MS-DOS 5.0, 6.0 with Stacker Boot Disk Instructions (10/05/93) The following instructions have been prepared by Sierra's Technical Support Department as an added service to our customers. PLEASE NOTE: SIERRA DO NOT MAKE ANY CLAIMS, GUARANTEES, AND/OR PROMISES THAT THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS WILL WORK ON ANY AND/OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS. These instructions are only for 386, 486 and Pentium computers using MS DOS 5.0 and above. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please read the entire instructions prior to starting at step 1. STEP 1 FORMATTING THE DISK PLEASE NOTE: It is necessary to format the disk even if the disk is already formatted. The /S switch will transfer files to the boot disk which are necessary for the disk to work correctly. To make a Boot Disk, format a high density diskette in the A: drive. (Use /F:360 or /F:720 parameter if using a low density diskette) For more information on using the FORMAT command, consult your DOS manual. Note: This will not work in the B: drive. Type the command as follows: FORMAT A:/S If after entering this command the system responds with a "Bad command or file name" error, then type: PATH=C:\DOS Now retype the FORMAT command above. If you still receive the same error, the MS DOS FORMAT command may not be on your system or it may have been renamed. Programs such as PC Tools and Norton Disk Utilities can rename the format command to prevent accidental loss of data. STEP 2 LOCATING THE MOUSE DRIVERS If you plan to use a mouse with your game, it will be necessary to first load the mouse driver. To do this, locate the mouse driver and copy it to the boot disk in your A: drive. There are two types of mouse drivers available, MOUSE.SYS, which must be loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file and MOUSE.COM which must be loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You do not need to load both MOUSE.SYS and MOUSE.COM. Locate the MOUSE.SYS or MOUSE.COM file. Because the file MOUSE.SYS is usually smaller than MOUSE.COM we recommend that the MOUSE.SYS file be used in order to free more memory. a) Locating the mouse drivers: If you do not know where the MOUSE.SYS or MOUSE.COM files are located on your system, the command below should help in locating your mouse drivers. For users of MS DOS 5.0 or above, type the following at the C:\> prompt. DIR \MOUSE /S This command only works with MS-DOS 5.0 or above and will cause the system to search all sub directories for a file called mouse. If the system locates a file called mouse, it will display the path where the mouse files are located. For instance, if the MOUSE.SYS file is located in a C:\MOUSE> directory, the system will display: Directory of C:\MOUSE MOUSE SYS 55160 03-10-92 3:10a MOUSE COM 56408 03-10-93 6:00a If the system does not locate a mouse, your driver may have a different name or these files may not be currently installed on the system. Some other common names for mouse drivers are IMOUSE, GMOUSE, and HPMOUSE. Your mouse drivers may have been included on a floppy disk which came packaged along with your mouse. For information on the proper name for your mouse, check the owners manual which came with your mouse. b) Copying the mouse driver: Once you have located the mouse driver, you will need to copy it to the boot disk. In this step, we will assume that the mouse drivers were located in the C:\MOUSE> directory as shown in the step above. To copy the MOUSE.SYS file to the boot disk, type the following at the C:\> prompt: COPY C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.* A: STEP 3 COPYING MS DOS FILES: Since access to the compressed drive is not available until the Stacker device driver is loaded, we need to copy any files that need to be loaded prior to Stacker to the boot disk. CD\DOS . Copy the following files to the Boot Disk by using the following commands: COPY HIMEM.SYS A: COPY EMM386.EXE A: STEP 4 CREATING THE CONFIG.SYS FILE Once you are at the C> again, type: A: and then to move to the A: drive. At the A:\> prompt, type COPY CON CONFIG.SYS and then the key. The cursor should appear one line below the line you just typed. Now type: DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS Many Dynamix games use EMS memory. Check your Dynamix game manual to see if your game needs EMS memory. If your game needs EMS memory, use the following EMM386.EXE line: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024 Sierra games do not require EMS memory. If your game does not use EMS memory, add the following EMM386.EXE line: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS DOS=HIGH,UMB FILES=30 BUFFERS=20 If you are using the MOUSE.SYS file to load your mouse, add the following line to the CONFIG.SYS. DEVICEHIGH=MOUSE.SYS STEP 4a STACKER 3.0 AND BELOW Use this section if you are using a version of Stacker prior to version 3.1 or are using Stacker 3.1 with MS DOS 5.0. If you are using Stacker 3.1 with MS DOS 6.0, proceed to step 4b. For games needing EMS memory, add the following Stacker device line: DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER\STACKER.COM /EMS C:\STACVOL.DSK For games that do not require EMS memory, add the following Stacker device line: DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER\STACKER.COM C:\STACVOL.DSK Continue by adding the following line to the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=C:\STACKER\SSWAP.COM C:\STACVOL.DSK /SYNC PLEASE NOTE: We used the most common name for the Stacker Compressed drive. This name can in actuality be anything within the normal MS DOS file name limits. Your system may not use STACKVOL.DSK as the compressed drive name. If your compressed drive is not the boot up drive, the name may be STACKVOL.000 or STACVOL.001 if you have more than one drive. You can determine the name of your compressed drive by looking in the CONFIG.SYS on your hard drive. If this is the case with your system, it will be necessary to replace the STACKVOL.DSK in the lines above with the proper name for your drive. If the name used is different, Stacker will inform you it was unable to find the proper file and did not load. Check the name on your hard drive and replace STACVOL.DSK with the proper name. Then type the key and enter. A ^Z should appear. Hit the key, and the computer should respond "1 file(s) copied". STEP 4b STACKER 3.1 INTERGRATED WITH MS DOS 6.0 Use this line only if you are using Stacker 3.1 on a system running MS DOS 6.0. Continue by adding the following lines to the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER\STACHIGH.SYS You may be able to free up considerably more conventional memory by adding a /EMS switch to the STACKER.INI file. Please consult your Stacker manual or contact Stack Electronics for further information on editing the STACKER.INI file. Then type the key and enter. A ^Z should appear. Hit the key, and the computer should respond "1 file(s) copied". STEP 5 CREATING THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE Now create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file by typing: COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT (the cursor will drop down one line) SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM PROMPT SIERRA BOOT DISK $_$P$G PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS; If you are using the MOUSE.COM file to load the mouse, add the following line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. LH MOUSE.COM Complete the file by pressing the F6 Function key STEP 6 REBOOT THE SYSTEM: Reboot your system by depressing the button on your computer or by using the , , key sequence on your keyboard. Once you receive an A:\>, go to your hard drive and follow the instructions to begin the game. SHOULD YOU STILL HAVE PROBLEMS. If you continue to experience any problems with the Boot Disk, or if you have any questions concerning any of the above steps, our Technical Support Department will be more than happy to assist you. Please call (209) 683- 8989 between 8:15 am and 4:45 PM Monday through Friday. We can also be reached by fax at (209) 683-3633, by BBS at (209) 683-4463, or by mail at the following address: Sierra On-Line P.O. Box 800 Coarsegold, CA 93614-0800 ATTN: TECHNICAL SUPPORT You can also reach our Technical Support Team on one of the following services: Sierra BBS (209) 683-4463 (settings 8, N, & 1, up to 38,400 baud) Compuserve GAMAPUB (Technical Support ID 76004,2143) PRODIGY (Sierra ID WBWW55A) (Dynamix ID WBWW55B) GEnie Private E-Mail SIERRA.SUP America Online Keyword: SIERRA In Europe, please contact our office in Berkshire, England. The Customer Service phone number is (44) 734 303171, the Hint number is (44) 734- 304004, the BBS number is (44) 734-304227, the fax number is (44) 734 303201, and the address is: Sierra On-Line Limited Unit 2, Theale Technology Centre Station Road Theale Berkshire, ENGLAND RG7 4AA Please outline the problems along with specific information about your computer system, and we will gladly respond to your fax, letter or message as soon as possible.