Disk Images

Mar 5 2012

Booting from IDE drive when there are SATA drives

This is a generic sort of article… I have only tried it on one type of machine but this advice may prove useful in other situations.

As regular readers know, I volunteer at an educational non-profit organisation every Friday as a systems administrator.One of the privileges is I get to borrow a computer every so often for one of my projects. In this case I had a computer I was using as a file server (using FreeNAS v7.x). Since I had it for over three years I figured it was time to get something a little newer. A client returned a Dell GX 270 because he no longer needed it. I asked and was granted permission to replace the older machine with this one.

At first I only had two hard drives to work with. The first was the hard drive from the old computer and the second was the drive from the new one. I was able to boot from the old drive with no problem. Adding in the new drive so it would be accessed over my LAN was also easy. I had a third drive. It was a 500GB SATA drive. I had everything but the power adapter so it took a few days to connect.

The SATA drive was one I had in my Linux box before the motherboard died. It still had all the information as well as the master boot record intact. Once it was added into the 270 it wanted to take over. Like Macs there is an option which allows the user to select which drive to boot from. For a file server that’s not an acceptable solution. In this case it didn’t work very well either. The boot process was hung for 15 minutes…

After a bit of research on the net I found the solution was to boot from a rescue CD/DVD and toggle the bootable flag on the first partition on the hard drive to off. From that point things worked fine. I don’t know if the hard drive works or not since it was only yesterday I added it to the machine. Assuming there are no hardware problems I should be able to do a bunch of neat things like create virtual machines which are stored on  the LAN, set up a private iTunes server, and back up the Mini I am using at the moment…

By BlankMike • Disk Images, Disk Storage, Emulation, File Utilities, Freeware, Hardware, Public Domain, Software, Virtual Servers • 0

Feb 24 2012

Code to Disk Tool for the Apple ][ Now Available

Egan Ford, the curator of the Apple ][ Game Server and the Apple ][ Disk Server, has come up with a new application which writes games directly to a disk allowing them to be played, without DOS or ProDOS on the Apple ][.  According to his posting on Comp.sys.apple2 usenet group, "I just posted c2d (code to disk) to http://asciiexpress.net/files.  I included the source with OS/X and Windows binaries.  c2d will take a single binary (with or without 4-byte DOS header) or a text monitor listing and create a bootable diskette (dsk) image."

This tool makes the Apple ][ game server files even more useful allowing users to create a fast booting disk or disk image for emulators.

usage:  c2d [-vh?] c2d [-m]   input[.mon],[load_address] output.dsk

-h|? this help
-m jump to monitor after booting
-v print version number and exit

input without a .mon extension is assumed to be a binary with a 4 byte header. If the header is missing then you must append ,load_address to the binary input filename, e.g. filename,800.  The load address will be read as hex. input with a .mon extension expected input format:

0800: A2 FF 9A 20 8C 02 20 4F
0808: 03 4C 00 FF 20 9E 02 A9

Examples:

c2d hello hello.dsk
c2d hello.mon hello.dsk
c2d hello,800 hello.dsk
c2d -m test,300 test.dsk

A sample session using the c2d tool:

$ c2d air_cars,6000 air.dsk

Reading air_cars, type BINARY, start: $6000, length: 8192

Number of sectors:    32
Sector page range:    $60 – $7F
After boot, jump to:  $6000

Writing air_cars to T:01/S:00 – T:02/S:15 on air.dsk

$ c2d moon.patrol,801 moon.dsk

Reading moon.patrol, type BINARY, start: $0801, length: 18460

Number of sectors:    73
Sector page range:    $08 – $50
After boot, jump to:  $0801

Writing moon.patrol to T:01/S:00 – T:05/S:08 on moon.dsk

To download the c2d tool and the source code, go to the AsciiExpress website at:

http://asciiexpress.net/files/

or download it directly at:

http://asciiexpress.net/files/c2d-0.1.zip

By admin • Apple ][, Assembly Language, Disk Images, Disk Managers, Disk ][, Software • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Feb 12 2012

AppleCommander 1.3.5.10 Released

AppleCommander, the Java based disk image tool by Dr. John B. Matthews has been updated.  Version 1.3.5.10 was released this morning on Dr. Matthews’ webpage.  AppleCommander allows you to open Apple ][ disk images and view their content down to the individual files.  You can also use AppleCommander to import and export files from the disk images, as well as to convert disk images from one type to another.

The current release features changes made by David Schmidt.  They include the ability to place Pascal Text files onto DOS ordered (.do) disks.  AppleCommander comes in several flavors including a Mac based Universal Application and is a free download:

  • AppleCommander-version-ac.jar: a command-line Apple II disk image tool.
  • AppleCommander-version-mac.zip: a universal Mac application.
  • AppleCommander-version-src.zip: the AppleCommander source code.
  • AppleCommander-version-web.zip: the AppleCommander web pages and javadoc.
  • AppleCommander-version.jar: The AppleCommander jar (requires SWT).

You can download the programs as well as the AppleCommander command line guide from:

http://sites.google.com/site/drjohnbmatthews/applecommander

 

By admin • Apple ][, Apps, Disk Images, Disk Imaging, Disk Managers, Emulation, Software, Vintage • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Feb 12 2012

Apple ][ Game Server and Disk Server Now Available in Mobile form

 

Egan Ford, creator and curator of the Apple ][ Game Server and the Apple ][  Disk Server has created mobile versions of the website.  This allows those users with iPhones to use the iOS based device to load their Apple ][ computer with games or disks directly from the Internet.

The mobile version of the Apple ][ Game Server is at:

http://asciiexpress.net/gameserver/mobile.html

The Apple ][ Disk Server mobile version  is currently being built and will be available soon. now available and ready for use:

http://asciiexpress.net/diskserver/mobile.html

By admin • Apple ][, arcade, Disk Images, Disk Imaging, Emulation, Games, Software, Virtual Servers • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Feb 3 2012

An A.P.P.L.E. Review — Shink-Fit X For Mac OS X

  • Program: Shink-Fit X
  • Category: Archiver Utility
  • Released: Feb 02, 2012
  • Version: 1.0
  • Size: 1.4 MB
  • Language: English
  • Seller: Kelvin Sherlock
  • Price: Free

For many of us, the SHK or Shrinkit files have been a thorn in our sides, especially if we were on a Mac.  Now, our time in purgatory has been relieved by a nifty utility from the computer of Kelvin Sherlock, the author of GShisen.  Shrink-Fit X is a Mac OS X Application which allows users to open .SHK and .BXY files.

The program is based largely on the NufxLib program by Andy McFadden, much of which was also included in his CiderPress application.  While Windows users have long enjoyed the ability to manipulate disk images with CiderPress, until now, nothing existed for the Mac.  Shrink-Fit X opens the NuFX Shrinkit files with no fuss and displays their contents.

Text files on the disks are extracted in crystal clear readble format with no residuals.  BASIC programs on the other hand were not so lucky.

Obviously, with this program being a version 1.0, there is still a long ways to go until the program does everything that CiderPress does under Windows or that AppleCommander does under Java.  However, this is a great first step and certainly makes a big impression on this old programmer.  As you can see from the last graphic, we opened the GShisen disk and can clearly see all of the files on the disk.

Shrink-Fit X requires Mac OS 10.6 or later.  The program is a free download and can be downloaded from the Apple Mac App Store at:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shrink-fit-x/id498905285?mt=12

While we would have liked to see a few other items included, along the likes of an AppleCommander or CiderPress, we were extremely pleased with the results this first implementation of the Shrink-Fit X program gives.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Apples

By admin • Apple Computing, Apple IIgs, Apps, Disk Images, Disk Managers, Macintosh, OS X, Software, Vintage • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

Jan 14 2012

ADTPro 1.2.0 Released


David Schmidt has released the latest version of the ADTPro disk imaging software.  Apple Disk Transfer Prodos (ADTPro) is a vintage Apple computer series specific disk imaging software package and will work on APple ]['s and Apple ///'s. The latest version of  ADTPro 1.2.0 was released to address a host of issues with the previous version and is not a "revolutionary" update as would normally be suggested by the version number.  The issues addressed in this release include the following items :

  • [Server] Integrate Cloudhopper’s 64-bit Windows RXTX dll – fixes 2-way Windows 7 64-bit serial communications
  • [Server] If a serial configuration isn’t usable, it doesn’t just put up the dialog box saying you should change the configuration – it brings up the change configuration dialog so you can
    actually do it
  • [Server] Be consistent when automatically adding file suffixes (.dsk vs. .DSK)
  • [Client] Don’t lock out interrupts during program execution – it hinders things like the GS Desk Accessory bring-up
  • [Client] Apple /// responds a little better to “disk switched” notifications like those produced by the CFFA300 card
  • [Client] Apple /// Ethernet screen layout was missing DHCP configuration option

You can download ADTPro from:

http://adtpro.sourceforge.net/

If you are using 64Bit Windows, there is a RXTX dll replacement which has been commissioned by David and is built by the good folks at Cloudhopper.  The dll  is available at:

http://www.cloudhopper.com/opensource/rxtx/

By admin • Apple ][, Disk Images, Software • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

Jan 9 2012

Apple ][ Disk Server Updated to Version 6

Egan Ford has updated his new Apple ][ Disk Server once again.  The Apple ][ Disks Server allows the user to connect their audio port to the Apple ]['s cassette i/o port and load complete disk images to the floppy drive.  This process now takes less than three minutes according to a note from Egan.

Improvements between version 3 and version 6 include:

  • Added friendly 'BEEP', "[RETURN] to reboot”.
  • Extra second of padding for slower drives.
  • New 8KFI option that uses more reliable 8000 bps code. Try HIFI first, if that does not work use 8KFI. 8kFI works with emulators too.
  • All audio files volume decreased from 100% to 75%.
  • In-line help.
  • New INSTA-DISK with less padding.
  • FORMAT and NO-FORMAT options. NO-FORMAT assumes preformatted diskette.
  • All audio files volume increased from 75% to 100%. I cannot go any higher.

To use the Apple ][ Disk Server, go to the Disk Server website at:

http://asciiexpress.net/diskserver/

By admin • Apple ][, Cassettes, Disk Images, Disk Imaging, Emulation, Software • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Jan 4 2012

Apple ][ Disk Server Beta Online

Egan Ford has now taken his Apple ][ Game Server a step further and created an Apple ][ Disk Server.   The concept of the server is that it allows you to reconstitute an entire floppy disk through the cassette input/output port of the Apple ][ computer.   This is accomplished using old 1970's style data sound playing through the cassette Port directly to the computer.  The Apple ][ then writes the data to the disk one the disk writer is initiated on the computer.

While the server is still very much in beta form, the concept will allow many apple ][ users to reconstitute their old floppies with new media.    You can try out the beta version of the Disk Server at:

http://asciiexpress.net/diskserver/

 

By admin • Apple ][, Disk Images, Disk Imaging, Emulation, Software • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Jun 5 2011

How to automatically mount an NFS drive (UNIX network) on OS X

This article is a variation/enhancement to a post I found at http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/freenas/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=9289 for a FreeNAS server. Of course purely Mac folks would likely want to stick with the AFP protocol. In terms of generalities the NFS server does not necessarily have to be running FreeNAS. It just has to work. FreeNAS is basically a “Swiss Army Knife” of external storage. I find it does a lot of things very easily. It doesn’t work on all machines (I’ve had a 60% success rate) but when it works, it works well.

The question of why anyone would want to run storage of any sort connected to a network drive over their LAN is simple. When people upgrade to new machines they frequently have the old machine sitting around doing nothing. In the case of some Intel Macs (or PCs) they can just throw in a HUGE amount of storage for the price of adding a little amount of storage to a current Mac. In my case I have access to free/cheap old PCs and parts. This allows me to use these machines to experiment and learn for free. Since we were looking at a problem regarding NFS at the lab this is exactly what I did.

First off the person doing this needs access to a working NFS machine. As I suggested before, FreeNAS isn’t necessary but is easy to install and configure. This step is one I will leave to the reader.

Second, go into a terminal and edit the /etc/auto_master file. The reader will have to use the sudo command to do so since it is a system file. If the reader is paranoid like me they should back up the file first so they can recover if there are any mistakes. The author of the article I used as reference wanted to install things under the /home directory. This is fine. Personally I wanted to see if I could put things in a different location. In this case I wanted them in /nfs. Rather than modify the existing line I added the following line…

/nfs                    auto_nfs        -nobrowse

The first part says where to mount the drive. The second is another file with further instructions. I have no idea what the third part does, but it was made clear it was to be there.

Third was to create the auto_nfs file. In this case I copied the auto_home file to auto_nfs. At that point I’ll skip ahead an hour and a half to the point where I replaced the last line in the file with the following line… ;-)

server 192.168.X.Y:/mnt/main           # Use directory service

First there has to be the name of a directory. In this case the drive will be mounted under /nfs/server. I gather it is set up this way because there is the possibility someone may want to mount multiple machines this way. Then is the location of the NFS device. The 192.168 part refers to a non-internet LAN. The reader should replace “X” and “Y” with the detailed location of the NFS server. The /mnt/main is the location on the server where the area to mount is located. The final part is a coment left over from the previous file and sort of kind of makes sense.

Apart from Step 5 everything is the same as in the reference article. Essentially all the reader has to do is type “sudo automount -vc”, test things, and they are done.

The down side is it appears to be mounted as read only. I’ll post an update when I figure out how to make it read and write. It may just be a permissions issue but it may be something else.

As a final thing I thought it would be a good idea to have quicker access to the device. I made a symbolic link to the mounted directory in my home area. This can be done in a number of ways. I just went into the terminal and typed “ln -s /nfs nfs”. So now I don’t have to go hunting through the whole computer to find the directory.

Considering I can access things with less trouble through afp, I’m not sure I’ll keep this available on the Mac.

By BlankMike • Cross Platform, Disk Images, Disk Storage, Hardware, Macintosh, OS X, OS X Shell, Software, Tips • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Feb 27 2011

Brutal Deluxe adds Don Fudge’s Hi-Res Secrets

Brutal Deluxe has once again provided a golden item from the Apple ][ era to its website.  Don Fudge’s Hi-Res Secrets is available for download from the site, complete with Manual and Disk images.

You can download the program at:

http://www.brutaldeluxe.fr/documentation/

By billm • Disk Images, Documentation, Manuals, Software • 0 • Tags: , , , ,