Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!isis!nyx!bscott
From: bscott@nyx.UUCP (Ben Scott)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: The A-590/2091 FFS problem
Summary: it's not a bug, it's an oversight!
Keywords: Location 0
Message-ID: <1449@nyx.UUCP>
Date: 9 Jul 90 03:36:42 GMT
References: <2085@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk> <6600012@okcusr.UUCP>
Reply-To: bscott@nyx.UUCP (Ben Scott)
Organization: Public Access Unix - University of Denver
Lines: 47

In article <6600012@okcusr.UUCP> bn@okcusr.UUCP writes:
>>  not clearing memory location 0. Well, I found that a few of the PD programs
[..]
>>  in AmigaBasic. Does anyone out there has a summary of the consequences of
>>  doing a POKEL 0, 0? Also is there a better way of doing this?
>
>I am also having this problem with my brand new A590. I found that VirusX3.2
>works like a charm, but 4.0 crashes when it's trying to set up. Another 
>problem that I'm having is that ever since I installed the HD, some of my
>file requesters contain the string "gdos" as though the DOS already selected
[...]
>because the term assumes I want to upload a file called "gdos". Does
>anybody know a cure for this??? By the way, the problem mentioned in the

This keeps popping up so I'm posting publicly (perhaps this is a candidate for
the Intro to c.s.a. file?) - also due to some problems I can't reliably post
mail replies on comp.sys.amiga... anyhow:

There's a simple, clean fix for this.  Go in through HD_Toolbox, to "Partition
Drive", then click on "Advanced Options" and you'll see a box labeled "Add/
Update Filesystems" - click this and then change the version number of the FFS
from 0 to 1.  

Note that this changes the FFS on the hardblocks, the one in L: is unaffected
and does not even need to be there unless you're running other FFS devices.

Version 0 as shipped is a debugging version of some kind, which puts a pointer
to someplace in memory which has the string "gdos" in it - (not sure what but
it's probably a memory resident library someplace) - buggy programs which have
uninitialized pointers or which expect a null to be in location zero will find
what appears to be a null-terminated string pointed to by the number at 0.
This will cause annoyances and sometimes crashes depending on the program.
Note also that this is a kind of bug, but it only affects other buggy programs.
Location zero is not to be played with or counted on to have zero in it.

It was an oversight to ship version 0 enabled instead of version 1, so you can't
really call it a bug.  Once you make the switch all problems will go away.

.                           <<<<Infinite K>>>>

--
.---------------------------------------------------------------------------.
|Ben Scott, professional goof-off and consultant at The Raster Image, Denver|
|Amiga UUCP node domain: bscott@vila.denver.co.us Else: bscott@nyx.cs.du.edu|
|FIDO point address 1:104/421.2, or call the Arvada 68K BBS at (303)424-9831|
|"Don't embarrass us..."  "Have I ever?" - Buckaroo Banzai  | *AMIGA POWER* |
`---------------------------------------------------------------------------'