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FFFFFFF RRRRRR EEEEEEE EEEEEEE
F R R E E
F R R E E FREE
FFFFF RRRRRR EEEEE EEEEE
F R R E E FORM
F R R E E
F R R EEEEEEE EEEEEEE
The Ultimate Floppy Disk Formatter
(version 2.3)
94-Nov-01
======================================
INSTALLATION AND USAGE GUIDE
======================================
Copyright (c) 1988-1994
Herne Data Systems Ltd.
P.O. Box 250
Tiverton, ON N0G 2T0
CANADA
voice or FAX (519)366-2732
CompuServe 72060,1153
Internet herne@wbb.com
(FREE.DOC v2.3 94-11-01)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE FINE PRINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
REGISTRATION BENEFITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
REGISTRATION AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT ADDRESS . . . . . . . 2
ASP OMBUDSMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A Note on Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Making a Backup Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Upgrading From an Earlier Version . . . . . . . . . . . 6
FREEFORMING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Selecting an Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Formatting a DOS Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Formatting a Non-DOS Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
MODIFYING DISK PARAMETERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
General Data Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Zone Specific Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using Multiple Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Saving the Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
SETTING DEFAULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
EXITING FREEFORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
USING SMAX.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
When to Use SMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Installing SMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Disabling SMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
80 Cylinder Double Density Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
THE TECHNICAL DETAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Technical Data of MAXI Style Disks . . . . . . . . . . . 22
APPENDIX A: ENHANCEMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . 23
New Features of v2.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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THE FINE PRINT
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
Users of FreeForm must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
"FreeForm is supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for
damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the
use of FreeForm. FreeForm is intended to format blank disks
only. Because it will destroy all existing data on a floppy
disk, Herne Data Systems assumes no liability for losses
caused by misuse or abuse of this product. This
responsibility rests solely with the end user."
Please note that FreeForm relies on quirks in the MS-DOS/PC-DOS
operating system and BIOS ROM's. Although it has been tested on a
wide variety of systems with MS/PC-DOS versions 3.2x to 6.1 and
DR-DOS 5.0 and later, it cannot be guaranteed to work with all
systems, especially ones which have been heavily customized and
modified (including the installation of non-standard disk drives
and controller cards) by the user; nor can it be guaranteed to
work with future releases of MS/PC-DOS.
FreeForm is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to
the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your
friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of
another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to
provide personal computer users with quality software without
high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to
continue to develop new products. If you find this program
useful and find that you continue to use FreeForm after a 30 day
trial period, you must make a registration payment of $25 (US) or
$29 (CDN) (plus $2 postage) to Herne Data Systems Ltd. Cheque,
money order, VISA credit card and corporate/institutional
purchase orders are accepted. The single user registration fee
will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one
time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example
is that this software may be used by any number of people and may
be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as
there is no possibility of it being used at one location while
it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two
different persons at the same time.
Commercial, corporate and institutional users of FreeForm must
register and pay for their copies of FreeForm within 30 days of
first use or their license is withdrawn. Site Licenses are
1
FreeForm v2.3 Users' Guide
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available for $100 (US) or $125 (CDN) directly from Herne Data
Systems Ltd.
Any individual, corporation or institution distributing FreeForm
for any kind of remuneration must first contact Herne Data
Systems Ltd. at the address below for authorization. This
authorization will be granted automatically to distributors
recognized by the ASP as adhering to its guidelines for shareware
distributors, and such distributors may begin offering FreeForm
immediately (However Herne Data Systems Ltd. must still be
advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the
latest version of FreeForm.).
You are encouraged to pass a copy of FreeForm along to your
friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their
copy if they find that they can use it.
REGISTRATION BENEFITS
All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of
FreeForm, along with free technical support and updates for 60
days. Registered users can also update to later versions (beyond
the initial 60 day free support period) for a nominal update fee
of $5.00 plus $2.00 postage and handling.
REGISTRATION AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT ADDRESS
If you have already registered, THANK YOU! If you have not
registered, please consider doing so. Simply fill out the
registration form in the REGISTER.DOC file and return it to the
address below with your check or money order for $27 (US) or $31
(CDN) - (includes registration plus $2 postage for US or Canada).
If outside US or Canada, please add an additional $2 postage
(total of $29 (US) or $33 (CDN)).
Please address all registration requests and customer support
inquiries to:
Herne Data Systems Ltd.,
PO Box 250, Tiverton, ON N0G 2T0 CANADA
voice or FAX (519)366-2732
Technical support can also be obtained on CompuServe by directing
inquiries to 72060,1153; or in the Internet to herne@wbb.com.
The extent of technical support for non-registered users is
limited and is solely at the discretion of Herne Data Systems Ltd.
2
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ASP OMBUDSMAN
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
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 Road, Muskegon, MI
49442 USA or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to ASP
Ombudsman 70007,3536
DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE
Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software
before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue
using it after a reasonable evaluation period, you are expected
to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some
request registration while others require it, some specify a
maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from
the simple right to continue using the software to an updated
program with printed manual.
Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software,
and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific
exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished
programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are
of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs
and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of
distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy
and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a
specific group. For example, some authors require written
permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their
Shareware.
Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You
should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook,
whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes
fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy.
And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware
has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the
product, you don't pay for it.
3
FreeForm v2.3 Users' Guide
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INTRODUCTION
FreeForm is a menu driven universal floppy disk formatting
utility. Unlike the MS-DOS FORMAT.COM program, FreeForm allows
you to format virtually any kind of floppy disk (including
non-MS-DOS types) with an MS-DOS compatible computer (including
the PS/2 line). All styles of floppy drives are supported,
including the external drives and secondary floppy controller
cards used with some machines. FreeForm will not let you format
a hard disk. In order to use FreeForm, you will need DOS version
3.20 or later (or DR-DOS 5.0 or later) and at least 256k bytes of
RAM.
Although it is easy to use by people of all levels of programming
experience and provides an simple method for formatting various
kinds of standard DOS floppy disks, the advanced features of
FreeForm are intended primarily for intermediate to advanced
MS-DOS users who will appreciate the complete flexibility that it
provides. With flexibility, however, comes some degree of
responsibility. FreeForm does a minimum of error checking on the
input parameters. It will accept a wide range of non-standard
responses and attempt to perform them (not always successfully,
mind you). In short, be aware of the implications of what you
are trying to do.
Non-MS-DOS disks and special MS-DOS disks can be formatted in up
to three different "density zones" on the same disk. That is,
different areas of the disk can be formatted with different
numbers of sectors, different sector sizes or numbering schemes.
Using this feature, you can create non-standard areas on a DOS
disk (such as a track full of 256 byte sectors) for hidden data
or copy protection purposes, for example. The user also has full
control over disk parameters such as the hard skew (sector
interleave) and blank sector fill byte for each zone.
Up to 100 sets of parameters can be stored in a parameter file
for later recall and use from the main menu of FreeForm.
A Note on Terminology
In various parts of this documentation you will be asked to
'press a key', 'type in' or 'enter a value'. These phrases have
slightly different meanings as outlined below.
'Press a key' refers to merely pressing the key down briefly the
releasing it again. If you are asked to press a <Control> key,
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then hold down the key marked <Ctrl> or <Control> and press the
requested alphanumeric key at the same time (just as you would
when using the <Shift> key).
'Type in' and 'enter a value' refer to the process of pressing
one or more alphanumeric keys in a given sequence to form a
string of characters (just as if you were typing on the keyboard)
followed by pressing the key marked <Enter> (or <Return> on some
keyboards). Pressing the <Enter> key is a signal that you have
finished your keyboard input and the program can resume.
<cursor up>, <cursor down>, <cursor left> and <cursor right>
refer to the cursor control keys, located either in a separate
cursor control keypad, or as part of the numeric keypad,
depending on the layout of your keyboard. These keys are used to
scroll list entries and/or to move the cursor on the full screen
editor in the parameter entry/edit mode. The keys are normally
marked with arrows on the key caps corresponding to the movement
direction.
<Home>, <End>, <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys are generally located with
or near the cursor control keys outlined above. Note that some
laptop computers with compact keyboard arrangements may require
special multiple key combinations to access these keys. <Home>,
<PgUp> and <PgDn> are used with the main menu to scroll through
the selection list, while <End> is used with the parameter
entry/edit screen to return to the main menu screen. The keys
are generally marked with the above words.
<Insert>, <Delete> and <Backspace> are screen editing keys. With
the FreeForm parameter entry/edit screen, these keys have their
normal functions.
Making a Backup Copy
Before using FreeForm for the first time, it is a good idea to
make a backup copy of the program disk for everyday use. Since
the FreeForm disk is not copy protected, you can copy the files
on the disk using the normal DOS COPY command. The FreeForm
distribution disk will contain the following files:
FREE.EXE The main FreeForm program file
FREE23.DEF The FreeForm data file containing disk type
definitions.
FREE.DOC This documentation file.
5
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SMAX.COM The TSR driver to use extended capacity DOS disks
on some systems.
UPDATE.DOC Summary of latest features not covered in this
manual.
REGISTER.DOC Shareware registration form.
With a two drive system, put the FreeForm disk in drive A: and
the formatted backup disk in drive B:. Next type in:
COPY A:*.* B:
After a few moments, the copy process will be complete. Store
your original FreeForm disk in a safe place and use the backup
copy.
With a hard disk system, you can first create a special
subdirectory for the FreeForm files, such as:
MD C:\FREEFORM
Next, change to this subdirectory:
CD\FREEFORM
Then insert the FreeForm disk in drive A: and type in:
COPY A:*.* C:
The DOS COPY command can be used for other drives or system
configurations by using the appropriate target drive and path
specification.
Upgrading From an Earlier Version
The disk definition file for version 2.3 is different than
previous versions. To mark the difference, it has been re-named
to FREE23.DEF (previously called FREE.DEF). If you are upgrading
from an earlier version of FreeForm and have a number of custom
defined disk formats in your old FREE.DEF, you can import these
directly into the new file with the following method using DOS
(or your favourite file manager program):
RENAME FREE23.DEF FREE23.NEW
COPY FREE.DEF FREE.OLD
6
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(this will keep a backup copy of the original new FREE23.DEF file
and the old FREE.DEF file).
RENAME FREE.DEF FREE23.DEF
Then run FreeForm normally. The program will recognize the old
file format and automatically convert it to the new format.
However, the converted file will not contain the new DOS formats
supported by version 2.3: 1.7 meg on a 1.44 meg drive, 2.8 meg
and 3.2 meg on a 2.8 meg drive. If you require these formats,
you must add them to the new file manually (see MODIFYING DISK
PARAMETERS, below).
FREEFORMING
Once you have copied the files to your directory, you are ready
to use FreeForm. At the DOS prompt, type in:
FREE
After a few moments the sign-on screen will appear as the data
tables are being loaded from the file FREE23.DEF. When the
process is complete, you will be taken to the main menu screen.
(The time required to load the FREE23.DEF file depends on the
speed of your disk system and the number of parameter sets you
have stored in it. Only those parameter sets which you have
actually defined will be saved in the FREE23.DEF file.)
Selecting an Entry
The main menu screen is divided up into several portions. At the
left edge, a boxed window displays a ten entry portion of the
list of disk types available in your parameter file. To select
an entry, use the <cursor up> and <cursor down> arrow keys on
your computer's cursor control keypad. To scroll the list
faster, you can use the <PgDn> (scroll ahead) and <PgUp> (scroll
back) keys to move one page (ten entries) at a time. The <Home>
key will take you back to the first entry in the list.
The currently selected entry will be displayed in reverse video.
If you wish to display or edit the parameter settings associated
with this particular disk type, press the <Enter> key. This will
take you to the parameter entry/edit screen, described below.
The FREE23.DEF file supplied on the distribution disk contains
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FreeForm v2.3 Users' Guide
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the parameters for all of the DOS disk types as well as a
selection of some of the more popular CP/M types. You can add
more disk types at any time (up to 100 sets total can be stored
in the file) by going past the last one in the current file and
entering the new values. (New entries are initially assigned
default values which can be edited to suit your needs.)
To change the disk drive to perform the formatting on, use the
<cursor left> and <cursor right> arrow keys. The currently
selected drive is displayed in a window in the upper right
portion of the screen. Note that only drive letters associated
with valid physical floppy disk drives (as determined during the
initialization process) actually can be selected.
Formatting a DOS Disk
FreeForm supports a total of 14 types of standard DOS and DOS
compatible extended capacity disk types (MAXI format disks). The
supported DOS disk types are:
Type Bytes Physical Layout Size
D1 160 k SS, 8 sector, 40 track 5.25 inch
D2 180 k SS, 9 sector, 40 track 5.25 inch
D3 320 k DS, 8 sector, 40 track 5.25 inch
D4 360 k DS, 9 sector, 40 track 5.25 inch
D5 1.2 meg DS, 15 sector, 80 track 5.25 inch
D6 720 k DS, 9 sector, 80 track 3.5 inch
D7 1.44 meg DS, 18 sector, 80 track 3.5 inch
D8 2.8 meg DS, 36 sector, 80 track 3.5 inch
Types D1 to D3 are more or less obsolete. D4 is the standard PC
and XT type. D5 is a high density AT type. D6 is a 3-1/2 inch
type used with some older laptop computers. D7 is a standard
3-1/2 inch high density type. D8 is used with the new extra high
density drives. (Note that D6 can also be used on a 5-1/4 inch AT
drive to produce DOS compatible 720k 5-1/4 disks, and D5 can be
used on the 1.44 meg drives.)
In addition to these standard DOS disk types, six new DOS
compatible formats have been included for users of DOS versions
3.2 and later. These are listed in the next table.
Type Bytes Physical Layout Size
D9 420k DS, 10 sector, 42 track 5.25 inch
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D10 800k DS, 10 sector, 82 track 3.5 inch
D11 1.4 meg DS, 17 sector, 82 track 5.25 inch
D12 1.6 meg DS, 20 sector, 82 track 3.5 inch
D13 1.7 meg DS, 21 sector, 82 track 3.5 inch
D14 3.2 meg DS, 39 sector, 82 track 3.5 inch
After selecting a disk type on the main menu screen, you are
ready to begin formatting a new disk. There are two ways to
format the disk. The first method is the 'Fast Format' which
merely sends the format command to the drive and does not bother
to attempt to verify that the new disk has been properly
formatted. This method, which is much faster than the 'Format
with Verify' option, is accessed by pressing the <F1> key. (In
fact, it does not even bother to check that a disk is in the
drive before trying to format.)
The second method is the 'Format with Verify' option selected by
pressing the <F2> key. This option will attempt to read each
sector after a track has been formatted. If an error is
detected, it will be recorded internally, but the process will
continue. This 'non-fatal' error reporting method has been used
to allow you to put deliberate errors on the disk if you so wish.
After selecting either formatting method, you will be prompted to
insert a new disk in the specified drive and then press <Enter>
to continue or <Esc> to abort the operation. Once formatting has
begun, the status window at the bottom of the screen will display
the current zone, cylinder (track) and side being formatted.
At the end of the formatting cycle, you will be asked if you wish
to include the system files for DOS disks. Type in Y for YES if
you wish to make the disk 'boot able' or any other response to
create a non-system or data only disk. Pressing <Enter> alone
has the same effect as a N for NO response.
The three system files IBMBIO.COM (or IO.SYS), IBMDOS.COM (or
MSDOS.SYS) and COMMAND.COM are required to create a system 'boot'
disk. These three files will be copied from the system path
specified during on the setup screen (see below). (The default
is C:\ - the root directory of your hard drive). If the files
are not found in this DOS path, you will be prompted to enter a
new path.
After copying the system files, you will be given a chance to
enter a volume label for the disk. Enter a text string of 1 to
11 characters for the label, or just press <Enter> alone if you
do not wish to include the label entry.
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FreeForm v2.3 Users' Guide
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After formatting has been completed, you will be asked if you
wish to format another disk of the same type. Enter Y if you do
or any other response if you do not. If the 'format with verify'
was selected, a message indicating the total number of errors
detected will also be displayed at this time. After all
formatting has been completed, you will be returned to the main
menu screen.
Formatting a Non-DOS Disk
The procedure for formatting a non-DOS disk is virtually
identical to that for formatting a DOS disk. Select a non-DOS
disk type from the main menu, then press one of the formatting
function keys. Both Fast Format (<F1>) and Format with Verify
(<F2>) are supported for non-DOS disks.
With a non-DOS disk, you will not be asked if you wish to include
system files or a volume label when the disk has been formatted.
MODIFYING DISK PARAMETERS
The edit screen displays all of the user changeable options for
the disk format along with the values for the currently selected
parameter set. To reach the edit screen, select an entry on the
main menu screen, then press <enter>. This will take you
directly to the edit screen for that particular entry. Once you
are on the edit screen you can page between entries by using the
<PgUp> and <PgDn> keys.
The parameter to edit is selected using the <cursor up> and
<cursor down> keys to scroll through the list of options. The
currently selected option is highlighted in reverse video.
(Note: if you have incorrectly specified colors for a monochrome
display adaptor using the SETUP option, you may not get reverse
video.) The parameter value can then be edited using the
alpha-numeric keys. Cursor movement keys, as well as <Insert>,
<Delete> and <Back Space> can all be used in the editing process.
To delete the currently displayed parameter set, press
<Control>-D. You will be asked to confirm such a deletion
because once done, it cannot be recovered (unless you exit
FreeForm without saving the new parameter file). To re-sort the
entries in you file, press <Control>-S. The entries will be
sorted by disk type (all DOS types will come to the top of the
list) and name (alphabetically).
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FreeForm v2.3 Users' Guide
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To save the edited parameter set, press the <F1> function key.
To return to the main menu without saving, press the escape
(<Esc>) key. (If you do not save the new parameters at this
point, the modified parameters will still be available for use
during the current session. However, if you do not save them
before you exit FreeForm, the changes will be lost the next time
you start FreeForm).
For each option, a brief description appears in the box at the
bottom of the screen. Use these as a guide for entering values.
All numeric parameters are entered as decimal values EXCEPT the
'Fill Byte' parameter which is entered as a hexadecimal value.
Although some error checking is done at this point, not all
combinations can be cross checked. If FreeForm comes across a
value that is definitely outside of the physical limitations of
your equipment (such as trying to format an 80 track disk on a 40
track drive) it will beep at you and display an error message.
General Data Area
The first option which can be edited is the disk name. This is
used for the main menu display but is not otherwise part of the
formatting process. Any ASCII string of up to 16 characters can
be used.
The next option is the disk type. This can be N for non-MS-DOS
or D1 to D14 for DOS disks. The disk formats corresponding to
each DOS disk type are outlined above under 'Formatting a DOS
Disk'. The extended disk types (D9 to D14) will maximize the
space available to the user by adding extra sectors and tracks.
The disks are fully supported and are even bootable by some (but
not all) combinations of DOS and hardware. Note that some
combinations of DOS and hardware require the use of the memory
resident 'driver' program SMAX.COM, outlined below. (It is
generally BIOS dependent).
If a DOS type disk is selected, three extra parameters can be
changed: number of root directory entries (must be a multiple of
16), number of copies of the FAT stored on the disk (1 or
normally 2), allocation unit size (normally 1 for high density
disks or 2 for double density, can be 1, 2, 4, or 8). A few
extra kb of space can be squeezed out of a disk by: decreasing
the number of entries in the root directory (each 16 entries
takes up 512 bytes); using one copy of the FAT (DOS keeps 2
identical copies, but normally only uses one. This can add up to
5 k bytes of space); increasing the allocation unit size (this
determines how many sectors are used for the FAT). All of these
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FreeForm v2.3 Users' Guide
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measures are most effective if the disk is to be used to store
only a few very large files, such as archives (ZIP files). Use
the <Tab> key to move from one field to the next.
The disk capacity of all DOS disks may be further extended by
increasing the number of formatted tracks. The 42 and 82 tracks
used by the 5-1/4 versions and the 82 tracks used by the 3-1/2
versions represent the maximum span of most disk drives.
However, certain individual drives might be able to go beyond
even this range. If you are will to experiment with your drives,
you will gain an extra 10k to 40k of user space for each extra
track you can squeeze. The extra track versions of D1 to D8
standard DOS disks can be used transparently with all versions of
DOS from 2.1 onwards.
If you have specified a DOS type disk, the rest of the parameters
in ZONE 1 will be re-set to the default values corresponding to
that disk type. However, they can be re-edited if you wish
(beware of the consequences however). DOS disks will include the
appropriate BOOT record, directory and FAT areas. Non DOS disk
will not have any special areas set up.
The 'Sector Density' corresponds to the disk density: D for
double density (normally 360k or 720k), H for high density (1.2
meg or 1.44 meg), or E for extra high density (2.8 meg). This
allows you to create double density (DD) disks in high density
(HD) or extra high density (ED) drives and HD disks in ED drives.
The 'Track Density' is used to determine what kind of disk will
be formatted in an 80 track drive. Set the value to 40 if you
wish to format a 40 track disk in an 80 track drive. For a 40
track drive, this must be set to 40. Note that 40 track disks
formatted on 80 track drives are often unreliable for reading and
writing in 40 track drives. They are usually fine for other 80
track drives, however. (The head on the 80 track drive is only
half as wide as the 40 track. Therefore the tracks are only
'half written' which may cause errors when trying to read/write
with a wider 40 track head.)
Zone Specific Data
The remainder of the parameters can take on separate different
values for up to three different areas of the disk. The disk
area or 'zone' is selected on the editing screen by pressing the
<Tab> key.
The 'Sides' parameter determines the physical side of the disk
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associated with this zone. It can have values of DS for double
sided (i.e. both sides of the disk are the same), S0 if the
parameters only apply to head 0 (i.e. a normal single sided disk)
or S1 for a single sided zone on the back of a normal single
sided disk. If the given zone is not used, then this field
should be left blank.
The 'Sector Size' can have a value of 256, 512, or 1024. DOS
uses a size of 512 for floppy disks, while non-DOS disks can use
any of the values. Each zone can have its own sector size.
'Sectors per track' is used in conjunction with the sector size
to determine the capacity of the disk. The maximum number of
sectors is determined by the physical limits of the drive. As a
general rule this is:
Drive type Sector Size
256 512 1024
360 k 18 10 5
or 720k
1.2 meg 26 17 8
1.44 meg 30 21 10
2.8 meg 60 39 20
'First sector number' determines the sector numbering scheme.
DOS disk always have a first sector number of 1. Other non-DOS
disks can have sectors starting at 0 or any number up to 255 in
special cases. An example of this would be KayPro IV CP/M disks
which have sectors numbered from 0 to 9 on side 0 and 10 to 19 on
side 2. With FreeForm a disk of this type is created by
specifying zone 1 as S0 and zone 2 as S1, each with the
appropriate sector size and numbering.
'Sector Skew Factor' determines how the sectors are placed on the
disk. A skew factor of 0 indicates that sectors are numerically
adjacent. That is, sectors are in the order of 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
A value of 1 indicates that 1 sector is skipped between
numerically consecutive sectors. For example, the sectors might
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be in the order of 1, 5, 2, 6, 3, etc. in this case. The valid
skews for a given number of sectors is a complex relationship
involving mathematical common factors. In general, the value of
(skew + 1) cannot divide evenly into the number of sectors. For
example, you cannot have 16 sectors with a skew of 1 or 3
(16/(1+1)=8 and 16/(3+1)=4), or 9 sectors with a skew of 2
(9/(2+1)=3). In addition, the (skew + 1) and number of sectors
cannot have any common factors. For example, you cannot have 9
sectors with a skew of 5 (both 5+1 and 9 are evenly divisible by
3) or 10 sectors with a skew of 3 (both 3+1 and 10 are evenly
divisible by 2). If all this sounds confusing, don't worry,
FreeForm, will let you know if it thinks the value is invalid.
Generally, you can use a skew of 0 or 1 with an odd number of
sectors (e.g. 5, 9, 15, etc); or 0, 2 or 4 with an even number of
sectors (e.g. 8, 16, etc).
'First Track' tells FreeForm where to start formatting the disk
for the selected zone. To start at the beginning, first track
should be set to 0. Starting elsewhere indicates that some of
the disk surface will be skipped prior to the start of the
formatting operation. Used in conjunction with the 'Last Track'
option, this allows you to selectively format given areas of a
disk in different configurations.
'Last Track' tells FreeForm where to finish formatting the disk
for the selected zone. It can have a value of greater than or
equal to 'First Track' of the same zone. The value must also be
less than 'Track Density' + 5. This allows you to go a bit
beyond the normal capacity of the drive to add extra tracks where
desired. Note that most drives will only go one or two tracks
beyond the normal limit. Attempting to go further may cause the
drive to jam up.
The final user selectable parameter is the 'Fill Byte'. This is
the value written to the empty sectors as they are created on the
disk. For DOS disks, fill byte has a value of hex F6. For CP/M
disks, it has a value of hex E5. Note that this is the only
field where numbers are entered as hex values instead of decimal
values.
Using Multiple Zones
FreeForm uses a multi zone disk formatting concept. Each disk
can be divided into up to three distinct areas. Each zone can be
thought of as a separate area of the disk with individual
properties. The zones can be used to create disks which have
different characteristics in different areas of the disk or to
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create special custom disk formats for data security copy
protection, etc.. The zones can be sequential or they can
overlap or they can be broken.
An example of a sequentially zoned disk can be found with the
Epson QX-10 CP/M disk format. With this type, zone 1 is
comprised of tracks 0 to 3. In this region of the disk, the
tracks on both sides of the disk are formatted with 16 sectors
per track, 256 bytes per sector. In zone 2, which comprises the
remainder of the disk (tracks 4 to 39), the tracks on both sides
of the disk are formatted with 10 sectors per track, 512 bytes
per sector.
An example of an overlapping zoned disk can be created by adding
a track of non-standard sectors to, for example, a standard DOS
disk. For example, you can start with disk type D4 to create a
normal 360k DOS disk complete with boot record, FAT and directory
(even the system files if you so choose). Next move to zone 2 on
the edit screen by using the <cursor down> key to highlight the
Sides parameter, then pressing the <Tab> key to reach zone 2.
Next enter some parameters, say S1 for the Sides parameter, 256
for the sector size parameter, 16 for the number of sectors per
track, 32 for the first sector number, 0 for the skew factor, 39
for the first track, 39 for the last track, and 27 for the fill
byte. This strange concoction will create a disk that will, for
all intents and purposes be almost fully DOS compatible, except
that will have a non-standard track on the back side. Track 39
on side 1 will have 16 sectors of 256 bytes each, numbered 32 to
47, filled with the value of hex 27. All you need to do to
create a copy protected program is to have your program check one
or more sectors on this track (using the BIOS disk interrupt
because you cannot read this track using standard DOS calls) and
check for the required data pattern. If an error occurs when you
try to read 256 byte sectors on this track, then the disk is a
copy.
While many disk nibbler type copiers will have no problem making
a full copy of this disk, it cannot be copied by simply using the
DOS DISKCOPY program.
An example of a broken zone system may again start with a
standard DOS disk type, D4. this normally stops at track 39.
You can then define zone 2 as being something on track 41. Or
you could select a single sided disk type (say D1) then put a
track in the middle of side 1. (Of course, this disk must be
used in a double sided drive to be able to read the track on the
back side.)
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Saving the Parameters
After editing and/or creating new parameter sets, you will
probably want to save them for future use. This is done by
pressing the <F1> key when in EDIT mode. FreeForm saves its
parameter values in a file named 'FREE23.DEF' on the current
system default drive (i.e. the drive from which it was loaded
itself).
SETTING DEFAULTS
FreeForm lets you set various program defaults to suit your
needs. To reach the setup screen, press the <F3> key from the
main menu.
You can change the screen colors, the system path (used for
copying DOS boot files) and the DOS boot messages. On screen
prompts will help guide you during the process.
Two boot messages are used: the first message is displayed when a
DOS system disk is being booted. It will typically say something
like "Booting System". The second message is an error message
that is displayed when an attempt is made to boot from a non-
system disk, typically "Non-system disk or boot error. Replace
and re-boot". For both messages, you can insert a carriage
return with ~ and a line feed with ^. This allows you to put a
message on more than one line. The first message can be a
maximum of 44 characters long and the second message up to 60.
Press <F1> to save the new defaults, or <Esc> to return to the
main menu without saving.
EXITING FREEFORM
To exit FreeForm and return to DOS, press the <F10> key from the
main menu screen. If FreeForm detects that you have edited the
parameter file since last saving it, you will be given the chance
to save the new values before exiting.
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USING SMAX.COM
While DOS versions 3.2x and later can automatically handle the
housekeeping required to access MAXI style extended capacity
disks, the BIOS and hardware on many systems will not. SMAX.COM
is a memory resident driver which is used to improve the
compatibility of MAXI extended capacity disks (disk types D9 to
D14) with some combinations of hardware and DOS. It is not a true
device driver in the conventional sense of DOS terminology.
Rather, it is a simple TSR (terminate but stay resident) program
which patches into the BIOS disk interrupt vector (interrupt hex
13) and changes the EOT (end of track, or last sector in a track)
parameter to match the increased value of the MAXI extended
capacity disks when it detects a disk read or write operation.
MAXI Form v1.8, MAXI Disk v3.2, and FreeForm v2.3 will
automatically configure SMAX for the type of disk being
formatted. SMAX will automatically configure itself for the
read/write operations to allow transparent access to all DOS and
MAXI formatted disks, regardless of density.
* * * *
SMAX MAY BE FREELY COPIED AND DISTRIBUTED TO YOUR
FRIENDS FOR THEIR PRIVATE, NON-COMMERCIAL USE (SO THAT
THEY CAN READ FILES WHICH YOU MAY SEND THEM ON MAXI
FORMATTED DISKS) PROVIDED THAT THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE IS
NOT REMOVED. THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS OR VENDORS
WISHING TO INCLUDE SMAX WITH THEIR OWN COMMERCIAL
PRODUCTS REQUIRE THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF HERNE
DATA SYSTEMS ALONG WITH A RUNTIME DISTRIBUTION LICENSE.
* * * *
When to Use SMAX
To determine whether or not you need to use SMAX with your system
configuration, perform the following simple test.
- Install SMAX on a cold system boot.
- Format an extended capacity (420k/800k/1.4 meg/1.6 meg/2.8
meg) disk with FreeForm, using the largest capacity floppy
drive on your system.
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- Turn off SMAX or reboot your system without SMAX installed,
then try to copy a number of relatively long files (eg. over
about 20k bytes long each) to the new disk using the DOS
COPY or XCOPY command or equivalent.
- If you get an error message (eg. 'general failure reading
drive ...' or 'sector not found') then you need to install
SMAX to use the MAXI formatted extended capacity disks.
* * * *
IF SMAX IS REQUIRED ON YOUR SYSTEM, IT SHOULD BE
INSTALLED BEFORE USING MAXI FOR FORMATTING THE EXTENDED
CAPACITY DISKS AND BEFORE READING OR WRITING ANY
PREVIOUSLY FORMATTED MAXI DISKS. THIS IS MOST EASILY
DONE BY INSERTING THE REQUIRED COMMAND LINE INTO YOUR
AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
* * * *
Installing SMAX
* * * *
BECAUSE IT IS A TERMINATE-AND-STAY-RESIDENT PROGRAM, DO
NOT INSTALL SMAX FROM A DOS WINDOW (UNDER MS WINDOWS)
OR THROUGH A MENU SHELL SUCH AS DOS 5 OR 6 DOSSHELL.
IF YOU DO, YOUR SYSTEM MAY LOCK UP WHEN YOU TRY TO
ACCESS ANY KIND OF DISK (INCLUDING THE HARD DRIVE).
HOWEVER, ONCE SMAX HAS BEEN INSTALLED, YOU CAN CHANGE
ITS CONFIGURATION FROM A DOS WINDOW OR THROUGH A MENU
SHELL.
* * * *
To install SMAX automatically on a cold boot, type the following
command at the DOS prompt (or insert the line into your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file):
SMAX <--
SMAX checks to see that you are using DOS 3.20 or later before
installing itself. Once installed, SMAX remains resident in your
computer's RAM and is active for all floppy drives on your
system. The resident portion of SMAX requires only 1.5k bytes of
memory. SMAX also accepts several command line options. These
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are:
SMAX 0 Turns off SMAX so that it remains hooked into the
interrupt 13h chain, but does nothing. If SMAX is not
resident, an error message is displayed. Note that the
'0' can be either the letter o (uppercase or lowercase)
or the numeral zero.
SMAX 1 Turns on SMAX that has been previously turned off with
the 0 option. If SMAX is not resident, it is installed
as for a first time installation. Note that the '1' can
be either the letter i (uppercase or lowercase) or the
numeral one.
SMAX 40 Turns off the 80 track double density mode for 1.2 meg
drives to allow them to access 360k/420k disks.
SMAX 80 Turns on the 80 track double density mode for 1.2 meg
drives. This allows 720k/800k 5-1/4 inch disks to be
formatted and used in 1.2 meg drives with normal 360k
DD media. On most systems, this feature is only
supported for drives A: and B: due to BIOS limitations.
In addition, it will also remove the ability for these
drives to access 360k/420k disks.
SMAX A Sets SMAX to automatic 40 track/80 track sensing mode
(where it can read/write either 40 or 80 track double
density disks interchangeably). This is the default
mode.
SMAX E Enables SMAX for secondary controlled drives. This is
the default mode.
SMAX N Disables SMAX for secondary controlled drives. The
BIOS in some secondary floppy disk controller cards,
such as those used with some external expansion drives,
is not compatible with SMAX. This options allows SMAX
to be used for internal, primary controlled drives,
while not interfering with the use of secondary
controlled drives.
SMAX ? Checks the current status of SMAX in memory, if
present.
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* * * *
SMAX 40 AND SMAX 80 ARE NOT REQUIRED WHEN USING MAXI
FORM v1.8, MAXI DISK v3.2, OR FREEFORM v2.3 OR LATER.
THEY ARE PROVIDED FOR BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY WITH
EARLIER VERSIONS ONLY.
* * * *
If you attempt to install SMAX with no options specified (or with
the ? option) when it is already resident, a status message will
be displayed showing the currently active options. If you attempt
to install SMAX with a command line option not listed above, you
will get an error message.
SMAX options can be changed at any time after it is resident in
memory by running the appropriate command line. This will change
the current parameters for the copy of SMAX in memory and will
not result in another copy of SMAX being loaded into memory.
SMAX can be loaded into high memory with the DOS 5 or 6 LOADHIGH
(LH) command, provided that your CONFIG.SYS includes the proper
XMS and EMM memory managers. (See your DOS manual for more
information on the LOADHIGH command).
Disabling SMAX
SMAX will not normally interfere with the use of standard floppy
DOS disks and it is completely transparent to hard disks. Both
regular style DOS disks and MAXI extended capacity disks can be
used interchangeably and transparently on any floppy drive in
your system by most application software such as word processors,
spreadsheets and databases. However, it is recognized that some
programs, such as those which access the disk at the physical
sector level or in an unconventional manner (including some hard
disk fast backup utilities and some versions of the DOS FORMAT
and DISKCOPY programs) do not work correctly with SMAX installed.
For such cases, SMAX can be de-activated without re-booting the
computer by using one of two command line options as summarized
above:
SMAX 0 <--
The 0 option will set a disabling flag within SMAX itself,
without actually removing the code from the interrupt 13h chain.
SMAX can then be re-activated using the 1 option when required.
A special compatibility concern may arise when using two floppy
disk controller cards: a primary card and a secondary or add-on
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card. The primary card may require SMAX to work correctly, while
the BIOS in the secondary card (such as a CompatiCard, usually
controlling external floppy drives) may become confused by SMAX.
In this case, use the SMAX N option to disable SMAX for
externally controlled drives.
The SMAX R and SMAX U options to unhook and re-hook SMAX into the
interrupt chain are no longer supported in SMAX v4, since they
are no longer required for reliable operation.
80 Cylinder Double Density Mode
The 1.2 meg disk drives used in AT class machines are capable of
reading and writing 80 cylinders. Normally this feature is used
only in high density mode (1.2 meg or 1.4 meg). However, in
order to do this reliably, special (i.e. more expensive) high
density (HD) diskettes are required. Some BIOSes will let you
format and use 80 cylinder double density (DD) 5-1/4 inch disks
in 1.2 meg drives. However, most will not. With the 80 option
of SMAX, you can take advantage of this to get up to 800k on a
normal 360k double density disk with any BIOS! This is done by
recording the data at the same bit density as normal 360k disks,
but with twice the number of cylinders. In terms of reliability,
the disks are just as reliable as 360k disks that have been
formatted and used in 1.2 meg drives.
Of course, the 80 cylinder DD disks will NOT be usable in 360k
drives, but will be usable in the 80 cylinder DD, 5-1/4 inch
drives used on some non-standard MS-DOS systems. The 80 option
is not required if your BIOS normally supports reading and
writing this disk type.
To activate the 80 cylinder mode of SMAX, use the command line:
SMAX 80 <--
(Because of limitations of BIOS flag storage areas, this feature
is limited to drives A: and B: only. On most systems this is
adequate because the standard AT type machine has only two drives
with the 1.2 meg drive as A:.) The 80 cylinder mode will not
affect normal 80 cylinder disks (i.e. 3-1/2 inch and 1.2/1.4 meg
5-1/4 inch). However, with the 80 cylinder mode activated, you
will not normally be able to access 360k/420k disks in the 1.2
meg drive. To de-activate the 80 cylinder mode, use the command
line:
SMAX 40 <--
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This will return the machine to normal 40 cylinder DD mode for
1.2 meg drives. To put SMAX into auto 40/80 mode (the normal
default), use:
SMAX A <--
Note that MAXI Form v1.8, MAXI Disk v3.2, and FreeForm v2.3 (the
three disk formatting utilities designed to work with SMAX) will
automatically configure SMAX to the correct settings without the
use of the 40/80/A command line switches. When in the default
automatic mode, SMAX will configure itself for normal disk reads
and writes.
* * * *
SMAX HOOKS ITSELF INTO BIOS INTERRUPT HEX 13 (THE DISK
CONTROLLER INTERRUPT) AND USES INTERRUPT HEX 7E (NOT
NORMALLY USED BY THE BIOS, DOS OR OTHER KNOWN PROGRAMS)
FOR ITS OWN INTERNAL FUNCTIONS.
* * * *
THE TECHNICAL DETAILS
FreeForm works by using the various functions of the BIOS disk
service interrupt hex 13. Specifically, function 5 is used for a
track by track format, function 1 is used to read sectors and
function 2 is used to write them. Functions hex 17 and 18 are
used to set the characteristics of the high density drives
(1.2/1.44/2.8 meg) prior to formatting. These functions are not
implemented on PC and XT class machines with low density drives
(360/720 k) only.
Technical Data of MAXI Style Disks
DISK TYPE
------------------------------------------------
PARAMETER 420k 800k 1.4meg 1.6meg 1.7meg 3.2meg
-----------------------------------------------------------------
sectors/track 10 10 17 20 21 39
default # tracks 42 80 82 82 82 82
# FAT sectors 2 3 9 10 10 10
sector interleave 1 1 1 1 1 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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APPENDIX A: ENHANCEMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS
New Features of v2.3
FreeForm v2.3 has the following new features and improvements
over v2.2:
- FreeForm is now supported as a shareware product.
- Automatic detection of drive type eliminates need for manual
installation of program.
- The formatting process can be user terminated by pressing
the <Esc> key at any time during the formatting process.
- Ability to modify standard DOS disk parameters such as
number of directory entries, boot messages and allocation
unit size.
- Program setup/configuration routine now built into main
program.
- Automatic interface with SMAX to set required parameters for
different types of disks without SMAX command line switches.
- Improved SMAX driver (v4) features automatic 40/80 track
support; ability to be loaded into high memory with DOS 5/6
LOADHIGH; improved compatibility with DOS FORMAT and
DISKCOPY programs; and streamlined interface with fewer
command line parameters (U and R switches no longer
supported, 40 and 80 switches maintained, but not required
for FreeForm v2.3).
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