HeadFirst Disk Copying Utilities

By HeadFirst PD
Originally published in EUG #55

On this disk, you will find the following programs in the U directory:

  1. Supercopy
  2. AACopy
  3. ADCopy
  4. DACopy
  5. DDCopy

To load a program, choose the number from the menu corresponding to that program.

Updates
01/04/92 - (Not an April Fool's Joke) The four disc selective copiers have now had the following features added/bugs fixed:

  1. Insert disk and press any key now only appears if you actually need to do so - you are asked at the beginning whether you are using two disks or not.
  2. Keyboard buffer now cleared correctly before key press requested.
  3. Files longer than will fit in memory are now handled correctly using OSGBPB to copy sections at a time. Very helpful, especially with long graphics files.
  4. File attributes are preserved correctly. L in DFS is mapped to LR in ADFS, and if the L flag is set or the W flag is not set in ADFS, this maps to L in DFS. Transfers within the same filing system keep the attributes in their original state.
SuperCopy
SuperCopy is a program designed for copying tapes either to another tape or to disc. It can cope with locked files, and files with control codes (not ASCII 13). To load it, select SuperCopy from the main menu. A menu will then displayed comprising the following options: 

       1. Tape to tape
       2. Monitored tape to disc
       3. Auto tape to disc
       4. Monitored tape to ADFS
       5. Auto tape to ADFS

Options 2 and 4, and 3 and 5, are identical in operation. Options 2 and 3 copy to DFS and 4 and 5 to ADFS. Pressing ESCAPE will return you to the main menu.

Tape to tape copying
Press 1. The screen will clear and the message Searching will be displayed. Insert the tape you wish to copy from and press PLAY on the cassette recorder. The first file found on the tape will be loaded in. Now insert the tape you wish to copy to and press RECORD and PLAY on the cassette recorder. Afer about a second, press RETURN on the computer and the program will be saved. The copies saved in this way are saved with short inter-block gaps and therefore will load approximately 50% faster than the original. The process will then repeat again. Press ESCAPE to return to the SuperCopy menu.

Tape to disk copying - monitored
Operation is identical whether operating under ADFS or DFS. After loading a file as for tape to tape copying, you will be asked whether you wish to change filename or drive or save. Press F to change filename, D to change drive or SPACE to save. The process then repeats. Press ESCAPE to return to the SuperCopy menu.

Tape to disk copying - auto
For this copy, you will not be asked if you wish to change filename or drive and the computer will keep loading a file from tape and saving it on disk until you press ESCAPE, or an error occurs.

AACopy - ADFS to ADFS Copier
When you run this, you will first of all be prompted for the source drive and target drive for the copy. After doing this, you will be asked to insert the source disc and press a key. Having done this, the catalogue of the root directory will appear on the screen. You can now select files for copying using the following keys: 

       arrow keys              move cursor
       SPACE                   mark file for copying
       DELETE                  unmark file
       RETURN                  enter directory
       SHIFT                   move up a directory
       ESCAPE                  begin copying

Directories are shown in a colour on the BBC and by a hash (#) on the Electron. Marked files are highlighted on the BBC and shown by a (*) on the Electron.

After pressing ESCAPE you will be prompted for the target directory on the target disk. Enter it and press RETURN. Now, for each file marked, it will be loaded off the source disk and copied to the target disk. Information on which file is currently being copied will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. If an error occurs while copying one file, the program will skip over it and go on to the next file. At the end, a status report will be given giving information on which files could not be copied and why.

ADCopy - ADFS to DFS copier
Operation for this is identical to that for AACopy, except that you are not prompted for a target directory.

DACopy - DFS to ADFS copier
Operation for this is identical to that for AACopy, except that RETURN and SHIFT serve no purpose during the file selection stage.

DDCopy - DFS to DFS copier
Operation for this is identical to that for DACopy, except that you are not prompted for a target directory.

Gareth Boden, EUG #55