Trying to get started with my Apple II

So it would seem that the disk drive I have (AE HD+) is the 3rd party equivalent to the Apple FDHD External drive, seen here.

According to the article, my Apple IIgs, lacking a SuperDrive controller, will treat it like the old 800k drives.

I can also purchase a SuperDrive card for the IIe so they could share a floppy disk drive (not at the same time, of course).

If I want a 5.25" drive, the Apple 5.25" Drive should do the trick, and can be chained along with the 3.5" drive I already own.

I guess the only questions I have left are:

(1) what is the benefit to having a 5.25" drive?
(2) what is the benefit to having multiple drives of one type?

I guess this shows what I (don't) know about the Apple II. Must the OS disk remain in the floppy drive all throughout the use of the system?

True, and it will boot from an 800k boot disk you create.
True again; but 5-1/4" disks were a much more popular medium for programs, games, etc. While things like GS/OS were distributed on 3-1/2" disks, pretty much everything for the IIe was on 5-1/4". It was simply unusual to have rigid disks with a non-GS.
Almost all software you find on the internet will be made for it, and disk images will be of the 140k, 5-1/4" variety. They won't help you if you only have a 3-1/2" drive.
The ability to quickly duplicate a disk you already have in physical form. That's become less of an issue these days as you can use your host computer as a disk repository and just reconstitute whatever disk you need with the likes of ADT or ADTPro on demand.
It depends. If you're talking about GS/OS, then yes, pretty much. If you're talking about DOS and ProDOS, then no.
Look here:
http://adtpro.sourceforge.net/bootstrap.html

Thank you! Your post was immensely helpful.

The process of getting the image to the floppy seems pretty painless (and would be even more so once ADTPro is written to a floppy). I always wondered how people dealt with those 5.25" floppy images.

From what I understand, the integrated Apple IIgs floppy controller handles both 3.5" and 5.25" floppy disk drives with the 19-pin external connector. However, it only handles a maximum of 800k densities.

My research also suggests that the Apple SuperDrive controller can handle any drive that has the 19-pin external connector. On the IIgs, its only advantage over the integrated is for 1440k floppies. On the IIe, it is the only way to use 19-pin external drives.

My problem so far is that I can not find a SuperDrive controller for sale. Are there any alternatives for those want to use 19-pin drives on the IIe? All the 3.5" drives I've found use the 19-pin connector.

True.
On the IIe, it is the only way to use 19-pin external 3-1/2" drives. The IIe generally came with a 5-1/4" controller that had the 19-pin connector on it.
They are an unfortunate combination of rare and expensive. Just another reason to abandon the search for a 3-1/2" solution for the IIe.
No.

Will do. I was under the impression that a 3.5" drive was part of the "must-have" package, but if I can get away without one, that will do.

Like I said in my first post, I only have a Disk II card for the IIe. So to be able to use the more modern Apple 5.25" Drive I would want something like this, which I could couple with a drive like this.

Thanks again. I really appreciate all the help. Hopefully this thread will be helpful to others in the future too.

That combination will work fine. But since you already have the older-style card, you could just use this.

After making a multi state move I discovered my old IIc in a box while unpacking . It's working great . I bought a 3.5 unidisk off ebay before I found out that my IIC does not have the rom upgrade that will allow it to work . Anyone have any ideas on where I might be able to get a rom upgrade or a upgrade kit ?

Thanks

Joe Wright
UPS UNIX Systems
8001 Ashbottom Road
Louisville, KY 40213
502 359-6024