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1989-12-07
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Sydex
Con>Format
A Concurrent Diskette Formatter
Con>Format
A "POP-UP" CONCURRENT DISKETTE FORMATTER
Copyright 1988-89, Sydex
All Rights Reserved
Version 1.06 December, 1989
Sydex
153 North Murphy Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 739-4866
NOTICE
THIS IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE! If you paid a "public domain" vendor
for this program, you paid for the service of copying the
program, and not for the program itself. Rest assured that noth-
ing ever gets to the originators of this product from such a
sale. You may evaluate this product, but if you make use of it,
you must register your copy.
We offer several inducements to you for registering. First of
all, you receive the most up-to-date copy of the program that we
have -- and we do update the product on a regular basis. You
also receive support for Con>Format -- which can be quite valu-
able at times. And finally, we have a few utilities not included
in the evaluation package. Make no mistake, however - this is a
fully functional version of Con>Format and not "crippled" in any
way.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The non-commercial single-user registration fee for Con>Format is
$15.00 US. The commercial and multisystem site fee for
Con>Format (including Con>Format) is $50.00.
Send a check or company P.O. for the appropriate amount to:
Sydex
153 North Murphy Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Please indicate what product you are ordering and if you have a
requirement for 3.5" media. We normally ship 5.25" 360K dis-
kettes, but will furnish 3.5" 720K media upon request. Customers
outside of the United States and Canada should add $5.00 for air-
mail shipping.
If you are a registered user of this product and desire an up-
date, please send $5.00 for handling and we will ship you an up-
to-date copy. Please add $3.00 for printed documentation to
cover duplication costs.
DISTRIBUTION NOTICE
This is "user-supported" software. You are hereby granted a
license by Sydex to distribute this evaluation copy of Con>Format
and its documentation, subject to the following conditions:
1. Con>Format may be distributed freely without charge in
evaluation form only.
2. Con>Format may not be sold, licensed, or a fee charged
for its use. If a fee is charged in connection with
Con>Format, it must cover the cost of copying or dis-
semination only. Such charges must be clearly iden-
tified as such by the originating party. Under no cir-
cumstances may the purchaser be given the impression
that he is buying Con>Format itself.
3. Con>Format must be presented as a complete unit, in-
cluding this documentation. Neither Con>Format nor its
documentation may be amended or altered in any way.
4. By granting you the right to distribute the evaluation
form of Con>Format, you do not become the owner of
Con>Format in any form.
Any other use, distribution or representation of
Con>Format is expressly forbidden without the written
consent of Sydex.
Table of Contents
Con>Format, Briefly..........................................1
Installing Con>Format........................................1
Operating Con>Format.........................................4
Display Adapters and Modes and Con>Format....................5
Removing Con>Format From Memory..............................5
Other Things to Know.........................................5
In Conclusion................................................6
The Sydex Product Line.......................................7
i
Con>Format, Briefly
For those who don't like going though tons of documentation to
find out what a program does, here's Con>Format in a nutshell:
* Con>Format stands for Con(current) For(matter) and offers
you the capability of formatting diskettes "in the back-
ground" while other work is being done on your computer.
* Con>Format is a "pop-up" utility. That is, it stays dor-
mant until a particular combination of keys (which you
specify yourself) is depressed. Con>Format then opens a
"window" on the display and requests which drive to format
and what kind of format to write. Once this is done, the
"window" disappears and does not reappear until formatting
is complete. In the meantime, you have full use of your
computer, excluding the diskette drives (you may use the
hard disk). Hence the term "background" formatter.
* Con>Format works with 5.25" and 3.5" diskette drive types,
and provides formatting for 180K, 360K, 720K, 1.2M and
1.44M diskettes. The format written is compatible with
DOS versions 2.0 through 4.01 (the latest as of this
writing).
* Con>Format will "hold up" a diskette access from a running
program if a diskette is in the process of being for-
matted. A window "pops up" to notify you of this occur-
rence. When formatting is complete, the diskette access
is performed and program execution continues. If the ES-
Cape key is pressed during the time that diskette access
is suspended, a "Drive not ready" status will be returned
and control returned to the suspended program.
So why waste your time staring at "Formatting Track 13, Side 1"
displays? Give Con>Format a try--pretty soon you'll be wondering
why you ever put up with DOS Format!
Installing Con>Format
Con>Format will not run without first being installed.
Installation is easy. You'll need a PC XT, AT or PS/2-compatible
computer. Some machines, such as the Tandy 2000 or PC jr will
not work with Con>Format, because they are relatively PC-
incompatible. Your video display may be monochrome, CGA, EGA or
VGA, and your diskette drives may be internal or external to your
computer. If you have more than one diskette adapter card,
Con>Format will access drives attached to the primary or secon-
dary adapters.
If you're using the registered version of Con>Format, you may in-
stall directly from the distribution diskette.
Page 1
Otherwise, you'll need to have the files CONFMT.COM and
INSTALL.EXE on a disk where they can be accessed by the installa-
tion program. If you obtained Con>Format in "archived" or
"squeezed" form, you'll need to run the appropriate utility to
extract both INSTALL.EXE and CONFMT.COM. At the DOS command
prompt, execute the installation program by entering
INSTALL and pressing the ENTER key.
You'll be guided through a series of displays which will install
Con>Format on the disk of your choice.
At one point in the installation program, you will be requested
to furnish a "hot key" combination -- the combination of key
depressions which will "activate" Con>Format and cause its window
to "pop up". A "hot key" combination involves depressing any (or
none) of the following keys:
Ctrl, Alt, Right Shift, Left Shift
and, while these keys are depressed, depressing any other key on
the keyboard. Note that a "hot" combination must a "shift" com-
bination and some other "non-shift" key.
For example, a good combination to use is Alt, Right Shift and
"F", as it's a rather unlikely combination and is easy to remem-
ber. Take care not to assign a "hot key" combination which is
the same as that used by another one of your programs. Should
this happen, the "hot key" combination will be intercepted by
Con>Format and be rendered inaccessible to the other program.
For instance, the "F" key could be designated as a Con>Format"hot
key" -- but you'd be left without the letter "F" in everything
else you tried to do! If you find that your "hot key" selection
was not a good one, you can run INSTALL again to re-install
Con>Format with a different "hot key" combination.
Some notes on the installation process -
* You may have INSTALL modify the file AUTOEXEC.BAT on the
target disk drive to cause Con>Format to be loaded
automatically after each system "boot". Alternatively,
you may load Con>Format with the following DOS command:
CONFMT followed by the ENTER key
* If you have installed the registered version of Con>Format
and want to avoid the opening "banner", use the following
DOS command to load Con>Format:
CONFMT S followed by the ENTER key
* If you have an XT-compatible machine with a high-density
diskette adapter such as the Western Digital "Fox", you
may need to install your computer as an AT-compatible to
be able to use the higher capacity drives.
Page 2
* Conversely, a Toshiba T3100 laptop should be installed as
an XT-compatible, rather than the default AT-compatible
selection, because of its non-standard diskette control-
ler.
* During the installation process you will have an oppor-
tunity to specify what type of diskette drives and con-
trollers your computer supports. If you have a single
diskette adapter, all drives are connected to the primary
adapter. If you have an additional adapter, such as the
SYSGEN Omni-Bridge or MicroSolutions' CompatiCard, this is
the secondary adapter. In all cases, if your computer
supports high-density diskette formats, you must specify
that it is an "AT" type of computer, regardless of its ac-
tual model type.
* If you're using a MicroSolutions CompatiCard tm diskette
adapter in addition to the "normal" PC-type adapter, you
must specify not only that you have an "AT"-type of com-
puter, but also that you are using a CompatiCard. If you
are in doubt about the base address of the CompatiCard,
consult your CompatiCard reference manual for configura-
tion information.
* As part of the installation process you may specify that
Con>Format use a different "boot" sector image. To do
this, you'll need a copy of a diskette having the boot
sector to be used by Con>Format.
* Finally, you may specify if Con>Format is to signal
completion of the formatting process by a tone instead of
or in addition to a "pop-up" status window. If a tone
signal is selected, a high, medium or low tone is sounded
indicate that the diskette you just formatted had:
* No errors (High tone)
* Some flawed areas (Medium tone)
* A serious error; the result is unusable. (A low tone)
These tones are very distinctive. If no "pop-up" completion
status window is selected, the status of the previous formatting
operation is display when the "hot key" combination is next
pressed.
Note that the installation process customizes Con>Format for a
specific configuration of disks and display adapter. Con>Format
must be re-installed if the system configuration is changed.
Page 3
Operating Con>Format
Operation of Con>Format is straightforward. After Con>Format has
been loaded, simply depress your own "hot key" combination and a
"window" will appear, prompting for information.
After the drive containing the diskette to be formatted and the
format to be written have been selected, the "window" disappears
and the formatting process begins. While the format is being
written, you may perform other tasks on your computer, provided
that no diskette activity is involved. Should you attempt to ac-
cess a diskette drive while Con>Format is formatting, a "window"
will appear, advising that your diskette request has been held
up, pending completion of the formatting operation. At this
point, no more work can be performed concurrently with the format
operation. However, if the ESCape key is pressed during the time
that diskette access is suspended, a "Drive not ready" status
will be returned and control returned to the suspended program.
It may take several depressions of the ESCape key before DOS
reports a "Drive not ready" error because most diskette opera-
tions are retried several times by DOS before an error is finally
reported.
When the formatting operation is complete, Con>Format again "pops
up" a window displaying the outcome of the operation, or sounds a
tone, or both, depending on the selection made at installation.
If a tone only was selected, the results of the formatting opera-
tion will be displayed the next time the "hot key" combination is
depressed.
If any flawed areas of the diskette were discovered, the total
size of the flawed areas is displayed. In some cases it may not
be possible to format a diskette because the drive door was left
open, the diskette was write-disabled, or a flaw was detected in
a critical area of the diskette. Con>Format will diagnose each
of these conditions and display an appropriate message.
After the results of the formatting operation are shown, you'll
be asked if another diskette should be formatted. If you enter
the letter "Y", the whole process repeat, using the same drive
and choice of format used for the previous diskette. Otherwise,
the "window" will disappear and any diskette operation which was
held up by Con>Format will be performed and execution of the
program requesting it will resume.
When Con>Format displays its window, you may move the window
around the screen with the cursor keypad. Each key moves the
window as follows:
7 - Upper left corner
9 - Upper right corner
1 - Lower left corner
3 - Lower right corner
5 - Center of screen
8 - One line up
2 - One line down
Page 4
4 - One column left
6 - One column right
Display Adapters and Modes and Con>Format
Con>Format will not "pop" a window up when your computer's dis-
play is in graphics mode. That is, Con>Format will work only
with text displays. If Con>Format concludes diskette formatting
and the display has been changed from text to graphics,
Con>Format will wait until the display is again text before
"popping" a window up. If the display is in graphics mode when
Con>Format is activated by the "hot key" combination, Con>Format
will ignore the "hot key" depression.
However, "Hercules" or Monochrome Graphics adapters pose some
special problems. Con>Format will not display correctly or in-
telligibly when a Hercules- or Monochrome-graphics display is in
graphics mode. If Con>Format is activated accidentally when a
monochrome-graphics display is in a graphics mode, the ESCape key
should be pressed and Con>Format will restore the display. In
addition, Con>Format is not compatible with some program which
make use of Hercules Computer Technology's "RAM-FONT" mode. The
ESCape key will restore the display in case of accidental activa-
tion of Con>Format.
Removing Con>Format From Memory
You can remove Con>Format from your computer's memory with the
command:
CONFMT R
The only restriction is that Con>Format must not be in the
process of formatting a diskette at the time this command is ex-
ecuted.
Other Things to Know...
Con>Format will work with most "serious" programs. Some games
will not operate with Con>Format, however.
Products which directly access the diskette adapter will not
operate correctly with Con>Format. These include our own
ANADISK, TELEDISK, COPYQM, FORMATQM and 22DISK. Con>Format may
be installed, but must not be activated (by depressing the "hot
key" combination) while any of these programs are executing. If
Con>Format is accidentally activated during the execution of
these programs, exit Con>Format by pressing the ESCape key.
When using other "hot key" products, such as Borland
International's SideKick, remember that the order in which "hot
keys" are recognized depends on the order in which the products
have been loaded. Load Con>Format last if possible.
Page 5
The formats created by Con>Format are compatible with DOS 4.0,
and will also work with DOS 2 and DOS 3. Con>Format will not
produce 8-sector DOS 1 formats.
In Conclusion
Thank you for giving Con>Format a try. If you have suggestions
or questions concerning its use, or any of our other products,
please write or give us a call.
Page 6
The Sydex Product Line
AnaDisk -- The compleat diskette utility. Nothing like it
anywhere else; scan, edit, repair and copy just about any
kind of diskette. $25.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
Con>Format -- Concurrent "background" diskette formatter.
Features "pop-up" operation and "hot key" activation.
You've got to see it to believe. Supports all current DOS
formats. $15.00 ($50.00 site) registration fee.
22DISK -- Transfer files, format, examine and erase files on
"foreign" CP/M diskettes on your PC. Includes tips on sup-
porting 8" and 5.25" single-density diskettes. Contains
definitions for over 200 different formats. $25.00 ($100.00
site) registration fee.
22NICE -- A CP/M 2.2 emulation package. Supports the NEC
V-series chips or performs emulation by software for both
the 8080 and Z80 processors. Includes terminal emulation
and diskette handling for common CP/M systems. Includes
22DISK. $40.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
TeleDisk -- Turn any diskette into a compressed data file
and vice-versa. Allows you to send and receive entire dis-
kettes via modem. Even works with some "copy-protected"
diskettes. $20.00 ($65.00 site) registration fee.
COPYQM -- Mass diskette duplicator. Format, copy and verify
multiple diskettes from a single master. Implements "no
keyboard" interaction mode and drive "round robin" servic-
ing. Supports all standard DOS formats. $15.00 ($50.00
site) registration fee.
FORMATQM -- Mass diskette formatter - format a box of dis-
kettes at a single sitting. Implements "no keyboard" inter-
action mode and drive "round robin" servicing. Supports all
standard DOS formats. $10.00 ($40.00 site) registration
fee.
...And, soon to be released:
InterDisk - The universal Diskette Interchange utility.
Features user-programmable media conversion for those for-
mats not covered by 22DISK. Available 1Q90.
Information on any of these products can be obtained from Sydex
by calling (408) 739-4866 (voice) or by leaving a request on our
Bulletin Board System (408) 738-2860 (1200-9600 bps, N81).
Page 7