I imagine that this question has been asked, but when I search for it, it's mostly old old messages.

So, I'll take a chance on sounding nooob-ish...

I'm rocking cbmctrl on my mac w/zoomfloppy.

using d64copy, my .d64 images of my geos system disks (that, yes I did pay for back in the day) do not work... obviously the slick copy protection inherent w/GEOS.

Is there something more advanced I can use, software-wise, to back these up via my zoomfloppy? I'd like to be able run GEOS on one of my emulators. I'm ambidextrous, so working in Windows is no prob. I've found no links to download the system disks, and it seems that http://cmdrkey.com/ isn't around anymore.

Thank ye!

blatboy
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There was a program called "geoMakeBoot" that CMD once released that turned GEOS boot disks into bootable partitions on other disks or other CMD devices. With it, you could make a bootable GEOS partitions on your CMD FD,HD or Ramlink (or other commodore floppy drive)

I think the problem lies in the fact that GEOS files are not actually CBM files they are GEOS files. But here is a link to download all of the GEOS (It is Free but still commercial so you must agree to not sell or distribute etc...) You may be able to create a blank .d64 then use these in the emulator to format the disk as GEOS? Although I would think since GEOS is an operating system it would be more along the lines of creating a GEOS emulator, rather than a Commodore Emulator running an operating system.

http://cbmfiles.com/geos/index.php

Anyhow, best of luck!!


Lite.

Thanks so much. I'll check this out. This is by far the biggest lead I've had yet. Really appreciate it!

bb
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To go the other way, you can use nibtools to make images of the disks that will run with the original copy protection.

You do need either a 1571, or a modified 1541 (extra parallel cable).
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Oooh! interesting! This seems like it will help me with my creation of .d64 files from disks with protection, yes?

I've no 1571, but I've got 2 1541 drives... and zoomfloppy.

I also have a xp1541 cable that goes to the parallel port... that's not what you mean, is it?

Looking at the docs to nibtools I should be able to use it w/opencbm and my zoomfloppy, yes?
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C64Forever now have a GEOS disk image (RP9 format) to run with their emulator, according to Facebook...
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That's good to know. I do have c64 forever... Thanks!

interesting... I now have a .d64 of a boot disk, thanks to Liteweildr's link. When I use that disk, GEOS doesn't want to let me open the files I created. It says "Please reboot your system using the same GEOS disk that was first used to run geoWrite."

I'll have time tomorrow to try to create a .d64 of my original bootdisk w/nibtools. Obviously if this works for me I should be golden.

That being said, there must be a way around this, right? This seems like a oddly harsh bit of copy protection/security. No one else should be able to open files that you created on your system, even on their own legit GEOS system? Am I reading this wrong?

Thanks

w
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Yes, you'll create a NIB or NBZ (compressed) file which you then use nibconv to convert to G64. It should boot in VICE...
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Possibly a file version miss match? You may need to copy the GeoWrite that is on the original disk with the messages (or the one used to create them) onto your d64. I do so little with Geos anymore but I think you had to have a copy of any app (GeoWrite, GeoPaint, etc.) on the work disk you kept the work files on? I may be way off, it has been a long time.



Please keep us informed though!


Lite

Ok. I think I have more of a handle on this now. I've been able to look at a couple of my old GEOS files, though it's a little convoluted using three disks at a time.

Just to review and make sure I'm understanding this correctly...

Nibtools, if used with a 1541 cannot be used in a serial setup, but must be used in a parallel situation, which involves making/buying a cable to create a parallel port on your 1541.

This is cool. I'll build a cable and hook it up to my zoomfloppy. I'll be able to backup all my other protected disks too.

What sort of tool do you use to cut the hole in the 1541's enclosure? I don't have a lot of tools, but I have access to those who do.

While this all sounds like fun to me, I was hoping to go through all my old GEOS files when I go out of town next week, and obviously I won't have the time to create my cable and my master GEOS system .d64 by then. So, where would I find this serial number tool? That'll make my file browsing much more efficient.

Thanks so much for all your help.

In the vernacular, you rock.



Blatboy
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You may want to try Maverick since it has a GEOS buster parameter. It will de-protect your GEOS disks so they can be copied without issues. This is probably what merman was talking about.

This site has disk images for GEOS 2.0 plus all major GEOS programs such as GeoPublisher, GeoFile, etc.

http://lyonlabs.org/commodore/...os.html#os
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It is also important to know that GEOS uses track 36 or 37 (cannot remember) for copy protection.
So, if you create a .G64 or do a copy with a nibbler, make sure to copy track 36 (or 37?) as well!
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