TECHNICAL REFERENCE DOCUMENT DISK MANAGER VERSION 3.20 SEPTEMBER 14, 1987 Section Topic Page I. CONFIGURING YOUR HARDWARE ................. 2 Choosing proper drive-types on your system II. DISK MANAGER COMMAND-LINE ................. 4 Use of command line switches ( /m,/2,/3,/v,/a,/p,/c,/z,/w,/o,/i ) III. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN ADDING IN A 2ND DISK... 10 Some extra steps may be required IV. OTHER COMMON PROBLEMS ..................... 11 "1790", "1791", or "DISK ERROR" "HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER BAD" "NO HARD DRIVES INSTALLED" OTHER PROBLEMS WITH LARGE DISK DRIVES DISK MANAGER ERROR MESSAGES V. CONSIDERATIONS FOR AT&T USERS ............. 19 VI. CONSIDERATIONS FOR EPSON/COMPUTERLAND DOS . 20 VII. MIXING DOS WITH OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS ... 22 PAGE 1 SECTION I: CONFIGURING YOUR HARDWARE PC-XT TYPE CONSIDERATIONS APPROACH 1: If your controller card has a switch or jumper setting which correctly matches all parameters necessary for correct operation of your particular disk drive, you should set those switches/jumpers accordingly. The drive should then be treated as a "STANDARD" drive when using DISK MANAGER. APPROACH 2: Use "AUTO-CONFIGURE" on controller cards so equipped (usually invoked by using "DEBUG") to make DISK MANAGER perceive that the hard disk controller correctly matches all parameters necessary for correct operation of your particular disk drive. This process is usually invoked by using the DOS "DEBUG" program, and involves using programs which are stored in the controller's BIOS ROM to "AUTO-CONFIGURE" and low-level-format the hard disk. The drive should then be treated as a "STANDARD" drive when using DISK MANAGER. The DISK MANAGER low-level-format SHOULD NOT be performed after low-level- formatting with an "AUTO-CONFIGURE" BIOS, since the "AUTO- CONFIGURATION" data may be destroyed (this precludes use of the DISK MANAGER "AUTOMATIC" mode, and forces the user to operate DISK MANAGER in manual (/m) mode. NOTE: Many "AUTO-CONFIGURE" controllers provide an option for allowing the user to "SPLIT" the drive into 2 parts. Use of this option will cause DISK MANAGER to see the drive as though it were 2 separate disks. This is not recommended, and precludes the attachment of a second physical hard disk in most cases. APPROACH 3: Use of DISK MANAGER to call it a NONSTANDARD drive can be done as follows: A) Choose a drive-type which is supported by your controller's ROM-BIOS using the TYPE-SELECTION criteria below. B) Use DISK MANAGER in either the "AUTOMATIC" or "MANUAL" mode to install the drive as a NONSTANDARD drive, and inform DISK MANAGER of what type of drive you actually have at the appropriate prompt. C) Please see the note below on CAPACITY REDUCTION. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC-XT TYPE-SELECTION CRITERIA: The chosen TYPE must be smaller or equal to the actual disk drive you are installing in BOTH the head-count and cylinder-count dimensions. Further, it is desirable to match AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE the head-count between the drive-type and the drive you are installing. For further information on the consequences of this parameter, read the section below on CAPACITY REDUCTION. PAGE 2 PC-AT TYPE CONSIDERATIONS Drive-type selection is performed on PC-AT type computers by an internal "CMOS CONFIGURATION MEMORY" rather than switches and jumpers as in the PC-XT type computers. DISK MANAGER is capable of analyzing your computer's internal drive-type tables and correctly selecting the optimum CMOS setting for you, if desired. DISK MANAGER also allows you to choose CMOS settings based on your own criteria, if desired. Further, if your disk drive is a NONSTANDARD drive (one that does NOT have a corresponding entry in your machine's internal tables), DISK MANAGER's device driver will compensate for that, allowing partitions handled by the device driver to use the drive's full capacity. See notes below regarding CAPACITY REDUCTION, and, if you desire to select CMOS yourself, see the section immediately below on TYPE-SELECTION criteria. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC-AT TYPE-SELECTION CRITERIA: The chosen TYPE must be smaller or equal to the actual disk drive you are installing in BOTH the head-count and cylinder-count dimensions. Further, if you are installing a drive with more than 8 heads (or has logic which decodes all 4 head-select bits) you MUST choose a type which either does NOT use WRITE-PRECOMPENSATION, or has a "08" value for the control-byte. Failure to satisfy the above requirements will result in a system which has an extremely long delay on boot (2-3 minutes) and finally produces a DISK ERROR message after the delay. Usually, the boot process can then be completed from diskette. Finally, it is desirable to match AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE the head-count between the drive-type and the drive you are installing. For further information on the consequences of this parameter, read the section below on CAPACITY REDUCTION. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAPACITY REDUCTION: The DOS partition (necessary ONLY to boot) on a NONSTANDARD disk can use ONLY the part of the disk depicted by the BIOS ROM for the particular drive-type you have chosen (with switches, jumpers, CMOS, etc.). Therefore, if you have a drive which DOES NOT have a drive-type entry with the same number of heads, the DOS partition will effectively WASTE DISK SPACE. If the head-count mismatch is severe, only a VERY SMALL DOS partition would be possible without wasting a significant portion of the capacity. This limitation DOES NOT apply to partitions handled by the DISK MANAGER device driver. PAGE 3 SECTION II: DISK MANAGER COMMAND-LINE SWITCHES USE OF /m,/2,/3,/v,/a,/p,/c,/z,/w,/o,/i SWITCHES ON THE COMMAND LINE DISK MANAGER can be invoked using "switches" as indicated in this section. For example, to invoke DISK MANAGER's MANUAL installation process, the command line would appear as follows: A>DM/M To invoke the MANUAL mode, have the ability to vary cluster size assignments, AND display in color, the command line would appear as follows: A>DM/M/V/C The following contains a description of each switch option. /m--MANUAL (INTERACTIVE) MODE Use of this switch removes DISK MANAGER from its "AUTOMATIC INSTALL" mode. The "AUTOMATIC" mode consists of a "QUESTION/ANSWER" session which defines what disk drive configuration you want to install, and then performs it. Use of other than the most common partitioning arrangements, sector interleaves, or other DISK MANAGER features requires use of the "MANUAL" mode. /c--COLOR DISPLAY Use of this switch allows DISK MANAGER to take advantage of COLOR on the display when using a computer which is so equipped. Operation of DISK MANAGER on a computer with a COLOR display without the "/c" switch is perfectly feasible, as DISK MANAGER will operate the display in monochrome. /p--FORCE PC-XT MODE /a--FORCE PC-AT MODE These 2 switches can be used to alter DISK MANAGER's perception of what type computer is currently being used. If neither switch is specified, DISK MANAGER will interrogate the BIOS ROM of the machine to ascertain if it is currently being used on a PC-type or AT-type computer. Since the DISK BIOS instruction set is different between the two types of machines, this information is required. Unfortunately, there are certain computers which have BIOS ROM's which indicate PC-AT compatibility, but in fact have DISK SUBSYSTEMS which behave in a PC-XT like manner. See the AT&T 6300 PLUS CONSIDERATIONS portion of this document for further information. If you are using an XT disk controller in an AT computer, invoke DISK MANAGER with the /p option. PAGE 4 /2--DOS 2.XX MODE /3--DOS 3.XX MODE These 2 switches can be used to alter DISK MANAGER's perception of what type operating system is currently being used. If neither switch is specified, DISK MANAGER will interrogate the OPERATING SYSTEM of the machine to ascertain if it is a DOS 3.xx or 2.XX system. Since the LOGICAL FORMAT is different between the two types of operating systems, this information is required. Unfortunately, there are certain systems which indicate DOS 3.XX compatibility, but in fact require LOGICAL FORMATS with DOS 2.XX compatibility. See the AT&T 6300 PLUS CONSIDERATIONS portion of this document for further information. DISK MANAGER can be forced to use clustering techniques patterned after MS-DOS version 2 or 3 by invoking DISK MANAGER with a "/2" or a "/3" switch, respectively. /z--ZENITH MSDOS compatibility mode Use of this switch provides DISK MANAGER the ability to be totally compatible with ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS operating systems in all respects. Specifically, it allows DISK MANAGER to maintain up to 4 DOS partitions on a disk drive when ALL 4 will be handled by the ZENITH DOS internal device driver. Without this switch, only 1 TYPE DOS partition is allowed per disk, with any remaining partitions being handled by the DISK MANAGER device driver. /w--WYSE MSDOS Use of this switch provides DISK MANAGER the ability to be totally compatible with the WYSE-DOS VERSION 3 operating system. Specifically, it allows DISK MANAGER to maintain up to 4 DOS partitions on a disk drive when ALL 4 will be handled by the WYSE DOS internal device driver. Also, it forces DISK MANAGER to utilize the correct cluster-size versus partition-size algorithms required by WYSE-DOS version 3. It WILL also allow DOS partitions to extend beyond the 32 MB point on the drive. /v--VARIABLE CLUSTER SIZE AND ROOT DIRECTORY SIZE Driven partitions (WRITE/READ or READ ONLY) can now be prepared with operator-selected cluster size and root directory size. To enable this feature, DISK MANAGER must be invoked with a "/V" switch (i.e. DM/V/M). This feature applies to the manual mode only. Only invoke DISK MANAGER with the /V option if your application specifically requires modified cluster size or root directory assignments. PAGE 5 /o--OPERATE DISK MANAGER / DEVICE DRIVER USING VERSION 2.02 CONVENTIONS This option causes DISK MANAGER and its device driver, DMDRVR.BIN, to operate according to conventions established with DISK MANAGER ver. 2.02. If you are installing your disk drive(s) in a GOLDSTAR or other clone that "hangs" when invoking DISK MANAGER, use this option. By using this option, the following limitations will exist: 1) You may install two drives maximum 2) There is no support for SCSI extended I/O 3) There is no OMTI extended I/O (no support above 1024 cylinders). /i--SELECT INTERLEAVE DURING AUTOMATED INSTALLATION This option gives the user the option of selecting the desired interleave prior to initialization during automated installation. PAGE 6 ############################################################################### D I S C L A I M E R PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME APPLICATION PROGRAMS ARE DEPENDENT UPON THE CLUSTERING RULES THAT MS-DOS NORMALLY WOULD UTILIZE. USE OF THE /V OPTION ON PARTITIONS MAY RENDER THEM USELESS TO SUCH APPLICATIONS. THE USER MUST ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS CASE. WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND THAT THE /V OPTION NOT BE UTILIZED UNLESS THE USER HAS A SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT FOR A CLUSTERING STRUCTURE WHICH DIFFERS FROM THE NORMAL MS-DOS/PC-DOS CONVENTIONS. ############################################################################### If a WRITE-READ or READ ONLY partition is being PREPARED using the /V mode, the first new prompt will appear as follows. A default root directory code will appear in the parenthesis: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROOT DIRECTORY SIZE CODES: 1=64 2=128 3=256 4=512 5=1024 6=2048 Enter the code (1 to 6) for maximum root directory entries (3): -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The default response is the value that DOS would have assigned, given a DOS partition of equal size to the current one. If you desire a different number of maximum permissible entries in the root directory, respond with the desired size code (1-6) as shown. The second new prompt when PREPARING a WRITE-READ or READ ONLY partition using the /V option appears as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLUSTER SIZE CODES: 1=.5KB 2=1KB 3=2KB 4=4KB 5=8KB 6=16KB 7=32KB 8=64KB Enter the code (1 to 5) for the desired CLUSTER SIZE (3): -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PAGE 7 Again, a default selection is offered. The minimum and maximum values in this prompt will restrict your input to values which will cause DOS file operations to function properly. Selection of values SMALLER than the default value may cause utility programs such as CHKDSK to fail to operate. The user assumes the risk of finding such utilities useless on the current partition if these small values are selected. The default value is calculated based on the following criteria: 1) If the default root-directory size was selected, the default CLUSTER SIZE value equals what DOS would assign for this partition. 2) If a non-default root directory size was entered, the default CLUSTER SIZE entry will represent the smallest allocation size that will correctly operate with CHKDSK. Note that, with some partition sizes operating under MS-DOS 2.X, the minimum, maximum and default choices are equivalent because only one value is permitted. PAGE 8 FOLLOWING IS A REFERENCE FOR WHAT DISK MANAGER OFFERS FOR VARIOUS SIZED PARTITIONS: (DOS 2.X) PART SECTOR CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER SIZE SIZE SIZE SIZE SIZE SIZE (MB) (BYTES) (DOS) (ABSOLUTE MIN) (MIN CHKDSK) (MAXIMUM) 0-.262 512 512 BYTES 512 BYTES 512 BYTES 8K BYTES .262-1 512 1K BYTES 512 BYTES 512 BYTES 8K BYTES 1-4 512 2K BYTES 1K BYTES 1K BYTES 8K BYTES 4-8 512 2K BYTES 2K BYTES 2K BYTES 8K BYTES 8-16 512 4K BYTES 4K BYTES 4K BYTES 8K BYTES 16-32 512 8K BYTES 8K BYTES 8K BYTES 8K BYTES 32-64 1K 16K BYTES 16K BYTES 16K BYTES 16K BYTES 64-128 2K 32K BYTES 32K BYTES 32K BYTES 32K BYTES (DOS 3.X) PART SECTOR CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER SIZE SIZE SIZE SIZE SIZE SIZE (MB) (BYTES) (DOS) (ABSOLUTE MIN) (MIN CHKDSK) (MAXIMUM) 0-8 512 4K BYTES 512 BYTES 512 BYTES 8K BYTES 8-16 512 4K BYTES 512 BYTES 1K BYTES 8K BYTES 16-24 512 2K BYTES 512 BYTES 2K BYTES 8K BYTES 24-32 512 2K BYTES 1K BYTES 2K BYTES 8K BYTES 32-64 1K 4K BYTES 2K BYTES 4K BYTES 16K BYTES 64-128 2K 8K BYTES 4K BYTES 8K BYTES 32K BYTES 128-256 4K 16K BYTES 8K BYTES 16K BYTES 32K BYTES 256-512 8K 32K BYTES 16K BYTES 32K BYTES 32K BYTES PAGE 9 SECTION III: CONSIDERATIONS FOR ADDING A SECOND HARD DISK DISK MANAGER is perfectly able to help you install a 2nd add-on hard disk onto an existing 1-disk computer. However, if the first disk is not currently using DISK MANAGER, the following extra steps are required to cause your system to recognize the DISK MANAGER device driver. A) The DISK MANAGER DEVICE DRIVER, "DMDRVR.BIN", is a file that MUST exist on the BOOT device (your 1st hard disk, or, if desired, a floppy diskette). This can be simply copied from the DISK MANAGER diskette to the BOOT device. B) THE BOOT device MUST reference our driver from it's "CONFIG.SYS" file. Specifically, the "CONFIG.SYS" file MUST include a statement similar to the following: DEVICE = DMDRVR.BIN If your BOOT device already has a CONFIG.SYS, you must edit it to insert the above line. Order of "DEVICE =" statements in CONFIG.SYS can affect drive-letter allocations, if you have multiple BLOCK-DEVICE drivers, but beyond that our driver has no special requirements. If you currently have NO "CONFIG.SYS" file, you may simply copy the one from the DISK MANAGER diskette to your BOOT device. The DISK MANAGER diskette contains a program, DMCFIG.EXE, that will inspect your CONFIG.SYS file and ensure that the statement DEVICE = DMDRVR.BIN is included. This program is useful whenever the CONFIG.SYS file is modified by installing a new operating system or application program that rebuilds (recopies) the CONFIG.SYS file. PAGE 10 SECTION IV: COMMON PROBLEMS The majority of problems experienced with disk installations are hardware related. Generally, DISK MANAGER will abort the installation process if any of these errors are encountered when executing under auto mode. In either case, any I/O error is decoded to an English-language equivalent and displayed on the BOTTOM LINE OF THE SCREEN. Some of the more common error messages and their possible causes are listed below: ---------------------- A substantial delay (2 or 3 minutes), followed by: "1790", "1791", or other "DISK ERROR" messages when booting the computer occur from the following causes: 1) This is a NORMAL error message when installing an UNINITIALIZED (new) hard disk. As soon as the initialization has been performed with DISK MANAGER, this error will disappear. 2) This situation can also arise from an improper choice of CMOS drive type when operating on PC-AT type computers. Specifically, the chosen type must be SMALLER, or EQUAL to, the dimensions of the disk drive in BOTH the heads- and cylinders- dimensions. ALSO, if you have a drive with more than 8 heads, you MUST choose a drive-type which either has a control-byte of "08", or has WRITE-PRECOMPENSATION turned off. 3) This can be the result of many hardware-related problems, such as cables, drive-select jumpers, or defective components. PAGE 11 "NO HARD DRIVES INSTALLED" when invoking DISK MANAGER Improper cabling--disk drives require 2 cables, 1 of which is "daisy-chained" from the controller to 1st drive, and from there to a 2nd drive, if installed. There is also a dedicated cable from each drive to the controller. Orientation (pin 1 placement) of these cables is crucial! The last drive in the daisy chain MUST have a terminator installed. If you have 2 drives, only the 2nd drive can have a terminator installed ! Improper drive jumpering--Drives usually have a drive select jumper which must be on the correct setting. IBM PC-AT type machines use drive select 2, IBM PC-XT type machines use drive select 1. (SOME DRIVES NUMBER THEIR SELECT JUMPERS AS 0-3, NOT 1-4. IF SO, AT-TYPE INSTALLATIONS USE 1, XT-TYPE INSTALLATIONS USE 0.) IBM PC-AT type machines require operation of a SETUP program of some kind to specify the hard-disk configuration. Improper specification of hard-disk types or the number of hard disks can lead to this error. ---------------------- "HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER BAD" when invoking DISK MANAGER Jumpering of various options on the controller card can lead to this error. Check with your controller card documentation, or ask your hardware dealer. Obviously, this message can also result from a defective controller card. ---------------------- OTHER PROBLEMS WITH LARGE DISK DRIVES We receive several support calls from customers who suspect a problem has occurred while initializing their large disk drive on an IBM PC-AT type machine. Specifically, it appears as if the DISK MANAGER initializer is only initializing heads 0-7 as it proceeds. In fact, DISK MANAGER will perform the initialization process on the lower heads first, then proceed with any heads above head 7. This is necessitated by an idiosyncrasy found in some IBM PC-AT controller cards, and, if the number of heads displayed in the upper right hand corner of the screen is larger than 8, DISK MANAGER will in fact initialize those upper heads after all cylinders have been initialized on the lower heads. GENERAL HARD DISK DRIVE INSTALLATION GUIDELINES The most common errors that occur during the installation of a hard disk are due to incorrect hardware setup. Refer to the file, "HARDWARE.REF" to determine if a setup or configuration problem exists. PAGE 12 PROBLEMS when BOOTING from newly installed disk, or, "UNABLE TO LOCATE NECESSARY FILES" error message when copying SYSTEM files. Many vendors periodically release new operating systems which, for a variety of reasons, may cause DISK MANAGER to be unable to correctly copy the system. This problem generally occurs in 1 of 2 ways: 1) DISK MANAGER issues the following message when preparing the partition on which you desire to place the operating system: UNABLE TO LOCATE NECESSARY FILES BE SURE SYSTEM DISKETTE IS IN DRIVE A: AND STRIKE RETURN TO RETRY This is caused because the operating system programmers have renamed the system files with a convention that has not been included in DISK MANAGER's internal list of files. Or, 2) DISK MANAGER appears to copy the operating system without problem, but the system is both A) Unable to fully boot from the hard disk, and, B) Booting from diskette and looking at the files on the hard disk's DOS partition produced unintelligible or no files. This is caused because the operating system programmers have altered the cluster-size, root directory size, and/or fat-type algorithms which they use for the boot partition to an algorithm which DISK MANAGER does not understand. In either of the above cases, the solution is a simple one. Following the preparation of your disk(s) with DISK MANAGER, you will need to complete the installation by re-preparing the DOS partition with the utilities provided with the particular operating system being installed. Specifically, A) BOOT the system with your operating system boot diskette. B) FORMAT the DOS partition using the operating system-supplied FORMAT facility (another commonly used name is HDFORMAT. See your operating system's reference guide for details). You MUST invoke the format utility in such a manner that causes it to format (prepare) the DOS partition, and you MUST cause it to place the system on that partition. A typical command would be: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A>format c:/s -------------------------------------------------------------------------- If an error occurs during this step (Invalid drive specification), you will have to use DISK MANAGER to delete the DOS partition, and re-create it with your operating system's version of the FDISK utility. Then the format should proceed without error. PAGE 13 C) BOOT the system again, this time from the hard disk. At this point, however, any WRITE/READ or READ-ONLY partitions will NOT be accessible. This is because the operating system's FORMAT process did not install the device driver or CONFIG.SYS files needed by DISK MANAGER to allow access to these partitions. This is cured by the following commands, assuming a BOOT from C: disk has just been performed, and the DISK MANAGER diskette is in drive A:. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- C>copy a:config.sys c: C>copy a:dmdrvr.bin c: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- D) BOOT the system a final time, from the hard disk. Finally, the installation should be complete. DIR commands directed at all DOS, WRITE/READ, and READ-ONLY partitions should operate correctly, and CHKDSK should display the correct information about each partition as well. PAGE 14 DISK MANAGER ERROR MESSAGES ADDRESS MARK NOT FOUND: This is an error reported by your disk controller card due to a hardware malfunction. This error can also occur if you try to verify an uninitialized part of the disk. BAD COMMAND: This error is a controller card malfunction. CANNOT ADD A DEFECT -- THE TABLE IS FULL!: DISK MANAGER will permit you to enter up to 512 defects per disk drive. CANNOT FIND FILE: DISK MANAGER cannot locate the drive configuration file on the diskette. CANNOT HAVE MULTIPLE DOS PARTITIONS!: Per DOS convention, you are permitted to assign only one DOS partition per disk drive. However, you may copy DOS onto up to four partitions per drive. CONFIGURATION RECORD AREA IS USED BY A PARTITION: This error occurs when trying to write the configuration record to a disk that has been previously partitioned using FDISK. See the section in this file regarding mixing DOS with other operating systems. CONTROLLER DRIVE-TYPE SWITCHES MUST NOT BE THE SAME WHEN USING DISSIMILAR DRIVES!: Consult your hardware manual to set your switches properly. CONTROLLER IS USING NON-STANDARD PARAMETER MECHANISM!: The controller card is not using standard configuration tables. Consult your hardware documentation to determine the recommended installation procedure. CORRECTABLE ECC: This error indicates a possible disk media defect at the drive, cylinder, and head indicated. CYLINDER O CANNOT BE MARKED DEFECTIVE!: This is a DOS convention. DEFECT-LIST FILE HAS AN IMPROPER FORMAT!: The defect-list file should be re-copied or regenerated. DEFECT-LIST FILE I/O ERROR: DISK MANAGER is unable to write or read the defect-list file. Check diskette/diskette drive. DISK DEFECT DETECTED COPYING HIDDEN FILE: This error message will appear if there is a disk defect too near the beginning of a partition. You can correct this condition by re-allocating your partition accordingly. DOS PARTITIONS CANNOT START BEYOND 32 MB POINT!: Per DOS convention, there is a 32-MB limit on the size of a DOS disk partition. DOS PARTITION INCOMPATIBLE WITH NON-STANDARD CONFIGURATION: If a non-standard drive has a WRITE-READ partition (utilizing ALL HEADS on the drive) and the user attempts to change this partition's type to DOS, this will be illegal if the actual number of heads on the drive differs from that depicted by the ROM BIOS. PAGE 15 DOS PARTITIONS MUST BE IN 1-4!: DOS partitions are only permitted in the first four partitions of a disk drive. DOS PARTITIONS MUST BE > 40 SECTORS!: At least 40 sectors (or three tracks) are required per DOS convention. DRIVE NOT PRESENT: The disk drive selected is not detected as being present. Use DISK MANAGER DIAGNOSTICS and refer to your hardware manual to correct the problem. DRIVE NOT READY: Status indicates that the disk drive is not in the READY condition. Refer to your hardware manual to correct the problem. ERROR ATTEMPTING WRITE OF CONFIGURATION RECORD: This error occurs when attempting to write the configuration record to an uninitialized disk. This error will also occur if there is a hardware malfunction. GET DRIVE PARAMETERS FAILED: This error indicates a controller card malfunction. HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER BAD: This error indicates either a genuine controller malfunction, or a cabling problem. Run DISK MANAGER DIAGNOSTICS. IMPROPER CYLINDER VALUE. A cylinder value has been entered which is beyond the size of the disk. I/O ERROR READING DISK PARAMETERS: This error generally indicates a disk controller malfunction. INVALID DRIVE SPECIFICATION: This is a DOS message indicating the absence of DISK MANAGER's device driver. Use the program DMCFIG.EXE to ensure that the statement DEVICE = DMDRVR.BIN exists within the CONFIG.SYS file. INVALID OPERATION FOR NON-DOS PARTITION: This error will occur when trying to verify or prepare a partition that is not of DOS type (such as XENIX , PC/IX, etc.). INVALID PARTITION TABLE: This error will occur when trying to boot from a hard disk that does not have a boot partition allocated. NO DOS OR READ-ONLY OR WRITE-READ PARTITIONS: For the disk drive to be operable, at least one partition must be allocated. NO FREE SPACE FOR PARTITION: Given the partition assignments already allocated, there is not enough free space on the disk drive to assign another partition. NO HARD DISKS INSTALLED: Check the cable connections and power, or consult your hardware manuals. Run DISK MANAGER DIAGNOSTICS. NO PARTITIONS ASSIGNED: At least one disk partition must be allocated. NO PARTITION TABLE: This is a normal message for a new installation. Establish a new table using the Partitioning Menu. PAGE 16 NO RECORD FOUND: This error will occur when trying to verify an uninitialized disk area. NO SUCH DEFECT CURRENTLY IN TABLE: In trying to delete a defect from the defect-list, a non-existent entry was referenced. NO SYSTEM FOUND ON THE DISKETTE: The diskette in drive A: is not a suitable system diskette. Use an authentic system diskette or a legal copy. NO VALID PARTITION TABLE: This is a normal message for a new installation. Establish a new table using the Partitioning Menu. PARTITION NOT PREPARED FOR DOS USAGE!: This error will occur when trying to verify an unprepared partition. RESET FAILED: This indicates a controller card malfunction. SECTOR MARKED DEFECTIVE: This error occurs when attempting to perform an I/O operation on a track that has been marked defective. SEEK COMMAND FAILED: This error indicates a controller card/disk/cable malfunction. Run DISK MANAGER DIAGNOSTICS. TIMEOUT: This error indicates a controller card malfunction. Run DISK MANAGER DIAGNOSTICS. TRACK BAD, NEAR START OF PARTITION: This is a warning message. You can correct this condition by re-assigning the partition accordingly. TRACK BAD, NOT DE-ALLOCATED: This error is detected during verification, and is correctable by marking the defect in the defect-list and re-preparing the partition. TRACK MARKED DEFECTIVE: This is a passive message during a scan operation, but is a fatal error if found during a check partition operation. The corrective action is re-preparing the partition. UNABLE TO COPY ALL FILES -- PARTITION IS FULL: The allocated is too small to accommodate the files being copied. The partition should be re-allocated accordingly. UNABLE TO LOCATE NECESSARY FILES: If copying DISK MANAGER files, the required files are DM.EXE, DMDRVR.BIN, AND CONFIG.SYS. These files are on the DISK MANAGER diskette. If copying system files, the required files are IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM, or IBMBIO.COM, IBMDOS.COM, and COMMAND.COM. UNCORRECTABLE ECC: This error indicates a disk media defect. UNRECOVERABLE I/O ERROR: This error occurs if an I/O error occurs during control file execution which cannot be recovered from. VALUE OUT OF RANGE: The value input is not within the acceptable range. PAGE 17 WRITE FAULT: This error indicates a controller card/disk/cable malfunction. WRITE-READ/READ ONLY PARTITIONS ARE NOT BOOTABLE!: These partitions require the DISK MANAGER device driver to operate, and as such cannot be used to boot the system. PAGE 18 SECTION V: CONSIDERATIONS FOR AT&T USERS We have been exposed to 3 problems associated with operating DISK MANAGER in conjunction with AT&T hardware/software combinations. The following is our perception of the problems and their solution. 1. DISK MANAGER requires use of its "/p" switch to operate on an AT&T 6300 PLUS computer. This is necessary because the disk subsystem on the PLUS behaves exactly like that on a PC-XT type computer, yet the computer tells DISK MANAGER that it is a PC-AT type machine. The "/p" switch informs DISK MANAGER to operate as if on a PC-XT type machine regardless of the machine type returned by the computer. SEE the DISK MANAGER COMMAND-LINE SWITCHES section for more details. 2. Use of AT&T 6300 PLUS computers to INITIALIZE a hard disk seems to have a problem. If drives larger than approximately 20 MB in capacity are used, the following error occurs after approximately 5 minutes of initialization activity: TIMEOUT I/O ERROR, DRIVE 1, CYLINDER 0, HEAD 0 It appears that the 6300 PLUS has a BIOS timer which limits the time that the BIOS will spend waiting for the drive to get initialized. Therefore, large drives MUST be initialized either on a controller compatible to the one in the 6300 PLUS but on a different computer, or a controller-rom-resident initialize routine must be used. Check with the supplier of your AT&T hardware for additional details. 3. Version 3.10 of AT&T DOS operating system appears to differ from generic MS-DOS version 3.10 in its use of cluster-size and file allocation table structures. However, DISK MANAGER does interrogate the operating system to find out if it should use cluster techniques from version 2 or those from version 3. AT&T DOS appears to use rules not from version 3, but rather those from version 2. DISK MANAGER can be made compatible with the cluster techniques used by AT&T DOS version 3.10 if the "/2" switch is used on the DM invocation line. This forces DISK MANAGER to utilize version 2 rules when preparing any partition, REGARDLESS of the actual release level of the operating system currently running. SEE the DISK MANAGER COMMAND-LINE SWITCHES section for more details. PAGE 19 SECTION VI: CONSIDERATIONS FOR EPSON OR COMPUTERLAND DOS We have been exposed to problems associated with operating DISK MANAGER in conjunction with Epson EQUITY III DOS or COMPUTERLAND 3.10 DOS. The following is our perception of the problems and their solution. These version 3 DOS operating system appears to differ from generic MS-DOS version 3 in their use of cluster-size and file allocation table structure. However, DISK MANAGER does interrogate the operating system to find out if it should use cluster techniques from version 2 or those from version 3. Equity III and COMPUTERLAND 3.10 DOS's appear to use cluster techniques that are a cross between versions 2 and 3. On type DOS partitions, these DOS's use version 3 rules if the partition is larger than 32,680 sectors in total size. This implies 16 bit F.A.T. entries as well. On partitions below this size, they will use version 2 rules, including the 12 bit F.A.T. entries. DISK MANAGER partition type WRITE-READ and READ-ONLY seem to work regardless of whether version 2 or 3 rules were applied during preparation. Therefore, preparation of the DOS partition will require invocation of DISK MANAGER with the "/2" switch if the DOS partition is smaller than 32,680 sectors (16.340 MB). This forces DISK MANAGER to utilize version 2 rules when preparing any partition, REGARDLESS of the actual release level of the operating system currently running. SEE the DISK MANAGER COMMAND-LINE SWITCHES section for more details. To take advantage of the version 3 16-bit F.A.T. technique, however, you may wish to prepare the other partitions without the switch. Therefore, there are 2 potential work-arounds for this situation: A) First run DISK MANAGER normally to prepare all partitions as you normally would under generic MS-DOS. Then, re-boot the system and again run DISK MANAGER with the "/m/2" switches and ONLY PREPARE THE DOS PARTITION ! The disk is then correctly prepared for Epson Equity III DOS, or COMPUTERLAND 3.10 DOS, as the case may be. PAGE 20 B) First run DISK MANAGER normally to prepare all partitions as you normally would under generic MS-DOS. Then, re-boot the system and use the DOS-III supplied format utility to prepare the DOS partition with a system as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A>format c:/s -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It will then be necessary to again re-boot the system and copy the configuration and driver files from the DISK MANAGER diskette to the C> drive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- C>copy a:config.sys c: C>copy a:dmdrvr.bin c: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- At this point, a final reboot (from hard disk) will bring the operating system AND the DISK MANAGER driver into existence. Again, this is ONLY necessary if the DOS partition is smaller than 16.340 MB in size, AND Version 3 rules are desired on the DISK MANAGER WRITE-READ and READ-ONLY partitions. PAGE 21 SECTION VII: MIXING DOS WITH OTHER (NON DOS) OPERATING SYSTEMS ON THE SAME HARD DISK DISK MANAGER does NOT extend NON-STANDARD drive support (drives not normally supported at full capacity by your computer system) to operating systems other than MS-DOS. DISK MANAGER does, however, provide features and functions which facilitate the creation of non MS-DOS regions on disks. You are free to use either the DISK MANAGER program or the "FDISK" program (or its equivalent) from the NON-MS-DOS system you are installing to allocate the space for the NON-MS-DOS partition. If you use DISK MANAGER, you MUST know what the "SYSTEM INDICATOR" or "SYSTEM TYPE" number is for the particular operating system that you are allocating space for. If you do not know what the number is, you must allocate the space for the NON-MS-DOS region using utilities supplied with that operating system. ONLY the first 4 partitions are recognized by most operating systems. Creation of systems in which MS-DOS and another systems (XENIX, UNIX, NETWORK, PC/IX, etc.) coexist still must follow any and all rules imposed by the various operating systems involved. Some of the rules we have encountered are noted below: 1--SHARING MS-DOS AND NETWORK ON THE SAME PHYSICAL DISK Most MS-DOS implementations will REQUIRE that the MS-DOS partition be within the first 32 MB (entirely) on the disk. NETWORK partitions also generally require that they start on cylinder 0. This can cause a conflict when attempting to construct a disk which shares its space between DOS and NETWORK. One solution is to use the DOS-intelligible part of the disk ONLY when the system is booted from a DOS diskette (the machine is primarily used as NETWORK) which contains the DISK MANAGER device driver. The disk will then be constructed of a NETWORK partition starting at cylinder 0, and the UPPER area of the disk is a DISK MANAGER WRITE-READ or READ-ONLY partition, and will be accessed from the DOS environment using our device driver. 2--SHARING MS-DOS AND UNIX/XENIX ON THE SAME PHYSICAL DISK Some Unix/Xenix systems FORCE a low-level-format to be done as the first part of installation. This means that these systems will have to be built FIRST, then the MS-DOS system can be installed AFTER the UNIX/XENIX. Some Unix/Xenix systems require the use of a type "TABLE" partition (which provides the defect management mechanism), and further require it to be located on cylinder 0, head 0 of the disk. Unfortunately, DISK MANAGER also requires this area in order to maintain any NONSTANDARD drive parameters. If you have this conflict you will notice that DISK MANAGER will not allow you to "(W)rite Configuration Data" to the disk from the CONFIGURATION MENU. DISK MANAGER will indicate that a partition conflict precludes writing the configuration data. PAGE 22 Since the DISK MANAGER device driver requires knowledge of the drive's true parameters, it normally reads a designated sector on cylinder 0, head 0 to find that information, which was left by DISK MANAGER when it installed a NONSTANDARD disk. In order to correctly convey the NONSTANDARD disk(s) parameters to the device driver, the following ALTERNATIVE mechanism is provided to assist in the conflict with the DISK MANAGER configuration record: CONFIG.SYS must be modified on the boot device. Normally, a statement exists in that file which references the DISK MANAGER device driver. That statement is modified as follows: normally ------- device = dmdrvr.bin alternative ---- device = dmdrvr.bin parm1.fil parm2.fil PARM1.FIL and PARM2.FIL are DRIVE PARAMETER FILES. These files contain all necessary data to describe the parameters of drive 1 and drive 2, respectively, and can be created with the "COPY CON PARM1.FIL" command. The text within the file contains a series of 11 numbers, separated by commas, which describe to DISK MANAGER's device driver all necessary operating parameters of the drives. Specifically, the values required are as follows: NUMBER OF CYLINDERS, NUMBER OF HEADS, RWC CYLINDER, WPE CYLINDER, CONTROL BYTE, ECC SPAN, STANDARD TIMEOUT, FORMAT DRIVE TIMEOUT, CHECK DRIVE TIMEOUT, LANDING ZONE, SECTORS PER TRACK These 2 files must, of course, exist on the boot device. Also, note that if you have only a 1 drive system, the "device =" statement in CONFIG.SYS still must contain 2 filenames. They may, however, both be the same filename. example-------- device = dmdrvr.bin parm1.fil parm1.fil PAGE 23