Dunfield's ImageDisk reads and writes them just fine on most older PCs with a decent floppy controller. As Chuck G writes "TestFDC" will tell you if the floppy controller is usable for imaging. Best regards Tom Hunter On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 2:26 AM Fred Cisin via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > There were two Osborne floppy formats. Both CP/M. > > IIRC, the original format was "Single Density" (FM), 10 sectors per track, > with 256 bytes per sector (similar to the TRS80-Model-1. That will > require FM/SD capability. Most NEC FDCs did not support that. Dave > Dunfield has a test program that will tell you whether your FDC can handle > it. > > Then, they switched to "Double Density" (MFM) IIRC: 5 sectors per track, > with 1024 bytes per sector. Any PC FDC with access to INT13h and INT1Eh > will work with appropriate software. (NOT external USB drives) > > > WITH appropriate software, a flux transition device, such as your > Catweasel, could do it. > > > > On Mon, 24 May 2021, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: > >> A photographer I know contacted me last night asking about reading > Osborne 1 floppies. What does it take to read these? >> >> The only Catweasel board I have is the old Zorro 2 board for the Amiga. > I do have 5.25??? floppy drives. Neither of us have an Osborne anymore (I > think mine went to Jim Willing). >> >> Zane

Yes, we need to be able to access the files. I?m going to see if my old 486 will still boot up, I know I used to use it with imaging RX50 floppies. I?m not an x86 collector, so have a pretty limited selection of PC Hardware. I?m on my Sabbatical right now, so this request came in at a good time. Though first I have to finish up on some VAX and Alpha systems I?m working on, so as to free up space. That or finish a cleaning project in my office. :-) The cleaning project is needed to finish the VAX/Alpha projects? Is there any chances of reading these with Commodore 128 running CP/M, or a Kaypro 2? The Kaypro is definitely on my ?project list?, it worked last time I played with it. I *might* have a DEC Rainbow, or I might have given it away. If I do, I have no idea of its condition. An Apple //e would be another old system with 5.25? drives, but seems more unlikely. I might still have an old Kaypro PC, though it hasn?t been used since ?94 (and there is a good chance it went to LCM). My focus is DEC and Commodore, though I do have a lot of Apple // gear. Zane

Yes, we need to be able to access the files. I?m going to see if my old 486 will still boot up, I know I used to use it with imaging RX50 floppies. I?m not an x86 collector, so have a pretty limited selection of PC Hardware. I?m on my Sabbatical right now, so this request came in at a good time. Though first I have to finish up on some VAX and Alpha systems I?m working on, so as to free up space. That or finish a cleaning project in my office. :-) The cleaning project is needed to finish the VAX/Alpha projects? Is there any chances of reading these with Commodore 128 running CP/M, or a Kaypro 2? The Kaypro is definitely on my ?project list?, it worked last time I played with it. I *might* have a DEC Rainbow, or I might have given it away. If I do, I have no idea of its condition. An Apple //e would be another old system with 5.25? drives, but seems more unlikely. I might still have an old Kaypro PC, though it hasn?t been used since ?94 (and there is a good chance it went to LCM). My focus is DEC and Commodore, though I do have a lot of Apple // gear. Zane

Sorry - I misread the post thinking Zane wanted to get raw disk images. For the actual CP/M contents you can use cpmtools: http://www.moria.de/~michael/cpmtools/ Cpmtools has disk definitions for the Osborne 1 and Osborne Nuevo/Vixen/4 so it is rather painless. Best regards Tom Hunter On Wed, May 26, 2021 at 12:38 AM Fred Cisin via cctalk < cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote: > Imagedisk is great for making images. > > BUT, the original request is not for images, it is for the previous > owned wanting access to be able to use the content of the FILES that are > in those images. > > > On Tue, 25 May 2021, Tom Hunter wrote: > >> Dunfield's ImageDisk reads and writes them just fine on most older PCs > with >> a decent floppy controller. >> As Chuck G writes "TestFDC" will tell you if the floppy controller is >> usable for imaging. >> >> Best regards >> Tom Hunter >> >> On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 2:26 AM Fred Cisin via cctalk < > cctalk at classiccmp.org> >> wrote: >> >>> There were two Osborne floppy formats. Both CP/M. >>> >>> IIRC, the original format was "Single Density" (FM), 10 sectors per > track, >>> with 256 bytes per sector (similar to the TRS80-Model-1. That will >>> require FM/SD capability. Most NEC FDCs did not support that. Dave >>> Dunfield has a test program that will tell you whether your FDC can > handle >>> it. >>> >>> Then, they switched to "Double Density" (MFM) IIRC: 5 sectors per track, >>> with 1024 bytes per sector. Any PC FDC with access to INT13h and INT1Eh >>> will work with appropriate software. (NOT external USB drives) >>> >>> >>> WITH appropriate software, a flux transition device, such as your >>> Catweasel, could do it. >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mon, 24 May 2021, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: >>> >>>> A photographer I know contacted me last night asking about reading >>> Osborne 1 floppies. What does it take to read these? >>>> >>>> The only Catweasel board I have is the old Zorro 2 board for the Amiga. >>> I do have 5.25??? floppy drives. Neither of us have an Osborne anymore (I >>> think mine went to Jim Willing). >>>> >>>> Zane

I think there were some bootable Osborne floppies which still retained a single density boot track even when the rest of the media was formatted as double density. Regular data disks are probably consistent throughout, but it's just something else to consider depending on the nature of the media that's being accessed. Thankfully there seem to be far more PC controllers out there that will at least read FM data than there are ones that can also write it.