I have an old Kahlon external drive that was used with my Mac Plus. Is there any way to connect the Kahlon to my Mac Pro using some kind of adapter plug? Or, is there another way to transfer old files from the Kahlon to my Mac Pro?
HI
Perhaps you can help me...I have a Mac plus that works using system 6. something on 800k floppy. I have other 800k floppies that it reads but I can't open the files on the Mac plus, probably they are in Stone Age word format which I don't have.
From the above post I take it you can advise on a null-modem link to connect to a current machine - I would love to hear this advice. I take it I would be able to see the Mac plus or vice versa and then move the files over off the floppy.
I would really appreciate any help you can offer
Thanks
Jonathan
No, I have only the system on floppy and the data files on another
mbps about 2 and 3 years old and a 27 " iMac about 3 years old
All run whatever is the newest system plus windows system 10 via VMware
thanks for your time
That makes it difficult. Communications program needed, and how to get it onto 800K disk? I recommend that you look for another working approx. 1992 to 1997 Mac with a built-in floppy drive for both 800K and 1.44 MB, to be used as a bridge machine.
Is this a SCSI hard drive to be connected to the 25-pin SCSI port of the Macintosh Plus (not a relatively rare serial hard drive for the 19-pin floppy port)? Any model/technical details?
SCSI adapters for USB exist, but it may or may not be possible to find drivers for a modern computer.
Unless you still have the Macintosh Plus, the easiest way to gain access to an old SCSI hard drive would be to buy an inexpensive approx. 1991-1997 Macintosh to be used as an intermediate machine. Preferably, a model with Ethernet.
Jan
Jan,
Yes, it has a 25-pin connection. And, I still have my Mac Plus that works just fine. The only information I find on the bottom of the Kahlon is this handwritten information on a sticker: AP80EX S/N 0163
As a way of background, I purchased a Sabrent 3.5 floppy drive with USB connection that claims it will work on both OS and Windows, but have not been able to get my Mac Pro to recognize it. I would like very much to transfer/copy some older documents from the Kahlon, but also from a collection of floppies that I have. I also have a Mac Classic with its own external hard drive that I have not yet attempted to open, so will most likely want to pull some things from that unit as well. Thanks in advance for whatever help you can provide.
Don
Hello Don,
This AP80EX appears to be an external 80 MB hard drive. With a 25-pin connector, it would be SCSI.
The floppy drive of a Macintosh Plus can only work with up to 800K DSDD/2DD floppies (not 1.44 MB HD disks).
http://support.apple.com/kb/sp190
Please note that a USB floppy drive is not compatible with the special Macintosh 800K format (only 720K PC and 1.44 MB Mac/PC would be OK).
So, a USB floppy drive would not let you read any old 400K/800K Mac floppies. In such a case, an intermediate machine is necessary, and you seem to have one, the Macintosh Classic (I assume that it is the "real" Macintosh Classic, not just any "classic" Mac).
http://support.apple.com/kb/sp198
You should be able to connect any external SCSI hard drive to either the Macintosh Plus or the Macintosh Classic. If you use the Macintosh Classic, you could then copy files to 1.44 MB Mac-formatted (HD) floppy disks without a problem. With system software 7.0.1 or 7.1 on the Macintosh Classic, you may even be in a position to write to PC-formatted 1.44 MB floppies via an application called Apple File Exchange (System 7.5 would have a PC Exchange control panel).
1.44 MB floppies could later be read by a USB floppy drive on a modern computer. You could perhaps try the Sabrent floppy drive with another machine (Mac or PC) if it does not work with the Mac Pro. Also, some semi-old PCs may be equipped with an internal floppy drive. However, to read a Mac-formatted (1.44 MB) floppy at a Windows PC, a Mac-disk utility such as MacDrive or TransMac (an appropriate version that still supports floppies) would be needed.
There are other transfer possibilities. For example, one can set up a null-modem link between a Macintosh Plus or Macintosh Classic and more modern computers (Mac or PC). If you would be interested in details about cables, serial adapters and software, please post back.
Jan
Addendum
>I purchased a Sabrent 3.5 floppy drive with USB connection that claims it will work on both OS and Windows, but have not been able to get my Mac Pro to recognize it.
As indicated earlier, it would be important to check whether the floppy drive is recognised once a 1.44 MB (HD) floppy disk has been inserted. If not, you may want to try a powered USB hub (even though a USB floppy drive is said to work with the power available at a normal USB port, that may not be true in all cases).
>With a 25-pin connector, it would be SCSI.
For clarity, I say this because the hard drive had been used with your Macintosh Plus. Otherwise, one should not automatically assume that a 25-pin connector means SCSI. A PC-style parallel port can be DB-25, and the parallel version of the Zip 100 drive has that type of connector. There is also a SCSI version of the Zip 100 with DB-25. Furthermore, there are serial devices with DB-25. Connecting a parallel or serial device to a SCSI port could/would lead to equipment damages.
Hi,
Do you have a terminal emulator (communications program) on one of the 800K floppies? Which other computers and operating systems (Mac and PC) do you have access to?
Old Mac Plus external drive
