Re: Question

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

TomMage writes ...
> 
> Hi, you know it looks like my disk drive might have corrupted some of my disks,
> that's why I was having problems per my earlier post. Don't know how with write
> protects on the disks, but they seem to have gone bad in a matter of minutes :)

     That is kind of unusual. Duodisks have been known to have problems
with trashing diskettes whether or not they are write-protected-- a mod
to prevent this is well documented.

     On a Disk ][ or platinum drive, suspects include a defective drive
analog board and a R/W head which has become magnetized. (Magnetization
is a problem I've never encountered on a disk drive. You can demagnetize
a R/W head using a standard tape head demagnetizer.)

     If your diskettes have scratches on the medium, suspects are a bad
or missing pressure pad and a R/W head which is very (very) worn.

     Something else to consider is drive placement. Diskette drives
should be kept away from display monitors as well as any devices which
have permanent magnets (like Zip drives, hi-fi speakers, and at least
one joystick which employs magnetic centering).      


> My question is is there any way to use the images at Azimov to fix my damaged
> orginal disks and still be able to use them on my ][e??

     Yes. It is fairly common for originals to, eventually, develop
faults. This is one consequence of some copy protection methods. So, old
stuff archives like Asimov ( ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II )
and uni-kl.de ( ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub0/apple2 )  are indispensable.

 
> If so, how would I do
> it?? I've never done anything with those images before, just know they are out
> there :)
>

     Disk images for A2 emulator/archive sites are called "DSK" files.
They are created by users from unprotected diskettes. The most popular
5.25" disk image creation programs are DSK2FILE and (GS-only) ASIMOV.
These programs also allow converting a disk image back to diskette form.
The following is from the Csa2 Telecom2 (F003T2TCOM.TXT) FAQs maintained
on Ground ...


>>  

009- What are DSK "disk image" files and how do I use them?

     A "disk image" is a file containing everything on the diskette--
i.e. Catalog tracks, files, DOS (if present) etc.. Usually, they are
images of Apple 5.25" game, utility, etc. diskettes. A standard 5.25"
disk image file is 143,360 bytes in length.

     DSK files are disk image files used by emulators like AppleWin to
run A2 wares on the PC or Mac. Emulators treat DSK files like diskettes.

     DSK files are also a handy way to archive DOS 3.3 disks on hard
disk and to maintain old DOS 3.3 wares on Apple II ftp sites. On Ftp
sites, DSK files are usually in a ZIPped form to conserve space. 

     On an Apple II, a DSK file can be converted to actual 5.25"
diskette form using DSK2file or (GS-only) ASIMOV. You can, also, use
DSK2FILE or ASIMOV to create DSK files from unprotected 5.25" diskettes.

     In some versions of Copy II+ (up to around version 7.x) the
COPY--DISK function can create disk image files and convert them back to
diskette. Copy II+ disk image files are not compatible with those
created by DSK2FILE and ASIMOV; and, they do not work with emulators.

----------------------------


010- I have downloaded a bunch of files for the Apple II
     lately that are in a format called GZ.  I understand it
     is some variation of Zip but I don't have a translator for
     it on my GS. Does anyone know where I can find one?

     Files downloaded from Asimov, mod files, and some others are,
often, in GZ format and usually have the .gz file name extension (like
narfgame.dsk.gz). If you download the files to a PC, you can use the
Windows version of PKZip (WinZip) to unzip the file.

     Usually, once unzipped, an Asimov GZ image file will end up as a
143k DSK file. The file may be moved to your Apple via NULL modem and
converted to Apple-readable diskette form using DSK2file or (GS-only)
ASIMOV. 


     If you download a GZ file directly to your Apple you can use a
program named "GZPK" v2 to convert it from gzip form to a zip format
which can be unzipped via PMPUnzip 2.0 or Angel. A GZ file from the
Asimov site should end up as a DSK file.

<<


     I don't know about ASIMOV; but, you can download the current
DSK2FILE at http://keaggy.intmed.mcw.edu/dsk2file.html .


Rubywand