How do I put ATR files onto floppy using 1050 drive?

[AtariAndy75]

Hi guys,

 

New here! Just got my ATARIMAX SIO2PC delivered (to Dublin, Ireland) and am trying to get it working reliably with my MACBOOK running OSX 10.4.10.

 

Some ATR files will work, ZYBEX, GAUNTLET, RESCUE ON FRACTULUS, but many won't load ACTIVISION DECATHLON, POLE POSITION. They continue to a red screen of death and then freeze the Atari! I am using a USB to SERIAL converter cable, (not FTDI chipset) and after a few attempts at installing various PL2303 drivers I finally got something to work. I am not using FTDI, however it seems to be connecting reliably to my 800XL (PAL).

 

Anyway, I would like to know if there is a way to copy the ATR files directly to 5.25 floppy disk? This way I don't always have to have my laptop when using the Atari. My system is a bog standard 800XL with 1050 Drive.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy.

[Rybags]

You might need to use a sector copier on the Atari - just using the DOS Duplicate Disk option won't be enough in a lot of cases.

 

Also, some ATR images aren't just the bog standard 810 or 1050 layout, e.g. double-density or >1040 sectors. But usually in that case, they're DOS disks of some sort with individual files.

In such a case, probably best to create a normal 1050 ATR blank in the emulator and copy files to it, then mount your newly created image and sector copy it with the real Atari.

[JayoK]

Hi guys,

 

New here! Just got my ATARIMAX SIO2PC delivered (to Dublin, Ireland) and am trying to get it working reliably with my MACBOOK running OSX 10.4.10.

 

Some ATR files will work, ZYBEX, GAUNTLET, RESCUE ON FRACTULUS, but many won't load ACTIVISION DECATHLON, POLE POSITION. They continue to a red screen of death and then freeze the Atari! I am using a USB to SERIAL converter cable, (not FTDI chipset) and after a few attempts at installing various PL2303 drivers I finally got something to work. I am not using FTDI, however it seems to be connecting reliably to my 800XL (PAL).

 

Anyway, I would like to know if there is a way to copy the ATR files directly to 5.25 floppy disk? This way I don't always have to have my laptop when using the Atari. My system is a bog standard 800XL with 1050 Drive.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy.

 

 

Oohhhb - that's 3 people in Dublin I know of using Atari's

[VW]

To copy atrs to floppy discs I believe you need a different cable. For running atr files on my Atari 800XL that are on PC, I use a SIO2PC cable but if I am backing up discs or writing out 5.25" discs from PC to/from my 1050 drive, I have to use a 1050-2-PC cable (I think that is how they are referred to). I don't remember the technical details of the differences between a 1050-2-PC cable and and SIO2PC cable, I think just two of the wires are switched. Anyhow after all my rambling, I guess the main point is I don't think you can use the same cable to interface with your Atari computer that you would use to interface with your Atari disc drive.

[AtariAndy75]

Cheers guys,

 

So thats what I need then… a modified SIO cable to connect SIO2PC to the 1050. Does anybody have the pin outs for this one?

 

I have been away from ATARI for years but a recent clear out of the attic (and some subsequent trawling through eBay) has prompted me to set my 8-bit system up again. Never had a disk drive, just got a 1050 from USA on eBay and have it all working fine now. Using SIO2OSX software on MACBOOK to run SIO2PC.

 

Having fun! Love the old-tech to be honest. Great admiration for the programmers who can code killer apps into a measly 64kb.

 

Andy.

[+Guitarman]

Cheers guys,

 

So thats what I need then… a modified SIO cable to connect SIO2PC to the 1050. Does anybody have the pin outs for this one?

 

I have been away from ATARI for years but a recent clear out of the attic (and some subsequent trawling through eBay) has prompted me to set my 8-bit system up again. Never had a disk drive, just got a 1050 from USA on eBay and have it all working fine now. Using SIO2OSX software on MACBOOK to run SIO2PC.

 

Having fun! Love the old-tech to be honest. Great admiration for the programmers who can code killer apps into a measly 64kb.

 

Andy.

 

 

If you are using the Atarimax SIO2PC, whether it be the serial or USB version, it is able to do both. Connect the 800XL to the 1050, 1050 to the SIO2PC, SIO2PC to the computer. I don't know about Macs, but on a PC using the SIO2PC, you have to have the 800XL connected and turned on to supply the +5v to the line for it to work efficiently. Just boot to a DOS disk and let the 800XL set while you are making/writing images to/from the drive.

[AtariAndy75]

Never thought of that! Will give it a try. Just waiting to get a second SIO cable

 

thanks again!

 

Andy

[Velcro_SP]

Andy, I did it with Ken Siders' XFormer (http://atari.ksiders.tzo.com/a8utilities.html). You have to be able to get the ATR etc. files to the 8bit first. I think I used BobTerm for that and then I wrote the ATR files to actual Atari floppy. It may be possible to write out the floppies while reading the ATRs on the PC with XFormer, not sure. Check the XFormer docs.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Velcro_SP

[mimo]

How do I copy a disk image onto a REAL disk?

 

The easiest way to convert a disk image to a whole Atari disk is by a process called 'sector copying'. You may have used this method on your Atari to duplicate a real floppy disk.

 

Method #1: (Using APE or APE'98, the Atari Computer, and a real Atari disk drive)

 

1. Load APE and attach your APE interface, being sure to verify it is working.

2. Attach your real Atari disk drive to the SIO bus, configure it as drive 2.

3. Turn on the real disk drive.

4. Load the APE_WARP.ATR image into drive 1. This disk image is included in the APE distribution package.

5. Boot your Atari from the APE_WARP.ATR image in drive 1.

6. When the dos-loader menu appears, select the 'MYCOPIER' program.

7. Once MYCOPIER has loaded, release the APE_WARP.ATR image from drive 1.

8. Insert the real diskette you want to write to into the real disk drive.

9. Load the ATR image you want to copy to a real disk into drive 1.

10. Configure MyCopier with the DESTINATION drive as 2 (real drive), and the SOURCE as drive 1 (disk image).

11. Press START on the Atari to start the sector copy. Once complete the disk image in drive 2 will be an exact duplicate of the disk image in drive 1.

12. Return to step 8 to image more disks.

 

Method #2: (Using the DOS ProSystem and a real Atari disk drive)

 

1. Load the ProSystem program on the PC and attach your ProSystem interface. The interface should attach to the PC's serial port on one end, and an Atari disk drive on the other.

2. Configure the Atari disk drive as drive 1, this is VERY important.

3. Turn on the Atari disk drive and insert the disk you wish to fill with the ATR image.

4. To write an ATR image out to a real disk, press 'W' on the PC.

5. Return to step 3 to write out more disks.

 

Method #3: (Using ProSystem'98 and a real Atari disk drive)

 

1. Load the ProSystem program on the PC and attach your ProSystem interface. The interface should attach to the PC's serial port on one end, and an Atari disk drive on the other.

2. With the ProSystem'98 software you may attach up to 4 disk drives at once. Each drive must have a unique drive ID, but need not start at drive 1.

3. Turn on the Atari disk drive(s) and insert the disk(s) you wish to write to. If using more than one drive, insert ALL the disks you wish to write to.

4. To write-out ATR images, use the 'Write ATR Image(s) to Real Disk(s)' menu option.

5. Return to step 3 to image more disks.

 

from the manual

http://www.atarimax.com/ape/docs/DiskImage...TR_To_Real_Disk

[Fletch]

I too am a Mac using Atarian. I have used a program called ATR2DISK to make real floppies from ATR images. I will try to dig it out and post it tomorrow.

[1050]

Anyway, I would like to know if there is a way to copy the ATR files directly to 5.25 floppy disk? This way I don't always have to have my laptop when using the Atari. My system is a bog standard 800XL with 1050 Drive.

Bog standard 1050 would be the problem if you were to use HiassofT's WriteATR to create Double Density Atari Floppies from ATR files on a PC that were directly readable on your Atari system. But you could install the US Doubler kit in your 1050 and get around the problem that way. You would also need to find a 360k 5.25" drive for your PC.

 

I'm using HiassofT's AtariDsk with a 360K PC drive and Atari US Doubler 1050 drives to get files from my PC to the Atari and back. Then on the Atari, I have used Ken Sider's DiskFormer to create ATR disks from ATR files. It's a bit convoluted as a method but I don't need to do it very often so it's fine with me.

 

In the end, using some kind of SIO2- cable is going to be the fastest and easiest way. Nick Kennedy's Page has done some wandering lately but here is his 1050_2_PC schematic. But this will still only get you SD and ED ATRs with a bog standard 1050.

 

And of course writing "real" ATRs on your Atari using SIO2PC systems with either SIO2PC or APE comes as a standard equipment tool but you need the SIO2PC cable for that. You'll probably get more ATR images to "boot up" using this method than creating real ATRs and doing it for real as well. AND you don't need to wait for a real floppy to be written to and then booted.