      DFSee version 9.11 22-08-2008  (c) 1994-2008: Jan van Wijk
 =========================[ www.dfsee.com ]==========================

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C O N T E N T S:
_______________________________________________________________________________

   Overview         = a list of all documents
   Introduction     = what is DFSee ?
   Operating mode   = short description of how to handle dfsee commands
   User Interface   = how to operate the DFSee program, TxWindows description
   Availability     = where can I get more information
   Licence          = how to register dfsee
   Limitations      = known limitations or bugs of dfsee
   Improvements     = improvements under consideration
   Acknowledgements = credits to some contributors to the DFSee program

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O V E R V I E W:
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DFSee is a rather complex program with dozens of commands that could
be used. You will need some time and effort to master that complexity.

All commands and some generic topics are covered in DFSmode.txt files:

- DFSEE.TXT     = This document: overview, introduction, bugs, wish list
- DFSINST.TXT   = short installation description
- DFSPROMO.TXT  = A short promotional text on DFSee and its concepts
- DFSHOWTO.TXT  = An ever growing collection of recovery scenarios and
                  other useful DFSee usage examples
- DFSTERMS.TXT  = A terminology reference about DFSee and partitioning
- DFSCMDS.TXT   = The main command reference with all generic commands
- DFSFDISK.TXT  = The FDISK (partitioning) command reference
- DFSHPFS.TXT   = Command reference specific to the HPFS filesystem
- DFSNTFS.TXT   = Command reference specific to the NTFS filesystem
- DFSFAT.TXT    = Command reference specific to the FAT  filesystems
- DFSJFS.TXT    = Command reference specific to the JFS  filesystem
- DFSEXT.TXT    = Command reference specific to the EXT2 and EXT3 filesystem
- DFSRSR.TXT    = Command reference specific to the REISER filesystem
- DFSCRIPT.TXT  = Reference for using command scripts with DFSee
- DFSHIST.TXT   = History of changes for DFSee
- DFSYNTAX.TXT  = Syntax rules for DFSee command, parameters and options
- DFSDISK.TXT   = Description and examples of the DFSee UNFDISK procedure

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I N T R O D U C T I O N:
_______________________________________________________________________________

 What is DFSee ?

 Display File Systems (DFSee) is a generic partition and filesystem
 browser/analyser. DFSee supports partition tables (FDISK, LVM), (V)FAT,
 FAT-32, HPFS, NTFS and JFS-structures, some EXT2/3 and ReiserFS stuff
 and it might support different file-systems like XFS and HFS+ in the future.

 DFSee, starting with version 4.00 is NOT freeware anymore, requiring
 registration and payment for actual use and support.

 Several licence models are available, starting with an affordable
 single user individual registration (see 'buynow' for actual prices)

 DFSee can be used in one of several ways:

 - As a replacement for the classic FDISK program

   DFSee is a complete replacement for the partitioning tools as
   found with DOS, OS/2, Win9x, Windows-NT and Windows-2000/XP

   At the moment (version 9.00) it is almost a full replacement for the LVM
   utility used with eComStation, MCP 1 & 2 and Warp Server for e-Business.
   The only thing not covered is creation of multi-partition spanned volumes.

   Apart from the standard create/delete type of functions there are
   a lot of special commands to display information and fix all kinds
   of problems related to partition tables and LVM information.

   An often used function here is the DFSDISK script that automates
   the collection of needed information to 'UNDO' an accidental FDISK
   operation or other partitioning related disaster.
   Another important feature is the ability to save and restore ALL
   partitioning information in a regular file that you can keep as a
   backup on a diskette so recovery operations will be MUCH easier
   (see PSAVE and PRESTORE commands and corresponding menu items).

   Finally, this FDISK capability is being used by large organizations
   for automatic (and unattended) roll-out scenarios.


 - As a tool to 'UNDELETE' files that have been accidentally deleted,
   or to recover/copy files from damaged or inaccessible filesystems

   This feature is implemented for HPFS, NTFS and JFS only, but on those
   filesystems it is a very powerful tool. It works by finding all
   wanted files (DELFIND or FILEFIND), and then letting the user make
   a selection based on a wildcard file specification and an outlook
   percentage for recoverability (DELSHOW or list +f).
   The actual recovery operation will copy the matching files to a
   specified directory, if possible on another disk (RECOVER).
   For FAT similar functions exist, bute these are less powerful.


 - As an analysis and recovery tool for most used filesystems.

   This includes boot sectors, superblocks and low-level directory
   structures. For most supported filesystems some specific commands
   are available that fix common problems with that filesystem.

   To support a large number of possible filesystems, DFSee uses
   specific modes of operation. Every mode has its own set of
   dedicated commands and recognized data formats (sector types).
   Generic commands (and sector types) are available in all modes.
   On selecting a data source (disk, partition, volume) DFSee will
   try to recognize the involved filesystem and activate support
   for it automatically.

   The most important modes are:

   - FDISK  for partitioning work, default active at startup
   - HPFS   native filesystem on OS/2, eComStation, WSeB ...
   - FAT    classic PC filesystems including FAT32 and VFAT
   - NTFS   native filesystem on Windows-NT/2000 or Windows-XP
   - JFS    journalled filesystem on OS/2 MCPs, eCS or WSeB
   - EXT2/3 most used journalled filesystem on Linux
   - Reiser alternative journalled filesystem on Linux
   - AUX    Auxiliary mode for unrecognized data


 - As a simple but powerful binary (or HEX) display and edit tool.

   DFSee can access data on hard-disks, or operating system volumes
   like diskettes or CDROM and (image) files.

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U S E R   I N T E R F A C E:
_______________________________________________________________________________

 The user interface can use either a menu-system to select the functions
 to be performed, or a a command entry-field with a history buffer so
 previous commands can be recalled. You switch between them using the
 <F10> function key. Some of the functions may use the windowed UI to
 get additional information and almost all will use the large text window
 for output. Output can also be copied to a file for later analysis.

 When using the menu system, remember to use the <F1> key to get a more
 verbose description of the highlighted item. This serves as a context
 sensitive help system, great to learn the capabilities of DFSee!

 Much of the appearance can be adjusted somewhat for maximum readability
 and personal preference. Checkout the '-scheme', '-color' and '-style'
 switches for startup, and the corresponding menu items to set these
 in the 'Edit -> Settings & Properties' menu.

 An even more primitive 'classic' user interface can be used as well, by
 starting the program with a switch '-w-' (see DFSCMDS for details)

 DFSee commands are single words or (hexadecimal) numbers.
 Most commands have one or more parameters of which some are optional.

 DFSee keeps track of the current LSN and some other useful LSNs so they
 can be referenced faster, without having to type them in. They are:

     Name          Cmd       Description          Shortcut key
     ----          ---       -----------          ------------
     up            'u'       up in hierarchy      (Ctrl + U)
     down          'd'       down in hierarchy    (Ctrl + N)
     down          <Enter>   down in hierarchy
     this          't'       this (current)       (Ctrl + T)
     xtra          'x'       Extra, alternative   (Ctrl + X)

 You can display and analyse either a physical disk, a partition, a volume
 or an imagefile. A physical disk can be opened using the 'disk' command.

 A disk-partition or volume can be opened first with the 'part' or 'vol'
 commands respectively. The next prompt display will show some status info.
 After opening an HPFS partition, using 'Enter' a few times will take you
 to the superblock, root directory, possible sub-directories up to some file.

 Multiple commands can be chained if separated with a special character,
 the default is '#' but this can be changed with the '-s:xxx' switch.

 An overview of the available commands is given in DFSCMDS.TXT, and can also
 be referenced from within the program using the 'help' command.

 HINT: When using DFSee to create a logfile, DO NOT USE ">" REDIRECTION, use
       the DFSee "log filename" command or the "-f" program switch instead.
       This will prevent littering the logfile with ANSI control codes.

       When browsing an LVM (WSeB, MCP or eComStation) system, set the
       screen width to over 100 characters when possible. This will allow
       complete display of the volume + partition names in the 'part' table


 T X W I N D O W S   D e s c r i p t i o n
 -----------------------------------------

 DFSee uses a windowing system a bit like the operating system GUIs
 as MS-Windows, OS/2 or the Mac.  Unlike these GRAPHICAL interfaces,
 TxWindows is based on text mode displays only. This allows usage in
 simple systems and even from (DOS or OS/2) boot diskettes.

 Note: In the current implementation TxWindows can be controlled using
       the keyboard only, mouse support will be added at a later time.

 The screen for a TxWindows application always uses a DESKTOP window
 as background, other windows displayed will always be on top of it.
 Most applications use a large scrolling 'text output window' that
 receives output lines from the application which is scrolled up when
 the screen fills up. This output window is usually very large and
 older output can be viewed using navigation keys like PgUp/PgDn

 User input is either in the form of COMMANDS that are entered in an
 input field usually near the bottom of the screen, or in the form of
 so called DIALOG windows that may have fields, buttons and so on ...

 A special form of dialog is the MENU BAR, it can be activated using
 the F10 function key, and supports selection of menu actions from
 several pulldown menus. You can get specific help on each item in
 the menu by pressing the F1 functionkey while the item is selected.


 The following keys are the most important ones to control TxWindows:

   Tab / Backtab Move to the next or previous selectable window, like
                 between the input-field and scroll buffer, or between
                 the control windows in an input dialog.

   Esc           End or abort the current dialog, often equivalent to
                 CANCELING it. Many applications also use the Esc-key
                 to abort long-running commands like searching.

   Enter         End current input dialog, making the entered value(s)
                 available to the application for processing.

   Arrow-keys    Navigate within an inputfield, scroll text lines in a
                 text window like help or move to the next or previous
                 control window in a dialog (buttons, fields ...)

   PgUp / PgDn   Scroll text lines in a window one page at a time
   Home / End    Move to begin/end of an inputfield, or output text
   Ctrl-Home/End Move to first/last line of a text output window

   Ctrl + Arrow  Scroll the text in the 'text output window' in the
                 direction of the arrow. In an inputfield the Ctrl-left
                 and right arrow will move the cursor over one word.

   Ctrl PgUp/Dn  Scroll the 'text output window' up or down by one page.

     Note: 'text output window' movement even works from OTHER windows!


   F1            Get help on the current window, inputfield, button ...
                 A second F1 will give more generic help, like on the
                 complete dialog, and a third will present the help on
                 the TxWindows system (this text).

                 Note: If the <F1> key triggers another (OS or desktop)
                       function, like on Linux Gnome, use <Shift>+<F1>

   F3            Usually end the current dialog, canceling input, or
                 end the application itself when on the command line

   F4            End the current dialog, ACCEPTING the input
                 (like an [ OK ] button)

   F10           Toggle the main-menu ON or OFF

   Alt + F5      Restore resized, minimized or maximized window to its
                 previous size. (initial, or just before min/maximize)

   Alt + F10     Maximize the current window to the size of it's parent
                 client window (usually 'text output window' or desktop)

   Alt + F9      Minimize the current window to just its title bar, or
   F12           make it completely invisible when no title bar present.
                 This allows you to look under or behind the window.
                 When the main inputfield is active, the whole DESKTOP
                 will be minimized revealing the previous screen.

   Alt + F12     Cycle through available 'text output window' colors:
                 NORMAL: White on black background, use all FG colors
                 BRIGHT: White on black background, bright colors only
                 INVERT: Black on white background, no bright colors
                         Select the scheme with best readability

   Ctrl + r      Repaint ALL windows on the desktop, can be useful in
                 very rare cases to correct screen painting problems.

   Alt  + c      Change appearance of the user interface using:
                   - Arrow-key UP/DOWN:    overall window color scheme
                   - Arrow-key LEFT/RIGHT: 'text output window' colors
                   - Page Up / Page Down:  windowing line-style scheme

   Alt  + m      Move or Resize the currently displayed window:
                   - Arrow-keys: Move or Resize thw window
                   - Insert-key: Switch between Move and Resize

   Alt  + /      Cycle through available TRACE settings: OFF, TITLEBAR
                 or SCREEN/LOGFILE (depending on other trace settings).

 Other available (function) keys might be displayed in the bottom line
 for a dialog window. Note that some of the keys mentioned above might
 not work when the command line entry field is active.

 For entryfields the following editing keys are available:

    Insert              Toggle between Insert and replace mode
    Delete              Delete the character at the cursor position
    Backspace           Delete the character before the cursor position
    Home                Move cursor to the start of the entryfield
    End                 Move cursor to the end of the entryfield
    Ctrl + Backspace    Clear entry-field completely, making it empty
    Ctrl + B            Clear entry-field from cursor to beginning of field
    Ctrl + E            Clear entry-field from cursor to end of field
    Ctrl + Right Arrow  Move one word to the right in the field
    Ctrl + Left  Arrow  Move one word to the left  in the field

 When the field supports a history buffer (like a command field would):

    Ctrl + D            Delete current line from history, if full match
    Ctrl + K            Add current line to the history, no execute
    Up         [prefix] Recall previous (older)  command from history
    Down       [prefix] Recall next     (newer)  command from history
    F11        [prefix] Show history contents in a selection popup list
                        On each of these, the prefix is the part of the
                        commandline BEFORE the cursor that will be used
                        to FILTER the result of the requested action

    Other keys are either inserted/replaced in the entryfield content,
    like letters, digits and interpunction, or simply ignored

    Completion: All characters in the entryfield upto the cursor are
                used in the partial match. Use Alt + up/down to walk
                through commands starting with the same characters

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O P E R A T I N G   M O D E:
_______________________________________________________________________________

 An important concept is the "operating mode". When you startup DFSee
 normally, it will be in "FDISK" mode and knows all about fdisk-related
 stuff and has fdisk-related commands available. All the other modes relate
 to specific filesystems, and are normally activated automatically upon
 selecting a partition or volume to work with.

 The mode is always displayd at the status-line near the bottom
 of the screen, together with other relevant details about which disk
 or partition you are currently working on.
 When using the menu, you can also find it as the 'Mode=xxxx' menu.

 You can get a brief list of the available commands in any mode
 by using the "?" command (a single question mark) as a command,
 or use the 'Help -> FS-specific commands' menu item.

 There are also a lot of commands that are independent of the mode
 and could be called "generic". You can get a brief list of those
 by using the "??" command (TWO question marks) or by using the
 corresponding 'Help -> Application commands' menu item.

 More help can be found in the .txt files, with most of the "generic"
 commands in DFSCMDS.TXT.  The commands are in alphabetical order
 there, but to find things you could use a "search" function from
 the text editor or viewing program you use ...

 The commands specific to a mode are in DFSmode.TXT, so for the FDISK
 mode they are in DFSFDISK.TXT and for HPFS they are in DFSHPFS.TXT.

 Some hints and tips are in DFSHOWTO.TXT ...

 The mode is set automatically when you start DFSee, and when you select
 some object like a disk or a partition to work with.  Selecting something to
 work on is done with the DISK, PART, VOL or IM commands, or with the
 corresponding menu items, like 'File -> Open Partition to work with'

 If automatic selection of the mode fails (because the object is damaged), you
 can force a specific/desired mode by using the FS command, as in:

 FS HPFS

 Which will force the HPFS mode to become active.

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A V A I L A B I L I T Y:
_______________________________________________________________________________

 1) Home:         http://www.dfsee.com

 2) Download:     http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/download

 3) Registration: http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/buynow

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L I C E N C E:
_______________________________________________________________________________

 This version of the program is SHAREWARE, it is NOT FREE!

 However, evaluation of the program is allowed for a limited time.
 Any real use or getting support requires a one-off registration:

 - Standard reg:     For use by ONE person on their own personal
                     computer(s).       (no commercial use)

 - Professional reg: For use by ONE person on your own and your
                     customers systems. (commercial use allowed)

 For details on the licence agreements see:

         http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/buynow

 Without registration almost all functions are fully operational.
 You WILL get some registration reminders and the trial time is
 limited to a few months from release date.

 Further development depends on my own needs and feedback I receive from
 users, and the amount of registrations getting in over time ...

 Suggestions and other comments regarding DFSee and filesystems are welcome.

 If you have a disk-related problem, feel free to contact me. I cannot
 guarantee prompt or continuous attention but I will do the best I can ...

 You can reach me through the Internet: support@dfsee.com

 Just send plain text emails there, any HTML email will
 be automaticaly discarded as SPAM ...


 NOTE: Version 3.42 was the last 3.xx version and is now FREEWARE
       Development of the 3.xx version was stopped so new functionality and
       a better user interface will now only be in the SHAREWARE version.

       Version 4.28 was the last 4.xx version.

       Version 5.00 with a new 32-bit DOS-extender version was released early
       august 2002 and has been updated frequently until december 2003 when
       version 5.56 was released.

       Version 6.00 with the menu-system was released january 2004, and the
       last free update to that, 6.17 was released in december 2004.

       Version 7.00 with the many functional and UI improvements was released
       february 2005, and the last free update to that, 7.15 in december 2005.

       Version 8.00 with UI enhancements and full JFS support was released end
       of march 2006, and the last free update to that, 8.16 in july 2007.

       Version 9.00 with geometry sniffing and many Linux related stuff was
       released in August 2007. More functionality for Linux and Mac OS X
       as well as generic enhancements are planned ...


       There will be a major release, requiring a payed upgrade about once
       a year, with free upgrades in between.

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L I M I T A T I O N S   A N D   B U G S:
_______________________________________________________________________________

- EXPAND/RESIZE command on NTFS and HPFS, and RESIZE on FAT works, but is not
  very useful when the partitions have scattered data all over the volume.
  Future versions of DFSee might offer an optimizer for that.

- The SETLET, NTMAP and other drive-letter related FDISK commands for Win-NT
  do NOT work correctly or reliably on Windows-2000 and Windows-XP.

  DO NOT USE 'SETLET' on them, it might give unpredictable results!

- Allocation integrity checks on HPFS do not check the allocation for EAs

- Sector list operations on FAT and FAT32 filesystems are limitted to
  a partition size of 64 GiB. The most importand commands that use this
  functionality are SAVETO and RECOVER.


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C O N S I D E R E D   I M P R O V E M E N T S:
_______________________________________________________________________________

 Rewrite of this documentation in a description, command reference and
 technical info on filesystems (possibly in HTML and/or PDF)

 More coverage of other filesystems like XFS and HFS+ ...

 MAC OS X version, port finished, but no specific MAC functionality.

 Multiple UNDO and REDO, with write to disk (commit) when required only

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O N L I N E   H E L P:
_______________________________________________________________________________

As a command line program, DFSee has limited online help, useful
to check the syntax and parameters. The following is available:

MENU    help     : The menu introduced with version 5.52 offers a lot
                   of extra help for the end user. First there is a
                   specific 'help' menu leading to generic help, but
                   more important, EVERY item on the menu has its own
                   context sensitive help to be called with the <F1> key

'help'  command  : This will display a short introduction and a few
                   important selection commands.

'??'    command  : List all generic commands, available in every mode

'?'     command  : List all commands specific to the current mode

'???'   command  : List sector types recognized in the current mode

 <F2>   key      : List introduction and generic commands (help + ?)

 <F1>   key      : Popup window with some help about the user interface.
                   When used in dalaogs (LVM, PTEdit) it will be help
                   on the whole dialog or specific fields in it.

DFSxxx  -?       : List available switches for the DFSee executable
                   from the operating system command line.
                   The switches set some preferences and options like
                   windowing, using a logfile and batch mode.
                   (.EXE can be DFSOS2.EXE, DFSDOS.EXE or DFSWIN.EXE)


Most commands that require parameters will also display a short usage
and help when called without any parameters, or sometimes when called
with the parameter '-?'

Finally, whenever a (confirmation) dialog window is presented to ask a
question or get other input, you can use the <F1> function-key to get
additional help on that specific dialog or question.


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A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S   A N D   C R E D I T S:
_______________________________________________________________________________

There are several people besides myself that have contributed valuable work
to the DFSee program either by testing, requesting specific functionality
or writing and improving the documentation.

There are too many to mention them all, but special thanks goes to:

  Iain Allen        For numerous bug/feature reports and troubleshooting help
  Mike O'Connor     For the checking and updating all the documentation
  Steven Levine     For many tips, bug reports and feature discussions
  Felix Miata       For testing several features and for critical opinions
  Jochen Schnuerle  For extensive LVM testing and some German translations
  Erik P. Olsen     For enhancing the Linux shell-scripts
  Gil Dabah         For the x86 disassembly engine diStorm (Rage Storm)


 ----------------------------[ www.dfsee.com ]-------------------------------

