Is there any way to write 3.5" discs for CPC from PC using a USB floppy drive?

[db6128]

Well, I just bought a tonne of things – a cable and a PSU for one of my existing 'internal' drives to use with my 6128, a 50-pack of discs, and a USB floppy drive to write from my laptop – and then read that apparently CPCDiskXP doesn't work with USB-based drives. Is that still true? Do none of the other (mostly older) tools work with USB? I don't particularly want to have to keep a beige-box tower PC around purely to write DSKs.

I bought the 3.5" stuff mainly because I thought the HxC was a bit too expensive right now, but if the USB drive cannot be used, then the 3.5" stuff might be a waste of money and I should have just bought an HxC to begin with.

[Mochilote]

You can use the tool WriteDSK, in combination with the USB floppy drive on your PC to do what you want.

[00WReX]

As Mochilote has mentioned, WriteDSK work well. I use it all the time for the same reason you mention.
Below is some previous discussion & the required files...

Writing DSK images to 3.5" floppies

files...

Writing DSK images to 3.5" floppies

Cheers,
Shane

[db6128]

Very good replies, thanks, and a very useful looking program. But I don't know if that'll save the USB drive and disks from being returned: having to do the transfer in two steps is not ideal, but more significantly, I would have no way to read disks back to PC without needing an internal drive again anyway.

I guess I will keep an old PC around after all! Hopefully I can also get my FD-1 working on it, too. Just trying to be sensible and find ways to avoid spending £70 on an HxC.

[Gryzor]

Sure, if you mean you'll look into preserving flowers in a vase longer versus splashing out for a garden...