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I got a Mac SE FDHD, how should I go about loading files onto it? (system 6.0.8)

I got a working Macintosh FDHD with system 6.0.8 already loaded onto it, being new to all of this, I was wondering how I would go about getting files onto it, or even possibility of getting files off of it, for reference I currently have a modern windows computer and intel mac with os X on it, so I am wondering what my options are. Thank you.

also if this post is against the rules I had no way of checking as the wiki is down at the time I am posting this
 

CharlieFrown

Well-known member
I would suggest getting BlueSCSI v.1.1, it will allow you to swap files with your modern computer running Basilisk emulator. There's even a new firmware that allows BlueSCSI to "see" files copied and pasted into special folder without emulator! I might have a spare unit with Apple Platinum case that perfectly matches SE and already prepared SD card with games and apps :)
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I got a working Macintosh FDHD with system 6.0.8 already loaded onto it, being new to all of this, I was wondering how I would go about getting files onto it, or even possibility of getting files off of it, for reference I currently have a modern windows computer and intel mac with os X on it, so I am wondering what my options are. Thank you.

also if this post is against the rules I had no way of checking as the wiki is down at the time I am posting this
Do you have any kind of SD card adapter for it? It a modern machine that can write floppy disks? Does the SE have an ethernet card?

You can move files using a USB floppy drive, but you have the be careful with files - old macs had a thing called a resource fork (have a look on Wikipedi, good background info) that other computers don't understand. Putting most old Mac files on a Windows hard disk damages them unless... Wrapped inside an appropriate format to protect them, such as .bin, .hqx or .sit. You can't unwrap them until they're on a Mac formatted disk. You need software on the Mac to do this, getting that first software into the old Mac is a nightmare, because you end up in a catch 22. You can write Mac format disks using special software, but have to get specific format disk images of the software you want. It's tricky but possible.

Which is why my advice would be to get and use an external ZuluSCSI or a MacSD. These both let you copy disk images full of files onto an SD card and mount them as hard disks on the SE. This means you can set up a whole disk in an emulator, then move it over pre set up.

Just to warn you, moving files from a modern computer is generally a bit of a tricky thing to work out. These old computers predate many modern standards. Once you have a way of doing it sorted, you'll be fine.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I would suggest getting BlueSCSI v.1.1, it will allow you to swap files with your modern computer running Basilisk emulator. There's even a new firmware that allows BlueSCSI to "see" files copied and pasted into special folder without emulator! I might have a spare unit with Apple Platinum case that perfectly matches SE.
BlueSCSI 1.x devices have a habit of failing after sustained use and don't comply with the electrical specification of the parts they use. I wouldn't recommend one personally.
 

CharlieFrown

Well-known member
BlueSCSI 1.x devices have a habit of failing after sustained use and don't comply with the electrical specification of the parts they use. I wouldn't recommend one personally.
they are vulnerable to plugging/unplugging while the computer is running. Besides that I have never had any problems while using them for 2 years or so.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
they are vulnerable to plugging/unplugging while the computer is running. Besides that I have never had any problems while using them for 2 years or so.
Jesus! No! Macs are vulnerable to hot plugging full stop. Do not hot plug SCSI!

The BlueSCSIs are also vulnerable to normal use, and physics.
 

joshc

Well-known member
Yeah I wouldn't bother with a BlueSCSI, especially a v1. And v2 just appears to be a lame copy of ZuluSCSI.

If you want an SD card solution for your SE, take a look at http://zuluscsi.com/
 

CharlieFrown

Well-known member
Jesus! No! Macs are vulnerable to hot plugging full stop. Do not hot plug SCSI!

The BlueSCSIs are also vulnerable to normal use, and physics.
Relax. I have never hot plugged them, just basing on people's faults.
I wouldnt bother with anything faster than BlueSCSI v1.1. on Macintosh SE, since there is no app I can think of that would take advantage of greater data transfer while having 68000@8mhz. Waste of money.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Relax. I have never hot plugged them, just basing on people's faults.
I wouldnt bother with anything faster than BlueSCSI v1.1. on Macintosh SE, since there is no app I can think of that would take advantage of greater data transfer while having 68000@8mhz. Waste of money.
It's not the speed that is the issue. The bluescsi 1 doesn't buffer the SCSI connections to its ARM MCU, and SCSI significantly exceeds the current rating of those pins. The chip isn't designed to handle the application. The high failure rate is a consequence of this. Your's not failing doesn't mean it isn't an issue, for example, an imaginary product with 1 in 10 failures after 2 years would be horrific but still mean that 9 worked fine at the end of that period.

It also doesn't properly manage SCSI termination, applying extra limitations to how it can be used that can make troubleshooting more difficult.

But we've covered this before. Generally it's best not to recommend a product with a high failure rate that doesn't comply with component specifications.
 

Realitystorm

Well-known member
I got a working Macintosh FDHD with system 6.0.8 already loaded onto it, being new to all of this, I was wondering how I would go about getting files onto it, or even possibility of getting files off of it, for reference I currently have a modern windows computer and intel mac with os X on it
I believe the FDHDs typically have high density floppy drives, so a USB floppy drive and disk could work. But, as stated above, one of the modern emulated SCSI devices would be better on the long run. I list options and some guides on my site https://www.savagetaylor.com/downloads/downloads-macintosh/
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I believe the FDHDs typically have high density floppy drives,
It's a daft name, it looks like it means 'Floppy Drive / Hard Drive', but it actually means 'Floppy Drive High Density' so an FDHD should always have a High Density drive. If it doesn't, someone swapped the guts 😆
 

Realitystorm

Well-known member
It's a daft name, it looks like it means 'Floppy Drive / Hard Drive', but it actually means 'Floppy Drive High Density' so an FDHD should always have a High Density drive. If it doesn't, someone swapped the guts 😆
That's what happened to me... Someone swapped the insides
 

Phipli

Well-known member
That's what happened to me... Someone swapped the insides
Its not the end of the world. I rarely use my floppy drive any way. I've always had an 800k SE. Its had an Ethernet card in it since the 90s and when it was my only computer I had a hand-me-down zip drive on it :)

Never was a fan of floppy drives, whatever the capacity.
 

ymk

Well-known member
Which is why my advice would be to get and use an external ZuluSCSI or a MacSD. These both let you copy disk images full of files onto an SD card and mount them as hard disks on the SE. This means you can set up a whole disk in an emulator, then move it over pre set up.

It's even simpler than that on MacSD. The Mac can pull files directly from the FAT32-formatted SD card with the included Commander application. No HFS operations or emulators required.

1691078435292.png
 

Phipli

Well-known member
It's even simpler than that on MacSD. The Mac can pull files directly from the FAT32-formatted SD card with the included Commander application. No HFS operations or emulators required.

View attachment 60160
The other boards do that now too. I didn't mention it because it doesn't help them getting started for the first transfer. They need an image to get access to software like Stuffit Expander.
 

ymk

Well-known member
I didn't mention it because it doesn't help them getting started for the first transfer. They need an image to get access to software like Stuffit Expander.

The included bootable image from savagetaylor.com accomplishes that, if the SE has 4MB installed.
 
Do you have any kind of SD card adapter for it? It a modern machine that can write floppy disks? Does the SE have an ethernet card?

You can move files using a USB floppy drive, but you have the be careful with files - old macs had a thing called a resource fork (have a look on Wikipedi, good background info) that other computers don't understand. Putting most old Mac files on a Windows hard disk damages them unless... Wrapped inside an appropriate format to protect them, such as .bin, .hqx or .sit. You can't unwrap them until they're on a Mac formatted disk. You need software on the Mac to do this, getting that first software into the old Mac is a nightmare, because you end up in a catch 22. You can write Mac format disks using special software, but have to get specific format disk images of the software you want. It's tricky but possible.

Which is why my advice would be to get and use an external ZuluSCSI or a MacSD. These both let you copy disk images full of files onto an SD card and mount them as hard disks on the SE. This means you can set up a whole disk in an emulator, then move it over pre set up.

Just to warn you, moving files from a modern computer is generally a bit of a tricky thing to work out. These old computers predate many modern standards. Once you have a way of doing it sorted, you'll be fine.
I have a dell laptop floppy drive that I can connect to my pc via mini usb, but no other forms of media that I could use
 

ToneMalone

Active member
another option albeit slow is a USB FTDI Serial adapter plus rs232 to mini din 8 cable, if you can get a copy of Kermit on the machine you can transfer files back and forth with a pc running basiliskII with the serial port set to your adapter in the program.

I second the zuluscsi, i have an older scsi2sd aswell and it has a weird interface for loading images. Zulu you just throw in your image files straight from basilisk onto the sd named HD0.dsk HD1.dsk and so forth; nice and easy!
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
I’d look into the external PiSCSI. It uses a web interface that’s IMO the single most convenient way to file transfer to and between vintage Macs. No SD swapping or config files to mess with.
 
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