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Wanted: Driver software for Panasonic/Matsushita LF-7010 or LF-5010 SCSI WORM drive

Chuck(G)

Chuck(G)

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I've got this old beast and can dump the data from it, but it appears to use a proprietary filesystem organization. I really don't want to puzzle it out, so drivers would be very welcome.

StorageDrivers.com and a few other sites claim to have DOS/Win95 drivers, but they've hidden them behind massive (5-18MB) leechware that promises to update the drivers on your own system (when it comes to a system running MSDOS, it sounds like a scam).

Can anyone help out?

TIA
 
As far as I'm aware, those drives just act as removable media scsi drives, Filesystem is entirely up to the operating system. Could be FAT, EXT2FS, HPFS, whatever. WORM vs. Read/Write should just be determined by the media. If it was part of a proprietary system, like Cannon's Cannofile, then I'd probably use data recovery software that ignores filesystem and looks for contiguous data that looks like a file.

I'd stay way away from those driver sites. For dos, best bet would be an Adaptec card with the aspi driver suite.
 
eswan said:
As far as I'm aware, those drives just act as removable media scsi drives, Filesystem is entirely up to the operating system. Could be FAT, EXT2FS, HPFS, whatever. WORM vs. Read/Write should just be determined by the media. If it was part of a proprietary system, like Cannon's Cannofile, then I'd probably use data recovery software that ignores filesystem and looks for contiguous data that looks like a file.

I'd stay way away from those driver sites. For dos, best bet would be an Adaptec card with the aspi driver suite.
Click to expand...

I don't think you read my post carefully. I can dump the information (I have been known to write a driver or two) and have written my code to do so.

The filesystem is obviously one unique to the media (not any of the usual suspects). In fact, at best, it seems like a linked list--you have to remember that rewriting information on a WORM isn't possible, so there's no need for the usual file structures. Think about it. You can determine whether a sector has been written to or not by reading it--unwritten sectors return an error. This is a whole different universe. Which is why I'm interested in the Panasonic driver code.

Here's what I know from a casual inspection. The first 128 sectors (1,024 byte sectors, BTW) appear to be pointers to a list of other sectors, one pointer per sector (how's that for efficiency?) 3-byte big-endian. That's as far as I've gotten--I can post details, but I'd rather have the Panasonic driver.

Maybe I'm talking to the wrong crowd. I suspect that phase-change WORM is a little outside the experience of most folks.
 
The only WORM drives I have are IBM model 3363. MO is much more fun.

LF-7010 is the rewritable one that can read and write the WORM discs from the LF-5010.

Anyway anything that old would have worked on a 68k mac and sold by a few different companies like Storage Dimensions etc. If you have an old 68K mac around try connecting it to that use a utility like Silverlining or equivalent to read the disks.
 
The info I have from the customer is that this may not have been a Mac application, as far as I can tell. Something called Documaster. Don't have a 68K, but do have a couple of Performas.
 
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Well reading the disks is one thing, a custom file for a long lost proprietary app is another.

I figured the drive was connected to a pricey Mac or Unix system back in the mid 90's and not some cheap old PC (drives were pricey). Since I seen those drives sold to Mac users I figured start there, and I have zero experience with 90's UNIX systems.

https://www.idesglobal.com/masterconcept/docmaster/
 
Yeah, I've seen that, but right now things are a bit of a mystery. I'm going to stare at a dump and see if there's anything that might give a hint as to what and where these were used. I'll post some samples later when I have some sort of confidence in my routines.
 
Got the dump code straightened out. First sector of each disk is unformatted; starting with sector 1:

Code: 
00000000  58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58  58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58  |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX|
*
00000400  04 0d 04 1d 00 0e 42 5d  02 00 20 03 00 03 48 47  |......B].. ...HG|
00000410  49 42 32 2e 31 31 2d 30  33 2e 30 30 43 72 65 61  |IB2.11-03.00Crea|
00000420  74 65 64 3a 20 54 68 72  20 32 39 20 41 70 72 20  |ted: Thr 29 Apr |
00000430  31 39 39 33 20 20 20 20  20 31 34 3a 31 35 2e 32  |1993     14:15.2|
00000440  37 3a 34 38 20 20 20 20  4f 70 74 69 73 79 73 20  |7:48    Optisys |
00000450  4f 70 74 69 44 69 73 6b  20 28 43 29 20 43 6f 70  |OptiDisk (C) Cop|
00000460  79 72 69 67 68 74 20 31  39 38 37 20 2d 20 31 39  |yright 1987 - 19|
00000470  39 31 20 20 20 20 20 20  20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  |91              |
00000480  20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  |                |
*
00000800  00 00 02 02 3c 2d 2d 2d  2d 54 6f 70 20 6f 66 20  |....<----Top of |
00000810  44 61 74 61 20 4d 61 72  6b 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |Data Mark.......|
00000820  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
*
00000c00  00 00 03 82 3c 2d 2d 2d  2d 54 6f 70 20 6f 66 20  |....<----Top of |
00000c10  44 61 74 61 20 4d 61 72  6b 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |Data Mark.......|
00000c20  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
*
00001000  00 00 05 02 3c 2d 2d 2d  2d 54 6f 70 20 6f 66 20  |....<----Top of |
00001010  44 61 74 61 20 4d 61 72  6b 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |Data Mark.......|
00001020  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|

And so on... Does Optisys OptiDisk ring any bells?

And, eventually:

Code: 
00060800  56 4f 4c 32 41 20 20 20  20 20 20 00 08 71 ef 1a  |VOL2A      ..q..|
00060810  9d 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
00060820  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
*
00060c00  56 4f 4c 32 41 20 20 20  20 20 20 00 08 71 ef 1a  |VOL2A      ..q..|
00060c10  9d 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
00060c20  32 32 38 30 30 30 30 20  20 20 20 00 10 6b ff 1b  |2280000    ..k..|
00060c30  52 00 00 00 00 00 00 02  02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |R...............|
00060c40  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
*
00061000  56 4f 4c 32 41 20 20 20  20 20 20 00 08 71 ef 1a  |VOL2A      ..q..|
00061010  9d 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
00061020  32 32 38 30 30 30 30 20  20 20 20 00 10 6b ff 1b  |2280000    ..k..|
00061030  52 00 00 00 00 00 00 02  02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |R...............|
00061040  31 36 39 30 30 30 30 20  20 20 20 00 10 56 b5 1b  |1690000    ..V..|
00061050  62 00 00 00 00 00 04 a7  38 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |b.......8.......|
00061060  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
*
00061400  56 4f 4c 32 41 20 20 20  20 20 20 00 08 71 ef 1a  |VOL2A      ..q..|
00061410  9d 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
00061420  32 32 38 30 30 30 30 20  20 20 20 00 10 6b ff 1b  |2280000    ..k..|
00061430  52 00 00 00 00 00 00 02  02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |R...............|
00061440  31 36 39 30 30 30 30 20  20 20 20 00 10 56 b5 1b  |1690000    ..V..|

...appears to be a directory of some sort; with each block the same as the previous one, but with one new entry added. Then finally, what looks to be data:

Code: 
00140840  21 92 1b 63 e4 32 41 13  91 7b bf 20 78 6b b9 2c  |!..c.2A..{. xk.,|
00140850  bf 20 78 67 50 ad fa af  eb 73 36 f2 0a d8 41 7c  |. xgP....s6...A||
00140860  f7 84 0f 9e 64 39 c1 06  42 11 f9 06 6b f8 b0 83  |....d9..B...k...|
00140870  09 ae ca 70 88 86 6b 91  68 10 3d ed 34 d3 c8 1e  |...p..k.h.=.4...|
00140880  19 7e d9 54 21 10 13 04  f5 bf 4f d0 b0 a8 3b af  |.~.T!.....O...;.|
00140890  54 7f cc fe ed ea b6 97  3c 7c 3c 20 fd 5f a7 67  |T.......<|< ._.g|
001408a0  44 cd ea f1 ab fe 91 9d  9e 3c 74 e3 b0 76 73 eb  |D........<t..vs.|
001408b0  33 f0 a1 37 b7 d6 09 48  64 3f 84 1e 17 a8 5a f2  |3..7...Hd?....Z.|
001408c0  2e 8c 3b ef 76 a3 8e bc  26 dd 6f fd dc 13 da 90  |..;.v...&.o.....|
001408d0  87 ad 7d 7a 9e 0d 1d 1a  34 43 1d 3c 05 40 23 ff  |..}z....4C.<.@#.|
001408e0  50 bf 85 91 bb ff f5 3e  18 38 19 bf a5 08 35 6c  |P......>.8....5l|
001408f0  9f 7f bd 3f d5 aa 1c 7f  fe 47 76 4b 3e e2 f7 ff  |...?.....GvK>...|
00140900  56 c1 63 d7 da 6b d7 78  fe d5 da 0d 7f ab be ee  |V.c..k.x........|
00140910  e1 a0 c2 fd 6d a6 ba 68  19 b0 2a 02 c7 f7 68 18  |....m..h..*...h.|
00140920  21 11 1f 77 68 18 21 da  68 44 71 1c 81 a0 2a f9  |!..wh.!.hDq...*.|
00140930  0d 0a 32 06 61 ae e4 34  4c 85 a1 05 f4 20 86 32  |..2.a..4L.... .2|
00140940  19 20 ab 64 35 dc 81 87  21 c8 21 9d 09 a6 10 6b  |. .d5...!.!....k|
00140950  90 c9 02 ee 41 c3 21 82  64 26 81 34 ef 08 3f 21  |....A.!.d&.4..?!|
00140960  92 92 04 1a 7a f7 a7 e4  32 0a a2 4a d4 10 77 6e  |....z...2..J..wn|
00140970  bb a6 f9 03 c0 c0 82 0e  61 07 49 de b7 7a f8 40  |........a.I..z.@|
00140980  d6 f4 ff fd 3f 86 ad e9  dd eb 7f 29 c0 ee 1b 5b  |....?......)...[|
00140990  d5 53 7d 2b f4 43 27 27  03 b8 29 6f 6d fb fe f8  |.S}+.C''..)om...|
001409a0  4f fb fc 86 4e 4e 13 7a  77 ef f7 f2 18 10 09 e9  |O...NN.zw.......|
 
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ame: Optisys, Inc BBS:
Adr1: 8620 N 22nd Ave, #109 SALES: 800-327-1271
Adr2: TECH: 602-997-9499
Adr3: Phoenix, AZ 85021 FAX: 602-944-4051
eMail: FaxBack:
URL:
Cmnt: OptiDrive for CD-ROM
 
A piece of mac software called "FWB HARD DISK TOOLKIT" claims to be able to read them. Also, the Panasonic FTP site seems to have a firmware update for the LF-7300 drives that mentions some sort of compatibility with the 5010, so perhaps that's something else to add to you google net. ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/Drivers/Misc/GA115.EXE

Code: 
Firware Version:                             GA111
Revision Level:                              A111 (03/25/1994)
Implementation:                              94/Apr. production

Fixed Trouble/Changed Specification:
         Format error regarding target alternate format of 470MB
         WORM medium:fixed
         -        The 470MB WORM medium formatted as Target Alternate
                  Mode by LF-7300 series drive can not be read
                  nor written by LF-5010 series drive.  With this
                  medium, when the LF-5010 series drive receives
                  READ/WRITE  command, the drive will return
                  CHECK CONDITION status and will set the sense key to
                  MEDIUM ERROR with an additional sense code to
                  UNSUPPORTED LOGICAL FORMAT (9102h).
         Read Error Regarding Continuous Read with No ECC: fixed
         -        If the read cache is enabled and the LF-7300 series
                  drive continously receives a READ command with NO
                  ECC bit on one (1), the drive will return CHECK
                  CONDITION status and set the sense key to
                  HARDWARE ERROR with an additional sense code to
                  LOGICAL CONTRADICTION (FF01h).
         No Eject when -RST signal of SCSI bus is Low:fixed
         -        Even if an EJECT button of the drive's front panel
                  is pressed while a -RST signal from the SCSI
                  bus is low, a medium can not be removed.  The -RST
                  signal will be low when the drive is not connected
                  to the SCSI bus without the power terminator
                  enabled (ie. TERMINATOR power switch is set to OFF or
                  TERMINATOR POWER FUSE is blown).
 
jafir said:
A piece of mac software called "FWB HARD DISK TOOLKIT" claims to be able to read them. Also, the Panasonic FTP site seems to have a firmware update for the LF-7300 drives that mentions some sort of compatibility with the 5010, so perhaps that's something else to add to you google net. ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/Drivers/Misc/GA115.EXE

Code: 
Firware Version:                             GA111
Revision Level:                              A111 (03/25/1994)
Implementation:                              94/Apr. production

Fixed Trouble/Changed Specification:
         Format error regarding target alternate format of 470MB
         WORM medium:fixed
         -        The 470MB WORM medium formatted as Target Alternate
                  Mode by LF-7300 series drive can not be read
                  nor written by LF-5010 series drive.  With this
                  medium, when the LF-5010 series drive receives
                  READ/WRITE  command, the drive will return
                  CHECK CONDITION status and will set the sense key to
                  MEDIUM ERROR with an additional sense code to
                  UNSUPPORTED LOGICAL FORMAT (9102h).
         Read Error Regarding Continuous Read with No ECC: fixed
         -        If the read cache is enabled and the LF-7300 series
                  drive continously receives a READ command with NO
                  ECC bit on one (1), the drive will return CHECK
                  CONDITION status and set the sense key to
                  HARDWARE ERROR with an additional sense code to
                  LOGICAL CONTRADICTION (FF01h).
         No Eject when -RST signal of SCSI bus is Low:fixed
         -        Even if an EJECT button of the drive's front panel
                  is pressed while a -RST signal from the SCSI
                  bus is low, a medium can not be removed.  The -RST
                  signal will be low when the drive is not connected
                  to the SCSI bus without the power terminator
                  enabled (ie. TERMINATOR power switch is set to OFF or
                  TERMINATOR POWER FUSE is blown).
Click to expand...

You miss the point--I can read them using the standard SCSI2 command set, but the file system details are not clear. Note that this is not any ordinary file system, as this is a write once medium. You can't update anything on disc--if you, say, need to add a file, you create a new directory block, duplicate the old one with the new entry. Those who think that is is FAT, or Ext2fs or MFS or even ISO9660 are missing the point--writes can only go to sectors that have never been written before. This is not MO or CDRW--you get one chance to write a sector, and, and this medium is updated on the fly.

I guess it's up to me to puzzle this one out unless there's more information running around about Optisys.
 
I didn't completely miss this point, what I was suggesting is that perhaps it might be easier to find the driver for the 7300 instead of the 5010, so if others see this and they have the newer drive and driver, perhaps that would give you what you need.
 
Your cite relates to low-level driver software; what I need is filesystem software. I guess I'll just have to figure it out.

One interesting aspect is that the disc appears to be partitioned into pre-allocated areas. Trying to read an unwritten sector slows things down quite a bit; if I knew how to locate the written areas on the disk, the process of reading could be sped up considerably.

I'll give the FWB toolkit a try, but I don't think it's the right tool. CorelSCSI appears to have something called Optistar for WORM, perhaps it's what I'm looking for.
 
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Nope, the system used to handle the WORM is proprietary to OptiSys. See the following ad from 1987.

So at least we know that it was intended for IBM PC. Next step is to run the data pointers and links and see where that goes. That shouldn't take too long, as I shouldn't be hitting any unused sectors.

And finally, the Wayback machine tells me what I'm looking for OptiDriver. Doubt that I'll find it, but you never know.
 
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Update Well, I reverse-engineered the filesystem and managed to retrieve all of the files--even managed to get the date and time of the things right. It was educational, seeing how updating a WORM-disk system operated. Lots of space pre-allocated for directories that might change. For example, suppose you have a directory with 125 entries and you want to delete one--you mark the file as deleted and write another copy of the directory--the file data itself never goes away--you can roll history back as many levels as you want to recover the state of the disk at that point. So how does one find the "last" directory for a bunch of files? You start at the first one and read until you come to an un-written sector and then back up one. Also, for those 125 files, there are at least 125 copies of the directory that they're in.

Lots of linked lists, etc with links terminated by unwritten sectors.

Related to this is how a 30-year old optical drive needs servicing. Lots of dust a dried out-lubrication,etc. The LF5010 is a full-height beast of a drive that gets wonky if run too hard, so I moved the drive to a different enclosure with more aggressive cooling. Silicone lube, alcohol and removal of a loose spring from the shutter that managed to find its way to one of the voice-coil positioner magnets...

This thing is a phase-change WORM, which uses a 2W (!) laser to write data.

This was fun--keeps the old wetware ticking along.
 
Chuck they was used quite a lot in the banking industry to store spool file reports. We have several for research. The ones we had were connected to Corel SCSI controllers and had a utility that patched the sector size. If I remember correctly we user 2048 sectors on our drives.
 
These 1024 byte sectors--both physical and logical--the media is pre-formatted. Somewhat different from things like DVD-R in that one can edit the content on the drive (delete or add files). Driver software was Optisys Optidisk ca. 1990. My take is that the Panasonic 470/940 MB phase-change drives didn't gain much popularity as they were eclipsed by CD and MO drives. They're about the speed of a fast floppy drive and were enormous when compared with PC hard drives of 1988.

In old Adaptec marketing literature, a claim is made that EZ-SCSI (ASPI) is known to work with Optisys software, but little more detail is given.

s-l640.jpg
 
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Wow that brings back memories. We were processing 30 plus banks. With COLD for printed reports, Checking and Credit Card Statements, we were producing over 30 of this disks a week. With daily processing and separate cartridges for quarter and year end. With a 7 year retention period we had thousands of them. We had a separate building where we stored the disks. If I remember right they cost close to a hundred bucks each. Replacing Microfiche and a room full of readers and staff they were a bargain.

You are right we migrated to CD's had several cabinets of multiple drives per cabinet. Each drive held 5 CD's. Then DVD's until disk was cheap enough to keep years of records online.
 
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