Hello,

My PC is using Windows Vista Home Edition x32.

I have an exe file which is actually a Kroll Ontrack floppy creator. It contains an old disk manager.

In theory, I should run the exe on windows to create a floppy, and then boot from the floppy.

I'm not interested in creating the floppy. In fact, I would like to avoid creating the floppy. I just want to extract/expand/view the content of it (avoiding the creation of the floppy, of course).

Is there any utility or method (for windows or dos) I could use to achieve this, or at least to convert the Ontrack floppy creator executable file to some other format (zip/cab/img/ima/iso/bin image or archive)?

Thank you in advance.

You may try 7zip if it's a self extracting archive, where, when run, it copies the content to temp folder and then runs the program.

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First of all, thank you for the response.

About the file, it's and executable floppy creator, not exactly an "archive".

I already tried 7-zip, uniextract, isobuster, izarc and others. That is actually the goal: to find some way to extract the content, the image itself.

The obvious method would be to run the floppy creator, to make a floppy, and then to make an image of it. I was trying to avoid this.

In the meantime, I also tried using VFD and running the floppy creator, but for some reason I couldn't make it work.

VFD is running with administrative rights. I create a writable RAM floppy, format it, and then run the ontrack floppy creator(from now on, "OFC" for short). But then "OFC" states that the floppy should be writable (as if the little floppy "tab" was preventing from writing on it).

Then I tried VFD with a writable image floppy instead of a RAM floppy. I create, format and save it. But again "OFC" won't let me "write" the floppy.

Instead of VFD, I also tried ImDisk, which is partly based on VFD. Again the same problem: OFC can't write to the virtual floppy.

If there is no direct way to view/extract/convert the ontrack floppy creator, then I would really like to know what I am doing wrong with VFD. Maybe the folders' permissions are the problem? I really don't know, so if someone does know, advice is very welcome.

Or maybe someone could suggest any other virtual floppy that would actually work in this situation.

Thank you in advance.

Do you have a download link to the executable floppy creator?

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Thank you Icecube for your help.



Well, actually, UBCD already has such an executable file.

One example would be Samsung's disk manager 10.42, included in UBCD.

For the original file, go to:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ ... nager.html

and on that page download DM_Creator.zip (for HDD).

The typical instructions are on that page also, which would be:

1._ After downloading, extract the content of the zip.
2._ Under Windows, run DM_Creator.exe (THIS is the file I want to extract/expand/view/convert).
3._ The floppy creator will request a fat-formatted 1.44MB 3.5" floppy, and will create the necessary files on the floppy.
4._ To actually use the DM, you should boot with the just-created floppy.

As I said before, I want to avoid the floppy creation just to view/expand/extract/image its content.

Please understand that this Samsung DM is just one example of Ontrack Floppy Creator executable file type. I'm not asking for directions on how to boot the floppy, nor to how to use a disk manager.

I hope I was clear about what I want to accomplish.

Thank you in advance.

Why don't you use the ISO version?

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As I said, this is just one example or the type of executable. In this specific example, I have another option, the iso version.

I gave this specific example, because I know the file is already known by UBCD users, not because there is an iso version.

Ontrack used this type of executable (floppy extractor) to build all their old Disk Managers, including Samsung's, Seagate's, IBM/Hitachi's and Western Digital's disk managers. Other Ontrack's programs were distributed also like this.

In most cases, there is no alternative image download, just the exe one. If I want to check the content of an Ontrack Floppy Creator, right now I have to create a physical floppy to view its content.

My goal is not to circumvent the exe by finding an image alternative, because in most cases there will be no such image.

I think the specific example I gave is a typical one, and anyone's help is very valuable. If you, Icecube, (or anyone who could help, for that matter) need another example where there is no image alternative, I will search for another one (let me know if this is necessary). Just keep in mind, having an alternative iso in one particular case is not helping towards the actual goal: view/expand/extract/convert this Ontrack Floppy Creator type of executable into a common, known image type of file, without having to actually create a physical floppy.

Thank you in advance.