Aminet 40

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Aminet 40 / Aminet 40 (2000)(Schatztruhe)[!][Dec 2000].iso / Aminet / util / sys / Dev-Handler.readme < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 2000-11-02 | 16.4 KB | 455 lines

Short: Un*x like raw device access handler plus more Author: thor@math.tu-berlin.de (Thomas Richter) Uploader: thor@math.tu-berlin.de (Thomas Richter) Version: 40.3 Type: util/sys Requires: OS 2.04 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New in 40.3: - due to permanent trouble with the NSD specifications, NSD support is now disabled if the NSDPatch isn't found active. This means that the NSDPatch would be even required in case all devices in the system would support NSD correctly. Call this a design bug of NSD. - Added the possibility to write-protect certain dos devices. The devices to be write-protected are specified by the "Control" entry in the mount list. See below for the specifications. - Found that the 64 multiplication of the Os - which is used by this device handler - is actually broken. Funny enough, the 68000 and 010 version is fine, the 68020 and up versions are broken, but are worked around by the device handler itself. This workaround broke the 68000 version. To complete the mess, the Os specifications will now be changed to continue support for the "broken" API. This release contains a temporary fix for the problem. Further SetPatch releases will contain this fix as well. Please install the patch for now, and replace it by a new version of SetPatch as soon as it appears. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New in 40.2.1: - included a fix for the statram.device which crashed on NSDQuery. - included "Extract", an Amiga lookalike of the Un*x "dd" program to copy or extract portions of files, propably sectors of a "special" file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purpose of this program: The DEV-Handler allows easy access to raw sectors of an exec type device under the dos.library environment. A typical application would be to use the "copy" command to make a full backup of a floppy to a file, or to use "copy" to make a backup of the RDB of your HD. The DEV-Handler is very powerful, but also very dangerous in the wrong hands because it modifies the device structure going down to the exec handler directly without using any kind of filing system access. This DEV-Handler replaces various other DEV-Handlers and improves and fixes many problems of these earlier releases. Note that no original code of these versions have been used, this handler is a complete rewrite. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Usage: A file name for the DEV-Handler is either a "DOS" device name like "df0" or "DH0" in which case this "file" indicates the full partition addressed by this name. For example, "DEV:df0" is the raw, unmapped first internal floppy drive, "DEV:dh0" the first harddisk partition. The start of the file using this syntax is always the start of the partition, the length of the file the full length of the partition. Especially, this does NOT include the RDB, if there is one. The alternative syntax addresses an exec device directly and completely, ignoring partitions. A file name using this syntax looks as follows: DEV:device/unit/flags/bufmemtype/mask/maxtransfer where device is an exec device name, i.e. "scsi.device". This is mandatory. unit is the exec unit number, typically the SCSI ID. This is mandatory. If only one argument is given, the DEV-Handler reads the device as DOS partition name and not as an exec name. This is a numeral. flags exec flags for opening the device. Optionally and defaults to zero. This is a numeral. bufmemtype the memory type for the buffer to allocate for device I/O. Optionally and defaults to MEMF_24BITDMA|MEMF_PUBLIC. This is a numeral, or one of the following hard-coded identifiers: MEMF_ANY, ANY whatever is available, this is identical to MEMF_PUBLIC for the purpose of this handler. MEMF_PUBLIC, PUBLIC public (non-virtual) memory. MEMF_CHIP, CHIP chip memory. MEMF_FAST, FAST non-chip, i.e. FAST memory. MEMF_LOCAL, LOCAL native motherboard memory that does not go away on reset. MEMF_24BITDMA, 24BITDMA memory in the 24 bit address space reachable for Zorro-II DMA. MEMF_ZORROII, ZORROII a synonym for the above. All other values are read as numerals, hex identifiers using the "$" or "0x" notation are allowed here as well. This field fulfills the same purpose than the BUFMEMTYPE in the mount lists. mask A mask used for checking whether the supplied buffer is "proper". If "memory and not mask" is non-zero, the handler will fall back to single block-I/O like the FFS. This field has the same purpose and works in the same way as the "MASK" entry in mountlists. It is optional, the handler will compute a reasonable mask for you using the supplied or non-supplied bufmemtype. This entry is a numeral, hex notation is accepted. maxtransfer The maximal amount of bytes the exec device is able to transfer at once. Larger chunks are split into smaller pieces at most as big as the "maxtransfer". This field works as the "MAXTRANSFER" entry in mount- lists. It defaults to 32767, i.e. 32K-1. This entry is a numeral, hex notation is accepted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Examples: Note that the DEV-Handler is clearly an expert-tool, unsophisticated playing with the DEV-Handler may easely destroy the data-integrity of your HD! Make a byte for byte backup of a floppy in drive 0 - known as ".adf" file: copy dev:df0 to Backup.adf No need to run or use any kind of "ADF" conversion utility. Restore a backup to the floppy: copy Backup.adf to dev:df0 Yes, it is really that simple. (-: Make a byte copy of the ZIP partition for future use: copy DEV:ZIP to Backup View the "RDB" block of your boot volume, connected to the scsi.device, unit 0: type DEV:scsi.device/0 hex Make a backup of the RDB (on block #0) on the omniscsi.device, ID 0 to a backup file: extract dev:omniscsi.device/0 BC=1 to ram:rdb Extract the root block of the floppy drive in df0: to ram:out: extract dev:df0 IS=880 BC=1 to ram:out Restore a previous RDB backup: extract ram:rdb to dev:omniscsi.device/0 BC=1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Installation: - Copy "Device-Handler" to L: - Copy "DEV" and "DEV.info" to "Storage/DOSDrivers". I *do not* recommend to mount DEV: automatically on startup since accidental playing with DEV: may really yield to major damage! The mount file in this archive will write-protect the hard-disk devices DHx, where x is an arbitrary character. In case you do not want this, or want to include further devices in the write protection, edit the mount file; the list of devices to be write protected is specified in the line Control = "PROTECT=<pattern>" where <pattern> is an AmigaOs wild card pattern that will be matched against a DOS device name. In case of a fit, this device will not allow write access. In case you do not need this protection, just remove this line. Examples: Control = "PROTECT=DH?" Protects the DHx devices, where x is an arbitrary character, i.e. DH0, DH1 and so on. Control = "PROTECT=(DH?|ZIP)" Write protection includes the ZIP device. *NOTE THAT THIS SPECIFICATION DOES NOT INCLUDE THE TERMINATING COLON*. *DO NOT* remove the dummy specifications below the "Control" line. They are not required by the DEV-Handler, but by Mount to setup the "Control" entry correctly. Otherwise, there will be no protection whatsoever. - Copy "Extract" to C: - Install the statram.device patch as follows: - make a backup of DEVS:statram.device - spatch -oram:statram.device -pstatram.pch devs:statram.device - copy ram:statram.device back to DEVS: - Install the FixLongMult patch in your startup-sequence, somewhere below SetPatch. - Copy FixLongMult to C: - Open S:Startup-Sequence with an editor of your choice. - Locate the "SetPatch" command. - Insert a blank line below this command. - Enter "FixLongMult" into this line. - Save the changes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ statram.pch: This patch fixes a bug in the statram.device which crashes upon receiving NSDQuery. Even though this is clearly a bug of the device, it is a design flaw of the NSDQuery mechanism to provocate this bug by an uncarefully designed interface. This fix DOES NOT make statram.device NSD compatible (why?), it just fixes the crash and nothing more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FixLongMult: Fixes a bug in UMult64 and SMult64 for the 68000, 68010 and 68060. Does nothing for 68020, 68030 and 68040. In fact, it "corrects" the 68000, 010, 060 versions to use the same "wrong" syntax than the 68020,030,040 versions. In fact, this "wrong" syntax is now the official syntax. *Without this fix, the DEV-Handler and other programs will not run correctly on the 68000, 68010 and possibly the 68060.* This fix should be replaced by a new SetPatch release as soon as it appears. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Extract: This is a Un*x like dd program for copying portions of a file. It is in fact unrelated to the DEV: handler, but might be a useful tool for purposes the DEV: handler has been written for. Synopsis: Extract FROM=IF,TO=OF,BLOCKSIZE=IBS/N,DESTBLOCKSIZE=OBS/N,SEEK=IS/N, DESTSEEK=OS/N,COUNT=BC/N/A: FROM=IF: Input file, the data source. If this parameter is missing, Extract will run as a "filter" and will read from the standard input. TO=OF: Output file, the data destination. If this file does not exist, it is created, but an existing file will not be deleted, but modified. If this parameter is missing, Extract will run as a "filter" and will write to the standard output. Useful for "pipeing" the output to "type" to make single blocks of a harddisk readable. BLOCKSIZE=IBS: Input block size in bytes. "Extract" will always read single blocks of this (fixed) size from the input, and the "COUNT" field measures the data length in multiplies of this size. Neither the FFS nor DEV: require reading with fixed block sizes, but it might be useful for some purposes. If no block size is given, this parameter defaults to 512 bytes. NOTE THAT Extract IS NOT ABLE TO DETERMINATE THE TRUE BLOCK SIZE OF A "DEV:" FILE IT IS TALKING TO. Extract is unrelated to DEV: at all. Hence, in case your HD uses 2048 bytes blocks, you MUST specify a IBS of 2048. DESTBLOCKSIZE=OBS Output block size in bytes. "Extract" will always write single blocks of this size to the output, one at a time. If no block size is given, this parameter defaults to 512 bytes. READ THE WARNING ABOVE CONCERNING THE BLOCK SIZE. Extract is able to handle situations where the IBS is different from the OBS, or not even a multiple of the IBS. However, if this happens, the last block written is no longer guaranteed to be OBS bytes long. It might be shorter. In case the destination stream cannot handle this situation, it is up to you to avoid this. SEEK=IS Input seek. The number of blocks to be skipped in the input file before starting reading. The number of bytes to be skipped is therefore IS*IBS. Extract and DEV: are able to handle situations where IS*IBS is larger than 4GB by performing multiple Seeks to get to the desired file position. The FFS 45.xx *should* support this correctly, too, but maybe the handler you are using is not! Be aware of this problem. DESTSEEK=OS Output seek. The number of blocks, measured in OBS, to be skipped in the output stream before writing. See also the warnings concerning IS above. COUNT=BC Block count. The number of blocks, measured in IBS, to be read from the source. The same number of bytes is then written back to the output file, but the number of output blocks might be different if OBS is not equal to IBS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Improvements over the 37.xx releases (note that this is a re-design): - Keeps care about popular device bugs including the standard-workarounds the FFS offers as well, including a MASK, MAXTRANSFER and BUFMEMTYPE. - Allows concurrent reading and writing to the same stream. - Implements ACTION_SEEK, i.e. seeking in device streams is possible. - Automatically turns off the drive motors after a fixed delay like the FFS. - Handles large devices correctly using the TD64 and/or the TD64 standard. - Handles errors on Read/Write correctly, unlike the V37 edition. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The THOR-Software Licence (v2, 24th June 1998) This License applies to the computer programs known as "Device-Handler" and "Extract". The "Program", below, refers to such program. The "Archive" refers to the the original and unmodified package of distribution, as prepared by the author of the Program. Each licensee is addressed as "you". The Program and the data in the archive are freely distributable under the restrictions stated below, but are also Copyright (c) Thomas Richter. Distribution of the Program, the Archive and the data in the Archive by a commercial organization without written permission from the author to any third party is prohibited if any payment is made in connection with such distribution, whether directly (as in payment for a copy of the Program) or indirectly (as in payment for some service related to the Program, or payment for some product or service that includes a copy of the Program "without charge"; these are only examples, and not an exhaustive enumeration of prohibited activities). However, the following methods of distribution involving payment shall not in and of themselves be a violation of this restriction: (i) Posting the Program on a public access information storage and retrieval service for which a fee is received for retrieving information (such as an on-line service), provided that the fee is not content-dependent (i.e., the fee would be the same for retrieving the same volume of information consisting of random data). (ii) Distributing the Program on a CD-ROM, provided that a) the Archive is reproduced entirely and verbatim on such CD-ROM, including especially this licence agreement; b) the CD-ROM is made available to the public for a nominal fee only, c) a copy of the CD is made available to the author for free except for shipment costs, and d) provided further that all information on such CD-ROM is redistributable for non-commercial purposes without charge. Redistribution of a modified version of the Archive, the Program or the contents of the Archive is prohibited in any way, by any organization, regardless whether commercial or non-commercial. Everything must be kept together, in original and unmodified form. Limitations. THE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY. THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THIS LICENCE, YOU MUST DELETE THE PROGRAM, THE ARCHIVE AND ALL DATA OF THIS ARCHIVE FROM YOUR STORAGE SYSTEM. YOU ACCEPT THIS LICENCE BY USING OR REDISTRIBUTING THE PROGRAM. Thomas Richter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas Richter, September 2000 ============================= Archive contents ============================= Original Packed Ratio Date Time Name -------- ------- ----- --------- -------- ------------- 456 271 40.5% 16-Sep-00 15:39:30 +DEV 16103 6448 59.9% 16-Sep-00 18:05:10 +Dev-Handler.readme 481 265 44.9% 09-Jul-00 14:22:50 +DEV.info 7392 4370 40.8% 16-Sep-00 15:39:18 +Device-Handler 1012 779 23.0% 22-Jul-00 20:25:22 +Extract 396 309 21.9% 16-Sep-00 17:24:52 +FixLongMult 14688 9310 36.6% 22-Jul-00 20:26:06 +spatch 144 135 6.2% 22-Jul-00 20:25:04 +statram.pch -------- ------- ----- --------- -------- 40672 21887 46.1% 18-Sep-100 20:16:02 8 files