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-
- Stellar Systems, Incorporated
-
- presents
-
- NIB V2.0
-
- © Copyright 1989,1990 Shawn Liptak
- All Rights Reserved
-
- distributed by
-
- Utilities Unlimited, Incorporated
-
-
- Release Date: Sun Jan 28 1990
-
-
-
- NIB is intended for archival purposes and to ease the burden of
- such copy protection schemes as "Master Disk", "Key Word", and "Code Wheel".
- Software authors have the right and a necessity to make a profit on their
- products. So, if you use it, then BUY it!
-
-
- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
- Utilities Unlimited, Incorporated
- P.O. Box 532
- North Plains, OR 97133
-
- (503) 647-5611 24 hours a day
-
- These Amiga products are currently available:
-
- NIB $44.95
- - The product your playin with.
-
- SuperCard Ami $99.95
- - Hardware/Software combo that should do 100% of all disk based
- protection!
-
- Super-Tracker Ami $79.95
- - Digital track display that shows current head position, side,
- and write protect status of selected disk drive.
-
- Amiga 500 Repairable Power Supply $109.95
- - Replacement power supply for the 500.
-
-
- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
- STELLAR SYSTEMS, Inc. is dedicated to providing quality
- software for the AMIGA series of computers. If you have quality software
- that is under development or finished and you are looking for a method of
- marketing it, please contact us at the address below. We can also provide
- code for specific applications, such as direct disk access.
-
- STELLAR SYSTEMS, Inc.
- Attn. Software Development
- P.O. Box 9047
- Hampton, VA 23670-0047
-
- If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about
- STELLAR SYSTEMS or NIB, please write us at...
-
- STELLAR SYSTEMS, Inc.
- Attn. PR
- P.O. Box 9047
- Hampton, VA 23670-0047
-
-
- Amiga and AmigaDOS are trademarks of Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
-
- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
- WARRANTY
-
- The magnetic media this software is recorded on is warranted to
- be free from defects for a period of sixty days from the date of purchase.
- This warranty applies only to the original consumer purchaser.
-
- In the event the magnetic media fails during the warranty period,
- it will be repaired or replaced, provided that it is returned to the
- distributer with the original label intact. This warranty does not apply
- if the magnetic media was damaged from accident, abuse, or neglect on the
- part of the original consumer purchaser.
-
- The software on this disk is provided as is. No warranty of
- merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose is provided. Utilities
- Unlimited Incorporated, Stellar Systems Incorporated, and Shawn Liptak
- shall not be liable for indirect, special, or consequential damages
- resulting from use of this product. Laws vary from state to state, so the
- exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages may not
- apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may
- also have other rights which vary from state to state.
-
-
- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
-
- NIB
-
-
- NIB was written to be an economical disk backup system. It uses a
- precision disk nibbler combined with flexible parameters and a unique track
- selection system. This allows it to make working copies of a variety of
- protected software. The parameter system allows the copier to deprotect
- many titles and also to backup some especially tough ones. NIB's speed
- should be as fast as, if not faster, than competing software, and it should
- operate on all Amigas with a variety of hardware configurations. NIB
- requires V1.2 or later of the Amiga's operating system.
-
-
- V2.0 Changes:
-
- 1- NIB no longer requires that the screen be blanked in the nibble
- modes. This was the number one complaint among V1.0 users!
-
- 2- NIB V2.0 is now 100% assembly. This allowed me to add many
- enhancements, features and parameters, while only slightly
- increasing the size of the NIB file.
-
- 3- NIB now supports single drive copying. On a 1Meg Amiga, it will
- require four disk swaps to copy an entire disk. If you have 2.5Megs,
- then this can be done in only one swap.
-
- 4- A bug in the multicopy routine was fixed, so it now works correctly.
-
- 5- 63 Parameters have been added since V1.0. A complete list of the
- parameters in now available in the text file "NibParam.txt".
-
- 6- Complete checksumming has been added to the ADOS copy routines.
- This will ensure a 99.9% accurate copy in ADOS mode, as long as
- verify is on.
-
- 7- The error log has been greatly improved. It now retains a complete
- status list for each copied track, with error messages in plain
- english.
-
- 8- Audio routines were added. These allow the user to turn his back
- on the Amiga, while a copy is in progress, and still be notified
- of errors.
-
- 9- The "Error Check" and "Edit" gadgets have been implemented. The
- editor is not yet complete and only allows viewing of the data.
-
- 10- The old "Nibble" and "Index Nibble" modes have been replaced by
- the new "Sync Nibble" mode. "Index Nibble" is a completely new mode.
-
- 11- Many small bugs were fixed, such as trashing one of the low memory
- vectors and nibble mode timing problems.
-
-
- Limitations:
-
- NIB does not check the destination to see if it is write protected.
- If it is, then you will receive verify errors in most cases. This can be
- useful in certain circumstances.
- When NIB loads, the default font size in your system-configuration
- file must be set to 80 column mode. 60 column fonts will not be displayed
- properly. This will be fixed in a future version of NIB.
-
- When copying some copy protected programs NIB may indicate an error
- on certain tracks. You can use the ERR gadget to recopy these bad tracks.
- If an error is still indicated, then you should test the copy to see if
- it is ok, because it may work anyway.
- Software companies will change protection schemes and/or versions
- of their software from time to time. In most cases the NIB parameter will
- not work for the new version. A new parameter will be required for the new
- version.
- NIB will have problems copying some of the more heavily protected
- titles on certain machines. This seems to be due to differences in disk
- drives. Reversing the source and destination drives may help.
-
-
- Multitasking:
-
- NIB will multitask with most programs without problems
- although there are a few things to keep in mind.
-
- 1. If your source and destination drives are the same then
- NIB will attempt to read as much of the source disk as it can fit
- into available memory. So, it is best to have as much memory free as
- possible since a whole disk will require 2 Megs.
-
- 2. When NIB is running it takes control of all floppy drives
- which makes it impossible for AmigaDOS to access the drives.
-
- 3. When NIB is copying disks it tends to be a processor hog and
- will turn off multitasking for long periods of time. This will
- cause other programs to run slowly or not at all.
-
- 4. If precise indexing is on and NIB is using either nibble mode, the
- display will be blanked while reading or writing disk data.
-
-
- Harddisk use:
-
- NIB can easily be installed on a harddisk. You need to make a
- directory for NIB and its support files such as "NibMegaGreatCopier".
- This directory would contain the files NIB, NIB.info, NIB.doc, NIB.doc.info,
- NibParam.txt, NibParam.txt.info, NibData.info, and the subdirectory NibData.
- The subdirectory will contain the same data files that it does on floppy.
- NIB references its data files through the volume name SS.NIB:, so you will
- have to assign SS.NIB: to the directory containing the subdirectory NibData.
-
- Then to start NIB from a hard disk partition named DH0: type
- Assign SS.NIB: DH0:NibMegaGreatCopier
- SS.NIB:NIB
-
-
-
- If you find NIB useful, and are not a legal user, then I would urge
- you to contact Utilities Unlimited for a legal copy.
-
- Your questions and comments are welcome. If there are features
- or parameters you would like to see added to NIB or problems copying
- a disk please use the address below or leave me email on GEnie or "The Board".
- Any opinions expressed in this file are my own, and do not necessarily
- reflect the opinion of Stellar Systems Inc. or Utilities Unlimited Inc.
-
- STELLAR SYSTEMS, Inc.
- Attn. Shawn Liptak
- P.O. Box 9047
- Hampton, VA 23670-0047
-
- GEnie S.Liptak1
-
- The Board (804) 865-8773 300/1200/2400 F8N1 On an Amiga 2000, 65 Meg online
-
- Merry Christmas,
- Shawn Liptak
-
- December 1989
-
-
-
- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
-
- Main Controls
-
- These are used to select the source and destination disks,
- verification, parameter and to start the copier. These gadgets are located
- in the left section of the screen and run from the top to the bottom of the
- screen. To use, select the appropriate gadget by positioning the mouse
- pointer over the gadget and depressing the left mouse button.
-
- Here are the steps to copy a disk:
-
- 1. Select source drive.
- 2. Select destination drive(s).
- 3. Turn verify on or off.
- 4. Select a parameter.
- 5. Click "START COPY".
- 6. Insert appropriate disks.
- 7. Click on "OK!".
- 8. Sit back and watch it go (wheee).
-
- The rest of this section will deal with the various gadgets
- and what all this junk means.
-
-
- SOURCE:
- Selects the disk drive that contains the disk you wish
- to copy. Only one source disk may be selected.
-
- DESTINATION:
- Selects the disk drive(s) that contain the disk(s) you
- will be copying to. You may select from 1 to 4 destination disks
- provided that you have the drive connected to the Amiga.
- NIB will not allow you to select a drive that you do not have.
-
- VERIFICATION:
- This toggles verification on or off. If turned on it
- will cause the copier to read the information written to the
- destination. This results in a slower copy, but it helps NIB
- catch copy errors. I would suggest that you leave this on unless
- you have a need to copy disks rapidly.
-
- PARAMETER:
- This brings up the parameter select requester.
-
- *****************************************
- * Select A Parameter *
- * *
- * Parameter1 *
- * Parameter2 UP *
- * Parameter3 TOP/BOT *
- * Parameter4 DN *
- * Parameter5 *
- * *
- * Finished Forget It! *
- *****************************************
-
- UP: Scrolls the list of parameters towards the top of the list.
- DN: Scrolls the list of parameters towards the bottom of the list.
- TOP/BOT: Moves you to the top or bottom of the list. If you are
- near the top you will go to the bottom. If you are near
- the bottom you will go to the top.
- Finished: Accepts the center parameter (Number 3) as the new
- parameter and updates the current settings of the
- track control.
- Forget It!: Exits the menu without making any parameter changes.
-
- The top four parameters are used to select NIB's standard
- copy modes. They are...
-
- NORMAL DOS COPY: AmigaDOS mode. Use for unprotected disks.
- NORMAL SYNC NIBBLE: Standard nibble mode. (BEST)
- QUICK SYNC NIBBLE: Sync nibble except source track is read
- only once.
- SIMPLE INDEX NIBBLE: Nibble based solely on the index mark.
-
- "NORMAL SYNC NIBBLE" is the best mode for copying
- non-standard format tracks. The "QUICK" mode is faster but will
- only produce accurate copies if the originals are indexed or
- have only one sync mark per track. The "SIMPLE INDEX NIBBLE" will
- only work if the originals are indexed in a certain manner.
-
- Note: All three nibble modes index.
-
- START COPY:
- This brings up the start copy requester.
-
- *****************************************
- * *
- * Insert SOURCE disk in drive *
- * DF0: DF1: DF2: DF3: *
- * *
- * Insert DESTINATION disk in drive *
- * DF0: DF1: DF2: DF3: *
- * *
- * OK! CANCEL! *
- *****************************************
-
- DF0: thru DF3: These will be indicated based upon the "SOURCE"
- and "DESTINATION" selections.
- OK!: Starts the copy process.
- CANCEL!: Aborts the copy command.
-
- Before selecting "OK!" you should ensure that the write
- protected source disk is in the correct drive and that the
- write enabled destination disk(s) are in the indicated drives.
- NIB does not check to see if the destination disks are write
- enabled. It will still attempt the copy, which will result in
- no data getting to the destination. If verify is on then you
- will get LOTS of verify errors, unless the source and destinations
- are already the same.
-
- Once the copy starts you will get a window that looks
- something like this...
-
- *****************************************
- * Cylinder: 0 Status: Long! * < Overall Error condition.
- * Dest Max Words: FFFF 18E8 FFFF FFFF * < One per destination
- * CYL B/T Word Indx Time WSec *
- * Error# --Error Name-- *
- * 0 Bot 1888 0277 6FA6 0220 *
- * 00 OK *
- * 0 Top 1B3A 021D 6FA6 0220 * < 1B3A shows track length.
- * 00 OK * White is long.
- * 1 Bot 18FC 0278 6FA6 0220 * < 0278 shows index time.
- * 00 OK *
- * 1 Top 18FC 0266 6FA5 0220 A B * < 6FA5 shows total track
- * 00 OK V B * time.
- * 2 Bot 18FC 0274 6FA6 0220 * < 0220 shows words per
- * 00 OK * sector.
- * 2 Top 18FC 0266 6FA6 0220 *
- * 00 OK * < Error code and message.
- * 3 Bot 18FC 0273 6FA7 0220 *
- * 00 OK * A = Up gadget
- * * V = Down gadget
- * Hold LEFT mouse button to abort * B = Top/bottom gadget
- * ************** *
- * * CONTINUE * *
- *****************************************
-
- Cylinder: 0
- Is the value of the current cylinder (00 to 82).
-
- Status: ????
- Indicates the overall status of the copy in progress.
- OK - no errors encountered yet.
- Error - An error condition occured on one or more tracks.
- Long! - A long track was encountered. If your destination
- drive can't write out the entire track, then NIB
- will indicate this error. A long track cannot be
- duplicated by software. It will require a modified
- disk drive or a hardware device such as SuperCard.
- A NIB parameter can also bypass this type of
- protection, but you will have to wait for a
- parameter to become available.
-
- Dest Max Words: DF0: DF1: DF2: DF3:
- The capacity of a track on the appropriate destination
- drive. This is determined the first time data is written
- to the drive in a nibble mode. Typically from 1860 to 18F0
- (Hex). FFFF indicates the drive was not yet written to in
- one of the nibble modes.
-
-
- CYL B/T Word Indx Time WSec
-
- Word: The number of words of data on the current track.
- 1860 through 18F0 are normal values. If the value is
- substantially larger (greater than 1980) then it may have
- long track type copy protection. The value will be printed
- in white if it is about 12 words greater than the
- destination drive and "Long!" will be indicated in the
- status line.
-
- Indx: The timer count from the index hole to the first sync
- mark. Should be from 0 to less than the total track time.
- If many tracks have similar index times then it may have
- an index type copy protection.
-
- Time: The time count for the disk to do one revolution.
- Should be about 6FDC for 300 RPM and an NTSC clock. Each
- count equals 6.984 usecs. 8,590,908/count(decimal)=RPM.
-
- WSec: The number of words per sector for the given track. This
- is only calculated by the "Normal Sync Nibble" mode. If
- it is zero then there is only one sector on the track.
-
- Error# --Error Name--
- ?? Error message......
-
- 00 = The track appears to have copied ok for the selected copy
- mode.
- x1 = Could not locate a sync mark. If in Sync Nibble mode and sync
- search is on then NIB will enter sync search mode. This can
- take up to 12 seconds and the screen will flash yellow
- during this time.
- x2 = Can't find gap or too many sectors. Should not happen.
- x3 = No sync after gap. Will occur if source only has single sync
- marks and mode is AmigaDOS.
- 04 = Can't find sector (decode). You may have a bad source disk.
- 05 = Can't find sector (encode). Same as above.
- x8 = Write error. Rare indeed.
- xF = Verify failed. This is probably the most common error. If verify
- is on then NIB will read the destination and compare with
- the source. If different it will copy the track again and
- do a second comparison. If the second comparison fails
- then you will get this error. This may mean the destination
- track is bad or is write protected. Verify will also
- fail if the source track contains illegal MFM values or
- has fluctuating bit type copy protection.
- 41 = No sync on destination speed test. Should only occur if the
- destination has a bad track or it's write protected.
-
- x equals the copy mode 0=AmigaDOS, 1=Index Nibble, 2=Sync Nibble
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Track Control
-
-
- This unit determines which tracks will be copied and in what
- mode it will occur. It also contains gadgets to access the other functions.
-
- The main unit is the track select and status indicator which
- appears like this...
-
- BOT TOP +------+
- --- -- ----- -0 - ----- -- --- | MODE |
- --- -- ----- ----- -- --- +--+------+--+
- --- -- ----- ----- -- --- G.> | AmigaDOS |
- --- -- ----- ----- -- --- +------------+
- --- -- ----- ----- -- --- H.> |Index Nibble|
- --- -- ----- -5 - ----- -- --- +------------+
- --- -- ----- ----- -- --- I.> |Sync Nibble|
- +> [+] --- -- ----- ----- -- --- [+] +------------+
- | --- -- ----- ----- -- --- +
- | [-] --- -- ----- ----- -- --- [-] +-------+
- | | --- -- ----- -10- ----- -- --- J.> |SET ALL|
- | | | | | | [ERR] +-------+
- | | | | | | |
- | | | | | | | +------------+
- | | --- -- ----- -80- ----- -- --- | K.> |MODE NORMAL|
- | | --- -- ----- | ----- -- --- | L.> |SEARCH OFF |
- | | --- -- ----- | ----- -- --- F. M.> |SYNC 4489 |
- | | | | | | +------------+
- | | | | | The cylinder number N.> |GENERIC INDX|
- A. B. C. D. E.
-
-
- A. Plus: The plus gadget on the left selects all bottom tracks.
- The plus gadget on the right selects all top tracks.
-
- B. Minus: The minus gadget on the left deselects all bottom tracks.
- The minus gadget on the right deselects all top tracks.
-
- C. Track Status: Green indicates that the track was copied
- successfully. Red means that there was a problem with
- the track and you should get an error message in the error
- log. Purple indicates a verify error occured.
-
- D. Track Selection: This determines if the track is selected.
- To change the state of selection you can either use the
- plus, minus, or ERR gadgets, or you can use the mouse
- pointer to toggle the indicator on or off.
- Yellow = Selected for copy.
- Black = Not selected.
-
- E. Track Mode: The current copy mode of the track. This can be set
- by selecting the appropriate mode (Items G, H, I.) and
- clicking the mouse pointer on the track you wish to change.
- White = AmigaDOS.
- Green = Index Nibble.
- Blue = Sync Nibble.
-
- F. Error Select: This gadget will deselect all good tracks (green).
- This is handy when you make a copy and a few tracks show
- error conditions (red or purple). You can then select this
- gadget and then "START COPY". This will cause only the bad
- tracks to be recopied.
-
- G. AmigaDOS select:
- H. Index Nibble select:
- I. Sync Nibble select:
- Items G, H, and I set the current copy mode selection of
- the mouse pointer for item E.
-
- J. SET ALL: This takes the currently selected gadget G, H, or I
- and sets all of the tracks (item E.) to that mode.
-
-
- K. Sync Mode: Sets the sync mode as either NORMAL or QUICK.
- This is also set by selecting a parameter and is described
- in that section.
-
- L. Sync Search: Sets sync search as either OFF or ON. The default
- is OFF. If ON and NIB can't find a sync word during a Sync
- Nibble copy then it will start looking for some of the
- more commonly used non-standard sync words.
-
- M. Set Sync Table: You may click on the sync word and type in a
- new value. This causes all of the currently selected tracks
- to acquire the new value until a parameter is selected or
- you use this gadget again.
-
- Note: K, L, and M only effect the Sync Nibble mode except
- for M which also effects AmigaDOS mode.
-
-
- N. Index type: Sets the index mode as either GENERIC or PRECISE.
- GENERIC is the default and should work fine with all current
- software. PRECISE blanks the screen so that it can get the
- indexing as close as possible.
-
-
-
-
- Error Check
-
- When this gadget is selected you will see the same
- requester as if you selected Start Copy. This gadget will cause
- NIB to act as if it were copying a disk except that it will not
- send the data to a destination drive. This will allow you to
- examine a disk without having to copy it.
-
-
-
-
- Editor
-
- The Edit Track gadget will cause a screen sized window to
- open. This window will show the contents of a disk buffer. The
- start of the display will be positioned at the start of data in
- the buffer. The various gadgets in the window allow you to view
- the various parts of the buffer. The data contained in the buffer
- will be of the last track that NIB read. The editor is far from
- being complete and will be better documented in later versions...
-
-
-
-
- Dats all folks........
-
-