Apple II BOOTI USB Hard Drive Emulator Card – PERMANENTLY OUT OF STOCK

(11 customer reviews)

The BOOTI card is a hard drive emulator that allows you to mount up to 8 disk images in any Apple II (II, II+, original or enhanced IIe, and IIgs).

SKU: BTI2 Category: Tags: ,

Description

We are no longer carrying the BOOTI card. This page is kept for reference only.

Get your Apple II BOOTI on with this USB Hard Drive Emulator Card from David Mutimer, with firmware by Marko Ramius.

The BOOTI card is a block device emulator that allows you to mount up to 8 devices in the following computers:

  • Apple II/II+/original IIe/enhanced IIe
  • Apple IIgs
  • Laser 128
  • Apple ///
  • Franklin Ace 1200

Disk images can be PO/2MG/ISO/HDV. Note: Disk images must be in ProDOS block order, not DSK track/sector order. You can convert ProDOS DSK floppy disk images to ProDOS order using the dsk2po Python utility.

The BOOTI card supports two modes:

  • Block Mode with support for up to eight devices (all machines). This mode is limited to floppy disk images or hard drive images of 32 MB or less.
  • SmartPort Mode (only for enhanced Apple IIe and IIGS). This mode offers up to eight devices in ProDOS and GS/OS. In GS/OS, the size of a device is limited to 8GB provided that you use either an HFS volume or an ISO image.

—–

Notes

  • Due to high demand, there is a limit of one BOOTI card per customer.
  • Some USB sticks work better than others. SanDisk USB 2.0 sticks (8 Gb or less) seem to work best.
  • You should be able to use USB sticks without reformatting. Just copy your files onto the root (top level) of the drive.
  • If for some reason you need to reformat, be sure to completely erase/wipe the USB stick. Do not choose Quick Format. If your USB stick is larger than 4 Gb, create a 4 Gb partition. Then format in FAT or FAT16 mode, with MBR.
  • On the Apple II, II+, original IIe, Laser 128, and Apple /// only use Block Mode. Do not choose Smartport Mode.
  • For the Laser 128, be sure to enable the appropriate external slot.
  • The use of a USB extension cable is not recommended – it may work but is not supported.
  • If you have DSK (track/sector) disk images, you can convert them to PO (ProDOS order) disk images using the DSK2PO Python Script (see below for detailed instructions).

—–

Downloads

Reflash the EEPROM Firmware

If your BOOTI card is currently working and you want to upgrade the EEPROM firmare:

  1. Add the booti firmware disk image to your USB drive and plug into the BOOTI.
  2. Boot your Apple II and immediately press ‘C’ to enter the BOOTI configuration.
  3. Change the configuration to put the booti disk image into the first device.
  4. Restart your Apple II and boot the booti disk.
  5. From BASIC, do BRUN USBFLASH
  6. Follow the prompts to flash the EEPROM, then restart your computer.
  7. Immediately press ‘C’ to enter the BOOTI configuration and look in the upper right to verify the firmware version.

If you are using a blank EEPROM or your BOOTI card is not working:

  1. Put your BOOTI card into one of the Apple II slots lower than your regular disk drive, so that the regular disk drive boots first.
  2. Create a floppy disk with the booti firmware disk image (or boot the disk image in some other way).
  3. Start your Apple II and boot the booti disk.
  4. From BASIC, do BRUN USBFLASH
  5. Follow the prompts to choose the correct slot for the BOOTI, wait for the flash to finish, then restart your computer.
  6. Immediately press ‘C’ to enter the BOOTI configuration and look in the upper right to verify the firmware version.

 

Using dsk2po to convert disk images on Windows

Thanks to Ken Buchholz for these instructions. In this example, we will be working on the Windows platform to convert a file named pegasus2 in DSK track/sector format to pegasus2 in PO format.  Commands are shown in boldface, filenames are itacilicized, and <enter> means press the Enter key on your keyboard.
Note: If you wish to keep your DSK file, make sure you have a copy of it somewhere else as dsk2po.py overwrites the file.
  1. Download the DSK2PO Python Script
  2. Right-click on the Windows icon (lower left of screen) and select Windows Powershell (Admin)
  3. In the Powershell window, change the current directory to your desktop directory using the command
    cd C:/users/yourname/desktop
  4. In the Powershell window, type:  python <enter>. If python is not available, you will be taken to the Microsoft Store to install. Once python is installed, in the Powershell window, type: python <enter>.
  5. You should be in the python environment.  If so, type: quit() <enter>.
  6. On your Windows desktop, copy dsk2po.py to your desktop.
  7. Copy the file which you wish to convert to the desktop, for example pegasus2.dsk.
  8. In the Powershell window, type:  python dsk2po.py pegasus2.dsk <enter>. You should see the following in the Powershell window:
    dsk2po – convert dsk files to po files
    Writing po image to pegasus2.po
    And then you are returned to the Powershell cursor.
  9. On your desktop, pegasus2.dsk will be replaced with pegasus2.po.

Additional information

Weight 15 oz
Dimensions 6 × 3 × 1 in

11 reviews for Apple II BOOTI USB Hard Drive Emulator Card – PERMANENTLY OUT OF STOCK

  1. Chris (verified owner) –

    The booti device works wonderfully now on both my Apple IIGS and IIe. The key item to remember is that all files (disks) used by the booti must be in prodos order . I greatly appreciate the after sales support provided by Chris and David to address my issue and i love the device. Thank you both!

  2. ted (verified owner) –

    Works flawlessly in my enhanced IIe. I have a card in slot 7, so for now this resides in slot 5. A short USB extension from adafruit lets me access it from outside the box. I would recommend a piece of plastic just as insurance against shorts with neighboring cards in higher slots tho.

  3. Mike (verified owner) –

    Fast & responsive performance from USB & intuitive menus – terrific product. Super quick to install, too. My configuration: slot 7 | Enhanced Apple //e.

  4. DDE (verified owner) –

    Awesome product, and I can confirm it works with my Franklin ACE 1000. Easy to configure and just Total Replay by itself makes it worth it. I first played Karateka back in 1984 on a Franklin ACE, and I just played it again today!

  5. Evan Wright (verified owner) –

    It’s awesome. I have one in my enhanced //e and it works great.

  6. Jay Graham (verified owner) –

    Have one of David’s Multi-ROM adapters too. Love this thing!!

  7. Verault –

    First saw the Booti card on the Assembly lines Youtube channel. I really didn’t think to much of it at first but the price was great. Once I got the card and realized how easy it was to create 32MB prodos partitions and mount disk images I was sold. Mostly used it on the IIgs and its FANTASTIC! Backing up and restoring has never been so simple! I sold the card because I thought I could just buy another, but supply and demand! Thankfully I was on the wait list and I have another one on the way! I hope you guys keep selling this card for years to come because its one of the best boards for the Apple II out there!

  8. Howard Saunders (verified owner) –

    Works successfully with my PCPI compatible CP/M card. Well worth it!
    (FYI, the BOOTI card is incredibly tiny….)

  9. Georg Basse –

    Fantastic card, works without problems in my enhanced Apple //e. Looking forward for another card to put in my Apple ///.

  10. Kevin Oliver (verified owner) –

    I first heard about the BOOTI through a lot of chatter in a facebook group and decided to give it a try. I received mine a few days ago and installed it successfully in my Franklin Ace 1200 (1000) and it works flawlessly! Now I have so many options available to me, including many games of Swashbuckler!!! Thank you!

    • Chris Torrence –

      Thanks Kevin, really appreciate your comments. And yes, Swashbuckler! One of my favorite games, although I can never seem to reach 80 kills…

  11. Angelo Malaquias (verified owner) –

    Working perfectly on my TK300, a Brazilian //e enhanced clone.

Add a review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related products