Super Shareware Collection/Super Shareware Collection.iso/info/kgl_9401.zip/WHICHDOS

Text File | 1994-02-10 | 11KB | 220 lines

"DOS 6:  WHICH FLAVOR DO YOU LIKE?"
Touring the Operating System Thickets
by Robert Waters

There is a lot of discussion on the subject of which DOS shall I
use. This is a valid question only for those who are using a
computer with either a 386 or a 486 microprocessor and a version
of DOS prior to 5.0.


"Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear..."

   Today, there are three choices, MS-DOS 6.2, PC-DOS 6.0, or DR
DOS 6, (perhaps now known as Novell DOS 7.0).  But Microsoft has
always dominated the IBM market with its various flavors of DOS,
from the old version 1.25, many years ago to the present 6.2.
Back ten years ago, we were using 8088 or 8086 cpu chips with
640k of memory and a big hard disk of all of 10 megs (if we had
a hard disk at all).  The 10-meg disk grew to 20, and then to 30
using RLL, and then, miraculously, to 50 and beyond, using IDE
technology.  Earlier DOSes (2, 3.0, 3.1) could only address 32
megs, so we partitioned our hard disks.  Then came Compaq, with
its own DOS (remind you of the old CP/M days of all of the
different formats?), version 3.31, that let you format a hard
disk of more than 32 megs in ONE partition.


Faster and Faster

   Then the race of developments began with larger hard disks
and memory expansion boards.  And don't forget the arrival of
the 286, 386 and then the 486 chips.  Disk caching became a way
of life to improve the performance, and DOS didn't stand still.
Many smaller companies brought out new ancillary programs that
became extremely popular among the power users, e.g., QEMM, a
great memory manager for the 386/486 chips.  Disk compression
came along, from Stacker and others.  Central Point and Norton
both wrote great utility programs that were in wide usage also.
The battle began in earnest when Digital Research began to offer
a whole OS package, containing not only a replacement for MS-DOS
but also a built in memory manager, disk compression, and even a
sort of Windows (DESQVIEW).

   While all of this wild activity was taking place, the market
was being deluged with new programs for word processing, spread
sheets, data bases and on an on.  And most of them required as
much as 15 megs of mass storage space on the hard disk!  On top
of this, the software companies began to realize that, in order
to survive in this competitive jungle, they had to have a new
source of income.  And what better place to get it from but from
present users?  Hence, the "upgrade" fever began.  Programs that
had "list prices" of $500.00 suddenly were available as
"competitive upgrades" for $100, or less!

   Microsoft didn't remain aloof from this frenzy.  They, too,
began a program of upgrades.  And, because they couldn't stand
still and let the little guys get all the cream from those great
ancillary programs, they began "acquiring" rights to them and
installing them right into the MS-DOS package, as Microsoft
products!

   Then, Mighty IBM, suddenly determined to be a factor again in
the operating system market place, now offered a PC-DOS 6.1
that, among other things, included a compression program to
complete with Microsoft's own "Double space."  Only, when the
first issues of PC-DOS were delivered, the compression program
was missing.  You got a certificate indicating that you would
receive it later.  What a way to run a railroad.


Fixing What Ain't Broke

   There was nothing really wrong with Microsoft's DOS 5.0.  It
did every thing that one could ask of an operating system, and
did it well.  You wouldn't know what version you were running
unless you asked by the DOS command "VER".  That is what you
should expect from an operating system.  It was supposed to be
transparent to the user and to do its housekeeping job in the
background.  It did not have a disk compression program, but
Stac had a version of Stacker (3.0) that worked superbly with
it.  Quarterdeck offered a super memory management program (QEMM
6.01) that let you get up to 620k of conventional memory for
programs.  And MS-DOS 5.0 came complete with a printed manual,
something you can't say for the latest version.


How Did We Get Into This Mess?

   Now, on to today's situation.  Microsoft announced DOS 6.0,
and it included a disk compression program call DOUBLE SPACE.
It claimed to increase hard disk space by almost 100%, with no
degradation in performance.  Lots of people fell into the trap,
some inadvertently, when they bought new machines with DOS
already loaded on the hard disk, and others who jumped on the
bandwagon and replaced their present version of DOS just to keep
up with the Joneses.

   Well, it didn't work out that way.  Most people don't like to
read the books and follow instructions, and DBLSPACE wouldn't
let you get away with a "wing it" installation.  All of a sudden
you were stuck with a problem that made it mandatory to
re-format your hard disk.  Unless you were properly backed up,
you just plain lost your data.

   To make matters worse, once you used Double Space, you
couldn't remove it except by reformatting the disk!

   Meanwhile, Stac Electronics had been selling a program called
Stacker.  It did everything that it claimed, it could be removed
from the disk with no loss of data, and it was easy to install
with a minimum of instruction book reading.  This really put
Microsoft on the spot.  They now HAD to come up with an answer
to their Double Space problems, which they did by offering yet
another new program, called STEPUP, a band aid for upgrading
from 6.0 to their bugfix version, 6.2.

   Fortunately, MS-DOS 6.2 does work as advertised.  It has all
of the third-party programs built in, and Double Space now works
and can be uninstalled with no loss of data.  There is also a
new version of SMARTDRV that works just great.


Look Before You Upgrade

   Now we get to the point of this article.  What should you do
if you don't already have DOS 6 installed?  My advice is to stay
with what you have as long as it works in your present machine.
Think about how you want to use your hard disk space.  Believe
it or not, DOS 6.2 takes up over 3.6 megs of space, compared
with the 350k that DOS 3.31 once took!  To be sure, much of the
material in DOS 6.2 can be deleted from the disk as not being
necessary to your needs, but who does this?  "You know, someday I
might need this!"

   If you decide that you must upgrade to MS-DOS 6.2, go ahead,
but before you start the installation, please read the manual
about how to install the program.  It is simple, but you can
screw up if you try to wing it without reading the book.

   The installation will automatically save your old version of
DOS in a new directory called OLDDOS, and the new DOS will go in
the old directory under the name of DOS.  You will also create a
new disk called UNINSTALL to be used if you later decide to
return to the previous version.

   Be also aware that in the new 6.2 version, some of the old
DOS utility programs are not furnished.  You may want to copy
them from your OLDDOS subdirectory.  If you have a desire for a
printed manual, Microsoft will sell you one for $19.50 and a
coupon from back of the the book that came with your upgrade.
(For the money, they will also include a disk containing the
older DOS programs.)

   Using Microsoft's MEMMAKER, you should expect to get 620 kb
of conventional memory.  (By comparison, Quarterdeck's QEMM 7.03
will give you 634 kb with no difficulty.)  For disk caching, I
recommend the use of SMARTDRV with the double buffer switch.
(See the HELP SMARTDRV feature of DOS for the exact syntax.)
There are other cache programs available, but some of them are
tricky, in that they react strangely to tape drive programs.

   Do not delete the OLDDOS directory until you are absolutely
sure that you will not be "undoing" the 6.2 installation.  Do
not do the DoubleSpace thing until you are satisfied with the
installation of 6.2.


Partitioning and Backing Up Your Hard Disk

   While we are on the subject of upgrades, what about upgrading
the various programs that we currently use?  In general, I
recommend that you do not automatically jump every time a new
program is offered.  Who really needs to go through a whole new
learning curve, just to become current?

   On still another matter, take a good look at backing up your
hard disk.  Today, we have a whole new breed of hard disks.
They are tiny in comparison to the older half-height devices we
used only a few years ago.  They come with super guaranties,
like 100,000 hour MTBF ratings!  This might lead you to believe
that you don't have to worry about losing a hard disk anymore.
But don't be fooled into thinking that hard disks don't fail --
they do with no notice.  Can you afford to lose all of your data
in case of a failure?

   The best insurance is a streaming tape drive.  These are
really inexpensive today.  You can store up to 250 megs on a
single tape.  The drive fits into a standard half height space
and is simple to connect in any machine that has floppy drives.

   However, there is a caveat.  After you get the new tape
installed, take the time to learn how to use it.  It may not
work at all!  Not because the drive is faulty, but because you
may have a problem with the software configuration in your
computer.

   My recommendation for configuring a hard disk is to break it
into three logical drives.  For example (in the case of a 250
meg drive) C: ( 50 megs), D: (100 megs) and E: (100 megs).  Put
your DOS, UTILITIES, WINDOWS, and other non-changing items in
the C: drive.  Use the D: drive for programs (and their data
files) that you will use on a regular basis, and the E: drive as
a "junk drawer," where you can stick downloads and experimental
things that have a short life span.

   This makes figuring out a backup regime very simple.  You do
a COMPLETE backup of drive C: on the first tape, and then a
separate backup of Drive D: on either the same tape (if it fits)
or on a second tape.  Then, when you want to do a backup of
data, you only have to back up the D: drive, and even then, only
the CHANGED FILES.

   Routine backup is now a simple and quick operation, and you
still have complete insurance against data loss in case of
disaster.  Do a Changed File backup every day, using the same
Number 2 tape.  Then, next week, take a fresh tape and do a new
Drive D: backup, while repeating daily the Changed File routine.
Try it.  You'll like it.

                -thirty-