FDREAD in the above table means, that this format will
work only, if FDREAD (or FDR88) is installed. You may find out, that this table will not be valid for your table and that you can use certain diskette formats without FDREAD (or FDR88), that are listed to work with FDREAD (or FDR88) only.
Options
Volume label ...
This option writes volume label to your diskette after
successful formatting. You must write your label (max. 11 chars).
Options
System floppy disk ?
You can specify whether System-disk will be created after
succesfull formatting or no.
Setup
Registration ...
If you are registered user and if you know registration
code, then you specify necessary information. If you write right code, then program won't write appeal for registration of program FDF at next run.
See: Registration
information
Setup
Registration information
Info about registration of program FDF. If you want known
more information about FDF, run program FDF_INFO.EXE with /A options.
See: Registration
Setup
Sound ?
Program FDF reports end of formating with sound signal.
If you want turn off this sound, use NO option.
Default is YES option.
Copy FDREAD to the diskette
Manual copy
Copy FDR88 to the diskette
Manual copy
You can copy FDREAD or FDR88 to the diskette which is in
select drive.
Copy FDREAD to the diskette
Auto-copy after format?
You can let to copy FDREAD to the diskette after each suc-
cessful forrrmatting. If you want do this copying after each formatting, use YES option.
Default is NO option.
See: Copy
FDR88
diskette
Copy FDR88 to the diskette
Auto-copy after format?
You can let to copy FDR88 to the diskette after each suc-
cessful formatting. If you want do this copying after each formatting, use YES option.
Default is NO option.
See: Copy
FDREAD
diskette
View of the diskette
Drive ...:
Do you want format the diskette? Are you sure that on the
diskette isn't some important file? Select drive and you can see root directory on the diskette. 6
If you want look over all diskette, use DOS
shell.
Exit
Yes
No
DOS shell
Options: Yes ......... End of program.
No .......... You can continue in using of program
FDF.
DOS shell ... Temporary exit to DOS. Escape is pos-
sible, if you write EXIT command.
Options
Copy FDREAD to the diskette
Copy FDR88 to the diskette
Some format needs FDREAD or FDR88. You can copy these
short programs to the diskette. If you get message "Sector not found.", run FDREAD or FDR88. 2
See: Manual
FDREAD
FDR88
diskette /
Auto-copy FDREAD or FDR88 to the diskette
Setup
Setup ...
Select, please, actual paths for FDFORMAT utilities. Prog-
ram FDF uses these paths for starting FDFORMAT, FDREAD, FDR88.
Options
Own options...
You can enter own options for formatting with this opti-
on. I can recommend you read up FDFORMAT documentation before use this option.
Options
Install FDREAD (AT-computers)
Install FDR88 (XT-computers)
To make full use of FDFORMAT, you have to make a small
TSR resident in memory. There are two different TSRs for XT-computers and AT-computers. 80386/80486 machines are treated as AT computers here. The TSR for AT computers is FDREAD.EXE and for XT computers it is FDR88.EXE. Both TSRs use less than 200 Bytes resident memory. =
If you have a memory-manager installed, that supports UMB
(like QEMM, QRAM, mov'em or 386-Max), do not load FDREAD (or FDR88) high. The TSR automatically detects the memory mana- ger and will load high itself. =
FDREAD will also automatically load high on computers
with a 286(!!!) processor and up, if DOS 5 or higher is used. You must have HIMEM.SYS (or another XMS-Driver) in- stalled and put DOS=HIGH in your CONFIG.SYS file. =
If you get the error "Too much memory available". You
must load FDREAD twice to avoid this error. =
The TSR is required to support diskette formats, which
are non-standard under DOS. If you intend to use FDFORMAT only with DOS-standard-diskette-formats, you do not need FDREAD (or FDR88).
Format type
DOS format
Beginning with version 1.8. FDFORMAT formats disks the
same way as DOS-FORMAT of DOS Version 5. FDFORMAT checks, if the diskette is already formatted in the format you have choosen. If this is true, FDFORMAT only verifies the disk and rewrites the System-Area. If the disk is formatted in another format, a real low-level formatting is performed.
See: Quick
format
Reformat
without
Format type
Quick format
This option specifies a quick format. FDFORMAT tries to
determine the current diskette format and then only rewrites the system area. All options to specify a different format are ignored, if you specify this option. FDFORMAT will also skip verifying, if the this option is selected. If this op- tion is selected and FDFORMAT cannot find a valid boot sec- tor, the diskette will be low-level formatted with the for- mat you specified.
See: DOS
format
Reformat
without
Format type
Reformat without data loss
This option is used to reformat a diskette. This is use-
ful, when you have diskette, that is still readable, but on- ly with several retries. This is often the case, if you try to read a 360 kB Diskette in a 360 kB drive, that was writ- ten in an 1.2 MB drive. =
If you choose this option, no modifications are made to
diskette. If you e.g. specify a different format or volume label, these options are ignored. The diskette will be read in track by track. Then the track will be reformatted and the data is written back to the diskette. =
It is safe to press Ctrl-Break during format without era-
se, because the exit-request is notified, when you press Ctrl-Break, but performed, when the current track is comple- tely written.
Viz. tak
: DOS
Rychl
"Low-level"
Format type
"Low-level" format
If you specify this option, the diskette will be
"low-level" formatted in any case.
See: DOS
format 2
Quick
format
Reformat
without
Options
System floppy disk ?
This option lets you format a system disk. It copies
boot-sector, DOS-System-file and COMMAND.COM to your disk. FDFORMAT does not do these task by itself, but calls the DOS-Command SYS to do so. Thus you must make sure, that SYS.COM or SYS.EXE is in a directory, which is included in your PATH Environment Variable. The call to SYS is made to ensure compatibility with any DOS Version.
Note: =
You cannot create a system disk, which cannot be read
without FDREAD.
Help
Info ...
Info about author of FDF and FDFORMAT.
Help
Info ...
About FDF 3.5
If you can known more information about FDF, run program
FDF_INFO.EXE with /A option.
Help
Info ...
About FDFORM
T and FDREAD
LICENSE
This program is a public-domain product for private and
educational use. You may freely copy and use it without any charge. =
This program must not be sold for profit. An adaequate
fee may be requested for copying, shipping and handling when redistributing this program. =
You may modify and improve this program, but the execu-
table program must show a message that your version has been modified. =
If you find, that this program is worth contributing for
it, do not hesitate to send cash, check, 3
"-diskettes or something else. %
THANKS
Special thanks to the following people:
Jochen Roderburg: =
For suggestions and improvements to support compatibility
with several BIOS-Versions.
Michael Ho: )
For an improvement in sector sliding.
Joel Armengaud: =
For supporting automatic detection of 720 kByte diskettes
in FDREAD.
rg-Stefan Sell: =
For supporting an interface routine to less compatible XT
computers.
Michael D. Lawler: +
For lots of suggestions of improvemnts.
Peter Summers: &
For an improvement in FDREAD/FDR88
FEATURES OF FDFORMAT
FDFORMAT is a replacement for the DOS-Format program,
which has the following advantages: >
1) Supporting 3
"-1.44 MB drives with any BIOS-Versions in ]
ATs and Clones. This saves you a lot of money, you would
need for a new BIOS-Version.
2) Formatting and using of 720/820 kByte disks in AT G
"-1.2 MByte Drives using cheap double-density (DD)
disks.
3) Increasing the capacity of your disks up to 300 kByte ad-
ditional storage.
4) Supporting 3
"-360 kByte format. This is useful, when you I
want to make copies of 5
"-disks to 3
"-Disks using
DISKCOPY
5) Enhance speed of your diskette I/O up to 100% with sector
sliding. This is a method of physical ordering sectors in
a way, that your drive is ready to read the next logical
sector, when your head advances one track.
6) Improved BOOT-Sector, which automatically boots from
harddisk, if the diskette in drive A: is not a system
disk. This allows you to leave the diskette in drive A:,
when you reboot the system.
Setup
Search FDFORMAT utilities
You can let to search FDFORMAT utilities on all available
disks. The searching begins in actual directory. When you want break searching, press ESC key.
Setup
Values for sector sliding
User defined ...
Default (FDFORMAT)
None (DOS)
You have chance select sector
sliding here:
User defined .... write your optimal values Default ......... values which are advised in FDFORMAT docu-
mentation
None ............ the DOS-format program always format with $
sector sliding 0.
Setup
Values for sector sliding
These options can be used to enhance the performance of
your disk up to 100%. This is a bit difficult to explain. Imagine a standard 360 kB disk. It has 9 sectors on each track numbered 1 to 9. Normally the sectors on all tracks ordered "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9". With sector sliding of 1 you order "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" on track 0, "9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8" on track 1, "8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7" of track 2 and so on. =
You can easily imagine, that it takes a little time, when
your diskette drive head steps from one track to another. But your diskette continues rotating. Without sector sliding your diskette is positioned to sector 2 or 3 on the next track, when the stepping is done. It needs nearly a full re- volution until sector 1 of the next track can be read. With sector sliding of 1 or 2 your diskette is positioned exactly on sector 1, when it starts reading again. >
Xn ... slides n sectors, when you change the head, but not
the track.
Ym ... slides m sectors, when you change the track.
Format
Begin format
The title says all. This option begins to format the
(.txt)