Re: Floppy disk

[nospam9212@aol.commune (Nospam9212)]

On 8/16/01 11:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time, "william strutts"
wrstrutts1@nospam.home.com wrote..

>"Hank" <henry_ruth@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:MIQe7.838$5i6.154426436@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com...
>> I have an Apple 2E which is used as a word processor with the Applewriter
>> software.  I would like to transfer the data on its 5 inch floppies onto a
>> second computer 
>> Hank
>
>Not possible.  Incompatible disk formats.  The Apple IIe uses
>GCR encoded disk and the PC uses MFM encoded disk.
>You would need a controller on the PC that can read GCR
>encoding which is no longer made.  

Catweasel ?? ...  http://www.jschoenfeld.de/products/catweasel_e.htm

Hey.. "The Apple IIe uses GCR encoded disk"s !!!  Anyone know if the Commodore
1541 or 1571 disk drives can read these DOS 3.3 formatted disks, as it too,
uses GCR encoding ?? I have some pretty powerful GCR nybbler/editor software
(online at http://members.aol.com/fyarra001 in "copy protection") for backing
up non-standard GCR formats for the purposes of making working copies of
copy-protected disks. I am curious if I could use the 1541/71 to pull a 3.3
disk image into a C64 emulator file type then transfer that onto a 1581 which
is an MFM encoded format.

Any resources out there that will tell me the layout of a DOS3.3 formatted disk
(as in location of allocation map, where the dir sectors reside, how many
tracks sectors, file entry offsets and descriptions, etc... ?? I don't even
know if the 3.3 format is single or double head ?!?!)

I'm pretty familiar with GCR encoding... but I don't have the ASM programming
skills to write a "custom" copier directly from a GCR 1541/71 to an MFM 1581
which would be a nice project for someone, seeing as the C= drives are
programmable, having their own CPU and free ram space in the drives
themselves... I think it could be done and a C64/1541/71 could be a
"go-between" in transfers... seems not unlike a custom format challenge like
RapidLok or V-Max, maybe... the only crimp may be the disk dir location... 

If I can get a doc on the 3.3 layout and a way to pull the GCR encoded data
using a 1541/71 into an 1541 emulator file-type, I could write a BASIC program
that would pull the info out of the image file and onto a 1581..maybe !!!!
(probably a bigger project than I am capable of, at this point... I'm full of
ideas but short on time... now if I were only 15 years younger and no family
and business to run... it's be like 1986 all over again... all those long
sleepless nights hacking 8-bit/6502 software !!!)

Ehh... I'll have to think this over, I don't even have an Apple2E... just an
idea.. !!! :)



-= Francis Yarra =-
fyarraATjunoDOTcom
http://members.aol.com/fyarra - My C64 website
http://members.aol.com/prsnl99 - My personal website
http://members.aol.com/fyarra001/drywall