How do I load a lot of software?

[Ruud]

Hallo allemaal / hello everybody,

So far I used PCem only to test my own BIOSes for the PC-XT. Now I want to go a step further. But to be able to I need to install some software on the hard disk drive. If it was a 286 or better IMHO the means to do it is is to create a CD-ROM ISO and use that. But that won't work for a PC-XT (I think). And I can imagine that there is a faster way than creating floppy disk images all the time. So my question: who knows a trick?

Thank you very much!

Groetjes / kind regards, Ruud Baltissen
www.Baltissen.org

[neozeed]

winimage is a favorite way to manipulate virtual disk images for FAT/FAT32.

[Ruud]

Hallo Neozeed,

winimage is a favorite way to manipulate virtual disk images for FAT/FAT32.

So far I have used WinImage only to create images of floppy disks and vica versa. To be honest, I have never thought about using it to manipulate hard disk images images.

Thank you !!!

Groetjes / kind regards, Ruud Baltissen
www.Baltissen.org

[Ruud]

So far I have used WinImage only to create images of floppy disks and vica versa. To be honest, I have never thought about using it to manipulate hard disk images images.

Just did a quick test:
- it seems I cannot create directories my self inside WinImage
- so I created one on my PC and filled it with some programs that should run on a XT
- copied and pasted the directory in the WinImage window
- save and close
Run the emulator and... bingo!

Weird, I use WinImage for many, many years already and, as said before, I only used it in combination with floppies. I never thought about using it with hard disk drives (maybe because it wasn't possible in the early days or made no sense) and I also never knew about the copy and paste feature. Again it is prooven: you're never too old to learn!

Thank you again!

[ppgrainbow]

You can use IMDisk to load software by extracting ZIPs files and floppy disk images onto the mounted hard disk image. If you're using standalone MS-DOS or another DOS-based operating system that only supports 8.3 filename format, you will need to be careful. Standalone MS-DOS doesn't recognise LFN filenames and can corrupt the hard disk volume label!

[t9999clint]

I use Passmark's OSFMount http://www.osforensics.com/tools/mount-disk-images.html
Great program, I also use it for my overly complicated Data Recovery setup.