Active@ Boot Disk User Guide

Active@ Boot Disk User Guide
Copyright 2012, LSOFT TECHNOLOGIES INC. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without written permission from LSOFT TECHNOLOGIES INC. LSOFT TECHNOLOGIES INC. reserves the right to revise this documentation and to make changes in content from time to time without obligation on the part of LSOFT TECHNOLOGIES INC. to provide notification of such revision or change. LSOFT TECHNOLOGIES INC. provides this documentation without warranty of any kind, either implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. LSOFT may make improvements or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this documentation at any time. All technical data and computer software is commercial in nature and developed solely at private expense. As the User, or Installer/Administrator of this software, you agree not to remove or deface any portion of any legend provided on any licensed program or documentation contained in, or delivered to you in conjunction with, this User Guide. LSOFT.NET logo is a trademark of LSOFT TECHNOLOGIES INC. Other brand and product names may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.
Contents
1.0 Product Overview ............................................................................................................. 4 1.1 About Active@ Boot Disk .............................................................................................. 4 1.2 Requirements for Using Active@ Boot Disk .................................................................... 6 1.3 Downloading and Creating Active@ Boot Disk ................................................................ 7 1.4 BootDisk_Drivers and BootDisk_Scripts.......................................................................... 9 1.5 Booting from a CD, DVD or USB Device ....................................................................... 10 2.0 Navigating the Active@ Boot Disk Shell ........................................................................... 14 2.1 Start button menu...................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Quick launch icons ..................................................................................................... 16 2.3 System utility icons .................................................................................................... 17 3.0 Programs and utilities ..................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Programs................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Network .................................................................................................................... 41 3.3 Utilities ...................................................................................................................... 44 3.4 System ...................................................................................................................... 49 3.5 Internet ..................................................................................................................... 74 4.0 About Boot Priority ......................................................................................................... 82 5.0 Glossary ........................................................................................................................ 84 Index .................................................................................................................................. 87
1.0 Product Overview

This chapter gives an overview of Active@ Boot Disk.
1.1 About Active@ Boot Disk

Active@ Boot Disk is a powerful set of tools that will help you in a number of data recovery and data security scenarios. Active@ Boot Disk combines a number of powerful tools that let you recover lost data, reset Windows passwords, make computer system backups and securely erase data. Active@ Boot Disk starts when you start your computer from a bootable CD/DVD/BD Disc or USB Flash Media. When you use Active@ Boot Disk, you gain access to the drive's data on a physical level, and on a logical level, bypassing the resident operating system. What this allows you to do is lock selected volumes for your exclusive use. Locking a volume is important if you want to wipe data residue from unoccupied space on the drive or recover data from files or folders. When you boot from the local hard drive, drive volumes cannot be locked by the resident system. The recovery operation must have exclusive access to the target location. If a service or another application gains access to the target location, it might write over the files that you are trying to recover, rendering them un-recoverable. Here are some other functions that you can perform by booting from the CD/DVD/USB: Backup the system drive - If you back up the system drive with Windows started from the same drive, when you restore the backup, it starts as though you are recovering from a loss of power. The boot up starts with system integrity checking. If you back up the system drive with Windows started from an external drive, the restored system starts clean. Wipe unused data from the system records and directories, from MFT (on NTFS), from unused clusters, from file slack space (see Active@ KillDisk) A "clean" wipe operation is not possible with Windows started from the same drive. If you wipe data with Windows started from an external drive, the wipe performs cleanly. Delete files - If you delete files with Windows started from the same drive, Volume Shadow Copy service may still be active, keeping the previous version of the file or even a snapshot of the whole disk. It is possible that an uninvited intruder may retrieve this confidential data. If you delete files with Windows started from an external drive, the delete is permanent. Active@ Boot Disk contains the following products and utilities: Active@ Disk Image
1.1 About Active@ Boot Disk
Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner Active@ Partition Recovery Active@ File Recovery Active@ Password Changer Active@ Disk Editor Active@ KillDisk Active@ Partition Manager Network operations utilities to help you map network drives, view network status, configure IP settings and Windows firewall and to help you connect and work with a server remotely. Utilities to monitor the status of your hard disk, copy, move and delete files and folders create a text file or an RTF file, use a calculator, create a paint graphic and search for and display registry details. System utilities to create, delete, format and resize partitions, manage system tasks, run command prompt commands, check disk integrity and defragment volumes, display system information and configure the display parameters. Games: Minesweeper, Solitaire, Spider Internet tools: QtWeb internet browser, Mail Sender, FTP Client and Telnet Client A list of documents that support Boot Disk utilities.
1.1.1 About Active@ Boot Disk operating system

Because the Active@ Boot Disk ISO image has been created using the Microsoft Windows PE (Pre-installation Environment) 3.1 operating system, you have access to many new Windows 7 SP1 features using the Windows 7 user interface. The bootable image contains a variety of plug-ins, drivers and other 32 bit applications. The best aspects from version 3.1 are the ability to create and use a re-writeable RAM disk, and the recognition of USB keys. Here are some more advantages in Windows PE 3.1: You may use the new Windows 7 style standard dialogs, like File Open, Save As, and so on. Security Updates: Support for SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is included. PnP (Plug and Play) support: Hardware devices can be detected and installed while Windows PE is running. This supports any in-box PnP device, including removable media and mass-storage devices. This means that you can plug in a mass-storage device to use for data recovery or data backup.
Automatic writable RAM drive: When booting from the CD/DVD drive, Windows PE automatically creates a writable RAM disk (drive X:) and allocates 32 MB of the RAM disk for general-purpose storage. By using compressed NTFS, the 32 MB is addressable up to 60 MB. This drive space may be used to recover files or folders.
Note There are two Active@ Boot Disk packages being redistributed. One is a public 10-days evaluation FREE DEMO that can be activated with a registration key. This package contains a standard WinPE 3.1 set of drivers and standard RAM disk having 32MB space available. This is a minimal size configuration. Another package has been supplied to clients after purchasing a registration key. This full package contains 152 additional driver packs for USB3, Mass Storage Devices and Network cards, as well as has a RAM disk of 128MB size. It requires ~20MB more disk storage space and consumes ~70MB more RAM when boot up than minimal package does.
Note After the Windows operating system and Active@ Boot Disk have started, the boot CD/DVD can be removed from the drive. A new CD/DVD can be inserted into the drive and you can read from it or burn data to it.
1.2 Requirements for Using Active@ Boot Disk

To use Active@ Boot Disk, you must have the following: Pentium II processor or higher 512MB or more RAM A CD/DVD drive or a USB mass storage device to boot from In addition to the above, you must be able to turn on power to the machine and you must have access to the system board BIOS setup.
1.2.1 How the system RAM is used

The ISO for Active@ Boot Disk was created from Windows PE (Preinstallation Environment), a lightweight version of Windows Windows 7. When booting from the CD/DVD drive or from a USB storage device, Windows PE creates a writable RAM disk (X:) and places itself on this drive for loading. While Windows 7 is booting up, it loads itself into RAM. After Windows has started, the boot CD/DVD may be removed from the drive or the USB flash card may be removed from the USB port. Starting with 512MB of RAM, all that is left is about 225MB of available space to work with.
1.3 Downloading and Creating Active@ Boot Disk
1.3 Downloading and Creating Active@ Boot Disk

You must perform these operations on a separate computer that has a healthy hard drive and access to the Internet. To download Active@ Boot Disk: 1. On the Internet, navigate to http://www.boot-disk.com 2. To download full-featured Active@ Boot Disk, click the Buy Now! link and follow the procedure for paying. 3. To download the 10-day evaluation Demo version, click the Download link. 4. You may save the file to a folder on your machine or you may run the file directly from the Internet folder. 5. The install wizard steps you through pages to agree to the terms of the license and determine the destination folder. 6. In the Select Components page, for assistance with writing Active@ Boot Disk to a bootable CD, DVD or USB mass storage device, select the Active@ Boot Disk Creator check box. 7. After Active@ Boot Disk has been successfully installed, select the Run Active@ Boot Disk Creator check box and click Finish. Continue with the next section.
1.3.1 Active@ Boot Disk Creator

Active@ Boot Disk Creator helps you prepare a bootable CD/DVD/Blu-ray or USB Flash mass storage device that you may use to start a machine with a damaged hard drive and recover data, recover partitions, wipe or erase data, create a disk image or repair security access issues. To prepare a bootable device for Windows: 1. In the Active@ Boot Disk Creator main page, select the desired bootable media: CD/DVD/Blu-ray, USB Flash Drive or ISO Image file (to be burned later on). If several media drives inserted, click the ellipsis button () and choose a particular device. Click Next. 2. Click Boot into Windows. At this step you can specify additional options: a. To add your custom files to bootable media, click Users Files tab. Add files or folders using related buttons at the right side. Added items will be placed to User_Files root folder. b. To add specific drivers to be loaded automatically, click Add Drivers tab. Add all files for the particular driver (*.INF, *.SYS, ). Added
items will be placed to BootDisk_Drivers root folder. At boot time all *.INF files located in this folder will be installed. c. To add specific scripts to be launched after Active@ Boot Disk is loaded, click Add Scripts tab. Add your scripts (*.CMD files). Added files will be placed to BootDisk_Scripts root folder. At boot time all *.CMD files located in this folder will be executed. d. To specify additional boot options, click Boot Settings tab. You can change default settings to be used: Time Zone, Additional Language Support, Network Support and Auto-start Delay. The same options you can change later on at the boot time on Active@ Boot Disk initialization screen. Default Application option allows to skip launching a default application (applicable to Active@ Boot Disk Lite version being used in other Active@ software products, like Active@ KillDisk). Two additional tabs: Network and Security allow you to pre-define Network Settings: network initialization and static IP configuration, as well as to set up a Boot Disk password protection for boot up process. 3. Click Next. Verify the Selected Media, Sizes and Boot-up Environment. 4. Click Create. A progress bar appears while media is being prepared. Note USB Drive or blank CD/DVD must be inserted and chosen explicitly on the first step, before you can proceed to the next step. Note When you prepare USB Flash Drive bootable media, it will be reformatted, thus all data residing on the media will be erased. You will have a choice of NTFS or FAT32 file system to be placed on USB. We recommend you to use FA32 for smaller volumes and NTFS for larger media size, it supports large volumes (>32GB) and file sizes (>2GB). Note If youve created ISO Image file, you can burn it up later on, either using our free Active@ ISO Burner utility ( www.ntfs.com/iso-burning.htm), or have a disk burning utility that you prefer to use, use it to burn the ISO to a disk. Section 1.3.2 has instructions for some other utilities
1.3.2 Burn the ISO to a bootable CD using other utilities

If you have Roxio EasyCD Creator or Ahead Software Nero - Burning ROM installed, you may use either one of them to burn the ISO to a bootable CD or DVD. Nero Burning ROM (Ahead Software) For more information about this program, visit the Ahead Software Web site at: http://www.ahead.de. To burn the ISO to a CD using Nero - Burning ROM:
1.4 BootDisk_Drivers and BootDisk_Scripts
1. Insert a blank CD in your CD-RW drive. 2. Start Nero - Burning ROM. 3. Follow the wizard steps to burn a Disk Image. 4. In the Open dialog box, locate the Active@ Boot Disk ISO file, and then click Open. 5. In the wizard, click Burn. The ISO image is burned to the CD EasyCD Creator (Roxio) When the program is installed, it is automatically associated with the ISO file extension in Windows Explorer. For more information about this program, visit the Roxio Web site at: http://www.roxio.com. To burn the ISO to a CD using EasyCD Creator: 1. Insert a blank CD in your CD-RW drive. 2. Start Windows Explorer and navigate to the Active@ Boot Disk ISO file. 3. Right-click the file name, and then click Open. The EasyCD application starts. 4. In the Write Method section of the CD Creation Setup dialog box, click Disk at Once for optimum recording performance. 5. Click OK. The ISO image is burned to the CD.
1.4 BootDisk_Drivers and BootDisk_Scripts

You can automate some functions using Active@ Boot Disk. While Active@ Boot Disk is starting, you may install drivers and run scripts that can reduce the amount of time it takes to perform maintenance functions on your data storage system. If you know that your hard drive has damaged drivers, or if you have older or uncommon RAID type or SCSI type drivers, you may create a folder named BootDisk_Drivers on the root of any logical drive and load drivers along with their configuration files into it. Active@ Boot Disk will detect these drivers and install them automatically during the boot process. While Active@ Boot Disk is loading (described in the next section, below), the utility searches for the BootDisk_Drivers folder in the root of all devices. That includes the floppy drive, a USB device, a working hard drive, and so on.
If Active@ Boot Disk finds .INF files inside a folder named BootDisk_Drivers, it tries to load them along with all other files required by the drivers. Whether or not the utility loads drivers, Active@ Boot Disk proceeds to search for a folder named BootDisk_Scripts again in the root of any logical drive. Active@ Boot Disk will run any CMD files, assuming that they are scripts. Active@ Boot Disk Creator helps you to configure these folders. Note Before adding your own drivers, try a full version of Active@ Boot Disk (supplied after purchasing a registration key). It contains 152 driver packs for different types of USB3 controllers, Mass Storage Devices and Network cards. There is a good chance your device will be detected automatically. Note Active@ Boot Disk Lite version (included in other Active@ software packages, like Active@ KillDisk) launches a primary application by default without any command lime parameters. If you need to configure a default application to be run with some command line parameters, you need to create a proper script and place it to the BootDisk_Scripts folder. In this case we recommend you to turn off default application launch (Boot Settings tab in Boot Disk Creator) to avoid two copies of software to be launched after boot disk start up.
1.5 Booting from a CD, DVD or USB Device

You can start your computer and perform data recovery and other functions by starting from a bootable CD, DVD or USB device. To start your computer with the Active@ Boot Disk CD, DVD or USB device, you must first download the ISO file and burn it to the medium. Before you use Active@ Boot Disk, you must purchase it and obtain a registration key, or use supplied evaluation DEMO key. Note For instructions on setting boot sequence priority in the system BIOS, see Chapter 3.0 About Boot Priority. To boot from the Active@ Boot Disk device: 1. To boot from a CD or DVD, put the bootable Active@ Boot Disk CD or DVD disk into the player. 2. To boot from a USB device, plug the bootable Active@ Boot Disk USB device into a USB port.
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3. Start the power on the machine. In a DOS screen, the following message appears: Press any key to skip loading Active@ Boot Disk... 4. If you want to cancel booting up the Active@ Boot Disk and load the operating system on the hard drive, press a key on the keyboard. Otherwise the screen changes and appears to be loading the kernel.
5. After the Windows PE start screen, the screen goes dark for a length of time. Wait for the start page to load. 6. The Active@ Boot Disk start page appears.
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If you do nothing on this page, after the 30-second progress bar completes, Active@ Boot Disk continues automatically. Do the following on this page: a. To add a second language keyboard layout, select the Additional Keyboard layout check box and choose the language from the Keyboard layout to install drop-down list. b. To indicate a different local time zone, choose the time zone from the Time zone drop-down list. c. To set a different screen resolution setting, choose a setting from the Screen resolution drop-down list. d. To initialize your network card and allow a network connection, select the Initialize network interface check box. e. Click OK. The console detects and loads hardware drivers and starts the network connection (if you have initialized the network interface). This may take a long time and the screen may flash to black. 7. The Active@ Boot Disk taskbar appears.
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You are ready to use the utilities in Active@ Boot Disk. After you start the computer this way, you have full exclusive access to the system drive. With this kind of access, you can perform tasks that are not possible when Windows has been started from the hard drive. The only other way to get this type of exclusive access to your hard drive would be to physically remove your hard drive and install it on another computer. Note You cannot save registration information to a file on a hard drive with damaged partitions. Note If you have successfully booted from the CD, DVD or USB device and you do not see your C: drive because it is a Stripe Array (RAID-0) or if you are using an older or non-standard controller, see instructions in Start > Load Driver (page 16).
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2.0 Navigating the Active@ Boot Disk Shell

The Active@ Boot Disk shell works in a way that is similar to the Microsoft Windows shell. The main interface of the shell appears as a taskbar at the bottom of the screen. On the left is a start button with the Active@ symbol on it. Several quick launch icons appear to the right of the start button.
2.1 Start button menu

The Active@ Boot Disk start button is the central launching point for applications, utilities and support documentation. To access one of the applications or utilities, click the start button. A menu appears with shortcuts to applications, utilities and documentation under the following headings: Programs Data backup, data recovery and data security programs that allow you to: Back up or restore physical and logical hard drives, including folders, data files and installed applications. Use an ISO disk image or burn files to a CD or DVD. Protect your valuable data by regularly making backups. Recover data from deleted or damaged partitions on attached or external drives, portable drives and memory cards. Recover data from damaged or deleted files or folders. Reset password and user accounts on your system. View and edit disk sector content in raw format. Securely erase data from hard drives in a way that it is impossible to restore the data. Wipe data from unused clusters on a regular basis to make your drive's deleted or temporary data unavailable to intruders. Monitor the reliability status of your local hard drives to help prevent data loss due to hard drive failure. Network Network operations utilities to map network drives, view network status, renew your computer IP address or connect to a remote desktop. Utilities Monitor the physical status of your hard drives, defragment volumes, create delete and format drive partitions, copy move and delete files and folders and edit registry parameters. Allow menus and dialogs to display in local languages and change the keyboard layout. Search for and display registry details. Also make calculations, notes and graphics about actions that you have done or need to do.
System Run system utilities like Windows Task Manager, Partition Manager and Check Disk. Run commands in a DOS environment. Also, display system information, change the display resolution and color mode. Games included 3 games to spend some time while time consuming process (like large hard disk erasing) is in progress. Internet Run QtWeb internet browser to explore the Internet, send emails and download files from an FTP site or use Telnet client to connect to a Telnet server. Documentation Documents included with Active@ Boot Disk.
2.1.1 Other start button features

Start > About Boot Disk To get information about your purchased license or the status of your DEMO install, click Start > About Boot Disk.
Start > Run Use Run to launch a program from a command line.
To start a program using Run: 1. Click Start > Run. The Run dialog box appears. 2. In Open, type the path to the program you want to open, or click Browse to locate it. 3. Click OK. The Open drop-down list displays programs you have opened recently.
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Start > Load Driver Load Driver will help if you have SCSI drive controllers or an older or uncommon RAID type device. Load Driver will also help if you cannot find any other type of driver, for example, video driver, sound card driver, etc. To load a driver: 1. Click Start > Load Driver. The Active@ Driver Installer dialog box appears. 2. In INF Path, enter the path to the driver information file or click Browse to locate it. 3. Click INSTALL DRIVER! After the driver is installed, you should be able to locate the driver using Utilities > Explore My Computer. Similarly, the system should be able to locate and use the driver. Note If you do not have the driver information file on the current drive, do one of the following: Load a CD or DVD disk with the correct drivers into the CD/DVD drive or plug a USB device with the correct drivers into a USB port. Close Active@ Driver Installer. Use QtWeb Internet Browser or another Internet utility to download the driver from an Internet URL and save it to your hard drive. Start this procedure again at step 1. Note You may load drivers automatically at boot time. For more information, see 1.4 BootDisk_Drivers and BootDisk_Scripts.
Start > Turn Off Computer When you turn off the Active@ Boot Disk shell, you have the option to shut down your computer, restart it or cancel the exit routine.
2.2 Quick launch icons

Several permanent icons appear to the right of the Active@ Boot Disk start button. To see a hover box with additional information about a quick launch icon, hold your mouse pointer over the icon. Use these icons to conveniently open the following programs: Active@ Disk Image Active@ File Recovery Active@ Partition Recovery
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Active@ Password Changer Active@ Partition Manager Active@ Disk Editor Active@ KillDisk Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner Active@ Disk Monitor Note To allow the taskbar to hide automatically, click the lock icon to unlock it. The taskbar hides until you hold the mouse pointer over the bottom of the screen. To lock the taskbar in place, click the lock icon to lock it.
2.3 System utility icons

On the right part of the taskbar is a system tray with a clock showing the system time. At the bottom of the taskbar, todays date appears, along with the total amount of RAM and the amount of free memory available. As well, several icons provide quick access to system utilities. To see a hover box with additional information about a system utility icon, hold the mouse pointer over one of the icons. Use these icons to conveniently open these utilities: Virtual Keyboard Screenshot utility Explore My Computer Task Manager Display Settings Date and Time (You may also double-click the clock.) If a network is installed, the Network connection icon displays full configuration details such as operational status, IP address, DNS server address, firewall status, and so on. If a second language is installed, the current language is displayed, along with a hint about how to change the active language. After you have successfully started Active@ Boot Disk, click Utilities > Explore My Computer. The Boot Disk Explorer utility appears. You should see all the physical and logical devices associated with your computer along with the RAM drive Boot (X:).
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Virtual Keyboard
This utility can be helpful if the only mouse is available as an input device, or on touch screens. To use Virtual Keyboard: 1. Click the Virtual Keyboard icon. The On-Screen Keyboard workspace appears. 2. Open Active@ Boot Disk application or any other dialog and place a blinking cursor to the data field that needs to have some information to be typed in. 3. Click virtual keys with a mouse, or use touch screen to type some text information. If you switch an input language (Left Alt+Shift), virtual keyboard will be changed as well to display a selected language letters. .
Screenshot
This utility is an easy-to-use, flexible way to take a snapshot of on-screen details in the Active@ Boot Disk environment. To use Screenshot: 1. Open any Active@ Boot Disk application. 2. Click the Screenshot icon. The Screenshot workspace appears as a semi-transparent overlay. 3. Change the size and location of the workspace. The area that is covered is the area that will be captured. When you change the size and location of the workspace, the Top and Left values change to identify the location of the top left corner of the workspace. At the same time, the Height and Width values change to reflect any change in the size of the workspace. To change the size of the Screenshot workspace, click and drag an edge or a corner of the workspace. To change the location of the workspace, click anywhere on Screenshot and drag to a different location. To fill the entire screen, click Maximize. 4. With the Screenshot workspace in place, you may return to the original application using ALT+TAB keyboard combination. You may also click the original application to return to it, however if you click an area of the application that is covered by the Screenshot workspace, the focus returns to Screenshot. 5. To capture the screen image, in Screenshot, click Grab. A semitransparent image of the screen appears in the workspace.
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6. To clear the existing screen image, click Clear. The workspace clears. 7. To save the screen image, click Save and navigate to the folder where you want to save the image. You may save the image as PNG or BMP.
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3.0 Programs and utilities

This chapter provides detailed descriptions of all the programs and utilities included with Active@ Boot Disk. Applications are listed in this chapter in the order that they appear in the Active@ Boot Disk start menu.
3.1 Programs
3.1.1 Active@ Disk Image - Create an exact image of the data stored in selected partitions of a hard disk or an image of the entire hard disk. 3.1.2 Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner - Write/burn files and folders onto CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-RW, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. 3.1.3 Active@ Partition Recovery - Recover deleted or damaged partitions located on data volumes, attached hard drives, as well as on external USB drives and Memory Cards (SunDisk, MemoryStick, CompactFlash, etc.). 3.1.4 Active@ File Recovery - Recover files that have been damaged, destroyed by a virus or if the file directory has been destroyed. 3.1.5 Active@ Disk Editor - Edit a disks raw sector data to analyze and repair the MBR and other important files. Advanced search capabilities and templates for viewing MBR, Boot Sectors, LDM, MFT records are available 3.1.6 Active@ Password Changer - Recover from forgotten or damaged user passwords. This utility supports multiple hard disk drives. 3.1.7 Active@ KillDisk - Destroy data permanently from any computer. Also, wipe deleted data, securely removing all data in unoccupied sectors 3.1.8 Active@ Partition Manager - Perform maintenance tasks on hard drive partitions. 3.1.9 Active@ Disk Monitor - Monitor the reliability status of your local hard drives to help prevent data loss due to hard drive failure.
3.1.1 Active@ Disk Image

Active@ Disk Image is a Windows-based solution that allows you to create an exact image of the data stored in selected partitions of a hard disk or an image of the entire hard disk. You can protect your valuable data by regularly making a disk image and keeping it in a safe place. If you have trouble with data corruption, or if you want to refer to an archived version of a file, you can easily restore the data.
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The application provides many tools around backing up data on your hard disk: Disk to Image - Opens the Disk to Image Wizard. Helps you to create a regular type disk image archive of an entire disk or of selected partitions in the system. Image to Disk - Opens the Image to Disk Wizard. Helps you to restore data from a disk image archive. Explore Image - Opens Active@ Disk Image Explorer. Helps you to browse through folders and files in a disk image as though it was a hard drive. You may select folders or individual files and restore them. Verify Image - Opens the Verify Image Wizard. Helps you check the integrity of a disk image archive file. Create Raw Image - Opens the Create Raw Image Wizard. Helps you create a raw type disk image of only one partition or the entire disk. Clone Disk - Opens the Clone Disk Wizard. Helps you to transfer a sector-by-sector copy from one disk (partition) to another.
Partition Manager A tool that helps you create, delete, format or show properties of partitions on all devices in your system. This guide describes only the Disk to Image tool. For a description of the other tools, see the Active@ Disk Image Users Guide document in the Documentation tab of the Active@ Boot Disk shell. Creating a Disk or Partition Image The Disk to Image Wizard steps you through the process of creating a disk image for a whole disk or a number of partitions. To create a disk or partition image: 1. To open Active@ Disk Image, in the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Disk Image. 2. To open the Disk to Image Wizard, from the Tools menu, choose Disk to Image. 3. Click Next. The Select Disks and Partitions page appears. 4. Select a check box next to a disk or partition if you want to include that disk or partition in the disk image. At the bottom of the list a total size for the selected partitions is displayed. 5. Click Next. The Indicate Backup Location page appears. 6. Do the following: If a CD/DVD burner is available, select the CD/DVD radio button, select a device from the Device drop-down list and type a descriptive disk image name into the Backup name field.
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To save the disk image to a hard disk, select the Local or network file radio button, type a descriptive disk image name into the Backup name field and type the path or click Browse... and navigate to the location where you want to save the disk image. 7. Click Next. The Image Options page appears. 8. Do the following: To set the compression speed, select one of three radio buttons: None give you fast results and a larger file size. Normal (recommended) is a compromise between a smaller file size and a faster operation speed. High provides the smallest file size and takes the longest time to complete. To try saving the disk image to a single file, in the Image Splitting area, select the Automatic (try single file) radio button. If the system runs out of free disk space on the disk where you are saving the backupor if you are storing an image file on disk with a FAT file systemActive@ Disk Image automatically splits the archive into multiple files and prompts you for the path to write the next file. To manually indicate how to split the disk image, in the Image Splitting area, select the Fixed size (MB) radio button and type a file size in megabytes or choose a size from the drop-down list. To protect sensitive data on a disk image, in Password, type a password (maximum 16 characters) and type the same password in Confirm. Optionally, type a short description of your disk image (maximum 1,024 characters) into the Image description text box. 9. Click Next. The Confirm Operation Details page appears. 10. Do the following: Review the details in the summary. To write a log of events into a text file, select the Write text log to check box and type the path to the text file or click Browse and navigate to the location where you want to save the text file. 11. Click Next. The Progress Status page appears. 12. You may watch the progress of the operation. 13. To stop the operation at any time, click Cancel. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ Disk Image User Guide.
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3.1.2 Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner

To run Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner. The Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner dialog box appears. 2. Place a writable CD/DVD in the drive. 3. To add a folder, in the Base field, click Browse. Navigate to a base folder to burn to the CD/DVD. Select it and click Open. The name of the selected folder appears. 4. To add a file, in the Root list, click Add File. Navigate to a file to burn to the CD/DVD. Select it and click Open. The file name appears in the list. 5. To add a folder, in the Root list click Add Folder. Navigate to a folder to burn to the CD/DVD. Select it and click Open. The folder name appears in the list. 6. To remove an item from the Root list, select it and click Delete. 7. To label the CD/DVD, type a descriptive label in Disc Label. 8. To burn files and folders to the CD/DVD and keep the original path hierarchy, in File and Folder Path, click the Keep Full Path radio button. 9. To burn all files and folders to the root of the CD/DVD, click the Normal (No Path) radio button. 10. Select a drive and a write speed from the Burner drop-down list. 11. To change write settings: a. Click Settings. The Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner Settings dialog box appears. b. Change the settings to suit your writing needs. c. Click OK. 12. Click BURN! Files are written to the CD/DVD. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ CD/DVD Burner User Guide
3.1.3 Active@ Partition Recovery

Active@ Partition Recovery is a data recovery utility that you can use to: Find and recover deleted partitions and logical drives Create a Drive Image for backup purposes
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Fix or create a typical MBR (Master Boot Record) This means that you can recover deleted or damaged partitions located on data volumes (D:, E:, and so on), attached hard drives, as well as on the external USB drives and Memory Cards (SunDisk, MemoryStick, CompactFlash, etc.). On a system partition, BOOT.INI is corrected automatically (if needed) to repair an un-bootable system. As well, damaged Volume Boot Sectors are corrected to maintain integrity of the partition. This utility also enables you to fix a damaged MBR and to delete invalid partitions. For any computer to boot properly, the following conditions must apply: The MBR (Master Boot Record) exists and is not damaged The Partition Table exists and contains at least one active partition If these conditions exist, the executable code in the MBR selects an active partition and passes control to it so that it can start loading the system files (COMMAND.COM, NTLDR, ... ). If these files are missing or corrupted then the operating system will be unbootable. Data Recovery Tips DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING ONTO THE DRIVE THAT CONTAINS YOUR IMPORTANT DELETED DATA! When you install software, you write data onto the disk. This can destroy your deleted data. If you have only one logical drive, physically remove the hard drive from the computer and install it as a second logical drive on another computer where data recovery may be possible. DO NOT SAVE RECOVERED DATA ONTO THE SAME DRIVE THAT CONTAINS THE LOST OR DAMAGED DATA! When saving recovered data, you are writing records to the file table. If you write these records to the same drive that contains the damaged data, you are destroying the file table records that you are trying to recover. At the same time, you may be destroying the file table records for other deleted entries. It is best to save recovered data onto another logical, removable or network drive. CREATE A RAW DISK IMAGE IF YOU HAVE AN EXTRA HARD DRIVE, OR OTHER LOGICAL DRIVES THAT ARE BIG ENOUGH! A Raw Disk Image is a single file that stores all the data from your logical drive or physical device as a mirror image. Having a Raw Disk Image can be useful when you want to back up the contents of the whole drive, and restore it or work with it later. Before you start recovering deleted files, it may be a good idea to create a Raw Disk Image for the one drive, if you have enough space on another drive. If you do something wrong while recovering the files (for example, recovering them onto the same drive and destroying the data), you will be able to recover these deleted files and folders from the Raw Disk Image that you have wisely created.
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Find and recover deleted partitions and logical drives To find and recover deleted partitions and logical drives: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Partition Recovery. The Active@ Partition Recovery workspace appears with all available devices listed in a tree view under Local System Devices. 2. To scan an unallocated space, select it. Known details of the selected item are displayed in the right pane. 3. To scan the unallocated space in basic mode, do the following: a. Click Quick Scan. The status bar displays the progress of the scan. b. After the scan is complete, a list of all allocated and unallocated partitions appears in the Local System Devices list. 4. If you cannot see a logical drive, to process the whole surface of a disk, select it and click Super Scan. The Super Scan Options dialog box appears. Do the following: a. From the Scan What drop-down list, choose the area that you want to scan. b. To restrict the scan to a small number of sectors, indicate the From sector and the number of sectors to scan. c. Select the check box next to each type of partition that you want to scan. d. Click Start. The status bar displays the progress of the scan. e. After the scan is complete, a new folder named SuperScan appears in the Local System Devices list. 5. To display a smaller set of SuperScan results, do the following: a. Right-click the SuperScan device node folder. b. From the context menu choose Filter... The Filter Found Partitions dialog box appears. c. To select the types of file systems data that are displayed, in the Display File Systems area, clear the check box beside the types that you do not want to display. d. To display only those partitions within a specified size limit, in the Partition Size area, indicate the minimum and maximum size of partitions in Megabytes. e. To use basic filtering parameters, in the Filter Type area, click Use Basic Filtering. f. To select displayed partitions based on partition status, in the Basic Filtering [Partition Status] area, clear the check box next to each partition status number that you do not want to display.
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g. To use advanced filtering parameters, in the Filter Type area, click Use Advanced Filtering. h. To restrict displayed results for NTFS-specific parameters, in the Advanced Filtering [NTFS specific] area, select the check box beside all the types of data that you want to display. i. To restrict displayed results for FAT-specific parameters, in the Advanced Filtering [FAT specific] area, select the check box beside all the types of data that you want to display. j. Click Filter. The right panel displays the filtered results. 6. You may manage other aspects of SuperScan results: a. To resume a stopped SuperScan, right-click the folder and choose Resume from the context menu. SuperScan resumes. b. To save scan results, right-click the SuperScan folder and choose Save Scan Results. Similarly, you may open the saved scan results at a different time. c. To delete a SuperScan folder, right-click the folder and choose Delete. d. To display detailed properties of a SuperScan folder, right-click the folder and choose Properties. 7. To recover deleted or damaged partition select it and click Recover. The Active@ Partition Recovery parameters dialog box appears. To specify recovery options, do the following: a. To ensure that the Windows operating system assigns the correct letter to the disk, select a disk letter from the Assign Disk Letter drop-down list. b. To set the recovered partition as active and allow the system to boot from it, select the Set Partition Active check box. c. The recovery process checks the boot sector and fixes it if it is damaged. Select Automatic or Manual, depending on how you want to do this. d. If the disk has an extended partition, select the Create Extended Partition First check box and/or use ALL Unallocated area check box. If these areas are not available, these check boxes will be disabled. e. To save a copy of the partitioning information before recovering, select the Backup Current Partitioning Info check box and indicate the file name to store the backup. f. Click Recover. The partition is recovered to the new path.
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Creating a Raw Disk Image A Raw Disk Image is a mirror copy of your entire logical drive or physical device stored as set of files. It may be a good idea to create a Raw Disk Image for a drive containing deleted files that you want to recover, if you have enough space on another drive. If you do something wrong while attempting to recover a partition, you will be able to recover these deleted files and folders from the Raw Disk Image of that partition. Depending on disk image creation settings, a Raw Disk Image consists of a configuration file (with an extension .DIM) and a single file chunk, or set of files having extensions .000, .001, .002 ... (each file chunk has a size of 2GB in this case).
Important Do not save a Raw Disk Image back onto the disk that you are backing up. The target location to save the Raw Disk Image must always be another drive. To create a Raw Disk Image: 1. In the Active@ Partition Recovery workspace, select a logical drive or a physical device. 2. Click Image. The Create Disk Image dialog box appears. 3. In the Save In drop-down list, select another physical device or another logical drive. 4. Browse to the folder where you want to save the Disk Image. 5. In File Name, give the Disk Image file a descriptive name. 6. Click Save. A progress bar appears. Watch the progress and wait while drive's contents are copied to the new location. You may cancel the process of image creation anytime by clicking Stop.
Fixing or creating the MBR The MBR (Master Boot Record) is created when you generate the first partition on a hard disk. It is probably the most important data structure on the disk. The location is always track (cylinder) 0, side (head) 0, and sector 1. The MBR contains the partition table for the disk and a small amount of executable code. On x86-based computers, the executable code examines the Partition Table, and identifies the system partition. The MBR then finds the system partition's starting location on the disk, and loads a copy of its Partition Boot Sector into memory. The MBR then transfers execution to executable code in the Partition Boot Sector.
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To fix or create a typical MBR: 1. In the Active@ Partition Recovery workspace, in the Local System Devices list, select a disk. 2. From the Tools menu, choose Fix MBR (Create Typical MBR). A Warning message appears. 3. Click Yes. The MBR is fixed. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ Partition Recovery User Guide.
3.1.4 Active@ File Recovery

Active@ File Recovery is a data recovery utility that you can use to restore accidentally deleted files and folders located on existing drives, and even on deleted or damaged partitions. It is best to save recovered data onto another logical, removable, network or floppy drive. Make sure that you have access to another physical or logical drive before attempting to recover a file. To run Active@ File Recovery: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ File Recovery. The Active@ File Recovery workspace appears with all available devices listed in a tree view under Local System Devices. 2. To scan a logical drive, select it. A message in the right pane reads Disk not scanned yet... 3. To scan the drive in basic mode, do the following: a. Click Quick Scan. The status bar displays the progress of the scan. b. After the scan is complete, a list of all folders and files appears in the right pane. 4. If you cannot locate or find your deleted files and folders, to process the whole surface of a disk, select it and click SuperScan. The SuperScan Options dialog box appears. Do the following: a. From the Scan What drop-down list, choose the drive that you want to scan. b. To restrict the scan to a small number of sectors, indicate the From sector and the number of sectors to scan. c. Select the check box next to each type of partition that you want to search for deleted files and folders.
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d. To use utility tools to re-build image files (BMP, JPG, DOC, ZIP, etc.) from partial data, select options in File types to be recognized based on signatures area. e. Click Start. The status bar displays the progress of the scan. f. After the scan is complete, a list of detected partitions appears in the right pane. You may search through these partitions. g. If you chose to re-build image files, a folder named Files Recognized by Signatures appears. You may search through the contents of this folder. 5. After you have scanned a drive, to search for deleted or damaged folders or files: a. To search manually, browse through the contents of each folder in the Local System Devices list. b. To use the search tool, click Search. The Advanced Search dialog box appears. c. In the Find What field, enter all or part of a file or folder name. You may use wildcard characters to locate all files or folders that include that part in a name. d. In the Find Where drop-down list, select a device or a partition to search. e. In the File Type drop-down list, select the type of file or folder to search for. f. In the next three check boxes, you may choose to: Include deleted files and folders - Select this check box to search through files and folders marked as deleted. If you know that the file or folder you are searching for has not been deleted, that is - if the file or folder is damaged and still exists in the file table - clear this check box. Include non-deleted files and folders - Select this check box to search through existing files and folders. If you know that you are searching for a deleted file or folder, clear this check box. Case insensitive search - File Recovery will search for the Find What file or folder name without regard to upper or lower case letters. To search for a file or folder using only the upper or lower case letters specified in Find What, clear this check box. 6. To search for files or folders based on a specified date range, select any combination of check boxes for Created, Modified or Accessed (Deleted) and indicate the date range. 7. To search for files or folders based on the size of the file, select the Size check box and indicate a size range. 8. To start the search, click Find. The status bar displays the progress of the search.
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9. After the search is complete, a new folder named Search appears in the Local System Devices list. 10. Select a file or folder that you want to restore. 11. Click Recover. The Recovery Options dialog box appears. Do the following: a. In the Name field, revise the file name. b. In the Recover To field, enter a path to a drive other than the drive where you found this file or folder. You may also browse to another drive. c. Click Recover. The file or folder is recovered to the new path. Note A device scan or a search may take a long time. To stop a device scan or a search, click Stop at any time. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ File Recovery User Guide.
3.1.5 Active@ Disk Editor

Active@ Disk Editor is a utility to help you edit a disk's raw sector data. The editor displays information in binary and text modes at the same time. You can use this view to analyze the contents of data storage structure elements such as hard disks and partitions. The Open Disk dialog box displays a list of available storage devices and a list of logical drives. The Data Inspector displays whatever is currently under the cursor. It does so in ten different formats. This may help you interpret data as displayed in HEX Editor. If you choose to view the Data Inspector, the window always appears docked to the left panel when you are using Active@ Disk Editor. A destructive virus may damage the MBR (Master Boot Record) and make it impossible to start the computer from the hard disk. When you start the computer, the code in the MBR executes before the operating system is started. If the MBR is corrupted, the operating system cannot start. The location of the MBR is always track (cylinder) 0, side (head) 0, and sector 1. You may use Active@ Disk Editor to repair a damaged MBR. This section contains help with the following: Starting Active@ HEX Editor Changing the Workspace View Navigating to Key Sectors
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Editing Tools Starting Active@ Disk Editor To start Active@ Disk Editor: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Disk Editor. The Open Disk dialog box appears. 2. Click a device or a logical drive to select it. 3. Click Open. The Active@ Disk Editor workspace appears. 4. To browse through the content of the open item: Click either the hexadecimal area or the text area to focus on it. Use the scroll bar, keyboard arrows or the mouse wheel.
5. To toggle the focus between hexadecimal and text panes, press TAB. Changing the Workspace ViewWhen you start Active@ Disk Editor, the default view shows the Info Pane on the left and the editing pane on the right, with a Status Pane across the bottom. You may change the default configuration of the workspace so that it opens with your custom settings each time. To change Active@ Disk Editor default options: 1. In Active@ Disk Editor, click View toolbar button. The drop-down list of available views appears. 2. You may show or hide the Templates View, Properties View, Data Inspector View, Bookmarks View and Find Results View at the left of the workspace, for example for the Templates View: To hide the Templates Pane, clear the Templates check box. To show the Templates Pane, select the Templates check box. 3. To change the default size of the font in the editing pane, select a size from the Text size drop-down list. 4. To toggle the display of the current address offset between hexadecimal and decimal, from the View menu, choose Hexadecimal Offset.
Navigating to Key Sectors To navigate to key sectors on the open item: 1. To open a different device or logical drive:
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a. Click Open Disk from File menu, or press Ctrl+O. The Open Disk dialog box appears. b. Click a device or a logical drive to select it. Click Open. c. The Active@ Disk Editor workspace appears. 2. To jump to a named sector or offset: a. From the Navigate menu, choose Go to Offset or Go to Sector. The Go to Offset/Sector dialog box appears. b. To jump to a named offset, type the offset value as Decimal. Use a prefix 0x to use hexadecimal values. c. To jump to a named sector, in the Sector field, type the sector number. To jump to a named cluster, in the Cluster field, type the cluster number. d. Click Ok. The sector/offset appears in the editing panel. 3. To jump to the volume boot sector, from the Navigate menu, choose Boot Sector (0). The boot sector appears. 4. To jump to the partition table, from the Navigate menu, choose Partition Table. The partition table sector appears in the editing panel. 5. To edit the partition table: a. From the Navigate menu, choose Partition Table. Navigation will be positioned to the sector 0, and Master Boot Record template is applied. The Signature (55 AA) at the end of zero sector marks the end of the Partition Table. b. Review the settings for partition table entries 1, 2, 3 and 4 in a Template View at the left side. c. Turn on edit mode (Ctrl+Alt+E) and modify partition table parameters. d. To save changes, click Save. 6. From the Navigate menu, you may jump to many named sectors. These sectors are listed with the sector name and a number that is unique to your hard drive. To jump to the unallocated boot sector, from the Navigate menu, choose Unallocated (<your partition size>GB) > Boot Sector (<your sector number>). To jump to various primary NTFS locations, from the Navigate menu, choose Primary NTFS (<your partition size> GB) and do one of the following: To jump to the boot sector, click Boot Sector (<your sector number>). The primary boot sector appears in the editing panel. To jump to the boot sector copy, click Boot Sector Copy (<your sector number>). The primary boot sector copy appears in the editing panel.
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To jump to the MFT (Master File Table) sector, click $MFT (<your sector number>). The MFT sector appears in the editing panel. To jump to the MFT mirror, click $MFT Mirror (<your sector number>). The MFT mirror sector appears in the editing panel.
Editing tools You may paste code or text from the Windows Clipboard. Use these tools to copy and paste selected code. To use editing tools: 1. To toggle whether or not to allow editing in the editing pane, from the Edit menu, choose Allow Edit content. 2. To select a whole area: a. Click anywhere in a navigation view. b. From the Edit menu, choose Select All. The whole area is selected. 3. To select part of a sector, click and drag the cursor over some code. You may select code this way in either the HEX area or in the text area. 4. To copy HEX data, if you selected code in the HEX area, from the Edit menu, choose Copy Formatted Selected HEX data is copied to the Clipboard. 5. To copy text data, if you selected code in the text area, from the Edit menu, choose Copy. Selected text data is copied to the Clipboard. c. 6. To paste data from the Clipboard: a. Click the cursor in the area where you want to paste data. b. From the Edit menu, choose Paste. The data appears. 7. To discard all changes that you have not saved yet (if any were made) and roll back settings to the way they were at the last save, from the Edit menu, click Revert Chages. 8. To save changes, click Save. Note By default, you cannot edit content in Active@ Disk Editor. You must choose "Allow Edit Content" in the Edit menu in order to change the code. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ Disk Editor User Guide.
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3.1.6 Active@ Password Changer

You can use Active@ Password Changer to recover your passwords and user account attributes in a Windows environment. Active@ Password Changer is designed for resetting the local administrator password on Windows systems in case the administrator's password is forgotten or lost. You do not need to re-install and re-configure the operating system. This utility supports multiple hard disk drives, detects several SAM databases (if multiple operating systems were installed on one volume) and provides the opportunity to pick the right SAM before starting the password recovery process. It also displays a list of all local users. Other Windows login security restrictions can be reset, for example: 'Account is disabled' 'Password never expires' 'Account is locked out' 'User Must Change Password at Next Logon' 'Logon Hours' With Active@ Password Changer you can log in as a particular user with a blank password. To use Active@ Password Changer: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Password Changer. The Active@ Password Changer dialog box appears. 2. To change passwords on the current drive, click Choose the Logical Drive. 3. To scan the disk and detect multiple operating systems, do the following: a. Click Search for MS SAM Database(s). b. Click Next. The progress bar indicates the status of scanning. A list of SAM hives appears. c. Select a database from the list. 4. Click Next. The list of users appears. 5. Select a user from the list and click Next. The parameters for the selected user appear. 6. Select parameter check boxes to create the situation that you want. 7. Click Save. A confirmation dialog box appears.
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8. Click Yes. An information message indicates that the changes have been made. 9. Click OK. 10. For each user that you want to change, repeat steps 5 through 9. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ Password Changer User Guide
3.1.7 Active@ KillDisk

Active@ KillDisk is a powerful utility that will: Wipe confidential data from unused space on your hard drive Erase data from partitions or from an entire hard disk Destroy data permanently Wiping the logical drive's deleted data does not delete existing files and folders. It processes all unoccupied drive space so that data recovery of previously deleted files becomes impossible. Installed applications and existing data are not touched by this process. Active@ KillDisk wipes unused data residue from file slack space, unused sectors, and unused space in MTF records or system records. When you erase data with Active@ KillDisk, you destroy data permanently, conforming to any one of six international standards or your own custom settings. Wiping drive space or erasing data can take a long time, so perform these operations when you are prepared to wait. For example, these operations may be run overnight. To run Active@ KillDisk: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ KillDisk. After initializing, the Active@ KillDisk workspace appears with all available devices listed under System Local Disks. 2. Click a physical drive or a logical drive to select it. Properties of the selected device appear in the Properties tab to the right. 3. To scan the selected logical drive, click Scan. The Progress tab appears, showing the status of the scan while Time Left counts down the remaining time. After the scan completes, sub-folders appear in the System Local Disks list and the folders and files in the selected drive appear in the Folders and Files tab.
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Available files and folders appear with a colored icon. Deleted files and folders appear with a gray icon. 4. After the scan has completed, you may do the following: Select existing and deleted folder and file information in the Folders and Files tab. To view sectors of data in a device or logical drive, select a device or drive and click Hex Preview. The Data Viewer appears. Scroll through the available data. To view sectors of data in a file: a. Select a logical drive. Files and folders appear in the right panel. b. In the right panel, select a file. c. Click Hex Preview. The Data Viewer appears. Scroll through the available data. To clear data residue from unused sectors: a. Select the check box next to a device or logical drive or multiple devices or logical drives. b. Click Wipe. The Wipe Free Disk Space dialog box appears. c. Choose a method from the Wipe Method drop-down list. (Method descriptions appear below.) d. Set other parameters for wiping. (Parameter descriptions appear below.) e. Click Start. If the Skip Confirmation check box is clear, the Confirm Action dialog box appears. Click Yes. f. The Progress bar appears. g. To stop the process at any time, press ESC. To erase data completely: a. Select the check box next to a device or logical drive or multiple devices or multiple logical drives. b. Click Kill. The Kill dialog box appears. c. Choose a method from the Erase Method drop-down list. (Method descriptions appear below.) d. Set other parameters for erasing. (Parameter descriptions appear below.) e. Click Start. If the Skip Confirmation check box is clear, the Confirm Action dialog box appears.
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This is the final step before removing data from the selected drive for ever. Type ERASE-ALL-DATA in the text box and press ENTER or click YES. f. The Progress bar appears. g. To stop the process at any time, press ESC. After the Wipe or Kill operation is complete, information about the wipe or erase session is displayed in the Session Log. Wiping or Erasing Methods Select a wipe method or an erase method from the Method drop-down list. One Pass Zeros or One Pass Random: The number of passes is fixed and cannot be changed. When the write head passes through a sector, it writes only zeros or a series of random characters. US DoD 5220.22-M: The write head passes over each sector three times. The first time with zeros (0x00), second time with 0xFF and the third time with random characters. There is one final pass to verify random characters by reading. German VSITR: The write head passes over each sector seven times. Russian GOST p50739-95: The write head passes over each sector five times. Gutmann: The write head passes over each sector 35 times. User Defined: You indicate the number of times the write head passes over each sector. Each overwriting pass is performed with a buffer containing random characters.
Parameters for Wiping or Erasing Verification: To set the amount of area the utility reads to verify the wipe method, select the Verification check box. Because verification is a long process, you may specify a percentage of the surface to be verified. To wipe or erase without verification, clear this check box. Retry Attempts: To specify the number of retries to do when an error is encountered, enter the number in Retry Attempts. Ignore Errors: To hide error messages while data wiping, erasing or verification is in progress, select the Ignore Errors check box. To show all error messages during wiping, erasing or verification, clear the Ignore Errors check box. All errors are written to the session log in either case. Clear Log File before Start: To truncate the session log before erasing or wiping starts, select the Clear Log File before Start check box. To append this sessions information to the existing session log, clear the Clear Log File before Start check box. Skip Confirmation: The confirmation dialog box is the final step before either erasing or wiping data. To bypass this dialog box, select the Skip
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Confirmation check box. To include this safety step, clear the Skip Confirmation check box. It is safer to run Active@ KillDisk with this check box cleared (default state). Initialize device(s) after Kill: This check box appears only when you are erasing data from a disk. Before you can use a disk, you must initialize it. To initialize a disk as a basic disk automatically after the erasing process, select this check box. To initialize a disk as a basic disk manually, clear this check box. Wipe unused space in MFT/Root area: This check box appears only when you are wiping data from unused space on the drive. To clear data residue from unoccupied space in the MFT (Master File Table)/Root area on the drive, select this check box. To skip this area, clear the check box. Wipe slack space in file clusters: This check box appears only when you are wiping data from unused space on the drive. For a more thorough wiping of data residue from unused portions of clusters without touching existing data, select this check box. For a quick process, clear this check box. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ KillDisk User Guide.
3.1.8 Active@ Partition Manager

Use this utility to perform maintenance tasks on hard drive partitions. To use Active@ Partition Manager: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Partition Manager. The Active@ Partition Manager workspace appears. 2. From the Data Storage Devices and Partitions list, click a device to select it. 3. To view the properties of the selected device, click Properties. The device properties report box appears. To close it, click OK. 4. To create a partition: a. On a hard disk device, click an Unallocated area in the list to select it. b. Click Create. The Create Partition dialog box appears. c. At the top of the dialog box, select the partition type. It may be one of: Primary Partition Extended Partition Logical Drive in the extended partition
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d. In Partition geometry, type the partition offset (in sectors) and the partition size (in megabytes). To use the maximum available size for this partition, in Partition size in MB type 0. e. In Drive Letter, select a drive letter from the drop-down list. f. To format this partition, select the Format this partition with the following settings radio button and set parameters for the format action. g. To leave the partition unformatted, click the Do not format this partition radio button. h. Click OK. The partition is created. 5. To delete a partition: a. Click a partition in the list to select it. b. Click Delete. A confirmation message appears. c. Click Yes. The partition is deleted. 6. To format a partition: a. Click a partition in the list to select it. b. Click Format. The Format dialog box appears. c. Give the partition a volume label in Volume Label. d. Select a file system type in the File System drop-down list. e. Select an allocation unit size in the Allocation unit size drop-down list. f. To perform a quick format, select the Perform a quick format check box. g. To perform a full format, clear the Perform a quick format check box. h. Click OK. A progress bar appears. 7. To change the letter for a device, a. Click a device in the list to select it. b. Click Change Letter. The Change Drive Letter dialog box appears with the first available letter selected. c. To change the drive letter, select a letter from the Assign the following drive letter drop-down list. d. Click OK. The letter is assigned. Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ Partition Manager User Guide.
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3.1.9 Active@ Disk Monitor

Monitor the reliability status of your local hard drives to help prevent data loss due to hard drive failure. (Use this utility to perform maintenance tasks on hard drives in the system.) Note This is the free version of this utility and some functions are disabled. Some functions that are enabled apply only when using the stand-alone version of Active @ Hard Disk Monitor. To use Active@ Hard Disk Monitor: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Programs > Active@ Hard Disk Monitor. The Active@ Hard Disk Monitor workspace appears. 2. To change the settings of the utility, click Preferences. The Preferences dialog box appears. Do the following: a. In the Poll settings tab: To change the frequency for checking status of the device, make changes in the Check every fields. To change the frequency for checking the amount of free disk space, make changes in the Check Free Disk Space every fields. To show which disk to monitor, choose it from the Disk dropdown list. To start Active@ Hard Disk Monitor when Windows starts, select the Enable at Windows startup check box. b. In the Environment tab: To change how drive temperature is displayed, choose a different setting in the Show temperature in drop-down list. To change the appearance of the workspace, choose a different setting in the Style drop-down list. The Hard Disk Monitor tray icon can show three states. To change the default color for each of these states, change them in the TrayIcon color drop-down lists. 3. From the Local System Disks list, click a device to select it. Information about the selected device appears in the right panel. 4. To display attributes about the device, click the Disk Info tab. Attributes appear in the panel. 5. To display SMART attributes, click the SMART Info tab. Performance and health attributes appear in the panel. 6. To scan the selected device to detect bad blocks, click the Scan Disk tab and do the following:
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To change the block size, in the Check Block Size area, choose a different size. To specify a start sector and a stop sector for the scan, type the sector numbers in the From sector and To sector fields. Click Start Scan. The progress bar indicates progress of the scan. To stop the scan at any time, click Stop Scan. After the scan is complete, the Scan Disk Complete message box appears with details of the scan. To view a list of events run in the session, click Event Log. A list of events appears in the panel.
Note For more detailed instructions and support, see the Active@ Disk Monitor User Guide.
3.2 Network
This section describes the following: Map Network Drive - A Mapped Drive is typically a place on a network server's hard drive that has been created or designated as a shared folder and assigned a local drive letter. It is given specific permissions of use as the folder will store information for particular users or groups. View Network Status - ipconfig (IP Configuration) in Windows is a utility to print the local computer's current network configuration and to control the Windows Service that acts as its DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Client. DHCP is a set of rules used by communications devices such as a computer, router or network adapter to allow the device to request and obtain an IP address from a server which has a list of addresses available for assignment. Network Configurator - In computer networking, the ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) is the method for finding a host's hardware address when only its network layer address is known. Use the Network Configurator utility to configure IP settings and Windows firewall settings. Remote Desktop Connection - As part of Microsoft Terminal Services, use this utility to allow a remote user to take control of your computer (Remote Desktop). Microsoft provides the client software Remote Desktop Connection for most Windows operating systems that allows a user to connect to and work with a remote server running Terminal Services.
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3.2.1 Map Network Drive

To map a network drive: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Network > Map Network Drive. The Map Network Drive dialog box appears. 2. In Drive, select a drive letter. 3. In Folder, type the server and share name of the computer or folder you want. For example: \\servername\sharename. 4. To search for the computer or folder, click Browse. 5. If it is necessary to change the user name in order to map the selected drive, do the following: a. Click the link at Connect using a different name. The Connect As... dialog box appears. b. Enter the domain name and the user name that has permission to connect to the selected computer or folder. c. Enter the password for the user named above. 6. Click OK to return to the Map Network Drive dialog box. 7. To reconnect to the mapped drive every time you log on, select the Reconnect at logon check box. 8. Click Finish. Note Mapped drives are available only when the host computer is available. Network drives are assigned letters from Z to A, and local drives (your hard drive and removable storage devices) are assigned letters from A to Z. You can assign a computer or shared folder to a different drive letter by disconnecting from the drive and then reassigning it to a new drive letter.
3.2.2 View Network Status

This utility works only on computers with network adapters. The ipconfig utility displays current TCP/IP network configuration values, updates, or releases, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) allocated leases, and display, register, or flush DNS (Domain Name System) names. To view the status of a local area connection: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Network > View Network Status. The View Network Status DOS session appears showing Windows IP Configuration.
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2. To close the DOS session, press a key on the keyboard.
3.2.3 Network Configurator

This utility works only on computers with adapters that are configured to obtain an IP address automatically. It renews DHCP configuration for all adapters. To configure the IP address: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Network > Network Configurator. The Network Configurator dialog box appears. 2. From the Ethernet Adapters drop-down list, select an adaptor. 3. To view details about the selected adaptor, hover the mouse over the Ethernet Adapters field. A drop-down text screen appears. 4. In the IP tab, do the following: To get an IP address automatically from the network server, select the Obtain an IP address automatically radio button. To use a specific IP address, select the Use the following IP address radio button and type the information in the fields below.
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5. In the DNS tab, do the following: To get a DNS automatically from the network server, select the Obtain DNS Server address automatically radio button. To use a specific DNS address, select the Use the following DNS Server address radio button and type the information in the fields below. 6. In the Network Identification tab, to specify a workgroup for group access, type the workgroup name in the Workgroup field and click Set. 7. In the Firewall tab, you may set the status of the firewall in the Firewall status drop-down list: To turn the firewall on, choose On. To turn the firewall off, choose Off.
3.2.4 Remote Desktop Connection

To use this utility, Remote Desktop Web Connection must be installed and running on the Web server. Use the Active@ Boot Disk View Network Status utility to ensure that your client computer has an active network connection and that the WINS server service (or other name resolution method) is functioning. To connect to another computer using Remote Desktop Web Connection: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Network > Remote Desktop Connection. The Remote Desktop Connection dialog box appears. 2. In the Computer field, type the URL for the home directory of the Web server hosting Remote Desktop Web Connection. 3. To set more parameters for the connection, click Options >> and specify information for your connection. 4. Click Connect.
3.3 Utilities
Use these utilities to explore parameters around existing hard drives. Explore My Computer Use Boot Disk Explorer to access the file system. Copy, move and delete files and folders. Notepad Text Editor When you are performing maintenance on a hard disk or if you are repairing or recovering lost or damaged data on a disk, you might want to record technical information about the disk before making
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changes. This information may be helpful if you need to remember the original configuration when restoring data after a system crash or when contacting technical support. WordPad Editor A basic word processor that is included with Microsoft Windows. It is more advanced than Notepad but more simple than Microsoft Works Word Processor. You may paste a captured screenshot image to WordPad from the Clipboard. After you have pasted the image, you may make comments about the screenshot. Calculator A calculation application included with Microsoft Windows. Paint - A simple raster graphics painting program included with Microsoft Windows. You may paste a captured screenshot image to Paint and then save it as a JPG, BMP or other types of graphic files. Registry Editor View and edit registry information for the current (Windows PE) operating system. Local Registry Search Utility Search for and display specified registry details or create a custom registry hive. After you find the registry hive that you are looking for, you may edit it with Registry Editor. Disk Defragmenter third party freeware application that allows you to analyze and defragment existing volumes under bootable disk environment. Add Keyboard Layout Add language support for a second language. This includes special keyboard layout and the ability to display language characters on the screen. You may use a different language for a file name or when recording notes about changes made to the system.
3.3.1 Explore My Computer

Boot Disk Explorer is a fast, small, compact and innovative file manager, similar to Windows Explorer. Boot Disk Explorer has some additional features not found in Windows Explorer: Displays the total size of each folder. Allows you to browse multiple folders from a tabbed interface.
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You can map an FTP server as a drive letter, the same way that you would map a network drive using buttons on the toolbar. When you copy a file, a progress bar gives you current information about the process. With ZDelete cleanup utility, you may permanently destroy selected files and folders. Note The DEMO version of Active@ Boot Disk has a 32KB size limitation on copy, move or ZDelete file commands.
3.3.2 Registry Editor

You can review and change local registry parameters after loading a registry hive from any partition that is detected by Active@ BootDisk utilities. If your computer cannot complete a boot-up and if the boot failure is related to registry parameters of a driver or another bootable configuration, you may be able to fix it by changing registry parameters using Registry Editor. To use Registry Editor: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Utilities > Registry Editor. The Registry Editor workspace appears. 2. In the registry hierarchy list, choose either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_USERS hive. 3. From the File menu, choose Load Hive The Load Hive dialog box appears. 4. Browse to a primary logical drive (for example, C:) and navigate to Windows\System32\config. Contents of the config folder appear. 5. Choose a registry hive. For example choose one of: SYTEM COMPONENTS SOFTWARE 6. Click Open. The Load Hive dialog box appears. 7. In Key Name, type a custom name for the hive that you are loading. For example MY_SOFTWARE_HIVE. 8. Click OK. The new hive appears in the registry hierarchy under the root level that you selected in step 2. 9. Open the loaded hive and view and edit registry values, create new entries and keys or delete values and keys.
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10. After you have completed all the changes in the loaded hive, close Registry Editor. All changes are written to the registry hive that was attached. 11. Exit Active@ Boot Disk and restart the computer.
3.3.3 Local Registry Search Utility

This utility searches for registry hives on local drives, and attaches them to the Registry Editor for viewing or editing. To describe what this utility can help you do, this section describes the steps to take to recover from Windows registry hive corruption in a case where the file table is still intact. To recognize when you have a Windows registry hive corruption, when you try to start Windows 2000 or Windows XP you get a message similar to this: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE When you boot with Active@ Boot Disk, Windows PE mounts the broken hard drive as a different drive letter and you have exclusive access to the drive. To repair the broken registry hive: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Utilities > Local Registry Search. The Attach and Edit Local Registry dialog box appears. 2. To search local drives, do the following: Click the Perform search for Registry sets located on local disks radio button. Choose the local drive folder that is named in the error message. Click Search. Drive and folder names appear below the search button as they are searched. Results of the search appear in the Results list. Select the broken hive in the Results list. The Attach as box is enabled. Continue with step 4 below. 3. To browse directly to the broken hive, do the following:
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Click the Direct location radio button. Controls in the lower area are enabled. Click the ellipsis button () and browse to the broken hive. 4. In the Attach as box, type a custom hive name. This is a temporary name, so the actual name does not matter. 5. Click Attach & Edit Registry Hive. The Registry Editor appears with the custom hive selected. If you are repairing a broken hive, Registry Editor will display a message that says One or more files containing the registry were corrupt and had to be recovered by use of log files. The recovery was successful. 6. In Registry Editor, select the temporary hive that you just created. 7. From the File menu, choose Unload Hive. A confirming dialog box appears. 8. Click Yes. The temporary hive is unloaded.
3.3.4 Add Keyboard Layout

The default language for Active@ Boot Disk is English. You may add an alternate language keyboard functional layout to give a file a descriptive name or when recording notes about changes made to the system. A typical English keyboard layout (called QWERTY) may be suitable for many latin-based languages. With the French keyboard layout (AZERTY) the key associations produce a different result on the screen. You must be familiar with the different key associations to use a different language keyboard layout. To add a keyboard layout: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Utilities > Add Keyboard Layout. The Add Keyboard Layout dialog box appears.
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2. Choose the radio button for the alternate keyboard layout that you want to use. 3. Click Set. A short form for the current keyboard layout appears in the system tray area. The alternate keyboard layout has been set. To toggle between the default keyboard layout and the alternate keyboard layout, press Left ALT+SHIFT on the keyboard.
3.4 System
Many of these utilities are familiar Windows functions. With Active@ Boot Disk, you can access them even if your hard drive is damaged. Partition Manager (DiskPart.exe) Command line tool to create, delete, format and resize basic partitions and logical partitions, and manage dynamic volumes and RAIDs. Check Disk An applet that helps you create and display a status report for your hard drive.
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Command Prompt Run command prompt utility (cmd.exe) to create and run batch files or perform other DOS commands. Display Configurator Choose the resolution and number of colors displayed. Task Manager Get information about computer performance and details about running applications, processes, network activity, users, and system services. View or modify currently running services. View the full name of a process. Monitor applications and services running system performance and resources. Date and Time Change your computers date, time and time zone. System Information Displays system information about your local machine.
3.4.1 Partition Manager

DiskPart is a text-mode command interpreter in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and the Windows Server 2003 family. This tool enables you to manage objects (disks, partitions, or volumes) by using scripts or direct input at a command prompt. This section describes: DiskPart Commands DiskPart Syntax and Parameters DiskPart Scripting
DiskPart Commands Before you can use DiskPart commands on a disk, partition, or volume, you must first list and then select the object to give it focus. When an object has focus, any DiskPart commands that you type act on that object. You can list the available objects and determine an object's number or drive letter by using the list disk, list volume, and list partition commands. The list disk and list volume commands display all disks and volumes on the computer. However, the list partition command displays only partitions on the disk that have focus. When you use the list commands, an asterisk (*)
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appears next to the object with focus. You select an object by its number or drive letter, such as disk 0, partition 1, volume 3, or volume C. When you select an object, the focus remains on that object until you select a different object. For example, if the focus is set on disk 0, and you select volume 8 as on disk 2, the focus shifts from disk 0 to disk 2, volume 8. Some commands automatically change the focus. For example, when you create a new partition, the focus automatically changes to the new partition. You can give focus only to a partition on the selected disk. When a partition has focus, the related volume (if any) also has focus. When a volume has focus, the related disk and partition also have focus if the volume maps to a single specific partition. If this is not the case, then focus on the disk and partition is lost. When using the DiskPart command as a part of a script, it is recommended that you complete all of the DiskPart operations together as part of a single DiskPart script. You can run consecutive DiskPart scripts, but you must allow at least 15 seconds between each script for a complete shutdown of the previous execution before running the DiskPart command again in successive scripts. Otherwise, the successive scripts might fail. You can add a pause between consecutive DiskPart scripts by adding the timeout /t 15 command to your batch file along with your DiskPart scripts. For more information about DiskPart, see Disk Management at the Microsoft TechNet Web site <http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=584>.
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DiskPart Syntax and Parameters This table identifies the syntax and parameters of the DiskPart commands.
Command
Syntax
Description
active
active
On basic disks, marks the partition with focus as active. This informs the BIOS (basic input/output system) or EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) that the partition or volume is a valid system partition or system volume. Only partitions can be marked as "active." DiskPart verifies that only the partition is capable of containing an operating system's startup files. DiskPart does not check the contents of the partition. If you mark a partition as "active" and it does not contain the operating system's startup files, your computer might not start.
Important:
add disk
add disk= n [noerr]
Mirrors the simple volume with focus to the specified disk. n Specifies the disk to contain the mirror. You can mirror only simple volumes. The specified disk must have unallocated space at least as large as the size of the simple volume that you intend to mirror. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
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Command
Syntax
Description
assign
assign [{letter=d|mount=path }] [noerr]
Assigns a drive letter or mount point to the volume with focus. If no drive letter or mount point is specified, then the next available drive letter is assigned. If the assigned drive letter or mount point is already in use, an error is generated. By using the assign command, you can change the drive letter associated with a removable drive. You cannot assign drive letters to system volumes, boot volumes, or volumes that contain the paging file. You cannot assign a drive letter to an OEM partition or any GPT partition other than a basic data partition. letter= d Specifies the drive letter that you intend to assign to the volume. mount= path The mount point path that you intend to assign to the volume. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
attributes
attributes volume [{set | clear}] [{hidden | readonly | nodefaultdriveletter | shadowcopy}] [noerr]
volume Displays the attributes of the selected volume. set Sets the specified attribute (hidden, read-only, nodefaultdriveletter, or shadowcopy volume) on the selected volume. clear Clears the specified attribute (hidden, read-only, nodefaultdriveletter, or shadowcopy volume) from the selected volume. hidden Specifies that the volume is hidden. readonly Specifies that the volume is read-only. nodefaultdriveletter Specifies that the volume does not receive a drive letter by default. shadowcopy Specifies that the volume is a shadow copy volume.
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Command
Syntax
Description
noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
automount
automount [enable] [disable] [scrub ] [noerr]
When enabled (the default), Windows automatically mounts the file system for a new basic volume when it is added to the system, and then assigns a drive letter to the volume. In system area network configurations, disabling automount prevents Windows from automatically mounting or assigning drive letters to any new basic volumes added to the system. enable Enables Windows to automatically mount new basic volumes added to the system and to assign them drive letters. disable Prevents Windows from automatically mounting any new basic volumes that are added to the system. scrub Removes volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer in the system. This prevents volumes that were previously in the system from being automatically mounted and given their former volume mount point(s) when they are added back to the system. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
break disk
break disk= n [nokeep] [noerr]
Applies to dynamic disks only. Breaks the mirrored volume with focus into two simple volumes. One simple volume retains the drive letter and any mount points of the mirrored volume, while the other simple volume receives the focus so that you can assign it a drive letter. By default, the contents of both halves of the mirror are retained; each half becomes a simple volume. If you use the nokeep parameter, only one-half of the mirror is retained as a simple volume, while the other half is deleted and converted to free space. Neither volume receives the focus. n Specifies the disk that contains the mirrored volume.
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Command
Syntax
Description
nokeep Specifies that only one of the mirrored volumes is retained; the other simple volume is deleted and converted to free space. Neither volume receives the focus. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
clean
clean [all]
Removes any and all partition or volume formatting from the disk with focus. On master boot record (MBR) disks, only the MBR partitioning information and hidden sector information are overwritten. On GUID partition table (GPT) disks, the GPT partitioning information, including the Protective MBR, is overwritten; there is no hidden sector information. all Specifies that each and every sector on the disk is zeroed, which completely deletes all data contained on the disk.
convert basic
convert basic [noerr]
Converts an empty dynamic disk into a basic disk. The disk must be empty to convert it to a basic disk. Back up your data, and then delete all partitions or volumes before converting the disk.
Important:
noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
convert dynamic
convert dynamic [noerr]
Converts a basic disk into a dynamic disk. Any existing partitions on the disk become simple volumes. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
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Command
Syntax
Description
convert gpt
convert gpt [noerr]
On Itanium-based computers, converts an empty basic disk with the MBR (master boot record) partition style into a basic disk with the GPT (GUID partition table) partition style. The disk must be empty to convert it to a GPT disk. Back up your data and then delete all partitions or volumes before converting the disk.
Important:
convert mbr
convert mbr [noerr]
On Itanium-based computers, converts an empty basic disk with the GPT (GUID partition table) partition style to a basic disk with the MBR (master boot record) partition style. The disk must be empty to convert it to an MBR disk. Back up your data and then delete all partitions or volumes before converting the disk.
Important:
create partition efi
create partition efi [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]
On Itanium-based computers, creates an EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) system partition on a GPT (GUID partition table) disk. After the partition has been created, the focus is given to the new partition. size= n Specifies the size of the partition in megabytes (MB). If no size is given, the partition continues until there is no more free space in the current region. offset= n Specifies the byte offset at which to create the partition. If no offset is given, the partition is placed in the first disk extent that is large enough to hold it.
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Command
Syntax
Description
create partition extended
create partition extended [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]
Creates an extended partition on the current drive. After the partition has been created, the focus automatically shifts to the new partition. Only one extended partition can be created per disk. This command fails if you attempt to create an extended partition within another extended partition. You must create an extended partition before you can create logical drives. size= n Specifies the size of the extended partition in megabytes (MB). If no size is given, then the partition continues until there is no more free space in the region. The size is cylinder snapped; that is, the size is rounded to the closest cylinder boundary. For example, if you specify a size of 500 MB, the partition size rounds up to 504 MB. offset= n Applies to MBR (master boot record) disks only. Specifies the byte offset at which to create the extended partition. If no offset is given, the partition starts at the beginning of the first free space on the disk. The offset is cylinder snapped; that is, the offset is rounded to the closest cylinder boundary. For example, if you specify an offset that is 27 MB and the cylinder size is 8 MB, the offset is rounded to the 24-MB boundary. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
create partition logical
create partition logical [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]
Creates a logical drive in the extended partition. After the partition has been created, the focus automatically shifts to the new logical drive. size= n The size of the logical drive in megabytes (MB). If no size is given, then the partition continues until there is no more free space in the current region.
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Command
Syntax
Description
offset= n Applies to MBR (master boot record) disks only. Specifies the byte offset at which to create the logical drive. The offset is cylinder snapped; that is, the offset rounds up to completely fill whatever cylinder size is used. If no offset is given, then the partition is placed in the first disk extent that is large enough to hold it. The partition is at least as long in bytes as the number specified by size=n. If you specify a size for the logical drive, it must be smaller than the extended partition. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
create partition msr
create partition msr [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]
On Itanium-based computers, creates a Microsoft reserved (MSR) partition on a GPT (GUID partition table) disk. Be very careful when using the create partition msr command. GPT disks require a specific partition layout, and so creating Microsoft Reserved Partitions can cause the disk to become unreadable. On GPT disks that are used to start Windows XP 64-Bit Edition or the 64-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 family, the EFI system partition is the first partition on the disk, followed by the Microsoft Reserved Partition. GPT disks used only for data storage do not have an EFI system partition; the Microsoft Reserved Partition is the first partition.
Caution:
Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family do not mount Microsoft Reserved Partitions. You cannot store data on them and you cannot delete them. size= n Specifies the size of the partition in megabytes (MB). The partition is at least as long in bytes as the number specified by size=n. If no size is given, the partition continues until there is no more free space in the current region. offset= n Specifies the byte offset at which to create the partition. The partition starts at the byte offset specified by offset=n. It is sector-snapped; that is, the offset rounds up to completely fill whatever sector size is used. If no offset is given, then the partition is placed in the first disk extent that is large enough to hold it.
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Command
Syntax
Description
create partition primary
create partition primary [size=n] [offset=n] [ID={byte |GUID}] [align=n][noerr]
Creates a primary partition on the current basic disk. After you create the partition, the focus automatically shifts to the new partition. The partition does not receive a drive letter; you must use the assign command to assign a drive letter to the partition. size= n Specifies the size of the partition in megabytes (MB). If no size is given, the partition continues until there is no more unallocated space in the current region. The size is cylinder snapped; that is, the size rounds to the closest cylinder boundary. For example, if you specify a size of 500 MB, the partition size rounds up to 504 MB. offset= n Specifies the byte offset at which to create the partition. If no offset is given, the partition starts at the beginning of the first free space on the disk. For MBR (master boot record) disks, the offset is cylinder snapped; that is, the offset rounds to the closest cylinder boundary. For example, if you specify an offset that is 27 MB and the cylinder size is 8 MB, the offset rounds to the 24-MB boundary. ID={byte |GUID} Intended for OEM use only. Creating partitions with this parameter might cause your computer to crash or be unable to start. Unless you are an OEM or an IT professional experienced with GPT disks, do not create partitions on GPT disks by using the ID=byte | GUID parameter. Instead, always use the create partition efi command to create EFI system partitions, the create partition msr command to create Microsoft Reserved Partitions, and the create partition primary command (without the ID=byte | GUID parameter) to create primary partitions on GPT disks.
Caution:
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Command
Syntax
Description
align= n Typically used with hardware RAID Logical Unit Number (LUN) arrays to improve performance when the logical units (LUs) are not cylinder aligned. Aligns a primary partition that is not cylinder aligned at the beginning of a disk and rounds the offset to the closest alignment boundary, where n is the number of kilobytes (KB) from the beginning of the disk to the closest alignment boundary. The align= n command fails if the primary partition is not at the beginning of the disk. If used with offset= n, the offset is within the first usable cylinder on the disk. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code. Comments To partition a GPT disk with an OEM partition generate an OEM-GUID: Use this command to create an EFI partition: create partition efi size= n Use this command to create a primary partition: create partition primary size= n ID={byte |GUID} Use this command to create an MSR partition: create partition MSR size= n
Important:
You must create the OEM partition between the EFI and MSR partitions.
Never create the LDM metadata or LDM data partitions explicitly as partitions. Instead, convert the disk to dynamic.
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Command
Syntax
Description
For MBR (master boot record) disks, you can specify a partition type byte, in hexadecimal form, for the partition. If you do not specify a partition type byte on an MBR disk, the create partition primary command creates a partition of type 0x6. Any partition type byte can be specified with the ID=byte | GUID parameter. DiskPart does not verify the validity of the partition type nor does it verify the ID parameter. For GPT disks, you can specify a partition type GUID for the partition that you create. EFI system partition: c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b Microsoft reserved partition: e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae Basic data partition: ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7 LDM metadata partition on a dynamic disk: 5808c8aa-7e8f-42e0-85d2e1e90434cfb3 LDM data partition on a dynamic disk: af9b60a0-1431-4f62-bc683311714a69ad If you do not specify a partition type GUID, the create partition primary command creates a basic data partition. Any partition type can be specified with the ID=byte | GUID parameter. DiskPart does not verify the validity of the partition GUID nor does it verify the ID parameter.
create volume raid
create volume raid [size=n] [disk=n ,n ,n[ ,n ,]] [noerr]
Creates a RAID-5 volume on three or more specified dynamic disks. After you create the volume, the focus automatically shifts to the new volume. size= n Specifies the amount of disk space, in megabytes (MB), that the volume occupies on each disk. If no size is given, the largest possible RAID-5 volume is created. The disk with the smallest available contiguous free space determines the size for the RAID-5 volume and the same amount of space is allocated from each disk. The actual amount of usable disk space in the RAID-5 volume is less than the combined amount of disk space because some of the disk space is required for parity.
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Command
Syntax
Description
disk= n , n , n [,n ,] Specifies the dynamic disks on which to create the volume. You need at least three dynamic disks in order to create a RAID-5 volume. An amount of space equal to size=n is allocated on each disk. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
create volume simple
create volume simple [size=n] [disk=n] [noerr]
Creates a simple volume. After you create the volume, the focus automatically shifts to the new volume. size= n Specifies the size of the volume in megabytes (MB). If no size is given, the new volume takes up the remaining free space on the disk. disk= n Specifies the dynamic disk on which to create the volume. If no disk is given, the current disk is used. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
create volume stripe
create volume stripe [size=n] [disk=n ,n[ ,n ,]] [noerr]
Creates a striped volume by using two or more specified dynamic disks. After you create the volume, the focus automatically shifts to the new volume. size= n Specifies the amount of disk space, in megabytes (MB), that the volume occupies on each disk. If no size is given, the new volume takes up the remaining free space on the smallest disk and an equal amount of space on each subsequent disk. disk= n , n [, n,] Specifies the dynamic disks on which to create the volume. You need at least two dynamic disks to create a striped volume. An amount of space equal to size=n is allocated on each disk. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
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Command
Syntax
Description
delete disk
delete disk [noerr] [override]
Deletes a missing dynamic disk from the disk list. noerr For scripting only. When an error is encountered, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code. override Enables DiskPart to delete all simple volumes on the disk. If the disk contains half of a mirrored volume, the half of the mirror on the disk is deleted. The delete disk override command fails if the disk is a member of a RAID-5 volume.
delete partition
delete partition [noerr] [override]
On a basic disk, deletes the partition with focus. You cannot delete the system partition, boot partition, or any partition that contains the active paging file or crash dump (memory dump). Deleting a partition on a dynamic disk can delete all dynamic volumes on the disk, thus destroying any data and leaving the disk in a corrupted state. To delete a dynamic volume, always use the delete volume command instead.
Caution:
You can delete partitions from dynamic disks, but you must not create them. For example, it is possible to delete an unrecognized GPT (GUID partition table) partition on a dynamic GPT disk. However, deleting such a partition does not cause the resulting free space to become available. This command is intended to enable space reclamation on a corrupted, offline dynamic disk in an emergency situation where the clean command cannot be used. noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code. override Enables DiskPart to delete any partition regardless of type. Normally, DiskPart enables you to delete only known data partitions.
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Command
Syntax
Description
delete volume
delete volume [noerr]
Deletes the selected volume. You cannot delete the system volume, boot volume, or any volume that contains the active paging file or crash dump (memory dump). noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
detail disk
detail disk
Displays the properties of the selected disk and the volumes on that disk.
detail partition
detail partition
Displays the properties of the selected partition.
detail volume
detail volume
Displays the disks on which the current volume resides.
exit
exit
Exits the DiskPart command interpreter.
extend
extend [size=n] [disk=n ] [noerr]
Extends the volume with focus into the next contiguous unallocated space. For basic volumes, the unallocated space must be on the same disk as, and must follow (have a higher sector offset number than) the partition with focus. A dynamic, simple, or spanned volume can be extended to any empty space on any dynamic disk. By using this command, you can extend an existing volume into newly created space. If the partition was previously formatted with the NTFS file system, the file system is automatically extended to occupy the larger partition. No data loss occurs. If the partition was previously formatted with any file system format other than NTFS, the command fails with no change to the partition. You cannot extend the current system or boot partitions. size= n Specifies the amount of space, in megabytes (MB), to add to the current partition. If you do not specify a size, the disk is extended to take up all of the next contiguous unallocated space. disk= n Specifies the dynamic disk on which to extend the volume. An amount of space equal to size=n is allocated on the disk. If no disk is specified, the volume is extended on the current disk.
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Command
Syntax
Description
noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
gpt attributes
gpt attributes= n
On basic GPT disks, assigns the GPT attribute(s) to the partition with focus. GPT partition attributes give additional information about the use of the partition. Some attributes are specific to the partition type GUID. Changing the GPT attributes might cause your basic data volumes to be unmountable or fail to be assigned drive letters. Unless you are an OEM or an IT professional experienced with GPT disks, do not change GPT attributes.
Important:
n The hexadecimal that pertains to the attribute that you intend to apply to the partition with focus. The GPT attribute field is a 64-bit field that contains two subfields. The higher field is interpreted only in the context of the partition ID, while the lower field is common to all partition IDs. All partitions have the following attribute: 0x000000000000001 marks the partition as required. This indicates to all disk management utilities that the partition must not be deleted. The EFI system partition contains only those binaries necessary to start the operating system. This makes it easy for OEM- or operating system-specific binaries to be placed in other partitions. For basic data partitions, the following attribute is defined: 0x8000000000000000 prevents the partition from having a drive letter automatically assigned. By default, each partition is assigned a new drive letter. Setting this attribute ensures that, when a disk is moved to a new computer, a new drive letter will not be automatically generated. Instead, the user can manually assign drive letters. Other attributes can be added at any time. Note:
help
help
Displays a list of the available commands.
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Command
Syntax
Description
import
import [noerr]
Imports a foreign disk group into the local computer's disk group. The import command imports every disk that is in the same group as the disk that has focus. noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
inactive
inactive
On basic MBR (master boot record) disks, marks the system partition or boot partition with focus as inactive. The computer starts from the next option specified in the BIOS such as the CD-ROM drive or a Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE)-based boot environment (such as Remote Installation Services (RIS)) when you restart the computer. Your computer might not start without an active partition. Do not mark a system or boot partition as inactive unless you are an experienced user with a thorough understanding of the Windows Server 2003 family.
Caution:
If you are unable to start your computer after marking the system or boot partition as inactive, insert the Setup CD in the CD-ROM drive, restart the computer, and then repair the partition by using the Fixmbr and Fixboot commands in the Recovery Console.
list disk
list disk
Displays a list of disks and information about them, such as their size, amount of available free space, whether the disk is a basic or dynamic disk, and whether the disk uses the MBR (master boot record) or GPT (GUID partition table) partition style. The disk marked with an asterisk (*) has focus.
list partition
list partition
Displays the partitions listed in the partition table of the current disk. On dynamic disks, these partitions may not correspond to the dynamic volumes on the disk. This discrepancy occurs because dynamic disks contain entries in the partition table for the system volume or boot volume (if present on the disk). Dynamic disks also contain a partition that occupies the remainder of the disk and reserves space for use by dynamic volumes.
list volume
list volume
Displays a list of basic and dynamic volumes on all disks.
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Command
Syntax
Description
online
online [noerr]
Brings an offline disk or volume with focus online. Resynchronizes the mirrored or RAID-5 volume with focus. noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
rem
rem
Provides a way to add comments to a script. For example: rem These commands set up 3 drives. create partition primary size=2048 assign d: create partition extend create partition logical size=2048 assign e: create partition logical assign f:
remove
remove [{letter=d|mount=path |[all]}] [dismount][noerr]
Removes a drive letter or mount point from the volume with focus. If the all parameter is used, all current drive letters and mount points are removed. If you do not specify a drive letter or mount point, then DiskPart removes the first drive letter or mount point that it encounters. You can use the remove command to change the drive letter associated with a removable drive. You cannot remove the drive letters on system, boot, or paging volumes. In addition, you cannot remove the drive letter for an OEM partition, any GPT partition with an unrecognized GUID, or any of the special, non-data, GPT partitions such as the EFI system partition. letter= d Specifies the drive letter to remove. mount= path Specifies the mount point path to remove. all Removes all current drive letters and mount points.
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Command
Syntax
Description
dismount Dismounts the basic volume, when all drive letters and mount points have been removed from the volume, and takes the basic volume offline, making it unmountable. If other processes are using the volume, DiskPart closes any open handles before dismounting the volume. You can make the volume mountable by assigning it a drive letter or by creating a mount point path to the volume. Dismount will fail if used on a volume that has any remaining drive letters or mount points. For scripting, using remove all dismount is recommended. noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, specifies that DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
repair disk
repair disk= n [ noerr]
Repairs the RAID-5 volume with focus by replacing the failed RAID-5 member with the specified dynamic disk. The specified dynamic disk must have free space greater than or equal to the total size of the failed RAID-5 member. n Specifies the dynamic disk that replaces the failed RAID-5 member. The specified disk must have free space equal to or larger than the total size of the failed RAID-5 member. noerr For scripting only. When an error occurs, DiskPart continues to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code.
rescan
rescan
Locates new disks that might have been added to the computer.
retain
retain
Prepares an existing dynamic simple volume to use as a boot or system volume. On an x86-based computer, creates a partition entry in the MBR (master boot record) on the dynamic simple volume with focus. To create an MBR partition, the dynamic simple volume must start at a cylinder aligned offset and be an integral number of cylinders in size. On an Itanium-based computer, creates a partition entry in the GPT (GUID partition table) on the dynamic simple volume with focus.
Note:
The retain command is intended for use only during unattended Setup or by OEMs.
Command
Syntax
Description
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select disk
select disk=[n]
Selects the specified disk and shifts the focus to it. n Specifies the disk number of the disk to receive focus. If you do not specify a disk number, the select command lists the disk that currently has the focus. You can view the numbers for all disks on the computer by using the list disk command.
select partition
select partition=[{n |d }]
Selects the specified partition and gives it focus. If you do not specify a partition, the select command lists the current partition with focus. You can view the numbers of all partitions on the current disk by using the list partition command. n Specifies the number of the partition to receive the focus. d Specifies the drive letter or mount point path of the partition to receive the focus.
select volume
select volume=[{n| d}]
Selects the specified volume and shifts the focus to it. If you do not specify a volume, the select command lists the current volume with focus. You can specify the volume by number, drive letter, or mount point path. On a basic disk, selecting a volume also gives the corresponding partition focus. You can view the numbers of all volumes on the computer by using the list volume command. n Specifies the number of the volume to receive the focus. d Specifies the drive letter or mount point path of the volume to receive the focus.
DiskPart Scripting By using the DiskPart Command-Line Options command-line tool, you can create scripts to automate disk-related tasks, such as creating volumes or converting disks to dynamic disks. Scripting these tasks is useful if you deploy Windows by using unattended Setup or the Sysprep tool, which do not support creating volumes other than the boot volume. To start a DiskPart script, at the command prompt, type:
diskpart /s scriptname .txt

where scriptname is the name of the text file that contains your script.
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To redirect DiskPart's scripting output to a file, type:
diskpart /s scriptname .txt > logfile .txt

where logfile is the name of the text file where DiskPart writes its output. When DiskPart starts, the DiskPart version and computer name display at the command prompt. By default, if DiskPart encounters an error while attempting to perform a scripted task, DiskPart stops processing the script and displays an error code (unless you specified the noerr parameter). However, DiskPart always returns errors when it encounters syntax errors, regardless of whether you used the noerr parameter. The noerr parameter enables you to perform useful tasks such as using a single script to delete all partitions on all disks regardless of the total number of disks. The table below lists the DiskPart error codes.
Error Description
No errors occurred. The entire script ran without failure.
A fatal exception occurred. There might be a serious problem.
The parameters specified for a DiskPart command are incorrect.
DiskPart was unable to open the specified script or output file.
One of the services that DiskPart uses returned a failure.
A command syntax error occurred. The script failed because an object was improperly selected or was invalid for use with that command.
3.4.2 Check Disk

Check Disk is an applet that will help you create and display a status report for your hard drive. The applet also lists and corrects error on the disk. Similar to Windows CHKDSK, Check Disk has a list of parameters that help you perform various functions on your hard drive. To use Check Disk: 1. In the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > System > Check Disk. The Check Disk Applet workspace appears. A list of all hard drives appears in the Local Disks list. 2. To select a hard drive, select the check box next to the drive name. 3. You may add parameters to the command:
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/F If an error is encountered, Check Disk will fix the issue that causes the error. /V On a FAT or FAT32 file system, the full path and name of every file is displayed. On NTFS file system, only cleanup messages are displayed. /R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. /I [NTFS only] Performs a less vigorous check of indexes. /C [NTFS only] Skips checking of cycles within the folder structure. On a FAT or FAT32 file system, you may specify an individual file to check. To do this, click Browse and choose the file from the Select File dialog box. 4. After you have selected a drive and parameters, click Add all marked disks. The chkdsk.exe command appears in the Command list along with the drive letter and all parameters. 5. To add another drive, repeat steps 2 to 4. 6. To remove a drive from the Command list, select it and click Delete command > Delete Current. 7. To remove all drives from the Command list, click Delete command > Delete All. 8. To run all commands in the Command list, click Execute. A DOS session appears. 9. Watch as the functions proceed. After the command is complete, the DOS session closes.
3.4.3 Command Prompt

To open the DOS-like command line interpreter, click Start > System > Command Prompt (Cmd.exe). In this environment, you may run character-based applications and utilities. You can use command prompt to create and edit batch files to automate routine tasks. This can make you more efficient than if you were doing these tasks using Boot Disk Explorer. For more information about command line DOS commands, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/bb491071.aspx.
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3.4.4 Display Configurator

To use Display Configurator: 1. In the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > System > Display Configurator. The List All Modes list appears with a list of all valid modes. 2. Click a mode to select it. The Apply button is enabled. 3. Click Apply. The Monitor Settings dialog box appears. 4. To keep the mode, click Yes. The display mode is changed.
3.4.5 Task Manager

Use Task Manager to troubleshoot issues, start programs, end processes, and to monitor the computer's performance. To open Task Manager, click Start > System > Task Manager. You may also use the familiar key combination Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open Task Manager. The Applications tab displays the status of the programs that are running on the computer. The Processes tab displays information about the processes that are running on the computer. A process can be an application that you start or subsystems and services that are managed by the operating system. Similarly, the Services tab displays information about the services that are running on the computer. Click the Performance tab to view a dynamic overview of the performance of your computer.
3.4.6 Date and Time

When you set display configuration options for date and time in the operating system, these settings affect the Date dialog box and other operating system windows. The Date & Time changer also adopts the settings as you enter dates and times. To open the Date & Time changer, click Start > System > Date and Time. If you create records that are date and time dependent, they are stored in the current time zone. If you change the time zone setting, records in the database are not changed to reflect the new time zone setting. You must go back and manually change each record to agree with the new time zone setting.
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To set the date and time: 1. Click the Date & Time tab. 2. Use the calendar to pick the current date. 3. In the digital time box, click the hour, minute or second. 4. Use the spinner control to change the digit forward or backward. 5. Click Apply. To set the time zone: 1. Click the Time Zone tab.
2. From the drop-down list, set your time zone, relative to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). 3. Click Apply.
3.4.7 System Information

This utility displays in-depth details about your local system. To open System Information: 1. In the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > System > System Information. The SysInfo display box appears. After the SysInfo screen appears, system information details appear in six categories: System Summary Operating system, BIOS, Processor, RAM and more. Installed Devices All classes of devices, including batteries, drives, human interface devices, controllers, etc.
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Environment Variables Processor architecture, revision number, as well as paths to various tools and operating system utilities. Display Current and available display resolutions. Drives Information about local fixed disks, including amount of free space. Network IP configuration and specifications for LAN adaptor. To save all system information to an HTML file: 1. Click Save SysInfo to file. The Save dialog box appears. 2. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the information. 3. Name the file in File name and click Save.
3.5 Internet
The Active@ Boot Disk Internet utilities include: QtWeb Internet Browser An extremely fast, customizable, portable and lightweight web browser for the Windows platform. Mail Sender Send an email message with attachments quickly and easily. FTP Client A console utility to help you download or upload files from an FTP site. Telnet Client A console utility to help you access remote sites in a terminal session.
3.5.1 QtWeb Internet Browser

You may access information from the Internet quickly and easily using QtWeb Internet Browserr. This low-footprint browser is only 7 MB with no additional DLL files or configuration files. In most cases, you just need one executable file Browser.exe. This file can be copied and run from a USB storage device or from a CD or DVD. In Active@ Boot Disk, it runs in the limited Windows environment (Win PE). Here are some features in QtWeb Internet Browser: When you start a new browser session, you may choose to restore the settings and tabs from the last session. This option is useful if you accidentally closed the browser. Turn on Private Browsing mode and you will not leave any traces of your activities on your computer. When you visit a web page, a text string is sent to identify such things as the application name, version, host
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operating system, and language. With Private Browsing, even this text string is masked. Supports SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) for secure communications on Internet web sites, as well as FTP site browsing.
3.5.2 Mail Sender

Use Mail Sender to send an email message to ask for support or to make any other kind of contact. To use Mail Sender: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Internet > Mail Sender. The MailSender dialog box appears. 2. In From, type the email address that the recipient can reply to. Note: You cannot receive emails in the Active@ BootDisk shell. 3. In To, type the destination email address where you want the message sent. 4. In Subject, type the subject of the email. 5. To add an attachment, click the Attachment button and navigate to the file that you want to attach. 6. To use your existing email service provider, in Settings, do the following: In Server Name, type the outgoing mail server (SMTP) address in the format servername.hostname.extension. This is the mail server that will accept the email message from the application and forward it to the destination email address. In Port, select a port number using the scroll field. (Usually 25.) If your email server requires authentication, select the Authentication check box and provide the user name and password. 7. If you do not have an email service provider, to try to our service, click Get SMTP Subscription. A web browser opens to Secure SMTP Server (www.smtp-server.com). Click FREE 15-DAY TRIAL and follow the 3 steps to create an account. 8. Click Send.
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3.5.3 FTP Client

Use Microsoft FTP Client (console) to transfer files to and from your computer running an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server service such as Internet Information Services. FTP can be used interactively or in batch mode by processing ASCII text files. To open FTP client: 1. From the Active@ Boot Disk shell, click Start > Internet > FTP Client. The FTP Client DOS session appears.
FTP Client Syntax and Parameters Syntax ftp [-v] [-d] [-i] [-n] [-g] [-s:FileName] [-a] [-w:WindowSize] [-A] [Host]
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This table identifies parameters of the FTP command.
Parameter
Description
-v
Suppresses the display of FTP server responses.
-d
Enables debugging, displaying all commands passed between the FTP client and FTP server. Disables interactive prompting during multiple file transfers.
-j
-n
Suppresses the ability to log on automatically when the initial connection is made.
-g
Disables file name globbing. Glob permits the use of the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) as wildcard characters in local file and path names.
-s;FileName
Specifies a text file that contains FTP commands. These commands run automatically after FTP starts. This parameter allows no spaces. Use this parameter instead of redirection (<).
-a
Specifies that any local interface can be used when binding the FTP data connection.
-w
WindowSize Specifies the size of the transfer buffer. The default window size is 4096 bytes.
-A
Logs onto the FTP server as anonymous.
Host
Specifies the computer name, IP address, or IPv6 address of the FTP server to which to connect. The host name or address, if specified, must be the last parameter on the line.
/?
Displays help at the command prompt.
Notes You must prefix ftp parameters with a hyphen (-) rather than a slash (/). FTP command-line parameters are case-sensitive. This command is available only if the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol is installed as a component in the properties of a network adapter in Network Connections. FTP can be used interactively. After it is started, FTP creates a sub-environment in which you can use FTP commands. You can return to the command prompt by typing the quit command. When the FTP sub-environment is running, it is indicated by the FTP > command prompt. Ftp supports the use of IPv6 when the IPv6 protocol is installed. For more information, see IP version 6 and IPv6 applications.
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Examples To log on to the FTP server named ftp.example.microsoft.com, type the following command:
ftp ftp.example.microsoft.com
To anonymously log on to the FTP server named ftp.example.microsoft.com, type the following command:
ftp -A ftp.example.microsoft.com
To log on to the FTP server named ftp.example.microsoft.com and run the ftp commands contained in a file named Resynch.txt, type the following command:
ftp -s:resynch.txt ftp.example.microsoft.com
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3.5.4 Telnet Client

With Telnet Client, Windows users can connect to a remote computer running a Telnet server and run applications on the remote computer or perform administrative tasks on it. Telnet uses the Telnet protocol (part of the TCP/IP protocol suite) to connect to a remote computer over a network.
Telnet Commands This table identifies syntax and parameters of the Telnet commands that you may use at the Telnet prompt.
To do this Start Telnet Client and to enter the Telnet prompt
Syntax telnet [\\RemoteServer]
Short
Parameters \\RemoteServer Specifies the name of the server to which you want to connect. /? Displays help.
Stop Telnet Client Connect Telnet Client to a remote computer
quit open [\\RemoteServer] [Port]
q o
none \\RemoteServer Specifies the name of the server to which you want to connect. Port Specifies the port that you want to use. If you do not specify a port, the default port is assumed.
Disconnect Telnet Client from a remote computer Set Telnet Client options
close [\\RemoteServer]
\\RemoteServer Specifies the name of the server that you want to manage. If you do not specify a server, the local server is assumed. \\RemoteServer Specifies the name of the server that you want to manage. If you do not specify a server, the local server is assumed. ntlm Turns on NTLM authentication if it is available on the remote server. localecho Turns on local echo. term {ansi | vt100 | vt52 | vtnt} Sets the terminal to the specified type. escape Character Sets the escape character. The escape character can be a single character, or it can be a combination of the CTRL key plus a character. To set a control-key combination, hold down CTRL while you type the character that you want to assign.
set [\\RemoteServer] [ntlm] [localecho] [term {ansi | vt100 | vt52 | vtnt}] [escape Character] [logfile FileName] [logging] [bsasdel] [crlf] [delasbs] [mode {console | stream}] [?]
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To do this
Syntax
Short
Parameters logfile FileName Sets the file to be used for logging Telnet activity. The log file must be on your local computer. Logging begins automatically when you set this option. logging Turns on logging. If no log file is set, an error message appears. bsasdel Sets BACKSPACE to be sent as delete. crlf Sets the new line mode, which causes the ENTER key to send 0x0D, 0x0A. delasbs Sets DELETE to be sent as backspace. mode {console | stream} Sets the mode of operation. ? Allows you to view the complete syntax for this command.
Turn off an option that was previously set, at the Telnet prompt Set the escape character, type Set the current code set to a non-English language
unset [Option]
e Character
codeset Option
Option Can be any one of the following: Shift JIS, Japanese EUC, JIS Kanji, JIS Kanji (78), DEC Kanji, NEC Kanji. You should set the same code set on the remote computer.
Send Telnet Client commands
send [\\RemoteServer] [ao] [ayt] [esc] [ip] [synch] [?]
\\RemoteServer Specifies the name of the server that you want to manage. If you do not specify a server, the local server is assumed. ao Aborts output command. ayt Sends an "Are you there?" command. esc Sends the current escape character. ip Interrupts the process command. synch Performs the Telnet sync operation. ? Allows you to view the complete syntax for this command.
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To do this View the current settings for the Telnet client
Syntax display
Short
Parameters The display command lists the current operating parameters. If you are in a Telnet session (connected to a Telnet server), to modify the parameters, press CTRL+]. This escapes from the Telnet session. (To return to the Telnet session, press ENTER.) The following operating parameters are available: - WILL AUTH (NTLM Authentication) - WONT AUTH - WILL TERM TYPE - WONT TERM TYPE - LOCALECHO off - LOCALECHO on
To switch from Telnet Client to command mode, at the Telnet prompt, press CTRL+ ]. To switch back to Telnet Client, press ENTER.
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4.0 About Boot Priority

To boot from a CD, DVD or USB device, make sure that the device has the boot sequence priority over the hard drive. BIOS (Basic Input Output Subsystem) is a programmable chip that controls how information is passed to various devices in the computer system. A typical method to access the BIOS settings screen is to press ESC, F1, F2, F8 or F10 during the boot sequence. BIOS settings allow you to run a boot sequence from a floppy drive, a hard drive, a CD-ROM drive or an external device. You may configure the order that your computer searches these physical devices for the boot sequence. The first device in the order list has the first boot priority. For example, to boot from a CD-ROM drive instead of a hard drive, place the CD-ROM drive ahead of the hard drive in priority. While you are in the BIOS Setup Utility, you will not be able to use your mouse. Use the keyboard arrow keys to move around the screen. Before you set boot priority for a USB device, plug the device into a USB port. To specify the boot sequence: 1. Start the computer and press ESC, F1, F2, F8 or F10 during the initial startup screen. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, a menu may appear. 2. Choose to enter BIOS setup. The BIOS setup utility page appears. 3. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab. System devices appear in order of priority. 4. To give a CD or DVD drive boot sequence priority over the hard drive, move it to the first position in the list. 5. To give a USB device boot sequence priority over the hard drive, do the following: Move the hard drive device to the top of the boot sequence list. Expand the hard drive device to display all hard drives. Move the USB device to the top of the list of hard drives. 6. Save and exit the BIOS setup utility. The computer will restart with the changed settings.
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Some computer manufacturers allow you to select the device that contains the boot sequence from a special device selection menu. The example below uses a Dell system board. To set boot priority using a device selection menu: 1. When the computer starts to boot up, after the manufacturer's ID screen, press F12 several times. The device selection menu appears. 2. Use the up and down arrows to select CD-ROM. 3. To boot from the selected device, press ENTER. Note Using an incorrect BIOS setting can cause a system malfunction. Please follow the BIOS guide provided with your computer motherboard. If you read these instructions and you are not sure how to change a setting, it is better to leave it as the default setting.
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5.0 Glossary
BIOS settings Basic Input Output Subsystem. Programmable chip that controls how information is passed to various devices in the computer system. A typical method to access the BIOS settings screen is to press ESC, F1, F2, F8 or F10 during the boot sequence. boot priority First device, or any device that is higher in the order list having preference over devices that are lower in the order. BIOS settings allow you to run a boot sequence from a floppy drive, a hard drive or a CDROM drive. You may configure the order that your computer searches these physical devices for the boot sequence. For example, to boot from a CD-ROM drive instead of a hard drive, place the CD-ROM drive ahead of the hard drive in priority. boot record See MBR. compressed cluster Data that uses less disk space. When you set a file or folder property to compress data, the file or folder uses less disk space. While the size of the file is smaller, it must use a whole cluster in order to exist on the hard drive. As a result, compressed clusters contain "file slack space". This space may contain residual confidential data from the file that previously occupied this space. KillDisk can wipe out the residual data without touching the existing data. cluster Logical group of disk sectors, managed by the operating system, for storing files. Each cluster is assigned a unique number when it is used. The operating system keeps track of clusters in the hard disk's root records or MFT records. (See lost cluster) exclusive access Lock that is applied to a partition for exclusive writing access, for example while recovering deleted or damaged files or folders. The recover operation must have exclusive access to the target partition while recovering files. If another application or the operating system is using the target partition, you must close all applications or system processes that may be using the target partition before you may lock it. FAT File Allocation Table. File that contains the records of every other file and directory in a FAT-formatted hard disk drive. The operating system needs this information to access the files. There are FAT32, FAT16 and FAT versions.
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free cluster Cluster that is not occupied by a file. This space may contain residual confidential data from the file that previously occupied this space. file slack space Unused portion of a cluster. The smallest file (and even an empty folder) takes up an entire cluster. A 10-byte file will take up 2,048 bytes if that is the cluster size. This space may contain residual confidential data from the file that previously occupied this space. deleted boot records Damaged or erased MBR. In a damaged disk, if the location of the boot records is known, the partition table can be reconstructed. hive Highest level of organization in the Windows registry. At this level, system and local variables are stored. ISO Informal term for a disk image in the ISO 9660 file standard format. ISO 9660 file system is a standard, published by the International Organization for Standardization. It defines a file system for CD-ROM or DVD-ROM media that allows you to read the same CD or DVD whether you're on a PC, Mac, or other major computer platform. Making a disk image in the ISO 9660 file standard (an ISO image) is a common way to electronically store and transfer the contents of a hard drive. An ISO image often has the filename extension .ISO (although not necessarily), and is commonly referred to as an "ISO". lost cluster Cluster with an assigned number in the file allocation table, even though it is not assigned to any file. You can free up disk space by reassigning lost clusters. In DOS and Windows, you can find lost clusters with the ScanDisk utility. MBR Master Boot Record. All disks start with a boot sector. When you start the computer, the code in the MBR executes before the operating system is started. The location of the MBR is always track (cylinder) 0, side (head) 0, and sector 1. The MBR contains a file system identifier. MFT records Master File Table. File that contains the records of every other file and directory in an NTFS-formatted hard disk drive. The operating system needs this information to access the files. root records See FAT.
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SAM Security Account Manager. Database stored as a registry file in Windows. It stores users' passwords in a hashed format. Since a hash function is oneway, this provides some measure of security for the storage of the passwords. sector Smallest unit that can be accessed on a disk. Sectors are segments within each track. track Circle of data around a disk. Tracks form concentric circles on a disk. unallocated space Space on a hard disk where no partition exists. A partition may have been deleted or damaged or a partition may not have been created. unused space in MFT records The performance of the computer system depends a lot on the performance of the MFT. When you delete files, the MFT entry for that file is not deleted, it is marked as deleted. This is called unused space in the MFT. If unused space is not removed from the MFT, the size of the table could grow to a point where it becomes fragmented, affecting the performance of the MFT and possibly the performance of the computer. This space may also contain residual confidential data (file names, file attributes, resident file data) from the files that previously occupied these spaces. Windows system caching Windows reserves a specified amount of volatile memory for file system operations. This is done in RAM because it is the quickest way to do these repetitive tasks. Windows system records The Windows registry keeps track of almost everything that happens in windows. This enhances performance of the computer when doing repetitive tasks. Over time, these records can take up a lot of space.
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Index
Active@ Boot Disk about .................................................... 5 downloading .......................................... 8 license information............................... 16 navigating the shell.............................. 15 operating system ................................... 6 quick launch icons................................ 18 requirements ......................................... 7 start button menu................................ 15 system utility icons .............................. 19 Active@ Data CD/DVD Burner .................. 26 Active@ Disk Image ................................ 23 Active@ Disk Monitor .............................. 44 Active@ Disk Editor ................................. 34 Active@ File Recovery ............................. 32 Active@ KillDisk ...................................... 40 Active@ Partition Manager....................... 43 Active@ Partition Recovery ...................... 26 Active@ Password Changer...................... 38 add keyboard layout................................ 53 Boot Disk Creator ...................................... 8 boot priority about .................................................. 87 bootable CD booting from ....................................... 11 burning ISO......................................... 10 creating................................................. 8 bootable DVD booting from ....................................... 11 bootable USB device booting from ....................................... 11 BootDisk_Drivers..................................... 10 BootDisk_Scripts ..................................... 10 check disk .............................................. 75 command prompt.................................... 76 configuring network ................................ 48 data recovery tips ................................... 27 date and time ......................................... 77 DiskPart scripting .............................................. 74 syntax and parameters......................... 57 display changing configuration ......................... 77 explore my computer .............................. 50 ftp client ................................................. 81 internet utilities ....................................... 79 Load Driver............................................. 18 local registry search utility ....................... 52 mail sender............................................. 80 map network drive .................................. 46 MBR fixing or creating.................................. 30 network configuring .......................................... 48 mapping drive ..................................... 46 remote connection ............................... 49 viewing status ..................................... 47 network applications ............................... 46 partition manager ................................... 55 programs................................................ 23 QtWeb Internet Browser.......................... 79 raw disk image ....................................... 30 registry editor ......................................... 51 remote connection .................................. 49 Run ........................................................ 16 Screenshot ............................................. 21 system information ................................. 78 system utilities ........................................ 54 task manager.......................................... 77 Telnet client............................................ 84 turn off computer.................................... 18 utilities ................................................... 49 view network status ................................ 47 Virtual Keyboard ..................................... 21

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