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Chapter 5 - Disk Initialization Manager

This chapter describes the Disk Initialization Manager, the part of the Operating System that allows you to initialize disks and erase the contents of previously initialized disks. The Disk Initialization Manager provides a routine that allows you to present the standard user interface for initializing and naming disks. It also provides routines that allow you to initialize disks without presenting that standard user interface.

You need to read this chapter if your application does not mask out disk-inserted events. When your application receives a disk-inserted event, it must determine whether the
inserted disk is valid. If the disk is not valid, your application can use the Disk Initialization Manager to present the user with the standard interface for initializing the disk.

To use this chapter, you should already be familiar with the Event Manager, which sends your application a disk-inserted event whenever a disk is inserted (unless you have masked out such events). You need to examine the message field of that event to determine whether the inserted disk is already initialized. You also need to be familiar with the File Manager if your application changes the default volume characteristics of newly initialized volumes.

This chapter begins by describing the operation of the Disk Initialization Manager, including

• formatting, verifying, and zeroing a disk
• the standard user interface for initializing and naming a disk
• bad block sparing

Then this chapter shows how you can

• determine whether an inserted disk is valid
• present the standard user interface to initialize and name an invalid disk
• present the standard user interface to erase a disk
• initialize or erase a disk without using the standard user interface
• change the default volume characteristics of newly initialized volumes

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Chapter Contents

About the Disk Initialization Manager

Disk Initialization

The Disk Initialization User Interface

Bad Block Sparing

Using the Disk Initialization Manager

Responding to Disk-Inserted Events

Erasing Initialized Disks

Overriding the Standard Initialization Interface

Changing Default Volume Characteristics

Disk Initialization Manager Reference

Routines

Loading and Unloading the Disk Initialization Manager

Initializing a Disk

Low-Level Disk Initialization Routines

Summary of the Disk Initialization Manager

Pascal Summary

Data Types

Routines

C Summary

Data Types

Routines

Assembly-Language Summary

Data Structures

Trap Macros

Global Variables

Result Codes