      DFSee version 17.x             (c) 1994-2022: Jan van Wijk
 =========================[ www.dfsee.com ]==========================

For exact version info, release date and changes see the DFSHIST.TXT file

Starting with version 17.0, DFSee is FREE for use by anyone, no registration
required anymore, and it will become available as OPEN SOURCE as well.

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Installation
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The standard distribution of DFSee (dfsee_install.zip) contains all the DFSee
files you will need to use it, organized in the following directories:

 - dos    Everything needed or usable to run on DOS or Windows-9x full-screen
 - win    Everything needed or usable to run on Windows-NT, XP, Win-7/8/10
 - bin    Everything needed or usable to run on OS/2 version 2.0 or newer
 - linux  Everything needed or usable to run on LINUX, kernel 2.x or newer
 - mac    Everything needed or usable to run on macOS   (Intel CPUs only)
 - doc    The main DFSee documentation files in text and some in PDF format
          with detailed information about DFSee and the commands.

So, just unzip the distribution archive in a directory of your choice ...


IMPORTANT:

          If you are new to DFSee,  I recommend you use the
          DFSTART script to start with.  It will collect some
          very useful backup files the first time it is used

          To collect minimal information about your system, to
          email to others, or post on newsgroups for help, use:

          DFSxxx -query

          Where DFSxxx is any of the DFSee executables (see below)
          It will produce a "dfsquery.log" file to be sent/posted.


DFSee is a SWISS-ARMY KNIFE of disk-tools packaged in a single
executable file (.EXE). There is really no need for 'installing'
anything, as long as the executable can be found.
(in the PATH for instance).

So make sure the executable is in a tools directory or a directory
of its own, and make sure that directory is in the PATH to make it
more convenient.


Available executables:

- DFSOS2.EXE    The OS/2 executable, full function including REXX

- DFSDOS.EXE    The (extended) DOS executable, full function

- DFSWIN.EXE    The Win-NT/2000/XP executable, full function
                - requires ADMIN or BACKUP rights to access the disks!
                  (right mousebutton, 'Run as Administrator')

- dfsee         The native Linux executable,   full function
                - requires 'root' privileges to access the disks!

- dfsee (MAC)   The native MAC OSX executable, full function
                - requires 'root' privileges to access the disks!
                - Disks MUST be UNMOUNTED to allow writing,
                  eject ALL volumes on the disk first!
                - To use the DFSee.app launcher (Dock icon)
                  you may need to allow that, see DFSINST.TXT.

INSTALL: To install the above executables for a specific platform,
         check the DFSINST.TXT files for details on what to download,
         and what to do/execute to set it up for proper usage.


TIP:     For optimal viewing of all the info in the DFSee displays,
         a wide screen (or window) is recommended, 100 characters
         wide or even more works very well.
         The minimum workable width is 80 characters.

MOUSE: - OS/2 or eComstation (DFSOS2.EXE):
         For optimal mouse usage make sure the 'Mouse Actions' in the
         (upper left) system-menu for a Windowed session is NOT checked!

       - Windows NT / W2K  / XP / Vista / Windows-7
         For mouse usage make sure the 'Quick Edit Mode'
         in the properties for the command window is NOT checked!
         (this is ON by default on Windows 2000, meaning no mouse support)

       - DOS (und FreeDOS etc ...)
         Mouse support with any Microsoft-Mouse compatible driver.

       - Linux and macOS
         Full mouse support in Windowed environments, NOT the Linux console
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Important backups
_______________________________________________________________________________

I advise you to keep a bootable copy of DFSee either on diskette, CDROM, DVD,
or a bootable USB stick, for example using the DFSee PUPPY Linux based one:

        https://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/media.php#usb

Then use an important backup command to save the current state of your
existing system(s) as a preventive measure, from the DFSee menu:

        Mode=FDISK ->
          Backup partition info ->
             - - - All disks - - -

This will make a backup of all important partition-table and boot sectors
to a few relatively small files that can be used in cases of emergency to
restore them with 'prestore' or using the DFSee menu:

        Mode=FDISK ->
          Restore partition info ...

Use a meaningful 'filename' for each different system you backup.


For extra information on the systems you could also run the DFSDISK
analysis procedure that comes with DFSee. It will create six files
for each physical harddisk in the system.

        Scripts ->
          Analyse disks for support ->
             - - - All disks - - -


Note: The DFSDISK and PSAVE stuff above is included in DFSTART,
      so if you use that you are on the safe side!

      Realize that when using DFSDOS to restore imagebackups or
      partitioning info, it can ONLY read from FAT or FAT32 drives!
      So storing important recovery info on HPFS, NTFS or EXT2
      file systems might not be a good idea when using the FreeDOS
      based diskette/CDROM with DFSee.

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Online Help
_______________________________________________________________________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Furthermore there is quite extensive help ine the MENU-system, use F1
to get specific help for any highlighted/selecte menu-item.

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

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Recommended reading
_______________________________________________________________________________

DFSee is a rather complex program with dozens of commands that could
be used. You will need some time and effort to master that complexity.

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

- DFSEE.TXT     = A short introduction to DFSee and its concepts
- DFSINST.TXT   = short installation description
- DFSPROMO.TXT  = A short promotional text on DFSee and its concepts
- DFSHOWTO.TXT  = An ever growing collection of recovery scenarios and
                  other useful DFSee usage examples
- DFSTERMS.TXT  = A terminology reference about DFSee and partitioning
- DFSCMDS.TXT   = The main command-reference with all generic commands
- DFSDISK.TXT   = Description and examples of the DFSee UNFDISK procedure
- DFSFDISK.TXT  = The FDISK (partitioning) command reference
- DFSAPFS.TXT   = Command reference specific to the APFS filesystem
- DFSEFAT.TXT   = Command reference specific to the EFAT filesystems
- DFSEXT.TXT    = Command reference specific to the EXT2, EXT3 and EXT4 FS
- DFSFAT.TXT    = Command reference specific to the FAT  filesystems
- DFSHFS.TXT    = Command reference specific to the HFS  filesystem
- DFSHPFS.TXT   = Command reference specific to the HPFS filesystem
- DFSISO.TXT    = Command reference specific to the ISO  filesystem
- DFSJFS.TXT    = Command reference specific to the JFS  filesystem
- DFSNTFS.TXT   = Command reference specific to the NTFS filesystem
- DFSRSR.TXT    = Command reference specific to the REISER filesystem
- DFSXFS.TXT    = Command reference specific to the XFS    filesystem
- DFSCRIPT.TXT  = Reference for using command-scripts with DFSee
- DFSHIST.TXT   = History of changes for DFSee, known bugs and wish-list
- DFSYNTAX.TXT  = Syntax rules for DFSee command, parameters and options

Background information on PC-partitioning, filesystems and some of
the DFSee internals and working are in PDF files:

- DFSEECON.PDF  = DFSee concepts, introduction. (not a user guide!)
- PCPARTIT.PDF  = PC partitioning including the OS/2 LVM extensions
- FSYSTEMS.PDF  = Filesystems on-disk structures explained
                  (FAT, FAT32, HPFS, NTFS and a little JFS)


There is some additional material on the DFSee website including the
complete contents of all menu help pages with screenshots, a HOWTO,
plus links to reviews and tutorials by others:

        http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/help.php
and
        http://www.dfsee.com/dfsee/about.php

And presentations that explain some background on DFSee and
filesystems. (HTML as well as PDF format

        http://www.dfsee.com/presentations.php

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Known Problems
_______________________________________________________________________________

- The DOS version, DFSDOS.EXE will NOT display all present volumes
  (driveletters) using the 'VOL' command, or offer all of them in
  one of the filedialogs. NETWORK and CDROM letters will be missing.
  In many cases, if you KNOW the driveletter, you can use it directly
  in a command anyway, or even use it in the filedialog entryfield
  to have the files for that drive displayed.


- The OS2 version, DFSOS2.EXE is known to fail (abort on startup) when a
  virtual floppy-disk driver is loaded that is not initialized, as in:

        device=c:\tools\vfdisk.sys  0

  Initializing it to another value (like 1 for a 1.44Mb diskette) solves that.

