CompuServe Thread

#WShell mystery Problem

4 messages in this thread
#7204From: Steve FaiwiszewskiAug 20, 1988 12:06 PM
I think that, basically, they patched the Kickstart code to mark the disk as a DOS disk (there's a flag saying "DOS" somewhere on the first track of the disk, isn't there?) once kickstart is loaded. Then, as the disk is further booted as a DOS disk, a program is run from within the Startup-Sequence which changes the disk type back to Kickstart, but in a way which does not prevent you from doing a warm boot from that disk again (i.e. the Amiga somehow still thinks it's a DOS disk on a warm boot, but thinks it's a kickstart on a cold boot). In what way is WShell different from CLI that will cause WShell to choke on the disk, while CLI handles it fine? – Steve –
#7279From: Bill HawesAug 20, 1988 11:30 PM
Steve, To the best of my knowledge a command shell (CLI or otherwise) has nothing to do with recognizing disks — that is done by the disk validator, which starts up whenever you insert a floppy. WShell or CLI, neither is actually looking at a disk until a command is entered, and the requestor about "Not a DOS disk" is put up by the validator. You might try this as a test — what happens if you have both WShell and an old CLI open when you remove and re-insert the disk? Is the "kickboth" disk distributable? If so, I'd appreciate a copy to help figure out what's going on here … Bill
#7305From: Richard Rae/SYSOPAug 21, 1988 8:12 AM
Bill, check in the libraries here, that's where I got my copy. Rick
#7304From: Richard Rae/SYSOPAug 21, 1988 8:12 AM
Yes. The flag is the four bytes "DOS " in the (I think) boot block. For a kickstart disk, they say "KICK". Rick