LGR - Kryoflux USB Floppy Disk Controller Overview

Рет қаралды 291,987

12 жыл бұрын

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:
www.kryoflux.com/
Also check out the SPS KZfaq channel:
/ softpres

Пікірлер: 556

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@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 :)

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@sandmanxo Yes, it's something that its value lies in the eyes of the beholder. I have so many hundreds of floppies it's already earned its keep tenfold just in the time it has saved me making images directly on my main PC. Not having to transfer them via serial/ethernet cable and not worrying about tons of crap images is a godsend.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@DusteDdekay Haven't tried C64 yet, but I've had luck with Apple II and Atari 8-bit disks on the IBM drive shown in the video.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@yushatak Yes, I just keep a few of my favorites sealed: Flight Simulator 4.0, The Need For Speed, Omikron, SimCity, etc. I still get an occasional earful on my Wolfenstein 3D unboxing video!

@FennecTECH 7 жыл бұрын

this would work great to duplicate those keydisks that have purpousful bad sectors

@raspberry1440kb 3 жыл бұрын

This is exactly what it's for.

@micajoeh0 8 жыл бұрын

Note: If you do Ctrl+Right Click in an explorer window, "Open Command Prompt Here" Will appear in the context menu. Makes it so much easier than doing it through cmd :)

@RoadStuffUK 7 жыл бұрын

It's left-shift+right-click for me.

@ostheer 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks dude, I missed this on Windows until now.

@Chaos89P 6 жыл бұрын

I think I'll keep the Command Prompt in my Start menu for now. I'm running Windows 10, so that might be why I'm not finding it.

@paulabraham2550 4 жыл бұрын

@@Chaos89P I tried running Windows 10 for a while. "I'm not finding it" should have been its tag line,

@thesteelrodent1796 Ай бұрын

on Windows 10 after 2021 update, you need to modify the registry to get the "command prompt here" to show in the shortcut menu, because MS wants everyone to use PowerShell instead, even though there are lots of things, like RoboCopy, that don't work in Powershell. Same goes for Windows 11

@CheakyBreaky 8 жыл бұрын

So, how much have you backed up of your collection? It's been 4 years, are you done backing up yet?

@Bluscream 5 жыл бұрын

@@HappyBeezerStudios hehe

@hitechfl 3 жыл бұрын

It's almost 2021 now.. he's probably getting close to half of his collection backed up. Really awesome video.. hate it took me this long to find LGR.

@fridaycaliforniaa236 3 жыл бұрын

@@hitechfl Better late than never ;)

@honkybear666 4 жыл бұрын

Love your approach to games. “Games are meant to be played.” 👍

@listen2meokidoki264 4 жыл бұрын

NO. Life's a game. All the game you should ever need. Young people are so weird. I have been noticing their reality is fuzzy. I think they think these games are real. Or worse! Really important to them. I think they get sexually excited just talking about computer games. Humans are not born in sin. Humans are born insane. Society's JOB is to teach us how to cope with reality. Now, Society's job is to also teach us what Reality is. I once met a woman who became hysterical when a large grass hopper was at her front door (as I knocked). She raced to her husband for help. By the time he arrived I had picked it up. He was AMAZED. Because he had never seen one. Especially an insect this large. I then eat it raw because that's what old people do. They don't play computer games.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@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.

@evoblade2000 8 жыл бұрын

WINAMP! It whips the llama's ass!

@theLuigiFan0007Productions 8 жыл бұрын

Ah, I remember that intro. First time I heard it I was laughing hysterically.

@madden8021 8 жыл бұрын

+Bob Newell WINAMP! WINAMP! It really whips the llama's ass!

@EiSaaPeittaas 7 жыл бұрын

I always thought that was some ancient nerd rivalry thing between Nullsoft and Jeff Minter's Llamasoft with his music visualisation stuff.

@dufusbrigade 3 жыл бұрын

12:40 Winamp is so awesome it can read floppy disk image files.

@YQN2149 3 жыл бұрын

@@madden8021 thank you for correcting

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@NOOBNUT08 Yes, it reads 8" floppies, like from a Shugart drive. I mentioned this in the video at some point.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@niobyte Heh, I actually recorded footage of those features of the GUI, but in the interest of being a bit more focused/concise I decided to cut it and keep this video as more of a basic introduction to it.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@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.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Hardtsonfire Yes, the LEDs are a nice touch, adding an almost alien artifact feel to the thing. I use Camtasia 7 to record Windows desktop stuff. The quality is quite nice and it supports all sorts of codecs with acceptable file sizes.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@XW0RKS I'm using a Blue Snowball USB mic in this video.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Danny77uk Just curious, how did you pronounce Windows ME? I pronounced it mee, but I know just as many who say em-ee.

@marcuskobel6562 4 жыл бұрын

It's 2020 and you have come a long way. Great work!

@Drewzir 8 жыл бұрын

We all know what's in that "stuff" folder...

@LGR 8 жыл бұрын

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

@micajoeh0 8 жыл бұрын

+Lazy Game Reviews Floppy drive images obviously

@satibel 8 жыл бұрын

+micajoeh at least we can agree that there's images of floppy things.

@rebusforever6406 8 жыл бұрын

+manaquri zing.

@SylvaTheMoth 8 жыл бұрын

+manaquri maybe its "hard disk images" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Oneupgamer I covered this subject in my Atari ST review. You need a Windows XP or higher computer with a 3.5" disk drive, and the Floppy Imaging & File Transfer program. It will take care of formatting them properly and writing disk images.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@rockguythirtytwo And that's what I did before this, which is fine for making casual backups of standard disks. What this provides is very low level reading of dozens of floppy image types, regardless of copy protection or format. This is a high definition flux controller for floppy drives, and does a heckuva lot more than a standard PC floppy controller. It also connects via USB, so the convenience is huge.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Danny77uk Thought so. I tend to pronounce acronyms more often than not I guess, it's lazier. Initialisms, well, you gotta leave those alone.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@BadManiac Precisely. I tried my best not to just go into a long rant about how we're letting history die and stuff, but I really do find this to be of utmost importance. I'll likely do a more in-depth video on software preservation eventually.

@iaobtc 3 жыл бұрын

Clearly you and Ross from Accursed Farms need to team up

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@AppleHotNews Yes, PCs certainly have their place! And for what I'm predominantly into the customization and open structure of them really comes in handy. But I really enjoy Macs as well, and collecting both old and newer ones is always fun. And thanks, glad you're enjoying!

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@LKRaider Yes! I have tried it with several disks that didn't read otherwise, and using the RAW format it read the entire disk. Converted the output to an IMG and it was able to run in DOSBox. Very cool.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Dkcode You got it! An absolute joy to type with, I love my Das Keyboard.

@JimPlaysGames 12 жыл бұрын

Interesting stuff. It's easy to forget just how amazingly intricate and mind boggling the basic operations of computers are. When you were talking about the magnetic flux stuff, it just made me think about that. Great to see that you're working on preserving this stuff. Since it's all data, it can effectively last for as long as people care to make backups, unlike even the most sturdy physical artifacts which are doomed to decay sooner or later.

@kevinmulholland4563 2 ай бұрын

Excellent explanation. I just bought one to recover my XT and all its floppies. Had no real ideal how to backup disk but now I do. Thanks 😊

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@RetroGamerr1991 The only thing stopping you from doing that is having a motherboard that's compatible with a 5.25" drive! Most boards have the connector still, and like I mentioned in the video, I had my IBM AT drive in my Windows 7 machine before this.

@bmbpdk 6 жыл бұрын

Hi Clint, i want to say thank you for making all of your videoes and for taking me down the memory lane again and again. Back when life was simpler and your only worry was what game to play. When ever my PTSD, after tour to Iraq, decides to mess with my head, i always throws on some LGR, giving me happy thoughts and throwback to better times. All the best in life to you, stay safe and positive! From the bottom of my heart, thank you Clint, thank you.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Gamewitzer No, it does support the X68000, and other 77-track formats. It may not have an option listed by default, but it supports tons of stuff that's not listed. That's why the command line DTC included is so handy.

@DFXPony 3 жыл бұрын

I just ordered a Kryoflux contoller today. It's still relevant in 2021. Thank you for this video!

@Coolman13355 3 жыл бұрын

I'm curious if they still use that B USB port or C now.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@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".

@SuperRandomForum 12 жыл бұрын

Got that thing and got it also working, have test dumped amiga floppies and DOS floppy disks. More testing... but it works! Thanks LGR for informing me of this awesome device! Without you and your reviews the world would be a boring place :D :P

@Markell1991 12 жыл бұрын

I love your videos. I'm not even that interested in some of the obscure hardware, but you make it so interesting hat I have to watch. You seriously are great, keep up the awesome work.

@nuckles0000 12 жыл бұрын

Love your old hardware reviews

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@RandyPhantomHC It certainly could! One of the first things I did with this was backup my PCjr software, and writing back to disk seems just as simple.

@104d_3rr0r_vince 9 жыл бұрын

Capturing tracks is awesome like you said. I enjoyed very much while making all my disks .dms format on my Amiga, Also liked a lot X-Copy and Discology on Amstrad. Also reel movement hypnotises me... sick stuff mate!

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@ASSEMblerEX The common games, sure. But probably half of my collection I have never seen proper dumps for. Lots of obscure applications and uncommon games, plus and different versions of those dumped already.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@EgonOlsen71 Fantastic, I hope it serves you well!

@indignantatheist 12 жыл бұрын

Awesome video, man. Very informative and super nerdy, just like I like 'em! Keep up the fantastic work. +1 for Audition, as well.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@30LayersOfKevlar I am, but if I have a preference for most computing it's PC.

@galinpetkov 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks dude, I was looking for this for a week or so :). I have about 17 GB's of 8-bit games for IBM-PC (on images). So, let the copying begin. :) I am lucky that in Bulgaria we have plenty of new 5.25" diskettes left from the communist era :D

@comradeurod9805 6 жыл бұрын

So it appears that communism is a Great preservation device for floppies :D

@TheMonyarm 5 жыл бұрын

You're bulgarian too ? Have you had any luck finding physical copies of old games ?

@MihaUlanov 5 жыл бұрын

Long live ИЗОТ

@rameynoodles152 5 жыл бұрын

Hey, if you get those floppies copied over in their original form, it would be AMAZING if you could post them online somewhere!

@merouby 4 жыл бұрын

In Soviet Bulgaria, the disks COPY YOU!

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Blurredman No, it doesn't function as a normal controller. It just reads floppies to RAW files or images, can write images back to floppies, and it's only usable with the DTC program at this point.

@PedroSilvahf 11 жыл бұрын

I saw your videos and im amazed how you still have stuff in floppy and they work and other collectors from other parts of the world find those things too, but i couldnt keep my disks, i remember our computer from 1997 got almost everything on floppy and some of those where broken only one week after we started using. Some months later, when we moved, the moisture destroyed the ones left and also some cds

@ilackedtheheart 11 жыл бұрын

This is pretty neat. I don't have any old floppies anymore, but it's good to know that people are backing up old software for archiving. Anyways, I love this channel, and you've got me into playing old games again. I just started playing Carmageddon again. I forgot how fun that game is :)

@WASasquatch 5 жыл бұрын

Hey, Clint! Thanks for sharing this video, I'm not sure how I missed this one but it's pretty important stuff, here. As of today, Kryoflux has a Personal Edition KF-ROS-PB for 99 pounds. At-a-glance, this seems to be better suited for us just trying to dump our old games and software as images.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@rastaxp Oh heck no, that would wreak havoc on my obsessive-compulsive tendencies. It's a very old desk made of MDF. The veneer is wearing down from years of friction, giving a speckled pattern.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@weirdproq1 I will most certainly consider it.

@LGR 11 жыл бұрын

You can write back to floppy, yes. But I'm not sure how it works with copy-protected disk images, as I've not tried it.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@maddmaxstar I don't think so. It's specifically written to take advantage of the Kryoflux hardware's capabilities. If you just want to make images of C64 floppies, you can buy something like the XA1541 adapter and use the Star Commander program or something similar. But Kryoflux does it all!

@Cthulhu1970 12 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that; most interesting. If it wasn't for you, and people like you, a lot of us wouldn't get to hear about interesting little devices like this. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

@RetroRepair 12 жыл бұрын

Awesome! I've got a huge stack of PD floppies I can back up now, It's surprising how much of this stuff isn't out there.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@barc0deblankblank Of course! But cartridges tend to stick around a little longer than floppy disks, at least in my experience, when they're taken care of. And nearly all console games have been made into ROMs by now, whereas tons of old computer software is all but lost. Hence, my urgency in imaging old floppies :)

@mediocrefunkybeat 9 жыл бұрын

I just remembered how many 5.25 disks I have for my BBC Micro. Hmm...

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@thomasmovesinc Using a PC to back up PC floppies on old PC hardware. Take a guess :)

@randomforum 12 жыл бұрын

Something that I will need to get end of this month. Got lots of PC, Amiga, C64 floppy disks here too... not all games or software but also private stuff like old school works, paintings, stories, midis, mods, xm's and stuff. And what is more than awesome is that you can transfer any disk image back to a floppy!!! Finally I can get instalationdisks for my old Macintosh SE/30

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@kinmanyuen I think you mixed up 3.5" and 5.25" ;) Anyway, it really depends on the quality of the floppy used for production and how it was stored. I've had cheap floppies die after a year, yet I have 30-year-old floppies that were kept cool, dry and dust-free that work like new.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@RetroGamerr1991 Not really. Like, you can't use it as you would a normal floppy drive. Whatever you do has to go through the DTC program, so you're limited to its reading to images and writing back using those same images.

@manonthedollar 4 жыл бұрын

That intro text, mirrored on your screen in Premiere, was trippy and I liked it.

@VicTheVicar 12 жыл бұрын

@phreakindee Thanks for letting me know! I like your videos of old tech the most, but your game reviews are also a treat to watch.

@LGR 11 жыл бұрын

They still do, as well as 8" disks. Athana is one such company.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@GreatNorthWeb Akalabeth's initial release comes immediately to mind. Really just about any of those early "zip loc" floppy games.

@BrutusAlbion 12 жыл бұрын

A true collector plays his games... you sir are a true collector and I sincerely enjoy your video's

@stinkertonsden 6 жыл бұрын

Still a useful video. :) It's perfect for bringing attention to the rest of us who are just as interested in preservation of old software.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Danny77uk Po-tay-tow, po-tah-tow. We called it OS X in my Apple classes in college, so I've said it that way ever since.

@Unlimited1Ups 12 жыл бұрын

Nice piece of kit. Long live the floppy!

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@andlinux Nope. This is doing much more than a simple metadata-less sector dump. This reads a RAW stream, precisely sampling the magnetic flux transition timing of a multitude of floppy writing schemes. It also supports dozens of other disk formats without need for further modification or software. It also doesn't require an on-board floppy controller, using only USB.

@tetsujin_144 4 жыл бұрын

I came across Kryoflux looking for a way to read/write Mac 800K disks (and other vintage platforms) on a modern PC. Seems like a really powerful option for working with different disk formats. Pretty cool stuff.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@NikolaSilvers Nothing, if you have no need to preserve floppies in as close to their original form as possible. A bunch of files is just a bunch of files. There is no metadata, or record of the original tracks and sectors, and it doesn't preserve the copy protection or any other unique aspects of the disk. The disk images and RAW data the Kryoflux provides are for preserving these floppies completely once the originals are gone.

@directrix1 7 жыл бұрын

That's awesome. Thanks for the demo.

@stonent 8 жыл бұрын

If you're writing back old disks, you should probably use a 360k drive. 1.2MB drives have smaller heads and do not cover the entire track which can confuse some old drives that need the full track. Even worse when you overwrite an old DSDD and you only overwrite half the track.

@UlsterHVF 7 жыл бұрын

Those lights are mesmerising... 😮

@WhiskeyRichard. 10 жыл бұрын

"Magnetic flux transition timing" - it sounds like it literally measures the change in the magnetic flux density (that is, the B field) over time, thus it's making measurements on the actual magnetic domains as stored on the magnetic medium of the disk. In fact if it is indeed a stream it sound more like an analogue operation, or at least a digital one with an extremely high [over]sampled rate.

@vwestlife 12 жыл бұрын

Since those .RAW files have WinAmp icons on them, what do they sound like when played? Beethoven's 5th Symphony? :-)

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@Costerguy1234556 It's a Das Keyboard Professional S.

@0311Mushroom 4 жыл бұрын

Teac also had a solution for systems that only had 1 drive Bay. It was a combo 5.25 and 3.5 drive in a single unit. Only 1 cable was needed, and it let you use both formats in a single unit.

@LGR 11 жыл бұрын

You should be able to just get an adapter to convert one of those to yours though.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

This is compatible with C64 floppies, though by using a PC drive. If you want a C64-only board, the XA-1541 works nicely with C64 drives.

@robrat5162 5 жыл бұрын

loving the hands

@danwalker77 12 жыл бұрын

Excellent stuff!

@SmeddyTooBestChannel 9 жыл бұрын

Anyone notice the intro playing on the screen while the actual intro plays?

@aquaferme1346 3 жыл бұрын

Man, I still use 360k floppys regularly... to me they are simply an essential part of the retro-computing experience... I don't use them as permanent storage, but I regularly put stuff on them to run them on different machines. I also do alot of writing for a living and pure text does not take alot of space, so I use those retro computers and 360k disks for work as well... weapon of choice currently is word perfect 4.2, and for basic data entry, lotus123. No multi tasking, no cluttered interface, perfection.

@jean-micheldumay3409 3 жыл бұрын

Galaxian, what a sweet memory....that was the Galactic era of our dear vintage PCs ; )

@LGR 10 жыл бұрын

It'll write IBM format disks, but nothing else at this point, unless it's been updated lately. Check on the Kryoflux forums!

@marcianoacuerda 7 жыл бұрын

"Games are meant to be played". Simple claim that, amazingly, some people just don't get.

@chrisakaschulbus4903 5 жыл бұрын

and time will destroy everything and our lives are also not endless... so why say no to fun?

@toymachine4253 4 жыл бұрын

Games are meant to make the publishers and copyright trolls money

@807D14M0ND5 4 жыл бұрын

@@toymachine4253 That's another perspective, it's all true. Your perspective doesn't take into account the people who work on those games. They want the game to be played.

@merouby 4 жыл бұрын

@@chrisakaschulbus4903 some, it's bragging - to others, it's a resale thing

@chrisakaschulbus4903 4 жыл бұрын

@@merouby i totally understand those viewpoints, i think my reply was more aimed at those people who collect stuff and don't do anything with it. i bought a mavika floppy camera just because it's something i like to play around with. while some people would scream at me for using that poor old drive, i just say, "who cares? i have fun with it." *shutter sound ... BRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

@janglur 9 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed this considerably, and would like to possibly call on you in the future to restore some disks, or try to, and create copies. Some of those formats are exotic as hell and impossible to find a working computer for.

@EgonOlsen71 12 жыл бұрын

Great video! You made me order one of those to finally save my old C64 discs.

@TapGage 12 жыл бұрын

Cool, I have one of these too! I've even gotten some disks I couldn't get to load on the original hardware to dump with this. I can't wait until they add write support for non-IPF files.

@yuusegawa 7 жыл бұрын

Wow... Ducktales: The Quest For Gold!!! I loved that game as a kid!!~

@karadoc 11 жыл бұрын

It was definitely an influence. :) We also have a license for the original X-Copy sounds, which we use when a disk finishes, or there is an error.

@LGR 12 жыл бұрын

@LunaVorax

@LadyNicola 4 жыл бұрын

8 years later and I'm following your tutorial. 😂😂😂😂😜

@EgonOlsen71 12 жыл бұрын

@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.

@wrhythm 8 жыл бұрын

Don't copy that Floppy!

@mackenziebullied4900 8 жыл бұрын

oh der gawd

@sirp0p0 7 жыл бұрын

wrhythm Don't make a RAW 1:1 backup image of the floppy for archival purposes!

@woodyglendell7400 6 жыл бұрын

This message brought to you by The Software Publishers Association......

@tbb033 6 жыл бұрын

NO! Copy all the floppies!

@gormless-idiot 5 жыл бұрын

@@tbb033 yes

@johnsparozich6839 4 жыл бұрын

Nice tool..love your videos..Thank you so much for sharing..be safe

@ianmelzer 7 жыл бұрын

Assuming floppy media is no longer available, can the images be used with some sort of sd card adapter/floppy emulator for physical PCs or used in DOSBox even with low level copy protection?

@16mmDJ 11 жыл бұрын

Looks like a totally awesome tool. Not too bad of a price either. I bet it'd be a handy thing to have if I didn't live in a college town away from my computers. And also... Das Keyboard for the win.

@oj43085 12 жыл бұрын

That is a really cool device.

@BlackDragon-xn2ww 7 жыл бұрын

This reminds me of my video editing days when I turned every video into cd-r from vhs and even super 8 movies of years ago that was fun finding the right format to get the best results the super 8 turned out better then the originals reels plus I tied them all together to make a movie of sorts of related footage that was fun to do but it took tons of hours to make.