Thanks to some great software and a simple cable you can hook up your C64 disk drive to your PC's parallel port! cool huh? Anyway, this guide shows you how to make the cable and also where to download the latest version of Star Commander - the software to use with the XE1451 cable.

Retrobrad has been created and maintained by me - Brad!
This page has been visited times since August 2007

by retrobrad 06 August 2007

Okay now its all built its time for testing! Plug in your cable to the PC parallel port and also to the C64 disk drive. turn the computer and the drive on. (since star commander is a dos application, I like to boot straight into dos and use it there) but you can also run it under windows (with a bit of tweaking - see the readme file in star commander) Load up star commander and goto the settings menu, set the transfer speed to WARP and the cable type to XE1541, then you should be all set to go, your C64 drive should now be drive 8. And thats about it! you can now transfer files to and from a C64 floppy!

If you are using a new 5-DIN plug then solder your wires to all the connectors EXCEPT for pin 1. If you are using an old C64 serial cable then half the work is done for you! just cut the cable in half and do continuity checks to find out which wire goes to which pin! REMEMBER - This diagram shows the solder side of the plug - don't get them confused with the side that plugs into the disk drive or it wont work!!!! Now just copy this diagram to make your own cable (it should be pretty straight forward!)

Commodore 64 disk drive (I used a 1541 II)     5 core shielded cable (or cut a serial cable in half)     soldering iron     solder     4x 1N5819 diodes     electrical tape (or better yet - heat shrink)     Latest Version of Star Commander (click HERE)     5-DIN plug