Getting games onto the x68000

[RetroRepair]

I know there's pretty well trodden ground here but however I look at it, I just can't figure out how I'm supposed to do this.

Retail games are out for me I'm afraid, they are just too expensive. So I have to look at other methods to get games on the thing.

The obvious solution would be to just make some with xfloppy and a 1.2mb drive but I can't find one anywhere for a resonable price. The disks again are an elusive beast. I don't even know to what degree the original drives work.

So then I thought about using a normal PC drive internally but doesn't it then need to be a 3 mode drive? Same for if I connected one externally?

I considered getting an HxC but they also require a frankenstein cable don't they?

So what are my options here? I can't believe in 2014 it can be that hard to get this thing to play a few games, can it?

[RetroRepair]

By the way, is the 5.25" floppy pinout really different to the PC standard? Because I plugged the drives into my old Pentium 1 and it did read a PC formatted disk ok?

[alamone]

A SCSI CD-ROM is probably the easiest way to transfer files, assuming your X68k has a HDD.
If you bought a compact, it is fairly easy to write disk images onto standard 3.5" floppies using a USB floppy drive as long as you have an old enough OS like windows XP.
Otherwise, I'd say the easiest solution is to have a SCSI enclosure with a SCSI->CF converter. This isn't cheap though.
Pretty much nothing on the X68 is cheap. Just the keyboards go for over $100. I'd say stick to emulators if you're not willing to cough up the dough.

[caius]

Hi, be more specific, what kind of V68000 model did you buy?
I guess one with 5.25" FDD.Personally I use a PC with a 5.25" floppy drive unit and the Omniflop program to write back disk images onto 2S/HD 5.25" floppy disk.You can also use an HxC floppy emulator but you will miss some X68000 extra-functions so you will have trouble with multi-disk game.Building a proper cable is not very difficult, you must only cut some ground wires from a standard 34 pin ribbon cable.You can follow this thread if you want to build a cable (not valid for CompactXVI and Pro models):

http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465] [url]http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465[/url]

Obviously you can also connect HxC to X68000 external floppy connector, this is its pinout:

http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:floppy_pinout

[RetroRepair]

Hmm, I wonder, would this modified floppy cable be valid also if I wanted to use a 3.5" drive in the X68000? The idea is that I can write the disks to a normal 3.5" floppy then duplicate them to the other 5.25" drive. This is only until I manage to find a 5.25" drive for my old PC.

If nothing else, I could use it to make a human68k disk then use the serial transfer method?

I just happened to have a 3 mode 3.5" drive here I wrote a floppy to in the PC but it refuses to work in the x68k.

[RetroRepair]

Ok well I tried cutting the X68K exclusive signals on the floppy connector and it still won't work. I guess there's something wrong with jumpers or something.

When I put a disk in the 3.5" drive it asks for a disk and the light goes out. When I eject the disk it tries to load. I'm lost now 

[caius]

Hmm, I wonder, would this modified floppy cable be valid also if I wanted to use a 3.5" drive in the X68000? The idea is that I can write the disks to a normal 3.5" floppy then duplicate them to the other 5.25" drive. This is only until I manage to find a 5.25" drive for my old PC.

Yes, it shoud work since 5.25" and 3.52 floppy drive pin out is the same.But, obviously, this 3.5" FDD must be 3-capable.Personally I use a Samsung SFD-321B FDD with can be convertd to 3-mode by jumpering some pads on the PCB

I just happened to have a 3 mode 3.5" drive here I wrote a floppy to in the PC but it refuses to work in the x68k.

What kind of floppy drive do you have?Internal or external?USB or standard for PC?Besides, you didn't still tell which model of X68000 you own.

[caius]

Ok well I tried cutting the X68K exclusive signals on the floppy connector and it still won't work. I guess there's something wrong with jumpers or something.

When I put a disk in the 3.5" drive it asks for a disk and the light goes out. When I eject the disk it tries to load. I'm lost now 

Again, what model of floppy drive did you use?Which is the diagram used to build the cable?Post it here and we canp hel you.

[RetroRepair]

Sorry, the X68K is a standard Expert.

The floppy cable is a normal PC drive cable with 5.25 and 3.5 connectors (twisted at the end) and I modified it as noted here:

http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465] http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.geocities.jp/cpuparts98/FDD/FDDLIST/98FDS.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFD1231M%2B3mode%26espv%3D210%26es_sm%3D119%26biw%3D1811%26bih%3D985]http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465

The floppy drive I'm starting to wonder if it really is a 3 mode, but it's a NEC FD1231M. This site seems to indicate it's a 3 mode:

[url]http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.geocities.jp/cpuparts98/FDD/FDDLIST/98FDS.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFD1231M%2B3mode%26espv%3D210%26es_sm%3D119%26biw%3D1811%26bih%3D985

It's a bezel-less internal PC drive, used in HP machines I think. There are no jumpers obvious to indicate it's a 3 mode drive though.

[caius]

Sorry, the X68K is a standard Expert.

The floppy cable is a normal PC drive cable with 5.25 and 3.5 connectors (twisted at the end) and I modified it as noted here:

http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465] http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465

I think that guide speaks about a not twisted cable.Try a straight cable instead

The floppy drive I'm starting to wonder if it really is a 3 mode, but it's a NEC FD1231M. This site seems to indicate it's a 3 mode:

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.geocities.jp/cpuparts98/FDD/FDDLIST/98FDS.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFD1231M%2B3mode%26espv%3D210%26es_sm%3D119%26biw%3D1811%26bih%3D985]http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.geocities.jp/cpuparts98/FDD/FDDLIST/98FDS.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFD1231M%2B3mode%26espv%3D210%26es_sm%3D119%26biw%3D1811%26bih%3D985]http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=465[/quote]I%20think%20that%20guide%20speaks%20about%20a%20not%20twisted%20cable.Try%20a%20straight%20cable%20instead[quote%20author=RetroRepair%20link=topic=5270.msg35422#msg35422%20date=1395328125]The%20floppy%20drive%20I'm%20starting%20to%20wonder%20if%20it%20really%20is%20a%203%20mode,%20but%20it's%20a%20NEC%20FD1231M.%20This%20site%20seems%20to%20indicate%20it's%20a%203%20mode:[url]http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.geocities.jp/cpuparts98/FDD/FDDLIST/98FDS.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFD1231M%2B3mode%26espv%3D210%26es_sm%3D119%26biw%3D1811%26bih%3D985

It's a bezel-less internal PC drive, used in HP machines I think. There are no jumpers obvious to indicate it's a 3 mode drive though.

I don't konw if your NEC FD1231M is really 3-mode capable, there are a lot of revision.It's used on PC-98 japanese computers so it should be.Try to format a 3.5" floppy under Windows XP using this command line:

Code Select Expand

format a: /a:1024 /t:77 /n:8 /u

Obviously your PC motherboard must support the 3-mode so check the setting under BIOS.

[RetroRepair]

I tried untwisting the cable and it still didn't work. Looking into it though I think this only reassigns the drive number so if I had two 3 mode 3.5" drives I'd need it. So if I'm mixing a 3.5 and a 5.25 I'd need untwisted and make sure the 3.5 is drive 0 and the 5.25 is drive 1 (and jumpered to be drive 1).

I didn't think about the motherboard needing to support 3 mode drives  I guess that means I'm stuffed as there's no option for that in my bios. If it really is a 3 mode though, couldn't I just set it in the BIOS as a high density 5.25" drive?

I can't use XP on this either btw, it's an old 6x86 CPU. It's running windows 95 at the moment!

[caius]

I tried untwisting the cable and it still didn't work. Looking into it though I think this only reassigns the drive number so if I had two 3 mode 3.5" drives I'd need it. So if I'm mixing a 3.5 and a 5.25 I'd need untwisted and make sure the 3.5 is drive 0 and the 5.25 is drive 1 (and jumpered to be drive 1).

Have you double check with a multimeter if your cable is fine?

I didn't think about the motherboard needing to support 3 mode drives  I guess that means I'm stuffed as there's no option for that in my bios. If it really is a 3 mode though, couldn't I just set it in the BIOS as a high density 5.25" drive?

I can't use XP on this either btw, it's an old 6x86 CPU. It's running windows 95 at the moment!

You can try to set you BIOS to 5.25" and see if it will work.I think FDD controller doesn't matter if 3.5" or 5.25" drive.
I think you must use Windows XP, it will not work under Windows95.

[RetroRepair]

The cable is fine, it worked with just the original drives anyway.

I might have to give up on this and just grab a regular 5.25" 1.2mb drive and some disks. Means I will have to wait a few weeks for US delivery but I don't see any other way of doing it.

Kinda sucks, I've had the thing for almost a month and still haven't played anything but Cha Cha Cha (and now I've replaced the battery I can't even do that as I have to tell the machine to use 2mb in system.x which I don't have!).

[dos]

If you're not set on using disks, a CF SCSI solution would be perfect for you, these are great!

http://www.artmix.com/CF_AztecMonster.html