Very Computer

Is anybody running >1 floppy controller via Linux
(secondary address, Compaticard, etc) ?
If so, how?

I have hundreds of floppy disks I need to read and archive to CD.
I figure that using 2 controllers would allow having 2 drives
running simultaneously, or are my suspicions correct that despite having
primary/secondary addresses, they can't share the DMA and IRQ
so only one's reading/writing at a time?
What of the floppy-tape interface cards?

I have a few SCSI interfaced iomega flopticals,
but I'd rather not risk those drives on possibly damaged floppies.

A more far out solution: use regular floppy drives via a SCSI-floppy
"bridge card", if anyone's gotten that running.
I wish I had the time to handle such driver work myself right now.
--
Jeffrey Jonas

The original Dr. JCL and Mr .hide

Quote:> Is anybody running >1 floppy controller via Linux (secondary address,
> Compaticard, etc) ? If so, how?

> I have hundreds of floppy disks I need to read and archive to CD. I
> figure that using 2 controllers would allow having 2 drives running
> simultaneously, or are my suspicions correct that despite having
> primary/secondary addresses, they can't share the DMA and IRQ so only
> one's reading/writing at a time? What of the floppy-tape interface
> cards?

I suspect you might be right, floppies use IRQ 6

A radical solution: use more than one PC.  For what you want to do, a
stack of junker 486's should do.  Network them, open an xterm for
each, and away you go.

It may not be elegant, but it's cheap.

--

Quote:>> Is anybody running >1 floppy controller via Linux
>> If so, how?
>A radical solution: use more than one PC.  For what you want to do, a
>stack of junker 486's should do.  Network them, open an xterm for
>each, and away you go.

        ...

Yes, that's a workaround, but I'm still frustrated at the way the
PC interface was crippled for the PC and we never recovered.
Pre-PC systems used all 4 floppies on the cable.
Older floppy controllers have jumpers for primary/secondary addresses,
but with shared IRQ and DMA, I can't see them working at the same time :-(
--
Jeffrey Jonas

The original Dr. JCL and Mr .hide

My old Gateway has a 3.5 inch A drive and 5.25 B drive.  Think it uses both
at the same time.

--
Norman Levin
VM/Dynamics, Inc - Specializing in VM, AIX and Linux Education
Office 817 421-0123    Mobile  817 919-8781    Fax 214-722-1779