Imaging with the APE Prosystem

[+Larry]

While I'm trying to get my SuperCard Pro working to meet my imaging needs, I thought I should try the APE Prosystem again.  I haven't used it much at all for at least 5 years.  I didn't find much in the way of docs, but there are several threads at the Atarimax forum that provide some good info.  I have a APE USB interface, and figuring out how to use it with the PS was pretty straight forward.  And I managed to make some .pro images of several disks that have pretty mundane copy protection.  One small benefit of the ProSystem is that the files it produces are quite small -- certainly as compared to flux image.  And you can mount and use the .pro images with APE.  I remember that some folks here were not happy that the PS software is not open source (same as APE software). But it is "free" if you own an APE USB interface and the licensed software, so there is nothing extra to buy.  You just need an Atari computer and a 1050 or other drive.  (IIRC) you can write out the images with a Happy Drive. I don't think that it can write to an Archiver, but not sure about that.

 

So has anyone here done much imaging with the Prosystem?  Done anything that has had fuzzy sectors, etc.?  What are your thoughts about its capabilities? 

 

 

[+Nezgar]

2 minutes ago, Larry said:

(IIRC) you can write out the images with a Happy Drive.

I would be pleasantly surprised if this were true. .PRO images don't accurately copy the protection on the disk - only mimic the 'symptoms' observed on "playback". Ie, produce CRC error for a sector, alternate data returned for a phantom sector, randomize certain bytes in a sector for fuzzy sectors, return errors as needed for missing sectors, etc. Hence why reading a disk looking for protection takes many times longer - it reads each sector multiple times looking for behavior indicative of copy protection...

 

Writing the custom track/sector data with a Happy drive would require uploading code to the happy's RAM to give it that functionality - it's not there in the ROM. That's even what happys own backup software does. I've also not heard of this function in an APE product... but I'd love to learn if that was true!

[+Larry]

I dug out some docs on how to use it with a Happy Drive.  It does require using the Happy Backup Program.  I'll try it, and if it works, I'll post the docs.  Part of the "magic" is that the Prosystem sees APE drives as "Happy." But it may have only worked with some test versions that Steve sent to me years ago -- it may not have made its way into the current Prosystem software.  At one time, Steve was interested in enhancing the Prosystem.  But I don't think that he ever pursued it very far.

[ijor]

45 minutes ago, Larry said:

And I managed to make some .pro images of several disks that have pretty mundane copy protection.  One small benefit of the ProSystem is that the files it produces are quite small -- certainly as compared to flux image.  And you can mount and use the .pro images with APE.  I remember that some folks here were not happy that the PS software is not open source (same as APE software). But it is "free" if you own an APE USB interface and the licensed software, so there is nothing extra to buy.  You just need an Atari computer and a 1050 or other drive.  (IIRC) you can write out the images with a Happy Drive. I don't think that it can write to an Archiver, but not sure about that.

 

I never tried, but I understand respeQt can write back .PRO image to both a Happy or a Chip modified drives. Of course, that won't work for every protection. But for simple ones it should work.

[+Larry]

Yes, I forgot about that! I did try that a few months ago (with ATX images) and it worked. Ebiguy has done a lot with RespeQt.

[+Nezgar]

Ohhhh.. Right - respeqt depends on the happy backup program first uploading the code to the drives RAM - then it can use it's extra functionality while in that state. Cool if APE/Prosystem also came up with that idea. it's probably a little precarious as the happy drives will reset if they see the computer turn off -  the drives sense one of the SIO status lines that change when the computer switches off..