Extra Functionality

This chapter describes the supplementary functionality available in the program.

View Partition/Hard Disk Properties

The program enables to obtain in-depth information on the properties of hard disks and partitions. Besides the general information, such as capacity, used space or file system type it provides the possibility to get info on hard disk geometry, cluster size, exact partition location, etc.

1. Choose a partition/hard disk on the Disk Map, then select in the Main Menu: Partition/Hard Disk > Propertiesà;

2. Call the popup menu for the selected partition/hard disk (right click of the mouse button) on the Disk Map, then select the menu item: Propertiesà

In the opened dialog information will be grouped according to its properties, thus by clicking tabs you can get information you need.

File Transfer Wizard

File Transfer Wizard is designed to make such operations as copying of separate files/directories or burning of them to CD/DVD as easy and convenient as possible. It may be of particular use in case of a system malfunction, caused either by a virus attack or files corruption, in order to get the system back on track again. Besides it provides access to Paragon backups as regular folders to browse through their contents or copy required files.

Startup

Setup

q Place to look for files/directories. Select a source disk from the pull-down list in the left pane of the page. The program enables to process both mounted and unmounted (without drive letter assigned) partitions. Besides it is possible to map a network drive.

q Object(s) of operation. Choose files/directories you want to copy and place them to Clipboard by pressing the Add button. To delete a file/directory from the Clipboard, select it in the Clipboard pane and press the Remove button. You can also create a new folder, rename or irreversibly delete existing files/directories of the left pane by pressing the appropriate buttons.

q Destination to store the object(s). The File Transfer Wizard allows copying data to local or network drives, to physical partitions (without drive letters assigned), or burning them to CD/DVDs. Choose the way the data will be stored.

q Revision of changes. The Transfer Summary page provides structurally divided information on all the actions made in the wizard. Check the changes and come back to any step of the wizard (if necessary) by following the required hyperlink.

Result

After the operation is completed the required data will be placed into the specified destination.

Mount Partition

The program enables to assign or remove drive letters of existing formatted partitions.

Assign Drive Letter

2. Call the Add Drive Letter dialog to set up the operation. There are several ways to do it:

q Call the popup menu for the selected partition (right click of the mouse button) on the Disk Map, then select the menu item: Assign Drive Letterà

3. Specify a drive letter for the selected partition. Initially the program suggests some consistent value for this parameter. So you may just press the Yes button to confirm the operation.

However you can manually define the required letter by selecting it from the pull-down list of available drive letters.

Remove Drive Letter

2. Call the Remove Drive Letter dialog to define appropriate settings. There are several ways to do it:

q Call the popup menu for the selected partition (right click of the mouse button) on the Disk Map, then select the menu item: Remove Drive Letter.

Mount Archive

The program provides the ability to assign a drive letter to a partition backup image. As a result of the operation you will get a new read-only partition in the system to easily browse through its contents and copy the required information even with the standard Windows tools.

Assign Drive Letter

2. Call the Mount Archive dialog to set up the operation. There are several ways to do it:

q Call the popup menu for the selected image (right click of the mouse button), then select the menu item: Mount the Selected Archiveà

3. Specify a drive letter for the selected backup image. Initially the program suggests some consistent value for this parameter. So you may just press the Yes button to confirm the operation.

However you can manually define the required letter by selecting it from the pull-down list of available drive letters.

Remove Drive Letter

2. Call the Unmount Archive dialog to set up the operation. There are several ways to do it:

q Call the popup menu for the selected image (right click of the mouse button), then select the menu item: Unmount the Selected Archiveà

Test Surface

The program enables to test surface of existing partitions and blocks of free space for bad or unstable sectors. If found any it automatically marks them unusable in the file system metadata, thus minimizing the risk of data loss.

2. Call the Test Surface dialog to set up the operation. There are several ways to do it:

q Call the popup menu for the selected partition (right click of the mouse button) on the Disk Map, then select the menu item: Test Surfaceà

Check File System Integrity

The program allows you to check integrity of a file system. It can be used to detect possible file system errors before performing any operation on a partition.

2. Call the Check File System Integrity dialog to set up the operation. There are several ways to do it:

q Call the popup menu for the selected partition (right click of the mouse button) on the Disk Map, then select the menu item: Check File System Integrity.

3. Initially the program suggests some consistent values for all parameters. In most cases, you can just press the Yes button to confirm the operation.

q Automatically fix file system errors. Mark the checkbox to automatically fix any found error without requesting a confirmation.

q Scan for and attempt to recover bad sectors. Mark the checkbox to additionally process sectors marked bad in the file system metadata for the purpose of their possible recovery.

Check Archive Integrity

The program provides the ability to check integrity of a backup image. The function allows distinguishing between valid and corrupted images before using them. The Check Archive Integrity Wizard will help you do that.

Startup

q In the Main Menu: select Wizards > Backup Utilities > Check Archive Integrityà

q On the Common Tasks Bar: click the Check Archive Integrity item of the Wizards menu.

q Select a backup image in the Archive Database, then call the popup menu for it and choose the menu item: Check Archive Integrityà

Startup

q An archive to verify. The Browse for Archive page enables to find a backup image you need.

By clicking the Switch to Archive List View link, you can see a list of images contained in the Archive Database (if any).

To get a clear-cut picture on properties of the required image, just click on it and the section below will (i.e. Archive File Details) display a short description.

By clicking the Switch to File View link, you can find the required image in the browser-like window. The section below (i.e. Archive File Details) will also display a short description of the selected image.

Moreover, on this page youÆve got the possibility to create new folders, delete existing files/folders or map network drives by clicking the appropriate buttons.

Result

Check Recovery Discs

YouÆve got the ability to check whether backup media created with the program is 100 percent error-free and ready to use. The Check Recovery Disc Wizard will help you do that.

Startup

q On the Common Tasks Bar: click the Check Recovery Discs item of the Wizards menu.

Startup

q CD/DVD drive. Select from the pull-down list of available CD/DVD devices the required drive to use during the operation.

Result

Send Log Files

The program enables to simplify the procedure of sending support requests to the Paragon Support Team. In case of having difficulties with handling the program, you, with the help of this very function, can address the company support engineers and provide them with all the information they need such as the disk layout, performed operations, etc. in order to tackle the encountered problem. Information of that kind is stored in Log files.

In order to send log files to the Paragon Support Team you should take the following steps:

1. Call the Send Log Files dialog in the Main Menu: Tools > Send Log Files;

By clicking the Send button the built-in mail client will generate a template request with attached compressed log files and then send it to the Paragon Support Team.

Log Files

Log files are simple textual files that can be opened by any text editor. There are several log files automatically generated by the program:

View Logs

With a handy dialog you can study logs on any operation carried by the program. To make this job as easy as possible, all the information is structurally divided, besides there is the possibility to see the disk layout before and after an operation, what is very convenient.

In order to view logs on carried out operations call the View Logs dialog in the Main Menu: Tools > View Logsà

is the smallest amount of disk space that can be allocated to hold a file. All file systems used by Windows organize hard disks based on clusters, which consist of one or more contiguous sectors. The smaller the cluster size, the more efficiently a disk stores information. If no cluster size is specified during formatting, Windows picks defaults based on the size of the volume. These defaults are selected to reduce the amount of space that is lost and the amount of fragmentation on the volume. A cluster is also called an allocation unit.

Traditionally, the usable space of a hard disk is logically divided into cylinders, cylinders are divided into tracks (or heads), and tracks are divided into sectors. The triad of values [Sectors-per-Track], [Tracks-per-Cylinder], [Amount-of-Cylinders] is usually named the Hard Disk Geometry or C/H/S geometry. Tracks and cylinders are enumerated from "0", while sectors are enumerated from "1". These disk parameters play an essential role in the DOS Partitioning scheme. Modern hardware uses an advanced scheme for the linear addressing of sectors, which assumes that all on-disk sectors are continuously enumerated from "0". To allow backward compatibility with older standards, modern hard disks can additionally emulate the C/H/S geometry.

The term backup originates from the time when the best way to protect valuable information was to store it in form of archives on external media. It's become now a general notion to mean making duplications of data for protection purposes.

The servicing structures of a file system, which contain information about allocating files and directories, security information etc, are named the file system metadata. It is invisible for users and regular applications because its accidental modification usually makes a partition unusable.

In the DOS partitioning scheme, every hard disk and every partition has a 32-bit serial number represented by an 8-figure hexadecimal value. It is stored in the MBR and its value is assigned when the MBR sector is initialized by Microsoft standard disk managing tools, such as Windows Disk Administrator and the FDISK utility. In fact, a hard disk's serial number is not important for most operating systems and software. It is known that Windows NT, 2000 and XP store its value in the database of assigned drive letters. A partition's serial number is stored in its boot sector (in FAT16, FAT32 and NFTS file systems). Its value is assigned when the partition is formatted. It does not play an important role for most operating systems and software as well.

Stubact.log	Contains in-depth information on parameters and performance of all operations carried out by the program
Pwlog.txt	Besides brief overview on operations it also contains detailed information about the state of all hard disks
Cdb.log	Contains low-level information on the CD/DVD devices used in the system
BioNTlog.txt or Bio95log.txt	It is an OS-dependent supplementary log file derived from Bioxx.dll. It may contain valuable information on Windows family operating systems