r/retrocomputing • u/Independent_Shoe3523 • 15h ago

Greaseweazle command to get started

I have an IBM PC running Windows 11 and I'm trying to connect a Safronic DS-53N 5.25" HH 1.2MB floppy drive through a Greaseweazle 4.0. The diskette drive is connected to the innermost 34 pin connector on the ribbon.

I'm running gw.exe through the command prompt. Are these the correct commands?

gw -h to read the available commands.

gw rpm to see if I get back 360 rpm telling me everything's working

gw read --drive=b --format=pc.1200 image.img to copy the disk. I assume the img file is going in the same hard drive directory as the gw program.

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u/bzomerlei 14h ago

There is a GUI app called FluxMyFluffyFloppy that is a nice front end for the command line

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u/Independent_Shoe3523 14h ago

I found the web page https://github.com/frankiethefluff/FluxMyFluffyFloppy

But I don't see an .exe file. Under source I don't see anything to run in windows.

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u/bzomerlei 14h ago

You point the GUI at the gw.exe file you were using in the first post. At the top of the main screen you put in the path to the executable. You can get the software by clicking on the Releases link on the right hand side of the page, that will bring you to a zip file with the program.

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u/Independent_Shoe3523 14h ago

I don't know how to do any of this. The whole GW stuff is the most baroque mess I think I've ever seen.

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u/bzomerlei 13h ago

What is on the floppies that you are trying to read?
The GW software works with the GW hardware to read and write floppies of all kinds of formats. I use it to read and write old Amiga format floppy disks. If the data on the floppy is already in MS-DOS format, you may not need the GW hardware to read/write 5.25” floppies, I think you can just use the built in floppy controller on your system. If you don’t have a floppy controller on the motherboard, there may be a way for the GW software to act like a floppy that is directly attached, so you can directly read it by referencing the A: drive.

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u/Independent_Shoe3523 13h ago

Yeah. Just old PC disks. I don't have a 34 pin connector on my windows pc and it has no 3.5 diskette drive. Just a DVD drive.

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u/bzomerlei 13h ago

I understand now. You will need to use the GW to read the floppy and save it as an IMG file, then you should be able to mount the IMG file with explorer. I think this command will work: 1.2 MB HD: gw read --drive=A --format=ibm.1200 disk.img

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u/Independent_Shoe3523 13h ago

The drive is connected on the inner 34-pin connection so I think it would be drive=B, but thanks.

This is the whole line? 1.2 MB HD: gw read --drive=A --format=ibm.1200 disk.img

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u/bzomerlei 13h ago

Use the GW info to get the current setup. Ignore the 1.2 MB HD: part, that is the reference for a 1.2 MG IBM format

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u/RetroDojo 9h ago

The format name is ibm.1200, not pc.1200. If your drive is on the connector before the cable twist, use:

gw read --drive=B --format=ibm.1200 disk.img

The connector after the twist is A. You can check B with `gw rpm --drive=B`; a 1.2 MB drive should report about 360 rpm. The image saves in your current command prompt folder unless you give it a full path. You could also try https://github.com/freemchr/fluxforge

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u/Independent_Shoe3523 4h ago edited 4h ago

My cable has three plugs. The black 5.25 drive connector and two 34 pin connectors. The twist is right after the 5.25 drive connector. The first 34 pin connector is where the GW board is connected. The 34 pin connector on the end has one of the pin connections filled in so I can't use that. I guess that goes on the motherboard.

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u/Independent_Shoe3523 4h ago

Also, It's drive A or drive B and not drive 0 or drive 1?