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What to do with 2,000 plus disks?

T

TheComputerArchive

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I am in the process of paring down everything. Well, that has been the goal. I haven't been blatantly throwing stuff away, but I would like to reduce.

One area is that I've got literally thousands of disks. 2,000 for certain. Perhaps 3,000. It is a mix of 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 disks from the DOS to early Windows era. Some manufacturer originals. Some shareware. Some 'other.'

Now which ones work and which don't, I have no clue. I do have SpinRite that should help the odds. I suppose I should set up a machine dedicated for this duty...

My question is what should I do with them?

I've been thinking that I could post the shareware on my website since that is freely distributable. That will take care of about 800 of 'em!

As for the rest, what should I do?

I was thinking of arching whole disks as image files that could be rebuilt. Has anyone does this and, if so, what format would be suggested?

Anyhow, any thoughts, ideas, suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Dan
 
Why bother paring them down at all? I have a disk filing cabinet that I built 20 years ago. It's about the size of a highboy dresser and will probably hold about 5000 disks--I'm not certain, since in 20 years, I've only been able to get about a thousand before CD-ROMs began to take over the storage.

My point is that it doesn't have to take up a lot of space. 2000 isn't that many.
 
I've done a bit of this on my diskettes. It is labor intensive.

For non-copy protected software you can do the following:

  • Use a 'raw disk image' reading and writing program to copy the entire contents of the diskette to a file. My personal favorite is one I wrote called dskimage. :) There are others out there, and you can even use the 'dd' command under Linux. Most of these programs don't compress or add meta data so they are all compatible with each other. (Some programs get too fancy, and lock you into their proprietary format.) They can be mounted using the loopback option under Linux, mounted in VMWare or Virtual Box, or just put back onto diskette as they were.
  • Scan the label and make a GIF or TIF out of it.
  • Zip the files using a recursive zip that stores pathnames and other attributes

That is pretty thorough ...


Copy protected diskettes and diskettes with non-standard formats are more difficult. Teledisk can make images of some. I use a Central Point option board, but that's a hardware solution that few people have.



Mike
 
True, two or three thousand isn't "that many", but when I pulled them out of storage at my folks house where they've been for 20 years, it nearly filled up my Silverado. One thing I am doing is getting rid of the plastic boxes they've been in all these years. Just sorting them and just will reduce the space required.

I'm thinking that converting them to files that I can duplicate and archive more easily will (a) make the collection more accessible when needed and (b) improve the chances on this stuff being preserved.

But then, how much of it needs to be preserved since thousands of others likely have the same stuff? Ah, likely is the key...

And you mention CD-ROMs. That's something else I'll have to tackle at some point, as well...
 
Here's the problem with images-only in my experience. Often, I'm looking for a specific program or driver for a bit of ancient kit that doesn't understand networking or CD-ROMs or anything. That means I have to create a floppy from the image before I can even see if it's what I'm looking for.

That's enough to dissuade me from even looking.

To be sure, most of my floppies aren't DOS. They're from old non-DOS equipment. This adds another interesting dimension to the problem.
 
mbbrutman said:
I've done a bit of this on my diskettes. It is labor intensive.

For non-copy protected software you can do the following:

  • Use a 'raw disk image' reading and writing program to copy the entire contents of the diskette to a file. My personal favorite is one I wrote called dskimage. :) There are others out there, and you can even use the 'dd' command under Linux. Most of these programs don't compress or add meta data so they are all compatible with each other. (Some programs get too fancy, and lock you into their proprietary format.) They can be mounted using the loopback option under Linux, mounted in VMWare or Virtual Box, or just put back onto diskette as they were.
  • Scan the label and make a GIF or TIF out of it.
  • Zip the files using a recursive zip that stores pathnames and other attributes

That is pretty thorough ...

Copy protected diskettes and diskettes with non-standard formats are more difficult. Teledisk can make images of some. I use a Central Point option board, but that's a hardware solution that few people have.

Mike
Click to expand...

Is "dskimage" posted somewhere? I just want something that stores the image in the most generic format possible so that disks could be re-created as necessary.

I haven't thought about scanning the label... Ummmm.... More scanning! AHHHHHHH!!!! At least these would be easier than the literature and Kilobauds I've been scanning for www.thecomputerarchive.com !

And, believe it or not, I think I actually have a Central Point Software board somewhere!
 
Chuck(G) said:
Here's the problem with images-only in my experience. Often, I'm looking for a specific program or driver for a bit of ancient kit that doesn't understand networking or CD-ROMs or anything. That means I have to create a floppy from the image before I can even see if it's what I'm looking for.

That's enough to dissuade me from even looking.

To be sure, most of my floppies aren't DOS. They're from old non-DOS equipment. This adds another interesting dimension to the problem.
Click to expand...

The good thing about the non-DOS equipment is that copies could just be made and stored, perhaps in ZIP files or such, such I suspect copy protection won't be a problem.

Unless someone suggests otherwise, that's what I plan to do with my CP/M 8" disks, just transmit them to a PC via a serial null modem cable and store them in folders.


On the DOS stuff, I can't remember which were copy protected and which weren't.

Personally, I'm with you. I would prefer to have the files in a folder where I can search for them with FileLocatorPro. The thought that directed me to storing them as image files is that it would increase the chances that they could still be installed in the future.

Perhaps I could just copy files that I know are copy protected (the shareware, driver disks, etc.) and use image files for the rest...

Thoughts?
 
I keep often-used floppies as self-extracting images on a couple of systems. So if I want a Windows 9X generic boot disk with CD support, I just run a file called "WIN98B" on any system attached to the network and it extracts the 1.44MB floppy image.

I keep customer's raw (flux-transition) images around for insurance (in case they're lost in shipping), but an 8" double-sided MFM disk done that way is in excess of 11MB of disk space.

But as to the others, well--how often do I get a call for a boot disk for a NEC Bungo? Or Microsoft Word 1.1 for an HP 150 Series I?

And extracting for the purpose of running can be a bother. I wanted to check out my copy of Ventura Publisher to see what printers were supported by Version 2.0. Fifteen 360K floppies later I knew. If I'd have had to make those 15 floppies to start with, I would have given the project some serious thought.
 
per said:
Be aware that this card should be used in a 486 or slower computer due to timing issues. Manuals/Software for the board can be found on Trixter's ftp (oldskool.org).
Click to expand...

I'm trying to find an old 286 or 386 in my stacks of stuff to do just that.

Plus I have some ST-506 hard drives I'd like to try and bring up again. If I can remember how... I've slept since then!
 
For once I agree with (the other) Mike: create an image file so that the disk can be recreated if necessary (especially bootable ones) and also zip up the files (including hidden & system files and maintaining the subdirectory structure, if any) so that individual files can be located and extracted. I don't bother scanning the label unless it's really interesting, but I do usually add a text file to the ZIP with the label info.

Put the computer next to your TV-watching lounger, write a little batch file to do the work and beep when it's done, and have fun!
 
if you have original floppy disks of games, I will most gladly do the archiving work for you. One of my many projects is archiving all PC games and having original copies to start with makes the job of verification that much simpler. I have central point option board too for the job, and I will return the disks to you (if you want!) and pay for shipping both ways.
I'm mostly interested in 5.25" disks, as those are traditionally the most copy protected type. (self booting disks/non DOS games)
 
hargle said:
if you have original floppy disks of games, I will most gladly do the archiving work for you. One of my many projects is archiving all PC games and having original copies to start with makes the job of verification that much simpler. I have central point option board too for the job, and I will return the disks to you (if you want!) and pay for shipping both ways.
I'm mostly interested in 5.25" disks, as those are traditionally the most copy protected type. (self booting disks/non DOS games)
Click to expand...

I liked to write software and didn't have much time for games. However, I will keep a mental note...

Actually, the shareware stuff should have a number of games in there. I anticipate that I'll make those downloadable from www.thecomputerarchive.com I don't anticipate any problem with post those since they were on BBS' anyway.

Hmmm, I wonder if I should post the drivers that way, as well?
 
MikeS said:
For once I agree with (the other) Mike: create an image file so that the disk can be recreated if necessary (especially bootable ones) and also zip up the files (including hidden & system files and maintaining the subdirectory structure, if any) so that individual files can be located and extracted. I don't bother scanning the label unless it's really interesting, but I do usually add a text file to the ZIP with the label info.

Put the computer next to your TV-watching lounger, write a little batch file to do the work and beep when it's done, and have fun!
Click to expand...

Well, (the other) Mikes DskImage is run from the command line. I just write a helper to ask for the name of the disk, determine what format the disk is (360, 720, 1.2 or 1.44) and then call DskImage and then ZIP up the contents. There we'd have the best of both worlds.

Heck, I could FTP the files somewhere...

I'll want to keep another machine handy for running SpinRite on difficult to read disks.

Now about that TV watching....
 
Any suggestions on how to organize this?

My initial thought is:

.\Type\Company\Description

Where Type would be:

- Registered (software that I can't share)
- Software (software that I can share)
- Driver (drivers, can share)
- Other (font disks, clipart)

By putting type into the path, it becomes very clear whether the data can be shared or not. Besides, I can still find everything via FileLocatorPro...

In each folder, the filenames would be taken from the description and add Disk __ of __ and that there would be IMG and ZIP files of each, and perhaps gently compressed JPGs if I chose to scan something.

Also, I'm thinking about a .LST file that contains a text list of all the file in every subdirectory via DIR A: /s. Hey, it's part of my helper app and won't take any longer labor-wise.

Any other ideas?

I just want to get set in a solid direction so that I don't have to change midstream.
 
TheComputerArchive said:
I liked to write software and didn't have much time for games. However, I will keep a mental note...

Actually, the shareware stuff should have a number of games in there. I anticipate that I'll make those downloadable from www.thecomputerarchive.com I don't anticipate any problem with post those since they were on BBS' anyway.

Hmmm, I wonder if I should post the drivers that way, as well?
Click to expand...

To toss my $0.02 in... If it's just the shareware versions of the games/software, I wouldn't bother archiving them at all. There are archives of the old Shareware CD's like NightOwl and Simtel available for download at www.simtel.net - since many of the BBS's and shareware vendors used these for easier distribution, I would think that most shareware stuff is already preserved there. In addition, popular shareware BBS distro files can be found for download all over the net.

With that said, most registered shareware stuff has not been archived or preserved. Of those that have, most of them are ZIP images, not floppy images, or are ZIP images of retail releases and not the original floppies from the original shareware vendors (as ChuckG said - and he would know - as a shareware software company, you were doing good to get a 1% registration rate in the 1980's).

If you've got original floppies of registered shareware, THAT is something truly worth preserving, as so much of it has been lost. Try to find a non-retail Apogee or Epic game. Or something more obscure, like Corncob 3D. It's virtually impossible.

Software-wise, ChuckG's Teledisk and Anadisk will archive floppies easily enough. I also use WinImage, as I like the easy interface (although it's not necessarily good for batching multiple disks from the tv lounger).
 
TheComputerArchive said:
Also, I'm thinking about a .LST file that contains a text list of all the file in every subdirectory via DIR A: /s. Hey, it's part of my helper app and won't take any longer labor-wise.

Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Add the /A switch (DIR A: /a/s) to include hidden & system files. I assume the disks are all old enough that you don't have to think about long file names?
 
MikeS said:
Add the /A switch (DIR A: /a/s) to include hidden & system files. I assume the disks are all old enough that you don't have to think about long file names?
Click to expand...

Adding /s to my notes. And, at least in Windows 7, it is showing the the long file names. I have an unused license for Windows 7 that I'll use on the machine that I've put together for this project. (Basic Athlon, 4 GB, 100 GB HD, both floppies, etc.)
 
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