PCW Disc problems in Pennsylvania (2014)

[ComSoft6128]

Page 26 - "Electronic Currents"

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1395&context=macnewsletter

[GeoffB17]

Yes, fascinating.

How do people like this manage to make life so difficult for themselves?

I'm not quite sure why they had the insistence of using disk images, I would have though that just getting all the files, from the various user areas, would have been quite sufficient.   The images would really tie them into CP/M, esp with LocoScript which uses the user areas fully (both re active files and limbo/deleted files).

I'm not sure that they were 'tied' to the .DSK image format, and I'm not sure that the .DSK image cannot be converted to other image formats.   OK, the .DSK image is the most common for Amstrad, and there is software readily available for use on the Amstrads, but, for example, John Elliot's DU54 will happily create a 'raw' image which will be compatible with various other systems.   I think the Dunford .IMG file system will also use an identical 'raw' system?

Interesting, I'm sure the 'enthusiast' is Cornwall will be the commercial operation Luxsoft who extracts files from amstrad (and other) disks, I'm not sure that he normally uses images mind you, which may be how they've got into more of a tangle.

Finally, they might have checked further for resources in the US.   This forum has members in the US, also there are people on VCF (Vintage Computer Federation) who are familiar with Amstrad machines (like 'Chuck').

Things not helped of course by the target machine being a 9512, which was not around for that long?

Geoff

[GeoffB17]

Peter - how do you turn up these things, deep from the archives?

I wonder if Google is getting much better at finding stuff from within .PDF sources, which are essentially a graphics format?   Maybe something has changed.   If I think about it, I think maybe I'm seeing more links to .PDF sources when I do a Google search, so this might be the case?

Just need the spare time to 'surf', I suppose??

Keep up the good work.

Geoff

[ComSoft6128]

Hi Geoff,

Dsk images may be of more use for copying games for use in an emulator. Most of the disks I have are CPC 3.5" Romdos D20 format with files in multiple user areas so these images are of no value to me.

This particular PDF was found when I was searching for "Amstrad CPC external speaker" - I used my CPC's with amplifiers and speakers from the earliest days and wanted to see if anyone had written anything about this.
I assume that Google found all of these search terms in the MAC newsletter.
I have found that using the Verbatim option in the Google Tool menu lowers the number of junk responses which helps a little but still be prepared to wade thru many pages!

Cheers,

Peter

[robcfg]

I think that the problem is not the format of the disk image itself, but the file system.


Having a raw sector image wouldn't make its content accesible on a modern machine either.


And obviously, you need to convert the files to a modern format. I remember there was a tool to convert LocoScript files to RTF, which then could be imported into a modern text processing program.

[GeoffB17]

Yes, probably.

The point I was getting at is that the Dunford ImageDisk system supports a number of other image formats (but not .DSK) and allows conversion between them.   Including I think a raw format.   So the raw format would provide a gateway to some other image formats, whereas the article here suggests that that .DSK is a dead end.

In fact, I've seen another piece of PC/Windoze software that allows conversion between various image formats, incl .DSK and EDSK, but can't remember the name right now.

Regarding the Loco files, I've got a PC/DOS version of LocoScript, and I think that this will allow the IMPORT of the older versions of Loco documents, and I think the export to some more modern (for back then ??) formats.  Cannot remember if this required an external utility or not??

Geoff

[ComSoft6128]

LocoLink I think.

http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/35317/LocoLink-for-Windows/

[GeoffB17]

Er, that's NOT what I was thinking of, although this may well do some (?) of the job as well.

The PC version of Locoscript looks like LS, works like LS, but it could import docs from earlier (CP/M) versions, and I think it could 'export' to doc versions OTHER than LS, but I'll need to check.

It's possible that some options involved LocoLink, but I seem to remember doing things without LL.

I think I've got a copy of LL somewhere?

Geoff

[GeoffB17]

Just in case anyone is interested...

I've found my installation of LocoScript for PC, on an old HD now in a USB caddy, so I just needed to plug it into my active PC.

The package is working fine, although it complained about printer setup, but then the drive assignments are totally off due to the USB/caddy setup.   I had some docs from a 9512/Loco 2 setup, to try.

I went into LS-PC, and went to load the document.   The software immed spotted that it was Loco 2 (Loco 1 was also on the list, along with Loco 3 which is the natural format for LS-PC I think.   It offered to let me edit the doc as-is, or save as Loco 3 (in effect, to convert permanently and re-name if need be).   So, my earlier comment above is correct, LS-PC can load files for previous versions of LS.  It did complain about Layout, but I suspect that this was mainly regarding printer setup.   

When I came to save the file, I had 4 options.   I could save as ASCII, i.e. bare text, or I could save as WordStar format (I tried one of these and got a doc saved with a set of 'dot' commands at the top, and WS type codes within, incl 'soft spaces'), or I could save as a DCA, which turns out to be an IBM Display Writer format, or as a Loco 3 format file.

Not sure how useful these options might be.   Maybe this is where the LocoLink facilities are needed.   Or can, say Word, import from a WS document?

Anyway, LS-PC seems to be working fine, and prob just needs some new Paths defining to work fully.  It's actually set for using drive D: on the original machine, but it's trying to operate as an external HD defined as M: and the poor thing is, well, confused!!

Geoff