PC-Task - using 1.44MB HD Floppy .IMG files

[StompinSteve]

Good evening,

I'm trying to figure out how to mount 1.44 MB (HD) Floppy image-files .img in my A4000T with WorkBench 3.1.4 so that I can use the mounted image in PC-Task v4.4 as drive A: etc.
I know how to select an image using the default PC0: inside PC-Task, but that is 720kb based. I need to mount a 1.44 MB .IMG file, not a 720k.

I've been googling my butt off, but the only place where I saw someone ask the same question is long ago (on this forum) and it was said "use the file0: device from the XFS package on AmiNet inside PC-Task".

"But why do you want to waste a floppy disk? PC-Task happily boots from a mounted disk image. Use FILE0 from the XFS package, then use FILE0 as drive A in PC-Task.
This also has the advantage that you can use 1.4 MB disk images without owning a HD floppy drive."
(I left out irrelevant parts of that thread).
That's it. No further info unfortunately.

I downloaded the XFS package and i'm trying to figure out how to use FILE0: (all the pre-reqs are in place in DEVS: L: C: etc. etc.).
The documentation in the XFS package is "special" (it makes me scream at my monitor "but how", "but how then????").

Does anyone know: How do I mount a .img file (bootable DOS floppy) into FILE0: ??
(the rest in PC-Task is then easy)

Maybe there are other ways to mount a HD DOS Floppy .img file. I thought about creating a custom PC0 mountfile, replacing all the 720k stuff with the correct 1.44mb parameters but I can't find those parameters (that is why I started looking into the XFS package and its FILE0: concept).

Someone even mentioned that one can simply rename a DOS .IMG file to .ADF but that's bollox. Anything that can read ADF's throws errors like "ADF header unknown" and that sort of stuff. Saw that one coming from a mile away

[Nor Bert]

You run file0: this pops up a requester with a choice of floppy image. You choose the file you need .IMG (720kb, 1.44mb), adf or .dms. From now on, the floppy disk icon will appear on the Workbench and you will be able to access its contents. You insert FILE0: into the PC-TASK settings and you're done. Changing the FILE0: You do with left_alt + left_shift + numeric_pad 0.

[thomas]

There is a whole section about file.device in the guide. Not sure why you would want to scream at it.

The only fact which is not made totally clear is that you need reqtools.library in any case, not only on WB 1.3.

[StompinSteve]

I happened to have reqtools.library in my LIBS: already.

But I found the solution:

Originally Posted by Nor Bert

You run file0: this pops up a requester with a choice of floppy image.

I could not get that requester to work (until 5 minutes ago). My screaming "how?????" was about that requester. Whyyyyyy does it not appear. Sorry should have been more clear.

The solution:
The documentation says it will look for images in DEVS:file by default, but you can select any image from any location it says.
This made me think: well then, I'm not going to pollute my DEVS: with a folder called "file" when I don't need it.


Turns out, if this folder is not present, FILE0 (or FILE1) crashes when it starts. If FILE0 / FILE1 is run manually (launch it from WB), the requester comes up but with an error "Directory error!" and then it freezes. It cannot be closed, none of the buttons work. It will not go away unless you reboot.
If FILE0 is in DEVS: DosDrivers it will start automatically, and the "file" folder is not present, it will again freeze but in the background. That is why the requester never came up.

So the solution is simple: create a folder called "file" in DEVS: as this causes the requestor to not crash and come up, asking "Select file for unit0" and then all is good.

It was a mistake to put FILE0 and FILE1 in DEVS: DosDrivers as they will pup up their requestors during WB Start-up each time. So I now launch them manually just before starting PC-Task.

So that is solved.

Not solved yet:
PC-Task boots fine from the MS-DOS Install disk and starts to install MS-DOS to the HDD. All good. Then, when it asks to insert disk 2 into A: and I swap images in the background using left ALT+SHIFT+NumPad0, PC-Task totally freezes. Dead as a doornail. So that is the next challenge. But hey, it keeps me busy on a rainy day

[Retro1234]

I probably wouldn't bother, just go straight to Harddrive images. There is still HD image of Windows 3.0 in the Zone and probably other images floating around. With a HD image you can just copy what you want and not muck around with Floppy images.

[StompinSteve]

No, I want to go trough the pain of installing MSDOS 6.22 from scratch from the 4 original floppies, just like way back then.
I dusted off an old USB PC Floppydrive, hooked it up to a Windows 10 machine and am writing the four IMG files to real HD floppies.
I told PC-Task to use DF1 (which is the HD Drive in my 4000T) and booted DOS622 Setup from it. It copied the contents of the first floppy just fine and it is now doing disk 2 (PC-Task does not freeze when swapping physical floppies).

Using ready-to-go harddrive images is for wussies