[Coco] Where to get CoCo parts -- floppy drive, etc.

[Aaron Wolfe]

On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 8:11 AM, Brian Blake <random.rodder at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 7:56 AM, Jeremy Michea <jmichea at cogeco.ca> wrote:
>
>> I agree with what’s been said about drivewire. I’ve never been able to find
>> an actual disk drive and when they do show up on ebay they go for crazy
>> money but the thing is you don’t even need one anyway. If you get the
>> HDB-DOS and drivewire cable you’re all set IMO. Cheaper and much easier than
>> an actual disk drive and old floppies that are prone to breakdown and
>> failure.
>>
>
> In theory, DriveWire and CoCoNet are great. In reality, they truly are a
> Godsend for most instances. However, there are circumstances where real
> hardware is necessary. Try playing Gold Runner 2000 or virtually any Diecom
> CoCo3 games via DriveWire or CoCoNet. It just doesn't work. I know there are
> at least two CoCoNutz working on hardware floppy controller emulators that
> would alleviate this problem, but, those are still a little ways off.
>
> If you're not interested in playing games, this may not be a problem; I do
> not know for sure. There's a lot of software for the CoCo and I haven't been
> able to test all of it.
>

Some non OS9 software works, some does not.  This is due to
programmers who did not use the DECB routines and decided to access
the floppy hardware directly, which doesn't work with serial based
disk systems (or anything else that isn't a whole lot like a floppy
controller).

The OP mentioned OS9.   Luckily, all OS9 software (at least all I've
ever seen) is compatible with alternative controllers like DriveWire
since OS9 programs use a proper driver structure and aren't hardwired
for particular hardware.

>
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