Self-booting disk

A self-booting disk is a floppy disk for home computers or personal computers that loads—or boots—directly into a standalone application when the system is turned on, bypassing the operating system. This was common, even standard, on some computers in the late 1970s to early 1990s. Video games were the type of application most commonly distributed using this technique.

Not to be confused with Self-hosting (compilers).

The term "PC booter" is sometimes used in reference to self-booting software for IBM PC compatibles. On other computers, like the Apple II and Atari 8-bit family, almost all software is self-booting. On the IBM PC, the distinction is between a self-booting program and one which is started by the user via an operating system such as MS-DOS or IBM PC DOS. The term "PC booter" was not contemporaneous with when self-booting games were being released.

Purpose

On some home computers like the Apple II, software is loaded by inserting a floppy disk and turning on or resetting the machine. It's analogous to cartridges on game consoles such as the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System. It does not require using a command-line interface or other method to launch software.

It was common for self-booting disks to use non-standard disk formatting, so the contents could not be viewed or copied via a system's normal disk operating system. They could still be copied by other utilities.

Most self-booting programs are written to not need features of an existing operating system, such as MS-DOS, and access the hardware directly or use low-level functions that are built into read-only memory. Other programs provide a specialized replacement for the operating system.[1]

Drawbacks

Self-booting disks require the system to turned on or rebooted to use the software. The user cannot switch between programs. The software can only exist on its own floppy disk, not stored on a disk with multiple programs, such as a hard disk drive.

The self-booting game or application cannot easily use computer hardware normally accessed through device drivers in the operating system. The program needs built-in support for each specific peripheral, and it doesn't automatically get the benefit of improvements or bug fixes or support for updated versions.

Examples

Between 1983 and 1984, Digital Research offered several of their business and educational applications for the IBM PC on bootable floppy diskettes bundled with SpeedStart CP/M, a reduced version of CP/M-86 as a bootable runtime environment.[2][3][4][5][6]

Infocom offered the only third-party games for the Macintosh at launch by distributing them with its own bootable operating system.[1]

A scaled down version of GeoWorks Ensemble was used by America Online for their AOL client software until the late 1990s. AOL was distributed on a single 3.5-inch floppy disk, which could be used to boot GeoWorks as well.

In 1998, Caldera distributed a demo version of their 32-bit DPMI web-browser and mail client DR-WebSpyder on a bootable fully self-contained 3.5-inch floppy.[7][8] On 386 PCs with a minimum of 4 MB of RAM, the floppy would boot a minimal DR-DOS 7.02 system complete with memory manager, RAM disk, dial-up modem, LAN, mouse and display drivers and automatically launch into the graphical browser, without ever touching the machine's hard disk. Users could start browsing the web immediately after entering their access credentials.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. Maher, Jimmy (2013-03-20). "The Top of its Game". The Digital Antiquarian. Archived from the original on 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  2. "Look What's New in the CP/M Applications Library for the IBM PC - Time Saver Offer - Get Concurrent CP/M Free" (PDF) (Product flyer). Pacific Grove, California, USA: Digital Research, Inc. 1983. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-11. […] SpeedStart makes our software easier to use. All of the software in the CP/M Applications Library has the new SpeedStart version of the CP/M Operating System embedded right on the program disk. All you have to do to use these applications is to slip the disk into your IBM PC, turn on the system, and you are ready to go. This eliminates the need to load a separate operating system, change disks, and boot the applications program. SpeedStart software from the CP/M Applications Library also: […] Provides you with a free run-time version of CP/M […] Eliminates the need to install each new applications program […] Gives you compatibility with Digital Research's powerful 16-bit operating system, CP/M-86, and the state-of-the-art, multi-tasking Concurrent CP/M Operating System. […]
  3. Digital Research Inc. (December 1983). "Introducing software for the IBM PC with a $350 bonus!". PC Magazine (Advertisement). Vol. 2, no. 7. PC Communications Corp. pp. 306–307. ISSN 0745-2500. Archived from the original on 2020-02-11. […] Introducing SpeedStart - the exclusive load-&-go software system. The CP/M Applications Library offers more than just the best name-brand IBM PC software in the business. Each of our applications delivers the unmatched convenience of our exclusive SpeedStart single-disk system. SpeedStart is a special version of the powerful CP/M-86 operating system that's built into each of our software disks. When you're ready to work, just load the disk, turn on your IBM PC and go! SpeedStart eliminates the time-consuming task of loading a separate operating disk and then "installing" the software. In fact, the SpeedStart system gets you to work faster and easier than any other software available today. Best of all, it's yours at no extra cost. What's more, SpeedStart can be by-passed to run software under the IBM PC operating system of the future - the remarkable, multi-tasking Concurrent CP/M. […]
  4. Digital Research Inc. (1984-02-07). "Introducing software for the IBM PC with a $350 bonus!". PC Magazine (Advertisement). Vol. 3, no. 2. PC Communications Corp. pp. 50–51. ISSN 0745-2500. Archived from the original on 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  5. Digital Research Inc. (February 1984). "Introducing software for the IBM PC with a $350 bonus!". BYTE (Advertisement). Vol. 9, no. 2. pp. 216–217. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  6. "DRI ships 128K version of Dr. Logo" (PDF). Micro Notes - Technical information on Digital Research products. Vol. 2, no. 2. Pacific Grove, CA, USA: Digital Research, Inc. May 1984. p. 4. NWS-106-002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-11. […] Dr. Logo first appeared on the retail market in fall of 1983 for the IBM PC and climbed to the top of the Softsel Hot List. The retail release included SpeedStart CP/M, an abridged version of CP/M that boots automatically when the system is turned on. […]
  7. "Download Caldera DR-WebSpyder 2.0 Today! The complete Web browser and E-mail client that fits on one 1.44 MB diskette!". Caldera, Inc. 1998. Archived from the original on 1999-05-08.
  8. "Download Caldera DR-WebSpyder 2.0". Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. 1998-05-10 [1998-02-17]. Archived from the original on 2020-02-08. Retrieved 2020-02-08. (NB. Self-extracting archive DRWEBDEM.EXE (1387560 bytes) contains DRWEBDEM.IMG, a bootable 1.44 MB floppy disk image file.)

Further reading
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