Searching for text/name in ATR's?

[+Larry]

Is there a utility that can search from Windows into multiple ATR images to find a particular file (within an image)? It seems like when doing a Windows search looking for text within a file, that the search should return that data, but as best I've been able to determine, there is no way to get inside the ATR's. (?) Does anyone have any insight into this? Seems like such a search tool would be very useful.

 

Thanks,

Larry

Edited August 10, 2010 by Larry

[+Stephen]

Do a search for Windows GREP. It's free and will search inside files of all types, even binary. I use it all the time with my ATRs.

[Rybags]

Windows Search is pretty useless.

 

I use Agent Ransack. Mainly for finding actual filenames within a tree, but it can do string search within files too.

 

For DOS disks, remember the filename will be stored for 8.3 format with the filename padded by spaces, and the extension always taking the last 3 within an 11 character field.

 

So, e.g. DOS.SYS you'd look for DOS <5 spaces> SYS.

[Wilheim]

Personally I use XVI32. It's very useful and it shows the hex codes of the binary. Useful to find machine code sequences.

[classics]

Second recommendation for Agent Ransack. I use it all the time for pouring through binary data.

[Shawn Jefferson]

Even the find command should work from a dos window... but you may have some issues with the differnce between ASCII and ATASCII maybe?

 

Also, if you are trying to find a file within an ATR, you probably want a tool that can read the disk directory (and determine the format to display the directory properly...) Ken Siders has an ATRDIR program that might work for what you are trying to do (althought I don't know if it will read SpartaDOS directories properly.) Combine this with some command-line kung fu and you can probably do what you want.

 

http://atari.kensclassics.org/a8emulators.html

[Rybags]

MS Search is dodgy at text. No idea what the problem is - it probably gets thrown off by non-print characters or something rediculous like that.

[Irgendwer]

Windows Search is pretty useless.

...

 

It works much better and looks also into ATR-(unknown) files if you tweak the registry:

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex

 

FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions (DWORD) "1"

[russg]

Is there a utility that can search from Windows into multiple ATR images to find a particular file (within an image)? It seems like when doing a Windows search looking for text within a file, that the search should return that data, but as best I've been able to determine, there is no way to get inside the ATR's. (?) Does anyone have any insight into this? Seems like such a search tool would be very useful.

 

Thanks,

Larry

You might like to make catalogs of your atrs. Here's a disk cataloger and sorter I wrote.

You make a data disk and put it in D1:. Then read your disks in D2: or higher drive.

You make categories of catalogs, say PDGAMES, then read the files from your ATRs and put them into your PDGAMES.

You can then alphabetically sort your catalogs with a SORTER2.COM program. Now you have your catalog, you can

search for which ATR the given filename is in.

DISKCAT1.ZIP

[+Larry]

Thanks to all for the replies and suggestions. I've downloaded both of the WinApps, and they both work fine finding files within ATR's. I like the interface of AJC Grep, but Agent Ransack certainly seems faster and is free. Russ -- thanks for the cataloger (I downloaded it), but in this situation I really need something that works from Windows.

-Larry

[+Roydea6]

Thanks to all for the replies and suggestions. I've downloaded both of the WinApps, and they both work fine finding files within ATR's. I like the interface of AJC Grep, but Agent Ransack certainly seems faster and is free. Russ -- thanks for the cataloger (I downloaded it), but in this situation I really need something that works from Windows.

-Larry

 

Larry which files are you looking for inside the ATR. Atadim works nice for viewing ATR directory. Before Windows 7 and 64bit OS, I used XDIRLIST from Command prompt and I created a LOCATE.TXT file on root of C:\

 

regards,

[+Larry]

Hi Roy-

 

I'm not familiar with Atadim, but let's say that I'm looking for a specific file that is in a folder of 500 ATR's. I know that file is somewhere in there, but where? The tools that I was familiar with required that I look at every ATR in order to see the directory and find the file I'm searching for. (It's even worse if I don't remember the title, but can only guess at some of the text within the file.) If every ATR had an average of 20 files, that's 10,000 files to look through. I think it's roughly analogous to having a big box of floppies, and knowing that a particular disk is in there, but having to go through the entire box to find it.

 

Bob Puff's WHEREIS.COM does a very good job, but it still can't find a file title within an ATR (unless the ATR is mounted). If I put a large group of ATR's in a PC Mirror directory, I could probably write something similar to WHEREIS.COM that would go through each ATR and look for the target. But even using Action!, it would be many, many times slower than letting Windows do it. It still would be an interesting exercise, so maybe I'll try to do it. I do remember that in my utilities there are machine language "string search" utilities. Afterthought -- I wonder if the MyDos 64-file limit applies within a PC Mirror? Might be a job for SDX.

 

-Larry

 

Larry which files are you looking for inside the ATR. Atadim works nice for viewing ATR directory. Before Windows 7 and 64bit OS, I used XDIRLIST from Command prompt and I created a LOCATE.TXT file on root of C:\

 

regards,

[Rybags]

PC Mirror wouldn't help entirely much... it only lets you see the first 64 files in a directory.