Initial Setup · keirf/FlashFloppy Wiki · GitHub https://github-wiki-see.

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Initial Setup · keirf/FlashFloppy Wiki ·

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Initial Setup
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Keir Fraser edited this page Oct 26, 2020 · 12 revisions

• Physical Interface
• USB Storage
• Configuration Files
• Image Navigation Modes
◦ Native mode
◦ Indexed mode
◦ HxC Compatibility mode

Physical Interface
By default FlashFloppy will emulate the Shugart floppy interface. This is compatible with a
broad range of systems including Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, and many other devices.
Shugart-compatible systems will typically expect the Gotek to respond as 'unit 0'. Therefore
place the selection jumper at location S0 at the rear of the Gotek.

IBM PC compatibles use a slightly modified interface which places the disk-changed signal on
a different pin. To select this interface mode place a jumper at location JC at the rear of the
Gotek. The host system may expect the Gotek to respond as 'unit 1': in this case place the
selection jumper at location S1 at the rear of the Gotek.

An alternative method to specify the interface mode (Shugart or PC) is via the FF.CFG file.

See Host Platforms for detailed instructions and troubleshooting for specific host systems.

USB Storage
FlashFloppy requires a USB drive formatted with FAT32 (note that ExFAT and NTFS are not
supported). Most USB sticks are factory-formatted appropriately.

Configuration Files

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FlashFloppy has a number of optional configuration files:

• FF.CFG: Global configuration of drive emulation, display handling, etc

• IMG.CFG: Manual configuration of IMG/IMA ("Raw") track layouts
• IMAGE_A.CFG / INIT_A.CFG: Last/initial image to load

These can be placed either in the FF/ subfolder, or in the root of your USB drive. Note that if
FF/ exists, the root folder is not searched!

In HxC Compatibility mode, the HXCSDFE.CFG and AUTOBOOT.HFE files must always be
in the root folder, regardless of whether FF/ exists.

Image Navigation Modes

FlashFloppy supports three different operating modes. For the best experience across the
widest range of host systems, Native mode is recommended in combination with an LCD or
OLED display.

• Native mode: No need for any configuration files. Allows direct selection of any valid
image file on your USB stick.
• Indexed mode: Switches between image names of the form DSKA0000 and so on.
• HxC Compatibility mode: A legacy mode requiring an image-selector program to run
on the host system to pre-assign disk images to numbered slots.

Native mode
In this mode you need no configuration files or selector software (however, as in all operating
modes, you may optionally configure FlashFloppy via FF.CFG).

Behaviour depends on which display type you have connected:

• LCD/OLED: FlashFloppy will allow you to select between any valid image file and
any folder within the current directory. Selecting a folder will make that the new current
directory, and list any image files and subfolders within.
• 7-Segment LED: FlashFloppy will automatically assign all valid images in the root
folder of your USB stick to slots which you can switch between using the Gotek
buttons.

In all cases, the following folders and images are ignored and will not be listed for navigation:

• Any name beginning with a dot (.)

• Any file which is not a valid image (eg. unrecognised filename extension)
• Any folder or image with the FAT "Hidden" attribute set
• Root folder called FF/
• Any folder called __MACOSX/ (these get strewn around by macOS)

Indexed mode
This mode is configured via FF.CFG: nav-mode = indexed.

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FlashFloppy will switch between image names of the form DSKA0000*.*, DSKA0001*.*,
and so on. Each image which will be automatically assigned to the corresponding numbered
slot. Note that any supported image type can be used.

Note that an arbitrary filename is allowed after the DSKAnnnn prefix (eg.
DSKA0000_myimage.img). Additionally, the DSKA prefix can be changed in FF.CFG
(indexed-prefix=).

HxC Compatibility mode

This mode selects between pre-assigned slots in an HXCSDFE.CFG file. These slots are
configured by an image-selector program running on the host system, either in ROM or (more
typically) an AUTOBOOT.HFE image compatible with your system, copied to the root of
your USB drive. Supported systems include Amiga, Atari ST, and Amstrad CPC. Note that for
enhanced compatibility, the correct files for Amiga and Atari ST are included in the
FlashFloppy release distribution.

The Gotek buttons cycle between the assigned slots in the config file. To reassign slots boot
the file selector: this is immediately accessible in slot 0 by pressing both Gotek buttons at any
time. Configuration with the host selector software is straightforward: assign files from your
USB stick to drive A "slots". On reboot, these slots are accessible via the up and down buttons
on the front of the Gotek. Holding a button will cycle faster through the populated slots.
Pressing both buttons will take you immediately to the file selector.

Important Note: HxC assigns images to slots by physical location on the USB stick, rather
than by full path name. This means that if you move files around within the filesystem, the slot
assignments will break with unpredictable results (FlashFloppy error messages, garbage disk
images, etc). You must not copy a new image over an old, or file-by-file copy one USB stick
to another, unless you subsequently refresh the slot assignments in HXCSDFE.CFG.

Amiga

Copy the following files to the root of your USB drive:

• HxC_Compat_Mode/Amiga/AUTOBOOT.HFE
• HxC_Compat_Mode/HXCSDFE.CFG

Atari ST

Copy the following files to the root of your USB drive:

• HxC_Compat_Mode/Atari_ST/AUTOBOOT.HFE
• HxC_Compat_Mode/HXCSDFE.CFG

Amstrad CPC

The latest files can be found on the CPC scene website.

File Selector in Host ROM

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Copy the following file to the root of your USB drive:

• HxC_Compat_Mode/HXCSDFE.CFG

Pages 22

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Home
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Building From Source
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FF.CFG Configuration File
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Firmware Programming
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Firmware Update
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Gotek Compatibility
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Hardware Mods
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Host Platforms
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Image Formats
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IMG.CFG Configuration File
• ▾
Initial Setup
◦ Physical Interface
◦ USB Storage
◦ Configuration Files
◦ Image Navigation Modes
◦ Native mode
◦ Indexed mode
◦ HxC Compatibility mode
◦ Amiga
◦ Atari ST
◦ Amstrad CPC
◦ File Selector in Host ROM
• ▸
Logging To USB Drive
• ▸
News
• ▸

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Project History
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Quick Disk
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Redistribution
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Testing IO Pins
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Track Layouts
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Troubleshooting FAQ

Download
• Download FlashFloppy
• AutoSwap Amiga Games
• On Screen Display (OSD)
• Image Library

Installation
• Gotek Compatibility
◦ Spring 2021: Artery MCUs
• Firmware Programming
• Firmware Update
• Hardware Mods
• Quick Disk

Usage
• Initial Setup
• FF.CFG Configuration File
• IMG.CFG Configuration File
• Host Platforms

Troubleshooting
• Error Messages
• Troubleshooting FAQ
• Logging to USB Drive
• Testing I/O Pins

Support
• Donations
• News
• Redistribution

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