I've gone and done it - I've spent a small fortune and bought a 4MB STE (TOS 2.06) (with a HD soon to follow) for the sole purpose of playing D-Bug's latest releases on real hardware!

No more STEEM for me.

I was thinking of trying to get hold of a SatanDisk, but by all accounts they seem to be a bit dodgy...

wrote on 31.10.07 at 13:08:08:

I've gone and done it - I've spent a small fortune and bought a 4MB STE (TOS 2.06) (with a HD soon to follow) for the sole purpose of playing D-Bug's latest releases on real hardware! No more STEEM for me. I was thinking of trying to get hold of a SatanDisk, but by all accounts they seem to be a bit dodgy...

Way to go James! Real hardware is what D-Bug always suggests for playing! Head up to the wish list thread and post some more games ;)

GGN (taking a look at Robotz :))

Leander coming soon from me I hope.

Cheers GGN.  :)

First problem for me to overcome is to work out how to transfer all my files from my virtual hard drives in STEEM over to my Atari SCSI HD (when I get it)...  Is there some Atari file-splitting/joining software I can use in STEEM so I can transfer stuff over via 720KB formatted disks?

I think this is going to take some time... but it'll be worth it!

I was thinking about using two Iomega zip drives instead of an HD (one SCSI Zip drive on my Atari and one USB Zip drive on my PC) but apparently I won't be able to read Atari formatted zip disks on a PC.  In fact, I'm not even sure if you can boot from a Zip disk on an Atari (although they are compatible with HDDriver by all accounts).

Any recomendations?  Note that I'm a danger to myself *and* vintage electronics with a soldering iron, so adding an IDE port to my STE isn't going to happen...

Probably shouldn't ask these questions here, but I was being told all sorts of conflicting info in broken english over at Atari-Forum from PPera... ;)  I figured that you guys are the people with the real Atari knowledge...

Hi James,
I have a couple of ideas. A good idea would be to use either ghostlink with a null modem cable or parcp with a special type of parallel to parallel cable for file transfers to the STE hard disk. Needless to say the first option is SLOOOOOW ;). Another idea is to use aranym to mount the zip drive. You should be able to see it as an atari hard disk from in there. This is an option that I need to take a look at. These are your cheapest options. Another idea is to get an ethernet add on such as netusbee and add your atari to the network.

Hey there Mr Stylus

Well, I use Iomega JAZ for the exact same thing you want to use ZIP for.

(1) Format the ZIP drive using the TOS/WIN mode in HDDRIVER so it can be read on both systems.

(2) Boot the cart on the ZIPdrive on the ST and set it up

(3) Install Steem, and create a Hard Drive (in the disk menu) to point to the root of the ZIP drive on the PC and Steem will boot.

(4) Ignore the bullshi ppera wrong on AF, don't use his crappy imager (if you wan to keep your data) and avoid his advice - and you will enjoy many happy hours doing exactly what you originally asked on the other forum and were told was not possible.

CJ. Singing quite nicely, thank you very much.

"Don't spoil a great game!".
It's the words referees often use to ask rugbymen to stop their repetive brawls on the pitch. I'll use the same words to ask you, CJ and ggn to stop starting hostilities toward ppera on a place where he isn't and where you're the winners.

Can you please explain.. and stop speaking in riddles... I'm confused.

Thanks

Shw

Lautreamont wrote on 31.10.07 at 22:51:19:

I'll use the same words to ask you, CJ and ggn to stop starting hostilities toward ppera on a place where he isn't and where you're the winners.

And we can simply ignore your request you know.

a) There is freedom of speech, and especially in a forum that we moderate I don't think we are forced to censor ourselves
b) We're not hostile against him, just his sw/hw. We advise readers of this forum not to use them.
c) Nothing stops ppera from signing in this forum and stating his opinion.
d) We are banned from Atari forum and so we cannot answer to his posts there. So in a way it's only fair that we can say what the fuck we want in our own bloody forum.

Regards

P.S. As a moderator of this forum, your post was OFF TOPIC. Do NOT try to sidetrack this discussion again. If you don't have anything constructive to say regarding this topic then don't say anything or start another thread. You have been warned.

Thanks CJ - that is *exactly* what I wanted to hear!

So it sounds as though I should be able to set up the Zip disc on the ST as a WIN/TOS device, access it in STEEM, and copy over all my files from my PC over in one easy step.

Which is exactly what I asked.  No need for a SatanDisk then!

I'm off to buy a couple of Zip drives over ePrey.  Laters.

Oh, and Lautreamont - CJ and GGN didn't actually start 'hostiles' towards PPera here - If you read my original post you'd see that I was the one saying that he answered my question on AF with a load of incomprehensible nonsense.  Which he did.  ;)

Thanks again guys!

The plot thickens...

PPera says:

What D-Bug recommends may have some troubles:

Campatible partitioning with Hddriver usually results in inability to install bootloader on it. So, you will have no autoboot.

Since you will have DOS compatible disk, Steem is not necessary for accessing files under Win (but of course you may use it).
Btw. you may expect some troubles with this way - mounted directory. Steem authors itself say that it is not too reliable. For instance Steem likes to crash when is a lot of files in opened directory.

Better solution, if you insist on working under Steem: using TOS partitionng and Steem with Pasti. Then autoboot will work certainly.

DOS disk can not be made to autoboot with Hddriver. With my driver may. But it supports not replacing media without restart.

Hehe, was short of pasting this here aswell ;)

I think this thread should be relocated to the hardware section now...

Anyway guys, apologies for all the questions, but as you can see I really need a bit of friendly help in getting this 'solution' set up on my Atari when it arrives.  I confess that I've become a little to use to the super-easy-to-use 'virtual' hard disks in STEEM and didn't realise it was actually quite complicated with real hardware.

There are issues as to whether or not my mates Atari-SCSI cable will work with a SCSI zip drive as well.  He thinks that the HD's external housing has some sort of interface built in to it...

Where is Techie Alison when you need her(!)

Anyway, CJ - I'd be really interested in hearing how your Atari set up works.  Do you use a hard disk to boot your Atari and a Jaz drive only for removable storage - or can you in fact boot from that?  What drivers do you use, etc. ?

SimonSunnyBoy - what have you experiences been like with the SatanDisk?  Is it a viable option to use as a hard-disk alternative, or is it too slow/unreliable?

Exactly what leads do I need to connect a SCSI Zip drive (or other device) to an Atari?  Are they readily available or rare as hens teeth?

wrote on 01.11.07 at 14:01:11:

SimonSunnyBoy - what have you experiences been like with the SatanDisk?  Is it a viable option to use as a hard-disk alternative, or is it too slow/unreliable?

My experience sofar is very good, no crashes, no data loss. However I haven't tried a 24h per day copy doodah session with it. Speed is slow compared to harddisks but about 4 times than floppies so it is ok for _my_ needs.

I even ordered a second one to be build my matashen from atari-home.de.

Yeah - I've decided to buy one too - afterall, they *are* pretty cheap and it'll tide me over until WeST is ready!

I've also decided to abort my plans for the Zip disk solution - it sounds to me like it's going to cause me severe headaches.  I'm still really interested to hear how CJ's system is configured though.

In the meantime I've bid for a USA model Supradrive and a step-down AC converter so I can use it in the UK.  Messy, but a reasonable storage solution until I get WeST.

I bumped into someone who owed me a fair sum of money the other day, so I drove him to a cash point and got my cash back.  It's certainly come in handy over the past few days!

ICD of Rockford Illinois, USA was main source of reliable SCSI interface devices for the ST.
They also supplied excellent software for these reliable interfaces.
The last release of their HarDrive utility software allowed  (I think) Zip 100's to be formatted in a dual
mode that could be read by PC and Atari ST.
The ICD ADVANTAGE was one such interface device.
If you have any ST FORMAT or ST USER magazines from the era, you should be able to find out more.

Unbelievable!!! I just tried   http://www.icd.com/  and they are still there!
Good luck.

---

Concerning transfer of files between ST and PC, I just did a quick Google and found this.

http://www.atarimania.com/faq.php?p=26

Seems this issue is not new.

I mentioned the ICD solution in my previous post.
I now remember the name of the small ICD interface that I used here.
It is the LINK2. It was supplied with the software that was  current at time of purchase.
That is the one I used to run my BBS (Dead Horse Cafe) for 2 years on a Zip100.
Version 6.5.5 was the last release according to their website.
The toughest part is locating the ICD HarDrive utility software.

---

I've got an old Link-2 which I used to connect my SCSI Zip drive to my 1040 STFM. I must put it on Ebay sometime! :)

Shw

Shw - I would love this to get a JazDrive onto the MegaSTE... so I'd have one in the PC, MSTE and Falcon :)

Talk to me about it.... maybe you'll get your joystick back? :)

Right - me again.  I've managed to buy an upgraded Supradrive from techie Alison which by all accounts comes complete with a SCSI adapter build into the external housing of the Supra.  I'm *assuming* that I can therefore daisychain SCSI devices to this using HDDriver to format them.

Can someone verify whether or not this is correct?

Cheers.

The best person to ask about this would be Techie Alison because it was her drive, and she's very helpful :)

Not all drives have scsi pass through on them.

Yep - I did, and you can!  Alison is a real atari heroine.

Ali's scart and PeST cables - as used and endorsed by D-Bug :)

Hi there - thought it was about time I gave an update.

Last year I spotted an external HD (512MB) with ICD interface (the last one they released, with the RTC) enclosed in a really nice scsi case complete with SCSI pass through's and ID selectors on eBay.  Amazingly, I managed to get hold of it for £100 (I thought it was going to go for a lot more with the ICD card inside!).

I then purchased HDDriver, a SCSI zip drive and a USB zip drive.

I installed HDDriver on the Atari HD, with a C boot partition and a D data partition.  I then formatted my zip disks (attached to the scsi passthrough port) as TOS/WIN.  This means that I can now really easily copy 100MB at a time from my PC to my STE.

I still have the 50MB Supradrive (currently unused and underneath my desk).

A couple of nights ago (under GGN's guidance) I purchased an ACard AEC-7720U (Support ATAPI Device) : Ultra SCSI-to-IDE Bridge for £80, and a IDE-to-SD Card interface (for about a tenner).  My intention is to remove my super noisy SCSI HD and futureproof my Atari via installing a SD card in its place.

I did think about a UltraSatan, but I wanted a solution that would be reliable and fit inside my external scsi housing (so I could still use my Zips for fast and easy data transfer).

When the kit arrives and I get it set up I will provide some more info. :)

Hope all goes well :)