[comp.sys.ibm.pc] Can a C64/1541 read/write ms-dos format disks?

dar@cblpf.ATT.COM (David A. Roth) (06/21/87)

Is there ANYWAY to read/write MS-DOS format on a C64/1541? 
It would be ideal to be able to read/write the directory format but I
would be happy with something simple.

Can it be done?


Thanks in advance.


AT&T Bell Laboratories
David A. Roth
Columbus, Ohio
uucp:	cbosgd!cblpf!dar

schein@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dan Schein MAGAZINES) (06/23/87)

In article <527@cblpf.ATT.COM> dar@cblpf.ATT.COM (David A. Roth) writes:
>
>Is there ANYWAY to read/write MS-DOS format on a C64/1541? 
>It would be ideal to be able to read/write the directory format but I
>would be happy with something simple.
>
>Can it be done?
>
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>
>AT&T Bell Laboratories
>David A. Roth
>Columbus, Ohio
>uucp:	cbosgd!cblpf!dar

 The answer is maybe - With a C128 & 1571 you can read and write text files
 between MS-DOS and CBM disks (1541 or 1571 format). The special utility for
 doing this is called "Super Sweep 128" and was run in the MARCH 1987 issue
 of Commodore Magazine. So if you have access to a 128 & 1571, along with a
 copy of the March issue - the answer is yes!

 Dan


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  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Dan Schein >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
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elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green) (06/24/87)

in article <527@cblpf.ATT.COM>, dar@cblpf.ATT.COM (David A. Roth) says:
> Is there ANYWAY to read/write MS-DOS format on a C64/1541? 
> It would be ideal to be able to read/write the directory format but I
> would be happy with something simple.

Sorry, can't with a 1541. 1541 is a single sided disk drive, and furthermore,
uses GCR encoding instead of the usual "put-clock-bits-in-the-data" solution.
It CAN be done on a Commodore 128 with a 1571 drive, I've seen a program
called "Big Blue Reader" which does it. That's possible because the 1571 was
designed to read CP/M disks, and MS-DOS was originally a derivative of CP/M...
thus, the MS-DOS disk format is close enough so that they can trick the drive
into reading it. No sub-directories, though, just vanilla 1.0 MSDOS....

  Eric Green {ihnp4,cbosgd}!killer!elg  elg@usl.CSNET