Dr_Acula
Experienced Member
From time to time the chicken and egg problem arises - how do you get the first file onto an old computer in order to start copying other files?
I've been experimenting with the uDrive http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-mass-storage-for-your-microcontroller-proje/
In theory, if a vintage computer has a spare serial port then this little device could not only give you access to one file, but it could give you access to the entire Walnut Creek archive and every CP/M program ever written. And still only be half full!
The trick is getting software working, and at the simplest level one would need a program that can send and receive bytes to and from a serial port in a specific order. So you might need the minimum of Assembly or C or Basic working on a vintage machine.
Then, just read files over and save them on a disk. That would require a program similar to the vb.net one on the Instructable, which is perhaps an evening of coding in your favourite language. I've got similar software written in CP/M that turns a PCs directory into a new drive on a CP/M computer. But that requires a PC to be on all the time. I like the idea of getting the PC out of the loop and having a standalone CP/M computer with access to its own library of files.
My first computer was a CP/M board and it had two serial ports - one for the keyboard/monitor, and one was for I/O. I did all sorts of clever things with that second port. Did other vintage CP/M computers have a serial port?
I've been experimenting with the uDrive http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-mass-storage-for-your-microcontroller-proje/
In theory, if a vintage computer has a spare serial port then this little device could not only give you access to one file, but it could give you access to the entire Walnut Creek archive and every CP/M program ever written. And still only be half full!
The trick is getting software working, and at the simplest level one would need a program that can send and receive bytes to and from a serial port in a specific order. So you might need the minimum of Assembly or C or Basic working on a vintage machine.
Then, just read files over and save them on a disk. That would require a program similar to the vb.net one on the Instructable, which is perhaps an evening of coding in your favourite language. I've got similar software written in CP/M that turns a PCs directory into a new drive on a CP/M computer. But that requires a PC to be on all the time. I like the idea of getting the PC out of the loop and having a standalone CP/M computer with access to its own library of files.
My first computer was a CP/M board and it had two serial ports - one for the keyboard/monitor, and one was for I/O. I did all sorts of clever things with that second port. Did other vintage CP/M computers have a serial port?