Buying/Reading 800k Floppies
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lhn555
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Uh, no. It doesn't have an internet access. It's from 1987. I guess I could buy an adapter, but it doesn't have a web browser and even if it did it wouldn't be able to handle most sites.
Linux-SWAT
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Serial/kermit ?
MrConfusion
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For the Amiga there was/is a way to read the 880k disks on a PC, it was called "catweasel" and it was an addon card and software combination. But I don't know whether it also handles Apple disks.
With the right software it was possible to handle PC floppies on an Amiga, though, so maybe you should try that instead: have you checked whether that Apple drive can read PC formatted DSDD disks (if you don't have a disk to spare, just tape the "extra slot" from a HD floppydisk and your PC might format it as 720k... if not, then you need something with MSDOS...)?
Well, knowing Apple, that probably won't work either... And even for the Amiga you had to have software for reading the PC disks.
So last resort: does the Mac have plain old serial cable?
If yes, then any null modem serial cable with a terminal on a PC and on the Apple would do the trick and you could (fairly slowly) transfer whatever you need to.
Actually, for the Amiga and my back then laptop I grew tired of waiting the serial transfers and coded a much nicer solution way, way, way back:
I used the bidirectional printer port in the amiga and in the PC. The PC side was tougher, but once you got data flowing it was blazing fast for its time... 8 bits with each interrupt, yay <_< . Didn't even work with my next PC, though, it was such an ugly hack as far as the timing went.
Besides, my next PC no longer had proper documentation for the parallel port, because all it had was that useless POS "how do you start Windows" kind of flyerstuff in the package... so I lost all interest in modifying that small .com for the new system
Burbruee
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On my Amiga, I remember just putting a bit of tape to cover one of the holes on a standard PC 1.44 MB floppy, this would allow me to format it as 720k I think.. No clue how macs work though.
MrConfusion
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Bah, I romped through Wikipedia for you, because I got interested:
"The SE's notable new features, compared to its similar predecessor the Macintosh Plus" yaddayaddayadda...
Combined with the info on that page:
"It had a new 3.5-inch double-sided 800 KB floppy drive, offering double the capacity of previous Macs along with backward compatibility. The new drive was controlled by the same IWM chip as in previous models, implementing variable speed GCR. The drive was still completely incompatible with PC drives."
Basically means you're out of luck on all fronts: The PC can't read the Apple disks, the Apple can't read the PC disks and unless Catweasel has been updated very heavily for this specific purpose there's no way it can read those things either.
(Just read you latest message: no, you misunderstood, the Amiga will definitely not read those disks either! They are Mac only...)
So that leaves you with:
Which will probably need adaptors which you might find nontrivial to acquire.
That, or soldering your own.
Unless the Mac really has a proper RS-232 port.
Then there's SCSI, it seems... That would be the most entertaining approach for sure... not saying it's the best, just that it's the most entertaining
.Edit: Ahhh... here you go then:
Wiring and all in one neat package http://www.ccadams.org/se/serial.html
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lhn555
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Thanks for the info!Bah, I romped through Wikipedia for you, because I got interested:
"The SE's notable new features, compared to its similar predecessor the Macintosh Plus" yaddayaddayadda...
Combined with the info on that page:
"It had a new 3.5-inch double-sided 800 KB floppy drive, offering double the capacity of previous Macs along with backward compatibility. The new drive was controlled by the same IWM chip as in previous models, implementing variable speed GCR. The drive was still completely incompatible with PC drives."
Basically means you're out of luck on all fronts: The PC can't read the Apple disks, the Apple can't read the PC disks and unless Catweasel has been updated very heavily for this specific purpose there's no way it can read those things either.
(Just read you latest message: no, you misunderstood, the Amiga will definitely not read those disks either! They are Mac only...)
So that leaves you with:
Which will probably need adaptors which you might find nontrivial to acquire.
That, or soldering your own.
Unless the Mac really has a proper RS-232 port.
Then there's SCSI, it seems... That would be the most entertaining approach for sure... not saying it's the best, just that it's the most entertaining
Edit: Ahhh... here you go then:
Wiring and all in one neat package http://www.ccadams.org/se/serial.html
I'm afraid that last link covers it pretty much. Apple was always quite good at picking a standard that nobody else uses, just to make sure that everyone was securely locked in. Making a serial cable and using some sort of file transfer program is probably your best bet.
Asmo
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Seems a problem with few easy solutions:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1554840
The last post (get a modem for the SE) sounds like the cheapest option - assuming you can find a suitable one?
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1554840
The last post (get a modem for the SE) sounds like the cheapest option - assuming you can find a suitable one?
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there was a progran that could image Amiga disks using 2xPC Floppy drives.
any old disk went in one drive and the disk you wished to image went in the other and somehow this worked (I dumped my amiga games...) might be worth trying to hunt it down?
any old disk went in one drive and the disk you wished to image went in the other and somehow this worked (I dumped my amiga games...) might be worth trying to hunt it down?
dgame
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MrConfusion
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Every decent OS since the days of early versions of MS-DOS has had some capability to talk with the serial bus, if nothing else, then something like "copy com1: transfer.txt" with suitable preceding mode commands.
I can't believe that the MacOS version you got in a machine built after '87 would not have it...
No wait, it's made by Apple and Serial Communications Is Advanced Stuff you take to the Genious Bar... so it probably doesn't
(sorry, couldn't help myself) .If you have any kind of even limited programmability in the OS (i.e. crappy Basic interpreter, anything...) it shouldn't be incredibly hard to code something that receives a file via serial port?
Well... OK, if you haven't owned the machine or a similar machine when it was "current", it might not be so easy (because you don't have any vague recollections or ideas how to proceed).
Hah... so the "Apple philosophy" is applied even to legacy machines
.MrConfusion
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Do you remember or can you dig up what this was called?
Because I was under the impression that you couldn't do this because of limitations in how the floppy drive controller worked in the PC. And that's why catweasel was both a hardware+software solution.
( Catweasel still seems to exist, by the way: http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=842 )
Wally
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SCSI Zip Drive + Zip Disks do go along way
Which SE model? SE FDHD or SE 30?
Which SE model? SE FDHD or SE 30?
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Unfortunately I don't remember... I'm trying to remember the name... if it comes back to me I'll update you but it is possible if you have 2 PC floppy drives.
