c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) (05/13/91)
I would like to create temporary floppy sized partitions on my hard drive. That is, i would like to create any number of these "phony floppies" on my hard drive without reformating. When I am done with them I would like to be able to remove them and get the space back. A while back I read a little blurb in AmigaWhirrled about a device driver for making floppy sized partitions on hard drives but little was said beyond that. Also, a device driver was mentioned recently that could handle file-based devices. Would this do the trick? If they would, is it possible to mount an arbitrary file system on this "pony floppy"? That is, OFS, FFS, MSH? I think this would be very usefull for doing things like processing a new batch of fish disks retreived off the net. Eric Edwards: c506634 @ "I say we take off and nuke the entire site Inet: umcvmb.missouri.edu from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Bitnet: umcvmb.bitnet -- Sigourney Weaver, _Aliens_
dtiberio@eeserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio) (05/13/91)
In article <192118ea.ARN0ce8@umcvmb.missouri.edu> c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) writes: >I would like to create temporary floppy sized partitions on my hard drive. >That is, i would like to create any number of these "phony floppies" on my >hard drive without reformating. When I am done with them I would like to be >able to remove them and get the space back. > I always wanted this too, since I have no permanent floppy drive with my computer. However, I made an 880k rad: drive that does the job. If anyone has info on the hard drive floppy, please let me know. -- David Tiberio SUNY Stony Brook 2-3481 AMIGA DDD-MEN "If you think that we're here for the money, we could live without it. But the world isn't too good here, and it wasn't always like that." Un ragazzo di Casalbordino, Italia.
taak9@isuvax.iastate.edu (Steve Sheldon) (05/14/91)
In article <1991May13.055135.16753@sbcs.sunysb.edu>, dtiberio@eeserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio) writes: >In article <192118ea.ARN0ce8@umcvmb.missouri.edu> c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) writes: >>I would like to create temporary floppy sized partitions on my hard drive. >>That is, i would like to create any number of these "phony floppies" on my >>hard drive without reformating. When I am done with them I would like to be >>able to remove them and get the space back. >> > > I always wanted this too, since I have no permanent floppy drive with >my computer. However, I made an 880k rad: drive that does the job. If anyone >has info on the hard drive floppy, please let me know. Yeah, the RAD: device will work. If you wanted 20 of these, and unless you had an A3000 with lots of RAM(expensive), you'd run into some problems. I understand what he wants. Back in the days of CP/M(Sheesh, I'm only 22, and I feel old) we didn't have lharc, or arc, or zoo, etc. We had two utilities Squeeze, and Library. Squeeze did basic Huffman encoding on files to make 'em smaller. But it would only do one file at a time, and it just created a new file with a 'Q' in the extension. The Library utility would allow you to combine multiple files into one big file. And it created a new file with .LBR as an extension. See, arc, zoo, lharc, etc. have combined these two utilities into one, not to mention they've improved the idea a lot. So what does this have to do with the 880K partition on the hard disk? Well, I also had a utility called LBRDISK. In effect, it was a device driver that allowed you to assign a .LBR file as a disk device. Sort of like saying, ASSIGN C: = Myfile.LBR. So whenever you would access the C: drive, you were really accessing the contents of the .LBR file. It was really pretty neat. So what we want on the Amiga is something a lot like this, rather than creating a new partition, we would just create one big 880K file. And then some sort of device driver that would in effect make this big file look like a disk. Sort of like RAD: does with RAM. Now I suppose we could ask two questions: 1. Who's going to write it? 2. Why not just use RAD: to begin with? Steve Sheldon /// | Do not write in this space taak9@ccvax.iastate.edu /// | Senior, Computer Science \XX/ | For Office Use Only
c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) (05/14/91)
In article <1991May14.012456.4618@news.iastate.edu> taak9@isuvax.iastate.edu (Steve Sheldon) writes: > It was really pretty neat. So what we want on the Amiga is something a lot > like this, rather than creating a new partition, we would just create one > big 880K file. And then some sort of device driver that would in effect > make this big file look like a disk. Sort of like RAD: does with RAM. > > Now I suppose we could ask two questions: > 1. Who's going to write it? > 2. Why not just use RAD: to begin with? The reason why I don't want to use RAD: is that I *do* want 10-20 of these things. That's doable on a 105 meg hard drive but wee bit much for 3 meg of ram. Actually, someone sent my a copy of FMSdisk.device which is supposed to do all this. I will find out in a few days. I'm still waiting on my controller and ZorroII adapter board. Eric Edwards: c506634 @ "I say we take off and nuke the entire site Inet: umcvmb.missouri.edu from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Bitnet: umcvmb.bitnet -- Sigourney Weaver, _Aliens_
blgardne@javelin.sim.es.com (Blaine Gardner) (05/14/91)
c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) writes: >Actually, someone sent my a copy of FMSdisk.device which is supposed to do >all this. I will find out in a few days. I'm still waiting on my >controller and ZorroII adapter board. I've used FMS on my A3000 for a while, and it works just fine. Another wonderful Matt Dillon creation! Though since an FMS "disk" is slower than a hard drive partition (still a lot faster than a floppy though), I have 4 floppy sized paritions on my hard drive that I use for creating the monthly disk for the local user's group. -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 blgardne@javelin.sim.es.com BIX: blaine_g DoD #46 My other motorcycle is a Quadracer. FJ1200 Now I know why they are called BUTTERflys!
holgerl@amiux.agsc.sub.org (Holger Lubitz) (05/14/91)
In article <192118ea.ARN0ce8@umcvmb.missouri.edu> c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) writes: >If they would, is it possible to mount an arbitrary file system on this >"pony floppy"? That is, OFS, FFS, MSH? What you want is the fmsdisk.device by Matt Dillon. Its most recent version appeared on Fred Fish Disk 294. Allows up to 32 "floppies" on your harddisk, each of them represented by a 880K file named "Unit<x>", and each of them easily deletable by a simple AmigaDOS Delete-Command. And you can use any file system that works on normal floppies on these "Harddisk-Floppies" as well. Best regards, Holger -- Holger Lubitz, Kl. Drakenburger Str. 24, D-W-3070 Nienburg/Weser
hychejw@infonode.ingr.com (Jeff W. Hyche) (05/15/91)
I have something like this on my Amiga. It is called and FMS device.
I will upload the compete archive to ab20 when I get home.
--
// Jeff Hyche
There can be only one! \\ // Usenet: hychejw@infonode.ingr.com
\X/ Freenet: ap255@po.CWRU.Educhucks@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Erik Funkenbusch) (05/15/91)
c506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) writes: >I would like to create temporary floppy sized partitions on my hard drive. >That is, i would like to create any number of these "phony floppies" on my >hard drive without reformating. When I am done with them I would like to be >able to remove them and get the space back. > >A while back I read a little blurb in AmigaWhirrled about a device driver >for making floppy sized partitions on hard drives but little was said >beyond that. Also, a device driver was mentioned recently that could >handle file-based devices. Would this do the trick? > >If they would, is it possible to mount an arbitrary file system on this >"pony floppy"? That is, OFS, FFS, MSH? > >I think this would be very usefull for doing things like processing a new >batch of fish disks retreived off the net. > >Eric Edwards: c506634 @ "I say we take off and nuke the entire site >Inet: umcvmb.missouri.edu from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." >Bitnet: umcvmb.bitnet -- Sigourney Weaver, _Aliens_ Yep. It's called Fsh, i don't recall off hand where i got it, but it does just that, it creates a 880k file on your hard drive that can be used just like a floppy, you can mount any file system you like. .--------------------------------------------------------------------------. | UUCP: {amdahl!tcnet, crash}!orbit!pnet51!chucks | "I know he's come back | | ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!chucks@nosc.mil | from the dead, but do | | INET: chucks@pnet51.orb.mn.org | you really think he's | |-------------------------------------------------| moved back in?" | | Amiga programmer at large, employment options | Lou Diamond Philips in | | welcome, inquire within. | "The First Power". | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'