[vcf-midatlantic] Getting Data off old Atari Floppies

[william degnan]

On Dec 13, 2015 3:36 PM, "John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic" <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> 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

Never hurts to be conservative, clean the heads after each read, but most
important I'd start with a known working disk copy to be sure you have a
process that works before you attempt delicate - looking media.  You may
need more than one OS version for a range of drive types.  Set up a text
disk for each version of OS.

Me,  I have used a Catweasel to read Atari disks regardless of how
written.  I also have an Atari SIO unit to emulate the drive.  This should
not be tough if, and that is a big if, you have a Catweasel or compatible
driver controller or the SIO USB dongle.