STart Cover Disk UN-ARC.

[Jinroh]

Hey all! This seemed like the best place to ask this, since is about preserved disk image.

I was trying to Un-Arc the programs like BLITTER1.PRG and CARDGAME.PRG to check them out, and take the trip down memory road. On my Mega STe, STEEM, and Hatari, get 2 bombs bus error.

https://www.atarimagazines.com/software/start/V5N1.MSA
https://www.atarimagazines.com/software/start/V5N2.MSA
https://www.atarimagazines.com/software/start/V5N3.MSA

Anyone able to UN-ARC these? I tried some different TOS versions in STEEM and Hatari, but still seemed no go. Also 2.06 on my MegaSTe, but 2 bombs there too. Any advice is thanks!

[czietz]

Oddly enough, these self-extracting ("Un-ARC") program seem to work with TOS 1.02.

[czietz]

Analysis: To unpack itself, the executable opens itself as a file. To do that, it gets its own file name from an internal undocumented TOS variable. It can only do so for TOS versions it knows. Unfortunately, it does not even bother checking if is running on an unsupported TOS version - but just crashes.

[Jinroh]

Interesting. Thanks my friend. Just bad future proofing for the unarc function. I did not think to check that far back for TOS just the versions I had on my machines.