The result was a mass storage emulator program: the HPDrive utility.
Hp floppy disk emulator how to#
So I decided to do all that work, scanning all the HP-IB commands which go forth and back between a 9845 host and the peripheral, checking out the manuals which describe higher level HP-IB based command sets like the AMIGO command set, finding out how to low level program those GPIB boards under modern operating systems and whatever was needed to get this task done. But it can be quite useful, especially if you don't own other mass storage in working condition. The emulator can work with much higher speed than the original drives.Ĭertainly, an emulator will never really replace the feeling with a real vintage drive, reading real vintage floppies, making all that noise, and drawing lots of power.
The emulator can be configured to simulate different types of drives, firmware revisions and media.The emulator can use binary image files as replacement of real mass storage media, so direct archiving is simplified.
Hp floppy disk emulator Pc#
Hp floppy disk emulator drivers#
And emulating a real drive behind an IEEE488/GPIB interface has the advantage that drive functionality is totally transparent for the host and there is NO change needed on the host side (such as creating new drivers etc.).īeyond replacing a vintage HP-IB mass storage drive, an emulator has some additional advantages: The dedicated IEEE488/GPIB interface still is the best choice for compatibilty with old HP-IB systems and in case of doubt (in terms of compatibility) superior to home-brew solutions since those industry solutions have in general been designed and tested thoroughly against the standard. At the PC side, only a suitable IEEE488/GPIB interface card is needed, plus the emulator program itself. Since the 98034A interface is the only peripheral interface which is directly supported by the 9845 operating system (besides the 98041A disk interface), it is probably a good idea to build this emulator for use with an HP-IB connection. If you can't find a 9895A drive or any other mass storage in working condition, emulating a real vintage drive on a conventional PC is an attractive alternative.
If you own one, a floppy disk drive like the 9895A is certainly a good choice, of course in combination with the appropriate 98034A/B HP-IB interface. Since today most of the built-in tape drive systems fail (and because using those tape drives as storage - even if they do work - is not recommended anyway), another type of mass storage peripheral is needed.
If you got a working vintage computer system like the HP 9845 you probably want use some mass storage as well.
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