reading Atari ST disks
Simon Hardeman
Atari ST emulators, but these don't seem to allow my machine (PB1400) to
read the ST disk format. Does anyone have any suggestions?
TIA
Simon H (rock...@lineone.net)
Nigel Garvey
<simonh...@lineone.net> wrote:
Back in the days of OS 8.0, it was possible to save data from an ST
onto a PC-formatted Double Density floppy, which the Mac OS could also
read. OS's 8.1 on, however, can only read High Density disks - which of
course the ST cannot.
This may sound like useless information, but if you happen to have Mac
OS 8.0 or earlier, it might be of help.
NG
--
To e-mail me, omit the title from my name and '.invalid' from the domain.
Andy Hewitt
> I need to get some data from old Atari ST disks. I've tried the recognised
> Atari ST emulators, but these don't seem to allow my machine (PB1400) to
> read the ST disk format. Does anyone have any suggestions?
> TIA
> Simon H (rock...@lineone.net)
Which TOS are you using, from v1.4 onwards the ST formatted in PC
format. If you use this to format them (or a format utility - FastCopy 2
was about the best) and you have the MacEasyOpen software, you should be
able to read them OK. However, it was common (as I did) to use extended
formats, which are not readable, in this case you'll need to copy to a
PC formatted disk. Another method might be to use a null modem cable and
comms software in a form of networking.
--
Live to Ride ------- Andy Hewitt -------
Mac PPC, CB750KZ, Trekky (& any Sci-Fi), Volvo 740GLE
<http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ahewitt/index.htm>
Peter Ceresole
Nigel Garvey <MrNige...@btinternet.com.invalid> wrote:
>OS's 8.1 on, however, can only read High Density disks - which of
>course the ST cannot.
With 8.1 on a G3, I am happily reading and writing to (and formatting) a
Double Density IBM floppy, which I use as a shuttle disk for my Amstrad
NC200.
The version of PC Exchange is different, however (B1-2.2.1) and that may
not read Atari formatted floppies. As I remember, they are subtly different
from PC format (there's a different byte somewhere in the header tracks)
and the PC would read Atari data only if the disk was PC, not Atari
formatted.
--
Peter
Rev. Andy
(Peter Ceresole) wrote:
I seem to recall that the ST format was the same as the PC except that
didn't bother to set the 'I am a 3.5" floppy' flag - after all, you
couldn't get a 5.25" floppy drive for an Atari. I always had to format a
PC floppy on the Mac to transfer stuff from the ST, which was something
that always struck me as odd.
All of this is from long distant memory, please don't quote me!
Rev. Andy
Andy Hewitt
> In article <B3786E8B...@cara.demon.co.uk>, pe...@cara.demon.co.uk
> (Peter Ceresole) wrote:
>
> > In article <310519991615137714%MrNige...@btinternet.com.invalid>,
> > Nigel Garvey <MrNige...@btinternet.com.invalid> wrote:
> >
> > >OS's 8.1 on, however, can only read High Density disks - which of
> > >course the ST cannot.
> >
> > With 8.1 on a G3, I am happily reading and writing to (and formatting) a
> > Double Density IBM floppy, which I use as a shuttle disk for my Amstrad
> > NC200.
> >
> > The version of PC Exchange is different, however (B1-2.2.1) and that may
> > not read Atari formatted floppies. As I remember, they are subtly different
> > from PC format (there's a different byte somewhere in the header tracks)
> > and the PC would read Atari data only if the disk was PC, not Atari
> > formatted.
There are some utilities that will format in proper PC format.
> I seem to recall that the ST format was the same as the PC except that
> didn't bother to set the 'I am a 3.5" floppy' flag - after all, you
> couldn't get a 5.25" floppy drive for an Atari. I always had to format a
> PC floppy on the Mac to transfer stuff from the ST, which was something
> that always struck me as odd.
That's because the ST was more consistant with it's floppy support. Even
now I find that a floppy formatted on one PC may not work in another.
Every disk I had formatted on a ST has worked perfectly every time, even
the extended format. The later TOS (1.4 on) did format in PC format as
standard.
FWIW I have a HD drive in mine, which I have been able to format to
1.6mb.
> All of this is from long distant memory, please don't quote me!
>
> Rev. Andy
Andrew Collier
Nigel Garvey <MrNige...@btinternet.com.invalid> wrote:
> OS's 8.1 on, however, can only read High Density disks - which of
>course the ST cannot.
This is incorrect - I am quite successfully using a Performa 6400/200
running MacOS 8.1 to read and write FAT16 (DOS) formatted DSDD disks. I'm
using those disks to transfer files between my Mac and a Sam Coupé[1], of
all things.
Funny that the easiest way to transfer files, is to use a disk format
which isn't native to either machine...
Andrew
[1] Z80B based 8-bit micro, built in Wales circa 1989. Let's start a "my
other computer's more obscure than your other computer" thread, shall we?
--
| Andrew Collier | email as...@cam.ac.uk | Talk sense to a
| Part 2 NatSci | http://carou.sel.cam.ac.uk/ | fool and he
+----------------+----------------ICQ:38645805-+ calls you foolish
| Selwyn College Student Computer Support Team | -- Euripides
Nigel Garvey
<as...@cam.ac.uk> wrote:
> In article <310519991615137714%MrNige...@btinternet.com.invalid>,
> Nigel Garvey <MrNige...@btinternet.com.invalid> wrote:
>
> > OS's 8.1 on, however, can only read High Density disks - which of
> >course the ST cannot.
>
> This is incorrect - I am quite successfully using a Performa 6400/200
> running MacOS 8.1 to read and write FAT16 (DOS) formatted DSDD disks. I'm
> using those disks to transfer files between my Mac and a Sam Coupé[1], of
> all things.
Sorry if my assertion was incorrect. I seem to remember reading
somewhere that the ability to read DSDD's had gone out with OS 8.1 and
it's definitely true that my Mac couldn't do it after I upgraded.
Paul Womar
> I seem to recall that the ST format was the same as the PC except that
> didn't bother to set the 'I am a 3.5" floppy' flag - after all, you
> couldn't get a 5.25" floppy drive for an Atari.
Atari managed to transpose two bytes which the Atari didn't care about
but the PC did, I'm not entirely sure what they were.
--
-> The email address in this message *IS* Valid <-
Paul Womar
> Sorry if my assertion was incorrect. I seem to remember reading
> somewhere that the ability to read DSDD's had gone out with OS 8.1 and
> it's definitely true that my Mac couldn't do it after I upgraded.
One of the updates (8.1 or 8.5 I think) threw out the ability to read
ProDOS disks and/or single sided disks. I'm running 8.6 and as I type
this it just mounted a double sided double density (as luck would have
it) Atari floppy.
Antony Lacey
>
> I need to get some data from old Atari ST disks. I've tried the recognised
> Atari ST emulators, but these don't seem to allow my machine (PB1400) to
> read the ST disk format. Does anyone have any suggestions?
If you still have the ST (or access to one) copy the data from the disks
you have onto disks formatted on the PB, that would make sure it read
them at least.
Asd the disks can't be read it sounds very much like you have extended
formatted disks (Fastcopy or Kobold etc.) which the Mac drive can't read
.... so as someone else suggested it's null modem lead (or modems) if
you have the ST still or else finding another ST to transfer the data.
--
Cheers ... Antony
Paul Bookham
1999 00:52:51 +0100, {$PW$}@pwomar.demon.co.uk (Paul Womar) wrote:
>Rev. Andy <an...@dance.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> I seem to recall that the ST format was the same as the PC except that
>> didn't bother to set the 'I am a 3.5" floppy' flag - after all, you
>> couldn't get a 5.25" floppy drive for an Atari.
>
>Atari managed to transpose two bytes which the Atari didn't care about
>but the PC did, I'm not entirely sure what they were.
>
Close:
Track 0, Sector 0, Bytes 0 1 2
Atari ST 00 00 4E
IBM PC EB 34 90
(for the record, yes I did once own one)
Paul
----------------------------------------------------------
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Just make sure you have plenty of plasters to hand.
Peter Ceresole
{$PW$}@pwomar.demon.co.uk (Paul Womar) wrote:
>One of the updates (8.1 or 8.5 I think) threw out the ability to read
>ProDOS disks and/or single sided disks. I'm running 8.6 and as I type
>this it just mounted a double sided double density (as luck would have
>it) Atari floppy.
Well 8.1 is definitely okay with DSDD floppies, but I have just been
helping someone set up a 333MHz iMac (using 8.5.1) with an add-on USB
floppy drive; it's happy with HD floppies, either Mac or PC format, but a
PC DSDD floppy crashes the Finder solid. It's paper-clip time. In fact I
couldn't help thinking that it was a deeply uncooperative way to fail;
Apple should really have arranged for the drive to simply not read the
disk, rather than fail and take the rest of the machine with it.
Of course it may be the drive not the OS; I don't know.
Everything else works fine.
--
Peter