Still looking for Xenocopy (but only for academic purposes)
Peter Dassow
disk format selection menu. I do not want to buy this very old program,
but also I do not want to use this program for other reasons but
academic purposes (documentation about the different disk copy programs
in the past). It's really bad there is no possibility to take a look on
it. If anybody has an other idea, do not hesitate to send me an email,
thx in advance.
Peter
Al Kossow
> Im am still looking for Xenocopy - at least just for Screenshots of the
> disk format selection menu.
Fred Cislin is around on the classiccmp mailing list. Why don't you ask
him to send you screen shots?
Peter Dassow
Al,
this is not classiccmp, this is comp.os.cpm - I prefer to use an open
newsgroup, not a special mailing list (which increases my amount of
mails again).
Regards
Peter
MikeS
I have a radical suggestion:
Instead of wasting time and bandwidth complaining about the
impossibilty of looking at Xenocopy or your dislike of mailing lists,
why don't you just send Fred an email and ask him if he'd send you a
copy? (It's Cisin, BTW, not Cislin)
mike
Herbert Johnson
Here's a more radical suggestion: let's be a little nicer to each
other in this newsgroup. Assume a more positive "spin" to posts.
For instance, maybe Al was simply telling Peter "Fred is still active
in vintage computing, he knows something about Xenocopy, why not
contact him through (a named newsgroup where he posts)?" And in other
words, "Don't bite his finger, look where he's pointing".
Is it necessary to "explain" courtesy and good will? I've been on both
side of that issue, and I prefer good will. And fighting for good will
is counterproductive, again I speak from both sides of THAT. Finally,
about long rants on side issues - this post won't be one!
Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com
Peter Dassow
>> this is not classiccmp, this is comp.os.cpm - I prefer to use an open
>> newsgroup, not a special mailing list (which increases my amount of
>> mails again).
>>
>> Regards
>> Peter
>
> I have a radical suggestion:
>
> Instead of wasting time and bandwidth complaining about the
> impossibilty of looking at Xenocopy or your dislike of mailing lists,
> why don't you just send Fred an email and ask him if he'd send you a
> copy? (It's Cisin, BTW, not Cislin)
Meanwhile I've exactly done this. Btw *I* didn't wrote "Cislin".
But I got no answer yet.
And please, think about a bit politeness when answering newsgroup
entries. Thank you.
MikeS
If this is just a cultural or language misunderstanding then I
apologize.
But frankly, I found your posts a little annoying. Although a few
seconds with Google would have found an address where you could get in
touch with Xenocopy's author who would probably gladly send you a
copy, apparently you *still* hadn't been able to find a copy. When Al
tried to help by telling you how and where you could find him and his
email address, instead of saying "thanks, I'll give that a try" you
replied with a lecture about this being comp.os.cpm and not cctalk and
no way were you going to sign up, blah, blah, etc.
FWIW I just asked Fred for a copy a couple of weeks ago and he was
happy to send me one.
And I wasn't saying that *YOU* had spelled his name "Cislin," but I
thought I'd correct Al's spelling in case it caused you to miss some
relevant info on the 'web.
My apologies for trying to be helpful.
mike
Peter Dassow
>
> If this is just a cultural or language misunderstanding then I
> apologize.
>
> But frankly, I found your posts a little annoying. Although a few
> seconds with Google would have found an address where you could get in
> touch with Xenocopy's author who would probably gladly send you a
> copy, apparently you *still* hadn't been able to find a copy. When Al
> tried to help by telling you how and where you could find him and his
> email address, instead of saying "thanks, I'll give that a try" you
> replied with a lecture about this being comp.os.cpm and not cctalk and
> no way were you going to sign up, blah, blah, etc.
>
> FWIW I just asked Fred for a copy a couple of weeks ago and he was
> happy to send me one.
>
> And I wasn't saying that *YOU* had spelled his name "Cislin," but I
> thought I'd correct Al's spelling in case it caused you to miss some
> relevant info on the 'web.
>
> My apologies for trying to be helpful.
Mike, it really seems to be a misunderstanding (from both sides!).
I would like to avoid an additional mail flood. And I hate such "closed
user groups" in Yahoo and that's the same with a specific mailing list.
So you will not be able to forbid my opinion nor my dislikes.
I didn't want to be impolite to Al. It was just my preference to use a
newsgroup and I liked to clarify it why I posted this (again).
You didn't help me. So you can't apologize for being helpful.
I was aware of xenosoft.com already, but because I was unsure if there
will be any answer from Fred (also because of the flyer text about
Xenocopy at the site mentioned, which mentioned "to order..." within the
detailed info, but at the main page "(discontinued)" was written).
Please finish this thread just by thinking "that's his opinion" and I
will stop this also (still waitin' for an email answer from Fred :-( ).
Regards
Peter
MikeS
>
> - Show quoted text -
Peter, your original post saying that you were *still* looking and
that it was "not possible" to see a screenshot suggested that you did
not know how to get a copy of Xenocopy.
I assume that Al was trying to be helpful by pointing out that the
author was still alive and active and would probably gladly send you a
screenshot or even a copy, and that you could find him and his address
in the cctalk mail list archive; no need to join.
Similarly I was trying to be helpful by pointing out that Al had made
a typo and misspelled Fred's name, which might cause you problems when
sending him an email or searching the web; I also mentioned that I had
in fact just received a copy from Fred myself, so you would probably
also be successful. Since your reply to Al was somewhat sarcastic I
used the same tone.
Apparently you didn't appreciate either of our suggestions or find
them helpful, and were even annoyed; no problem, sorry you feel that
way. I'll try to avoid similarly annoying you in the future with
attempts to be helpful.
FWIW, I could not care less and would not dream of trying to
"forbid" (LOL) your opinions or dislikes about mail lists or anything
for that matter; they just seemed irrelevant to getting screenshots of
Xenocopy.
Peter Dassow
> Peter, your original post saying that you were *still* looking and
> that it was "not possible" to see a screenshot suggested that you did
> not know how to get a copy of Xenocopy.
But sometimes some reader just have no time to answer or just didn't
read the post before, so it was a new try, nothing else.
> I assume that Al was trying to be helpful by pointing out that the
> author was still alive and active and would probably gladly send you a
> screenshot or even a copy, and that you could find him and his address
> in the cctalk mail list archive; no need to join.
>
> Similarly I was trying to be helpful by pointing out that Al had made
> a typo and misspelled Fred's name, which might cause you problems when
> sending him an email or searching the web; I also mentioned that I had
> in fact just received a copy from Fred myself, so you would probably
> also be successful. Since your reply to Al was somewhat sarcastic I
> used the same tone.
>
> Apparently you didn't appreciate either of our suggestions or find
> them helpful, and were even annoyed; no problem, sorry you feel that
> way. I'll try to avoid similarly annoying you in the future with
> attempts to be helpful.
I didn't received any answer from Fred. So I was (so far) right in
thoughts about trying another way for getting more infos/the program itself.
> FWIW, I could not care less and would not dream of trying to
> "forbid" (LOL) your opinions or dislikes about mail lists or anything
> for that matter; they just seemed irrelevant to getting screenshots of
> Xenocopy.
Sorry, your last sentence seems also irrelevant getting screenshots of
Xenocopy. My hint about my opinion/dislike using a mail list was an
explanation why I wrote here. I will stop discussing this now, it make
no sense. A real help would be getting screenshots from you, because you
wrote already you got the program so you had the possibility.
But you prefer to nag about my posting. So I guess you're just happy
discussing things here, nothing else.
MikeS
>
> - Show quoted text -
Well, I thought it would be more practical to try to help you get your
own copy of Xenocopy, but if you still wanted the screenshots I would
have been happy to do that for you; all you had to do was ask.
Call me petty, but since you'd rather just continue being rude and
insulting and show no appreciation for people trying to help you, then
you shouldn't be surprised that I've changed my mind...
Good luck nevertheless.
mike
Peter Dassow
> Well, I thought it would be more practical to try to help you get your
> own copy of Xenocopy, but if you still wanted the screenshots I would
> have been happy to do that for you; all you had to do was ask.
>
> Call me petty, but since you'd rather just continue being rude and
> insulting and show no appreciation for people trying to help you, then
> you shouldn't be surprised that I've changed my mind...
>
> Good luck nevertheless.
Mike, I am unsure why you're so easily offended. This was not my
intention. Usually I am able to communicate without such problems.
I understand that you thought you would help me with your comments.
Even this was not the case, I appreciate your try and apologize any
appearance of rudeness.
Today I also got an answer from Fred. He told me he's not able to make
it public domain (I didn't ask it but this would be also an idea) but he
still think about a way of making it available without any support.
He will let me know when he get something worked out.
But I can't get a copy yet. Bad luck.
So I have to practise patience until I hear from him again.
Well then I will try to write about every other transfer program in
detail, except Xenocopy. This will be the best solution.
marcusb
And that's to ask it be ended :-)
So somebody wanted screenshots of XENCOPY.
Well I must admit it must be rather annoying that the website i.e.
http://www.xenosoft.com/ and communications to in...@xenosoft.com are
not being returned in a timely manner.
I spoke to Mr Google who confirmed that it does not appear to be
anywhere on the Internet
Did you consider PC Alien instead ...
http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/9503/9503article5.htm
To be clear the set of programs that are able to copy / archive old
disk formats (but maybe not translate) includes gems like:
22disk
anadisk
copyqm
emtcopy
imagedisk
pc alien
rawWrite
SuperCopy
teledisk
uniform
winimage
wteledisk
xenocopy
regards marcus b.
Katzy
marcusb wrote in message
>To be clear the set of programs that are able to copy / archive old
>disk formats (but maybe not translate) includes gems like:
>22disk
>anadisk
>copyqm
>emtcopy
>imagedisk
>pc alien
>rawWrite
>SuperCopy
>teledisk
>uniform
>winimage
>wteledisk
>xenocopy
and 'firm'.
Bye, Katzy.
Peter Dassow
> There is one thing that absolutely guarantees NOT to end a thread.
> And that's to ask it be ended :-)
>
>
> Well I must admit it must be rather annoying that the website i.e.
> http://www.xenosoft.com/ and communications to in...@xenosoft.com are
> not being returned in a timely manner.
>
> I spoke to Mr Google who confirmed that it does not appear to be
> anywhere on the Internet
>
> Did you consider PC Alien instead ...
>
> http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/9503/9503article5.htm
I already listed these programs at my page
http://www.z80.eu/transfercpm.html since a year.
You have to split them in 3 categories.
The first category is able to interpret the foreign filesystem to copy
single files instead of a disk image. That's the most interesting one.
The best results I gained (so far) were with Uniform.
PC Alien didn't work reliable enough, and also SuperCopy was not my
favorite because the installation is ugly.
That was the reason I would like to test Xenocopy also.
> To be clear the set of programs that are able to copy / archive old
> disk formats (but maybe not translate) includes gems like:
>
> 22disk
> anadisk
> copyqm
> emtcopy
> imagedisk
> pc alien
> rawWrite
> SuperCopy
> teledisk
> uniform
> winimage
> wteledisk
> xenocopy
The second category is able to copy foreign disk formats at once, but do
not understand the filesystem inside - like Teledisk, 22disk, Anadisk,
CopyQM or ImageDisk.
The third category even do not understand foreign (non DOS/PC) formats.
WinImage, EmtCopy RAWrite or similar programs are only able to copy DOS
(Windows) and perhaps CP/M-86 (PC) formats, nothing else.
Regards
Peter
F.J. Kraan
>
> I already listed these programs at my page
> http://www.z80.eu/transfercpm.html since a year.
I can think of two other options:
http://simonowen.com/sam/samdisk/ - This tool allowed me to copy a
copy-protected disk for the Epson QX-10 (FDC 765) based, that TeleDisk,
ImageDisk and cw2dmk couldn't.
http://www.tim-mann.org/catweasel.html - Needs special hardware, but
allows imaging and copying disks with 1771-only DAMs.
Fred Jan
Peter Dassow
> I can think of two other options:
>
> http://simonowen.com/sam/samdisk/ - This tool allowed me to copy a
> copy-protected disk for the Epson QX-10 (FDC 765) based, that TeleDisk,
> ImageDisk and cw2dmk couldn't.
That sounds interesting, but I saw no choice for parameters except the
name of the image file and the drive identifier. So I am a bit sceptic
to use the program in general for copying different CP/M disk formats.
May be the format for SAM and the QX10 are similar enough, don't know.
> http://www.tim-mann.org/catweasel.html - Needs special hardware, but
> allows imaging and copying disks with 1771-only DAMs.
The current Catweasel module is for Amiga only (afaik).
There was a former Catweasel controller for ISA slots, but unfortunately
a modern motherboard with an ISA slot is very rare.
Regards
Peter
F.J. Kraan
> F.J. Kraan wrote:
>> I can think of two other options:
>>
>> http://simonowen.com/sam/samdisk/ - This tool allowed me to copy a
>> copy-protected disk for the Epson QX-10 (FDC 765) based, that
>> TeleDisk, ImageDisk and cw2dmk couldn't.
>
> That sounds interesting, but I saw no choice for parameters except the
> name of the image file and the drive identifier. So I am a bit sceptic
> to use the program in general for copying different CP/M disk formats.
> May be the format for SAM and the QX10 are similar enough, don't know.
The goal was to make copyable everything that can be written with a
FDC765. So more for games than mainstream floppy imaging.
>
>> http://www.tim-mann.org/catweasel.html - Needs special hardware, but
>> allows imaging and copying disks with 1771-only DAMs.
>
> The current Catweasel module is for Amiga only (afaik).
> There was a former Catweasel controller for ISA slots, but unfortunately
> a modern motherboard with an ISA slot is very rare.
The Catweasel mk3 and mk4 are PCI bus. Most software seems to be written
for Linux.
>
> Regards
> Peter
Greetings,
Fred Jan
Steven Hirsch
> http://www.tim-mann.org/catweasel.html - Needs special hardware, but
> allows imaging and copying disks with 1771-only DAMs.
To be precise, the Catweasel controller can image anything that writes flux
transitions on floppy media - you just have to write the software :-).
It's certainly not limited to 17* and 27* family controllers. Software
already exists for Apple and Commodore GCR and Intel MDS-800 M2FM to name a
couple.
Steve
Peter Dassow
>>
>> The current Catweasel module is for Amiga only (afaik).
>> There was a former Catweasel controller for ISA slots, but unfortunately
>> a modern motherboard with an ISA slot is very rare.
>
> The Catweasel mk3 and mk4 are PCI bus. Most software seems to be written
> for Linux.
>>
http://www.jschoenfeld.com/products/catweasel_e.htm
I see only a subtitle "For Amiga 1200, Amigas with zorro-slots, PCs with
ISA Slots". It would be very interesting where are PCI slot Catweasel
controllers offered...
Regards
Peter
Al Kossow
> F.J. Kraan wrote:
>>>
>>> The current Catweasel module is for Amiga only
http://www.vesalia.de/e_catweaselmk4plus.htm
is the current product
MikeS
Actually, I wasn't really "offended." I just happen to believe that
when
someone asks for help and someone else takes the trouble to reply
then the word "thanks" is appropriate, even if the trouble was in
vain.
So, if instead of your somewhat sarcastic "this is not classiccmp,
this is comp.os.cpm" (which I think we all already knew) you'd
replied
to Al with a simple, "Thanks, Al, but..." then I probably would have
replied differently as well. As it was, and especially after our
subsequent
exchanges, I expected that even if I did take the time and trouble to
capture Xeno's 25 or so screens, compress them, etc. with my primitive
tools, then instead of a simple "thanks" I'd probably only be
rewarded
with your complaining that it wasn't the right format, resolution or
whatnot
and why you didn't find it at all useful.
However, even though the words "thank you" are apparently not in
your vocabulary, since no one else is stepping forward and I'm an
exceptionally generous and forgiving person I'll try to find the half
hour
or so that it will probably take me to capture the screens and send
them to you off-list, even if only for reference. Since it's licensed
and
registered to me, and Al didn't see fit to give you a copy (I wonder
why?),
I don't think it would be appropriate for me to send you the program,
but
I assume that he won't mind if I just copy the screens.
BTW, I also have a program of this type called "Convert" that doesn't
seem to be mentioned anywhere; of course it might just be a rename
of one of the others.
Also, are you aware that although the unregistered version of 22disk
commonly found out there (and on your site) only has less than 200
definitions, the registered version has about 500?
Xenocopy has 406 definitions BTW.
And FWIW, in contrast to your experience, although I used
Uniform professionally for 15 years or so and installed it at my
clients' sites and it worked reasonably well, since I explored
alternatives for my hobby use a few years back I've found PC-Alien
to be somewhat friendlier and more trouble-free. I guess it
depends on the hardware and particular disks involved.
Finally, don't take me *too* seriously; although I am usually
trying to make a point somewhere in these rambling posts
my tongue is usually at least partially in my cheek. Although
our French friend has indeed managed to raise my blood
pressure a few points on occasion, most of the time I'm just
havin' fun, which is what this hobby is mostly all about after all.
What was my point, you ask? Just that it's good to remember
that on lists like this there are lots of lurkers out there who may
be in a position to help one day, but whether they spend that
time, effort and possibly expense is often a very subjective
judgement. I've certainly had off-list conversations on other lists
where someone's saying, "I'll never lift another finger to help
that @#$% again," just because the person in question didn't
say thank you or even just acknowledge the reply, shipment,
whatever, so a little politeness might be a good investment.
That's all, folks! Really.
(Well, unless.. No, Really!)
mike
Peter Dassow
Thank you for the URL, didn't know that "vesalia.de" offered any of Jens
Schoenfeld's products. I will ask them for compatibility with software
offered at www.tim-mann.org/catweasel.html ... still a bit confused
about these hints about Amiga and SID components on that page.
Also, I am confused about the following sentence from the last mentioned
URL:
"cw2dmk ... It can make an exact image of any disk written using a
Western Digital 177x/179x floppy disk controller, a PC-style
NEC765-compatible controller, or a Digital Equipment Corporation RX02
controller. It does not support Amiga, Apple II, or Atari disks."
I thought the real advantage of the Catweasel controller was to copy
even GCR coded (=Apple, Commodore ...) floppy disks ?
Or is it possible with other software (e.g. bundled with the controller
may be ?) ?
Regards
Peter
F.J. Kraan
>
> Also, I am confused about the following sentence from the last mentioned
> URL:
> "cw2dmk ... It can make an exact image of any disk written using a
> Western Digital 177x/179x floppy disk controller, a PC-style
> NEC765-compatible controller, or a Digital Equipment Corporation RX02
> controller. It does not support Amiga, Apple II, or Atari disks."
>
> I thought the real advantage of the Catweasel controller was to copy
> even GCR coded (=Apple, Commodore ...) floppy disks ?
> Or is it possible with other software (e.g. bundled with the controller
> may be ?) ?
As the Catweasel is FPGA based, the driver software 'programs' the
hardware for a particular purpose. The cw2dmk is oriented on the
mentioned formats and not the GCR formats. Other drivers are available
for those. Wikipedia mentions some:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Computers_Catweasel.
The mk4 also supports C64 SIDs and special Amiga hardware, for C64
emulation, this might be confusing.
There are drivers bundled with the controller, but are for Windows and
Commodore formats oriented, so I never used them.
Peter Dassow
> As the Catweasel is FPGA based, the driver software 'programs' the
> hardware for a particular purpose. The cw2dmk is oriented on the
> mentioned formats and not the GCR formats. Other drivers are available
> for those. Wikipedia mentions some:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Computers_Catweasel.
I've followed each link from the article, but so far I can see only two
types of software:
The one which supports only Non-GCR-Formats (tim-mann.org),
the other (unusedino.de) supports only C64 and Amiga format.
Also, there is something called "Arjuna", but development was stopped
2004 after a first release ( http://sourceforge.net/projects/arjuna/ ).
> The mk4 also supports C64 SIDs and special Amiga hardware, for C64
> emulation, this might be confusing.
Yes, will be only interesting for Commodore "freaks" ;-)
So it seems there is (unfortunately) no further development nor any
complete software package available.
Regards
Peter
Steven Hirsch
Well, I don't think they'll ever be a "complete" package for the CW (not even
sure what the definition of that might be), but you missed some:
cwtool by Karsten Scheibler
hardsec_cw by Jay Jaeger
Also, the card comes with API documentation. Between that and the numerous
open-source packages available you have all the information required to write
a driver for just about anything.
The folks on the Yahoo CW group are friendly and willing to offer advice.
Steve
MikeS
>
> - Show quoted text -
I haven't seen any mention of the Kryoflux project:
http://softpres.org/glossary:kryoflux
I gather that this is intended to more or less become the modern (USB)
replacement for the Catweasel.
Peter, the Xenocopy screen shots and a list of formats should be in
your inbox. Took considerably longer than 1/2 hour BTW ;-)
Am I really the only person here who has a copy?
marcusb
Indeed it seems you are the only person on planet earth who has a
working copy of XenoCopy and who reads and posts onto the Internet!
I know this because after furtherl Googling I can see that Peter
Dassow has been posting high and low to obtain a copy of XenoCopy with
no takers absolutely anywhere. I spent at least an hour searching
because I couldn't quite believe it etc.
What prompted this reply was to comment on Catweasel. First I know
that Andrew Lynch has written some custom software for his own
purposes. However I bought the ISA and PCI versions and had zero luck
with the supplied software and cw2dmk etc. I never got it working to
read any Cromemco diskettes and make an image of them. If anybody had
a better experience then let me know, otherwise I really must eBay
those expensive and now useless purchases sometime.
regards mb.
Steven Hirsch
> I haven't seen any mention of the Kryoflux project:
> http://softpres.org/glossary:kryoflux
>
> I gather that this is intended to more or less become the modern (USB)
> replacement for the Catweasel.
I took a look at Kryoflux and must admit to being very confused as to their
goal. At the surface, it looks like a way to image your own disks. But
reading closer, I'm getting an impression it's a one-way flow into their
archive. In particular, their hardware captures some sort of intermediate
format that's not immediately accessible or useful. They want you to send
that to them for post-processing using some proprietary scheme that is NOT
open-source (or even, apparently, available).
If I'm misunderstanding something, please correct me and point me to the
appropriate reference?
Al Kossow
You appear to be correct, given past posts on the subject. Don't waste
your time with them.
The Device Side RC5025, on the other hand, is real (I have one sitting in
on the desk in front of me), and the developer offers an SDK
Tom Lake
> on the desk in front of me), and the developer offers an SDK
You mean the FC5025, right?
Tom Lake
Steven Hirsch
> On 4/11/10 6:42 AM, Steven Hirsch wrote:
>> MikeS wrote:
>>
>>> I haven't seen any mention of the Kryoflux project:
>>> http://softpres.org/glossary:kryoflux
>>>
>>> I gather that this is intended to more or less become the modern (USB)
>>> replacement for the Catweasel.
>>
>> I took a look at Kryoflux and must admit to being very confused as to
>> their goal. At the surface, it looks like a way to image your own disks.
>> But reading closer, I'm getting an impression it's a one-way flow into
>> their archive. In particular, their hardware captures some sort of
>> intermediate format that's not immediately accessible or useful. They
>> want you to send that to them for post-processing using some proprietary
>> scheme that is NOT open-source (or even, apparently, available).
>>
>> If I'm misunderstanding something, please correct me and point me to the
>> appropriate reference?
>
> You appear to be correct, given past posts on the subject. Don't waste
> your time with them.
Thanks for the confirmation. I had a feeling they were a black hole of some sort.
> The Device Side RC5025, on the other hand, is real (I have one sitting in
> on the desk in front of me), and the developer offers an SDK
Heh. I have one here as well! Worth its weight in gold.
Al Kossow
Dave Dunfield
>with the supplied software and cw2dmk etc. I never got it working to
>read any Cromemco diskettes and make an image of them.
FWIW I've archived and restored many Cromemco diskettes with ImageDisk.
Cromemco is pretty much standard soft-sector format. The 5.25" format is a
little fussy as it has a gap shorter than than most PC controllers like and I
find that slowing the drive slightly makes a huge difference.
Dave
--
dave09@ Low-cost firmware development tools: www.dunfield.com
dunfield. Classic computer collection: www.classiccmp.org/dunfield
com
F.J. Kraan
> What prompted this reply was to comment on Catweasel. First I know
> that Andrew Lynch has written some custom software for his own
> purposes. However I bought the ISA and PCI versions and had zero luck
> with the supplied software and cw2dmk etc. I never got it working to
> read any Cromemco diskettes and make an image of them. If anybody had
> a better experience then let me know, otherwise I really must eBay
> those expensive and now useless purchases sometime.
When I used the mk4 (plus actually) in a modern machine, I found the
cw2dmk program can be a bit impatient when used in auto-mode, reporting
drive not ready, missing the second side, etc.
With the mk1 I had no problems, but that was in the Pentium I 500 MHz area.
I solved this by specifying each parameter explicitly, and not use
auto-mode. Then it works reliable. Some extra delays might solve the
problem, but I haven't looked at the code yet (It is open so no excuse
;-)).
>
> regards mb.
Greetings,
Fred Jan
Amardeep S Chana
> What prompted this reply was to comment on Catweasel. First I know
> that Andrew Lynch has written some custom software for his own
> purposes. However I bought the ISA and PCI versions and had zero luck
> with the supplied software and cw2dmk etc. I never got it working to
> read any Cromemco diskettes and make an image of them. If anybody had
> a better experience then let me know, otherwise I really must eBay
> those expensive and now useless purchases sometime.
>
> regards mb.
Don't be too hasty to sell them. I have been reading and writing
Cromemco diskettes with a Catweasel for many many years now. Both 5.25"
and 8" disks I've saved from the early 80's have worked with no problems
whatsoever. I don't use the tools that came with it but use Tim Mann's
cw2dmk instead.
If you'd like we can communicate offline and I can help you identify the
root cause. It must be something very fundamental like:
1. cw2dmk must be run under MS-DOS, Win95/98, or Linux (not NT, 2000,
XP, Vista, or 7)
2. Drive alignment could be an issue. Your current drives might be
perfect but your diskettes may have been written on a poorly aligned
drive. This can be rectified by aligning the drive to your diskettes.
3. Your current drive may be faulty (worn head load spring, binding
head positioner, slipping hub cone/clamp, too fast spindle speed, etc.).
Could you send me the _exact_ details of your setup when you used cw2dmk?
Regards,
Amardeep
MikeS
And FWIW I've had pretty well the same experience using IMD and
Uniform
with CDOS disks on a PC with a 'normal' FDC; 8" disks are no problem
at
all, either 'real' 8" disks or 5.25HD equivalents, and when a 5.25"
disk is
troublesome then slowing the drive down a bit usually helps.
Of course head alignment, disk quality and the PC FDC capabilities are
all factors.
mike
Herbert Johnson
> F.J. Kraan wrote:
> >http://www.tim-mann.org/catweasel.html- Needs special hardware, but
> > allows imaging and copying disks with 1771-only DAMs.
>
> To be precise, the Catweasel controller can image anything that writes flux
> transitions on floppy media - you just have to write the software :-).
>
> It's certainly not limited to 17* and 27* family controllers. Software
> already exists for Apple and Commodore GCR and Intel MDS-800 M2FM to name a
> couple.
>
> Steve
For what it's worth, I try to keep track of some Catweasel
developments on this Web page:
http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/s_drives.html#catweasel
..but I have to say it's hard to find out what's available from whom,
to use or buy this card. Lately, some dealers have sold the card on
Ebay or highlighted it on their own Web sites. Some Web links are on
my Web page. There's also a link there to a page about Steve Hirsch's,
et al, work with the Catweasel on Intel-formatted diskettes, which was
also discussed recently here in comp.os.cpm. It's worth searching this
NG for earlier CW discussions.
Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com
Kieron Wilkinson
> I took a look at Kryoflux and must admit to being very confused as to their
> goal. At the surface, it looks like a way to image your own disks. But
Yes, that is right. It supports creation of the following disk image
formats:
KryoFlux stream files
CT Raw image, 84 tracks, DS, DD, 300, MFM
FM sector image, 40/80+ tracks, SS/DS, DD/HD, 300, FM
FM XFD, Atari 8-bit
MFM sector image, 40/80+ tracks, SS/DS, DD/HD, 300, MFM
MFM XFD, Atari 8-bit
AmigaDOS sector image, 80+ tracks, DS, DD/HD, 300, MFM
CBM DOS sector image, 35+ tracks, SS, DD, 300, GCR
Apple DOS 3.2 sector image, 35+ tracks, SS, DD, 300, GCR
Apple DOS 3.3+ sector image, 35+ tracks, SS, DD, 300, GCR
DSK, DOS 3.3 interleave
Apple DOS 400K/800K sector image, 80+ tracks, SS/DS, DD, CLV, GCR
> reading closer, I'm getting an impression it's a one-way flow into their
> archive. In particular, their hardware captures some sort of intermediate
> format that's not immediately accessible or useful. They want you to send
Not really. People do not have to send us anything to make use of
their files.
The stream files mentioned above are basically what the hardware spits
out, but we will be adding a completely open flux transition-based
format called DRAFT that is more useful for 3rd party tools, etc.
It's probably worth mentioning that the source code for the host
software and UI in the final release of KryoFlux will also be
available.
> that to them for post-processing using some proprietary scheme that is NOT
> open-source (or even, apparently, available).
I suppose you mean the IPF disk images (this is completely separate
from KryoFlux). Yes, admittedly that format is not open, and that is a
issue that we have planning to fix for some time. We're hoping to get
back to that after the KryoFlux stuff is sorted out.
IPF images are available to the people who contributed the disks (and
so nearly all are public), but they are not made public from us. We
work in and with the games industry, so we don't have a lot of choice
about that.
But again, you don't need to send us anything to use KryoFlux.
Steven Hirsch
> On Apr 11, 2:42 pm, Steven Hirsch <snhir...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I took a look at Kryoflux and must admit to being very confused as to their
>> goal. At the surface, it looks like a way to image your own disks. But
>
> Yes, that is right. It supports creation of the following disk image
> formats:
(snip)
>> reading closer, I'm getting an impression it's a one-way flow into their
>> archive. In particular, their hardware captures some sort of intermediate
>> format that's not immediately accessible or useful. They want you to send
>
> Not really. People do not have to send us anything to make use of
> their files.
I would strongly suggest that you improve the wording of your web site. It's
anything but clear that the Kryoflux has application to personal imaging needs.
Kieron Wilkinson
> > Not really. People do not have to send us anything to make use of
> > their files.
>
> I would strongly suggest that you improve the wording of your web site. It's
> anything but clear that the Kryoflux has application to personal imaging needs.
Yes, thanks very much for pointing this out, as that is indeed the
case. We've posted lots of info on what we have been doing, but we
certainly have not been very good at summarising that information.
Ideally of course, KryoFlux would have it's own website - something we
have been meaning to do for a while (this is all done in our spare
time).
Anyway, I did update the main info page yesterday (
http://www.softpres.org/glossary:kryoflux ) shortly after seeing your
post. We have also just added some pictures of the new prototypes
(made up from our hardware design) that we are now testing.
Thanks again,
Kieron