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Need Help with getting software for Mac Plus

tfoley88

New member
I was hoping to get some help in acquiring some software and games for my Mac Plus. I have found some sites that provide the software. The problem is, I can seem to figure out how do get it from the internet onto my mac using a windows PC.

I currently have a Mac Plus with System 6.0.8. I have plenty of blank floppy disks. The problem is I dont know how to pull files from the internet and create floppy disks with the software I want using a Windows PC.

One other thing is I have a "Power User" brand hard drive with 100MB hoping I could put most of the software on that. It does seem to work ok. One thing I couldnt do is format it in certain way. I was thinking it would be best to have the Apple Hard Disk SC20, but they are quite expensive. Is it worth it to buy the official SC20?

Thank you in advance!
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I was hoping to get some help in acquiring some software and games for my Mac Plus. I have found some sites that provide the software. The problem is, I can seem to figure out how do get it from the internet onto my mac using a windows PC.

I currently have a Mac Plus with System 6.0.8. I have plenty of blank floppy disks. The problem is I dont know how to pull files from the internet and create floppy disks with the software I want using a Windows PC.

One other thing is I have a "Power User" brand hard drive with 100MB hoping I could put most of the software on that. It does seem to work ok. One thing I couldnt do is format it in certain way. I was thinking it would be best to have the Apple Hard Disk SC20, but they are quite expensive. Is it worth it to buy the official SC20?

Thank you in advance!
There is no practical difference between an Apple branded external disk and another brand, other than sometimes you have to use third party formatting tools. To be honest, I'd not reformat it, other than the option in the "Special" menu, which just mostly erases it really and doesn't mess with the drivers.

Writing disks for a plus is... non-trivial from Windows. Windows doesn't support the variable speed drives old macs used. I would strongly suggest getting something like a Floppy Emu from BMOW or a ZuluSCSI.
 

tfoley88

New member
There is no practical difference between an Apple branded external disk and another brand, other than sometimes you have to use third party formatting tools. To be honest, I'd not reformat it, other than the option in the "Special" menu, which just mostly erases it really and doesn't mess with the drivers.

Writing disks for a plus is... non-trivial from Windows. Windows doesn't support the variable speed drives old macs used. I would strongly suggest getting something like a Floppy Emu from BMOW or a ZuluSCSI.
Ok. Can I use the floppy emu to put the software onto the hard drive? I really dont want the emulator always sticking out looking all modern and stuff.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Ok. Can I use the floppy emu to put the software onto the hard drive? I really dont want the emulator always sticking out looking all modern and stuff.
Yeah, you can, as long as the disk is working OK.

You just drag files from the Floppy EMU to the other disk and they copy over. Things like the floppy emu are everything short of mandatory if you don't have what we call a "bridge" machine - a mac that is new enough to work with modern computers but old enough to work with old ones. There are always answers, but they're all more complicated than a Floppy EMU or ZuluSCSI.
 

tfoley88

New member
Do you have a SCSI terminator for it? They're like a plug with no lead.
Yea I've heard of the SCSI termminator but havent needed it I dont think. Are they just for the end of a daisy chain?

See I have 2 external floppy drives along with the external hard drive. The external Floppy drives broke when I was replacing those little plastic gears inside that crumble over time. Though, the floppy drive built into the Plus works just fine.

So for now, I believe I can plug the EMU into my modern PC, load it up with whatever apps I want (Compatible with my System version 6.0.8) and dump them onto the External Hard Drive?

Also, once they are on that external hard drive, I should be able to make back-up floppies with that external hard drive, right? Even though thats pointless considering I would have an EMU, Im just curious. I do have blank DSDD 3.5" floppies.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Yea I've heard of the SCSI termminator but havent needed it I dont think. Are they just for the end of a daisy chain?
You should get one. If it works without one it is luck, and tomorrow, it might deside not to work, or it might work, or it might work, but then flitter your OS.

Also, once they are on that external hard drive, I should be able to make back-up floppies with that external hard drive, right? Even though thats pointless considering I would have an EMU, Im just curious. I do have blank DSDD 3.5" floppies
Yeah, if you format the disks and everything is functional... and fits.
So for now, I believe I can plug the EMU into my modern PC, load it up with whatever apps I want (Compatible with my System version 6.0.8) and dump them onto the External Hard Drive?
You'll need to wrap them in disk images and take care not to damage the resource forks. Setting up using an emulator might be an idea. Look into using the Floppy EMU in HD20 mode.
 

ArmorAlley

Well-known member
I would strongly suggest getting something like a Floppy Emu from BMOW or a ZuluSCSI.
I second this suggestion.
It is probably the simplest way to get mac software online onto your Plus.
Mini vmac on the PC might be helpful too.

Floppy Emu: https://www.bigmessowires.com/floppy-emu/
ZuluSCSI Mini v1.0: https://store.rabbitholecomputing.com/SCSI-EMU-s/100.htm

Another option to take is the SCSI route. Your extermal HD is good. Someone here will surely have a spare SCSi external hard disk with terminator if you put a request in the Trading Post fora if you want something bigger. Likewise if you just need a terminator.

Another is the removable media & sneakernet option.
This excellent option involves three new pieces of hardware.
The first is my current favourite for downloading mac software from the internet: a Mac Mini G4 running Mac OS 9.2.2. As an Internet machine it is not great, but you can access the Macintosh Garden & Macintosh Repository with ease. It also gives more space in case 100 MB is not enough.
The second piece of hardware is a USB or Firewire removable media drive, like a Zip drive, Jaz drive or MO (magneto-optical) drive.
The third piece of hardware is the SCSI version of the second piece of hardware.
This combo allows you to download the games you want onto the Mac Mini G4 and expand them as necessary. Copy the software onto the removable medium by means of the USB/FW drive and transfer the disk across to the Plus by means of the SCSI drive.

It does mean more cost and more clutter though. That is the downside to it.
 

Snial

Well-known member
I have used a pair of Zip drives as a bridge in the past: A USB Zip drive (actually a Zip 250) and a SCSI Zip drive 100 on the Mac Plus side. The trick would be to get a full Zip drive image which contains a Zip disk classic Mac driver on it. Let's assume you managed to do that. Then when you plug in the SCSI Zip drive, power on the Zip drive first, insert the Zip disk (with the Mac driver on it), then power on the Mac Plus and boot either with the floppy drive, or the Zip drive itself (if it has System 6 or 7 on it), then the Mac Plus will boot OK and you'll have access to the Zip drive itself.

So, that would be a good first test. Then you could power off, attach the SCSI HD and the Zip drive (at the end of the SCSI chain); set the Zip drive to self-terminate and reboot as before (with the Zip disk inserted). Copy the entire Zip drive to the HD and you'll have a bootable HD. If you put the proper Zip extension in the System folder on the HD, then when you boot the next time on the HD, without the Zip disk inserted, you'll be able to read/write any Zip disk whenever you insert it.

So, first question is how to get the Zip drive on the Zip disk in the first place? Well, one way is if I sent you a complete Zip disk image with System 6.0.8 on it + the Zip driver. Then, if you install Linux on your PC and you use a USB Zip disk; you can use the Linux tool DD to literally transfer all the sectors to the USB Zip drive with the Zip disk installed.

OTOH, you may find getting a floppy Emulator easier ;-) !
 
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