The alternative to modifying any drives is to remove the magnetic media from a FDS disk and place it in a QD casing. My MZ-1500 machine comes with a QD copy program, but I think I did not have much time to experiment with it yet. The same goes for the Sharp MZ, I'm not sure at all that the supossed "raw" backup is a real raw reading procedureĪnd talking about Microsoft BASIC, it's a pretty standard implementation so, believe me, if you know how to program any other language (even MS-DOS scripts) you're near to learn (MSX-)BASIC only with some little effort Modding a QD drive could ruin it for the original machine.Īre the file formats so different this is impossible w/o special software, or can the MSX do a raw dump, formatting be damned Which were basically quickdisks, just a bit longer in casingĪre you sure that's only the case?. Being BASIC seems easy to examine and play with it. I've also some MZ-800 machines (european version of MZ-1500) with QD and I'm pretty sure that in one of the QD Basic system disks, there's a BASIC program to make a backup "raw" copy of itself. Also, how versatile is the MSX at calling info from the QD drive (treating it as any cassette, hard drive, or floppy disk)?Īny help, advice, theorizing, or discussion is most welcome. If someone knows a newb tutorial on MSX commands, that would be awesome. Many have said it is not much different than DOS, only with completely different commands (HA!). I also have the MZ-1500, in case there's any experts here on that sort of thing.Īlso, I must shamefully admit that I know almost NOTHING about BASIC, and therefore how to command an MSX. I own a Turbo R system and MSX QD drive (originally bought both just to experiment with the QD stuff and eventually get some great games). I even saw a picture of an FDS drive connected to an MZ-1500, but they never showed the connection, just the fronts of the units with a caption. The same hinting was indicated for the Sharp MZ-1500 and other QD-enabled MZ systems (I think there was only one or two others anyway). Does one need special software? Is the FDS disk inserted into a standard MSX QD drive (with mod to allow for the case extension)? Is an FDS unit (or its innards) connected to the MSX QD drive? Are the file formats so different this is impossible w/o special software, or can the MSX do a raw dump, formatting be damned (if so, it would be GREAT to dump all my Roland synth disks too for preservation!)? After scouring hundreds of Japanese sites and doing terrible translations of various snippets I could find, there was ample hinting that the MSX QuickDisk drive can back up Famicom disks. I have been researching methods to back up Famicom disks, which were basically quickdisks, just a bit longer in casing. The small, detachable part attaches to the back of the disk and, along with a removal of the small tabs on the side of the disk, allows the disk to be inserted into the FDS and for the system to recognize it as a valid disk.I'm new to this forum and my MSX knowledge is limited, but some folks mentioned you guys are *the* experts on this stuff, so I figured I'd give you guys a shout. adopted a physical modification to Mitsumi’s QuickDisks to allow them to be used on a FDS. Unlike most drives which store data in sectors, the FDS disks store data in continuous files in a long spiral, which has led some to compare it more to a tape-stream unit than a traditional random access disk drive.Ĭompanies like Hacker International Co., Ltd. The majority of FDS disks were manufactured without a sliding cover to prevent media contamination in an effort to save money on production, but this was later included in a series of five blue disks games. The double-sided FDS “Disk System Cards” hold 64KB (1KB = 1024 bytes) per side and are contained within a 3″ x 4″ housing. The disk media that the Nintendo Famicom Disk System utilizes is a slight modification of Mitsumi’s “QuickDisk” 2.8″ square disk format. Related: Disk Copy, Disks, Game Doctors, Disk Writing and Dumping Services
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