#Apple ii emulator mac install#
#Apple ii emulator mac drivers#
#Apple ii emulator mac mac#

ThereвЂ™s no output fighting when using the correct firmware for the correct computer. To be clear, this output fighting only happens if you mess up, and use the Apple II firmware on a Mac.

A future revision of the PCB will add an inline resistor here to protect against вЂњwhoopsвЂќ, but for now be careful when moving your Emu board between an Apple II and a Mac. In the name of science, I tested it for several minutes and didnвЂ™t observe any ill effects, but please donвЂ™t do it on purpose.

#Apple ii emulator mac drivers#

This will cause the output drivers of the two chips to fight each other, possibly damaging them.

#Apple ii emulator mac mac#

If you connect a Macintosh to an Emu board thatвЂ™s running Apple II firmware, both the Mac and the Emu will attempt to drive pin 20. Though I believe the risk is low, running Apple II firmware on the Mac has the potential to damage the Emu and/or the Mac. When you want to switch back, reinstall the Macintosh firmware, then move the Emu back to your Mac.

#Apple ii emulator mac install#

First connect the Emu board to your Apple II, then install the new firmware. Warning: Do not connect a Floppy Emu board to a Macintosh while itвЂ™s running the Apple II firmware. This leads us to the first commandment of Apple II firmware for the Floppy Emu: But for a Macintosh, pin 20 is the PWM output used to control the driveвЂ™s variable rotation speed. But on an Apple IIgs, pin 16 connects to RD and pin 20 to SENSE, so they must be tied together externally when emulating a 3.5 drive.ДЇor Floppy Emu, I canвЂ™t physically tie pins 16 and 20 together, but I can alter the firmware to output the same value on pin 20 and on pin 16, and it works perfectly for the Apple II. On a Mac, pin 16 is internally connected to both the RD and SENSE inputs on the logic boardвЂ™s IWM chip. My previous posts on this topic mentioned semi-mysterious signals called /EN3.5 and WRPROT that donвЂ™t exist on the Mac.ДЄs it turns out, the only change thatвЂ™s strictly necessary is that the driveвЂ™s RD output (pin 16 on the 20-pin ribbon connector) should also be connected to pin 20. Inside the Apple 3.5 Drive, thereвЂ™s an extra board called the daisy chain board thatвЂ™s not found on the Mac, and it was this board that made things difficult.

Because Floppy Emu already supported emulation of 800K floppies for the Mac, I was fairly sure it would be possible to do it on the Apple II as well, but the details eluded me for a while. The Apple 3.5 Drive uses the same 800K Sony floppy mechanism as the early Macintosh models.

My IIgs machine вЂњGaryвЂќ is now happily booting GS/OS directly from the Floppy Emu. It works when the Emu board is plugged directly into the Apple II, making it drive #1. The new Apple II firmware supports Apple 3.5 Drive emulation of 800K ProDOS disks, and so is primarily of interest to Apple IIgs owners, though it should also work on an older Apple II with the appropriate disk controller card (not common), or the rare Apple IIc+. Just plug your Floppy Emu board into the Apple II, load the new firmware, and go. Good news, Floppy Emu fans: 800K 3.5 inch disk emulation for Apple II is now working! More good news: it doesnвЂ™t require any adapter or other hardware, and it looks like the planned 5.25 inch and SmartPort hard disk emulation for Apple II wonвЂ™t require an adapter either, save for one case as described below.