ZoomFloppy

I like using my floppy drives for a more nostalgic feeling. The ZoomFloppy not only let me rebuild my library from images, but help me save some of my older programs on questionable floppies. The ZoomFloppy can also copy disks with protection schemes. Now, I have disks for my 1541 and 1581 again! For those that need help setting one up or generally want more info on my experience with this awesome device, go to https://www.marcbilodeau.com/zoomfloppy/

Multiple people having the same problems, cannot get this to work with Windows 10. It "appears" to work in Linux, but I believe you'd be much better off with something like the SuperCard Pro - https://www.cbmstuff.com/proddetail.php?prod=SCP Two stars for not working on Windows 10, and more importantly for a total lack of product support. I shouldn't have bought this. :( RI: Apologies for your poor experience, but the unit does work on Windows 10 (I program all the units on Win10x64). I do try to help each buyer as much as possible, so apologies if you felt the support was lacking. I will admit that I can only provide support for the ZF unit, and others support the application (opencbm).

I am using it to connect a 1541 via the serial cable to a linux machine via usb. It does work, although I have a few comments, one major and one minor. The major one is that about 50% of the times, I can use it the first time, but if I use it again a second time the blue light start blinking fast and no activity is performed on the 1541. I suspect there is an error occurring, but I have no way of detecting what's wrong. The only workaround I found is to just reset the board by unplugging and plugging the usb connector back in. I tried asking around but I found no solution, and to be honest I am not sure if it's a problem of the zoomfloppy or the software. It never happened first time after a reset. Always from the second onwards. The minor one is that it's a nice board that would enjoy a little box. While I am not saying we should get a box, it would be nice if as part of the delivery instructions was a link to a 3d cad model to 3d print one. Overall, I managed to transfer around 50% of my considerable collection. The rest has not been transferred mostly because of deliberate floppy errors for copy protection, but I am trying to figure out a solution for it.

It looks like you'll have to find a friend with a soldering gun and a degree in engineering. Or at least a programmer. Looks fragile too. Thank goodness it was easier than all that. I read a couple blogs, downloaded a couple utilities (OpenCBM and Vice), plugged in my dusty old C64 (1541) drive, slid in the first decades-old floppy disk and... it worked! And so did the second! And 90% of my other 120 disks! Whew. Yeah, $35 is hella cheaper than paying someone to convert data disk by disk; safer too.

It is big WOW in everything it has been build for and at a price that is a surprise for all of us who bought the device. Thank you and because of you people, I will be able to save a lot of my efforts in programming and just for this, I big THANK YOU.

Worked easily and flawlessly with Windows 10. Simply connecting the drive serial cable and a USB cable, installing the OpenCBM on Windows 10, and from the command line start creating disk images or copying individual files. You can also check directories or create a floppy disk from a downloaded image. Note: I first tried running on a 2019 Mac Mini. However, I could not get OpenCBM to work on Mac OS X.

Thanks to zoomfloppy I was able to restore hundreds of floppies from the c64 days.

This product is very easy to operate, and is essential for backing up your floppies. It is also a great way to download programs for your Commodore while still keeping the original system vintage. At half the price of an SDIEC, it was what I needed to finally get Turbo Macro Pro running. Running the 1541 with opemcbm and ZoomFloppy also gives you the option to do quick formatting. It works fine under GNU/Linux! I believe it is also possible to control other serial hardware such as an MPS-801 printer, though I haven't gotten around to trying it with mine. I ended up 3D printing a case for it and protecting the edge connector with some electrical tape.

i am using this device to dump with nibtools all the floppy disks i own to preserve the original content of those. It is able to dump protected disks, you have to use the serial (the usual cable to connect the C64 to the 1541) and the parallel cable (you buy or create this yourself, it connects onto the 6522 chip inside the drive) altogether. e.g. you can create a nib file out of an original game like Turrican II, and restore it on another floppy, in a perfectly working state. Then you need to use the opencbm and the nibtools to drive the 1541 and read and write any floppy.