How to write DSK images to floppy disks?

Supporter (9)

31-10-2020, 16:18

Hello,

I would like to play translated games on the real hardware, but I could not find an easy way to write .dsk images to floppy disks. Which software should I use on my PC to write a .dsk image on a floppy disk?

Here is a summary of the situation:

1. I have got .dsk patched files of Dragon Slayer The Legend of Heroes on my PC. They work fine. I tested them on the WebMSX online emulator. The game plays well and the text is displayed in English.

2. I own a Panasonic FS-A1ST MSX Turbo R.

3. I also own the original Dragon Slayer MSX game (in Japanese).

4. I have got a PC with a floppy drive.

5. I have got some 2DD disks (720 kb).

So I tried to write the DSK image of the first disk of Dragon Slayer to a floppy disk on my PC using DSKINI (http://www.nitros9.org/dsk.html), but it didn't work. An error occured while writing on the disk (no further detail was provided by DSKINI). Thus, I am looking for another way to do this.

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Van ray2day

Paladin (743)

31-10-2020, 19:09

I do not know for pc, but on your MSX you can use FDLOAD.COM

Van cbsfox

Champion (429)

31-10-2020, 19:54

You can use DSK-PRO to do that on your MSX. It is the best tool ever.

Download link: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlpEtfGjLbhmlga9EFK0WjxnKUu3?e=UdTLgM

Van Briqunullus

Hero (665)

31-10-2020, 19:56

Many options. For instance Disk-Manager by Lex Lechz.
If you like command line tools you could use Alan2k's Floppy Drive Image Tool (version 1.01, scroll down the page).

Van cbsfox

Champion (429)

31-10-2020, 20:25

it you want to use the PC for that Disk-Manager is your best choice.
For MSX, DSK-PRO is your best choice

Van Gustav XIII

Supporter (9)

31-10-2020, 20:55

Thanks guys, I will try both methods (on my PC and then on my MSX) and get back to you!

Van Manuel

Ascended (19462)

31-10-2020, 22:51

On Linux: cat my.dsk > /dev/fd0 (with a native floppy drive).

Van Gustav XIII

Supporter (9)

31-10-2020, 23:51

Thank you very much for you help!

I used Disk-Manager and it worked like a charm.

Here is how I did it in detail:

Step 0: First of all, Dragon Slayer The Legend of Heroes uses 2DD disks. So I had to use 2DD (720 Kb) floppy disks. I believe 1DD disks (360 kb) would not have worked, since the image size (.dsk file) for each disk is 720 kb.

Step 1: Format the floppy disks using the MSX by typing the "CALL FORMAT" command. Choose drive A: (default floppy drive), and then select choice 2 for 2DD. Don't forget to unlock the floppy disks to make them write-enabled.

Step 2: I have got an old Windows XP PC with a floppy drive, so I used Disk-Manager to write the DSK images on the formatted floppy disks. It is really simple to use. Simply open the .dsk file with Disk-Manager and then write it on the floppy disk.

Step 3: Enjoy!

I hope these details might be useful to other people.

Oh, and by the way, to start a new Dragon Slayer game, you have to watch the full introduction. Only then will you be able to select "New game" (the first choice). If you skip the intro, you will only be able to load a saved game.

Another question: do you guys know where to buy 2DD floppy disks? I had ten of them but I already used four for Dragon Slayer.

Van meits

Scribe (6542)

01-11-2020, 00:00

1DD is indeed not the best disk to put it on. They can be used doublesided, but they're not guaranteed to work. As there were singlesided drives back in the day quality control labled the double sided drop outs single sided.
But nowadays most disks would fail quality control.

Games like Dragon Slayer The Legend of Heroes are not file based: If you put the disk in a computer and type files in basic or dir in dos you won't get a list of files. Therefore, when you dump an image on a disk, you do not need to format the disk. The dump process will do this for you. if you format a disk singlesided you can still dump a 720K image on it. The same goes for the other way around. If you format doublesided and dump a 360K DSK image on it, it will turn out to be a single sided disk again.
Only when you copy loose files it does matter how you formatted the destination disk. The size of the image decides what happens to the disk.

Van Gustav XIII

Supporter (9)

01-11-2020, 00:13

Thanks for the info!

I actually tried to write the images on the floppy disks without formatting them first. It didn't work. I got an error message. ("Retry, abort, or ignore"). That is why I decided to format the disks. But I got your explanation about the size.

In my explanation, I also forgot to mention that I ignored the error messages from Disk-Manager:
-When I opened the image from the program disk of Dragon Slayer, I got a message saying something about FAT FORMAT. I ignored it by clicking on "No".
-When I opened the images from the scenario disks, I got a message saying that this is not a "MSX-DOS format". I also ignored those messages.

Van Pac

Scribe (7007)

01-11-2020, 10:49

BTW, there is a new and useful Japanese tool for PC called MSX Floppy Disk Manager by Takkun Soft.