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The Fred Fish Collection 1.5
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PcPatch
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PcPatch.doc
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1989-06-04
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PcPatch II
Written by Werner Gunther
Public Domain
PcPatch is a bunch of utilities to enable PCCopy and PCFormat from the
Extras 1.2 (or Extras 1.3) PCUtil drawer to read, write and format any kind
of MS-Dos style disks, including 720k/3.5" diskettes. Included is a format
editor, so everyone can customize PCCopy to fit his needs. Two sample
format entries have been added, AtariSS and AtariDS.
In order to make the whole thing work, you have to put everything into the
same drawer: PcC720 and PCCopy, PCF720 and PCCopy, FormatEditor, the
'.Format' files and all the icons, if you intend to work with the
Workbench.
Now to the programs themselves:
PcC720:
This one loads and patches PCCopy. From Cli type
path/PcC720 [additional formatfile]
If you didn't CD into the directory where the files can be found, the
program examines the path to work out how to load the needed files. I.e if
you type 'DF0:MsDos/PcC720 Mitsibushi' the program will try to load
'DF0:MsDos/PCCopy' and 'DF0:MsDos/Mitsibushi.Format'.
From Workbench doubleclick the PcC720 or the '.Format' icon if you want to
use an additional format.
Before patching and start PCCopy the program will display a requester. In
addition to the gadgets labeled DF0: to DF3: to choose the drive you wish
to use as a MS-Dos drive, you will find:
'Skip FAT integrity check': PCCopy checks if the FAT and its copy are
equal. If not, PCCopy will not process your disk. If this gadget is
enabled, no check is performed.
'Double track step': If you are using a 80 tracks 5.25" drive and want to
read 40 track disks, the head has to move 2 steps for each track. This has
only to be turned off if you are using a 40 track drive.
PcF720:
Loads, patches and starts PCFormat. In addition to the gadgets mentioned
above there is another gadget that reads 'Format: 80 tracks', which changes
to 'Format: 40 tracks' if selected. The default 80 track mode will format
720k disks.
FormatEditor:
Creates new '.Format' files. From CLI type
path/FormatEditor [format]
The program will prepend the path and append '.Format' to the format name
(see PcC720). From Workbench shift-click the format icon and shift-
doubleclick the FormatEditor symbol.
You have to fill the following gadgets to create a working format:
Identification byte: Ms-Dos identifies a format by a special 8-bit code.
This code can be found on sector 1 (count starts at
sector 0), byte 0. Simply use 'debug' on your PC to
get this value.
Tracks/Side: Number of tracks per side (=cylinders). This is
usually 40 or 80.
Sides: Number of sides or heads. Only 1 and 2 are allowed
values.
Sectors/track: Number of sectors per track, normally 8 or 9.
Sectors/Cluster: FAT entries do not refer to sectors, but to clusters,
this is a logical and not a physical value. The number
of sectors per cluster is usually the same as the
number of heads, but may differ sometimes.
Directory sectors: Number of sectors reserved for directory entries.
FAT sectors: Number of sectors holding the FAT *INCLUDING* its
backup.
Available clusters: Number of clusters used for files and/or
sub-directories. This is calculated by the program if
you don't change it manually. The value is usually:
(Tracks*Sides*Sectors per Track-First Data Sector) /
Sectors per Cluster.
First data sector: This is the end of boot/FAT/directory area end + 1,
and the position of cluster #0. Like 'Available
clusters' this value is computed by the program, if
you didn't change it. The formula is: 1(the boot
block) + FAT sectors + directory sectors + 1.
The simplest way to get these values is to use the Norton utilities.
The FormatEditor will create an icon for each file too. As the size
of that icon file is much larger than the actual format file, it may be a
good idea to delete the icon if you are a CLI-only user.
To avoid misunderstandings: YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO READ HIGH DENSITY DISKS.
This is a hardware and not a software problem.
If you have created any new format files, I would really like to get a
copy, please send them in. I can be reached at
G35@DHDURZ1.BITNET
Send bug reports, flames, etc. too.
Good luck,
Werner