Conference 7.286::atarist

Too bad the BLITZ cable doesn't use the internal drive as the
destination - you could BLITZ the disks from an external drive to the
internal one, regardless of it's alignment.

You may be able to read disks written by an arbitrary external drive. 
You could try using a BLITZ cable in this configuration, and see if you
can read the result, or you could try PRO-COPY using your internal drive
as the destination.  I don't know if PRO-COPY can copy MTP or not.

In either case, you need to borrow an external drive.  I'll call
regarding specifics of how I can help.

    
    
    If it's a problem of speed there are several programs like SED to
    display the current speed of the drive on the monitor. Some drives
    have a poti to adjust to 300RPM. It might fix your troubles.
    A friend of mine had a drive with 280RPM and he couldn't read my
    floppies either, after adjusting to 300 it worked fine.
    
    Bernd
    

    Thanks to Jeff Lomicka!! 
    
    We tried Pro Copy but that didn't seem to be able to make a copy at
    all. We then sacrificed Jeffs external drive cable to make it into a
    BLITZ cable (he was going to do it anyway). BLITZ was able to make a
    copy just fine. But I wasn't able to read the disk made on his external
    drive. So the final solution was to swap drives so that the destination
    drive was the one from my machine. This worked!! So I have working
    copies of MTP that I can use without worry.
    
    The true problem still remains however. I have a drive that seems
    unable to read some disks. I'll see if I have any programs that check
    the drive speed. Are there any available on the net??
    
    -Jim
    

QINDEX (one of the quick utilies) checks drive speed though I have not used it
on a floppy so I can't vouch for it's accuracy. Also you said you used PRO
Copy, Pro Copy V1.8 automaticly checks and displays the drive speed for you. I
have used the Pro Copy check and it seems to be accurate.

	Ray

We used 1.6.  I didn't feel like shelling out the money for 1.8.

    
    
    re - ?
    
    What exactly is a blitz cable ?
    What is BLITZ ?
    
    					Paul.

A BLITZ cable is a cable that connects the PRINTER port of the ST, and
the data out of the floppy disk port (or the OUT port of the first
floppy) drive to the second floppy drive.  The corresponding software 
spins both disks in synchronization, and performs an analog copy of the
first disk onto the second.  Because access to the disk is so low level,
and the copying method is so similar to that of commercial copiers,
there is very little that a software company can do to protect their
disks against this type of copy.  This is also a VERY FAST copier,
copying formatting and data faster than most computers can just format. 
Since I built the cable, I have been using it for doing some mass disk
duplication that I used to do wit PRO-COPY.

The software is PD, and instructions on how to build the cable come
with it.  Many places sell the complete cable.  I noticed it in BRE's
advertisment, and Harry Steele, the SYSOP for the BCS Atari BBoard, has
his son wire them up.  The completed cable, with software, goes for
about $35-$40.

I'll try to remember to upload the details tonight.

    RE:BLITZED?
    
    Hi Paul, just read note 630 and it tells you all about BLITZ.
    
    
    
    
    
    Hans.

One nice thing according to Dave Small of GCR fame is that BLITZ and like
copy tools also deter pirating because each generation of copies that is
BLITZed is more "unstable" due to some sort of lack of ability to do some
sort of write compensation on the blitz copy, so that about the 3rd
generation the disks don't work anyway.

Chad

This seems like the best topic for my problem, so here goes ...

My recently purchased 520 STFM refuses to load some software which used to
load OK on my old machine :-(

I'm assuming that the new DS drive can't access some tracks which the old SS
drive could read - I read somewhere (probably in this notesfile) that software
companies sometimes use tracks 81 onwards (for copy protection reasons ??).

So far I've only found one game which won't load (but I've only tried two !).
This was Activision's Time Scanner. Dungeon Master loaded OK (phew!).

Any ideas on how to get around this (please don't tell me I have to start
sending discs back to the manufacturer).

Cheers,

    Derek.

P.S. Before anyone asks, the games are originals, not copies !!

    I have the same problem, but was unable to get *any* response from
    the manufacturers.
    
    So i'm just waiting th buy a SS drive now ;-) I wanted one anyway.
    
    Lewis. 

    Derek,
    	You have probably changed versions of TOS without realising
    it. This can also be a sorce of problems.
    
    	For example, on Keith Burns machine here (he has an old 1040STF,
    i.e. no 'M', but does have a DS disk), he can run games (e.g. Star
    Trek) which I can't on my newer 520STFM. This is due to a difference
    in the version of TOS.
    
    	He also had difficulty in reading some 'IBM' formatted disks
    that I can read no problem !
    
    	I know this doesn't help, but I'm just pointing out in might
    not be the disks.
    
    		Stuart P.

    For what it's worth, current versions of MTP (v3.5 and later) are no
    longer copy protected.  For your future reference.
    
+b