WDC EZ-Drive floppy image

[Zbigniew Lisiecki]

Hi,
EZ-BIOS might be good bios, but they have this nasty feature, one cannot get
rid of them so easy, and sooner, or later one we'll surely need it !

I have no windows at all and Western Digital EZ-Drive (actually Data
Lifeguard) is distributed as an *exe, allowing to create a proper floppy.
Who knows where can i get the bootable floppy image itself ?

best wishes, zbyszek

 

[Ken]

Hi,
EZ-BIOS might be good bios, but they have this nasty feature, one cannot get
rid of them so easy, and sooner, or later one we'll surely need it !

I have no windows at all and Western Digital EZ-Drive (actually Data
Lifeguard) is distributed as an *exe, allowing to create a proper floppy.
Who knows where can i get the bootable floppy image itself ?

best wishes, zbyszek

Doesn't the execution of the file create a bootable floppy??? It used to.

 

[Zbigniew Lisiecki]

Doesn't the execution of the file create a bootable floppy??? It used to.

yes, it does,
i cannot execute any window *exe files before i get rid of EZ-Drive,
as i wrote before
z

 

[Zbigniew Lisiecki]

Doesn't the execution of the file create a bootable floppy??? It used to.

yes, it does,
i cannot execute any window *exe files before i get rid of EZ-Drive,
as i wrote before

my second problem is, that i am not sure if this exe creates a floppy
addjusted somehow to my environment, or it's just a standard floppy,
which can be transfered from another computer.
z

 

[Ken]

Ken wrote:




yes, it does,
i cannot execute any window *exe files before i get rid of EZ-Drive,
as i wrote before

my second problem is, that i am not sure if this exe creates a floppy
addjusted somehow to my environment, or it's just a standard floppy,
which can be transfered from another computer.
z

I believe it simply makes a bootable floppy, and it is the same
regardless of what computer was used to make it. Take the executable
file to another computer and make your floppy there. Once you boot up
on your computer with the floppy you should be able to remove the overlay.

 

[David Maynard]

Ken wrote:




yes, it does,
i cannot execute any window *exe files before i get rid of EZ-Drive,
as i wrote before

my second problem is, that i am not sure if this exe creates a floppy
addjusted somehow to my environment, or it's just a standard floppy,
which can be transfered from another computer.
z

It makes a standard floppy but with the EZ-drive 'BIOS' on it.

All EZ-drive is is a loadable 'BIOS' (IDE driver portion) to replace the
insufficient IDE handler in older BIOSs. So, what happens is, when the
system boots from the hard drive the first thing that's loaded in is the
EZ-drive 'IDE BIOS" so the full drive can be accessed, supposedly just as
if you had a BIOS upgrade for the motherboard.

The problem is, if the drive does not boot then the 'BIOS' driver is not
loaded and floppy utilities, or anything else running on the older
motherboard, can't access the hard drive properly because there's no 'good'
BIOS driver for the large drive. So the .exe makes a boot floppy that loads
in the EZ-Drive 'IDE BIOS', just as it would have been loaded by the hard
drive, so that programs can again properly access the hard drive. But,
other than that, it's a perfectly 'normal' floppy.

I must have missed the original post because I don't quite understand what
your core problem is. The drive doesn't boot? You changed systems? Why do
you need a boot floppy?

Unless they've changed it, it's been a while since I used EZ-drive because
I avoid it like the plague, and if I remember correctly, an 'EZ-drive'
loaded hard drive can be read like normal when put in a system with a
'good' BIOS because the EZ-Drive's 'BIOS' is not needed then.

 

[Zbigniew Lisiecki]

I must have missed the original post because I don't quite understand what
your core problem is.

i don't have any computer with windows, or DOS, where i could create
a Lifeguard Tools floppy from the zip file, which i dowloaded from
www.wdc.com

therefore i need a complete floppy image (1440 k) which i could use with
Linux's dd to create such a floppy.

please don't explain one can create such a floppy starting an exe program
included in zip file downloaded. this only works on a computer with windows,
which i don't have
z

 

[David Maynard]

i don't have any computer with windows, or DOS, where i could create
a Lifeguard Tools floppy from the zip file, which i dowloaded from
www.wdc.com

therefore i need a complete floppy image (1440 k) which i could use with
Linux's dd to create such a floppy.

Well, that explains half of it but not how it got this way or why you want
to 'remove' EZ-Drive, or what you're trying to accomplish on the hard drive.

If you just want to read it you should be able to mount it, as is, since,
as I mentioned, EZ-Drive is just a BIOS loader and the drive
partition/format itself should be 'Windows normal' (which ever flavor it
came from).

please don't explain one can create such a floppy starting an exe program
included in zip file downloaded. this only works on a computer with windows,
which i don't have
z

Yes, I know you can't run an .exe in linux, without emulation anyway.
Speaking of which, if you can't find a floppy image why don't you install
one of the DOS emulators and run the DOS version of the WD tools floppy
maker from there?

 

[Zbigniew Lisiecki]

Well, that explains half of it but not how it got this way or why you want
to 'remove' EZ-Drive, or what you're trying to accomplish on the hard
drive.

If you just want to read it you should be able to mount it, as is, since,
as I mentioned, EZ-Drive is just a BIOS loader and the drive
partition/format itself should be 'Windows normal' (which ever flavor it
came from).


Yes, I know you can't run an .exe in linux, without emulation anyway.
Speaking of which, if you can't find a floppy image why don't you install
one of the DOS emulators and run the DOS version of the WD tools floppy
maker from there?

I'd like to remove EZ-BIOS, which was installed accidentaly

Yes I tried wine windows emulator, but it has some problems to write to a
floppy. These problems may be connected with EZ-BIOS itself, so the circle
closes for the third time, as you see.

I thought it could be easier to get somewhere a floppy image, than to
resolve emulator problems, or reformat, but I might be wrong as I see now.

best, z

 

[David Maynard]

David Maynard wrote:




I'd like to remove EZ-BIOS, which was installed accidentaly

Should still work with it on there.

Yes I tried wine windows emulator, but it has some problems to write to a
floppy. These problems may be connected with EZ-BIOS itself, so the circle
closes for the third time, as you see.

I thought it could be easier to get somewhere a floppy image, than to
resolve emulator problems, or reformat, but I might be wrong as I see now.

I wish you luck.

 

[patrick]

Hi,
EZ-BIOS might be good bios, but they have this nasty feature, one cannot get
rid of them so easy, and sooner, or later one we'll surely need it !

I have no windows at all and Western Digital EZ-Drive (actually Data
Lifeguard) is distributed as an *exe, allowing to create a proper floppy.
Who knows where can i get the bootable floppy image itself ?

best wishes, zbyszek

OK, I read the entire thread...

You have and EZ Drive installed Western Digital Drive that is only to be
running in Linux.

Several ways:

1. Use the EZ DRIVE floppy to reset and stop EZ Drive.

2. Eliminate EZ Drive;

a. open a console, look at the hidden partition, where EZ Drive
resides, and simply delete that partition, making it into some other
format...
OR_ _ _ _ _ _ :

b. Open a console, and use CF disk, or the Linux FDisk, or, QTParted
(from a Knoppix LiveCDrom)!

OR _ _ _ _ :

c. You can boot from a Knoppix LiveCD, and open a console, and type:
sudo knoppix installer

and it will open up qtparted. after doing the parted work on any
partitions, you can close the console, without doing the installation of
GNU/Linux.

get Knoppix from http://knopper.net/knoppix

 

[Zbigniew Lisiecki]

OK, I read the entire thread...

You have and EZ Drive installed Western Digital Drive that is only to be
running in Linux.

Several ways:

1. Use the EZ DRIVE floppy to reset and stop EZ Drive.

2. Eliminate EZ Drive;

a. open a console, look at the hidden partition, where EZ Drive
resides, and simply delete that partition, making it into some other
format...
OR_ _ _ _ _ _ :

b. Open a console, and use CF disk, or the Linux FDisk, or, QTParted
(from a Knoppix LiveCDrom)!

OR _ _ _ _ :

c. You can boot from a Knoppix LiveCD, and open a console, and type:
sudo knoppix installer

and it will open up qtparted. after doing the parted work on any
partitions, you can close the console, without doing the installation of
GNU/Linux.

get Knoppix from http://knopper.net/knoppix

yes patrick, i know ez-bios are stored in the partition
so the wiping out the partition removes them,
but i'd like to keep the partition
so i need ez-bios floppy
z