I uncompressed Victoria for Windows with B1 Free Archive andd then I installed it.
The documentation was in Russian and I used Google translate to translate it to English:
Experimental utility for working with HDD - Version 4.3
(c support of both ports and via API Windows)
Attention! Test drive through the ports , which is currently running Windows - not! Please carefully read the documentation.
This document applies to working with a disk through the ports . Work through different API that accesses the HDD not directly, but through the driver Windows. This makes it possible to estimate the speed of your Windows hard drive with the current mode , and allows you to safely test ANY drives supported by the system .
In order for the program to work with the drive through the API, the device must be initialized in the system.
Disadvantages of working through the API compared to working through the ports :
- Influence of appeals to the hard drive on the test results ;
- Smaller features ( in particular , can not be changed HPA);
- API is much worse relates to damaged hard drives . For example, the Windows driver can disable the defective unit without warning ;
- Unable to monitor registers HDD;
- Only works under Win XP/2000/HR
Dignity of work through the API versus access ports :
- You can test the system disk ;
- You can quickly erase information from the HDD ( for example, on my HDD SAMSUNG SP2514N speed is 71 MB / s );
- You can test the USB, Flash , etc. not -ATA drives ;
Brief characteristics of the product :
«Victoria 4.x for Windows» - is a program designed to assess performance, testing and minor repair HDD IDE drive and SATA. Its ideology and the possibility of closer to those of the previous utility «Victoria 3.x for DOS». Win32 version is designed primarily for repairmen HDD in stationary conditions , as requires a Windows-based computer , and is not intended to test the system hard drive. However, compared with DOS-based utility for Windows provides the following benefits :
- No CPU idle ;
- More intuitive user interface ;
- Multi-tasking ;
The program is multithreaded Win32 application , and is designed for the OS family of Windows NT ( 2000 , XP). In Windows 9x and Me , some functions may work slower.
The program is written for hardware-software complex «Victoria», developed by the author for the professional HDD repair and data recovery . Free version differs in its composition lack of technological tools , some useful functions are disabled. Your Drive is made on the input-output ports .
System Requirements - CPU not less than P3, from 1300 MHz (the higher - the better ) , screen resolution of 800 * 600 to 1280 * 1024 , Microsoft Windows XP. In map mode without surface system requirements are greatly reduced .
When you first start under Win NTprogramma automatically installs the driver in porttalk.sys, through which will be used to access the ports under study HDD. Rebooting the system is required. When you run under Win 9x no driver installed , and access to ports is achieved shutdown in " Control Panel » Windows appropriate IDE controller.
The program can also access additional ATA controllers. Pressing «PCI scan» will list available on the system controller . Clicking on each of them - the port addresses are automatically raskladvayutsya in the input window port addresses . You can also manually define the desired address in the input window , selecting the option «Custom». It should be borne in mind that the default port is blocked Primary (to avoid access to the system hard drives) . To unlock it you register in ini- file section [ATA Port] value Enable PM = 1 and restart the program.
Feature of the program is the use of proprietary algorithms scan the surface without loading the CPU ( on a system with a P4 2000MHz off the map at the surface , it is 1-5 %). This was made possible through the use of multimedia timer. But due to the fact that this method is new to this class of programs , provides an alternative timer on the classical scheme ( on RDTSC). Switching is done on the tab «Setup». It is more accurate , but will ship the system to 100% .
The main differences from the DOS version of the program are as follows:
passport:
- Support for some features of the standard ATA- 8;
- A sector received from HDD, is saved in a file;
- You can download a passport other drives for viewing;
Host Protected Area (HPA):
- You can set both time and constant volume;
- You can adjust the size of the slider ;
Seek ( test mechanics) :
- You can set the threshold time at which the test will be interrupted and the drive is switched off ;
- You can specify the type of test (pure positioning , verification, reading, creating soft -bad). In the latter case, the surface produced a "long record " of the information that was read from the sector.
Acoustic Management (AAM):
- Allows you to adjust the sound level using the mouse or keys ;
Password Manager :
- Sets the password for any level of the input window or from a file ;
- Allows you to erase the disk by pressing one button (Erase). In this case the hard drive is automatically put master and user passwords «**bleep**» and is commanded security erase, provided standard.
S.M.A.R.T. monitor :
- Allows you to view the attributes treshholdy , raw value in the decimal system ;
- View the current status of life of the drive;
- Run the built- in hard drive SMART test ;
- View the current status of the SMART- test drive and their implementation ;
- Set a timer that will update the SMART readings at a specified interval of time;
Scanning the surface :
- Allows you to select the block size and the timeout after which the screw is supplied in soft reset;
- There are four scan modes , including reverse ;
- It is possible to produce not only normal , but also a “long” record of sectors, in the words drive the information that is contained in the sector;
- Flaw finding defects timeout and be entered in the log of real sector addresses (not blocks) ;
- Recover " read length " (the free version off) ;
- Relocation of defects by Remap ;
- Drawing graphics surface (optional);
- Stop timer random read ( in the upper left corner of the panel over the button «Pause»).
Note:
- input windows borders LBA is permissible to use records that " 22 %», «345Mb» etc. Also works the clipboard (copy and paste from other windows ) .
- on the CPU scraps (Celeron, Duron) system load can be very high , especially in reading and writing . If it is incredibly annoying - write, remade .
Else ( tab Advanced - its contents still in question ) :
- View of the partition table on a suspect hard drive ;
- Measurement speed shaft (recommended Normal mode . Random - this is a very crude algorithm for ugly screws that did not disable cache
- Teams to manage the cache (only ATA- 7);
also:
- Maintain a detailed log of work;
- Most of the settings are stored in non-volatile memory (ini- file) ;
Due to the fact that the free version of the program written by the author in their spare time , and without any commercial purpose persecution - it may contain errors not yet seen , and not closed “trap for fools .” Try to treat this with understanding , read the documentation carefully . It is useful to read the documentation for Victoria 3.x for DOS - in both programs have a lot in common. About deficiencies that please send an e - mail sergei@hdd-911.com.
/ Will be complemented /
