*SOLVED (I guess)*More HxC Problems ARGGHH!!!!

[Badstarr]

Not having much luck with these HFE files right now! Grrr! Anyway, I have an awful lot of images batch converted onto an SD card these include Super Cauldron and Prehistorik 2. Now the same images load just fine from a physical disk (a direct DSK to real world 3.5" media, ie before HFE conversion) but the HFE versions refuse to load, they just get to the point before the title screen and freeze. This happens in emulators too having converted the offending image back to a DSK again I get the same behaviour in Arnold etc. What's going on??? I have examined the structure of both image files (not in great depth though) and they seem to be identical???

[Jeff_HxC2001]

Send me the originals dsk file.

[Badstarr]

Thanks Jeff_HxC2001, I have cracked it now, it appears I didn't look hard enough at the number of tracks when comparing the images the DSK file produced by the HxC Software was truncated at track 39 (40 and 41 did not exist). I think this was some soft of weak sector copy protection that the HxC utility could not decode properly. Anyway after a lot of messing around with a Hex editor on my Mac I managed to fudge together a working image from the original DSK converted to a RAW dump file, and correcting the errors in the RAW data by comparing it to the HEX data in the original image file. Then converting this "as is" via the Hex editor to a DSK and then using the HxC software to build a working HFE image. I will post the images I have been working on for you to have a look at momentarily...


Just wondering if anyone else out there has found that Prehistorik 2 etc don't load via their HxC? I can post working HxC friendly image if anyone wants one?


Quick update... I have tried this method on Super Cauldron and it also works so I can provide an HxC image for that too.

[Badstarr]

Ok here are the files I have been messing around with... [attach=2]


The Final Prehistorik 2 (UK,F,G) (1993).hfe image is the one that I made works via the HxC Floppy Emulator.


Original Prehistorik 2 (UK,F,G) (1993).dsk is the file I originally downloaded from the ADATE/NVG archives


HxC Soft Output Prehistorik 2.hfe is the file that the HxC Software converts the original download to which fails to load on the CPC


HxC Soft Output Prehistorik 2 Conv to DSK is the file that is produced by converting the HFE back to DSK which fails to load in an emulator


RAW Converted Prehistorik 2 (UK,F,G) (1993) 2.dsk is the file I produced using RAW image and using the hex editor to produce.


Hope that makes sense!

[Jeff_HxC2001]

CPC DSK Conversion issue solved :

http://hxc2001.com/download/floppy_drive_emulator/HxCFloppyEmulator_softV2_beta.zip

No need to patch anymore the images 

[Shaun M. Neary]

Hi Jeff,
Apologies for bumping such an old thread. Just wondering was the OS X version of the software updated in that last update?


I ask because I'm getting similar issues with with a Gotek. On the latest firmware, and the 3.1 manager. Some disk images (notibly compilations which have weak sector protection) don't even appear in the manager.


The images do work fine however in an emulator.
Am i doing something wrong in converting to .hfe format? Most images seem to work fine, just weak sector protected images don't seem to show.

[Shaun M. Neary]

*RESOLVED*
The filenames were too long for the FAT32 Filesystem on the USB stick for the manager to read, hence why they didn't show up.
Shortened them and all works fine now.