Re: Question: Backing up Copy Protected Disks...

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Ron Geier writes ...
> 
> Sorry if this has been covered here before, I've been lurking for a
> month or so and I have searched the FAQ's and not found the answer to
> this question:
> 
> Is there a way to make a copy of "copy protected" floppy disks?

     The FAQs do not specifically talk about copy protection; but, the Csa2GAMES
FAQs file does list a number of sites which may help.

     Probably, the best source of copy and deprotection information is Apple
Cabi.net and the Tarnover mirror:

Apple Cabi.net
 ftp://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/Games/A2GameCracks/
 ftp://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/Games/A2GameHints/
 ftp://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/FAQs.and.INFO/CrackingAndCopying/

Tarnover
 ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/Games/A2GameCracks/
 ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/Games/A2GameHints/
 ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/FAQs.and.INFO/CrackingAndCopying/




> I have
> an original copy of "Apple Stellar Invaders", and when I try to use DOS
> copy (COPY and COPYA) , I am told that the disk isn't a DOS disk. I've
> tried using COPYIIPLUS also (version 7.2 and 8.1), but the bit copy
> doesn't seem to make a working backup (the computer hangs with a solid
> cursor in the upper left hand corner of the screen when I try to run the
> program or boot from the copy).

     Nearly all old commercial Apple II games were copy protected. The usual 'easy'
way to make a copy is to find your game listed in a copier's Parm File and load in
the parms. By Copy II Plus version 5, you have quite a good collection of "Auto
Copy" parms which can be accessed by game title in the Bit Copy part of the
utility.



> I don't have instructions for
> COPYIIPLUS, so I might be doing something wrong,

     You can find a copy of Version 5 docs on 'Cabi.net at
ftp://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/FAQs.and.INFO/CrackingAndCopying/
or Tarnover at  ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/FAQs.and.INFO/CrackingAndCopying/ .


> but I've tried every
> bit copy combination available and none have worked.

     Probably, you are mainly talking about changing Tracks, Sync, and Length.
Trying every possible combination of parm values would take forever. Which is why
(in olden times) most users depended upon the parm lists for Copy II Plus,
LockSmith, and Essential Data Duplicator published in Hardcore Computist magazine.

     According to a Copy II Plus parms listing in Issue #3 of 'Computist, Stellar
Invaders should be copiable using the default Manual Bit Copy settings and copying
Tracks $00-$22 (0-34 decimal). Sometimes, you need to check your drive speeds
(using the VERIFY-- SPEED option in the main utilities) and set them a smidgen
low-- like 201 or 202 to get a good copy.

     Lots of times, you can save time by checking Asimov and downloading a
deprotected copy of a game. You can find Stellar Invaders at 

ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/file_based/ .

Look for the file AppleInvaders_GalaxyWars_Invasion_StellarInv_Su... .

Most of the games on Asimov are in .dsk.gz files. These are compressed disk images.
To get a .dsk.gz file back into diskette form, you can download it to your PC,
uncompress it using WinZIP, transfer it to your Apple II, and get a diskette
conversion using DSK2FILE.

 
> Several of my old Sierra games have developed bad media, making them
> useless, and trying to launch from any backups seems to make both my IIc
> and my IIe hang.
>

     A big problem with copy protection is that, aside from making the software
difficult to copy, it can make the disk more likely to fail.

     Some old games will run on a IIe but not a //c. So, unless you know for sure
that a game can run on your //c, it is best to test old stuff on your IIe.


 
> I'd like to make copies of my remaining disks before I loose my entire
> Apple II software library to old defective disks...

     The information on the sites mentioned earlier should help with some. For
quite a few, using one of the parms included on-disk in later versions of Copy II
will get you a good copy. (Often, if you do not find your game in the Auto Copy
parms, you can use the parms for a different game from the same company.)

     Getting a collection of Computist issues would be a major help for copying and
deprotection projects; but, these are not often dumped on the market. Celt has
scanned and placed several issues on-line at ...
http://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/Monthly.Disks.Collections/Computist/ .

     Possibly the best way to back up your collection is to download deprotected
copies from Asimov. Once you have a good deprotected copy on diskette, you can make
backups as often as you like using any fast copier.




Rubywand