pjd@mandrill (dr. funk) (04/18/88)
I hope the XF551 is available! I ordered one from Lyco and they claim that the 551 is in stock. (Won't be either the first or last time that I've been lied to, however :-) It is shipping WITHOUT the new Atari operating system and this may pose a problem for me as I only have copies of 3.0 and 2.0 (not even 2.5!) After thinking about the 551 pricing, $180 isn't too outrageous given that the drive, power supply, case, controller, etc. add up to about $140-$150. Kick in a fair profit to all parties concerned and $180 isn't too bad. What are the recommendations for a true double-side operating system? I'm not partial to menu driven stuff, so a command line interpreter is prefered (and then, bride of Unix is prefered over son of MS-DOS.) Thanks, as they say, in advance.... pj drongowski
dragon@olivej.olivetti.com (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) (04/19/88)
in article <2426@mandrill.CWRU.Edu>, pjd@mandrill (dr. funk) says: > I hope the XF551 is available! I ordered one from Lyco > and they claim that the 551 is in stock. (Won't be either > the first or last time that I've been lied to, however :-) > It is shipping WITHOUT the new Atari operating system and > this may pose a problem for me as I only have copies > of 3.0 and 2.0 (not even 2.5!) [...] > What are the recommendations for a true double-side > operating system? I'm not partial to menu driven stuff, > so a command line interpreter is prefered (and then, > bride of Unix is prefered over son of MS-DOS.) I just got my XF551 yesterday. I must say I am quite impressed. I promptly unplugged the 5.25" mechanism and stuck a 3.5" 720K in; no hitches, but I haven't tried formatting it to 720K yet (I wonder if the controller can handle the Percom control codes). I'll get around to it this weekend. One thing that would have been nice is if Atari included an ST floppy connector on the back, making the drive dual usage, ala SX212 modem. Probably would only have cost about $10 to add, and I will probably do it so that I can use the drive on both the ST and the 8 bit, and have a 5.25" drive that matches the ST case. Recommended DOS: I prefer SpartaDOS. It formats most popular formats, if the drive you are using recognizes the Percom codes. It works with Ultra Speed on both US Doubled and Happy 1050s (the Happy is quite a bit faster) and the new version should support Indus and XF551 as well. My XF551 came with DOS 2.5. --Dean ---- Dean Brunette {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!olivej!dragon {ucbvax,etc.}!oliveb!olivej!{dragon-oatc,lobster}!dean Olivetti Advanced Technology Center _____ _____ __|__ _____ 20300 Stevens Creek Blvd. | | _____| | | Cupertino, CA 95014 |_____| |_____| |__ |_____ 'Dancing, screaming, itching, squealing, fevered feeling hot Hot HOT!'
gdtltr@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (Gary D Duzan) (04/19/88)
In article <2426@mandrill.CWRU.Edu> pjd@mandrill (dr. funk) writes: > >What are the recommendations for a true double-side >operating system? I'm not partial to menu driven stuff, >so a command line interpreter is prefered (and then, >bride of Unix is prefered over son of MS-DOS.) > >Thanks, as they say, in advance.... > >pj drongowski I am a real SpartaDOS fan myself. I don't know if the format program itself supports double sided drives, but I can almost guarantee that there is something that will do the job on ICD's BBS. MyDOS will work with the 551 right away, but I tend to prefer Sparta overall. You may even get more file space because of the way SpartaDOS formats the data. It has been said before, but please remember that you can not use "flippy" disks with an' unmodified 551. You will either have to get the drive modified or just use the special double sided format to take advantage of both sides. Gary Duzan Time Lord Third Regeneration Atari Enthusiast Extreme
cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher Chiesa) (04/20/88)
In article <2426@mandrill.CWRU.Edu>, pjd@mandrill (dr. funk) writes: > > I hope the XF551 is available! I ordered one from Lyco > and they claim that the 551 is in stock. (Won't be either There's a place in Marion, IN, called "Computer Corner" (gave the business card to a friend of mine, else I'd post the phone number), which received several XF551 drives about a month and a half ago. They may or may not have any left, but that's beside the point: I saw 'em with these own eyes, and touched 'em with the very fingers I'm using to type this. They're real. This batch, at least, shipped with a copy of, I believe, DOS 2.5. I'm not entirely sure; write to my buddy 'aegnor' at this node (see .signature, below), as he usually keeps better track of that stuff. Same goes for pricing info; ask HIM! Chris Chiesa -- UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee,uunet}!bsu-cs!cfchiesa cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP
c60b-at@buddy.Berkeley.EDU (John Kawakami -0^0-) (04/20/88)
In article <20281@oliveb.olivetti.com> dragon@olivej.olivetti.com (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) writes: > >I must say I am quite impressed. I promptly unplugged the 5.25" mechanism >and stuck a 3.5" 720K in; no hitches, but I haven't tried formatting it >to 720K yet (I wonder if the controller can handle the Percom control >codes). I'll get around to it this weekend. >---- >Dean Brunette {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!olivej!dragon > {ucbvax,etc.}!oliveb!olivej!{dragon-oatc,lobster}!dean > From this, I'll infer that this drive acts closest to PC type drives. If this is true, we should be able to build 3.5" drives using the XF551 or 551 repair parts. does anyone know if B&C or AmericanTV are selling XF551 parts? It would be great if an "upgrade" for the 1050 drive were possible. -John ->)| John Kawakami |(<- ->)| c60b-at@buddy.berkeley.edu |(<- "You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think" -Dorothy Parker
dragon@olivej.olivetti.com (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) (04/20/88)
in article <2540@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu>, John Kawakami -0^0- says: > From this, I'll infer that this drive acts closest to PC type drives. > If this is true, we should be able to build 3.5" drives using the > XF551 or 551 repair parts. does anyone know if B&C or AmericanTV > are selling XF551 parts? It would be great if an "upgrade" for the > 1050 drive were possible. > > -John > ->)| John Kawakami |(<- ->)| c60b-at@buddy.berkeley.edu |(<- > "You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think" -Dorothy Parker The drive in XF551 is the same interface as an IBM PC/XT drive. When pulling a drive out of an IBM, all one must do to get it to work in the XF551 is change the drive select jumper. The XF551 also uses normal mounting holes on the side of the mechanism. The 1050 used the less common holes on the bottom of the mechanism. I don't know when anyone will be selling parts for the drive--it took the local places quite a while to get 130XE parts after the 130XE came out. --Dean ---- Dean Brunette {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!olivej!dragon {ucbvax,etc.}!oliveb!olivej!{dragon-oatc,lobster}!dean Olivetti Advanced Technology Center _____ _____ __|__ _____ 20300 Stevens Creek Blvd. | | _____| | | Cupertino, CA 95014 |_____| |_____| |__ |_____ 'Dancing, screaming, itching, squealing, fevered feeling hot Hot HOT!'