Commodore 1541-II - How to Prepare a New Diskette

Last is the relocate flag. It can have one of two values, 0 and 1. If the relocate flag is
0 or omitted, all Commodore computers that use the 1541 automatically relocate the
programs they load to live in the part of computer memory reserved for BASIC programs.
If the relocate flag value is 1, auto-relocation is turned off, and the program is loaded into
the exact part of memory from which it was originally saved. This feature allows
machine-language and other special purpose programs to come into the computer
at the correct location for them to operate properly. At this point in your learning,
the only thing you need to know about the relocate flag is how to use it. Simply
include the 1 at the end of the LOAD command if a particular program doesn't run
properly when loaded the usual way.
After you type in the command and press the RETURN key, the fallowing will
appear on the screen:
SEARCHING FOR "HOW TO USE"
LOADING
READY.
When the word READY and the flashing cursor reappear on the screen and the green
light goes off on the drive, the program named "HOW TO USE" on the Test/Demo
diskette has been loaded into the computer. To use it, just type the word RUN and press
the RETURN key.
The same Load command will also allow you to load other prepackaged programs
from the Test/Demo or other diskettes. Merely substitute the exact program name that you
want to use between the quotation marks in the above example, and that will be the
program the computer will load (a list of Test/Demo programs is shown in Chapter 3, in
the section entitled "What a Directory Shows").
Note: here and in the remainder of the book, we will assume you are in graphic
mode, seeing upper case letters and graphic characters when you type. This is the normal
condition of all Commodore computers covered by this manual when they are first turned
on. If you now see lower-case letters when you type without using the SHIFT key, you are
in text mode instead. Press the COMMODORE key (Q:), at the lower left corner of your
keyboard, together with a SHIFT key to switch to graphic mode.
HOW TO PREPARE A NEW DISKETTE: BASIC 2
A diskette needs a pattern of magnetic grooves in order for the drive's read/write
head to find things on it. This pattern is not on your diskettes when you buy them, but
adding it to a diskette is simple once you know to do it. Here is the procedure:
FORMAT FOR THE DISK NEW COMMAND
OPEN 15,device #,15,"Ndrive #:diskette name,id"
CLOSE 15
This Open command will be described more fully in Chapters 4 and 5. For now, just
copy it as is, replacing only the parts given in lower case. These include: the device
15