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[ried]

I understand that the X/ProFile drive was sold by VintageMicros for a number of years, but they are no longer available for sale:

http://sigmasevensystems.com/xprofile



I'm looking for a couple of these, for my Lisa 2 and Apple /// (the latter requires an X/ProFile voltage regulator, too). If anyone has one (or more) of these and would be willing to part with it, please let me know. Thank you

[blusnowkitty]

Any reason why the X/ProFile in particular? I'd probably go with a Cameo Aphid these days: https://github.com/stepleton/cameo/blob/master/aphid/README.md

It's a little more DIY, but pretty much all the PCB fab houses also do board assembly, and at least on the Lisa you get the very nice Cameo Selector utility: https://lisalist2.com/index.php/topic,143.0.html

[ried]

Any reason why the X/ProFile in particular? I'd probably go with a Cameo Aphid these days: https://github.com/stepleton/cameo/blob/master/aphid/README.md

Thanks for the informative reply. I do have a very nice Cameo/Aphid drive emulator from ArcaneByte. It's a great external drive solution, especially when paired with the 2-port Parallel Card.

http://www.arcanebyte.com/harddrive-product/

I'm interested in the X/ProFile as an internal drive solution, using the Lisa's internal drive power connector, to replace my non-working Widget. It also more closely matches the layout of the Widget, which I find appealing for an internal solution.

[stepleton]

Thanks for the nice words about Cameo/Aphid :-)
If there winds up being no way to get an X/ProFile, then another option could be the IDEFile http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/patrick/idefile.htm . It's closer to the correct shape, although you may have to make some mounting hardware, and you do have to assemble it all yourself. It's a highly reliable device that I've been using for nearly ten years now!

[Lisa2]

New X/Profile's are definitely still available for sale and fully supported.  I know there is one in-stock ready to go and more available.
PM me and I will get you in touch with the seller.
Rick

[ried]

Thanks for the nice words about Cameo/Aphid :-)
If there winds up being no way to get an X/ProFile, then another option could be the IDEFile http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/patrick/idefile.htm . It's closer to the correct shape, although you may have to make some mounting hardware, and you do have to assemble it all yourself. It's a highly reliable device that I've been using for nearly ten years now!

Nice to see you here, friend! I did join this forum at your suggestion, so thanks again for directing me. Seems perfect for a geek with a newfound appreciation for the Lisa 

That certainly is a neat project, too. I'm afraid it might be a little beyond my abilities at this time, but I'll keep that in mind as a long-term project.

[ried]

New X/Profile's are definitely still available for sale and fully supported.  I know there is one in-stock ready to go and more available.
PM me and I will get you in touch with the seller.
Rick

Thank you, sir. PM'd.

[stepleton]

Nice to see you here, friend! I did join this forum at your suggestion, so thanks again for directing me. Seems perfect for a geek with a newfound appreciation for the Lisa 

Howdy! As long as you're here, you might want to try asking your question about the sick Widget in a new thread, as there are more proficient experts here than me. I hope it's improving...

[ried]

Well, thanks to another forum member I was able to purchase an X/ProFile and add it to my Lisa 2/10. Short story: It's fantastic. While I would have liked to get the original Widget working properly, and tried to for weeks, that is unfortunately beyond my hardware (oscilloscope) and skillset at this time. It's something I do plan to continue as a long-term effort, however. I think dialing in the pots to their correct values may still yield a working drive.

But the X/ProFile is also silent and, after listening to the noisy Widget bearings for 80+ hours I was ready for something quieter (so was my wife). Simple to install and easy to swap out the compact flash cards to try different operating systems (Lisa Office System, MacWorks, Xenix, etc.). The activity LED even lines up with the Lisa's front cover perfectly to reflect disk access. Happy that these are available for these wonderful old machines.

[compu_85]

One of these days I'm going to benchmark the IDEFile against the XProfile. The IDEFile seems faster   

-J

[sigma7]

One of these days I'm going to benchmark the IDEFile against the XProfile. The IDEFile seems faster   

Some time and effort was spent maximizing the performance of the X/ProFile, I don't think a ProFile emulator could be made much faster than it is. Note that the media used can have a major effect on the speed; there are lots of speed grades of flash cards, and a well worn CF card may write more slowly than it was when new.

A benchmark of all the hard drives would be interesting and perhaps useful. Establishing some kind of test that could be done by anyone would be helpful so rare devices could be included.

[patrick]

During the IDEfile development I did some speed tests with different hard drives: http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/patrick/idefile.htm#benchmarks

Today, most people will probably use CF cards or disk-on-modules, which are much faster than hard drives. With these solid-state drives, the transfer time of the ProFile bus interface dominates, the access time of the drive is negligible.

[ried]

Just saw that these are now back in stock at VintageMicros:
http://vintagemicros.com/catalog/lisa-xprofile-p-307.html

Here's a shot of my Lisa 2/5 booting Lisa Office System 1.0 from its X/ProFile, too

[andrew]

Here's a shot of my Lisa 2/5 booting Lisa Office System 1.0 from its X/ProFile, too

Where can I find non-twiggy disk images of LOS 1.0? I want to install it on my 2/10.

[ried]

Here's a shot of my Lisa 2/5 booting Lisa Office System 1.0 from its X/ProFile, too

Where can I find non-twiggy disk images of LOS 1.0? I want to install it on my 2/10.

http://vintagemicros.com/catalog/lisa-card-p-315.html