chmilar@calgary.UUCP (Michael Chmilar) (03/23/88)
I have some data on 3-1/2" discs from an HP Integral computer.
Unfortunately, the discs were made in another city, and I don't
have access to an Integral here. I can, however, get my hands
on Macs and PCs that have 3-1/2" drives.
Can anyone tell me whether it would be possible to read the discs
on a Mac or PC, and, if I can, what format the Integral uses
for its discs?
Ultimately, I would like to be able to read and _write_ Integral
discs, in order to exchange data.
Thanks
--
Michael Chmilar, University of Calgary,
..!{ihnp4,seismo!mnetor}!alberta!calgary!chmilar
"What's your sign?" "It depends on my angle!"rjn@hpfcmp.HP.COM (Bob Niland) (03/24/88)
re: "I have some data on 3-1/2" discs from an HP Integral computer." > Can anyone tell me whether it would be possible to read the discs > on a Mac or PC, and, if I can, what format the Integral uses > for its discs? Probably not. The IPC {Integral} discs were probably initialized in HP 256 byte sector format, double-sided, 16 sectors/track, 77 tracks per surface. They might also be 1024 bytes/sector, 5 sectors/track. IBM uses 512 bytes/sector, 9 sectors/track. I doubt if an IBM drive can read an HP format. The stand-alone HP 9122C/D/S disc supports IBM format. I don't know if the IPC's 3.5" disc does, but even if it did, it seems unlikely that your discs are in that format. At least both HP and IBM are constant angular velocity. With a non-trivial amount of controller-level programming on the PC, you might be able to read an HP format disc. As I recall, Apple uses constant linear velocity (i.e. variable speed), single-sided. I suspect there is no way an Apple can read anyone else's 3.5" format. Bob Niland ARPA:rjn%hpfcrjn@hplabs.HP.COM UUCP:[ihnp4|hplabs]!hpfcla!rjn
dsmith@hplabsb.UUCP (David Smith) (03/25/88)
In article <1483@vaxb.calgary.UUCP>, chmilar@calgary.UUCP (Michael Chmilar) writes: > > I have some data on 3-1/2" discs from an HP Integral computer. > Unfortunately, the discs were made in another city, and I don't > have access to an Integral here. I can, however, get my hands > on Macs and PCs that have 3-1/2" drives. > > Can anyone tell me whether it would be possible to read the discs > on a Mac or PC, and, if I can, what format the Integral uses > for its discs? > > Ultimately, I would like to be able to read and _write_ Integral > discs, in order to exchange data. The Integral computer uses AT&T Unix System III file system format. I don't know about PC or Mac, but the HP series 300 machines (which use the Berkeley file system) have programs to read and write those disks: bifchgrp, bifchmod, bifchown, bifcp, bifdf, biffind, biffsck, biffsdb, bifll, bifls, bifmkdir, bifmkfs, bifrm, bifrmdir. (Bif = Bell Interchange Format.) David Smith
ken@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Ken Bronstein) (03/25/88)
Hmmm...I'm not sure if I should respond here or not as I don't have the exact right answer for you BUT...from the land that created the Integral here's how we live with this problem. It is easy to read/write HP DOS discs with an Integral with various HP-UX utilities that can be provided. I could help direct the person with the Integral to DOS read/write utilities HOWEVER the HP format for the 3 1/2" floppies are 720K byte format and may not be compatible with the IBM 3 1/2" 740(?)K byte format. HP makes a DOS compatible disc, but that costs moeny for HW. Perhaps the best solution is to use kermit or a similar datacomm program to transfer the files via a serial/modem connection. This allows for either a remote file transfer or a transfer from one machine to another at the same site. kermit for the Integral is part of the HP-UX ROM tools for the Integral. kermit for PC's is everywhere. In short, it is far simpler for your friend with the Integral to make a disc for you that is PC-compatible, or for him to send you the data over a phone than it is for you to run a DOS program thast reads Integral discs. Good Luck - Hope this helps. -Ken Bronstein hp-pcd!ken