Copying from disk to tape

[Cyanotic]

I have a feeling this is a silly question, but how can I copy a file from disk to tape? Either something I can do in an emulator, or some sort of DSK to CDT tool.

[Devilmarkus]

Huh... Why is this topic in the hall of shame? Did I miss something?

[Cholo]

Well, that question has been asked quite a few time before actually, but i dont think a program exit on the pc that  does it in one swoop. Plenty of programs that do it the other way around aka tape to disc, but the need for disc to tape really is a "retro" need only. Going from tape to disc is also easy, as tape is more complex than disc, so going "backwards" to tape will require more manual user input. Like it dosnt matter where on a disc the files are stored .. but on a tape its importent to get the files in the right order.

It can be done manually with a emulator on PC tho. And dont forget this is only for unproteced files in Block format .. as anything protected will require a degree in cpc crack'ing before you can even dream of copying anything.

The basics (in a emulator or not):
1. choose disc input aka |DISC.
2. you LOAD the file into memory.
3. choose tape output aka |TAPE.
4. you SAVE the file back to tape.
That would actually work ok with BAS basic files.

Alas Binary and other files has more attribs that you normally would need to handle manually as well. To make it easy to on yourself .. especially if you need to copy multiple files i suggest getting either:

Amsback:
http://cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=5111

JL-copy:
http://cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=5268

.. or similar file copy program.

These 2 programs are extreme similar and can speed up your filecopying.

Example using CPCE v1.9X emulator:

Run CPCE and make sure that Autorun and Tape Speedup is turned OFF.

Run Amsback/JLcopy:

Choose source: Disc
Choose destination: Tape
Speed: 1000 baud (i suggest)
Quicksave: off (i suggest)

Then simply press ENTER and it will ask you for a input name .. aka Zorro.bas or A:Zorro.bas.
It will then give you the usual message "press REC then any key .."
At this point .. in the emulator menu choose "Record Tape" and enter a filename to save the CSW file to.
Press any key  (like ENTER) and wait untill it has saved back the file to "tape".
If you need to record more files over just press enter to input the next filename  .. aka zorro2.bin, zorro3.bin etc.
Once fully done, close down the emulator to end the recording.

You can then use the nice CSW in other emulators or other tools to convert to cdt or playback to real tape.

[Mr. DVG]

Sorry for the stupidity of the question, I have an Amstrad CPC6128, some time ago I bought for parallel importation of the 3-inch disks empty, a friend of mine lent me some discs with games amstrad above (obviously copied), there is the possibility that I might copy these discs filled with empty ones above? What do I need to make copies from disc to disc? Thanks for any replies ...

[TomEtJerry]

Hi,

If I understand well what you want to do, that's just making copies of your friend's games on to new blank disk ?

- If the programs are not protected, you can use a CPM program, DISCKIT3 that you can find on the CPM 3.0 disk.
  You can also do the copies with commercial of free programs like Disc'o'Magic.

- If the programs are protected (Disckit3 can't do the job), you must use a physical copy tool, as Discology, Hercules
  or Xexor.

How to know if the programs are protected ? Display the directory of the diskettes. If you see plenty of files, you have
a good chance that there is no protection. If you just see a message like RUN"DISC, the program is probably protected
or have a special format scheme (except for very recent demos or games, that use Cat'art just for fun :-) ).

Before to do the copy, you should format and test your blank disks to see if they are still in good condition (with Markerror,
for example).

[Mr. DVG]

I think I understand, you have to work a little above ... thank you very much!

[Cholo]

Ah yes, good question. If you have a 6128 and only the internal 3" drive how to you copy a 180k big side of a 3" to another 3" when the machine only have storage for 128k (well even less as there need to be space for OS and all that).

The answer is a lot of disc swapping of cause. Most people has probably tried some 16bit floppy copying like a Amiga 500 with X-copy .. the Amstrad A to A drive floppy copying is just the same but with a little bit more swapping.

TomEtJerry already mentioned a couple of really good copying programs that support the multiple swapping and copying with verify on as well. Just felt like mentioning that JL-copy  (linked above) also does a nice A to A full track (unprotected) copy and supports memory extensions as well (if you have one it will cut down on the swapping).

Still having a 6128 with 128kb ram it shouldnt be as bad as when trying to copy floppies on a 64k 464 system

EDIT: oh and its a really good idea to always flick the source floppy's "jumpers" to write protected so you dont accidentally write to the source disc.

[TotO]

Remember DISCOLOGY 5.1, it pack (probably RLE) data to memory to save precious KB and reduce disc-swapping for users that don't own a RAM expansion.

[Gryzor]

There's also a ROM version of Discology, containing only the disc copier, so you save on quite a few KBs there, too. But that's out of our scope here, I'm just mentioning it...

[SilverGreen93]

I tried using Amsback from the third post above. I copied successfully the files from the Deflektor (cracked/hacked) game disk to WAV file (DEFLEK and DEFLEK.BIN).
But when trying to load from WAV with RUN", the DEFLEK starts ok, but then searches on Drive A: for the BIN file.
Can I modify somehow the loader to load from tape instead of disk?


Is there a method to copy the hacked games from disks to tapes? I mean to adjust all the loaders to load from tape instead of disk?


Thanks.

[Skunkfish]

I think you should find the CNGsoft versions (cngsoft.no-ip.org) a bit more tape-friendly. The Deflektor there is a single file...

They're also heavily compressed so the loading time should be quicker! (Deflektor is 23KB)

[SilverGreen93]

I think you should find the CNGsoft versions (cngsoft.no-ip.org) a bit more tape-friendly. The Deflektor there is a single file...

They're also heavily compressed so the loading time should be quicker! (Deflektor is 23KB)

You're right, the CNGsoft version has only one file, but it doesn't seem hacked. I don't have infinite lives and no overloaing.
What is the difference between the normal disk and CNGSOFT? Or am I missing something?

The only point in copying the disk to tape is to get the hacks/pokes already in the tape to play on a 464.

[Shaun M. Neary]

You're right, the CNGsoft version has only one file, but it doesn't seem hacked. I don't have infinite lives and no overloaing.
What is the difference between the normal disk and CNGSOFT? Or am I missing something?

The only point in copying the disk to tape is to get the hacks/pokes already in the tape to play on a 464.

Not all of CNGSOFT's games include trainers. They're just nicely compressed to save on disk space.
Other than that, it's a normal file, should still transfer fine to tape.


Gryzor already suggested this, but try Discology, either in disk or in ROM format.

[Phantomz]

You're right, the CNGsoft version has only one file, but it doesn't seem hacked. I don't have infinite lives and no overloaing.
What is the difference between the normal disk and CNGSOFT? Or am I missing something?

The only point in copying the disk to tape is to get the hacks/pokes already in the tape to play on a 464.

It might be an idea to pick up a Multiface 2 or Multiface 2 Clone, you could use that to enter the cheat codes, might be easier than having to convert loads of disks to tape.

The CNGsoft version of Deflektor has no Trainer but is a single file, I've changed that single file and made two versions, one gives you infinite lives and the other gives you infinite lives & energy.

You could use one or both of these files if you want a poked version on tape, I can't do anything about no overload, as this cheat needs adding after the game has loaded not before, this is why it would be a good idea to get a multiface 2. 

[SilverGreen93]

It might be an idea to pick up a Multiface 2 or Multiface 2 Clone, you could use that to enter the cheat codes, might be easier than having to convert loads of disks to tape.

The CNGsoft version of Deflektor has no Trainer but is a single file, I've changed that single file and made two versions, one gives you infinite lives and the other gives you infinite lives & energy.

You could use one or both of these files if you want a poked version on tape, I can't do anything about no overload, as this cheat needs adding after the game has loaded not before, this is why it would be a good idea to get a multiface 2. 

Thanks a lot, I'll give it a try. Can I integrate myself the pokes for other games as well (eg. Dizzy)? Is it an easy procedure?


I don't think I can find or make a Multiface 2 that easy, but I will have a look.

[Shaun M. Neary]

Thanks a lot, I'll give it a try. Can I integrate myself the pokes for other games as well (eg. Dizzy)? Is it an easy procedure?


I don't think I can find or make a Multiface 2 that easy, but I will have a look.

There are multiface pokes scattered all over the place. You'll also find them in the Amstrad Action archive in the downloads section of the wiki.
Talk to @talrek about getting an MFII, a clone for the multiface 2.

[talrek]

Thanks a lot, I'll give it a try. Can I integrate myself the pokes for other games as well (eg. Dizzy)? Is it an easy procedure?


I don't think I can find or make a Multiface 2 that easy, but I will have a look.

Hi,
if you are interested you can look at this thread http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/amstrad-cpc-hardware/multiface-2-boards/msg154474/#msg154474
I will add you to the list if you are still interested. price is 30€ without cable, add 6€ for a cable with Centronics or edge connector.