What disk image tool did I use back in the day?

[SlagOMatic]

Forgive me, I'm old and the process of re-learning everything I'd forgotten decades ago is rough.  🙂

 

Back in the days of 300bps software downloading from (semi-)local BBSs, some of the stuff I downloaded were simple application files (COM or OBJ) but others were disk images. I'd download the (comparatively large) file to my RAM disk, sign off the BBS, soft reboot back into SpartaDOS, then run a program. The program would ask me for the disk image I'd downloaded and prompt me to insert a blank disk into the drive, at which point it would basically restore the data back to the disk. Sort of like an ISO for floppy disks. I also believe it had a function to create disk images from disks in much the same way.

 

I want to say that the files I downloaded were ATR images but that just might be the result of more modern exposure to emulators and things like SIO2PC.

 

Does anyone remember what program I may have used back then?

[BillC]

14 minutes ago, SlagOMatic said:

Forgive me, I'm old and the process of re-learning everything I'd forgotten decades ago is rough.  🙂

 

Back in the days of 300bps software downloading from (semi-)local BBSs, some of the stuff I downloaded were simple application files (COM or OBJ) but others were disk images. I'd download the (comparatively large) file to my RAM disk, sign off the BBS, soft reboot back into SpartaDOS, then run a program. The program would ask me for the disk image I'd downloaded and prompt me to insert a blank disk into the drive, at which point it would basically restore the data back to the disk. Sort of like an ISO for floppy disks. I also believe it had a function to create disk images from disks in much the same way.

 

I want to say that the files I downloaded were ATR images but that just might be the result of more modern exposure to emulators and things like SIO2PC.

 

Does anyone remember what program I may have used back then?

There were 2 programs that converted a floppy to an image file back in the day:

1) SCOPY.COM - included with SpartaDOS, all sectors with no compression, used .SCP extension.

2) Disk Communicator - compression/archiving program for full boot disks from CSS, compression

    reduces file size for transmission via modem, used .DCM extension.

Edited March 19, 2023 by BillC

[SlagOMatic]

1 minute ago, BillC said:

There were 2 programs that converted a floppy to an image file back in the day:

1) SCOPY.COM - included with SpartaDOS, all sectors with no compression, used .SCP extension.

2) Disk Communicator - compression/archiving program for full boot disks from CSS, compression

    reduces file size for transmission via modem, used .DCM extension.

Disk Communicator! That was it. Thanks!!

[+CharlieChaplin]

That was some kind of Disk to File / File to Disk program, like:

 

- Diskcommunicator by Bob Puff (creates DCM images, uses compression)

- Bootlegger (compatible to either Masher, Scrunch or Shrink)

- Masher-XL / Masher-XE (works with 90k/180k disks only)

- Scrunch/Unscrunch (works with 90k/180k disks only)

- UUencode/UUDecode

- YauEncode/YauDecode

- Shrink-XL / Shrink-XE (uses compression, 90k/180k disks only)

- Superboot (compatible to either Masher, Scrunch or Shrink)

- Scopy from SpartaDOS

 

 

EDIT: My reply was too slow...

PACKER4.zip

[+Nezgar]

3 minutes ago, BillC said:

SCOPY.COM - included with SpartaDOS, all sectors with no compression

Well, there was some compression with SCOPY in the form of zero-filled sectors would not be stored in the SCP file, but I guess sectors with any non-zero data would have no further compression.

[+Larry]

Scrunch/UnScrunch was the first one that I remember using, but when Puff released Disk Communicator, it pretty much made the others obsolete.  I knew of several local hackers that spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to use such a program to send protected disk images.  I don't remember a lot, but they were "Archiver" guys, so the Archiver would have been part of the process.

[+bf2k+]

15 hours ago, Larry said:

Scrunch/UnScrunch was the first one that I remember using, but when Puff released Disk Communicator, it pretty much made the others obsolete.  I knew of several local hackers that spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to use such a program to send protected disk images.  I don't remember a lot, but they were "Archiver" guys, so the Archiver would have been part of the process.

I probably need to get out my old floppies.  I know I have Scrunch / Unscrunch and 'The Masher' and there might be one or two more.

[+Larry]

 

1 hour ago, bf2k+ said:

I probably need to get out my old floppies.  I know I have Scrunch / Unscrunch and 'The Masher' and there might be one or two more.

 

Here are some compacting tools I've collected (720K image)...

Utilities 2.3-Compacting Utilities.atr

[+Larry]

19 hours ago, BillC said:

There were 2 programs that converted a floppy to an image file back in the day:

1) SCOPY.COM - included with SpartaDOS, all sectors with no compression, used .SCP extension.

2) Disk Communicator - compression/archiving program for full boot disks from CSS, compression

    reduces file size for transmission via modem, used .DCM extension.

 

Will SCOPY run under other dos versions, or just Sparta?

[BillC]

3 hours ago, Larry said:

 

Will SCOPY run under other dos versions, or just Sparta?

I don't know, didn't use it much and never tried it with another DOS.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

AFAIK Scopy needs command line parameters, so only Sparta-Dos/BeWe-Dos or compatible.

[+Larry]

Thanks!  I saw an example of the command + parameters when I booted up 3.2g.  It's interesting that SCOPY is on several 3.2 disks, but there is nothing in the manual about it.

 

Does anyone know what the structure of a SCOPY image looks like?  I am curious, but can't find anything here or on the web about the file structure.  Since it does a mild form of compressing empty sectors, it sounds similar to Disk Communicator. (?)

[+bf2k+]

I used SCOPY quite a lot back in the 80's before DiskComm came out but honestly I don't remember much about it other than it required command line parameters.

[BillC]

On 3/23/2023 at 8:21 AM, Larry said:

Thanks!  I saw an example of the command + parameters when I booted up 3.2g.  It's interesting that SCOPY is on several 3.2 disks, but there is nothing in the manual about it.

SCOPY wasn't released until after the SDCS manual was already printed, rather than modifying this manual information about SCOPY was included in the R-Time 8/SDCS Supplement.

 

https://archive.org/details/R-Time-8_SDCS_Supplement_1985_ICD/mode/2up?view=theater

Edited March 27, 2023 by BillC

[Doctorx]

Probably getting this wrong - but i thought that part of the header of one of the archivers always showed ‘3hrunk’ which leads me to believe the archiver was called shrink? If im wrong, i would be curious as to what im thinking.. i do recall quite vividly disk communicator as well. 

 

 

[+bf2k+]

There definitely was one called Shrink and ShrinkXE.