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PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

picoide.com

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Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#2

Post by trevithick »

This is really cool. I'm glad people are out there making this stuff even if I'll never have a use for it.

What are the use cases for this? I'm guessing retro computing and possibly very old machines tied to very obsolete hardware that can't be virtualized (e.g. manufacturing controls).

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#3

Post by deaddodo »

trevithick wrote: post #2

This is really cool. I'm glad people are out there making this stuff even if I'll never have a use for it. What are the use cases for this? I'm guessing retro computing and possibly very old machines tied to very obsolete hardware that can't be virtualized (e.g. manufacturing controls).

This is most useful for retrocomputing, and that’s gonna be the target demographic.

While it’s true that industrial and manufacturing sometimes have really old hardware, that’s usually less due to them not having newer options and more due to preferring something tried and true (it “just works” for their workflow) or the sheer economics of upgrading; in most of those cases, there’s already a flow for interfacing with newer technology (FTP or USB 1.0/2.0 commonly). So this device wouldn’t offer much benefit, if any.

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#4

Post by polpo »

Fun seeing this posted - I'm the creator of the project. While it's meant to be a generic IDE/ATAPI emulator the two main use cases I envisioned for the project are in the area of retro computing: CD-ROM under MS-DOS and Windows 9x, where software-only virtual drive emulation options are lacking or nonexistent, and IDE hard drive emulation on early IDE machines where the drive geometries are fixed.

Since the project has been announced, lots of people have come out of the woodwork with other fun potential use cases, such as CD-ROM replacement in arcade cabinets and the Dreamcast, and hard drive replacement in multitrack recorders and samplers.

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#6

Post by polpo »

ranger_danger wrote: post #5

Is CD-ROM subchannel data accurately emulated for both audio and data modes?

Currently, it implements the ATAPI READ SUB-CHANNEL command and fully supports the current position data format code. Other format codes like ISRC and UPC currently return dummy data, but wiring that up would be pretty straightforward. Supporting image formats like CloneCD's .ccd/.img/.sub that store arbitrary subchannel data also seems doable, but would definitely be more work.

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#7

Post by gregsadetsky »

Tangential question: does anyone know if there's a ~similar device to replace/upgrade a Toshiba T1100's floppy drive?

A friend found a T1100 for me and I'm just trying to think of the best way to boot it. Alternatively... I could get a USB floppy disk drive and a fresh floppy, and write old-school DOS to it, at least to get started?

Thanks!

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#8

Post by accrual »

This is really cool! I like the attention to detail on the front panel, it's something I'd be proud of showing on a carefully built retro PC. I could see using this over CF to IDE adapters which work well but this is a cleaner solution.

Good luck with your launch, I'll be happy to order one!

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#9

Post by epakai »

gregsadetsky wrote: post #7

Tangential question: does anyone know if there's a ~similar device to replace/upgrade a Toshiba T1100's floppy drive? A friend found a T1100 for me and I'm just trying to think of the best way to boot it. Alternatively... I could get a USB floppy disk drive and a fresh floppy, and write old-school DOS to it, at least to get started? Thanks!

There is a Gotek floppy emulator hardware, about $50 USD.

A USB floppy drive will be cheaper, maybe $20.

I think the T1100 has standard 34-pin IDC connector, but Plus variant uses 26-pin so the Gotek will need an adapter (and probably doesn't fit cleanly).

https://archive.is/gFVNm (medium post, shows the adapter)

https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy/issues/549 (somebody had issue with high 5V rail causing Gotek to not work)

Re: PicoIDE – An open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator

#10

Post by gregsadetsky »

epakai wrote: post #9
gregsadetsky wrote: post #7

Tangential question: does anyone know if there's a ~similar device to replace/upgrade a Toshiba T1100's floppy drive? A friend found a T1100 for me and I'm just trying to think of the best way to boot it. Alternatively... I could get a USB floppy disk drive and a fresh floppy, and write old-school DOS to it, at least to get started? Thanks!

There is a Gotek floppy emulator hardware, about $50 USD. A USB floppy drive will be cheaper, maybe $20. I think the T1100 has standard 34-pin IDC connector, but Plus variant uses 26-pin so the Gotek will need an adapter (and probably doesn't fit cleanly). https://archive.is/gFVNm (medium post, shows the adapter) https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy/issues/549 (somebody had issue with high 5V rail causing Gotek to no…

Thank you, I really appreciate it!
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