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Using Windows To Create A PianoDisc Floppy

The PianoDisc control unit uses a special disk format that your computer does not understand. In order to create a PianoDisc floppy, a "translator" is required. By using a simple utility program, your computer is able to create a disk that the PianoDisc system can understand. Creating the PianoDisc floppy is a simple three-step process:

  1. Download & Install The Utility
  2. Download A Floppy Disk "Image" File
  3. Create The PianoDisc Floppy Disk
 

If you have previously installed the utility on your system, you can skip ahead to the second step. If you are using Windows 3.x, please use these instructions instead.


 

Download & Install The Utility

The first step is to obtain a copy of the "rawrite" utility. Click on the button below to download the compressed utility. We recommend saving this file to your Windows desktop. NOTE: PianoDisc did not write this utility. Make sure to review the accompanying documentation and abide by the terms of the license.




This may take a few minutes to download. Once the file has been downloaded, we need to copy it into a new folder.

  1. Right click on an empty area of the Windows Desktop.
  2. From the menu that appears, select "New", then "Folder".
  3. Type a name for the new folder, and press [ENTER]. The name does not matter, but we will call our folder "Temp" in this example.
  4. While holding the [SHIFT] button on your keyboard, drag the RWARCH file into the new folder.

Now, we need to uncompress the utility.


  1. Double click on the new folder to view its contents.
  2. Double click on the RWARCH file to uncompress it. A DOS window will open and several files will be extracted. When it is done, you can close the DOS window.
The utility is now installed!

NOTE: You can permanently install this utility so that you do not have to re-install it every time you download an update. To permanently install it, copy the RAWRITE.EXE file to your C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND folder.
 

Download A Floppy Disk "Image" File

An image file contains an exact "image" of the data on a PianoDisc floppy. Click on the link below to download a PianoDisc floppy disk image. By downloading a floppy disk image, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions outlined in the Disclaimer Of Warranty. Once you have downloaded an image, use your browser's [BACK] button to return to this page.

Again, this may take a few minutes to download. Make sure you download the image file into the folder where the rawrite utility was installed (unless rawrite is in the path or in the C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND folder).

 

Create The PianoDisc Floppy Disk

We're almost done! The last step is to run the utility and create the PianoDisc floppy. You will need a formatted floppy disk for this step. It does not matter whether the floppy was formatted in your PianoDisc unit, or whether it was formatted on your computer. If the name of the image file ends with the letter 'H', you will need a high-density (DSHD) floppy disk. If the name of the image file ends with the letter 'L', you will need a low-density (DSDD) floppy disk. If you do not have a low-density floppy disk, but the image requires one, click here for information about "converting" a high-density disk to low-density.


If you "converted" a high-density disk to low-density, or if the disk you plan to use has not yet been formatted, then follow these instructions to format the disk. Otherwise, you may skip this step. WARNING: FORMATTING WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON THE DISK. MAKE SURE THERE IS NOTHING IMPORTANT THAT IS STORED ON THE FLOPPY. If you need to format the disk, follow these steps:

  1. Double click on the "My Computer" icon on your Windows desktop.
  2. Right click on the floppy drive icon.
  3. Select "Format" from the menu that pops up.
  4. Insert the floppy disk into the drive.
  5. Select the proper capacity from the drop-down menu at the top of the format window. Select 1.44 MB for high-density disks and 720 KB for low-density disks.
  6. Select "Full" under "Format Type".
  7. Click "Start" to begin formatting.

Now, we will run the rawrite utility to create the PianoDisc floppy. Instead of typing filename in the command below, be sure to type the actual name of the image file that you downloaded.

  1. From the Windows "Start" menu, click "Programs", then "MS-DOS Prompt".
  2. From the DOS prompt, type the following command: 
    • rawrite -f filename.img -d a:
  3. The utility may display an error message the first time it is run. If you get an error message, simply try again.

Make sure that the disk is in the drive, and press [ENTER] to create the PianoDisc floppy. The utility will write the image to your floppy disk. This process may take a few minutes, so be patient. When the utility has finished, eject the disk. It is now ready to use in your PianoDisc system. Remember, the utility acted as a "translator" for your computer. If you try to examine the disk from your computer, your computer will report an error.


What Next?

Click on a link below for more information about using the PianoDisc floppy that you just created.