Date   : Sat, 05 Sep 1992 10:03:33 GMT
From   : access.usask.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!shad04@decwrl.dec.com (Dan Fandrich)
Subject: Re: The easiest way to convert formats

In article <1992Sep4.161528.16851@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> opalka@atom.enet.dec.com
(Bill Opalka) writes:
>|>May I suggest that the easiest way to convert formats (I do it quite
>|>often) is to execute the job on one of those PC's which are anyway
>|>idle anywhere.  There is a program at the Simtel PC archive and its
>|>replica named 22DSK that does it splendidly. It reads/write just about
>|>any format from ready made tables, and if you have one very strange
>|>format you can expand the table for your case. It won't work with hard
>|>sectored diskettes nor with diskettes written with the Motorola
>|>controller chip found on the old timer Commodore C-64 or Apples.

>I suggest that if you still have your CPM machine up and running, why not use 
>a communication program to do the transfer.  More than likely it will be 
>easiler than getting another piece of software and it should be fairly quick. 

I've written Yet Another CP/M disk conversion for the PC which I think is
pretty keen.  It installs as a device driver instead of being run as a
standalone program so you can manipulate files right off your CP/M floppy
instead of copying them to an MS-DOS disk first.  The drive letter it gives
you can be accessed like any MS-DOS drive, but reading your CP/M disk.  
This would be especially handy when you're running a CP/M emulator like Z80MU
or looking at dBase files.  It is limited to reading only.

I'm finishing up the documentation now, so I'll have a beta test version
ready Real Soon Now.  If you're interested in beta testing this program
(called CP/M Reader), let me know and I'll send you a copy when it's ready.
It currently has about 40 or 50 different disk formats built-in, so it 
should work on just about any 512 byte per sector MFM format disk.  I only
have my own computer to test it on, so I can only say that Superbrain disks
work like a charm (except for my disk alignment problem, grrr).

I'll post a notice here when it's out of beta test.

>>> Dan
-- 
Internet: shad04@ccu.umanitoba.ca               Compu$erve: 72365,306