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SE/30 : what is the best way to transfer files from PC

keropi6k6

Member
Hiya!

after restoring a SE/30 I got I am now puzzled how to make easy pc->mac file transfers. I have bought these extras so far:

- BMOW rom module

- SCSI2SD v5.1 with OS7.5 SD

- bracket to install scsi2sd on expansion port for easy SD removal thinking I would insert it to pc and have some emulator mount it but apparently things do not work this way

Is there some readily available ethernet card for the SE/30? So maybe I can use ftp/shares to transfer files?

Is there some other device to do that? I am aware about the EXT. SCSI port that can be used to connect CDROMS and ZIP drives but I wish to avoid using such external devices for now due to space concerns.

I am really new to the whole mac ecosystem so excuse me if something is really obvious - just need a jumpstart!

thanks!  :b&w:

 

aeberbach

Well-known member
How about a floppy drive? I have an external USB floppy drive that I use on my modern Mac though it would work the same transferring from a Windows machine. I format a floppy as a PC disk on the old Mac, write to it on the new Mac, and the old Mac has no trouble copying the files off. Obviously it takes time but is perfect when you just want one thing, like a driver.

I don't know about "readily available" ethernet - but Asante made several. They are certainly out there, you just need to find one for sale at a reasonable price.

 

dochilli

Well-known member
The floppy emu can be a solution. It is easy to tranfer files with a SDcard.

https://www.bigmessowires.com/shop/product/floppy-emu-model-c-bundle/

Some more information for transfering files:

https://lowendmac.com/2007/making-floppies-and-cds-for-older-macs-using-modern-macs-windows-and-linux-pcs/

My first approach to using floppies was the software HFVExplorer, that can write 1.44MB floppies on a windows PC.

With some more hardware (raspberry pi, localtalk-ethernet-bridge) you can use the A2Server to share drives between the SE/30 and a windows PC.

http://ivanx.com/a2server/

MacIPPi can do the same. You can use it with a virtual machine (VM):

https://www.macip.net

 
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cheesestraws

Well-known member
apparently things do not work this way


This all turned into a longer post than I meant, sorry:

You should certainly be able to mount your SD card in Basilisk II; I don't know about on Windows, but on various UNIX-likes you should just be able to point the emulator at the device in /dev and it should Just Work™.  There's an article here about preparing the SD card using an emulator; you can do the same in reverse.  http://www.codesrc.com/mediawiki/index.php/FormatWithBasiliskII

Is there some readily available ethernet card for the SE/30


"readily available" is pushing it.  Demand for SE/30 ethernet cards is generally higher than supply, in my experience.  They do exist, though, and @Bolle on these forums has made a modern clone (they are unavailable at the moment, but hopefully another batch will be along at some point).  Patience will be called for, but they're not seriously rare.

Is there some other device to do that? I am aware about the EXT. SCSI port that can be used to connect CDROMS and ZIP drives but I wish to avoid using such external devices for now due to space concerns.


There are Ethernet interfaces that attach via SCSI to the host.  A number of these are quite small because they were designed for use with laptops, and they can get power from ADB.  These are also slightly hard to track down, but they do exist.  The useful thing about those, of course, is that they aren't tied to a single machine.  @ronan on these forums was building a new SCSI ethernet adapter based on @saybur's designs, but they've been a bit quiet recently and I don't know where that project is in terms of getting finished.  Ethernet support is also being added to the Mac edition of raSCSI, which is a thing which lets a raspberry pi emulate SCSI devices, but it isn't finished yet. 

Another option still is to use the built-in networking (called LocalTalk) in the mac and get a LocalTalk to Ethernet gateway.  These are noticeably more common than either of the classes of equipment above, in my experience, but they're also slower.  LocalTalk is a serial bus network running at 230kbit/sec, but is built into every Mac up until they stopped having serial ports.

Beyond this, the floppy emu, as mentioned by @dochilli above, is a really really nice bit of hardware, but whether it's a good investment when you have only one mac, I'm not sure.  I love mine, but it isn't the cheapest thing going.  Using floppies themselves, if you have a floppy drive for the PC, is slow and untrendy but generally works reasonably.  Zip discs are another tolerable option: they're not long-term reliable, but they do the job and they're cheap.  With all of these, though, you're going to need a way to get into the mac filing system on the disc images, again, probably using HFVExplorer or Basilisk II.

 

keropi6k6

Member
thank you all for the replies!

what I found hard looking for an ethernet card was not knowing exactly what is the name of the card I am looking for 

is there some hardware database of expansions?

I have seen the floppyemu device, seems nice but it is costly... how does one transfer files with it? Do I need to build floppy images or can I have some FAT formatted SD to act like a HDD?

I think I'll go the floppy way for now until I get something better....

@cheesestraws

can you post links of these 2 hardware projects please? 

 
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Hopfenholz

Well-known member
Another vote for the Floppy EMU. Once you’ve read the manual it really does “just work” and it’s a beautifully designed and conceived bit of kit. Very happy with mine.

 
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