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(C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software S U P E R D I S K C O P Y Version 3.xx Reference Manual Custom diskette duplication -- Fast, safe, and easy to use. Context sensitive help and on-line manual make it easy! Super DiskCopy is user supported software (Shareware). If you use it past the initial 15 day evaluation period you are required to register it. No exceptions! Note: Your registration number is on the back of this manual, on the #1 distribution diskette, and on your registration card. Super DiskCopy "Custom Diskette Duplicator -- Fast, Safe, and Easy to Use" is published by Super Software 403 East NASA Rd 1, Suite 377 Webster, TX 77598 U.S.A. Voice: (713) 488-0210 FAX: (713) 280-0525 Published and printed in the United States of America. (C) Copyright 1990 by Super Software as a licensed, unpublished, proprietary work. All international rights reserved. Page 1 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software The printed Reference Manual and associated registered software may not be copied, resold, reproduced, disclosed, archived, transmitted, or transferred in any form, electronic or otherwise, without the expressed written permission of Super Software. You may freely distribute the Shareware version. TO REGISTERED USERS: (those who paid and have a valid s/n) Super Software hereby grants a "book" license to the original individual (even if purchased by a company) user of this copy of Super DiskCopy. You may use the program on your computer and make one backup for storage as long as there is no possibility of use or residence on more than one machine at any time. Just like two people cannot read the same book in different locations at the same time. Every registered copy of Super DiskCopy has a unique embedded serial number for traceabililty. You may not sell or give copies of the registered program or printed documentation to anyone. No exceptions. Pricing, specifications, and conditions are subject to change without notice. Send all registrations and inquires for site (multiple CPU or network) licensing to Super Software at the above address. Disclaimer: Super Software makes NO claims AND offers NO warranties of any sort with Super DiskCopy. Super Software assumes NO responsibility for any sort of damage resulting from the apparent or actual use of Super DiskCopy (mental or physical). The program provided is not guaranteed as to merchantability or fitness for its ultimate use. The user accepts all responsibility for use and may not resell the program. IBM PC/XT/AT are registered trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation. Super DiskCopy is a trademark of Super Software. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Page 2 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software PREFACE This manual is dedicated to Mae and Dave of MaeDae Enterprises without whose never ending perseverance, Super DiskCopy would not be possible. ABOUT THIS MANUAL You will notice that this manual is concise. This is intentional as we have strived to make Super DiskCopy the easiest program of its type to use. We have opted to provide an on-line manual and extensive context sensitive user help. Feel free to use this reference manual to install and get acquainted with the program. Also, we will be using the acronym "SDC" interchangeably with Super DiskCopy throughout this manual. For many of you, this may be your first exposure to Shareware. To help eliminate possible confusion, we have included a short description of the Shareware marketing concept, explaining what it is and why it relies on you for its survival. What is Shareware? Shareware is not a kind of software. It is a revolutionary method of marketing Commercial software. Our software is Commercial software that we are allowing you to examine for 15 days before you make the purchase decision. With traditional marketing methods, you have to purchase Commercial software from a computer store or through mail order businesses, then try it out, and hope it does what you want. Shareware allows you to "try before you buy!" We rely upon you, the customer, to examine our software. If you find our software useful, please register. Your support is needed for us to continue to improve our products. Enough of this verbage. The real fun and learning begin when you use the program. So enjoy, live long, and prosper. With warmest regards, The gang at Super Software. Page 3 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software Table of Contents ================= Page Description ==== ============ 5. What is Super DiskCopy? 5. Hardware Requirements 6. Installation - Introduction 6. Installation - "README.EXE" file. 7. Installation Notes 8. Getting Started 11. Tutorial 12. Additional Features 12. Troubleshooting 13. Miscellaneous Page 4 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software WHAT IS Super DiskCopy? ======================= Super DiskCopy is a powerful diskette duplicator that allows you to: 1. Read a diskette into memory, 2. Make as many copies as you desire without re-reading the source, 3. Compare the disk in memory against other diskettes, 4. Format diskettes in a variety of formats, 5. Map out a diskette usage, 6. Find out information about a diskette -- sides, sectors, etc, 7. And do it all without cryptic commands! Super DiskCopy comes configured to work with most display adapters and monitors. You can easily customize it to suit your needs. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ===================== 1. IBM PC/XT/AT, IBM PS/2, or fully compatible computer. 2. 256K RAM and DOS 3.0 or later. We recommend 640K for maximum performance. 3. Any monitor. Super DiskCopy has been written to accommodate monochrome, color, enhanced graphics, and video graphics array adapters. Some "autoswitch" adapters may need to be in "manual". 4. At least one 5.25" floppy disk drive and a hard disk (2MB free space minimum for the full system and space for a spool file to allow copying of floppies) are strongly recommended. Super DiskCopy supports 160K, 180K, 320K, 360K, and 1.2M format 5.25" diskettes and 720K/1.44M 3 1/2" diskettes. Page 5 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software INSTALLATION INTRODUCTION ========================= Two 5.25" diskettes are normally included with Super DiskCopy. Also, some copies sold thru various distributors may vary in disk quantity and make up, but all the files will be there. The diskette with the bright green label contains a Shareware (15 day trial version) of Super DiskCopy that has information screens, but all other features are enabled. The purpose of this diskette is to check your entire system for proper operation before you break the seal on the full system diskettes. (a.k.a. Diskette #0) Diskette #1 (the main disk) contains the actual program, the context sensitive help, the on-line manual and additional support files. Diskette 1 is sealed. INSTALLATION ============ 1. Make sure the Disk Operating System (DOS) has been loaded into your system and you are at A>> (system prompt). If you are confused, consult your computer manual or your local PC "guru" first as we can only help you with Super DiskCopy. If you need help with DOS, try a local community college, adult continuing education course at a local high school, or a "Puter-Tutor" type training service. 2. For all other installation information including hard and floppy drives, run and read the "README.EXE" you'll find on all distribution diskettes. 3. Insert a distribution diskette into DRIVE A. 4. Type README and press RETURN (Enter on some machines, also, <<cr>>, <enter> ) Follow the instructions contained in this file. You can print the "README.EXE" file to your printer by typing "T" (and following instrucitions) while you are viewing the file. In general, all you have to do to run SDC is to type: SDC <Enter> The on-line help and manual should get you going quickly. Please sign and mail your registration card to the address on it. Make a copy for your own records. User support and updates cannot be provided UNTIL your registration form is on file. Although SDC is not copy protected, you may make copies for archive purposes only. The purchase of one copy does not authorize you to install SDC on more than one machine or on a network. If you intend to install to a hard drive, but run the program from your floppy drive first, delete the file SDC.CNF (if it exists) before loading to your hard drive. Page 6 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software P.S. The Shareware (Test Drive, 15 day trial version) of Super DiskCopy will do everything the registered program will do. Feel free to share ONLY the Shareware version with friends and potential users of Super DiskCopy for 15 day trail and evaluation purposes only. You may not use the Shareware version on other machines in order to avoid purchasing additional copies of the full program. You NOT not give away any copies or make more than one copy of the fully operational program for other than archival purposes. The full version of Super DiskCopy has a unique serial number embedded in each copy for traceability. IMPORTANT INSTALLATION NOTES: ============================ 1. Diskette #1 contains many files in addition to SDC.EXE. Because Super DiskCopy is a large program, the additional files SDC_HM.TXT and SDC_HM.INX are required for context sensitive help and on-line manual. So please make sure that these files are in your default directory when running the program. If you have only one floppy drive, you can build a work diskette containing: SDC.EXE, SDC_HM.TXT, and SDC_HM.INX. Do not copy SDC.CNF, if it exists. A new SDC.CNF will be saved when you select options. 2. If your Super DiskCopy does not run properly: A. Delete the SDC.CNF file and try to run again. Check out our troubleshooting section near the end of this manual. B. Your machine may not be totally IBM PC operating system compatible. This is not always disastrous and a quick call to our phone support staff may solve your problem. C. You may have a slightly incompatible "EGA" card with auto switch features. Usually, turning off autoswitch and forcing the system into the EGA mode solves the problem. D. If you have any memory resident programs or system drivers, try running without them loaded in your computer. On some computers, ANSI.SYS is suspect. It is very important to disable any disk caching software before running SDC since SDC works very closely with the disk drives. 3. If your monitor appears to be losing certain characters or features, you may have a "color" system with a composite monochrome (green, amber, LCD, etc.) monitor. Adjust the contrast and brightness of the monitor until the screen is readable. In some cases, you may have to go to the Install Menu to chose acceptable "colors". See the "Troubleshooting" section. 4. This Manual is designed to give you a general overview and familiarity with the program. More complete, up-to-date information is available to you through the context sensitive help (F1) and the on-line manual. When using the more advanced features of the program, the help screens will guide you through the toughest questions with ease. As Super DiskCopy continues to add more features, you can be sure that the on-line manual and Page 7 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software context sensitive help will give you the guidance needed. This way everybody wins. We don't spend money continually revising manuals and charging you higher prices, and you get what you want and deserve: accurate up-to-date information. So fire up the computer, dig in, and welcome to Super DiskCopy! 5. Note to advanced users: To be able to run Super DiskCopy from any point on your hard disk, create a batch file called SDC.BAT and store it in your path. It should contain --> C:\SDC\SDC.EXE C:\SDC\SDC.CNF This will enable you to run SDC from anywhere on your hard disk with full help and on-line manual. Be sure to install the help/manual path within SDC to be C:\SDC. GETTING STARTED =============== After you type SDC <<cr>> (Enter or Return), the opening screen of Super DiskCopy (SDC) will appear. At the bottom of your SDC opening screen you are instructed to press any key to continue. The MAIN MENU will appear on your screen. The main display of SDC consists of: 1. The main menu at the top of the screen 2. A description of the currently highlighted menu item at the bottom 3. An operation history at the left center 4. An abbreviated directory at the right center once a diskette is loaded The operation history box contains some information about operations already performed. The top four lines show execution times for the last load, copy, compare, or format operation. These times are shown for informational purposes only. The bottom two lines of the history box show what the last operation was and its status. This frees you from having to watch the screen duning an operation and allows you to quickly select the next operation. The abbreviated directory box shows the names of the first four files of the loaded diskette. When no diskette is currently loaded into memory, this box does not appear. You can use the directory command under the utility section to display a full directory at any time, once a diskette is loaded. When a load, copy, format, or compare operation is in progress, the main display is replaced by a progress box in the center of the screen. The box gives information on what low-level operation is currently being performed. This allows you to see how SDC performs its various operations. For example, if you answered NO to the Forced Format Option, you can see when SDC is forced to format anyway because the diskette isn't already formatted. Page 8 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software The Main Menu items are described below. ** On-Line Manual: This is an on-line manual covering features of Super DiskCopy in more depth than the documentation available in this manual. ** Load: Load a source diskette into memory for further copies or compares. We even support reading back a previously saved diskette from a file. See the copy section for how to save a diskette to file. Before a copy, compare, or directory can be performed, a diskette must be loaded into memory. This is usually a master diskette created specifically for the purpose of duplication, but of course, it can be any diskette in a format that SDC supports. This diskette is loaded track by track, which allows SDC to create an exact duplicate. If any bad sectors are encountered on the diskette, the load operation is halted. If this does occur, format a new diskette using SDC, then exit to DOS and use DOS's copy command to copy the files to the new diskette. SDC requires only 256K of free memory to work (640K RAM recommended for faster operation). This is possible because of our virtual memory techniques. Any loaded data that can't fit into memory is placed on another disk drive instead. This 'virtual' drive can be a hard disk, RAM drive, or even another floppy drive. A floppy virtual drive will greatly slow the load, copy, and compare operations. For fastest operation, we recommend using a RAM drive, but a hard disk will do very well. You can choose the virtual drive by using the Install-VirDrive command. ** Copy: Copy a diskette. This option allows you to easily copy a diskette without any complex commands. It also supports multiple copies and saving the diskette to a file. This command will make a single copy of a loaded diskette. Simply re-run the command to make as many copies as you need. A diskette must first be loaded into memory with the Load command before a copy of it can be made. SDC automatically verifies each track as it makes the copy. This does slow the copying process slightly, but the reliability gain this achieves is well worth the time. If any bad sectors are encountered on the diskette, the copy operation is halted. SDC can only make exact image duplicates, so any bad diskette locations would prevent this. This also serves to improve reliability of the copied diskette, since a diskette with some bad sectors is likely to have more bad sectors in the future. When a bad spot is found, an error message is displayed. Insert a new floppy diskette and re-run the copy command. ** DiskComp: Compare the diskette stored in memory against a diskette you insert into the diskette drive. SDC automatically verifies each copy or format, track by track. The DiskComp command allows you to perform this verify at any Page 9 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software time afterwards, for an extra measure of reliability testing (maybe on a different machine or drive), or for spot-checking by a Quality Assurance department. If the DiskComp fails at any point, the operation is halted and an error message is displayed. ** Format: Format the specified diskette in a variety of formats. The Format command is useful for formatting diskettes that are not to be used for disk duplication. Since SDC will format a diskette during Copy, this command is NOT necessary for disk duplication. Formatting a diskette before it is copied will not affect the copy, and can speed up the copy operation if the Forced Format Option is turned off. However, the best overall throughput is achieved by turning on the Forced Format Option, not running Format, and letting the Copy operation take care of formatting. The format performed is simple and straightforward, and does not include the ability to add a volume label, make the disk bootable, or mark bad sectors. Furthermore, once a format is complete, NO data can be recovered from the formatted diskette. To add a volume label to the diskette, use the DOS label command. To make the diskette bootable: 1. Exit to DOS. Do not copy any files to the new floppy diskette until after you run steps 2 and 3. 2. Run 'SYS drive:' where 'drive' is the drive letter of where your newly formatted resides. 3. Copy COMMAND.COM from your boot drive to the new floppy. When bad sectors are encountered, the format operation stops and displays an error message. ** Utility: Utilities for checking a diskette status (type) and mapping out diskette usage on a cluster basis. This area is for the advanced user. ** Install: The installation portion of Super DiskCopy allows you to customize the colors, directory defaults, and other options. ** Quit and exit to DOS: All good things must come to an end. Choose this option if you want to leave Super DiskCopy and return to DOS. You may choose any of the displayed options by pressing the first letter or by moving the light bar (the giant cursor) with your cursor keys or space bar to the desired option and pressing Return. Please note that once you have a pulldown active, the first letter selects options within the pulldown NOT the top Super DiskCopy main menu line. (If you have a "color" system with a composite monochrome monitor and don't see a light bar or other features, try adjusting the brightness or contrast of your monitor. You may also need to install special colors for your system. See the Install Menu.) Page 10 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software Now let's do something simple to demonstrate how Super DiskCopy works. Insert a source diskette into drive A:. Select the Load option from the Main Menu. Use the down arrow to highlight the "Load from A:" and press enter. Your screen should clear and a box will appear in the middle of the screen showing you the status as the diskette is loaded. Insert a destination diskette into drive A:. Select the "Copy Option" from the main menu using the down arrow and select "Copy to A:" and press enter. The screen will clear and a box will appear showing you the status as it makes a copy of the diskette. You can make as many copies as desired without reloading the source diskette. TUTORIAL (copying diskettes) ============================ Now let's copy a diskette while using various options. Don't worry about being fancy or being intimidated; this first use is only for practice. We can get fancy later. From the Main Menu, press L (Load) a diskette. Insert a source diskette into drive A:, close the drive door, and press A to load from drive A:. You will notice the screen clear and a box appear in the middle of the screen showing you the status of the operation. After the diskette has been loaded you can make as many copies as desired by selecting the main menu copy option and pressing - A for destination drive A: or B for destination drive B:. You don't even have to worry about whether the diskette has been formatted. SDC will "sense" the state of the destination diskette and format as needed (you can override this by "turning forced format on" thru the option on the menu). Once the diskette has been loaded, you can use the utilities section Directory function of SDC to "look" at the data. You will notice that an extra window comes up at the bottom of the screen showing an abbreviated directory once the disk is loaded. Insert a diskette into drive A:. Press A to copy the diskette to drive A:. SDC will keep you advised of the status of the copy operation. You have now made a copy of the source diskette. If you want another copy, insert another diskette and press copy option A again. What could be easier or faster? Page 11 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software ADDITIONAL FEATURES =================== COLOR CONTROL For users with color monitors, the color option in the Install menu gives you total color control of text, background, borders, highlighted areas, etc. Just press C from the install menu. Troubleshooting =============== Displays If, after loading Super DiskCopy, you see text and no borders, or nothing at all, you may have a compatibility problem. SDC uses high speed screen updates which may cause a problem with some not-too-close IBM PC operating system compatibles. For example, the Tandy 2000 and Sanyo 555 series computers are not compatible with SDC. IBM type monochrome (MDA), color (CGA), EGA (enhanced graphic), and VGA (video graphic array) adapters are known to work with Super DiskCopy. If you are using a compatible color video card with a green or amber screen, or LCD monitor, you may need to adjust your brightness and contrast, or Install other "colors" from the color installation screen. Also see the BWVIDEO.DOC file. BWVIDEO.COM is a "color killer" that works especially well with composite monochrome monitors, and lap top computers with LCD monitors. Sometimes executing the DOS "MODE BW80" command works. Some "autoswitch" Enhanced Graphic Adapters and "Hercules" type mono-graphics cards may need to have their auto modes disabled for proper operation. If Super DiskCopy will not run, you may have insufficient memory, or too many memory resident programs. Try running SDC with no memory resident programs. If Super DiskCopy just stops running or "freezes", you may have removed the program diskette from the disk drive. The program disk must be available to access the context sensitive help and on-line manual. Of course, if SDC.EXE and its support files are on your hard drive, this will probably not be a problem. Occasionally, certain memory resident, TSR, or "pop-up" programs conflict with Super DiskCopy. In general, there is no problem, but there are many new programs being written without regard to the system requirements of SDC. Remove them from memory, and try again. If that fails, try getting rid of device drivers in your CONFIG.SYS file. ANSI.SYS is a prime suspect for some not-so- compatibles. Page 12 (C) Copyright 1990, 1991 Super Software Miscellaneous Super DiskCopy works closely with your computer's disk drives to gain much of its speed. However, it never directly addresses your computer drives without using standard DOS calls. If you have any disk cache software that modifies the way DOS works, then Super DiskCopy may not function properly. If you are having "strange" problems, we strongly recommend that you remove all disk cache software before running SDC! For Super DiskCopy to make copies as quickly as it does, it must perform operations without being interupted by memory resident programs. Super DiskCopy will work with almost any memory resident program. However, some of them may double the time required to make copies due to them stealing time away from SDC during critical periods of the copying process. Super DiskCopy verifies ALL writes to your diskette during copies. It takes longer to verify every write but ensuring the validity of your data is worth it. Our goal is to be the most reliable (and fastest) software disk duplicator available. Use of a RAM disk as the spooling drive can drastically speed up the performance of Super DiskCopy when copying larger diskettes. Use your extended or expanded memory as a RAM disk and install Super DiskCopy to use that drive as your spool drive. Super DiskCopy uses your computer's Basic Input Output System (BIOS) for working with your diskette drives. If your add-on drives use special drivers that "trick" your computer into accepting them, then they may not be recognized and supported by your computer's BIOS. Super DiskCopy will work with any 360K, 1.2M, 720K, or 1.44M drive as long as that drive is recognized AND supported by your computer's BIOS. Page 13