12 Oct
2007
12 Oct
'07
12:23 a.m.
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:05:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
Subject: RE: Extracting CDOS and CP/M) files
<snip>
Now that 22Disk and the rest of the tools have been
exonerated, we can
concentrate on ways to read the hard to read sectors - a ubiquitous
problem with Cromemco disks.
-----------
Admittedly a problem when trying to read their disks with today's crippled
controllers, but their use of a common SD Track 0 meant that without any
configuration changes the OS could concurrently and transparently read a
mix of at least 8 different types of disks; not many systems of that day
could do that.
Want to copy your SDSS 8" disk to a DDDS 5" one? No problem.
Friend or business partner has some data on SDSS 5" disks that you
want on DDDS 8"? Just pop in the disks and copy away; add some
software and you can even copy to/from MS-DOS disks if you must.
Run Z80 CDOS/CP/M Wordstar on your 68000 Cromix+ CS-400?
No sweat (although a different issue). Process your old CDOS data
files with your UNIX software? Not much harder.
It all just looks different from today's PC-centric perspective.
mike
12 Oct
12 Oct
9:09 a.m.
>Now that 22Disk and the rest of the tools have
been exonerated, we can
>concentrate on ways to read the hard to read sectors - a ubiquitous
>problem with Cromemco disks.
On Fri, 12 Oct 2007, M H Stein wrote:
Admittedly a problem when trying to read their disks
with today's crippled
controllers, but their use of a common SD Track 0 meant that without any
. . .
It all just looks different from today's PC-centric perspective.
No complaint about the idea of minimal first sector.
The specific problem that I was referring to is the incompatability with
trying to read Cromemco diskettes using an NEC 765 type controller, which
needs a larger index gap, resulting problems reading the first sector
of each track.
1:43 p.m.
On Friday 12 October 2007 03:23, M H Stein wrote:
So what sort of hardware does it take to be able to do stuff like that?
I know my Bigboard II has both sizes of floppy drive connectors, though I
think there's a jumper change involved to deal with different data rates
IIRC. And there might be some potential for that board that's in my
Cromemco, as well.
I'm sure that a lot of my CP/M boxes have controller chips that are much more
capable than the pc-centric stuff is, too.
And how would the OS have to handle this? Some serious BIOS hacking?
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
Date: Thu, 11
Oct 2007 13:05:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com>
Subject: RE: Extracting CDOS and CP/M) files
<snip>
Now that 22Disk and the rest of the tools have
been exonerated, we can
concentrate on ways to read the hard to read sectors - a ubiquitous
problem with Cromemco disks.
-----------
Admittedly a problem when trying to read their disks with today's crippled
controllers, but their use of a common SD Track 0 meant that without any
configuration changes the OS could concurrently and transparently read a
mix of at least 8 different types of disks; not many systems of that day
could do that.
Want to copy your SDSS 8" disk to a DDDS 5" one? No problem.
Friend or business partner has some data on SDSS 5" disks that you
want on DDDS 8"? Just pop in the disks and copy away; add some
software and you can even copy to/from MS-DOS disks if you must.
Run Z80 CDOS/CP/M Wordstar on your 68000 Cromix+ CS-400?
No sweat (although a different issue). Process your old CDOS data
files with your UNIX software? Not much harder.
It all just looks different from today's PC-centric perspective.
6282
days inactive
6282
days old
2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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