Davex/doc/help/VStore

vstore -- store a ProDOS volume into a file (EXTERNAL) [v1.1]

syntax:  vstore <volume name> <pathname>

ex:      vstore /ram /my.disk/image.of.ram
         vstore /ram5 .61/ram5.image

'vstore' stores an image of a ProDOS volume into a file (or
several files on different disks).  'vrestore' is used to
restore the volume from the stored image.  'vstore' and
'vrestore' are especially useful with RAM disks that don't
have a battery backup.

'vstore' will prompt you to insert another disk whenever
one is full.  This means you can store a large RAM disk
(or even a hard disk) on a number of smaller disks.

'vstore' and 'vrestore' are not intended to replace your
normal backup procedures.  You should still keep normal
copies of your files somewhere, in case the large device
you are storing becomes unavailable.  For example, a stored
image of your 1024K RAM disk will not be useful if you have
to send in your RAM board for repair--but normal copies of
the files would be useful.

Note that a file created by 'vstore' is normally "sparse,"
so that its physical length is less than its logical length.
(This is because 'vstore' leaves gaps in the file corresponding
to unused blocks on the volume being stored.)  However, many
file-copy commands (including Davex's copy command at present)
don't preserve the sparseness when you copy a file.  The
resulting files may be much larger than the originals, so you
will probably not want to copy files created by 'vstore'.
(Copying *disks* containing sparse files is no problem, though.)

The 'what' command recognizes files created by 'vstore' and
displays some useful information about them.  The files are
now stored with filetype $E0 and auxiliary type $8004.

(see also: vrestore, what)