Writing software from floppy disk images to real floppy disks for numerous classic computers

Newly made floppiesIntroduction

So you've succumbed to the temptation and bought (or discovered in a closet somewhere) an old 1980's floppy disk-based computer. Congratulations. If you are lucky, the beast would have come with a stack of working disks. More typically the machine is offered with no software, or disks that are so degraded they are unusable.

Fortunately, there are solutions to this problem. Over the next few weeks I'll be writing a series of short articles which summarise my experience in converting disk images back to real disk using MS-DOS/Windows machines for various classic computers. They are not blow-by-blow, step by step accounts and neither are they reviews of all methods. Essentially the articles point to the software and hardware I've successfully used for this purpose and give some tips for their use. You still have to read and follow the instructions given with the packages but it might save you quite a bit of web searching.

Some important considerations before you start

Even with a good disk, there are several reasons a machine might not read it:

If your machine failed to load a known good disk, it could be any of the above.

Disclaimers

There could be other resources that take a different approach to disk imaging on the machines below. I've described ones that worked for me. Also time passes. By the time you read this there may be other software/hardware available for a particular machine that makes the job easier. Finally as with all these non-commercial methods, you use them at your own risk.

Note that the methods described are ONLY for Windows or MS-DOS platforms. My knowledge of Linux or OS X platforms you could write on a napkin!

The software

Although some packages used for writing disk images to these computers are free, much of the software is shareware. Please support the authors by registering your copy. In most cases the software can not only make real floppy disks from images, but can also image real floppy disks.

The computers

Select the system of interest...

Please let me know if there are any broken links in these pages.

Last word

If you are a complete newbie, are prepared to put some work in and want a deeper understanding of floppy disks and disk formats before you start, click to this very useful site.

Good luck with the imaging!

Tez
29th December, 2011

P.S. Of particular interest to most new vintage computer owners are boot disks. If you don't want to go through the hassle of making your own boot disk using the methods detailed under the links (or it's simply impossible) I may be able to make one for you for the cost of labour, materials and postage. Email me to discuss.

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