DOS can currently only access 1024 cylinders. When using a 64 head, 32 sectors/track translation scheme, this allows DOS to access up to 1 Gigabyte of data per drive.
In order to overcome this limitation, AFDISK now uses a 255 head, 63 sectors/track translation scheme for drives larger than 1 Gigabyte. This allows DOS to access up to 8 Gigabytes of data per drive. This is referred to as "Extended BIOS Translation for Drives > 1 GByte." NOTE that other operating systems, such as NetWare 386, do not have a 1024 cylinder limit.
At this point you can enable Extended BIOS Translation for this drive. If you select not to, AFDISK will continue to use the 64/32 translation and truncate the drive down to 1024 cylinders (1 Gigabyte).
If you use "Extended BIOS Translation" for this drive, you should keep these things in mind:
If your SCSI Host Adapter BIOS does not have "Extended
BIOS Translation" support, you will not be able to move
the drive from ASPIDISK control to the BIOS control
without reformatting and repartitioning the media (only
1 Gigabyte would then be accessible).
If your drive already has existing 64 head, 32 sectors/
track partitions, and you use "Extended BIOS
Translation," you will need to first delete all of the
partitions before creating new partitions.
Press <Esc> to continue
!!! Unable to Partition Drive !!!
The ASPI manager controlling this device is returning a Head/Sector translation scheme which this revision of AFDISK does NOT support.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
%%% CREATE A DOS PARTITION %%%
If you select "Yes," a new DOS partition will be created. Although AFDISK will also format this new partition for you, it is recommended that you still execute DOS' FORMAT utility on the newly created partition. This is to make certain that all bad sectors are mapped out.
If you select "No," the new partition will NOT be created, and you will be returned back to the partition table list.
--Press <Esc> to continue--$
!!! CHECK CONDITION - DATA PROTECT !!!
The selected drive returned a DATA PROTECT error condition. This was most likely caused because:
1.) The disk drive or removable media is write protected.
Please check the drive and try again.
--Press <Esc> to continue--X
%%% DELETE A PARTITION %%%
If you select "Yes," the partition will be deleted. Keep in mind that you will also lose any files that were in that partition.
If you select "No," the selected partition will NOT be deleted, and you will be returned back to the partition table list.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
%%%% FLOPPY CAPACITY %%%%
The medium has been formatted as a floppy, with the total capacity reported in millions of bytes. This is the amount of space currently available to the user including any files that are present on the medium.
<Del> - To delete the floppy format, press <Del>.
NOTE: This is the only warning you will receive.
<Esc> - To exit this screen, press <Esc>.
%%%% DISK FORMATS %%%%
Adaptec's SCSI Disk Setup Program AFDISK, allows the user to select either a hard disk format or a floppy format for removable media devices such as magneto-optical drives, removable hard disks, etc. A floppy format allows one to treat the media as a floppy disk. A hard disk format enables one to partition the media into several different areas on the same disk. For example a 250 MB disk when formatted as a floppy would give one approx. 250 MB of contiguous disk space. As a hard disk one could partition it into 3 different drives of varying capacity totalling 250 MB. If one wishes to switch between the two formats it is advisable to use the Adaptec device driver ASPIDISK with the /Rn option in the CONFIG.SYS file at boot up.
%%%% WARNING %%%%
The Hard Disk format is the de facto standard for removable media in the MS-DOS world. A Hard Disk format has a partition table which lists one or more partitions. A partition is a distinct storage space on a disk.
The OS/2 Floppy format is an option for users of OS/2 and IBM DOS. Using this format causes removable media to be treated as a very large floppy.
The DOS V (Japanese) Format creates a format used mainly in Japan. Use of this option results in unreadable data on other standard sytems.
Using any of these options on an MO disk will erase all data presently on the disk. Please make sure that all data on your disk is backed up or is unnecessary.
!!! CHECK CONDITION - NOT READY !!!
The selected drive returned a NOT READY error condition. This was most likely caused because:
1.) If your drive accepts removable media, the removable
media may not be inserted in the drive.
2.) The drive is busy and cannot handle a request at this
time.
Please check the drive and try again.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
!!! Unable to Partition Drive !!!
This device is being controlled by an "older" version of an ASPI manager which is not supported by this version of AFDISK.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
%%% PARTITION FORM %%%
This form allows you to create a new DOS partition. There are certain restrictions as to what starting and ending cylinder values are allowed. AFDISK will notify you if an invalid value was entered. Some of the checks are:
1.) Makes sure the ending cylinder is greater than or
equal to the starting cylinder.
2.) If running under DOS 3.3, AFDISK will make sure the
new partition size is less than or equal to 32 MBytes.
3.) If running under DOS 3.31, AFDISK will make sure the
new partition size is less than or equal to 512
MBytes.
4.) Makes sure the new partition doesn't overlap with
already existing partitions or exceed disk cylinder
boundaries.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
%%% PARTITION TABLE LIST %%%
The displayed list shows the partitions (DOS and Non-DOS) on the current selected SCSI device. The operating system type, starting cylinder, ending cylinder, and size (in MBytes) are listed for each partition.
<Ins> - To create a new DOS partition, press <Ins>.
<Del> - Using the cursor keys (or mouse), highlight the
partition you wish to delete and press <Del>.
Before deleting the partition, AFDISK will give
you a chance to abort.
<Esc> - To exit the partition list, and return to the
list of SCSI devices, press <Esc>.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
%%% ADAPTEC SCSI DISK SETUP PROGRAM %%%
Adaptec's SCSI Disk Setup Program, AFDISK, allows the user to partition, and format, SCSI disk drives NOT under control of the computer's BIOS. AFDISK will allow you to add or delete a DOS partition, as well as delete a Non-DOS partition. If you need more information, on-line help is always available by pressing <F1>.
The displayed list shows all installed SCSI disk drives, including removable media devices. The "HA #" field indicates the host adapter number. If running a single host adapter, this number will be zero. The "Target" field indicates the SCSI device's target ID. Select the SCSI disk to partition, and format, and press <Enter>.
Although it would most likely work, it is recommended that you do NOT run AFDISK under a multi-tasking operating system. This is to make sure that two programs aren't conflicting with each other when accessing the same SCSI device.
--Press <Esc> to continue--2
!!! ATTENTION !!!
You have selected a SCSI drive which is controlled by DOS through the Host Adapter BIOS. Use DOS FDISK and FORMAT commands to partition and format the device.
AFDISK will only allow you to view the drive's partitions.
--Press <Esc> to continue--
!!! CHECK CONDITION - UNIT ATTENTION !!!
The selected drive returned a UNIT ATTENTION error condition. This was most likely caused because:
1.) The drive has been reset (ie. powered down and then
back on again).
2.) If you drive accepts removable media, the removable