Kryoflux USB Floppy Disk Controller Overview - LGR

A demonstration and overview of the capabilities of the Kryoflux USB High Definition Flux Sampler.

Many thanks to LunaVorax for sending me this!

The Kryoflux is a board that connects old floppy drives to newer computers via USB. It allows for low-level reading of disks to RAW data and floppy images. This not only preserves games and software so they can be enjoyed through emulation, but also preserves them in such a way that their "original" form is kept around even when the disk has finally died. Sexy stuff, right?

For more info/to buy the Kryoflux:
http://www.kryoflux.com/

Also check out the SPS YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/softpres

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• kryoflux
• usb
• floppy disk controller
• overview
• review
• Computer
• Personal Computer
• IBM
• MS-DOS
• Windows
• Apple
• Acorn
• Atari
• Amiga
• floppy
• disks
• classic
• vintage
• retro
• software preservation society
• SPS
• olimex
• backup
• images
• phreakindee
• LGR
• lazy game reviews

[SamuraiClinton]

Most mainstream titles made before 1990 are already available and archived as .ZIP files on the net; thus popular games don't really need to be backed up per se.

[phreakindee]

@SamuraiClinton And this attitude is precisely why so many games are falling into obscurity, even mainstream ones. This doesn't just back up a bunch of files, this backs up the entire structure of the disks. Most people don't care about this, but those of us that do highly value this original form. This is largely what is dying, not always the files :)

[SamuraiClinton]

@phreakindee some recent flash cartridges are being made to run ROM images from CF/SD cards with older game consoles for semi-authentic gameplay.

But I guess you are more about the real file structure of floppies. Its like: why not have an IDE-compatible flash memory device that boots into a specialized version of DOS in a similar fashion that DOSBox uses the Z drive with. Thats how I'd imagine SF/CF compatible accessories with intercompatibility if floppy images were to be stored.

[phreakindee]

@SamuraiClinton Oh yeah, there are things like that, and I use them myself. I have an IDE-compatible CF drive that I use on some of my older machines which makes playing the games super-easy and you don't have to worry about floppies at all. Regular old ZIP archives are fine for things like that, if you just want to play game. Things like the Kryoflux are for serious preservation down to the magnetic bits, so it's on another level of "enthusiast".

[InnerPartisan]

So, what I didn't quite understand: Does this thing actually enable you to read/write (for example) Amiga 3.5s and C64 5.25s on the respective PC drives? (Is that even physicaly possible?)

[phreakindee]

@InnerPartisan It requires tweaking the software of course, but as shown in the video all those other computer formats are supported. I've been working with Atari 8-bit & Apple 2 disks on my PC drive.

[phreakindee]

@KietYo I cannot understand this mentality.

[phreakindee]

@Vathorst2 For the stuff recorded with the video camera, yes. Pretty much all the time, it's infinitely easier to edit that way. For the stuff where I'm showing the computer screen capture, that is very much live.

[Madness832]

Wow, that's pretty sweet! I wouldn't mind getting one of those & mounting it inside my PC connecting to a USB card w/ an internal "A" jack & a Teac FD-505 combo drive. New mobo has no floppy on it.

[SamuraiClinton]

@phreakindee but games like Alley Cat are just plain classic games that can run smoothly on most any old PC or DOSBox.

[EgonOlsen71]

@phreakindee I does! I was able to copy all the important C64 discs. Thanks again for making this video, so that i got aware of this great piece of hardware.

[InnerPartisan]

@phreakindee Sold! :D

[InnerPartisan]

@KapiteinKrentebol You've got a point there. As cool as this thingy is, for that price I'd expect at least some crude plastic shell or something.

But then again, I put together and run several PCs without cases, so there you go :D