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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Wraith2021 on March 17, 2006, 04:15:07 PM

Title: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: Wraith2021 on March 17, 2006, 04:15:07 PM

Hi, I am thinking of buying a Catweasel MK4 for use with WinUAE. My question is do i need an Amiga floppy drive or can you use a standard PC one?

Any help would be more than welcome.

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: amigakit on March 17, 2006, 05:52:16 PM

Hi! The Catweasel MK4 (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=206) connects to a standard PC floppy drive

Hope this helps!

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: Fester on March 17, 2006, 07:18:56 PM

Hi There,

Just bought one from Amigakit. Can't wait to get it. Looks like a real good gadget. I hope to be able to use it with Amiga Forever...

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: amigakit on March 17, 2006, 07:30:15 PM

Thanks for you custom- much appreciated :-)

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: InTheSand on March 17, 2006, 07:31:02 PM

Hi,

If you regularly transfer stuff to/from Amiga disks, it's invaluable and saves a lot of time and hassle.

However, the supplied (Windows-based) software is a bit on the basic side and integration with WinUAE isn't as good as I'd hoped for.

 - Ali

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: Wraith2021 on March 19, 2006, 11:10:22 AM

@InTheSand

Is it capable of running software through WinUAE from the floppy drive if I put an original disk in the drive, or are there problems reading them?

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: InTheSand on March 19, 2006, 11:18:20 AM

Hi,

The Catweasel's floppy drive is accessible using the CAT: device from within WinUAE (one you've installed the multidisk drivers in your emulated Amiga environment).

However, I've never had any luck with reading/writing/formatting disks via the CAT: device, with all disks being shown as unrecognisable and unformattable...

Using the supplied software to make an ADF of the disk is fine, but not quite the same as just using Amiga floppies directly.

With either approach, protected disks do not work.

 - Ali

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: Wraith2021 on March 19, 2006, 11:31:11 AM

So its only really any good for making ADF's for the time being until newer drivers are written/WinUAE updates take advantage of the hardware.

Do you think its worth the cost?

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: InTheSand on March 19, 2006, 11:49:04 AM

Yeah, you've just about hit the nail on the head there! Unless you have a need for the SID or Amiga keyboard/mouse features it provides.

As for the cost, it depends on how often you transfer stuff to and from Amiga floppies. For me, despite the limited software, I consider it a worthwhile purchase as I've been able to archive a ton of Amiga stuff on to my PC without relying on the elderly floppy drives of my Amigas. I've also used mine quite a bit for writing stuff back to real disks.

 - Ali

Title: Re: Catweasel MK4 Question
Post by: _ThEcRoW on March 19, 2006, 02:22:26 PM

Surely it's worth the price!. Since i purchsed mine, i have been transferring tons of adfs to real disks for enjoy on my 500. It's just amazing!!!.