DrivePro (TM) Additions and Changes
Manual Revision C
DrivePro Update Version 1.18

Micro House continues to update the software and increase its power and
flexibility. We are already working on the next update! Suggestions are
welcomed.

New updates are released on our BBS when completed and will only be
available to users who have purchased the DrivePro subscription service
("subscribers"). A new disk containing the most current update at the time
is also mailed QUARTERLY to all subscribers. The DrivePro subscription
service is inexpensive, and can be ordered from your distributor or
directly from us at: 303-443-3389.

THE FIRST STEP
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To make a DrivePro Update Disk, follow these steps:
1) Format a NEW floppy with the /S switch to put DOS on it, or SYS it
after the formatting.
2) Copy DRIVEPRO.?? to the NEW floppy disk, from your OLD DrivePro disk.
3) Copy MH*.* to the NEW floppy disk from your OLD DrivePro disk.
4) PKUNZIP(tm) the zipped file onto the NEW disk you are making (Don't
do it onto the OLD disk, because you will need it shortly).
5) Run DRIVEPRO on the NEW disk and follow the instructions on-screen.
You will need your OLD disk for user registration purposes.
6) Next, you should transfer the system files onto the new disk using the
MHSYS utility or the DOS SYS command.
7) The NEW DrivePro diskette will then be ready for use.

REGISTRATION AND UPDATES
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(IMPORTANT NOTE: YOU MUST BOOT WITH A CLEAN SLATE - NO AUTOEXEC OR CONFIG
- IN ORDER TO PERFORM REGISTRATION ON SOME SYSTEMS! SHARE.EXE AND SOME
OTHER SOFTWARE INTERFERES WITH DRIVEPRO'S REGISTRATION AND UPDATE PROCESS,
SUCH AS CAUSING "SHARING VIOLATION" . FOR THIS REASON, YOU SHOULD BOOT FROM
YOUR DRIVEPRO FLOPPY FOR REGISTRATION PURPOSES.)

YOU MUST HAVE RUN DRIVEPRO ON THE OLD DISK AND DONE THE USER REGISTRATION
IN ORDER TO PERFORM THE UPGRADE! After making the diskette bootable, run
DrivePro from this floppy and follow the instructions on-screen.

ABOUT
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This document contains the latest additions and changes to the DrivePro
program and manual.  Please read this document fully as significant
changes have been made to several options since the last manual revision.

Version 1.18 of DrivePro adds several exciting new features, in addition
to many enhancements. The new Macro Recorder feature allows virtually any
sequence of actions in DrivePro to be recorded and played back as many
times as needed, for use in setting up many of the same system or other
repetitive tasks. You can even playback through a reboot! The Super Sector
Editor has been enhanced to show what partition, area, and DOS cluster the
current sector is in, as well as the absolute and relative sector number!
It also now has Object Mode, which allows the user to specify the Root
Directory, File Allocation Table, DOS file, or any continuous group of
sectors, which can then be edited or copied as one large piece to another
location on any hard drive or floppy. This is very useful in data
recovery. Plus, Super Sector Editor now includes a fast search feature,
allowing someone to rapidly find text or hexadecimal data on their hard
drive. The new Logical Specs database includes manufacturer's recommended,
mandatory, and jumpered geometries for IDE drives and is used automatically
to confirm the correct setup for a particular drive. And the hard drive and
controller databases have been updated! There are now over 2,100 hard
drives in the hard drive database! The High-Level Formatter now allows
variable cluster (allocation unit) sizes in Enhanced Mode so you can alter
the normal cluster size to decrease wasted space on your hard drive, or
increase its speed.  Also, the DrivePro Custom Drive Type Support has been
enhanced to allow a Custom setup without having to pull the floppy out when
rebooting. This allows fully automatic setup with a DrivePro Custom Drive
Type using the new Macro Recorder and is also more convenient. The IDE
Quick Setup has also been updated. And there is more...

Since version 1.14, DrivePro has had the ability to mark and unmark bad
sectors on IDE, MFM, and RLL drives.  It also has included options to
perform surface tests, and has support for drives with up to up to 2048
cylinders without a device driver (See the section below entitled "SUPPORT
FOR DRIVES LARGER THAN 1024 CYLINDERS"). It has also had a Basic and
Enhanced Mode, and the IDE Antiviral Master Boot Record.

DrivePro V1.15 owners should notice that there is now a newer version of
the DrivePro 512MB-2GB drive type, which optimizes compatibility. If you
have installed the older version on your hard drive, simply boot from a
floppy (you can "SYS" your DrivePro floppy) and use "Partition Table/MBR".
Select "New Master Boot Record" at the submenu, and type "YES" to replace
the existing master boot program.  Then select the DrivePro 512MB-2GB MBR
and type "NO" to wiping the partition table. Then use "Save Partition
Table" and type "YES" when asked. You should then pull out the floppy and
reboot off of the hard drive.

Note that DrivePro's user-definable drive type and the 512MB-2GB drive
type are NOT device drivers, and therefore would not cause any of the
problems that may be encountered with a device driver. And the DrivePro
user-definable drive type will work eve n if your BIOS does not have a
user-definable drive type. The DrivePro 512MB-2GB Drive Type allows you
to set up large IDE drives as one large normal DOS partition!

BIOS user-definable drive types (type 47, 48, 49, etc.) are now supported
for many systems (if yours is not, call our BBS at 303-443-9957 and read
bulletin #8 regarding how you can help us support your system in one of
the next updates).

CHANGES TO DRIVEPRO MANUAL, REVISION C
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PAGE 4: The /B command-line switch
DrivePro will now switch automatically into /B if needed and show the user
an information window.

Page 6: /MBR moved to standard switches
/MBR is now listed as a standard switch in DrivePro's command-line help
(DRIVEPRO /?).

Page 6: /ANTIVIRUS switch added
/ANTIVIRUS can be used only with the /IDE switch, to specify an IDE
Quick Setup using the DrivePro IDE Antiviral Master Boot Record. The IDE
Antiviral Boot Record will automatically detect a boot sector virus at
bootup and destroy it without user intervention or loss of time. Since
boot sector viruses account for a large percentage of virus infections,
this is very useful. Remember to use other antivirus utilities also, to
detect other types of viruses.

Page 7: The /A switch modified
The /A switch now requires the filename parameter and begins the Macro
Playback feature. The Macro Recorder/Playback feature replaces the
Automatic Editor.

Page 7: /F switch no longer needed
The /F switch has been removed as it is no longer needed. The databases
are now only loaded when used.

Page 8: /E(segment:offset,limit) changed to /J(segment:offset,limit)
/E is now used to specify Enhanced Mode operation from the command line.

Page 8: New command-line switches
/DIAG tells DrivePro to come up in a diagnostic screen that shows you the
basic system and drive information at a glance.

/E is used to specify Enhanced Mode operation (all menu functions listed).
You can also enter Enhanced Mode by using the Basic Mode menu item "Switch
to Enhanced Mode".

/NOBEEP disables the beep sound generated by DrivePro at various menus,
error conditions, command completion, etc.

/MACRODELAY is used to specify the delay between the playback of each
keystroke in a macro. It is specified immediately after the word
"MACRODELAY" and is in milliseconds. For example, "/MACRODELAY1000"
would result in a 1-second (1000 millisecond) key delay.

/DIRECT is used to specify direct interaction with one or more IDE drives.
This should only be used by advanced or technical users of DrivePro. The
geometry used is gotten from the drive inquiry. This allows the drive to
be checked-out or even partitioned and high-level formatted without the
CMOS being set. This feature has some limitations, as some drives may
return over 1024 cylinders, which prevents partitioning and high-level
formatting.

/MX specifies that DrivePro should use Extended Memory as an overlay swap
area. This will speed up DrivePro's operation somewhat, and can be used if
you have Extended Memory available on your system and there are no
undetectable reserved memory blocks used by other programs in Extended
Memory. Note that this feature has some limitations.

/ME is similar to /MX except Expanded Memory is used. Note again that this
feature has some limitations.

/MX and /ME cannot be used together.

/NOUSERDEF tells DrivePro not to check for or use BIOS user-defined drive
types. This is only needed in special situations.

/PSK tells DrivePro to choose certain drive types when using the IDE Quick
Setup that are needed for the Compaq BIOS so that no C: drive error will
be encountered. Use this if you have a Compaq and are doing an IDE Quick
Setup.

NOTE:
The following command-line switches are used with /IDE only and are OPTIONAL.
If you do not specify them, DrivePro will prompt you as needed during the
installation. These switches should only be used by advanced users.

/USE[0,1,BOTH] is used only with the /IDE switch to specify using the pre-
existing CMOS type (if it exists) for the installation of drive 0, 1, or
both. You can use this switch if you are setting the CMOS Drive Type(s)
before running DRIVEPRO /IDE. You do not have to use this switch though.
If you do not specify it, DrivePro will ask you during installation if you
wish to use the preexisting CMOS Drive Type(s).

/SAFE is used only with the /IDE and /CUSTOM switches to specify the use
of two partitions when there is no CMOS drive type large enough to guarantee
safety of data when the user boots with a floppy instead of the hard drive.
This is safer than using just one large partition since there is a possibility
for data loss due to a "quirk" of DOS that can cause a "wrap-around" and
subsequent overwriting of vital system data, with no warning from DOS. You
do not have to specify this switch. DrivePro will always ask you, during
installation, if you want to use the "safe" method, if it cannot find a
large enough CMOS drive type.

/ONEPART is used only with the /IDE and /CUSTOM switches to specify using
just one partition ALWAYS, and choose the best CMOS drive type. This can,
for some combinations of a drive and system, result in a potential for
data loss of the user boots from a floppy instead of the hard drive, and
DOS does the "wrap- around" as in the /SAFE above. You do not have to
specify either /SAFE or /ONEPART. DrivePro will ask you automatically, if
it is needed, whether to use /SAFE or /ONEPART, during installation.

/LOSECAPOK is used only with the /IDE switch to specify that DrivePro should
just pick the best CMOS drive type, even if more than a megabyte of capacity
will be unavailable on the drive. You do not have to specify this switch.
DrivePro will automatically ask you if it happens that more than 1 megabyte
will be lost.

Page 11: DrivePro Main Menu
DrivePro's Main Menu looks a bit different now. There are two modes, Basic
and Enhanced. Enhanced Mode has all the features for experienced DrivePro
users, or when needed, and Basic Mode has the basic Drive Setup and Utility
functions. It is easy to switch between the two modes- there is a menu
item at the bottom of both menus to switch to the other mode. In addition,
note that "Park Heads" has been moved to the IDE, ESDI, and MFM/RLL Diagnostic
Menus (SCSI Drives should be parked only with their own special software,
if required).

Page 20: SELECT INSTALLATION METHOD Menus
The SELECT INSTALLATION METHOD Menus now include a selection to both set
the Matching BIOS Drive Type/BIOS User-Definable Type, and the DrivePro
Custom Drive Type, as applicable. This type of installation allows even
greater safety and ease of use of the drive in the event of CMOS battery
failure, etc.

Page 23: SCSI Adapter Selection Menu
The SCSI Adapter Selection Menu now has the Always IN-2000 SCSI Controller
also, and many more are coming soon!

Page 28: DIAGNOSTICS Menu
The IDE, ESDI, and MFM/RLL Diagnostic Menus now also contain "Park Heads"
in Enhanced Mode (SCSI Drives should be parked only with their own special
software, if required).

Page 35: BIOS TABLE Menu
In Basic Mode, there is no BIOS TABLE submenu, since only View BIOS Table
is available.

Page 36: Modify BIOS Table
Modify BIOS Table now allows saving of a BIOS image even if DrivePro
cannot locate the BIOS Drive Table. This function is similar to the
program on our BBS called "BIOSIMG".

Page 43: Partition Table/MBR
"Create Master Boot Rec." has been renamed to "New Master Boot Record".
Also, DrivePro now prompts the user to find out whether the partition
table should be wiped clean, when replacing the Master Boot Record. And
the new IDE Antiviral Master Boot Record is now available as one of the
choices. The IDE Antiviral Master Boot Record will automatically detect a
boot sector virus infection and overwrite the virus and then reboot,
destroying the virus. Since boot sector viruses account for a large
percentage of virus infections, this is very useful. Remember to use other
antivirus utilities to find and destroy other types of viruses, besides
the boot sector type.

Page 49: DOS Versions and their Partition Table and Parameter Limitations
Note that DrivePro in Enhanced Mode can High-Level Format a drive to
non-standard cluster (allocation unit) sizes in order to reduce the amount
of wasted space on the hard drive or speed up throughput.

Page 53: Format Operations
"Controller BIOS" has been moved to a submenu of the "Low-Level Format"
menu item, since it is a method of doing a low-level format. DrivePro's
low-level format (BIOS INT13 Low-Level) is the other option on this
submenu.

Page 63: High-Level (DOS) format
The High-Level (DOS) format menu now includes transfer of just the System
Files, or creating a new DBR and System Files. Do not replace the DBR on a
partition formatted with a non-standard cluster size unless you know what
the cluster size has been and set it correctly. In Enhanced Mode, you will
get a menu of various cluster sizes to choose. The previously-set
selection is the selection with the plus sign to the left of it. The
standard recommended cluster size will be marked with an asterisk if it is
not the same as the previously-set selection. You should normally use the
standard recommended selection. Also, the high-level formatter will detect
a bad sector in the vital system area (File Allocation Tables, Root
Directory, etc.) and automatically move the partition up by one cylinder
and try to high-level format again. The vital system areas cannot be moved
and cannot be fragmented, so the only way to get around a bad sector in
that area is to move the start of the partition. A message is shown
on-screen when this happens, and you may abort the process if you wish by
pressing ESC.

Page 69-73: Super Sector Editor - New Features for Advanced Users Only!
The Super Sector Editor looks much the same, but now adds in Object Mode.
Whenever you specify an area to edit, the size of this area is also
determined. If you are editing a FAT, its size will be the size of the
FAT. If you are editing a absolute sector, relative sector, or DOS cluster
object, you will be asked to enter the size of the object you wish to
edit. While in object mode, you are restricted to editing the object
specified, unless you press ALT-F10, which switches into Absolute Sector
Mode (Absolute Sector Mode behaves like the old Super Sector Editor).
While in object mode, you can search for a text or hexadecimal string in
it, or copy it to another area of any hard disk partition or area of the
same size. For example, if you knew your second FAT copy was corrupted,
but the first FAT copy was ok, you could edit the first FAT, and copy it
to the second FAT (WARNING: Do not try this unless you are an advanced or
technical user, and have backed-up all vital system areas of your hard
drive, or you may lose data!). You can also specify just one sector as an
object, or any group of continuous sectors anywhere on the hard drive. The
new Search Feature, accessed by the F9 key, allows a search from the
current location to the end of the object being edited, or the end of the
physical hard drive in Absolute Sector Mode. ALT-F9 repeats the last
search.

The bottom and top line of the Super Sector Editor window have been
enhanced to tell you as closely as practical, where you are on the hard
drive. This includes the head, cylinder, and sector, the absolute sector
number, the relative sector number and cluster number for DOS partitions,
what partition this sector is in, what type of object or area it is in,
and whether the Super Sector Editor is in Object Mode or Absolute Sector
Mode.

Page 83: System Files Data (MHSYS)
The system files transfer has been added to DrivePro's High-Level (DOS)
formatter. Therefore, Drive Boot Fixer no longer refers to MHSYS, but will
instead ask to transfer system files to the hard drive as the last step of
making the hard drive bootable again. Ensure that the FATs and Root
Directory are not damaged before using this feature.

Page 87: IMPORTANT INFO BACKUP Menus
In Basic Mode, there is no IMPORTANT INFO BACKUP submenu for SAVE or
RESTORE, since only SAVE is available.

Page 93: AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION Menu
The Automatic Editor has been replaced with the Macro Recorder/Playback
Feature. To begin recording a keyboard macro, press enter on the Start
Macro Recorder option and follow the on-screen instructions. You can also
use ALT-M to do the same thing. To end recording the macro, use the End
Macro Recording option on the Main Menu, or press ALT-M again, and type in
the filename if you wish to save the macro. If you do not specify an
extension, ".TSK" will automatically be added to the filename. To play
back a macro, use the Start Macro Playback option on the menu or ALT-P and
specify the filename of the macro to be played. In Basic Mode, there is no
selection for the Macro Recorder. If you are recording, however, the
Automatic Installation Menu in both the Basic and Enhanced Mode Main Menu
is replaced by an option to end the macro recording and save it to a file.

Page 98: IDE Quick Setup
IDE Quick Setup will prompt for the command-line switch parameters, if you
invoke it from the AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION submenu. These prompts are for
the drives to install, whether or not to do a surface scan (not needed on
a new or defect-free drive), whether to use a DrivePro Custom Drive Type,
and whether to set the CMOS.

Page 103: PARK HEADS
In Enhanced Mode, this menu item has been moved to the IDE, ESDI, and
MFM/RLL Diagnostic Menus (SCSI Drives should be parked with their own
special software if needed- many do not need to be parked).

Page 109: Tables and Databases
Tables and Databases now includes a menu option to view records of the new
Logical Specs drive database. This database includes many IDE hard drives
that have manufacturer's recommended parameters, or have mandatory or
jumpered parameters.

Page 132: SYSTEM LOST ITS SETUP (NEED DRIVE'S PARAMETERS)
In Basic Mode, a menu item "GET LOST PARAMETERS", is available and does
the same function.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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SUPPORT FOR DRIVES LARGER THAN 1024 CYLINDERS
From the Enhanced Mode Menu select "Drive Select", or "IDE Diagnostics" =>
"Drive Inquiry". If the inquiry discovers a drive with cylinders over
1024, or you select a model with cylinders over 1024 you will be given the
option of using over 1024 cylinder, or a under 1024 cylinder translation,
or just 512MB. Choose the option for over 1024 cylinders. Go ahead to set
the CMOS, and reboot. When you return to DrivePro, choose the Partition
/MBR editor and choose Automatic Partitioning or New Master Boot Record,
and select the DrivePro 512MB-2GB MBR. Partition the drive appropriately,
save your changes and then go to the High-Level (DOS) Formatter (under
Format Operations). Format the drive and make it bootable. Then exit
DrivePro and reboot your computer with the floppy disk out. You will then
be able to copy software onto the drive!

IMPORTANT NOTE: To boot from a floppy when using the DrivePro 512MB to 2GB
Drive Type you will need a copy of MH512.EXE which will be available for
download soon on our BBS for all DrivePro owners, or call Technical
Support. Alternatively, you can use the Partition Table/MBR selection on
the Main Menu, and then select Partition Table Editor. Set the "YES" to
"NO" and then reboot with the floppy pulled out. You will get the banner:
"DRIVEPRO 512MB-2GB DRIVE TYPE INSTALLED" and the message "NO ACTIVE" and
below it a message to reboot. DO NOT USE THE RESET BUTTON OR CTRL+ALT+DEL
TO REBOOT! Instead push the floppy disk in and latch it, and press ENTER.
You will then be able to boot DOS from the floppy and have full access to
the hard drive.

THE NEW DRIVEPRO SURFACE SCAN FEATURE
DrivePro V1.16 and above includes several options to verify the disk
surface. To use the scan functions you must be in Enhanced Mode. From the
Enhanced Mode Menu select Format Operations, IDE Diagnostics, or ESDI
Diagnostics. These submenus all have the new option "Perform Surface
Scan". To perform a surface scan on MFM/RLL drives, we recommend you use
the low-level formatter, since this will refresh the low-level format on
your drive. SCSI drives require software that comes with the SCSI Host
Adapter to perform this task. Note that this option is not available in
Basic Mode.

MARKING/UNMARKING BAD SECTORS ON AN IDE/MFM/RLL DRIVE
DrivePro V1.14 and above includes the ability to mark bad sectors on
IDE/MFM/RLL hard drives. To use this feature select Enhanced Mode from the
Basic Mode menu. Once in Enhanced Mode, select Format Operations, IDE
Diagnostics, or MFM/RLL Diagnostics. Each of these submenus will give you
the option "Mark Sectors". The Mark Sectors menu will give you two options:
-"Mark MFM/RLL/IDE Sectors Bad"
-"Unmark MFM/RLL/IDE Sectors Bad"
DrivePro will not let you unmark a bad sector which was not marked bad
using DrivePro. Note that bad-sector marking is not supported by DrivePro
for SCSI and ESDI drives, as these drives manage defects automatically or
require special software to perform this function.

THE MHDRIVE PROGRAM
If you boot from a floppy, and are using a Micro House Custom Drive Type
or BIOS Extended MBR for your hard drive, you will need to use MHDRIVE to
make the hard drive properly accessible. It is recommended that MHDRIVE /B
be run as the first line in the floppy's AUTOEXEC.BAT. This will cause
MHDRIVE to be run in 'batch' mode which requires no user-intervention and
does not go into an endless loop. If you are running MHDRIVE without the /B
switch, you will be prompted at each step of the drive's reinitialization.

MHDRIVE can also be used to help recover lost parameters for an IDE drive
that was set up in a translation, if they were not written down when the
drive was initially set up. MHDRIVE will tell you what the parameters for
the drive probably are, this will save you having to try different
combinations of heads, cylinders, and sectors, until the drive boots or the
data on the drive becomes accessible. You can then set up the CMOS drive
type with the proper translation parameters. Be careful about the number of
cylinders, though, since that can vary depending on how the drive was
initially installed. The best place to look for that, once you have the
drive accessible, is in the Partition Table. MHDRIVE will tell you what
the partition table "says" the number of heads, cylinders, and sectors
are. These will probably be correct if the partition table has not been
damaged. Also note that "Reinitialize Drive/DOS" option in the "Drive
Select" submenu does the same thing as MHDRIVE. MHDRIVE is smaller than
DrivePro, and so is faster to load.

MHDRIVE.EXE has been modified to include support for MFM/RLL drives, and
for a second hard drive if installed. Several new command-line switches
have been added to support these latest features.
  /x[d],[seg]:[off].......=> Allows the user to specify the segment and
offset of the Hard Drive Parameter Table for drive 'd' (0 or 1). This is
an advanced feature, and is not intended to be used by beginning or
intermediate-level PC users. Default addresses are 0:300h or drive 0, and
0:310h for drive 1.
  /wp[d],[n]..............=> Sets the write precompensation for drive 'd'
(0 or 1) to 'n'.
  /lz[d],[n]..............=> Sets the landing zone for drive 'd' (0 or 1)
to 'n'.
  /o[d]...................=> Allows the user to specify which drive (0 or
1) is to be set up if two drives are present. Note that this switch is O,
not zero.
If you have two drives which are set up as custom drive types, you would
specify the /x, /wp, or /lz switches (if used) once for each drive, e.g.:
"MH-DRIVE /x0,0:300 /x1,0:310 /wp0,345 /wp1,654 /lz0,617 /lz1,1024"

Wishing you Happy Hard Drivin' from all of us at Micro House Research!

052892: by DTA - original draft
030893: by AR & VR - 14th update
081793: by VR - 17th update

