FILE CONTENTS This file contains important information on running GEOS with A64. Before attempting to run GEOS we recommend that you read this file. GEOS COMPATIBILITY A64 V3.0 supports GEOS V1.2, GEOS V1.3 and GEOS V2.0. All versions of GEOS use a built in fast loader that is extremely time critical and very difficult to emulate. Due to the extreme time critical nature of the GEOS fast loaders, GEOS will not work with all Amiga models or with all machine configurations. GEOS is supported on the following un-accelerated Amiga models: A500, A600, A1000, A1500 and A2000. GEOS will not work with the A1200, A2500, A3000 and A4000. GEOS will only work with 1541 or 1571 disk drives. 1581's and clones are not supported. We are working on GEOS support for all Amiga models and if possible we will make Patch Files available for the currently unsupported machines. GEOS CONFIG FILES For each version of GEOS there is a Config File set up specifically for running that version. You should use one of these Config Files whenever running GEOS. The settings that are different from A64's default settings are listed below: System Menu: o Game Ports: Swap Ports is Enabled and Port 1 is set to Joystick. This will allow you to use either a joystick or the Commodore 1350 mouse with GEOS. o SuperState is On: You can not access Amiga disk drives and printers while running GEOS and the easiest way to disable Amiga devices is to run A64 is SuperState mode (this also gives GEOS a small speed increase). o For GEOS V1.3 and 2.0 RAM Expansion is enabled and set to 512k. GEOS V1.2 does not support RAM Expansion, so for this version the REU is left disabled. Leaving the REU enabled will greatly improve GEOS' performance and we strongly recommend that you leave the REU enabled. If you have less than 2mb of RAM in your Amiga you may have to select a smaller REU size. We recommend using 512k. Graphics Menu: o Screen Refresh: Screen Data and Hardware Refresh Rates are both set to 3 times per second. o Sprites: Sprite Data Refresh Rate is set to 3 times per second and Sprite Collisions are disabled. NOTE: To gain an additional increase in speed you can set Colors to 2 in the A64 Colors screen. If you are using GEOS' default colors you will not notice any difference in the appearance of the screen while using only two colors, unless, of course, you are using geoPaint, in which case you will want to leave the Colors setting at 16 or 20. Code Menu: o AutoLoad is enabled for a Patch File. o The Patch File name is set to the correct version of GEOS and this file will be loaded whenever the Config File is loaded. o The Code File and Map File names are initialized for a Converted version of GEOS (see below for information on using these settings). o Don't Reset is enabled. If you plan on Converting GEOS (which is highly recommended) you must leave this option enabled. It will keep A64 from resetting when you load a Code or Map file. If you don't enable this option GEOS' fast loader will not work after loading one of these files. GEOS PATCH FILES For each version of GEOS there is Patch File that handles GEOS' built in fast loader. These Patch Files must be used in order to run GEOS and if you use the supplied Config Files for running GEOS the Patch Files will be handled automatically for you. RECOMMENDED SETTINGS WITHIN GEOS To get the best possible performance out of GEOS there are a couple of settings that you should set from within GEOS: o All mouse acceleration values should be set to their maximum (ie. fastest) settings. o REU should be enabled. We have found that enabling a Shadow Drive and enabling DMA for Move Data provided the best results. RUNNING GEOS FOR THE 1ST TIME 1. Run A64 by double-clicking on the Config File icon for the version of GEOS that you will be using. 2. Once A64 is running, load GEOS by typing: LOAD"*",8,1 [RETURN] You will then see the familiar "BOOTING GEOS ..." screen. 3. After a brief period of loading, A64 will Pause and you will be in A64 Prefs. Whenever you run GEOS, A64 will Pause during the booting process. This pause is explained further in this file. To continue loading GEOS select Exit in the A64 menu. CONVERTING GEOS GEOS is a very complex C64 program and it will severely tax A64's speed. To get the best possible performance while running GEOS we strongly recommend that you create a Code File for it. The following example shows you step-by-step how to "Convert" GEOS. The following example is simple enough that most users should be able to follow it without referring to the manual. However, it will help you to better understand the how and why of creating Code Files if you read the following sections of A64's manual before following this example: o Chapter 4: Load Map and Save Map in the Code Menu section o Chapter 4: Load Code in the Code Menu section o Chapter 6: Convert The process of creating and using a Code File can be broken down into four distinct steps: 1. Running a C64 program with A64 2. Using A64 to save a Map File of the C64 program 3. Using Convert to creating a Code File from the Map File 4. Loading the resulting Code File with A64 To run GEOS: 1. Run A64 by double-clicking on the Config File icon for the version of GEOS that you will be using. 2. Once A64 is running, load GEOS by typing: LOAD"*",8,1 [RETURN] You will then see the familiar "BOOTING GEOS ..." screen. 3. After a brief period of loading, A64 will Pause and you will be in A64 Prefs. This pause is explained further in this file. To save a Map File of GEOS: 1. Select SAVE MAP in the Code Menu. You will then be prompted with a file requester. Note that the filename of the Map File will be named appropriately for the version of GEOS that you are running. It will be named GEOSVx.x.map, where x.x is the version that you are working with (ie. GEOSV2.0.map). Select the OK gadget and A64 will save the Map File. 2. You should now quit A64 by selecting QUIT in the A64 Menu. If you have at least 2mb of RAM you do not need to quit A64 at this point, instead you can just move the A64 Prefs screen to the background by clicking on the screen depth gadget. NOTE: Before proceeding you should reset your C64 disk drive. Make sure that your GEOS disk is removed from the drive and then turn the drive off, wait a couple seconds, and then turn it on again. Resetting the drive after running any C64 program that uses copy protection or a fast loader (including GEOS) is very important. If you do not reset the drive A64 may fail to load the next program that you attempt to load. To Create a Code File for GEOS: 1. Run Convert by double-clicking on the Convert icon (Convert can be found on disk #2). 2. Once Convert is running, select LOAD MAP in the Convert Menu. You will be prompted with a file requester. For the drawer name enter the following: A64:TAP/GEOS [RETURN] Then select the Map File that you saved in A64 while running GEOS. It will be named GEOSVx.x.map, where x.x is the version that you are working with (ie. GEOSV2.0.map). Select the OK gadget and Convert will load the Map File. 3. Select OPTIMIZE in the Convert Menu. You will be prompted a number of times to remove delays in the GEOS Map File. Type [Y] for each time you are prompted. 4. You will then be prompted with a file requester to save the Map File with the optimizations that were done. Select the OK gadget. 5. Select LOAD ADDRESS FILE in the Addresses Menu. Again you will be prompted with a file requester. The correct filename will already be entered for you so you can just select the OK gadget to load the the Address File. 6. Select CONVERT in the Convert Menu. Convert will then create a Code File on disk #1 in the GEOS drawer. 7. Select Quit in the Convert Menu. NOTE: These steps for Converting a C64 program will be basically the same for all C64 programs. The only difference between Converting GEOS and other programs is that GEOS uses an Address File and most other programs do not need an Address File. To Convert a different C64 program you would just skip step 5 (LOAD ADDRESS FILE) in the above example. To Load The Code File with A64: 1. Run A64 by double-clicking on the Config File icon for the version of GEOS that you will be using. 2. Once A64 is running, load GEOS by typing: LOAD"*",8,1 [RETURN] You will then see the familiar "BOOTING GEOS ..." screen. 3. After a brief period of loading, A64 will Pause and you will be in A64 Prefs. 4. Select LOAD CODE in the Code Menu. You will be prompted with a file requester that already has the name of the GEOS Code File entered. Select the OK gadget and A64 will load the Code File. 5. After A64's loads the Code File, select Exit in the A64 Menu and GEOS will finish booting, and the Code File will be active. Now, whenever you want to run GEOS just repeat the last five steps. If you want to load GEOS while already running A64, you can substitute step #1, by selecting LOAD CONFIG in the A64 Menu and loading the correct Config File with the file requester. WHY GEOS IS PAUSED WHEN LOADING GEOS is a very complex program when compared to most other C64 programs. GEOS uses its built in fast loader and RAM expansion support to constantly move information in and out of the C64's memory map. These features make GEOS a very difficult program to Convert reliably. GEOS is paused during the boot process, because this is the only "safe" time to save a Map File and to Load a Code File. If a Code File is created at any other point in GEOS, more likely than not, the Code File will fail to work correctly. ADDITIONAL NOTES o It is normal for the screen to occasionally flash during accesses of the disk drive. This is caused by the emulation of the GEOS fast loader. o It is normal for the C64 drive LED to not come on sometimes while booting GEOS. During normal loading and saving the drive LED will come on as expected. o At the time of this writing GEOS V1.3 and V2.0 reports a RAM Expansion size of 512k when A64 only has 256k enabled. We have not found GEOS to fail because of this error, but we are looking into it. COPYRIGHTS GEOS, deskTop, geoPaint, geoWrite and diskTurbo © Copyright Berkeley Softworks.