[comp.sys.mac.hardware] 1.4 mb floppy

cavalier@alchemy.tcnet.ithaca.ny.us (Scott Mandell) (03/31/91)

anyone have a internal or external 1.4 mb hd floppy drive for sale that i 
can use with my SE?

scott

Charles.E.Dubuque@dartmouth.edu (Charles E. Dubuque) (04/01/91)

Unless you have an SE marked FDHD (sold after October 1989), an
internal or external 1.4 M HD drive won't do you much good. You lack a
SWIM chip (the disk controller that allows the Mac to read/write in the
FDHD format). Without it you cannot use an FDHD drive, either internal
or external, in FDHD mode (I believe it would be usable in 400K and
800K mode, but why buy it for that.) I do not believe that Apple offers
a SWIM upgrade for SEs short of an SE-->SE/30 upgrade.

Kennect Technologies, however, offers a device called Rapport which
might be of use. Connect it to your SE and all of a sudden your SE can
read MS/DOS 720K disks. Then, you can add their external drive and you
will be able to read/write 400K, 800K, 1.4 M and their own proprietary
2.8 M formats. Just don't let someone fool you into buying a 1.4 M
drive as your computer is, as it would be useless for what you want it
for (1.4 M capacity).

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Chuck Dubuque           || "It's one thing to think something that
seems
Dartmouth College       || completely impossible. But quite another to
say
HB 4233 Hanover NH      || it..." -- Silent Invasion, book II
03755                   || 
C.Dubuque@Dartmouth.edu || Dartmouth is -not- the Review, but it's
close...
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tgoose@eng.umd.edu (Jason Garms) (04/05/91)

In article <1991Mar31.220843.7764@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>, Charles.E.Dubuque@dartmouth.edu (Charles E. Dubuque) writes:
> Unless you have an SE marked FDHD (sold after October 1989), an
> internal or external 1.4 M HD drive won't do you much good. You lack a
> SWIM chip (the disk controller that allows the Mac to read/write in the
> FDHD format). Without it you cannot use an FDHD drive, either internal
> or external, in FDHD mode (I believe it would be usable in 400K and
> 800K mode, but why buy it for that.) I do not believe that Apple offers
> a SWIM upgrade for SEs short of an SE-->SE/30 upgrade.
On the contrary, Apple does offer an SE ROM upgrade.  (At least I'm
99% sure).  Consult your local Apple dealer for this upgrade.  I think
it is about $100.

Jason Garms
tgoose@eng.umd.edu