Disk Protection
Copy prevention on floppy
Disk protection techniques prevented casual copying of floppy disks through intentional errors, non-standard formatting, and hardware tricks.
Overview
Before CD-ROMs and online activation, publishers protected software through disk-level tricks. Intentional bad sectors, non-standard track formats, and spiral tracks created disks that worked in drives but couldn’t be copied with standard tools. The cracking scene responded with specialised hardware and software, creating an ongoing arms race.
Fast facts
- Era: floppy disk software era.
- Methods: bad sectors, non-standard formats, extra tracks.
- Detection: software checked for protection presence.
- Circumvention: nibble copiers, cracking tools.
- Legacy: preservation challenges for protected disks.
Protection methods
Common disk protection techniques:
- Bad sectors: intentional errors standard copiers couldn’t reproduce.
- Non-standard sectors: unusual timing or size.
- Extra tracks: data beyond standard track count.
- Spiral tracks: physically non-standard layout.
Preservation impact
Protection versus archiving:
- Difficulty: protected disks hard to preserve.
- Specialised tools: Kryoflux, SuperCard Pro.
- Cracked versions: often only surviving copies.
- Original media: degrading over time.