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Vintage Computers Any vintage computer systems, calculators, video games etc., but with an emphasis on 1980s and earlier equipment. |
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14th Aug 2021, 10:55 pm | #1 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 54
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Amstrad PCW owner needed
Hi, long story but basically I have dozens of floppies my Dad wrote onto when he was alive but the PCW was ditched! I have no way of reading the files to see if there's anything important on them and his labelling is basically sketchy at best. Anyone in Nottinghamshire with a machine and time who could skim them to see if there's significant records on them? He was supposed to be writing a history of his ancestors, and we haven't found a hard copy.
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15th Aug 2021, 11:41 am | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,471
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Hello Diane, PCW discs look physically similar to PC 3.5" discs so it may be possible to read them using a PC (with a floppy disc drive) and suitable software, perhaps even a PCW emulator running on the PC.
I would be amazed if we don't have a PCW owner here so keep checking back in. |
15th Aug 2021, 11:47 am | #3 |
Octode
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK.
Posts: 1,362
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
They are actually 3" disks, it ran CPM so the file format is fairly standard but, it does need that drive type. The critical part will be they were likely written in the custom wordprocessor on it so will need conversion. I have a CPC664 which can likely read the format although not sure how to get the files off of it - I think I have a serial card somewhere. Anyway we have some options if nobody still has a PCW.
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15th Aug 2021, 12:03 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,471
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Sorry, even the briefest of online searches for PCW discs throws up images of PCW software on what look like 3.5" discs, but 3" does stir memories, especially when that format was also adopted for the Spectrum +3. Maybe Diane could clarify, if possible, what type of discs it is she has (or just take a photo of one and add it to a post here).
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15th Aug 2021, 12:29 pm | #5 |
Octode
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK.
Posts: 1,362
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Good point it was possible to retrofit a 3.5" drive I think
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15th Aug 2021, 12:42 pm | #6 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 704
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Original PCW used 3” CF2 disks. As mentioned above you can fit a 3.5” drive and later models came with 3.5” as standard.
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15th Aug 2021, 12:48 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,471
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Just noticed that ideally, Diane is looking for someone local who can do this for her, so that may narrow the field a bit.
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15th Aug 2021, 1:29 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 5,303
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
I am not local but I do still have a PCW 8256that was working when I last used it some three years ago. Currently in store in the shed. Twin 3" internals and an external 3 1/2" drive that can export files in DOS. I only have Locoscript 1 installed, which has the option of saving files in .TXT format.
Last edited by emeritus; 15th Aug 2021 at 1:38 pm. |
15th Aug 2021, 1:57 pm | #9 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 704
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Original PCW used 3” CF2 disks. As mentioned above you can fit a 3.5” drive and later models came with 3.5” as standard.
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15th Aug 2021, 2:23 pm | #10 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Guisborough, North Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 80
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Again, I'm not close.
I still have my PCW 8256 (with additions) next to me, and it's fully operational, but it has the CF2 3" disk drive (A:, single sided.). I've got 3.5" and 5.25" drive as well, and can easily transfer files to PC and thence to USB stick or whatever. Got Loco 1 and 2. If I got the disks, could return a copy of the files by email, I've done this before for another on this forum. The only complication wiuld be if your machine had used the B: drive with the CF2DD disks, which I cannot handle. Need to check further if the disks have been used single sided or double sided? Geoff |
15th Aug 2021, 2:38 pm | #11 |
Nonode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gloucester, Glos. UK.
Posts: 2,148
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
My Sinclair+3 has a 3inch drive im sure but yet again im too far away to help.
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Oh I've had that for years dear!! |
15th Aug 2021, 2:44 pm | #12 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,805
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
I had a PCW9512, it was a very useful word processor for the times. And yes, 3" floppys.
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15th Aug 2021, 8:16 pm | #13 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Guisborough, North Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 80
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Further to my earlier message, I've done a check.
There used to be a couple of places that offered the sort of (commercial) service you need, but now there seems to be just one. This is Apex Technology at Sandbach (CW11 2ND)(01785 336300) They are nearer to you that I am. They would charge you so much per disk, and I'm not sure that they could offer to investigate the disks first, and pick and choose files. On the plus side, they could probably do both formats, so it would not matter if it was an A: disk, or a B: one. I could do any A: disks, but not any B: ones. So I would need to try to work out which your disks are. If there are as many as you say, there is a probability that many are A: disks. Any markings on the disks could also help as to which sort they are. For example, if it's an A: disk, then both sides may have something written, if it's a B: disk then one side only. If I try to read a B: disk in my A: drive, then BOTH sides will give a disk error, but the data that may be there is NOT damaged. I would be happy to try a handful, to see what sort of thing is there, and confirm how things might proceed. Geoff |
15th Aug 2021, 8:35 pm | #14 |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,571
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
I got rid of my PCW many years ago but it had, from memory, Locolink which allowed you to connect it to a PC to transfer files between the two. I have all the files from my PCW saved on my PC but to get the PC to be able to read them I had to convert them to text on the PCW before transferring them.
I did at one point transfer a number of files from PCW discs to text files in PC format for a friend. It took a little time to do but overall it was a fairly simple process. Keith |
15th Aug 2021, 8:53 pm | #15 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Guisborough, North Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 80
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Yes, LocoLink was available, I think I have a copy somewhere, but not installed. I assume that this needs the PCW8256 SIO/Pll interface box.
I have the interface somewhere, but the connectio is now used for connection to a set of 8 Mb virtual HDs. In any case, I've always used the 5.25" PCW disks, copied files to that, then accessed that disk on the PC and moved data back and forth that way. Much less trouble in the long run. I could do the same with 3.5" disks as well. The only catch is that I need to keep an old PC operating that has both floppy disks drives working, and a main PC with at least 1 floppy drive (along with newer web access and USB facilities). These last things are more of a problem than keeping the PCW working!! Geoff |
15th Aug 2021, 9:47 pm | #16 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,113
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Also, what operating system do you need on the PC end of the Locolink? I suspect it would need to be pre-XP. Certainly LocoScript PC ceased to work when I upgraded to XP.
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15th Aug 2021, 11:38 pm | #17 |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,571
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
I'm sure i used win95 on the PC when I transferred the discs.
Keith |
16th Aug 2021, 12:16 am | #18 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,471
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
Bearing in mind that Diane is not seeking detailed advice on how to do this herself, rather someone local who can do it for her, I think in the first instance we need to find out what type of discs it is that she needs the data taken off. Diane, if you know whether your discs are 3.5" types or 3" types please let us know. If you don't know, take a photo of one of them and attach it to a post here. We expect that they would all be one type or the other but if there happen to be a mixture of both types, we need to know that as well.
Once we know the type of discs involved we can offer more specific help, or Diane can follow up Geoff's lead to a potential service provider in post #13. |
16th Aug 2021, 8:26 am | #19 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,113
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
To aid identification, here are a 3½" disc (left) and a 3" one (right):
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Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) |
17th Aug 2021, 7:31 am | #20 |
Pentode
Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 148
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Re: Amstrad PCW owner needed
The original PCW used 3" disks (NOT 3.5"). It was frustrating at the time (the BBC bought PCWs by the hundreds as the first office word processors), and a nuisance to move data to real PCs. As already mentioned, the OS was CP/M, and the format should be readable.
I am desperately trying to remember, but I think the disk capacity is similar to 5.25" floppies, rather than 3.5". I think the drives themselves also look like 5.25" (low density) to the OS. At the time the rumour was that the format was a commercial mistake, and the Japanese manufacturer (Toshiba?) was stuck with a lot of unsold units, so the entrepreneurial Mr. Sugar stepped-in and did a deal. Thinking about getting a working unit to read your disks, one other place they were used in quantity was the music industry, specifically as program/configuration storage for synthesizers (keyboards). You might find a drive in that world. I suspect it will be pricey, but a drive from a synth will probably have had far less use than one from a wordprocessor, so the heads might be in better condition. I'm pretty certain* that, even if the data connector is the same, they won't just work if connected to a PC 3.5" data cable. You'll need a different ribbon arrangement so they can "look" like a 5.25" drive. Ignore the infamous IBM "twist" in the ribbon - that only matters when using dual 5.25" disk drives on a single controller, but otherwise it's the same. One good thing though: the 3" format was pretty robust in comparison to the other floppy formats of the time. That's one reason why they were put into synths (musicians being notorious destroyers of technology, etc.). Unless they have been damaged in some way, the data are probably readable. I do remember there was a bundle of thick ring-bound manuals provided with those PCW machines, although most of it covered Locoscript (the WP software provided), as they were never intended to be general purpose computers, so CP/M didn't feature much. The IBM-PC compatible Amstrads had a good set of manuals provided, so there might be information about the disk drives avaialble if you can track the PCW manuals down. It was a different world back then: the technical reference manual for my Apricot actually includes motherboard circuit diagrams! CP/M is far simpler than even early DOS, by the way. Hope some of that helps, S. *not very certain - it was a long time ago. |