On Wed, 14 Aug 1996, Nigel Pearson wrote:

> 	To make it even easier we could write a startup program/cdev/init
> which forces the appropriate memory settings, and sets the internal video
> as the main monitor with the appropriate number of colours.

Would be a good idea, probably would have to be an init or perhaps a cdev.
I suspect it would be more difficult to change that once the finder is
loaded.  In fact, start the file name with a control code so it loads
before _anything_, including disinfectant, for maximum results.

The only problem might be with virtual memory.  I'm not sure what that
does to the memory mapping, or when it happens.  Of course virtual
wouldn't be turned on if it were on a CD, at least not on that copy.  That
stuff has backups in the system software itself, that should auto-set
everything, ignoring the values in the PRAM, shortly before the finder
would launch, or possibly in the early stages of the finder... at least it
does with 7.5, on PowerMacs.  Unless it's #ifdef'ed out in the system
software for the 68k version.  Anybody zapped PRAM on an 0x0 lately

> 	Under System 7.5, (I think) you can do this with a few AppleScripts
> in the Startup Items folder. For System 7.0/7.1, there are some Freeware/PD
> applets for setting the monitor depth,  but to do the works we would need a
> special program to be written. I am willing to do this, except I would need
> help with the Mode32 part of the memory setting.

Doesn't applescript conflict with some versions of the booter?  Maybe not.
I'm not sure how to check the MMU mode (24/32 -- maybe a gestalt call?),
but SwapMMUMode should swap it, if necessary.  Definitely in need of a
separate program.  If at all possible, it would be nice not to depend on
Applescript, and possible not even on the Monitors control panel.  Ideas?

> 	Even better still might be to not boot into the Finder at all,
> but into a custom partitioner/installer/booter. But I don't think that
> the partitioning stuff would be very possible or safe.

Well, not booting into finder is simple enough, just by moving the system
file out of the system folder, tossing out the rest of it, and only
including one executable program on the disk.  It will launch instead of
the finder.  As for partitioning....  Make it capable of spawning HD SC
Setup 7.3.2+ (patched).  That ought to pretty much cover that aspect.

How impossible would it be to get the block numbers for a file on an HFS
partition?  With _absolute_ accuracy?  If that's possible without
incredible hoop-jumping, it would be possible to set up the installer to
create a 20 meg file or larger on an HFS partition and use it for swap
space.  It would take some kernel patches to support it, maybe as a
variable passed in from the booter, which defaults to using the normal
swap, but could also accept (with a current booter) either an alternate
swap partition (on another drive) or a file on the Mac-Side.

Thoughts?

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