Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!batcomputer!cornell!uw-beaver!milton!ogicse!intelhf!ichips!iwarp.intel.com!inews!tjehl
From: tjehl@wilgus.intel.COM (Timothy Jehl)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: Can the Amiga read Macintosh diskettes?
Message-ID: <3918@inews.intel.com>
Date: 19 Apr 91 15:28:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: inews.3918
References: <1991Apr15.180915.3975@kth.se> <1152@tuura.UUCP>
Sender: news@inews.intel.com
Reply-To: tjehl@wilgus.intel.COM (Timothy Jehl)
Organization: Intel Corporation
Lines: 47


In article <1152@tuura.UUCP>, mattij@tuura.UUCP (Matti Joutkoski) writes:
|> f87-sir@nada.kth.se (Sigurd Ruschkowski) writes:
|> 
|> 
|> >My girlfriend has just got an Amiga 2000 to program a utility
|> >for the Defense Department and as I have a Mac it would be nice
|> >to be able to read Macintosh diskettes from the Amiga so we for
|> >ex can use an Apple printer for text files.
|> 
|> >Is there a program that can make the Amiga to read Macintosh
|> >diskettes?
|> 
|> No it is not, because of physical construction of the MAC-floppy.
|> It is basicly similar than those old Commodore 1541-format floppys,
|> that we have more sectors in the upper sectors that lower. Amiga
|> floppy-drive can not read the because of physical impossibility.
|> Amiga drives, like MS-DOS drives have equal number of sectors in
|> every tracks.
|> 
|> But there is AMAX, where is support for ORIGINAL MAC-drives via
|> external plug, and by this system we can read/write MAC-disks
|> by Amiga.
|> 
|> -- 
|> ---------------------------------------------------------------
|> Matti Joutkoski, mattij@yj.data.nokia.fi, tel. + 358-0-5673866.
|> ---------------------------------------------------------------

   A small addendum to the above, and this is from memory of literature
for AMAX, is that the AMIGA disk drive is capable of reading a small range
of the MAC disks (I believe those tracks near the middle of the media).  This
means that if a disk is formatted as a small MAC disk (about 300k capacity,
if I remember correctly), the disk can be read by both types of disk drive.
This formatting can be done with AMAX supplied software.  After one disk is
formatted, I believe MAC disk copy will create identically formatted disks.
   Quick disclaimer in asbestos suit: I've never tried this, since I bit the
bullet and bought a MAC drive when I got AMAX.  However, the manual seems to
say it can be done.
   Of course, someone would need to develop the software to convert file
formats back and forth, but I suspect that something like this exists in public
domain.

   Final note:  If you've got modem software, just ship the files across the
RS232.  Slow but workable.

Tim