Apple II Disk Emulator (wDrive)
What Is It?
The Apple II Disk Emulator (wDrive) is a modern SD card-based floppy disk emulator for the Apple II family of computers. It replaces your aging 5.25" floppy drive with a reliable, silent, and compact solid-state solution — letting you load disk images directly from an SD card in seconds.
Built on an immersion gold PCB for long-term corrosion and oxidation resistance, and housed in a crystal-clear frosted acrylic shell, this emulator is as durable as it is elegant. It comes ready to use with a 30cm floppy drive cable, a 4GB SD card preloaded with games, and everything you need to get your Apple II running classic software today.
Key Features
- Emulates Apple II 5.25" floppy and SmartPort devices
- Supports floppy disk image formats: WOZ, NIB, EDF, DSK, DO, PO
- Supports hard drive, 400K, and 800K images in PO, HDV, and 2MG format
- Supports up to four SmartPort disk images simultaneously
- Emulates 3.5" drive for 800K WOZ images (read-only)
- SoftSP SmartPort driver — enables Apple II, II+, and IIe to use hard drive images via Disk II
- Read/write support for DSK, NIB, EDF, and WOZ formats
- Supports 13-sector disk images (press LEFT button once at boot)
- Supports quarter tracks
- On-screen boot menu for easy image selection
- Built-in Locksmith Fast Copy and edfwrite for writing copy-protected images to real floppy disks
- Integrates 4am's Anti-m boot
- Compatible with SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards (FAT16/FAT32) — SD card not included in base configuration
What's in the Box
- 1× wDrive Disk Emulator (immersion gold PCB)
- 1× Frosted acrylic protective shell (with case option)
- 1× 30cm floppy drive ribbon cable
- 1× 4GB SD card preloaded with classic Apple II games
- 1× Disk II Interface Card (with Disk II card option)
Compatibility
- ✅ Apple II / II+ / Original IIe / Enhanced IIe — direct connection
- ✅ Apple IIc — requires DB19-to-IDC20 adaptor or switcher
- ✅ Apple IIGS — requires Disk II card or DB19-to-IDC20 adaptor
- ✅ Laser 128 — requires DB19-to-IDC20 adaptor
- ✅ Franklin Ace 1200 — untested, should work with a Disk II card
Build Quality
The immersion gold (ENIG) circuit board finish ensures superior solderability and long-term reliability, protecting against the oxidation and corrosion that plagues vintage hardware over time. The frosted acrylic enclosure provides physical protection while keeping the board visible — a perfect blend of function and aesthetics for any vintage computing setup.
Upgrade your Apple II today and rediscover hundreds of classic titles — no floppy disks required.