EASILY MAKE BACK UP COPIES OF EXPENSIVE COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE TAPES WITH THIS METHOD BY DENNIS JURRIES. AT THE SAME TIME, LEARN HOW PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMERS STRUCTURE THEIR MACHINE CODE PROGRAMS.
Most programs that you can purchase for the TS 2068 when loaded start running, and if you try breaking into them, they dump, lock up the computer, or will not accept the break command. These programs usually consist of a least three programs in one. The first part consists of a simple loader that tells the computer to load the SCREEN$, and to load the machine code program, and may have some BASIC program that intermixes with the machine code program. The first part may be hidden when you break [illegible]nto it by having the BOARDER, PA[illegible]ER, and INK colors all the same. Change the paper color if this is so, and relist it. You may have to MERGE a line, such as “1 STOP”. The MERGE command disengages the auto-start function and thus any command that would normally prevent you from breaking into the program.
The following procedure works in all cases.
MC -machine code program
name.
BASIC -basic program name.
SCREEN -screen string program
name.
1. LOAD the program until the screen display is displayed, then BREAK and LIST. If the program dumps or locks up, then MERGE a line and LIST. This listing will give you the starting address of the machine code (found in the line RAND USR #), the name of the MC, and SCREEN$ programs.
2. LOAD the MC program (LOAD “MC” CODE).
3. PEEK the MC program looking for the length. This can be done by looking in the MC until you find a long group of 0s (say 96).
4. SAVE “BASIC”LINE 1
SAVE “SCREEN”SCREEN$
SAVE “MC”CODE #1,#2
#1 is the starting address from RAND USR. #2 is the length of the MC routine, determined by subtracting the starting address from the ending address found when you peeked the MC and found the start of the 0s, or by using the top of memory 65535 (ie. say start address from RAND USR 42000: 65535-42000=23535 then SAVE “MC”CODE 42000, 23535).
5. After completing the above, and VERIFYING each step, except SCREEN$, press NEW and LOAD the program copy that you have just made, and try it out.
NOTE: You may want to delete any of the statements that would not allow you to break the original program, before you start saving the program. Some of these commands are: ON ERR and POKE 23613,87. DELETE them if you want to.
GOOD LUCK!!!