> Is anyone aware of a circuit that would allow a SD memory card to be
> attached to a pc
> in place of a floppy drive so that the host pc thinks its accessing a floppy.
>
> I ask because its getting to be a pain to update bios, install
> storage drivers, etc on pc
> that require you to use a floppy. You can't use usb or cdrom.
>
> If I could change out the floppy drive with something that read SD
> cards that would be great.
> Just wondering if someone has already designed a circuit like this,
> or if I should start :)
>
> I'm aware of the flashpath adapters but they are pricey and I'm
> looking for a more hardware based idea.
>
> Thanks
> Mark
>

> At 03:32 PM 6/14/2007, you wrote:
> >Newer motherboards (the ones I've used) support flashing Bios from
> >windows or USB memory sticks.
> >
> >I haven't seen an SD to floppy adaptor other than those you've
> >mentioned, but I suspect that time and money wise you're better off
> >getting a real floppy drive and a floppy disk.
> >
> >-Adam
>
> Yeah the problem is I'm working with a lot of older hardware , some
> of which doesn't
> even support usb.
>
> mark
>

>
>
> "Herbert Graf" <EraseMEmailinglist3spam_OUTTakeThisOuTfarcite.net> wrote in message
> news:1181852704.3695.5.camel@PD804...
> > CF cards are ATA compatible, and with a cheap adapter will plug into an
> > IDE port of a MB, can't get much cheaper or simpler then that.
>
> That would require a bit of juggling of the HD settings in the Bios on
> really old PC's (the ones that don't automatically recognize the
> parameters
> of the drive by querying the drive), but I would think that would work
> just
> fine as long as you know what you're doing.  ;-)
>
> CF cards are getting pretty cheap these days.  The going rate around here
> is
> about $15 for 1GB of CF and about the same for the CF to ATA/IDE adapter.
> But then really old PC's won't like large CF cards, so you'd want to use a
> 256 MB or smaller card for these really old machines.
>
> Jeff
> --
>     "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a
>      little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
>      safety"
> - B. Franklin, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1919)
>
>
>

> >
> > Good luck in your search!  The floppy drive interface is very low
> > level.  I imagine a floppy drive could be emulated using a PIC,
> > though, but good luck digging that up and getting it to work.
> >
> > If you do, you'll have a nice niche product that I expect would sell
> > pretty well for several years, if not decades.
>
>    This looks like an interesting thing to try out. Any ideas how one
> can go about it? Where do you get the specs for a floppy disc
> controller? What possible commands the PC sends to the drive and what
> possible responses it needs to give back, and so on.
>
> -Anand

> I'd start with this:
>
> http://www.interfacebus.com/PC_Floppy_Drive_PinOut.html
>
> Assuming all the signals are digital, then it's a pretty
> straightforward low-level interface.
> There are a few tutorials on how to control the motor and stepper of
> the drive.  Beyond that, hook up a drive and play around.  The motor
> signals for drive A and B can be found here:
> http://www.nullmodem.com/Floppy.htm
>
> -Adam
>
> On 6/15/07, Anand Gadiyar <KILLspamgadiyarKILLspamgmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Good luck in your search!  The floppy drive interface is very low
> > > level.  I imagine a floppy drive could be emulated using a PIC,
> > > though, but good luck digging that up and getting it to work.
> > >
> > > If you do, you'll have a nice niche product that I expect would sell
> > > pretty well for several years, if not decades.
> >
> >    This looks like an interesting thing to try out. Any ideas how one
> > can go about it? Where do you get the specs for a floppy disc
> > controller? What possible commands the PC sends to the drive and what
> > possible responses it needs to give back, and so on.
> >
> > -Anand
> > --