21 Jan
2023
21 Jan
'23
12:12 p.m.
On 1/21/2023 2:03 PM, Chris via cctalk wrote:
Jim I know all that. Bill found something unclear,
it seemed to me anyway.
Bill was responding to this comment you made:
On 1/21/23 11:41, Chris via cctalk wrote:
So converting a 1.44MB gotek to 720kb isn't possible? Seeing you habe
to replace the or some part of the stock firmware to use one with
difderemt computers would suggest it is a possibility.
My question was why a 1.44MB Gotek could't be made ro behave like a 720kb Gotek.
My response is that it can indeed. With FlashFLoppy firmware (maybe
even with the stock firmware, not sure), Gotek will indeed replace a
720kB drive or a 1.44MB drive. It depends solely on the disk image you
select for the firmware to use. If it's a 720kB image, FF/Gotek will
look like a 720kB drive to the host, a 1.44MB image will make the
FF/Gotek look like a 1.44MB drive to the host.
I didn't know others made Gotek clones. Whenever
someone wanted to use a Gotek with something other then a PC, something had to be written
to the firmware. Or the firmware needed to be replaced altogether. But other then for the
reason as someone ponted out each Gotek/clone of different capacity uses a differt uP -
why could't the entirety of the firmware be replaced, to make one act as another. But
apparently there's more to it then that.
There's no more to it. You buy the Gotek or the clone, and you (in my
opinion) replace the firmware with FlashFloppy. Load the USB drive up
with images of your choice, and select one while the unit is running.
The differences in uP is a cost managed thing. The original Goteks and
clones used a specific STM part, but the Pandemic caused a parts
shortage and so the price for that part went up. Gotek responded by
cost reducing the hardware, and so Keir and others responded by
reworking the firmware to handle the new part. Once that happened, lots
of clones with various ARM-based parts were made, and FLashFLoppy was
updated to support many of them (maybe not all of them, so it's
important to check the actual uC on the hardware before buying, to make
sure FlashFloppy will install.
I *think* the standard Gotek or clone firmware can handle a few formats,
so maybe nothing needs to be updated/replaced, but I would recommend
moving to FLashFloppy anyway, as it's under serious development and bug
fixes are handles very quickly.
Jim
--
Jim Brain
brain(a)jbrain.com
www.jbrain.com