The contents of this document:

General information
Copyrights, disclaimer and distribution
Program description
How to use
Run errors
Tools used and copyrights
Known issues
Changes since previous version, and what to do with old backup-files
 Contact information
The E-mail support notification

General information.

This document assumes the reader to have some knowledge concerning harddisks and the like. You should know what the Master Boot Record is and what Partition Tables are. We also assume you know how to make a bootdisk and have at least working knowledge of Win9x and real mode environments.

For info on harddisks and recovery check the DIY DataRecovery (http://diydatarecovery.sites.cc) pages. This site contains information on harddisk recovery and assorted info.

Copyright, disclaimer, permission and distribution notices.

This program is conceived and coded by Joep van Steen
Original concept by Joep van Steen. Source libraries by Tom Kuurstra were used in Pt-tool.
(C) 2000, DIYdatarecovery.

All the Information and/or Programs supplied by us (DIYDataRecovery) are AS IS. Use of this Information and/or Programs is at your own risk. We can not and will not be held responsible for any damage that is inflicted by the person and/or persons using the Information and/or Programs we supply.

You may not include (parts of) this program in your own code and/or programs. Please check below for redistribution notices.

You, as the user, are not permitted to:

  • decompile, disassemble or change the program code in any way;
  • change the documentation or any text accompanying the program;
  • change the distribution in any way. No files may be removed from and no files may be added to the distribution;
  • use this program for commercial reasons or in environments (i.e. companies or persons) that (make a) profit from datarecovery; if you do so, you should contact DIY DataRecovery, you wil have to buy licenses;
  • (re)sell the program, or accept any fee for distributing or using the program;
  • redistribute the program. Distribution rules follow.

This program is distributed as Freeware. You are free to use this program, as long as you comply with the above mentioned rules. There is one restriction. You may NOT redistribute the program. This program may not be placed on bbs's, websites, FTP sites or any other location that facilitates download. If this is desired anyway, please contact us on one of the supplied e-mail addresses and we will get back to you. Please point to the original download location for redistribution, here, (http://diydatarecovery.sites.cc).

We also ask that you supply us with feedback on what has gone right and/or wrong. Also, any suggestions for changes or improvements are welcome. Contact information can be found at the end of this document.

Program description.

Pt-tool allows you to do the following things:

  • backup, verify and restore the MBR/EPBR
  • edit or blank the Partition Tables
  • refresh the MBR bootcode
  • remove the first 446 bytes of the MBR/EPBR
  • re-write the MBR/EPBR signature bytes
  • display the MBR/EPBR in HEX
  • perform above mentioned edit, bootcode and display functions on the MBR/EPBR backups

Pt-tool supports the first 4 harddisks it finds on the controller (any type).

MBR/EPBR Backups to file: Pt-tool places the file containing the MBR backup in the current folder. If the file already exists it will be overwritten. Use /F without a filename to use the default filename (PT_BACK) or use /F:filename to enter a filename to be used for the backup. The maximum length for the filename is 8 characters. Do NOT enter the extension. The extension is added by Pt-tool and will consist of the physical disk number that contains the original MBR/EPBR, 128 through 131.

The Backups: The backups are changed so that the program recognises them as MBR/EPBR backups. This means that the backups themselves are not usable, they must be restored using Pt-tool.
It is, however, possible to recover a Pt-tool backup sector without the use of Pt-tool.
Let me explain : a conventional MBR/EPBR has what we call a signature. This signature consists of 2 bytes at the end of the sector that contains the MBR/EPBR. When Pt-tool makes a MBR backup to a file Pt-tool changes this signature and replaces it with something Pt-tool recognises. The original signature is put back in place when a restore is performed. The original signature for a MBR/EPBR is Hex "55 AA". Pt-tool replaces this with Hex "BB BB". Therefore, if you wish to manually restore a backup sector to the original MBR/EPBR sector, you must change the last 2 bytes back to Hex "55 AA". A manual restore operation, without the use of Pt-tool, can be performed with a hex-editor. Explaining this procedure does not fall within the scope of this manual. Visit DIYDataRecovery for information on this.
A manual recovery of a backup made to file is also possible, though somewhat more labour-intensive. If you open a backup-file you will see that it is made up as follows : the first 3 lines contain the program name, the program version and the disk number. The lines following that contain the hex-representation of the MBR/EPBR. Each line contains 32 bytes, each byte being a 2 digit Hex number. There are 16 lines, making up the 512 byte MBR. Use a Hex-editor to enter the hex values you see here in the MBR. Don't forget about the signature bytes.

The method: Pt-tool uses int13H calls to access the harddisk through BIOS. This means that the program will NOT run from Windows NT or Windows 2000 (NT and 2000 prohibit access to hardware). If you wish to use Pt-tool on a system running Windows NT or Windows 2000, you must use a real-mode DOS boot-disk. If you run into problems running the tool from Command prompts in Windows 9x or ME, use a real-mode bootdisk. It is preferred to run Pt-tool from a real-mode bootdisk.
On Windows 9x systems it is possible to run Pt-tool from a Command prompt in protected mode. In WinME however a backup file cannot be restored!

How to use.

Pt-tool is command-line operated. The program runs in real-mode DOS or a Command prompt in Windows 9x or ME. The options that are not related to manipulation of sectors or MBR's (like editing a backup-file) can be performed from Windows NT/2000.

- The command line

Pt-tool without any arguments will display the help-screen and the copyright notice.
The command-line arguments consist of the following:

/X:y - select the operation to be performed, where y is the selected operation

/D:n - select disk to perform the operation on, where n is one of: 0,1,2,3

/C:n -  select a cylinder that should be viewed as MBR/EPBR or a backup should be made of or restored to, or that will be edited.

/F - select a file as target or source for a backup, the program will use the default filename
  OR
/F:filename - select a file as target for a backup, using the filename entered. No extension, the filename must not exceed 8 characters in length

Note :

- when performing a Restore, Verify, Display or Edit function on a backup, you must use /F:filename to specify the location of the backup. If /F is not entered, the selected action will be performed on the original MBR.

Please note that Pt-tool assumes the first disk to be disk 0, the second disk 1 etc.

- The options for /X

The possible operations (and arguments for /X) are :

B - perform a MBR backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3).
Choose /F or /F:filename to make a backup to a file that will be written to the current folder or disk.

R - restore a MBR from a previously made backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). The location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename.

V - verify a backup against the original MBR/EPBR, or validate a backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). The location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted, so you can use this option to simply tell if you can use the backup without it being important whether the backup is identical to the MBR/EPBR. If /C:x is specified, the backup contents is compared with the specified cylinder of the specified drive.

D - display the MBR, either original or backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). If /C:x or /F:filename is not used, the MBR is displayed. When displaying a backup, the location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted.

E - edit the MBR Partition Tables, either for the original or a backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). If /C:x or /F:filename is not used, the MBR is selected. When editing a backup, the location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted. Please check below for information on the editor.

W - wipe the MBR/EPBR, either the original MBR/EPBR or a backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). If /C:x or /F:filename is not used, the is wiped. When wiping a backup, the location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted (allthough that is rather uninteresting when wiping it, nevertheless).

P - blank the Partition Tables, either in the original MBR/EPBR or a backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). If /C:x or /F:filename is not used, the MBR is selected. When blanking the Partition Tables in a backup, the location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted.

C - blank the first 446 bytes of the MBR/EPBR sector or a backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). If /C:x or /F:filename is not used, the MBR is selected. When blanking the first 446 bytes in a backup, the location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. The Partition Tables are NOT blanked. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted.

M - write/refresh the bootcode, either in the original MBR or a backup.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). If /F:filename is not used, the original MBR is selected. When writing the bootcode in a backup, the location of the backup must be specified through /F:filename. The Partition Tables are NOT blanked. This option will also validate the backup and tell you if it has been corrupted.
Note : the bootcode that is written using this option is generic Wintel bootcode and can be used for all Win/DOS platforms. If you have the Linux LiLo bootcode in your MBR DO NOT USE this option, it will leave your system unusable. Support for this will be added.

S - write the signature bytes for the MBR/EPBR.
A disk must be selected (/D:0 - /D:3). This option can only be performed on the original MBR/EPBR. Use this option if something or someone has corrupted the MBR/EPBR by removing the 2 signature bytes from the MBR.
Note: when a backup is restored the signature bytes are automatically written. 

- The Partition Table editor

When the /X:E option is selected the Partition Table editor is displayed. When editing directly on disk and not the MBR the cylinder number of the current EPBR is displayed.
The screen displays the Tables twice. The top section displays the Tables as they are now, either from the original MBR/EPBR or a backup. This is signified by the word "cur" on the left in the blue top-bar. Directly below the first display of the Tables is the menu-bar. This bar contains the options that are valid in the editor. Below the menu-bar is the second display of the Tables. These tables will reflect the changes you make during the editing. This is signified by the word "new" on the left in the blue top-bar.
Both displays of the Partition Tables also contain the displaying of the entries as they are recorded in the MBR/EPBR (under "partition tables as shown on disk"), for reference.
The bottom display of the Tables and MBR/EPBR reference will be refreshed after each value change.

Each Table consists of 4 entries, making up the Partition Tables. The entries contain, from left to right (as is also displayed in the blue top-bar) the 10 following values :

  • Partition Active, Decimal
  • Start Cylinder, Decimal
  • Start Head, Decimal
  • Start Sector, Decimal
  • Partition Type, Hex
  • End Cylinder, Decimal
  • End Head, Decimal
  • End Sector, Decimal
  • LBA Start Sector, Decimal (32 bit value)
  • LBA Length, Decimal (32 bit value)

The following options are valid when in the editor (as displayed in the menu-bar):
Press 'Q' to leave the editor. Any changes made will NOT be saved.
Press 'S' to save the Partition Tables you have edited to either the original MBR, or a backup (as selected on the commandline using /C:x or /F:filename).
Press 'R' to revert the changes you made. All Table entries will be restored to their original values, as displayed in the Table in the top section of the screen.
Press 'B' to set all values to 0 and create a clean Partition Table to fill.
Press '1' '2' '3' or '4' to edit the entry selected.

When you choose to edit one of the entries, you will be asked to enter the values for that entry. The program will ask you to enter a value for each of the 10 values that make up 1 entry. Press 'Enter' without typing any value to leave that value unchanged.
All values are entered and treated as decimal values, with one notible exception : the Partition Type. This is entered in Hex.
Example: the Active Partition value (the first value in an entry) is Hex "80". In the table it is displayed as Dec "128". You must enter "128" if you wish to edit the Active Partition value.
However, the Partition Type value will for instance display "B", which means FAT32. If you enter a Partition Type value you must enter this as Hex. Click here to find a more or less complete list of partition types.

The values you enter are not checked for consistency. Some simple checks are done (Cylinders can not be more than 1023, Heads can not be more than 254 etc.) but nothing is checked against the geometry for your disk. This has been done on purpose to allow the user to enter illogical values for recovery scenario's.
The LBA values are NOT calculated from the values you enter for C/H/S. This may be added in a future version.

Run errors or program notifications 

In a normal Pt-tool run all the messages displayed are notifications. The program informs you of the operation that has been requested and what the result is. If the displayed message starts with a '-' (as in '- Backup NOT written to sector') it means that something has gone wrong and that the operation was not completed (or aborted). This usually means that Pt-tool could not get to the necessary resources (the backup-sector, the backup-file or the MBR) to complete the action. Check to see if the backup-sector or backup-file are not corrupted (by displaying them) and check to see if you have selected an existing disk for the operation.
When the message ' could not read/write selected disk (RC=x)' appears it means that an Int13H error occurred, meaning that the disk could not be read or written to. Please note that this could be because of a command-line parameter. If you entered the following command : 'Pt-tool /x:e /d:3 /c:446 ' Pt-tool tries to display this sector for this disk. Pt-tool does not check to see if the disk actually exist. Thus if you only have 1 disk, the example command would lead to errors being displayed for the non-existent 4th disk. This has been done on purpose. The text 'RC=x' in the Int13H error message means Return Code. An Int13H error usually returns a value that let's you identify the error. The most common errors are RC=1 (disk error/non -existent disk) and RC=3 (read-only error, is displayed when sector operations are performed under Windows ME).
If something unexplainable happens and you ask for support, be sure to include any messages the program displays, and the RC if it is displayed.

If a situation occurs that Pt-tool can not handle, the program will abort with an error message. Please send the message with the error codes to us (see  contact information) and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Please observe our "E-mail notification" notice, this can be found on the web-pages. Check the information at the end of this document.

Contact information.

DIYDataRecovery 1 (Joep van Steen) :

website : DIY DataRecovery 1 , (http://diydatarecovery.sites.cc)
E-mail : webmaster (webmaster@diydatarecovery.sites.cc)

DIYDataRecovery 2 (Tom Kuurstra) :

website : DIY DataRecovery 2, (http://diydatarecovery.sites.cc)
E-mail : Tommie K., (DiyDDR2@worldmail.nl)

Currently, the distribution point for Pt-tool can be found here. (http://diydatarecovery.sites.cc).
Check our webpages for current info on Pt-tool.

The E-mail support notification.

We receive a lot of E-mail requesting support in one form or another. To make things a little easier on us we ask you to give us as much information as possible, so that we can help you quicker and do not have to guess at things. Datarecovery is an exact science.

When you have a question concerning datarecovery please include the following things:

  • a clear description of the symptoms (things like "my OS doesn't boot" we cannot take seriously), including (if any) the errors you might be getting from the tool you are using;
  • how the problem came about. A thorough description of the actions that led to the problem and a description of the environment (real mode, protected mode etc.) in which the problem occurred;
  • a description of the running OS (Windows 9x / ME / NT / 2000 or OS/2 or whatever), including language information and version information;
  • the (latest version) RepoMan log if it is a RepoMan related problem;
  • a Partinfo log file. Check below to see how to make a Partinfo log file.

If these things are not included in the support request you will not receive an answer. Also, problems that are not related to serious datarecovery (like messed up boot files for instance) will not be addressed. Check your local bookstore for a dummies-guide on that.

How to make a Partinfo log file:

Partinfo is a tool that is part of the Powerquest PartitionMagic suite. The Partinfo tool can be downloaded from the Powerquest FTP site from here. 
Please note that Powerquest allows you to download these tools.
Create a Partinfo log file by using the following command:
"Partinfo > drive:\file.ext", where drive:\file.ext is the location of the resulting log file.

Thanx for complying.