Transmac alternative?

[zerobotman]

I've read online that Transmac can be used to create mac disks on pc but it's not freeware and i was wondering if there are any open source alternatives since the price is a little steep (48usd).

 

[olePigeon]

I was going to suggest using an emulator such as Basilisk II, but I'm uncertain if it can write to floppies on a PC.  Certainly 1.4MB, but I don't know about 400K/800K as Apple uses a variable speed floppy drive that PCs don't use.

 

[Cory5412]

There is no way to write 400/800K floppy diskettes for Macs or Apple IIgs on modern computers.

On the Apple II side of things, I know that Ciderpress is there. It appears Basilisk II should be able to use USB or regular PC floppy drives.

The thing I'd consider before you spend any more money at all is whether or not you want to dump any more money into that, or if you just want to get a floppyemu, which can use floppy diskette images downloaded from the Internet. It costs more, but it'll work for floppies on everything from the original Mac (or at least as old as the Plus) to the Beige G3.

An option for manipulating/creating those images, and possibly for writing them to disk, is HVF Explorer.

 

[360alaska]

Believe it or not, "Win Image" can make disks for Mac as long as you have a floppy disk drive

 

[IPalindromeI]

Yes, because Mac 1.44 MB floppies use the same encoding, just formatted with different filesystems. 400/800k can't be made with PC drives, full stop.

 

[joethezombie]

Well, there is the Kryoflux which can make 400/800k floppies on PC using a compatible PC drive.

 

[olePigeon]

I was going to mention Kyroflux, but it's certainly more expensive than "freeware."

Plus, from what I remember, its Macintosh supports is less than stellar.  Maybe they've updated, but I'm too lazy to look.

 

[joethezombie]

True that. For the cost, you're better off buying FloppyEmu, but certainly none of those options are free.

 

[Paralel]

I was going to mention Kyroflux, but it's certainly more expensive than "freeware."

Plus, from what I remember, its Macintosh supports is less than stellar.  Maybe they've updated, but I'm too lazy to look.

They appear to support reading/writing DSK images, at least from what I can tell, the website isn't very clear.

You'd think for a group that works in preservation their descriptions would be a little more clear... :-/

 

[olePigeon]

Last few times I was on their forums, there was little to no interest in preserving Macintosh or Apple II software in general from the developmental side of things.  I don't know if it's because there aren't any vintage Apple enthusiasts who're knowledgable enough that have bothered with it, or if it's a "why bother?" attitude when so few titles for Macintosh had copy protection, and most of the Apple II titles were cracked.

Typically, only the very earliest of titles for Macintosh from the 1980s had any form of copy protection.  Ironically, that's the very software I'd like to see preserved.  Once those disks stop working, they're gone forever, and 30 years is asking a lot for a floppy disk. 

 

[Paralel]

Yeah, I can think of a few Macintosh programs that used some very unusual and interesting copy protection mechanisms, that without something like Kryoflux, will literally be impossible to preserve.

Its too bad they're so dismissive of Mac stuff. That's rather annoying. If nothing else, the variable speed drive the Mac used for so long, and as a result was probably the most widely used "non-standard" drive technology, is a perfect candidate for their Kryoflux product.

 

[zerobotman]

Thanks for all the replies. I just installed pc exchange meaning I now have the ability to read disks formatted for the PC! good things will follow...