Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr22/cdfreq11.zip/CDFREQ.DOC

Text File | 1993-02-12 | 19KB | 397 lines

                               CDFREQ.EXE
                               version 1.1
                            from JB Utilities
                          released as shareware
 Copyright 1992, Jules Brenner         BRT71EFR.EXE copyright Microsoft, Inc

What it is:
~~~~~~~~~~
The short explanation is that it stands for ChkDsk FREQuency monitor.

The DOS CHKDSK utility is very important to use for the purpose of checking
for lost clusters.  Lost clusters are symtomatic of drive problems,
application problems, turning off the computer before a process is completed,
etc.  It's good to know about in a timely fashion so that the cause will have
been recent and therefore more likely to be found or intuited.  Plus, CHKDSK
allows you to clean up your drive.

Because it's so important to use regularly, many computer users add CHKDSK to
their AUTOEXEC.BAT so that it can be done every time the system is booted, or
re-booted.  Trouble is, if you have a large hard drive, this can take some
time, adding quite a delay to the booting procedure.

The author of CDFREQ does not believe CHKDSK must be run every day and,
certainly, not on every reboot.  Sometimes it's necessary to reboot more than
once a day.  The accumulated delays for CHKDSK can be quite bothersome.
Hence, the purpose of CDFREQ: to monitor the frequency of CHKDSK.

With CDFREQ, you can run CHKDSK from your AUTOEXEC.BAT with a frequency from
once a day to once a week and every interval in between.  Note that
it will prevent running CHKDSK if it has already been done for a given day.


Registration fee is a mere $15.  If you wish CDFREQ did something it doesn't now
do, use your registration to make requests.  In any case, if you find
yourself using CDFREQ regularly, registering is the right thing to do.  If you
can't afford the ten, at least let me know you're out there.  No software
police will visit.

More operational details below.

Mail fee to: Jules Brenner
             JB Utilities
             P.O. Box 46116
             Los Angeles, CA 90046-0116


                            ALTERNATE FEE!!!!!!!!
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an alternate to remitting a fee, you may purchase our book, THE BRENNER
RESTAURANT INDEX, A Computerized Guide to Selected Restaurants in the Greater
Los Angeles Area.  Its cover price is $12.95, plus $1.07 sales tax if you live
in California, plus $1.05 shipping.  The book may be ordered directly from us
and all you have to do is enclose a check or MasterCard/Visa authorization.
With your order, just mention that you wish to have your copy of CDFREQ.EXE
registered.  As a registered user, you will receive an update as well as
additional JB Utilities.  By ordering the book, you get three for one: the
book, more utilities, AND the registration.

        And, now, the commercial:

Among restaurant books, this one is quite unique.  It's organized in such a
way that it will help you pick your restaurant according to what
considerations are important on any given occasion.  In L.A., with its
massive size, it's common to find yourself in a part of town you don't know
too well.  Just check the restaurants in the Location section for those in
that specific area, and you get an immediate summary of the selected
restaurants there (and, on your way there).  Another section sorts the
restaurants by cost in case you're on a budget or want to just consider a
certain price range.  If you're in the mood for a particular kind of food,
check the Cuisine section.  Finally, there's the alphabetical listing.  All
restaurant listings include vital details, including special dishes, hours,
parking, credit cards, and more.

THE BRENNER RESTAURANT INDEX is available in some Los Angeles bookstores,
so if you live here, you can also ask for it in your local bookstore.  A few
of the bookstores carrying it at the time of this writing include: Dutton's,
Samuel French, Book Soup, Big & Tall Bookstore.  It is also being carried at
some newstands and restaurants.  If you obtain the book from a retail outlet,
just send us a note that you request registration for CDFREQ.EXE and include a
photocopy of your receipt.

To see what this book looks like, you can use the technology at hand.  Simply
download the file RESTINDX.ZIP from a local BBS.  It contains a .GIF image of
the book.  You can also send a request to us for the file but please send $1
with the request to cover expenses.

While it may appear that this is a book exclusively for Los Angeles residents,
it is perhaps even more valuable for those visiting from other parts of the
world.  If you're planning a trip to Disneyland (or wherever), you'll want to
know which are the better restaurants, where to find them and how close they
are to you.  If you're staying at a hotel, ask the clerk to help you locate
all the restaurants in the area.  Let your local travel agent help you plan your
meals ahead of time if he or she knows a bit about the geography of this huge
county.

Special note for BBSers: the file RESTINDX.ZIP is being distributed around
Los Angeles BBSs.  It contains a .GIF picture of the book.  Look for it.

A few scenarios:

1. You live in Hollywood and need to meet a business associate who has his
office in Santa Monica.  Neither of you wants to come all the way across
town.  You check the zip code map (as in the Thomas Guide) and find the area
that's right in the middle of the two areas.  It's not too far for either of
you.  You next check out the restaurants that are available and recommended
in that area and find 3 that you've been wanting to try and one of your
favorites!

2. You and your sweetheart are rushing to a screening (or, game, concert,
etc.). Getting ready took a little longer than you expected and time is
tight.  You decide to eat en route and know of a great little restaurant.
You get there and find others had the same idea and there's a long line.  You
pull The Brenner Restaurant Index out of your glove compartment and find one
great restaurant two blocks away and another 4 at slightly greater distances
en route to your goal.

3. You're going to a movie that's hot and you know if you get there merely in
time for the movie, you might not even get into the parking lot.  You pull
out The Brenner Restaurant Index and find there's a truly fine restaurant so
close to the theater that you can park at the theater OR the restaurant and
walk over.  Getting there at dinner time instead of at screening time
ensures you an easy place to park--and only once!  (I've done this by dining
at Chan Dara, one of the great Thai restaurants, when going to the Cinerama
Dome).
                                 - - - -

Note to those using credit cards: Please include the following with your order:
your name (printed) as it appears on the card (include middle initial), the card
number, the expiration date and your signature.  (See the registration form
included in the CDFREQ library [zip] file).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------



                           Table of Contents


                PREAMBLE ............. ALL ABOVE

                Syntax ............... 1

                Installation ......... 2

                The Override feature . 3

                The /F option ........ 4

                Additional notes ..... 5

                Printing this file ... 6

                Updates .............. 7

                Bug reports .......... 8

                Distribution ......... 9

                Registration info .... 10


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Syntax

    CDFREQ.EXE is pretty much self-documenting.  When you use it the first
    time you just type

                             CDFREQ

    on the command line (followed, of course, by a carriage return).  This
    will set it up with the default 3 day frequency.

    If you use:

                             CDFREQ 2

    for example, it will be set up for a 2 day frequency.  Any number from
    1 to 7 is legal.  The number of days can be changed at will in this
    manner.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Installation:

    To install CDFREQ, just copy CDFREQ.EXE and its support file,
    BRT71EFR.EXE to your DOS or UTIL subdirectory (if they are in
    your path), or to your root directory.

    Next, add "CDFREQ" to your AUTOEXEC.BAT.  If you want to
    put CDFREQ on a directory NOT in your path (for some reason), you
    can do it, but must specify the path in the AUTOEXEC.BAT line, as:

                             C:\OTHERDIR\CDFREQ

    If you do this, BRT71EFR.EXE must be in your path, so there's
    little point to installing outside your path unless you request
    the standalone version (which doesn't require BRT71EFR.EXE)
    when you register.

    If you have been running CHKDSK by including it in AUTOEXEC.BAT,
    then delete that command from AUTOEXEC.

    As described above, you should run CDFREQ from the command line
    to initialize it with a frequency.  If you don't do that first,
    then, rather than running CHKDSK the next time you boot, CDFREQ
    will, instead, initialize itself to a 3 day interval.  Not
    harmful, but you may not have run CHKDSK when you wanted to.

    You may change the frequency at any time from the command line.

    When you initialize or change the frequency, CHKDSK will not be
    run again for that day.  If it has not been run that day and you
    think it should be, then use the override feature by typing

                              CHKDSK O

    on the DOS command line.  (That's the letter "O", not zero).

    Note that when you change the interval and rerun CDFREQ, it will
    report that CHKDSK has already been run and indicate the next
    day for running, based on your change.

    Having done all the above, you are installed.  Enjoy your
    improved boot up time without losing security.  And, register
    when you decide to keep it.  Please.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. The Override feature:

    This option (syntax: "O") is supported on the command line. It
    will override the frequency monitor and force CHKDSK to run.
    By doing so, the current date is set so that the interval may
    in effect re-start from any current date.  This is important
    especially if you do not boot up on the day when CHKDSK was
    scheduled.  Rather than wait another interval without it, this
    option resets the start day.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. The /F option:

    When CHKDSK is run without the /F parameter, CHKDSK will report
    crosslinks and lost clusters but will not recover them.  This is
    useful just to inform you of these problems.  But, under almost
    all circumstances, the user will rerun CHKDSK with the /F param.
    CDFREQ gives you the option to run without /F just as an alert
    but you must then watch your bootup sequence and read the result
    of CHKDSK each time it's run.

    The other option is to run with /F.  On those occasions when
    CHKDSK finds problems, the boot up sequence is halted by the
    CHKDSK /F prompt.  You are then asked to enter a Y (to recover)
    and the bootup sequence will be resumed after the recovered files
    are saved.  When this occurs, look for new files in a numbered
    sequence as: FILE0000.CHK, FILE0001.CHK, etc.  These are the
    recovered clusters, which may be important data.

    Remember: CHKDSK without the /F parameter means that it will
    merely indicate a problem without allowing you to save the lost
    clusters to disk.  It also requires that you watch the result of
    CHKDSK on those days when it is run in the bootup procedure to see
    if "Lost clusters" are indicated.  If so, you must then run CHKDSK
    from the DOS command line using the /F parameter.  For any questions
    about this, refer to the DOS manual.

    Note: the /F option cannot be used in conjunction with the 'O'
          override feature.

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5. Additional notes:

The non-standalone version of CDFREQ is best for you if you are running more
than one program requiring BRT71EFR.EXE since the individual program files
will be smaller.  Otherwise, though the standalone version of the program is
larger in size, it can be run without any support file and from any non-path
directory or another drive.  Request the standalone version when registering.

Whether you use the standalone version or not, CHKDSK.EXE must be in your path.
The conventional computer configuration has CHKDSK.EXE on the DOS directory,
which is traditionally in the path.  If not, or if you have any difficulty
running CDFREQ after following the instructions above for setting it up,
please let us know by describing the difficulty, error messages or the like
and we'll be glad to advise you on what needs to be done.

When CDFREQ is set for a 1 day frequency, it is similar to not using CDFREQ
since CHKDSK will be run every day.  The important service it provides,
however, is to not allow CHKDSK to be run MORE than once a day if you reboot
more than once on any given day.  The time you save is your own.

CDFREQ's use of color depends on your video card and monitor.  If it detects
that your system is capable of color, it will change the color of its screen
data according to the day of the week.

Outside an archive file, CDFREQ.EXE should not be compressed.  If it is it
will not function properly.

CDFREQ is designed for computers that are booted at least once a day.  That
is, the way it keeps track of days and intervals has been tested on that
basis.  If you skip the day on which CHKDSK should have been run, CDFREQ will
skip the week!  If CDFREQ reports too great an interval, use the override
feature (see above) to run CHKDSK and reset the interval.

For users with more than one partition that they wish to CHKDSK with CDFREQ,
an internal method of doing it is not provided.  However, if you copy
CDFREQ.EXE to the root directory of that partition and specify the drive
before the CDFREQ statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT, it should work.  Example of the
syntax for AUTOEXEC.BAT:

                CDFREQ    (for the default drive)
                D:CDFREQ  (for D drive)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Printing this file

The first thing you may notice if you send this file to your printer, is that
there are no embedded form feeds.  My thinking on this is that your printer
is likely to force its own form feed when a certain number of lines are
reached.  Mine does this, but perhaps that's because it's a laser printer.  I
don't know for sure, but maybe there are some dot matrix and impact printers
which don't. If yours doesn't, then you might want to do your own formatting.
It merely requires you to place a Control-L character every 60 lines or so.

For those whose printers work like mine, not having form feeds built in allows
you to print out with your own utility or application in your own preferred
way.  I never have liked those pesky embedded commands, making an assumption
that didn't fit my life's plan or preferred defaults.  My print utility
allows me to specify font and font size.  I like it that way.  I hope the
majority of you, too, like it that way.  For those who don't, sorry.  Write
me a letter.  I'd sincerely love hearing from you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.      UPDATES:
        ~~~~~~~~
        Version 1.1     The /F option added.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. BUG REPORTS:

        Users are encouraged to report all bugs to the author.  One of the
        most common way for bugs to creep into any program is when new
        features are added and all the previous capabilities which were
        working flawlessly are not thoroughly tested.  Since the author
        uses this utility, even obscure bugs will eventually come to his
        notice, but in the spirit of partnership, all users are encouraged
        to report a bug they encounter.  The file, FEEDBACK.DOC, is included
        with the program to facilitate such reports.  (Of course, feel free
        to send us the form merely to report good things, too).

        In the event of a bug appearing in a commonly used option, we
        advise you go back to the previous version you were using until
        the bug(s) is(are) corrected.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. DISTRIBUTION

CDFREQ may be distributed freely so long as no alterations are made to the
program nor to the archive nor to this documentation.  Shareware distributors
may charge up to $5 for the CDFREQ utility without specific permission so
long as they inform us of their distribution with a copy of the ad or catalog
in which it is offered.  For any greater charge, distributors must first
write us to seek permission and to explain the reason for the higher charge.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration fee to the end user is a mere $15.  (See above for alternate). A
standalone version is available on request when registering.  Go ahead.  Make
my day.  Encourage me to write more by registering.  If you find yourself
using CDFREQ regularly, it's the right thing to do.  Registered users will
receive at least 1 update when available as well as notifications (or copies)
of other JB utilities.

    This program may not be used in a business, corporation, organization,
    government or agency environment without a negotiated site license.

Suggestions, bug reports, etc. appreciated and encouraged -- even by non-
registered users.  Yes, if you say, for instance, "hey, if you'd only add
[this capability or that capability], I'd pay your filthy fee!", we'd
probably add it just to part you from your ten. So, don't be shy.  We'll
even listen to a hard luck story.

~~~~~ Mail fee (or excuses) to JBUTILS, P.O. Box 46116, Los Angeles, CA
90046-0116. Messages may be addressed to me on Prodigy.  ID# FTSN96A.

                                                -- J.B., for JBUTILS