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Text File | 1993-08-19 | 22.9 KB | 640 lines

FormatMaster 5.5 A Floppy Disk Formatting Utility Copyright 1987,93 by New-Ware All Rights Reserved Contents 1 PROLOG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 REGISTRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 VERSION HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 REGISTERING FORMATMASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 WHAT IS FORMATMASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6 RUNNING FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 THE FM MAIN DISPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7.1 FLOPPY DRIVE LIST BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7.2 ACCESSING DIALOG CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7.3 RADIO BUTTONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7.4 CHECK BOXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7.5 VOLUME LABEL LINE INPUT EDITOR . . . . . . . . . 7 7.6 SERIAL NUMBER INPUT EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7.7 COMMAND PUSH BUTTONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8 THE FM ON-LINE HELP SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9 HOW FM FORMATS A DISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 10 BOOTABLE DISKETTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 11 SETTING SCREEN COLORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 12 FILES MAINTAINED BY FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 13 THE FM.INI FILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 i 1 PROLOG DISCLAIMER New-Ware hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this product, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. New- Ware cannot and will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if New-Ware or an authorized New-Ware agent has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use software, regardless of the form and/or extent of the claim. The user of this program bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. LICENSE FormatMaster is a Shareware product. As such, it is made available to the general computing public for evaluation. Users are licensed to operate FormatMaster on their personal computers for the purpose of test and evaluation on a trial basis for a limited trial period. It is not possible to reasonably define any definitive limits of a fair and equitable time period for evaluation, therefore it is left to the user's judgment and sense of fair play as to the time required to make a decision as to its usefulness. If the user decides the program is not of sufficient merit to warrant purchase through registration with New- Ware, the program should be removed from their personal computer. Otherwise, if the program is deemed useful and is in regular use on the user's personal computer system, registration with New-Ware is required. Registered users are those users that elect to pay for FormatMaster and register that payment with New-Ware. By virtue of registration and payment for the program, registered users are granted a license to continue to utilize the program on their personal computer for as long as they choose. This license authorizes the user to use the program on any personal computer system he or she may own so long as the program is operated on only one computer system at a time. 2 REGISTRATION FormatMaster is sole property of New-Ware Shareware products. The Shareware version, and ONLY that version, may be freely copied and transferred to individual parties for evaluation purposes. The Shareware version, and ONLY that version, may be posted on Bulletin Board systems (BBS) for electronic access as long as NO FEE is charged for its distribution except for private BBS operations that charge a - 2 - regular user subscription fee. Computer information services such as Compuserve(CIS), Genie, etc., are authorized to post this product for subscriber access. The Shareware version of FormatMaster may NOT be distributed on diskette by any disk distributor/vendor that charges more than $7.00 for the diskette upon which the program and attendant files are recorded without written consent from New-Ware. This does NOT apply if the Shareware version of FM is distributed on a CD-ROM disk. FormatMaster is a fully functional Shareware product. Shareware is a computer program distribution/marketing method that permits potential buyers to thoroughly try the program prior to purchase. It is NOT free and it is not in the Public Domain. If, after evaluating the program, you find it to be useful enough to use it on a regular basis, you are expected to pay for it by registering with New-Ware. The registration fee is $20.00 and the registered version, which is NOT distributed as Shareware, will not contain the opening Shareware screen nor the closing messages. A special TSR version that occupies only 6K of normal RAM that can be called from any application is available for an additional $10.00. You may register FormatMaster in one of the following ways: 1) By mail with check or money order to: New-Ware 8050 Camino Kiosco San Diego, CA 92122-1820 2) By telephone with Visa/Mastercard to: New-Ware (619) 455-6225 Business hours ONLY please! Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific Time 3) Electronically through the New-Ware BBS: New-Ware BBS (619) 455-5226 24 Hours per day 7 Days per week 4) Users in Japan: Call P. & A. Ltd. at 0425-46-9141. - 3 - The New-Ware BBS operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Node #1 is dedicated to registered users only. Nodes #2 is open to all callers. Users registering via the BBS receive access to the latest registered version within 1 day after leaving their credit card data. Users who register by mail or phone may also access the registered version by BBS, but you MUST log on and leave a comment to the sysop to the effect that you are a registered user and desire access. The author can also be reached on CIS via PPN 71535,665 (please use EMAIL). The Shareware version of FormatMaster may be freely copied and passed on to other individual users for their evaluation. Disk vendors and/or distributors that desire to distribute FormatMaster must adhere to the guidelines specified in the file named VENDOR.DOC. 3 VERSION HISTORY Version 5.0 - Complete design overhaul and rewrite. Version 5.1 - Fixed bug in the volume label history list handler that could cause the program to lock up. Version 5.2 - Added an all drive cycle capability. - Added a no-verify capability. - Minor bugs fixes. Version 5.3 - Changed serial number addition to avoid DOS 5.0 problems. Version 5.4 - Added support for more than two floppy drives. - Added bootable data diskette feature. - Changed to the use of an ASCII initialization file (FM.INI). - Dropped the use of SYS.COM to transfer system files. FM will now directly copy the appropriate files to the target diskette. Version 5.5 - Fixed bug that could cause FM to fail to save the - 4 - selected capacity setting when updating the .INI file. 4 REGISTERING FORMATMASTER FormatMaster is a Shareware product. It is NOT public domain software. New-Ware urges those who find FormatMaster to be of sufficient utility so as to use it on a regular basis to remit a registration fee of $20.00. Registered users will receive a copy of FormatMaster on disk that has the opening Shareware information screen removed. In addition, registered users will have access the Shareware Products BBS for retrieval of all future registered versions of FormatMaster. Selecting the Registration item from the program main menu will result in a pop-up window that will prompt you for all the necessary information and then print the form for mailing. Registering FormatMaster is easy and may be accomplished in one of following ways: (1) Mail a check or money order in the amount of $20.00 payable to New-Ware. California residents MUST add 7.25% sales tax ($21.45 total). (2) Mail your Visa or Mastercard number, card expiration date, phone number, and signature to New-Ware. (3) Call (619) 455-6225 and leave your Visa or MasterCard number, expiration date, name and address, and phone number. (4) Call the Shareware Products BBS and register on line. The number is (619) 455-5226, N/8/1, 1200/2400/9600 (HST) baud. Your credit card can usually be validated within one day and this is the quickest way to get a copy of the registered version. (5) In Japan please call P. & A. Ltd. at 0435-46-9141 FormatMaster will be shipped via first class mail within two days of receipt of a registration. If you are using Visa or Mastercard for payment please ensure that you include the full card number (i.e., 1234 5678 0000 1234) and the card expiration date. Visa or Mastercard only, please. No other credit cards can be accepted. If you call the voice number to register, you may get an answering machine. Have your card or the form printed by FormatMaster ready so you can leave your registration information quickly and accurately. The answering machine is operated via a computer and is extremely secure. - 5 - 5 WHAT IS FORMATMASTER FormatMaster (hereafter called FM) is a sophisticated yet easy to use program that specializes in formatting 3 1/2" and 5 1/4" floppy diskettes. It offers time and labor saving features such as configurable volume label and sequential serial numbers and a feature that allows you to created a floppy disk that will pass the boot sequence on to your hard drive. 6 RUNNING FM FM is easy to run. Simply place FM.EXE in a directory on your hard disk. You may wish to place it in a directory that is in your DOS path, but that is not necessary. FM will maintain its support files in the same directory in which it is located. 7 THE FM MAIN DISPLAY The main FM display is organized into three main areas. The top line of the display contains the main menu bar. Press the F10 key, the Alt key and one of the highlighted menu item letters, or click with the left mouse button to access the main menu. The bottom line of the display is a status line that indicates certain function key assignments and the Alt+X exit key. You may also click on a status label to perform that indicated function. The main area of the display is occupied by the FM dialog box. This is a rectangle that contains clusters of radio buttons, check boxes, line input editors, status box, and control buttons. 7.1 FLOPPY DRIVE LIST BOX The floppy drive list box will automatically adjust to show up to 4 floppy drives. Each drive is represented by its DOS drive letter. If you have more than two floppy drives in your system, you must use the DOS utility DRIVER.SYS for each extra drive. 7.2 ACCESSING DIALOG CONTROLS FM dialog controls are organized into groups or clusters of radio buttons, check boxes, line input editors, and push buttons. You may directly access any one of the clusters by pressing the Alt key in conjunction with the highlighted character in the cluster title. For - 6 - example, press Alt+O to access the Options box and press Alt+V to access the Volume Label line input editor. You may also tab through the controls with the Tab key. Pressing the tab key will access the next control in the sequence. Press Shift+Tab to access the next control in reverse order. A third method of accessing controls is to place the mouse cursor on the control and pressing the left button. Note that the currently active control will be visually highlighted. 7.3 RADIO BUTTONS A radio button cluster consists of a vertical list of items of which one, and only one, may be selected. An item item may be selected by highlighting the desired item with the arrow keys or clicking on the desired item. 7.4 CHECK BOXES A check box cluster is a vertical list of items, each of which has a small box formed by a set of brackets. An item may be checked or unchecked by highlighting the item with the arrow keys and pressing the space bar or clicking on the item with with mouse. A check mark will appear in the box of any item that is checked. 7.5 VOLUME LABEL LINE INPUT EDITOR You may enter a volume label by selecting the line editor that is labeled "volume Label". Up to 11 DOS legal characters may be entered here. This line editor has a history buffer that will contain a list of previously entered labels. To select a label from the history list, press the down arrow while the editor is active or click on the down arrow that is immediately adjacent to the line editor. A history list appears and you may move the cursor bar to the desired label and press the Enter key to select a label from the list to be entered into the editor. FM will save and restore the history buffer to/from a file named FM.HST from session to session unless the "No History" option box is checked. You may clear the history buffer at any time by pressing the F6 key or selecting "Clear History" from the Action menu. FM will actually label a freshly formatted target disk with the volume label that is in the line editor if the Options "add Label" box is checked. - 7 - See the next section for how the volume label is used with disk serial numbers. 7.6 SERIAL NUMBER INPUT EDITOR To use this feature, select the Options cluster and check the "add Serial #" box. Then select the "Serial Num:" input editor and type any legal serial number. FM will add the serial number to the volume label immediately after formatting a target diskette. If you desire to sequentially increment the serial number as a series of disks are formatted, check the "Incr Serial #" option. For example, if the "Volume Label" field contains "MYDISK" and the "Serial Num:" field contains "1000" and the "add Serial #" option is checked, FM will add "MYDISK1000", "MYDISK1001", "MYDISK1002", etc., successively to each disk formatted. The volume label field can be blank and the "Add Label" option does not need to be checked. 7.7 COMMAND PUSH BUTTONS A vertical array of nine command push buttons occupies the right hand side of the FM dialog. Each button has a name that describes the command function that will be performed when the button is pushed. For example, push the "Quick Format" button to cause FM to perform a quick format on the target disk. A button may be pushed in three different ways. One way is to click on the button with the left mouse. Another is to press the Alt key and the highlighted shortcut character in the button title. A third method is to press the Tab key until the button is highlighted and then press the Enter key. Each of the command buttons is duplicated in the "Action" menu and by one of the 10 function keys. 8 THE FM ON-LINE HELP SYSTEM FM is supported by context sensitive on-line help system. To attain help at any time, press the F1 key or click on the status line label "F1 Help". The help window that opens will be relevant to the control item that is active at the time the help system is activated. Help on how to use the help system is available while in the help system via the F1 key. You may return to the last topic accessed by pressing Alt+F1. - 8 - 9 HOW FM FORMATS A DISK When the DOS FORMAT utility formats a floppy disk, it checks to see if the disk is already formatted. If it is, it saves the FAT and Directory sectors and proceeds to verify the disk. If it is not formatted, it then proceeds to format and verify the disk. In the first case, DOS can restore the formatted disk if the format fails for some reason or the user chooses to terminate the format by using Ctrl+Break. DOS will also perform a "quick" format if the user desires. FM operates in exactly the same way that DOS does. A fresh, unformatted disk is formatted and verified track-by-track. If FM detects a formatted target disk then it will warn you and ask for confirmation to proceed. If you elect to proceed, FM will then verify the disk and initialize the FAT and directory sectors. The FM quick format option is the fastest method of initializing a previously formatted disk because it neither formats nor verifies the target disk. Instead, it reads the FAT and directory sectors, clears all but bad sector marks, and rewrites to the disk. If speed in formatting fresh, unformatted diskettes is essential, you may elect to use the FM "No Verify" option. Formatting new disks without verification saves about 6 seconds per diskette but does involve some risk. If a bad spot exists on a diskette and is not detected it is possible to later overwrite that bad spot with file data and then subsequently fail to read the file. This option is not recommended and you use it at your own risk. 10 BOOTABLE DISKETTES FM will format a diskette so that it is a system diskette which means that the system files (IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM) are transferred to the diskette. If you are running DOS 6.0 and DBLSPACE.BIN is in your DOS path, it will be transferred as well. This makes the diskette bootable. Most diskettes, however, are formatted as "data" diskettes with no system files. These disks will not boot and your system will issue an error message and pause if you happen to have a non-system disk in drive A: when the system is booted. FM can make a special non-system diskette that will automatically pass the boot sequence to drive C: if the special diskette is in drive A: with the door closed at boot time. To make a diskette capable of this behavior, place a formatted diskette in one of your drives, make the drive active, and select the "Make Bootable Floppy" item from the main "Misc" menu. The target disk should not be a system disk and must be formatted. - 9 - 11 SETTING SCREEN COLORS Please consult the information provided in the text file named FMCOLOR.DOC for specific directions concerning setting and saving the FM color configuration. 12 FILES MAINTAINED BY FM Up to three files will be maintained by FM in the same directory in which FM.EXE resides. If you elect to save the configuration, FM will place that information into a file named FM.INI. A file named FM.HST that contains a history of your entries into the Volume Label line input field is maintained. If you elect to configure and save the FM color scheme, that information is placed into a file named FMCOLOR.SET. 13 THE FM.INI FILE FM is initialized at start-up by loading the FM.INI file. This is an editable ASCII text file that must be stored in the same directory with FM.EXE. The file can be updated in two ways. The preferred method is by setting the various options on the main FM display as desired and then using the "Save FM.INI" function. The less preferred method is to edit the file with a text editor. Here a sample of the file format: ;all comments start with a semicolon [Startup] Drive=A ;drive active on startup CapacityA=0 ;0 is low, 1 is high CapacityB=1 VolumeLabel=NEW-WARE SerialNum=0 [Options] Addlabel=No AddSerialNum=No IncrSerialNum=No TransferSystem=No ForceFull=No SkipHistory=No NoWarning=No NoBeeps=No NoVerify=No BothDrives=No - 10 - You may place comments in this file, but they MUST be preceded with a semicolon as illustrated above. ================================================================= Copyright 1987,1993, all rights reserved. New-Ware 8050 Camino Kiosco San Diego, CA 92122 - 11 -