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How do I copy file(s) from/to a floppy disk?


  
Let's say that you've been working on a file in a PC, and brought the file in a floppy disk to CEE UCL. You saw a 3.5" floopy disk drive in one of SPARC workstations, and instinctively pushed your floppy in the drive. However, now you realize that you have no idea how to copy file(s) to/from your Unix account, or in that manner, you have never dealt with a floppy disk from Unix before. Sounds familiar?

Here're a number of ways you can deal with a floppy disk on a Unix platform.

Use FTP instead of a Floppy disk

First of all, FTP is the most straight forward and fast way to transferring files between two computers. If your your PC has an Internet connection either a network or thru your ISP, use FTP instead of transferring file(s) via a floppy disk. Here's how to use FTP for file transfers.

Use File Manager(s)

You can use various File Managers available in various Desktops such as KDE, Gnome, fwm, and X, i.e., "drag-and-drop."

Use mtools commands

If you prefer using a command-line approach to deal with a floppy disk, you can use "mtools" commands. "mtools" is a public domain collection of tools to allow Unix systems to manipulate MS-DOS files: read, write, and move around files on a floppy disk.

Available "mtools" commands are;

mtools command It does
mattrib Change MS-DOS file attribute flags.
mbadblocks Scan a floppy and mark its bad blocks as bad.
mcd Change the mtools working directory on the floppy disk.
mcopy Copy MS-DOS files to and from Unix.
mdel delete an MS-DOS file in a floppy disk.
mdeltree Delete a directory and all the files and subdirectories it contains from a floppy disk.
mdir Display an MS-DOS directory in the floppy disk.
mdu List the space occupied by a directory, its subdirectories and its files in a floppy disk. It is similar to the du command on Unix.
mformat Format a floppy disk.
minfo Print the parameters of a DOS filesystem on screen, such as number of sectors, heads and cylinders.
mkmanifest create a shell script that aids in the restoration of Unix filenames that got clobbered by the MS-DOS filename restrictions. MS-DOS filenames are restricted to 8 character names, 3 character extensions, upper case only, no device names, and no illegal characters.
mlabel Add a volume label to a floppy disk.
mmd Make an MS-DOS subdirectory in a floppy disk.
mrd Remove an MS-DOS subdirectory in a floppy disk.
mread list recursively
mmove Move an existing MS-DOS file or subdirectory in a floppy disk.
mren Rename an existing MS-DOS file or subdirectory in a floppy disk.
mtoolstest Test the mtools configuration files.
mtype Display contents of an MS-DOS file on the screen.

For more usage details, read manpage on "mtools."


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