#Read PC-Mac-Atari Disks
30 messages in this thread
As a sideline, I;ve decided to open a recording studio in my home. The
point is that the Amiga is not that big in the music industry. I'll be
running an 8-track/MIDI studio. I envision that many users will come to me
with MIDI sequences that have been saved on PC, Mac, and Atari ST formatted
disks. For those unfamiliar with MIDI, sequences can be saved from other
platforms in SMF (Standard MIDI File) format and then loaded into my Amiga
sequencer. I just need a way to read the data saved to disk with another
computer platform. So, I need some advice on what to get to read the data
from PC, Mac, and Atari ST disks.
I've heard of DOS-TO-DOS and MAC-TO-DOS from Central Coast Software and
CROSS-DOS from Consultron. Will these programs allow me to do what I
previously mentioned? Also, would I have to buy a disk drive or any other
hardware in order to accomplish my goals?
Remember, I'm just looking for a way to insert a PC, Mac, or Atari ST disk
and load the data from it into my Amiga sequencer. I don't need to be able
to emulate these platforms.
Thanks for any help.
Dom Fontana
Dunno about Macs and STs, but I know that Dos-2-Dos will read 720K 3.5" IBM
floppies no problem, using the Amiga's floppy drives. It WON'T read 1.44
meg drives, so you will have to beat your clients about the head and neck
to make them understand that they have to bring stuff in on 720K disks.
(It won't work, and they will send you 1.44 meg disks every day, but at
least you'll have the satisfaction of beating them up. <g>)
Note that D2D (at least the copy I have) isn't transparent; that is, you
have to go into D2D and copy the IBM file onto your hard disk (or whatever
other medium you have handy). Then you could use it.
Robert,
Great news. So with Dos-2-Dos, I'll have access to IBM 720K 3.5" disks
using only the Amiga's floppy drives? That's exactly the solution I was
hoping for. I hope it's as easy with the Mac and Atari disks.
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
Dom:
As Don said… the best choice for what you want to do is Cross-Dos, not
Dos-2-Dos. Consultron has even provided the source to CBM for inclusion in
to the next (unannounced, rumor only) version of the Amiga OS.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Thnaks, Michael.
Dom:
Cross-Dos 5 from consultron will do what you want. If you can get your
hands on one of the new CBM High Density floppy drives, it will even
read/write MSDOS 1.44 meg drives. Of course, A-Max, with the HD drive and
Apple File Exchange would give you the most flexibility.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Michael,
I'm a bit confused. You say Cross-Dos 5 will do what I want. Do you mean
that it will give me access to IBM, Mac, and Atari ST disks all with one
program and with no additional hardware?
Of course I've heard about A-Max for years, but since I never had a use
for it before, I never looked into it. What exactly do I need for an A-Max
setup and what does it cost? Of course, I'd still need something to have
access to IBM and Atari disks.
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
Cross-Dos 5 will allow you to transparently read and write MSDOS format
disks directly in your Amiga drives. If you have a CBM High Density floppy
drive (or one of the 20 meg floptical drives) it will read/write MSDOS
formatted High Density drives as well as the low density (720K) floppy
disks. It can access files from any device in your system. I _think_ it
will allow you to READ Atari ST disks, but I'm not sure… check with
Leonard Poma at Consultron (313-459-7271) for more information. At $25 –
$30, CROSS-DOS is a _MUST HAVE_ product for all Amiga users!
A-Max comes in two flavors. Both require that you provide MAC PLUS ROMS
(128K roms, 2 chips) and the MAC operating System.
The external cartridge version, which plugs in to the external floppy port
on the Amiga, and passes the port through, also requires that you have an
external Mac compatible 800K floppy disk drive. The internal card version
(A-MAX II+ card) allows you to read/write MAC 800k disks directly in your
Amiga internal floppy drive, and gives you an AppleTalk port, a midi port
and a serial port. If you have an Amiga HD floppy drive, A-Max II+ will
read MAC high density floppy disks, as well as both MSDOS Low and High
density floppy disks, using Apple File Exchange.
A-MAX does _not_ multitask… it takes over the entire computer, and
requires a reboot when you're done using it. It is a remarkable product
for those who need Mac compatibility and don't want to buy a MAC.
Here's an estimate of the cost involved in an AMAX system:
set 128k ROMS…….. $150 (best guess… they can be hard to find)
AMAXII CARTRIDGE….. $125 (less if you buy it used)
MAC comp floppy…… $119 (only required with the cartridge version)
AMAXII+ CARD……… $249
MAC OS…………… $100 (assuming you buy the MAC OS)
Strongly recommended are: Flicker eliminator of some kind and an
accellerated Amiga.
So, either setup will run you around $500, give or take $50.
I believe that Central Coast software still sells Mac-2-Dos, but it costs
<continued>
around $100, and still requires the Mac floppy drive, so is hardly a
bargain.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Michael,
Thanks for all that info, but I really don't want to spring for A-Max.
That's a Mac emulator, and I'm not looking for one. That's sort of like
buying a Brideboard instead of CrossDOS.
CrossDOS is a done deal and thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep
searching for a Mac solution. Mac-2-Dos may be the only way to go.
Dom Fontana
Dom, I've also heard that a PD or Shareware program called MultiDos is the
best solution available – but I haven't tried it myself.
Daniel,
Thanks for the MultiDos tip. Do you know what files it converts? (From
which platforms?)
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
sorry dom, i just say some blurb on it in one of the Amiga mags where they
discuss 'public domain gems' or some such thing. maybe it was in
Compuserve's own magazine. I can almost always remember what I read, but
I'm losing the ability to remember which specific publication was the
source – all those Amiga mags seem to run together, you know … I tend to
look at all the sources as one big publication divided into different
sections which arrive a few days apart each month. I must get 5 or 6 now.
I like 'em all!
Dom,
In addition to what others have said, it should be noted that Atari ST
disks can be read by any software that can read MS-DOS disks, as the disk
format is (almost) identical. I strongly recommend using CrossDos over
Dos-2-Dos, as it is much easier and more flexible to use. CrossDos allows
any Amiga program to read the files directly from the MessyDOS disk – D2D
will only let you copy files to/or from the disks by its own program.
Hope this helps….
– BobR
Bob,
Yes, it does help and thank you.
To clarify, CrossDos will allow me to read IBM and Atari ST files directly
from disk using the standard Amiga floppy drive. Is this correct? Does it
also allow me to read Mac disks? If not, what do I need to do that? I heard
of Mac-2-Dos and of course A-Max, but I'm looking for the cheapest
solution. I believe A-Max does much more than I need. Does that just leave
me with Mac-2-Dos as my only solution if indeed CrossDos doesn't read Mac
disks?
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
Dom,
Yes – CrossDOS allows you to read and write IBM and Atari 3.5" 720K
diskettes using a standard Amiga floppy drive. It won't work with
high-density diskettes (1.4M), unless you have one of the Commodore
high-density disk drives. It will not read a Mac disk.
I've no experience with either Mac-2-Dos or with AMax, so I can't help
you there.
– BobR
Bob:
> Yes – CrossDOS allows you to read and write IBM and Atari 3.5" 720K
> diskettes using a standard Amiga floppy drive. It won't work with
Do you happen to know what's going on with CrossDOS v5.0 and Ambassador? No
one seems to available at Consultron's number so I haven't been able to ask
them the same question.
Regards Charles
Charles,
I spoke with Leonard a few weeks ago, and he seemed determined (and
frustrated) to hold up both Cross-Dos 5 and Ambassador unitl CBM released
the new 2.x software and the new Janus s/w. He gave 2 reasons… 1) He
needs to know just how CBM is going to implement his code in the AmigaDos
filesystem and 2) He is waiting to see the final implementation of the
Janus s/w and the 386BB. Apparently, CBM has not been gracious about
keeping him informed, and he has to wait until they are willing to divulge
the information he needs.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Michael:
> I spoke with Leonard a few weeks ago, and he seemed determined (and >
frustrated) to hold up both Cross-Dos 5 and Ambassador unitl CBM released
I've been reluctant to send in my upgrade order because of the uncertainty
about when and if CrossDOS v5.0 and Ambassador are expected to be released,
and because of my lack of success it getting in touch with Consultron.
Do you know what Leonard is doing with the upgrade payments. Is he cashing
upgrade cheques? Have most people sent in their upgrade orders and
payments?
Regards Charles
Charles…
I sent in my check several months ago, and I don't believe it has been
cashed yet. I wish he WOULD cash it… the bank does have a limit on how
old a check can be and still be honored! It's just my personal opinion,
but I wouldn't worry about Consultron's integrity… I have complete faith
that if they can't deliver a product, they will return your check, or the
funds. Again, that's just IMHO! Now if we were talking about $100 or more,
I might feel differently… like when MSS took a year to ship excellence!
1.0… now THAT p*ssed me off.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Thanks for your assistance, Bob.
Dom Fontana
CrossDOS can read PC and Atari disks, but you will have to have something
else to read the MAC disks, I believe.
Betty,
Thanks for the info. A number of responses indicated that CrossDOS would
do what I wanted, but I didn't think it would read Mac disks. Since I asked
about reading IBM, Atari, AND Mac disks, a response that says CrossDOS will
do what I want, indicates to me that it will read Mac disks, but I don't
think that's the case.
From all the suggestions, I will order CrossDOS today. Assuming it doesn't
read Mac disks, do you have any suggestions on that?
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
You may think I am kidding, but buying a used Mac Classic or SE and using
Apple File Exchange to copy mac files to MS-DOS disks may be the easiest
way to do the exchange.
ICD,
>…buying a used Mac Classic or SE…<
How can that be? Even if it's easier, it certainly won't be cheaper. I'd
also have to copy the Mac file to MS-DOS and then copy it to AmigaDOS, so
it also doesn't seem easier.
Could you elaborate, please?
Dom Fontana
Dom,
CrossDOS has you covered for IBM & Atari. I do both of those with it.
Mac-2-DOS and a Mac drive will be required to read the Mac disks. I think
that AMAX (or a real Mac) would be overkill.
Malcolm
Malcolm,
Thanks for the info.
I decided to get CrossDOS and Mac-2-DOS. I may have someone who is selling
a Mac drive, so I'll be all set.
Dom Fontana
Dom,
I use both AMax and Mac-2-Dos to transfer files. Since you don't need
emulation Mac-2-Dos is may be the way to go. It's about $100, you can
probably find it cheaper, and it works fine for transferring files to
floppies. However, you also need a Mac compatable floppy drive to use it.
For the Dos and Atari stuff, CrossDos is really good, but CrossDos5
isn't shipping yet. There's a program here on CIS, MLDOS.LHA, I think, that
should suit your purposes.
– Richard
Richard,
Thanks for the info. I called Consultron and they expect CrossDOS 5 to
ship in two weeks.
Dom Fontana