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CONFMT.DOC
Sydex
Con>Format
A Concurrent Diskette Formatter
Table of Contents
Con>Format, Briefly..........................................1
Configuring Con>Format.......................................1
Operating Con>Format.........................................4
Display Adapters and Modes and Con>Format....................5
Removing Con>Format From Memory..............................6
Other Things to Know.........................................6
In Conclusion................................................6
The Sydex Product Line.......................................7
Con>Format
A "POP-UP" CONCURRENT DISKETTE FORMATTER
Copyright 1988-90, Sydex
All Rights Reserved
Version 1.07 August, 1990
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
NOTICE
THIS IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE! If you paid a "public domain" vendor
for this program, you paid for the service of copying the
program, and not for the program itself. Rest assured that noth-
ing ever gets to the originators of this product from such a
sale. You may evaluate this product, but if you make use of it,
you must register your copy.
We offer several inducements to you for registering. First of
all, you receive the most up-to-date copy of the program that we
have -- and we do update the product on a regular basis. You
also receive support for Con>Format -- which can be quite valu-
able at times. And finally, we have a few utilities not included
in the evaluation package. Make no mistake, however - this is a
fully functional version of Con>Format and not "crippled" in any
way.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The non-commercial single-user registration fee for Con>Format is
$15.00 US. The commercial and multisystem site fee for
Con>Format (including Con>Format) is $50.00.
Send a check or company P.O. for the appropriate amount to:
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
We accept VISA and MasterCard. Please indicate what product you
are ordering and if you have a requirement for 3.5" media. We
normally ship 5.25" 360K diskettes, but will furnish 3.5" 720K
media upon request. Customers outside of the United States and
Canada should add $5.00 for airmail shipping.
If you are a registered user of this product and desire an up-
date, please send $5.00 for handling and we will ship you an up-
to-date copy. Please add $3.00 for printed documentation to
cover duplication costs.
DISTRIBUTION NOTICE
This is "user-supported" software. You are hereby granted a
license by Sydex to distribute this evaluation copy of Con>Format
and its documentation, subject to the following conditions:
1. Con>Format may be distributed freely without charge in
evaluation form only.
2. Con>Format may not be sold, licensed, or a fee charged
for its use. If a fee is charged in connection with
Con>Format, it must cover the cost of copying or dis-
semination only. Such charges must be clearly iden-
tified as such by the originating party. Under no cir-
cumstances may the purchaser be given the impression
that he is buying Con>Format itself.
3. Con>Format must be presented as a complete unit, includ-
ing this documentation. Neither Con>Format nor its
documentation may be amended or altered in any way.
4. By granting you the right to distribute the evaluation
form of Con>Format, you do not become the owner of
Con>Format in any form.
Any other use, distribution or representation of
Con>Format is expressly forbidden without the written
consent of Sydex.
Con>Format, Briefly
For those who don't like going though tons of documentation to
find out what a program does, here's Con>Format in a nutshell:
* Con>Format stands for Con(current) For(matter) and offers
you the capability of formatting diskettes "in the back-
ground" while other work is being done on your computer.
* Con>Format is a "pop-up" utility. That is, it stays dor-
mant until a particular combination of keys (which you
specify yourself) is depressed. Con>Format then opens a
"window" on the display and requests which drive to format
and what kind of format to write. Once this is done, the
"window" disappears and does not reappear until formatting
is complete. In the meantime, you have full use of your
computer, excluding the diskette drives (you may use the
hard disk). Hence the term "background" formatter.
* Con>Format works with 5.25" and 3.5" diskette drive types,
and provides formatting for 180K, 360K, 720K, 1.2M and
1.44M diskettes. The format written is compatible with
DOS versions 2.0 through 4.01 (the latest as of this
writing).
* Con>Format will "hold up" a diskette access from a running
program if a diskette is in the process of being for-
matted. A window "pops up" to notify you of this occur-
rence. When formatting is complete, the diskette access
is performed and program execution continues. If the ES-
Cape key is pressed during the time that diskette access
is suspended, a "Drive not ready" status will be returned
and control returned to the suspended program.
So why waste your time staring at "Formatting Track 13, Side 1"
displays? Give Con>Format a try--pretty soon you'll be wondering
why you ever put up with DOS Format!
Configuring Con>Format
Con>Format can be run without first being configured. Con>Format
will use the following defaults if the configuration program has
not been changed:
1. White-on-black window colors.
2. "Hot key" is Alt-Left Shift-"F".
3. Tone and window completion alert.
Page 1
You need only copy the file CONFMT.COM from the installation dis-
kette to a directory or drive where it may be accessed. To load
Con>Format into memory, simply type the following at the DOS
prompt:
CONFMT S
Con>Format operates with most PC-compatibles including PC XT-, PC
AT- and PS/2-compatibles. Some machines, such as the Tandy 2000
or PC jr will not work with Con>Format, because they are rela-
tively PC-incompatible. Your video display may be monochrome,
CGA, EGA or VGA, and your diskette drives may be internal or ex-
ternal to your computer. If you have more than one diskette
adapter card, Con>Format will access drives attached to the
primary or secondary adapters.
If the defaults given above are not suitable, you'll want to
specify your configuration explicitly. You'll need to have the
files CONFMT.COM and CFCONFIG.EXE on a disk where they can be ac-
cessed by the configuration program. If you obtained Con>Format
in "archived" or "squeezed" form, you'll need to run the ap-
propriate utility to extract both CFCONFIG.EXE and CONFMT.COM.
At the DOS command prompt, load the configurationn program by en-
tering
CFCONFIG and pressing the ENTER key.
You'll be guided through a series of displays which will con-
figure Con>Format to reside on the disk of your choice.
At one point in the configuration program, you will be requested
to furnish a "hot key" combination -- the combination of key
depressions which will "activate" Con>Format and cause its window
to "pop up". A "hot key" combination involves depressing any (or
none) of the following keys:
Ctrl, Alt, Right Shift, Left Shift
and, while these keys are depressed, depressing, then releasing
any other key on the keyboard. Note that a "hot key" combination
must include a "shift" combination and some other "non-shift"
key.
For example, a good combination to use is Alt, Right Shift and
"F", as it's a rather unlikely combination and is easy to remem-
ber. Take care not to assign a "hot key" combination which is
the same as that used by another one of your programs. Should
this happen, the "hot key" combination will be intercepted by
Con>Format and be rendered inaccessible to the other program.
For instance, the "F" key could be designated as a Con>Format"hot
key" -- but you'd be left without the letter "F" in everything
Page 2
else you tried to do! If you find that your "hot key" selection
was not a good one, you can run INSTALL again to re-install
Con>Format with a different "hot key" combination.
Some notes on the configuration process:
* You may have CFCONFIG modify the file AUTOEXEC.BAT on the
target disk drive to cause Con>Format to be loaded
automatically after each system "boot". Alternatively,
you may load Con>Format with the following DOS command:
CONFMT followed by the ENTER key
* If you have installed the registered version of Con>Format
and want to avoid the opening "banner", use the following
DOS command to load Con>Format:
CONFMT S followed by the ENTER key
* If you have an XT-compatible machine with a high-density
diskette adapter such as the MicroSolutions CompatiCard,
you may need to configure your computer as an AT-
compatible to be able to use the higher capacity drives.
* Conversely, a Toshiba T3100 laptop should be configured as
an XT-compatible, rather than the default AT-compatible
selection, because of its non-standard diskette control-
ler.
* During the configuration process you will have an oppor-
tunity to specify what type of diskette drives and control-
lers your computer supports. If you have a single dis-
kette adapter, all drives are connected to the primary
adapter. If you have an additional adapter, such as the
SYSGEN Omni-Bridge or MicroSolutions' CompatiCard, this is
the secondary adapter. In all cases, if your computer sup-
ports high-density diskette formats, you must specify that
it is an "AT" type of computer, regardless of its actual
model type.
* If you're using a MicroSolutions CompatiCardtm I or II dis-
kette adapter in addition to the "normal" PC-type adapter,
you must specify not only that you have an "AT"-type of
computer, but also that you are using a CompatiCard. If
you are in doubt about the base address of the Com-
patiCard, consult your CompatiCard reference manual for
configuration information.
* As part of the configuration process you may specify that
Con>Format use a different "boot" sector image. To do
this, you'll need a copy of a diskette having the boot sec-
tor to be used by Con>Format.
Page 3
* Finally, you may specify if Con>Format is to signal comple-
tion of the formatting process by a tone instead of, or in
addition to, a "pop-up" status window. If a tone signal
is selected, a high, medium or low tone is sounded to in-
dicate that the diskette you just formatted had:
* No errors (High tone)
* Some flawed areas (Medium tone)
* A serious error; the result is unusable. (A low tone)
These tones are very distinctive. If no "pop-up" completion
status window is selected, the status of the previous formatting
operation is display when the "hot key" combination is next
pressed.
Note that the configuration process customizes Con>Format for a
specific configuration of disks and display adapter. Con>Format
must be re-configured if the system configuration is changed.
Operating Con>Format
Operation of Con>Format is straightforward. After Con>Format has
been loaded, simply depress your own "hot key" combination and a
"window" will appear, prompting for information.
After the drive containing the diskette to be formatted and the
format to be written have been selected, the "window" disappears
and the formatting process begins. While the format is being
written, you may perform other tasks on your computer, provided
that no diskette activity is involved. Should you attempt to ac-
cess a diskette drive while Con>Format is formatting, a "window"
will appear, advising that your diskette request has been held
up, pending completion of the formatting operation. At this
point, no more work can be performed concurrently with the format
operation. However, if the ESCape key is pressed during the time
that diskette access is suspended, a "Drive not ready" status
will be returned and control returned to the suspended program.
It may take several depressions of the ESCape key before DOS
reports a "Drive not ready" error because most diskette opera-
tions are retried several times by DOS before an error is finally
reported.
When the formatting operation is complete, Con>Format again "pops
up" a window displaying the outcome of the operation, or sounds a
tone, or both, depending on the selection made at configuration.
If "tone only" was configured, the results of the formatting
operation will be displayed the next time the "hot key" combina-
tion is depressed.
Page 4
If flawed areas of the diskette were encountered, the total size
of the flawed areas is displayed. In some cases it may not be
possible to format a diskette because the drive door was left
open, the diskette was write-disabled, or a flaw was detected in
a critical area of the diskette. Con>Format will diagnose each
of these conditions and display an appropriate message.
After the results of the formatting operation are shown, you'll
be asked if another diskette should be formatted. If the Enter
key is pressed, the whole formatting process is repeated on
another diskette, using the same drive and choice of format used
for the previous diskette. If the ESCape key is pressed, the
"window" disappears and any diskette operation which was "held
up" by Con>Format will be performed.
When Con>Format displays its window, you may move the window
around the screen with the cursor keypad. Each key moves the
window as follows:
7 - Upper left corner
9 - Upper right corner
1 - Lower left corner
3 - Lower right corner
5 - Center of screen
8 - One line up
2 - One line down
4 - One column left
6 - One column right
Display Adapters and Modes and Con>Format
Con>Format will not "pop" a window up when your computer's dis-
play is in graphics mode. That is, Con>Format will work only
with text displays. If Con>Format concludes diskette formatting
and the display has been changed from text to graphics,
Con>Format will wait until the display is again text before
"popping" a window up. If the display is in graphics mode when
Con>Format is activated by the "hot key" combination, Con>Format
will ignore the "hot key" depression.
However, "Hercules" or Monochrome Graphics adapters pose some spe-
cial problems. Con>Format will not display correctly or intel-
ligibly when a Hercules- or Monochrome-graphics display is in
graphics mode. If Con>Format is activated accidentally when a
monochrome-graphics display is in a graphics mode, the ESCape key
should be pressed and Con>Format will restore the display. In
addition, Con>Format is not compatible with some program which
make use of Hercules Computer Technology's "RAM-Font" mode. The
ESCape key will restore the display in case of accidental activa-
tion of Con>Format.
Page 5
Removing Con>Format From Memory
You can remove Con>Format from your computer's memory with the
command:
CONFMT R
The only restriction is that Con>Format must not be in the
process of formatting a diskette at the time this command is ex-
ecuted.
Other Things to Know...
Con>Format will work with most "serious" programs. Some games
will not operate with Con>Format, however.
Products which directly access the diskette adapter will not
operate correctly with Con>Format. These include our own
ANADISK, TELEDISK, COPYQM, FORMATQM and 22DISK. Con>Format may
be installed, but must not be activated (by depressing the "hot
key" combination) while any of these programs are executing. If
Con>Format is accidentally activated during the execution of
these programs, exit Con>Format by pressing the ESCape key.
When using other "hot key" products, such as Borland
International's SideKick, remember that the order in which "hot
keys" are recognized depends on the order in which the products
have been loaded. Load Con>Format last if possible.
The formats created by Con>Format are compatible with DOS 4.0,
and will also work with DOS 2 and DOS 3. Con>Format will not
produce 8-sector DOS 1 formats.
In Conclusion
Thank you for giving Con>Format a try. If you have suggestions
or questions concerning its use, or any of our other products,
please write or give us a call.
Page 6
The Sydex Product Line
AnaDisk -- The compleat diskette utility. Nothing like it
anywhere else; scan, edit, repair and copy just about any
kind of diskette. $25.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
Con>Format -- Concurrent "background" diskette formatter.
Features "pop-up" operation and "hot key" activation.
You've got to see it to believe. Supports all current DOS
formats. $15.00 ($50.00 site) registration fee.
22Disk -- Transfer files, format, examine and erase files on
"foreign" CP/M diskettes on your PC. Includes tips on sup-
porting 8" and 5.25" single-density diskettes. Contains
definitions for over 200 different formats. $25.00 ($100.00
site) registration fee.
22Nice -- A CP/M 2.2 emulation package. Supports the NEC
V-series chips or performs emulation by software for both
the 8080 and Z80 processors. Includes terminal emulation
and diskette handling for common CP/M systems. Includes
22Disk. $40.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
TeleDisk -- Turn any diskette into a compressed data file
and vice-versa. Allows you to send and receive entire dis-
kettes via modem. Even works with some "copy-protected" dis-
kettes. $20.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
CopyQM -- Mass diskette duplicator. Format, copy and verify
multiple diskettes from a single master. Implements "no
keyboard" interaction mode and drive "round robin" servic-
ing. Supports all standard DOS formats. $15.00 ($50.00
site) registration fee.
FormatQM -- Mass diskette formatter - format a box of dis-
kettes at a single sitting. Implements "no keyboard" inter-
action mode and drive "round robin" servicing. Supports all
standard DOS formats. $10.00 ($40.00 site) registration
fee.
Information on any of these products can be obtained from Sydex
by calling or writing us at:
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
Page 7
CCARD.DOC
Notes for Micro Solutions CompatiCard(tm) Users
July 29, 1992
Sydex, Inc.
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
(503) 683-6033
The CompatiCard(tm) line of diskette adapters from MicroSolutions,
Inc. (DeKalb, IL 60115) represents one of several options available
to add extra diskette drives to a system. This document describes spe-
cial steps that may be necessary in order to use CompatiCard drives
with Sydex products.
First, it's important that the exact type of CompatiCard be iden-
tified; DIFFERENT MODELS ARE OPERATIONALLY DIFFERENT. At the time of
this writing, Micro Solutions offers three models of the CompatiCard:
The CompatiCard I supports up to four diskette drives and can be
identified by its absence of DIP switches. This model also has a
37-pin external drive connector mounted on the card bracket.
Documentation accompanying the CompatiCard identifies it simply
as the "CompatiCard" (no model number). There is no BIOS ROM on
the card.
The CompatiCard II is a trimmed-down version of the CompatiCard I
and supports only two drives. Like the CompatiCard I, it has no
DIP switches or BIOS ROM; it does not have an external drive con-
nector.
The CompatiCard IV is a much later product than either the Com-
patiCard I or II and features 2.88M drive support. This card
also has a BIOS ROM and two sets of DIP switches located at the
top of the card. This card also has an external drive connector.
Any of the CompatiCards can be configured either as the primary dis-
kette controller, or as an add-on secondary controller. Normally, a
DISKETTE.CFG file should not be necessary if a CompatiCard is being
used as the primary diskette controller. However, if you have dif-
ficulty accessing all of your diskette drives, it will be necessary to
explicitly specify your diskette configuration with a DISKETTE.CFG
file.
Page 1
FOR COMPATICARD I OR II
Before proceeding with this discussion, please read the section titled
"Specifying a Diskette Configuration" in the documentation that accom-
panies your Sydex product.
Each drive used by the CompatiCard I or II must be completely
specified in the DISKETTE.CFG file. Fortunately, most of the informa-
tion needed for the DISKETTE.CFG file is already present in your
system's CONFIG.SYS file. Note that the CompatiCard I and II are non-
standard in their support of high-density diskettes and require that
COMPATICARD (abbreviated CO) be specified in the DISKETTE.CFG file for
each drive connected to them.
Begin by looking for the line in CONFIG.SYS that contains a reference
to CCDRIVER.SYS. The line will have a form similar to the following:
DEVICE=CCDRIVER.SYS /x,y,z ...
where "x", "y" and "z" are numbers. Each set of "/x,y,z" describes
one diskette drive.
The first number, "x", indicates the BIOS unit number. It also in-
directly indicates the CompatiCard port address as follows:
Port Address BIOS Unit "x"
============ =============
3F0H 0 - 3
370H 4 - 7
360H 8 - 11
3E0H 12 - 14
The "y" of the set is the drive type and can have the following
values:
Type Number "y" Drive Type
=============== ==========
0 360K
1 720K
2 1.2M
3 1.2M DUAL
4 8INCH
5 720K
6 not supported
7 1.44M
The "z" of each set is the step rate of the drive and should be used
directly with the SEEK keyword.
Page 2
If a CompatiCard II has been configured with nonstandard IRQ and DMA
settings, this will also be shown on the CCDRIVER.SYS line in
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=CCDRIVER.SYS /x,y,z ... IRQ a DMA b
If "IRQ" is present on the CCDRIVER.SYS line, specify INTERRUPT in
DISKETTE.CFG and use the value given by "a", above. Similarly, use
the CCDRIVER.SYS DMA value for the DISKETTE.CFG DMA value.
The physical unit assigned to a drive and designated by the UNIT
keyword in DISKETTE.CFG is always in the range of 0 through 3. To get
the physical unit number for any drive:
1. Consult the port address table shown above. Locate the line
which shows the port address for your particular CompatiCard
configuration.
2. Take the first BIOS number (0, 4, 8 or 12) and subtract it
from the "x" value for the drive. This will yield a number
between 0 and 3, the physical unit number of the drive.
As an example, consider a system with a CompatiCard II installed as a
secondary controller. Two drives--E:, a 360K unit, and F:, a 1.44M
unit--are installed. The following line is found in CONFIG.SYS:
DRIVER=CCDRIVER.SYS /8,0,6 /9,7,6
From this line, we obtain the following DISKETTE.CFG file:
DEFAULT: (to define drives A: and B:)
E: 360K BIOS 8 PORT 360H UNIT 0 SEEK 6 COMPATICARD
F: 1.44M BIOS 9 PORT 360H UNIT 1 SEEK 6 COMPATICARD
Note that the "DEFAULT:" line indicates that drives connected to the
primary controller are to use default parameters as determined by the
configuration routines.
FOR COMPATICARD IV
The CompatiCard IV can be used in place of a system's primary diskette
controller to add four drive or 2.88M support to a system. If the Com-
patiCard IV is used as a primary with the on-board BIOS enabled and
card address jumper J1 is set to the "A" position, a DISKETTE.CFG file
should be unnecessary.
Page 3
However, if the CompatiCard IV is used as a secondary controller in
addition to the normal system diskette controller, a DISKETTE.CFG file
must be present. In addition, if the on-board BIOS has been disabled,
the following line must also be present in CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=CC4BIOS.SYS
The first step in determining values for drive configuration state-
ments in DISKETTE.CFG is to ascertain the I/O port address of the Com-
patiCard IV being used. This can be done by inspecting jumper J1 on
the CompatiCard IV:
J1 Setting Port Address BIOS Unit
========== ============ =========
A 3F0H 0 - 3
B 370H 4 - 7
C 360H 8 - 11
D 3E0H 12 - 14
Next, the physical unit (UNIT keyword) must be determined from the way
the diskette drives are connected to the CompatiCard. If a drive or
drives are connected to connector P2, the drive connected after the
"twist" in the drive cable is physical unit 0; the drive connected
before the "twist" at the end of the cable is physical unit 1.
If a drive or drives are connected to connector P3 or P4, the drive
connected after the "twist" in the drive cable is physical unit 2; the
drive connected before the "twist" at the end of the cable is physical
unit 3.
To determine the BIOS unit of a drive, consult the Port Address table
shown above. Locate the line corresponding to your CompatiCard's J1
setting and take the first number under the "BIOS Unit" column heading
and add it to the physical unit number of the drive.
For example, a Compaticard having J1 set to C, a drive connected to
the straight end of the cable on connector P2 would have physical unit
number 1 and BIOS unit 9.
If factory settings for jumper J2 have been changed, DMA and INTERRUPT
specifications must be included for the affected drives in
DISKETTE.CFG. If a DMA channel other than 2 has been set with jumper
J2, this DMA channel must be included in the DISKETTE.CFG line for a
drive. Similarly, if the interrupt number set by jumper J2 is not In-
terrupt 6, this information must be included in DISKETTE.CFG.
The COMPATICARD keyword must NOT be used with the CompatiCard IV.
Page 4
As an example, consider a CompatiCard IV being used as a secondary con-
troller. Jumper J1 is set to position "D" and there is one 1.44M at-
tached. The drive is connected after the "twist" in the cable to con-
nector P2. Factory settings for J2 have not been disturbed. The
added drive is known as G:.
The following DISKETTE.CFG file would be used to describe the con-
figuration to all Sydex products:
DEFAULT: (for primary drives A: and B:)
G: 1.44M PORT 3E0H UNIT 0 BIOS 12 CHANGE
Note that the CHANGE keyword is used to specify that a "diskette
changed" status is available from the drive. Normally, only 1.2M,
1.44M and 2.88M drives support this feature.
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS
If the drive activity light is not illuminated when the drive is ac-
cessed, the port address, physical unit or BIOS unit has been incor-
rectly specified. If the drive can be accessed, but encounters data
errors, the drive type is probably incorrect. Note that the Com-
patiCard II does not support single-speed 1.2M drives; a 1.2M drive
must be described as "1.2M DUAL" to operate correctly.
If SEEK has been specified for any drive, it should not be less than 6
milliseconds, unless you are certain that the drive can operate at
faster speeds. Because older technology was used in 8" drives, a
slower SEEK rate may need to be specified for them.
Page 5
COPYQM.DOC
Sydex
CopyQM
Quick Multiple Format/Copy/Verify for Diskettes
Sydex, Inc.
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
Table of Contents
What is CopyQM?..............................................1
Requirements.................................................3
Getting Started..............................................5
Differences with Earlier Versions............................6
Memory Usage.................................................7
Diskette Image Files.........................................8
Copying Modes................................................9
Format Conversion............................................9
Inserting Serial Numbers....................................10
Copy Verification...........................................12
Audible Signals.............................................13
"Smart" Formatting..........................................13
Quick Mode Copying..........................................14
Display Color Set...........................................14
CopyQM Operation............................................15
Command Line Syntax.........................................18
Changing Operating Defaults.................................25
Status Messages.............................................26
Specifying a Diskette Configuration.........................31
CopyQM
A Quick Diskette Duplicator for Multiple Drives
Copyright 1992
Sydex, Incorporated
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
(503) 683-6033
What is CopyQM?
CopyQM is a standalone utility to copy diskettes. It is designed
with the object of copying medium-to-large quantities of dis-
kettes, rather than making single copies. CopyQM supports copy-
ing to more than one disk drive at a session and possesses a cor-
nucopia of options and features.
CopyQM will:
* Read a master diskette, and make multiple copies of it.
Formatting, writing and verifying of copied diskettes
is performed in a single pass.
* Convert between diskette formats. That is, a 360K
5.25" diskette can be converted to a 1.2M 5.25", or a
720K, 1.44M or 2.88M 3.5" diskette.
* Store information that does not fit into conventional
memory in extended or expanded memory or on hard disk.
* Operate on more than one diskette drive at a time.
Only one copy is written at a time, however. Drives
are serviced in consecutive "round robin" fashion.
* Maintain images of diskettes as DOS hard disk files.
That is, a "recording" can be made of a diskette for
subsequent "playback" to copies.
_________________________________________________________________
Introduction 1
* Insert either ASCII or binary serial numbers into dis-
kette data. An audit trail of serial numbers that have
been written is maintained. Up to 150 instances of a
serial number on a single diskette can be processed by
CopyQM.
* Copy non-DOS diskette formats, including Xenixtm and
CP/M.
* Execute under DOS, Windowstm or the OS/2tm DOS environ-
ment.
* Compare a number of copies against a master diskette or
image.
CopyQM will not:
* Write copies on more than one drive simultaneously.
Hardware restrictions prevent CopyQM from doing this.
* Copy proprietary (e.g., Amiga, Apple ][, Atari 820) or
copy-protected formats.
* Copy individual files. The smallest unit of informa-
tion that CopyQM can deal with is an entire diskette.
* Copy one hard disk to another. CopyQM is a diskette-
copying utility.
* Copy files from a hard disk to a diskette.
CopyQM is fast--in most cases it will copy at the best-case
theoretical speed. The primary limitation in any diskette opera-
tion is the time that it takes the diskette to complete one
revolution. Our timings indicate that CopyQM can format, copy
and verify a full 360K diskette in about 50 seconds. Larger
capacity diskettes will, of course, require more time.
_________________________________________________________________
2 Introduction
Requirements
At a minimum, the following three files are necessary for opera-
tion of CopyQM:
COPYQM.COM implements the primary functions needed for dis-
kette copying.
CQMENU.COM contains a menu interface and all on-line help.
VIEWCONF.COM is a utility to display the diskette configura-
tion information being used by CopyQM.
Other text files may be present which describe the operation of
CopyQM, but the three files mentioned above must be present for
successful operation.
In almost all cases, CopyQM will be able to determine the con-
figuration of a system without any sort of intervention. Unusual
or special disk drive configurations, however, may require that
the configuration be explicitly specified. For more information
on how to construct a configuration file for all Sydex utilities,
consult the section titled Specifying a Diskette Configuration
near the end of this document.
CopyQM requires the following operating environment for execu-
tion:
1. An IBM PC-compatible with an 8088, 80286, 80386 or
80486 processor. Other system operating environments,
such as PC emulation on non-PC systems (e.g., Commodore
Amiga or Apple Macintosh) may work, but operation under
them is not supported by Sydex.
2. PC-DOS or MS-DOS Version 3.2 or later. CopyQM has been
tested using a DOS session under IBM OS/2 Versions 1.3
and 2.0, but support of OS/2 operation is not supported
by Sydex. Other DOS-compatible systems such as
Novell's DR-DOS or The Software Link's PC-MOS may af-
ford successful operation, but have not been fully
tested by Sydex.
_________________________________________________________________
Requirements 3
3. At least 256K of available base memory, sometimes
referred to as "RAM".
4. A hard disk with at least 2MB of free space for tem-
porary files created by CopyQM.
5. At least one diskette drive local to the system running
CopyQM. Network diskette drives are not supported.
CopyQM does not require, but can make use of the following:
1. Extended memory that is managed by an XMS-compatible
memory manager such as Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS or
Quarterdeck's QEMM.
2. Expanded memory, or LIM (Lotus-Intel-Microsoft), that
is managed by a a driver that is compliant with EMS 4.0
or later.
3. Additional diskette adapters, provided that BIOS-level
support is furnished for them. Sydex has tested the
Micro Solutions Compaticard I, II and IV adapters.
CopyQM will operate under Microsoft's Windowstm or Quarterdeck's
Desqviewtm. However, because diskette copying is a time-critical
application, performance under any multi-tasking environment will
be degraded somewhat. The actual amount of the degradation
depends on several factors, including the scheduling algorithms
used by the multitasking software.
Executing more than one copy of CopyQM under control of a multi-
tasking executive, such as Windows is not recommended. Severe
performance degradation will result. If two sets of diskette
copies are required, running two CopyQM sessions consecutively
will result in significantly better performance than attempting
to execute the sessions concurrently.
CopyQM will support a total configuration of up to eight diskette
drives. A CopyQM session can make use of up to seven diskette
drives--one for reading and six for writing.
_________________________________________________________________
4 Requirements
Getting Started
To install CopyQM from a diskette to a hard disk, copy all ex-
ecutable .COM files to your selected hard disk directory. As an
example, suppose that the CopyQM distribution diskette is in-
serted in diskette drive A: and it is to be installed on hard
drive D: in the subdirectory MYCOPY. The following DOS command
can be used:
COPY A:*.COM D:\MYCOPY
If CopyQM is to be used when logged in at any directory, the
directory and drive used for CopyQM's files must be included in
the DOS PATH environment variable. For details on specifying a
command PATH, consult the DOS reference manual.
In most cases, this is all that will be required to get CopyQM up
and running.
First-time users should execute CopyQM through the menu interface
furnished by CQMENU. Entering the following command at a DOS com-
mand prompt will initiate execution of CQMENU:
CQMENU
CQMENU takes the menu selections made and translates them into a
command line for CopyQM. After all selections have been made,
COPYQM.COM is located and read into memory overlaying CQMENU.
CQMENU also contains a full on-line help facility for CopyQM.
Help related to the current selected menu item can be obtained by
pressing F1. In addition, a general help facility which
describes command-line syntax and configuration file setup can be
displayed by pressing F1 a second time.
All of the features of CopyQM are not available through CQMENU's
interface. Some of the more obscure facilities, such as serial-
number insertion, are accessible only through the DOS command
line interface to CopyQM.
_________________________________________________________________
Getting Started 5
Differences with Earlier Versions
Users of versions 1.x and 2.x of CopyQM will notice many dif-
ferences in Version 3. A few of the more significant ones are as
follows:
1. Separate Source for Reading. CopyQM divides copying
activity up into two operations; reading the master dis-
kette and writing the copies. If a source drive is not
explicitly specified, the first drive in the list of
diskette drives will be used as the source drive. Writ-
ing, however, will commence with the first drive and
not with the second drive as was the case in previous
versions.
2. Sequence of Operations. The copy count is prompted for
after the master diskette has been read, not before.
3. Double-density 80 track 5.25" Format Not Supported.
Because version 3 of CopyQM uses BIOS-level interface
routines, the 80-track (720K) 5.25" double-density for-
mat is no longer supported on a 1.2M drive.
4. Overflow Specification. Version 3 automatically deter-
mines the availability of extended and expanded memory
or hard disk for overflow. Use of a specific type of
memory can be disabled by using the NOEMS or NOXMS
command-line options. Hard disk overflow file place-
ment can be specified by means of the CQTEMP environ-
ment variable.
5. Serial Number Support. Version 3's support of serial
numbering is more flexible than pervious versions.
However, the command syntax and operation is substan-
tially different.
6. Status Updating. Version 3 updates drive status after
every diskette; previous versions updated drive status
after every track. Under Version 3, a drive will main-
tain the same status until a disk has been processed.
This can be changed with the STATUS command-line op-
tion, however.
_________________________________________________________________
6 Differences
7. Configuration Specification. Version 3 maintains all
configuration information in an ASCII file called
DISKETTE.CFG. Previous versions maintained configura-
tion data by having it "patched" into the executable
files by a configuration program.
This represents only a partial list; there are many other
changes, refinements and additions to CopyQM.
Memory Usage
CopyQM reads a master diskette or image file in one uninterrupted
pass. Because most diskette formats can hold more data than can
be contained in conventional memory on a system, CopyQM uses a
variety of methods to store the "overflow" data:
1. As much data as can be contained in conventional memory
is first read. Sufficient memory must be available for
CopyQM execution; this can be as little as 256K.
2. A test for extended memory is then performed. Extended
memory, if it is to be used by CopyQM, must be managed
by a high memory manager, such as Microsoft's
HIMEM.SYS. Unmanaged high memory will not be used by
CopyQM. If the NOXMS command line option has been
specified, no check is made for extended memory.
3. After extended memory has been filled, or if extended
memory could not be located, a test for expanded memory
is performed. Expanded memory, or EMS, must conform to
the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification
level 4.0 or later. If the NOEMS option has been
specified on the command line, no check is made for ex-
panded memory.
4. Finally, after expanded and extended memory have been
used, a search for an environment variable named
CQTEMP is performed. If found, it is taken to specify
a drive and directory on which a temporary file can be
created. If the CQTEMP variable cannot be located, a
search for an environment variable named TEMP is per-
formed and the drive and path specified by it is used.
_________________________________________________________________
Differences 7
If neither environment variable is found, the first
hard disk partition is used that has enough free space
available for the temporary file.
5. If sufficient memory or disk space cannot be located,
the master diskette or image file is rejected by CopyQM
and a NOT ENOUGH MEMORY error message is displayed.
When converting between formats, CopyQM writes a temporary image
file and then reads it back into memory. A sufficient amount of
hard disk space must be available for the temporary image file
and any overflow storage required for the master diskette image.
Diskette Image Files
CopyQM has the ability to save the information contained on a dis-
kette in the form of a hard disk file called a diskette image
file. Diskette image files contain all of the data that would be
processed in the course of a diskette copy, along with other in-
formation necessary to construct a copy. After an image file has
been created, it can be read later by CopyQM to produce copies of
the original master diskette.
Diskette image files are unlike "archive" files in that in-
dividual diskette files cannot be manipulated. However, image
files of non-DOS diskettes can be created.
When CopyQM options are called out using the DOS command line in-
terface, the RECORD and PLAYBACK options respectively are used to
specify creation and reading of diskette image files.
Although a limited amount of data compression is performed within
a diskette image file, it is recommended that sufficient hard
disk space be reserved equal to the capacity of the master dis-
kette when diskette image files are created.
_________________________________________________________________
8 Memory Usage
Copying Modes
CopyQM contains logic to optimize copying of DOS diskettes. When
a DOS diskette is processed by CopyQM the master diskette is read
only as far as the highest cylinder containing active data.
While this mode ensures all active data is copied, areas of a dis-
kette which contain erased data may not be copied. Normally,
this presents no problem and the result is a fully functional dis-
kette. However, some copy-protected DOS products may record
their protection information as erased data.
When the DOS utility DISKCOMP is used to compare a master dis-
kette with a copy, it may report mismatches when erased data from
the master diskette is compared with the corresponding areas on
the copy.
If all areas of a diskette are to be copied, "blind" mode copying
may be specified. In this mode of operation, CopyQM does not at-
tempt to interpret the data being copied and no "shortcuts" are
taken. Usually, "blind" mode is specified when a diskette was
not created by a DOS system. However, "blind" mode may also be
used to DOS diskettes when it is desired that all data contained
on a master diskette be transferred to the copies. However, note
that format conversion, described below, operates differently in
"blind" mode.
The DOS command line option for CopyQM is BLIND.
Format Conversion
CopyQM can be used to translate one diskette format to another.
For example, a 360K 5.25" diskette can be converted to a 3.5"
1.44M diskette. This conversion can be specified by a CQMENU
menu choice or by the CopyQM CONVERT command-line option.
When DOS diskettes are being copied, CopyQM adjusts track sizes
and File Allocation Table (FAT) lengths and updates the informa-
tion contained in the boot sector. The resulting combination of
active data and new system tables must fit on the new format
specified. Thus, a 1.44M diskette containing less than 360K of
data can be copied to a 360K diskette.
_________________________________________________________________
Copying Modes 9
When non-DOS diskettes are being copied in "blind" mode, conver-
sion is performed differently. Data from the master diskette is
"re-packed" to fit the new track size; no other adjustments are
performed.
A special case occurs when conversion of a DOS 1.2M or 1.44M
master to a 2.88M format is specified. Because of limitations in
the conversion process, the result will exhibit only 2.04M of
available data space, rather than the entire 2.88M.
CopyQM Version 3 also supports non-conversion copies between some
formats. This undocumented capability in previous versions al-
lows copying of some smaller formats to larger ones without any
processing of the data. For example, a 1.2M 5.25" diskette can
be copied to a 1.44M 3.5" diskette. The result is a 3.5" 1.2M
diskette.
Inserting Serial Numbers
Serial numbering of copies is a capability available only from
DOS command line operation of CopyQM. The operation of CopyQM
Version 3's serial numbering differs substantially from earlier
versions in specification and capabilities.
A serial number is a group of characters present on a master dis-
kette which is altered each time a copy is produced. Two types
of serial numbers are available, ASCII and binary. The two types
differ primarily in the manner in which they are incremented.
An ASCII serial number is a group of printable or displayable
characters containing at least one digit between 0 and 9. Before
CopyQM produces a copy, all digits contained in the serial number
are taken as a simple decimal number. Any intervening non-digit
characters are ignored. Each time a copy is written, the decimal
number formed by these digits is incremented by one. For ex-
ample, the serial number "AB1C2D3" would be incremented on succes-
sive copies as:
_________________________________________________________________
10 Format Conversion
AB1C2D4
AB1C2D5
...
AB1C3D0
...
AB9C9D9
Note that non-digits are not affected. After the highest number
that can be represented by the digits in the serial number has
been reached, the process starts over with the number zero.
A binary serial number is treated as a group of bytes, in Intel
"little-endian" representation. That is, the least significant
bytes appear to the left of, or before, more significant bytes.
Binary serial numbers can be of any length up to 127 bytes. Bi-
nary numbers are represented by hexadecimal numbers (digits 0-9
and letter A-F). However, binary serial numbers are specified in
their normal "big-endian" mode. That is, more significant bytes
appear to the left of less significant bytes. Thus, the number
specified by 00 00 20 would be stored in successive copies as:
21 00 00
22 00 00
...
00 01 00
...
FF FF FF
Serial numbers are recorded in a user-specified ASCII file, one
serial number per line. CopyQM updates this file at the end of a
session to by appending the serial numbers written during the ses-
sion. The starting serial number for a CopyQM session is always
one greater than the last serial number in the file. For ex-
ample, to start serial numbering with A0001, a serial number of
A0000 must be the last number in the serial number file.
Placement of serial numbers is done by specifying an ASCII search
string on the CopyQM command line. Each time this string is
detected in data read from the master diskette, it is replaced by
a serial number unique to the copy being made. Up to 150 occur-
rences of a serial number on a single diskette can be processed
by CopyQM. A serial number can cross sector boundaries, but may
not straddle a track boundary.
_________________________________________________________________
Serial Numbering 11
The length of a serial number is determined by the length of the
search string, not by the length of the serial number represented
in the serial number file.
When a set of diskettes are being copied, that is, when the
REPEAT option has been specified, the same serial numbers will be
inserted into each set of diskettes. That is, the serial number-
ing process will be restarted when the master for each group of
copies is read.
For information on command line parameters for serial numbering,
refer to the section on CopyQM command line syntax.
Copy Verification
Several methods of checking the accuracy of data are offered by
CopyQM. CQMENU offers a menu selection for each verification
type.
By default, CopyQM checks the part of a diskette known to contain
active data for readability by reading the copy diskette and dis-
carding the data. The part of the copy not containing active
data is not read. This corresponds to the VERIFY=DATA command
line option.
An entire diskette can be checked for readability by specifying
the VERIFY=ALL option on CopyQM's command line. Note that the
accuracy of the copied data is not checked, but only the
readability of the data.
Read-back checks can be completely disabled by specifying
VERIFY=NONE. This option is usually selected when the speed of
the copy operation is more important than the accuracy of the
copy.
A byte-by-byte compare can also be specified by use of the COM-
PARE command-line option. Comparison is performed only on the
part of the diskette containing active data. Inactive areas can
be checked for readability only.
_________________________________________________________________
12 Serial Numbering
An option not covered by a CQMENU selection alters the basic
operation of CopyQM. If the CHECK option is specified on the
CopyQM command line, copies are not formatted or written. In-
stead each copy is compared with the data from the master dis-
kette. This option is useful when the validity of a number of
copies needs to be checked against a master standard copy.
Audible Signals
CopyQM provides several audible "cues" during its operation:
1. A high-pitched "warble" that indicates that an opera-
tion has been successfully completed. This tone is
sounded after a master diskette has been read, after
after each copy has been written, and after keyboard
entries have been selected.
2. A low-pitched "beep" that signals an error condition.
This tone is sounded after unsuccessful disk read or
write operations, and when an erroneous keyboard entry
is made.
3. A medium-pitched "warble" that signals a need for atten-
tion. This tone can be selected as an option and is
sounded after intervals of 20 seconds of inactivity.
The command line option for this tone is NAG.
All audible signaling may be disabled by CQMENU menu selection or
by the SILENT command line option.
"Smart" Formatting
By default, CopyQM formats all copies before writing data.
However, it is possible to direct CopyQM to check for pre-
formatted media before writing. This option is available by a
CQMENU menu choice, or by the SMART command line option.
_________________________________________________________________
Verification 13
"Smart" mode attempts to write data without first formatting a
copy. If writing and verification succeed, the inactive area on
the copy is skipped. However, if an error is detected while writ-
ing active data, all remaining tracks on the diskette are for-
matted before being written.
"Smart" mode can result in substantial time savings over normal
format-then-write operation.
Quick Mode Copying
When copies of partially full DOS diskettes are made, a con-
siderable increase in copying speed can be obtained by specifying
the QUICK command-line option. When this option is selected,
only the part of the master diskette that contains active data is
copied or formatted.
However, when using unformatted blank diskettes, it is important
to realize that tracks at the end of each diskette will not be
formatted. This may make it impossible for users of the copies
to successfully write to the copies or duplicate them using the
DOS DISKCOPY utility.
This option is not available from CQMENU.
Display Color Set
In some instances, it may be desirable for CopyQM to show all dis-
plays with a black-and-white (monochrome) color palette. This
may be specified by means of the MONO command line option. This
option is not available from CQMENU.
A monochrome color set is particularly useful when portable sys-
tems with liquid crystal displays (LCD) are used. Many of these
systems support color as shades of gray, rather than actual
colors. A monochrome color set will be found to be more readable
in this case.
_________________________________________________________________
14 "Smart" Formatting
CopyQM Operation
Once menu selections have been made from CQMENU or the command
line for CopyQM has been entered, CopyQM begins execution. Opera-
tion of CopyQM is divided into two phases, reading the master dis-
kette or image file, and writing the copies or diskette image
file.
Because CopyQM continuously accesses diskette drives to obtain
their operating status, diskette changes are permitted when drive
access indicators are illuminated. In addition, since CopyQM is
sensitive to drive changes, it may be necessary to remove a dis-
kette and then re-insert it into the same drive to indicate to
CopyQM that a change has occurred.
----------------------------------------------------------------
CopyQM Version 3.00 (Jul 00 1992)
Copyright 1992 by Sydex
Press ESCape to quit
+----------+
| ===A:=== | READING
+----------+
Sector size: 512
Sectors/track: 9
Sides: 2
Density: Low
Data cylinders: 54
Volume label: ** NONE **
#####################+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Figure 1: Reading display
_________________________________________________________________
CopyQM Operation 15
When CopyQM reads a master diskette, a display similar to that
shown in Figure 1 appears. Note that an icon representing the
drive currently being accessed is shown along with the status of
the current operation appearing to the right of it. If the ES-
Cape key is pressed before CopyQM is able to read the master dis-
kette, execution terminates and CopyQM exits to DOS.
A summary of information relating to the diskette is also shown.
Sector size indicates the size in bytes of each sector.
Sectors/track specifies the number of sectors that occur on each
track. Sides reports either 1 for single-sided formats, or 2 for
double-sided. Density can show values of low for double-density
(360K and 720K), high for high density (1.2M and 1.44M), or ex-
tended for 2.88M media. Data cylinders indicates the number of
cylinders containing active data.
Volume label shows the DOS volume label name or ** NONE ** if no
volume label can be found. The bar graph at the bottom of the
display shows the proportion of the total diskette space that has
been processed.
A similar display is shown when a diskette image file is
processed.
If creation of a diskette image file has been requested, the file
is written after the diskette has been completed. If the conver-
sion option has been specified, a temporary diskette image file
will be written and the requested conversion will be performed
while the image file is read back into memory.
If copying to diskettes has been requested, the following prompt
will appear in the lower part of the display:
How many copies? (Hit ESCape to exit) -
Between 1 and 9,999 copies may be requested; after the desired
number is entered, the Enter key is pressed. If the ESCape key
is pressed instead, no diskettes will be written and a new master
diskette will be requested. If an invalid number or digit is en-
tered, an error tone is sounded and the number is not accepted.
_________________________________________________________________
16 CopyQM Operation
After the master diskette or image file has been read and
processed, CopyQM begins the writing phase. A display similar to
that shown in Figure 2 appears.
Up to six drives can be shown on the writing status display.
Note that only those drives which support the diskette format cur-
rently being copied are shown. For example, if a high-density
5.25" (1.2M) master diskette were being copied, only drives
capable of high-density support would be displayed.
----------------------------------------------------------------
CopyQM Version 3.00 (Jul 00 1992)
Copyright 1992 by Sydex
Press ESCape to quit
0 of 999 Copies Done Volume Label: ** NONE **
+----------+
|o===A:=== | WRITING
+----------+
+----------+
| ===B:=== | INSERT BLANK DISKETTE
+----------+
+----------+
| ===I:=== | INSERT BLANK DISKETTE
+----------+
#####################+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Figure 2: A Sample Writing Display
_________________________________________________________________
CopyQM Operation 17
When more than one drive is being used, it is important to ob-
serve that drive status messages are updated between diskettes,
not during the copying of diskettes. Thus, the status displayed
for non-active drives will not be updated until the diskette cur-
rently being written has been completed.
For example, the message INSERT BLANK DISKETTE will persist on
drives not currently being accessed after blank diskettes have
been inserted until the current diskette being written has been
completed. CopyQM can be set to status all drives at intervals
of a few cylinders by means of the STATUS command line option,
but performance will be somewhat degraded.
The bar graph displayed at the bottom of the screen tracks the
progress of the copy operation. A solid, red bar indicates that
active data is being transferred; a hatched, green bar indicates
that an inactive area is being formatted.
When all requested copies have been completed, the following mes-
sage appears:
All copies done. Press any key to continue...
If the ESCape key is pressed before all copies have been written,
the following message appears:
ESCape hit. Press any key to continue...
In either case, CopyQM requests the next master diskette after a
key has been pressed.
Command Line Syntax
Not all CopyQM options are available via the CQMENU menu inter-
face. Several options can be selected only by means of a command
line invocation of CopyQM.
The general syntax of the CopyQM command line is:
COPYQM <drive list> <options>
_________________________________________________________________
18 CopyQM Operation
<Drive list> specifies the diskette drives used to write copies
of the master diskette. A drive is specified by a drive letter
followed by a colon. At least one drive must be specified if
diskette copies are to be made. A write drive need not be
specified if a diskette image file is to be generated. If more
than one drive is specified, the first copy is written in the
first drive named, the second in the second drive and so on.
If no drive is explicitly named as a source drive (see the
SOURCE option, below), diskettes are read in the first destina-
tion drive named.
<Options> refers to a list of special terms. A term may consist
of a single word or it may require a value, denoted by following
the word with an equal sign (=). No spaces are allowed between
the word, the equal sign, and the assigned value. In cases
where a value can contain spaces or other special characters, it
may be enclosed in double quotation marks (").
In most cases, the keyword in a term can be abbreviated. In the
following discussion of options, the minimum number of letters
that can be used to denote a word are given after the word.
CopyQM recognizes the following options:
BLIND (BL) specifies that CopyQM may not assume that the
master diskette is a DOS diskette. No interpretation
of the diskette's data is attempted; the diskette is
copied in its entirety. Note that the CONVERT options
functions differently when BLIND is specified.
CHECK (CH) specifies that no writing of diskettes is to take
place; rather, diskettes are to be compared against the
master. Essentially, formatting and writing are dis-
abled, while COMPARE-type verification is enabled.
COMPARE (COM) specifies that verification is to be performed
by comparing the copied data with data read from the
master diskette. Normally, verification checks for
readability of data, not for accuracy.
_________________________________________________________________
Command Line Syntax 19
CONVERT (CON) requires one of the following values: 360K,
720K, 1.2M, 1.44M or 2.88M. It specifies that the
source data is to be converted to the specified format
before writing. When DOS diskettes are being copied,
the boot sector and File Allocation Tables are altered
to conform to the new format. When BLIND mode copying
is performed, source tracks are simply "re-packed" to
the indicated format and no table modification is per-
formed. Thus, CON=360K specifies that data is to be
converted to a nine-sector 360K format.
COUNT (COU) requires a numeric value and specifies the num-
ber of copies to be made of a single master. This term
is useful when the number of copies prompt is not
desired. COUNT=3 specifies that three copies of the
master are to be produced.
LOGO specifies that the Sydex name and product logo displays
are to be shown on startup. This option has meaning
only on registered CopyQM versions; evaluation copies
always display the Sydex and CopyQM logos.
MONO (MO) specifies that a white-on-black color scheme
should be used in all displays. Normally a monochrome
display adapter is automatically detected, but there
may be instances where a monochrome color set is
desired.
NAG specifies that a distinctive tone is sounded after 20
seconds of inactivity. This option is ignored if
SILENT is also specified.
NOCOMPRESS (NOC) specifies that data compression is not to
be performed on image files. This option can make writ-
ing of image files faster at the expense of file size
on very slow machines; little time is saved when read-
ing a non-compressed file.
NOEMS (NOE) specifies that expanded memory (LIM or EMM)
should not automatically be used for overflow data
storage. When NOEMS is specified, expanded memory is
assumed not to exist.
_________________________________________________________________
20 Command Line Syntax
NOPAUSE (NOP) specifies that CopyQM should not pause for a
keystroke after the last copy of a set is written. Nor-
mally CopyQM pauses to allow the status of the last
copy to be evaluated.
NOXMS (NOX) specifies that extended memory (as managed by
HIMEM.SYS) should not be used for overflow data
storage. If NOXMS is specified, extended memory is as-
sumed not to be present.
PLAYBACK (PL) requires a file name as a value and indicates
that the master data is to be read from an image file,
rather than from a diskette. The image file must previ-
ously have been created by CopyQM using the RECORD op-
tion. "Wildcard" characters of "*" and "?" may be used
to specify more than one image file; each image file is
read in succession and the data used to create a set of
diskette copies. For example,
PLAYBACK=MYFILE
indicates that image data is to be taken from the file
MYFILE.
PROTECT (PR) specifies that the master diskette must be
write protected before it will be read. This option
ensures that master diskettes aren't confused with
blank diskettes.
QUICK (Q) specifies that the area of a copy diskette that
lies after the last track used for data not be for-
matted. Normally, unused tracks are formatted by
CopyQM. This option can result in a great increase in
speed if the master diskette contains little data.
There are drawbacks to this option that are discussed
in the section on Quick Mode copying.
RECORD (REC) requires a file name and indicates that data
read from the master diskette be written to a file,
rather than to diskette copies. This image file can be
used later with the PLAYBACK option to create diskette
copies without first reading a master diskette. The
"wildcard" character "?" can be used in the file name
_________________________________________________________________
Command Line Syntax 21
and is processed by CopyQM as follows: The file name is
scanned from right to left, each occurrence of "?" is
replaced by the digit "0". Before each image file is
written, the number formed by the substituted digits is
incremented by one. For example, a name specified by
RECORD=A?B?C?D
would result in the creation of image files named
A0B0C1D, A0B0C2D and so on.
REPEAT (REP) specifies that the copy count should be re-
quested only once and taken as the number of copies to
be made of all master diskettes. This option allows
quick duplication of a set of diskettes. When perform-
ing serial numbering, each set of diskettes will be num-
bered with the same set of serial numbers as other
sets.
RETRIES (RET) requires a numeric value and specifies the num-
ber of times unsuccessful diskette write operations
should be repeated until the diskette being written to
is considered to be unusable. Normally, three retries
are performed. Thus, specify RETRIES=10 specifies that
failed write operations will be repeated up to 10
times.
SIDES (SID) requires a numeric value of either 1 or 2 and is
used in conjunction with BLIND to specify the number of
sides to be copied. Normally CopyQM checks for data on
both sides of diskette, SIDES=1 can be used to force
single-sided copying.
SILENT (SIL) disables all audible tone production by CopyQM.
Normally, CopyQM produces tones indicating success or
failure each time a diskette is read or written.
SMART (SM) indicates that CopyQM is to assume that diskettes
used for copying are pre-formatted. If no format is
detected, or a error in writing occurs, the remainder
of the diskette is formatted by CopyQM.
_________________________________________________________________
22 Command Line Syntax
SNFILE (minimum SNF), SNPATTERN (minimum SNP) and SNTYPE
(minimum SNT) all require values and are used to per-
form insertion of serial numbers on diskette copies.
SNFILE is used to specify a text file containing a list
of serial numbers, one per line. SNPATTERN is used to
specify an ASCII string for which to search; each occur-
rence of the pattern is replaced with the current
serial number. SNTYPE may be given the value BINARY or
ASCII (default) and specifies how the serial number
file is to be interpreted. Up to 150 occurrences of a
serial number on a single diskette is supported by
CopyQM. For example, the terms:
SNFILE=MYSNS SNPATTERN="XXXXXX" SNTYPE=ASCII
specify that the starting serial number is to be taken
from the file "MYSNS" and that all occurrences of
"XXXXXX" are to be replaced with ASCII serial numbers.
After a set of copies has been completed, the serial
numbers that have been written are appended to the
serial number file.
SOURCE (SO) specifies the drive to be used to read the
master diskette. This drive may or may not be one of
the drives used to write copies. Thus, SOURCE=A:
specifies that master diskettes are to be read in drive
A:.
STATUS (ST) requires a numeric value which specifies the
period between status checks on other drives performed
during writing. The default is to status between dis-
kettes only. For example, setting STATUS=8 specifies
that statusing will occur every 8 cylinders while writ-
ing a copy. There is a degradation in performance if
this option is specified that depends on the number of
diskette drives in use and the frequency of statusing.
TRACKS (TR) requires a numeric value and is used in conjunc-
tion with BLIND to specify the number of cylinders to
be copied. Normally, this value is either 40 or 80,
depending on the diskette format and drive type, but
_________________________________________________________________
Command Line Syntax 23
some special formats may require non-standard values.
Thus, TRACKS=77 specifies that 77 tracks are to be
copied.
VERIFY (V) specifies how copies are to be checked.
VERIFY=DATA is the default and indicates that written
data should be tested for readability; any unused area
of copies are not checked. VERIFY=ALL specifies that
the entire diskette is to be checked for readability.
VERIFY=NONE specifies that no checks for readability
are to be made. For a variation on the type of
verification performed, consult the COMPARE keyword.
Here are a few examples of CopyQM command lines:
COPYQM A:
Read master diskettes and write copies using drive A:.
COPYQM SOURCE=B: I: NAG V=ALL
Read master diskettes in drive B:, write copies in drive I:.
Performs readability verification over the entire diskette.
Enables 20-second inactivity audible alert.
COPYQM SOURCE=G: RECORD=C:\IMAGES\MYFILE BLIND
Read master diskette in drive G: in "blind" mode, write a
diskette image file called MYFILE in the \IMAGES subdirec-
tory of drive C:.
COPYQM A: PLAY=F:\TEST* CONV=1.44M COMPARE
Read diskette images from drive F:, using files matching the
file specification TEST*. Convert the images to 1.44M,
write copies on drive A:, verify by comparing data from the
copies with the master.
COPYQM A: B: PL=C:RELEASE SNFILE=C:SERIALS SNPAT="XXXX"
_________________________________________________________________
24 Command Line Syntax
Read a diskette image file on drive C: called RELEASE, write
copies on drives A: and B:, insert 4-byte ASCII serial num-
bers in the place of the ASCII pattern "XXXX" using the
serial number file C:SERIALS.
COPYQM A: CHECK
Read master diskettes in drive A:, verify, but do not write
the data on copies using drive A:.
Changing Operating Defaults
CopyQM standard operating defaults can be changed by assigning
command line option values to the environment variable COPYQM.
For example, to set the 20 second inactivity alarm as a default,
the following DOS SET statement could be used:
SET COPYQM=NAG
However, one problem arises--the DOS SET command does not allow
the equal (=) sign within value strings. To get around this
problem, CopyQM allows substitution of the equal sign by a semi-
colon (;). For example:
SET COPYQM=VERIFY;ALL
Any options permitted on the CopyQM command line can be assigned
to the COPYQM environment variable. If a conflict aries between
the options given in the COPYQM environment variable and those
given on the CopyQM command line, the command line variable takes
precedence. For example,
SET COPYQM=VERIFY;ALL
COPYQM A: VERIFY=NONE
would result in VERIFY=NONE operation.
An environment variable also controls the placement of the hard
disk overflow file. Consult the section titled Memory Usage for
details.
_________________________________________________________________
Command Line Syntax 25
Status Messages
CopyQM displays the following status messages during the process
of reading and writing diskettes:
DRIVE NOT READY
Meaning: The drive has become not ready during reading or
writing. This is usually the result of opening the drive
door or removing the diskette from the drive. The current
read or write operation is canceled and the operation is
retried from its beginning.
INSERT MASTER DISKETTE
Meaning: CopyQM is awaiting insertion of the master dis-
kette. If there is a diskette already in the diskette
drive, the diskette should be removed and re-inserted into
the drive to signal that the correct diskette has been in-
serted.
INSERT BLANK DISKETTE
Meaning: CopyQM is awaiting insertion of the next blank
copy diskette. This message persists after the blank dis-
kette has been inserted and is changed only when writing has
begun on the drive.
INSERT COPY
Meaning: This message occurs only when CopyQM is being run
with the CHECK option. The next diskette copy to be
verified should be inserted. This message is not removed
until verification of the copy has actually begun.
ANALYZING
Meaning: CopyQM has begun reading the master diskette and
is evaluating its structure and contents.
_________________________________________________________________
26 Status Messages
READING
Meaning: The structure of the master diskette has been
determined and data is being read and stored for later writ-
ing.
WRITING
Meaning: CopyQM is in the process of writing a copy.
RECORDING
Meaning: A diskette image file is being written to disk.
CONVERTING
Meaning: Diskette data is being converted to the requested
format.
CHECKING
Meaning: This message occurs only in CHECK mode. CopyQM is
reading a diskette copy and comparing the data with the
master.
REMOVE MASTER DISKETTE
Meaning: CopyQM has finished reading the master diskette.
The diskette should be removed from the drive.
READ ERROR - TRY AGAIN
Meaning: The master diskette did not read without errors.
Reading of the same diskette can be attempted again, or a
new master diskette may be inserted.
_________________________________________________________________
Status Messages 27
NOT A DOS DISKETTE
Meaning: The boot sector on the master diskette does not
conform to any DOS standard layout. If the diskette is not
a standard DOS format, it may be possible to copy the dis-
kette by specifying the BLIND option. This message may also
occur if the diskette contains a computer virus in its boot
sector. Diskettes infected with the so-called "Stoned"
virus will cause this message to be displayed.
NOT ENOUGH MEMORY
Meaning: Not enough memory and hard disk storage could be
located to contain the data from the master diskette. It
may be possible to avoid this message by explicitly specify-
ing the location of the overflow hard disk file.
FILE READ COMPLETE
Meaning: The specified diskette image file has been read.
A blank diskette can be inserted into the drive for copying.
NOT WRITE-PROTECTED
Meaning: The PROTECT option has been specified and the
master diskette is not write-protected.
COPY COMPLETE - REMOVE
Meaning: A diskette copy has been successfully completed
and can be removed from the diskette drive.
DISKETTE IS UNUSABLE - DISCARD
_________________________________________________________________
28 Status Messages
Meaning: Writing the diskette failed because of an un-
recoverable error. Either the wrong media type (high den-
sity instead of low density) has been used or the diskette
contains a permanent flaw.
CHECK OKAY - REMOVE
Meaning: This message occurs only when CopyQM is being run
with the CHECK option. The diskette copy has been success-
fully verified and may be removed from the drive.
WRITE PROTECTED - TRY AGAIN
Meaning: Writing has failed on a diskette because the dis-
kette was write protected. The diskette should be re-
inserted after the diskette has been write-enabled.
PLAYBACK FILE CORRUPT
Meaning: CopyQM has detected an error in the diskette image
file being read. No recovery from the error is possible.
This message can occur if a version of CopyQM prior to 2.10
was used to create the image file.
FILE WRITTEN, REMOVE MASTER
Meaning: The requested diskette image file has been written
and the master diskette can be removed from the drive.
NO DISK SPACE FOR FILE
Meaning: There was not enough hard disk space to success-
fully create the requested diskette image file. This mes-
sage also occurs when there is insufficient hard disk space
to hold temporary files when format conversion has been re-
quested.
_________________________________________________________________
Status Messages 29
TARGET DISKETTE TOO SMALL
Meaning: After the requested format conversion was per-
formed, CopyQM determined that the data from the master dis-
kette would not fit on a single diskette of the requested
format.
_________________________________________________________________
30 Status Messages
Specifying a Diskette Configuration
Normally, CopyQM can determine a system's configuration without
intervention. However, there are cases where add-on diskette
adapters make it impossible to accurately sense the system setup.
To determine if CopyQM has correctly sensed your system's con-
figuration, use the VIEWCONF command that is included with
CopyQM.
If necessary, a text file, named DISKETTE.CFG can be prepared
using any text editor or word processing program in non-document
mode. This file can be placed anywhere in the DOS command search
path and will be automatically located by CopyQM.
The layout of the configuration file is straightforward. Each
line in the file begins with the letter of the diskette drive
being described, followed by a colon (:). The rest of the line
contains keywords and numeric values which specify the configura-
tion for that drive. Each item on the line is separated by one
or more spaces. In most cases, keywords can be abbreviated.
A configuration file line can contain any of the following
keywords. The minimum abbreviation for each keyword is shown in
parentheses:
360K (3) specifies a 5.25" 360K drive.
720K (7) specifies a 3.5" 720K drive. Most utilities also
support the less common 5.25" 720K quad-density drive.
1.2M (1.2) specifies a 5.25" 1.2M drive.
1.44M (1.4) specifies a 3.5" 1.44M drive.
2.88M (2.8) specifies a 3.5" 2.88M drive.
8INCH (8) specifies an 8" drive.
Note that the drive type must be specified.
_________________________________________________________________
Specifying a Configuration 31
BIOS (B) specifies the BIOS drive number for the drive. The
word BIOS is followed by a a number between 0 and 127.
This number is also the same one used for the /D: parameter
when DRIVER.SYS is used to support the drive in the system's
CONFIG.SYS file.
PORT (P) specifies the base I/O port of the adapter con-
nected to the drive. The first or primary adapter is always
described by the number 3F0H (observe the "H" at the end of
a hexadecimal number.) Secondary adapters are usually ad-
dressed by the number 370H and sometimes by 360H or 3E0H.
If not specified, a PORT value of 3F0H is assumed.
UNIT (U) specifies the physical unit number of the drive on
the adapter. This unit number must be within the range of 0
to 3 and should not be confused with the BIOS unit number.
DMA (DM) specifies the Direct Memory Access channel which
services the adapter. If omitted, DMA channel 2 is assumed.
INTERRUPT (I) specifies the system interrupt which services
the adapter. If omitted, interrupt 6 is assumed.
SEEK (S) specifies the track-to-track stepping time of the
drive in milliseconds. If omitted, 6 milliseconds is as-
sumed.
CHANGE (CH) specifies that the drive possesses diskette
change detection circuitry. If this term is omitted, the
drive is assumed not to support change detection. Usually,
1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88M drives have change detection cir-
cuitry; 360K, 720K and 8 inch drives do not.
DUAL (DU) is applicable for 1.2M 5.25"drives only. Some inex-
pensive secondary adapters require that 1.2M drives be con-
figured for dual-speed operation in which the spindle motor
spins at 360 revolutions per minute for high-density opera-
tion and 300 revolutions per minute for low-density opera-
tion. If omitted, normal single-speed operation is assumed.
_________________________________________________________________
32 Specifying a Configuration
COMPATICARD (CO) specifies that the drive is connected to a
MicroSolutions Compaticard Itm or Compaticard IItm adapter.
If the Compaticard IVtm is being used, this term should not
be specified.
DAA (DA) indicates that the drive is connected to an IBM
PS/2 Diskette Adapter/A. This adapter is present on external
drives on Microchannel systems only and is assumed not to be
present.
A number is required to follow the following words:
BIOS
PORT
UNIT
DMA
INTERRUPT
SEEK
A number is assumed to be a decimal value unless suffixed by the
letter "H" which indicates a hexadecimal quantity. Thus, 1000
and 3E8H refer to the same quantity.
Here is an example of a DISKETTE.CFG file:
A: BIOS 0 UNIT 0 1.44M CHANGE
B: BIOS 1 UNIT 1 1.2M CH
Q: BIOS 4 PORT 370H UNIT 0 360K
There are two other items which may start a configuration line.
DEFAULT: initializes the configuration to the values that would
be obtained if automatic configuration sensing were to be per-
formed. Use of DEFAULT is useful if automatic sensing has cor-
rectly sensed all but one or two drives. For example, suppose
that the configuration given above is correctly sensed, with the
exception of drive Q:. The DISKETTE.CFG file could be stated as:
DEFAULT:
Q: BIOS 4 PORT 370H UNIT 0 360K
DEFAULT must appear as the only item on a line.
_________________________________________________________________
Specifying a Configuration 33
NOTE: causes the remainder of a line to be ignored. Comments may
be inserted into the DISKETTE.CFG file in this manner. For ex-
ample:
NOTE: Automatic sensing gets everything but
NOTE: drive Q: connected to a special second
NOTE: adapter.
DEFAULT:
Q: BIOS 4 PORT 370H UNIT 0 360K
NOTE: This is the end of the configuration file.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Certain terms used in this document are trade marks of one or
more of the following companies: Microsoft Corporation, Interna-
tional Business Machines Corporation, Quarterdeck, Inc.,
Microsolutions, Inc., Digital Research Inc., The Software Link,
Inc.
_________________________________________________________________
34 Specifying a Configuration
PRICES.DOC
Ordering and Licensing Information
Sydex warrants the pricing for CopyQM to be valid through July 31, 1993.
If necessary, please call or write for pricing updates:
Sydex, Inc.
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
(503) 683-6033 (voice)
(503) 683-1622 (FAX)
(503) 683-1385 (BBS)
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 A.M. to 4 P.M PST
Prices for CopyQM as of July 1, 1992:
License for personal, non-commercial use..........$15.00
Commercial use license for up to 25 systems.......$50.00
Larger corporate licenses are priced by special arrangement.
Shipping and handling inside of the U.S............$2.50
Airmail to Canada..................................$3.50
International Airmail..............................$5.00
All licenses include printed documentation, diskette and free "do-it-
yourself" update privileges.
All payments must be made in U.S. funds.
PRODLINE.DOC
The Sydex Product Line
----------------------
AnaDisk -- The compleat diskette utility. Nothing like it
anywhere else; scan, edit, repair and copy just about any
kind of diskette. $25.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
Con>Format -- Concurrent "background" diskette formatter.
Features "pop-up" operation and "hot key" activation.
You've got to see it to believe. Supports all current DOS
formats. $15.00 ($50.00 site) registration fee.
22DISK -- Transfer files, format, examine and erase files on
"foreign" CP/M diskettes on your PC. Includes tips on sup-
porting 8" and 5.25" single-density diskettes. Contains
definitions for over 300 different formats. $25.00 ($100.00
site) registration fee.
22NICE -- A CP/M 2.2 emulation package. Supports the NEC
V-series chips or performs emulation by software for both
the 8080 and Z80 processors. Includes terminal emulation
and diskette handling for common CP/M systems. Includes
22DISK. $40.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
COPYQM -- Mass diskette duplicator. Format, copy and verify
multiple diskettes from a single master. Implements "no
keyboard" interaction mode and drive "round robin" servic-
ing. Supports all standard DOS formats. $15.00 ($50.00
site/commercial) registration fee.
FORMATQM -- Mass diskette formatter - format a box of dis-
kettes at a single sitting. Implements "no keyboard" inter-
action mode and drive "round robin" servicing. Supports all
standard DOS formats. $10.00 ($40.00 site) registration
fee.
Information on any of these products can be obtained from Sydex
by calling or writing:
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
Page 15
FORMATQM.DOC
Sydex
FORMATQM
A Quick Mass Diskette Formatter
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
FORMATQM
A Quick Multiple Diskette Format/Verify
Copyright 1988-91, Sydex
All Rights Reserved
Version 1.7 February, 1991
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
All Rights Reserved
NOTICE
THIS IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE! If you paid a "public domain" vendor
for this program, you paid for the service of copying the
program, and not for the program itself. Rest assured that noth-
ing ever gets to the originators of this product from such a
sale. You may evaluate this product, but if you make use of it,
you must register your copy.
We offer several inducements to you for registering. First of
all, you receive the most up-to-date copy of the program that we
have -- and we do update the product on a regular basis. You
also receive support for FormatQM -- which can be quite valuable
at times. And finally, we have a few utilities not included in
the evaluation package. Make no mistake, however - this is a
fully functional version of FormatQM and not "crippled" in any
way.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The non-commercial single-user registration fee for FormatQM is
$10.00 US. The commercial and multisystem site fee for FormatQM
is $50.00.
Send a check or company P.O. for the appropriate amount to:
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Please indicate what product you are ordering and if you have a
requirement for 3.5" media. We normally ship 5.25" 360K dis-
kettes, but will furnish 3.5" 720K media upon request. Shipping
charges within the United States and Canada are $3.00. Customers
outside of the United States and Canada should add $5.00 for air-
mail shipping.
If you are a registered user of this product and desire an up-
date, please send $5.00 for handling and we will ship you an up-
to-date copy. Please add $3.00 for printed documentation to
cover duplication costs.
DISTRIBUTION NOTICE
This is "user-supported" software. You are hereby granted a
license by Sydex to distribute this evaluation copy of FormatQM
and its documentation, subject to the following conditions:
1. FormatQM may be distributed freely without charge in
evaluation form only.
2. FormatQM may not be sold, licensed, or a fee charged
for its use. If a fee is charged in connection with
FormatQM, it must cover the cost of copying or dissemi-
nation only. Such charges must be clearly identified
as such by the originating party. Under no cir-
cumstances may the purchaser be given the impression
that he is buying FormatQM itself.
3. FormatQM must be presented as a complete unit, includ-
ing this documentation. Neither FormatQM nor its
documentation may be amended or altered in any way.
4. By granting you the right to distribute the evaluation
form of FormatQM, you do not become the owner of For-
matQM in any form.
Any other use, distribution or representation of For-
matQM is expressly forbidden without the written consent
of Sydex.
Table of Contents
What Is FormatQM?............................................1
Installing FormatQM..........................................2
How To Use FormatQM..........................................3
Operating FormatQM...........................................4
What's New...................................................5
The Sydex Product Line.......................................6
i
What Is FormatQM?
FormatQM is a utility written to allow you to format a large num-
ber of diskettes in a single session with no keyboard interac-
tion. FormatQM will make use of more than one disk drive and
produces formatted and verified diskettes in any of the standard
DOS formats.
FormatQM requires a PC XT, AT or IBM PS/2-compatible computer.
FormatQM will not operate on the IBM PC Jr., or the low-end
models of the Tandy 1000 series, such as the 1000 HX because they
are relatively PC-incompatible. Your display may be monochrome,
CGA, EGA or VGA, and your diskette drives may be internal or ex-
ternal to your computer.
FormatQM can produce the following formats, given the correspond-
ing media and drive:
1. 180K single-sided, 9 sector, 40 track, 5.25". This is
the standard single-sided DOS diskette.
2. 360K double-sided, 9 sector, 40 track, 5.25". This is
the standard double-sided DOS diskette.
3. 1,200K double-sided, 15 sector, 80 track, 5.25". This
is the high- density PC-AT format.
4. 720K double-sided, 9 sector, 80 track, 3.5". This is
used by PS/2 machines as the standard interchange for-
mat. PC-AT or -XT compatibles with 3.5" drives can also
use this format.
5. 1,440K double-sided, 18 sector, 80 track, 3.5". This is
used by the PS/2 Model 50 and 80 as high-density media.
The PC-AT with the proper BIOS and 3.5" drive can also
use this format.
The diskettes produced are non-system diskettes. That is, they do
not contain a copy of DOS as part of the format data. If a dis-
kette is "booted", a message will be displayed requesting a sys-
tem diskette and the boot process will be repeated, just as with
a standard non-system diskette. The first (or "boot" sector) of
the diskette is compatible with all versions of DOS from 2.0
through 4.0 (the latest as of this writing) and includes a DOS
4.0 serial number.
Page 1
A diskette produced by FormatQM has had each track written and
verified, with any flawed tracks recorded in the diskette's File
Allocation Table (FAT). Entire tracks, rather than sectors are
marked as flawed for maximum reliability.
Installing FormatQM
The operating part of FormatQM is contained entirely in the file
FORMATQM.COM. In most cases, copying this file to an appropriate
subdirectory or disk drive is all that needs to be done.
FormatQM can be run "as is" without first being configured on
most systems, but needs to be explicitly configured by the FQCON-
FIG program in the following cases:
1. More than one diskette adapter is present on the host
computer.
2. More than two diskette drives are present on an AT- or
386-class computer.
3. A MicroSolutions CompatiCard(tm) is being used as a dis-
kette adapter.
4. High-density diskette drives are present on an XT-class
computer.
The FormatQM configuration program is started by entering the fol-
lowing at a DOS prompt:
FQCONFIG
You'll be guided through a series of displays which will con-
figure FormatQM for your system, and place the configured file
FORMATQM.COM on the disk or subdirectory of your choice.
During the configuration process, you will have an opportunity to
specify what type of diskette drives and controllers your com-
puter supports. If you have a single diskette adapter, all
drives are connected to the primary adapter. If you have an addi-
tional adapter, such as the SYSGEN Omni-Bridge or MicroSolutions'
CompatiCard, this is the secondary adapter. In all cases, if
your computer supports high-density diskette formats, you must
specify that it is an "AT" type of computer, regardless of its
actual model.
Page 2
As part of the configuration process you may specify that For-
matQM use a different "boot" sector image. To do this, you'll
need a copy of a diskette having the boot sector to be used by
FormatQM.
How To Use FormatQM
FormatQM is started by typing a command of the following general
form at the DOS prompt:
FormatQM drive: format N S P
Drive: specifies the diskette drive to be used; at least one is
required. If more than one drive is specified, FormatQM will
"rotate" or "ping-pong" drives with each copy. Usually, drive:
is either A: or B:; on three or four-drive computers, other
drives may also be used. If more than one drive is specified,
all drives should be of the same type; that is, two or more 360K
drives, or two or more 1.2M drives and so on...
PC-AT-type computers are normally limited to a maximum of two dis-
kette drives by BIOS convention. However, FormatQM can access
any four possible diskette drives on a system, even if some are
connected to a different diskette adapter.
Format refers to the type of diskette format desired, and may be
one of the following:
180K 360K 720K 1200K 1440K
If you do not wish to verify each track as it is formatted,
specifying an "N" at the end of the FormatQM command will disable
the read-back check after a track is formatted. This results in
faster, but does not test the usability of the media.
For registered copies of FormatQM, specifying "S" on the command
line will omit the opening logo display and proceed directly to
the formatting display.
Specifying a "P" on the FormatQM command line directs FormatQM to
consider only "perfect" diskettes with no flawed areas as being
"good"; flawed diskettes are flagged as "bad" or unusable.
The correct drive and media must be present for a format to be
performed. On PC-AT type machines, FormatQM will check for com-
patibility between the specified format and the drive type
specified when FormatQM was installed.
Page 3
The following are examples of FormatQM command lines:
FormatQM B: 160K Drive is B:, DOS 1.X 160K format.
FormatQM A: B: 360K Use drives A: and B:, 360K format.
FormatQM A: 720K N S Use drive A:, 720K, no verify, no
logo.
Operating FormatQM
During the operation of FormatQM, you will be directed to insert
blank diskettes in the specified drives. When you have formatted
as many diskettes as you require, simply press the ESCape key.
You may press ESCape at any time to cause FormatQM to terminate
execution after a diskette has been formatted.
FormatQM works by periodically examining the specified drives; it
attempts to determine when a diskette has been inserted or
removed. You do not need to touch the keyboard except to ter-
minate FormatQM; just insert and remove diskettes as directed.
Observe that FormatQM is sensitive to changes in diskette drive
status. When you start FormatQM, you will need to insert your
first blank diskette in the indicated drive, even though you may
have already placed a blank in the correct drive before typing
the FormatQM command. Simply "popping" the diskette out and then
in again will do.
If a diskette contains flaws (unwritable areas), FormatQM will
issue an error message showing the number of bad tracks after the
entire diskette has been formatted. These bad tracks are
processed in the same manner as they would be by DOS FORMAT; that
is, they are marked as flawed in the File Allocation Table (FAT)
contained on the diskette. If, however, the first track on the
diskette contains flaws, it will be rejected as unusable by For-
matQM.
How much storage a bad track represents varies according to the
type of formatting performed:
Page 4
On 180K, 360K and 720K diskettes, each track is 4,608 bytes.
On a 1.2M diskette, each track is 7,680 bytes.
On a 1.44M diskette, each track is 9,216 bytes.
If you run FormatQM on a diskette-only system, be sure to write-
protect the diskette containing FormatQM. Thus, even if you mis-
takenly insert the FormatQM program diskette or "pop" the drive
door, you will avoid destroying your copy of FormatQM.
24K of memory should be sufficient for execution of FormatQM.
What's New
In Version 1.62, many changes were made to FormatQM to support a
secondary diskette adapter.
The default boot sector used for formatting was changed to
provide a clean-looking display explaining the difference between
a system and a non-system diskette. In addition, the user may
now specify an alternate boot sector. The "P" (for "perfect" dis-
kettes) option was added.
Version 1.7 eliminates the requirement that FormatQM be con-
figured prior to its operation. FormatQM will now run "as is" on
most systems. Several obsolete formats were dropped, par-
ticularly those related to DOS 1.
Page 5
The Sydex Product Line
AnaDisk -- The compleat diskette utility. Nothing like it
anywhere else; scan, edit, repair and copy just about any kind of
diskette. $25.00 ($150.00 site) registration fee.
Con>Format -- Concurrent "background" diskette formatter. Fea-
tures "pop-up" operation and "hot key" activation. You've got to
see it to believe. Supports all current DOS formats. $15.00
($50.00 site) registration fee.
22DISK -- Transfer files, format, examine and erase files on
"foreign" CP/M diskettes on your PC. Includes tips on supporting
8" and 5.25" single-density diskettes. Contains definitions for
over 200 different formats. $25.00 ($100.00 site) registration
fee.
22NICE -- A CP/M 2.2 emulation package. Supports the NEC
V-series chips or performs emulation by software for both the
8080 and Z80 processors. Includes terminal emulation and dis-
kette handling for common CP/M systems. Includes 22DISK. $40.00
($150.00 site) registration fee.
TeleDisk -- Turn any diskette into a compressed data file and
vice-versa. Allows you to send and receive entire diskettes via
modem. Even works with some "copy-protected" diskettes. $20.00
($150.00 site) registration fee.
COPYQM -- Mass diskette duplicator. Format, copy and verify mul-
tiple diskettes from a single master. Implements "no keyboard"
interaction mode and drive "round robin" servicing. Supports all
standard DOS formats. $15.00 ($50.00 site) registration fee.
FormatQM -- Mass diskette formatter - format a box of diskettes
at a single sitting. Implements "no keyboard" interaction mode
and drive "round robin" servicing. Supports all standard DOS for-
mats. $10.00 ($50.00 site) registration fee.
Information on any of these products can be obtained from Sydex
by calling or writing:
Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385
Page 6
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #3547
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
READ ME 7209 9-10-92 12:04p
PKUNZIP EXE 23528 3-15-90 1:10a
COPYQ302 ZIP 93784 9-14-92 9:00a
CNFMT108 ZIP 44469 7-17-92 2:16p
FORMQ172 ZIP 36517 7-17-92 2:13p
ANAD207 ZIP 134331 9-03-92 11:51a
GO BAT 33 3-28-93 5:09p
SHOW EXE 2040 9-12-88 10:48a
8 file(s) 341911 bytes
16384 bytes free