Does anyone use Workbench's DiskCopy ?

gulliver · 06 February 2020, 20:54

Hi,

I would like to hear your opinion regarding Workbench's DiskCopy command (it resides in the System drawer).

Does any of you find a use for it nowadays? Should it be depreciated?

Thank you for your input.

amiwolf · 07 February 2020, 04:29

DiskCopy is used whenever you move a disk icon onto a Empty disk or RAD icon, which I do reasonably often. Workbench would not operate fully without it or at least a replacement with the same name.

gulliver · 07 February 2020, 07:14

I ask because I always prefered a third party disk copier.

I never used DiskCopy. I was a fan of XCopy. And there are other copiers which were very popular back then.

The thing is that I don't know anyone who actually uses it. So it is an intriguing OS subject for me wether that tool is still of relevance nowadays.

Jope · 07 February 2020, 08:59

The default tool aspect probably requires it to be present in the OS for backwards compatibility reasons. I don't think there is any reason to update or upgrade it in any way though. People will use better suited tools for actual copying, such as the wonderful SuperDuper.

The format tool is similar, it's there because we want to format quick our hard disks and it does the job. But again like with SuperDuper above, if I'm formatting a pile of floppies I always use the 3rd party tool MyFormat..

spudje · 07 February 2020, 09:35

I think I only used it once. To copy Workbench & Extra 1.2 disks right after we bought the A500 back then, as instructed by either the manual or tutorial disk

Etze · 07 February 2020, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by spudje

To copy Workbench & Extra 1.2 disks

yeah, with only 512kb RAM and 1 Diskdrive you had to swap the disks how many times? 8?

gulliver · 07 February 2020, 12:25

Yes, in the Workkbench 1.x era, it could have been pretty popular given the cost and availability of hard drives.

However today, it seems kind of like it is there because we had othing better to fill the disk with.

BastyCDGS · 07 February 2020, 20:09

One thing to mention is that DiskCopy is OS friendly and multitasks well!

Although X-Copy and other tools were far superior regarding features, they often killed multitasking. For copying standard DOS disks, DiskCopy is very fine. Just don't forget to relabel the "Copy of" prefix of target drive.

BTW: Did someone test DiskCopy on other drives instead of floppy? Can it, for example, copy from 4GB SD card to another 4GB SD card of same geometry?

In my opinion, DiskCopy should be improved by allowing disk images as source / target parameters, as well. Basically it should become something like dd on Linux.

Nobby_UK · 07 February 2020, 22:37

I did use DiskCopy when testing my Gotek Dive [Failed]

Otherwise I use X-Copy / D-Copy.

gulliver · 08 February 2020, 01:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by BastyCDGS

One thing to mention is that DiskCopy is OS friendly and multitasks well!

That is absolutely true, and probably is its stronger point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BastyCDGS

In my opinion, DiskCopy should be improved by allowing disk images as source / target parameters, as well. Basically it should become something like dd on Linux.

Interesting idea.

Hewitson · 09 February 2020, 01:40

Used it when I first started copying games. Quickly found out that a lot of games copied with it didn't work (still don't actually know why).

roondar · 09 February 2020, 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Used it when I first started copying games. Quickly found out that a lot of games copied with it didn't work (still don't actually know why).

DiskCopy basically can't handle any of the tricks used by game developers to prevent copying. It can't handle extra tracks or tracks with deliberate errors. AFAIK it also can't handle tracks with non-standard sync words, long tracks, etc.

Daedalus · 11 February 2020, 15:11

I rarely use it, but I do use it once in a while for duplicating system-friendly disks. Since I'm not that bothered with games, and definitely not bothered with running games from disk, the standard diskcopy utility is all that I need. So I would agree that it should stay, but doesn't need any work as such.

gulliver · 11 February 2020, 21:07

Thank you for your valuable replies.

It seems DiskCopy has its place, despite its shortcomings.

06 February 2020, 20:54	#1
gulliver BoingBagged Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The South of nowhere Age: 46 Posts: 2,358	Does anyone use Workbench's DiskCopy ? Hi, I would like to hear your opinion regarding Workbench's DiskCopy command (it resides in the System drawer). Does any of you find a use for it nowadays? Should it be depreciated? Thank you for your input.

07 February 2020, 20:09	#8
BastyCDGS Registered User Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Freiburg / Germany Age: 44 Posts: 200	One thing to mention is that DiskCopy is OS friendly and multitasks well! Although X-Copy and other tools were far superior regarding features, they often killed multitasking. For copying standard DOS disks, DiskCopy is very fine. Just don't forget to relabel the "Copy of" prefix of target drive. BTW: Did someone test DiskCopy on other drives instead of floppy? Can it, for example, copy from 4GB SD card to another 4GB SD card of same geometry? In my opinion, DiskCopy should be improved by allowing disk images as source / target parameters, as well. Basically it should become something like dd on Linux. Last edited by BastyCDGS; 07 February 2020 at 20:17. Reason: Improvement ideas

07 February 2020, 22:37	#9
Nobby_UK Registered User Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Liverpool Posts: 2,595	I did use DiskCopy when testing my Gotek Dive [Failed] Otherwise I use X-Copy / D-Copy. Last edited by Nobby_UK; 07 February 2020 at 22:49.

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07 February 2020, 04:29	#2
amiwolf Registered User Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Emerald City Posts: 95	DiskCopy is used whenever you move a disk icon onto a Empty disk or RAD icon, which I do reasonably often. Workbench would not operate fully without it or at least a replacement with the same name.

07 February 2020, 07:14	#3
gulliver BoingBagged Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The South of nowhere Age: 46 Posts: 2,358	I ask because I always prefered a third party disk copier. I never used DiskCopy. I was a fan of XCopy. And there are other copiers which were very popular back then. The thing is that I don't know anyone who actually uses it. So it is an intriguing OS subject for me wether that tool is still of relevance nowadays.

07 February 2020, 08:59	#4
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	The default tool aspect probably requires it to be present in the OS for backwards compatibility reasons. I don't think there is any reason to update or upgrade it in any way though. People will use better suited tools for actual copying, such as the wonderful SuperDuper. The format tool is similar, it's there because we want to format quick our hard disks and it does the job. But again like with SuperDuper above, if I'm formatting a pile of floppies I always use the 3rd party tool MyFormat..

07 February 2020, 09:35	#5
spudje Registered User Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,406	I think I only used it once. To copy Workbench & Extra 1.2 disks right after we bought the A500 back then, as instructed by either the manual or tutorial disk

07 February 2020, 12:25	#7
gulliver BoingBagged Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The South of nowhere Age: 46 Posts: 2,358	Yes, in the Workkbench 1.x era, it could have been pretty popular given the cost and availability of hard drives. However today, it seems kind of like it is there because we had othing better to fill the disk with.

09 February 2020, 01:40	#11
Hewitson Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 41 Posts: 3,772	Used it when I first started copying games. Quickly found out that a lot of games copied with it didn't work (still don't actually know why).

11 February 2020, 15:11	#13
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,334	I rarely use it, but I do use it once in a while for duplicating system-friendly disks. Since I'm not that bothered with games, and definitely not bothered with running games from disk, the standard diskcopy utility is all that I need. So I would agree that it should stay, but doesn't need any work as such.

11 February 2020, 21:07	#14
gulliver BoingBagged Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The South of nowhere Age: 46 Posts: 2,358	Thank you for your valuable replies. It seems DiskCopy has its place, despite its shortcomings.

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