Chapter 4 - HDToolBox

HDToolBox provides a variety of tools for controlling hard disk operations.

To run HDToolBox from your hard disk:

Open the System or Workbench partition.
Open the Tools drawer.
Double-click on the HDToolBox icon.

If your hard disk has not been set up yet:

Boot your system with the Install disk.
Open the Install disk icon.
Open the HDTools drawer.
Double-click on the HDToolBox icon when it appears.

The first screen which appears is the Hard Drive Preparation, Partitioning and Formatting screen. You will learn more about this screen in the next section.

You will use this opening screen to get to the functions of HDToolBox. The functions you can select with HDToolBox include:

Partitioning
Preparing a New Hard Disk
Defining File System Characteristics
Adding, Deleting or Modifying File Systems

Detailed explanations and instructions for using each of these functions of HDToolBox are found in the remainder of this chapter.

Initial HDToolBox Screen

The Hard Drive Preparation, Partitioning and Formatting screen provides a list of the hard drives you have connected to your system. If there are more drives connected to the system than can be displayed at once, you can scroll the contents of the list by using the scroll bar or the scroll arrows at the right side of the list.

The following information is listed for each physical drive:

Interface	Displays the type of hard disk. Hard disk types are SCSI or XT. (Other drive types, such as IDE drives, may show up as SCSI.)
Adr	Displays a value, 0 through 6 (or 0 through 13 for WIDE-SCSI), that you have set for each SCSI device attached to your system. The address is used by the computer to find the information at this location. Each SCSI device on your system must have a different address.

The SCSI controller is set as device 7. If the supplied hard disk is a SCSI unit, it is jumpered as unit 6. Most hard drives come pre-configured as device 0, so the first additional SCSI hard disk can be connected without change. If you add additional drives, you will need to reset them to different (unused) addresses. If two or more devices are jumpered to the same address, the system will not function properly. See the hard disk`s documentation for more information, including jumper location.

LUN

Shows the Logical Unit Number (LUN) of the drive, a value from 0 to 7. The LUN is a secondary address. It is used when a device controls multiple devices. For example, a controller card may be capable of controlling more than one hard disk. Just as each attached SCSI device must have a different address, each device attached to the controller card needs a different LUN

The LUN of a SCSI hard drive will usually be 0. See the controller card`s documentation for more information on whether your controller supports multiple LUNS, and/or how to change them.

Drive

Shows the drive`s manufacturer, name, and revision.

NOTE	This information may not correspond exactly to the name and number listed in the drive`s documentation. This was the name reported by the drive to HDToolBox.

If the drive is listed in this window as Unknown, it is not partitioned and the drive type will have to be installed using the Install drive" button.

SCSI tape drives are always listed in Drive Type as Unknown.

The remaining gadgets are used to perform the functions of HDToolBox, described throughout the remainder of this chapter.

Caution

Because many functions of HDToolBox involve erasing all the information stored on your hard disk, the entire contents of your hard disk should be backed up before using the program. This may be done through the HDBackup program.

You may abort any changes made to HDToolBox screens or requesters by selecting the Cancel gadget. This gadget is present on each screen and will return you to the previous screen without saving any changes.

Partitioning

A partition is a subdivision of the space on your hard disk. Each partition on your system appears as an icon on the opening Workbench screen.

Hard Disk Partitions

Because the storage capacity of hard disks is large, your hard disk can be divided into partitions which are simply subdivisions of the hard disk`s storage space. Partitions can be used to better organize your work. For instance, you may want to separate the system software and other files your computer uses from your own application programs and files. If you add an additional operating system to your Amiga (such as MS-DOS or UNIX), you must provide it with its own partition to keep it separate from AmigaDOS.

HDToolBox provides a screen where you can easily partition your hard disk. You may have just installed a new hard disk and need to partition it. Or you may decide to repartition your existing hard drive.

Reasons for partitioning include:

Organizing your work. You may want to keep certain files in their own partition so you can find them more easily.
Keeping AmigaDOS separate from a new operating system you`ve added (such as UNIX).
Reducing fragmentation of partitions for a more efficient system.

Caution

The best time to partition the hard disk is before you begin using it. Whenever you re-partition your hard disk, all information stored on the altered partitions is erased. Before you begin, back up your entire hard disk with the HDBackup program or with a commercial backup program. Your data can then be easily restored when you`re finished.

Advanced users can use HDToolBox`s Advanced Options to modify the number of sector cache buffers, change file systems on the partitions and set boot priorities on bootable partitions. The Advanced Options are described later in this section.

To partition, begin in the Hard Drive Preparation, Partitioning and Formatting screen:

Select the hard disk that you want to partition by clicking on its name in the list.
The selected drive will be highlighted.
Select the Partition Drive gadget.
You will be taken to the Partitioning screen.

As you see, the space on your hard drive is displayed as a horizontal bar (the partitioning bar) with the number of the last cylinder shown in the upper right corner of the screen. With the default Workbench colors, the current (or selected) partition is displayed in blue, with the size of the partition listed in the middle of the window below the partition bar. Other partitions are shaded, with white lines as divisions. Unused areas are displayed in solid gray. You will use the partitioning bar and your mouse to form your new partitions.

Before you begin to partition, note the following on the Partitioning screen:

Partition Name	Displays the name of the selected partition. To select a partition, click on it within the partitioning bar.
File System:	Displays the file system of the selected partition.
Bootable	Displays whether or not the selected partition can be used to boot the system. The default is bootable for the first partition and not bootable for all other partitions.

Because partitioning is based on your personal choice of how you want your system, read the information below and form your partitions in any way you`d like.