WATADIAG 1.01

1.0 Introduction
- 1.1 History
2.0 Legal stuff
- 2.1 Disclaimer
- 2.2 Reverse engineering
- 2.3 Use of the software
- 2.4 Distribution policy
- 2.5 Privacy statement
3.0 How to contact us
4.0 Installing and using WATADIAG
- 4.1 Installing WATADIAG
- 4.2 Uninstalling WATADIAG
- 4.3 Using WATADIAG
- 4.4 Known issues

1.0 Introduction:

WATADIAG is an ATA/IDE surface scanner, diagnostics and information utility. It replaces the ADQ, SIDED and IDESCAN packages previously available from WTY Soft.

The package contains the following parts:

A scanner(previously known as idescan 2.0)
This is a surface scanner which also measures all access times to predict media degradation.
A drive information utility (previously known as ADQ)
This is an information utility which reports which ATA defined features are supported by your drive. (e.g. Ultra DMA modes, acoustic modes, etc.)
A diagnostic utility (previously known as SIDED)
An advanced diagnostic utility to troubleshoot detection problems.
Various utilities
Disk wiper, This tool clears every user sector on the hard disk This can take several hours.
Partition sector wiper, clears the partition sector and (optionally) the primary boot sectors.

1.1 History

1.01
- All prompts were made keyboard language independent due to problems with non QWERTY keyboards.
- Support for add-on host adapters (custom controllers) has been improved significantly.
- Some minor GUI related items
1.0
- This is the initial version. Parts of this package are based on previously released utilities (IDESCAN, SIDED, and ADQ)

2.0 Legal stuff

This agreement is between you and WTY Soft. It contains important parts such as the disclaimer and our distribution policy. Read this agreement before using and/or distributing the software. By using and/or distributing the software, you are bound to the terms of this agreement. Should any part of this agreement found to be invalid or illegal by a court the remainder of this agreement will not be affected. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved by WTY Soft. This license is governed by the laws of The Netherlands, EC.

2.1 Disclaimer

THIS SOFTWARE ("WATADIAG 1.00 (BETA)") IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. WTY SOFT SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTIONS, LOSS OF DATA AND THE LIKE) ARISING FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF WTY SOFT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT WILL WTY SOFT'S ENTIRE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THIS SOFTWARE.

2.2 Reverse Engineering

You may not modify, decompile, disassemble or otherwise reverse engineer the product. Any such unauthorized use shall result in immediate termination of this license and may result in criminal and / or civil prosecution.

2.3 Use of the Software

You expressly acknowledge and agree that WTY Soft gives no assurances this program does not infringe the patent or other intellectual property rights of any other entity. WTY Soft disclaims any liability to you for claims brought by any other entity based on infringement of intellectual property rights or otherwise. By accepting this license you assume sole responsibility to secure any other intellectual property rights needed, if any. For example, if a third party patent license is required to allow use or distribution of this program. In any case it is your responsibility to acquire such license(s).

Although this package is freeware, its use is subject to this license agreement. This means you may only use this software when you fully agree and comply with this license agreement.
The license granted by this license agreement is non-exclusive and valid for both commercial and non-commercial use.

2.4 Distribution Policy

You may distribute this package when you comply with all of the following conditions:

You will include ALL files from the original package.
You will NOT ALTER any of the files is the package.
You will NOT SELL the product.
Distribution methods other than those listed below are considered selling.
- PHYSICAL MEDIA DISTRIBUTION: This package may be freely distributed on diskette, CD-ROMs etc. A distribution fee up to 5 Euro may be asked to distribute the media containing the package. This does not include BOOKWARE distributions (See below).
- ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION: This package may be freely distributed through any electronic distribution method, as long as it is publicly accessible and free of charge (no access fees, extra telephone costs etc.).
- BOOKWARE: WTY Soft does NOT consider book-ware distribution (disk/CD included with a book or magazine) to be freeware. Contact us if you want to use this method of distribution.
You will cease distribution of this package within a reasonable period after an explicit request from WTY Soft, and accept all arising costs.

2.5 Privacy Statement

WTY Soft respects your privacy. Therefore we guarantee that this software does not contain any kind of so-called "spyware" components. In case your email address is known to WTY Soft (e.g. from mail send to us with your questions or remarks), it will be used only for 'normal' one-on-one communication.

3.0 How to contact us

We hope you like this package and welcome any questions, comments, bug reports, suggestions etc on atadiag@wtysoft.com. Please include WATADIAG in the subject line to bypass the automatic spam filter. For non-ATADIAG related email please use the general email info@wtysoft.com . Our website http://www.wtysoft.com contains the latest version of WATADIAG and other programs by WTY Soft.

4.0 Installing and using WATADIAG

4.1 Installing WATADIAG

Windows users:
This package contains a windows installer. The installer also includes the FreeDos kernel to (optionally) make the installation disk (typically a floppy) bootable. Follow the instructions of the installer.

Non-windows users:
Since the installer is "windows only" you'll need to prepare the disk manually. To do this, follow the following steps:

1) Read the qlaunch.htm file and make sure you fully agree to the license.

2) Create a bootable floppy using a DOS (clone) for example FreeDos (External link) or http://www.bootdisk.com (External link))

3) Copy the following files to the bootable floppy:

Note: Not all DOS clones work with the command.com from the package. Therefore, do NOT overwrite the command.com file on the bootable floppy.

   0000.dat
   0100.dat
   0200.dat
   0201.dat
   0202.dat
   0203.dat
   0300.dat
   0301.dat
   0400.dat
   wdstart._om  (rename to wdstart.com)
   watadiag._xe (rename to watadiag.exe)
   autoexec.bat (overwrite if existing)
   config.sys   (overwrite if existing)

4) Reboot your system. Make sure the system boots from the floppy. (Set the BIOS boot sequence when required)

NOTE: Most BIOSs support a boot-menu. To get into this menu you have to press a key while the system is booting. Which key, is often displayed during booting. Most commonly used are the F11 and F12 keys.

4.2 Uninstalling WATADIAG

The WATADIAG installer only creates the floppy. There are no registry entries etc. To remove it just remove the files you extracted from the archive.

4.3 Using WATADIAG

After booting from the floppy, WATADIAG will start automatically. The program will detect all ATA/IDE devices connected to the standard controllers. Select the action to perform and then the device to perform the action upon. You can use the help (F1) key to get more information throughout the program.

All tests performed in WATADIAG are non-destructive. The utilities section however, contains utilities which will write to the harddisk. You will be prompted before any destructive action is started.

4.4 Acknowledgements

Special thanks goes to our BETA testers, especially Robert Riebisch and Gregor Wesolly, who endangered all their precious hardware during the extensive BETA testing of WATADIAG.

The FreeDos project which allows DOS-less people to use WATADIAG.

Charles Scheffold and Thomas Pytel for the PMODE/W DOS Extender.

The Open Watcom project for the Open Watcom compiler.