API for Format floppy disk

[wa...@my-dejanews.com]

I would like to know whether there is a Win32 API to format a 1.44 floppy
disk, instead of having to shell to DOS to do this. Dan Appleman's API bible
does not refer to this API. I am running VB4.

Thanks Dan Rabe

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[Henri Leboeuf]

FORMATING DISKS WITHIN VB4
Abstract
This article explains how you can format a diskette in a floppy drive from
within a Visual Basic® application. Microsoft® Windows does not provide any
functions to format a diskette, but it can be done by using the WinExec
application programming interface (API) function.

Formatting Disks
The Windows WinExec application programming interface (API) function can
execute any Windows-based or non-Windows-based program. To call the
WinExec function, you must first add its Declare statement to the Global
Declarations section of your Visual Basic application. Following is the
WinExec function declaration:

Declare Function WinExec Lib "Kernel" (ByVal lpCmdFile As String, ByVal
fuCmdShow As Integer) As Integer
(Note that this Declare statement must be typed as a single line of text.)

To execute a program, you would call the WinExec function with the
statement:

x = WinExec(lpCmdFile, fuCmdShow)

specifying the following parameters:

lpCmdFile 'A string containing the name of the application to execute
fuCmdShow 'An integer value that tells WinExec how to show the
application when it is executed. This may be one of the
following

Constants:

SW_HIDE 'The window is hidden and activation passes to another window.
SW_MINIMIZE 'The window is minimized and activation passes to
another window.
SW_RESTORE 'The window is activated and displayed in its original
size and at its original location.
SW_SHOW 'The window is activated and displayed in its current
size and at its current location.
SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED 'The window is maximized and activated.
SW_SHOWMINIMIZED 'The window is minimized and activated.

SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE 'The window is minimized but the active window
is not changed.
SW_SHOWNA 'The window is displayed at its current location in its
current size but the active window is not changed.
SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE 'The window is displayed at its most recent
location in its most recent size but the active
window is not changed.
SW_SHOWNORMAL 'The window is activated and displayed in its
original size and at its original location.

After the WinExec function is called, it returns an integer value greater
than 32 if the application was successful. Otherwise, one of the following
error codes is returned:

Error Code Description
0 Out of memory
2 File not found
3 Path not found
5 Sharing/protection error
6 Each task requires separate data segments
10 Windows version is incorrect
11 Not valid .EXE file
12 Cannot execute OS/2 application
13 Cannot execute DOS 4.0 application
14 EXE type is unknown
15 Protected memory mode not supported by Windows
16 Cannot load another instance of .EXE file
17 Cannot load second instance in large-frame EMS mode

18 Cannot load protected-mode application in real mode

The lpCmdFile argument must be a string containing the name of the
application program you want to execute, as well as any command line
parameters required by the application program itself. If the argument
does not include the full path, Windows will search for the application in
the following order:

1. The current directory
2. The Windows directory
3. The Windows System directory
4. The directory that contains the current task's application file
5. All directories in the PATH environment variable

6. Network directories

As stated earlier, the WinExec function can execute any Windows-based or
MS-DOS based program. This includes .EXE, .COM, and .BAT files. In
addition, WinExec can also be used to execute Windows screen savers (files
that have the .SRC file extension) and program information files (files
that have the .PIF file extension). Windows is shipped with several .PIF
files that you can use in conjunction with the WinExec function. One of
these files is called DOSPRMPT.PIF. This particular .PIF file contains
information that Windows needs to run an MS-DOS program. The .PIF file
tells Windows, for example, how much memory should be set aside to run the
MS-DOS program.

We can tell Windows to execute the FORMAT command in Visual Basic with the
following statement:

x = WinExec("dosprmpt.pif /c c:\dosb: < c:\response.tmp", SW_HIDE) Each
time MS-DOS formats a diskette, it asks you to press the enter key to
initiate the procedure. After the disk has been formatted, the program
asks you to type a Volume Label name and/or press the enter key. Next, you
are asked if you wish to format another diskette, to which you respond
with a "y" or "n" key.

This problem is easily solved. To respond to the prompts from the FORMAT
command, we first need to create a file called RESPONSE.TMP. This file
contains the keystrokes we want to pass on to the FORMAT command, just as
if we had typed them at the keyboard ourselves. DOS's redirection
capabilities will allow us to pass the contents of the RESPONSE.TMP file
to the FORMAT.COM program.

Example Program
The following program formats a floppy disk in drive B.

1. Start a new project in Visual Basic.
Form1 is created by default.

2. In the General Declarations section of Form1
add the following three statements:

a.. Const Resp_File = "c:\response.tmp"
b.. Const SW_HIDE = &H0
c.. Dim ActiveApps As Integer

3. In addition, add the following two Declare statements
(note that each statement should be typed as a single line of text):

Declare Function WinExec Lib "Kernel" (ByVal lpCmdLine As String, ByVal
nCmdShow As Integer) As Integer

Declare Function GetNumTasks Lib "Kernel" () As Integer

4. Add a command button control to Form1.
Command1 is created by default. Set its Caption property to "Format Disk".

5. Add the following code to the Click event of Command1:

Sub Command1_Click()

Cmd = Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "N" & Chr(13) & Chr(10)
FileNum = FreeFile
Open Resp_File For Output As #FileNum
Print #FileNum, Cmd
Close #FileNum
ActiveApps = GetNumTasks()

X = WinExec("dosprmpt.pif /c c:\dosb: <c:\response.tmp", SW_HIDE)

Do While GetNumTasks() <> ActiveApps

X = DoEvents()

Loop

Kill Resp_File
End Sub

Execute this demonstration program by pressing the f5 function key or by
selecting Run from the Visual Basic menu. Insert a floppy diskette into
drive B and click the "Format Disk" command button. Visual Basic will
format the diskette in drive B and return control to the demonstration
program.

Prepared by:
From: "Ojo" <o...@rhein-neckar.netsurf.de>
--
HTH
delete "RemoveMe."
hleb...@RemoveMe.generation.net

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