Images

If there are disks that you copy frequently, it may be worthwhile to store an image of these master disks on your hard disk. Not only is reading an image file from your hard disk much faster than reading a floppy disk, using the image prevents undue wear and tear on the disk. The drawback to image files is the space they take up on your hard disk. Image files contain the data on the disk plus a header for identification purposes which, for a half full 360k disk, amounts to about 200k.

Working with disk images is just like working with two disks, except that you copy either to or from the image file on your hard disk. the first step is creating the image file from the master disk. This is done by setting Destination to File. Once created, an image file can be used to duplicate or compare disks, and will remain on your hard disk until you delete it. To make copies or compare disks using the image file, select File from the Source menu. When copying from an image file, be sure to set the copy type to the type of the image file.

Selecting an Image:

When you pick Image from either the Destination or Source, you will see *.DDI, which stands for DiskDupe Image, the default extension for image files. You can use this extension or type in a new one.

Press [Enter] to display a directory tree listing all files with this extension or type in the name of a new or existing image file. You can use any extension for your images (some users use .DD5 for 5¬" images and .DD3 for 3«" images in order to view 5¬" and 3«" images separately).

Creating Image Files:

Under the File menu, select New|Image. Type the name of the image file you want to create, such as DISK1.DDI (you do not have to type the extension unless you use an extension other than the ".DDI" default). When you have finished, press Open. The image file will be created in the current subdirectory. To store it in a different subdirectory, include a drive letter and path before the file name. Type C:\DISKDUPE\*.DDI [Enter] to select from a list of existing image files and subdirectories.

Select the drive that the master disk will be read from (A: or B:) and press Ok. DiskDupe will prompt you to insert the master disk into the drive and the image file will be created in the current subdirectory.

You can also create image files the same way that you copy from drive to drive, except that you would choose Drive as your Source and Image as your Destination. When creating the image file, the Copies setting has no effect.

Copying From Image to Disk:

Select Source|Image. Select the image file, then press Open. The copy type will be automatically set to that of the image file.

Select Destination, and the drive you want to copy to.

Set the number of Copies, use "0" for continuous copying, and select Duplicate. When you are ready to duplicate, press Go.

To compare a disk with a previously created image file, set Source to the name of the file and select Compare from the Job Window. DiskDupe will do a byte-by-byte comparison of the copies. For more information, see the Compare section.