PROGRAM NAME:

DSQ.COM Disk Squeezer/Unsqueezer version 3.0 8/16/89


AUTHOR:

Keith P. Graham



DESCRIPTION:

Creates a compressed disk image file of any disk or
diskette. The file is highly compressed and contains
all original information, including boot record, FAT
tables, volume label and directory structures of the
diskette. The program is able to recreate the original
diskette from a squeezed disk file.

USAGE:

The command line form is:

DSQ switches disk file

Switches are:

/S = squeeze a disk into a file
/U = unsqueeze a file onto a disk

/0 = no compression - fastest, very large files
/1 = RLE compression only - very fast, so-so results
/2 = LZW compression only - sometimes smaller than /3
/3 = Best of RLE, LZW or none, slowest, but best

/S and /U are mutually exclusive.

No compression switch can be used with /U

/3 compression is the default and usually gives
best results. If size is critical, experiment.

Disk parameter:

A disk must be specified for the source or target
disk. Examples are A: or B: (a hard disk can be
squeezed, but I am not clear as to why.)

When unsqueezing, the disk parameter is the
target diskette drive and there must be a
formatted floppy diskette in the drive which
is compatible with the format of the original
squeezed diskette.

File parameter:

The file that contains the squeezed file must be
entered. The file name can include the disk and
path to the squeezed file. If no extension is
included in the file name then DSQ will add the
extension of .DSQ.

EXAMPLES of command lines:

DSQ /S b: win1

This will create a file WIN1.DSQ on the default disk
based on /3 type compression of the disk in drive B:

DSQ /S/2 a: c:\temp\test1

This will squeeze a disk and place it in a file named
TEST1.DSQ in the \temp directory. The directory must
already exist.

DSQ /U b: win1

This will unsqueeze a file named WIN1.DSQ onto
the diskette in drive B:. When complete the diskette
in drive B: will be a diskcopy of the original
floppy diskette which created WIN1.DSQ in the
first place.

WARNING:
There is no mechanism in DSQ to prevent you from trying
to unsqueeze a floppy disk to a hard disk. Please
do not try, and please be careful. I cannot help
you if you try such a thing.

Please make sure that the target on unsqueezing a
disk is a floppy and not a hard disk.


OPERATION:

SQUEEZING:

Place the diskette to be squeezed in any drive.

Enter DSQ command including the /S switch, the
source drive and the target file name.

If you want to change the default compression method
you may specify a compression switch, but only one.

The program prints a dot for 5k that it processes.

Warning! the source disk and the disk where the target
file will be written should not be the same disk. You
cannot create a file on the disk you are squeezing.

UNSQUEEZING:

You must have a diskette which has been previously
formatted and whose format is compatible with the
format of the squeezed disk. DSQ does not format
disks (at least not in its current incarnation.)

Enter the DSQ command, switches, disk and Source file.

The program will print a '.' for every block it
unsqueezes.

HINTS:
DSQ squeezes a whole disk including things like erased
files and unused space. If a disk has erased files or
areas on the disk that were once used, the ghost data
in these areas will be squeezed along with the rest of
the disk. In order to make a DSQ file as small as
possible it is best to start with an freshly formatted
disk and copy the files to the disk. The disk should
then squeeze much better.

ODDNESS:

It is possible to squeeze a 360K diskette and unsqueese
it to a 720k diskette. I did this with SpinRite and got
a bootable 3-1/2 inch floppy that chkdsk reports as a
360k diskette. When you try this, make sure that you
do a dir on any other floppy other than the newly created
floppy in order to flush the current buffers.


I imagine it is also possible to unsqueeze a 1.2 meg
diskette onto a 1.44 meg drive.

People have used DSQ to backup hard disks from one disk
to a file on another. This is time consuming and seems
to be a poor way to back up disks, although the entire
disk, including copy protection is saved.

PRICE:
Author does not mail diskettes. Call PC-Rockland BBS
(914) 353-2157 for latest version. Free for private use.
Distribution of data in a compressed form for
profit is a commercial use and requires license.
Shareware authors may use DSQ to distribute their
software without charge. Use of DSQ to distribute
software updates where no fee is charged is permitted.

License pricing:

In-house for distribution of disks............$50.00
Distrubution of disks to public for sale.....$100.00
Unlimited use customized version.............$400.00
Source code (MASM)...........................$800.00