Marty:Creating Game Backups
There are two different types of backups for FM Towns Computer. One area is backing up the CD. The other is backing up the floppy disk. Towns used both CD and FD for its games. The majority and best games were on CD.
Backing up CD
FM Towns had zero copy protection implemented in CD-ROM since CD burners didn't exist en-mass in the very early 90s. Most disc imaging software such as CloneCD, ImgBurn, and Nero to name a few should be able to make a backup of the game totally fine. Media Preservation Frontend (MPF), a free tool for preservation is recommended for CD dumping FM Towns games.
More information for MPF can be found here
http://wiki.redump.org/index.php?title=Disc_Dumping_Guide_(MPF)
Backing up Floppy disks
Floppy discs are truly a scourge to backup. Vulnerable to magnets, mold, bending, scratching, taking write protect to "off" setting, and flux degradation. Primarily there are 3 'recommended' methods to backup floppy disk and then the 4th and likely easiest method.
For the first 3 methods, you will need a floppy drive, a floppy cable, and a way to power the floppy drive. A USB floppy drive won't work.
- Pauline - Very expensive, open-source, must hand-assemble tiny SMD components as the card is never for sale, cannot write to disk
- Greaseweazle - Affordable, open-source, always available on Ebay or the Facebook group
- Kyroflux - Expensive, difficult to source at times
There is also a 4th method with using a USB floppy drive and LinuxDD with the floppy with write protect on before inserting into the drive
General rule for floppy disk archiving
- Always inspect shutter to determine if there is any mold or damage
- Clean disk with only a microfiber cloth even if it looks clean prior to putting in a floppy drive
- Keep away from magnets and moisture