MAXI Form User Notes (version 1.51) 1988 Herne Data Systems Ltd. P.O. Box 714 Station 'C' Toronto Ontario M6J 3S1 (416)535-9335 If you are not yet a registered user of MAXI Form, please consider becoming one. The cost is low (only $10.00) and the benefits are many. The Fine Print: This summary documentation package is provided solely for the benefit of getting new users familiarized with the features of the MAXI Form program. Complete printed documentation is provided to all registered users along with notification of and discounts towards future updates. MAXI Form is intended to format blank disks only. Because it will destroy all existing data on a floppy disk, Herne Data Systems assumes no liability for losses caused by misuse or abuse of this product. This responsibility rests solely with the end user. Please note that MAXI Form relies on quirks in the MS-DOS/PC-DOS operating system and BIOS ROM's. Although it has been tested on a wide variety of systems with DOS versions 3.2x and later, it cannot be guaranteed to work with all systems, especially ones which have been heavily customized and modified (including the installation of non- standard disk drives and controller cards) by the user; nor can it be guaranteed to work with future releases of MS/PC-DOS. (Some DOS releases may require the use of the special device driver program SMAX.COM (outlined later in the documentation) for reliable performance with some hardware systems.) This documentation assumes that the reader is reasonably familiar with MS-DOS concepts and terminology and has a basic understanding of how to use his/her computer. MAXI Form is a copyrighted program produced by Herne Data Systems Ltd.. It is distributed through user groups and bulletin board systems on the basis of 'user supported software' or shareware. While the program and this summary documentaion may be freely copied and distributed (provided that the copyright notices are NOT REMOVED), each end user is requested to register his or her copy with Herne Data Systems Ltd. along with a one time fee of $10.00 (in either US or CDN funds). Payment of the registration fee entitles the user to a copy of the printed documentation package as well as technical support. Introduction: ------------ Are you tired of running out of space on your floppy disks? How would you like to fit 420k on a 360k disk, 800k on a 720k disk, 1.4 meg on a 1.2 meg disk, or an incredible 1.6 meg on a 1.44 meg disk? Sound impossible? Well not any more!! If you are using DOS version 3.2x or later, then the innovative new shareware program from Herne Data Systems called MAXI Form is just the thing for you. Using MAXI Form for all your floppy disk data storage needs is like getting an extra one and a half disks FREE with every box of floppies that you buy!! NOTE: In most cases, NO SPECIAL SOFTWARE DRIVER PROGRAMS ARE REQUIRED TO ACCESS THESE DISKS FROM DOS. However, in cases where reliable standalone operation cannot be achieved (it is a complex function of ROM BIOS details, DOS version and disk controller characteristics), the simple device driver SMAX.COM can be used to patch the BIOS code and provide resident support. MAXI Form is self documenting to the extent that it can be used by experienced MS-DOS users and a suggested registration fee of $10.00 provides you with full printed documentation. In order to use MAXI Form you will need a 100% IBM compatible computer (PC, XT, AT, PS/2, Convertible, etc) with at least one 360k 5.25 inch, 1.2 meg 5.25 inch, 720k 3.5 inch or 1.44 meg 3.5 inch floppy drive. The 1.44 meg PS/2 drive can be used to format 800k 3.5 inch disks. External 5.25 inch drives for the PS/2 and most laptops are also supported under various versions of DOS. Unfortunately, MAXI Formatted disks sometimes do not work reliably with some customized OEM versions of MS-DOS. In these cases you will need to use SMAX.COM outlined later. MAXI Form works with all standard display adaptors and monitors Starting Up MAXI Form --------------------- MAXI Form relies on command line switches to specify its input parameters. If you simply type in: MAXI <-- (note: in this documentation the symbol <-- is used to denote the "return" or "enter" key.) you will be greeted by an extended sign on message which gives the shareware details and a summary of the command line options. The general syntax for the command line options is: MAXI {drive:} [/3] [/H] [/V] <-- Where {drive:} is either A: or B: corresponding to the physical disk drive on which you wish to perform the formatting operation. Use of other drive letters will result in an error message. This parameter must be explicitly included. MAXI will not assume a default value for the drive. /3 is used to denote a 3.5 inch (720 k or 1.44 meg) disk drive. This will give an 800k disk or a 1.6 meg disk. An 800k disk can also be formatted on a 1.44 meg 3.5 inch drive. /H is used to denote a high density (1.2 meg) AT type 5.25 inch or 1.44 meg PS/2 type disk drive. This will give a 1.4 meg disk or 1.6 meg, respectively. /V is used to denote a "format with verify". With this option, the sectors on each track are read back in just after the formatting to make sure that they are OK. A message will be displayed at the end of the formatting cycle indicating if any tracks had detectable errors. Note that cylinder 0 is always tested for errors regardless of the setting of this switch. If errors are found on track 0, the formatting operation is aborted. A format operation done without the verify option is considerably faster than one done with the verify option. The /3, /H and /V switches are all optional. Spaces are not required between multiple switches. If only the drive letter is specified, then MAXI Form will default to a 420k disk with no verify. Examples of valid command lines are: Note: MAXI Form does not check to see what kind of drive is connected as the specified device. This allows you the flexibility of, for example, creating an 800k 5.25 inch disk in a 1.2 meg drive or an 800k disk in a 1.44 meg drive. DO NOT SPECIFY AN 80 TRACK DISK TYPE FOR A 40 TRACK (360K 5.25 INCH) DRIVE. THIS MAY CAUSE THE DRIVE TO PHYSICALLY JAM UP. When it is ready to go, MAXI Form will prompt you to insert a disk into the specified drive. At this point, you can either insert the disk and press <-- to procede, or press the key to abort and return to the DOS prompt. When the formatting is complete, you will be asked to enter a volume label of 1 to11 characters. (This is similar to the DOS FORMAT program with the /V option specified.) Using SMAX.COM -------------- SMAX.COM is a memory resident device driver which can be used to improve disk reliability with some combinations of hardware and DOS. It is a simple TSR (terminate but stay resident) program which patches into the BIOS disk interrupt vector (interrupt hex 13) and changes the EOT (end of track, or last sector in a track) parameter when it detects a disk read or write operation. To determine whether or not you need to use SMAX, perform the following simple test. Format a disk with MAXI then try to copy a number of relatively long files (eg over 16k bytes long) to the new disk using the DOS COPY or XCOPY command or equivalent. If you get an error message (such as 'general failure reading drive ...' or 'sector not found') then you need to install SMAX to use the MAXI formatted disks. To install SMAX automatically on a cold boot, just insert the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SMAX <-- SMAX should only be used with MAXI version 1.5 and later. Earlier versions of the MAXI itself will not run properly with SMAX resident in memory. However, the disks produced by earlier versions of MAXI will work fine when accessed under SMAX. In addition, SMAX will not interfere with the operation of normal DOS disks or hard disks.