Software Spotlight: Lotus 1-2-3 1.00
I haven't figured everything out yet, but the other day I finally came across a copy of Lotus 1-2-3 1.00 for DOS. Unfortunately, it is missing the Utility and tutorial disks, but at least I have the systems disks archived now so others can inspect them.
https://winworldpc.com/product/lotus-1-2-3/1x
All of the other 1.x versions out there are "1A", with a few different copy protection variations. The 1.00 disk label and the manual label simply do not show a version number on them. There had been a 1.00 manual on eBay a few months back, but I passed it up thinking I would never find the disks. Oh well.
Image quality:
The System disk is used. (DOS was installed and config is present)
The System backup is used (DOS was installed)
The Graph disk is used.
This set is INCOMPLETE, it is missing a matching utility and tutorial disk.
Dumps of these disks, and any others that might have been included is requested.
There may be copy protection. A disk written using a Kryoflux works on real hardware, but a duplicate made with diskcopy will not run. An image will not run in the PCE emulator as-is. Examining the flux dump, no tracks stand out as obviously protected. (Given that the set includes a "backup" disk, logically that means there probably is protection. Either way, it is wonky as heck).
Even weirder, if I took just a sector image, reconstituted a fresh image using the HXC tools, and wrote that, it appeared to work on real hardware. By "work", I mean it booted the DOS 1.1 on the disk, could start Lotus 1-2-3, and I could access the menu items. When it did not work, it Lotus 1-2-3 just exits to DOS (or back the the Lotus launcher program) just before it displays the application menu.
I don't quite see what the program is doing. It makes several absolute DOS sector reads (not int 13 or direct hardware), checks something, and then craps out.
I couldn't get it to run in PCE, even if I included extra MFM data at the end of each sector, just in case there was data hiding in the gap areas.
The following "unprotect" enables it to run in PCE. However this was made quickly and may be incorrect. Change:
3D 0A 00 7C 16 B8 19 00 to
3D 0A 00 90 90 B8 19 00
and
3D 0A 00 7C 01 C3 E8 66 to
3D 0A 00 90 90 C3 E8 66
Well, at least we have something out there now.
https://winworldpc.com/product/lotus-1-2-3/1x
All of the other 1.x versions out there are "1A", with a few different copy protection variations. The 1.00 disk label and the manual label simply do not show a version number on them. There had been a 1.00 manual on eBay a few months back, but I passed it up thinking I would never find the disks. Oh well.
Image quality:
The System disk is used. (DOS was installed and config is present)
The System backup is used (DOS was installed)
The Graph disk is used.
This set is INCOMPLETE, it is missing a matching utility and tutorial disk.
Dumps of these disks, and any others that might have been included is requested.
There may be copy protection. A disk written using a Kryoflux works on real hardware, but a duplicate made with diskcopy will not run. An image will not run in the PCE emulator as-is. Examining the flux dump, no tracks stand out as obviously protected. (Given that the set includes a "backup" disk, logically that means there probably is protection. Either way, it is wonky as heck).
Even weirder, if I took just a sector image, reconstituted a fresh image using the HXC tools, and wrote that, it appeared to work on real hardware. By "work", I mean it booted the DOS 1.1 on the disk, could start Lotus 1-2-3, and I could access the menu items. When it did not work, it Lotus 1-2-3 just exits to DOS (or back the the Lotus launcher program) just before it displays the application menu.
I don't quite see what the program is doing. It makes several absolute DOS sector reads (not int 13 or direct hardware), checks something, and then craps out.
I couldn't get it to run in PCE, even if I included extra MFM data at the end of each sector, just in case there was data hiding in the gap areas.
The following "unprotect" enables it to run in PCE. However this was made quickly and may be incorrect. Change:
3D 0A 00 7C 16 B8 19 00 to
3D 0A 00 90 90 B8 19 00
and
3D 0A 00 7C 01 C3 E8 66 to
3D 0A 00 90 90 C3 E8 66
Well, at least we have something out there now.