Commodore 64 Tape Transfer FAQ

You have got a huge collection of C64 tapes and you want to use them on your PC? Or you want to play the game you just downloaded from the Internet on your C64? Here are the answers to some questions about transfers from PC to tape and back.

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. Tapload by Richard Storer supports the C64S Tape Interface.

Q: No, I am just a plain PC user and I have got a soundcard. Can I do something?
A: Yes. Record the tape to a VOC file and use 64VOCTAP by Tomaz Kac. Or record the tape to a WAV file and use Tape 64 by Andreas Matthies. Or connect the tape player to your sound card and use TAPir by Andreas Andersson and Martin Sikström.

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. Some programs which do so exist:

Turbo Tape Loader by Sami Silaste supports Turbo Tape 64 loader. Accepts WAV files as input.
the above-mentioned Tape 64 support kernel ROM loader, Turbo Tape 64, Input 64 and Novaload. Accepts WAV and TAP files as input.
WAV-PRG by Fabrizio Gennari supports kernel ROM loader, Turbo Tape 64, Invade-a-Load, Zzap! Megatape and Players loader. Plug-ins for different loaders can be written. Accepts WAV and TAP files, and the soundcard, as input.
C64LOAD by Richard Storer supports kernel ROM loader. The input can be from the C64S tape interface as well as a WAV file.
TTLOAD by Andreas Jung supports Turbo Tape 64. The input can only be from the C64S tape interface.

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 a VOC file, or even play it on your soundcard, using 64TAPVOC by Tomaz Kac.

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:

the above-mentioned WAV-PRG. It can convert the game to a WAV file, or play it on your soundcard.
C64SAVE by Richard Storer. It can convert the game to a WAV file or to the C64S tape interface.
TTSAVE by Andreas Jung. It can convert the game to the C64S tape interface.

This FAQ is maintained by Fabrizio Gennari
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