Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!olivea!mintaka!bloom-beacon!athena.mit.edu!randy From: randy@athena.mit.edu (Randall W Winchester) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: Re: 1581 Disk Drive? Message-ID: <1990Nov9.033952.20979@athena.mit.edu> Date: 9 Nov 90 03:39:52 GMT References: <1990Nov8.142924.17304@cbnewsh.att.com> <1990Nov9.020341.29744@DMI.USherb.CA> Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background) Reply-To: randy@mit.edu (Randall W Winchester) Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lines: 41 In article <1990Nov9.020341.29744@DMI.USherb.CA> sd05@terre.DMI.USherb.CA (Sylvain Tremblay / Eric Trepanier) writes: >In article <1990Nov8.142924.17304@cbnewsh.att.com> nms@cbnewsh.att.com (n.m.scribner) writes: >>Is a 1581 a good bet if we can find one? To what extent >>will it be compatible with older software or the 1541 we >>already have. For instance, some of our (antique) >>disk copying and editing routintes rely on knowing >>the number of blocks/sector, etc. >> >>Any advice would be appreciated. >It works much like a 1541, but it's root directory is located on >track 40. Programs wich expect the directory to be on track 18 won't >work. One nice advantage of the 1581 is that it supports >partitionning. This is like the subdirectories on MS-DOS, except that >MS-DOS's directories are only logical, they have no pre-assigned size. >The 1581 creates fixed-size partitions, wich may then be formatted in >sub-directories. There is a neat and simple hack that can fool some software which expects a track 18 directory into working with a 1581, and subdirectories are part of it. Simply partition off tracks 1 through 35 and format it as a subdirectory. Transfer each sector from the 1541 disk to the same track/sector on the 1581 disk. You'll end up with a directory on track 18. You can then copy the boot program (or whatever program is first run) to the root (main directory) partition. I have a copy of the old classic "Sky Travel" which was modified this way and copied onto a 1581 disk. It works great. I agree with Eric. The 1581 is a fine piece of equipment. I have two of them and they are quickly replacing my 1571s for the most part. ******************************************************************************* * Randy Winchester * randy@mit.edu * PO Box 1074, Cambridge, MA 02142 * ******************************************************************************* * "It looks ok on the screen, but everything comes out in lower case on the * * printer. Hold? Uh, sure . . ." - ee cummings's last customer service call * *******************************************************************************