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STORM Disk Storage Room Reporting Utility Version 1.00 Released 05-23-89 Herron Software P.O. Box 1288 Battle Ground, Washington 98604 COPYRIGHT 1988, 1989 Phil Herron. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY __________________________________________ THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED AS IS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGE ARISING FROM EITHER THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT. This product should be thoroughly evaluated using backed up or noncritical data and files. _________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents Section _________________________________________________________________ Shareware.................................................. 0.1.0 What it is.............................................. 0.1.1 License Terms........................................... 0.1.2 Registration............................................ 0.1.3 Evaluation................................................. 0.2.0 Evaluation Version...................................... 0.2.1 Evaluation Menu......................................... 0.2.2 Virus Prevention........................................ 0.2.3 STORM...................................................... 1.0 Introduction............................................ 1.1 Explanation............................................. 1.2 System Requirements..................................... 1.3 Installing........................................... 1.3.1 Help.................................................... 1.4 Syntax.................................................. 1.5 Wildcard Characters.................................. 1.5.1 Examples................................................ 1.6 Operating screen..................................... 1.6.1 File Attributes......................................... 1.7 File Allocation Size.................................... 1.8 Version History......................................... 2.0 Support.................................................... 9.0 Problem Resolution...................................... 9.1 Before Reporting........................................ 9.2 Reporting a problem..................................... 9.3 Custom Modifications.................................... 9.4 Correspondence.......................................... 9.5 Product Catalog........................................... 10.0 _________________________________________________________________ 0.1.0 Shareware _________________________________________________________________ 0.1.1 The SHAREWARE Concept _____________________________ "Shareware" is a software distribution method which enables the potential user to obtain software at very low initial cost, for evaluation on a trial basis. You can evaluate the software in your own environment, on your own machine, with the programs and data that you normally use. You're not required to make payment and become a registered user unless the software meets your needs. Another benefit of Shareware is lower pricing. By minimizing the marketing and advertising expenses associated with more traditional software distribution methods, Shareware products can be priced lower. You don't pay for what you don't need or use. You are encouraged to share the evaluation version of this software with others, so long as you follow the limitations set forth in the LICENSE TERMS section below. 0.1.2 LICENSE TERMS _____________________ This product and its documentation are copyrighted and owned solely by the author, who reserves all rights to any benefits derived from it. It is distinctly separate from, and should not be confused with, those categories of software known as "public domain" or "freeware." You are granted without charge a limited license to use the evaluation version of this software on a trial basis, for purposes of deciding whether to continue using (and therefore whether to register) the product, and to transmit this evaluation version to associates by copying on diskette or uploading to electronic bulletin board services, so long as the following CONDITIONS are met: (a) The program and its documentation file must be distributed together. (b) The program and its documentation must not be altered in any way. If you wish to include notes for other evaluators, please add them in a separate file and include that file along with the program and documentation files. 0.1.3 REGISTRATION ____________________ When you send in the registration form and fee, you'll receive by return mail a diskette containing the latest REGISTERED version of the program and documentation. BENEFITS OF REGISTRATION The registered version WILL NOT include the Evaluation Menu front-end or the forms-printing section of this version. Thus it will be more convenient to use, from either the DOS prompt or from batch files. It will also be about 16K bytes smaller, for more efficient disk storage and faster loading. The registered version WILL include any new functions or enhancements made to date. You will receive notification of future updates and new products. You will be able to upgrade to newer versions at a reduced cost. REGISTRATION FORM The registration form and a pre-addressed mailing cover can be printed from the "Forms Printing" selection of the Evaluation menu, discussed in section 0.2.2 below. FEES The single-quantity registration fee is displayed on the initial Evaluation Menu screen. Higher quantities are discussed below. QUANTITY DISCOUNTS Each registered copy of this software will be licensed for operation at only one location (on only one machine) at any one time. If this software will be in use at more than one location at the same time, the appropriate number of registrations must be made. Multiple-quantity registration fees are displayed in the "QUANTITY DISCOUNT" section of the Evaluation menu. You can take advantage of quantity discounts by ordering multiple registrations of one program or single registrations of several different programs at the same time. You also save on shipping and handling charges by registering several products together. GROUP REGISTRATIONS You can also get quantity discounts by combining orders with associates: (1) Complete a separate registration form for each person. Each person's name, address and programs to be registered are needed for support and update notification purposes. (2) Include only one standard shipping and handling charge. Cross out the "Shipping & handling" amounts on all but one registration form; the combined order will be sent to the name and address on that form. (3) Send all the forms together in one envelope or mailing cover, with a single check or money order. _________________________________________________________________ 0.2.0 Evaluation _________________________________________________________________ 0.2.1 EVALUATION VERSION __________________________ This software contains the complete and fully functional version of the program, the latest available at the time of this release. The program itself is identical to the REGISTERED version. An Evaluation Menu and forms-printing section were added to ensure that: (a) Registration information and forms will not become separated from the program file. (b) Users who might be unfamiliar with the process of displaying a file's contents on the screen or printer will have no difficulty learning about, evaluating or registering this product. 0.2.2 EVALUATION MENU _______________________ The program is invoked from the DOS prompt by typing its name and pressing the RETURN or ENTER key. The initial screen displays the warranty section and some information about the program: Program name, Version number, Release date, Single-quantity registration fee. It next displays the Shareware Product EVALUATION MENU. A single key press will select the following functions from the menu: _________________________________________ ESC - EXIT to DOS without evaluating this program R - READ the documentation (THIS file) x - EVALUATE this program Q - QUANTITY Discount information F - FORMS printing menu - registration & mailer _________________________________________ When you press "R" to READ the documentation, this file will be shown one screen at a time. The display pauses whenever the screen becomes full, and prompts... <downArrow> or Esc The <downArrow> character is similar to the "MORE" prompt in other DOS utilities. It indicates that more is available. Press ESCape to exit back to the Evaluation Menu, or any normal typing key to continue (space bar is a convenient key to use). 0.2.3 VIRUS PREVENTION ________________________ If you'd like to evaluate this software but you're not sure where it's been, you can get a copy straight from the source for a $4.00 charge to cover the cost of the diskette, shipping and handling. If your address is outside the U.S. and Canada, add an additional $3.00 (total $7.00, in U.S. funds). Include your mailing address and the name of the program. By return mail you'll receive the latest evaluation version of that program and as many others as will fit on a 5.25 inch diskette. ______________________________________________________________ STORM 1.0 Disk Storage Room Reporting Utility ______________________________________________________________ 1.1 INTRODUCTION __________________ If you ever use the DOS "COPY" command to make distribution or backup copies from a hard disk, you might like to know the amount of space the files will take up on diskette. This amount is useful for determining the number of diskettes required. It also helps in efficiently dividing the files among diskettes. A logical method for finding the total space required, you might think, would be to run the DOS "DIR" command to get the size of each file. Then you could add up all the sizes. The problem with this method is that file size is not necessarily the same as storage size. DOS doesn't dole out disk space in one-byte increments; this would be entirely too straightforward. Instead, it assigns space in clusters. A cluster can contain one or more sectors, depending on the type of disk and the DOS version. A sector can be four different sizes, although it is usually 512 bytes. For example, on a double-sided double-density (DSDD) diskette, DOS version 2.1 uses 512 bytes per sector and two sectors per cluster. Thus, if you stored a one-byte file on this diskette, it would require 1024 (512 x 2) bytes of storage space. The file will be stored in one byte; the other 1023-byte space is tied up and cannot be used for anything. The difference between file size and space required makes estimating very difficult. See section 1.8, File Allocation Size, for information on cluster sizes for other disks/other DOS versions. 1.2 EXPLANATION _________________ STORM (STorage RooM) takes into account all of the factors involved in determining required storage size. It locates files specified on the command line and determines their actual total size and the amount of room that will be needed to store them. If invoked with no command line arguments, it displays a help screen and returns to the DOS prompt. It reports on file storage sizes for just about ANY disk drive used with DOS version 2 or later. Other utilities will report on storage requirements for fixed cluster sizes of 2K or 4K; STORM handles all cluster sizes from 512 bytes through 16K. 1.3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ___________________________ PC, XT, AT or compatible. DOS version 2.1 or later. 64K free memory. 1.3.1 INSTALLING __________________ The program can be run from diskette or from hard disk. No installation is necessary, other than copying the files to a drive and directory of your choosing. 1.4 HELP __________ Can't remember the command line syntax? Issue the program's name without any parameters; it will display a help screen, then return to the DOS prompt. 1.5 SYNTAX ____________ StoRm [filespec] Where [filespec] is the string needed to reference one or more files. It can also be shown as [d:][path][filename.ext]. The minimum filespec needed is filename.ext. If the file is in another directory and/or on another drive, the drive name and/or path name must also be given. The complete filespec for a file named ThisFile.Doc residing in drive A: in a subdirectory named ThisSub is A:\ThisSub\ThisFile.Doc For further information on filespecs, see your DOS manual. 1.5.1 WILDCARD CHARACTERS ___________________________ Wildcard characters * and ? are legal for use in specifying filenames and extensions. 1.6 EXAMPLES ______________ StoRm *.* finds ALL files in current subdirectory. StoRm A:\Doc\*.Txt finds all .TXT files in subdirectory DOC on drive A. 1.6.1 OPERATING SCREEN ________________________ The operating screen appears whenever "STORM" is issued from the DOS prompt (or from a batch file) with a file specification. In this example, the complete command line is: Storm a:*.txt and the screen displays: __StoRm_______________________ |______________________________| A:*.TXT - found 1 file containing 1 byte Cluster Storage Drive size required ┌──────┐ ┌───────┐ ┌────────────┐ 512 512 A: 1024 1,024 2048 2,048 4096 4,096 C: 8192 8,192 16384 16,384 └──────┘ └───────┘ └────────────┘ STORM displays the number of files that match the input filespec, and the sum of their individual sizes. It then displays a table indicating the storage space needed for these files, for a number of conventional cluster sizes. Finally, it positions the associated drive's letter on the line corresponding to that drive's cluster size. The above example indicates that the file found, with an actual length of one byte, will require 1024 bytes of storage space on drive A or 8192 bytes on drive C. 1.7 FILE ATTRIBUTES _____________________ StoRm will find files with attributes of: Ordinary, Archive, ReadOnly. All files with other attributes are ignored: Hidden, System, Volume label, Directory. 1.8 FILE ALLOCATION SIZE __________________________ The minimum block size used for file storage allocation depends on the DOS version and the type of disk being used. Below is a table containing a few of the possible combinations. Sectors DOS per DISK TYPE version Cluster Cluster Size ------------------- ------- ------- ------------ DSDD floppy: 362Kb 2 2 1024 bytes Hard disk: 10Mb 2 8 4096 bytes " 3 8 4096 bytes Hard disk: 20Mb 2 16 8192 bytes " 3 4 2048 bytes 2.0 VERSION HISTORY _____________________ 1.00 Initial release. _________________________________________________________________ 9.0 Support _________________________________________________________________ 9.1 PROBLEM RESOLUTION ________________________ Please document and report any anomaly in program operation, whether it's a genuine "bug" or just some feature of the program that particularly "bugs" you. If you're the first person to document and report a problem that we agree needs attention, you'll receive a free upgrade with the correction when it's been made. If you're a registered user, you'll get the upgraded registered version; if you haven't yet registered, you'll get the upgraded evaluation version. 9.2 BEFORE REPORTING ______________________ Things to try prior to reporting a problem: 1 - Reread the documentation to make sure you understand what we thought we understood when we wrote it. 2 - If the system reports "Bad command or file name" when you attempt to run the program, its executable file (or at least the file name you specified) was not found. First, make sure no typos or misspellings have crept into your command line; next, try changing your PATH setting, or make the drive & directory where the program resides the "current" drive & directory. 3 - If the program is being run from a batch file, try deleting lines previous to the line that actually invokes the program, to see if some prior activity is causing the problem. 4 - If you have any memory-resident or "TSR" utilities installed (pop-up calculators/note pads, keyboard enhancements, etc.), try removing them from memory and running the program again to see if the problem reoccurs. 9.3 REPORTING A PROBLEM _________________________ If the problem persists, please document it as completely and accurately as possible; we have to be able to duplicate it before we can begin to resolve it. Include at least the following: 1 - Version of DOS you are using. 2 - Machine type, drives, memory, etc. 3 - Programs executed prior to the problem. 4 - Problem program's name and version number. 5 - Where and how you obtained the problem program. 6 - Address and/or phone number where you can be contacted. 7 - Anything you can think of that might relate to the problem; for example, listings of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, or any batch files used to run the program. 8 - Any relevant printouts. NOTE: If you're a registered user, you'll find the utility UserResp.Exe on the distribution diskette; it can be used to print a pre-addressed mailer and a problem report. If you have not yet registered, send problem reports to the address below (or print the pre-addressed mailer from the Evaluation Menu). 9.4 CUSTOM MODIFICATIONS __________________________ If you need custom modifications to this software for your particular application, please write to the below address with complete details of your requirements. 9.5 CORRESPONDENCE ____________________ We welcome any comments or suggestions you might have concerning improvements and future enhancements to this product. Send all correspondence to: Phil Herron P.O. Box 1288 Battle Ground, Washington USA 98604 _________________________________________________________________ 10.0 Product Catalog _________________________________________________________________ This section contains a list of products available or near completion as of this release date; it will be updated whenever new products are added. ChkD - Drive Total/Free/Used report by value & percent ChkM - Memory Total/Free/Used report by value & percent CleanOut - Selective file deletion, with confirmation CleanTxt - WordStar to Ascii convert, ctrl char strip, tab expand CleanZ - Ctrl-Z End Of File char strip or replace FindF - Find File(s) in any directory of current drive Gen - Generate files for testing printer, storage or timing KeySet - CapsLock-NumLock-ScrollLock-PrtSc key setup PrinTest - Parallel Printer Test & Status reporting Qscn - Convert text to executable file for Quick Screen display. ScanF - Scan File for text strings ScanM - Scan Memory for text strings Split - File splitter StoRm - STorage RooM needed for files on any disk/any DOS ver. _______________________________________________________________ | | | COPYRIGHT 1989 Phil Herron. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | |_______________________________________________________________|