Hello,
I'm in a frantic rush to get ready to move and have just a few days to
use an old beige Mac G3 running OS 9.2.2 to rip/backup a bunch of old
3.5" floppy disks.  (Yes it MUST be OS 9.) The only method I have
right now is to pop in a disk, wait a little bit for it to mount on
the desktop, open the disk, and drag its contents toa  new folder on
the computer's hard drive.  Then wait for the copy to finish, then
drag the disk to the trashcan to eject it and start all over with the
next one.

There must be a better way.  Please find me a program for Mac OS 9
that automates ripping/copying/backuping of floppy disks so the
process requires less babysitting.  An important requirement is that I
must be able to get the software immediately (free or paid doesn't
matter, what matters is time).

What would be ideal is a program that, as soon as a floppy is
inserted, automatically copies the contents of that floppy into a new
folder someplace on the hard drive (it's no good to have files from a
tonload of floppies all dumped into one folder), then automatically
ejects the disk and waits for the next one to be inserted.  Also a
program that "backs up" floppies into one big file of some weird
outdated format would not be good either.  I need straight-up copying.

I know there had to be programs like this.  heck, I think even an
applescript for OS 9 could be written to do this.  maybe one already
has, or maybe someone at macscripter.net knows of one or can make one.
 i just don't have time, please help me.
thank you

Hello uniace,

I think I found an answer for you!

Apple Disk Copy 6.3.3 is available as a free download here:
http://www.macupdate.com/download.php/288/Disk_Copy_6.3.3.smi.bin

It will allow you to make automatic images of a floppy (a file that
can be mounted as a pretend floppy). This will quickly get all of the
floppy disks onto your hard drive.

I read about the application here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60353#English

After you download and install this application, you need to get the
scripts on this page:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=30619

The instructions for installing it are to put the scripts in the Apple
Disk COpy program directory. "AppleScripts can be executed directly
from Disk Copy by placing them in a folder named 'Scripts' in the same
folder as Disk Copy."

The direct download for these scripts is here:
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/Disk_Copy/Disk_Copy_6.3_Scripts.smi.bin

Good luck! Please let me know if you require further clarification and
I will do my best to continue assisting you.

tisme-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by tisme-ga on 03 Aug 2006 18:23 PDT

A quick clarification on what the script will do. From the official
apple documentation: "Floppy insert preferences will prompt the user
to decide what action Disk Copy will take if a floppy disk is inserted
while Disk Copy is the foreground application. The "Make an Image"
button will result in the floppy being saved as a disk image, and the
"Copy" button will result in the floppy being copied and restored onto
another floppy."

In essence, when the script is installed, all you need to do is have
the Disk Copy be the application that is currently active when you
install the floppy and the "Make an Image" button will automatically
save the contents of the floppy to the hard drive.

Good luck!

just tested it.  the img files created do indeed mount in OS X.  at
some point in the future i'll have to use an applescript or something
to extract all the files from the disk images so they're findable, but
the main mission right now is to just smash n grab while i can and
this works for that.
i still have to hit "enter" once during the process, but hey, good
enough for government work.  thank you