Converting old Atari files to PC

Johnny Baldwin · Post by **Johnny Baldwin** » 27 Jun 2004 9:50 am

I just discovered a ton of old midi files recorded on an old Atari 510 in the late 80's. Does anyone know a way to convert these files into a format compatible with my PC? I cannot get my PC to read these files. I know these files contain some cool country tracks and I would love to share them with forum members.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 27 Jun 2004 11:46 am

.MID files have not changed, so no file format conversion should be necessary.

Are you able to move other files between the PC and the Atari? If not, then:

What is an Atari 510?
If you mean 520ST then it should be possible. I use a floppy disk to move files between Windows PC and Atari 1040ST with no problems. However I have never tried it with the with a single sided floppy drive (360K) that usually came with the 520ST. I use 720K double sided high density disks.

Also, to make a disk readable on both machines, you should probably format it on the ST using an MS-DOS format.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 27 Jun 2004 4:36 pm

If you can connect two serial ports you could use an old telecom program like SmartCommII or Kermit to get them across.

Johnny Baldwin · Post by **Johnny Baldwin** » 27 Jun 2004 8:26 pm

Earnest & Ray:
Thanks for the reply. Earnest you were right it was an Atari 520ST. Trouble is I don't have the 520ST anymore. Would you fellows know of anyone with a 520ST I could send the disks to for conversion. I would gladly pay anyone for their time to convert. Let me know if you know of someone or a company that would provide that kind of service. Earnest, I live in Long Beach. Maybe I could drop by and try the disks on your 1040. I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks so much.[This message was edited by Johnny Baldwin on 27 June 2004 at 09:28 PM.]

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 28 Jun 2004 9:16 am

Johnny
What happens when you put the floppy disk in the PC and try to read it?

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 28 Jun 2004 12:40 pm

Johnny, if you're in Long Beach, there's gotta be some people in SoCal that have access to some of that old hardware. Disk format may not be MSDOS. Probably gonna have to have the original hardware to read it. However, you do live in the area of the USA most likely to find another Atari unit still operational.

If you can find an old XT, or '286, '386 or '486 with a 360 KB or 1.2 mB FDD you might also get lucky and read the disks. I got one of each in my attic and it bugs the dickens out of my wife. She's constantly asking me to throw them out.

Gonna be a research project one way or another.[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 28 June 2004 at 01:44 PM.]

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 28 Jun 2004 3:09 pm

Atari ST file system is almost identical to MS-DOS.
The default Atari TOS format routines create a disk that is not readable on MS-DOS machines. However there are many third-party utility programs for the ST that format floppies so that they can be used on both TOS and MS-DOS. I think that newer TOS versions can do this too.

Johnny Baldwin · Post by **Johnny Baldwin** » 28 Jun 2004 3:45 pm

Earnest:
When I put a floppy into the PC it asks...
"Disk not formatted, do you want to format now". I can't even begin to think where to start to look for someone with a Atari 520ST. Maybe a Atari forum? Hmmmmm....

Will Holtz · Post by **Will Holtz** » 28 Jun 2004 11:41 pm

It may be possible to get those files off with only a PC running DOS/windows. Take a look at this or this.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 29 Jun 2004 12:28 am

The second link is for Atari 8 bit computers, which does not apply to your disks.
That first link looks promising.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 29 Jun 2004 12:54 am

Johnny
That first link, http://www.espace-cubase.org/anglais/page.php?page=flmidiatari_pc
is designed to do what you want, but it warns that it may not work on single sided disks. You probably have single sided disks because that was the default drive for the old 520ST.
I just tested it here on a couple of my old ST single sided disks, and it did make them readable/writable ion the PC, but it erased all the files. So don't try that.
I can't seem to test it on double sided disks because all of my ST double sided disks seem to be already readable on the PC.

Johnny Baldwin · Post by **Johnny Baldwin** » 29 Jun 2004 8:29 am

Thanks guys. I'll give that link a try. I sure appreciate all your efforts and advice.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 29 Jun 2004 10:00 am

Johnny, I am advising you not to try it (ST2DOS.EXE) on your single sided disks. From my test, it looks like it will erase all your files on those disks (not what you want!!)

Johnny Baldwin · Post by **Johnny Baldwin** » 29 Jun 2004 1:06 pm

Thanks for the warning Earnest. I'll keep trying.