It all started this summer when the disk image of the product
"7015V41 Copy Utility" was made available. I had already tried something
similar with previous versions but I never managed to get the result I
hoped for.

This utility is the real disk to rule them all.
MECC people have really done a great job and with little effort we can force
the SW to go beyond what was originally designed.

It is possible to copy (many) MECC products based on both DOS and ProDOS on
a hard disk. The really rewarding thing is that it even works with disks from
"unofficial sources".

I can split the MECC products I have tried in three groups:

1. mostly products on 5.25" that are neither DOS or ProDOS. That is, those that
   use a very personalized operating system. As expected I could not put them
   on the hard disk

2. 5.25" and/or 3.5" DOS or ProDOS products fully supported by the utility.
   Placing them on a hard disk is no problem

3. products on 5.25" DOS not supported by the utility but with some
   modification it is possible to put them on a hard disk

For the last point here is how we can proceed:

1. we need a "fixed" disk image because we need to edit a BAS file

2. look for a file called BAS type MENU in the file that contains something
   like:
            
     PRINT CL$: VTAB 11: HTAB 8: PRINT "Insert Another Diskette." CC$

   or:

     PRINT CL$: & CO,0,89: PRINT "Insert another diskette." CC$

   change to:
            
     CALL 46592:O,0,89  (N.B. O letter, 0 figure)

3. if the product is two-sided, we need to create a single file using
   something like this:

     cat side1.dsk side2.dsk > MECC.PROD

   or in the case of a single face, rename the disk image to MECC.PROD

4. we need to create a PRODUCT.INFO file, it is better to copy an existing
   one and edit it with a hex editor changing the title and the product number

5. now on the hard disk we have to create a folder where to put everything in
   order to comply with the MECC standard the folder name must be A###.A
   where ### = product number and .A indicates this is the first folder with
   the product, if you want to have two or more independent installations of
   the same product, the next folders will be called .B, .C, ...

6. we can now copy the three files into the new folder:

     MECC.SYSTEM
     MECC.PROD
     PRODUCT.INFO

7. use the MECC utility and ask to add an existing product to the menu

The maximum number of products that can be installed with the utility is 158,
initially I thought 157 because there was a deleted item but it still occupied
an available space. Rebuilding the menu fixed the issue.

It's easier to do than to describe.

Have fun!

 Marco