Diamond Format V2.2
(C)1990-92 Robert D. Luneski
ST Troutware from Oregon Research Associates
Please support all your ST Troutware authors.
At last! The flexibility and reliability of Diamond Back II's custom
formatter in a standalone form. This updated version adds complete
compatibility with all TOS versions and machines. Enjoy.
New additions include Diamond Super faST format. Absolutely the FASTEST
disk format available for the Atari ST. 25% faster than even twister
formated disks! At this time Diamond Super faST format is restricted to
9 and 18 sectors per track. I am working hard on the 10/20 sector
implementation.
Provided in an autodetecting PRG/ACC form(i.e. if you want to run it as
a program name it DFORMAT.PRG or if you want to run it as a desk accessory
just rename it DFORMAT.ACC), Diamond Format has all the standard
features you find in a formatter plus a few new twists. You can choose 1 or
2 sides, 80 or 82 tracks, twisted or normal format, and 9,10 18 or 20 sectors
per track, verify or no verify. Click on the appropriate buttons to select your
choice and then click on the Format A or Format B buttons to begin. Control-C
aborts the format at any time.
What's that I hear? 18 & 20 tracks per sector? Yes, Diamond Format allows
you to format high density 1.44/1.6 meg drives like the PowerDrive from
DreamPark Development or the new 1.44 meg support in TOS 2.06 & 3.06.
Obviously the 18/20 sector per track options only work if you have a high
density drive installed.
Additional features include:
1) The ability to quickly erase(zero) a preformatted disk. This is a lot
faster than deleting all the files from the disk.
2) Write a MS-DOS compatible boot sector to a preformatted disk so they can
be read by IBM 3.5" drives.(Note all disks formatted by Diamond Format
have MS-DOS boot sectors on them).
3) Select the AFE button and Diamond Format will create a disk compatible
with the Apple File Exchange utility on Mac II's and Mac SE's with FDHD
floppy drives. These are standard ST disks that you can use normally
but are formatted in such a way that the Apple File Exchange can read them.
This makes transporting files back and forth between ST's and Mac II's
much easier. Twister formats will work, but the disks must be 2 sides,
80 tracks, and 9 sectors per track(Diamond Format automatically selects
these settings when you click on AFE). Apple File Exchange is a trademark
of Apple Computer, Inc.
4) Diamond Back II automatic disk switching is implemented in Diamond Format.
If you have 2 floppy drives, then you may place a disk in drive A and
select FORMAT. The you can put a disk in drive B and press the 'b' key on
the keyboard, then status for drive B will change from Waiting to Ready.
Then when Diamond Format is finished formatting the disk in drive A, it
will automatically start formatting the disk in drive B without pausing.
You can continue to automatically switch between drives A and B as often
as you wish. This makes the process of formatting a lot of disks go much
smoother and faster.
5) Select MinFAT to have Diamond Format use the smallest allowable number of
FAT sectors possible for the selected format. This will increase disk
capacity by 2-4K.
Diamond Format is distributed free of charge to all Diamond Back II owners,
otherwise it is distributed as ST Troutware. If you care about the future of
software development for the Atari ST and you find this program useful then
please support your local ST Troutware author(that's me) by sending one dry
Trout fly(Royal Coachman, Blue Dunn, Mosquito, etc size 16-18 prefered) to:
Oregon Research Associates
16200 S.W. Pacific Hwy., Suite 162
Tigard, OR 97224
You will be rewarded by a warm fuzzy feeling and the knowledge that you are
directly and materially supporting the future development of quality software
for the Atari ST.
Thankyou very much for your support.
Bob Luneski
Genie: B.LUNESKI1
Usenet: bluneski@pogo.WV.TEK.COM
For more information on Diamond Back II call (503) 620-4919