Re: Getting software onto a IIgs

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

walt@data.physics.ucsb.edu (Walter Polkosnik) wrote:

>Macs have the capability to write 3.5 ProDOS disks, I was hoping to use
>this to get some software on a IIgs that was donated to me. But it seems
>that only 1.4M format is available, and the IIgs has 800k drives. Any
>way around this? It seems that 800k format should be available.

800k mode is available, but you need DS/DD disks to use it.  One
way to temporarily turn a 1.44MB disk into a DS/DD disk is to put
tape over the hole opposite the write protect hole (temporary...the
info will disappear over weeks or months)...

However, my advice is FORGET PRODOS!  Go to Alltech Electronics
http://www.allelec.com/ and click on "Apple II" then "Hard Drives"...
for a very very low price (low double digits) Alltech will ship you a
Focus hard disk drive with System 6.0.1 and tons of freewares and
sharewares preinstalled.  System 6.0.1 has an HFS FST which
means the IIGS can with this System 6.0.1 can read, write, and
format Macintosh HFS (standard) 800K floppies.

Using Mac floppies as a bridge is generally more reliable than
using ProDOS floppies.  The flaky drives on some units even seem
more stable.  It makes sense...Apple wanted the Mac as its future
computer.  It put more effort into making a good HFS FST for the
IIGS to read Mac disks than it did the PC Exchange ability for the
Mac to read ProDOS disks.  PC Exchange is mainly for MS-DOS,
but the IIGS ability to read Macintosh floppy disks is flawless!

>I have no terminal emulator for the IIgs, though I remeber that serial
>cards usually had some limited terminal programs in ROM. Does anyone
>know if one is in the IIgs ROM, and how to get to it?

Forget the terminal, the IIGS can do AppleTalk at 230,000 baud!

In order to set up AppleTalk between the IIGS and the Mac, you
need to have System 6.0.1...which is why you should get the
very very cheap price high quality Focus drive from Alltech!