new to sio2pc

[page six]

Hi guys I have recently joined the forum after dusting down my 8 bit kit which as been stored in the attic since 1993.I have invested in sio2pc and will be transfering original software where possible to my pc as ATR images. I do have spartados but any advice on transfering original copy protected software .I also have lots of stuff on multiboot menus and cassette software that was put onto disk with transdisk software. Any advice from you guys on managing 8 bit software on todays technology(also have 3 1050 with doubler fitted) and software emulation would be much appreciated before I start configuring my set up.

many thanks to all the guys that welcomed me to the forum on my first posting.

[+Larry]

A lot of folks here still like floppies, but I prefer images of everything possible. However, that fits in with my overall strategy of using my PC with my Atari whenever feasible. For my display, I use an ATI All-In-Wonder video card which I use for the Atari or watching (mainly) NFL football. Can't quite watch TV and use the Atari at the same time, but I suspect that's coming, since multi-core processors make things like that much more feasible.

 

Since I use the PC for my A8 display, I virtually never start up the Atari without APE running. APE is amazing, next best "Atari 810." Of course, these are Win Apps. But there are similar systems for Mac's and Linux. If you are a Windows user, check out APE, and in particular its extra features such as printer emulation and its APE Loader menu system and its PC Mirror. A few features are "crippled" in the Trial Version of APE.

 

Some folks prefer the SIO2SD or (similar) SDrive to store their images. I have both and they are nice, but to me you can't beat the convenience of APE. I keep a well-stocked folder of ATR's on the desktop, so it's a breeze to grab an image and slide it into position in APE's "drive array."

 

Copy-protected software images: APE will do some as "Pro" images. (Requires an AtariMax dual interface or a Pro interface that is different that the regular SIO2PC.) Be cautious with old floppies, since APE has to read each track several times to deduce the copy protection. That can "eat them up" if the oxide/binder is in poor condition. There was interest several years ago for an "open source" imager for protected software, but after having some work, that has gone pretty dormant. Still there are some ATX images posted that can be used with APE or the emulator (IIRC). This was called the VAPI project, I believe, and IIRC, requires a 1050 Happy Drive.

 

Good luck!

-Larry

 

Hi guys I have recently joined the forum after dusting down my 8 bit kit which as been stored in the attic since 1993.I have invested in sio2pc and will be transfering original software where possible to my pc as ATR images. I do have spartados but any advice on transfering original copy protected software .I also have lots of stuff on multiboot menus and cassette software that was put onto disk with transdisk software. Any advice from you guys on managing 8 bit software on todays technology(also have 3 1050 with doubler fitted) and software emulation would be much appreciated before I start configuring my set up.

many thanks to all the guys that welcomed me to the forum on my first posting.

[page six]

Thanks larry for taking time out to reply. I have downloaded Ape for windows.Its a good piece of software . Will review my software collection and I am thinking of creating(using sio2pc and ape) two hard disks with spartodos for d1 and d2 and creating folders for .bas on one and .bin files on the other.I can then flip between the two drives and keep all my atr images of games in a seperate windows folder and drop in drives when needed. I see Ape has a tape function which I need to work out and also investigate what I can do with my atari roms to get them onto my PC if possible?. Thanks for your advice.

regards

 

Andy N.