             R. Loew Electronics Disk Formatting Utility

                           Version 1.0

                           05/20/2010

                       Copyright (C) 2010
                       by Rudolph R. Loew




The R. Loew Electronics Disk Formatting Utility provides the ability to
precisely format a Hard Drive Partition.



REQUIREMENTS

DOS, Windows 98, 98SE or ME.
BIOS Support for the size of Hard Drive required to run in normal mode.



DEMO VERSION

The Demo Version supports all of the Options but will not Wtite to the Disk.
This allows you to try out the Program but you will not be able to change any
Data on the Hard Drive.



INSTALLATION/UNINSTALLATION

None required. Run Executable from DOS or a DOS Box to use.



COMMAND SYNTAX

RFORMAT [-BootOnly] [-DOS6] [-Ext EXT] [-LogOnly] DrvLtr|Num 12|16|32|Erase
        [Secs #] [ClusSize #] [Offset #] [FATSize #] [RootClus #] [DirEnts #]
        [Align #] [Media #] [Geometry H# S# Slen#] [Base #] [NumFats #]

The -BootOnly Option tells RFORMAT to Write Only the Boot Sector(s). This
will leave the FAT Table and Directories intact. No Files will be erased.

The -DOS6 Option sets the default start field of Logical Partitions for DOS 6.
Do not use on Primary Partitions.

The -Ext Option changes the expected extension of the Boot File (IO.SYS).
This option is useful in Multi-Boot environments where two or more
Operating Systems share the same C: Drice. EXT is the desired 3 letter
extension to be used. For example:
-Ext EBD  will Boot IO.EBD instead of IO.SYS.

The DrvLtr is the letter assigned to the Partition from A: to Z:.
Alternatively the INT 13 Drive Number (Num) can be specified. This is only
for Drives that do not have Partitions such as Floppies, SuperDrives and some
USB Drives. Using the Drive Number on a Hard Drive or Partitioned USB Drive
will overwrite the MNR. A Drive Letter or Number argument is required.

The Partition type can be specified as 12 for FAT12, 16 for FAT16, or 32 for
FAT32; using E will erase the Boot Sectors. This argument is required.

The remaining options override the settings that RFORMAT computes for the
Partition. Changing them may degrade operation or possibly corrupt other
Partitions.

The Secs Option sets the total number of Sectors in the Partition. RFORMAT
uses the reported size as a default. If set larger than the Partition size,
the following Partition(s) may get overwritten.

The ClusSize Option set the number of Sectors per Cluster. RFORMAT uses the
algorithm specidied by Microsoft for FAT32 Partitions and uses the smallest
Cluster Size allowable for a given Partition size for FAT12 and FAT16.
Cluster SIze must be a Power of 2. Setting 128 Sectors per Cluster will cause
problems with some Programs and cannot be used as a Boot Partition.
Setting 256 Sectors per Cluster requires a Patched IO.SYS and VFAT.VXD to
use the Partition. 512 Sector Clusters can only be used with a Patched
Windows XP. Contact Author for details on these Patches. If you set the
Cluster Size too small, RFDISK will increase it until a Valid Format can be
creeted.

The Offset Option changes the Offset of the first FAT Table. Increasing this
setting can provide space for hidden data, extra boot sectors, or to skip
over bad Sectors. The default is 1 for FAT12 and FAT16. The default is 32 for
FAT32. The minimum for FAT32 is 9. If the Align Option is also used, the
selected Offset will be at least the specified Offset.

The FATSize Option sets the number of Sectors in each FAT. Changing this
setting will reduce the available space for Files. Increasing this setting
may be useful if the Partition will be Clonedm or expanede,  to a larger
Partition.

The RootClus Option sets the initial Root Cluster for FAT32 Partitions.
The default setting and minimum setting is 2.

The DirEnts Option sets the number of Entries in the Root Directory for FAT12
and FAT16 Partitions. The size will be rounded up to completely fill all
Sectors.

The Align Option sets the absolute Sector location of the Start of the Data
Area of the Partition to have a specific Alignment. RFORMAT will
automarically take into account the Start Sector of the Partition. If you are
using the Western Digital "Advanced Format" Drive or other Drive with 4KiB
Physical Sectors, use Align 8. This is designed for Windows 9X, not XP.
The Align value must be a Power of 2.

The Media Option changes the Media Byte. Changing this will probably make the
Partition unuseable.

The Geometry Option sets the Number of Heads, Number of Sector per Track, and
the Sector Size. THe default for Hard Drives is 255 Heads, 63 Sectors and
512 Byte Sectors. This Option should only be used if you need a different
Geometry. Using Sectors larger than 512 Bytes requires Patches to several
DOS and Windows Files to use. All three numbers must be specified if this
Option is used.

The Base Option set the Partition Start Field in the Boot record. Changing
this setting can cause corruption to other Partitions if set incorrectly.

The NumFats Option set the number of copies of the FAT Table. DOS and Windows
will only recognize Partitions with 1 or 2 FAT Tables. The default is 2.
Some RAMDISKs use 1.

All arguments and Options, except the FAT Type, can be specified using the
First letter of the Option Name.

Numerical Arguments (specified as '#' in the syntax) can be entered in
Decimal, Hexadecimal as 0x####, Octal as 0o####, or Binary as 0b####.

In most cases the defaults should be used as in the following examples:

RFORMAT A: 12
RFORMAT C: 16
RFORMAT D: 32



OPERATION

When run, RFORMAT will compute the value of Parameters not specified in the
Command Line. If the configuration is Invalid, the Program will Print an
Error Message and Stop. Warnings will be Printed if non-fatal issues are
found. The Program will read any existing Boot Record and compare the
results. Depending upon the results, one of three displays will be shown.

If no recognizeable Partition exists, it will display the new Partition
Settings.

If an existing Partition has the same format, it will display one column
with the Partition Settings.

If an existing Partition has a different format, it will display two columns
showing the old and new Partition Settings.

You will then be asked to confirm that you want to proceed. Anything other
than 'Y' will be treated as No.

If you instructed RFORMAT to Erase the Partition, it will Prompt you to
Continue and will do so if you enter 'Y'.



RELATED PRODUCTS

RFDISK   Advanced Configurable Partitioner.

PARTS    Partition Mapper.

PATCH137 Large Disk Support Patch for Windows 98, 98SE and ME.

BOOTMAN  Large Disk Support BIOS Overlay for DOS, Windows 98, 98SE and ME.

IO.256   Patch to support 256 Sector per Cluster FileSystems.
VFAT     Supports 8GB FAT16 Partitions.

BIOS     Large Disk Support Patches for Tyan S1590 Motherboard and others.

EPIA     Patched BIOSes to fix bug in VIA EPIA BIOSes from 01/02 thru 06/05.

DOS      Patches to DOS 6.2 to access Drives larger than 8GB.

XPPATCH  Updates to Windows XP Original Edition to provide 48-Bit LBA support
         during installation.

PATCHENC Patch to Support Encrypted Hard Drives.



CONTACT INFORMATION

Rudolph R. Loew
506 Bieling Rd.
Elmont, NY 11003

1-516-352-9078

RLoew@hotmail.com

Website:  http://rloew1.no-ip.com

IP = conference.no-ip.org  PORT = 8192  (Conference Console)
