P O L Y C O P Y ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Ûß Û Û ßÛ Û Û Û ÛÛ Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÜ ÜÛ Û Û ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Û Û Û Û ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Û Û Ûß ÜÜÜÜÜ ßÜ ßÛ Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Ü Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÜ Û ÛÜ Û ßßßßß Û Û ß ÜÛ ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß POLYCOPY (tm) Copyright (C)1989-1991 Joseph M. Albanese All rights reserved. I N T R O D U C T I O N QUESTION: What is POLYCOPY? In short, POLYCOPY is an exceptionally easy to use program for making one or more copies of a diskette (or diskettes) with a single pass of the original, regardless of disk density. This feat is accomplished by using available RAM, XMS memory and/or HARD DISK space to store a complete "disk image." NEW: This version supports 2file/2floppy-compatible ".FLP" image files which may be compressed for archival purposes, or transmitted via modem for remote restoration. POLYCOPY is a highly advanced disk duplicating program which offers many significant advantages over the DOS "DISKCOPY" utility. Now, you don't have to wait for OS/2TM to benefit from all your extended memory (XMS driver such as HIMEM or QEMM required). Some of the more significant features are listed below: o 2FILE/2FLOPPYTM-compatible ".FLP" image files. o DOS 5.0 compatibility o Improved reliability. o XMS memory support. o Original disk is inserted only once, even for multiple copies. o Automatic configuration. o Low RAM requirement. o Automatic format. o Uses available hard disk space to supplement RAM. o Easy to use. Only one mandatory parameter -- drive letter. o Supports 360K, 1.2M, 720K and 1.44M floppies. o Copies bootable disks (a la DISKCOPY). T R A D E M A R K N O T I C E Throughout this manual are commercial names of products made by other manufacturers or developers. Many of these product names are either registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective manufacturers or developers. The owners of these trademarks have never expressed any approval or disapproval of NEOCOM products, nor are they associated with POLYCOPY, NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc., or Joseph M. Albanese in any way. IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. 2FILE and 2FLOPPY are Copyright (C)1990 by Ziff Communications Co. COREtape Light is a trademark of CORE International, Inc. C O P Y R I G H T N O T I C E (Shareware Release) Copyright (C) 1989-1991 Joseph M. Albanese. All rights reserved. POLYCOPY is a trademark of Joseph M. Albanese. L I C E N S E A G R E E M E N T (Shareware Release) The "Shareware Release" of POLYCOPY is fully copyrighted and may not be sold. However, as with all shareware, it may be copied freely for evaluation purposes. As a POLYCOPY evaluee, you are granted a 14 day trial period in which to determine its suitability. At the end of the trial period, if you wish to continue using POLYCOPY, you must register the software. Refer to the section on REGISTRATION at the end of this documentation, or to the file called "ORDER.FRM" for more information. G E T T I N G S T A R T E D REQUIREMENTS o IBM or 100% compatible PC o MS-DOS 3.xx, 4.xx or 5.xx (or equivalents) o About 200K of free RAM at the DOS prompt o *Hard disk * A RAM disk may be used as a substitute for a hard drive as long as it is sufficiently large to hold (potentially) an entire disk image. I N S T A L L A T I O N As a practical matter, there is no "INSTALLATION"; however, it is usually a good idea to put a copy of the program "POLYCOPY.EXE" in a pathed directory. O P E R A T I O N NOTES TO DOS 5.0 USERS Avoid using UMBs if you experience problems with POLYCOPY in a DOS 5.0 environment. That is, it is OK to use "DOS=HIGH" in your config.sys file, but don't use "DOS=HIGH,UMB" If you must use the DOS=HIGH,UMB statement, then use it only in conjunction with the additional statement "DEVICE=EMM386.EXE /NOEMS" or equivalent. POLYCOPY was tested exhaustively under DOS 5.0 and should work well under practically all circumstances. Again; however, if you experience problems, remove the "UMB" from your config.sys file to see if it makes a difference. IMPORTANT: Diskettes formatted by POLYCOPY under DOS 5.0 cannot be unformatted. This is because POLYCOPY issues the "/u" parameter to the DOS FORMAT utility when DOS 5.0 is detected. Using POLYCOPY USAGE: C>polycopy [src<:> [trgt<:>]] [/i:filespec] [/f] [/x] [/r] PARMS: "/F" = Format mode "/X" = Disable XMS "/R" = Registration form "/I" = Image mode; makes POLYCOPY use 2FILE/2FLOPPY((C)1990 Ziff)- compatible image files (NOTE: "S"=STORE and "R"=RESTORE). NOTE: "< >" delimited parameters are optional. The "|" symbol separates choices; for example, "s" or "r" may be used with "/i." O P E R A T I O N (CONT'D) SIMPLE DISK COPYING You won't find many disk copy utilities as powerful and easy to use as this one. There are usually only two steps you need to follow: 1. First, make the hard drive (or RAM disk) the default drive. For example, if drive "C:" is your hard drive, this can be accomplished by typing "C:" and pressing [ENTER]. NOTE: A temporary file called "DSKIMAGE.}-{" is created (assuming "/i" is not used) on the default drive during copying. It contains data that could not fit entirely into RAM. Under normal circumstances, this file is automatically deleted. 2. Type "POLYCOPY", a space, and then the drive letter of the floppy drive(s) that will be doing the copying. For example: C>polycopy b: or C>polycopy a b or C>polycopy a /f NOTE: Example 3 includes the "FORMAT" parameter. Once POLYCOPY is off and running it is simply a matter of answering a couple of "Y" or "N" prompts. Either you continue making copies of the original, or you answer "N" to stop copying. YOU CAN MAKE AS MANY COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL DISK AS YOU LIKE, WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO RE-INSERT THAT DISK. I would like to say a few things about the "/f" parameter. When "/f" is NOT specified, POLYCOPY attempts to determine if it should format the TARGET diskette prior to copying. Most of the time that's all you have to worry about. But, occasionally, under certain circumstances POLYCOPY cannot properly determine whether a disk should be formatted. Hence, there are two circumstances where you might use the "/f" parameter: 1. When POLYCOPY has previously been unable to determine if formatting should be performed. 2. When you want to be sure that all disks are freshly formatted. MORE ABOUT FORMATTING When it is necessary to format a diskette, POLYCOPY shells into the DOS format utility "FORMAT.COM" so it is important that you have it pathed. For example: "PATH=C:\DOS" in you AUTOEXEC.BAT file. IMAGE FILES As mentioned earlier, this version of POLYCOPY supports diskette image files. These are complete, sector-for-sector images of floppies stored as DOS files. There are many potential uses for image files and, as you will soon find, they are very easy to use. The following is a list of but a few of the many possible uses for image files: - When you need to send bootable diskettes via modem to a friend or colleague in a remote location. - If you wish to keep images of bootable diskettes (old DOS versions, for example) on a stand-alone or network hard drive for easy retrieval. - Use POLYCOPY's image files to generate multiple, exact copies of program diskettes. It is often easier to keep track of .FLP image files than a master diskette. - One well-known company uses POLYCOPY in its quality assurance department to test the effectiveness of its virus scan software on image files, which turns out to be much easier and faster to work with than dozens of individual floppies. - I personally use POLYCOPY to create images of commercial program diskettes that I rarely need (diskettes I rarely need -- not programs) and then save the images to magnetic tape, then I recycle the physical diskettes for other purposes. Notes to COREtape LightTM users: -------------------------------- POLYCOPY image files and the COREtape Light are a powerful team when used together and in conjunction with the DOS device driver pair "CTLDF.SYS" to make the tape drive act like a very large (albeit slow) disk drive. With the tape drive configured in this way, you will find it is a much more intuitive and maintainable method for storing diskette image files for archival purposes. In particular, the pseudo-random access and ability to delete old files without erasing the entire tape make this method more desirable. IMAGE FILES USAGE Using POLYCOPY to create or restore image files isn't significantly different from using it to copy diskettes directly. A drive letter is still required, but only one, since either the SOURCE or TARGET is the image file itself. The only extra parameter is the filespec of the image file. By filespec we mean the optional drive letter and path, and the required filename. POLYCOPY infers automatically whether the drive letter you specified as a parameter is the SOURCE or TARGET based on whether the "/i" is followed by an "r" or "s." This does not mean, of course, that you cannot use a drive letter as an integral part of the image file path. Quite the contrary. Just don't specify a SOURCE and TARGET drive letter as parameters in addition to the image file path. For example: WRONG ==> C>POLYCOPY a d /is:\TEMP\POLY260 <== WRONG RIGHT ==> C>POLYCOPY a /is:D:\TEMP\POLY260 <== RIGHT Here are a few more examples of POLYCOPY image file usage: C>POLYCOPY a /is:DOS331 Creates a complete disk image file on the default drive (presumably C:) of the floppy in drive A: called "DOS331.FLP." NOTE: When no extension is specified, "FLP" is the default. C>POLYCOPY b /ir:STARTER.IMG /f Restores to a floppy in drive B:, after formatting, from an image file called "STARTER.IMG" located in the default directory of the default drive. C>POLYCOPY a /ir:D:\ARC\DOS5-1 Restores to a floppy in drive A: from an image file called "DOS5-1.FLP" on drive "D:" in directory "\ARC." These are but a fraction of the possible combinations of drives, paths and parameters that might be used with POLYCOPY; however, it should be enough to get you off to a good start. USING XMS MEMORY POLYCOPY automatically checks for the existence of an XMS memory driver, and will use all available XMS memory (handles permitting) for copying diskettes. Now you can finally put all that luscious XMS memory to work for you. This makes it possible to copy an entire 1.44Mb diskette completely in RAM on machines that are 80286s or better, have sufficient extended memory and have HIMEM.SYS (or equivalent XMS driver) installed. IMPORTANT: POLYCOPY requires a relatively large number of XMS handles. Hence, in order to take full advantage of your existing memory, be sure you have the following (or similar) statement in your CONFIG.SYS file. DEVICE=C:\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128 The key element here is the "/NUMHANDLES=128" portion of the line. This tells the XMS driver to have 128 as the maximum number of handles, rather than the defa CTRL-BREAK HANDLER POLYCOPY has a robust CTRL-BREAK handler which traps any such key combination. When a CTRL-BREAK is detected, POLYCOPY closes all open files, frees up XMS and regular RAM, erases temporary files and returns you safely to DOS. It is alright to hit CTRL-BREAK virtually anytime during a POLYCOPY session. S O F T W A R E R E G I S T R A T I O N WHAT DO I GET BY REGISTERING? For one thing, a clear conscience. People like me work very hard on programs like this. We do so under the assumption that if people like our programs they will (should, and hopefully will) register. In addition to the wonderful feeling you will enjoy, knowing that you are helping to perpetuate the shareware concept, as a registered user of POLYCOPY you will also gain the following: o Latest version of POLYCOPY o Printed documentation o Notification of new releases o Low cost upgrades o FREE BONUS: A complimentary copy of VOLSER(tm), the volume serial number utility. VOLSER is a companion program to POLYCOPY which allows you to "add", "view" and/or "change" DOS 4.xx and 5.xx serial numbers. Uses for VOLSER include: serializing floppy diskettes, serial number coding hard drives (theft protection). You can even view and enter disk serial numbers in DECIMAL as well as HEXIDECIMAL format. For serializing large quantities of disks, VOLSER has automatic increment, decrement and duplicating of serial numbers. CIR: You will also receive the latest version of CIR, the "COLOR DIRECTORY" utility. This isn't just another colorized directory program. CIR displays directories in exactly the same format as the MS DOS 5.xx DIR command, except that files are color coded by extension. Plus, CIR shows the resolution and colors for .GIF files. CIR is FAST, too! As a registered user of POLYCOPY you will also be notified of other NEOCOM products, as they become available. ========================= ORDER/REGISTRATION FORM ============================ Send this completed form to: POLYCOPY REGISTRATION P.O. BOX 1126 MARTINSVILLE, VA 24114 Funds (U.S. only) payable to: Joseph M. Albanese. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SINGLE COPY REGISTRATION Disk with program and documentation $20.00 (plus $3.50 P&H) ______ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SITE LICENSE (MULTI-COPY) REGISTRATION Site license for the use of POLYCOPY. (Includes one disk & docs) PCs Price -------------------------------------- 2 - 5 $18 each 6 - 19 $15 each 20 - 49 $13 each 50 - 99 $11 each 100 or more, $1000 one time fee. (Call 703/666-9533 for details) Please add $3.50 for shipping & handling for each order. (Overseas orders please add $5.00 per order) No. Copies: _________ Shipping & Hand.: $ 3.50 Overseas: $______.__ ($5.00 if applicable) Total enclosed: $______.__ Company Name (if applicable): ______________________________________________ Your Name: _________________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________ State: ___ Zip: ______ Telephone: ( )___-____ Version you have: _______ Preferred diskette type (check one): 3« [ ] 5¬ [ ] Computer/configuration: ____________________________________________________ How and where did you find out about POLYCOPY? ____________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Do you have any comments and/or suggestions regarding POLYCOPY? _________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________