[whd]

Hi,

I have recently developed software which boots from, and runs exclusively from, a 3.5" floppy in drive A, which I intend to make available via EBay and a web site. This software also requires a registration code, which will permit full functionality, and is the result of an algorithm based on the diskette's serial number.

My problem to overcome is, "How do I package the files from my master diskette, so that when users extract the files from the downloaded package to a blank diskette in their drive A, the result is a bootable diskette containing my software, but yet has it's own unique serial number?"

I've found that using an Image file won't work because each copy has a duplicate of the serial number from my master diskette, so they aren't unique.

I've also found that none of the ZIP methods (or clones) will work either, because none seem capable of either ZIPping from, or extracting to, the boot sector.

The only software I know of that copies an entire diskette, including the boot sector, but resulting in a unique serial number on every copy, is DISKCOPY.EXE. But I don't know how to use this to solve my problem.

Any simple, elegant solutions from out-of-the-box thinking would be much appreciated, as I am currently at a standstill in my progress.

Thank you.