Re: extracting data from 5 1/4" disks

[Warren Ernst <wernst@gmail.com>]

On Jan 14, 3:05 pm, babyaang...@gmail.com wrote:
> My boss has a big stack of 5 1/4" floppy disks that were previously
> used on an Apple 2e. He wants me to purchase a newer Mac for him (but
> one which can be configured to handle a 5 1/4" drive), then by using
> an emulator, access the software on these disks then transfer the data/
> software onto another computer. I have been reading extensively on
> this matter, and although I think I might know how to go about
> accessing the software on a newer Mac, I have no idea how to go about
> actually transferring or extracting the data onto another computer.
> Please help!

Well, the short answer is that there isn't a way with a modern mac.

To the best of my knowledge, a Mac II LC with a //e emulation card was
the only way a Mac could have an Apple 5.25" drive connected to it.
What you would do is read the files under //e emulation and store them
on the ProDos section of the Mac hard drive, performing conversions
(such as from AppleWorks to ASCII text) for each. Then you could write
MacOS 3.5" floppies under Mac OS or use a LocalTalk network. If it
sounds like a hassle, that's because it is.

These days, you're either gonna need a genuine Apple II with 5.25"
drives and other hardware, or know someone who has it all who can do
it for you. I myself fall into the latter category.

If no one volunteers to do this for you for free, then email me
(wernst at nospamgmailnospam dot com) and we can work something out. A
lot depends on how many disks you have, what's on them, and if you
want them converted to something modern (like AppleWorks to DOC), or
you just want virtual disk images that you could access directly on an
emulator. Or maybe you just want printouts of whatever files are on
the disk and then you can OCR them or just file them away. There are
lots of choices.

-Warr