VirtualRPC-SA User Guide

Altering the VirtualRPC-SA !Boot sequence


VirtualRPC-SA comes pre-configured with a standard !Boot sequence, this loads all the required modules as well as !Alarm, !Printers and the RISC OS pinboard. You may well decide that you want to alter the !Boot sequence, for example to add extra items to the Pinboard, or to load additional software. This section of the manual explains how this can be done, we do however caution users that unless you know a lot about the RISC OS !Boot sequence you should proceed very carefully. Take particular note not to alter the contents of the PreDesk directory.

Saving a Desktop !Boot file from the RISC OS cube icon

Don't do it! Acorn incorporated this option from RISC OS 3.00 onwards, it has now been removed from the latest versions of RISC OS. If you do save a desktop !Boot file from the Acorn icon on the iconbar you will find that RISC OS may well try and load all the programs in the !Boot sequence twice and you will get error messages from RISC OS when loading VirtualRPC-SA. If this happens the easiest way to correct this is to delete the file !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks.!Boot from the boot sequence. If you still have problems then you will need to re-install VirtualRPC-SA from your master CD. Users should note that this is not a VirtualRPC-SA problem but also affects "real" RISC OS computers.

Inside the RISC OS !Boot sequence

The RISC OS !Boot sequence is quite complex, and as a good rule you should only alter its contents if you know exactly what you are doing. More information on the inside of the !Boot sequence can be found in the RISCOS User Guide that came with VirtualRPC-SA. The following sections cover the most common questions about how to alter the boot sequence to add extra programs on startup, change the files on the Pinboard and add fonts or modules.

The main part of the !Boot sequence that you will be interested in is in !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks. In order to open the !Boot sequence you will need to hold down SHIFT while double clicking on the !Boot icon in the HostFS::HardDisc4 window.


Inside the VirtualRPC-SA !Boot sequence

The picture above shows you where the important files live.

Adding items to the RISC OS PinBoard

You may well wish to add extra items to the RISC OS pinboard, for example your own programs or your own files. To do this simply drag the items you want to the PinBoard and position them as you wish. Now press MENU over some part of the PinBoard to open its menu, go to the Save option and move past the arrow. Now click on the OK button to save the new pinboard settings.

Adding programs to the !Boot sequence

This is done in a slightly different way. Open the HardDisc4 filer window and double click on !Boot. The Configuration window will now open. Click on the Boot option. Now click on the Run option. You will see the list of program that are run on startup (by default this will usually only be !Alarm). Drag the programs you want to run on startup to this window. Once you have finished click on the Set button to save the changes.

Removing programs from the !Boot sequence

To remove programs from the !Boot sequence open the HardDisc4 filer window and double click on !Boot. The Configuration window will now open. Click on the Boot option. Now click on the Run option. You will see the list of program that are run on startup. Select the program(s) that you no longer wish to run and click on Remove selection. To save the changes click on the Set button.

Do not delete the !DeskCtrl, !MemNow, Alarms, ModeSet, SetDir or SyncClock programs from the !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks directory. If you do then you may find that some features of VirtualRPC-SA will no longer work correctly and you will be forced to re-install VirtualRPC-SA.

Adding more fonts to VirtualRPC-SA

You may find that you want to move some outline fonts from your "real" Acorn to VirtualRPC-SA at some point. This is quite simple to do but you do need to follow the following sequence to ensure that the process will go smoothly.

Your new fonts will now be available in the same font menus as your existing Fonts.

Adding extra Modules to VirtualRPC-SA

RISC OS is modular in construction and hence consists of lots of "Modules". Many of these are stored in the RISC OS ROM image, but extra ones can also be made available to applications from the !System.Modules directory. You can add extra modules to this directory yourself, but only do this if you are sure you know what you are doing. You could quite easily prevent some programs from loading, or indeed prevent VirtualRPC-SA itself from loading if you put incorrect modules in the !System.Modules directory. If you are adding a module to RISC OS then you should check with the modules author that it is suitable for use with RISC OS 4.02.

To add a single module to RISC OS follow the sequence shown below:

To add a set of modules contained in a !System folder:

Your new module will now be available.

Configuring a RISC OS screen mode


VirtualRPC comes pre-configured to appear with an 800x600 screen size. You can easily alter this simply by opening HardDisc4 then double clicking on !Boot. Now go to the Display option and then click on Monitor. You can now set up the default screen resolution you need.

It is possible that you won't find the exact screen resolution you need for your computer from the available options. In this case you can use the AutoMode configuration tool to generate the correct MDF (Monitor Definition File) for your screen display. To use AutoMode simply click on the AutoMode icon and then enter the required screen resolution. You can select what frame rates the screen mode will have available. The normal choices are 30Hz, 51hz and 75Hz. Clicking on the SAve Updated MDF button will generate the new screen modes and they will become instantly available from both the monitor icon on the RISC OS iconbar and from the Monitor configuration tool.


Configuring the default screen mode

VRPC manual - draft number 150.001 10th May 2006