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Farb

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Posts posted by Farb

    Cleaning floppy disks...a good idea?

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    Good advice here.

     

    It's also worth mentioning that if you begin to hear harsh scraping or squealing noise develop during the course of a dump, it likely means the head has become dirty. I generally abort the dump in such situations, clean the head and re-try. If you let it continue, you run the risk of the gunk on the head damaging the disk surface as it continues to read.

     

    I've had mixed results cleaning the disk surface with isopropyl alcohol. The most important part is to be gentle -- I've seen the disk material come off with too aggressive a cleaning.

    • Like 1

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, cwilbar said:

    Java is not a favorite of mine (for personal use).... so I may look into a branch that can be compiled using kootlinc-native.  Though at least some basic java libs would need to be replaced with native stdio lib/etc to do so.... so might not happen ?

    The current tools rely heavily on some Spring libraries so it might be tough. I've been learning the Go language and have started re-writing the tool using that since it compiles to a native executable. If you're interested in collaborating on it, let me know ?

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    1 hour ago, cwilbar said:

    So I've been going through my (re-ripped for the 3rd time) Atari originals.

    Thank you for taking the time to do that.

    1 hour ago, cwilbar said:

    As a starter to try to make sure I have no damaged disks, I separated all the images that converted to ATX images with "with errors" > 0.

    Errors can also be due to protection as well as damage. So don't discount the ATXs with errors completely ?

    1 hour ago, cwilbar said:

    Am I missing something ?  Or are the md5/checksum/sha1/etc rarely the same (due to the nature of Atari and its lack of the use of the index hole) ?

    As you have found, you can't use checksums to compare ATX files. If you want to compare things yourself against our ATX files, you can use the a8diskcomp tool I wrote:

    Just keep in mind that you can't compare ATR files against ATX files with the tool since ATRs don't preserve the sector interleave.

    1 hour ago, cwilbar said:

    Now I just want to determine if it is sane, what images will help a8preservation and atarimania, etc ?

    Any dumps you have for software that either has no dump on a8preservation or has a dump not marked as "preserved" would be helpful. Even dumps with only partially good data can sometimes be helpful since we may have other dumps that are bad in those areas and thus we can build a working ATX.

    • Like 1

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    5 hours ago, luckybuck said:

    ? the disks aren't sealed anymore, they are open as in the picture above? If so, they can be archived with an Atari disk drive. No problem at all...

    M.U.L.E. is likely copy-protected so couldn't be archived with an Atari drive. I would recommend not running that disk through an Atari drive if you are open to sending them to someone for proper dumping.

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    45 minutes ago, luckybuck said:

    We should all consider to rise up a worldwide 'wanted list' like Michael Current did with the ATARI FAQ...

    The challenge with a "wanted" list is that we don't know necessarily know all the titles that are out there. Just look at the rate that Atarimania and a8preservation are still adding new titles to their databases. It would be a shame if someone didn't contribute something we've never heard of because it isn't on the want list. I think a "preserved" list could be better since people would know they have something worth contributing if it is not on the list.

    • Like 1

    Crypt of the Undead atx images wanted

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    1 hour ago, DjayBee said:

    As a final step I wrote a small BASIC program which read the original (bad) dump (D1:) sector for sector. Everytime it encountered a bad sector, it read the corresponding sector from Zarxx' image (D2:) and wrote it to my repaired disk (D3:).

    This way only the bad sectors got replaced and everything else of the dump stayed untouched.

    This should also be achievable with the new "repair-load" and "repair-apply" commands in a8diskutils 0.1.15.

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, tabar said:

    FOUND professional software, inc. Fleet System 2 word processor/spell check. have disks, will not boot. waiting on a SIO2PC Universal Interface USB Interface w/ SIO JACK from AtariMax to make copy.

    Hi tabar, it would be good to get a dump of these disks. We currently have one but need to verify it. Our program disk dump seems to have errors (possibly protection) on track 39. Our dictionary disk dump doesn't have any protection errors but is enhanced density.

     

    Neither disk appears bootable. According to the manual, you had to load a DOS disk with BASIC, then insert the program disk and RUN"D1:BOOT".

    • Like 2

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Timothy Kline said:

    I am attaching an .atr and .pro file as I don't know right now where I have my kyroflux or whatever it's called that provides a physical-level copy. I'm sure it's in a drawer... somewhere.

    Thanks for sharing, Tim.

     

    Just as an FYI, making PRO images of protected disks can be extremely tough on the media (even to the point of destroying it sometimes). Synapse disks were some of the worst in this regard (both in amount of protection and poor quality of media), but fortunately, it sounds like this one is an early enough release to be an exception ? For example, after dumping 4-5 copies, we still have been unable to find a good copy of the original U.S. disk release of Blue Max!

    • Like 1

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    The ZIP files are created using Clrmamepro from the .DAT file included in every torrent release. If I extract the ZIP on Windows 10 with PowerArchiver, I don't see any problem. So it is possible that Clrmamepro does something that unzip doesn't like.

     

    One suggestion would be to run Clrmamepro against what has been unzipped which should (in theory) correct any file naming problems.

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    Hi @Gearhead Lu,

     

    Thanks for reaching out and for your offer to help with our preserving efforts.

     

    One thing to note, the want list of Atarimania you refer to is different than ours. Atarimania is focused on building a comprehensive archive where we (the a8preservation.com initiative) focus on building a curated one with provenance back to original media. So there will be things that are not on their list that we need and vice versa. The two sites collaborate but their goal and accumulated assets are different.

     

    If you want to send me a full list of what you have, I can compare it to our site. Or you can use our search function to look up each title and see whether we have already preserved it.

     

    From the list you posted, the following would be helpful because we either don't already have a dump or haven't yet verified our existing one:

     

    Aztec Challenge

    There are several releases of this: http://a8preservation.com/#/software/title/2646. Do you know which one you have?

     

    Blue Max                                  Synapse Software    Disk

    This has been a challenging title to preserve and we can use as many different dumps as we can get!

     

    Captivity                                  Program Design Inc.  Tape

    Claim Jumper                           Synapse Software     Disk

    Mercenary -The second City      Datasoft                    Disk

    Mig Alley Ace                           Microprose Software  Disk

     

    Of course, even titles we already consider "preserved" may be interesting to dump in case it is an unknown variant (which we run across more often than you would think).

     

    I'll PM you to work out where you can send things to be dumped.

     

    Thanks again.

    • Like 1

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted · Edited by Farb

    1 hour ago, luckybuck said:

    Well, why we don't ask Kim.COM to host the archive as of 2019 at Mega and then add just 2020-1...-2....-3....-n ? So, there won't be that big traffic for all?

    At the end of each year, we can make a whole update and provide the complete archive with the year in numbers behind the file name?

    People have also expressed concerns specifically about not trusting Mega ? Some are afraid of torrents, some are afraid of Mega, some don't like having to download over 1Gb of data each time there is a new release. When I proposed killing the torrent and distributing individual files via direct download, some didn't like it because it would put work on them to keep their collections up to date. I think no matter what solutions we choose, someone will be unhappy with it. This is just life and it's pointless to try to make everyone happy.

     

    Oh, and the reason we don't do incremental releases currently is because I haven't yet built the automation to make that approach sustainable.

     

    The fact of the matter is, I don't want to let distribution of our content take valuable time away from actually doing the preservation work. That is our top priority and will remain so. For folks that feel like our current distribution mechanisms are insufficient, I welcome them to volunteer to collaborate with us to improve them in a manner that is consistent with the project goals and ways of working. And that means helping to do the actual work. @remowilliams has been generous enough to help with Mega links and @thedoctor has been kind enough to help with torrents and I thank them both for that. Since @Mr Robot has also shown initiative in this area, I've invited him to work with us as well.

     

    I think archive.org is an amazing site and I wholeheartedly support what they are trying to achieve. I just want to make sure we leverage it in a manner that doesn't create confusion, risk or unnecessary overhead for the project.

     

    1 hour ago, luckybuck said:

    Else on an USB-Stick and exchanging during the meetings?

    As you already know, we do this ? But that only distributes it to a very small subset of the community.

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    1 hour ago, tschak909 said:

    Where is it going? Did the hammer drop on someone?

    I raised concerns about how the new page was to be maintained going forward without creating confusion regarding the latest versions of our dumps. I also had concerns about the strong association back to the a8preservation.com site (for legal reasons) and the usage of my real name rather than my handle. The raising of those concerns was intended to start a conversation. @Mr Robot decided to remove the content (which the project did not ask him to do) while we have that conversation.

     

    For some reason, the previous uploads of the preservation archive (e.g. https://archive.org/details/Atari8bitPreservedSoftware2019-07-09) are no longer up there. I am not sure why that has happened.

    Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    14 hours ago, CliffRacer said:

    Specifically, I've got US copies of Alley Cat, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein and Essex. 

    I also have something called "the Lotto Program" which is supposed to help you win the lottery via computer. Is there any interest in that?

    And finally, I'm having him dump Magic Storybook Three Little Pigs, since that isn't publicly available, but were you going to need any of the above still?

    Thanks for offering to contribute!

     

    Yes, I would say all of the above would be helpful. Alley Cat because we have yet to see an undamaged copy, BCW because we need to verify it (would be helpful to know if it is the Atari-only or dual-format release) and Essex because we've only ever seen two copies of it. The Lotto Program I found on a non-original disk so would be great to see an original dump. And as you said, we've never seen a dump from an original of Three Little Pigs ?

    SDrive-MAX ATX support

    in Atari 8-Bit Computers

    Posted

    On 3/12/2020 at 4:12 PM, darwinmac said:

    I was concerned this post got lost in the large thread. While I hope the firmware is updated, I saw a post that made it sound like there may not be much room left to make changes. 

    There should be nothing wrong with the enhanced density ATX files that we (the preservation initiative) published. As others speculated, I simply never implemented enhanced density support in the SDrive Max's ATX emulation. Given all the support for additional screen types that have been added in recent months, I have no idea what kind of space is even left on the device at this point ?

     

    I'll look into it at eventually if someone else doesn't get to it first, but unfortunately, it's not high on the priority list.

     

    An all-in-one board that includes the Arduino, multi-SIO mod and screen would be fantastic!

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