[Coco] Help - CoCo emulator disk image formats...???

Sat Jul 15 11:48:48 EDT 2006

Bob,

I'm running Windows XP Home Edition 5.2.2600 on an HP computer with 512
Meg of RAM

Here are the steps I'm taking when I use OmniFlop:

1. I'm using OmniFlop v2.01g and I have turned off my anti-virus
software
2. I use the format command within OmniFlop to format a 3.5" floppy
3. I select the "35/1/18x256 (Tandy CoCo RSDOS single-sided 48TPI) 157.5
KB" format
4. OmniFlop does a complete format with out any problems (or I can
format the floppy on my CoCO 3 with a 3/5" drive without any problems)
5. I then select "Write Disk" from OmniFlop
6. Next, a window comes up with "Select a format to write this disk
with:" and the only option is "Unknown uniform custom format", which I
select
7. Next I select the "MESS DSK format (*.dsk)"
8. Next I select a *dsk file from my PC hard drive
9. I select "FINNISH" and the computer goes off to copy the files - and
writes for a while
10. Then an error window comes up with the following message:

Floppy Disk Drive A: Error

	The media in the drive cannot be read.

	Make sure anti-virus programs have removable media scanning
turned off
	Make sure you have closed all files on the floppy drive
	Make sure no other program is using the floppy drive
	Your floppy drive heads may be out-of-alignment
	The media may be unreadable

	Click 'OK' to retry.

	Try the Diagnostics (Test disk) if you cannot see anything
wrong.

What should I be doing different?  Perhaps the *.dsk file is a 40 track
file.  How can I tell from how many tracks a *.dsk file is from Rainbow
IDE or another tool?

Thanks for your help to offer.

Bert

-----Original Message-----
From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com]
On Behalf Of Robert Gault
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 4:52 AM
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [Coco] Help - CoCo emulator disk image formats...???

Bert & Peggy Schneider wrote:
> What PC operating system are you running?  I'm using Windows XP and
for
> some reason, I can't copy data onto a 3.5" floppy in the CoCo format.
I
> can format the disk (of course I can format it on my CoCO) but I can't
> copy data onto the floppy.  Someone said that Omniflop doesn't really
> work well for CoCo formats under XP.
> 
> Just curious.
> 
> Bert
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com
[mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com]
> On Behalf Of Carey Eugene
> Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 1:41 PM
> To: Coco at maltedmedia.com
> Subject: [Coco] Help - CoCo emulator disk image formats...???
> 
> After shipping off my program collection to be disk imaged, I finally
> got to 
> work on my own personal collection.
> 
> I have about 300 personal disks, but I'll probably only save half
that.
> 
> I then spent a full day trying to get my 5.25" drive working again...
> Due 
> to a flaky drive cable, even the 3.5" wouldn't work for a while.
> Finally it 
> dawned on me...  I had gotten it working, but because the drive sits
out
> of 
> the case by an inch or so (it wont fit fully in the case), the room
> light 
> was interfering with the LED to detect the index hole.  So after
> covering 
> that up, the drive is now working again.  (I just thought I'd throw
that
> in, 
> in case anybody else ever has this problem and wants to throw the
drive 
> across the room.)
> 
> I had previously tried OmniFlop 2.01i, but it couldn't read my os9
> disks. 
> It said it was a new format.
> 
> That was a bit odd.  As near as I remember, when I set up my OS9 disks
> to 
> use both sides, I just followed normal directions for setting double
> sided. 
> I don't quite remember what they were since that was many years ago,
but
> it 
> wasn't anything unusual.
> 
> Anyway, I reported it and I've just downloaded 2.01j and it detects
the 
> format.  (the 2.01j isn't listed on the web page.  I just noticed it
> because 
> of the online reg page.)
> 
> And I save it in .img or .dsk format, and the old dos based
msdos<->OS9 
> transfer program can read the disk images.  At least it'll show the 
> directory contents.
> 
> But the disk images don't work under the CoCo emulators.  Neither the
> old 
> Jeff V. emulator nor Mess seems to like the disk format.
> 
> I played around with most of the disk formats that omniflop can do:
> img, 
> dsk, chs, hcs, fea, etc.
> 
> None of them work properly under mess.  A couple will show the 'DOS
> BOOTING' 
> notice, but that's all.  Nothing else happens.
> 
> Soooo.... what disk image format am I supposed to use for emulators?
> 
> I even thought that maybe my old OS9 boot disk that I used was patched
> or 
> configured in such a way that MESS didn't like it.  But trying two
> others 
> didn't help.
> 
> I remember way back when I last messed with my OS9 stuff, there was a
> bit of 
> confusion then about how to handle double sided OS9 disks.  Looks like
> it's 
> biting me again.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (I was a bit surprised that omniflop didn't recognize my os9 dsdd
disks.
> To 
> my knoweldge, they are just standard dsdd 360k os9 disks.  But
> apparently 
> not, because omniflop couldn't recognise them.  They are certainly
> different 
> from the NitrOS9 disk format.  [shrug])
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
Please indicate exactly what commands you are giving OmniFlop. I have 
been able to create OS-9 disks with OmniFlop and read them on a Coco.

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