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1991-05-04
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Disk Meter Deluxe (DMD)
Version 2.12 - Shareware
Program Manual
Copyright (c) 1991, P.C. Consulting
All Rights Reserved
- Contents -
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Features of Disk Meter Deluxe . . . . . . . . . . 2
What is Shareware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Registering Disk Meter Deluxe . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Command line format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Using Disk Meter Deluxe in your AUTOEXEC.BAT . . . 11
Contacting P.C. Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Future Enhancements of Disk Meter Deluxe . . . . . 13
Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Revision Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- Overview -
Disk Meter Deluxe is a utility program designed to quickly
provide the user with disk drive and/or memory space information
in an easy to read graphic format. Information includes:
Original Size, amount used, and amount currently available. This
information is presented in: percentages, bytes, clusters and
sectors.
While Disk Meter Deluxe duplicates a portion of DOS's CHKDSK
(check disk) program, it is NOT a replacement for CHKDSK, but
rather an extension of your DOS commands. The CHKDSK command
provides some very important features which Disk Meter Deluxe was
not designed to do. Users of Disk Meter Deluxe are encouraged to
run CHKDSK with the /F parameter at least once a week. (Please
refer to your DOS manual for further information on CHKDSK.)
Disk Meter Deluxe does have some very definite benefits over
DOS's CHKDSK command, however. Most notably: Speed of execution
and easy of readability. CHKDSK is somewhat slow and returns
drive and memory information in a format which is difficult to
read, especially for the novice user. Disk Meter Deluxe was
designed specifically to return disk drive and/or memory
information in an easy to ready format in as short a period of
time as possible.
We hope that you find Disk Meter Deluxe to be a valuable
addition to your DOS commands. If you have any suggestions on
how to make DMD better, please feel free to contact us. (Please
refer to 'Contacting P.C. Consulting' later in this document.)
1
- Features of Disk Meter Deluxe -
o Quick calculation of disk drive and/or memory size
information
o Easy to read graphic & numeric display
o Standard and quick display modes
o Support for Monochrome and Color monitors
o Support for physical, logical, substituted, RAM and CD-ROM
drives up to 4.0 gigabytes in size
o Optional beeping for drives over 95 percent full
o Easy one key pausing of display
o On-line help screen
o Compatible with any 100 percent IBM compatible machine
running MS or PC DOS version 2.00 or higher
o Compatible with any Network using standard DOS function calls
and drive names
o Written in 100 percent assembly language for maximum speed and
minimum size
2
- What is Shareware -
Shareware is a method of distributing software. Users
generally receive software for little or no charge and are free
to review this software before they pay for it. If, after using
the software, you decide to keep and use it, you are asked to
send a small registration fee to the author. This registration
fee will encourage the author to improve the program and will
result in your continued supply of quality shareware.
Disk Meter Deluxe version 2.12 is distributed under the
Shareware concept. If you decide Disk Meter Deluxe is a valuable
addition to your computer, and we hope that you will, you are
asked to register your copy for a small registration fee. This
registration fee is less than what a comparable commercial
program would cost. (Please refer to 'Registering Disk Meter
Deluxe' later in this document for more information.)
As with most Shareware programs, there are a few simple
guidelines you should follow in order for shareware to work.
Below are a few guidelines we would like you to adhere to when
using Disk Meter Deluxe. These guidelines will ensure your
supply of quality shareware programs and help everyone involved
with shareware get the most out of it. Your support is greatly
appreciated!
- Shareware Guidelines for Disk Meter Deluxe -
o No fee should be charged for this program by anyone other
than P.C. Consulting. This does not include fees such as
Shareware houses and pay for use bulletin boards.
o If you use Disk Meter Deluxe and find it to be a valuable
utility, please register it. This will ensure future
versions of the program with improved features.
o Please do not alter Disk Meter Deluxe or its related files in
any way. Disk Meter Deluxe, although Shareware, is a
copyrighted program.
o All files, README.1ST, DMD.COM, DMD.DOC, and DMD.REG must be
distributed as a package. Always distribute the DMD212.ZIP
or DMD212.ARC file and not the individual files.
3
- Registering Disk Meter Deluxe -
If you find Disk Meter Deluxe to be a useful utility, we ask
that you register your copy by sending a small registration fee.
Becoming a registered user of Disk Meter Deluxe is quite
simple and will ensure that you receive information on future
upgrades. In addition it will ensure continued enhancements to
the program.
There are several types of registrations available for Disk
Meter Deluxe. Each type of registration is available with
several different options. These options determine what type of
upgrade (or notice) you will receive when future versions of the
program are released. A list of available registration types and
a description of benefits included follows:
SINGLE USER - PERSONAL OR BUSINESS
----------------------------------
1. Single user - with notice . . . . . . . . . . 5.00 Dollars
2. Single user - with Shareware upgrade . . . . . 10.00 Dollars
3. Single user - with Commercial upgrade . . . . 15.00 Dollars
SITE LICENSE - PERSONAL OR BUSINESS
-----------------------------------
1. Site license - with notice . . . . . . . . . 20.00 Dollars
2. Site license - with Shareware upgrade . . . . 25.00 Dollars
3. Site license - with Commercial upgrade . . . 30.00 Dollars
Single user - Personal or Business registration is for the
person or business using a single copy of Disk Meter Deluxe on a
single computer in their home or office. This registration is
available with several options relating to future releases of
Disk Meter Deluxe. (see below)
Site License - Personal or Business registration is for the
person or business who wishes to use up to ten (10) copies of
Disk Meter Deluxe at a single location. This registration is
available with the same options as the Single user registration.
(see below)
4
If you would like to bundle Disk Meter Deluxe with your
product or if you required a site license of more than 10 copies,
please contact P.C. Consulting directly. (Please refer to
'Contacting P.C. Consulting' later in this document for further
information.)
- Single User & Site License Registrations options -
Option #1 : With the 'notice' option, we will send you a postcard
informing you when the next version of DMD is ready.
You may then call and download it directly from one
of the support BBS'es listed.
Option #2 : With the 'Shareware upgrade' option, we will
automatically send you the next shareware version of
the program when it is ready. This option is
convenient if you received DMD from a catalog, or if
you wish to avoid having to download a new version.
Option #3 : With the 'Commercial upgrade' option, we will
automatically send you the next COMMERCIAL version of
the program when it is ready. This version will have
extra features not available in the Shareware
version. (Please refer to 'Future Enhancements of
Disk Meter Deluxe' later in this document for more
information.)
To facilitate registering Disk Meter Deluxe, and to insure
that we receive the proper information from each registered user,
we have included a registration form. To print the registration
form (DMD.REG) simply ready your printer, change to the drive &
subdirectory holding your Disk Meter Deluxe files and type the
following command at the DOS prompt:
COPY DMD.REG PRN:
Push the <ENTER> key and a registration form will print. Be
sure and complete the entire form. Once completed, mail the
form, with your check, cash or money order to the address on the
form. Please support shareware, register your copy of Disk Meter
Deluxe today.
5
- The display -
Disk Meter Deluxe employs a graphics display for easy of
reading. This display shows drive space information. A second,
very similar display is used for memory space information. A
sample of each display is provided below for your convince while
reading this documentation.
Drive screen
------------
Disk Meter Deluxe - Version 2.12 - Copyright (c) 1991, P.C. Consulting
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┐
│Disk C: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░│
╞═══════╤═════════════╤════════════════════╪═════════════════╤═════════════════╡
│Size C:│ 100 Percent │ 32,387,072 Bytes │ 15,814 Clusters │ 63,256 Sectors │
├───────┼─────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│Used C:│ 90 Percent │ 29,372,416 Bytes │ 14,342 Clusters │ 57,368 Sectors │
├───────┼─────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│Free C:│ 10 Percent │ 3,014,656 Bytes │ 1,472 Clusters │ 5,888 Sectors │
└───────┴─────────────┴────────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────┘
Memory screen
-------------
Disk Meter Deluxe - Version 2.12 - Copyright (c) 1991, P.C. Consulting
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┐
│Memory ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
╞═══════╤═════════════╤════════════════════╪═══════════════════════════════════╡
│System │ 100 Percent │ 655,360 Bytes │ │
├───────┼─────────────┼────────────────────┤ │
│Resrvd │ 12 Percent │ 84,816 Bytes │ Support Shareware │
├───────┼─────────────┼────────────────────┤ │
│Usable │ 88 Percent │ 570,544 Bytes │ │
└───────┴─────────────┴────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┘
When running Disk Meter Deluxe, (see above sample) the first
item displayed is the program title / copyright line. This line
gives the user information on which version of the program he or
she is using.
Following the title / copyright line, you will see an
information box. In the standard mode, this box will begin with
a 'bar graph' representing the current state of your drive or
memory space usage. The total bar graph consist of 70 blocks,
that represent the original size of your drive or memory. These
70 block change color as more and more space is used up. For
example, in the first sample display above, 90 percent of the
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drive is currently used, thus 90 percent of the bar graph has
changed color. The remaining 10 percent of the drive is
represented by the remaining uncolored blocks in the bar graph.
Note that on monochrome monitors, the used blocks appear as
bright, slightly denser blocks, while on color monitors the
blocks take on a color. On color monitors, used blocks up to 50
percent are green in color, blocks from 51 percent to 90 percent
are yellow, and the remaining 91 percent to 100 percent usage
blocks are red.
In the standard display mode, (as opposed to the quick mode
/Q - Please refer to 'Command line format' for further
information), Disk Meter Deluxe displays a table under the bar
graph information. This table contains numeric information on
drive / memory space in a row / column format.
When drive space is displayed, three rows are present in the
table under the bar graph. The first row, labeled 'Size ?:'
(where ? is the name of the drive), displays the original size of
the drive. The second row, labeled 'Used ?:', represents the
amount of space currently in use on the drive. The last row,
labeled 'Free ?:', informs you of the space remaining and
available for use on your drive.
Each row of Disk Meter Deluxe's table is further broken down
into columns, each containing specific numeric information about
the space of your drive. The first column displays the
percentage. The second column displays the actual number of
bytes, while the third and fourth columns display clusters and
sectors respectively. From this table, you can quickly determine
the space available and remaining on your drive, as well as its
original size.
When memory is displayed, 'Size ?:', 'Used ?:', and 'Free
?:' are replaced by 'System', 'Resrvd', and 'Usable',
respectively.
The 'System' row refers to amount of memory installed in
your computer system. The 'Resrvd' row indicates the amount of
memory reserved by TSR's, DOS, shells, RAM disks, etc. Finally,
the row labeled 'Usable' shows you the amount of free memory
available for your programs.
7
- Command line format -
Format : DMD [abc...][/switch...]
Disk Meter Deluxe accepts the name of one or more disk
drives to display information about on the command line (noted
above as [abc...].) If no drive name is supplied, information
about the current default drive will be displayed. Drive names
may be entered with or without the customary ":". Drive names
may also appear anywhere on the command line, before or after the
switches. Spaces need not separate drive names and drive names
need not be in upper case.
Program switches (noted as [/switch...]) may also appear
anywhere on the command line, however the switch letter must
directly follow the slash (for example: /M not / M). Switches
may also be combined with one another. For instance, the /M and
/Q together will give a quick display of memory. The following
switches are recognized by Disk Meter Deluxe:
/B - Beep when disk is 95 percent full
/H - display Help screen (also /?)
/I - Ignore keyboard input (no pause)
/M - display information about Memory
/Q - Quick display (bar graph only)
Switch /B : Beep when disk is 95 (or greater) percent full. This
switch is helpful in cases where a full disk could be
very harmful to the unknowing user. Note that this
switch will not cause a beep when MEMORY is 95
percent full.
Switch /H : Display on-line help. This switch overrides all
other command line switches. The '/?' switch will
also perform this function.
Switch /I : Ignore keyboard input. By default, Disk Meter Deluxe
will pause when any key is hit, once paused, any key
will start the display again. By supplying /I on the
command line, DMD will ignore all keyboard input and
allow the keystrokes to build in the type ahead
buffer. When using DMD in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, this
is a valuable switch, allowing you to enter your next
command for DOS while Disk Meter Deluxe is operating.
Switch /M : Display memory information. Including this switch
will display available, free and used memory on your
computer. It should be noted that normally when no
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drive letter is specified on the command line, the
current default drive is displayed. However, when
using the /M switch without a specifically supplied
drive letter, only memory will be displayed. To show
disk AND memory information together, the drive must
be present by name, even if it is the current default
drive.
Switch /Q : Display information in a quick format (bar graph
only.) Information in DMD is normally displayed in a
table format, this table has a bar graph along the
top, and a table of numbers along the bottom. For a
less complicated display, or to get more drives on
one screen at a time, add the /Q switch.
9
- Installation -
Installing Disk Meter Deluxe is very simple. The program
will auto-detect the type of screen you have (color or
monochrome) thus no internal setup is required.
For your convenience, we suggested that you install Disk
Meter Deluxe and related files to a subdirectory named 'DMD' and
set a path to that subdirectory. The following information will
help you accomplish this and will allow Disk Meter Deluxe to
execute from any subdirectory on your computer. If you are a
more advanced DOS user, please feel free to install Disk Meter
Deluxe to any pathed subdirectory (such as \DOS).
The first step in installing Disk Meter Deluxe is changing
to the drive and subdirectory currently holding your Disk Meter
Deluxe program. Once you have logged into the drive and
subdirectory containing DMD.COM, enter the following command from
your DOS prompt, pressing the <ENTER> key after every line.
Replace the four occurrences of '?:' with A: (floppy users) or C:
(hard drive users) according to your boot drive.
MD ?:\DMD
ECHO PATH = ?:\DMD;%PATH% >>?:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
COPY DMD*.* ?:\DMD
Now reset your computer by pushing the <CTRL>, <ALT> and
<DEL> keys together. After the computer resets, return to the
DOS prompt and type the following command and press <ENTER> to
execute Disk Meter Deluxe:
DMD
(Please refer to your DOS manual for further information.)
10
- Using Disk Meter Deluxe in your AUTOEXEC.BAT -
The AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your computer is a file which is
automatically executed every time your computer is turned on or
reset. It generally controls functions such as setting your DOS
prompt and your DOS path.
Disk Meter Deluxe makes a great addition to any AUTOEXEC.BAT
file. By simply adding one line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you
can quickly see the amount of space you have remaining on your
hard drive(s) each time your computer is turned on. This is a
very handy feature, especially when a full hard drive could spell
disaster for important programs.
Use any standard text editor to add Disk Meter Deluxe to
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file with any switches you like. We recommend
the following switches be included:
1. /I - Ignore keyboard input (don't pause). This will allow
you to type commands while DMD is executing.
2. /B - Beep if your drive is over 95 percent full
3. /Q - Include this switch if you have more than two drives or
if you wish to just see a quick bar graph display.
4. /M - Include the /M switch if you wish to see the amount of
memory available before loading your programs.
If you are unsure about how to add this line to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file, read the following instructions. This simple
method will install DMD in most all AUTOEXEC.BAT files.
First, log on to your boot disk. For floppy drive users
this should be A: and for hard drive users this is generally C:.
Enter A: or C: respectively and push <ENTER> to log on to your
boot drive. Once logged, enter the following command exactly as
shown and push the <ENTER> key:
ECHO DMD C: /M /I /B /Q >>\AUTOEXEC.BAT
If you have more than one hard drive, such as drive D:,
include drive D: after C: in the above example. Once you have
typed this command, reset your computer by pressing the <CTRL>,
<ALT> and <DEL> keys together. When your computer resets you
should see a quick bar graph display of your hard drive space and
memory.
11
- Contacting P.C. Consulting -
If you have any comments or suggestions about Disk Meter
Deluxe, you are always welcome to contact us. We may be reached
at the following address and phone number:
P.C. Consulting
Post Office Box 150
Pacific Grove, CA.
93950-0150
Phone: (408) 649-6490
You may also reach us at either of our two support BBS'es.
These support BBS'es are places where we call at least once a
week. All support BBS'es have copies of our most current
software, directly uploaded by P.C. Consulting.
Regardless of whether or not you have comments or
suggestions about Disk Meter Deluxe, these are both enjoyable
BBS'es, and we encourage you to give them a call.
- Support BBS'es -
The Cricket BBS : Located in Pacific Grove, CA. Available 24
hours a day, 2 nodes, at 1200/2400 baud, 8,N,1,
running PCBoard. A quality board and a great
Sysop (Jim Robeson). (408) 373-3773.
Nitelog BBS : Located in Monterey, CA. Available 24 hours a
day, 5 nodes with 1200/2400 baud, 8,N,1,
running PCBoard. An excellent BBS with over
1.4 gigabytes of files online. Sysop: Karl Van
Lear. (408) 655-1096
To send a message to us regarding Disk Meter Deluxe, address
your message to the author of Disk Meter Deluxe: RAY JOHNS.
Replies are generally sent within 48 hours.
12
- Future Enhancements of Disk Meter Deluxe -
Disk Meter Deluxe is currently scheduled for a major update
in the near future. Both the Shareware and Commercial versions
of DMD will be significantly enhanced.
The following enhancement will be included in the Shareware
and Commercial versions of Disk Meter Deluxe:
o Alarm at specified percent full
o Beep at specified percent full (currently fixed at 95%)
o Bypass (ie no display) until specified percent full
o Ultra compressed display for multi drive display
o Support for monochrome monitors attached to color cards
o Automatically pause at specified percent full
o Automatically pause after each full screen of data
o Internal error trapping. Avoid DOS's Abort, Retry, Ignore
error message when checking unformatted diskettes, drives
with doors open, etc.
The following enhancement are limited to the Commercial
version of the program and will not appear in the Shareware
version:
o Cumulative totalling of all drives on computer / network
o Hunt for active drives across computer / network
o Support for extended memory
o Support for expanded memory
o Support for DOS environment memory
o Automatically detect all memory installed
13
- Disclaimer -
P.C. Consulting, makes no warranty, express or implied as to
the fitness or condition of this software utility program. It is
delivered to you in an AS IS state. In no event shall P.C.
Consulting be held liable for loss of data or profits resulting
for the use of Disk Meter Deluxe.
Disk Meter Deluxe has been extensively tested. It uses only
the most standard DOS function calls which never write any data
to your drive.
To be absolutely sure you have a valid copy of this program,
you may contact any support BBS listed in this document and
obtain a copy which was uploaded directly by P.C. Consulting.
Disk Meter Deluxe will run on any 100 percent IBM compatible
computer using MS-DOS or PC-DOS Version 2.00 or later. Disk
Meter Deluxe was not specifically designed to run on a network,
however, it will operate correctly on any Local Area Network or
Multiuser system which conforms to standard MS-DOS or PC-DOS
function calls.
14
- Revision history -
06/25/88 - Version 1.00 - First version of Disk Meter. Bar
graph only. Support for multiple
drives and nothing else.
08/03/88 - Version 2.00 - Initial version for shareware. Two
programs, one for disk, one for
memory. Quick display by default,
/T for table.
12/08/88 - Version 2.10 - Both programs in one. /I/Q/M/B/H/?
switches added, improved documentation
file.
02/14/89 - Version 2.11 - Documentation edit.
04/29/91 - Version 2.12 - Support for (DOS 4.00) drive
partitions over 32 megabytes (up to
4.0 gigabytes) added. Documentation
edit.
15