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Floppy Emu update: Mac 128K/512K support
- Thread starter bigmessowires
- Start date
(II, IIx, IIfx, IIci, IIsi, SE/30, etc.) I assume if it works on one, should work on the others.
bigmessowires
Well-known member
Another couple of updates:
1. Added support for DiskCopy 4.2 images, in read-only mode. Writable DiskCopy images should be possible too, but it's a little complicated since the disk data isn't aligned to block boundaries on the SD card, and also the whole disk image has a checksum that needs updating whenever a write occurs. I'll probably come back to that later, but for now having readable DiskCopy 4.2 images (as well as raw .dsk images) is pretty nice.
2. 1.44 MB HD floppy support has taken a small but important step. It's gone from the Mac telling me it has no idea what this disk signal means (error -67, can't find address mark), to it telling me it sees the sector address section, but the checksum is wrong (error -69, bad address mark). That may not sound like much, but I think it proves all the wacky MFM signalling stuff is actually working, which is the part I was most worried about. So now I can start working on the higher-level stuff, like actually sending the right data.
1. Added support for DiskCopy 4.2 images, in read-only mode. Writable DiskCopy images should be possible too, but it's a little complicated since the disk data isn't aligned to block boundaries on the SD card, and also the whole disk image has a checksum that needs updating whenever a write occurs. I'll probably come back to that later, but for now having readable DiskCopy 4.2 images (as well as raw .dsk images) is pretty nice.
2. 1.44 MB HD floppy support has taken a small but important step. It's gone from the Mac telling me it has no idea what this disk signal means (error -67, can't find address mark), to it telling me it sees the sector address section, but the checksum is wrong (error -69, bad address mark). That may not sound like much, but I think it proves all the wacky MFM signalling stuff is actually working, which is the part I was most worried about. So now I can start working on the higher-level stuff, like actually sending the right data.
bigmessowires
Well-known member
Yeah, they coexist fine - it's just like a regular floppy drive.
Still trying to get this #*&^@%! 1.44 MB floppy support working...
Still trying to get this #*&^@%! 1.44 MB floppy support working...
onlyonemac
Well-known member
It kind of disheartens me when I see people wanting this because it's "cool" and "convenient", when for me it's my only hope of a floppy drive, and I can't have it.
Still, I'd rather have a real drive clunking away, even if this is "cool".
Still, I'd rather have a real drive clunking away, even if this is "cool".
onlyonemac
Well-known member
And when you can hardly afford food for the week, you really think you'd spend a whopping 6 pounds on a floppy drive?
(And besides, I need auto eject.)
(And besides, I need auto eject.)
Blinkenlightz
Well-known member
All Mac floppy drives are auto-eject... Some are also auto-inject (grabs the disk before you're really done pushing it in). A lot of confusion on these terms leads to erroneous eBay listings.
So it's you who's buying the food each week? That's an odd position for someone who doesn't even have enough clout to decide what they keep in their room to be in.
According to Google six pounds is at this exact moment worth $9.55. I guess according to the USDA's statistics I could "Thriftily" feed a male human between 14-18 years of age for a little over a day and a half on that much money.. Gee, that's sort of depressing, but nonetheless... that's a "whopping" sum to you? I'm sorry.
Weren't you totally working on your own floppy emulator board using some unnamed microcontroller or something? Are those free in England? They sure ain't here.
bigmessowires
Well-known member
I must have missed the beginning of this story. Your Mac doesn't have a floppy drive? Or it's broken?
Like Blinkenlightz said, all Mac floppy drives are auto-eject. Whether it's manual or auto-inject doesn't matter too much, except if you put a manual inject drive in a computer that originally had an auto-inject drive, the opening in the case may not be big enough to easily push the floppy in all the way. You can still do it with the edge of your finger, though. I used to have a Mac setup like that.
If your family is truly struggling to afford a week's food, then I'm sorry to hear it. In that case, your extra cash is probably better spent on things other than floppy drives anyway. But if it's something you REALLY want, there are lots of ways a smart person with enough spare time can earn a little money. You obviously know something about classic Macs - there are tons of opportunities on eBay to buy things that are priced too low or are mislabeled, and immediately resell them with a better description for a small profit. Or buy old Mac parts that are "broken", many of which are simply missing software or other parts, or just need a good cleaning. Or depending on your neighborhood, you can likely earn some extra money babysitting, or mowing lawns, or running errands for neighbors. When I was 12, me and two friends put notes in about 50 neighborhood mailboxes, advertising ourselves as "helpers" for odd jobs, and got a lot of phone calls that led to work raking leaves and washing cars and stuff. Good times.
onlyonemac
Well-known member
I used to have a hard drive and a floppy drive. The hard drive broke. I ran the Mac from floppies. The floppy drive broke (bottom head cracked during a clumsy re-alignment operation). I got a free hard drive from a PC guy we know.
Thus I do not have a floppy drive.
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