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Re: Apple II disk formats

mdj wrote:

Slor wrote:



It spells out the fine details of each common disk format and allows Linux
to attempt guesses at what sort of disk you may be trying to read.  Can
anyone provide corresponding specs (even if you only have part of the info)
for Apple II formats?



For 1.44mb disks, the details are the same (Apple machines use the same
encoding scheme as the PC)

The other formats are unfortunately quite different. The 5.25" drive
uses 35 16 sector tracks, using GCR encoding. The 3.5" uses the same
encoding scheme, but has variable blocks per track depending on the
position on the disk.

It's impossible to use an MFM floppy equipped machine to read the Apple
II 5.25" disks. The only solution is to either image the disk on a real
Apple II, or interface the drive to another machine.


With the exception of DSK2FDI, which manages the trick by starting
a read on another drive on the floppy controller, and several rare
controller cards for the PC that provide varying degrees of capability
to read Apple disks with either PC or Apple drives.

-michael

NadaNet networking for Apple II computers!
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
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