5.25" Disk drive on 6128?

[Blurredman]

Hmm, it doesn't specifically seek. When I say spin, the drive automatically spins when you push in a disc.

I will try the 360k trick on the PC.

As for your question on format,

You can format a 1.2mb disc as 360k and the drive will still read that 360k floppy. Ideally, if I had a 360kb drive i could confirm if formatting a 1.2mb floppy as 360kb can still be read on a 360kb system. I have messed around with what jumpers I would think may mean something but to no avail.


**EDIT**

No luck. Still think the drive itself is the problem.

My dad said that his TEAC 5.25" Drive had to be modified by way of soldering (or unsoldering as the case may be) something in order for it to be just double density and not high density.

As you ask though, here are the jumpers:


DD - No jumper
HR - No
IL  - No
IS  - No
MM - Jumper present
MS - No jumper
IR - No
IU - No
RI - Jumper present
RD - Jumper present
DC - Jumper present
SR - No jumper


There is also another strip of pins with:

SG - No jumper
SB - Jumper present
SS (or 55) - No jumper
ND - No jumper.

Aswel as the drive selection strip, there are two sections, TPA with 2 pins labled 1 and 3 - no jumper, and TPB with 3 pins no labled.


**EDIT 2**

I just formatted a 1.2mb disc as 360kb, and made the drive 360 in the BIOS. An attempt to then read the floppy was unsuccessful. I was greeted with a message along the lines of "B: is not functioning because of an I/O error". Maybe because the drive is meant to be DS/HD I don't know.

[Blurredman]

**UPDATE**

I have successfully switched and seeked with the drive!

I took away the jumper over the 'RD' lable, and manually shorted out the ready using a paperclip in a pin connection between the drive and the computer.

It does fail to read the disc however.


**EDIT** I put the jumper back on RD and tested it and it seeks fine.. For some reason it now works, even though I have tried this combination a million times!

I also tested what TPA and TPB does.

It seems that TPA seeks half the disc, TPB seeks the disc when it it mounted.


Okay, so I gather this drive does not have the ability to read and write in 40 track unless I find out what some of those Jumper lables mean

[arnoldemu]

DD - No jumper
HR - No
IL  - No
IS  - No
MM - Jumper present
MS - No jumper
IR - No
IU - No
RI - Jumper present
RD - Jumper present
DC - Jumper present 
SR - No jumper


There is also another strip of pins with:

SG - No jumper
SB - Jumper present
SS (or 55) - No jumper
ND - No jumper.

Aswel as the drive selection strip, there are two sections, TPA with 2 pins labled 1 and 3 - no jumper, and TPB with 3 pins no labled.

Don't give up.

DS0-DS3 are normally which drive it is set for (can also be D0-D3)

RD is probably "ready".

DC is "disc change" I think. Not needed on cpc.

according to teac drives, may be the same for this "IU" is "In use" - not used on cpc.

not sure about the others yet.

[arnoldemu]

Hmm, it doesn't specifically seek. When I say spin, the drive automatically spins when you push in a disc.

that is normal for a lot of 5.25" drives and I don't think it's related to the cpc at all.
As soon as you insert a disc, it spins up then stops.

[Blurredman]

that is normal for a lot of 5.25" drives and I don't think it's related to the cpc at all.
As soon as you insert a disc, it spins up then stops.

I've updated my experience 

[Bryce]

TP usually stands for "test point", I think I'd leave those jumpers as they were originally.

Bryce.

[arnoldemu]

It does fail to read the disc however.

If you have cpm and a working 3" drive.
Boot into cpm
run disckit2 or disckit3 (depends on which cpm you started up - disckit2 for cpm 2.2, diskkit3 for cpm+).
Use the formatting program here.

When the drive seems to respond, do a format to data format.
if that works, go back to basic:

10 PRINT"HELLO"
20 GOTO 10
|b
SAVE "TEST"

then reset computer, check it loads from the drive.
if all that works then it works cpc side..

next thing after that is to solve the cpcdiskxp writing problem (leave it until last).

[Blurredman]

Origionally I intended to burn images of the utilities discs onto the 5.25" discs.


I have ordered some origional system discs (both of them) and i'll be testing. In the mean time, I'll be making my tape wire.

I've decided to swap the drive I was using with the one that was in my computer.
Because the drive I was using the connector is odd in that it is upside down then usual. I had to make a twist before the B connector to make B, A and then the twist already there makes drive A, B. It makes alot more sense as it reduces double backing. I would have had no twist but 3.5" drives don't really have jumpers these days..

I hear that the TEAC FD-55 have double density compatability by unsoldering a resistor (R19?- it's on this forum!)

Well, I've done that, and made it 300rpm but to no avail.

The TEAC also had an inbuilt ready signal so that's easier!

I have noticed that the TEAC light is always on, but it is similar characteristics of the 3" drive as it is only illuminated and doesn't flash when trying to read (unlike the Mitsubishi drive) and the 3" drive light becomes brighter instead.

[Blurredman]

Yay, I've got it to work!

Where the two jumper areas:

___
|. . | LG
-----
|. . | I   
-----

(I think) anyway, the jumpers have to be set at 90 degree angle to that which is documented. I found that setting pin 2 of LG and pin 2 of I forces 300rpm, I do not know what putting a jumper on pin1 of LG and pin1 of I does. But it works!

I also unsoldered resistor R19. 

Discs now successfully format, verify, read and write in 40 track mode on an origionally high density drive with origionally high density discs.

I used CP/M using an image made on disc with my PC with the SAMDisc programme. And with setting priority of the 5.25" drive as A:, CP/M loads successfully.

[AMSDOS]

Congratulations! 

[arnoldemu]

Great news, it would be good to have this info on the wiki.

[Blurredman]

This is my problem when attempting to burn .dsk images on floppy disc with CPCDiscXP:




I will say that using SAMDisc works perfectly though, although the lack of options like being able to choose which side to burn to is a big drawback and I have to manually copy from side 1 to side 2 with the amstrad, then reburn the other side with SAMDisc

As far as burning images of orion prime, i can't copy side 1 to side 2 using the amstrad (copy protection?). I don't wanna use 4 discs for orion prime! xD mind you, i'd only need the one as I don't stick to playing games for long 

[Blurredman]

Got another problem aswel as the above :\


I do .dsk images straight onto discs. I normally burn it on side 1, then using the disckit programmes provided with CP/M, copy that game to the other side, where I can then put another game over the side 1. Therefore having two games, one on each side. It's worked in the past few days.

But with some images I seem to burn to the disc. It works fine, great. But then I cannot copy it to the other side. The programme states "Disc error on B: Track 1, sector #06 - no data. I have a feeling this is to do with the disc being 80 track and burning a 40 track game onto it obviously creates empty tracks, but using double step configuration in samdisk and the 40/80 track switch on the drive doesn't seem to effect it.

CPCDiscXP just doesn't wanna put these images onto disc, and SAMDisk only can put images on side 1, it can only format side 2.. :\

Any body got a solution?

[arnoldemu]

Got another problem aswel as the above :\


I do .dsk images straight onto discs. I normally burn it on side 1, then using the disckit programmes provided with CP/M, copy that game to the other side, where I can then put another game over the side 1. Therefore having two games, one on each side. It's worked in the past few days.

But with some images I seem to burn to the disc. It works fine, great. But then I cannot copy it to the other side. The programme states "Disc error on B: Track 1, sector #06 - no data. I have a feeling this is to do with the disc being 80 track and burning a 40 track game onto it obviously creates empty tracks, but using double step configuration in samdisk and the 40/80 track switch on the drive doesn't seem to effect it.

CPCDiscXP just doesn't wanna put these images onto disc, and SAMDisk only can put images on side 1, it can only format side 2.. :\

Any body got a solution?

don't use disckit3. you probably transferred a copy protected disc and disckit3 just can't copy it.

transfer discology to 5.25" disc (don't copy it to another).. and use that to copy the discs
use "copie integrale".

[Blurredman]

don't use disckit3. you probably transferred a copy protected disc and disckit3 just can't copy it.

transfer discology to 5.25" disc (don't copy it to another).. and use that to copy the discs
use "copie integrale".

Just done so.

Looks a very powerful programme.

Just need to learn French  no English version?

[obo]

SAMDisk only can put images on side 1, it can only format side 2.. :\


Any body got a solution?

SAMdisk image.dsk a: --flip -h1


That takes image.dsk and flips the sides so the original head 0 becomes head 1, then writes only head 1.

[OCT]

At any rate, get one while you can, before they're worth even more than their weight in gold, with auctions just ended already coming scarily close to that price point:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Lagerfund-5-25-1-2MB-Floppy-Drive-TEAC-FD-55GFR-NEU-/290589881921 €45.50
(and to complement, an ancient mainboard from its era http://cgi.ebay.de/AT-Mainboard-486-33-Intel-Prozessor-CPU-Cache-RAM-PC-/120754123506 €30.50 - what do people find in these things these days, pure "unobtainium for 20 million a kilo"? )

OTOH, to recycle a U.S. ambassador's famous publicity stunt in 1960s' Spain (IIRC): "If that's inflation, I love it!"