TPDD client:Disk Power: Difference between revisions

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=Disk Power and Disk Power II by Hugu Ferreyra / Ultrasoft Innovations=
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Disk Power was available for multiple machines. Versions for at least TRS-80 Model 100/102, 200 and Kyotronic KC-85 are known. Versions for NEC PC-8201a and Olivetti M10 are likely but unknown.
'''Disk Power and Disk Power II by Hugu Ferreyra / Ultrasoft Innovations'''


Few/no copies are available today as it was made to be impossible for the user to copy. All that is available are various references and mentions in past forum posts and ads in magazines.
Disk Power & Disk Power II are known to have been available for at least the Tandy Model 100/102 & 200, and Kyotronic KC-85 machines.


There are many [[TPDD client:Disk Power:M100SIG_references|references]] throughout the [https://github.com/LivingM100SIG/Living_M100SIG M100SIG Archive].
Versions for NEC PC-8201a and Olivetti M10 are unknown but likely.


Both the distribution disk and the cassette were required to install the software. There is no way to prevent copying a cassette, but the distribution disk was impossible to copy using any of the software available at the time. This includes the full-disk backup utility on the original tandy TPDD utility disk, and DiskPower itself provides no similar backup utility, and simply using DiskPower or any other TPDD client like TEENY or TS-DOS to copy the file from one disk to another does not work. So, to re-install the software after a software crash or full power loss or a cold reset, the user needed either the original or a copy of the cassette, and the actual original distribution disk. There was no way to make a backup of it.
The original Disk Power only supports the TPDD1


Today there is a [https://github.com/bkw777/pdd.sh tpdd utility] that can read & write TPDD1 and TPDD2 disks more completely than what was previously available, and has been used to create reproducible copy of Disk Power for KC-85 so far.
Disk/2 Power aka Disk Power II supports the TPDD2
 
The only documentation available about Disk Power are some '''[[TPDD client:Disk Power:M100SIG_references|references]]''' in the [https://github.com/LivingM100SIG/Living_M100SIG M100SIG Archive], and some [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WT_ymEDtuur-EH3lNSOkYa3rclZVJdf_/view deduced/reconstructed info] from a survivng copy for KC-85.
 
Few copies are available today, as it was designed to be impossible for the user to copy.
 
Both the original distribution disk and the cassette were required to install the software, and there was no way to copy the disk using any software available at the time. There is no technical reason to require both a cassette and a disk to install a single program. The scheme merely functioned as a means of copy protection because a cassette could be copied but the disk was specially crafted to prevent copying.
 
Today there is a [https://github.com/bkw777/pdd.sh tpdd utility] that can read & write TPDD1 and TPDD2 disks more completely than what was previously available. If any physical copies of Disk Power do turn up now, it will be possible to archive and redistribute them. This has been done for the KC-85 version.


[[TPDD client:DiskPower:KC-85]]
[[TPDD client:Disk-Power:KC-85]]
[[TPDD client:Disk Power:KC-85]]
[[TPDD client:Disk Power:KC-85]]

Latest revision as of 06:42, 21 April 2022

(back to TPDD client)

Disk Power and Disk Power II by Hugu Ferreyra / Ultrasoft Innovations

Disk Power & Disk Power II are known to have been available for at least the Tandy Model 100/102 & 200, and Kyotronic KC-85 machines.

Versions for NEC PC-8201a and Olivetti M10 are unknown but likely.

The original Disk Power only supports the TPDD1

Disk/2 Power aka Disk Power II supports the TPDD2

The only documentation available about Disk Power are some references in the M100SIG Archive, and some deduced/reconstructed info from a survivng copy for KC-85.

Few copies are available today, as it was designed to be impossible for the user to copy.

Both the original distribution disk and the cassette were required to install the software, and there was no way to copy the disk using any software available at the time. There is no technical reason to require both a cassette and a disk to install a single program. The scheme merely functioned as a means of copy protection because a cassette could be copied but the disk was specially crafted to prevent copying.

Today there is a tpdd utility that can read & write TPDD1 and TPDD2 disks more completely than what was previously available. If any physical copies of Disk Power do turn up now, it will be possible to archive and redistribute them. This has been done for the KC-85 version.

TPDD client:Disk Power:KC-85