Using WHDLoad to test games

[motorollin]

I've got some old games on floppy which were stored in a loft for several years. I want to test that each disk is fully working. Is installing them with WHDLoad a good way to do this? Will WHDLoad highlight errors on the disks if they exist, or will it just rip the disk anyway?

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moto

[countzero]

no, it will just rip the disks. but you may find read write errors during ripping.

[motorollin]

What if I use preload when I launch the game? Will that check that everything was read as it should be?

--
moto

[jmbattle]

A number of WHDload installers utilise custom disk rippers which only function with recognised version of the original game disks.

Therefore, if there are any sector errors on the disks, it is unlikely that the installers/rippers will function correctly.

Cheers,
James
x

ps. Is that a shot of you in your new avatar?

[Angus]

motorollin wrote:
What if I use preload when I launch the game? Will that check that everything was read as it should be?

Isn't that just a convenience, so that everything is in memory and there are no "floppy accesses" during play?

I know that in some cases a floppy with a damaged or infected boot sector won't be a problem for WHDLoad, as it doesn't require or attempt to access that area, though clearly that's not a benefit to you in this case.

I think you might be looking at a "layered defence"
scenario here. If you could boot the games up from floppy successfully, and also WHDLoad them, and if possible then use a level skip cheat to access the different stages of the game, you ought to be on fairly safe ground.

Does the CAPS imaging thing announce disk errors? I don't know anything about that.

[darksun9210]

i might be being daft here, but, if you have the boxed originals, what're the copyright implications on downloading a known working WHDload for that game?

 :-?

[kvasir]

AFAIK, if you have the original, legally you're entitled to install it on your hard drive, as long as you don't part with the original material or e-mail the whdload installed version out, rather just use whdload as intended, and install stubborn games to HD for convenience. I've registered WHDload for this puropse, and can't say enough about it. I've put games on HD that I never thought would be able to be compatable short of a UAE install and ADF rip, though with the age of some of the games, and the storage in question, I'd systematically install everything you can get your hands on before bitrot sets in.

[Phantom]

motorollin wrote:
I've got some old games on floppy which were stored in a loft for several years. I want to test that each disk is fully working. Is installing them with WHDLoad a good way to do this? Will WHDLoad highlight errors on the disks if they exist, or will it just rip the disk anyway?

--
moto

For me yes, it is. I use WHDLoad to test my game disks. If the disk has read/write errors or checksum errors you will see a requester. I never had a problem after when I installed a game 100% with WHDLoad. This applies for original disks, I didn't test it with copies or backup ones.

[motorollin]

jmbattle wrote:
A number of WHDload installers utilise custom disk rippers which only function with recognised version of the original game disks.

Therefore, if there are any sector errors on the disks, it is unlikely that the installers/rippers will function correctly.

Hmm good point. I'll check the manuals for the games I'm testing. Thanks!

jmbattle wrote:
ps. Is that a shot of you in your new avatar?

Yes it's me.

--
moto

[motorollin]

Angus wrote:
I think you might be looking at a "layered defence"
scenario here. If you could boot the games up from floppy successfully, and also WHDLoad them, and if possible then use a level skip cheat to access the different stages of the game, you ought to be on fairly safe ground.

Good idea, I'll try it.

--
moto

[motorollin]

darksun9210 wrote:
i might be being daft here, but, if you have the boxed originals, what're the copyright implications on downloading a known working WHDload for that game?

AFAIK you are entitled to use a WHDLoad installed version, but download sites are not entitled to provide it for download (unless they have been given explicit permission).

--
moto

[motorollin]

Phantom wrote:
For me yes, it is. I use WHDLoad to test my game disks. If the disk has read/write errors or checksum errors you will see a requester.

Actually that did happen yesterday when I tried to install ProjectX and I got a read/write error. I just wasn't sure if that would *definitely* happen in all cases where the disk is not as it should be.

Phantom wrote:
I never had a problem after when I installed a game 100% with WHDLoad. This applies for original disks, I didn't test it with copies or backup ones.

That's reassuring - thank you.

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moto

[amigadave]

motorollin wrote:

jmbattle wrote:
ps. Is that a shot of you in your new avatar?

Yes it's me.
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moto

Why the long face, having a bad day when that pic was taken? :-D

[motorollin]

amigadave wrote:
Why the long face, having a bad day when that pic was taken? :-D

Yes!

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moto