A-Max disks?

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Hi prowler,

is there a simple/automatic way (not file-by-file) to convert a 400KB Mac disk image to an 800KB one?

I don't think that the Emplant Converter can handle 400KB images... but I'll check it

Hi Supamax,

Thanks for the very detailed test report in your previous post, which I shall be responding to separately.

There is no way I am aware of to simply or automatically convert a 400KB Mac disk image to an 800KB one. Of course, it could be done file-by-file, and if the 400KB disk were mfs formatted, then there would be no directory structure to copy.

There are some special menu options in the later versions of Apple's Disk Copy program. If you upload your disk image(s) to the Zone for me, I'll have a go at converting them on my Macintosh for you when I'm back online later this evening.

prowler

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by prowler

If you upload your disk image(s) to the Zone for me, I'll have a go at converting them on my Macintosh for you when I'm back online later this evening

If it's easy for you, OK, but I was asking it because I saw (months ago) that at http://rolli.ch/MacPlus/ many images are in the 400KB format, and I couldn't (but I didn't try. Perhaps the Emplant Disk Converter can handle them by virtually double-stepping) use them to try other System disks with my A-Max.

I cannot ask you to convert all the images I find on the Net...
An easy procedure would be better for me to know. But I would like not to use something like a file-by-file copy... I would like to retain the exact directory structure if possible. Or is it non important at all? (I'm thinking about games, which could have some type of fat-related protection)

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by prowler

This evening I began testing the Emplant Disk Converter on my Amiga 1200HD with 030/40MHz acceleration and FPU under Workbench 3.1. [...]

[...]I chose 6.0, because Supamax's A-Max disks were dumped with this version, and in order to carry out any testing at all I needed a set of disks of my own.

However, this is where my experience of the Emplant Disk Converter differs from what has already been reported. From each of the four image files provided by Supamax, I created both an A-Max and an Emplant formatted disk - a set of eight disks. I used a double density disk each time and experienced no write errors. The disks are formatted with 1600 sectors of 512 bytes. The disks can be read back at about twice the speed of writing, again with no errors. Bizarrely, the A-Max formatted disks are read back slightly faster and more smoothly than the Emplant disks! My Amiga's internal floppy drive is a Chinon FZ-354 unit.

Hi prowler,

I tried to use the Emplant Disk Converter 6.0 under WinUAE (with A600 and A1200 configs), but I got a phletora of write errors, just like I got with my real A600! What a shitty utility it is! CrossMAC is light years ahead!!

Since you had success in re-creating many physical floppies from my images, could you please list the exact configuration of your A1200 so that I can try it in WinUAE?

In the meantime I will try Disk Converter v2.0, since you wrote that its routines seem better (quicker and more reliable).

[prowler]

Hi Supamax,

You certainly did do your homework last night/this morning!

It's reassuring to know that you got the same results as me with the Excel/FileMaker disk. I would say that this is sufficient to confirm that the removal of the 16-byte header from the A-Max images is all that is necessary to convert them to 800K Macintosh disk images.

How did you get your physical A-Max floppies? I am assuming that they are not originals, but were produced by copying real Macintosh disks mounted in a Macintosh 800K floppy drive attached to A-Max hardware, or else by mounting Macintosh disk images in A-Max emulation and writing them to A-Max formatted floppies in the Amiga floppy drives. Or can CrossMAC write an 800K Macintosh disk image to an A-Max formatted floppy?

If they weren't originally A-Max floppies, then true Macintosh images of these disks should be available somewhere, which is why I asked whether there were any Italian System disk images on the http://nbbemulation.free.fr/forum_macintosh site. I have since checked it too, and you are quite right, there isn't one Italian disk image on the whole site! They all seem to be American or French, which is understandable I suppose. It is a French website after all!

Last night, I started testing the Italian System disk image by booting the emulator from the 1.4MB System Startup 6.0.8 disk image and attempting to run some of the programs on the Italian disk mounted in another emulated drive. This produced some very similar error messages to those which I had got with the Word disks.

Thus, it appears that the key to getting the Word disks working correctly, either in emulation or in a real Macintosh Plus machine, is to be able to boot from the Italian System disk image, which Mini vMac (or the 2.7.1 version at least) steadfastly refuses to do! I downloaded a fresh copy of the latest stable version (3.0.4) of Mini vMac last night (it was easier than finding my original copy), and I will try to boot the Italian System disk with that next (fingers crossed!).

Since you are able to boot the Italian System disk correctly in A-Max emulation, perhaps you could tell me which Finder and System versions are reported by choosing "About the Finder..." (or the Italian equivalent) from the Apple menu. It's just possible that the Word disks might work properly in Mini vMac with an American (or even French!) disk with the same Finder and System versions.

I received another modem today from my ISP in connection with the problems I've been having with my internet connection, so much of my time has been taken up with trying to check that. It still doesn't seem to be any better, so I'm back to using my original modem for the time being. That's why I've had no time for further testing this evening.

Regarding the ROM image, there were three official versions of the Mac Plus ROM, known as "Lonely Hearts", "Lonely Heifer" and "Loud Harmonicas". The initials L and H refer to the Lo and Hi byte ROMs. The only change between the first and second versions was in the Hi byte ROM, but both ROMs were changed for the third version.

The ROM I am using is the third version, but I have noticed that some versions of this ROM file have a bunch of extras bytes at the end. These are ignored by the emulators. However, the first eight bytes of the ROM image reveal the checksum, and differences here would indicate a different ROM version. The checksums are 'Loud Harmonicas' 4D1F8172, 'Lonely Heifer' 4D1EEAE1 and 'Lonely Hearts' 4D1EEEE1. Can you let me know what you find? By the way, I'm not sure I've got a copy of the A-Max Updates disk. Could you upload it for me, please?

prowler

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by prowler

It's reassuring to know that you got the same results as me with the Excel/FileMaker disk. I would say that this is sufficient to confirm that the removal of the 16-byte header from the A-Max images is all that is necessary to convert them to 800K Macintosh disk images.

Yes, it would seem so.
This is the only positive thing (I'm getting very discouraged and frustrated...).

How did you get your physical A-Max floppies?

I copied them from my friend's floppies. His floppies were copies, too, not originals, and in A-Max format.
I don't remember how I copied them in order to obtain my copies, but I suppose I used a nibbler copier (or I copied them from inside A-Max, but I don't think so).

I am assuming that [...] they were produced by copying real Macintosh disks mounted in a Macintosh 800K floppy drive attached to A-Max hardware

Yes, this is the most probable case.
Furthermore, CrossMAC didn't exist yet when I copied those floppies...

Thus, it appears that the key to getting the Word disks working correctly, either in emulation or in a real Macintosh Plus machine, is to be able to boot from the Italian System disk image

This is exactly what I thought!

Since you are able to boot the Italian System disk correctly in A-Max emulation, perhaps you could tell me which Finder and System versions are reported by choosing "About the Finder..." (or the Italian equivalent) from the Apple menu. It's just possible that the Word disks might work properly in Mini vMac with an American (or even French!) disk with the same Finder and System versions.

Yes, count on it .
I'll post it within a few minutes.

P.S. I can't run Disk Converter v2.0 under WB 2.1. Is it possible? Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

If it's easy for you, OK, but I was asking it because I saw (months ago) that at http://rolli.ch/MacPlus/ many images are in the 400KB format, and I couldn't (but I didn't try. Perhaps the Emplant Disk Converter can handle them by virtually double-stepping) use them to try other System disks with my A-Max.

I cannot ask you to convert all the images I find on the Net...
An easy procedure would be better for me to know. But I would like not to use something like a file-by-file copy... I would like to retain the exact directory structure if possible. Or is it non important at all? (I'm thinking about games, which could have some type of fat-related protection)

Just upload one or two of those you'd most like converted to start with. If I succeed, then you can just post links or other directions to the other images you're interested in.

Originally Posted by Supamax

I tried to use the Emplant Disk Converter 6.0 under WinUAE (with A600 and A1200 configs), but I got a phletora of write errors, just like I got with my real A600! What a shitty utility it is! CrossMAC is light years ahead!!

Since you had success in re-creating many physical floppies from my images, could you please list the exact configuration of your A1200 so that I can try it in WinUAE?

In the meantime I will try Disk Converter v2.0, since you wrote that its routines seem better (quicker and more reliable).

A1200 Rev 1-D-4, 3.1 ROM (400068), 4GB IDE HDD, Workbench 3.1, ScalOS 1.0d, 68030/40MHz CPU, 68882 FPU, 2MB Chip RAM, 24MB Fast RAM.

Originally Posted by Supamax

P.S. I can't run Disk Converter v2.0 under WB 2.1. Is it possible? Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Supamax]

Hi again prowler,

I uploaded a screenshot to the Zone.

5.4 is the version of the System or Finder ?


P.S. Could it be possible that the hanging problem in Mini Vmac is caused by a too long diskname?
The name of my System disk is "disco sistema RAFFAELE MAX".


By the way, if you are wondering how could I produce the screenshot from WinUAE (since I couldn't write back those damned images to .ADFs), the answer is: it's an old extended ADF I created with Powercopy. Not 100% perfect (some tracks have errors) but it boots fine.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Hi again prowler,

I uploaded a screenshot to the Zone.

5.4 is the version of the System or Finder ?

It looks like 5.4 is the Finder version. I'll try to find out what System versions came with Finder 5.4.

Originally Posted by Supamax

Could it be possible that the hanging problem in Mini Vmac is caused by a too long diskname?

The name of my System disk is "disco sistema RAFFAELE MAX".

Don't you mean "disco sistema (RAFFAELE MAX" ?

This is what shows up in Mini vMac, but it looks as if a closing bracket is missing. I'll have a look at the disk image with a binary file editor. That will show the volume name, and might even reveal the System version too!

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by prowler

Don't you mean "disco sistema (RAFFAELE MAX" ?

Yes, sorry, and the closing bracket is missing.
But I don't think it could be a problem... A-Max has no problems with it.

[prowler]

@cosmicfrog

No news on the Mac Write II 800K disks from MacAttic yet!

prowler

[Supamax]

@ prowler,

could you try Emplant Disk Converter v2.0 and let me know which configuration did you use?
I cannot run it on A600, from HD.
I cannot run it on A1200, from HD.
I get the Suspend/Reboot message (if I then click on Suspend I get back control, the machine will not hang).

How in h*ll could you run it on your A1200?

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

@ prowler,

could you try Emplant Disk Converter v2.0 and let me know which configuration did you use?
I cannot run it on A600, from HD.
I cannot run it on A1200, from HD.
I get the Suspend/Reboot message (if I then click on Suspend I get back control, the machine will not hang).

How in h*ll could you run it on your A1200?

Originally Posted by prowler

A1200 Rev 1-D-4, 3.1 ROM (400068), 4GB IDE HDD, Workbench 3.1, ScalOS 1.0d, 68030/40MHz CPU, 68882 FPU, 2MB Chip RAM, 24MB Fast RAM.

From HD.

[Supamax]

Ok,

from WinUAE, no matter what I do, if I try to run Disk Converter v4.x from HD (which is actually a drawer of my hard disk) I get this error:

"OS Error! Can't open any screens!"

I tried with A600/A1200 configs, with KS 2.05 or 3.0, with any RAM combination, no way...

If I try v2.0, I get the Suspend/Reboot message.

NOTE: of course, before trying any version I copied the relative libs/fonts etc.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Ok,

from WinUAE, no matter what I do, if I try to run Disk Converter v4.x from HD (which is actually a drawer of my hard disk) I get this error:

"OS Error! Can't open any screens!"

I tried with A600/A1200 configs, with KS 2.05 or 3.0, with any RAM combination, no way...

If I try v2.0, I get the Suspend/Reboot message.

NOTE: of course, before trying any version I copied the relative libs/fonts etc.

Hey Supamax,

Have you got the NTSC device in your Devs/Monitors drawer?

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by prowler

Hey Supamax,

Have you got the NTSC device in your Devs/Monitors drawer?

Sorry, this thread became too long and I forgot. We should really open a new thread, when all the doubts/probs will be solved, with a sort of manual.

OK, fixed it.
This solves my "issue" about v4.x versions.

I'll try if this is the case for v2.0 too, but I doubt it (the error message is different).

[prowler]

Hi Supamax,

The only problem with Emplant Disk Converter 2.0 is that it produces much larger disk images, because the header is inserted before every 512-byte sector, not just at the start of the image.

Surprisingly, however, it is still compatible with the images of all later versions up to 6.0 and, of course, the later versions are also compatible with version 2.0 disk images.

I hope you can get it working, mate!

prowler

[Supamax]

Hi prowler,

yes, I will not use v2.0 because i'm using v4.0 and it finally seems to work!

At first I got a *lot* of write errors. Note: v4.0 and above do verify while copying, else they would not show the "verify error" messages .

However, what I found is this:
in WinUAE, with A600HD config (I didn't try A1200 yet), I have to set the floppy speed to 200%. Not more and not less, strange but true.
Doing so, the floppy writing will proceed without errors.

If I set 100% speed: ---> errors!

Now I'm creating the .adf files (extended ADFs) of my previously dumped images.
With this ADFs you'll be able to boot my System disk and see it in "action" under A-Max.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Hi prowler,

yes, I will not use v2.0 because i'm using v4.0 and it finally seem to work!

At first I got a *lot* of write errors. Note: v4.0 and above do verify while copying, else they would not show the "verify error" messages .

However, what I found is this:
in WinUAE, with A600HD config (I didn't try A1200 yet), I have to set the floppy speed to 200%. Not more and not less, strange but true.
Doing so, the floppy writing will proceed without errors.

If I set 100% speed: ---> errors!

WOW! Great work!

What on earth made you decide to tinker with the floppy speed?

Originally Posted by Supamax

Now I'm creating the .adf files (extended ADFs) of my previously dumped images.
With this ADFs you'll be able to boot my System disk and see it in "action" under A-Max.

I'm really looking forward to that! Maybe there'll be a way to dump the System disk to a Macintosh disk image within the emulator!

prowler

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by prowler

What on earth made you decide to tinker with the floppy speed?

I really don't know... intuition, I think!
I hope to find the same behaviour tomorrow. This could be a temporary miracle, so I did all the floppy right now! Uploading them in a few minutes .

By the way, I also created an adf of MacPlaymate (from your image), so you can try it within A-Max II.

With this method, we can convert *any* Mac 800KB image to .adf A-Max format . We'll see about the 400KB ones.

By the way, forget what I wrote about the verify. The fact that v4.0 "senses" the write errors doesn't necessarily mean it's verifying after writing...
However, the copies went fast and easy. Let's hope not to have errors. I'll try the System Disk now in A-max .

I'm really looking forward to that! Maybe there'll be a way to dump the System disk to a Macintosh disk image within the emulator!
prowler

Perhaps by creating IBM floppies (it's one of Disk Converter options) ? I know that MACs can read IBM floppies... we'll investigate.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Perhaps by creating IBM floppies (it's one of Disk Converter options) ? I know that MACs can read IBM floppies... we'll investigate.

No, that won't work for any Macintosh disk. Macs can only read IBM floppies by virtue of an extension called PC Exchange, which works in much the same way as CrossDOS does for Amigas.