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READ_ME
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1991-08-08
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1581 File Reader for Amiga
by Kerry Gray
This program will allow you to read and copy the contents of a disk
written with a CBM 1581 disk drive. If you are among the lucky few
that can run this program, you can port your files to the Amiga without
messing with serial cables, RS-232 incompatibility and all the rest of
those annoying details.
Before you faint from joy, however, there is one little catch to it--
it works only if you are running Workbench 2. A bug in the trackdisk
device driver prevents its proper operation under earlier versions.
Don't blame me, blame C-A. There is a possibility that it will work
with Workbench 1.3 if you have two floppy drives, but I haven't found
anyone with this setup to test that out.
To run the program, insert your 1581 disk in a 3.5" disk drive, click on
the program icon, then hold down the shift key and double-click on the
disk icon ("DFx:????"). From the CLI, enter the program name and the
name of the drive you will be using for the 1581 disks, e.g., "DF0:".
If you don't specify a drive, you will get a requester. You're stuck
with your choice until you quit. You can scroll through the list of files
found and select files for copying. When you're ready, click on the
"copy" gadget and your files will be copied. The filenames are converted
to ASCII, and some characters that AmigaDOS uses for other purposes will
be changed. The file's contents are NOT changed. If you select a par-
tition, you will get a new requester showing its contents. Only selected
files are copied, and if a partition is not selected, none of its files
will be copied even if some of its files are selected.
All the files you select will be copied into the current directory, so
don't load up the program from DF0: and expect to read a 1581 disk from
there, too. Copy it to the RAM disk. It's certainly small enough. As I
write this, only A-3000's run Workbench 2, and there is enough room on the
RAM disk to copy a full 1581 disk.
BUGS
I hate buggy programs. I hate to think I write buggy programs. I hate
to think of people cursing my name because of a buggy program. If you
find bugs or other annoyances in this program, I want to hear about it
so the offending bits may be extirpated. Keep in mind this is a hard-
ware project, and since the subtleties of Amiga I/O are not well known
to me (to tell the truth, this is my first serious Amiga program) there
may be circumstances where things don't work too good. Don't be surprised
if bad things happen when you pull the disk out of the drive while it's
reading, for instance. There is no danger to your 1581 disks from my
program, as it does no writing to them. The destination volumes are
another story. Don't pull them out of the drive, either.
SHORTCOMINGS
OK, so the requesters and stuff could be graphically more pleasing. Any
artists out there are welcome to propose prettier windows. The program
is not terribly "robust," as they say in the computer biz, so flaky disks
may cause, well, anything to happen. I don't try to compute the disk
data checksums, mainly because I didn't feel like poring over all that
ROM code to dig out the generator polynomial. This may in fact be a
positive boon since disks with errors can be copied. The errors in them
will of course not be detected. If some error such as illegal track or
sector is encountered, copying will stop for that file, and the program
will proceed to the next one. The Amiga file will contain the good data
up to the bad spot. Watch the error log window (or the CLI window if you
executed it from CLI) to see which files didn't copy completely.
THE FUTURE
Face it, the 8-bits ain't got no future. However, if I am inundated with
bribes I might be convinced to add new things like an Amiga-to-1581 copy
program (yes, it can be done) so you can transfer files in the other
direction.
LEGAL-ESE STUFF
This program is not in the public domain; it is not "shareware." You are
permitted by the author to make copies of this program for your personal
use, and to distribute it to others provided you don't charge for it.
Do not distribute it unless it is accompanied by this document and
this document is unedited. You are expressly forbidden to sell this
program. I did the work, not you.
Kerry Gray
434 Chaparral St
Salinas, CA 93906 USA