rmal@cernvax.UUCP (richard lucock) (08/21/90)
Hi, Are there any packages to allow a mac to write MS-DOS format (720k) 3.5 inch disks in a standard macintosh drive ? I would prefer a PD program (with suggestions for ftp source-sites), but pointers to commercial packages are welcome (replies via email). Thanks, Richard
wsinkees@wsinti01.info.win.tue.nl (Kees Huizing) (08/23/90)
rmal@cernvax.UUCP (richard lucock) writes: >Hi, > Are there any packages to allow a mac to write MS-DOS format >(720k) 3.5 inch disks in a standard macintosh drive ? I would prefer a >PD program (with suggestions for ftp source-sites), but pointers to >commercial packages are welcome (replies via email). Thanks, >Richard Alas! This is not possible by software alone, if you mean with standard drive the 800K drive of the Mac Plus and older other Macs. See the following summaries of replies I post regularly. If there is new information, please reply! HOW TO READ/WRITE ms-dos FLOPPIES ON A MAC PLUS This also applies to the older Mac SE and higher. I believe that you can buy an upgrade kit from Apple to get a Superdrive on those machines (not possible on the Plus). There are several drive solutions for the Mac: 1. Ordinary external Apple drive, connected via the Rapport (cable+electronics) from Kennect Technologies. Rapport costs about $220. (if you connect Rapport to the drive port of your Mac, the *internal* drive is pestered to *read* MS-DOS floppies, but it can not write this format) 2. Kennect 2.4 Drive together with Rapport (see above) lets you read/write normal and HD MS-DOS floppies, HD Mac and 2.4Mb format exclusive to this drive. Costs about $550 (together). 3. Apple 5 1/4" external drive. Needs an extra card, so not possible in the Plus. Gives only 360K MS-DOS format. 4. New Apple 3 1/4" external drive. Works like the superdrive, so you can read and write 800K Mac, 720K DOS and 1.44M DOS formats. I am not sure whether you can *format* all these types. Some people say the hardware is not that good. Expensive. Does not work with a Plus. (In other Macs without the superdrive you need the upgrade kit?) 5. The PLI TurboFloppy is a SCSI device that can be added to any Mac with a SCSI port, and it is very similar in function to a SuperDrive (though it is not quite the same). It can only read/write 1.44Mb MS-DOS format. Costs about $350. 6. DaynaFile makes drives that read IBM disks, and from what I hear the interface is better than using a SuperDrive. The disks come up in the finder just like a mac disk. Old and expensive. I know of one solution for the **PC**. 7. Put a half card into the PC and connect an ordinary external Apple drive. Your PC can then read and write 800K Mac format. See an ad in a recent issue of Byte. A cheap solution. Other solutions are: 8. A modem, a network, and typing :-). 9. A 0-modem (RS232 cable between Mac and PC) or other direct connection (MacLink?). Don't discard this possiblity if you don't have a PC around. I guess you can get old IBM's (you know, the ones with the ssllllowww screen) or other machines real cheap and if the drive is in good condition, that's all you need. Might be cheaper than all these high-tech solutions above. With thanks to Darik Datta, keith@ux.acss.umn.edu, att.att.com!cbnewsc!fjo, Ingemar Ragnemalm, Mark H. Anbinder, Matthew T. Russotto, Paul Eric Menchen, Frank WGM de Bruyn, Marc Heijligers, Grobbins. ************************************************************************** * If you don't have a hard disk or need an extra removable one, and if * * you have patience and guts, you might want to wait for the FLOPTICAL * * drive. It stores more than 20MB on special floppies, accesses them * * like a slow hard disk AND reads and writes 720KB and 1.44MB MS-DOS * * format. As far as I know not available right now in retail. See * * recent articles in the Mac groups. * ************************************************************************** Kees -- Kees Huizing - Eindhoven Univ of Techn - Dept Math & Comp Sc - The Netherlands DOMAIN: wsinkees@win.tue.nl BITNET: wsdckeesh@heitue5 FAX: +31-40-436685