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README.TXT
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1995-09-27
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BackMaster README File.
This file contains information about specific problems you may
encounter and specific system configurations.
Topics covered in this readme file:
- Adaptec controllers
- Bus timing and BackMaster DMA overrun error
- Colorado Trakker driver switches
- CoreTape 250 tape drive support
- Creating recovery diskettes
- DCF2
- Device driver conflicts
- File Selection Set creation utility MAKEFSS
- Incompatibility with TAPE.EXE 4.03 or greater
- Low memory systems (8MB or less)
- New driver options for specific problems
- Older tape drives (Hard Select)
- Stacker
- TC-15M high-speed adapter
- Technical support
- Time critical
- Version of OS/2
- Write errors
Adaptec controllers:
If you have an Adaptec Busmaster controller, the following
CONFIG.SYS setting is suggested:
BASEDEV=AHA154X.ADD /V /A:0 /BON:4 /A:0 /BOFF:12
/V displays messages during bootup. /A:0 specifies the first
of four possible adapters, and is necessary even if only one
adapter is installed. /BON:4 sets the bus on time to 4
microseconds. /BOFF:12 sets the bus off time to 12
microseconds. Most of this information may be found in the
Command Reference under BASEDEV. The above BASEDEV setting
gives the floppy controller enough time on the bus to
transfer enough data (by DMA) to keep the tape moving.
Special thanks to Beta Tester Jay Vanderbilt for this
information.
Bus timing and BackMaster DMA overrun error:
BackMaster may not work correctly if your system bus timing
is set higher than 8 MHZ. Tape drives are very sensitive to
hardware timing and an abnormal bus speed may result in
operational problems or errors reported by BackMaster.
If you are consistently getting a DMA overrun error message
(error number 51) we suggest checking your hardware settings.
Experiment with the bus speed, setting it as close to 8MHz
as possible. If your system supports the 7.15MHz or 7.25MHz
settings, these will usually work best.
Note: The Auto-configuration option (if your setup has one)
MUST be disabled in order for the new bus speed
settings to take effect.
Colorado Trakker driver switches:
If you experience problems with your trakker tape drive, you
may need to set the data or control delay, or both.
Adjustments are not necessary unless the system is not
working properly.
Data and control delays may be set in the BackMaster
configuration notebook under the Parallel page. See the
BackMaster online help for more information on how to set
the data and control delays.
Problems may include the following: "Unable to initialize
tape drive" error message, aborting due to restore or
verify error, extremely slow tape drive operations,
excessive back and forth tape motion.
CoreTape 250 tape drive support:
The BackMaster 1.1B release does not support the CoreTape 250.
Creating recovery diskettes:
Now is a good time to create a set of custom recovery
diskettes for your computer. The recovery diskettes can be
used with a complete system backup to restore your system or
move your system to a new hard drive. BMRCVR (in the
BackMaster folder) will create the recovery diskettes
automatically. You may, if you wish, create the recovery
diskettes manually. Instructions for doing so are given in
the file BOOT.TXT, which is located in the directory to which
BackMaster was installed.
DCF2:
Some conflicts have been reported when BackMaster accesses
files in a DCF2 Virtual Disk Unit, resulting in a SYS3715 in
DOSCALL1. If you encounter this problem, please report it to
Proportional Software.
Device driver conflicts:
The BackMaster device drivers, FTDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS,
PTDVR.SYS, and TTDVR.SYS may on some systems have conflicts
with the Multimedia Presentation Manager (MMPM) drivers, some
cdrom device drivers, the Diamond P9000 video drivers, and
ATI Graphics Ultra video drivers. The driver conflicts may
cause an "Unable to open driver" error message or an OS/2
TRAP 000D. To avoid the driver conflicts, make sure that
FTDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS, PTDVR.SYS, and TTDVR.SYS are
loaded in CONFIG.SYS after the CDROM drivers, Diamond P9000
video drivers, and ATI Graphics Ultra video drivers, but
before the MMPM drivers.
Note: We recommend locating the BackMaster tape device
drivers immediately following the IFS= statement (if
present) in CONFIG.SYS. However, some drivers (such as
CDROM drivers) may have to be loaded before our drivers.
Some experimentation on your part may be required to
find the optimal location for the BackMaster drivers.
Concerning the Diamond P9000 video drivers: The driver
conflict with the P9000 and BackMaster drivers has been
known to cause OS/2 command windows to indefinitely
scroll, as if the enter key was continually pressed.
This symptom disappears when the video drivers are
loaded ahead of the BackMaster drivers.
Concerning the ATI Graphics Ultra video drivers:
Confilicts with these drivers are infrequent.
The BackMaster installation program, BMINST, will place the
FTDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS, PTDVR.SYS, and TTDVR.SYS in the
correct location in CONFIG.SYS for most machines (except in
the case of the Diamond P9000 and ATI Graphics Ultra video
drivers). The driver conflicts are mentioned here for the
case of a manual installation or a driver conflict with
specific systems.
File Selection Set creation utility MAKEFSS:
Included in the directory BackMaster was installed to is a
program to create File Selection Sets from a list of complete
pathnames. See the file MAKEFSS.TXT for more information on
how to use the MAKEFSS utility.
Incompatibility with TAPE.EXE 4.03 or greater:
BackMaster will not read compressed tapes made with any
version of TAPE.EXE 4.03 or greater, but BackMaster will read
the uncompressed volumes made with this software.
Low memory:
BackMaster may not work correctly on machines with less than
8 MB of memory. Machines with 8 MB of memory that have
network software loaded may also fall into this category. In
the case of a low memory machine, BackMaster will report one
of these errors: "Unable to load device driver", or "Unable
to allocate memory in device driver". If your machine fits
this description, use the BackMaster device driver memory
enhancement ('/M' switch on the BackMaster device drivers).
BMINST will do this automatically, or you may edit the
CONFIG.SYS with any text editor and add the '/M' switch to
the BackMaster device drivers manually as in the following
example:
REM *********** BackMaster tape drivers start here *********
DEVICE=C:\BACKMAST\FTDVR.SYS /M
Note: It is recommended that this only be done for one
BackMaster driver at any one time. Also, the need for the
device driver memory enhancement may be resolved in future
versions of OS/2.
New driver options for specific problems:
Options supported by the BackMaster device drivers:
/J1 - Use this option if you have a Ditto Dash adapter card
for 1MB operation.
/J2 - Forces a rewind after tape operations finish. For
use on older tape drives such as the Archive XL.
/S - This option may overcome excessive "Shoe Shining"
encountered on some systems.
An example of adding all three switches to the BackMaster
driver in the CONFIG.SYS file:
REM *********** BackMaster tape drivers start here *********
DEVICE=C:\BACKMAST\FTDVR.SYS /J1 /J2 /S
Older tape drives (Hard Select):
The list of tape drives in the "Configuration Options"
dialog refer to Soft Select tape drives (most of the newer
tape drives are Soft Select), and will not correctly select
the older Hard Select type of tape drive. If you have a
Hard Select tape drive, select the "Generic QIC 40/80" tape
drive from the "Configuration Options" list. Refer to the
documentation that came with your tape drive to determine
which type of tape drive (Hard Select or Soft Select) you
have. In general, Hard Select drives may have jumpers to
select the drive (A or B) and will only function as the A or
B device, but not as a third floppy device.
Stacker:
If FTDVR.SYS, PPDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS, TTDVR.SYS resides on a
stacked volume, the DEVICE=FTDVR.SYS statement should be
placed after the Stacker device drivers.
TC-15M high-speed adapter:
BackMaster supports the TC-15 high-speed adapter, but does
not support the TC-15M high-speed adapter, which is the
microchannel version of the TC-15.
Technical support:
Customer assistance and technical support are available
during normal business hours. If possible, try to be seated
near your computer when calling. Another way to get
technical support is to fill out the TECHSUPP.FRM ascii text
file (located in the BackMaster folder on the Desktop) and
FAX it to us, upload it to our BBS, or send it via CompuServe,
or Internet.
How to reach us:
(409) 564-1862 Voice (9am-6pm CST)
(409) 560-5970 BBS (No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit)
(409) 560-5868 FAX
CompuServe users can send mail to 74431,1621 or GO MSRDEV
Internet users can send mail to 74431.1621@CompuServ.Com
Time critical:
During normal tape drive operations, BackMaster must respond
to the tape drive signals within a certain amount of time, or
the tape drive may start to behave unpredictably, causing
BackMaster to abort the current tape operation. Active DOS
and Windows sessions may deny BackMaster the CPU time needed
to respond quickly to tape drive signals. If BackMaster
aborts in the middle of a tape operation, make sure that the
"Time Critical" check box in the "Device" page of the
configuration notebook is checked before retrying the tape
operation. Time critical will ensure that BackMaster is
given enough CPU time to respond quickly to the tape drive
requests.
Version of OS/2:
BackMaster is designed for OS/2 versions 2.1 and above. It
may be used with OS/2 2.0, but unexpected crashes may occur,
especially during the file selection process. If you must
use BackMaster with OS/2 2.0, we suggest that you avoid
extensive opening and closing of directory folders during the
file selection process.
Write errors:
Write errors during a backup (such as errors 50 or 52) will
cause the backup to abort. If BackMaster detects a write
error, it will report the error and abort the backup. The
tape sector responsible for the error will be marked as bad
in the bad sector map, and the tape will be ready for another
backup. If write errors continue to be detected on a
particular tape, reformatting the tape is recommended.