SmartDisk II: Firmware release notes

This page lists what changed in each firmware version, newest first. The tags in square brackets, such as [DISK II] or [SMARTPORT], tell you which part of the SmartDisk II an entry is about.

Where to get the firmware. Download it from the SmartDisk Firmware page. The update procedure is on the firmware update page. The standard board and the SmartDisk II XL board use different firmware files. Check that you pick the one for your board.

Which version do you run? The version number shows on the start screen. The number is the release (vX.YY) followed by a build number, for example vX.YY. and two digits.

v0.83 (October 2026)

New

Macintosh 3.5 inch drive

• [DISK 3.5] Read and write from a Macintosh. Set 3.5 Mac host to serve a Macintosh through its external floppy port. Turn on 3.5 write and the Macintosh can write to the image, copy files and Initialize a disk. This is tested on a Macintosh SE. See the 3.5 inch drive page.
• [DISK 3.5] MOOF images (Applesauce) for the 3.5 inch drive. The drive plays the recorded bit stream of 400K one sided and 800K two sided GCR disks. With 3.5 write on, the computer can write to a MOOF file in place.
• [DISK 3.5] 3.5 SuperDrive (experimental). With 3.5 Mac host on, a Macintosh whose ROM supports a SuperDrive can read a 1,440K image. The image is read only.

Create disk and the file manager

• [NEW IMAGE] Create disk makes HFS (Macintosh) empty volumes for the 3.5 inch drive.
• [NEW IMAGE] Create disk makes a 1,440K HFS .img file when 3.5 Mac host is on.
• [NEW IMAGE] Create disk makes MOOF files for the 3.5 inch drive: blank, ProDOS (bootable and empty) and HFS (800K).
• [FILES] The directory options have New folder and Delete folder. Delete folder removes the folder you are in, only if it is empty and never the root. It asks first.
• [UI] A better name editor for new images and folders. It offers lower case, digits, dots, dashes, underscores and spaces. A strip under the name shows the characters around the cursor. Hold UP or DOWN to go faster. Hold RET to delete characters, and keep holding it to clear the whole name.

Screens and sounds

• [UI] An empty drive page: a drawn 5.25 or 3.5 inch drive with Insert a disk. It shows when no image is mounted, after the computer ejects the disk and after Unmount image. Press ENTER to choose an image.
• [SOUND] An eject sound and an insert sound when an image leaves or enters the drive, and a failure sound when the board refuses an image or has a problem with the card. These need Sound effect on.
• [SETTINGS] The Settings list shows only the options of the running emulation.
• [LOG] Log to SD: the console log is also written to SMARTDISK.LOG on the card. When the file reaches 256 KB, the board renames it SMARTDISK.OLD. See the troubleshooting page.

SD card

• [SD] The board checks the card at power up. A card that cannot be used shows SD INVALID. A card that does not have 32 KB clusters shows CLUSTER NOT 32K. In both cases you can still reach Settings > Make filesystem to format the card.
• [SD] The board no longer restarts by itself when the card comes back. The screen says SD CARD: IS BACK, ENTER: restart. Press ENTER to restart.

Smartloader

• [SMARTLOADER] A Settings page on the Apple II screen. The main menu has a row SETTINGS. It lists the options of the OLED for the running emulation, and you change them with the keys of the Apple II. The Emulation type, Clear prefs and Make filesystem options are not offered there. When you change an option that restarts the board, the loader restarts the Apple II. The cursor stays on the row you changed. See the Smartloader page.
• [SMARTLOADER] A new option, Autoboot last img (AUTO-BOOT LAST on the Apple II). It is on by default. When you turn it off, the Smartloader shows the file list at once and does not count down to the last image.

New board

• [XL BOARD] A firmware for the SmartDisk II XL board (revision 10). It has a 1.54 inch OLED and a rotary encoder instead of the UP and DOWN keys. Turn the encoder clockwise for DOWN and counter-clockwise for UP. ENTER and RET stay keys. See the hardware page.

Improved

• [SETTINGS] 3.5 Mac host asks you first (ENTER: host+reset), then saves the option and restarts the board.
• [SETTINGS] 3.5 SuperDrive asks you first (ENTER: drive+reset) and restarts the board.
• [UI] The image page shows IMG for an .img file.
• [SD] The SD card driver waits for the card to be ready before each command, recovers from a refused command or a timeout, and does not wait for ever. Timeouts are 500 ms for listings and settings, and 5 seconds for image transfers.
• [CONFIG] A settings file that the board cannot read is no longer replaced by the defaults at power up.
• [OLED] The display recovers by itself when its connection is lost: the board resets the connection before each retry and checks every 5 seconds for a display that went away.
• [SMARTPORT] The SP resync 2 edges option is kept when the Smartloader hands over to SmartPort.
• [SMARTLOADER] Create disk, started from the Smartloader, offers only the images that the chosen emulation can mount.

Fixed

• [SOUND] Pulling out the SD card no longer gives an endless buzz.
• [SMARTPORT] A file with a mixed case extension (.Po, .Hdv, .2Mg) was listed but refused at mount. It mounts now.
• [SMARTPORT] A 2MG file whose data starts after byte 65,536 was read from the wrong place. It reads correctly now.
• [SMARTPORT] A 2MG file with a header and no blocks showed as a volume of 0 blocks. The board refuses it now.
• [SMARTPORT] After one error from the card, a volume answered I/O error on every block until you mounted the image again. It recovers now.
• [SMARTPORT] An empty unit reported the block count of the image it had before. It reports 0 now.
• [SMARTPORT] The SP resync 2 edges box showed the old value after you left Settings and came back.
• [DSK, DO, PO, NIC] A card error during the mount could give a short image that still mounted. The board refuses the image now.
• [DISK II] Mounting an image while the Apple was writing a track could write the half written track to the new image. The mount now waits for the end of the write.
• [DISK II] The display no longer freezes on a IIe that boots slot 6 with an empty card. A pending track and the WOZ checksum are written before a reset.
• [DISK 3.5] A file that the drive does not take no longer leaves the previous disk in the drive. The drive is empty after a refused file.
• [DISK 3.5] An image mounted from the favorites showed an empty heart. It shows a full heart now.
• [DISK 3.5] When the computer ejects the disk or you unmount it, the data still waiting to be written to the card is written first.
• [DISK 3.5] Writes to the second side of a 400K one sided image are refused. They overwrote the first side.
• [NEW IMAGE] Creating a 1,440K image made a 400K file, and a name that began with a dot made an image that the file list hid. Both work now.
• [NEW IMAGE] A card that failed at the end of Create disk could leave an empty image behind a Create failed! message. The empty file is removed now.
• [SMARTLOADER] A favorite with a mixed case extension (Game.Po) was missing from the favorites page. A refused image no longer plays an eject sound first.
• [SETTINGS] The Settings screen follows an option that you change from the Apple II.

v0.82.00, 12 October 2026

• [DISK 3.5] The 3.5 inch drive emulation boots a IIgs (ROM 03) from .2mg, .po and .dc42 images.
  • The motor stays on between blocks and stops after two seconds without access, so a block no longer waits for the motor to start.
  • New options: 3.5 fast read, 3.5 fast seek and 3.5 trace log. 3.5 write came later, off by default.
  • From the Smartloader, a IIgs can boot a 3.5 inch image.
• [DISK 3.5] Macintosh SE host mode (the 3.5 Mac host setting).
• [DRIVERS] More checks when WOZ, DSK, NIC and 2MG images are mounted. NIC images are writable. Card errors are reported to the emulation.
• [NEW IMAGE] Create disk makes bootable ProDOS and DOS 3.3 images, empty ProDOS volumes and blank images.
• [UI] A new event based interface: keys, screens and the OLED refresh no longer get in the way of the emulation.
• [UI] The screen saver delay is 30 seconds. Every key restarts the time, and the key that wakes the display does not act. It was 60 minutes in v0.80.18.
• [SMARTPORT] Packets of any length are accepted. Unsupported commands get an error reply. The control list is read for every control code. The extended device information is well formed. Writes to .2mg files reach the card. A reset glitch shorter than 2 ms is ignored. A read-only image mounts read only and reports itself locked. New option SP resync 2 edges.
• [SETTINGS] Options follow the running emulation. New option 5.25 write (on by default).
• [SMARTLOADER] The IIgs goes to normal speed before a Disk II image starts, and returns to its speed setting before a SmartPort restart.
• [IIGS] A running SmartDisk II no longer blocks a IIgs ROM 03 from reaching the Smartloader. The Disk II emulation ignores its enable line while the IIgs asks the SmartPort bus, and releases the lines it does not need.

Between v0.80.45 and v0.82.00: the reliability round of 6 October 2026

Problem	Change
The Smartloader shows only lines of “@” after many folder changes	Fixed
Errors in folders with many files, long names or deep paths	Long names are handled in full. A folder shows its first 255 entries in alphabetical order.
The second disk of a multi-disk game is not recognised until a reset	Mounting a new image makes the drive read it at once.
The cursor disappears if UP is the first key pressed	The cursor wraps to the bottom of the list.
Writing to WOZ images could damage them	Fixed for WOZ 1 and for WOZ files stored in several pieces.
Writing to a DSK image could spoil good sectors	A sector that cannot be decoded is left as it was.
A confirmation screen could apply the previous answer	Every confirmation opens on a fresh choice.
Possible freezes after mounting .po or .woz	Several defects on that path fixed.
The configuration file was written at every folder listing	It is written only when a value changes.
SmartPort request for a block outside the image, or a malformed packet	An error answer instead of stopping.
Cards with a cluster size other than 32 KB	Images are refused instead of read wrongly.
NIC images	Mounted read only (made writable in v0.82.00).

File names outside the Western European character set are not handled.

v0.80.33, 24 November 2025

• Smartloader update with the Fav shortcut, the emulation type shortcut and the last folder memory.

v0.80.31, 16 November 2025

• The screen shows WR while the Apple writes.
• Fixed: writes stopped working after several writes.
• Fixed: the buzzer did not stop after a sound.
• Fixed the DOS Init process and rewrote the write process. The write timing matches the Apple II better. IIgs constraints adjusted.
• The Yellowstone card works with writes.
• The state of the SD card is checked when the board switches from write to read.
• Long text scrolls on the OLED screen.
• WOZ titles that worked then: Blazing Paddles, Bouncing Kamungast, Hard Hat Mike, Crisis Mountain, Dino Eggs, First Math Adventures, The Print Shop Companion and Commando (both use weak bits), Miner 2049er II, Planetfall, Rescue Raiders, Sammy Lightfoot, The Bilestoad, Stickybear Town Builder and Take 1. Borderzone did not work.
• Known issue then: with the Disk II emulation, an image did not boot after you mounted it until you reset.

v0.80.29, 30 October 2025

• Fixes to the buzzer, including a freeze.
• A minor SmartPort write checksum problem fixed. A SmartPort blocking problem fixed.
• The screen saver timer fixed.
• The Smartloader emulation type switch in the main menu, Smartloader navigation in the file manager, a Smartloader auto boot countdown of 5 seconds and a specific boot sequence for the IIgs.

27 October 2025 (board v8 final)

• Board v8 final version.
• [SmartPort] Timing issue on the IIc fixed. Data flow fixed. Several disks are initialised again. Checksum validation is back on.

19 October 2025

• [Configuration] A corrupted settings file is detected and the defaults are used.
• [Smartloader] A display glitch fixed. Page + and page – added. The M key fixed.

v0.80.23, 11 October 2025

• [Smartloader] Going up a directory fixed. M (upper case) goes back to the main menu.

v0.80.18, 12 August 2025

• [Main] A screen saver to protect the OLED. It switched the display off every 60 minutes when it was on. (Since v0.82.00 the delay is 30 seconds.)
• [Settings] The Screen saver option.
• [Smartloader] A new address range for the new version of the Smartloader.

v0.80.17, 3 August 2025

• [Emulation] A new emulation type, Smartloader, to launch the Smartloader at start up.

v0.80.16, 27 July 2025

• [Smartloader] Several pages (left and right arrows). The last folder is saved for the next restart. Loading an image no longer crashes sometimes. A short delay after reading a block avoids a freeze.

v0.80.13, 20 May 2025

• [SMARTPORT] A freeze on file system access fixed. Eject of an image and disk present or not present are managed.

v0.80.12, 19 May 2025

• [Smartport] The IIgs ROM 03 re-initialises the device list. The board stops on a timeout or a checksum failure so that it cannot corrupt an SD card block.
• [PCB] Beta release of PCB v6.

v0.80.11, 10 April 2025

• [Smartport] Support for the hdv file extension.
• [diskII] A corrupted track on successive BASIC file writes fixed. An empty directory when booting the last directory fixed.

v0.80.9, 4 April 2025

• Instability on SD card access fixed.

v0.80.7, 26 March 2025

• Favorites screen fixed. Favorites added to SmartPort HD. An option to select the boot index directly from a SmartPort image. Toggle favorite for SmartPort HD. The favorite icon is shown.

v0.80.6, 26 March 2025

• [SDEJECT] Disk creation from the file system (PO, DSK…). SD eject fixed for all emulations.
• [MAINMENU] The main menu changes according to the emulation type.
• [UNIDISK / HD EJECT] An eject request from SmartPort updates the screen of the SmartDisk.
• [SMARTPORT] Checksum and write fix. A freeze on some read queries fixed.

v0.80.5d, 22 March 2025

• [DSK/PO] Write process and sector skewing.
• [WRITE] GCR 6 and 2 checksum comparison.
• [WEAKBIT] A new option in the settings.
• [UNIDISK 2MG] Full emulation of the SmartPort UniDisk with a 2MG image file.

6 March 2025

• [FS] A directory option added.
• [SDEJECT] A system reset after the SD card is reinserted.

v0.80.5, 3 March 2025

• An extension filter in the file manager, depending on the type of emulation.

v0.80.4, 26 February 2025

• [Smartport] A mount regression fixed. The 2mg file extension display fixed.
• [WOZ] Head, sector and region calculation corrected. CRC32 managed. Blank WOZ file creation for 3.5 and 5.25 inch.
• [FS] A “.” item at every location, for the directory options.

v0.80.3, 23 February 2025

• [Smartport] 2MG extension checking fixed. The 2MG mount block count fixed. The missing Extended DIB status fixed. Error codes on commands. Device type and subtype follow the disk format (PO and 2MG).
• Code merged with the A2F contributor JoSch.

v0.80.2, 20 February 2025

• A confirmation screen for Make filesystem.

v0.80.1, 6 February 2025

• [SmartPort] The SmartPort write process fixed, “and it WORKS”. Read time optimised.

v0.79.6, 2 February 2025

• [Smartport] The boot duration set to 500 ms (a IIgs boot issue).

v0.79.5, 2 February 2025

• [SmartPort] Mounting an image fixed. The boot order and the boot index fixed. The image display fixed.

v0.79.4, 30 January 2025

• The menu items Emulation and Sound fixed. Navigation of menus with fewer than 4 items fixed.

v0.79.3, 26 January 2025

• SmartPort HD: the list of loaded images on the screen.

v0.79.2, 24 January 2025

• A boot image index for SmartPort. WOZ write working. DOS 3.3 Init working with a delayed write.

v0.79.1, 26 December 2024

• The hard coded emulation type removed.

v0.79, 13 December 2024

• The SmartPort HD emulation type. A Config menu to choose the emulation type.

v0.78.4, 25 November 2024

• Locksmith Certify works, and Fast copy also.

v0.78.3, 25 November 2024

• Make filesystem in the config menu, with a confirmation question. An empty SD card crash fixed.
• WOZ writing.

v0.78.2, 24 November 2024

• Fixed: the bootloader delay gave a cold start issue on several images.

v0.78.1, 23 November 2024

• Fixed: SpiraDisc. The screen update came too early and made cross track sync fail.

v0.78, 22 November 2024

• Fixed: WOZ disks of more than 40 tracks such as Lode Runner.

v0.77, 22 November 2024

• Fixed: DSK and NIC reading.

v0.76, 20 November 2024

• Fixed: the weak bit threshold changed. Bouncing Kamungast works. The Print Shop works.
• Fixed: the buzzer sound changed after a key was pressed.
• Fixed: the WOZ file properties were not correctly used.

v0.72, 4 November 2024

• Fixed: a directory with a name of one character was not read by the emulation.
• The PO and po file extensions added to the list of extensions.
• An image menu (toggle favorite, unmount, delete).

v0.71, 1 November 2024

• The Config menu. Favorites: add or remove from the image screen, the icon in the image screen. Key repetition for UP and DOWN.
• Fixed: a favorite showing the full path.

v0.69, 31 October 2024

• PO file support added. Fixed: DSK track reading.

v0.68, 30 October 2024

• Fixed: WOZ v1.0 file reading.

v0.67, 28 October 2024

• Fixed: a reset at start up. The lack of display at start up.

v0.66, 28 October 2024

• Fixed: NIC images did not read the right number of blocks.

24 October 2024

• A new main menu screen.

October 2024 (first versions)

• A dedicated bootloader with UF2 file management. A timer setting matched to the USB maximum, 96 MHz. An experimental Make filesystem option.

See also: Overview and features, Compatibility, Firmware update.

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