Help Screen

Issue: October 1995
Section: General
Pages: 152


Contents

Little upgrade
How to set up a PS/1
Tip: bye-bye temp files
That sinking feeling
Tip: ScanDisk custom care
A plurality of ports
Slimmed-down CD storage
Prompter printer
Directories drag down Defrag
Ghost SCSI drives
New DOS is no fun
OS/2 Warp: to CD or not to CD?


Little upgrade

Q Here is an interesting question you could ask Microsoft and I would be interested in the answer, as would possibly many of your readers.

I purchased a DOS upgrade to DOS 5.

I then purchased a full upgrade to DOS 6.0.

I then purchased a small upgrade to DOS 6.2, which shows 6.20.

I see in the shops now that the DOS upgrade from 5 to 6 is to version 6.22.

I have asked how I can purchase a little upgrade to 6.22, but I have been told that I must purchase a full upgrade for $50.

Why is it so?

- Richard Swain

A Leighton Jenkins, Microsoft's product manager for personal operating systems, has replied that Richard's software reseller has made a mistake.

"There is a 'Step-Up' product from MS-DOS 6.2 to 6.22, just as [Richard] went through from MS-DOS 6.0 to 6.2. The estimated retail price for this is $29. We have tried as we did with previous Step-Up products to make it easy for users to add the new functionality. The basic change in 6.22 is DriveSpace disk compression to replace DoubleSpace. The product is available from Microsoft resellers."

How to set up a PS/1

Q I am having trouble with my IBM PS/1 286 (probably a Model 2011), which I purchased secondhand with MS-DOS 6.22 installed. Recently I looked at some utilities that claim to back up CMOS values. I loaded and then exited each of the utilities without changing my CMOS settings, or so I thought. Now I find my PC booting up to an IBM menu screen and running IBM PC-DOS 4.0, which appears to load from ROM, instead of MS-DOS 6.22. The worst part is that I had compressed the system's hard disk with DriveSpace, which IBM's older DOS doesn't recognise. I can't seem to find a way into the CMOS setup program, and I've lost track of the person who sold me the system, so I can't ask him how he managed to get MS-DOS 6.22 installed. Please help me undo the damage.

- I. Downie

A Your situation may sound bad, but it's actually easy to remedy. IBM did in fact build DOS into the ROMs of several PS/1 models (2011 and 2121), and the computer's CMOS setup program has an option for booting from the ROM's DOS or from the hard disk's version. Somehow, one of those CMOS backup programs changed that setting to the ROM-based booting option. Most PC BIOSs either respond to one of several common keys (like <Delete>, <F1> or <F2>), or display a message during a cold boot that tells you how to access the ROM-based CMOS setup utility. Unfor-tunately, the PS/1 works differently - you need to run two utilities from the DOS prompt to reconfigure your system.

You can download an archive file containing the utilities, customize.exe and configur.exe, from IBM's own BBS on CompuServe in the patch/fix/utilities section of the IBM Aptiva and PS/1 Forum library (GO IBMPS1). There are two self-extracting archive files containing machine-specific versions of the utilities. Look for 2011cn.exe if you have a Model 2011, and 2121rc.exe for a Model 2121.

Tip: bye-bye temp files

The Temp directory for Windows temporary files fills up and wastes hard disk space. To clean it out automatically, put these lines in your autoexec.bat file:

set temp=c:\temp

deltree /Y %temp%

md %temp%

- Kurt Baney

That sinking feeling

Reading Andrew Vaschina's letter in the August 1995 edition of The Help Screen gave me that sinking "I've been here before" feeling. It relates to my jousts with the junkie virus. On the computer at work, 32-bit file access was disabled when the computer became infected. Apparently, the virus wrote to the address that 32-bit file access likes to call home.

Recently, another colleague recounted her tale of woe: she was unable to use the Save As command in Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows. Each time she did so, it spat out a message that the (floppy) disk was full, though this was not true. An examination of her computer revealed the same old nemesis: junkie virus. It was more sinister this time: within a few hours of cleaning her system I - not my computer - came down with a virus!

- Victor Bilous

Tip: ScanDisk custom care

If you'd like to use DOS 6.2x's ScanDisk at start-up and customise its behaviour, put scandisk /custom on its own line in your autoexec.bat file. Then open scandisk.ini in your DOS directory, and follow the file's instructions to configure ScanDisk.

- Mark Frankfurth

A plurality of ports

Q I would like to install three or four parallel ports on a dedicated file server. I know how to set up two ports, but if I want more, how do I set the IRQs for the additional ports? Most add-on LPT boards offer only IRQ 5 or IRQ 7.

- Jon Roeder

A Unfortunately, we're all burdened by the fact that the original IBM PC was designed to be exactly what its initials stand for - a "personal" computer - and no provisions were made for the hardware to support more than two parallel ports. You can have three ports if you mix the standard I/O port addresses from both the original PC and the AT (3BC, 378, and 278), but only two ports can be interrupt-driven unless both the card and the file server let you set a different interrupt for the third. (You will usually run into trouble trying to do this, so most file servers allow you to set up the third parallel port for polled rather than interrupt-driven operation. This eliminates the need for a third interrupt.)

Adding a fourth port is even more of a challenge, since you need a card that can be set to a nonstandard, unused address, as well as software you can configure to use that address. If you want your system to be as standard and trouble-free as possible, I recommend using no more than two parallel ports. If you have more than two printers, consider running some of them through direct Ethernet connections (which are much, much faster than a parallel port and can take a load off the server) or via serial ports.

Slimmed-down CD storage

Q I've amassed quite a few CD-ROM disks and find their jewel cases bulky. To save space, I'd like to store disks in 51/4in floppy disk sleeves. Is there a safe way to label the loose CD-ROMs with an ID number?

- Jerry Ramesbottom

A Go ahead. In fact, CD-ROM storage wallets, which you can find in computer catalogues and record stores, let you do the same thing. But why pay good money for those when you have so many perfectly good 51/4in floppy disk sleeves lying around? The key thing is to prevent scratches to the CD-ROM's underside, which you can pretty much ensure by removing the disk from the drive or caddy and returning it immediately to the sleeve. As for labelling CD-ROMs, I'd recommend writing directly on the top surface with a marking pen.

The worrywart in me says don't put a paper label on the disk. Labels don't damage disks or pose a direct threat to the CD-ROM drive, but they do add weight to one side of the disk, which could theoretically wear out your drive's bearings faster. Your drive will probably become obsolete first, but label me cautious.

Prompter printer

Q My PC is attached to a laser printer with 6Mb of internal RAM and a special I/O board that has an additional 4Mb of RAM. I print to the laser through COM2 at the maximum setting of 19.2Kbit/sec. Yet a print job that Windows Print Manager says is 1.5Mb in size takes forever to send to the printer. How can I speed things up when printing large documents?

- David Rogers

A In the past, we published tips in PC World describing the right way to set up a serial printer. But now that the world has entered the age of graphical user interfaces (like Windows and OS/2), it's no longer practical to use a serial port to connect a printer to a PC. Unless you're using DOS and printing only text, a one-page letter takes quite a while to print (and a drawing takes an eternity) without a faster interface between your PC and your printer.

Here are the options in order of increasing cost. The least expensive interface you can switch to is a parallel port, which comes built into both your PC and, unless it's really old, your printer. All you'll need is a parallel printer cable, available at any computer store.

Faster still are the two enhanced types of parallel ports, EPP and ECP; however, these will probably require you to buy a new parallel port card for your PC.

You can also go to Ethernet, but you'll need an Ethernet card for your PC, an Ethernet interface for your printer, and LAN software to drive everything.

Finally, some companies sell boards that fit inside your PC and drive the printer's internal engine directly at video speeds.

Before you spend money on any of the latter solutions, however, I recommend that you try the parallel port - perhaps in conjunction with a hardware or software print spooler. (I don't recommend Windows' Print Manager - it's not at all fast and has compatibility problems with some applications.) The difference may amaze you.

Directories drag down Defrag

Q I have a problem with DOS's Defrag utility: it returns an "Insufficient memory" error when I try to run it on systems with lots of directories. Some of these PCs have 16Mb of memory.

- Greg Forseth

A DOS's Defrag utility is a stripped-down, older version of Norton's SpeedDisk, which at one time had the same memory problems (Defrag is complaining about the amount of free conventional memory; you'd have the same problem whether your PCs had 2Mb or 20Mb of memory). A work-around is to increase your system's conventional memory by using a memory manager to configure your PC to load DOS high and to load as few TSRs and drivers as possible (loading them high, as well).

Then use a program such as VIDRAM from Quarterdeck's QEMM to free up even more conventional memory. (You can typically get 720K or more on a VGA system.) With this much DOS RAM, Defrag can handle nearly any drive.

Ghost SCSI drives

Q At our office, we have a PC with a built-in SCSI adaptor on the motherboard. The PC has only one SCSI hard drive, but it thinks it has two. All the software shows that the machine has a D: drive with contents identical to those of the C: drive. What could make this happen?

- Kevin M.

A The most common causes of "phantom" hard drives on a SCSI system are incorrect termination on the SCSI bus, a duplicate SCSI ID number or a problem with the configuration of the SCSI host adaptor's built-in BIOS. Make sure the devices at both ends of the SCSI bus have terminator resistor packs installed to prevent bus errors. Also check that all devices on the bus have unique SCSI ID numbers; normally, the host is 7 and the first hard drive is 0. Finally, run the configuration software for your motherboard host adaptor. Make sure that it's set to control only one hard drive, and that emulation of the IBM PC/AT hard drive controller (sometimes called ATA or WD-1003 emulation) is disabled.

You might also try removing any memory management software temporarily to see if it might be causing the problem - sometimes its attempts to "shadow" the disk controller's BIOS ROM produce strange results, including phantom drives.

New DOS is no fun

Q I recently upgraded to a new computer and moved from DOS 5.0 to DOS 6.22 at the same time. Unfortunately, I have a game that refuses to run and tells me it requires DOS 5.0.

- Josh Alvies

A Many programs check to see what version of DOS is running before they load, usually because they require a feature available only in a particular DOS version or versions. New DOS versions don't appear in your program's approved list. Fortunately, DOS's Setver utility lets you fool programs into thinking a different DOS version is running. It works by intercepting a program's request to DOS for the version number, and supplying the program whatever lie you want it to tell.

To make your game run under DOS 6.22, you need to first issue the command setver filename.ext 5.00 at the DOS prompt, where filename.ext is your game's executable file name and extension. This adds an entry to the Setver program's internal table, which Setver can reference for the game's version number. (If you want to see the current contents of the table, enter setver at the DOS prompt.)

Next, you have to load the new table into memory: make sure config.sys contains the line device=c:\dos\setver.exe, then reboot your PC. Now your game should run without a hitch.

OS/2 Warp: to CD or not to CD?

Q I have several questions about OS/2 Warp. Does the CD-ROM version have any advantages over the floppy disk version? Will my DOS and Windows multimedia games run under Warp? If 35Mb is the minimum disk space required for installation, what is the maximum?

Will I need Mosaic to access the Internet? Does Warp have a dual-boot feature? Does Warp have a fairly large selection of drivers, and how do I get hardware drivers if I need them?

- Troy Dolyniuk

A The CD-ROM version of any software has an installation advantage: instead of swapping floppy disks, you insert the CD-ROM and the rest is almost entirely automatic. However, there's one downside: since Warp can't possibly identify every possible combination of CD-ROM drive and sound card, a CD-ROM installation may fail.

This is more likely if your PC's CD-ROM drive and interface card are non-standard or lack OS/2 drivers (ask your system's manufacturer). If you're worried about this, go with the floppies. But if your hardware is compatible, get the CD-ROM. It'll save you 15 to 20 minutes of installation time.

The amount of disk space Warp uses depends on the number of drivers and special features you install. A full install of the Warp Full Pack, including software I don't need and probably should get rid of, ate up about 100Mb. And, yes, there is a dual-boot feature if you need to run DOS.

Once you get Warp installed, you should have no trouble running most DOS and Windows multimedia games. (Some DOS games run better under Warp than they do under Windows.) Warp comes with built-in, optimised settings for many popular games, including Doom. And Warp's Internet tools will provide you with full Internet access via SLIP or PPP. (You can use Mosaic, but you don't have to; Warp includes its own Web browser.)

Finally, the best place to find drivers is the OS/2 Support Forum on CompuServe. Its libraries contain a comprehensive collection of drivers, and you can log on via the OS/2 CompuServe Information Manager that comes with Warp. You could get drivers on the Internet or from vendor bulletin boards, but nothing beats CompuServe's support and advice.


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