Picking an X-series cable
The following chart is intended to help you choose an X-series cable for your 1541 or 1571 transfer tasks. It lists the most common criteria to consider like OS and software requirements, parallel port modes, ease of construction, etc.
For example, if you needed Windows support, want to utilize the parallel port add-on on the disk drive and only have one parallel port on your PC, this limits the cables to only the XMP and XAP, with XAP having the best (highest) rating. If compatibility with the PC parallel port hardware is the primary concern, then the XA1541 or XAP1541 cables are the best options.
Cable type |
serial only |
serial only |
serial only |
serial only |
serial+ parallel |
serial+ |
serial+ parallel |
serial+ parallel |
serial+ parallel |
parallel only |
parallel only |
||
Standalone cable |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
||
# of parallel ports |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
||
CPU/system compatibility |
486- |
almost all |
all |
all |
486- |
486- |
almost all |
all |
all |
486- |
all |
||
PC Parallel
port type |
SPP PS/2 |
all |
all |
all |
SPP PS/2 |
PS/2 |
all |
all |
all |
SPP PS/2 |
PS/2 ECP EPP |
||
Works with what cables |
XH XP |
XP |
XP |
XP |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
all serial |
all serial |
||
Cable combination |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
X+XH |
X+XP |
XE+XP |
XM+XP |
XA+XP |
n/a |
n/a |
||
Supports 1541 parallel port |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
||
Construction complexity |
easy |
med |
med |
hard |
med |
med |
med |
med |
hard |
med |
easy |
||
Transfer speed |
norm |
norm |
norm |
norm |
med |
fast |
fast |
fast |
fast |
med |
fast |
||
Supports DOS |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes* |
||
Supports Windows & GNU/Linux |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
||
Supports Star Commander |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes* |
||
Supports MNIB/NIBTOOLS |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes* |
||
Supports MTAP/PTAP |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
no |
no |
||
Supports 64HDD |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
no |
||
Supports VC1541 |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
no |
||
Supports 1541EMU |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
||
Overall Cable Rating |
poor |
fair |
good |
best |
poor |
poor |
fair |
good |
best |
poor |
good* |
*NOTE: A few details above don't make much sense, like some of the entries under the XH and XP cables. For example, MNIB/NIBTOOLS requires a parallel-enabled drive and a parallel cable, so it would appear that the XP cable would be supported. For systems using two parallel ports, with separate serial and parallel X cables, this would work but by itself the XP cable can not work.
Email the author: Peter Schepers | Last updated: Feb 16, 2010