Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

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radron5809
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Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by radron5809 »

Wanted to see if anyone else has a zoomfloppy and a 1571 drive. Want someone else to try nibble write with serial with the -i switch to see if it errors out or not. If I do nibread -s -i filename.nib I have no issues. If I do nibwrite -s -i filename.g64 or filename.nib or filename.nbz it errors out with xum1541_control_msg: libusb0-dll err. Seems I can't do a nibwrite using the index hole feature. Tried two 1571 drives, 2 different laptops, different drivers and different versions of nibtools. I am using side one of the disc, they say you can't do this with side 2. Am I missing something? Like I said I can do a nibread with the -i switch but can't do nibwrite with the -i switch. So, if anyone has a 1571 drive and zoomfloppy, try a serial nibwrite with the -i switch and see if it errors out. I just want to see if other people have issues with nibwrite -s -i cause I'm thinking it's an issue with the software.


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Zippy Zapp
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by Zippy Zapp »

I don't think I have ever tried my 1571 with ZoomFloppy.

Are you trying to write something that requires the index hole sensor? I didn't think it was necessary. What happens if you try it without the -i switch?
The reason it won't work on side 2 is because *most* disks don't have a second index hole on side 2. I say most because many commercial games do have it and I have several boxes of BASF 5.25 DS/DD reversible disks that have 2 index holes so it should work on these.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by radron5809 »

Don't know if I needed it or not. The 1571 is new to me and was just trying to write disc using the -i switch to tell it to use the index hole. Using without the -i doesn't give me an error, but I found I cannot write any discs using the -i switch. Nibread is fine with the -i switch.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by rmzalbar »

Serial nibwrite with -i index sensor doesn't work for me either. libusb driver reports an error and nibwrite freezes. I have yet to install a parallel cable. There really aren't very many protections that require indexing, though. I'm still looking for an example of an image that requires this, to test after installing parallel cable.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by rmzalbar »

Installed a parallel port on my 1571. Index hole sensor still doesn't work, libusb errors. This is true for both nibread and nibwrite.

Note that -i is not the correct switch for nibread, it's -j.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by eslapion »

You're not supposed to need a parallel calbe when using NibWrite with a XUM1541 and a 1571. It's supposed to use the high speed serial port of the CIA.

I will be getting a XUM1541 soon and I will be able to check on this.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by rmzalbar »

Indeed, serial-only nibbling has been working great on the 1571.

I wanted to add parallel to one of my 1541 also, so I just did them both at the same time. I was hoping, on 1571, that this would allow the index hole sensor to work, as I read somewhere that was necessary for this. But it did not. I guess it is a regression of OpenCBM, libusb, or the XUM firmware. More people are moving to kryoflux for serious use, and hardly anyone is remastering copy-protected disks anyway, so few users are reporting the issue and the reports don't attract any attention.

Most copy protection remasters without issue. Rapidlok and fat-track do not. I wanted to remaster some EA fat-track games that have track 34 and 35 aligned, and index hole sensor support is needed to do that. Technically it's not a perfect remaster as we can't write the half-track, but it doesn't matter as EA doesn't check the half step.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by Zippy Zapp »

I have been using ZF and a 1571 for the past year now without any problems. Most things copy fine with exceptions, of course. For example older EA games that use the 34/34.5/35 "Fat Track" copy fine and can be run from an emulator but they cannot be written back to disk as they will fail.

Also If I try to use the Index Hole sensor switch with NibRead or NibWrite it causes the USB error and the ZF to reset by disconnecting and reconnecting to USB. I have tried old versions and current versions and it crashes every-time.

Interestingly newer EA games that were harder to copy back in the day, are no problem copying and writing to disk. Not even a KryoFlux or a SuperCard Pro can copy these older EA games back to disk when using a 96tpi PC drive that I have. Although according to Jim Drew he can copy it on his drive. But none of the many PC drives I have tried will make backups.
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by rmzalbar »

That is interesting. I've remastered several of the newer EA games without any issues as well. Even printed off replica labels for that good-old-days experience.

I wonder what the issue is with the flux-copy failures? I guess a 96-tpi drive tends to make a noisier copy when read back by a 48-tpi head, for one, since it doesn't do the wide erase that the commodore drives do. Have you tried doing a bulk erase before remaster?
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Re: Zoomfloppy nibwrite issue

Post by rmzalbar »

Some people would consider the existence of these replicas an abomination, but I don't care, they are just for my use. Mostly they are all remasters from unpatched NBZ or G64 using Zoomfloppy. Marble Madness, Dragon's Lair, Questron, etc., no issues. I think it took me a while to locate an undamaged Questron image.

Exceptions:

- Ghostbusters is the north american image that runs correctly on both NTSC and PAL, but I used a parameter to patch out the copy protection because it intentionally bangs the head several times, and I won't tolerate that on my old disk drives.

- The flipside of Spy vs. Spy is the Island Caper, and I could *not* find an undamaged dump, so I had to settle for the least annoying no-intro crack I could find that keeps the title screen animation, has no graffiti, and would also load on NTSC.

- I bytepatched Elite to remove the GMA85 copy protection check. I think I had an issue where the 1571 wouldn't load it.

- Mail Order Monsters and Racing Destruction Set used the dreaded fat track, so those got patched images.

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