Hewlett Packard HP-35660a LIF and HFE difficulties

[richardm]

Hi All

Apologies for the long-winded explanation!!

I have sifted through many threads and tried find an answer to my problems. I have been trying for days trying to work out how to eventually replace my 3.5 floppy in my HP=35660a DSA with an HxC gotek (firmware already setup by me). I am pretty sure it is the same Sony drive that is in the HP-4145B. One thing I MUST be able to achieve is replicate one of the HP-35660a floppies that has an old application on it called IBASIC (HP Instrument Basic, a file called IBASIC_LD.D that you can load at boot). I don't want to lose this application.

So, I have a greaseweazel and have read the raw flux from an empty floppy and the floppy with the IBASIC app. I can write that back to a real floppy and it loads in the DSA. At least now I have several floppies as backups with the IBASIC application.

What I now want to do is create a working HFE image for the Gotek with the IBASIC app on it. That's where I have come unstuck. None of the HP-4145B HFE images can be read in Lifutils and therefore are not going to be readable on the 35660A.

I have a Windows 98 PC that is MSDOS compatible and I have established the correct LIF format that works in the 35660A. I can format a real DS/HD disk (with tape over the HD hole so it looks like a DS/DD) using Lifutils that has a preset for a 616K LIF, 2464 blocks, 256 bytes/sector, 16 sectors/track. This loads fine in the 35660A. Problem is it doesn't have IBASIC on it and Lifutils cannot handle this type of file (File Type 4000 I believe ?). What I have managed to do is format an HFE blank 720k Image from lifutils on the Gotek and using the greaseweazel I can write this to a floppy and it works in the 35660a. This means I am 90% there but I cannot work out how to now use the HxC Software with my Flux images and what I know about the lif format from the blank Lif HFE that works, to create an SCP/HFE with IBASIC on it.

One thing I have noticed is when I load the raw flux is shows as 82 Tracks, 2560 Sectors, Size 327,680 per side. ?

Any help appreciated. I can somehow share the flux and working HFE if it helps

Cheers

Richard

[richardm]

I should also add that I have saved the raw flux as HFE in the HxC Software and saved to a USB, but Lifutils just reports there is no disk in the Gotek drive. If Lifutils cannot see it then the 35660a won't either.

[Jeff]

Have you set the interface mode ?

[richardm]

Thanks for the reply

I have now set the interface mode on the Gotek to dsdd, forget which one exactly and seems to have improved reliability reading the Gotek in lifutils.

I think I also have a working solution. I needed to create a diskdefs with seperate write and convert entries.

disk hp.lif.80dd.convert
cyls = 77
heads = 2
tracks * ibm.mfm
interleave = 2
secs = 16
bps = 256
end
end

disk hp.lif.80dd.write.hfe.35660a
cyls = 77
heads = 2
tracks * ibm.mfm
interleave = 2
secs = 16
bps = 256
rate = 500
rpm = 600
end
end

disk hp.lif.80dd.write.hfe.gotek
cyls = 77
heads = 2
tracks * ibm.mfm
interleave = 2
secs = 16
bps = 256
rate = 250
rpm = 300
end
end

And then use the greaseweazel along these lines

>gw read --drive=a --revs=5 35660a-ibasic.scp
>gw convert --diskdefs diskdefs.cfg --format hp.lif.80dd.convert 35660a-ibasic.scp 35660a-ibasic.img
>gw convert --diskdefs diskdefs.cfg --format hp.lif.80dd.write.hfe.gotek 35660a-ibasic.img 35660a-ibasic-gotek.hfe::bitrate=250

Writing the .hfe back to a floppy seems to work in the 35660a. Now all that is left to do is replace the 35660a floppy with the Gotek for the real test. Unfortunately the front panel of the 35660a makes that difficult.

Richard