Looking for a solution to convert Atari .ALL files to .cpr via SX3 on a Mac

Cubase
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Hi
The story so far…

I have .ALL files from my Atari that I’d like to convert to .cpr files. I downloaded and successfully installed SX3 on an old MacBook Pro running OS 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. It has a dongle licence for Cubase 5, and opens no problem.

However, when I import a .ALL file it crashes and “unexpectedly quits” every time. I tried importing .ARR files, which it did without crashing, but with no actual arrangement appearing.

Of course, it’s possible that the .ALL files might be corrupted - I don’t know how to test for this - but it would be great if anyone has a solution.

Thanks

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Pretty sure the Atari Cubase files are not compatible with Win or Mac.
It’s possible to get Cubase running in an Atari emulator and then save the data as midi files which are cross compatible. Lot’s of info and the files required are available online.
A couple of years ago I got as far as getting Cubase running in an emulator on Windows but I couldn’t get it to recognise the floppy disks my data was on so gave up in the end.

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Thanks for replying.

It certainly crossed my mind that they might not be compatible, though the page on the Steinberg site about this process makes no mention of it, and implies that it is possible. And you wouldn’t believe the amount of time I’ve spent online trying to find an answer! But there’s nothing definitive that I’ve found yet…

It’s the bit where Cubase SX3 crashes when I import a .ALL file that I need help with. I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this?

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Please support @raino 's feature request:

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They used to be because, IIRC, TOS was a variant of DOS and used the same floppy disk file format. I know, because when I bought my first PC in 1994, I could use all my Atari Cubase Score 2 disks without any issues. Mac on the other hand…

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Great idea!

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You can convert Atari ALL (and also ARR) files but you need one more extra step to be able to convert them to a usable CPR format. You need to first open and save them into Cubase VST. After this you can import these into SE or SX and convert them to CPR.

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Interesting, thanks.

I saw someone else say that, but now the problem is trying to find a copy of Cubase VST, and even if I can, will it work on a 2008 MacBook (my oldest computer) and will a Cubase dongle licence be enough to activate it…?

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Yes, it’s certainly going to be a challenge to find a working Cubase VST version for MAC. AFAIK VST was the last version to use the old parallel dongle, at least on PC. So it won’t work with the elicenser. I still have my old parallel dongle for Windows PC and VST and it still works (well, good enough to open and save files) on Windows 10. And SE/SX versions work with the elicenser of course. So you’ll probably have to find someone that still has the old dongle and a VST MAC version that will convert these for you?

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Hey @MrSoundman,

yes, done. Good idea.

Best,
Markus

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Requesting a converter from SB is one thing but…

My own brain is intrigued as I myself see projects like this completely do-able with the historical working machines & oses I have. Not that I’ll test this but my question to the forum is LAST step first…

Is a cpr that is saved on Windows Cubase circa 2025…let’s say Cubase14…sendable to a user who uses a current Mac based Cubase14? Dropbox or whatever. And then easily opened? Along of course with appropriate project files holding audio etc as, I guess an entire archive or backup or whatever

I’m not always clear on if a cpr is a cpr is a cpr…and how one quickly one can move an entire Cubendo cpr/npr program (project) back & forth between Mac/pc.

If the above is super easy, great.

I’d then ask, for the specific op who started this this thread…are the original .all projects only midi? Or only audio? Or audio and midi? I don’t remember anything other than midi capability on Atari Cubase programs myself as I used the competition back in the early days.

Do the Atari disks holding the original .all files still exist? Not super critical, but could be.

If no go regarding the original disks, how “were” the .all files copied to the current Mac in the op’s possession? From some sort of “other” media? Other media that still exists? Some sort of old backup?

Barring roadblocks on any of the above points (and .all files not being corrupted), it then seems a pretty easy set of steps that I’d take for getting .all files converted to cpr (the assumption being that the .all files began life on an Atari) via my old 98/xp/7 machines old cb versions, dongle etc.

And from there…let’s say as an sx3 load .all then save .to cpr windows…test loaded in current Cubendos…then project backed up…and from there…sent to a current Mac.

No doubt, end users have to relocate any 32bit plugins that would then be jbridged or whatever…if audio is involved…probably not applicable for Mac but whatever…

By the way, as an extensive historical user/owner of multiple atari, c64, amiga 500 etc, yes Atari 1040 disks copy directly into old dos drives for safekeeping although I historically used (own) more reliable 3rd party programs to handle Atari floppies.

At any rate, any all of my Macs would be useless for the conversions and I wouldn’t even bother looking at them much less starting them up :slight_smile:

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I’m pretty sure that .cpr files are readable by PC and Mac - never had problems in the past, but haven’t tried recently.

My files are .ALL files from the Atari, copied somehow ( I don’t remember exactly how) to my Mac. I don’t know if an .ALL file is the same as an .all file. I assume so, but maybe someone else can confirm. I have the disks, they’re all MIDI, but I don’t know if they’ve been corrupted. My Atari needs a new disk drive, which I may try and sort out if all else fails.

But some kind of conversion system from Steinberg would be the best solution. They could even set up an online conversion site - upload a file, download a converted version. The files are so small… Come on Steinberg!

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A trick on the Atari ST was to use diskettes formatted on a PC in 720k format. These could then be used on the Atari ST, and the files could be read on a PC with a 3.5" floppy disk drive. Cubase VST on PC from about 1997 onwards could read these files and save them back in a variation of the .ALL format that can still be imported into Cubase SX3.

I do know that most .ALL files from the Atari ST can be opened by Cubase SX3 directly, but there are some that can’t, for unknown reasons. In my experience, those problem cases can often be opened in a Cubase VST version from the late 90s era, and saved back to a new .ALL file that will open in Cubase SX3. In other words, some incompatibility seems to have been introduced in the .ALL format during the transition from the Atari ST.

Cubase .ALL files contain only project information (e.g. arrangements, tempo etc.) and MIDI data (in an internal format). They are not MIDI files, nor do the contain any audio. The case of the extension does not matter. They were intended to be cross-platform, which at that time meant “readable on Atari ST, Mac or PC”, foresight of design which is lucky for us today in 2025.

The silence from Steinberg on the subject of publishing the format of .ALL and .ARR files suggests to me that either (a) the documentation never existed (b) the documentation is lost or (c) there are some legal (IP) restrictions preventing the publication of it.

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In the Atari ST, the drive itself is very serviceable, and an experienced technician would be able to remove and open the drive to clean the heads with isopropyl alchohol.

The disks themselves are more likely to be the problem … after 40 years, they will have become demagnetised. There are specialist services that can attempt to recover the data using custom equipment, but at significant cost.

But you already have the files, yes?

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As an aside to the longevity of floppies, I have dozens of Atari floppies from 1988 etc that are fine in the 1040/520 machines as well as readable on the pcs here. Old pc installer floppies from the 80s are also often just fine.

At any rate, someone point me to an .all file.

I’ll load into se3 and or sx3 here to check out re-saving to cpr.

I just downloaded & installed Se and Sx to Windows 11 pro 24H2 and both start up & operate stellarly with my elicenser dongle & motu ultralite mk5.

I’d say I’m impressed…but my 1987 Master Tracks Pro also works like a charm in Win11Pro24H2.

Bummer that someday, my elicenser will die and I’ll lose access to all these treasures on the Steinberg ftp etc.

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I retested some old Atari *.arr files of mine. The funny thing is, some open fine in SE/SX and some do not. The ones that do can be converted to *.cpr. The ones that don’t, do not show any midi tracks. After converting them into VST, they do show midi tracks in SE/SX and can be converted to *.cpr format.

I’m still puzzled why some load OK and others do not? I used CB2 and CB3 Score on Atari so maybe some where saved with this, and others where saved with that? Sorry, I just can’t recall what files I created with what version?

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I’m going to try and borrow a friend’s Windows laptop. It’s only a few months old, so maybe Windows 10 or 11. Do you need any special drivers after installing SX3? Will the dongle I use with my Mac work with the PC, do you think?

I’ll try the files I have on my Mac first, and if that doesn’t work, do you think reading the Atari disks via USB floppy on the PC might work? I know it’s a bit of a long shot!

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No. As Mr Soundman just explained, you would format a floppy on PC to 720k and use this to transfer files to PC. You can’t read Atari discs directly.
There are some programs that allow to read them but as far as I’m aware these still do not work with USB floppy drives - only internal.

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Good plan.

DO THIS FIRST ON YOUR FRIEND’S WINDOWS COMPUTER…BEFORE ANYTHING!!!..download and install ONLY the steinberg elicenser setup software for dongle…the teeny tiny file on the sb support page…NOT the entire big stuff like download assistant etc. JUST THE ELICENSER FILE…install it WITH your elicenser inserted in the machine. Then open to verify you see your dongle licenses.

Then…proceed…

Based on reading Steinberg conversion suggestions, I downloaded & installed both se and sx. SB notes mentioned that old se cubase versions may be better for converting…dunno the science behind that but I installed each.

I imagine your elicenser will start the programs up flawlessly…mine did and Sb only makes 1 kind of elicenser dongle.

Fyi note when installing the old programs on my win11 pro a couple of days ago with dongle inserted during install of se/sx…at the end of the very quick install, a message will flash “no license found” (or something to that effect). IGNORE THE MESSAGE.

You’ll be prompted to restart the computer at the end of install.

Once the computer reboots, start up either se or sx and either will now see the elicenser…based on your earlier pre-install of the license software I mentioned at the top.

I then booted up each, set sound to be via the motu ultralite, and voila.

The only thing I didn’t do was actually load an .all file for resave as cpr as I don’t have .all files anywhere.

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Doing everything ON a 1040/520 with the original floppies is, as you know, a lot of hassle. The windows11 idea imo is much faster if your .all files are already on a harddrive and intact.

I think I saw cubase vst on the ftp when I was perusing yesterday, and I may at some point download it (if it’s indeed there) to test install on some of the Atari machines here. Just to see what it looked like. In those days, I was using Passport, Hybrid Arts etc stuff.