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From: akw@osupyr.UUCP (Andrew Weaver)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: reading IBM-PC floppies.
Message-ID: <313@osupyr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-May-87 17:09:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: osupyr.313
Posted: Thu May 21 17:09:58 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 23-May-87 14:04:47 EDT
References: <282@nikhefh.UUCP>
Reply-To: akw@osupyr.UUCP (Andrew Weaver)
Lines: 37
Keywords: IBM-PC, Atari-ST, floppies

In article <282@nikhefh.UUCP> u13@nikhefh.UUCP (Rene van 't Veen) writes:
>
>  Can anybody tell me, whether it is possible to read IBM-PC floppies on the
>ST and vice-versa. I know it says somewhere that the two of them are supposed
>to be compatible, but I wonder whether anyone has tried this yet. Hardware

Yes, it is possible and does work.  Although I haven't had a serious 
application for it yet, I did try and put my SS ST disk in my friend's
Toshiba laptop.  It gave me a little trouble at first, but finally
gave a directory.  The articles I've read said it should be no problem...
maybe the Toshiba was at fault; I don't know.

>differences are not the point, since I saw somebody advertising a 5 1/4 inch
>drive for the Atari and I know that the new PS/2 IBM machines are using 3 1/2
>inch floppies as well as the IBM-PC junior. What I really want to know is :
>
>    How easy is it to read a file created on an Atari on an IBM-PC and
>    vice versa ??
>

Should be no problem.  I saw an ingenious device that plugs into the back
of a standard ST drive that converts the drive port into a standard
40-pin IBM drive port, looking like this:

                                 +-+
                                 | |
                             +---+ |
            <- Into ST drive |     | <- cable from IBM floppy (5.25 I suppose)
                             +-----+

OK, so ASCII graphics don't look so hot.  But that is what it looks like.

---
Andy Weaver                            {ihnp4}|cbatt|osu-eddie|osupyr|akw
College of Business Computing Services TS6471@OHSTMVSA.BITNET
The Ohio State University              (614) 293-1195 or 292-1741
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