How can I convert DOS 3.3 wares to run under ProDOS?
Quite a few DOS 3.3 programs will run fine under ProDOS with no change at all. Unless you have some reason to believe a DOS 3.3 program will not run under ProDOS, it’s worthwhile to just copy it to a ProDOS diskette and give it a try. Note: A few ‘DOS 3.3’ programs, mainly old commercial games, include routines which do direct writes to one or more sectors. This could overwrite parts of a file or a ProDOS directory. It’s a good idea to copy risky-looking software to a ProDOS disk you can afford to lose (e.g. a bootable disk with no favorite programs, etc. on it). Boot this disk and try out the program. The main barriers to running DOS 3.3 programs under ProDOS are … 1. Size: DOS 3.3 leaves more space for programs than ProDOS + BASIC.SYSTEM. Some DOS 3.3 programs are too large for ProDOS. To use them you will need to find ways to reduce program size. 2. Areas of memory used: ProDOS reserves parts of memory, such as Text Page 1 ($0400-$07FF), for various pointers. Some DOS 3.
