[vcf-midatlantic] Getting Data off old Atari Floppies

[Jason Howe]

i'm still using many of my original Atari floppies on a regular basis.  
At 90K per disk, the data density is so low, I don't know they just seem 
to hold up very well.  As such, I wouldn't be too concerned about "the 
first read is your last" type situation with these.  I think that's much 
more of a concern with tape media where the magnetic layer separates 
from the plastic film.

Atari 810 drives would write in "Single Density" or 90K/disk.
1050 drivers could write SD 90K OR Enhanced Density 130K/disk.

It depended on the DOS used.  AtariDos 2.0 could only do SD, even with a 
1050 drive.  Atari Dos 2.5 and 3, could do ED with a 1050 Drive.

The 1050's are generally regarded as being a bit more robust that the 
810 drives, though personally I've had less headaches with my 810 then 
my 1050s.  Also if you have some ED formatted disks, you'll definitely 
need a 1050 or better( XF551 or Indus GT for example) to read them.

But, yes the cable and the software should be all you need to take disk 
images.  I *think*, but I am not certain that you'd need a "Happy" 1050 
to be able to take images (or make copies) of disks with write 
protection schemes.  As far as I know there was no "Happy" format, but I 
could be mistaken on that.

I know the Happy 1050 board is fairy popular for doing this type of work 
and is readily available.

--Jason.



On 12/13/2015 12:36 PM, John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> Dear Hobbyists,
>
> I went to VCF East 2014 and I remember a really good presentation on the
> best practices for getting data off of old floppies..   things like
> assuming your first read may be your only successful read,  etc..
>
> Can someone point me to a web link or send me the tips for restoring data
> off of old floppies?
>
> I have a # of old floppies including (I believe) snapshots of an Atari 8bit
> BBS I used to run with my father.  Some floppies are in OK condition,
> others not.. and I need to know the order of operations for preventing
> damage to 'future floppies', etc..  Should I be cleaning the drive after
> every single disk?   what's the best way to clean the drive?, etc...
>
> I plan to use a USB or RS232 to SIO type adapter and probably the Atarimax
> APE software (windows or DOS, tbd) as the 'destination',
>
> Thanks much :)
>
> P.S.  Bonus points if someone can tell me if a 1050 is suitable for doing
> all of this work..  My old floppies are a mixture of 810 format (single
> density) and 1050 (dual density).     I also think some 810 disks were
> written in happy drive format, but I believe a 1050 will still read them,
> just not as fast as a happy 810 drive would..
>
> John H