Monster Media 1996 #14/Monster Media No. 14 (April 1996) (Monster Media, Inc.).ISO/virus/i_m261b.zip/DISKHELP.TXT

Text File | 1996-02-13 | 8KB | 165 lines

 ------> File: DISKHELP.TXT - what to do when IM can't access your disk <------
 ------>                      or IM detects problems on your disk.      <------
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Q: SETUPIM won't recognize my disk(s)!  What can I do?

 A: Remove any other memory resident software which you don't need.  If
    you are using DRIVER.SYS (in your \CONFIG.SYS file) to assign
    duplicate letters to the same disk, remove that and reboot.  If you
    are using disk monitoring or disk cache software try removing that
    and rebooting.  We have had a report of Norton Cache causing such a
    problem on a PC with a DTK/ERSO BIOS>

    If in doubt, run SetupIM again (NOT a new install) and select
    "Update Hardware Configuration". This will enable SetupIM to reanalyze
    your configuration.  DO THIS ANYTIME YOU CHANGE HARDWARE.

 Q: Sometimes IM can't read particular files, or certain files
    mysteriously change size.  IM sees no indications of a virus and it's
    not generally programs that are affected so it must be something
    else.

 A: There are quite a few possible explanations for problems like this.
    It's best to eliminate them one at a time.

  1) If you are running Windows, OS/2 or other multi-tasking operating system,
     be sure that this system does not have the files open that you are
     trying to read.

  2) Hardware problems can also cause these symptoms. A problem with the
     memory on the disk cache or CPU cache can cause this. If your
     diagnostics don't show anything wrong, disable the cache in your
     disk controller board and your CPU (motherboard) cache.  Rerun IM;
     if the problem goes away, you've found the culprit.  Check your manual
     for how to disable the cache.

  3) Many disk controllers use an area of memory (e.g, C800) that some memory
     managers will also try to use.  For example, if you are using Windows,
     make sure your SYSTEM.INI file contains an
              "EMMEXCLUDE (address1-address2)"
     statement for the area of memory used by your disk controller.

  4) If you have any resident (TSR or device driver) software that may
     try to access your disk such as a disk cache, print spooler or
     Fastopen, try running without this software to see if the problem
     goes away.  To eliminate this software you can usually just delete
     the lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS that start these
     programs.  If you use Windows and SMARTDRV (a disk cache), be sure that
     you're using the version that came with Windows rather than
     DOS.  (If your version of DOS is a later release than your version
     of Windows, then this may not be important.)

Q: I just tried to check or initialize on my hard disk. Integrity Master
   replied that this disk was not working.  What's going on?

A:  For some reason, Integrity Master is unable to access this disk.
    This could be due to the disk having a problem or because we are
    missing some software that is required access the disk.  This
    software is commonly known as a device driver.

   If this is a disk that Integrity Master formerly recognized, then you may
   wish to run any hardware diagnostics to make sure that it's working
   correctly.

   Here are the steps to solve this problem:

   1) Boot your PC as you normally do.  Enter a command such as "DIR" to
      verify that your disk is really working.

   2) Now execute SetupIM (this is the Integrity Master install program)
      without re-booting your PC.  Do either a new install or a reinstall.
      SetupIM will recognize most special disk software (such as Disk Manager)
      and will advise you exactly what to do.

   3) Follow the directions presented to you in SetupIM to finish the install.
      These directions are also written to file IMPROC.TXT.

   4) IM should now be able to access this disk.  If not, then you may
      be using some special software that is unknown to us a this time.
      Don't worry, this should be no problem; it'll just take a few more
      steps.

   5) (Only do this step, if IM is still unable to access your disk.)
      Check the CONFIG.SYS file on the disk from which you normally boot.
      To do this, enter these commands:

         CD \                (hit the ENTER key)
         TYPE CONFIG.SYS     (hit the ENTER key)

      (If the IMVIEW.COM file is available, you could enter the command:
      "IMVIEW CONFIG.SYS"; this will allow you to view the file and scroll
      forwards and backwards.)

      This will display the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file.  Look for lines
      which begin with: "DEVICE=".  On the floppy from which you boot your
      PC prior to running IM, create a similar CONFIG.SYS file containing
      these same "DEVICE=" statements.  You will also need to copy the
      associated files from the "DEVICE=" statements.

For example, if your CONFIG.SYS file contains:
                BUFFERS=60
                BREAK=OFF
                PATH=C:\DOS;C:\DOS\SYSTEM
                DEVICE=C:\DOS\DRIVER.SYS /D:2
                DEVICE=DMDRIVR.SYS
                COUNTRY=001
                FILES=30
You will need to locate files DRIVER.SYS and DMDRIVR.SYS and copy them to
your boot diskette. Notice that the "DEVICE=" statement for DRIVER.SYS
specifies C:\DOS as the location of this file.  Since we'll be booting from
a floppy, we'll need to remove this so the statement will read:
     DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /D:2
Since the "DEVICE=" statement for DMDRIVR.SYS does not specify a directory,
it's OK as it stands.

If you see the following files referred to in "DEVICE=" statements, you may
safely assume that they are not needed for disk support and exclude them from
your CONFIG.SYS file:

         MOUSE.SYS           ANSI.SYS          SMARTDRV.SYS
         KEYBOARD.SYS        VDISK.SYS         SHARE.EXE
         PRINTER.SYS         DISPLAY.SYS

Continuing with our example; now that you've determined which DEVICE=
statements you might need, enter the following:  (or use a text editor)

       COPY CON A:CONFIG.SYS         (hit the ENTER key)
       DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /D:2        (hit the ENTER key)
       DEVICE=DMDRIVR.BIN            (hit the ENTER key)
       (now hit F6 or control-Z)
       COPY C:\DOS\DRIVER.SYS A:     (hit the ENTER key)
       COPY C:\DMDRIVR.BIN A:        (hit the ENTER key)

If you're not sure about which "DEVICE=" statements and programs to include,
include them all (in this case, you could just copy your entire CONFIG.SYS
file to your boot floppy).

What you've just done is to create a CONFIG.SYS file containing just
the device drivers you need to be able to access the disk and then copied
the actual disk drivers to your IM boot floppy.

Boot from this floppy and try IM again.  If this still doesn't work,
repeat step five with your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  You may be executing a program
in the AUTOEXEC.BAT needed to support this disk. (This is unusual!).
Create a matching AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your floppy and copy the corresponding
programs to the floppy.

If you needed to use step five, please contact Stiller Research and let
us know what special software you are using.  This will allow us to include
support in SetupIM for this software, so future installations will be easier.
We will compensate you for your trouble.

If for any reason this does not solve your problem, please contact Stiller
Research.  Include a copy of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file along
with a description of the disk hardware you are having a problem with.
Please let us know as much as possible about how your disk was setup and
what error messages you are getting from IM or SetupIM.

Read file SUPPORT.DOC for the complete list of ways to contact us
(IMVIEW SUPPORT.DOC) or just write to:

                    Stiller Research
                    1265 Big Valley Dr.
                    Colorado Springs, CO 80919-1014
                    U.S.A.