1581 backup

[hannenz]

hi.
i just geot hold of a 1581 drive (at last!!) - besides that this drive is really cool, i still lack of a possibility to make backups of my disks.
is there a good utility which does this...?!
i only found one by now which is on the 128er DevPack Disk (it's called simply '1581backup') but if i run it, it reads some seconds from the source disk, then ends up in the monitor, so it doesn't seem to work - is this a known problem or am i missing something?? (i use it with REU, maybe thats the buggy part??)

[BigDumbDinosaur]

hi.
i just geot hold of a 1581 drive (at last!!) - besides that this drive is really cool, i still lack of a possibility to make backups of my disks.
is there a good utility which does this...?!
i only found one by now which is on the 128er DevPack Disk (it's called simply '1581backup') but if i run it, it reads some seconds from the source disk, then ends up in the monitor, so it doesn't seem to work - is this a known problem or am i missing something?? (i use it with REU, maybe thats the buggy part??)

You know, sometimes I get a little irritated with folks who just can't show any initiative.

(i use it with REU, maybe thats the buggy part??)

How about if you unplug the friggin' REU and try the software without it???  Geesh!  Please try to solve the problem before posting a complaint.  If it still doesn't work, see if you can look at the code and figure it out.

<Peevish Dinosaur>

[wte]

You know, sometimes I get a little irritated with folks who just can't show any initiative.

He, he, yes a real dino! Trampling down new forum members. 

@hannenz:
Try this: http://cbmfiles.com/genie/geniefiles/C128Toolkit/C128-1581-BACKUP
Or even better: make your backups on a PC (as images) and spare your stock of 3.5" disks

If you think your REU is damaged, use a test program.
My first c128 didn't work with my very first REU so I returned it to the store (and never bought a second one - but now I have three of them).

WTE

[hannenz]

ok, you are right. of course i could have unplugged my REU and try without but it is more about that i would really like to use it when doing the backup because of less disk swaps, so even if it would work without the REU i wouldn't want to use it or searching for a working alternative... (btw: my REU is ok, i meant that the implementation of the backup-tool using the REU could contain a bug)
then my intention was less to make you forum-members check this out for me but learn if this is known issue with this program, since i suggest that i am not the first person using a 20 year old piece of software....
nevertheless i broke one of the top-don't-do-this-rules, i must admit - sorry for that, this is not my nature normally.
btw: i can't believe that there are no backup/ filecopy tools for the 1581 on c128 out there... what are you guys using to backup/ filecopy? isn't there something like Maverick for c128?
aaaaah - ok, i will ask google first - okokokokok!!! (shall i write it 1000 times now.... ! )

EDIT: and once more i have to say sorry: wte i didn't read your post carefully: thanks for the link, i will give it a try right now. if i had a possibility to do backups on my linux machine i'd be really happy; i started another thread with that issue lately.

[wte]

Yeah, you are a real rule-breaker

1. read the forum(s)
2. google first
3. read (read!) the other postings

But ... I think: f*** on rules! 

WTE

[nikoniko]

I can forgive people asking questions that they could have found the answers to themselves. It's not like we get so many new members that it's a huge burden to share from our own experiences with similar problems or repeat ourselves from time to time. Besides, the content we post helps people to find us, so we might as well write some of the answers here, even multiple times, so that search engines will be more likely to bring people this way. Some people may find not only the answers they were looking for, but also the fellowship of other people who share an interest in the 128. And then after a while, THEY can help the newbies when they show up and start asking questions.

You can always Ignore someone if they really get on your nerves. I'm sure most of our regulars consider adding me to their block list with just about every post I make, and probably a few have gone through with it.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

The irony with this 1581 copy thingie is that the Lt. Kernal hard drive subsystem included a file archiving utility called FASTCOPY, which when used with a 1581, really was fast.  In fact, I recall that it could completely fill an empty 1581 floppy in less than three minutes, including the time required to format the disk.  I can't format and completely fill a floppy much more quickly than that on my UNIX server, and it's powered by an AMD Opteron MPU at 2.5 GHz!

My comment about unplugging the REU to see if it is the culprit stands.  I regularly see this sort of behavior, and not just with computers.  A problem of some sort develops and rather than taking at least a cursory look for the cause, the person with the problem expects someone else to come to the rescue.  The C-128, 1581, REU, et al, are 1980s-era devices and are no longer officially supported by anyone.  So why would someone think that detailed technical help on a 20 year old product is going to be automatically available simply because it's being requested?  How about using some initiative to at least isolate the cause of the problem or provide some detailed symptoms, even though one might not have the technical know-how to actually resolve the difficulty?  Vague comments to the effect that "it doesn't work" are about as useful as a sunroof in the space shuttle.

As for the the 1581 utilities, they were were written when the drive itself was brand new.  It is highly likely that they were not tried out with all possible hardware combinations.  Also, given Commodore's propensity for releasing buggy products, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't work.

Incidentally, I tested the 1581 burst mode primitives supplied with Commodore's DevPak and had no problem meshing them into my own code.  Bear in mind that it's all free software, so don't expect to get anything more than what you paid for it.  :-)

[RobertB]

i just geot hold of a 1581 drive (at last!!)...

Congratulations!

is there a good utility which does this...?!

1581 Toolkit is a very reliable, relatively fast copier.  It's made by the same people who made the Maverick copier, and so, the menu system looks relatively the same.  It file-copies between 1541/71 and 1581 drives.  It disk-copies between two 1581 drives.  However, it does not work with the CMD hard drive or disk drives.

(i use it with REU, maybe thats the buggy part??)

1581 Toolkit works perfectly with the Commodore 17xx ram expanders and clones (but it does not recognize a RAMLink).  With the ram expander, it file-copies faster.  With a C128DCR or C128 with 64k video memory, it will make use of the extra video memory for file-copying (but it cannot combine both the video memory and that of a ram expander to make a larger buffer).  Next to CMD's FCOPY, FCOPY+, and WCopy+, it is a must-have.

If you have more questions, then ask away,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/