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P r o f e s s i o n a l M a s t e r K e y U t i l i t i e s
-----------------------------------------------------------------
User's Guide To Operation
| Document revision: Feb 15, 1991
| Revisions are noted by | at the left
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Copyright 1990, 1991 Public Brand Software
All rights reserved
Public Brand Software
P.O. Box 51315
Indianapolis, IN 46251
1-800-426-DISK (3475)
317-856-7571 (in Indianapolis)
The Professional Master Key Utilities -- Version 3.2
Professional Master Key Utilities License Agreement
The Professional Master Key Utilities or "PMK" consist of the following
programs:
INSTALL.EXE ....... Optional installation for all PMK programs
PMK.EXE ........... Professional Master Key
FS.EXE ............ Full Screen File Sort
FD.EXE ............ Fill Disk
UF.EXE ............ Un Format
ZERODISK.EXE ...... Zero Disk
ZEROFILE.EXE ...... Zero File
TINYEDIT.EXE ...... Tiny Edit
The Professional Master Key Utilities and documentation distributed or
shipped with it are copyrighted works protected by U.S. and
international copyright law. You are granted a license to use your copy
of PMK only under the terms specified in this license agreement.
PMK is a commercial software package representing many long hours of
programming, development, and support. The Professional Master Key
utilities are not public domain or free software. The Professional
Master Key Utilities are distributed as shareware, supported by you, the
users that find these programs productive!
If you benefited in some way from The Professional Master Key Utilities
or make regular use of any of the programs, you should register your
copy. Registered users are sent a program disk containing the latest
release of the programs, complete printed documentation, and published
announcements of future releases of The Professional Master Key
Utilities.
If the user of The Professional Master Key Utilities is a commercial or
governmental organization, the registration fee must be paid for each
computer The Professional Master Key utilities is used on.
Details about registration and site licenses is contained in the
printable file REGISTER.DOC execute the command COPY REGISTER.DOC PRN
to obtain an invoice.
Anyone not charging a "duplication" fee, individual or non-profit user
group, may freely copy and share exact duplicates of The Professional
Master Key Utilities. All program and documentation files must be
distributed together and unmodified.
Distributors of shareware software must receive written approval from
Public Brand Software before distributing a disk containing a copy of
| The Professional Master Key Utilities. In no case may any distribution
| fee exceed $7. ASP Approved vendors need not receive written approval.
| PMK may not be distributed on CD-ROM unless the publisher has privisions
| to give refunds or to buy back out of date CD-ROMS. We don't feel that
| it is in our best interest to have old versions floating around.
The Professional Master Key Utilities -- Version 3.2
Professional Master Key Utilities Warranty
There is no warranty of any kind associated with PMK. You, the user, are
advised to experiment and become familiar with all of the programs
before relying on them. You assume all risk for the selection, use, and
operation of PMK to achieve your intended results.
You alone are responsible for any loss of profits, loss of savings, or
other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the correct or
incorrect use of these programs, even if Public Brand Software is
advised of the possibility of any damages due to a defect in any
program.
Public Brand Software does not warrant that this documentation is
accurate, or that any of The Professional Master Key Utilities programs
will operate as they were claimed or designed.
By using any of the programs composing The Professional Master Key
Utilities programs you agree to the above limitations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DESQview is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems.
IBM, TopView, and PC-DOS are trademarks of International
Business Machines Corporation.
MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Professional Master Key Utilities are not related to and
should not be confused with another program, MASTER*KEY, sold by
Sharpe Systems Corporation.
Table Of Contents
Page
Introduction to the Utilities .......................... 1
System Requirements ............................... 4
User Requirements ................................. 5
Conventions Used .................................. 6
Installing The Professional Master Key Utilities ....... 7
Professional Master Key ................................ 10
Selecting a File .................................. 12
Alter Files ....................................... 14
Change Disk ....................................... 15
Disk Edit ......................................... 16
Erase Files ....................................... 20
File Edit ......................................... 21
Information ....................................... 22
Locate Files ...................................... 23
Map Disk/Files .................................... 24
Quit .............................................. 25
Rename Files ...................................... 26
Undelete Files .................................... 27
Full Screen File Sort .................................. 30
Fill Disk .............................................. 33
Un Format .............................................. 35
Zero Disk .............................................. 39
Zero File .............................................. 41
Tiny Edit .............................................. 43
Appendix A: Error Messages ............................ 45
Professional Master Key ........................... 47
Full Screen File Sort ............................. 50
Fill Disk ......................................... 51
Install ........................................... 52
Un Format ......................................... 53
Zero Disk ......................................... 54
Zero File ......................................... 55
Appendix B: Association of Shareware Professionals .... 56
Introduction to the Utilities
The Professional Master Key Utilities are an evolving group of programs
designed to open the doors into your MS-DOS disks. They give you the
flexibility, ease of use, and power to manipulate and change your
disks in many ways that you weren't able to previously.
The present version of these programs, version 3.2, are written in the C
programming language. The programs are user friendly, fast, and very
powerful.
There are eight programs in the utilities. You can run all of the
utilities from one menu, so you won't have to remember all of the
commands. There is also an installation program that lets you configure
the options and colors of the programs in any way you want.
Professional Master Key (PMK).
PMK is much more than a mere sector editor. It also edits, manipulates,
renames, erases, and most importantly undeletes files. The features in
PMK include:
-- Access any MS-DOS disk available. Any sized floppy disk, any sized
hard disk, any sized RAM disk, and any physical or virtual disk
accessed through a device driver can be used. The only limitation
| on a disk is that its sector size cannot exceed 4096 bytes. There is
| a limit to the total size of the disk (number of clusters), but it is
| probably beyond what you will encounter in everyday use.
-- Access any file or sub-directory in any sub-directory on these disks.
The status of a file or sub-directory is not important. PMK can
easily access all Hidden, Read-Only, and System files.
-- Edit all sectors on a disk. The disk is edited on a sector by sector
basis, giving full access, either sequentially or randomly, to any
available sector on the disk. The editing display includes both the
sector number and cursor offset within the sector.
-- Edit all sectors within any file or sub-directory on the disk. Files
are also edited by sector, giving full access to any sector in the
file or sub-directory in a sequential or random manner.
-- Search sequentially for and go immediately to any ASCII text up to 70
characters long or any hex data up to 35 words long while editing a
disk or file.
-- Quickly display a graphical map of total disk usage and free space,
as well as a map of the location of any file on the disk.
-- Change any of the file attributes for any file or sub-directory on a
disk. This includes Read-Only, Hidden, System and Archive status as
well as the date and time of creation.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 1
Introduction to the Utilities
-- Find any file or sub-directory on a disk matching an ambiguous (like
*.BAT) or unambiguous (PMK.EXE) file specification, including Hidden
and System files.
-- Rename any file or sub-directory on a disk.
-- Erase any file on a disk, including Read-Only files.
-- Undelete any file or sub-directory on a disk that is able to be
undeleted.
Fill Disk.
Fill Disk writes any message on all free sectors on a disk leaving
existing files alone. It can also zero all unused sectors, removing all
traces of old file data. The uses of Fill Disk are many, ranging from
stamping a hard disk with your name and address (to provide you with a
positive means of identifying it in the event of a theft) to merely
clearing out remnants of previous work.
Full Screen File Sort.
File Sort rearranges the order of file names on a disk. It can sort
file names according to their name, extension, date, time, or size, all
in either ascending or descending order. It also allows you the
flexability to rearrange the order of file names in a directory
arbitrarily to suit your needs.
Un Format.
Protecting against accidentally formatting a hard disk is what Un Format
is all about. When used regularly it protects hard disk users from
losing many of their files and data after an accidental hard disk
format. After a surprising format of your hard disk, Un Format, when
used properly, quickly and easily restores the hard disk to the state it
was in before it was formatted.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 2
Introduction to the Utilities
Zero Disk.
Zero Disk removes all traces of all data from a disk. Unlike Fill Disk,
which can optionally zero unused sectors of a file while leaving all
existing files untouched, Zero Disk completely eliminates all existing
files along with everything else. If you want to make sure an old disk
can't be dissected for confidential data, zero that disk.
Zero File.
Zero File removes all traces of a file's current data from your disk. A
file deleted by MS-DOS could later be recovered on the disk using PMK.
However, a file zeroed with Zero File cannot be recovered, in any way,
from that disk. A file's current data is completely eliminated from
your disk. By using Zero File along with Fill Disk, you can make sure
that no trace of a sensitive file's data, new or old, remains anywhere
on your disk.
Install.
There is an easy way to configure The Professional Master Key Utilities
to run the way you want them to. The installation program lets you
reconfigure the colors displayed. You can also change the default
settings for the /Mono and /Bios options to make the utilities run
better on your computer.
Tiny Edit
A small no-frills text editor and file viewer for use with CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. The only strong feature of Tiny Edit is its
small size. Good to include on floppy disks and for use with laptops
where space is at a premium.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 3
Introduction to the Utilities System Requirements
System Requirements
To run, The Professional Master Key Utilities require the following
"standard" equipment:
a computer ............. IBM PC/XT/AT or somewhat compatible
an operating system .... MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.0 or later
a monitor .............. MDA, CGA, EGA, VGA, MCGA, Hercules, Anything
memory ................. 128k free (above operating system)
disk drives ............ virtually anything
Computer. Any computer that uses MS-DOS as an operating system and is
at least compatible on a BIOS level with IBM PC computers should run The
Professional Master Key Utilities without any problem. Computers that
are 100% IBM PC compatible will seem to operate considerably faster due
to direct screen writing for video output.
Operating system. The Professional Master Key Utilities will work
correctly when using MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 2.0 or later. The
programs have been tested on version 2.0 through version 4.0.
Additionally, The Professional Master Key Utilities have successfully
run under the TopView, DESQview, and Microsoft Windows operating
environments. In all cases, The Professional Master Key Utility
programs run in a separate window allowing simultaneous use with other
programs.
PMK is not guaranteed to run successfully under any version of DR DOS.
Monitor. If your computer has a monitor and a display adapter, chances
are that they work fine with The Professional Master Key Utilities. If
you have a color monitor and color display adapter, the screen displays
are in color. If you have a monochrome monitor/adapter or a color
monitor/adapter in a black and white mode, the screen displays are in
monochrome.
Memory. This shouldn't be much of a consideration due to the relatively
inexpensive cost of RAM. However, as a minimum, The Professional Master
Key Utilities require 128k of free memory above that required by the
operating system. More free memory is desired, but is usually only
necessary when you are using a hard disk that contains many files and
sub-directories.
Disk drives. Again, if your computer has and uses disk drives, chances
are that they will work without any problems with The Professional
Master Key Utilities. Each of the programs can work with and use
virtually any MS-DOS disk your system has. This includes 160k, 180k,
320k, 360k, 720k, 1.2MB, and 1.44MB floppy drives; hard disks drives;
RAM disks; and physical or virtual disk drives accessed by a device
driver. Specifically works with drives controlled by OnTrak's Disk
Manager and Golden Bow's formatting software
What these requirements end up meaning is there is a very good
probability that The Professional Master Key Utilities will run on any
MS-DOS computer, yours included, with at least 128k of RAM available.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 4
Introduction to the Utilities User Requirements
User Requirements
To use The Professional Master Key Utilities, you are also required to
have at least some of the following:
experience ............... an intermediate to advanced level
a desire to learn ........ and a will to discover what's new
respect .................. for the power you now have
Experience. The Professional Master Key Utilities programs are designed
to be as easy and straightforward to use as possible. Because of that,
anyone can use the utilities, a "first day beginner" or a "seasoned
master." However, due to the concepts and difficulty involved with
explaining the operation and physical layout of disks, some experience
is desired.
A desire to learn. Experience isn't always required. If you don't have
a lot of experience but have a big will to learn more about what's on a
disk and how it works, you have definitely come to the right place. The
Professional Master Key Utilities will help you to learn more about
disks every day you use any of the programs.
If you have absolutely no knowledge about disks, please read a book or
two that discusses them before making a plunge into the depths of your
disks. Nearly any book discussing MS-DOS will help. Not only will this
help you understand what is going on, but it will make you more aware of
what shouldn't be altered.
Respect. A healthy respect for the power you have with The Professional
Master Key Utilities is likely the most important user requirement. You
can be a little short on experience and low on a big desire to learn,
but you must be aware that making blind modifications, especially with
PMK, may render your disks useless. To give you the most flexibility,
the utilities usually assume that any changes you are make are the
correct ones.
Experimenting with these utilities to learn more about them and your
disks is fine, but please also take some precautions. Make a copy of
your floppy disk or back up your hard disk before making any changes.
This is important if you aren't sure that what you may be doing is what
you want to do. Be cautious about modifying the boot sector, FAT
sectors, and any directory, unless you are certain of your changes and
their results.
These user requirements aren't as stringent as the system requirements,
but they are just as important. What you may lack in one requirement,
you should make up for in another. The bottom line is to be careful and
make sure you want what you ask for.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 5
Introduction to the Utilities Conventions Used
Conventions Used
To make using The Professional Master Key Utilities and this
documentation clearer, here are descriptions of the notational
conventions used:
[ ] Square brackets. When a program option appears within square
brackets that option may be omitted. An option not enclosed in
square brackets may not be omitted. Do not type the brackets when
specifying an option.
< > Angled brackets. Words shown inside angled brackets are
descriptions of an option, such as a file name or a message. An
option inside angled brackets is needed unless it is also within
square brackets. Again, do not type the brackets when specifying
an option.
When a program is running, key names are also enclosed within angled
brackets to describe a key to press. An example of this exists in
the main menu of PMK where, in part, the text states, "... then
pressing <ENTER>." This wording, in this example, means to press
the Enter key and not the letters <, E, N, T, E, R, and >. The
| Esc and End keys are also referred to in this way (ie., as <Esc>
and <END>).
| Vertical bar. A vertical bar represents an either/or situation.
One of the words surrounding a vertical bar should be typed as an
option. If "ON | OFF" is shown, it means that either ON or OFF
should be entered, but not both. Do not type the vertical bar
when specifying an option.
^ Caret. A caret represents the control key. It is always shown
preceding a key and means to hold down the control key and press the
key specified. Thus, when "^Home" is shown, it means to hold down
the control key and press the Home key.
Within this document, the words <LEFT>, <RIGHT>, <DOWN>, and <UP> refer
to the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, and down arrow. The words or
lettering that appears on a key describes every other key.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 6
Installing The Professional Master Key Utilities
The installation program for The Professional Master Key Utilities
changes the colors and default options for any of the programs in the
utilities.
For most people, installing the utilities isn't necessary if each
program runs fine as it is distributed. However, you may install the
utilities to better meet your liking if you don't agree with my
selection of colors or need to use the /Mono or /Bios options whenever
you run a program.
The complete command to run the installation program is:
INSTALL [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF]
Examples:
INSTALL
accept the current defaults for /Mono and /Bios as
they exist in INSTALL.EXE and use those defaults
when installing the other programs
INSTALL /Mono ON
display all screens in monochrome and install the
other programs to display in monochrome; install
using the default for /Bios
INSTALL /Mono OFF /Bios ON
display in colors using BIOS screen writing functions
and install these settings in the other programs
INSTALL /Mono AUTO /Bios OFF
display all screens in color if a color display is
found, writing text directly to the screen
Changing Options
To change one of the options in a program, type the option on the
command line when running Install.
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, text is displayed in monochrome regardless of
whether your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF,
displays are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is
AUTO, displays will be in color when a color display is detected or
monochrome when a color display isn't found. The default setting for
the /Mono option in the distribution files is AUTO.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 7
Installing The Professional Master Key Utilities
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
If your computer is not 100% IBM compatible, you may need to configure
the programs to use the BIOS screen writing method. If the utilities
don't seem to run on your computer, try running or installing them with
the /Bios option ON.
Changing Colors
Modifying default color settings is fairly easy. After starting
Install, highlight the menu selection, "Change default program colors,"
and press Enter.
The utilities have six color categories, listed below. The colors for
each of the categories can be changed to any available foreground and
background color.
The six color categories are:
Window Border Color
Border Text Color
Informational Text Color
General Text Color
Cursor Color
Changed Data Color
Only one color category at a time can be changed. Select the category
to change by pressing Enter until that category is available for
modification. If you wanted to change the Cursor Color, press Enter
until you see:
Changing: Cursor Color
Once the desired color category is selected, you can change its colors.
Modify foreground colors using <UP> and <DOWN>. Change background
colors using <LEFT> and <RIGHT>. The sample display of the current
color category is updated to show its current colors, as they are
changed.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 8
Installing The Professional Master Key Utilities
| Press Esc when you have changed all the colors you can stand and want to
return to the menu.
Installing the Programs
When the options and colors are set, install each program, one at a
time, by highlighting the appropriate menu selection and pressing Enter.
As each program is installed, gears will grind, steam will blow, and
your disk drive will spin. In a few moments, the program selected is
installed. The next time that program runs, the default options and
colors are set just as you wanted.
INSTALL.EXE can also be installed. After selecting Quit, if you have
changed any options or colors, Install will ask you if you want to save
all of the changes made. Press 'Y' and Install will be installed, like
the rest of the programs.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 9
Professional Master Key
Professional Master Key
Professional Master Key, obviously the flagship program of The
Professional Master Key Utilities, includes numerous useful disk tools
bundled into one easy to use program. It's a powerful program that has
many useful features.
The complete command to run Professional Master Key from your MS-DOS
prompt is:
PMK [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF] [d:]
Examples:
PMK
accept current defaults for /Mono and /Bios; set
the working drive to the currently logged drive
PMK /Bios ON A:
display using BIOS screen writing functions; set
the working drive to A:
PMK B:
accept current defaults; set the working drive to
B:
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, text is displayed in monochrome regardless of
whether your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF,
displays are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is
AUTO, displays will be in color when a color display is detected or
monochrome when a color display isn't found. The default setting for
the /Mono option in the distribution files is AUTO.
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 10
Professional Master Key
d: (Set current drive). Entering a drive letter from the MS-DOS prompt
sets the current working drive to d:. The drive letter must be a valid
drive letter for your system. If d: is not a valid drive letter or if
it is omitted, PMK sets the current working drive to the currently
logged drive.
The Main Menu
Once running, the main menu appears. The information in the main menu
| includes the program name, version number, all function descriptions,
| current working drive and subdirectory, and Public Brand Software's address
and copyright.
| Currently, there are twelve functions available from the main menu.
They are:
| Select Drive
| Select Path
| Locate File
| Edit File
| Information
| Map Disk
| Edit Disk
| Edit Attributes
| Rename File
| Erase File
| Unerase File
| Quit
Select one of these functions by moving the highlighted bar with <UP>
and <DOWN>. Press Enter when the bar highlights the function you want
to execute. An alternative, easier method of selecting a function is to
| type the highlited letter of the function name (V, P, L, F, I, M, D, A,
| R, E, U, or Q).
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 11
Professional Master Key Selecting a file
Selecting a file
Since a file must be selected for six of the ten functions, choosing
what file to work with is vital for using Professional Master Key well.
Luckily, choosing a file is very easy and almost doesn't need
description.
What is a file and a sub-directory?
Before beginning, the definition of how the word "file" is used in this
document needs explanation to avoid any confusion.
A file, as defined and viewed by Professional Master Key and MS-DOS, is
a name and all data associated with that name. This is just as you
would expect and have been expecting it to be all along.
A sub-directory is essentially just a file. This may seem confusing
since we typically view and treat a sub-directory very differently from
a file. However, because of the way MS-DOS creates, accesses, and uses
them, sub-directories should also be viewed logically as special files.
To give you more power to manipulate your disks, PMK processes
sub-directories as it would files.
Functions using files treat files and sub-directories equally. All
functions working with files can be used to manipulate sub-directories
within Professional Master Key with equal ease, with a few exceptions
discussed later.
Whenever the word "file" appears within this document, it refers equally
to a sub-directory. The opposite is not true however. The word
"sub-directory" does not likewise refer to a file.
Selecting a directory
Once a function requiring a file is selected, PMK checks to see if
the current working drive's directory is in memory. If the
directory isn't in memory, PMK now reads the working drive's complete
directory structure. As it is working, the following message is
displayed:
Reading directory information...
Reading a drive's directory may take a little time, all depending on how
many files and sub-directories are on the drive and how quickly the
drive operates.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 12
Professional Master Key Selecting a file
After the entire directory is in memory, it is displayed. Use <UP>,
<DOWN>, PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End to move the highlighted cursor to
select a sub-directory. <UP> and <DOWN> move the highlighted bar to the
previous and next sub-directory. PgUp and PgDn move the bar up and down
to the previous screen and next screen of sub-directories. Home and End
move the highlighted bar to the first and last sub-directory available.
Press Enter to accept the highlighted sub-directory or press Esc to
return to the main menu.
If your disk doesn't have any sub-directories, selecting a sub-directory
is skipped.
Selecting a file
After selecting a sub-directory, PMK again checks to see if files in
that sub-directory are currently in memory. If they aren't, PMK will
access the disk, showing the message:
Reading file information...
Select the file to work with in a similar manner, using <UP>, <DOWN>,
PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 13
Professional Master Key Edit Attributes
Edit Attributes
The Edit Attributes function changes the attributes, date, and time for
any file on the current working drive. You can change a file's hidden,
read-only, or system attributes with equal ease. A file's date and time
of creation can be changed as well with very little effort.
Select the initial file to work with once within the Edit Attributes
function.
Changing an attribute
To change one of the file's attributes (Read Only, Hidden, System, or
Archive), move the highlighted bar with <DOWN> and <UP>. Press Enter to
toggle the highlighted attribute on or off. When an attribute is on, it
is set or in an active state.
Changing the date or time
Changing the time or date differs from changing an attribute. Once the
date or time field is highlighted, press any key to tell PMK you want to
change the contents of that field.
Upon pressing any key (when the date or time field is highlighted), a
cursor appears within the highlighted bar. Type in the new date or time
(only valid numbers are accepted). Move the cursor to a different
location using <LEFT> and <RIGHT>. <UP>, <DOWN>, or Enter ends your
changes to the date or time.
Saving any changes
Press End to save changes made to a file's attributes, date, or time.
If the attributes aren't saved, the columns, "Current File Attributes"
and "Altered File Attributes," show different values. Upon pressing
End, they are identical.
| When finished changing attributes, pressing Esc returns you to the main
menu.
Selecting a new file
When not actually editing the date or time fields, pressing <LEFT> or
<RIGHT> to change the file you are working with to the previous or next
file in the directory. If a new file is selected in this manner (using
<LEFT> or <RIGHT>), any changes made to the previous file are NOT
automatically saved.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 14
Professional Master Key Select Drive and Path
| Select Drives and Paths
| The Select Drive and Select Path functions have two major designs. The
| first and most obvious is it switches the current working drive to any other
| available drive. The second less obvious function is that it also clears
| file and directory information PMK has saved about the current drive, making
| it start over from scratch the next time a file is accessed.
Changing to another drive
Whenever you need to work with a disk other than the current working
| drive, select Select Drive and switch the current working drive.
| Pressing Enter with Select Drive highlighted opens a window showing:
There are 7 logical drives from A: to G: available.
Enter a letter from A to G to change the current drive
to any of the available drives.
| Press <Esc> to keep the current drive and information.
To change the current working drive, do as it says and type a letter in
the range shown. In this example, you could type any of the letters in
the range A to G. The "G" in this example will be the highest lettered
drive on your system.
| If you selected Select Drive by mistake, exit the function by pressing
| Esc. Doing so keeps PMK from clearing all recorded file and directory
information about the current drive.
Changing floppy disks
| Whenever you change floppy disks in a floppy disk drive, use Select Drive
to tell PMK to clear all recorded file and directory information on the
old disk. Change the current working drive back to the same floppy disk
| drive once the new disk is in place. If you forget to select Select
| Drive after switching floppy disks, PMK will still think the old floppy
disk is present. When this happens, PMK may not work properly in any of
the file functions.
| Selecting a Path
| The Select Path function works similarly to Select Drive. Highlight the
| required subdirectory from the tree chart shown to make it the active
| subdirectory.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 15
Professional Master Key Edit Disk
Edit Disk
The Edit Disk function lets you see and change what really is stored on
your disks, on a sector by sector basis. Sectors can be accessed either
sequentially or randomly. The disk can also be searched for text.
After selecting Edit Disk, PMK reads and displays the first sector on
the working drive. The sector is shown in both ASCII and hex codes in
the 24 character wide format.
Once editing the disk, a variety of function keys, arrow keys, movement
keys, and other keys become effective. These keys and their functions
are described in a section below.
Getting help
F1 (display help). Whenever editing the disk, Function key F1 opens a
window showing a summary for each of the function keys. This summary
won't take the place of the descriptions that follow. Instead, it
will merely state what each function key accomplishes.
Display formats
Del (Toggle 16/24 wide display format). Since version 2.0 of
Professional Master Key, two display formats have been available for
editing your disks, each better suited for different tasks. Pressing
the Del key switches between these two display formats. The current
display format, 24 wide or 16 wide, is shown at the bottom of the
screen.
The default display format is 24 bytes wide. Each row shown contains
24 bytes. Most sector editing is best done using this format because
it displays a complete 512 byte sector on the screen.
An alternate display format, better suited for raw directory editing
is selected by pressing Del. This format, 16 bytes wide, makes
directory editing much easier since each directory entry (32 bytes)
is seen in exactly two rows. A disadvantage to this format is that
it only displays 256 bytes on the screen.
Ins (Toggle ASCII format). In addition to the two display formats,
there are also two ASCII formats. The Ins key switches between them.
The current ASCII format, Standard or Extended, is shown at the
bottom of the screen.
The default ASCII format is to show only standard ASCII characters.
In this format, all bytes in the sector having a value less than 20
hex or greater than 7E hex are represented on the ASCII side of the
display by a period (".").
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 16
Professional Master Key Edit Disk
In the other mode, toggled with Ins, all ASCII characters, both
standard and extended are displayed.
Moving around the disk
| PgDn (Advance a sector). The PgDn key changes the current sector to the
next available sector on the disk. If already at the last sector,
| PgDn wraps around to the first sector on the disk.
When the sector being edited is too large to fit on one screen in the
| current display format, PgDn responds in a slightly different manner.
| In this situation, PgDn displays the next part of the sector for
editing. When editing the last part of the sector, PgUp changes the
sector as stated above.
| PgUp (Back up a sector). The PgUp key changes the current sector to the
| previous sector. When at the first sector, PgUp wraps around to the
last sector on the disk.
If the sector being edited is too large to fit on one screen in the
| current display format, PgUp displays the previous part of that
| sector for editing. If editing the first part of a sector, the PgUp
key changes the sector as stated above.
F3 (Go to any sector randomly). Function key F3 lets you go to any
available sector randomly. After pressing F3, a window opens showing
the valid range for sector numbers. Enter a number in the range
shown, or press Esc to exit that function and remain at the current
sector.
F4 (Go to a previous sector). Function key F4 gets and displays the
previous sector edited. PMK keeps track of the last five sectors
that were displayed. After moving to another sector, pressing F4
repeatedly will bring you back to one of those five sectors.
F7 (Go to start of disk). Function key F7 changes the current sector
being edited to the first sector on the disk, sector 0.
F8 (Go to end of disk). Function key F8 changes the current sector
being edited to the last available sector on the disk.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 17
Professional Master Key Edit Disk
Editing a sector
Making a change within a sector is easy. Just go to the desired sector,
place the cursor on the desired byte, and type away. The cursor
advances automatically as changes are made. Any changes are highlighted
on the screen.
All ASCII characters can be entered while the cursor is on the ASCII
half of the display. Only valid hex characters (0 to 9 and A through F)
can be entered while the cursor is on the hex side of the display.
F2 (Toggle Hex/ASCII cursor). Function key F2 moves the blinking cursor
from the hex or ASCII half of the display, to the other. The cursor
stays at the same location within the sector that it was at, but goes
over to the other side for different editing.
<UP> (Move cursor up). The up arrow moves the cursor up one row within
the display. When at the first row, <UP> wraps the cursor around to
the last row in the display.
<DOWN> (Move cursor down). The down arrow moves the cursor down one row
within the display. If at the last row, <DOWN> wraps the cursor
around to the first row.
<RIGHT> (Move cursor right). The right arrow key moves the cursor to
the right. When at the last byte in a row, <RIGHT> moves the cursor
to the first byte in the next row.
<LEFT> (Move cursor left). The left arrow moves the cursor to the left.
When the cursor is at the first byte, <LEFT> moves the cursor to the
last byte in the previous row.
Saving or discarding changes
Any changes made to a sector in the display must be saved to be made
permanent on the disk. If a sector hasn't been written to the disk, it
still shows highlighted bytes.
PMK won't let you accidentally lose changes made to a sector. If you
accidentally press a function key or forget to save a sector's changes
before moving to another sector, PMK will ask if you'd like to save your
work first.
^Home and Home (Reread current sector). The Home key forces PMK to
reread the current sector from disk. ^Home does the same thing but
discards any changes without first asking to save them.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 18
Professional Master Key Disk Edit
This function key is used mainly to get a fresh copy of a sector into
memory after making unwanted changes to a sector. After pressing
Home, PMK discards any changes made and displays a copy of the
current sector.
^End and End (Write current sector). The End key saves the changes made
to the sector being displayed. ^End does the same, but saves your
changes without asking for confirmation.
Searching for text
F5 (Search for ASCII text). Function key F5 lets you search for ASCII
text anywhere on the disk. Enter any text up to 70 characters long
to search for. The case of the string entered doesn't matter. PMK
looks for both upper and lower case text at the same time. Press
| Esc to skip searching for any text.
All searching starts from the current cursor position within the
displayed sector and goes forward until the text is found or the end
of the disk. The text search can be stopped at any time by
| pressing Esc.
F6 (Search for Hex data). Function key F6 lets you search for hex data
anywhere on the disk. After pressing F6, a window opens so you can
enter any hex data up to 35 words (byte pairs) long. All hex data
searches are exact. No case conversion is done on those bytes which
may be ASCII characters.
Hex data should be always entered in words and not by single bytes.
Should the second byte in the last word entered be left out, it is
assumed to be 0 (zero). For example, to search for the bytes CD and
21, enter "CD21." When "CD2" is accidentally entered, the bytes,
CD and 20 are searched for.
Miscellaneous
F9 (Display disk information). Function key F9 opens a window showing
technical information on the current drive. This display is the same
as that shown by the Information function.
| Esc (Return to the main menu). Function key Esc stops editing and
returns you to the main menu.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 19
Professional Master Key Erase File
Erase File
The Erase File function is used to erase any file on the working drive.
Any file can be erased by this function, including Read-Only, Hidden,
and System files. A file's attributes don't matter, however,
Professional Master Key currently won't allow sub-directories to be
erased.
Upon selecting Erase File, choose the sub-directory to get files from
| then the initial file to erase. Press Esc to exit to the main menu.
After choosing a file, a window opens displaying:
The file, "OLD-FILE.NAM" will be erased.
Press "Y" to erase the file.
| Press <Esc> to return to the main menu.
If "Y" is now pressed, the file, "OLD-FILE.NAM" will be erased from the
| disk. If "S" is pressed, the file will not be erased. Pressing Esc, as
always, returns you to the main menu.
After Professional Master Key finishes erasing a file, it returns you to
the file selection screen to select another file to erase. This repeats
until there are no files left in the sub-directory or you eventually
| press Esc.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 20
Professional Master Key Edit File
Edit File
The Edit File function is related to the Disk Edit function. Its main
difference is that Edit File lets you see and change only what is in a
file and not the entire disk.
After selecting Edit File, choose the sub-directory to get files from
| and then get the initial file to edit. Press Esc to return to the main
menu.
Once a file is selected, the first sector in the file is shown and is
displayed in the 24 character wide format.
All function keys, arrow keys, movement keys, and other keys act
similarly as they did in the Disk Edit function.
The only function keys that function slightly differently are those in
the sections, "Moving around the disk" and "Searching for text." Each
key in these sections work as stated in the Disk Edit function with the
exception that it changes the current sector displayed to another sector
within the file, not a sector anywhere on the disk. These keys are:
| F1 (Help)
F3 (Go to any sector randomly).
| F4 (Go to a previous sector)
F5 (Search for ASCII text).
F6 (Search for Hex data).
F7 (Go to start of file).
F8 (Go to end of file).
| Tab (Toggle hex/ASCII display).
PgUp (Advance a sector).
PgDn (Back up a sector).
Also, the relative sector number being edited is displayed, not the
actual sector number on the disk. The first relative sector number for
a file is sector 1, no matter where the start of the file physically is.
| Like Disk Edit, pressing Esc returns you to the main menu.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 21
Professional Master Key Information
Information
MS-DOS hides most information it has available on its disks. Pressing
Enter while Information is highlighted shows much of what MS-DOS is
hiding along with some other details that are both useful and good to
know.
Upon selecting Information, a window opens displaying the following
data. The numbers shown differ depending on the format and size of the
disk being used. This example shows a standard, newly formatted 360K
floppy disk.
Information On Drive A:
Disk capacity information...
360 Kilobytes total disk capacity possible
354 Kilobytes disk capacity available (100% free).
Disk logical dimensions...
512 Bytes in each sector.
719 Sectors existing on the entire disk.
708 Data Sectors possible for file usage on the disk.
2 Data Sectors exist in each Data Cluster.
354 Data Clusters possible for file usage on the disk.
1 Reserved Sector(s) at the beginning of the disk.
2 FAT copies available, each using 2 sectors.
112 Files allowed in the Root Directory.
Start of all FAT sectors: sector 1
Start of the Root Directory: sector 5
Start of all Data Sectors: sector 12
Press any key to return to the main menu.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 22
Professional Master Key Locate Files
Locate Files
Locate Files finds and displays all files on the working drive matching
any file specification. Locate Files helps users of hard and floppy
disks to find several copies of a file in different places on one disk,
to find the location of an individual file, or just to see all files on
a disk easily.
When Locate Files is chosen, a window opens displaying a few lines of
help and the following prompt:
Filename: * .*
Enter the file(s) to search for. The wildcards ? and * can be used as
| they would be with MS-DOS, as wildcards in the name to match. Press Esc
to return to the main menu without locating any files.
<LEFT> and <RIGHT> move the cursor to a specific location in the name to
make changes. Tab moves the cursor from the filename to the extension
part of the name and vice versa. Press Enter when the file
specification has been entered.
After pressing Enter, PMK lists all files matching the file
specification given (reading sub-directories as it searches). At the
end of every screen full of files it pauses waiting for any key to be
pressed.
| When paused, press Esc to stop the display and return to the main menu
or any other key to continue listing matching files.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 23
Professional Master Key Map Disk/Files
Map Disk/Files
The Map Disk/Files function quickly shows a graphical map of the total
disk usage and free space for the working disk. It can later display,
in the same graphical format, where a file is located on the working
disk and can give a visual indication of the file's fragmentation.
Mapping an entire disk
After selecting Map Disk/Files, Professional Master Key works at
creating the graphical map of total disk usage for the working disk. On
hard and floppy disks alike, this happens relatively quickly.
Along with the graphical map, the amount of free disk space (in percent
of total disk capacity), and the number of clusters represented by each
symbol is displayed.
When mapping lower capacity disks, such as floppy disks and RAM disks,
each symbol in the map represents one cluster. However, due to the
limited space on the screen each cluster cannot be shown for disks with
very many clusters, such as hard disks.
For disks that have more than 500 clusters, each symbol stands for
several clusters. On my hard disk, each symbol represents twenty
clusters.
Hard disk users should not be alarmed if this map shows several areas
containing bad clusters. This is normal on hard disks.
Mapping individual files
After the disk map is shown, press Enter to map file usage. Any other
key returns you to the main menu.
Select a directory and initial file as described earlier. Once the
| initial file is selected, <Up> and <Down> changes the file being
| mapped to the previous and next file in the current directory.
Along with the graphical map, the amount of free disk space (in percent
of total disk capacity), information on the file mapped, and the number
of cluster represented by each symbol is displayed. While mapping
files, you normally shouldn't see any bad clusters displayed.
| Press Esc to return to the main menu.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 24
Professional Master Key Quit
Quit
Selecting Quit from the main menu ends the execution of Professional
Master Key and returns you to MS-DOS (or other operating environment,
if applicable). It returns to the same drive and directory that you
started in, unless of course you switched the disk that you started
from.
Upon ending PMK, a window opens on the screen showing the following
message:
| Professional Master Key is a copyrighted, shareware product. For a
| registration fee of $35, You will receive a printed manual,
| phone support, notice of updates,
| and a program disk with the latest version of this
| program and all of The Professional Master Key Utilities.
===== Thank you for your support! =====
| Public Brand Software P.O. Box 51315 Indianapolis, IN 46241
Press any key to close the window and return to MS-DOS.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 25
Professional Master Key Rename Files
Rename Files
The Rename Files function is used to rename any file on the working
drive. Any file can be renamed by this function, including Hidden and
System files. A file's attributes aren't important.
After selecting Rename Files, choose the sub-directory to get files from
| and a file to rename. Press Esc if you want to return to the main menu.
After choosing a file a window opens asking you to enter a new name for
the file. If you are trying to rename the file, "OLD-FILE.NAM," the
window would show, along with a few lines of information, the prompt:
Filename: OLD-FILE.NAM
Type in the new name for the file. Type the new name in exactly as you
want to see it appear in the directory.
If leading or embedded spaces are left in the filename or extension part
of the name (as an example, "Letter 1.txt"), MS-DOS will have a
difficult time accessing the file. The file can still be used and
accessed in a few instances from MS-DOS (and always from PMK), but a
little imagination is involved to do so.
[Leaving embedded spaces in the name is permitted in Professional Master
Key only because you might want to make a file harder to access.
Embedding spaces in a name is definitely one way to make a file harder
to access from MS-DOS.]
The <LEFT> and <RIGHT> keys move the cursor to any position in the old
| name. A period moves the cursor from the name to the extension part of the
name and vice versa. When the name is changed to what you want, press
Enter and you will see:
The file, "OLD-FILE.NAM" will be renamed to "NEW-FILE.NAM"
Press "Y" to rename the file.
Press "R" to re-enter the new file name.
| Press <Esc> to exit to the main menu.
Press "Y" now to change the old file name to the new name you typed in.
Pressing "R" will show you the "Filename:" prompt shown above, letting
you try to change the name once more.
| Pressing Esc, as usual, returns you to the main menu.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 26
Professional Master Key Undelete Files
Undelete Files
Well, you've slipped and erased a file by mistake. It's an important
file. Before using Professional Master Key, you would have to try to
re-create the file if that was possible. Now, you have the ability to
recover the file with a minimum of effort and continue on as normal by
using the Undelete Files function.
What happens to a file as it is erased?
A file that gets erased or deleted actually isn't actually wiped from
the face of the disk. All of its data is left intact on the disk. All
that gets changed is the FAT and the file's directory entry.
The FAT is updated to mark all clusters that used to belong to the file
as free clusters. MS-DOS keeps track of the free clusters in the FAT to
determine how much free space remains on a disk. Until another file is
actually written over the clusters that used to be allocated to the
deleted file, all of its old data remains on the disk.
The file's directory entry is also altered, but in a minor way. The
first character in a file's name is changed to the hex character E5, the
Greek character sigma. This identifies that directory entry as deleted
from that point onward.
How can a file be Undeleted?
Because a file's data is still intact, all that needs to be done to
Undelete it is to rebuild its FAT chain and correct its file entry.
Fixing the file name is trivial, but restoring the FAT is not.
The FAT isn't designed to be complex. It works on very simple concepts,
but simple to computers. It would become very tedious very quickly to
you or I if we had to rebuild a file's FAT chain manually.
Although the file's FAT chain cannot be rebuilt with 100% certainty, PMK
simplifies the process by automatically taking its best guess about
where everything should go. This may not fully recover a file all of
the time, but it is most often the best method for Undeleting a file.
What about sub-directories?
Professional Master Key, unlike several other programs that claim to
Undelete files, can Undelete sub-directories as well.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 27
Professional Master Key Undelete Files
There is a limitation to doing this however.
Because sub-directories do not have a size stored as part of its
information, PMK has no way of knowing how many clusters it used to
occupy. Whenever a sub-directory is undeleted, only its first cluster
is Undeleted. Any subsequent clusters, if they existed, will be forever
lost.
What affects Undeleting a file?
Successfully Undeleting a file depends on a lot of factors and a lot of
things working right. It is not guaranteed to be always successful.
Two factors, described below, can help or hinder Undeleting a file.
Time. Normally, trying to Undelete a file immediately after deleting it
will work without a problem. All of its data will still be intact on
the disk and nothing may have been written over parts of that data.
The chances of being successful in Undeleting a file go down
dramatically with the passage of time since its deletion. If nothing is
written to the disk since the file was deleted, there is still a very
good chance that it can be Undeleted. However, if some time has passed
and several files were saved, it may be highly unlikely that an deleted
file can be fully recovered.
Fragmentation. The chances for a successful Undeletion are also
increased if both the file and disk weren't in a fragmented state before
the file was deleted. Fragmented files are much more difficult to
Undelete successfully.
A file's clusters are normally written consecutively on a disk when
possible. If that isn't possible, its clusters are put elsewhere on the
disk. When a file's clusters aren't stored consecutively, it is
fragmented. Fragmentation typically happens in large files that get
updated often, like databases.
Prevent excessive fragmentation on your disks when this is possible.
Unfragment your entire disk (especially hard disks!) on a regular basis
with any of the many commercial or public domain programs that claim to
unfragment or optimize disks.
Undeleting a file
After selecting Undelete Files, choose the sub-directory to get deleted
| files from then the initial file to undelete. Press Esc if you want to
return to the main menu.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 28
Professional Master Key Undelete Files
After selecting a deleted file, the screen clears and you will see
something similar to what is shown below:
Enter the first letter for "eLD-FILE.NAM" to begin undeleting it.
Once the first letter in the file name is entered, the following
messages appear:
The file, "OLD-FILE.NAM" will be undeleted.
Press "Y" to undelete the file.
| Press <Esc> to exit to the main menu.
If "Y" is pressed, PMK will attempt to Undelete the file OLD-FILE.NAM.
After Professional Master Key finishes Undeleting a file, it returns you
to the file selection screen for the chance to select another file to
Undelete. This repeats until no deleted files are left in the
| sub-directory or you eventually press Esc.
| Pressing Esc always returns you to the main menu.
The file is Undeleted, is it ok?
If Professional Master Key is successful in Undeleting a file, all still
may not be well. The data it has saved may not be what was originally
in your file. Please check your file (use the File Edit function) to
make sure that it contains the correct data. Be especially careful if
the file you Undeleted is a .COM or .EXE file.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 29
Full Screen File Sort
Full Screen File Sort
Full Screen File Sort rearranges the order of file names on a disk. It
can sort file names according to their name, extension, date, time, or
size, all in either ascending or descending order. It also allows you
the flexability to rearrange the order of file names in a directory
arbitrarily to suit your needs.
The complete invocation for File Sort is:
FS [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF] [/Sub] [/Pack]
[<directory>] [/NnEeDdTtSs]
Examples:
FS /st
sorts all files names in the current directory by
file size (smallest first), then time of creation
FS C:\Analysis /Sub
sort C:\Analysis and all of its sub-directories
using the default sort order, alphabetically by
name and extension
FS A:\ /Sub /Pack
sort all directories on drive A: and remove erased
files after sorting
FS C:\Utility
sort C:\Utility using the full screen, interactive
display
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, text is displayed in monochrome regardless of
whether your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF,
displays are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is
AUTO, displays will be in color when a color display is detected or
monochrome when a color display isn't found. The default setting for
the /Mono option in the distribution files is AUTO.
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 30
Full Screen File Sort
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
/Sub (Sort sub-directories). Normally, File Sort only sorts the file
names in the specified directory. If you want to sort the specified
directory and all of its subordinate directories, use the /Sub option.
/Pack (Pack files after sorting). When a file is erased, most of its
name still exists in the directory. If you'd like to pack the directory
and remove old, erased file names, use the /Pack option.
The consequence of using this option is that erased files can't be
recovered. You may want to use the /Pack option as a security option to
make sure erased files aren't restored. Once /Pack is used, PMK cannot
recover the erased file. In fact, PMK won't even know a file has been
erased.
<directory> This is the name of the directory to sort. If a directory
name isn't supplied, File Sort sorts the file names in the current
directory.
/NnEeDdTtSs (Define sorting order). File names can be sorted on their
name, extension, date, time, or size, in either ascending or descending
order with this option. Any combination can be specified. Thus, if you
wanted to sort by file size, then by name, then by date, use /snd.
When one of the sorting option letters is capitalized, that field is
sorted in descending order (largest first). When a sorting option
letter is in lower case, that field is sorted in ascending order.
Full Screen File Sort
If you started File Sort without supplying either the /Sub or any of the
/NnEeDdTtSs options, a full screen display of the selected directory is
shown allowing selective sorting. The full screen display can be used
to interactively view the sorting process and arbitrarily place the
location of a file anywhere in the directory.
While viewing the full screen display, press the keys that define the
sorting order, as described above. Remember, when the key is
capitalized, that field is sorted in a descending order.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 31
Full Screen File Sort
N and n Sort the directory by file Name
E and e Sort the directory by file Extension
D and d Sort the directory by file Date
T and t Sort the directory by file Time
S and s Sort the directory by file Size
Should you want to place a file in a specific point in its directory,
you can do that also. Move the highlighted cursor with <Up>, <Down>,
PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End, and press Enter when the required file is
highlighted. Move that file to its new location and press Enter again
to leave it there.
After sorting files using the full screen display, be sure to make the
changes permanant by writing them back to disk. Until written back to
disk, nothing on the disk is altered. Write the files back by pressing
W.
| If you'd like to exit the program without making any changes, press Esc
at any time.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 32
Fill Disk
Fill Disk
Fill Disk writes any message of your choice on all of the free sectors
on any disk leaving existing files untouched. It can also zero unused
sectors, removing all traces of old file data, while leaving existing
files alone.
The complete invocation for Fill Disk is:
FD [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF] [/Zero] [d:]
[<message>]
Examples:
FD
fills all free sectors on the default disk drive
after letting you type in your message
FD D: This is my computer
fills drive D:'s free sectors with the message,
"This is my computer"
FD /Zero A:
zeroes out all free sectors on drive A:
FD /Zero A: This is my computer
does the same thing, any message is ignored with
the /Zero option
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, text is displayed in monochrome regardless of
whether your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF,
displays are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is
AUTO, displays will be in color when a color display is detected or
monochrome when a color display isn't found. The default setting for
the /Mono option in the distribution files is AUTO.
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 33
Fill Disk
/Zero (zero out free sectors). If you want to zero all free sectors
instead of leaving a message, use the /Zero option. When this is
specified, Fill Disk clears out deleted file data with the hex character
00 while leaving existing files intact. Any message entered before or
after the /Zero option is ignored.
d: (drive to fill). This is the drive you want to fill. If omitted,
the default drive is filled with the specified message. The drive
letter, when given, must be valid on your system.
<message>. Any message to write on all free sectors can be entered from
the command line. If omitted, Fill Disk asks you for the message prior
to running.
As Fill Disk runs, it shows an approximate percent of the free sectors
| filled. It can be stopped at any time by pressing Esc, which returns
you to the MS-DOS prompt.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 34
Un Format
Un Format
Un Format does what may seem impossible, it protects you against
accidental hard disk formats. When used on a regular basis, it can
actually restore a hard disk to its previous state after accidentally
formatting it.
The complete invocation for Un Format is:
UF [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF] [/Save] d:
Examples:
UF
nothing happens, a drive specification must be
provided
UF /Save C:
save drive C: in the file, "B:\UNFORMAT.PMK"
UF C:
restore drive C: from the file, "B:\UNFORMAT.PMK"
after an accidental format
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, text is displayed in monochrome regardless of
whether your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF,
displays are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is
AUTO, displays will be in color when a color display is detected or
monochrome when a color display isn't found. The default setting for
the /Mono option in the distribution files is AUTO.
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
/Save (save the disk). The /Save option is used to protect a hard disk
against an accidental format. All necessary information is written in
the file, "B:\UNFORMAT.PMK."
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 35
Un Format
d: (drive to save/recover). This is the drive you want to protect or
recover. A drive must be specified on the command line. The drive
letter should be a valid drive on your system.
What happens to a disk as it is formatted?
Floppy disks. A floppy disk, when formatted, loses all data that was on
it. When MS-DOS's format program formats a floppy disk, every track on
the disk is initialized and checked for errors. The initialization
process basically recreates every track on the disk, eliminating what
was there before.
Hard disks. When a hard disk is formatted with most versions of
MS-DOS's format program, its data is not destroyed. The only areas that
are modified are the boot sector, FAT, and root directory.
The MS-DOS format program mainly does two things on a hard disk: it
checks for bad sectors and it initializes the boot sector, FAT and root
directory. It does not physically format the disk, but just checks the
state of the disk's format.
How can a hard disk be Un Formatted?
Since no file data is actually modified when a hard disk is formatted by
MS-DOS, all that needs to be done to recover a hard disk from a format
is to rewrite the boot sector, FAT, and root directory. This is
possible only if those areas of the disk have been previously saved
somewhere.
That is really all Un Format does. One part of it saves the boot
sector, FAT, and root directory. Another part writes all of those
sectors back to the disk.
Un Format can only recover from formatting programs that don't
physically overwrite all of a hard disk's sectors. Most versions of
MS-DOS's format program don't do this.
One exception exists with all versions up to 3.2 of AT&T and Compaq DOS.
The format program supplied with these versions of MS-DOS overwrite a
hard disk's sectors. Un Format cannot recover a hard disk formatted
with either of these versions of MS-DOS.
There also are many other specialized formatting programs that overwrite
a hard disk's sectors. These programs modify the structure of a hard
disk in efforts to change or improve its performance. Un Format can't
recover a hard disk after being formatted by one of these programs.
Luckily, the programs that Un Format cannot protect against usually
don't automatically format a hard disk. It is unlikely that you could
accidentally format your disk with one of these programs.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 36
Un Format
So, why can't a floppy disk be Un Formatted?
Un Format can be used to save and restore a floppy disk's boot sector,
FAT, and root directory. However, it cannot recover the rest of the
floppy disk which has been physically eliminated.
Although Un Format cannot recover a floppy disk after it is formatted,
it has another equally important purpose. Un Format can be used to save
a floppy disk's boot sector, FAT, and root directory prior to changing
something in one of these areas with PMK. Then, if a mistake is made,
that area of the floppy disk can be restored to try again.
Using Un Format
Prior to using Un Format, copy the file, "UF.EXE," to a blank formatted
disk and label that disk as your Un Format disk.
Because Un Format is a preventative program, it has to be used regularly
to be effective. I recommend two methods for using Un Format on a
regular basis. Either of these two methods should protect from an
accidental format of your hard disk. Using both methods together
provides additional protection.
The first method is to run Un Format from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. By
doing this, your hard disk will be saved every time your computer is
rebooted. To run Un Format in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, make sure that
your Un Format disk is available in drive B: when your computer starts
up. Insert the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
UF /SAVE c:
The next method is to create a .BAT file that will run Un Format before
formatting your hard disk. This lets you restore the hard disk even
when you did intend to format it. Rename FORMAT.COM to NFORMAT.COM and
create the file FORMAT.BAT as shown below.
echo off
if "%1" == "" goto UnFormat
if "%1" == "C:" goto UnFormat
if "%1" == "c:" goto UnFormat
goto formatt
:UnFormat
echo Insert the Un Format diskette in drive B:
Pause
UF /SAVE c:
:formatt
nformat %1 %2 %3 %4
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 37
Un Format
Recovering from an accidental format
If an accidental format does happen, put your Un Format disk in drive B:
and restore the hard disk by typing:
B:UF c:
Prior to restoring a hard disk, Un Format checks to make sure this is
really what you want to do. It shows the following and asks if it is ok
to continue.
Restoring drive C:'s boot sector, FAT, and root
directory from the saved file. This could ruin
drive C:'s contents if files are present.
Is this ok? (Y/N)
Un Format should be used to recover only the same disk that was
previously saved. Restoring a different disk would render all of the
data on that disk unusable. Any files that existed on the different
disk will not be accessible.
Un Format won't let you accidentally restore a disk whose format differs
from the saved disk. It will, however, restore a different, although
identically formatted hard disk if you tell it to. Make sure the disk
being restored is the same as the disk saved.
When Un Format completes, your hard disk should be restored to look like
it when Un Format "saved" the disk. All files, except those moved or
changed since the disk was saved, should contain their original data.
If Un Format didn't save the disk immediately prior to its being
formatted, there may be some errors in the File Allocation Table due to
new or old files being moved and changed. These errors should be
expected and are no reason for concern. To check and correct for these
errors, type:
CHKDSK /f c:
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 38
Zero Disk
Zero Disk
Zero Disk permanently removes all traces of all data from a disk. It
eliminates all existing files along with everything else. It can remove
all traces of any confidential data anywhere on a disk.
When a disk is zeroed, all of its sectors are overwritten with the hex
character 00. Once Zero Disk has finished zeroing a disk, there is no
way to recover any data that was on it.
The complete command to run Zero Disk is:
ZERODISK [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF] d:
Examples:
ZERODISK
nothing happens; a drive specification must be
provided.
ZERODISK A:
zero drive A: after confirmation
ZERODISK C:
zero drive C: If Zero Disk thinks you want to
zero a hard disk, it asks you to confirm that
twice
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, two colors are shown regardless of whether
your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF, displays
are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is AUTO,
displays will be in color when a color display is detected or monochrome
when a color display isn't found. The default for the /Mono option in
the distribution files is AUTO.
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 39
Zero Disk
d: (drive to zero). This is the drive you want to zero. It must be
specified on the command line. The drive letter must be a valid drive
on your system.
How Zero Disk works
Zero Disk works by systematically filling every sector on a disk with
the hex character 00. This fully removes data anywhere on a disk
without reformatting it.
Unlike formatting programs, Zero Disk starts zeroing sectors at the last
sector on the disk and works to the front. It does this as a safety
feature to minimize the damage if the wrong disk was selected. So, if
you stop Zero Disk after running a short time, some data could be intact
on the disk. If there weren't many files on the disk, it may mean that
all data is still good.
To keep the disk usable by MS-DOS, Zero Disk does not wholly zero
several sectors. The first sector (the boot sector) is not touched at
all, and the first few bytes in the FAT sectors (used to identify a
disk) are also left alone. All other sectors aren't preserved in any
way.
Running Zero Disk
Once running, Zero Disk opens a window and displays the following
messages (assume drive C: was entered on the command line):
All data on drive C: will be completely destroyed
Drive C: will be zeroed. Is this ok? (Y/N)
And, if Zero Disk thinks there is a chance that the disk you want to
zero is a hard disk, it displays another message:
Drive C: may be a hard disk. Is this still ok? (Y/N)
Press "Y" and Zero Disk will zero the disk. Press "N" and you are
returned to MS-DOS.
| Once started, you may stop Zero Disk by pressing Esc.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 40
Zero File
Zero File
Zero File permanently removes all traces of a file's data from your
disk. It can eliminate all traces of a confidential file's current data
from a disk.
Unlike deleting a file using the MS-DOS erase command, a file's data,
once zeroed by Zero File, cannot be later recovered from the disk.
There is no way to restore a file's data once it has been zeroed by Zero
File.
The complete command to run Zero File is:
ZEROFILE [/Mono ON | OFF | AUTO] [/Bios ON | OFF]
[/Keep] [/Yes] <filespec>
Examples:
ZEROFILE
nothing happens; a file specification must be
provided.
ZEROFILE *.BAK
zero files in the current directory after approval
ZEROFILE \word\letters\XMAS.86 \tmp\*.$$$
zero files in multiple directories
ZEROFILE *.LTR /Keep
zero files in the current directory after getting
approval; don't delete the files after they are
zeroed
ZEROFILE A:\work*.* /Yes /Bios ON
zero files on another drive; no confirmation
question will be asked; display using BIOS
screen writing functions
/Mono (Toggle monochrome). Whenever you want all screens displayed in
monochrome set the /Mono option ON.
With the /Mono option ON, two colors are shown regardless of whether
your display can show colors. When the /Mono option is OFF, displays
are always in vibrant living color. When the /Mono option is AUTO,
displays will be in color when a color display is detected or monochrome
when a color display isn't found. The default for the /Mono option in
the distribution files is AUTO.
/Bios (Toggle direct screen writing). Whenever you want all screen
writing done using BIOS function calls, set the /Bios option ON.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 41
Zero File
With the /Bios option ON, all screen writing is done using BIOS function
calls. This method of display is slower, but will let computers that
aren't 100% IBM compatible run the utilities. The /Bios option also may
need to be ON to run the programs from within a windowing operating
environment.
When the /Bios option is OFF, all screen writing is done directly to the
screen. The default /Bios option in the distribution files is OFF; to
write directly to the screen.
/Keep (keep zeroed files). Normally after a file is zeroed by Zero
File, its filename is erased. If you would like to keep the name
visible on the disk, use the /Keep option. Using this option still
removes all traces of the file data, but the file names are left intact
in the directory.
/Yes (answer yes). Before Zero File actually zeroes a file, it asks you
if you really want to zero the file and waits for a "Y" or "N" response
before doing anything. The /Yes option is equivalent to replying Yes to
this question.
Use /Yes with a lot of caution, especially when specifying ambiguous
file names like *.COM or *.* since you could accidentally, permanently
wipe out entire directories.
<filespec> This is the name of the file(s) you want to zero. Zero File
requires that some file specification be provided when it is invoked.
The file specification can be unambiguous like LETTER.TXT or ambiguous
like LETTER.0?? or LETTER.*. The filename can include an entire or
partial directory as well as the drive letter where the file(s) are
located.
Any file zeroed by Zero File will lose all of its data. The file's data
cannot be restored later from the disk. The file can be undeleted with
Professional Master Key, but the undeleted file will be completely
filled with the hex character 00. Be careful before zeroing any file
and make sure it is the file you want to zero.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 42
Tiny Edit
Tiny Edit is a small text editor that can be used to prepare data files
and Batch files and to customize AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. The
advantage that Tiny Edit has over EDLIN is enormous; EDLIN is a line
editor that makes you sweat blood to get a file changed whereas Tiny
Edit is a full screen editor that lets you move around the screen at
will, changing text as you go in a natural manner.
The advantage that Tiny Edit has over other text editors and word
processors is the small size. To this end, Tiny Edit has been created
specifically to take as little space on a disk as possible.
TinyEdit has a maximum file capacity of 79 characters wide and 792 lines
long. Most features of the more popular shareware QEdit or retail Brief
or Kedit products have been left out in order to keep it small. We do
not want to compete with these other text editors and can heartily
recommend them to you if you need more power.
The complete invocation for Tiny Edit is:
TINYEDIT <filename> [/View]
Examples:
TINYEDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
Edit the file AUTOEXEC.BAT in the root directory of
your C: drive.
TINYEDIT PMK-READ /V
View (only) the file PMK-READ.1ST.
Note that the Monochrome and Bios toggles included in all of the other
PMK Utilities have been left out here in order to save space.
Using Tiny Edit in Edit Mode
As you bring up a text file, you will see the first 21 lines of the file
on the screen. You can move your cursor with the arrow keys to anyplace
in the text and modify characters at will. To add text to the end of
lines, press <End> and type the characters needed to lengthen the line.
When you start, you will be in Edit Mode with Insert ON. As you type
data into the file, everything to the right of the cursor will be moved
over to fit in the new data. To turn Insert OFF, press <INS>. This
will put you in an overtype mode.
<PgUp> and <PgDn> will show and allow editing the previous and next 21
lines.
<F7> and <F8> add and delete lines.
| The <Esc> key is an "Undo" that restores the current line to the way it
was before any changes were made. Once the cursor is moved off the
line, this "Undo" is no longer effective.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 43
Tiny Edit
| When you quit, the <Esc> key will bring up a question
Save Changes ? _
At this time, a "Y" will save the altered file, and an "N" will quit
without changing.
For a complete list of Edit keys, press <F1>.
<F2> will switch to a View mode where you cannot alter the contents of
the data, just page up and down to view it.
Using Tiny Edit in View Mode
In View Mode, Tiny Edit allows only scrolling up and down through
files and printing screens and files with the <F3> and <Shift F3>
keys.
<F2> will take you to Edit Mode if necessary.
The /V switch, will enter Tiny Edit in View Mode.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 44
Appendix A: Error Messages
Appendix A: Error Messages
This appendix contains a list of the error messages you may encounter
while running one of the programs in The Professional Master Key
Utilities.
Errors common to all of the programs are listed and explained in this
section. Other errors, specific to each program, are described in
separate sections.
If you find an error that isn't covered in any of these sections or find
a program operating differently from the way you think it should, please
write what happened or what your problem is and tell us about it. In
your problem report, please provide at least the following information.
-- name and version number of the program having a problem.
-- type of computer you are using.
-- version of MS-DOS or PC-DOS you are using (use the MS-DOS VER command
to find out).
-- free memory your computer has (use the MS-DOS CHKDSK command to find
out).
-- the names of any memory resident programs running.
-- type of disk(s) the problem happened with. Please provide a copy
of the Information screen (using PMK) for each disk, if possible.
-- what you were doing when you first noticed the problem. Please be as
specific as possible. Does the problem happen consistently? Can you
duplicate the problem on different disks?
Common Errors
The only error common to all of the programs deals with running out of
memory. When one of the programs needs more memory than is available,
it clears the screen and shows a message similar to:
Professional Master Key has run out of available memory.
See your manual for help and suggestions.
Running out of available normally is not a problem. Having 128k of free
memory is usually sufficient to run all of the programs without
errors. PMK is the most memory hungry program and should show signs of
trouble only if run on a hard disk with an enormous number of files and
sub-directories and very little available memory. (My hard disk
contains 144 sub-directories and 2342 files and doesn't cause any
trouble.) In normal use, you shouldn't need more than 128k of free
memory.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 45
Appendix A: Error Messages
There are several solutions available if you do run out of available
memory.
If you don't have a full 640k of standard memory installed in your
computer, the easiest remedy is to purchase and install more memory.
If you already have 640k of standard memory installed, try to remove a
few memory resident programs from memory. If necessary, reboot your
computer and run the problematic program again. Removing memory
resident programs leaves more free memory to run The Professional Master
Key Utilities.
Finally, when running the programs within a multi-tasking environment,
change the .PIF or similar program description file for the program.
Allocating more minimum memory for the program should help it run
better.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 46
Appendix A: Error Messages Professional Master Key
Professional Master Key
> Disk Error <
MS-DOS Reported Disk Errors
The messages describing disk errors MS-DOS finds are:
The disk is write protected.
Invalid drive number.
Disk drive not ready (door open, no disk, etc).
CRC error -- bad parity check.
Error during a disk seek.
Unable to determine the disk format.
Bad sector -- not found on the disk.
Error during a disk write operation.
Error during a disk read operation.
A general disk error happened.
The working drive doesn't exist.
Since these messages are fairly self-explanatory, I'll avoid a lengthy
discussion about the different types of disk errors MS-DOS identifies.
Instead, I'll briefly explain the more common errors you may find find
with your disks.
Many common errors are found on hard disks and many "copy protected"
floppy disks since it is normal for them to have a few bad or unusable
sectors. These sectors may be located anywhere on the disk, but
shouldn't be found within an existing file.
While using the Disk Edit function on a hard disk, if one of the above
error messages displays, expect it and don't worry. However, if you
find a bad sector on a floppy disk or while using the File Edit
function, you should be alarmed. There should never be any bad sectors
on a typical floppy disk or within a file.
A common user error occurs by trying to use PMK on non MS-DOS disks.
Professional Master Key is intended only for use with MS-DOS disks and
may report a variety of errors when used on non MS-DOS disks. PMK
should not be used to edit disks from other operating systems or disks
that don't conform to the exact MS-DOS format.
PMK Reported Disk Errors
The disk errors Professional Master Key reports are due to a disk
appearing differently from what was expected or due to a disk being
larger than it can handle. These error messages do not necessarily
indicate anything wrong with your disks, but should be considered mainly
informational.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 47
Appendix A: Error Messages Professional Master Key
The disk ID byte isn't valid for a DOS disk.
PMK checks every disk it uses to make sure it is a MS-DOS disk. One of
the things it checks is the FAT's identification byte. If this byte
doesn't appear to be valid, the above message is shown. Normally, this
error only appears when accessing non MS-DOS disks or MS-DOS disks that
have been damaged.
The selected directory wasn't found on the disk.
Before reading file names from a directory, PMK checks to see if the
directory still exists on the disk. If it can't find the directory, you
will see the above message. This usually means that you switched disks
without Changing the current disk.
The selected file wasn't found on the disk.
This error message is similar to the previous message. It normally
indicates a disk was changed without telling PMK.
> File Error <
The selected file cannot be renamed to a file
name that already exists.
A file's name cannot be changed to a name that is already present in the
current directory. Enter another name for the file.
You cannot erase a sub-directory from within
Professional Master Key.
Professional Master key won't let you erase a sub-directory name or a
remove an empty sub-directory. You need to use the RMDIR command from
the MS-DOS prompt to remove a directory.
The selected file can't be Undeleted.
It's first cluster is being used by another file.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 48
Appendix A: Error Messages Professional Master Key
The first part of the file selected to be Undeleted has been overwritten
by another file. In this case, it is almost impossible to easily
recover all of the file's remaining data, so it isn't attempted.
The selected file can't be Undeleted.
It's allocation chain can't be restored.
There wasn't enough free space on the disk to completely Undelete the
selected file. This usually means that although the first part of the
file may still be intact, it is likely that the file has been
overwritten. None of the restored clusters are saved.
The selected file can't be edited.
It contains no data.
The file has a file size of 0 (zero) bytes and has no data, so it isn't
meaningful to edit it.
Errors While Searching For Text in a Disk or File
> Disk Error at sector xxxxx <
The error messages shown during a text search of a disk or file are
identical to the MS-DOS reported disk errors. For most disk errors, the
text search continues, showing the appropriate error message and the
additional message:
Continuing...
However, for the following two errors, the search is ended:
Invalid drive number.
Disk drive not ready (door open, no disk, etc).
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 49
Appendix A: Error Messages Full Screen File Sort
Full Screen File Sort
> Disk Error <
The MS-DOS error messages File Sort shows when it reads a hard disk are
the same as the MS-DOS reported disk errors described in the PMK error
section entitled, "MS-DOS Reported Disk Errors."
Since File Sort only reads the FAT, root, and sub-directory areas of a
disk, any MS-DOS error message shown probably means that the disk is
badly damaged and may be unusable to MS-DOS. MS-DOS normally does not
allow bad sectors in the FAT, or any directory areas.
The working drive doesn't exist
When supplying the complete path of the directory to sort, be sure you
use a drive letter that exists on your system. Thus, if you had only
four drives available, a drive E: probably wouldn't exist.
The selected directory wasn't found on the disk
The directory you supplied was invalid or merely misspelled. Check the
spelling of the directory and try to run File Sort again.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 50
Appendix A: Error Messages Fill Disk
Fill Disk
> Disk Error <
The MS-DOS error messages Fill Disk shows when it reads a hard disk are
the same as the MS-DOS reported disk errors described in the PMK error
section entitled, "MS-DOS Reported Disk Errors."
> File Error <
FILLDISK.$$$ wasn't found on the disk.
Somehow, the disk being filled has changed or was switched before Fill
Disk could delete its temporary file.
FILLDISK.$$$ is read only.
The file, FILLDISK.$$$ already exists in the current directory and has a
read only attribute. Toggle its read only attribute off with PMK and
run Fill Disk again.
There are too many open files.
Fill Disk cannot open its temporary file. All available file handles
are being used by another program. Run Fill Disk by itself or increase
the FILES=xx statement in your CONFIG.SYS file.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 51
Appendix A: Error Messages Install
Install
> File Error <
The filename wasn't found on the disk.
The program being installed couldn't be found in the current directory.
All programs being installed must be located in the current, default
directory.
The filename is read only.
The program being installed has a read only attribute and cannot be
modified. Toggle its read only attribute off with PMK and try to
install it again.
There are too many open files.
Install cannot open the program file to install. All available file
handles are being used by another program. Run Install by itself or
increase the FILES=xx statement in your CONFIG.SYS file.
> Installation Error <
The color configuration area wasn't found.
The options configuration area wasn't found.
For either of these two errors, the respective configuration areas
couldn't be found in the program file being installed. These messages
imply that the program being installed might have had an unauthorized
modification and may no longer work correctly. Do not use any of The
Professional Master Key Utilities programs if you suspect that they have
been modified.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 52
Appendix A: Error Messages Un Format
Un Format
> Disk Error <
The MS-DOS error messages Un Format shows when it reads a hard disk are
the same as the MS-DOS reported disk errors described in the PMK error
section entitled, "MS-DOS Reported Disk Errors."
Since Un Format only reads the boot sector, FAT, and root directory
areas of a hard disk, any MS-DOS error message shown probably means that
the hard disk is badly damaged and may be unusable to MS-DOS. MS-DOS
does not permit bad sectors in the boot sector, FAT, or root directory
areas.
The disk ID byte isn't valid for a DOS disk.
Un Format checks the hard disk to save/restore prior to saving/restoring
it to make sure it is a valid MS-DOS disk. One of the things it checks
is the FAT's identification byte. If this byte doesn't appear to be
valid, the above message is shown.
> File Error <
The save file wasn't found on the disk.
The file, "B:\UNFORMAT.PMK," couldn't be found. Make sure the disk with
that file is in drive B: and run Un Format again.
The save file is read only.
The file, "B:\UNFORMAT.PMK," has a read only attribute and cannot be
modified. Toggle its read only attribute off with PMK and run Un Format
again.
There are too many open files.
Un Format cannot open the file, "B:\UNFORMAT.PMK." All available file
handles are in use by another program. Run Un Format by itself or
increase the FILES=xx statement in your CONFIG.SYS file.
There is no space on the save disk.
Drive B: doesn't have enough free space on it to write all of the file,
"B:\UNFORMAT.PMK." Delete a few files from that disk or use a newly
formatted disk in its place.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 53
Appendix A: Error Messages Zero Disk
Zero Disk
> Disk Error <
> Disk Error at cluster xxxxx <
The MS-DOS error messages Zero Disk shows when it zeros a disk are the
same as the MS-DOS reported disk errors described in the PMK error
section entitled, "MS-DOS Reported Disk Errors."
Some errors should be expected when zeroing a hard disk. It is normal
for a hard disk to have a few areas containing bad sectors. No errors
should exist on a floppy disk however. If a disk error happens on a
floppy disk, that disk should not be used and should be discarded.
Zero Disk continues zeroing a disk after all errors with the exception
of the following two errors:
Invalid drive number.
Disk drive not ready (door open, no disk, etc).
The disk ID byte isn't valid for a DOS disk.
Zero Disk checks the disk to zero prior to zeroing it to make sure it is
a valid MS-DOS disk. One of the things it checks is the FAT's
identification byte. If this byte doesn't appear to be valid, the above
message is shown. Normally, this error appears only when accessing non
MS-DOS disks or MS-DOS disks that have been damaged.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 54
Appendix A: Error Messages Zero File
Zero File
> File Error <
The file wasn't found on the disk.
File: \PATH\FILENAME.EXT wasn't found.
Both of these messages indicate that the file you wanted to zero wasn't
found on the disk. Recheck the correct name for the file and run Zero
File again.
There are too many open files.
Zero File cannot open the file to zero. All available file handles are
being used by another program. Run Zero File by itself or increase the
FILES=xx statement in your CONFIG.SYS file.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 55
Appendix C: Association of Shareware Professionals
Association of Shareware Professionals
The author and publisher of The Professional Master Key Utilities is a
member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP), an
organization formed in April 1987 to strengthen the future of shareware
(user supported software) as an alternative to commercial software.
Its members, all of whom are programmers who subscribe to a code of
ethics, are committed to the concept of shareware as a method of
marketing.
Standards for the Association of Shareware Professionals
Programming Standards:
The program meets the ASP's definition of "shareware" (i.e., it is not a
commercial demo with major features disabled, nor a time-limited
program.
The program has been thoroughly tested by the author and should not be
harmful to other files or hardware if used properly.
Documentation Standards:
Sufficient documentation is provided to allow the average user to try
all the major functions of the program.
Any discussion of the shareware concept and of registration requirements
is done in a professional and positive manner.
Support Standards:
The member will respond to people who send registration payments, as
promised in the program's documentation. At a minimum, the member will
acknowledge receipt of all payments.
The member will establish a procedure for users to report, and have
acknowledged, matters such as bug reports, and will describe such means
in the documentation accompanying all versions of the programs. The
author will respond to written bug reports from registered users when
the user provides a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Known incompatibilities with other software or hardware and major or
unusual program limitations are noted in the documentation that comes
with the shareware program.
ASP Ombudsman Information
This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a
shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 56
Appendix C: Association of Shareware Professionals
member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help
you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not
provide technical support for members products. Please write to the ASP
Ombudsman at 545 Grover Rd, Muskegon MI 49442 or send a Compuserve
mail message to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
The Professional Master Key Utilities, version 3.2 Page 57