             R. Loew Electronics Disk Partitioning Utility

                           Version 2.9

                           10/13/2012

                     Copyright (C) 2008-2012
                       by Rudolph R. Loew




The R. Loew Electronics Disk Partitioning Utility provides the ability to
precisely partition a Hard Drive using one or more Boot profiles.



REQUIREMENTS

DOS, Windows 95, 98, 98SE or ME.
BIOS or DDO Support for the size of Hard Drive required to run in normal mode.
TeraByte Plus (TBPLUS) Package if using Extended Features.



CONTENTS

RFDISK.EXE      Disk Partitioning Utility (Full Version Only)
RFDISKD.EXE     Disk Partitioning Utility (Demo Version Only)
INSTOVLY.EXE    Overlay Installer (Full Version Only)
UNINSTOV.EXE    Overlay UnInstaller (Full Version Only)
MANUAL.TXT      Users Manual
LICENSE.TXT     License Terms and Conditions
HISTORY.TXT     Revision History



DEMO VERSION

The Demo Version supports all of the Commands except the Write, PutMBR and
Xcize Commands. This allows you to try out the Program but you will not be
able to change any of the Partitions on the Hard Drive. You will be able to
Install and Uninstall the Multi Boot MBR but only Profile "0" will be
available.



INSTALLATION/UNINSTALLATION

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



COMMAND SYNTAX

* [-RAW] [-CHS] [-XT] [-ExtMBR] [-Overlap] [-NoSwap] [-#(MaxDrive)] [-FixSig]
  Write|Diag

The -RAW Option specifies that RFDISK should use Direct I/O to access the Hard
Drive. Only standard Motherboard IDE drives can be accessed in this mode.
This can be used on older computers that do not support large hard drives.

The -CHS Option specifies that RFDISK should use CHS (Old Interrupt 13 Calls)
Addressing rather than the default LBA (Interrupt 13 Extensions) Addressing.
A maximum of 8GB can be Partitioned in this mode. If no Drives are supported
by LBA Addressing, the CHS Option will be invoked automatically.

If both -RAW and -CHS Options are specified, RFDISK will use CHS Direct I/O
Commands rather than LBA Direct I/O Commands to the Hard Drives.

The -XT Option enables 4096 Cylinder Support for CHS Mode. This Protocol was
used in PC/XT and PC/AT Computers by some Third-Party Software, such as
SCO-UNIX. It is not supported by DOS or WIndows.

The -ExtMBR Option enables an Extension to the MBR Format to support Hard
Drives larger than 2TiB. The last 8GiB in the first 2TiB of the Hard Drive
will be reserved. Additional Software is required to utilize this Extension.
Please contact Author for further Information. This feature is still in Beta.

The Overlap Option disables checking for Partition Overlaps.

The NoSwap Option disables rearrangement of multiple Primary Partitions when
the Active Partition is not the first.

The #MaxDrive limits the number of Hard Drives scanned. Some systems lockup
if nonexistent Hard Drives are scanned. This Option can be used to prevent
Lockup by limiting the number of drives scanned to the number of drives
present. The format of this option is "-#" where # in the number of drives.
For example, to scan two drives use "-2".

The FixSig Option enables correction of Conflicting Signatures and/or
Checksums, See SIGNATURES, CHECKSUMS and COLLISIONS Section below.

The Write Parameter enables Writing of updated Partition information.
The Diag Parameter disables Writing of updated Partition information,
Instead a list of changes is shown. This is for Diagnostic purposes.

Either Write or Diag must be specified. Otherwise the Syntax message will be
shown and the Program will exit. Any other letter will be treated as Diag.

Disk and Partition Errors and Warnings will be Displayed as they are
encountered before the Initial Display Screen.



SINGLE BOOT MODE

Single Boot Mode is the default mode when initially Partitioning a Drive or
when modifying a Drive that was Partitioned elsewhere. A standard Master Boot
Record can be written and all Partitioning information is placed within this
Sector. In this mode all Boot Profile References will be shown as "-" and all
Partitions will be automatically linked to the default profile.



MULTI BOOT MODE

Multi Boot Mode provides for the support of multiple Boot Profiles. A
proprietary Master Boot Record is used containing a copy of the Active Boot
Profile. Successive Sectors contain standard MBRs or other types of Boot
Records along with the Partition information for each successive Boot Profile.

Once the Multi Boot MBR is written to a Hard Drive, RFDISK will automatically
run in Multi Boot Mode for that Drive. Uninstalling or Erasing the Multi Boot
MBR is required to return to Single Boot Mode.

If Multi Boot Mode is enabled on the Boot Hard Drive, Overlays can be added
to provide additional Boot Time Functionality (See Overlays Below).

WARNING: Installing Windows Vista, 7 or 8 may install additional Partitions
that could overwrite Data in Partitions that are not in the Active Profile.
It is recommended that these Operating Systems be installed first.



MULTI BOOT PROFILES

Each Boot Profile is assigned a Letter (Case Insensitive), a Number or "@".
Profile "0" is automatically defined as the First Profile. This Profile will
be used by any Boot Profile that contains a Boot or Custom Record rather than
a MBR. Reserved Profiles "D" and "W" also use this Profile. Reserved Profiles
"D" and "W" are used with additional support Programs to support DOS 6 and
DOS 7 Boots along with Windows using the same C: Partition.

Multi Boot Mode can be used on Non-Boot Drives to allow selecting Partition
Profiles at Boot Time. The Boot Drive must be setup in Multi Boot Mode to
support this option. Otherwise Partition Profile Selection must be done by
running RFDISK to change the Profile Selected and Rebooting.

If a Profile is named "@" and is the Active Profile, it will only be used if
the Drive is not the Boot Drive. The "0" Profile will be used instead if the
Drive is the Boot Drive. This allows a Drive to have a Boot Partition that
is not visible when the Drive is not the Boot Drive.



OVERVIEW MODE

At startup, after a Write Command, or a Multi Boot Setup Command, the Program
goes into Overview Mode. In this mode all Drives are displayed and Partition
editing Commands are disabled. Using the Drive "D" Command with no Drive
Number will also switch to Overview Mode. Multi Boot Setup Commands should be
run in this mode, otherwise any unwritten changes will be lost. If there is
only one Hard Drive, overview mode is disabled and RFDISK will go directly
into Drive Mode.



DRIVE MODE

When the Drive "D" Command is used with a Drive Number, RFDISK will enter
Drive Mode. In this mode only one Drive is displayed and the Drive Editing
Commands will be enabled. This mode is exited when the Write "W" Command
is executed. Using a Multi Boot Setup Command, or quitting will exit this
mode without saving any unwritten changes. Selecting another Drive will
discard unwritten changes and switch to the new Drive.



DISPLAY

When RFDISK is started and after each Command, RFDISK displays the partitions
currently defined. In Overview Mode all Drives are displayed. In Drive Mode,
only the Selected Drive is Displayed. After Writing or using a Multi Boot
Setup Command, all Drives are rescanned and Validated.

The First line contains the Drive Number, Estimated Geometry and Profile
Information for a Drive.

Partsecs is the Number of Sectors used by the Multi Boot MBR. In Single Boot
Mode the Count will be 1. The Terminating Null Sector is not included.

The Brackets contain a list where each character represents a sector. 
"." is the Multi Boot MBR
"0" is the First (Default) Profile Sector
"-" is the Standard MBR in Single Boot Mode
Any other Number or Letter represents a Multi Boot Profile ID.
The Terminating Boot Rotator Sector used in Multi Boot Mode is not included.

The Active Entry is the ID of the currently Active Profile and represents the
Partition Profile currently written to the MBR. This is the Profile that will
be used if the Computer is Booted from a Different Drive such as a Floppy or
USB Drive without invoking the Multi Boot MBR.

If the Drive is larger then 2TiB and the -ExtMBR Option is specified, the
size of the Drive using the Extended Partition Format will be displayed.

If the estimated Drive Geometry does not match the Interrupt 13 reports, the
discrepancies are displayed.

If the Drive has been configured in Multi Boot Mode, but the proprietary MBR
code has been overwritten, a warning may be displayed. This will happen if
Windows is installed after a Multi Boot Drive is setup. Use the MBR Command
to reload the Multi Boot MBR Code and Write it to the Drive. If the Multi
Boot Mode is not recognized, use the Install/Uninstall Multi Boot Command
and specify MBR at the Prompt to restore the MBR.

A Warning is displayed if the MBR is not recognized. If a Disk Manager
(BOOTMAN) MBR is detected a notice will be displayed.

The following lines show the Defined Partitions for the particular Drive.

Part  indicates a Primary Partition or Extended Partition Header
LPart indicates a Logical Partition
Type= is the Hexadecimal Partition Type Code
      0 = Filler (Undefined)
      1 = FAT12 CHS Partition
      4 = FAT16 CHS Partition (Less Than 32MB)
      5 = Extended CHS Partition
      6 = FAT12/FAT16 CHS Partition (Over 32MB)
      7 = NTFS
      B = FAT32 CHS Partition
      C = FAT32 LBA Partition
      E = FAT16 LBA Partition
      F = Extended LBA Partition

      Other codes are used by other Operating Systems.
      Some Partitioners hide Partitions by adding 10 (Hex) to the Type.

DOS 6.2 recognizes Types 1, 4, 5 and 6 and is limited to 8GB.

Primary and Extended Partitions ending above 1023 Cylinder (approx 8GB
typically) must be LBA Partitions (7, C, E or F).

Logical Partitions are not restriced as they take on the attributes of their
enclosing Extended Partition.

All Partitions defined within the range of an Extended Partition are set to
Logical Partitions and are referenced as Part of it.

Start= is the Starting Cylinder. A trailing "+" indicates that the Partition
starts on Head 1. A trailing "++" indicates that the Partition start has been
offset for Alignment purposes.

Logical Partitions always start on Head 1 as Head 0 holds the Extension
Record. A Primary Partition on Cylinder 0 must also start on Head 1.
An Extended Partition cannot start on Cylinder 0.

End= is the Cylinder after the End of the Partition.

If a Partition does not Start or End on Head 0 or 1 and Sector 1, the
entry is shown as Cyl/Head/Sec.

The estimated Geometry is used to convert between Cylinder and Sector
Numbers. For the Default Geometry of 255 Heads and 63 Sectors, each Cylinder
is a little less than 8MB.

If an existing Partition has a defined CHS geometry it is used, otherwise
INT13 calls are used to get the Geometry. If none are valid, 255/63 is used.
The Geometry "G" Command can be used to manually set the Geometry used.

The Status field indicates the status of the Boot Record for the Partition:
VALID  indicates a Boot Record with Valid Partition Info is present
INV    indicates a Boot Record with Incorrect Info is Present
DOSOF  indicates a Boot Record with Valid DOS 6 Partition Info is present
ERASE! indicates a Boot Record that has been marked for erasure
blank  indicates no detected Boot Record or is not a DOS Partition

A Partition marked ERASE! will have it's Boot Record Erased if the Write
Command is used. The Erase Flag can be Toggled On or Off with the Erase "E"
Command. After Writing, the Status field will be blank indicating no Boot
Record.

Ref= lists the Profile ID(s) this Partition is Linked to. This Partition will
be copied to the MBR, and enabled, if any one of the listed Profiles is
invoked during Boot. In Single Boot Mode the Partition will always be linked
to the MBR and a "-" will be shown in the Display.

Act= lists the Profile ID(s) in which this Partition will be the Active
Partition. This Partition will be tagged as Active in each of these Profiles.
In Single Boot Mode there is no need to specify a Profile and the Display
will show a "-" if it is marked Active.

The Active Partition will be placed First in the Partition Table regardless
of Position unless the NoSwap option is used in the RFDISK Command Line.

If Overlays are present, they will be listed at the end of the listing for
the Drive they are located on.

After all Drives are listed, any Collisions between Signatures and or
Checksums will be listed. If the FixSig Option has been specified, you will
be Queried after each Collision is listed to correct the Collision. See the
SIGNATURES, CHECKSUMS and COLLISIONS Section below.


COMMANDS

RFDISK commands consist of three types of Commands.

Overview Commands are used to take actions that are not specific to a single
Drive and to select a Drive. These Commands are always enabled.

Drive Commands affect only a single Drive and are enabled only when a Drive
is selected.

Multi Boot Setup Commands are used to Install, UnInstall and Modify Multi
Boot structures. These are always enabled but will discard any changes made
in Drive mode.

All Commands only require that the first letter of the Command be used.

The "?" Commands displays a summary of enabled Commands.

Pressing ENTER alone redisplays the Drive or all Drives depending upon mode.


ARGUMENTS

The arguments to Commands have the following format:

Partition Types are in Hexadecimal, with or without leading 0. Do not add 'H'
to the end. A leading "0x" is optional.

Profile References are single Letters or Numerals. If Multi-Boot Profiles are
not set on a Drive, leave blank. A '-' will be displayed in reports.
'?', '*', or [SPACE] can be used in the 'S' Command.

All other numerical arguments can be entered as follows:

Decimal:   ####  (ex. 123)  leading zeroes are ignored
Hex:     0x####  (ex. 0x123)
Octal:   0o####  (ex. 0o123)
Binary:  0b####  (ex. 0b101)

Drive numbers start with 0 for the first Hard Drive (Int 13 DL=0x80)
Floppy Drives cannot be accessed.

The 'Add' Command supports Head/Sector Offset options '+' or '++'.

If the -ExtMBR Option has been specified, an additional Format is enabled
for entering Partition Start and End locations beyond the 2TiB limit.

Instead of entering Cylinder numbers, the following Format is used:

###:###

The Number to the left is the high 32 Bits of the Sector # as a 64 Bit Number.
This is currently limited to between 1 and 255. For a 512-Byte Sector Size,
this translates to 2TiB each.

The Number to the right is Bits 24-31 of the Sector # as a 64 Bit Number.
This is currently limited to between 0 and 255. For a 512-Byte Sector Size,
this translates to 8GiB each.

This allows specification of the Start and Stop Sector over a range of 512TiB
in multiples of 8GiB, for a 512-Byte Sector Hard Drive.

Formats cannot be mixed and the length of a Partition must be less than 2Tib
for a 512-Byte Sector Hard Drive. These limitations do not apply to an
Extended Partition (Type 5 or F).

This Extended MBR Format is valid only for FAT32 Partitions (Types B and C).
No Driver support is currently available for FAT12 or FAT16.



OVERVIEW COMMANDS

These Commands are enabled in Overview Mode as well as Drive Mode.


The Drive (D) Command selects a Drive to Edit. Selecting a Specific Drive
enables Drive Mode.

D #   selects Drive #

D     discards any unwritten changes and returns to Overview Mode

The current settings of the Drive will be displayed.
If a previous Drive was selected, any unwritten changes are discarded.


The Hide (H) Command hides partitions above a specified limit to reduce the
number of Partitions displayed.

H #   hides Partitions above Cylinder #
H 0   hides all Logical Partitions
H     restores display of all Partitions

Hidden Partitions are shown as a line of asterisks,  one for each Partition


The OldValues (O) Command discards any unwritten changes and rereads the
Drives. The Mode is not changed. The syntax is as follows:

O     


The +InputFile (+) Command attaches a Text file to be used for Command Input.
Control is returned when End Of File is reached. This can be used to execute
a predetermined series of Commands and can be used with the Build "B" Command
to restore an earlier configuration or to duplicate a configuration.

+FILE  Runs the Commands contained within "FILE"


The Quit (Q) Command exits RFDISK. All unwritten data is discarded. The
Command Syntax is:

Q



DRIVE COMMANDS

Drive Commands affect a single drive and are only enabled in Drive Mode.
Changes are not written to the Drive until the WRITE Command is executed.

The Add (A) Command adds a new Partition to the Drive. The Syntax is as
follows:

A Type Start End [+][+]

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder
End is the Cylinder after the End of the Partition
The Optional "+" specifies that the Partition Starts on Head 1 instead of 0.

Using "++" specifies that the Partition Starts on Head 2 instead of 0 or 1 if
the Number of Sectors per Track is Odd. Otherwise it will start on the
Second Sector of Head 1. This is for Alignment purposes (see ALIGNMENT below).
This Option is not available for Partitions using the ExtMBR feature.

Logical Partitions and Partitions starting at 0 automatically start on head 1.

If you set the last Logical Partition on the last Hard Drive to a Non-DOS
Type, such as NTFS, RFDISK will display a Warning. A bug in the standard DOS
IO.SYS File can cause problems if this is done. If you are using the TBPLUS
Patches on your System, or a Patched IO.SYS, you can safely ignore this
Warning.


The Change (C) Command changes the Type and/or End of an Existing Partition
The Syntax is as follows:

C Type Start NewType [NewEnd [NewStart]]

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder
NewType is the New Hexadecimal Partition Type
The optional NewEnd sets the Cylinder after the End of the Partition
The optional NewStart sets the Starting Cylinder of the Partition

WARNING: Changing the Size or Offset of an Existing Partition does not move
      or resize the data or the Boot Record. The Partition will be marked
      INVALID. Saving the changes may corrupt Data so the change cannot be
      safely done later.


The Remove (R) Command removes an existing Partition. The Syntax is as
Follows:

R Type Start

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder

Removing a Partition does not erase the Boot Record or data so the Partition
can be restored intact, even after a Write, if it is not overwritten.
Removing an Extended Partition will remove all Logical Partitions within it.
They will have to be restored individually.
If you haven't Written the changes you can use the "O" to undo them.


The KillAll (K) Command removes all Partitions from a Drive. This can be used
with the <InputFile Command to load a predefined set of Partitions.
The Syntax is:

K

The Multi Boot Mode and Profile IDs are not removed.
If you haven't Written the changes you can use the "O" to undo them.


The Link (L) Command attaches a Partition to a Multi Boot Profile. The
Command can be repeated to attach the Partition to more than one Profile.
Logical Partitions do not need to be Linked since thay are part of an
Extended Partition. Link the Extended Partition, to link all of it's Logical
Partitions. In Single Boot Mode all Partitions are linked so this command is
not needed. The Syntax is as follows:

L Type Start Profile

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder
Profile is the Multi Boot Profile ID 

Linking a Logical Partition, maps it as a Primary Partition into one or more
Profiles. The Logical Partition itself is marked Unknown (Type 7F) in ALL
Profiles. The Partition can be made Active with the T Command and Booted
from. See "Dual Mode" Partitions below for additional information.


The UnLink (U) Command detaches a Partition from a Multi Boot Profile. Repeat
the Command to detach from multiple Profiles. The Syntax is as follows:

U Type Start Profile

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder
Profile is the Multi Boot Profile ID 


The NewProfile (N) Command adds a New Multi Boot Profile and defines it's ID.
The Syntax is as follows:

N Profile

Profile is the Multi Boot Profile ID 

The new Profile will be added to the end of the Profile list and will have
no Partitions Linked to it. Adding Reserved ID's "D" or "W" will add the
Profiles to the List, and enable them, but they cannot be linked to as they
use Profile "0". The Profile will have standard MBR code.


The SetActiveProfile (S) Command sets the currently Active ID which will be
used for the next Boot and copies the Profile's Partition information into
the MBR. Use this command to preselect a Profile if the computer will be
rebooted from Floppy or USB as the Multi Boot MBR will not be able to copy
the Profile. The Syntax is as follows:

S Profile

Profile is the Multi Boot Profile ID 

The Write Command must be used to commit these changes.

To force a prompt on the next Boot set the ID to "?". The MBR will be in an
undefined state if the Computer is Booted from a Floppy or USB Drive. If this
is a possibility, set the Profile to be used, commit the changes using the
Write Command, reselect the Drive, then set the Active Table Profile to "?"
and use the Write Command again to commit it.

Leaving the Profile ID blank will set NULL Mode. This will make the Drive
appear Unpartitioned at the next Boot. If this is a Boot Drive, an Overlay
will be loaded to allow Booting from the Next, or Subsequent, Drive.

The SetActiveProfile Command is the only way to change the Active Profile on
a Non-Boot Drive if the Boot Drive is not setup with a Multi Boot MBR.


The ToggleActive (T) Partition Command toggles on or off the Active flag for
the Partition in the specified Profile. In Single Boot Mode, the Profile ID
is not used. If turned on, the Partition will be the Active Partition if the
specified Profile is used during Boot. The Syntax is as follows:

T Type Start Profile

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder
Profile is the Multi Boot Profile ID (Multi Boot Mode Only) 


The EraseBootToggle (E) Command toggles the Erase Boot Flag. If set, RFDISK
will Erase the Boot Record of the Partition when the Write Command is used to
commit the Partition changes to the Hard Drive. If the flag is set, the
status will show "ERASE!". The Syntax is as follows:

E Type Start

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder

Extended Partitions cannot be Erased.

It is strongly recommended that you set the Erase Boot Flag on any new or
redefined Partition that will be Formatted after Reboot. Do not Erase if you
plan on recovering the old Partition or data in it.


The ZeroFillExt (Z) Command adds or Removes Null (Type 0) Partitions in any
unallocated portions of any Extended Partitions. Unallocated areas may cause
problems if they contain apparently valid Partition records. In addition,
Partitions after the unallocated area may be lost. Add the Null records
before Writing changes and remove them before adding Logical Partitions.
The Syntax is as follows:

Z A   Adds Null Partitions
Z R   Removes Null Partitions   

Do not use Null Records if installing Windows XP or later. If you need to
fill in gaps, add the Null Records then use the Change Command to change the
Type Code to an unused Type such as 10.


The Geometry (G) Command overrides any detected Drive Geometry. LBA Start and
End Sectors of existing Partitions will not be changed. CHS entries of
existing Partitions and the start and end of new Partitions will be computed
using the new Geometry. The Syntax is as follows:

G Heads Sectors [Cylinders]

Heads is the Number of Heads per Cylinder
Sectors is the Number of Sectors per Track
The optional Cylinders argument sets the maximum number of Cylinders used.
If not present, the Cylinder limit is recalculated from the estimated Drive
size.

You can display the start and end points of each partition in Megabytes by
setting the Geometry to 63 heads and 31 sectors. Use 64 Heads and 32 Sectors
for MiB (Binary Megabytes). Return the Geometry to the original setting
before continuing.
                
CAUTION: Some BIOSes require that the Geometry be set to the values shown by
the Interrupt 13 AH=8 Call, before committing the changes, if any CHS
accessible Partitions exist.

Sector size is based on the size detected when the Drive is scanned. It
cannot be changed by RFDISK.


The Find (F) Command scans for Partition Table entries. The Syntax is as
follow:

F [Start [All]]

The Optional Start argument is the Starting Cylinder for the Scan.

If "All" is specified Nested Partitions are displayed. Otherwise the Find
Command skips over any valid Partition's data and continues scanning after
the end of the Partition. Scanning will be significantly slower if "All"
is specified.

To scan every sector set the Geometry to 2 Heads and 1 Sector before using
the Find Command with the "All" option. Scanning a large Disk may take
several hours.

The Find Command can be interrupted by pressing CTRL-C once.


The Validate (V) Command reverifies the Boot Record of a Partition. The
Syntax is as follows:

V Type Start

Type is the Hexadecimal Partition Type
Start is the Start Cylinder


The Build (B) Command creates a text file containing the Commands needed to
create the current configuration of the Drive. Importing the commands using
the <InputFile Command will rebuild the current setup on the then current
Drive. The Syntax is as follows:

B SaveFile

SaveFile is the name of the file the commands will be written to.

The Boot Mode and Profile IDs are not saved and must be present on the Drive
before restoring the Partitions.

All previous Partition information will be erased unless you edit the Saved
File and remove the K Command in the First Line.


The MBR (M) Command replaces any existing MBR with either a conventional
MBR or the Multi Boot MBR code. The Syntax is as follows:

M

The standard MBR is a Windows 98 MBR modified to set Partition Type 7 (MTFS)
to LBA mode. The Write Command must be used to commit the MBR.
The MBR's Timestamp will be updated, based on the Current Time.

If a Disk Manager (BOOTMAN) MBR is present, a Warning will be displayed
before allowing you to execute this command.


The >SectorImageFile (>) Command saves the MBR and Multi Boot Profile Sectors
from the current Drive to a File. This File can be used to reproduce the
complete configuration.

>FILE  Saves the Sectors into "FILE"


The <SectorImageFile (<) Command loads the MBR and Multi Boot Profile Sectors
of the current Drive from a File, replacing the previous Configuration.
RFDISK then returns to Overview Mode.

<FILE  Loads the Sectors from "FILE"


The Write (W) Command commits all of the changes to the Drive and returns to
Overview Mode. If Diagnostic Mode is set in the RFDISK Command Line, a list
of changes will be printed instead of Writing to the Hard Drive. The Drives
will be rescanned before returning to Overview Mode. The Syntax is as follow:

W [Ext]

The Ext Option is a Three Letter Extension that will replace the Extension
of the IO.SYS File to be loaded when Booting from the "W" Profile.
Ex. W EBD will Boot from IO.EBD in the Boot Partition.

If RFDISK detects non-fatal issues with the settings, it will display a
Warning and Prompt if it is OK to Continue. Pressing anything other than "Y"
will abort the Write.

The following issues will produce these Warnings:

Partitions detected but will be lost due to Errors or Overlaps.
Partition not referenced by any Profile will be lost.
Logical Sector length changed from last Write.
Multiple Extended or Active Partitions.
Default Profile Missing.

Continuing from the first three issues can cause Partition information to be
lost.


The Refresh Overlay Table Command '@' is used to rebuild the list of Overlays
when it has been erased by a Multi Boot Setup Command or if the Overlays
or Overlay Table has been damaged. The presence of Unknown Entries (UNK[xx])
or the OVERLAY: line being shown with no Overlays listed indicates that the
Overlay Table needs to be Updated. Failure to do so may make your Hard Drive
Unbootable. The Syntax is as follow:

@

This command is recommended after any upgrade to RFDISK when using the
Multi-Boot MBRs. Overlays may not work or be damaged if the Physical Sector
Size has been overridden by the SETSECSZ Program.



MULTI BOOT SETUP COMMANDS

The Multi Boot Setup Commands will discard any unwritten changes to the
current Drive and switch to Overview Mode before executing. These commands
will be written to the Hard Drive immediately and do not require the Write
Command. You will be prompted before making changes. All Overlays will be
lost. Use the '@" Command to scan for and add back Overlays.


The Install/Uninstall (I) Multi Boot MBR Command will switch the Drive
between Single Boot Mode and Multi Boot Mode. A New MBR will be written and
the Partitions will be moved to Profile "0" or back to the MBR. The Syntax is
as follows:

I Drive# [UnInstRef]

Drive is the Number of the Drive
The optional UnInstRef argument specifies the ID of the Profile who's
Partitions will be copied to the Single Boot Mode MBR during an Uninstall.
If not specified, the "0" Profile Partitions will be copied.

During an Install, the Single Boot Mode Partitions will be copied to the "0"
Profile. Any disabled Profiles left over from the last Uninstall will be
lost unless you specify MBR at the Prompt. Use the PutMBR Command if you need
to preserve them and accidentally typed "Y" at the Prompt.

If a Disk Manager (BOOTMAN) MBR is present, a Warning will be displayed
before allowing you to execute this command.

Uninstalling will disable all Profiles on the Drive. The Profiles can be
retrieved by using the PutMBR Command provided that the Install Multi Boot
Command has not been executed with "Y" at the prompt, and the sectors
following the MBR have not been overwritten.


The PutMBR (P) Command Reinstalls Multi Boot Mode along with any Profiles\
that were disabled by the last Uninstall. Then the MBR code and Partition
Table from Single Boot Mode is copied to the specified Profile. If the
Profile does not exist, a new Profile will be added to the end of the list.
The Syntax is as follows:

P Drive# [Profile]

Drive is the Number of the Drive
The optional Profile argument specifies the ID of the Profile where the
Single Boot Mode MBR and Partitions will be copied to. If not specified,
they will be copied to the "0" Profile.

This allows user specified MBR codes to be placed in Profiles. To add a
custom MBR Profile, perform the following steps:

1. Uninstall Multi Boot Mode, optionally, specifying the Profile to be put in
   the MBR.
2. Exit RFDISK.
3. Install the custom MBR.
4. Run RFDISK.
5. Edit the Partitions as needed and commit any changes.
6. Use the PutMBR Command to place the MBR and Partitions in the desired
   Profile.

The custom MBR must be one Sector long. If not the Profiles may be corrupted
and the new Profile will not boot.

An individual Profiles MBR can be refreshed with the Built-In MBR by
performing the following steps:

1. Uninstall Multi Boot Mode, optionally, specifying the Profile to be put in
   the MBR.
2. Select the Drive.
3. Run the MBR Command.
4. Run the Write Command.
5. Use the PutMBR Command to place the MBR and Partitions in the desired
   Profile.

The PutMBR Command can be used to restore the Multi-Boot Profiles after the
Multi-Boot MBR is Overwritten by an Installer such as Windows XP.


The eXcise (X) Command removes a Profile Sector and packs the remaining
sectors. The Syntax is as follows:

X Drive# Profile

Drive is the Number of the Drive
Profile specifies the ID of the Profile to be removed.
The Default "0" Profile cannot be removed.



NULL Profile

The NULL Profile allows a given Hard Drive to be treated as unpartitioned.
Using the "S" Command with no Profile ID or pressing the [SPACE] Key during
Boot Configuration will select the NULL Profile.

If the Boot Drive is set to the NULL Profile, an Overlay in the Terminal
Sector will be loaded. This code will scan the remaining Drives until it
finds one that is not set for the NULL Profile or is unrecognized.
It will then install a Hook to renumber the Hard Drives. The New Boot Drive
will be assigned 0x80 to allow it to Boot. The remaining Drives will be
assinged 0x81 and up. The Drive(s) below the Boot Drive will be assigned
numbers after the others. This will allow access to them by RFDISK.
You will be able to reenable them with the "S" Command

If the Overlay is active Drive Numbers will have been altered. If you use
RFDISK in Normal Mode, you will see your Drives rearranged. Since the RAW
mod does not use Interrupt 13, RFDISK will show the physical arrangement of
the Drives in RAW Mode.



PARTITIONS

RFDISK recognized 4 types of Partitions: Primary, Extended, Logical and Dual
Mode.

Primary Partitions are all Partitions except Types 5 and F that are not
nested within an Extended Partition.

Extended Partitions 5 and F are containers for Logical Partitions.

Logical Partitions are Partitions except 5 and F that are contained within
a preexisting Extended Partition.

Dual Mode Partitions are Partitions that are contained within a preexisting
Extended Partition and are also defined as a Primary Partition in at least
one Profile. See "Dual Mode" Partitions below for more information.

Logical Partitions are not normally Linked or made Active. The enclosing
Extended Partition is linked to the desired Profiles. All Logical Partitions,
within an Extended Partition, are enabled or disabled together.

If you Link a Logical Partition, RFDISK will create a Duplicate Primary
Partition in the linked MBR. If both the Enveloping Extended Partition and
the Linked Logical Partition are linked to the same. or only, Profile, then
the Partition will be assigned two Drive Letters. This is not recommended as
corruption can occur if DOS or Windows writes to both of them. A Linked
Logical Partition can be made Active.

Type 0 Partitions are used to fill in gaps in Extended Partitions. These are
considered free space by some utilities. RFDISK uses them to fill gaps that
might otherwise be misinterpreted as containing other Partitions. The "Z"
Command can be used to add or remove these Partitions.

A Primary or Extended Partition that has no links to it in Multi Boot Mode
will not be written to any Profile and will disappear when the Write Command
is used.

Partitions with Types above 7F may cause later Partitions to not be detected.
This is a bug in some versions of DOS. You may want to place these Partitions
at the end of the Drive.

Each Profile can support up to 4 Primary and Extended Partitions. More than
4 Partitions can be setup but the Write Command will not execute if there are
more than 4 Partitions in any Profile. Only one Extended Partition is
recognized by DOS and Windows. Multiple Primary Partitions in a single
Profile will be handled by DOS and Windows as follows:

Assign First Primary Partition in each Drive in INT13 order.
Assign all Logical Partitions in each Drive in INT13 order.
Assign remaining Primary Partitions in each Drive in INT13 order.

The Active Partition in each Profile will be placed First so that it can be
recognized as Drive C: on the Boot Drive. This can be overridden by the
NoSwap Option in the RFDISK Command Line.

Partitions can be placed in as many Profiles as desired.

A Profile with no Partitions linked to it can be used to prevent a secondary
Drive from being recognized by selecting this Profile during Boot.

The reserved "D" and "W" Profiles set up a Boot Overlay that uses the "0"
Profile but replaces the Boot Sector Code, pointed to, with custom code.
These are used to invoke modified IO.SYS files that allow use of DOS 6, DOS 7
and Windows 98 with a single C: Partition. They are displayed in lower case
in the Profile Display. Custom Boot Sectors also use the "0" Profile for
their Partitions. Contact author for information on these features.

WARNING: Partitions are not checked for size or total count.
Making a Partition too large or small may make the Partition unusable.
If too many Partitions are accessible at one time, DOS will ignore Partitions
after Z:.
Having more than one Active Partition in a single Profile will cause Boot
failure.


DUAL MODE PARTITIONS

Dual Mode Partitions are Partitions that are contained within a preexisting
Extended Partition and are also defined as a Primary Partition in at least
one Profile. The Primary Partition mapping can be made Active with the Toggle
Command so the Partition can be Booted. The Logical Partition in the Extended
Partition chain will be marked Unknown (Type 0x7F) so it cannot be accessed
from ANY profile. This gives more flexibility in laying out a Hard Drive.

To create a Dual Mode Partition, first create the Logical Partition using the
Add Command as described above. Use the Link Command to define a Primary
Partition in one or more Profiles. In Single Boot Mode, use the Link Command
without a target Profile to define the Primary Partition.

The Partition can be reverted back to a Logical Partition be removing the
Active Flags and Unlinking all Profiles.

Switching between a Logical Partition and a Dual Mode Partition may require
that the Partition be Reformatted. If you have RFORMAT, you can use the
-BootOnly Option to do this without losing your Data. You will need to either
reboot first or use RFORMAT's Pri# or Log# Mode. Drive letters probably will
change.


MULTIPLE EXTENDED PARTITIONS

Standard DOS and Windows 9x only support one Extended Partition. The Terabyte
Plus Package 2.0 or higher adds support for multiple Extended Partitions per
Drive. RFDISK allows multiple Extended Partitions to be defined. A Warning
will be shown if two of more Extended Partitions are found when you attempt
to Write out the new MBR. If you are going to use the Hard Drive in a System
with the TBPLUS Patches, you can continue from the Warning.


CHS and LBA

Cylinder/Head/Sector (CHS) Addressing mode is supported by all versions of
DOS and Windows. Primary Partition Types 1, 4, 6 and B, and Extended
Partitions of Type 5 are addressed by CHS. CHS Partitions are limited to the
first 1024 Cylinders so they are limited to approx 8GB or less depending upon
the Geometry. CHS accessible Partitions must be configured using the Geometry
used by the BIOS.

CHS Partition Geometry settings MUST match the settings used by the BIOS of
the Computer in which the Hard Disk Data is going to be accessed. In
addition, the Partition needs to start at the beginning of a Cylinder for
Primary Partitions or Head 1 for a Logical Partition. Either kinf must end at
the end of a Cylinder.

Logical Block Addressing (LBA) is supported by DOS 7 and up and Windows 95
and up. Primary Partition Types 7, C and E and Extended Partitions of Type F
are addressed by LBA. There is no limit on the size or location of LBA
Partitions and they are not dependent upon the Geometry setting. The Geometry
setting is only used to compute the Sector numbers from the entered Cylinder
numbers and to create the CHS entries for Partitions below 8GB.

Logical Partitions are accessed according to the type of Extended Partition.
All Logical Partitions, including Types 6 and B, are accessed by LBA if the
Extended Partition is Type F.



XT Mode

The XT Mode provides support for the PC/XT and PC/AT Protocol for 4096
Cylinders using the top two bits of DH. When specified, CHS Start and End
Entries in the Partition Table will use this protocol rather than wrapping
at 1024 Cylinders as is done in normal mode. The Protocol will be disabled
on any Drive which is set for more than 64 Heads. It is not necessary to
specify the -CHS Option to use XT Mode. Using XT Mode with the -CHS Option
requires a BIOS that recognizes the Protocol.

Neither DOS nor Windows supports this Protocol. Partitions using this
Protocol will be flagged with Warnings.

XT Mode Partitions will be converted to Normal Partitions if the Drive is
Written to during a session when the -XT Option is not specified.

Normal Mode Partitions will be converted to XT Partitions if the Drive is
Written to during a session when the -XT Option is specified and the Drive
is set to 64 Heads or less, if the Partition's Cylinder Number is above 1023.
This is only relevant the CHS Partition Types (1, 4, 5, 6, 0E). It is ignored
on LBA Partitions.

The -XT Option affects all Drives. It is recommended that you only work on
the specific Drives needing XT Protocol whn specifying the -XT Option.



GEOMETRY

The Geometry of a Drive consists of the number of Cylinders on a Drive, the
number of Heads per Cylinder, and the number of Sectors per Track. RFDISK
obtains the head and sector information from 3 sources in the following order:

The first valid Partitions CHS End Record.
Interrupt 13 AH=8 Results
Interrupt 13 AH=48H Results

The first one is used to set the Estimated Geometry.

If none are found, the Geometry is set to 255 Heads and 63 Sectors.

If the three results disagree, or the Geometry is set manually to a different
 value, a Warning is displayed each time the Drive is Displayed.

Interrupt 13 AH=48H is used to get the Drive Size and is used with the other
two settings to determine the number of Cylinders. If the command fails or
returns 0, the Cylinder count is displayed as "????" and no "Out of Range"
checking is done.

Sector Size is read from the Interrupt 13 AH=48H data or by reading a Sector
if the Command Fails. The Sector Size cannot be changed within RFDISK and is
recorded in the MBR during a Write.

Normally all Partitions created by RFDISK start at the first Sector of Head 0
or Head 1 of the specified Cylinder regardless of whether CHS or LBA is used
to access it.

The Geometry Command allows these setting to be overridden. Setting a
Geometry of 1/1 using the following Command:

G 1 1

will allow Partitions to be placed at specific Sectors. Logical Partitions,
or Partitions specifying Sector 0, will be written to the following Sector
as the Extension Record or MBR will be written first.

Some BIOSes require that the Geometry be set to the values shown for
Interrupt 13 AH=8 before Writing the changes to the Hard Drive if there are
any CHS accessible Partitions in any Profile that will be used.



OVERLAYS

Overlays provide additional functionality such as Large Disk Support, Full
Drive Encryption, RAM Drives etc. These Overlays are run by the Multi Boot MBR
before the selected Boot Profile is loaded.

Overlays can be installed in any Hard Drive, but only the Overlays in the
Boot Drive will be executed.

If the Physical Sector Size of the Boot Drive is overridden by a DDO,
including one in an Overlay, any Overlays may not work or may be damaged.

Currently only 512 Byte Sector Hard Drives are supported by the Overlay
feature.

Overlays are installed in the first Track of the Hard Drive. They are
installed using the INSTOVLY Utility. The Program Syntax is as follows:

INSTOVLY OverlayFile [Drive]

OverlayFile is the Overlay Image Loader File.
Drive is the optional Hard Drive Number.

Overlay Image Loader Files are provided in the appropriate Application Package
along with their Stand Alone Versions. They have the File Extension ".OVL".

Overlays are removed by running the UNINSTOV Utility. The Program Syntax is
as follows:

UNINSTOV [Drive]

Drive is the optional Hard Drive Number.

The UNINSTOV Utility will Display the contents of the first Track of a given
Hard Drive one entry at a time. Press the "Y" and "ENTER" keys to Delete an
Overlay or an Unrecognized Sector. Pressing any other key, then "ENTER" will
not delete the Entry. Unrecognized Sectors may be present for other purposes.
Do not delete them unless you are sure they are not needed. If you remove
Overlays by using the Multi Boot Profile Commands in RFDISK, you will still
need to remove them from the Hard Drive using UNINSTOV before Reinstalling
them. It is recommended that you remove all Overlays using UNINSTOV before
using the Multi Boot Profile Setup Commands.



LARGE SECTOR DRIVES

Large Sector Drives are Hard Drives with Sectors larger than 512 Bytes.
There are two types of Large Sector Drives. The First are Drives, such as
the Western Digital "Advanced Format" Drives that use Large Physical Sectors
("LPS") Internally but still interface to the Computer using 512 Bytes
Logical Sectors. The Second are Drives that use Large Logical Sectors ("LLS")
to interface to the Computer. Many SCSI Drives can be configured to do this. 

LPS Drives will work with any Software but will run slowly if Reads and
Writes are not Aligned of Physical Sector Boundaries. See ALIGNMENT Section
below for more information.

LLS Drives are not currently available in PATA or SATA. Drives using 4KiB
Logical Sectors will support up to 16TiB without requiring MBR Extensions.
Most BIOSes will probably not support these Drives. RFDISK can support LLS
Drives with up to 32KiB Logical Sectors. You will requires the LARGESEC or
TBPLUS Patch Package to support LLS Drives under DOS or Windows 98. Please
contact Authore for additional information.

USB Hard Drives between 2TiB and 16TiB may use 4KB Logical Sectors. The
currently available Seagate Go-Flex 3TiB Drive does so. The BIOSes I have
tested do not appear to support this Drive and one will not Boot at all.
The Drive will need to be attached while Windows is running before RFDISK can
be used to Partition it.



ALIGNMENT

Large Physical Sector ("LPS") Hard Drives (See LARGE SECTOR DRIVES above),
use Physical Sectors on the Drive that are a Multiple of the 512-Byte Logical
Sectors used by the Drive Interface. This can cause a significant reduction
in speed if Computer Reads and Writes Blocks that are not Aligned on Physical
Sector Boundaries. If a Non-Aligned Write Command is sent to the Drive, it
has to Read in One or Two Physical Sectors, modify the portion being Written,
and then Writing out the result to the Drive.

Windows 9x Reads and Writes Hard Disk data in 4KiB Blocks which is the X86's
Page Size. If the Cluster Size is at least 4KiB, which it usually is, then
Aligning Reads and Writes to a 4KiB Physical Sector Hard Drive can be done.

Unfortunately, standard Partition layouts and Windows 9X do not respect any
Alignment. The RFORMAT Formatting Tool, available from the Author, can Align
a Partition for Windows 9X to LPS Drives. Other Formatters, such as FDISK
will not take Alignment into consideration. Although RFORMAT can Align any
Partition properly, and is compatable with most Disk Management Software,
some poorly written Programs may have problems with Partitions where RFORMAT
has to adjust the Partition by an Odd number of Sectors. To avoid this, if it
an issue, you can use RFDISK to adjust the Partition to make it unnecessary
for RFORMAT to have to make an adjustment of an Odd number of Sectors.

To do this, you have to insure that the Partition starts on an Odd Numbered
Sector if it is being Formatted for FAT12 or FAT16, or an Even Numbered
Sector if it is being Formatted for FAT32.

The Start Sector of Standard Partitions are as follows:

C x H x S        for Primary Partitions not on Cylinder 0
(C x H x S) + S  for Logical Partitions and Primary Partition on Cylinder 0

C is the Starting Cylinder
H is the number of Heads in the Current Geometry
S is the number of Sectors in the Current Geometry

If the Partitions is correctly Even or Odd, then it can be used as is.
If not it will need to be adjusted.

The most compatable way of doing this is to increment the Starting Cylinder
by one. This will only work if both H and S (see above) are Odd. Fortunately,
most Computers configure Hard Drives to 255 Heads and 63 Sectors, so this
will usually work. A Primary Partition on Cylinder 0 will have to be moved to
Cylinder 2 as an offset is added when on Cylinder 0. This will not work in
Computers that use 240 Heads.

The next choice is to add the "+" Option to the "A" Command (see ADD Command
above) for a Primary Partition Only. This will add an additional S Sectors to
the Start Sector of a Primary Partition, so that it uses the same formula as
used for Lgical Partitions. This only works for Primary Partitions, not on
Cylinder 0, and only if S is Odd. Nearly all Modern Hard Drives are
configured with 63 Sectors, so this should work. USB Drives may not be
configured this way.

The last, and least compatable, choice is to add the "++" Option to the "A"
Command (see ADD Command above). This will cause RFDISK to use the following
formula for computing the Start Sector of any kind of Partition.

(C x H x S) + S + X

C, H and S as above.

X = S  if S is Odd  (Two Head Offset from Cylinder Boundary)
X = 1  if S is Even (One Head + 1 Sector Offset from Cylinder Boundary)

The "++" Option is not available for Extended MBR Partitions (See Below).
Only FAT32 is supported and the Partitions starts on an 8GiB boundary
regardless of the Offset ("+" Option) of it's alias. RFORMAT will be able
to align the Partition without modifying the Offset of the Partition.
See the RFORMAT Documentation for further details.


EXTENDED MBR (40-Bit LBA)

The standard MBR is limited to 32-Bit Partition Start Sector Numbers.
This limits the size of a standard Logical Sector Size Drive to 2TiB.

The Extended MBR Format includes an extended format for Partition Start
Sector Numbers, developed by the Author, to allow 40 Bit Numbers to be used.
The 40BITLBA or TBPLUS Patch Package will be required for DOS and Windows 9X
to Support these Partitions. Please Contact Author for additional information.

To support these Partitions, RFDISK allows Inputting the Partition Start and
End values using the following Format:

###:###

The Left Hand Number represents Bits 32-39 of a 40 Bit Number (Range 1-255).
The Right Hand Number represents Bits 24-31 of a 40 Bit Number (Range 0-255).
Bits 8-15 are set to 0.
Bits 0-7 are used for Partition and Boot Structures.

Ex. 2:128 = Start at 5TiB (2 x 2TiB + 128 * 8GiB).

This allows specifying a Partition on a 8GiB Boundary over a range of 512TiB
for a standard Logical Sector Size Drive.

Start and End Values must be at least 2TiB (1:0) and the Partition Length
cannot be more than 2TiB. Mixed Cylinder and Extended Format Values cannot
be used in a single Data Partition. This does not apply to the Extended
Partition wrappers (Type 5 or F).

Only FAT32 Data Partitions (Type B or C) are supported by the Patched Drivers.
FAT12 and FAT16 are not supported.

The last 8GiB of the first 2TiB of the Hard Drive is reserved for use by the
Extended MBR Format. This space cannot be used for other purposes when using
the Extended MBR Format or with DOS or Windows Patched by the 40BITLBA Patch
Package.



SIGNATURES, CHECKSUMS AND COLLISIONS

Windows has to Match Disk Drives and Partitions to their DOS equivalents
during Windows Boot. Disk Drives are Matched using two methods in standard
Windows, an I/O Test and a Checksum of the MBR. Unforunately the I/O test
often doesn't work on newer Hardware and/or SATA Drives so the SATA Patch
(sold separately) disables this test. This leaves only the Checksum test for
Disk Drives. Partitions, partcularly Partitions of the same size at the same
offset in different Drives, are distinguished by what should be an unique
Signature. If a Drive's MBR or a Partition is created by a tool, or is Cloned
by a tool, that does not take this into consideration, a duplicate Signature
or Checksum will result. This can cause problems as Windows may or may not
scan the Drives in the same order as DOS does, resulting in Drive Number or
Letter swaps.


RFDISK will scan all Drives and Valid FAT Partitions for collisions between
these Signatures and/or Checksums. Any conflicts will be displayed at the
end of any full Display (no Drive Selected). Drive Checksum collisions can
be corrected by selecting one of the Drives involved, running the "M" Command
to refresh the MBR and writing it.

If Partition Signature Collisions are present, you can either Erase the
Partition and Reformat, non-destructively Refresh the Partition using RFORMAT
with the "-B" Option, or use the built-in Signature Updater.

To use the Signature Updater, rerun RFDISK with the "-FixSig" Option. Each
Partition Signature Collision will be shown one at a time, followed by a
Query. You can choose to update the First Partition shown, the Second
Partition shown, or skip. If three or more Partitions have the same Signature,
you may see a Partition repeated. Drive Checksum Collisions are shown before
the Partition Signature Collisions, but no queries are offered. Correct these
Collisions as described earlier.



INSTALLING WINDOWS

Installing Windows overwrites the MBR, disabling Multi-Boot Mode.

If you have not yet setup Multi-Boot Mode, you can Install Windows first and
then setup Multi-Boot Mode.

If you have already setup Multi-Boot Mode, the following Procedure will work
with all versions of Windows:

1. Use the >SectorImageFile Command to save an Image of the Drive
   Configuration(s) for each Drive.
2. Install Windows.
3. Use the <SectorImageFile Command to restore the Drive Configuration(s) for
   each Drive.

or

1. Run RFDISK W
2. Create the Profile if not already present.
3. I # X (# is the Drive Number)
         (X is the ID Letter of the Profile to be used)
4. Reboot
5. Install Windows
6. Run RFDISK W
7. P # X (# is the Drive Number)
         (X is the ID Letter of the Profile to be used)
8. Reboot

Windows 98, SE amd ME do not remove the Multi-Boot Signature. You can Install
these versions of Windows and then repair the Multi-Boot Mode by using the
"MBR" Command in RFDISK.

Windows XP and many others remove the Multi-Boot Signature. You can Install
these versions of Windows and then repair the Multi-Boot Mode by using the
Install/UnInstall Multi Boot Command and type "MBR" at the Prompt.

The Windows XP Installer will corrupt Partitions after a Null Partition. If
using Null Partitions as fillers, change their Type Code to 10 or other
unused Code before installing Windows XP.

Windows XP may have problems with very large Partitions or Hard Drives. It is
recommended that you use the Build SaveFile Command or the >SectorImageFile
Command to save your Setup before Installing.



BOOT PROFILE SELECTION

When setup in Multi Boot Mode, a Partition Profile can be selected at Boot
time.

Normally the last used Profiles will be reused if the Computer is rebooted.

To activate the Multi Boot Menu, Press and Hold down the Left-Control Key
or Left-Alt Key before the Hard Drive boots.

The Drive Number, a Dash and the Previous Profile ID will be displayed and a
">" prompt will be shown. The Previous Profile ID will be blank if the NULL
Profile is selected.
                                      
Pressing ENTER will reuse the previous Profile for this and all remaining
Drives.

Press the Number or Letter Key to select the same or a new Profile.
Pressing the [SPACE] Key will select the NULL Profile.
Response is immediate, so a selection cannot be undone.

Successive drives will repeat these steps until there are no more drives.
Drives that do not have a Multi Boot MBR will be skipped.

If you do not Press the Left-Control or Left-Alt Key, the current Profiles
will be shown for each Drive in sequence without stopping to prompt.

Pressing the "?" key before pressing the desired Profile key will force the
Drive to query on the next Boot. "?" will be shown as the previous Profile
on the next Boot and you will have to enter a new Profile. The "?" kay can
be used each time to force a query on the following Boot.

Pressing the "*" key before pressing the desired Profile key will force the
Drive to query on all successive Boots. To turn off the permanent query mode,
press the "?" key and enter a new Profile. The Drive will query one more time
on the following Boot. It will not query again unless you use the "?" or "*"
keys again or use the Left-Control or Left-Alt Key later.

The Right-Control Key is not used by RFDISK so it can be used to bring up a
Windows Boot Menu without triggering a Multi Boot Prompt.

Whenever a Profile is manually selected, the Partition table from the
Profile's Sector is copied to the main MBR. This allows DOS, Windows etc. to
read the Partitions. This process is repeated on all succeeding Drives. The
MBR or Boot Record from the First Drive's Profile is read into memory and
executed.

If the Boot Drive has the NULL Profile selected, a Drive Rotation Overlay
will be installed. This Overlay will scan the following Drives until it finds
one not set for the NULL Profile. The Drives will be renumbered so this Drive
becomes the Boot Drivc, the remaining Drives will assigned 81H, 82H, ...
The Drives before the new Boot Drive will be assigned Drive Numbers after the
others. Be aware of this if using RFDISK under such conditions, as the Drive
Numbers won't match their Physical Configuration unless you use -RAW Mode.
After selection is complete, a Message will appear indicating the amount of
Drive Rotation. If the Query Options "?" or "*" are active on the new Boot
Drive, you will be queried again. You will need to Press "?" to reenable the
"?" query Option and them reenter the Partition ID character. The drive
rotation message may be hard to read as the screen may update almost
immediately as Bootup progresses. The scan will repeated on the next Reboot,
so the rotation is not permanent. If Boot fails and you Boot from a Floppy or
CD, without Pressing RESET or Powering Down, the rotation may remain in
effect.



REPAIRING OR REBUILDING AN EXISTING PARTITION TABLE

If you have a saved copy of your Configuration, you can use the "<FILE"
Command to reload the Configuration.

If you have Multi Boot setup on your Drive and only the MBR has been damaged,
use the following procedure to restore youe Hard Drive:

1. D #   (# is your drive number starting from 0)
2. M     (new MBR)
3. If RFDISK shows Multi Boot Mode Not Active:
   K     (erase all partitions)
4. W     (write out new MBR)
5. If RFDISK shows Multi Boot Mode Active for Drive #, Stop Here.
6. I #   (# is your drive number starting from 0)
7. At the confirmation Prompt, Type MBR

If the Multi Boot Profile sectors have been damaged, you will have to rebuild
the Profile list using the "I" and "N" Commands before recovering Partitions.

Use the "Find" Command to locate Partitions. The "Hide" Command and the
Starting Point can be used to limit the amount displayed. Write Down all
Partitions found. If any seem to be missing, try the "Find" Command with the
"All" Option.

Select the Drive using the "D" Command.
Add all Primary and Extended Partitions with the "A" command.
Make sure you use the correct Type Code for each Partition.
Use 'E' for FAT16, 'C' for FAT32, 'F' for EXTENDED etc.
Partitions entirely within the first 8GB can use '6' for FAT16 or 'B' for
FAT32. Using '5' for an EXTENDED Partition is not recommended.
If a Partition appears with "INV" in it's status area, it is not a proper
Partition or is damaged and MUST be removed with the "R" Command.
Do not add Logical Partitions at this time.
If Multi Boot is setup, assign all Partitions to Profiles using the "L"
Command.
Use the "T" Command to set the Active Partition(s).
Use the "W" Command to Write out the repaired MBR.
The Logical Partitions should now be visible.
If a Partition appears with "INV" in it's status area, it is not a proper
Partition or is damaged and MUST be removed with the "R" Command.
Use the "Z A" Command to fill in gaps. If any Partitions appear with type 0,
you have gaps that might contained lost or damaged Partitions.
If none are found, you should be done. If everything has been recovered,
stop here.
Use the "Z R" Command to remove the zero fill Partitions.
Manually add any missing Partitions found by the "Find" Command or from any
Partitioning notes you may have.
Use the "Z A" Command to fill in gaps. If any Partitions appear with type 0,
you still have gaps that might contained lost or damaged Partitions.
Do not continue if any gaps are found unless you are sure you there is no
more data to recover and that all Partitions are correct. The Zero Fill
Partitions will overwrite some data in the unallocated areas.
Use the "W" Command to Write out the updated Partition Data.



RECOVERING FROM EZ-DRIVE

If you have EZ-DRIVE installed on a Hard Drive and can no longer Boot it,
or you want to access it from a system without EZ-DRIVE, you can recover the
Drive using RFDISK. EZ-DRIVE will no longer be operational after recovery.

If you have a Disk Editor or Hex Dump Program, you may be able to recover
the Partition Type information from the second sector at locations 1C2, 1D2,
1E2 and 1F2. If so, write down the four one byte entries listed in Hex.
They should be values such as 0, 6, 7, B, C, E, or F. If not they may not be
valid.

Run RFDISK and select the Drive to be recovered.
You should see a number of Partitions listed with a Type of 54 or 55.
If you recorded the Partition Types (see above), ignoring any type 0 entries,
change the Partition Types, using the "C" Command,in order, to the Types you
wrote down.

Otherwise, if the difference between the End Cylinder and the Start Cylinder
is less than 261, change the Partition type to 'E' using the "C" Command.
If 261 or more, change the Partition Type to 'C'.

The first Partition should show "VALID" in it's Status area. If you have more
than one Primary Partition, it should also be reported as "VALID".

The Extended Partition, if any, will be reported as "INV" or have Blank
status. Change the Extended Partition's Type using the "C" Command to 'F'.

Execute the "M" Command to refresh the MBR Code.
Execute the "W" Command to write out all of the changes.

The logical Partitions, if any, should now be visible.



DISK IMAGES AND CLONED DISKS

If you do a direct Sector by Sector Copy of one Disk Drive to another, the
Timestamps on the MBRs will be the same. Combined with having the same
Partitions, this can lead to identical Checksums. Windows uses these
Checksums to distinguish Drives if other tests fail. The SATA Patch,
included in the TBPLUS Package, disables these other tests.

To reset the MBR's Timestamp after copying the Drive, Select the Drive using
RFDISK, run the MBR Command and then the Write Command. This can be done on
either the Original Drive or the Copied Drive to insure that they have
different Timestamps.

The individual Partitions will also have duplicate Serial Numbers so you will
need to update them as well. This can be done easily using RFORMAT. Refer to
the RFORMAT Manual for details.



EXAMPLES

The following examples are for a 250GB Hard drive with the following Geometry
as reported by RFDISK:

Cylinders=30515 Heads=255 Sectors=63


EXAMPLE 1:

To create 3 Partitions, on the first Hard Drive, consisting of:

1. A   2.1GB FAT16 Primary Partition (Largest Standard FAT16 Partition)
2. A 136.5GB FAT32 Logical Partition (Largest supported 98/SE SCANDISK)
3. A 111.9GB FAT32 Logical Partition (Remaining Space)

enter the following Commands:

D 0                Select Drive 0
K                  Erase any old Partitons (if needed)
M                  Install MBR (if needed)
A 6 0 260          260 Cylinder FAT16 (Type 6) Primary Partition
A F 260 30515      Extended Partition (Type F) Filling Remaining Space
A C 260 16904      16604 Cylinder FAT32 (Type C) Logical Partition
A C 16904 30515    13611 Cylinder FAT32 (Type C) Logical Partition
W                  Write Changes


EXAMPLE 2:

To create 2 equal sized Logical Partitions, one FAT32 and one NTFS on the
second Hard Drive enter the following Commands:

D 1                Select Drive 1
K                  Erase any old Partitons (if needed)
M                  Install MBR (if needed)
A F 1 30515        Extended Partition (Type F) Filling Entire Drive
A C 1 15258        15257 Cylinder FAT32 (Type C) Logical Partition
A 7 15258 30515    15257 Cylinder NTFS (Type 7) Logical Partition
W                  Write Changes

NOTE: Extended Partitions cannot start on Cylinder 0



UPGRADING RFDISK

If you have used other Partitioning Tools or an earlier version of RFDISK to
partition your Hard Drive, please follow the instructions below.

If you are not using the Multi-Boot Profile:

I have rewritten the standard MBR Code. You do not need to Upgrade to this
new Version if your Computer runs fine. You will get a Warning about an
unrecognized or corrupt MBR when you use RFDISK. You can ignore the Warning
or refresh the MBR by selecting the Drive, using the "M" Command and using
the "W" Command on the Drive(s) showing the Warning.

If you are using the Multi-Boot Profile:

It is strongly recommended that you upgrade the Multi-Boot Profile MBR and
Overlay Table on each Drive that has it. The existing MBR will work as
before, and can be updated, but some functions, such as the NULL Profile,
cannot be added and the new Overlay Management Programs may not work
properly.

To update the Multi-Boot Profile MBR, perform the following steps on each
Drive with a Multi-Boot MBR:

1. D #
2. M
3. @
4. W

Where # is the Drive Number of each Disk in turn.
The "@" Command is needed to update the Overlay Table as it's size has
changed.

The individual MBRs in the Profiles will not be updated.



USB AND OTHER EXTERNAL DRIVES

If your BIOS and/or DOS supports USB Drives, you can use RFDISK to Partition
it using the same commands as for Hard Drives. If not, you will have to run
Windows 9x and connect the USB Drive after Windows 9x is running.

Some USB Drivers do not support Interrupt 13H Calls so you cannot use them
with RFDISK. You will need to uninstall the USB Driver for the Particular
Drive and remove it's associated INF File. You can install my free Generic
USB Driver (available on my Website) or the Public Domain NUSB or USB20DRV
Drivers.

Large Sector USB Drives such as the Seagate Go-Flex 3TiB Drive can be
Partitioned with RFDISK, but the Partitions will not appear upon reconnection
until they are Formatted. You will need to use RFORMAT to do the Initial
Format of a new or redefined Partition.



RELATED PRODUCTS

RFORMAT  Configurable formatter for FAT Partitions.

QFORMAT  Quick formatter for FAT Partitions.

PARTS    Partition Mapper.

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

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

IO.DOS   Modified IO.SYS files for use with "D" and "W" Profiles.
IO.EBD

TBPLUS   TeraByte Plus Support Package. Contains the following:
         LARGESEC
         40BITLBA
         RFDISK
         RFORMAT
         IO.256/VFAT
         PATCH137 (Extended)
         BOOTMAN (Extended)

LARGESEC Large Logical Sector Support Package for DOS and Windows.
         Supports 16TiB Hard Drives. Can be combined with 40BITLBA.

40BITLBA Extended MBR Support Package for DOS and Windows.
         Supports 512TiB Hard Drives. Can be combined with LARGESEC.

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

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

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

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

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

PATCHENC Patch to Support Encrypted Hard Drives.



WINDOWS XP AND VISTA

RFDISK will maintain one copy of the Disk Management Information, used by
Windows XP and Vista to arrange Drive Letters, in the MBR and in each
Extended Partition. If you have more than one Windows XP and/or Vista Profile,
you may not be able to set the Drive Letter arrangements independently.



CONTACT INFORMATION

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

1-516-352-9078

RLoew@hotmail.com

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

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