How can i make/where can i buy macintosh plus ED diskettes?

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How can i make/where can i buy macintosh plus ED diskettes?

Hi,

I just brought my Macintosh Plus ED 1MB from the attic, and couldn't find the boot diskettes. When i boot it up, it shows the little diskette with a question mark.

Does anyone know how i can make one of these diskettes (i have a USB diskette reader), or where i can buy them. I found one on ebay, but he sells them for $160. That's not the amount i want to spend on it. 😝

Thanks for your help,

Sincerely,

Tom.

Macintosh Plus ED-OTHER, Other OS

Posted on Apr 22, 2011 5:45 AM

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Answer 1

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,201 points

Apr 22, 2011 8:52 AM in response to MagicTom

Hi Tom,

You should be looking for DSDD (or 2DD) diskettes. Used in Macintosh computers, with a proper Mac format, these disks can hold 800K. The diskette itself is the same as a 720K PC variant.

Macintosh floppy drives have the ability to work with a variable speed, thus the extended capacity. This is also the reason why you cannot use a USB floppy drive (good for 1.44 MB Mac and PC, and 720K PC, but not for 800K Mac).

I would suggest that you ask someone with another older Mac for assistance. Perhaps a user group in your area?

http://appleusergroupresources.com/?page_id=394

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_6.0.x/

Jan

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Answer 2

MagicTom Author

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Apr 22, 2011 10:34 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Hi Jan,

Unfortunately, I live in the Netherlands, so Appleusergroupresources.com is no use for me.

Can you explain how a person with another Macintosh could help me then? Just drag and drop to copy the files? Or are there also hidden files that require a piece of software?

Thanks for your help,

Tom.

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Answer 3

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,201 points

Apr 22, 2011 12:29 PM in response to MagicTom

Tom,

>Unfortunately, I live in the Netherlands, so Appleusergroupresources.com is no use for me.

There is a country menu in that page.

http://appleusergroups.com/locator/find/locate.cgi?country=16

>Can you explain how a person with another Macintosh could help me then? Just drag and drop to copy the files? Or are there also hidden files that require a piece of software?

Download an appropriate system disk via the second link in my previous message. The download is in the form of a MacBinary (.bin) file. Decode the .bin on a Macintosh computer with a built-in floppy drive (using StuffIt Expander). The final result after decompression will be a disk image. Use Disk Copy 4.2 (the Make A Copy button) to create a sector-copied 800K floppy disk (DSDD/2DD diskette).

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/Disk_Copy/

Jan

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Answer 4

MagicTom Author

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Apr 22, 2011 12:43 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Hi Jan,

Thanks for answering so quickly.

On what kind of Mac do you recommend to use Disk Copy? Does it need to be a vintage one (Classic, Plus, etc.) or can it be one of the newer ones (Performa etc.)?

Sincerely,

Tom.

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Answer 5

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,201 points

Apr 22, 2011 12:54 PM in response to MagicTom

Hi again,

Any model with a built-in floppy drive for both 800K and 1.44 MB would be suitable (the 1.44 MB would make it easy to transfer from a third computer, connected to the Internet, if necessary). That is, all models from approx. 1990 to 1997.

http://www.info.apple.com/support/applespec.legacy/index.html

Jan

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Answer 6

MagicTom Author

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Apr 22, 2011 1:11 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Hi Jan,

What a big task for a simple thing 😕

The only floppy-drives I've got is the one in the Macintosh Plus ED, and the USB one, unfortunately.

The best thing to do I think is to buy one off of ebay.com.

The only ones i can find are about $50. That's a pitty.

Do software (like MacPaint etc.) diskettes also boot?

Thanks,

Tom.

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Answer 7

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,201 points

Apr 22, 2011 3:16 PM in response to MagicTom

Tom,

>Do software (like MacPaint etc.) diskettes also boot?

Many application disks of that era were bootable (contained a small system folder), so it would probably not be a bad idea to test them.

Jan

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Answer 8

Apr 22, 2011 6:44 PM in response to MagicTom

Tom

The thing to do if you are near a large city in the US is to find a computer recycler or mac user group.

Post back with a general location so we can give a little more specific information. A 1989 SE will also work. I would recommend a G3 platinum. People call them the beige G3 but since you have a Mac Plus that is truely beige, ALL G3s will look platinum to you. The G3 will even read the disks from our apple llc portable w/ uni-drive disks. The G3 makes a good bridge machine for file transfers. You should be able to locate a G3 at a recycler for less than $25 in the US. Good luck. If you are in the NW, we can guide you to the local shops.

Jim~

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Answer 9

MagicTom Author

Level 1

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Apr 23, 2011 1:15 AM in response to Appaloosa mac man

Appaloosa mac man wrote:

The thing to do if you are near a large city in the US is to find a computer recycler or mac user group. Post back with a general location so we can give a little more specific information.

I live in Maastricht, The Netherlands. But Jan Hedlund already helped me to find a usergroup nearby.

Appaloosa mac man wrote:

You should be able to locate a G3 at a recycler for less than $25 in the US. Good luck. I

I was planning to call my nearest Apple Reseller (iVizi). When they had to extend my MacBook Pro for more RAM (One ramchip wasn't inserted correctly), i saw they had some very old machines (i think G3's aswell).

I do have a G3 computer. Unfortunately it's the iMac (The first computer without a diskette drive. Grr.. 😠)

But thanks for the tip,

Sincerely,

Tom.

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Answer 10

MagicTom Author

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Apr 25, 2011 6:14 AM in response to MagicTom

Thanks everyone. The best option for me is to go look on the internet.

I posted an advert on tweedehandsmac.nl (secondhandmac.com) and after 10 minutes i had an email from a guy that had all the diskettes of system 7.

He posted it this afternoon and it will arrive tomorrow.

Buying it on internet is the best and easiest option.

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

Tom.

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Answer 11

Apr 25, 2011 10:58 AM in response to MagicTom

Tom,

Thanx for the update. It is great to hear about success. AppleFreak in Germany is the source for all things Apple II. It is a small world with expanding resources.

Jim~

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Answer 12

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,201 points

Apr 25, 2011 2:55 PM in response to MagicTom

Tom,

I suppose that the diskettes are 800K System 7.0. With only 1 MB of RAM, it may be possible to boot from the disk tools floppy. However, if you wish to make proper use of System 7, at least 2 MB of RAM and an external hard disk would be needed.

For a 1 MB machine, something like System 6.0.3 could be a better choice.

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_6.0.x/

Jan

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