A: Yes. This can be done both at the file system level (e.g. if Windows can read the file system used on the medium), or at the device level (in which case the Amiga operating system running in the emulation environment accesses the data).
If the disk was formatted using the DOS file system, the PC can read it directly. The commercial CrossDOS software and the free distribution fat95 and XFS programs (available on Aminet) support Windows 95 long file names on the Amiga. MSH is also a reliable program, but does not yet handle long file names. If the disk was formatted using the Mac file system (e.g. with CrossMAC), then a Mac file system is required on the PC (e.g. MacDrive).
If the disk was formatted using the Amiga file system, then an Amiga file system is required on the PC. An Amiga file system is not available for Windows at this time, however Bill Hawes (of ARexx fame) created an Amiga file system kernel module which is included with most GNU/Linux distributions. If you install GNU/Linux on one of your PC partitions, once you boot from there you will be able to drag-and-drop the files directly from your Amiga drive to your Windows drive. This is a one-time transfer which does not require any additional software (as long as the Amiga file system is included with the GNU/Linux version you will be using). After the transfer, the files can be used by the emulation under Windows.
Another possibility to access Amiga-formatted data is for the Amiga emulation to directly access the device on the PC. In the Windows version of the UAE emulation software (WinUAE) this is done by selecting the device under Add Harddrive in the Hard Drives tab of the emulation settings. Once the device is mounted in this way, the Amiga operating system will see it. Since the Amiga operating system obviously supports the Amiga file system, it will be able to access the data. Mounting block-type devices in the emulation is supported on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and newer versions of Windows (excluding Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me).
Also see:
- 5-113 - Support for Amiga SCSI and Block-Type Devices on Windows
- 3-108 - Transferring Software and Data from Amiga to PC
- 3-118 - Reading Amiga Floppy Disks on PC
