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[Sil Greene <Sil_greene AT unc.edu>]

Ah yes, I did assume a broken internal HD...

If the floppy is your typical 3.5" disk, you can use the Unix/Linux 'dd' 
command to make an image of the floppy.  (OSX ought to have a similar 
command, and there may be free utilities to do the same from Windows.)  
Then you've at least got a backup from which you can make copies.  

You can always try reading the files directly from DOS or Windows 
Explorer; write-protect the disk first and see if you can get a directory 
listing.  If so, you can copy the files to a computer harddrive, and you 
might be able to monkey with them using Cakewalk or other sequencer 
software.  This, plus a midi hookup from your computer to the synth, ought 
to let you play the song on the synth -- bypassing the failed drive 
completely.

OTOH, If it's a 2.5" disk (like my ancient Roland sequencer uses), you'll 
have to replace the drive.  Maybe get one cheap out of a broken SY99 or 
SY77 and just swap the part.

--Sil

On Fri, 16 May 2003, B wrote:

> I knew some of y'all would have suggestions! You're such a smart list....
> 
> I am sorry. I not only was not clear, my own impression was incorrect: 
>The Yamaha is indeed an older unit -- <>'80s -- with a broken floppy disk 
>drive and a card slot that goes unused (no card available). The data for 
>the music exists on an aging floppy disk (argh!) that apparently is 
>useless for anything other than playing on a (repaired) Yamaha 
>Synthesizer.
> 
> So, how do I get that information off of the floppy without screwing up 
>the floppy? Can it be just copied to one or several of our computers? (I 
>have a strong sense of deja vu and dimly remember getting "no eof mark" 
>errors when I consider doing this on Win machines....)
> 
> ???
> "B"
> 
> -------Original Message-------
> <...>
> > 
> > sil,
> 
> it sounds as if you are assuming an internal HD.  i believe this is an 
> older unit that probably only had a slot for a proprietary "RAM card" or 
> at best a floppy disk drive.
> 
> it sounds to me as if it's this floppy disk drive that has failed.
> 
> my recommendations work on the assumpation that the song data still 
> exists in persistent memory and that it is playable, but just needs to 
> be extracted.
> 
> --rt
> 
> 
> Sil Greene wrote:
> 
> > RT makes a good point -- can you still access the drive?  If so, his 
> > suggestions might do the trick ... if not, read on...
> > 
> > Best option is to find a data retrieval place that would do a bitwise 
> > retrieval (essentially dd the data off to an image file).  I don't know
> if 
> > anyone offers that service, and the damage to the drive may make the
> data 
> > unrecoverable.  Even if you get an image, drive damage may have
> corrupted 
> > something.
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
"If you put your supper dish to your ears you can hear the sounds
 of a restaurant."  --Snoopy    (Charles Schultz 02-12-2000 RIP)
    *&* Sil_Greene AT unc.edu   *&*   ICQ Silauren #36430811 *&*