Linux – /dev/fd0 equivalent on windows. (Writing directly to tar floppy)

7-ziplinuxtarwindows

I am currently using a system I cannot change that writes tar files to a floppy disk.

I need to read/write the same type of disk on a windows machine.

The command used to create the disk in Linux is: "tar -cf /dev/sdb myfile"

Unfortunately, windows does not recognize disks created like this. I get the "disk not formatted" error when I plug in the usb floppy drive. (Expected, as it is not an actual filesystem)

I am trying to use 7zip command line to access the file, by typing "7z.exe -l A:"
The floppy light comes on, but no archive is found.
Is there a way to allow some software like 7zip to see the actual raw floppy contents? Because it IS a tar file, but has no mountable filesystem.

Best Answer

I do not think it's possible via command line, but I was able to read an archive tarred (is that a word?) directly to device (I used your tar command to write to USB) using 7a File Manager (GUI). You'd need to use special prefix to address device directly:

The "\\.\" prefix will access the Win32 device namespace instead of the Win32 file namespace. This is how access to physical disks and volumes is accomplished directly

Syntax I was able to use to get access to my test archive was 7zfm \\.\f:\ (I do not have floppy, so I used USB instead) - so I expect 7zfm \\.\A:\ should work for you. You may also put it as path after you start GUI, or use \\.\ to escape to device namespace and then select your drive.

Related Question