tigger@freezer.it.udel.edu (david faust) (04/13/91)
My favorite computer lab will soon be upgrading to Sparc stations (at least that is the rumor) soon. I was wondering if there was anyway that a Mac can read a floppy disk formatted by one of those beasts. Somehow I doubt it, but you never know. If anyone can give me any pointers I would appreciate it very much. Thanks, Dave -- ******************************************************************************** * David Faust | tigger@freezer.acs.udel.edu | Some professors can only be * * | tigger@chopin.udel.edu | classified as weenies!!!! * ********************************************************************************
werner@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) (04/13/91)
> I was wondering if there was anyway that a Mac can read a floppy disk > formatted by one of those beasts. Somehow I doubt it, but you never know indeed! :-) an Italian netter just this week submitted his program SunTar for archiving and distribution, and I currently have some people testing it and await their feedback before making it widely available. Anyone with urgent need, please get in touch with me. (I hear NeXT-users are expected to get exstatic over this...) Cheers, ---Werner
arends@yosemite.metaphor.com (Dale M. Arends) (04/15/91)
In article <50576@nigel.ee.udel.edu> tigger@freezer.it.udel.edu (david faust) writes: >My favorite computer lab will soon be upgrading to Sparc stations (at least >that is the rumor) soon. I was wondering if there was anyway that a Mac can >read a floppy disk formatted by one of those beasts. Somehow I doubt it, but >you never know. If anyone can give me any pointers I would appreciate it very >much. Thanks, >Dave >-- >******************************************************************************** >* David Faust | tigger@freezer.acs.udel.edu | Some professors can only be * >* | tigger@chopin.udel.edu | classified as weenies!!!! * >******************************************************************************** Actually, this is not a major problem unless the disk you are tying to read is formatted as a mountable SPARC file system. The SPARC media-level format for floppy disks is (apparently) the same as MS-DOS so you can use any of the several utilities on the SPARC to read and write to MS-DOS disks. Then, on the Mac, assuming your machine has an FDHD drive, use Apple File Exchange to move the files to your Mac. As for reading a disk formatted as a mountable SPARC file system, that would require a program that can intercept the disk events and use its own code to read the media. Fairly simple, in concept, for an adept Mac programmer. The third alternative, which I haven't seen done yet, is to have a translator for Apple File Exchange so it can recognize SPARC file format disks... And lastly, write a device driver for the SPARC that can read and write Mac disks directly. This solution, as some sources have informed me, may not be possible. I move files frequently using the MS-DOS to AFE method so I know it works. Dale -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dale M. Arends arends@Yosemite.Metaphor.com Metaphor Computer Systems, Inc. ...!{apple|decwrl}!metaphor!yosemite!arends Any opinions expressed herein are my own and not those of my employer. They probably aren't interested and maybe don't agree and therefore ...
rberlin@birdlandEng.Sun.COM (Rich Berlin) (04/17/91)
In article <621@cronos.metaphor.com>, arends@yosemite.metaphor.com (Dale M. Arends) writes: |> In article <50576@nigel.ee.udel.edu> tigger@freezer.it.udel.edu (david faust) writes: |> >My favorite computer lab will soon be upgrading to Sparc stations (at least |> >that is the rumor) soon. I was wondering if there was anyway that a Mac can |> >read a floppy disk formatted by one of those beasts. Somehow I doubt it, but |> >you never know. If anyone can give me any pointers I would appreciate it very |> >much. Thanks, |> >Dave |> >-- |> And lastly, write a device driver for the SPARC that can read and write |> Mac disks directly. This solution, as some sources have informed me, may |> not be possible. My understanding is that it's not possible with 880K or lower disks, but if your Mac writes 2DHD, there's a program that runs on the Sun called Common-Link. The phone numbers on the blurb are 1-800-628-3475 and 415-948-6200. DISCLAIMER: I CANNOT ENDORSE THIS PRODUCT, because I haven't tried it. -- Rich
declan@remus.rutgers.edu (Declan McCullagh/LZ) (04/20/91)
In article <CMM.0.90.2.671529803.werner@rascal.ics.utexas.edu>, werner@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) writes: > > > I was wondering if there was anyway that a Mac can read a floppy disk > > formatted by one of those beasts. Somehow I doubt it, but you never know > > Anyone with urgent need, please get in touch with me. (I hear > NeXT-users are expected to get exstatic over this...) That's interesting. Just FYI, in the reverse direction, it's possible to read and write 400K/800K/1.4MB Macintosh disks on a NeXT with a commercial program called FloppyWorks by DIT. It's a little pricey, but works fairly well. Now, NeXT is using the new barrium oxide 3.5" 2.88 MB drives, and IBM (among other manufacturers) has announced plans to incorporate the new drive in future products. If clone makers follow suit, as they have in the past, odds are good that the next generation of MS-DOS clones will be able to read Macintosh disks with the appropriate software... -Declan