Lisa II operating software

From: Don Maslin <donm_at_cts.com>
Date: Sat Aug 22 13:23:53 1998

On Sat, 22 Aug 1998, Tony Duell wrote:

> >
> > O.K. this is where I admit my complete incompetance around such issues. I
> > have the "seven disk set" you mention but I've not yet got my Lisa2
> > running. Is there a way to do a copy of such disks, for example, on a
> > ms-dos based system? or unix? I.e., has someone come up with a means of
> > copying disks "raw"? regardless of OS?.
>
> There are plenty of ways of copying a raw disk (either to another disk or
> to a 'container file'), the most obvious one being dd on a unix machine.
>
> The problem is that these requires (obviously) that the disk controller
> can read the data off the disk, at least at the bit/byte level. And Apple
> have always used GCR (Group Code Recording) which is incompatible with
> the FM (single density) or MFM (double density) recording systems used by
> most other manufacturers. I don't know if the Lisa uses GCR encoding, but
> since the Apple ][ and Macs do, it's a reasonable bet that the Lisa does
> likewise.
>
> So, alas, the PC's disk controller can't read bytes off Lisa disks. So
> there's no way to make a copy using a PC.
 
That is a valid statement for an 'as issued' PC, however, there are a
couple of cards and software by MicroSolutions which I believe might make
it possible. If the disks were 5.25" GCR, the MatchPoint suite will
likely do it. And, if the disks are of the 400k persuasion, the
MatchMaker suite in conjunction with a 400k or 800k drive will likely
work. Unfortunately, MicroSolutions no longer produces either, but I am
fortunate enough to have both.
                                                 - don
 
> > In other words, how do I copy these disks without my Lisa 2 up and
> > running?
>
> I think the only way is to find some other Lisa 'up and running'.
>
> -tony
>
>
Received on Sat Aug 22 1998 - 13:23:53 BST

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