There is software out there called Star Commander. ( The Star Commander
homepage is
http://sta.c64.org/sc.html , although it is currently down)
It runs in DOS on PC hardware, although it runs best on older PC's
(486 and earlier Pentiums). You have to build a fairly simple adapter
cable, and that allows you to connect a Commodore 1541 or compatible
drive to the PC's parallel port. Once you have it all set up, it is a
simple matter to copy either individual files or make disk images.
Also, you can go the other way, making real disks from the images. It
is kinda slow, the Commodore disk drives were not known for their
speed, but there is a way to modify the drive to provide a faster,
parallel interface, instead of the Commodore serial. As for preserving
the original floppies, keep them in a cool, dry place, preferably
standing on end as opposed to laying flat so they don't warp, and in
some sort of covered box to keep dust and moisture out. Keep them away
from heat, extreme cold, and magnetic fields. 5 1/4 floppies are pretty
resilient, and can generally take quite a lot of mishandling before
failing, but it's best not to chance it. Also, be careful of mildew.
There is a certain type that likes to live on the disk media, and shows
up as white blotches on the media itself. This generally destroys the
disk, although I have heard it is possible to take the media out of the
jacket, carefully clean it, and put it in a fresh jacket and recover
the data.
Ian Primus
ian_primus_at_yahoo.com
On Monday, July 7, 2003, at 12:08 AM, peter tremewen wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm fairly new to computer collection as a hobby. One thing
> that has
> recently become an issue is "software preservation". I have just
> inhereted
> a bucket load of C64 and C128 origainal software. I'm wondering how
> best to
> preserve this ciollection in a workable state?? I know there are sites
> out
> there in web land that have copies of software for the commodore
> archived,
> but how do I place these copies to a disk that a commodore 64/128 could
> read?? Also what is the best way to store my origainal disks so they
> might
> be usable in years to come??
>
> Hope to hear from you all soon
>
> Peter T.
Received on Mon Jul 07 2003 - 05:15:01 BST