few bugs that had crept in from release V1.3 and some left over from the Re-Solve option. Killed the faults for processors with 040 and up ...... FEW!! Some optimization added, a little faster if you notice?? Also a little bit more system friendlier .... !! @ENDNODE @NODE Greetings Okay I would just like to give a BIG, BIG MATT BURGER to all these cool dudes that I know or have known in the past - read on! MARS BAR - For the extremly wonderfull help you have been giving me. Thanx a lot for the help with the ASL requester (offsets, etc.) and for the other goodies! QUACKERS - Thank you for taking the time in writing those NON-DOS tutorials but hey I have to say it but......... I am hooked to the system! MDR - For having the coolest and without a doubt the best BBS in the land. BlindMan - For opening a PC conference - at last!! And to all the other freaks and peeps out there especially all those sysops requesting the LHA BBS add intro ......... !! There's a new one coming very, very soon. Hello to all the other guys I know and all the mail traders I have ignored for well too long ......... ARRRGGHHH .... !! @ENDNODE