Idiots guide/advice wanted

[CPC_Fan]

Hi all

I have just ordered a new 3.5" floppy disc drive and ribbon cable kit from a seller on eBay, to use as a second/back up drive on my CPC 6128. So I was wondering what is the best method/way of putting dsk images/software onto 3.5" discs? Do I use something like CPCDiskXP on a pc to copy the dsk files to a floppy disc ? Can I then just run the programmes as I normally would on my 6128, or is there something else that I need to do? Is this the best way of doing it, or is there a better way? Also, where can I download the dsk files/images from?

Sorry for all the questions.

Mark

[jbaudrand]

Hello,
you can do what you said, but only mith modified .dsk (like on cpc power), you'll face trouble with original dsk because the copy protection system can't be rewritten correctly (the emulator don't have problem with that).

welcome aboard, there's a great community here.

[CPC_Fan]

Thanks for the reply jbaudrand. Do you know if there is any other way of getting games and other programmes onto floppy disc, without having to modify them first? Also is there any other sites that I can use, apart from cpc power? I would rather use the games and programmes on my real CPC than an emulator. Sorry for asking more questions again, but I haven't done this sort of thing before with a PC and CPC.

[EgoTrip]

You could always hook up your PC audio out to the Tape in on the 6128, and use a CPC-side backup/copy program to convert tape images direct to the disk. Definitely not the quickest or best way though. I dont have a real CPC so I don't have any experience in this sorry.

[CPC_Fan]

Yeah I did see that I could do it that way EgoTrip. But as you say, it is not the quickest and probably not the best way of doing it. Does anybody else know a way of getting programmes/games etc that can be downloaded, onto a 3.5" floppy disc that can be read by a real cpc 6128?

[CraigsBar]

you can do what you said, but only mith modified .dsk (like on cpc power), you'll face trouble with original dsk because the copy protection system can't be rewritten correctly (the emulator don't have problem with that).

I am not sure what disks you have had problems with, CPCDiskXP can handle everything I have ever thrown at it, and that includes the "difficult" formats used on Super Cauldron, Prehistorik 2 and Midline Process.


I do agree that the tools to write these disks on an actual CPC from a PC Format b drive do fail when writing these to a 3 in ch disk, but that is because the copy protection was devised to prevent them being duplicated ON a CPC. a PC is perfectly able to write them with CPCDiskXP.


* Just to mention you will needs a proper Floppy drive and not a usb one. CPCDiskXP requires low level access to the drive, which is not available on USB drives.


Craig

[CPC_Fan]

Thanks for the info Craig. I thought that I read though that you could use a usb floppy drive, with CPCDiskXP version 2.5 and above? Or will it only work with certain games or programmes? If that's the case, I will have to try and find a second hand pc with an onboard floppy controller and drive somewhere for a reasonable price.


Can you recommend any sites that I can download games, programmes, utilities etc from?


Mark

[CraigsBar]

Thanks for the info Craig. I thought that I read though that you could use a usb floppy drive, with CPCDiskXP version 2.5 and above? Or will it only work with certain games or programmes? If that's the case, I will have to try and find a second hand pc with an onboard floppy controller and drive somewhere for a reasonable price.


Can you recommend any sites that I can download games, programmes, utilities etc from?


Mark

Yes Mark, You can use a USB Drive with CPCDiskXP, BUT the formats you can use with a USB drive are VERY limited, Basically just the IBM standard ones for Double/Single sided with 40 or 80 tracks. Games for the CPC are not distributed using these formats, instead using AmsDOS Data format or a specific "Copy Protection" format, these are the ones that will not work with a USB floppy drive, only a real one on a genuine floppy controller :|


As for specific site.... Practically everything is on the NVG FTP, an index of which can be found here


ftp://ftp.nvg.unit.no/disk5/cpc/00_index.html


or, for a prettier front end, try here - T.A.C.G.R. - Welcome


Craig.

[CPC_Fan]

Thanks for clearing that up for me Craig. Your advice and this forum have proved invaluable - I am so glad that I found it.


Now all I need to do is save up for a second hand pc with floppy drive, an X-Mem and a mother x4 


Mark

[Neil79]

As for specific site.... Practically everything is on the NVG FTP, an index of which can be found here


http://ftp://ftp.nvg.unit.no/disk5/cpc/00_index.html

Half the time that FTP doesn't work heh

This webpage is not available

[CPC_Fan]

Oh. Can you suggest another site that I could use Neil?

[Gryzor]

It's just slow to respond, some times it times out.

Welcome, @CPC_Fan !

[Gryzor]

By the way, there's a Downloads section here in the forum (see top menu), you can get almost every game here...

[CPC_Fan]

Thanks Gryzor.

[CraigsBar]

Oh. Can you suggest another site that I could use Neil?

Well it's mirrored in several places... so you can always find one that works...


Here's a frequently updated mirror located in the UK ftp://ftp.barnyard.co.uk/ftp.nvg.ntnu.no/pub/cpc/


Other than that, there is CPC-POWER, sauvegarde du patrimoine de l'Amstrad CPC. But having to enter an annoying robot prevention value for each and every download *Really* gets my goat.


Craig

[Neil79]

Well it's mirrored in several places... so you can always find one that works...


Here's a frequently updated mirror located in the UK http://ftp://ftp.barnyard.co.uk/ftp.nvg.ntnu.no/pub/cpc/

This webpage is not available

[CraigsBar]

This webpage is not available

Sort your Browser out... drop the HTTP:// off the front, it is an FTP URL


Craig

[Neil79]

Sort your Browser out... drop the http:// off the front, it is an FTP URL


Craig

Yeh I know that, but it was still doing it and has only just worked now.


Is it on dial up attached to an Amstrad?   

[CraigsBar]

Is it on dial up attached to an Amstrad?   

Well knowing the guy that hosts it, and his retro leaning.. possibly... I certainly know it used to be hosted on a Silicon Graphics Indy... and then a Next Slab. But I suspect it is now a normal server tucked away in a datacentre somewhere.


Craig

[Neil79]

 

[arnoldemu]

Just one point: Some games don't run from drive B. The 3.5" may be considered drive B.

If your cable comes with a drive switch, use that to swap the functions of the internal drive and the 3.5" drive. Now you can boot from the 3.5" because the cpc now thinks it is drive a.

[CPC_Fan]

Thanks for the tip arnoldemu. I have already read about it though. Fortunately the cable will have a drive switch and a side switch built into it