10 Sep
2012
10 Sep
'12
8:57 p.m.
________________________________
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2012 4:03 PM
Subject: Re: which 8" drive are most likely to work w/a stock high density
controller?
On Mon, 10 Sep 2012, Chris Tofu wrote:
one other question - shouldn't it be relatively
easy to write a program
that recognizes another IBM pseudo compatible's MS-DOS format? If for
instance you wanted to read NEC APC disks on a Canon AS-100.
What do you mean by "pseudo compatible"?
C: Various machines from the early-mid 80s which ran MS-DOS (their own version), but
little else in the way of IBM s/w. Ones where the salesmen lied through their teeth about
the machine's compatibility. Although many did eventually sport oem or aftermarket add
ons that greatly increased their IBM s/w compatibility. Those which come to mind are the
TI Pro, Wang, Rainbow, NEC APC III. The Epson QX-10 (Z80) had the Titan board, but I'm
not sure how compatible the QX-16 was stock.
Such as MS-DOS on a Victor 9000?
C: I gave 2 examples.
If you have a rather limited selection, then you could esasily write a
program which identifies which one from a short list.
C: Ok, I have a bunch of NEC APC I disks. I hope to read them (hope springs eternal). I
have little more then a little hope that they still work. I'd like to read them on my
Canon AS-100. I have NO docs for the AS-100, and little more then boiler plate for the
APC.
?C: I also have an IBM DisplayWriter w/8" drives, but the prospects that presents are
all scary. I have an Intel MDS drive cabinet, that has a rather codependent relationship
w/the 2 8" drives. I was astounded and nauseated when I actually bothered to look.
For complete unknowns, you'll find that the number of variations is
rather large.
C: The number of different formats? So, and although my selection is quite small, I guess
it isn't trivial for a program to randomly search for format marks. I would have
thought otherwise. But what do I know.
The Leading Edge Model M (fully peecee s/w compatible)
tech ref manual
states it not only can use quads but 8" drives. I forget the specifics,
but it has an 8272/NEC pd765 (so does the NEC APC. Funny that the
aftermarket board/5 1/4" drive set that I have for it uses a WD chip).
WHICH
WD chip?
C: I don't remember exactly, Either the 1770, 1771, or 1772 (I think there was a 1772,
no?).
WD did make some that were kinda 765 compatible.
But not all.
C: To God be the glory. But I would have thought though that the 765 would have been the
choice for 5 1/4" drives, and the WD family for larger ones. But again there's
yet another exhibition of how little I know.
?I just don't understand why I can never get an answer to my original question...