On Thu, May 4, 2017 at 7:58 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > On Thu, 4 May 2017, Warner Losh via cctalk wrote: >> >> The old fashioned way: copy the files on the rainbow to the hard >> drive, kermit to my unix box. >> I have a kryoflux, but it's being nothing but frustrating to me since >> I don't know if I have a known good floppy it supports or not. I mean >> I have two 5.25 1.2M floppy drives, just have no way of knowing if >> they are good or not and am loathe to try to buy another one... So >> I'm reading them the only way I know how: via an RX-50 on my >> Rainbow... > > > Rainbow disks are readable on a PC with 1.2M. But, it's sometimes a little > easier if you use a 720K 5.25" drive.
True. I have two I bought back in the day for the Rainbow that I've not been able to get to work on my PC or kyroflux. They are TEAC 55FRs... > 96tpi, 300 RPM with 250K data transfer rate > (or, with some 1.2M drives: 360RPM with 300K data transfer rate, but NOT > double stepping as would be done for 360K disk at that data transfer rate) Correct. I've done it before years ago on FreeBSD, I thought with the TEAC 55FRs, but it may have been with the 55GRF that I have... > There are commercial programs available for the PC to read/write Rainbow, > and even programs for the Rainbow to read/write PC 160K/180K disks. > (for writing PC on the Rainbow, start with a virgin disk, and format it on > the Rainbow in PC format, or in a PC using a 1.2M drive in 190K format -same > track width problems as rewriting 360K disks in 1.2M drive) Yes. And you could use the IMPDRIVE.SYS that I wrote and put a 720k 3.5" drive into the Rainbow and do the transfer that way too, since it allowed you to read/write standard IBM disks. Trouble with that is that my newer computers don't even have a floppy port and the older ones in the bone yard are broken... I have 40 or 50 backup disks that I should read into the my unix boxes sometimes. Warner
