Re: Questions about a Apple ProFile 5MB Harddisk

[Patrick Schaefer <pa.schaefer@fz-juelich.de>]

Stefan Miganowicz wrote:
> 
> How do you format a ProFile on an Apple III?  This is driving me nuts.

You will need an Apple /// with a Profile card, a special Z8
microcontroller and the formatter software.

The Profile is controlled by a Z8. This is a one-chip Z80 computer that
has only 2kB ROM. 2kB were enough to support Read, Write and
Write/Verify OR LowLevel formatting, but not both at the same time!
That means you need a Z8 for formatting the drive and another one for
regular use. Of course it is nearly impossible to get such a formatter
chip.

Fortunately there is a possibility to get around that custom chip. A few
of the first generation Profiles have a piggyback Z8-03. This is a
special developer version where you can plug in a regular 2716 EPROM. To
change the program you can simply swap the EPROM.
This leaves us with two problems: First, get this piggyback Z8. Zilog
does not sell them anymore, neither do Synertek or SGS. If there is one
in your drive, you are lucky. If not, you will have trouble. 
Then, we will need the program code for the Z8 and the utility disk for
the Apple ///. There may be some copies outside, but up to now I did not
get one.


Patrick