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Getting files onto old compact Macs
- Thread starter reallyrandy
- Start date
I'm bidding on a usb self powered zip drive and a scsi zip drive on ebay. This seems to be the best route for me as these Macs will not be hooked up most of the time, they'll be in glass display cases.
I can also back each one up in it's entirety on one zip disk each.
I can also back each one up in it's entirety on one zip disk each.
Zip drive is fine really, you can even boot from a zip if required.
Only drawback, the setup is pretty bulky compared with the USB floppy drive (and you need two drives instead of one)
On the other side, zip disks are far better to move big files.
I have a zip also, but like floppies :lol:
Only drawback, the setup is pretty bulky compared with the USB floppy drive (and you need two drives instead of one)
On the other side, zip disks are far better to move big files.
I have a zip also, but like floppies :lol:
It doesn't actually use a modem of any kind, it uses a direct serial/usb cable null-modem.
Here's some discussions we've had on it ...
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4318
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11106
I just added an old floppy drive to my desktop PC. Looks a bit strange, shiny black case with a faded beige floppy, but it has a wee door on the front so you don't notice most of the time 
I use HFVExplorer and VMac to get files onto floppies.
Anything I want onto the Mac Plus, I have a few 800k disks, I use the classic as a go-between swapping the 1.44MB floppy and the 800k Plus floppy.
Long term, I am looking at a SCSI ZIP drive. This could be the HDD for the plus, an external drive for the classic, and I have a Parallel (really a SCSI without the SCSI chip...) ZIP drive that I can connect up to the PC to download anything I fancy.
You could ethernet them, but I tend to think of compact macs more as standalone machines, good for games, recipes DB and word processing (the keyboards on both are a joy to type on!)
I use HFVExplorer and VMac to get files onto floppies.
Anything I want onto the Mac Plus, I have a few 800k disks, I use the classic as a go-between swapping the 1.44MB floppy and the 800k Plus floppy.
Long term, I am looking at a SCSI ZIP drive. This could be the HDD for the plus, an external drive for the classic, and I have a Parallel (really a SCSI without the SCSI chip...) ZIP drive that I can connect up to the PC to download anything I fancy.
You could ethernet them, but I tend to think of compact macs more as standalone machines, good for games, recipes DB and word processing (the keyboards on both are a joy to type on!)
I see many of you are using Windows. I was wondering about what to do if you have a new Mac. I'm assuming a CD or Zip drive would have to be HFS compatible in order for the old Mac to see it. I'm using OS X Lion right now and it's chucked out HFS support. I tried to use OSXFuse with HFS support but if I copy too much stuff to a (USB) Floppy I get a kernal panic. I'm not considering an Asante Mini scsi to ethernet device to get FTP access on the internet working. Either that or I'll need to try the PC options in a virtual machine. Any other ideas?
I'm in disbelief that I can write floppies for my 286 on my new Mac with ease (FAT) but can't do the same for one of Apple's own products.
I'm in disbelief that I can write floppies for my 286 on my new Mac with ease (FAT) but can't do the same for one of Apple's own products.
If you burn CDs with the standard ISO format, it can read them with the appropriate CD-ROM extensions. Usually this implies 7.5.3+.
Personally I think Ethernet is worth the initial cost. Floppy drives are a last resort.
If you have 10.6, you'll need a bridge Mac. I have not been able to test 10.7 support, if it does work with anything it will likely be 9.2 with AFP over TCP/IP only. A bridge Mac is a very useful piece of kit to have, depending on which one you choose. I'd be leaning towards one of these.
The reason you can still write floppies for DOS machines is because of FAT12 support, but that's not to say it will last another 10 years.
Personally I think Ethernet is worth the initial cost. Floppy drives are a last resort.
If you have 10.6, you'll need a bridge Mac. I have not been able to test 10.7 support, if it does work with anything it will likely be 9.2 with AFP over TCP/IP only. A bridge Mac is a very useful piece of kit to have, depending on which one you choose. I'd be leaning towards one of these.
The reason you can still write floppies for DOS machines is because of FAT12 support, but that's not to say it will last another 10 years.
Actually, if I go ethernet I would probably just connect it straight to the AEBS router for internet and download stuff either straight from sites or off my own FTP. I'm assuming that would work fine but I could be wrong. The Asante Mini I was looking at just got bought, so that's out for now. Will a Localtalk to Ethernet bridge serve the same purpose? They seen to be only for sharing printers but I could be wrong.
Right now I'm writing disks in VMware/Windows XP through MacDrive and it's working ok. Still, it's a pain.
Right now I'm writing disks in VMware/Windows XP through MacDrive and it's working ok. Still, it's a pain.
A macine running Tiger with a USB floppy drive can come in handy, or a beige PCI Mac with a floppy and a USB card for a thumbdrive.
Variations on the sneakernet theme are probably easiest.
It is bizzare that we have this problem, isn't it? What's even more bizzare, though, is that some of our own members here think it right and good.
Variations on the sneakernet theme are probably easiest.
It is bizzare that we have this problem, isn't it? What's even more bizzare, though, is that some of our own members here think it right and good.
I don't. If i was king of the US and all the computer fazzle going on back in the day, I would have put out a mandate that all computers from the // onward have some sort of minimal bootable OS in ROM, that can handle basic tasks with shell control. And all computers from that point on must have a standard serial networking interface, so that a //c could hook up to the very latest machine with no real issues.
It's not hard at all, the ROM thing would be a problem though. We already had FTP, we already know how to push data over four pins (clock, data+, data-, ground), simple serial interfaces and handshaking et al back in the 70's. Since the engineers who knew the ins and outs of the hardware et cetera, how hard could it be? Since memory was expensive, they could compress the system into ROM and use assembly language.
As for modern computers, they could have a simple OS like System 6 in ROM that can do simple stuff like blessing system folders and what not. Terminal would be a real bonus as well. You might say "But there's no room for a DIN-4 on a MacBook Pro 2x!!!!" I think a simple Ethernet to DIN-4 adaptor would suffice (or ThunderBolt to DIN-4). "But what if the FTP or the system ROM gets expanded with new features?" No problem, use programmable ROM chips that are cheap and easy to burn, and they plug into a DIP socket or something like that.
Something like that.
As for OS X with floppy drives, watch out for extraneous fat that the system plops onto the disk. 1.3MB could be suddenly reduced to 1MB free space without warning.
If you want to access the internet, there have been a handful of users here and elsewhere that have made pseudo PPP networks. Basically, dial-up-like but without the modem. I'll be looking into a writeup on how to do that once a certain member gets back from spring break.
It's not hard at all, the ROM thing would be a problem though. We already had FTP, we already know how to push data over four pins (clock, data+, data-, ground), simple serial interfaces and handshaking et al back in the 70's. Since the engineers who knew the ins and outs of the hardware et cetera, how hard could it be? Since memory was expensive, they could compress the system into ROM and use assembly language.
As for modern computers, they could have a simple OS like System 6 in ROM that can do simple stuff like blessing system folders and what not. Terminal would be a real bonus as well. You might say "But there's no room for a DIN-4 on a MacBook Pro 2x!!!!" I think a simple Ethernet to DIN-4 adaptor would suffice (or ThunderBolt to DIN-4). "But what if the FTP or the system ROM gets expanded with new features?" No problem, use programmable ROM chips that are cheap and easy to burn, and they plug into a DIP socket or something like that.
Something like that.
As for OS X with floppy drives, watch out for extraneous fat that the system plops onto the disk. 1.3MB could be suddenly reduced to 1MB free space without warning.
If you want to access the internet, there have been a handful of users here and elsewhere that have made pseudo PPP networks. Basically, dial-up-like but without the modem. I'll be looking into a writeup on how to do that once a certain member gets back from spring break.
not trying to start any issue's, but how is it we post a link to freely available 6.0.8 image(from apple) (slightly modified for powerbook 140/170) and it gets snipped,
and you basically not only steal and pirate absolutely copyrighted software, but you sell it for profit, how in the hell is this allowed?
and you basically not only steal and pirate absolutely copyrighted software, but you sell it for profit, how in the hell is this allowed?
Forum rules still apply. Download links to commercially distributed software and games (no matter how old, no matter how unclear the ownership of the rights is) is forbidden.
Additionally, the 68kMLA isn't really an appropriate place to advertise a commercial service such as sales of pre-prepared floppy diskettes on a web page with automation and e-commerce.
It would be different if it really were stuff that was definitely on Apple's old software downloads, that you were doing as a one-off favor to somebody. This, like repairing eMacs in a warehouse, crosses a line.
Additionally, the 68kMLA isn't really an appropriate place to advertise a commercial service such as sales of pre-prepared floppy diskettes on a web page with automation and e-commerce.
It would be different if it really were stuff that was definitely on Apple's old software downloads, that you were doing as a one-off favor to somebody. This, like repairing eMacs in a warehouse, crosses a line.
Just a note on ethernet to localtalk bridges... Asante made them under three different product names. One was the AsantePrint. The next was the MicroAsantePrint (reduced size to card deck). The third was the AsanteTalk.
As others have mentioned, they do not bridge TCP/IP, only AppleTalk traffic. I find one extremely handy to have, but you really need a bridge machine which can run an OS old enough to use AFP, but modern enough to use TCP/IP. I'm not sure what range that is. I think it's something like 8.6 through 10.3.x or did TCP/IP sharing support start in 9.1?
They're also nice if you get an older printer which has LocalTalk built-in but lacks Ethernet (many of the HP models, e.g.).
Anyway, the thing I'm going to add, is that if you're searching for them on Ebay, you can look under those three names, but also search with the words in the name separated.
For example, I searched for "Asantetalk" and the few results I got all cost about $50 with shipping. Then I searched for "asante talk" and found several of them under $20, although one of them was sans power supply, I think.
The AsanteTalk is probably the most common. When Apple started selling the iMac, which lacked serial ports (LocalTalk) but had ethernet built in, Asante changed the MicroAsantePrint to the AsanteTalk, removed a few of the network management features present in the former, lowered the price and sold a ton of them. So the AsanteTalk probably had the most volume and was the most recently sold.
As others have mentioned, they do not bridge TCP/IP, only AppleTalk traffic. I find one extremely handy to have, but you really need a bridge machine which can run an OS old enough to use AFP, but modern enough to use TCP/IP. I'm not sure what range that is. I think it's something like 8.6 through 10.3.x or did TCP/IP sharing support start in 9.1?
They're also nice if you get an older printer which has LocalTalk built-in but lacks Ethernet (many of the HP models, e.g.).
Anyway, the thing I'm going to add, is that if you're searching for them on Ebay, you can look under those three names, but also search with the words in the name separated.
For example, I searched for "Asantetalk" and the few results I got all cost about $50 with shipping. Then I searched for "asante talk" and found several of them under $20, although one of them was sans power supply, I think.
The AsanteTalk is probably the most common. When Apple started selling the iMac, which lacked serial ports (LocalTalk) but had ethernet built in, Asante changed the MicroAsantePrint to the AsanteTalk, removed a few of the network management features present in the former, lowered the price and sold a ton of them. So the AsanteTalk probably had the most volume and was the most recently sold.
In the old Kermit days, you could type in a ridiculously long string and run EXEC to download your own copy of Kermit.
Thankfully I have never used computers without access to the internet or bulletin boards (and I am one of the older contributors here, by age). On occasions I have been saved by people popping a boot disk for a CP/M computer in the post. I have done the same for others.
Yup, I was in the same boat as you as far as not being able to do any legacy suff in Lion becasue of the lack of HFS support.
Luckily I havea a Mac Mini lying around that I wasn't using. I decided to turn it into a headless vintage suppport machine. It just sits on my desk connected to the network without a keyboard monitor or mouse. I installed 10.5 on it for HFS support. When I need to do some legacy stuff, I just share the screen with my Mac Pro and move files onto it over the network and get the legacy files off on HFS formatted Zip disks. Works like a charm, and it's so small it's not like I have a huge Mac sitting around getting in the way. I also made it that much more useful by connecting my MagicJack to it. (VoIP phone for those that don't know.)
Luckily I havea a Mac Mini lying around that I wasn't using. I decided to turn it into a headless vintage suppport machine. It just sits on my desk connected to the network without a keyboard monitor or mouse. I installed 10.5 on it for HFS support. When I need to do some legacy stuff, I just share the screen with my Mac Pro and move files onto it over the network and get the legacy files off on HFS formatted Zip disks. Works like a charm, and it's so small it's not like I have a huge Mac sitting around getting in the way. I also made it that much more useful by connecting my MagicJack to it. (VoIP phone for those that don't know.)
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