Questions tagged [apple-ii]
The Apple II series of personal computers and related software and hardware. Use [apple-iigs] for the Apple IIgs in particular, or [apple] for Apple hardware in general.
264
questions
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How was Prince of Persia "better/faster" with RWTS18?
I was reading about Prince of Persia over at POP Code Review. In that article, the writer printed an interview with Roland Gustafsson, the inventor of RWTS18 copy protection for the Apple II series.
...
- 38.2k
7
votes
2
answers
946
views
Help understanding TAIPAN source code for the Apple II
I am trying to run the source code found at https://taipangame.com/BASIC.txt on Epple 2 (with Apple II+ roms) to eventually run on my own Apple II+, but the program keeps crashing.
First, I used a ...
- 20.5k
3
votes
0
answers
108
views
Did any DOS 3.3 variants relocate start of BASIC?
A common annoyance when programming in BASIC on the Apple II is that 6K of BASIC storage area falls before the start of the first hires screen, with another big chunk of storage falling after it. On ...
- 34.7k
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why are some soft switches on the Apple II only triggered with a write?
The Apple II uses memory mapped I/O and soft switches to do many things. One thing has confused me though: why are some soft switches only activated when written to?
For example, 80COLON ($C00D) and ...
- 213k
7
votes
1
answer
377
views
What were the differences of the various AE RamWorks cards?
Applied Engineering (AE) produced some 80-Column cards for the Apple //e that, unlike Apple's offering which only brought the machine up to 128KB, would allow a user to install up to 3MB in addition ...
- 213k
11
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Extensions to Apple BASIC with ampersands
I have a vague recollection of some early software that extended the Apple II BASIC language, though I'm not sure if this was Integer or Applesoft BASIC.
It provided more features for the language by ...
- 51
40
votes
4
answers
9k
views
What determines the color of every 8th pixel on the Apple II?
On the Apple II there's an interesting way to add a little color to the bitmap, since the high bit selects the palette used for the three-and-a-half pixels represented by the byte. Like this:
0: Black,...
- 38.2k
32
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Does every retrocomputer and console with NTSC composite output have 'artifact color' ability?
Artifact color is heavily associated with the Apple ][, since that is the only method the machine had to produce a color display. I was looking at the fantastic demo for IBM PC + CGA, 8088MPH, and I ...
- 34.7k
1
vote
0
answers
134
views
Defective Apple IIe motherboard
I have a PAL Apple IIe, put in service in 1982. Components C9, C12, C15, and C17 on the 820-0073-B motherboard are burnt out. I originally thought they appear to be power diodes, but seem to be 10 µF ...
- 38.2k
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How specific was the Apple II floppy disk controller?
One of Wozniak's greatest inventions was the Apple II floppy disk controller, which allowed Apple to avoid going the Atari/Commodore route of making each disk drive a computer in its own right; ...
- 35.9k
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Trying to identify an Apple II space trading game
I'm trying to identify a game I remember from my first exposure to computers (the Apple II at secondary school back in the late '70s).
I remember two games I really enjoyed, the first a Star-Trek-...
- 11
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What's the correct Unicode code point for the Apple IIe's "delete" symbol?
I was writing an essay today about using the Apple IIe I grew up on, and I wanted to add some examples that included the "delete" symbol that was used for the cursor:
But try as I might, I ...
- 331
5
votes
2
answers
547
views
Apple ][ nibble disk format specification
Is there an official specification for .nib format disks for the Apple? I'm currently debugging through a CP/M boot disk for a Cirtech //e Z80 which works fine on real hardware but fails in an ...
- 8,775
5
votes
2
answers
516
views
Is there any RAM disk software available for Apple II DOS 3.3?
I have an Apple IIc with 128 KB of RAM, about half of which goes unused. Since the IIc has only one drive, it would be convenient to use some of that unused RAM as a RAM disk. I know that this is ...
- 11
16
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How to write the Apple ][ HIRES pages to disk to make screenshots?
The Apple ][e had 2 HiRES video pages, HiRES animation involved switching between the 2 pages and redrawing the screen. A really early way to take an in game screenshot was to dump the computer with ...
- 111
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What were the alternative graphic cards for the Apple II?
In this question, it's mentioned the Apple II's slot 7 was used by third party graphics cards. Is there any documentation on those? What were those cards and what were their capabilities?
- 6,333
28
votes
7
answers
6k
views
Over its lifetime, how many Apple II computers were sold?
It would be nice to break it down by model if possible.
- 7,418
3
votes
0
answers
241
views
Were the Apple II patents, obstacles to cloning?
The Apple II was a simple design relative to its retail price, so attractive to cloners. This naturally led to many lawsuits, at least one of which actually established new copyright law. https://en....
- 58.4k
9
votes
2
answers
824
views
How to change what program Apple ProDOS 'starts' when booting
I finally have my Apple //e booting from my SCSI2SD but I'm missing something regarding how ProDOS knows what program to start when it boots.
As I understand it, ProDOS will look for the first .SYSTEM ...
- 6,333
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What's the name of this Apple monitor
Browsing through retrocomputing resources, I recently stumbled upon this picture:
I'm familiar with quite a few Apple II monitors, but it's the first time I saw this one. There's an Apple logo, so it ...
- 1,229
7
votes
2
answers
480
views
Is it possible to detect Vertical Blanking on an Apple III
The Apple IIe, IIc, IIc plus, and IIgs had ways to detect when the video signal was in the vertical blanking period. These were:
Setting a soft-switch in the mouse interface that triggers an ...
- 641
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is it possible to write unit tests in Applesoft BASIC?
It's been decades since I wrote anything in BASIC. But I'm curious: If I were to go back and start playing around with it, would my test coverage be essentially zero percent by necessity? Or is there ...
- 2,634
8
votes
4
answers
770
views
How to read copy protected Apple II floppies / NIB images
I've got a game on Apple II 140k 5,25" floppy that does not exist in the archives yet. I would like to read it into an image. But ADTpro just shows read errors on all sectors in spite always ...
- 5,277
6
votes
3
answers
664
views
How do I make an Apple II disk image with the sectors in physical order?
As far as I understand:
a .do or .dsk file extension indicates that the sectors in a disk image are in AppleDOS order (i.e. the physical sectors are in order 0, 13, 11, 9 etc).
a .po file extension ...
- 8,775
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How does the Apple II address more than 128KB of RAM?
For the Apple //e, it was very common to have an extended 80-column card installed which brought the machine up to 128KB of RAM via 2 banks of 64KB each. There are soft switches in the $C0xx space ...
- 24.6k
21
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Did the Apple IIe Platinum include all feature enhancements from the Apple II line?
Not including the Apple IIgs, did the Apple IIe Platinum include all enhancements made by Apple?
For example, the first Apple IIe couldn't utilize the Double Hi-Res mode from what I understand. In ...
- 7,418
11
votes
1
answer
777
views
What exactly was the intent and implementation of Apple DOS 3.3's volume concept?
Inspired by this question, it got me thinking about how DOS 3.3 for the Apple II had the 'DISK VOLUME 254' at the top of every CATALOG listing. The default was always 254, but you could make your ...
- 213k
2
votes
0
answers
296
views
Does anybody have information on this tube?
I need to know if this is a color or monochrome tube. It’s in an applecolor A2M6020
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
278
views
A2M6020 AppleColor monitor not showing color
When I got my Apple IIc computer, it came with an A2M6020 AppleColor 13" NTSC composite monitor. However, I have not been able to get color working on it.
I don’t know if it just has a monochrome ...
- 31
9
votes
1
answer
196
views
What is the VTOC format for an AppleDOS disk with more than 50 tracks?
I am trying to read files of an AppleDOS 3.3 disk. The documentation I've found, both from Inside AppleDOS and also from Archiveteams' website (which I believe was taken from Inside AppleDOS): http://...
- 8,775
7
votes
1
answer
216
views
Did any AppleSoft language enhancements patch CHRGOT?
Some BASIC language enhancements for Commodore 8-bit machines, such as the 1982 DOS Wedge, worked by patching the CHRGOT routine. Even though BASIC is in ROM, every byte that is fetched from a ...
- 34.7k
10
votes
1
answer
439
views
What were the Apple II artifact colors?
A simplified version of the question in the title is "is lo-res color #1 red, or is it purple?" because that's the color that shows the most obvious variation. Color #1 was usually called &...
- 34.7k
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What's the first use of the term, "1977 Trinity"?
The term "1977 trinity" has been used, here on Retrocomputing
SE and elsewhere, to refer to a set of three computers that
started shipping in mid- to late-1977: the Apple II, the TRS-80 ...
8
votes
1
answer
300
views
Why did ProDOS trace Applesoft?
When running an Applesoft program under ProDOS, BASIC.System watches for OS commands by looking for PRINT statements that start with Ctrl+D. This is similar, but not equivalent, to the DOS behavior. ...
- 213k
2
votes
1
answer
290
views
Motivation for DOS 3.3 using I/O hooks rather than ampersand-hook
AppleSoft BASIC is designed so that if it encounters an ampersand while processing a program, it will jump to address $03F5, allowing code there to examine what follows and process it suitably. While ...
- 213k
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How are the randomizer values on the Apple II maintained?
Looking at a comment on this question, it reminded me of how there are two memory locations in the Apple II zero page that are used for random number generation: 0x4E and 0x4F (78 and 79, respectively)...
- 641
6
votes
2
answers
245
views
6502 Assembly on Apple IIe: GETLN fails with 'syntax error' under ProDOS
I'm writing a text adventure in assembly for the Apple IIe (using Merlin). I'm also using ProDOS 8 v2.0.3. At some point, I have a subroutine to read user input from the keyboard using the GETLN1 call....
7
votes
1
answer
583
views
Which wires need to be changed to use a Gotek floppy emulator on an Apple Mac?
Preamble
I own a Gotek floppy emulator that I use with my BBC Model B. It is the latest model with the Artery AT32F435 MCU1, so there is a lot of memory space and processing power for future features ...
- 3,339
49
votes
13
answers
19k
views
How was it back then in 1984, when the Apple II had color, and the new Macintosh didn't?
I imagine it being a huge downgrade for some, not to have color on the Macintosh. Macintosh games were black and white in the beginning, while Apple II had color.
I'm especially interested in ...
- 12.4k
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How can I make an external PSU for an Apple IIc?
I purchased an Apple IIc from an auction site, but it came without the
external power supply unit. While this question and its
answers describe how to open up the IIc and use alligator clips to
power ...
- 24.6k
19
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What exactly were those large orange chips on the Hayes Micromodem II interface card?
I've had a Hayes Micromodem II for the Apple ][ a very, very long time. I've seen a lot of interface cards over the years since then and have never seen anything quite like it: there are giant orange, ...
- 213k
10
votes
1
answer
356
views
Why would a Reset key bounce disconnect Apple DOS?
This answer stated that hitting the Apple II Reset key twice, in quick succession, could cause DOS to be disconnected from the I/O hooks. I don't understand why that would happen.
Quick background: ...
- 1,214
15
votes
1
answer
848
views
Apple IIe problem (can’t save and load files anymore)
I recently bought an Apple IIe at an auction. It was extremely cheap but worked. I have no experience with such old computers.
I just started the computer and wrote some BASIC programs for fun. ...
- 117
18
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Was Apple DOS 3.3 created because of the Apple III?
I recently read a document which discussed how the Apple III would implement the Apple II emulation mode. On page 20, it goes on about difficulties involved with how the Apple III would have ...
- 49
23
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What are the "Screen Holes" in Apple II graphics?
I've read the term screen holes many times in the context of Apple II graphics.
From what I understand, it has something to do with the interleaving storage of graphics (or was it text) and that some ...
- 6,333
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How can one do bitwise Boolean operations in later versions of Applesoft BASICs?
According to this answer, Apple changed the AND, OR, NOT operators in later versions of BASIC to perform Boolean instead of bitwise logic, so for example (1 AND 2) = 1. Which raises the question, how ...
- 258
0
votes
1
answer
249
views
Apple II mixed mode cursor placement
I've been playing on my recently resurrected Apple IIs, a //e, IIc, and IIgs (mostly the //e), tinkering with assembly.
I'm reading the paddles and plotting a colored block on the screen, kind of an ...
- 213k
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Asking explanation of 65C02 assembler code
From Gary B. Little's "Apple ProDOS: Advanced Features for Programmers", pages 176 - 188:
"Since the ONLINE command handler is not inherently relocatable, all
references to internal ...
- 7,418
9
votes
1
answer
811
views
What's the best way to hook up an external power supply to the Apple IIc without a 7-pin female DIN plug?
As seems to be typical with Apple IIc purchases these days, mine came
without the external power supply. I have ordered some 7-pin female
DIN plugs and other adapters that will let me plug a modern ...
- 21.6k
11
votes
2
answers
863
views
Information about the Hollywood Hardware Graphics Card for Apple II+
I still have a Hollywood Hardware graphics card that I used in my Apple II+ back-in-the-day. It was my understanding that this was the graphics card used for the special effects in the first three ...
- 19.5k