             R. Loew Electronics Disk Formatting Utility

                           Version 1.1

                           07/11/2010

                       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 Off) 12|16|32|Erase
[Secs #] [ClusSize #] [Offset #] [FATSize #] [RootClus #] [DirEnts #]
[Align #] [Media #] [Geometry H# S# Slen#] [Base #] [NumFats #] [Unit #]

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.
If used with the Erase Command, only one Sector will be Erased.

If FAT32 is specified, repeating the -BootOnly Option allows selective
initialization of the reserved area. If the Oprion is used twice, the
reserved space below the FAT Tables will be erased. If it is specified three
times, the reserved area will not be erased, but the FAT Tables and Root
Directory will be Cleared.

WARNING: If the Partition's Parameters are changed, using the -BootOnly
         Option will cause the data to be corrupted.

The -DOS6 Option Installs a DOS 6 compatable Boot Sector to allow Booting of
DOS 6. Do not use on Partitions Booting Windows 9x.

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) and Start Sector (Off) can be
specified. This is for Drives that do not have Partitions such as Floppies,
SuperDrives and some USB Drives or for Partitions that have not been
recognized by DOS. Using the Drive Number on a Hard Drive or Partitioned USB
Drive with a Zero Offset will overwrite the MBR. A Drive Letter or Drive
Number and Offset arguments are required. Using this method is also
recommended when Formatting Large Sector Hard Drives if you don't use the
BLKSIZE.SYS Driver. You will need to specify the Number of Sectors for the
Partition (see Secs Option Below).

The Partition type can be specified as 12 for FAT12, 16 for FAT16, or 32 for
FAT32; using E will erase the Boot Sector(s). This argument is required.
The E Choice will erase 9 Sectors unless the -BootOnly Option is used. In
this case only the first Sector will be Erased.

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 Defaults are the Values returned by Onterrupt 13 AH=8
and a Sector Read Test. If not readable the Default for Hard Drives is 255
Heads, 63 Sectors 512 Byte Sectors the Default for Floppies is 2 Heads and
18 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 be used. All three numbers must be specified if this
Option is used. If the Sector Size is not 512 Bytes, you will need to reboot
before using the Partition.

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.

The Unit Option sets the Boot Drive recorded in the Boot Sector. The default
is 0 for Floppy Disks and 0x80 for Hard Disks. This can be used with
ChainLoaders but the standard IO.SYS does not properly handle Booting from a
Partiiton that will not be mapped to C:.

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

Id you use any settings to modify the Partition, it is recommended that you
record this information on paper or another Drive or Partition. This will
allow you to Recover the Partition if it gets damaged.



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'.



ALIGNMENT

Some of the newer TeraByte or larger Hard Drives use larger Physical Sectors
internally to increase capacity. The Western Digital "Advanced Format" Drives
use a 4KB Physical Sector. To efficiently use these Drives, Reads and Writes
should be in multiples of the Physical Sector Size and should start and end
on a Physical Sector Boundary. Windows 9X uses 4KB Blocks to Read and Write
Hard Disks, but no provision was made to align these transfers to Physical
Sector Boundaries.

The Alignment Option of RFORMAT adjusts the FAT Table Size and Offset so that
the Data Area is Aligned to the Specified Boundary. Since the Underlying
Partitions may not be aligned in any way, Formatting multiple Partitions
using the Alignment Option and the same settings may result in non-identical
Partitions. In addition, changing the FAT Table Offset may cause some
problems with poorly written Disk Utilities that expect the standard settings.

If you need to insure compatability with these Utilities, you may need to
change the starting point of the Partition. For most Computers, moving the
Start of the Partition up or down one Cylinder will do this. To do this, run
the RFORMAT Program, using the oroignal Partition, as follows:

RFORMAT X: 16 A 8
or
RFORMAT X: 32 A 8

If the chosen # of Offset Sectors is 1 (for FAT12 or FAT16) or 32 (for FAT32)
the existing Partition is OK as is. If not, repartition, reboot and repeat
the test. It should be OK now. If not, your BIOS is using a geometry that
makes Alignment more complex. The RFDISK Partitioning Utility (See Related
Products Below) has an Option to assist in Aligning a Partition.



RECOVERY

Use the -BootOnly Option to repair or update a Damaged Boot Sector(s).
If the settings are not affected, or the Partition is unrecognized, RFORMAT
can be used to used to Repair the Partition without losing data.

If the Boot Sector is corrupted, causing DOS to not recognize the correct
size of the Partition, use the Erase Command with the -BootOnly Option to
Clear the Boot Sector, reboot the Computer, then install the appropriate
Partition Type with the -BootOnly Option. This will only work if RFORMAT
was originally used to Format the Partition and the same settings are used.



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.

IO.32K   Patch to support up to 32KB Logical Sectors FileSystems.
VFAT     Supports 16TiB 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)
