DiskSpan GUI

[Snake288]

Hello, could you help me with adding the DiskSpan GUI (nz.exe) compression tool?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been trying to integrate nz.exe with DiskSpan / DSG tools as an external compressor, but I keep running into problems and I haven’t been able to get it working reliably.

I attempted various configurations and tried to follow advice from ChatGPT, but unfortunately I am still facing issues. I have tried different method settings, external compressor definitions, and adjustments in both DSG_Arc.ini and DSG_Methods.ini, but I keep running into compatibility or configuration problems — such as “method not supported”, recursive NZ entries, or the GUI crashing.

ChatGPT suggested alternative compressor method approaches that might work with nz.exe, but I’m not sure which one is correct, safe, or recommended in practice. I believe I have explained the situation clearly, but I haven’t been able to resolve the issue myself.

I would greatly appreciate it if someone experienced with DiskSpan / External compressors could review this and suggest stable and working method configurations for using nz.exe. If there are any known working examples of nz.exe integration (especially with DiskSpan 2.0.2.4), that would be extremely helpful.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.


1️⃣ DSG_Arc.ini (ENGINE – THE ACTUAL WORKING PART)

👉 External Compressor Only

[External compressor:nz_ext]
header = 0
solid = 0

packcmd = "FINAL\NZ\nz.exe" a -cO -t0 -m512m -nm $$arcpackedfile$$.nz $$arcdatafile$$
unpackcmd = "FINAL\NZ\nz.exe" x $$arcpackedfile$$.nz

datafile = $$arcdatafile$$
packedfile = $$arcpackedfile$$.nz


✔ No crashes
✔ No recursive effects
✔ DiskSpan compatible

2️⃣ DSG_Methods.ini (GUI – SADECE ETİKET)

👉 NZ Method NOT AVAILABLE
👉 We are adding a preset under ARC

[Method:ARC_NZ]
Name=ARC + NZ (Balanced)
Type=ARC
ExternalCompressor=nz_ext


We can create 3 presets if you want 👇

⚡ FAST
[Method:ARC_NZ_FAST]
Name=ARC + NZ (Fast)
Type=ARC
ExternalCompressor=nz_ext
Options=-cf -t0 -m256m

⚖ BALANCED
[Method:ARC_NZ_BAL]
Name=ARC + NZ (Balanced)
Type=ARC
ExternalCompressor=nz_ext
Options=-cO -t0 -m512m

🧱 MAX
[Method:ARC_NZ_MAX]
Name=ARC + NZ (Max)
Type=ARC
ExternalCompressor=nz_ext
Options=-c> -t8 -m2g


📌 Options→ DiskSpan passes the method name to nz.exe as an additional parameter via ARC. 📌 Since the method name is ARC
, which DiskSpan recognizes, it will not give an error.

3️⃣ HOW DOES DiskSpan APPEAR IN THE GUI?
Compressors
└─ Type ARC
├─ ARC + NZ (Fast)
├─ ARC + NZ (Balanced)
└─ ARC + NZ (Max)


✔ No “method not supported”
✔ No NZ → NZ → NZ loop
✔ No access violation