Using CrossDOS to transfer files.

[Dreedo]

Im really confused, well sort of, i know this is nothing new, i keep asking questions about transfers.

I saw some posts that users use crossDOS to use PC floppies formatted as 720kb floppies to transfer files across, i wondered how that is possible.

Heres my issues:

- Formatting floppy on amiga, works well, but PC cant read the floppy disk and asks to format it.

- Formatting floppy on pc as 720kb using WinXP, get .lzh or .lha or whatever its called onto the floppy, but when inserted into amiga it cannot read it and asks to format the disk.

You cant use .lzh or .lha on an amiga without some software as far as i know, and all .adf's are too big to fit onto my floppy, so i imagine i have a use a splitter(?) or something and fit them on 2 floppy disks.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[prowler]

Hi Dreedo,

It sounds like you haven't got CrossDOS installed.

The standard DOS driver for CrossDOS is PC0:, which corresponds to DF0:. This driver will allow your Amiga to read and write 720kB MS-DOS disks.

You can activate the CrossDOS driver whenever you boot by moving the PC0 icon to Devs/DOSDrivers. To temporarily activate the DOS driver, double-click on the icon in Storage/DOSDrivers. The DOS driver is activated until you reboot.

When you activate the CrossDOS driver, the Workbench displays two icons for any disk inserted in the drive: one for PC0: and one for DF0:. For an MS-DOS disk in DF0:, Workbench displays an icon with the disk's name and an icon labelled DF0:????. For an Amiga disk, Workbench shows the usual floppy icon and another labelled PC0:????.

With the CrossDOS driver activated, when you insert a disk into the floppy drive, there is normally a brief delay between the appearance of the DF0: disk icon and the PC0: disk icon.

To format the disk in the Amiga's floppy drive as a 720kB PC floppy, select the PC0: icon and choose Format from the menu. To format the disk as an 880kB Amiga floppy, simply select the DF0: icon instead.

For splitting and joining files see Aminet:
http://aminet.net/search?query=split+join
Hint: chunker 1.7 comprises an Amiga and MS-DOS solution.
BTW, You can extract .LHA files on the PC with WinRAR prior to transferring them to the Amiga.

[DH]

My memory is failing me atm, but isn't there an issue with 720k formatted disks with XP? Don't you need some patch to be able to either read from, or write too these disks.

Check here http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...highlight=720k

[prowler]

Originally Posted by DemonHellraiser

My memory is failing me atm, but isn't there an issue with 720k formatted disks with XP? Don't you need some patch to be able to either read from, or write too these disks.

Hey, DH, what have you been drinking tonight?

All you need is to use DSDD disks, or DSHD disks with the HD sensing holes taped over.

[DH]

Nothing lol, just my memory is giving up Maybe I should of had a few beers

[thomas]

It is right that Windows XP refuses to format a floppy disk as 720k, even when using DSDD disks. To do so anyway, you can open a DOS prompt and enter

format a: /t:80 /n:9

[Dreedo]

Ok thanks for all the help guys. Im sure i'll get something sorted soon, sorry if theres any errors with my posts or something, im using YDL on PS3 and it refuses to give me an english keyboard, so it thinks my K/B is american, hence the 2 and the @ key are reversed, as well as the # and the GBP key are also different, in fact i dont think american keyboards have a GBP key.

Also how do i activate CrossDOS, i know you said how, but i have no folders or directories that are anything like that. I have nothing called storage or Dos Drivers.

All my workbench has is 'Prefs, System, Utilities, Startup, Expansion, Shell, Trash and a couple of others, something like that'

I've had the PC0 and DF0 once before, but i cant seem to get it again. I just formatted a DSHD floppy as 720kb in my pc and put it in my amiga and it lists it as DF0:?????, but theres no PC:0.

Im not even sure if my PC floppy drive is formatting properly, i get something like 'verifying 720kb' or something, then a few seconds later i get '0 percent complete' and bam the screen closes before it goes up, i did it once before and it actually worked up to 100 percent before closing, so maybe the disk had no data so it did it instantly?

So once i get CrossDOS working, all i need to do if write .ADF's to 720kb PC formatted DSHD floppys, then cover the holes over, and put them in my amiga and it'll work? Or does the hole need to be taped over before i format them as 720kb.

And do i format them as 720kb on the pc or the amiga, from what your saying i format them on the amiga, put it in my pc, copy files onto the disk, cover the hole (maybe do that before i format it on my amiga) and bung it into my Amiga. Hey Presto! Or not.

[thomas]

Also how do i activate CrossDOS, i know you said how, but i have no folders or directories that are anything like that. I have nothing called storage or Dos Drivers.

All my workbench has is 'Prefs, System, Utilities, Startup, Expansion, Shell, Trash and a couple of others, something like that'

If you installed WB 3.1 to HDD properly, there should be a Storage drawer just below the Devs drawer.

If you are running from floppy disks, there should be a Storage disk. Put it into the drive and open the DosDrivers drawer on it, there should be PC0.

[Dreedo]

Well for a start i run WB 2.05 and dont have a HDD.

[thomas]

AFAIK CrossDOS is only included since 2.1, not in 2.05.

[hit]

i've upped crossdos 7.02 into the zone. the ReadMe states, its working with wb 2.0 too, so have a look.

[Dreedo]

Uh thanks, im sure i had it on my 2.05, i know it works with 2.04 and later.

Just wanted to know, how would i get crossDOS on my Amiga if it isnt bundled with it? I suppose that defies the whole point of it, in order to get CrossDOS i need to invest in another storage medium, and if i do that i might as well not bother with CrossDOS i suppose. lol.

[prowler]

Hi Dreedo,

Do you have an external floppy drive for use with your Amiga?

[Dreedo]

Nope, all i have is the A600 and the workbench disks. :/

[prowler]

How much RAM does it have?

[cosmicfrog]

and still say your best bet is pester your mum and dad to let someone form this place send you something

[Photon]

Get a CF-IDE adapter and a card, and you have a harddisk. Chuck the card full of ADFs and write them to DD floppies. I'll let someone else inform you about using HD floppies in Amiga...

DD disks won't have room for an ADF file when written from PC. That's why there's 'split up DMS files'. I have an old CrossDOS that works fine on WB/Kick 2.0 somewhere, but it's an absolute pain to do it with just the one drive. Spend 40 EUR or so on the lovely old beast and all the problems disappear.

[Dreedo]

@Prowler, it has the stock 1mb.

@Photon, i guess thats probably the best way, if i buy the PCMCIA transfer kit (From Amigakit) plus a CF card and some blank amiga floppies, will that work?

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

@Prowler, it has the stock 1mb.

With 1MB RAM, you could probably just about conjure up a boot disk with CrossDOS on it, using the RAM disk as intermediary, provided you had the CrossDOS application on an Amiga floppy disk to start with. But, as Photon says, it's an absolute PITA to transfer files like that!

Originally Posted by Dreedo

@Photon, i guess thats probably the best way, if i buy the PCMCIA transfer kit (From Amigakit) plus a CF card and some blank amiga floppies, will that work?

Yes, that will include everything you need!

[Dreedo]

Ok thanks for your help guys.