SAMdisk (original) (raw)

Introduction

SAMdisk is a command-line disk image utility for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Read and write almost any soft-sectored floppy disk format compatible with the PC floppy controller, including some traditionally copy-protected formats. Also supports hard disk imaging to and from HDF and raw formats.

Low-level floppy device access requires the fdrawcmd.sys driver to be installed.

Download

Stable Version

Version 3.8.11, last updated 18th May 2018 [view ChangeLog].

<SAMdisk3811.zip> — Windows 2000 or later.

The following versions support disk images, but not real floppy devices. However, disk imaging is still possible using a SuperCard Pro, KryoFlux, or DiscFerret device. Create an image using the device’s own software, then use SAMdisk to convert that to a specific output image type.

<samdisk-388-osx.zip> — macOS 10.6+
<samdisk-388-linux-i386.zip> — GNU/Linux i386.

Development Version

Version 4.0 alpha, still under development.
Source Code (GitHub)

Quick Start

Floppy to Image

To create a disk image from an existing floppy disk:

The range of tracks copied is determined from the floppy drive type in the BIOS, which will often be 80 cylinders and 2 heads. If this is not suitable, use the -c and -h options to override the cylinder and head counts.

Accessing 40-track media in an 80-track drive will require the -d option to double-step the head between tracks.

Image to Floppy

To write a disk image back to floppy disk:

See the copy command for more examples, or the options page for command-line details.