FIC Floppy Image Copier v1.0                    (c) 1990 Russell Hoore


Overview
	FIC will make an exact copy of a diskette without the pain of
	disk-swapping.  It requires a floppy drive (of course!) and
	sufficient XMS to hold the disk image.  For example, if you
	want to copy 1.2Mb disks, you'll need 1.2Mb of XMS. 


Background
	I regularly need to make copies of important information as
	off-site backups.  I wrote FIC to save me the pain of
	continually swapping disks for DISKCOPY.  FIC uses XMS rather
	than the hard disk to buffer the disk image as most machines
	I use have plenty of XMS and no free disk space.


Advantages
	FIC offers a number of advantages over other "no-swap"
	disk copiers:

		1. FIC buffers to XMS.  Most other programs buffer
		   to the hard disk.  Do you want to keep 1Mb free
		   in case you want to do a diskcopy?

		2. FIC is an image copier.  Many other programs are
	 	   merely file copiers.  When I make a copy, I want
		   an EXACT copy: directories, volume labels, etc.

		3. FIC is easy to use.  No character-based pull-down
		   menus, no awkward keystrokes.  "S" for source,
		   "T" for target.  Couldn't be simpler.

		4. FIC is auto-sensing.  There is no need to tell
		   FIC what size disk you are putting in the drive:
		   it will sense it automatically.

		5. FIC is small and fast.  It's completely written
		   in 8088 assembler.  It works as fast as
		   "sophisticated" DMA copiers yet uses standard
		   BIOS calls which enable it to be used across a
		   wide variety of computing platforms.

		6. FIC works with most disk-increasing programs,
		   including MAXI and 800K.

		7. FIC is it.  There's no configuration files,
		   overlays or other files to clutter up your hard
		   disk.  Just FIC.EXE.  And of course FIC.DOC.

Usage
	At the DOS prompt, type:

			fic
		or	fic [drive] 

	Following the prompt, insert the source disk and press "S".
	The disk will be read and you will be asked to insert the
	target and press "T".  After this, you can repeatedly hit "T"
	for more targets or "S" for more sources.

	You may abort the program at any time by hitting <ESC> or
	Ctrl-C.

	Reading times are approximately 40 seconds for 1.2Mb
	disks and 25 seconds for 360Kb disks.  Writing times are
	the same.


Licence
	I wrote FIC for myself, not to get money out of people.
	Consequently, FIC is freeware.  That is, I hereby grant you,
	the first-time user of FIC, a licence to use the program on as
	many computers as you wish.  However,

		1. The licence is revocable at my discretion

		2. I retain copyright of FIC

		3. FIC is not to be used to copy anything you could
		   not lawfully copy with DISKCOPY.

		4. FIC is supplied "as is" and with no warranty other
		   than any required by Australian law.  While I've
		   tested this program thoroughly, I cannot be held
		   reponsible for any loss of data.  With this in
		   mind, it is your responsibility to check each copy
		   with DISKCOMP.

	You are also licenced to distribute FIC, however,

		1. Unless you are a bona fide non-profit users' group
		   you may not charge for the distribution FIC.  I'm
		   not making any money on this, so I can't see why
		   some third-party profiteer should!

	Breach of any of these conditions will automatically revoke
	the licence.


Future versions
	Future versions are planned to include disk comparison,
	auto-formatting, conventional memory support, EMS support
	and colourful "wonder-wheel" disk display.


Feedback
	I'm interested to find out how FIC works on other equipment.
	If you find FIC works/doesn't work on some bizarre machine
	(or even on a normal machine), I'd appreciate a note from
	you.  Of course, general comments, bug reports, criticism
	and questions are welcome.  Mail may be sent to Russell Hoore
	at the Sydney PC Users Group, FidoNet node 3:712/505.