No. On my BlueSCSI v1, I am using the Eric Helgeson recommended Apple HD SC Setup
7.3.5 driver.
I spotted that being talked about on FaceBook today. My opinion is that it doesn't really compete because an 030 is a very different beast than a 68000. It probably requires some kind of extension or CP to enable all the caches, right? But even if it doesn't, I don't believe an 030 processor can boot into the earliest versions of MacOS like System 0.95 and Finder 1.0. I know WarpSE can do that because I've tested and proven it! And I think that makes the Mac SE really special. Because with WarpSE, you get your same SE software compatibility experience ONLY FASTER! With the 020 and 030 chips, there are more restrictions in place about what software you can run. That's why I think 020 and 030 accelerators for the SE are a different category of accelerator.
Of course, the flip side of the coin is that some software requires an 020 or higher to run. But typically those apps require more than 4MB of RAM too, so you can't run them anyway. And I don't think the MacEffects accelerator breaks the 4MB RAM ceiling.
I don't wish to undermine MacEffects at all by saying all this. I'm a big fan of Mark and his products. But when you are talking about an 030 or faster in a compact Mac, it raises the question as to whether you are best served by a Mac SE, or if you should go with an SE/30 instead.
I therefore think there's a lot of merit to WarpSE, and 030 accelerators really don't steal its thunder in my eyes at all. Which means, all this work being done on WarpSE is certainly not in vain. It just needs to be marketed with "backward software compatibility" at the forefront. It does have that advantage over 030 accelerators.
Speaking of "compatibility"...
I made a NEW DISCOVERY!
Since my 800K drive is all rusted up (so badly that I am not inclined to even try to fix it), I decided to install the 1.44MB Superdrive from one of my SE/30 machines into my SE. Keep in mind I have the
old ROMs & old IWM chip on my SE Reloaded motherboard. Zane, I believe you said that WarpSE has the new SE ROMs built-in. But the fact remains
I do NOT have a SWIM chip. And so, with WarpSE enabled, it gives me the new ROMs with the old IWM.
I started my tests by booting from my BlueSCSI into System 7.1, with
WarpSE enabled:
- Inserted a Mac formatted 1.44MB floppy. It reads the disk and recognizes it as 1.44MB! I wasn't expecting that!
- I formatted the disk as a 1.44MB floppy. It formatted and verified fine!
- I used a 1.44MB disk image on my BlueSCSI to write its content to my real 1.44MB disk. The copy finished without issue! Software launched from my 1.44MB floppy just fine!
- I erased the disk and then copied my System & Finder files from my BlueSCSI's System 6.0.8 system folder to the 1.44MB floppy, but when I rebooted the SE refused to boot from the floppy and ejected it. So even though Reading/Writing/Formatting works on 1.44MB floppies, booting isn't supported.
I then powered OFF & ON while pressing INTERRUPT to boot from my BlueSCSI into System 7.1 using the stock 8MHz processor (
WarpSE disabled):
- When I inserted the 1.44MB floppy, it asks if I want to initialize it as 400K or 800K, which means 1.44MB disks are not understood. That is expected behavior because I have old ROMs and the IWM chip on my motherboard. If you proceed to Initialize without tape, it will fail, but with tape covering the hole, it will succeed.
- I used System Picker to set the boot OS to be System 6.0.8, and then I restarted and inserted a 1.44MB floppy formatted as a 400K MFS boot disk with System 3.2 & Finder 5.3. It booted of that floppy disk just fine, although the sound of the drive is a low pitched tone, somewhat resembling a grinding sound.
- I then ejected the disk and put a piece of tape over the hole which only 1.44MB disks have, then rebooted from that same disk. This time, the sound of the drive was normal. No more grinding sound.
- I took a fresh 1.44MB disk and put tape over the hole and inserted it into the drive, and I formatted it in System 6 as a 400K MFS floppy (yes, I know you shouldn't do that, but I'm testing here!). I then copied my System 3.2 / Finder 5.3 disk content to that newly formatted 400K disk. That worked just fine.
- When I booted from the newly created disk without tape covering the hole, it made a grinding sound but it booted. I then put tape on and rebooted from it, and the drive head sound returned to normal.
I then powered OFF & ON and left
WarpSE enabled and booted into System 6 from my BlueSCSI:
- Inserting my 1.44MB 400K-formatted disk without the tape covering causes the OS to ask me to initialize the disk.
- Inserting my 1.44MB 400K-formatted disk with the tape covering allows the disk to be read and mounted just fine.
CONCLUSION
The newer ROMs onboard the WarpSE enable use of 1.44MB floppies when you have a 1.44MB floppy drive installed, and you can do anything you like with those disks, with WarpSE enabled, except for booting. So it would seem that to boot from a 1.44MB disk requires the SWIM chip. And while you shouldn't format 1.44MB disks as 400K or 800K, if you do decide to do that, you just need to remember to put tape over the hole.
I really wish I had a SWIM chip to test things further. For example, I want to see if I can boot from a 1.44MB floppy into System 0.95 and Finder 1.0.