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Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
GGeenneerraall IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn
SSeeccttiioonn 11..11 PPoolliiccyy
This program was originally a commercial software
package that sold for $29.95 via mail order.
This program is now being release as shareware due to
the extreme costs of marketing. This is not a public
domain utility. If you like it please send in the
registration form and the required fee. If you do not,
please send in the registration form anyway and tell me
why!
The programs and documetation are provided "as is"
without any expressed or implied warranty including, but
not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability
and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as
to the results and performance of any program is assumed by
you. Custom Services has a limited liability which shall
not in any event include damages for loss of use,
anticipated profits, benefits, or any other incidental or
consequential costs, expenses, or damages, including with
limitation any data or information which may be lost or
rendered inaccurate.
Your usage of this program signifies your agreement to
these terms and conditions.
SSeeccttiioonn 11..22 CCooppyyrriigghhtt
These programs and the related documentation are
copyrighted. You may not use, copy, modify, or transfer
the programs, documentation, or any copy except as
expressly provided for in this document.
SSeeccttiioonn 11..33 LLiicceennssee
You have the non-exclusive right to use any enclosed
program. You may not decompile, disassemble, or in any way
reverse engineer the program. You are not allowed to
modify the serial numbers imbedded on the disk for any
reason. All other rights and uses not specifically granted
in this license are reserved by Custom Services.
If you transfer the program you must at the same time
transfer the documentation and all files included in this
archive. This program may be distributed to any electronic
BBS or thru Public domain disks so long as a files are
User's Manual Chapter 1 Page 1
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
included intact. All copyright notices must be preserved
in any distribution. This distribution in no way gives up
Custom Services rights to this software. This product may
be distributed with any commercial product so long as prior
notification is made to Custom Services and the distributor
has paid the registration fee.
Basically, this means you are only allowed to transfer
the original archive with out changes.
SSeeccttiioonn 11..44 RReeggiissttrraattiioonn aanndd RReewwaarrdd
The registration fees and the required form in in the
appendix. You will receive one upgrade with your
registration fee. Future upgrades will be supplied to
registered users only. A delay of a minimum of 4 - 6
months will occur before any versions are released as
shareware to the public. The Registration fee for this
product is .00.
Please direct all questions and comments to:
Custom Services
P. O. Box 254
Moorestown, NJ., 08057
User's Manual Chapter 1 Page 2
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
PPrrooggrraamm OOppeerraattiioonn
SSeeccttiioonn 22..11 GGeenneerraall
STU is a system diagnostic. It will test your disk
drives and memory using the operating system functions.
This not only gives you a "confidence" test on the
hardware, it also checks the basic operating system I/O
functions.
This program is designed to test the basic I/O
functions of the system. It will read, write, test, and
verify all system I/O. The user has the ability to test
individual drives for errors. The tests performed may be
random or serial in nature. All I/O is performed in an
asynchronous manner allowing the system to schedule each
drive as needed. This will allow faster drives to get
ahead of the slower ones and create the best test
possible.
SSeeccttiioonn 22..22 LLiimmiittaattiioonnss
To use STU, please set the preferences to 80 column.
You do not need external memory to run STU, it will test
whatever memory you have. The address and data displayed
on errors will be in Hexidecimal.
This program is designed to handle up to four 3 1/2
inch Amiga Dos drives. The IBM 5 1/4 drives are not
supported and will be ignored during the testing. There is
little difference between media errors and device errors
except that errors will not usually go away if you switch
diskettes. Errors from the device can cause media
problems(such as a head scratching the diskette surface).
It is important that disks which have errors be used only
after you have visually inspected the surface. In any
case, do not use a diskette which has scratches or
indentations on the surface. It is also important to only
use Double Sided, Double Density diskettes in your drives.
Timings performed during tests are accurate only to
the accuracy of the system clock(plus or minus 0.02
seconds). Other tasks running during a test will cause
errors in the form of increased run times to occur.
This program is designed to run from either the CLI or
the WorkBench. The procedure for running from cli is to
type in the command STU, From the Workbench just double
click on the STU icon. All operations are identical
irregardless of how you start up STU. Due to the nature of
the tests performed, multitasking while not disabled, will
User's Manual Chapter 2 Page 3
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
be limited to programs running from RAM: or drives not
under test. This program will effectively take over the
system due to the testing performed. For best results,
this program should be run with no other tasks running.
SSeeccttiioonn 22..33 FFuunnccttiioonnss
STU will perform single or combined drive tests.
Testing may be sequential or random in nature. Random
testing will jump all over the disk selecting random blocks
to read/write(depending on the tests selected). Sequential
testing will start at track zero and cycle up to the last
track on the device. The tests are based on the functions
available to the drives which are: 1) Formatting(always
sequential), 2) Seeks, 3) writes, and reads. You are
allowed to select the type of testing on an individual
drive basis. Each drive is independent of others.
All tests are controlled by command options. Invalid
options will be ignored. All I/O operations are fully
checked for errors. Options are toggled(except for "G"
which runs the test).
User's Manual Chapter 2 Page 4
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
OOppeerraattiioonn
SSeeccttiioonn 33..11 GGeettttiinngg SSttaarrtteedd
To Start with you will need to backup the disks
supplied with the normal system command DISKCOPY. Make
several backups of the original disk to save you from
accidental writing on the program disk. After you have
make your backups then proceed to create your data disks.
Warning, STU can and will write on your disks. Even
with the requesters warning you that you are about to write
on the disk you may make mistakes. Please be careful! You
CANNOT recover data from an STU written disk. STU will
write over all information(in sequential testing, and most
during random testing).
SSeeccttiioonn 33..22 GGeenneerraall IInnssttrruuccttiioonnss
When you startup STU(either from workbench or CLI) you
will get a window which contains the copyright notice. You
are obligated to read this and then hit any character to
continue. After STU starts up it will wait for you to
enter a command "G" to indicate to start testing. Before
you use the "G" command you should select the tests you
desire(see later sections) first. STU will first test
memory and then test the disks. You must enable the memory
tests, the default is to only test the disks. STU will
wait at the completion of memory testing for you to enter
a character to continue. When disk testing is done and you
hit a character the display window will close. The purpose
of this is so you can see what happened before
continuing. You may enter a Control-C, Q, or q to quit
during the testing. STU will still require you to enter a
character before proceeding. The result is that you must
hit two character to stop testing, a "Q" for example and
any other character.
You may select to have errors held until you hit a
character. The "E" option will allow you to toggle whether
or not STU should pause or just continue when an error is
detected.
SSeeccttiioonn 33..33 MMaakkiinngg aa BBoooottaabbllee DDiiaaggnnoossttiicc DDiisskk
STU is not distributed as a bootable disk. You can
make a diagnostic testing disk by making a copy of your
WorkBench disk and copying the STU disk over the Workbench
disk with the command:
User's Manual Chapter 3 Page 5
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
COPY STU: all SYS:
This assumes that you booted the workbench copy and
you have the STU disk in the drive. Note, your startup
file(STARTUP-SEQUENCE) will be replaced with the one on the
STU disk. This startup file will run only the STU
program. The command STU will be added to this disk(and
icon). This disk will not bring up the workbench and will
exit to CLI after you are done with STU.
SSeeccttiioonn 33..44 DDaattaa DDiisskkss
Taking a backup of your STU program disk insert it
into a drive and double click the STU Icon. To create the
special Data Disks STU will use in testing your drives you
will need to first do a STU version of the FORMAT command.
This is done by selecting the "D" class from either the
menu or the keyboard. The "D" class selects the disk
drives. Toggle the testing option with the "T" command(or
the menu) until you see a test with the option "FORMAT" in
front of it. This should appear for all you drives. This
option will take any disk and convert it into the special
STU data disk format. This disk will no longer be usable
by AmigaDos until you reformat it with the system command
"FORMAT" or the workbench menu item to Initialize the
disk. It is recommended that you create a data disk for
each drive and keep them separate from your regular
AmigaDos disks. AmigaDos will think the drive is empty
when an STU disk is present in the drive. After setting
all drives to format, you must enable the testing by using
the "X" command. All drives will be labeled as "Yes" under
the enabled column. When you enter the "G" option to start
the creation of the special data disks. STU will ask with
system requesters to 1) place a DS/DD disk in each drive(or
you can abort). Click on the "CONTINUE" box after you have
the disks in each drive. Now you will get a requester
which will warn you that you are about to write on each
Drive. For each of these you must click on the "CONTINUE"
box to proceed. If you have a WRITE PROTECTED disk you
will be asked to un-write protect it, try it so you will
see how the program will act! You can't hurt things by
trying them. After you have started up each drive the
program will write the special test patterns to each disk.
These disks will all be identical, and may be used in any
drive. Save these disks for future testing after STU
informs you that each drive is done(it will display a
"CLOSED" message and turn off the drive light). Do not
remove the disks until the light on the drive goes off!
Removing a disk while the motor is on may damage the disk
and the drive!
You may want to label each disk with the drive that
wrote it for future reference, see the section about test
User's Manual Chapter 3 Page 6
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
scenarios.
SSeeccttiioonn 33..55 IInnppuuttss
The testing requires you to define the type of test to
perform. Testing is specified with the command line
options. The options available are:
Option Tells STU to:
------ -------------
G Start the Testing,
Q Quit the Testing, or Quit STU,
Control-D, Control-C also work.
P Log results to the printer(PRT:),
V Be more verbose with output,
E Toggle pause on errors during testing
? Display a little bit about Custom Services,
! Display a little bit about STU,
+ Display a little bit about the Future,
0 Test only Unit 0,
1 Test only Unit 1,
2 Test only Unit 2,
3 Test only Unit 3,
C Toggle verify data on reads,
T Toggle test selection option(enables memory test)
X Toggle the enable flag for current units and class
B Toggle the buffer size for current units and class
I Toggle the I/O ordering for current units and class
A Test All Classes
D Select the Disk test class
M Select the Memory test class
User's Manual Chapter 3 Page 7
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
S Select the Audio test class(currently not available)
The options selected are locked in when you use the
"G" option. You are allowed to toggle the "P", "V", "E",
and "C" options during the testing. The "Q, Control-D, or
Control-C option will cause STU to stop testing and shut
down. STU may not stop immediately since it will complete
the current test operation before stopping.
STU will display the options selected prior to the
start of the testing. During the testing the current
system status will be displayed.
Note, If you do not have enough memory on your system
to support the buffer size you requested for the disks, STU
will exit without performing any test. If this occurs just
restart STU and select a smaller buffer option.
User's Manual Chapter 3 Page 8
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
TTeesstt SScceennaarriiooss
All of these tests require that you first create the
STU Data Disks before running any test not using the
"FORMAT" option.
SSeeccttiioonn 44..11 BBaassiicc DDrriivvee TTeesstt
A basic Drive test would be the "WRITE/READ/SEEK" test
with random I/O. This will give a general test of all the
basic functions of each drive. Make sure the drives are
enables!
SSeeccttiioonn 44..22 RRaannddoomm SSeeeekkss aanndd RReeaaddss
By using the Random I/O option you create I/O that
will jump around over the disk in a random manner. Drives
will operate at different speeds due to the randomness of
the seeks(some drives will get shorter seeks than
others).
SSeeccttiioonn 44..33 WWrriitteess
Writing occurs when either the FORMAT or WRITE option
is selected during the testing. The FORMAT option will
always recreate the STU data Disk and may be applied to any
disk. This option always performs sequential I/O. The
WRITE option will allow either sequential or random I/O.
SSeeccttiioonn 44..44 IInnddiivviidduuaall TTeessttiinngg
Individual units may be tested with any of the tests
described in this chapter by using the unit number as a
command option. DF0: is 0, DF1: is 1 and so on. All
units may be selected either by default or by using the "A"
option. You can vary the tests from unit to unit by
changing each drive individually.
SSeeccttiioonn 44..55 RRaannddoomm SSeeeekkss aanndd HHeeaadd CClleeaanniinngg
When a problem occurs the first defense, before you
attempt to service the disk drive is to clean the heads
with a good double sided cleaner. STU will actually help
you clean your drive by moving the heads around. This has
the effect of extending the life of the cleaning disk and
User's Manual Chapter 4 Page 9
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
your drives. A cleaning type operation may be done with
the command options: "D", "C", and the drive number. The
drive will cycle with random seeks for 256 seeks. The "C"
option will allow STU to ignore the data on the disk(or the
lack of it!). This is enough to completely clean the head
on the selected drive. Enter a Q at any time after the
Seeks stop and the sequential Read test starts. It is a
good idea to clean the heads on all drives on a regular
schedule. While cleaning is important it normally is not
needed more than once a month. Any time read or write
errors occur it is a good idea to clean the drive just to
be sure. If errors occur on a regular basis you may need
to either change the types of diskettes you are using or
replace the drive. Drives do wear out, even the best ones
will eventually have to be replaced.
SSeeccttiioonn 44..66 FFaasstt II//OO TTeessttss
For quick tests of your drives the options specifying
a larger buffer can be used to decrease the time taken for
the test. When a particular drive shows errors it is a
good idea to rerun the test with the smallest buffer size
to obtain an accurate idea of where the error is. Note,
certain forms of copy protection will deliberately place
bad tracks or sectors on the disk to prevent coping of the
disk. These disks will generate various errors when
tested. See the section on testing other disks for
information on checking non-stu data disks in your drives.
SSeeccttiioonn 44..77 TTeessttiinngg ootthheerr ddiisskkss
You may test any disk not just the data disks written
by STU. What this will tell you is where a disk has bad
spots. STU may be used in this manner with the command
option "C" and the unit number of the drive. This command
will cause STU to read every sector in the drive,
displaying all sectors it cannot read. Just because STU
can read a sector does not indicate that it is correct, it
just says that it is a readable sector. Disks with
deliberate bad spots will generate read errors during this
test.
Make sure you have the "READ ONLY" option showing when
testing a non STU disk. If you accidentally select the
"WRITE" option you will get a requester making sure you
want to write on the disk. Any disk written on by STU will
TOTALLY lose the original data, not even DiskDoctor can
recover it.
User's Manual Chapter 4 Page 10
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
OOtthheerr iitteemmss ooff iinntteerreesstt
SSeeccttiioonn 55..11 FFuuttuurree EEnnhhaanncceemmeennttss
This program will not remain static. Just as new
devices are added to the system for you to use, Custom
Services will be adding new capabilities to STU help you
find problems. Future enhancements planned are:
o Support for Hard Drive Testing, and
o Support for Generic Device Testing. The areas which
will be addressed will depend on what is asked for from you
the user. Please fill out the warranty registration and
suggestion form found in Appendix A.
SSeeccttiioonn 55..22 PPaasstt VVeerrssiioonnss
1.0 - Basic STU - CLI Only
2.0 - Bugs fixed, Printer Logging
3.0 - Bugs fixed, WorkBench Interface
4.0 - Separate testing, Advanced Setup display
4.1 - This version!
5.0 - Who Knows! - You decide!!
User's Manual Chapter 5 Page 11
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
AAppppeennddiixx AA -- RReeggiissttrraattiioonn
PRODUCT: STU REGISTRATION: [yes] [no] (check one)
DATE RECEIVED:____/____/____
RECEIVED FROM:_______________________
______________________________
______________________________
Your Name:____________________________
Address:_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Who told you about this product:___________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
What improvements would you like:___________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
User's Manual Chapter 6 Page 12
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
AAppppeennddiixx EE -- EErrrroorrss
SSeeccttiioonn 77..11 SSTTUU MMeessssaaggeess
Error Text
Unable to allocate a buffer Not enough memory
Observed xxxxx Expected at offset ddd data error, disk read problem
or was not a data disk.
Closed, finished The drive has finished the
requested tests.
SSeeccttiioonn 77..22 SSYYSSTTEEMM eerrrroorrss
Unable to get a Port System problem getting started
Unable to get a pointer System problem getting started
Unable to set break control System problem getting started
I/O request Aborted Control C was used to abort
***These are the various disk errors which may occur***
Error couldn't be determined
Couldn't find sector header
Error in sector preamble
Error in sector identifier
Header field has bad checksum
Sector data field has bad checksum
Incorrect number of sectors on track
Bad sector header
Disk is write-protected
Disk has been changed or not in drive
Seek error verifying position
User's Manual Chapter 7 Page 13
Custom Services System Test Utility Version 4.0
Out of Memory for this operation
Bad Unit number for drive
Bad drive type, not an AMIGA drive!
Drive is busy, another task has it
***Drive: dd Unknown Error Code=dd***
With any of the above errors the general procedure
would be to clean the drive, retest, switch media, retest
before suspecting a hardware problem!
User's Manual Chapter 7 Page 14
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Chapter 1 General Information .................. 1
Section 1.1 Policy ......................... 1
Section 1.2 Copyright ...................... 1
Section 1.3 License ........................ 1
Section 1.4 Registration and Reward .......... 2
Chapter 2 Program Operation .................... 3
Section 2.1 General ........................ 3
Section 2.2 Limitations .................... 3
Section 2.3 Functions ...................... 4
Chapter 3 Operation ........................... 5
Section 3.1 Getting Started ................. 5
Section 3.2 General Instructions ............ 5
Section 3.3 Making a Bootable Diagnostic Disk .. 5
Section 3.4 Data Disks ...................... 6
Section 3.5 Inputs ......................... 7
Chapter 4 Test Scenarios ....................... 9
Section 4.1 Basic Drive Test ................. 9
Section 4.2 Random Seeks and Reads ............ 9
Section 4.3 Writes ......................... 9
Section 4.4 Individual Testing .............. 9
Section 4.5 Random Seeks and Head Cleaning ..... 9
Section 4.6 Fast I/O Tests ................... 10
Section 4.7 Testing other disks .............. 10
Chapter 5 Other items of interest ................ 11
Section 5.1 Future Enhancements ............. 11
Section 5.2 Past Versions ................... 11
Chapter 6 Appendix A - Registration .............. 12
Chapter 7 Appendix E - Errors .................... 13
Section 7.1 STU Messages .................... 13
Section 7.2 SYSTEM errors ................... 13
-XV-