Q: I have got a C64 game on tape and I want to play that game on a PC using an emulator. How should I do?
A: The best solution is to create a TAP file. All C64 tapes can be converted to TAP. There are two ways to do so: connect your datassette or C64 to the PC's parallel port, or connect a tape player to your sound card. The former needs a custom-built cable, so you need to be an electronics freak to do that.
Q: Yes, I am an electronics freak. Which cable should I build, and which program should I use?
A: mtap by Markus Brenner supports the C64S tape
interface, which allows you to connect the datassette to the PC, and the X1541/XE1541 cable, which allows
you to connect your C64 to the PC.
Q: No, I am just a plain PC user and I have got a soundcard. Can I do something?
A: Yes. Use Audiotap or one of the alternatives.
Q: I think that TAP files are too big and they take too long to load. I want to convert my game to
PRG, P00 or T64. How should I do?
A: This is more difficult. In order to extract binary data from a tape, a program must know how those
data are coded on the tape. Since the way data are coded changes from loader to loader, the program must
know about the particular loader used. Because of this, not all tapes can be converted to PRG, P00 or
T64.
WAV-PRG can convert such files from any format for which a plug-in exists
(programmers can choose to write their own plug-ins). Accepts WAV and TAP files, and the soundcard, as
input. There are alternatives to it, the most useful of which is
Tapclean, which only takes TAP files as input.
Q: I downloaded a TAP file and I want to transfer it on a tape to play it on a C64. How do I do?
A: If you built a C64S tape interface or an X1541/XE1541 cable, you can use
ptap by Markus Brenner. Otherwise, you can convert
the TAP to an audio file, or even play it on your soundcard, using
Audiotap or one of the alternatives.
Q: I downloaded a PRG, P00 or T64 file and I want to transfer it on a tape to play it on a C64. How do I do?
You can use WAV-PRG or one of the alternatives.
This FAQ is maintained by Fabrizio Gennari