Task: Boot the CP/M Operating System on You Apple II Computer Using a Microsoft SoftCard
Needed: Microsoft SoftCard, Apple II, CP/M Software
Time: 15-30 minutes
Introduction
The Control Program/Monitor (CP/M) operating system was developed by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. in the 1970s for 8088 and Z-80 CPUs. It was widely used on a number of platforms featuring these CPUs with version that allowed for multiple users and even multitasking. Given its popularity, there were multiple hardware devices created to bring the Z-80 CPU to 6502-based computers. Examples, include the ATR8000 for Atari 8-bit computers and the CP/M cartridge for the Commodore 64. This project is to purchase a Microsoft SoftCard for booting CP/M on an Apple II computer.
Instructions
First, purchase a Microsoft SoftCard. I was fortunate to purchase a new old stock SoftCard on Facebook Marketplace about six years ago. These do come up on eBay from time to time and sell for around $200 or more. I have come across them at Vintage Computer Festivals as well.
Second, you will need to download the CP/M software for the Apple II. This site includes .dsk files for several version of CP/M that are compatible with the SoftCard. Scroll down to the CP/M Matrix section. I am using version 2.2 of CP/M. This disk image will need to be loaded onto a floppy drive emulator such as the wDrive or the Floppy Emu which is what I used. You could also put this on a real floppy disk using something like ADTPro or copying from the Floppy Emu on the Apple II.
Third, insert the SoftCard into slot #7 with the chips facing away from the power supply (to the right).
You are now ready to power on the computer. You should see the CP/M boot screen appear. Type DIR to see the available programs.
Comments
I really love the Microsoft SoftCard. There were other such cards such as the Appli-Card that came out later. Here is a post I did recently on using the Raspberry Pi Pico-based a2Pico card to emulate the Appli-Card for booting CP/M.
Interestingly, this was the very first hardware device made by Microsoft.
I have also done several posts on my Atari Projects site about booting CP/M on the Atari 800 line of computers. Here is one using a remake of the Atari 1090XL expansion board. Here is one on using the Indus GT floppy drive that featured a Z-80 processor. Finally, here is one using the FujiNet device to emulate CP/M.