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Domain: 64hdd.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to 64hdd.com.

Comments · 6

  1. Re:Still in use by burnin1965 · · Score: 2, Insightful · on Commodore 64 Still Beloved After All These Years

    watch him suffer, swapping disks back and forth.


    Another option would be something like 64HDD. That way he could still use the C64 and not have to worry about any significant difference from his current interface other than having a PC emulating his floppy drives.

    I used a linux driver and a floppy disk server application along with a home made sio to rs232 adapter to emulate eight floppy drives connected to my old Atari 130XE 8 bit computer. It works great, I copied all my floppies onto images on the server and the put the Indus 5-1/4" floppy drive into storage. Swapping floppies or creating new ones now requires a few key strokes on the PC.

    My setup is a small Via Epia based PC as the floppy drive emulator server, a Samsung 910MP LCD monitor which has a built in NTSC tuner, composite video input, and the standard VGA input, and a KVM switch so the floppy server shares a keyboard with my regular PC. When using the Atari I can display it full screen on the LCD monitor or I can view is as a PiP on top of the PC/Via floppy server display.

    Dual duty on the LCD monitor, a cheap low power Via Epia server, and sharing a keyboard/mouse/monitor between the Via Epia server and a regular PC through a KVM switch has minimized the pain of running an extra PC as a floppy server for the Atari.
  2. Makes a great C64 hard drive by mccalli · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Breathing Life Into Older Computers
    The oldest computer I have is a Pentium 266 MMX laptop with 64MB of RAM

    I have a Compaq P100 laptop. I set up a dual-boot for Debian and FreeDOS, and it now spends its days as a slave to my C64, bypassing the notoriously slow 1541 snaildrive.

    Cheers,
    Ian

  3. I'd like to see a C64 port by rabbit78 · · Score: 1 · on Where Does NetBSD Fit In?

    no trolling, I mean it. Given that now there is a 16-Bit-20-MHz CPU and several hard disks for it, it should at least be possible. Ok, they have their Unix based OS already but NetBSD would definitly be a different class.

  4. Re:Another problem was the disk drive alignment by KodaK · · Score: 2, Informative · on Fixing That Old Game System

    You can build or buy an interface to use 9 pin joysticks on intel hardware. There are many places that have the plans, and here's one. I'll build you one if you're not addicted to solder smoke. I'll charge you a lot, but I'll do it. :)

    In regards to your drive: it may be out of alignment, and proper alignment is a bitch, but you can take the cover off and see if the read/write head is dirty. You can clean it with a q-tip and alcohol. Also, make sure that the rails that the head rides on are properly lubricated. WD-40 works, but doesn't last long. Also, don't spray it. :) In all honesty though, 1541s are STILL relatively common these days and it's still easier to buy one that works than it is to fix one you've got. I would reccomend that you either buy or build an X cable (google x1541, xe1541 or xm1541) and then buy (or use the free version of) 64HDD. It allows you to use intel hardware as a hard drive for your 64. It's a really good application for us retro-nuts. I love it because you can serve up d64 and lnx images to your commie.

    Another lesser problem with 1541's is spin rate. This doesn't happen often, but it's easily adjusted. You can find a printable document out there on the IntarWeb that's got a cut-out disk on it with some marks. You tape the disk to the spindle of your 1541 and then you can use a florescent light or a television (not a monitor) to view the spinning disk. When it's properly adjusted the marks will appear stationary. Think wagon wheels in old westerns.

    Also, sorry for being so late to the party here.

    Also 2: I <3 Amiga too.

  5. Re:Very nice, but... by Eadric · · Score: 1 · on Commodore BBSes Return using the Internet.

    Actually, there is a method for hooking up scsi zip drive to a Commodore. Using this method you have unlimited hard drive space in 16 meg drive partitions.

    Another project uses a special cable to allow you to access any PC as if it were a Commodore peripheral. This way you can use your hard drive & cdrom.

  6. Re:Very nice, but... by gklinger · · Score: 1 · on Commodore BBSes Return using the Internet.
    You may find the 64HDD of interest. It's a program that when used with an x1541 cable allows you to access your PCs hard disk from the Commodore 64. When you consider that a 5.25" floppy disk formatted on the 64 provided 170K of storage, even the smallest hard disk available today provides almost limitless storage.

    So, dig your 64 out of your closet and have some fun.