not HARD SECTORS on a PC (was: NorthStar Double Density - DOS low level DCOM function

From: Fred Cisin <cisin_at_xenosoft.com>
Date: Tue Jun 29 14:44:52 2004

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004, Dave Dunfield wrote:
> >> My plan is to write a little utility that will allow the one person to read
> >> the disk image into a file on a PC which can be transferred by email, and
> >> then the other guy can write it out to a diskette - this is somewhat complicated
> . . .
> Nobody said anything about reading/writing hard sectored disks on the PC

Sorry for the misinterpretation.
"read the disk image into a file on a PC . . .
then the other guy can write it out to a diskette"
is easily misread as reading/writing on the PC.
... and since you inquired in terms of transferring
OS, it implied that the target system was NOT bootable/suitable
for file transfer.


> Yeah - but that doesn't make it any easier in the future, and it's
> complicated and slowed by the fact that 10 sector disks are in short
> supply - the guy making the copy is in the States, and doesn't have
> any disks to spare. I and the guy needing the copy are in Canada - so
> for the snail mail technique, I first have to send diskettes to the
> States (and he has to import them through customs), then he has to send
> them back to me (and I have to import them through customers).

Would you like us to look for some more for you?
I gave away my N*, but kept a few hundred diskettes.


> Alternately, I could send him a ZIP containing two PC programs and a N*
> binary. He uses the first one to put the binary onto his system, then the
> second one in conjunction with that binary to read the disk images into
> PC files, which he ZIP's and sends to me).
> Next time - 1/2 the work is done, and it becomes even simpler.
> Uh yeah (what a good idea :-) - but to do this, I need to understand
> the details of the double-density use of the N* DCOM function (OS low
> level disk acccess call) - which is what I asked about (please read
> earlier post).

If YOU will re-read your post to understand that it easily
implied something other than what you intended.

Sorry for the misinterpretation.
"read the disk image into a file on a PC . . .
then the other guy can write it out to a diskette"
is easily misread as reading/writing on the PC.
... and since you inquired in terms of transferring
OS, it implied that the target system was NOT bootable/suitable
for file transfer.

> And what makes you think I am not familier the the PC controller (having
> designed and implemented several 756 based controllers from scratch) - the
> PeeCee controller has nothing to do with this, which is why I was asking
> about the N* DCOM function (part of the N* DOS servies, which would be
> booted on a N* system using the N* disk controller, and are used to read/wrote
> diskettes using the NORTH START controller).
> I don't think I mentioned the PC disk controller in my posting.

Sorry for the misinterpretation.
"read the disk image into a file on a PC . . .
then the other guy can write it out to a diskette"
is easily misread as reading/writing on the PC.
... and since you inquired in terms of transferring
OS, it implied that the target system was NOT bootable/suitable
for file transfer.

> Granted - I did not explicitly say I was doing a serial link, however that is
> not what I asked about (I have all the info and experience I need to do serial

> >Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin_at_xenosoft.com
> I'll say - did you have an answer to my original questions?

Only for the implicit ones; not for what you intended.
Sorry for the misinterpretation.
"read the disk image into a file on a PC . . .
then the other guy can write it out to a diskette"
is easily misread as reading/writing on the PC. >
Received on Tue Jun 29 2004 - 14:44:52 BST