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1993-09-27
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The following are release notes for version 4.01 domestic Jumbo
Colorado Backup for DOS release. Below is a list of parts affected
by this release:
8800-0147 SFTWR,JUM,5H,DOS,ENGL,PRG+,DISTRB
8800-0148 SFTWR,JUM,3L,DOS,ENGL,INST,DISTRB
This release includes the following enhancements over 3.08
(although 3.08 was not a distribution release, the changes made to
that release were included in 4.01):
1. Performance Optimizations - Through the use of overlays, we
have been able to reduce the system ram requirements, giving
the user more RAM for system buffers. The system can now
effectively run in 420K of RAM, an improvement of
approximately 100K over 3.03.
Since the overlay manager leaves the tape software executable
file open on the disk, we have made some modifications to the
way we handle our software installed on the hard disk when
SHARE.EXE is loaded. The currently executing tape software
will not IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE restore over the top of itself.
Instead, a File Creation Error is generated. The archive bits
of files in the tape software directory are not updated when
share is loaded. As a result, if the user always runs with
share, the tape software directory will always be backed up in
a modified backup. He/she can prevent this by manually
turning off the archive bits on these files by using attrib -a
\tape\*.* from the command prompt.
2. Partial Quick Erase - The ability to quick erase part of a
tape. This function will erase from a specified volume to the
end of tape.
For JUMBO and TRAKKER, the user may select a volume to start
erasing from. This is possible from the menu by placing the
highlight bar on the volume to start erasing from. From the
command line, the user enters the volume switch (/v=xxx) to
designate the volume to start erasing from. Users must
understand that the volumes are on the tape in a sequential
fashion. Once the user selects the volume to start erasing
from, all volumes after the selection will also be erased.
3. Quick Unerase - This operation gives the user the ability to
unerase volumes that have been quick erased. This feature is
only supported for Jumbo and Trakker. It is absolutely
possible to unerase any volume that was quick erased with
4.01 software as long as no further backups have been done.
Once further backups occur, the success of unerasing is
subject to how many volumes have been overwritten, either
totally or partially. The order that volumes appear in the
quick erase volume selection screen is precisely the same
physical order they appear on tape. It is entirely possible
for volumes that are older than others to appear after volumes
that have been more recently backed up.
Three large volumes that get quick erased, followed by a
backup of a small volume (smaller than the first of the three
large volumes), followed by a quick erase will result in the
small volume being first on the tape followed by the last two
of the three large volumes. The first of the large volumes
will be partially overwritten and not able to be erased.
4. Multi-Disk Backup - This feature allows the user to setup
backups (total, selective or modified) of multiple disks (up
to 10) for execution within the menuing software. Each drive
will generate a new volume an the tape (per QIC
specification). The user will initially be given a blank
setup screen when he selects multiple disk backup. Any
changes made to the screen will be saved automatically and
recalled when the user reenters the screen. Only one error
log file will be created. The user has the option to name it
or use the default name when he selects Backup Now. The user
can edit a tag file associated with a "Selective" backup
setup. If a user selects abort during the backup, the entire
multiple disk backup is aborted. There may be some associated
problems with backups if a user tags files in the setup
screen, exits the software, and then deletes all of the files
that were tagged. It is suggested that users do not do this.
If the selective backup set has changed significantly, it is
better to retag the files.
Another solution would be to delete the line from the setup
screen and to reenter the selective backup parameters.
5. Auto Format - This feature simply checks to determine if the
tape is formatted prior to a backup operation. If not, and
the user has selected auto format in the software setups, the
tape will be automatically formatted prior to the backup.
There will be no prompts for the user as long as the tape is
absolutely unformatted (no reference burst). If the tape does
have a reference burst (meaning a low level format occurred at
one time on this tape), the user will be prompted to continue
with the format. If the user has not selected auto format in
the software setups (or from a command line switch), he will
always be prompted to format the tape (as long as the software
recognizes the tape as unformatted). No time remaining status
is provided for an auto format. The screen that is in place
when the format occurs is the normal backup screen.
The user only receives a status message at the bottom telling
him that a format is happening prior to the backup. This
feature is basically provided so that the backup parameters
that a user enters are not lost if he has an unformatted tape
in the drive.
6. Tape Rename - This feature is only available for TRAKKER and
JUMBO. The user is presented with the old name, if any, of
the tape and has the option to rename it. If he does not
change the name, the renaming process happens anyway, using
the existing name. This situation will be corrected so that
if he does not change the name, nothing will happen.
7. Scheduler Redesign - The scheduler has been redesigned with a
more usable, intuitive interface. This interface is now a two
level interface, with the first screen an information screen
displaying the current schedule. Entries are selected and
then modified on a second screen. When the user selects
Scheduler from one of the backup screens, he/she is taken to
the second screen to schedule the operation. The new
interface is more consistent with the look and feel of the
rest of the application.
8. New Autoback TSR - Autoback has been re-written. The new
scheduler has a pop up dialog box that allows the user to
proceed with the operation, cancel the operation, postpone the
operation or disable the scheduler. This pop up box will
appear for thirty seconds and if no selection is made it will
launch the operation.
The new scheduler TSR pop up dialog box accepts mouse input.
The launch conditions have changed. Instead of needing to be
idle at the dos prompt, the new scheduler TSR will attempt to
interrupt the task at hand. It will not interrupt certain
applications, e.g., Windows. If for some reason the TSR
cannot pop up and launch the operation, it will wait until it
can and then do so. The new scheduler TSR needs to be the
LAST TSR loaded. Changes have been made to Install.exe to
load the TSR at the end of Autoexec.bat. If the existing
autoexec.bat contains a call to DOSSHELL, PCSHELL or Novells
menu we will load autoback before the call. If another TSR is
loaded after it, the TSR will pop up a warning box and disable
itself (see /notlast discussion below for work around.)
A command line interface is provided to let the user know when
the next scheduled event is to occur. The TSR also loads
itself into high memory automatically if it can.
Automatic backups now take place every hour instead of every
10 minutes. With the new scheduler interrupting applications
when it pops up, every 10 minutes is excessively intrusive.
As with any TSR, there will be conflicts. In the test lab, we
have noted that when both the scheduler TSR and an old
shareware version of Doskey, called keymap, are both loaded
high, the machine can sometimes lock up. An undocumented
switch exists in the TSR which can avoid this problem;
autoback /low forces the TSR to load in low memory even if it
could have loaded high.
Another undocumented switch exists that allows other TSRs to
load after autoback but often will not work. Autoback
/notlast can be used as a last resort if other TSRs must load
after autoback.
The other switches available are /e, /d, /u. They enable,
disable and unload (respectively) the scheduler TSR. The /e
switch is particularly useful if the TSR has disabled itself
due to another TSR loading.
All in all, the new TSR is more sophisticated and more robust
than the old one.
9. New STAC Compression Algorithm support - We have implemented
a new compression algorithm to provide better compression,
and improved performance. This new algorithm is fully QIC
compliant, and will pose no interchange problems. However, we
also implemented segment spanning for compression, which will
allow us to remap bad sectors on the fly when compression is
enabled. This will make our older software incompatible with
compressed backups created with CBD 4.01. That is to say that
volumes created with CBD 4.01 using compression cannot be read
with any older versions of software.
10. Enhanced redirection from MENU - We have improved redirection
from the menu to be more consistent with command line
redirection.
To do this, we added a new sub-menu for restore. This new
menu will allow access to total restore, selective restore, or
redirected restore.
11. The default DOS critical error handler has been replaced with
our own error handler. This applies ONLY to menu operation.
When a critical error is encountered, the software will
display the familiar red error box. It will contain
information about the source of the error and offer VALID
response options, i.e. Abort, Retry and/or Ignore. Not all
responses are valid for all errors, hence, they(responses) may
not all be displayed. If the Abort option is selected, the
software will be logically shutdown and the user is exited
back to DOS as would normally happen under DOS.
12. Version 4.01 includes changes that were in the 3.07 Packard
Bell release.
13. Version 4.01 includes changes that were in the 3.08 Gateway
release. These changes allow us to select and communicate with
the Gateway 1" drive.
14. To support higher capacity drives that are on the way, we
changed the way we store the bad sector map, internal to the
software, to save memory for Jumbo and Trakker. This means
nothing to the user, except that we also had to set a limit on
the maximum number of bad sectors that we could support on a
tape. This limit is 1000 bad sector per tape. If error 1 is
encountered, then the user has a tape with > 1000 bad sectors.
This is an extremely high number of bad sectors, and not a
condition that should normally occur as data integrity could
be suspect. This can be caused by too much noise in the
system, bad tape, dirty head, or less likely a marginal tape
drive. Work around is to switch tapes, remove drive from
noise conditions, or clean the head. It is also possible that
the drive is marginal. At any rate, there is an escape in the
4.01 software. The data can be restored using command line
restore with the undocumented /1 flag. This flag will allow
of tapes with up to 9,216 bad sectors on a restore operation.
This flag is only supported from command line restore. The
software will never allow writing to the tape. Reformatting
may work, unless there are indeed > 1000 bad sectors on the
tape.
15. With DR DOS 6.0 and older versions of MS-DOS (3.01 and lower),
ALT-Q will not work. Any menu that requires ALT-Q as a hot
key will only be accessible via mouse or arrow keys.
16. The MS-DOS 6.0 anti-virus utility vsafe uses the hot key
ALT-V. When in our software, using ALT-V will bring up vsafe.
The work around is to change the vsafe hot key.