CMD HD-4000 Drive Remake

Hello All,

Just got my hands on the ToTsRETRO CMD-HD4000 reproduction – a faithful remake of the classic CMD Commodore hard drive for C64, C128, Plus/4 and more!

High points:

•  Spot-on FDM PLA case (looks and feels similar the original HD-Series but it does have the inconsistencies and artifacts from 3D printing )

•  BlueSCSI v2 inside with swappable 32GB SD card + external SCSI port

•  Pre-loaded 4GB image ready to go with full CMD utilities (I advise making a copy as a backup and making a new SD card with a copy of the HD image as starting from scratch from a card failure can be a challenge), licensed HD Boot ROM v2.80

•  Real-time clock, write-protect switch, front-panel partition selector, up to 254 partitions

•  1541/1571/1581 emulation modes, native subdirectories, GEOS boots lightning fast

•  Works with GEOS, CP/M, and even cross-platform with Amiga/Mac/PC partitions on the same card

• Has the 18 Pin Connector for a RamLink connection 

•  Fully assembled, tested, and chips socketed for easy future service

The issues:

•  Made-to-order by a one-man shop → 1-week lead time and premium pricing

•  Needs your own IEC serial cable + 1541/1581 power supply

•  SD card setup is picky: Format the SD card in Windows (NOT macOS!) using the official SD Memory Card Formatter tool with the “Overwrite format” option selected. macOS formatting (even with the same tool or Disk Utility) often makes BlueSCSI fail to recognize the card completely. Stick to Windows and FAT32 and it should work.

Overall this thing is a beast for power users who want that authentic 90s CMD experience without hunting down failing originals. If you’re deep in C64 nostalgia, it’s worth it. Highly recommend downloading the manual before you fire it up!

I do not have an original CMD HD but I have several Thunderdrive CMD clones that I’ve been using for years. Stay tuned for some of my thoughts on this drive vs those.

-Sutehk