Re: dsk images

[dklugh@iwaynet.net]

On 1997-05-24 rubywand@swbell.net said:
   >Lots of details ...; thanks! The mention of _"real"_ DSK files could
   >save some users considerable bother. (If I'd read something like
   >this last night it could have saved me an hour or so.)
   >It is easy to forget that files which show up with names like
   >"SUPERQST.DSK" on an ftp site are hardly ever in true DSK file
   >form; they are _packed_ DSK files.
   >Evidently, on the Asimov site, ".DSK" files are in a zip form and
   >could just as well be tagged as ".gz" type packed files. (Sometimes,
   >in fact, they are.)  These ".DSK" files can be unpacked on PC using
   >WinZip or on a Mac using some similar utility.

Are they packed or gziped?  Make up your mind!
WinZIP needs Windows.A better alternative is gzip itself from your friendly
neighbourhood GNU site.There are 8088 and 80386 versions.
Gzip will handle packed and compressed files as well.

   >It is pretty easy to tell whether a ".DSK" file is unpacked and
   >ready for use or still in packed form. A non-packed single 5.25"
   >DSK file will have a length of around 143k-144k.
   >A packed ".DSK" file can have a length which is much smaller than
   >143k (e.g. 49k). Or, a packed ".DSK" file can include several DSK's
   >along with TEXT info files and be fairly large in size (e.g. 179k).

Actually,neither pack nor gzip have the capability of storing more than one
file.

   >Note: When a packed ".DSK" file is un-zipped, you may end up with an
   >unpacked file having the same name. That is, SUNDOG2.DSK may un-zip
   >to an unpacked DSK file named "SUNDOG2.DSK". (DSK unpacked disk
   >image files almost always end in ".DSK", as they should.)
   >Consequently, a user should always unzip a ".DSK" file to a
   >different directory than the directory in which the original,
   >packed file is located. Otherwise, WinZip will over-write your
   >original, discover that it is corrupted, and exit. You end up with
   >neither the packed nor the unpacked .DSK file!

The point of gzip/packed is that it replaces the original file with the gziped 
version.So when you unpack/gunzip the file,the gziped version gets replaced 
with the real version.WinZIP is obviously not meant to handle anything but a 
ziped file.

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