DiskDupe allows you to convert certain type of disks to disks of another
physical size, such as from a 5½", 1.2Mb to a 3½", 1.4Mb. You can, for example,
copy a program's 5½" program disks to 3½" disks for installation on a laptop
which only has a 3½" drive.
Converting disks is just a special application of the Duplicate command. The
table below indicates which disks, drives, and menu settings to use for a
conversion. The conversions listed are the only ones presently supported.
Settings for Disk Conversions
| Conversion |
Disk Type |
Drive type |
Disk Menu |
| 360K to 3½" |
720k disk |
720k or 1.4Mb drive |
360k |
| 720k to 5½" |
360k or 1.2Mb disk |
1.2Mb drive |
720k |
| .2Mb to 3½" |
1.4Mb disk |
1.4Mb drive |
1.2 Mb |
DiskDupe transfers the information track-by-track, including hidden and system
files, volume labels, and subdirectories. During a conversion, the destination
disk will be formatted to the same capacity as the source disk. So if you are
copying from a 5½", 360k disk to a 3½", 720k disk will have a capacity of 360k.
Track-by-track disk conversion won't copy from a higher density disk to a
lower density disk, even if the higher density disk has just a few files on it.
So you can't use disk conversions to convert a 1.4Mb disk to a 1.2Mb disk. In
this case, it's better to use the Dos Copy command to transfer the files. If
this situation comes up frequently, see the RamboDisk chapter for possibilities
on automating this process.
720k to 5½" Conversion
When converting a 3½" 720k disk to a 5½" size disk, you will need to copy to
either a 360k disk or a 1.2Mb disk, depending on your computer. In both cases,
you must use a 1.2Mb drive to make the conversion. Try using a 360k first and
only switch to a 1.2Mb disk if you get an error on several disks. The disk
will be formatted to 720k capacity by using the area between the tracks.
