Date : Wed, 05 Nov 2003 18:45:57 +0000
From : "W.Scholten" <whs@...>
Subject: Re: writing images to a drive-success!!!
Darren T. Brown wrote:
> I am trying to work out how to write the images to a 5 1/4 drive too. Nobody
> seems to know.
See www.8bs.com. Chris has documented it for a very long time on his
website. Robert has information on his website, and I on mine. Beyond
just *trying*, there's nothing to know. It either works or doesn't.
I guess that fact may not be quite clear from the documentation and
webapges about this, for newbies.
> The drive is now in my PC (big ugly think in my Nokia type case! lol)
'ugly' should be moved 3 words to the right :->
Arlen Michaels wrote:
>
> on 1/11/03 6:19 AM, Darren T. Brown wrote:
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Mike Tomlinson" <mike@...>
> > Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] Treat Me Like A Fool! writing images to a drive
> >> Basically, you can't. The BBC (in DFS mode) uses single-density
> >> floppies, and the floppy controller in modern PCs cannot write single
> >> density. Have a look at http://bbc.nvg.org/xfer-conv.php3
Better: You *often* can't.
> The issue of single density on modern PCs has been recently revisited and
> there seems to be growing evidence that the floppy controller chips finding
> their way into many current PC designs are in fact capable of supporting
> single density (ironic indeed, since as Mike Tomlinson pointed out, older
> PCs from the single-density era generally do not).
That's not new. That was already reported by me 5 *years* ago based on
reports I got from various people who upgraded or got a new PC (and this
trend has continued). See the documentation with FDC (1998 version).
Also, I reported in 1996 that 40 track (360KB PC) drives often work
(esp. for me on my PPRO 200, on an Epox PP6NF motherboard, and before
that on a 486 with UMC chipset), whereas 1.2MB drives don't. This means
that the 300rpm/360rpm difference matters for disk controllers, as the
TRS80 people note. I've said so on my web pages since 1996, so this
isn't new either, although I haven't made the point of the jumper to
select 300/360 rpm on a 1.2MB drive.
I recall having looked up documentation for a 1.2MB drive for jumper
settings like this a few years ago, but that drive either didn't have it
or it didn't work for some reason, not sure.
A few weeks ago I got a TEAC FD55GFR along with some BBC stuff, which
does indeed have such a jumper as the TRS80 people note. And surprise
surprise (or rather, not!) I can read/write 80 track single
density with this drive using the 300rpm setting on my PPRO (IO error
with 360rpm), just as with a 360KB drive for 40 tracks that I used up to
1996 (from 1997 on I only use bbccom, the 1998 FDC version was made for
Chris Richardson). I also tried this drive on a Asus P55T2P4 rev.3 and
that had no problems with the 360rpm setting, not tried 300rpm.
(With FDC: Use BBC80, then DDINDD for the 300rpm setting of the 1.2MB
drive, DDINHD for the 360rpm setting)
Regards,
Wouter
--
BBC/atom/old magazine scans etc:
http://www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/~bbc/