Loading OS

[generaldefault]

Is there any way to load or store OS files another way other than floppy? I feel it is only a matter of time until the floppy drive stops working and maybe all floppy drives remaining in the world. If possible, I would like to get ahead of it and find a way to store/access/load OS files from a flash drive or something more reliable than floppy. Has anyone experimented in this direction?

[Y-my-R]

Once you have successfully installed the OS from floppies, you can use "disk image" type backup software, to create an image of the working harddrive.

IMPORTANT: The image NEEDS to include the boot sector or a restored backup won't work for the MDR/HDR/D8B, etc.. These Mackie devices write a special boot sector on the harddrive, that you cannot create with ANYTHING else. Not all disk-imaging backup apps include the boot sector) and keep it in a safe place.

Then, when you need to load a fresh OS on that system (or another), you just use the disc-image software, to write that backup you have, back to the harddrive.

The D8B harddisk image that arjepsen uploaded, was done with Macrium Reflect. You could do the same thing with the MDR/HDR OS.

Since you can't really connect such a "modern PC app" directly to a harddrive installed inside the HDR/MDR/D8B without opening the case and temporarily connecting the drive to your "modern" PC, instead, it usually still involves a bit of manual work (i.e. open case, remove harddrive... then put back).

What I personally use, because it's from the same time-period as the D8B/HDR/MDR and because it works on my Win98-converted D8B rack computer (that I use for a lot of these old-Mackie hardware maintenance tasks), is a VERY old copy of Northon Ghost.

The nice thing about that is, that you can just use a Windows 98 bootup floppy to start the MDR/HDR/D8B in DOS mode from the floppy drive... then swap out the floppy disks and put one with Norton Ghost on it in the computer, and run it.

You still have to have a secondary drive to read the HDR/MDR/D8B disk image FROM, though (this won't fit on a floppy). So, what I do on the HDR, is to put the ghost backup image on the "external" drive in the caddy... then boot the HDR from the Win98 startup floppy (starting into DOS). Then replace the floppy disk to one with Ghost on it, and run it from command line.
Then point Ghost to the backup I copied onto the "external caddy" and overwrite the "internal" system drive with it.

At least that's what I'd do on a "stock" HDR.

My personal HDR is running a CF card that is accessible from an ISA card-slot in the back, and I replaced the floppy drive with a 2-1/2" harddrive caddy for SSD drives - so, no floppy drive.

So, what I do to get around that, is to simply take the CF card out of the back of my HDR, insert it into a card reader connected to the added USB ports in my "Win98-converted D8B rack computer", then run Ghost directly under Windows 98, and write a ghost backup image I keep on the Win98 harddrive, back to the CF card.
Once done, I just put the CF card back into the back of the HDR and start it.

If I somehow had two caddies in the front, but the system drive would be internal/inaccessible (e.g. spinning system drive on the inside), then I'd put the info from the Win98 bootup floppy on the external caddy and make it bootable, and then boot into DOS from that drive (which should also already have the Ghost backup/image on it).
After that, same thing... run Ghost from command line to restore the image that exists on the same external caddy, onto the internal drive in the HDR.

Now, with the MDR, all of this is a lot more complicated, because you can't "see" what's going on in the BIOS and can't easily change what harddrive (or floppy) to boot up from, etc... but it works the same way, if you have ANY PCI video card that fits into the MDR, so you can see what's going on in the BIOS and make changes, etc... but then you're back to having to open the case, so you might as well connect the drive directly to your "modern" PC.

Another possibility (that won't work with the MDR without opening it, b/c of the lack of a video card, but it will work for the HDR and the D8B), is to install a "USB-extension" to add 2 USB ports to the device. There's a connector on the mainboard for that, and you have to enable it in the BIOS.
Those USB ports won't do you any good for the HDR/D8B during regular operation (well... you "could" use a USB keyboard, but no USB mouse... but nothing else. Easier to use a PS/2 keyboard with an adapter, IMO), but you can use the USB port to load in a disk image, that way.

So, everything I said above would pretty much be the same thing... but instead of having the image on the external drive caddy, you'd have it on a USB thumb drive, that should get recognized when booting into a DOS version from Win98 Second Edition or up (which added USB support).

I'm no longer sure if these old Mackie computers allow you to actually BOOT from USB... if that works, then the most straight-forward solution would probably be, to have these extra USB ports installed, and then use a bootable version of CloneZilla from the USB stick, and then load the disk image directly from the same USB stick.

This should allow you to do the whole process without opening the case for the HDR/D8B, but only IF they allow you to boot from a USB stick. I forgot in which context I did this in the past... might not have been the HDR/D8B, but I'm no longer sure.
CloneZilla is dangerous, though... one wrong choice and you blow your data away. So, only use if you know what you're doing and/or have a good backup, elsewhere.

...but again, on the MDR, you'd have to open the case anyway, to temporarily put a video card in, and choose what drive/USB-stick (if possible) to boot from.

...which reminds me that I'm "almost" done with my MDR-to-HDR conversion, including having both, the original 5-1/2" drive caddy, AND a 2-1/2" drive caddy (floppy drive slot) available from the front panel, that I can switch between, while the device is off. But this required two different upgrade chips (large BIOS and HDR firmware that lives on a board by the front panel), as well as a compatible video card (e.g. one from an HDR or D8B - ideally AGP - I'm actually not sure if PCI cards from the D8B would work) - AND you have to cut a hole into the metal in the back of the MDR, to be able to connect a monitor to the added AGP card.

I'm only "almost" done, since the 2-1/2" drive caddy doesn't always work when powering on (with the switch in that position). Probably a bad contact somewhere... I did the same exact mod with the same exact parts on my HDR and that works fine... switching between the caddys works every time. So, it's not the hardware choices themselves.

Anyway, the short version of all of this is, that you'll need backup/imaging software that reads/writes the boot sector, and two drives... one to read the image from, and the other to install the image to. Everything else I'm saying above, is just a variation on the theme, with different apps and different drives used for the purpose.

Oh... and you have to be careful which USB extension you install. It needs to be for USB 1.0 or 1.1. I posted on here, recently, about a specific such extensions that is still available on e-bay, that I can confirm to work, on these old Mackie computers. That post is here:

https://d8bforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2725