Table Of Content'
/I\ATARI
MultiTOS*
Quickstart
[-Jser'sG uide
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PLEASEN OTE:E verye fforht asb eenm adet o ensureth ea ccuracoyf the
informatioinnt hism anual.H oweverb,e causeA tariC orporatioisn c onstantly
improvinga ndu pdatingit s computehr ardwarea nds oftwarei,t is unableto
guaranteeth e accuracyo f printedm ateriaal ftert hed ateo f publicatioann d
disclaimlsia bilitfyo rc hangese,r rorso, r omissions.
Reproductioonf a llo r anyp ortiono f thism anuails nota llowedw ithoutth e
specificw rittenc onsenot f Ataric orporation.
Atarit,h eA taril ogo,T OS,a ndM ultiTOSar et rademarkosr registered
trademarkosf AtariC orporationG. EMi s a registeretdr ademarko f Digital
ResearchIn, c.
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MultiTOSQ uickstarGt uide
Applicability
TheM ultiTOS'o" peratinge nvironmenist applicableo nlyt o the followingA tari
computers:
. AtariS T Seriesw ith2 MBo f RAMo r greater( sucha s MegaS T2o r Mega
sT4)
r AtariS TeS eriesw ith2 MBo f RAMo r greater( sucha s MegaS Te2o r Mega
STe4)
o AtariTTS eries
e AtariStacyC omputers
o AtariF alconS eries
AboutT his Guide
Thisg uidei s an introductiotno installinga ndu singA tari'sl atests ystem
softwareM, ultiTOSl.t is nota replacemenfot r youro wner'sm anuala, nd
assumesy oua ref amiliarw ithT OSm enus,w indowsa, ndb uttonsa, ndw ith
operationlsik ec opyingfi lesa ndr unningp rograms.
lntroductiont o MultiTOS
MultiTOSp rovidesy ourA taric omputerw ithm ultitaskingt,h e abilityt o run
moret hano nea pplicatioant a time.S incey ourc omputesr pendsm ucho f its
timew aitingf or useri nput,m uhitaskinmg akesm oree fficienut seo f processing
MultiTOS QuickstartG u ide
http://www.atariworld.org
power.W heno nea pplications,a y,y ourw ordp rocessoris, waitingfo r input,t he
resto f yourc omputer'ast tentioncabne turnedt o othert asks.
MultiTOSin cludess everailm portanfte aturesth atm akem ultitasking
reliablea nd efficientA. daptivep rioritizationg ivest he mostp rocessingp owert o
the mosti mportanpt rogramru nning-thew ordp rocessoyro u'ret ypingi nto
receivesh igherp riorityth ant he processor-hungcroym pressiopnr ogran
runnings imultaneousilny t he bac*groundM. emoryp rotectionp reventso ne
programlr omi nterferinwg itha nothear ctivep rogram'ds atai n memoryA. nd if
onep rogramq uitsu nexpectedolyr crashesM, ultiTOSp rotectso ther
applicationsw,h ichc ontinueto run;o nlyi n the moste xtremec ircumstancewsi ll
youn eedt o restaryt ourc omputer.
MultiTOSru nse xistingc, orrectly-writteTnO Sp rograms--ams anya s your
computer'ms emorya llowsS. omep rogramsa rea lreadyb eingu pgradedto take
advantageo f MultiTOSfe aturesa, ndm orep rogramsw rittene speciallfyo r
MultiTOSa reo n theirw ay,b othf romA taria ndt hird-partcyo mpanies.
InstallingM ultiTOS
lf MultiTOSis alreadyin stalledo n yourc omputers,k ipt hiss ectiona nd
continuere adingfr omM ultiTOSC onfigurationA. n AtariF ujicharactearn dt he
wordD ESKTOPin thet he Deskm enu( att he upperl eft-handc ornero f your
screenm) eansy ou'rea lreadyru nningM ultiTOS.
lf MultiTosi sn'ta lreadyo n yours ystemy, ou'lln eedt o installi t. Before
goinga nyf urtherc, opyy ourM ultiTOSD istributioDni sk( or Disks)a, ndu seo nly
the copy.S toret he original(si)n a safep lace,a wayf romm oistured, ust,a nd
magneticfi elds.N owy ou'rer eadyt o proceed.
Double-clicokn INSTALL.PRtGh,e M ultiTOSin stallatiopnr ograma, nd
followi tsp romptsY, oun eedt o havee noughd isks pacef or MultiTOSa nd
relatedfi les( 1.5m egabyteiss plenty)a, ndy oum ustc hoosea directoryin which
to placet hem.B y defaultM, ultiTOSis installedin C:\MULTITOSu;n lessy ou
havea goodr easonto changeth is,j ustc lickO K.T hep rograma utomatically
copiest he correcfti lest o the correcpt laceso n yourh ardd isk,a ndc onfigures
MultiTOSto runo n yours ystem.
Mul tiTOS Quickstart Gui de
http://www.atariworld.org
MultiTOSC onfigur ation
MultiTOSre lieso n severailm portanfti lesf orl eaturesa ndc onfiguration
informationB.e carefunl ott o deleteo r changeth esef iles,o r MultiTOSm ayn ot
workc orrectlyA. lso,m akes ureM INT.PRGth, ep arto f MultiTOSth ata ctually
controlsm ultitaskingis, the lasti tems avedi n your\ AUTOf older.N otet hate ven
if MINT.PRGa ppearsto be the lasti temi n your\ AUTOf olderf tomt he Desktop,
it mayn otb e;the Desktops ortst he itemsi n a windowu nlessy out ell it
otherwisea,n dM INT.PRGm ayj usta ppearla st.I NSTALLm akess ureM INTi s
last,b ut if yous ubsequentnlye edt o adda nothepr rogramto your\ AUTOf older,
moveM INT.PRGou t,c opyi nt hen ewp rograma,n dm oveM INT.PRGba ck.
The DifferentT ypeso f Programs
MultiTOSru nst het hreem ajort ypeso f programsG: EMp rogramsw, hich
useg raphicalwindowmse, nusa, ndb uttonsD; eskA ccessoriessp, eciaGl EM
programsa vailablefr omw ithino therG EMp rogramsv iat he Deskm enu;a nd
TOSp rogramsw, hichu seo nlyp laint ext.M osto f yourp rogramsa rep robably
GEMp rogramsT; OSp rogramsa reu suallyp rogrammert'os olso r minoru tilities.
Thet hree-letteerx tendeirn a program'sn amei ndicatesw hatk indo f
programit is;i n then ameP ROGRAM.AP.PA,P Pi s thee xtender..A PP,. GTP,
and,o ften,. PRGe xtenderisn dicateG EMp rogramsa, nd .TOS,. TTP,a nd
sometime.sP RGe xtendersin dicateT OSp rogramsA. lthough.P RGu sually
indicatesa GEMp rogrami,t is sometimeus sedb y text-onlyT OSp rograms;
checkt he program'sd ocumentatioton be sure.
BeforeM ultiTOSy,o uc ouldr uno nea pplicatioant a timeb y double-
clickingo n its icon.W ithina GEMa pplicationy,o uc oulda ccessa Desk
Accessoryli,k et he ControPl anelf,r omt he Deskm enu.T o run a secondG EM
or TOSp rogramy, ou hadt o exitt he first.
RunningP rogramsw ith MultiTOS
MuhiTOSc anr una s manyp rogramss imultaneousalys willfit in memory;
GEMp rogramsD, eskA ccessoriesa,n dT OSp rogramsc ana ll peacefully
coexistu nderM uttiTOSY. ouc an movef romo net o the other,u singw hichever
3 Mu l tiTOS Qui ckstart Gu ide
http://www.atariworld.org
you need.W heno nep rogramis busy,y ouc ans et it asidea ndw orko n
somethinge lseu ntili t'sd one.W heny ouf inishw itha programa nde xiti t,t he
memoryit occupiedis freedf or othert asks,
All runningp rogramss haret he screene, achp uttingu p its ownw indows;
I
withs everapl rogramsru nningw, indowsm ayo verlapo r be hiddena ltogethebr y
onea notherT. hea pplicatiotnh atr eceivesin put,l ikek eystrokesfr, omy ou is
calledt he foregrounodr toppeda pplicationa,n do therp rogramsru nning
simultaneousalyr eb ackgroundo,r untoppeda pplications.
UnlikeT OS,M ultiTOSa llowsy out o operatea nyw indow'sg adgetsto
mover, esizeo, r scrollthew indowe, veni f thew indowis nott oppedW. heny ou
clickw ithina window( butn oto n its gadgets)t,h atw indowis topped,a nds o is
the applicatiotnh ato wnsi t. Thet oppeda pplicationm's enub ar is displayed,
unlessit doesn'th avea menub ar--inth atc ase,t he menub ar is unchanged.
GEMP rogramsa nd MultiTOS
RunningG EMp rogramus nderM ultiTOSis straightforwasrdim: plyd ouble-
clickt he program'sic on.T heM ultiTOSD istributioKni t includestw o simpleG EM
programsC, locka ndL ines.D ouble-clicokn CLOCK.APPa,n da n analogc lock
appearsin a windowb, utt he Desktop'sic onsa ndm enub ara res tillv isible.
Double-clicokn LINES.APPa,n da graphicdse monstratioanp pearsin a
windowR. esizeth e Linesw indows o thaty ouc ans eet he clocka nds omeo f
the DesktopB. othp rogramsa ndt he Desktopa rer unnings imultaneouslFyr! om
here,y ouc anr uns tillo therp rogramso, r performD esktopo perationlsik ef ile
copies.
DeskA ccessoriesa nd MultiTOS
As withT OS,y ouc ana ccessy ourD eskA ccessoriefsro mt he Deskm enu.
UnlikeT OS,M ultiTOSc anl oadD eskA ccessorieass youn eedt hem.D ouble-
clicko n a .ACCf ilet o runi t,j usta s youw oulda notheGr EMa pplicationY.o u
mayw antt o keepo nlyt he essentiaAl ccessorielso adeda t allt imes,a ndl oad
othersw henn eededY. ouc and o thisb y puttingy our. ACCf ilesi n a directory
othert hant he rooto f driveC :\.
Mul tiTOS QuickstartG ui de
http://www.atariworld.org
TOSP rogramsa nd MultiTOS
TOSp rogramsp resenat specialproblemfo r multitaskingb,e causeth ey
usuallya ssumeth eya ret he onlyp rogramsru nninga, ndt hatt heyh avet he
wholes creent o themselvesS. inceT OSp rogramsd on'tk nowh owt o sharet he
I
screenM, ultiTOSd oesi t fort hem,b y givingt hemt heiro wns creenw, ithina
windowW. heny oud ouble-clicak .TOSo r .TTPp rogramM, ultiTOSru ns
i
anotherp rogramM, lNlWlNw, hichs etsu p a windowin whicht heT OSp rogram
runs.M lNlWlNl etsy ous electt hes izeo f the windowT OSp rogramsa reg iven,
andt he fontt heyu se.Y ouc anc hangeth isi nformatiobny choosingC onfigure...
in the leftmosmt enuw henr unninga TOSp rogramN. ote:T OSp rograms
assumeth ey'reu singa monospacefdo nt,w herea ll characterasr et he same
width.M lNlWlNa llowsy out o choosep roportionalslyp acedfo nts,w herea w is
widert hana n r,f or examplel.f youc hoosea proportionalslyp acedf ont,t he
programm ayl ooks trangeb, ut is otherwisefin e.
ManagingM ultipleA pplications
Whens everaal pplicationasr er unningt,h et oppeda pplicatiopnr esentsit s
menub ara ndr eceivesy ourk eystrokesT.h eo thersa rei n the background,
wherey ouc ans tillm ovea ndr esizet heirw indowsb, uty ouc an'tc licko n their
menuso r givet hemk eyboardc ommandsM. ultiTOSp rovidess everawl ayst o
managea llthea pplicationyso um ayh aver unninga, ndt o choosew hicho f
themi s topped.
Thel eftmosmt enui n the menub ari s calledt he Deskm enu,b ecause
that'sw hati t'sc alledw hent he Desktopis toppedW. hena notherM ultiTOS-
friendlya pplicatioins run,a ndt he applicatiohna si ts ownm enub ar,t he
applicationn'sa mer eplacesD eski n the menub ar--thisis onew ayt o tellw hich
programis toppedS, omeo ldera pplicationwsi lln otd o this,b utw illotherwise
workf ine.
The Deskm enuc ontainsth e nameso f all installedD eskA ccessorieasn d,
below,t he nameso f all applicationcsu rrentlyru nningw, itht het opped
applicatioinn dicatedb y a checkmarkY.o uc ant op anothepr rogramb y clicking
on its namei n thism enu;i tsw indows(i f it hasa ny)s pringt o the front,a ndi ts
menub ar (if it haso ne)a ppears.
MultiTOS Quickstart Guide
http://www.atariworld.org
HowM anyP rogramsC anI Run?
Youc anr una s manyp rogramsa s youra vailablem emorya llowsb, utt here
arer easonsw hyy oum ayn otw antt o. Oftent,h erei s veryl ittled ifferencein
systemp erformancwei ths everapl rogramsru nnings, incem anyo f these
programsa rej ustw aitingfo r input,W henp rogra'nsa rea ctivelyp rocessingo,r
readinga ndw ritingd atao n a disk,t heyc onsumem oreo f yourc omputer's
processinpgo werY. oum ayb e temptedto leavet hingsr unningin the
backgrounbde causeit 'ss o easy,b ut if theym aket oo manyd emandso n the
systemp, erformancwei lls uffer.lt 's bestt o shutd owna nyp rogra'nsy ou'ren ot
planningto use,j usta s youw oulde xitt hemi n TOS.T hism akest he most
memorya ndc omputingh orsepowearv ailablefo rt he programsy our eallyn eed.
Experimenat,n ds eew hatc ombinationosf programsw orkw elltogether.
ExitingP rograms
Shutp rogramsd ownw ithM ultiTOSth e samew ayy ouw ouldw ithT OS:
savew hateveyr ou'rew orkingo n,t hens electQ uit,c lickt he closeg adgeto n a
windowt,y pee xit,o r whateverT. hisg ivest he programa chanceto savea nd
closea nyf ilesi t haso pena nde xitc leanlyr,e turningyo urc omputetro its
normasl tate.A s alwaysi,t 'sb estt o savey ourw orka nde xitf roma ll running
applicationbse forer estartingo r turningy ourc omputeor ff.
Occasionallay, p rogramm ayh angi n a statew herei t is no longerr unning
correctlyb, utd oesn ote xit.w hen thish appensy, ouc ans hutt he programd own
fromt he DesktopS, electl nstallD evicesu ndert he Optionsm enu,t heno pen
driveU :\,a nctl hent he PROCf olderT. hisf olderc ontainsfi lest hatr epresenat ll
the programsc urrentlyru nningu nderM ultiTOSa,l ongw ithp artso f MultiTOS
itself.T o stopo r killa programs, implyd ragi t to thet rash.B e veryc arefuwl ith
thist echniqueK. illo nlyp rogramsw hichh aven otr espondedo therwiseo,r are
otherwiseb ehavingin correctlyB.e carefulwhayt out hrowa way,b ecauseit is
possibleto shutd owna parto f MultiTOSit self,a fterw hichi t can be ditficultto
recoverw ithoutr estartingl.f you aren'ts ure whats omethingi s,d onTk ill it.
Poorly-BehavedP rogramsa nd MultiTOS
AlthoughA tarih as madee verye ffortt o accomodatee veni ll-behavedT OS
programsy,o um ayo ccasionalleyn countepr rogramsth ata ren otc ompatible
Mu ltiTOS QuickstartG uide
http://www.atariworld.org
withM ultiTOST. hesep rogramsm ayc rash,( exitu nexpectedlyo)r hang,( keep
runningw ithouta cceptingin put,r efusingto exit).U suallyw hent hish appens,
MultiTOSc ontinuesu nharmeda,l ongw itha nyo therp rogramsru nninga t the
timeo f the crash.S ometimesif, a programc rashesin an especiallsyp ectacular
way,i t can interferew itho therp artso f MultiTOSo perationo,r otherp rogramsl.f
yous eee rrorm essageos n yours creeno, r if youn oticep eculiabr ehaviofrr om
otherp rogramss,a vey ourw orka ndr ebooty ourc omputerT. ryt o isolateth e
problemto the particulapr rograma nda ctiont hatc ausedth e crash,a ndr eport
the problemto the program'sa uthorso r publisher.
DisablingM ultiTOS
Wheny ou encountear programw hichd oesn'rt unu nderM ultiTOSu nder
anyc ircumstancebsu ty oun eedt o runn everthelesyso, uc ant emporarily
disableM uhiTOSa, ndr estaryt ourc omputewr ithT OS.T o do this,s avea ny
worki n progresss,h utd owna nyr unninga pplicationsa,n dr estaryt our
computerY. ouc an uset he Resetb uttono, r holdd own< control>a nd
<Alternatea>n dp ress< Delete>l.m mediatelayf terr estartingh,o ldd ownt he left
<Shift>k ey.Y ouw illb e askedL, oadM ultiTOS?(y )es( n)o.P ressth e< n>k ey,
andy ourc omputewr illstartu pw ithouMt ultiTOS.
SubtleC aveats
Witht he powero f MultiTOSc omesr esponsibilitSy,i nces omeo lder
programse xpectt o be the onlyt hingr unningt,h eym ayn otg uarda gainsst ome
thingsw hichc an happenw hent heirb ac*sa ret urnedY. ouc ana voidt hese
problemsb y not usingo nep rogramo r the Desktopto interferew itha nother
activep rogramF. ore xampled, on'tm ovec onfiguratioonr opend ocumenfti les
fory ourw ordp rocessowr hilei t'sr unning;thper ogramm aya ssumeth ef iles
are in theiro riginapl lace,a ndb ehaveu npredictablSy.im ilarlyb, e carefulwith
programsth atm anipulatdei skd atad irectlyd; on'tr una hardd isk
defragmentatiopnro gramin the backgrounadn ds avea filet o the samed isk,o r
the resultsc ouldb e unpleasanAt.s moreM ultiTOS-awaprero gramsb ecome
availableth, esep roblemws illb e minimized.
Mu ltiTOS Qu i ckstart Gu i de
http://www.atariworld.org
MultiTOSU pdates
Futurei,m provedM ultiTOSv ersionsw illbe availablea s upgradesS. ince
mosto f MultiTOSis loadedfr omd isk,y ouw illb e ablet o upgradeth esep arts
justa s youi nstalledth e originalsw, ithouot peningy ourc omputer.
MultiTOS QuickstartG uide 8
http://www.atariworld.org
