Gandalf_the_Grey Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Hello I have a small project ahead of me and have a few questions that, once answered, may help me in my work. I have a few Atari 8-bit 5 1/4" floppy disks that I would like to attempt to transfer the data from and convert to .ATR or any other format that the modern Atari emulators that exist today can understand. I currently have no Atari hardware. My plan is to connect an Atari 8-bit disk drive to a PC and read the data in with a Windows application. Here is what I need to know: I assume I will need a cable, such as the SIO2PC-USB to connect the USB to the disk drive. Is there a special version of this cable needed or will any do? Are these cables still available? I noticed several threads talking about them, but most of them were quite old and I don't want to start unless I can be sure of getting this cable first. I will also need a disk drive. Most of these floppies were made using a Rana 1000 or an Indus GT drive. Can I safely assume that the format would be compatible with any of the other available floppy drives, such as the XF551 or the 1050? Do any of these generally work better than others? Aside from ebay, is there a source for these where I can be reasonably certain I am getting one that works? Also, any suggestions or tips for the Windows application and the steps required to perform the transfer would be greatly appreciated. Gandalf the Grey *.* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) APE/Prosystem SIO2PC. usb version... Launch Prosystem and start ripping the disks... http://www.atarimax.com Edited October 31, 2018 by _The Doctor__ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Rana 1000 and Indus GT are both Double Density capable, with a stock 1050 is not, unless it has been upgraded with something like US Doubler, Happy, Duplicator Speedy, etc. Unless you know your disks are not formatted DD. Prosystem or 1050-2-PC are the only adapters that allow a PC to talk directly to a 1050. The most common method is to use a real Atari computer in the mix with a sector copy program to read the sectors from a real drive (ie Drive 1), then write a copy of those to an emulated drive (ie Drive 2).... But without any Atari hardware, as _The Doctor__ mentioned you're best bet is probably an AtariMax SIO2PC/ProSystem Universal Interface to start with: https://atarimax.com/sio2pc/documentation/ If you can't find a good deal for a drive online/eBay, I have a few extra 1050's I've cleaned up, and could install one of the aforementioned mods in it for you... PM me if interested. Or if this is a one time deal, your most cost effective solution (maybe depending on how many disks) would be to just mail your disks to someone on these forums who's in your geographic area who has the equipment already to read them off for you, and then send the disks back + ATR files. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHA Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 i use sio2sd and my 810, setting the 810 as drive 2, then booting from sd, load copier then switch to source (or blank .atr) and go copying whichever way atr>floppy or floppy>atr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 i use sio2sd and my 810, setting the 810 as drive 2, then booting from sd, load copier then switch to source (or blank .atr) and go copying whichever way atr>floppy or floppy>atr This works without an Atari Computer? (OP says he has no Atari hardware, but plans to use an Atari drive.) @ OP -- if the originals were made in DD (as Netzar mentions), then your choices are limited. IF they were made in DD on a Rana, there is a good possibility that no other stock disk drive in the galaxy will read them. They were notoriously bad in DD. Have you considered sending the disks to someone to make the ATR's -- that might be a cheaper solution? -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Nice project idea but easier as Larry says to send them to someone on here who are great folks and know their stuff otherwise its going to cost a small fortune to do it without main hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanny Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 (edited) If you have an (old) PC with 360k floppy drive, and this PC has a controller which supports FM, you could use ImageDisk (http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img/index.htm) to make an image. Floppy controllers for the PC which support FM are rather rare. I salvaged during the times three Siemens/Nixdorf Pentium and Pentium2 machines from the dumpster, and all of them support FM. So such machines are likely to support FM. Edited December 4, 2018 by sanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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