Backing up Originals

[Amigan123]

I have a few originals that arent in great condition, so I dont want to keep using the old floppies, is there a reliable way to backup protected amiga disks onto fresh floppies using only a single drive.

Is there a software copier that can do this for most old games?

Or would I need to get one of the old backup systems like Cyclone along with an external drive and dongle.

Thanks in advance.

[Anubis]

X-Copy was always better solution IMHO, but what possibly you can have that has not been already 'archived' and saved in IPF or TOSEC?

Even if you don't use your floppies, they will eventually loose information stored on them... so copy will/might work for now... but you still will loose them, even without using your miggy.

[Amigan123]

Of course I can get them from tosec but they are not originals dumps, ipf needs a kroflux to write them doesent it.

I just wondered if there was a low cost way to backup my originals as it now 25 years since the protection was designed I wondered what the simplest way was.

Mainly to save time, instead of using trial and error and trying all the different software copiers and settings.

Also if I make 2 or 3 backups on fresh disk they should last another 30 years like the originals have!

[IFW]

No, they won't last for even a few years...
They lasted long because of higher quality equipment and disks used for duplication than what is available today.
You can have high quality duplication now at home with e.g. KryoFlux, but the disk quality degrading will be an issue.
So you will likely rewrite the disks you use for playing once in a while.

You could use Cyclone etc. but they work best with good quality "factory new" disks. 20-30 years old disks don't really qualify as good quality anymore
Imagine copying 30 years old VHS tape to another 20 years old VHS tape. Now add in the effect of digital data, where data loss is not a loss in colour or sharpness, but even a single bad bit can render your backup useless.
Copying VHS is what you get with hardware copiers - they work fine as long as the media is in good condition, which is no longer true.

[demolition]

What about using PowerCopy? If you can find the right config for your disks, I think it should be able to copy it (if it is at all possible to write on a normal drive)?

[IFW]

It's not how you copy, it's the media.

[Anubis]

What more surprise me, you using original discs anyway. For all original games I owned - first thing was to figure out way to make copy and play off the copy - never off the original.
Otherwise, there are many ways now you can play amiga game without floppy drive (whdload and smillar), or addition for old HD that will enable you to use SD cards... As for floppies, Sony closed last factory producing floppies few years ago.

[Amigan123]

I do have some nos floppies that are sealed in packs, although they are old.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will have to try powercopy its only for a few nostalgic games that I wanted to backup in original form.

Any difficult ones I will just have to use the .ADF's like you suggest.

I would like to get some of them hard disk installed but dont have any fastmem at the moment.

Is there a list of the best nibble copiers anywhere I know x copy nibble mode is better than most, but there are loads of amiga copiers I have never tried.

Is the Burst Nibbler built into action replays 3 available as a standalone program?

Thanks for info guys

[Hewitson]

I believe PowerCopy is the best copier available these days. But it still won't copy any game with a decent protection.

Just download the cracks and play those. They're often better than an original anyway.

[Twiggy]

What about games that aren't cracked properly? I've yet to find a good version of Spellbound Dizzy that doesn't have an error which makes the game impossible to complete.

[IFW]

Somehow I doubt that a Dizzy game would have a time-bomb somewhere... more likely to be a bug in the original.
Just check if it happens with the original as well, e.g. run from IPF or the real disk.