Version 0.7.0

1 files changed, 36 insertions, 27 deletions

diff --git a/README.Windows b/README.Windows
index 4ff6011..fa57484 100644
--- a/README.Windows
+++ b/README.Windows
@@ -1,20 +1,21 @@
-GPT fdisk (aka gdisk)

+GPT fdisk (aka gdisk) and FixParts

 

 by Roderick W. Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

 

 ******************************** IMPORTANT ********************************

-Most versions of Windows cannot boot from a GPT disk, and most varieties

-prior to Vista cannot read GPT disks. GPT fdisk is a partition editor for

-GPT disks, and it will *AUTOMATICALLY CONVERT* MBR disks to GPT form.

-Therefore, you should **NOT** use GPT fdisk on a Windows system unless you

-fully understand what you're doing! If you accidentally use GPT fdisk on

-your boot disk, or perhaps even on a data disk, you may find recovery to be

-very difficult!

+Most versions of Windows cannot boot from a GPT disk on BIOS-based

+computers, and most varieties prior to Vista cannot read GPT disks. GPT

+fdisk is a partition editor for GPT disks, and it will *AUTOMATICALLY

+CONVERT* MBR disks to GPT form. Therefore, you should **NOT** use GPT fdisk

+on a Windows system unless you fully understand what you're doing! If you

+accidentally use GPT fdisk on your boot disk, or perhaps even on a data

+disk, you may find recovery to be very difficult! This caveat does not

+apply to FixParts, though; that tool works only on MBR disks.

 ***************************************************************************

 

 Read the main README file for general information on the program, and read

-the gdisk.html document (the Linux man page converted to HTML format) for

-detailed use information. My GPT fdisk Web page,

+the gdisk.html or fixparts.html documents (the Linux man pages converted to

+HTML format) for detailed use information. My GPT fdisk Web page,

 http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/, provides a more tutorial introduction to

 the software. I originally wrote GPT fdisk on Linux, and some Linux- and

 Unix-centric language remains in the documentation.

@@ -31,11 +32,18 @@ attempted to do this myself, though. If you care to try, check
 http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/popt.htm for information on popt

 for Windows.

 

-To install the program, copy the gdisk.exe program file to any directory on

-your path, such as C:\Windows. Alternatively, you can change to the

-program's directory or type its complete path whenever you use it.

+The FixParts program (fixparts.txt) is new with GPT fdisk 0.7.0. As

+described in the main README file, this program fixes certain partition

+table problems that can be created by buggy partitioning software. Windows

+seems to be unfazed by most such problems, but I've not done an extensive

+survey of Windows partitioning tools on this score.

 

-To use the program, first launch a Command Prompt as the Administrator. To

+To install the programs, copy the gdisk.exe and fixparts.exe program files

+to any directory on your path, such as C:\Windows. Alternatively, you can

+change to the program's directory or type its complete path whenever you

+use it.

+

+To use the programs, first launch a Command Prompt as the Administrator. To

 do this, locate the Command Prompt program icon, right-click it, and select

 "Run as Administrator." If you use a non-Administrator Command Prompt, you

 won't be able to edit hard disk partition tables, although you will be able

@@ -57,10 +65,10 @@ This command is equivalent to the earlier one -- it edits the partition
 table on the first physical disk. Change the number at the end of the

 device name to change the disk edited.

 

-If you pass the "-l" option in addition to the disk identifier, the program

-displays the current partition table information and then exits. This use

-entails no risk to MBR disks, since the program never writes data back to

-the disk when used in this way.

+If you pass the "-l" option to gdisk.exe in addition to the disk

+identifier, the program displays the current partition table information

+and then exits. This use entails no risk to MBR disks, since the program

+never writes data back to the disk when used in this way.

 

 As noted above, editing the first disk with GPT fdisk is usually a Bad

 Idea. An exception would be if your system uses an Extensible Firmware

@@ -71,14 +79,14 @@ support of GPT, see Microsoft's Web page on the topic:
 

 http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/GPT_FAQ.mspx

 

-The GUIDs generated by the program to uniquely identify disks and

-partitions aren't "proper" GUIDs; they're purely random numbers. In

-practice, this has caused me no problems; however, it's conceivable that

-some disk utility will complain. The Unix versions of GPT fdisk generate

-proper GUIDs, as of version 0.6.3. Note that this limitation applies ONLY

-to the unique GUIDs for disks and partitions, not to the GUIDs used to

-identify partition type codes; those are standardized and are handled

-correctly by all versions of GPT fdisk.

+The GUIDs generated by gdisk to uniquely identify disks and partitions

+aren't "proper" GUIDs; they're purely random numbers. In practice, this has

+caused me no problems; however, it's conceivable that some disk utility

+will complain. The Unix versions of GPT fdisk generate proper GUIDs, as of

+version 0.6.3. Note that this limitation applies ONLY to the unique GUIDs

+for disks and partitions, not to the GUIDs used to identify partition type

+codes; those are standardized and are handled correctly by all versions of

+GPT fdisk.

 

 Source Code and Compilation Issues

 ----------------------------------

@@ -98,7 +106,8 @@ compilers:
   third-party stdint.h file (I used the one from

   http://msinttypes.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/stdint.h), but it otherwise

   works fine. A project is easily created by adding all the *.h files and

-  all the *.cc files except diskio-unix.cc and sgdisk.cc.

+  all the *.cc files except diskio-unix.cc, sgdisk.cc, and whichever

+  program file you intend to NOT build (gdisk.cc or fixparts.cc).

 

 The MinGW compiler produces much larger executables than does the MS

 compiler. The resulting binaries seem to work equally well, but my testing