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1995-05-19
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DiskDupe Trial
________________________________________________________________________
Owner's Manual
Version 5.0
Micro System Designs, Inc.
10062 Miller Ave, Suite 104
Cupertino, CA 95014
Phone 408-446-2066
Fax 408-446-2095
DiskDupe Trial (May 1995)
(DD50T.DOC)
(c) Copyright 1988 - 1995 Micro System Designs, Inc.
All rights reserved.
DISKDUPE, DISKDUPE PRO, DISKDUPE AUTO PRO, DISKMACHINE, AUTOLOAD, RELAY,
RAMBODISK, CASCADE, TRACK RANGE and MICRO SYSTEM DESIGNS are trademarks
of Micro System Designs, Inc. Other brands and product names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
No part of this document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed,
stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language (natural
or computer) in any form by any means without the written permission of
Micro System Designs, Inc., except as described in the following
license.
LICENSE AGREEMENT
This software is protected by both United States copyright law and
international treaty provisions. You are granted a limited license to
use this program on a trial basis for up to 30 days. To continue using
the program after the trial period, you are required to pay the license
fee.
You are granted a limited license to copy DiskDupe for the trial use of
others providing you include the files DISKDUPE.EXE, DISKDUPE.HLP,
DISKDUPE.TXT, FILE_ID.DIZ in complete and unmodified form and make it
clear to the recipient that this is not free software but payment of the
license fee is required for continued use after the trial period.
LIMITED WARRANTY
Micro System Designs does not warrant that the functions contained in
this program will meet your requirements or that the program operation
will be uninterrupted or error free.
Micro System Designs specifically disclaims all other warranties,
expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of
fitness for any particular purpose and of merchantability.
IN NO EVENT WILL MICRO SYSTEM DESIGNS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, COMMERCIAL
DAMAGE OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE
USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER
PARTY.
GOVERNING LAW
These statements shall be construed, interpreted, and governed by the
laws of the state of California. You agree that this is the complete and
exclusive statement of this agreement which supersedes any prior
agreement or other communication between us on this subject. Use,
duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government of the computer
software and documentation in this package shall be subject to the
restricted rights under DFARS 52.227-7013 applicable to commercial
computer software.
INTRODUCTION
DISKDUPE DUPLICATES DISKS FAST!
Thank you for trying DiskDupe. DiskDupe is the best program
to automate your disk duplicating needs. DiskDupe can
duplicate disks amazingly fast and without any fuss. Other
programs simply don't measure up to DiskDupe in terms of
speed, bad disk detection, ease of use, and depth of
features.
DiskDupe duplicates, formats and compares disks in a
fraction of the time other systems can. It copies even high-
density disks in a single drive - without swapping! DiskDupe
senses when you put a disk in the drive and goes right to
work. If a disk needs to be formatted, that's taken care of
automatically. To perform at maximum speed, DiskDupe
bypasses DOS and the BIOS and talks directly to your floppy
controller.
REQUIREMENTS
- IBM PC or compatible computer
- DOS 3.1 or later
- 450k free RAM
- Hard Disk, RAM Disk or Network
WHATS NEW
DiskDupe 5.0 new features include:
- Support for extended disk formats like Microsoft's DMF
1.68Mb format
- CRC protection of disk images that protects against
viruses, data tampering and memory corruption
- Track Range data support that permits for copying only the
data portion of the disk
- Ability to compare disks
- User-definable IMAGE file descriptions that make it easy
to find your IMAGES
- User selectable drive step time for maximum speed
- Extensive on-line help that is only a keystroke away
- User definable JOBS that are saved internally and aid in
the streamlining of repetitive copying
- Windows style interface with color screens
- Color and sound customization capability
- Elapsed time and disks per hour counters
- Disk information history box that permits viewing of prior
messages during duplication
- Disk cleaning counts that keep track of how often a
particular drive is used and display an alert when it is
time to clean the drive
- A Windows icon and .PIF file are included
INSTALLATION
HARD DISK INSTALLATION
To install DiskDupe on your hard disk:
1. Type: MD C:\DISKDUPE <Enter> to make a subdirectory for
DiskDupe on your hard disk.
2. Type: CD C:\DISKDUPE <Enter> to change to that
directory.
3. Insert the DiskDupe program disk in drive A:, or the
appropriate floppy drive, and type: COPY A:\*.* <Enter> to
copy the files to your hard disk.
4. Type DISKDUPE <Enter> to run DiskDupe.
DiskDupe searches the current directory and your path for
its configuration file DISKDUPE.DAT. You can add the
\DISKDUPE subdirectory to the path statement in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that you do not need to change to the
\DISKDUPE subdirectory every time you run DiskDupe.
Note: If you have a previous version of DiskDupe, you can
copy the files into the same subdirectory and your original
setup information will be retained.
NETWORK INSTALLATION
Running DiskDupe on a network allows you to take full
advantage of the multiuser environment and allows you to
share image files. As long as only one computer is using
DiskDupe at a time, you can install DiskDupe on the network
under the terms of this license agreement. If more than one
person will be using DiskDupe at the same time, contact us
for information on a site license.
If you are the only one using DiskDupe on your network, you
can install it as described above in the hard disk
installation. However, if you would like multiple
workstations to be able to access DiskDupe, the network
administrator should install it according to the following
instructions.
1. Copy all the files from the DiskDupe disk into a shared
subdirectory on the network such as F:\APPS\DISKDUPE.
2. Run DiskDupe from the shared subdirectory, configure it
and exit to save the configuration file.
3. Copy the file DISKDUPE.DAT from the shared subdirectory
to a local subdirectory that DiskDupe will be started from
such as C:\DISKDUPE.
4. DiskDupe searches the current directory and the path
for its configuration file DISKDUPE.DAT, which is updated
with DiskDupe's current settings each time you exit. If
DiskDupe cannot locate a DISKDUPE.DAT file, it creates one
in the directory from which it was started. There are
several ways for a user's configuration to be saved:
- Start DiskDupe from the local subdirectory or create a
batch file to do so.
- Add the shared subdirectory, F:\APPS\DISKDUPE, to the
user's PATH statement.
- Keep "Auto-Set A:&B:" on in the shared subdirectory. If
started with the shared DISKDUPE.DAT, DiskDupe will start
up with the A: and B: drives tailored to the specific
workstation's configuration at the time it was turned on
or rebooted (drive settings can still be changed from
within DiskDupe at any time). This alleviates the need
for some users to have a local DISKDUPE.DAT file.
SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY
- Windows 3.1: If you receive an error 909 "DMA setup error"
when you try to copy disks, start DiskDupe with the command
line "DISKDUPE /DMAWINOFF". This will be saved so you only
have to enter it once.
- QEMM and SmartDrive 3.1: If you receive an error message
saying the DMA buffer is too small, change your CONFIG.SYS
to "QEMM386.SYS DB=3 DMA=15" to load QEMM. You don't need
the DB=3 parameter if you don't have a SCSI hard disk.
- OS/2: For maximum speed, open the DOS settings box for the
DISKDUPE.EXE object. You'll need to set HW_TIMER to Off and
IDLE_SENSITIVITY to 100 for the DOS session.
NAVIGATING THE MENUS
NAVIGATION BASICS AND STICKY MENUS
DiskDupe uses the same technique for navigating the menus that
is used in Windows, and just like Windows there are pull-down
menus available across the top of the screen that allow the user
to access dialog boxes for entering selections.
If you have a mouse, you can select menu choices by clicking on
them with the mouse. If you do not have a mouse, you can select
menu choices by pressing <Alt><Z> where <Z> is the first letter
of the menu. Once the menus are active, you can move around them
using the arrow keys. Use <Enter> to select a menu item.
The <F10> key enables the 'Sticky Menus' for default access to
the menus for mouseless computers. Pressing <F10> again turns
'Sticky Menus' off.
Once you have selected a menu item, a dialog box appears
with choices for that item. Use <Tab> or <Shift><Tab> to
move from field to field. When you have made your
selections, press <Enter> to save them.
When you are in a dialog box you can press <Alt><N>, where
<N> is the highlighted letter of the option you want to go
to. You can also press the highlighted letter of the option
alone to move around as long as you are not moving from a
field that required you to type something in. To leave a
dialog box or help screen press <Esc>. To close a Job or any
other file box, either click on the Close button in the
upper left corner of the box or press <Alt><F3>.
In the Help screens you can also use the <Tab> key to move
the highlight bar from one keyword to another. Use <Enter>
to select the highlighted keyword. Use the arrow keys or the
<Page Up> and <Page Down> keys to scroll up and down in the
Help screen.
OPENING FILES
When Opening a file from the File menu, you can type the
name of the file and DiskDupe will add the appropriate
extension automatically. If you want to open a file that
doesn't have an extension, type a "." after the filename.
You can also enter a new directory and press <Enter> to see
the files in another directory or point to a file or
directory in the list box to open it. DiskDupe will
remember the last directory you used the next time you need
to open a file.
USING THE HELP FILE
If you're ever in need of assistance, DiskDupe has an
extensive on-line Help file to answer any of your questions.
The Help file provides answers to simple "how to" questions
as well as error messages that might appear on your screen.
You can access the Help file through the menu bar or by
pressing the <F1> key. Once you're in the Help file, you
can use DiskDupe's hot keys to move around -- <F1> to go to
General information on the Help file, <Alt><B> to go back to
the previous Help screen, <Alt><C> to go to the Table of
Contents, <Alt><I> to go back to the Index, <F5> to zoom in
on Help and <Esc> to leave Help.
OLD STYLE MENUS
With the introduction of DiskDupe 5.0 the user-interface has
changed. To accommodate prior DiskDupe users, there is an
"Old Style Menus" option that can be found under Setup,
Global that adopts the 4.0 menu style.
JOB DIALOG BOX NAVIGATION
The job dialog box shown in the center of the screen,
displays all the current settings for the particular task
that is to be performed as well a provides a method to
change these settings quickly. Simply click on the blue box
next to the item that needs to be changed with the mouse or
<Tab> over to the selection and press <Enter> (to get to the
job dialog box without a mouse press <F10> and then press
<Tab> to locate the position of the cursor). For example, if
you wanted to change Track Range to Data, click or press
<Enter> on the box next to Range
When the program is first ran, the position of the cursor is
on the GO button of the job dialog box. This allows the user
to simply press <Enter> to begin duplication. The cursor can
also be positioned on the Copies and Operation selection to
initiate duplication by pressing <ENTER>.
BASIC OPERATION
DiskDupe has three basic operations - duplicating,
formatting, and comparing.
Duplicate makes a copy of a disk, Format prepares a new disk
for use, and Compare checks that two or more disks are
identical. The Copies setting controls the number of copies
that are made. Enter 0 for copies to copy continuously.
Whether you are Duplicating, Formatting, or Comparing,
DiskDupe always works from the Source drive to the
Destination drive. It copies from the source disk, sometimes
called the master disk, to the destination, or target
disk. Sometimes, for instance when you format a disk, only
the Destination setting is used.
Although the simplest way to use DiskDupe is to copy from
one disk to another disk, other modes are useful for certain
tasks. Two other common ways of working with disks in
DiskDupe are Relay and Cascade. There are also variations,
such as creating an image of a disk on your hard disk and
making copies from that file. For each variation, there are
settings that control how each of the basic operations work.
The basic technique goes like this:
1. Try working from the top down on the Job menu when
changing menu settings.
2. If you want to format disks, set the Source to Format.
3. From the Job, Go menu, decide how many Copies you want
and whether you want to Duplicate or Compare.
COPYING DISKS
Whether you're duplicating, formatting, or comparing, many
variations are possible in DiskDupe. Copying from one disk
to another is the simplest way to make new disks. Variations
of this include Relay and Cascade introduced in detail in
this chapter.
Regardless of the options chosen, DiskDupe makes an exact
copy of a disk, including hidden and system files,
subdirectories, and volume labels. However, DiskDupe cannot
make duplicates of copy protected disks.
DISK TO DISK
The most straightforward way to duplicate is to copy from
one disk to another. This is useful for making a specific
number of copies of disks of different types and sizes. For
example, if you want 4 copies of a disk, you would select
Duplicate with Copies set to 4.
You do not explicitly need to set up DiskDupe to copy "disk
to disk". It is the standard way it works. Below are step-
by-step instructions.
1. From the Job menu select Source, Drive and choose the
appropriate one to copy from. Source and Destination can be
the same drive, but do not need to be if you have two or
more drives.
2. From the Job menu select Destination, Drive and choose
the appropriate one to which you want to copy to.
3. From the Job menu, select Go and set the number of
copies that you want to make. If you want DiskDupe to copy
continuously until you press <Esc>, enter 0 for the number
of copies. Also select Duplicate for the operation. NOTE: If
you wanted to compare the data of two disks to identify any
discrepancies, instead of copying the data, you would follow
the same above procedure except you would need to select
Compare for the operation instead.
4. After selecting the operation and from the same menu,
select the Ok button and press <Enter>.
DiskDupe will prompt you to put the master disk in the
Source drive and the drive light will turn on. As soon as
you close the drive door, DiskDupe will start reading the
disk into your computer's RAM memory, using your hard disk
as virtual memory if necessary. This allows DiskDupe to make
as many copies as you want without having to reread the
master disk.
Notes:
- Although you can duplicate 360k disks in a 5.25", 1.2Mb
drive, it is not recommended, particularly if the disks
might need to be read in a 360k drive. A 1.2Mb drive writes
a narrower track than a 360k drive, so it does not make a
very good 360k duplicate.
- DiskDupe will not successfully copy disks that are copy
protected. However, it will allow you to make copy protected
disks of your own.
- Although DiskDupe is DOS-based, it will allow you to
duplicate disks of other formats, including Mac high-
density, Xenix, Unix, and Midi disks. DiskDupe can copy Unix
disks that have an interleave of 3, but the copies it makes
will have an interleave of 1.
IMAGES
If you frequently make copies of one disk, making an image
of the disk on your hard drive saves time and avoids
unnecessary wear on the disk. The only drawback is the hard
disk space that images take up.
To create an image, set Source to the drive with the master
disk in it. Set Destination to Image and then type in a file
name. DiskDupe images usually use the extension .DDI, but
any extension may be used. Then select Go from the Job menu
and Duplicate for the operation to create an image.
Images can also be created from the File menu by selecting
New, Image. After doing so, enter in a filename and follow
the instructions provided on the screen.
To use the image, set Source to image, and select the image.
Then set Destination to the drive you want to copy to and
select Job, Go.
RELAY
Relay is an extremely efficient method of backing up program
disks or making copies of a shareware library. To use it,
first make sure all your master disks have write-protect
tabs on them. Relay senses the write-protect tabs and
automatically reads and copies the master disks to all the
non write-protected disks after each master disk. This
allows you to make copies of different master disks of one
type without using the keyboard.
1. To use Relay, make sure all your master disks have
write-protect tabs on them.
2. From the Job menu select Destination, Drive and choose
the appropriate one for the drive to which you want to copy
to. Also from the Job menu, select Relay.for the Source.
3. From the Job menu select Go, Duplicate for the
operation and press <Enter>. The number of copies doesn't
matter when using Relay.
4. Put in the first write-protected master disk and let
DiskDupe read it.
5. After it gets done reading, insert the disk you want
the master copied to.
6. When you are ready to start using the next write-
protected master disk just put it in. DiskDupe will
recognize the write-protect tab and start reading this in as
the next master disk.
7. When you are finished, press <Esc>.
Caution: If your master disks do not have write-protect tabs
on them, they will be overwritten!
CASCADE
If you have more than one floppy drive of the same type and
are making multiple copies, you can use Cascade to get more
efficiency out of your drives. Using Cascade is similar to
copying from A: to B: - reading a disk from one drive and
making a copy in another - except that, once the first disk
is read, DiskDupe cycles through and makes copies in each
drive.
1. From the Job menu select Destination, Cascade.
2. From the Job menu select Source, Drive.
3. Put a write-protected master disk into the first drive.
4. From the Job menu select Go, Duplicate and press
<Enter>.
*** Instead of using a master disk to make copies from, an
image can be used instead. When selecting Source from the
Job menu, select Image, then select Job, Go, Duplicate and
press <Enter>.
DiskDupe will read the first disk and then wait for you to
remove the disk and insert new ones in all the drives.
DiskDupe will sense the disk change, make a copy in the
first drive, and then switch to the next drive to make a
copy. It will make copies until it reaches the end of the
cycle, where it waits for you to change the disks in all the
drives. DiskDupe will sense when you insert a new disk in
the first drive and resume copying immediately. If the disk
is changed in the first drive before DiskDupe reaches the
end of the cycle, you must press <ENTER> to resume copying.
If a bad disk is encountered, you will have to remove it and
insert a new disk in that same drive before DiskDupe resumes
duplicating.
Note: The IBM PC and compatibles cannot copy to two drives
simultaneously.
RELAY AND CASCADE
You can also combine Cascade with Relay. In such a setup,
the first write-protected master disk is read from the first
drive in the cycle and will be copied to every non write-
protected disk inserted in the following drives. It will
continue, through the cycle, to make copies of the first
disk until the second write-protected master disk is read
and so on.
To perform a Relay with Cascade, select Source from the Job
menu, then select Relay, select Destination from the Job
menu, then select Cascade, and then from the Job menu select
Go, then Duplicate and press <Enter>.
FORMATTING DISKS
With DiskDupe, you can either format a disk as it is being
duplicated or separately. When you copy disks with
Duplicate, DiskDupe will detect whether a disk has been
formatted and, if necessary, format it while copying. To
format a disk do the following:
1. Select Job, Source, Format.
2. Select Job, Destination, Drive and choose the one you
will use to format the disk with.
3. Select Job, Format and then set the Format option to
Always, the Verify option to Always and the Track Range
option to All.
4. Select Job, Go set the number of copies and then
Duplicate.
QUICK ERASE
To do a quick erase follow the above instructions on
formatting a disk, but instead set the Format option (Job,
Format) to Only If Necessary and set Verify to Only After
Format.
Reformatting a disk that has been previously formatted takes
only about 2 seconds per disk. This effectively wipes out
the data on a disk by writing over the disk's FAT (File
Allocation Table) and directory table. DiskDupe will write
the first couple of tracks, where the file and directory
information is located, realize that the disk doesn't need
to be formatted, and prompt you for another disk. If you run
a DIR or CHKDSK on the disk, you will see that the disk is
indeed empty.
If you also want to recheck the disk to make sure there are
no damaged areas, set the Verify option to Always. This is
quicker than a full reformat, but will check the entire disk
for defects.
Note: Although the disk appears blank, some of the data is
still physically on the disk. The only time this might pose
a problem is if the disk contains sensitive information that
you want to be sure to wipe off completely. If so, use the
full reformat option.
FORMAT COMPATIBILITY
When DiskDupe formats disks, it places a DOS 3.3 boot track
on the disk. This is compatible with all versions of DOS. If
you want to format a disk with the boot track of another
version of DOS, or make a bootable disk or make formatted
Unix, Midi or Mac high density disks, follow these
instructions.
1. Format a disk using the normal format command for that
system. With DOS this is Format or Format /S.
2. Use DiskDupe to make an image of this disk.
3. Now whenever you need to format a disk with this
particular version of DOS, simply make a copy of this image.
CLEANING
To ensure good copies and avoid strange problems, it is
critical that the drive heads be kept clean. Dirty heads can
cause good disks to be rejected and bad disks to be passed.
HOW DRIVES GET DIRTY
Drive heads get dirty in two ways. Particles on the disk
surface like dust and cigarette smoke can stick to the head
and/or the magnetic coating on the disk rubs off on the
head. These coatings vary in quality and they all absorb
moisture. Poor quality disks that have been in humid
environments can clog the drive heads after just 50 or 60
disks.
When the head gets dirty, it no longer makes good contact
with the disk and the dirt particles diffuse the reading and
writing process. This produces erratic results. Some disks
work fine while others are inexplicably rejected.
CLEANING THE DRIVE
To clean the drive, use a good wet-dry type cleaning disk.
From the Setup menu select Drives, then highlight the drive
that needs cleaning. Select the Clean button, insert the
cleaning disk in the drive and press <Enter>. The drive will
be cleaned for 15 seconds.
While cleaning, DiskDupe moves the head back and forth
across the disk. This provides the best possible cleaning
and makes sure the cleaning disk is evenly used. Be sure to
discard the cleaning disk if you see any discoloration on it
or it has been used past the recommended number of
cleanings.
If you clean your drives regularly, a 15 second cleaning is
sufficient. However, if your drives are especially dirty,
several cleanings may be required. In extreme cases, it is
necessary to clean the drive head by hand with a Q-tip and
isopropyl alcohol.
Cleaning the drive does not wear it out. A dirty drive will
actually wear out faster because of the abrasive action of
the dirt.
HOW OFTEN TO CLEAN
When drives are extremely dirty, you can actually see the
dirt on the head. After you remove the cover, you will be
able to see reddish-brown spots on the white ceramic piece
attached to the moveable head-frame.
We recommend that you clean the drive heads every 500 disks,
or at least once a month. Sometimes in humid or dirty
environments, you will need to clean the heads every 100
disks. If you start experiencing a lot of rejected disks or
have other problems, it is always a good idea to clean the
heads.
DiskDupe has a cleaning counter that keeps track of how
often you use a particular drive. Once the counter reaches a
certain value (the default setting is 500) a Clean! button
appears on the main menu alerting the user that it is time
to clean the drive. To clean the drive simply press the
button and follow the instructions given.
DISK CONVERSION
DiskDupe allows you to convert certain types of disks to
disks of another physical size, such as a 5.25", 1.2Mb disk
to a 3.5", 1.4Mb. You can, for example, copy a program's
5.25" program disks to 3.5" disks for installation on a
laptop which only has a 3.5" drive.
Converting disks is just a special application of the
Duplicate command. The table below indicates which disks,
drives, and settings to use for a conversion. The
conversions listed are the only ones presently supported.
Conversion Disk type Drive Type
------------- ---------- -------------------
360k to 3.5" 720k disk 720k or 1.4Mb drive
720k to 5.25" 360k disk 1.2Mb drive
1.2Mb to 3.5" 1.4Mb disk 1.4Mb drive
For the 3.5", 720k to 5.25" conversion, copy to a low-
density 360k disk in the 1.2Mb drive. If you get an error on
several disks, try using a 1.2Mb disk instead. This disk
will be formatted to 720k capacity by using the area between
the tracks. If a computer has problems reading the files on
the disk, even though it recognizes the disk and can do a
DIR of it, use the FIXFLOP.EXE program. This is a small
memory-resident program that allows such computers to read
this 5.25" disk. (NOTE: FIXFLOP is included with the
registered versions of DiskDupe and can be found in our
CompuServe Forum.)
DiskDupe transfers the information track-by-track, including
volume labels, subdirectories, hidden and system files.
During a conversion, the destination disk will be formatted
to the same capacity as the source disk. So if you are
copying from a 5.25", 360k disk to a 3.5", 720k disk, the
3.5" disk will have a capacity of 360k.
Track-by-track conversion won't copy from a higher density
disk to a lower density disk, even if the higher density
disk has just a few files on it. In this case, it's better
to use the DOS Copy command to transfer the files.
Note: If you are copying disks to send to others, we
recommend making a master for each disk size, rather than
using track conversions. This allows you to use the full
capacity of the disk and will alleviate any possible
problems that other computers might have reading these
disks.
JOB OPTIONS
DISK TYPE
Normally you can leave this set at Auto and let DiskDupe
automatically sense the type of disk you are using. There
are times however when DiskDupe requires the user to select
the disk type. This occurs before formatting a disk. If you
want to bypass this question, set the disk type to the
appropriate type.
CAUTION: Setting the disk type yourself can sometimes cause
more problems than it is worth. For example, if the Disk
Type was left on 1.2Mb accidently while copying a 1.44Mb
disk, DiskDupe would assume that the disk being read in is a
1.2Mb disk and only copy the first 15 sectors of each track
as opposed to the full 18.
FORMAT OPTIONS
The Format and Verify options are used to help speed up the
disk duplicating time. If you always use new disks when
making copies, go to Job, Format and select Always. This
will save a few seconds that DiskDupe normally takes to
identify that a disk is blank and shift into Format mode.
When Format is set to Always, a 360k disk will take less
than 58 seconds to duplicate.
If, however, you sometimes use disks that are pre-formatted,
you can save a lot of time by setting Format to Only If
Necessary. This will skip the format step on disks that have
been pre-formatted. You can use this option even if you use
a combination of pre-formatted and new disks because
DiskDupe will still sense when a disk is new and
automatically shift into format mode for that disk.
VERIFY OPTIONS
If you are confident that the disks you have pre-formatted
have not been subsequently damaged, you can also set Verify
to Only After Format. On pre-formatted disks this can cut
the duplicating time on a 360k disk down to less than 16
seconds per disk.
Be aware, however, that if the disks have been damaged after
they were formatted (for instance, someone accidently
touched the floppy disk surface), DiskDupe will probably not
detect this damage if Verify is set to Only After Format.
Duplicating times for pre-formatted disks when Verify is set
to Always are still fairly quick.
COMPARING WHILE DUPLICATING
To compare a disk byte-by-byte to the master during
duplication, set Verify to Always or in a separate step use
the Compare operation. Performing a compare is exactly the
same as making a copy of a disk, except the Compare
operation is selected instead of the Duplicate. See the
previous section on Copying Disks.
When viewing the duplication statistics on the screen, i.e.
the little dots, circles and checkmarks, you will notice
that both Verify and Compare are present. Verify is
referring to the CRC check that the controller automatically
performs when reading data from the disk. Compare refers to
the byte-by-byte compare that is done when Verify is on.
TRACK RANGE DATA
When Track Range is set to Data it has no affect when
reading a disk or image, but it can greatly increase copy
times by writing to only the data portions of a disk. There
are some caveats though.
When using the Track Range Data feature it is important that
the master be "clean" , i.e. completely blank (which can be
accomplished by using the DOS format command with the /U
switch or by formatting a disk with DiskDupe as discussed
earlier) before files are copied to it so that there is no
old data on the final tracks of the disk.
When any image is used for copying and the Track Range is
set to Data only the tracks that have data on the master are
copied and verified on the destination disk. If DiskDupe has
trouble reading any of the tracks that it is copying to then
it will try to reformat the disk from the bad track through
the last data track of the disk, so a poorly formatted disk
is still usable.
OTHER FEATURES
JOBS
A job is a particular task that the user would like DiskDupe
to perform. The purpose of a job is to allow the user to
save the settings for a particular task under a particular
job name. The next time that task needs to be performed, the
user can simply select the appropriate job rather than re-
entering the settings. The settings that are unique to each
job are those that can be found under the Job menu option,
i.e. the setting for Source, Destination, Format, Verify
etc.
AUTOMATIC DISK SENSING
DiskDupe automatically senses when you change disks without
having to touch the keyboard. This will speed up your
duplication and also eliminate errors.
To sense a disk change, DiskDupe needs to keep the drive on.
So when DiskDupe alerts you, it is okay to change the disk
even though the drive light is still on.
BAD DISK ALARM
DiskDupe sounds an alarm when it encounters a bad disk and
asks you to press the <ENTER> key. This alerts you that
there is a bad disk to make sure you don't accidentally put
it in the good disk pile.
MAXIMUM SPEED
There are several ways you can optimize the speed of the
copies made with DiskDupe.
CLEAN MASTER
DiskDupe works faster when the master disk is "clean". This
means that the master disk was formatted before any files
were copied to it.
Using a clean disk, DiskDupe is able to sense which part of
the disk has valid data on it and only duplicate that part
of the disk. If you have a master disk which has had many
different files copied to it and then erased, DiskDupe will
have to duplicate the entire disk even though all of the
disk might not contain real data.
To make a clean master disk, format a disk following the
instructions described earlier for formatting a disk. Then
use the DOS COPY command to copy the necessary files onto
this newly formatted disk. This disk can now be used as your
clean master disk.
FORMAT AND VERIFY OPTIMIZATION
1. Pre-format the disks. This can be done by copying from a
blank formatted disk. The disks will be formatted and
verified and any bad disks will be rejected. You can format
disks at any time that is convenient.
2. Use these pre-formatted disks later when you make copies.
Make sure that Format is set to Only If Necessary and Verify
is set to Only After Format on the Setup menu.
3. If you are nervous about not verifying the disk after you
write to it, set the Verify option to Always. This will
increase the duplicating times but will re-verify the entire
disk.
DUPLICATING TIMES
The following table shows how long it takes DiskDupe to
duplicate disks. If the source disk is not completely full,
the duplicating times will be faster than this.
Disks copied in one hour using DiskDupe. All these times
assume that it takes two seconds to change the disk.
360K 1.2Mb 720K 1.4MB
----- ------ ----- -----
Blank Disks 62 38 32 32
Pre-formatted/verify 106 65 55 55
Pre-formatted 200 126 106 106
Note: Some 1.4Mb drives however, won't be able to achieve
the full 106 disk per hour.
Notice how much time you can save if you pre-formatted disks
yourself. However, if you buy disks that have already been
formatted for you, we recommend that you set Verify to
Always. This insures that any disks that are bad will be
detected.
BATCH FILES
All DiskDupe parameters can be entered from the DOS command
line. This allows you to create DOS batch files to automate
the use of DiskDupe.
COMMAND LINES
You can enter all the information on the DOS command line
that you would normally have to enter by using the DiskDupe
menus. Here is an example:
DISKDUPE A: B: /C4 /DUP
This will start DiskDupe with A: as the source drive and B:
as the destination drive and will make 4 copies. The /DUP
statement instructs DiskDupe to start duplicating and then
return to DOS without stopping at the menus. This is useful
if you want to use DiskDupe in a batch file.
The A: is the Source and can be a drive, a DiskDupe image or
the word RELAY OR FORMAT.
The B: is the Destination and can be a drive or image. To
use Cascade drives, use AB: like DISKDUPE DISK1.DDI AB:
The /C4 sets the number of copies to 4.
The /C is called a switch. There are many different switches
you can use. You can use as many or as few switches as you
want. The next section lists all the switches.
COMMAND LINE SWITCHES
/DUP Starts duplicating without pausing at the
menus and returns to DOS when finished.
/TEST Drive test.
/C Allows you to set the number of copies
Example: /C4 sets copies to 4.
/FA Sets the option for formatting to Always.
/FO Sets the option for formatting to Only If
Necessary.
/VA Sets the option for verifying to Always.
/VO Sets the option for verifying to Only After
Format.
/T Sets the Disk type.
Auto Specifies Auto
360 Specifies a 5.25" 360K copy (Low Density)
12 Specifies a 5.25" 1.2M copy (High
Density)
720 Specifies a 3.5" 720K copy (Low density)
14 Specifies a 2.5" 1.4M copy (High Density)
Example: /T720 Specifies a 720k copy.
/CMOS "YES" uses CMOS bootup configuration for A:
and B: drives, "NO" does not. Example:
/CMOSYES
*** For additional command line switches, see the on-
line Help.
BATCH FILE EXAMPLE
You can combine DiskDupe commands into DOS batch files to
automate sequences of tasks.
The following is a batch file that reads in a source disk
and creates a disk image file and makes 10 duplicates.
DISKDUPE B: DISK1 /DUP
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO END
DISKDUPE DISK1 B: /C10 /DUP
:END
Notice that you can test if there was a problem using the
ERRORLEVEL command. An ERRORLEVEL of one or greater
indicates that there was an error.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
COMMON PROBLEMS
PROBLEM: After I copy a disk using DiskDupe and then try to
do a DIR on it, I get an error reading the disk.
ANSWER: Take the disk out of the drive. Type <CTRL-C>
several times and put the disk back in.
QUESTION: On my PS/2 it copies the first disk fine but then
makes a grinding noise and sometimes I get a "Bad Seek
Error".
ANSWER: Many PS/2's are NOT supported by DiskDupe 5.0.
QUESTION: I am trying to copy 360k disks on my AT type
computer and it is not working.
ANSWER: Make sure you have your A: drive set up correctly
(usually as a 1.2Mb drive) and that the copy type is set to
360k.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
DiskDupe is backed by a technical support system designed to
offer you fast, courteous service. All registered users
receive unlimited, free technical support. We also provide
limited support to unregistered users.
In order for us to provide the best possible help please do
the following before calling. Write down the serial number
of the DiskDupe program, write down exactly what happened
and what error message appeared, write down what type of
computer you are using and be at your computer with DiskDupe
running.
DISKDUPE PRODUCTS
The DiskDupe product line includes DiskDupe Lite, DiskDupe
Standard, DiskDupe Professional and DiskDupe AutoPro.
DiskDupe Lite is a no-frills duplication program designed
for people that simply want to make copies, but don't
require all the amenities of the Standard version. Main
Features include disk images, relay copy, user definable
jobs, 1.68Mb disk format and 5" to 3" disk conversion. There
is a 4 copy maximum however.
DiskDupe Standard is designed for people that routinely
perform disk duplication and want all the features of the
Lite, as well as full utilization of their computers EMS/XMS
memory for quicker copying, command line support, adjustable
drive step rate to increase drive efficiency, 2.88Mb drive
support, user adjustable colors and sound and track range
data.
DiskDupe Professional is designed for software developers
that want to do in-house duplication, and anticipate medium
volume diskette duplication. The Pro contains all the great
features of the Standard, as well as support for additional
floppy drives, double speed drives, RAM drives, disk
serialization, labels, custom disks and disk sets.
DiskDupe AutoPro is designed to be used in conjunction with
all the major manufacturer auto-loaders. It includes all the
features of the Professional, with the addition of being
able to generate log files of duplication activities,
support quad speed (2XSDS) drives and in-lineprinters and
provide network support.
All of our products come with a comprehensive on-line help
system that is only a key press away. If you need assistance
beyond what the help can provide, you are entitled to FREE
UNLIMITED technical support.
As mentioned briefly before, we have a proven upgrade path
available. If you decide to upgrade, almost all of your
initial investment can be applied towards the upgrade.
** For a complete list of product comparison features go to
the registration screen listing the various versions of
DiskDupe available and press <F1>.
HOW TO REGISTER
To register, follow the instructions as described on the
DiskDupe 5.0 Trial opening screen. Registration information
can also be found under the Hello menu.
You can contact us at:
Micro System Designs, Inc.
10062 Miller Ave., Ste 104
Cupertino, CA 95014
TEL: (408) 446-2066
FAX: (408) 446-2095
For more information on our products:
WWW: http://www.msd1.com/msd1/
FTP: ftp.msd1.com/pub/msd1
CIS: GO MSDESIGNS
Internet: orders@msd1.com CIS: 75162,451 AOL: MaxDunn
