TI-GAMER Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 This may of been posted previously but I could not find it and need some advice. I have an Apple IIe I also have 2 sets of Floppy Disk Drives and was wondering what set is better for the IIE I have model A9M0107(White) and model A2M0003(Beige with Black Front) Which set is better for the IIe? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) the traditional disk II card will plug into the ribbon cable direct on the 03, some of the newer IIe's like the ee and the platnium may have the db 19 connector of the 107, either will work in either case but would require an adapter so its really dependent on what plugs in Edited May 13, 2015 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) Thank You I am unpacking an Apple IIe that I had stashed away for years and have to re learn everything. I APPRECIATE THE ADVICE. Are they both compatible with the IIe? I have 2 of the Black Face ones and use to have them plugged in together but looking at them now, Im not sure how I did it. Edited May 13, 2015 by TI-GAMER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david__schmidt Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Yep, they sure are all compatible with the IIe. Depending on the age/version of you IIe, one may be more period-correct. The first IIe machines typically had the old-style Disk II drives; the matching ones came a bit later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I have 2 of the Black Face ones and use to have them plugged in together but looking at them now, Im not sure how I did it. You did it by using the first version of the Disk II Controller Card. It had 2 stake connectors. One per drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Just figured it out but appreciate the info. I was looking for a connector on the back of the computer and not on the inside LOL Its been at least a decade since I had it hooked up. Just booted it up and the Apple IIe symbol comes up on the top of the screen but I get no Cursor or Prompt. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Either hit control reset to get into BASIC. Or put in a disk with something on it, it will then boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 If my IO Controller is installed I have to hit the Control Reset like you mentioned but if it's not installed the computer comes up directly with a prompt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Yeah, unlike some other 8-bits, the Apple ][+ and onward are all capable of autobooting. By default if you interrupt that with Ctrl-Reset, it should drop you off into ROM BASIC, but otherwise if it finds a disk controller, it'll keep trying forever (except the //c and IIgs whose disk controllers' firmware is smart enough to know when to give up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Interesting.... You guys are exactly right as it is doing exactly as you say and I can drop into Basic with Control Reset. Another question if you dont mind. When My Memory Expansion card is installed I get the following error on boot... "unable to start up from memory card" I only get this if the IO Controller and Disk Controller are not installed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 What type of memory card and in what slot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 It just says AII MEMORY EXPANSION 1985 There is what looks like a part number on it 670-0024-A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 That's a Slinky, right? I think it can be used as a ProDOS RAM disk somehow, but I don't know a lot about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 You need a RAM disk driver for whatever RAM card you have. The driver might be on asimov. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 I got everything hooked up today and I am using the older style Black Face Floppy Disk Drives I didnt have a Disk Interface Card and finally found one and installed it today but I have no drive activity Should the drives power on at startup? Does the Disk Interface card need to be in a particular slot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 It doesn't matter to the ROM, but some software expects to be in slot 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david__schmidt Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I got everything hooked up today and I am using the older style Black Face Floppy Disk Drives I didnt have a Disk Interface Card and finally found one and installed it today but I have no drive activity Should the drives power on at startup? Yes, you should have drive activity at startup. Take a close look at your Disk II card and the connection it makes with the ribbon cable. It should be connected to the upper header (marked "DRIVE 1") and all pins should be engaged. It is easy to be off by one row or one column, and that will have particularly disastrous results for the drive. Ensure the card is in a higher slot than anything else that might try to boot (i.e. the Slinky card). Slot 6 is generally the default for floppy drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 I checked all of the connections and they look good and the cable is not off. I have Dual Floppy Drives that are plugged in. I will move the card to slot 6 and see if it makes any difference. As of now, the floppy drives dont even power up or seek upon boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david__schmidt Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 I checked all of the connections and they look good and the cable is not off. I have Dual Floppy Drives that are plugged in. I will move the card to slot 6 and see if it makes any difference. As of now, the floppy drives dont even power up or seek upon boot. Maybe you'd better post a picture. There's no sense in which a "dual floppy" could be connected to a Disk II adapter card... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 I received another Apple IIe today just to use temporary for testing. I pulled my Floppy Controller and hooked it up into the other Apple Computer along with only 1 Floppy Disk Drive and it boots directly to the Floppy Disk like it should. I am assuming that it is conflicting with something currently in my system as i have it loaded with a bunch of other cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I received another Apple IIe today just to use temporary for testing. I pulled my Floppy Controller and hooked it up into the other Apple Computer along with only 1 Floppy Disk Drive and it boots directly to the Floppy Disk like it should. I am assuming that it is conflicting with something currently in my system as i have it loaded with a bunch of other cards. Simplify.... Since you know it works in another System... Remove Half the Card in you Apple ][e, and try with the Disk Controller and Drive. MarkO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 (edited) Upon taking your advice I finally figured out what the issue was. I pulled every card out except for the Floppy Controller and put each card back in 1 by 1 until the Floppy Drives did not power up upon booting. Now I know what card was the cause of the problem. Unfortunately, I have a new problem. I have a few different floppy disks that I am playing with just to verify that my Floppy Drives work. What is strange is that sometimes the Floppy Drive will read a disk just fine but the next time you try to read that same disk, it doesn't even see it. I have turned off and unplugged the computer. I removed the Floppy Disk Card and replaced it with 2 others that I have. I swapped the 2 Floppy Drives in different order and I even have a 3rd that I used for troubleshooting but they all do the same thing. What I am basically trying to do is to see if there is a pattern but unfortunately its completely random. I even swapped all the hardware with a 2nd Apple IIe and it does the same thing with no pattern and completely at random. Any ideas? Edited June 7, 2015 by TI-GAMER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) You are using 30 year old equipment and trying to read 30 year old media. Magnetic diskettes have a limited lifespan, and being kept in non-climate controlled conditions causes them to deteriorate badly. Chances are that your diskettes may have dirt or mould on them (or the magnetic media is being stripped off and that is fouling the read head on your drives. You need to identify which diskettes are the culprits (look on the underside of the diskette - that is the side that is read) and look for blotches or shadowed areas on the media (or scratches). Not to mention that your 30 year old drives have probably never been cleaned... Next you'll need to take the covers off your drives and clean the read heads. Edited June 9, 2015 by Baldrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TI-GAMER Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 I looked at all the floppies and they are surprisingly in good condition from looking at them physically. No scratches, splotches or foreign substances on them. I also cleaned the heads with one of those Floppy Disk Cleaning Kits. (The kind where you put liquid cleaner on a special floppy disk and run it through the drive while it is spinning) I dont know how well these work but I have always used them way back in the day LOL Is it better to remove the drives from the casing and manually clean them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I looked at all the floppies and they are surprisingly in good condition from looking at them physically. No scratches, splotches or foreign substances on them. I also cleaned the heads with one of those Floppy Disk Cleaning Kits. (The kind where you put liquid cleaner on a special floppy disk and run it through the drive while it is spinning) I dont know how well these work but I have always used them way back in the day LOL Is it better to remove the drives from the casing and manually clean them? The "Hard Core" restorers, recommend dissembling the Drives and using High Percentage Alcohol and a Cotton Swab. In the U.S.A. Target has a 91% Isopropyl and Safeway has a 99% Isopropyl. Don't use Rubbing Alcohol, it has oils in it... MarkO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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