Hello Holger!

28 Nov 16, Holger Granholm wrote to All:

 HG> Is there a diskcopy function available on a *nix system??

Yes, it's called dd. Check

man dd

for details. dd is a file copy program but within *nix everythings could be
seen as a file. If you read the device name directly it's just like reading a
file, including FAT and other data.

 HG> Yes, I do still use the old ones I have saved stuff on!

If you have two floppy drives, they are usually /dev/fd0 and /dev/fd1

dd if=/dev/fd0 of=/dev/fd1

would copy directy from drive 0 to 1.

of (=out file) could be a file name if you don't have two drives.

dd if=/dev/fd0 of=floppy.img

then you have to change the disk and find out how you bring the file image back
to the disk.

If you want to copy the files only, try cp or rsync.

 HG> One of my 3.5" diskettes showed signs of getting tired, so I decided
 HG> to make a diskcopy to get the contents on a fresh media.

There is no fresh media for floppy disks anymore. The error rate for new ones
is aprox. 5 to 10% or you have to pay industry prices. Take the signs as a
reason to backup all data of all your remaining disks. More failures will
follow.

 HG> To my great surprise there was no such a function included in Win 10!

Well, buy a Win10 ready computer, you will be surprised, there isn't a floppy
drive in there either.

Regards

Kai

--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.4.7