KLENSIN@INFOODS.MIT.EDU (John C Klensin) (07/29/89)
Paul N Burgess wrote looking for a way to get disk conversions from the Epson PX-8 / PF-10 disk drive format. The most recent version of MSDOS Media Master supports the PX-8's disk format, if you can find an IBM PC clone with a 3 1/2 inch drive. The 720 Kb models are fine; I don't recall any problems with the 1.4Mb ones, but am not sure we have tried it. For probably-obvious reasons, Media Master is pretty sensitive to having a 100% compatible controller out there, and does not get along with "installable" device drivers, such as would come with after-the-fact controllers, very well at all. Most of our conversions have been done with a PS-2 Mod 30. I don't have any idea whether the CP/M-based versions of MediaMaster now support the PX-8. You would need a supported machine with DSDD 3 1/2 inch disk drives, which does not impress me as likely. For many purposes like this, we have adopted the alternate solution of finding another CP/M machine that can read appropriate disks, then running the data down a wire into the Epson using Xmodem, Kermit, or whatever. Then one lets the Epson write its own disks. You will find that Epson's designers were quite clever about that machine. From reading the drawings, I suspect that they intended to permit pulling the 80C80 and replacing it with a 16-bit processor at some stage. But other bits of cleverness like this make it incompatible with almost anything you can think of once one gets down to the hardware level. I gather that this has been a generic problem with Epson computers. MediaMaster comes from Intersecting Concepts. Last address I have handy is 68 Long Court, Suite 1B, Long Beach, CA 91360. No affiliation with companies or endorsement of products mentioned above, but we have found them to work. John Klensin Klensin@INFOODS.MIT.EDU