How to image a collection ?

[csanii]

I have searched but can't seem to find a posting that gives the process one should follow to image a collection so that:
1) the disks are imaged in a standard format easily and reliably
2) only disks that haven't been imaged before are imaged - ie. it compares against TOSEC or some database so I don't upload a common disk
3) only disks that are allowed to be posted are imaged - ie. not disks with ROMs or other items not allowed to be uploaded
4) only disks without viruses are imaged - not sure if easy way to do this and I suspect none of the disks I have contain any but if there is a way to validate before imaging that would be great
5) the image gets named using a standard naming convention
6) the list of images get added to a file as an inventory of the collection

Am thinking if there is a document for the above then maybe it could be a "sticky" thread so all can use.

p.s. If this all has been posted somewhere and I missed it, Please point me to it and I then do opologise for posting this query...

[csanii]

Was hoping after a month that there would be an answer on this...

Either:
a) my question wasn't clear (if so please let me know)
b) there is no easy answer (in which case let me know and I guess any method I use is better than no method at all)
or
c) the answer is so obvious no one wanted to make me feel bad by stating the answer (please don't try to spare my feelings on this so I can learn how best to image a disk set - others may have a similar question and are just waiting for the answer to begin imaging...)

[Crashdisk]

Hi csanii,
I don't know if you're asking yourself the right questions...but if it helps, here's some advice:
- Most importantly, always write-protect a disk before inserting it into the drive
- Clean your floppy drive regularly
- Do not insert a disk into the drive with mold on the surface. Clean it beforehand with isopropyl alcohol (some people might say something else...) and stop dumping if you hear screeching noises
- The output format will depend on the media. Dumping a protected original disk to ADF makes no sense (scp or raw, it's OK)
- Protect in read-only the ADF files you want to test or better use a copy
- Mark the files with [virus] tag if they contain viruses but do not "repair" them yourself. Viruses have a historical interest and they must also be preserved. Besides, removing them leaves traces and can sometimes cause damage
- Mark the files with [error] tag if the copy is only partially good (some reading errors when dumping). The log file is interesting, if you can provide it...
- Respect the sharing rules of the server on which you share your data
- If you want a nomenclature for naming your files, you can use the TOSEC Naming Convention as a basis

Making dumps from disk takes time, don't complicate your work with unnecessary tasks. Dump lovers on the forum will quickly sort out what is valuable and what is not. And don't forget that not everyone is looking for the same things

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions if you encounter any problems

[chip]

Nice list Crashdisk

There's only one point that i don't understand

How do you know if a disk is valuable BEFORE dumping it ?

Just for example if on one disk there's written the name of a game which is already present in TOSEC, how do you know if it contains a different cracktro / trainer / hack ?

Am i missing something obvious here ?

[Crashdisk]

Clearly you can't know the value of a disk before making a copy of it!


If the label indicates a very well known game, the content can be (very) different. Even if the disk has been tested and seems to be well known, there may be some subtle differences that may justify preservation (like a fix for example)