Outsoftware · Digital preservation · 2016–present

The collection preserves original media and their copy protection. Supplied backup copies are also used to document the software and are identified in the screenshot captions.

Digital preservation / Sinclair QL

Diskfile 2.05

A QDOS file archiver by Mario De Weerd / Most Devine Works, original version 2.05 from 1991. It packs several files into one DiskFile container and restores them through a Pointer Environment interface. Tested payloads, names, types and dataspace were preserved exactly. Boot the image as FLP1 with Toolkit II. The loader loads the four original extensions and uses the resident HOT_RES/HOT_DO protocol. Set Disk to the whole device, for example flp2_: List reads its files, All selects them and Compress creates the archive named in File. Read opens an archive; Expand restores files to the device in Disk. Select QUIT with the pointer and Enter/right mouse button. From BASIC, HOT_DO "d" reopens Diskfile. Compress on an empty device closes the application without creating an archive; reopen it with HOT_DO "d", without resetting. Tested environment: Sinclair QL, 640 KiB, Minerva 1.98a1 and Toolkit II; this edition’s original Pointer extensions. No ROM is included.. On an empty disk, Compress terminates Diskfile; BASIC remains usable and HOT_DO "d" reopens it without a reset. This original behaviour is documented, not patched. Extraction recreates timestamps; preservation of complete original QDOS headers and dates is not claimed. Tested in emulation with Minerva 1.98a1, Toolkit II and 640 KiB. Other ROMs, real hardware, large media, disk-full handling and single-drive workflows were not tested. The original extensions retain their own terms: the manual requires legitimately obtained copies of PTR_GEN, WMAN, MENU_REXT and HOT_REXT. Diskfile is freely copyable; commercial use requires the author’s consent.