                           *** Press Release ***

                Upper Design announces 'Upper Disk Tools V1.0'.


'Upper Disk Tools' (UDT) is a growing package of disk related software
tools.  These tools are to help the user to overcome problems with
disks.  Version 1.0 only includes two tools:  'Recovery' and 'DSBackup'
(Disk Structure Backup).  Other tools are under development to be released
within incoming versions of 'UDT'.

- About Recovery:

Recovery is file recovery program that uses a new concept to recover
deleted or lost files from normal or corrupted disk.

Q. So, what's so new about Recovery's concept to recover files?

A. Well, instead of being an application with a specific user interface
   designed for the purpose of recovering files, Recovery adds a new
   AmigaDOS virtual device named 'REC:' with an associated volume named
   'Recovery:'.

   Through this new device, the user can access any kind of files present
   in an AmigaDOS disk, either been deleted, lost, headerless or even those
   that have not been deleted.


Q. In simple words, what does an user have to do to retrieve any files
   using Recovery?

A. After starting Recovery, usually an user interface window will appear.
   This window is only meant to let the user edit some of Recovery's
   options.

   To actually retrieve any files from a disk, for instance Work:, the user
   just has scan the Recovery:Drives/Work/ directory. The user can do it
   either in Workbench, from Amiga Shell or any other directory utility.

   The scan process may take a while, and so a progress requester with a
   fuel gauge will appear, giving an idea of how much of the disk remains
   to be scanned.

   Depending on what files were found while scanning a disk, some
   directories named Deleted_files, Lost_files, Headerless_files or
   Files_in_disk may appear inside Recovery:Drives/Work/ directory.

   From this point, the user can do many things with any of the files found
   like for instance copy, read, test or even try to execute them without
   first moving them to a another place.


Q. How safe is Recovery to use?

A. Recovery is absolutely safe to use as it never alters data on the volume
   being scanned, nor allows any other application to modify data on the
   volume while Recovery is scanning it.

   This was done to both inspire trust in the user and provide failsafe
   access to a possibly damaged disk.


Q. How fast is Recovery when looking for files?

A. Recovery is very efficient and smart enough to 'know' where deleted or
   lost files are most likely to be found in a disk. When set to 'Fast
   Search' mode, it won't search for files in places in the disk where it
   is known that there could only be files accessible through normal
   AmigaDOS usage.

   This way, the time taken to scan a disk can be drastically reduced,
   saving the user's normal anxiety while waiting for the program to tell
   him or her if some data lost is still recoverable.


Q. Was Recovery meant to compete or replace any of the other file recovery
   programs existing in the Amiga software market?

A. Absolutely not. Recovery was always meant to provide a safe, fast and
   confortable way to let the Amiga users retrieve lost data from disks,
   regardless other existing software packages for the same purpose.

   Recovery can be thought to be used in cooperatio with other disk
   related tools. Recovery is recommended to be the first tool that should
   be used before any other package that attemps to fix any damage.

   For instance, whenever a large ammount of data is to be backed up to
   a safer place, Recovery could be used together with the user's favourite
   directory backup utility like it is done with normal files.


Q. What do well-known and experienced Amiga users think about Recovery?

A. Some comments...

Everything is so transparent that it is easily possible to read or even
execute any deleted file directly through REC:  device, even without having
to copy that file to elsewhere.This file recovery program is the way it is
meant to be.  If you know how to deal with Workbench, the CLI, or a
directory utility, you know how to recover your files with this program.

Makes good use of the way the operating system was designed to provide
users with the power they need to save them from file loss.  It really is a
great idea to use the loadable filesystem handlers as a way to recover
files.

Michael Sinz - former Commodore-Amiga Software Engineer.

---

Nice!  I really like it.  I've only played with it for a second, but it
looks great.  Now I've got to wait until I accidently delete my source
again ;-)

Nico Franois - well known Amiga developer.

---

Recovery is a straight-forward, easy to use system for recovering deleted
files.  It is much faster than previous programs of this type as well,
since you can tell it to only scan currently unallocated blocks (the most
likely place to find a deleted file).

With its drive locking mechanism, you are also assured of not overwriting
the file you are trying to recover, while still being able to read other
files/data from the drive.

James Cooper from SAS Institute

---


- About DSBackup:

This program is meant to allow relevant information about the structure
of a disk, to be saved for later retrieval for instance in the case of
a disk crash.


Q. What information does DSBackup actually save?

A. DSBackup is able to save either mountlists for each AmigaDOS formated
   disk or hard drive partition and can also backup a copy of the Rigid
   Disk Block of an hard drive.

   The Rigid Disk Block is a block at the beginning of an hard drive that
   enables the system to autoboot from that disk. This block is where the
   information about the partitions of a disk is stored.

   If the Rigid Disk Block of an hard drive gets corrupted or unreadable,
   the system is not able to recognize it and so the data of the hard drive
   partitions is inaccesible.


Q. Will DSBackup ever be useful to an hard drive user?

A. Hopefully not. But accidents as serious hard drive crash may happen, and
   you would better be prepared today, as a simple utility like DSBackup
   may save you a lot of grief.


- About 'Upper Disk Tools 1.0' as a package:

Q. Stated as a growing package, what other disk related tools are planned
   to be added in future releases of UDT?

A. Some other disk related tools a indeed being planned to be included in
   future releases of UDT. Their type will only be revealed whenever
   appropiate. Other tools may be developed depending on the support of the
   users.


Q. Can UDT applications be localized to other languages besides english?

A. UDT applications can be localized in the following languages:

   English
   Svenska
   Italiano
   Deutsch
   Slovenski
   Nederlands
   Franais
   Norsk
   Portugus


Q. What kind of documentation come with UDT?

A. UDT comes with a 60 page printed user manual. This user manual was
   designed to be very accesible even for a less experienced Amiga user.
   It includes a 'Trouble Shooting' section the helps the users to overcome
   most of the problemes they may encounter.

   Additionally UDT applications have built-in online help.


Q. How much does UDT cost? And how can it be purchased?

A. UDT recommended retail price is 20 (UK).

   If it is not yet available through your regular Amiga software dealer it
   can be purchased directly from Upper Design.

   Please contact or call Upper Design for further information at:

   Upper Design
   Apartado 391
   3800 AVEIRO
   Portugal

   Phone: (351) (34) 381884

   Internet E-Mail: UpperDesign@zeus.ci.ua.pt


Q. Is there a freely available demo version of UDT?

A. There is a currently freely distributable demo version available from
   many sources. For those that have access to Internet ftp, it can be
   download from any Aminet site where it is available with the path:

   pub/aminet/disk/salv/UDT_Recovery.lha

   For those that only have access to Internet E-Mail, it can be obtained
   by sending the following text as a mail message to this mail server:

   mail-server@cs.tu-berlin.de

   Mail Message:

--- cut here ---

BEGIN
CWD pub/aminet/disk/salv
ENCODING UUENCODE
SEND UDT_Recovery.lha
END

--- cut here ---

   For those that have access to Internet ftp under Unix or other operating
   system with a compatible ftp command, it can be obtained by executing the
   following shell script:

--- cut here ---

#!/bin/sh
#This is a Bourne shell script
#
ftp -n << END
        open ftp.wustl.edu  
        user anonymous you@your.site
        binary
        hash
        cd /pub/aminet/disk/salv
	get UDT_Recovery.lha
        bye
END

--- cut here ---

   You should replace where it says "you@your.site" in the script by your full
   Internet address. You can also replace where it says "ftp.wustl.edu" by
   any other aminet ftp site address that can be any of the following:

Aminet sites:
|       USA (MO)     ftp.wustl.edu           128.252.135.4   pub/aminet/
|         same as    wuarchive.wustl.edu
|       USA (TX)     ftp.etsu.edu            192.43.199.20   pub/aminet/
|       USA (CA)     ftp.cdrom.com           192.153.46.2    pub/aminet/
|       Scandinavia  ftp.luth.se             130.240.18.2    pub/aminet/
        Germany      ftp.uni-kl.de           131.246.9.95    pub/aminet/
        Germany      ftp.uni-erlangen.de     131.188.1.43    pub/aminet/
        Germany      ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de     130.149.17.7    pub/aminet/
|       Germany      ftp.th-darmstadt.de     130.83.55.75    pub/aminet/
        Germany      ftp.uni-paderborn.de    131.234.2.32    pub/aminet/
|       Germany      ftp.uni-oldenburg.de    134.106.40.9    pub/aminet/
|       Switzerland  ftp.eunet.ch            changing        pub/aminet/
|       Switzerland  litamiga.epfl.ch        128.178.151.32  pub/aminet/ (*)
|       UK           src.doc.ic.ac.uk        146.169.2.1     pub/aminet/
        Australia    splat.aarnet.edu.au     192.107.107.6   pub/aminet/ (*)
           (*) closed 6:30am to 4pm weekdays

   It will soon be also available from several well-know systems like
   Portal, BIX, CIX, SAN-ADS, etc...

