Bring new life to your old Apple computer!

Floppy Emu is a floppy and hard disk emulator for classic Apple II, Macintosh, and Lisa computers. It uses an SD memory card and custom hardware to mimic an Apple floppy disk and drive, or an Apple hard drive. The Emu behaves exactly like a real disk drive, requiring no special software or drivers.

“Highly recommended.”

– Apple2Online “A great device.”

– Blondihacks “A boon for classic Mac collectors.”

– RetroMacCast

Bring new life to your old Apple computer! Floppy Emu is a specialized floppy and hard disk emulator for classic Apple computers. It uses a removable SD memory card and custom hardware to mimic an Apple floppy disk and drive, or an Apple hard drive. The Emu behaves exactly like a real disk drive, requiring no special software or drivers.

Floppy Emu is perfect for booting your favorite games, transferring files from vintage to modern machines, and troubleshooting a computer without a working OS. Just plug in the Emu board, and you’ll be up and running in seconds.



BMOW Floppy Emu Deluxe Bundle includes: Floppy Emu Model C

Frosted Ice Acrylic Case (requires assembly)

Vintage Apple Software Collection SD Card

Micro SD to Full-Size SD Adapter

DB-19 Disk Extension Cable

Everything for $139



BMOW Floppy Emu Deluxe Bundle



Floppy Emu Model C

Frosted Ice Acrylic Case (requires assembly)

Vintage Apple Software Collection SD Card

Micro SD to Full-Size SD Adapter

DB-19 Disk Extension Cable

Everything for $139

Usage Demonstration Video



Documentation

Setup Guide:

Case assembly instructions:

User Guide for previous generation Model B: User Guide: PDF Setup Guide: PDF Case assembly instructions: instructions User Guide for previous generation Model B: PDF



Features

Reads and writes emulated 140K, 400K, 800K, or 1.4MB floppy disk images, or hard disk images up to 2GB

Navigates the list of disk images stored on a standard SD memory card

Compatible with the original Mac 128K through the Mac II series and Power Mac, all Apple II models, and Lisa 2

Connects to external (DB-19 D-SUB) or internal (20 pin ribbon header) floppy drive connector

Supports all major Apple disk image file types

Macintosh Floppy – Supports 400K, 800K, and 1.4MB floppy disk images, in raw .dsk or Disk Copy 4.2 format. Disk image files are the same format as those used with popular software-based Mac emulators like Mini vMac. Compatible with the original Mac 128K through the Mac II series and Power Mac.

Macintosh Hard Disk – HD20 hard disk emulation is compatible with the Macintosh 512K, 512Ke, Plus, SE (not SE/30), Classic, Classic II, Portable, IIci, IIsi, or LC I. Supports bootable hard disk images up to 2GB. Disk image file is compatible with popular software-based Mac emulators.

Lisa Floppy – Emulates 400K and 800K floppy disks on the Lisa 2/5 and 2/10. Boot or mount native Lisa Office System disk images in Disk Copy 4.2 format, or use Macintosh disk images within the MacWorks environment.

Apple II Hard Disk – Emulates up to four simultaneous Smartport hard disks, each up to 32 MB (when formatted as ProDOS) or 2 GB (when formatted as HFS). Smartport disks are compatible with the Apple IIgs, Apple IIc (ROM version 0 or newer), Apple IIc+, and Apple II+ or IIe with a Liron disk controller card.

Apple II Floppy – Emulates 5.25 inch 140K floppy disks on any Apple II series system, as well as 3.5 inch 800K floppies on the Apple IIgs and Apple IIc+. Disk image files may be in .DSK, .DO, .PO, or .2MG formats. 5.25 inch 140K floppy disk emulation also supports .NIB and .WOZ formats. Disk images are compatible with common Apple II emulation tools such as AppleWin and Ciderpress.

Connects to the built-in 19-pin disk connector on the IIgs and IIc, or to the disk controller card on the Apple II, II+, and IIe. Compatible with the Disk 5.25 Controller Card with 19-pin connector, and the classic Disk II Controller Card with two 20-pin connectors. See the instruction manual for details on drive numbering and boot priority.

Compatibility

COMPUTER DISK EMULATION MODES Macintosh Macintosh 128K 3.5 inch 400K floppy Macintosh 512K 3.5 inch 400K floppy, HD20 hard disk[1] Macintosh 512Ke, Plus, SE 3.5 inch 400K/800K floppy, HD20 hard disk SE FDHD, Classic, Classic II, Portable, IIci, IIsi 3.5 inch 400K/800K/1.4MB floppy, HD20 hard disk SE/30, IIcx 3.5 inch 400K/800K/1.4MB floppy LC 3.5 inch 400K/800K/1.4MB floppy, HD20 hard disk[2] IIfx, IIvx, IIvi, LC-II, LC-III, LC 4xx, LC 5xx, Color Classic, Color Classic II, TV, Performa, Quadra, Centris, Power Mac 3.5 inch 400K/800K/1.4MB floppy[2] Lisa Lisa 2/5 and 2/10 3.5 inch 400K/800K floppy Apple II Apple II, II+, IIe with standard disk controller 5.25 inch floppy Apple II, II+, IIe with Liron disk controller Smartport hard disk Apple IIc 5.25 inch floppy[3], Smartport hard disk[4] Apple IIgs, IIc+ 5.25 inch floppy, 3.5 inch floppy, Smartport hard disk

[1] Mac 512K also requires boot floppy with HD20 Init

[2] uses internal disk connector

[3] requires IIc internal connection for booting 5.25 inch disks, see manual for details

[4] requires IIc with ROM revision 0 or newer for Smartport mode

Technology

Interested in how Floppy Emu works under the hood? Check out the Floppy Emu Technology Design page.

FAQ

Can I boot from an emulated floppy or hard disk?

Yes you can!

Yes you can! Does this require a special driver or INIT?

No software is required for floppy emulation on any system. For Macintosh HD20 hard disk emulation, most supported Mac models require no software, though the Mac 512K requires Apple’s HD20 Init.

No software is required for floppy emulation on any system. For Macintosh HD20 hard disk emulation, most supported Mac models require no software, though the Mac 512K requires Apple’s HD20 Init. What types of disk image files are supported?

Macintosh: 400K, 800K, or 1.4MB floppy disk images in raw .dsk format or DiskCopy 4.2 .image format, or hard disk images up to 2GB in raw format. Lisa: 400K or 800K floppy disk images in DiskCopy 4.2 format. Apple II: 140K floppy disk images in .DSK, .DO, .PO, .NIB, .WOZ, or .2MG format, 800K floppy disk images in .DSK, .DO, .PO, .2MG, and DiskCopy 4.2 format, or hard disk images up to 2 GB in .PO, .2MG, or .HDV format. The maximum size of a ProDOS volume is 32 MB, so larger hard disk images must be formatted as HFS.

Macintosh: 400K, 800K, or 1.4MB floppy disk images in raw .dsk format or DiskCopy 4.2 .image format, or hard disk images up to 2GB in raw format. Lisa: 400K or 800K floppy disk images in DiskCopy 4.2 format. Apple II: 140K floppy disk images in .DSK, .DO, .PO, .NIB, .WOZ, or .2MG format, 800K floppy disk images in .DSK, .DO, .PO, .2MG, and DiskCopy 4.2 format, or hard disk images up to 2 GB in .PO, .2MG, or .HDV format. The maximum size of a ProDOS volume is 32 MB, so larger hard disk images must be formatted as HFS. Can I write to the emulated disk, as well as read from it?

Yes, for all but Apple II NIB and WOZ format images. Note that writing to a DiskCopy 4.2 disk image does not modify its stored checksums – see details in the usage instructions.

Yes, for all but Apple II NIB and WOZ format images. Note that writing to a DiskCopy 4.2 disk image does not modify its stored checksums – see details in the usage instructions. Can I format the emulated disk?

Yes for hard disk emulation, no for floppy emulation. Floppy Emu emulates standard sector-by-sector floppy writing, as occurs with normal I/O operations such as copying files or saving data from within a program. Instead of formatting a blank disk, use one of the provided blank disk images.

Yes for hard disk emulation, no for floppy emulation. Floppy Emu emulates standard sector-by-sector floppy writing, as occurs with normal I/O operations such as copying files or saving data from within a program. Instead of formatting a blank disk, use one of the provided blank disk images. Can I back-up old floppies using tools like Disk Copy 4.2 or Copy II Plus?

Yes, with some conditions. Many disk copy programs perform a simultaneous format-and-write of the destination floppy, which creates problems (see previous answer about formatting), and requires special attention when copying. See the manual for details.

Yes, with some conditions. Many disk copy programs perform a simultaneous format-and-write of the destination floppy, which creates problems (see previous answer about formatting), and requires special attention when copying. See the manual for details. Can the Emu work with copy-protected disks?

The hardware is designed to work with unprotected disks using standard sector and disk formats. Some copy-protection schemes may work, including some Apple II WOZ and NIB disk images, but this isn’t a hardcore cracking tool.

The hardware is designed to work with unprotected disks using standard sector and disk formats. Some copy-protection schemes may work, including some Apple II WOZ and NIB disk images, but this isn’t a hardcore cracking tool. Can I emulate multiple floppies at once?

Floppy Emu can store as many disk image files as your SD card will hold, but only one can be “inserted” in the drive at any given time.

Floppy Emu can store as many disk image files as your SD card will hold, but only one can be “inserted” in the drive at any given time. Can I connect two Floppy Emus to the same computer?

Yes, if they are connected to separate disk ports. For the Apple II, a Floppy Emu board can also be placed at the end of a daisy chain of other disk drives. The Emu doesn’t have a daisy-chain output port, and can’t be daisy-chained on the Lisa or Macintosh.

Yes, if they are connected to separate disk ports. For the Apple II, a Floppy Emu board can also be placed at the end of a daisy chain of other disk drives. The Emu doesn’t have a daisy-chain output port, and can’t be daisy-chained on the Lisa or Macintosh. How can I copy documents from an old Apple II or Mac floppy to a modern PC?

Use Floppy Emu to copy the documents to a blank disk image, then put the SD card in your PC and use a disk image utility program like CiderPress or HFVExplorer to open the disk image and retrieve the files. See the manual for details.

More questions?

Please see the Floppy Emu user guide for complete details and instructions.

Firmware Downloads

Floppy Emu firmware versions are available with support for Apple II, Macintosh, or Lisa computers.

Install the firmware version for the type of computer you plan to use with your Floppy Emu. Apple II Apple II firmware, for Floppy Emu Model C or B: apple-II-0.2L-F25

Apple II firmware, for Floppy Emu Model A: apple-II-0.2L-F22 Macintosh and Lisa Macintosh and Lisa firmware, for all Floppy Emu models: mac-lisa-0.8G-F15

