Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2017 11:38:44 +0100 From: Alex Kozlov <ak@FreeBSD.org> To: Willem Jan Withagen <wjw@digiware.nl> Cc: arch@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Deprecating / Removing floppy drive support Message-ID: <20171204103844.GA23257@ravenloft.kiev.ua> In-Reply-To: <387b63e9-f97c-fa2d-192d-8e36cb2dbcba@digiware.nl> References: <201712030616.vB36GFEg026146@slippy.cwsent.com> <43746890-e60a-5c8f-4c77-bbfe9a5a6aa9@selasky.org> <67961.1512296877@critter.freebsd.dk> <20171203120028.32f84314@ernst.home> <20171203113341.GA68792@ravenloft.kiev.ua> <23404.1512302187@critter.freebsd.dk> <20171203121821.GA69142@ravenloft.kiev.ua> <387b63e9-f97c-fa2d-192d-8e36cb2dbcba@digiware.nl>
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On Mon, Dec 04, 2017 at 10:26:17AM +0100, Willem Jan Withagen wrote: > On 03/12/2017 13:18, Alex Kozlov wrote: > > On Sun, Dec 03, 2017 at 11:56:27AM +0000, Poul-Henning Kamp wrote: > >> In message <20171203113341.GA68792@ravenloft.kiev.ua>, Alex Kozlov writes: > >>>> On Sun, 03 Dec 2017 10:27:57 +0000 > >>>> "Poul-Henning Kamp" <phk@phk.freebsd.dk> wrote: > >>>> > >>>>> Incidentally FreeBSD is/was the only modern OS which could > >>>>> still read 8" floppies. > >>> Well, with proper* cable you can connect 8" drive to fdc and read > >>> it pretty much on any OS that supports floppies. > >> Uhm... no ? > >> > >> Very few OS's have had 8" format compatible settings since CP/M > >> and even fewer handle the track46 pin correctly on write. > > I'd done it in dos, I read about successful setups for Linux and > > Windows(older). Anecdotally, I was not able to do it in FreeBSD. > Never too late to learn.... > > I still think I have my (from 1982) 8" disks around with a ported CP/M > system to a TRS-80 like system... But ever since the Intel ASM/CPM > developement stack died on the University they have been lying round for > nostalgic reasons. And the hardware got dumped with the last move about > 12 years ago. > > But it never ever occured to me that FreeBSD would be able to do 8", if > alone for the controller. But now I learn that it could have worked... > Cool :) Theoretically, it should work. In practice, as bde@ suggested, you may need to use UP i386 kernel and perhaps downgrade to earlier version of FreeBSD. Also you need to somehow acquire 34-to-50 cable or adaptor*. I made mine, so perhaps that why I failed :) You don't need to worry about tg43 signal if you don't plan to write on these floppies. In the end, after burning weekend on this little project, I realized that I risk to burn much more time, so I just ordered kryoflux. *) something like this http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img54306/h/c8ssc.jpg -- Alex
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