README

Program:  FDISK.EXE

Version:  0.6

Author:  Brian E. Reifsnyder
         reifsnyderb@panetwork.com

Description:  Creates, deletes, views partitions, and writes the MBR to the
              hard drive.  Also toggles the boot partition flag.

              I have written the program with command line functionality
              as well having the usual menu.  This will potentially allow 
              a hard drive to be configured via a batch file.

              This program uses a free master boot program to boot to 
              a hard drive; but, you can save the boot loader written by
              another version of fdisk into a "BOOT.BIN" file and use that
              if you wish. 

              As an added feature, this program has an external text-based
              lookup table called "part.dat" that can easilly be updated
              as software companies come out with different partition 
              types.  If the program is ran without the "part.dat" file, it
              will revert to using the internal partition lookup table.
              For purposes of using a boot disk, it may be desireable to
              not include the "part.dat" file.  By doing so the user will
              both save space and increase the efficiency of FDISK operations.

Compiler:  Borland Turbo C++ 3.0 (Program is written in C)

Licensing:  Licensed under the GNU GPL.

Warranties:  This program does not have any warranties, either stated or
             implied.  By using this program, you are assuming full
             responsibility for the outcome of the program's execution.

Operating systems this program is known to work under:
         MS-DOS 6.22
         FreeDOS

Misc. Notes:

     1.  The partitions scan ok when Symantec's Norton Disk Doctor II is
         executed.

Future Plans:

     1.  Fix any encountered bugs.
     2.  Convert the 1 section of 80286 assembly code to 8088 assembly
         code.

     Version .7    Make changes to the help system.  
                   Modify internal partition type lookup table code.

     Version .8    Attempt to reduce the size of the executable by replacing
                   one or more of used libraries with built-in functionality.
                   Further reduction of executable size my be possible by 
                   placing redundant code into shared functions.

     Version .9    Any necessary bug-fixes.  Write a user manual.  Finalize
                   and document exit error codes.

     Version 1.0   Version .9 after being released a reasonable amount
                   of time to ensure that the progam is bug-free.

Note:  Please read the file bloader.txt if you need brief instructions for 
       the bootloader and for licensing information.


