linHDD
Hard Drive utility
(c)2005-2007 by Paul Sherman


##############################################################################
# c2005-2007 by Paul Sherman <psherma1@rochester.rr.com>	             #
# http://www.pcbypaul.com						     #
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or		     #
# modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License		     #
# as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3	     #
# of the License, or (at your option) any later version.		     #
#									     #
# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,	     #
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of	     #
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the		     #
# GNU General Public License for more details.				     #
#									     #
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License	     #
# along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software		     #
# Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.#
##############################################################################


INSTALL:


linHDD is a Python script, so put linHDD.py and abs_fdisk somwhere 
in your path and run the program. If you are missing something the 
program needs, it shold let you know.





DEPENDENCIES:


	linHDD is a Hard Drive utility written in
	Python, and making use of GTK and pyGTK.

	Dependencies include:
    	python >= 2.4
    	GTK >= 2.6
    	pyGTK >= 2.6
    	Pango
	and uses the system utilities
	(present on most all Linux machines):
	hdparm, df, mkfs and cfdisk and as of 0.4,
	an adapter version of fdisk named abs_fdisk 
	(included in the package, as well as the source cde changes from fdisk)
	
	
	


ABOUT:

	For those a bit weary of the commandline, perhaps a bit miffed by big problems 
	caused by little typos -- but mostly for the many newcomers that have yet to 
	memorize the multitude of wondrous console-based commands, I give you this tool 
	to ease your life just a little bit.

	The program will give you hard drive info, allow you to test write speeds, and 
	if you are running as root user, enable you to partition and format non-mounted 
	drives, including SATA HDDs and USB sticks.

	linHDD acts as a fontend for some basic Linux tools, which should all be on 
	your machine already. hdparm gives the detailed drive information shown in 
	the large textbox. Also enables testing the HDD read speed in MB/s. df, 
	(which lists mounted devices), mkfs and its relatives for formatting 
	(supporting ext2, ext3, reiserfs, xfs, jfs and vfat (FAT32) -- if they are 
	supported on your machine.) And cfdisk pops up if you choose to partition a drive.

	For safety and sanity I designed linHDD so that it will not allow any 
	partitioning on a mounted Hard Drive. Nor will it allow formatting on a 
	mounted partition. And lastly, ANY partitioning or formatting must be done as root.

	The program allows any user to view drive space and detailed HDD 
	information, as well as run a read-speed test on any drive.



SOURCE:

	Source code changes for fdisk utility (to make abs_fdisk) ane included in
	the util-linux subdirectory.



CONTACT/AUTHOR:


	Any questions/concerns regarding the program can be directed to me at:
	<psherma1@rochester.rr.com>

	My webite is located at <http://www.pcbypaul.com>
