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• Demo Night
• IIgs Disk Creation

We have a Apple IIgs, which can be neat to run demos on. Using hardware that is actually old makes the demo night more fun, and it's neat just for elementary school nostalgia.

This does not describe how to transfer disk images using a serial null modem cable. That will soon be another viable option, once I find software for doing ZModem on the IIgs.

New Discovery

1. Create an HFS filesystem in a file on the cfcard of the cffa - in linux, using hfsutils. (can be any size for this purpose, e.g. 10MB - it's hard drive disk image)
2. Copy disk images of floppy into filesystem on linux side.
3. Put cfcard back in cffa, boot into our GS/OS installation (called "disk" in 2017), while also mounting hfs filesystem harddisk image (in cffa, setup two devices)
4. GS/OS has hfs drivers, so it mounts it.
5. Run asmiov, and can point at disk images. Use it to make floppies.
6. Note for instance, ProDOS has to be 5.25" (Asmiov asks what format, choose "dos 3.3")

Old Way

3.5" Disks

The unfortunate thing is that Apple uses a special encoding for double density 3.5" disks. This gives 800k of disk space rather than 720k, but no PC floppy drives can write disks for the machine.

Prerequisites

1. kegs (or some other IIgs emulator)
   • Asimov Disk Imager
2. A Macintosh with a floppy drive
   • Disk Copy (6.3.3 works, other versions may also)

Outline

1. make 800k empty file and attach as disk in kegs
   • this will be swap virtual disk
2. make an hfs disk image (e.g. s7d2 in config.kegs) accessible from emulated gs/os
   • have to install an hfs driver in gs/os (selection during install?)
   • Use hfsutils to manipulate disk image, similar to mtools
   • put original (e.g. 2mg) here
3. launch Asimov Disk Imager in kegs
   • may need to re-attach empty disk file as was ejected by gs/os or asimov
4. create disk from image
   • select original image (2mg), use tab to select volume (hfs)
5. back at main menu, create image from disk
   • select diskcopy 4.2 (dc42)
   • pick hfs as destination, hit cmd-s to save (windows-s)

6. transfer images to Mac (i.e. AppleTalk)

   • e.g. use hfsutils to extract dc42 file from hfs virtual disk, put on pc-formatted or hfs floppy
   • hformat if making hfs floppy
7. copy .dc42 file to tmp dir on hard drive
8. open disk copy and load image to mount it - shows up as drive icon
   • do this by dragging .dc42 file onto disk copy window
   • must use new version of disk copy (e.g. 6.3.3)
   • due to resource mumble, can only use Disk Copy to mount image, but can't make floppy
     • resource fork gets lost hfscopying and/or asimov just doesn't generate a correct fork
9. use Disk Copy to create an image from the mounted image
   • select "create image from disk" in image menu
   • select virtual mounted disk
   • select type diskcopy 42
10. save the newly created image somewhere, as this makes disk creation much simpler in the future
11. use the newly created image to make a floppy
    • use diskcopy 4.2 program (actual version 4.2) to do this (somewhat superstition)
    • disk needs to have hole taped to indicate double-density
    • when first stick disk in, mac asks to format - select prodos 800k

5.25" Disks

These are a bit easier, mostly because the disk images are only 140k.

Prerequisites

1. A IIgs with a 5.25" Apple floppy drive
   • Asimov Disk Imager
2. A Macintosh with a floppy drive
   • Need support for formatting 800k ProDOS floppies

Outline

1. transfer disk images to Mac (i.e. AppleTalk, or an MSDOS formatted 3.5" floppy)

2. format a 3.5" floppy in the ProDOS format (if using an HD disk, cover the HD hole with tape)
3. copy the disk images to that floppy (as many as 5 will fit)
4. set up a RAM disk on the Apple IIgs (big enough to hold the disk images)
5. copy the disk images from the floppy to the RAM disk
6. use Asimov Disk Imager to make floppies from the images