*****************************************************************************

                        Falcon 3.0 Startup Menu

*****************************************************************************

As we all know, with the first release of Falcon 3.0 came many bugs and
configuration problems.  One of the big problems I encountered was a nasty
tendency for F3 to trash all my Squadron Files and the FALCON3.DEF file 
(where F3 stores the settings for your system configuration and your default 
preferences).  After a few campaign missions and many hours training in
Red Flag, this can be devastating <g>.  It takes a lot of _time_ to put in
all those callsigns and faces (!).

After taking the suggestion of a couple of other FSFORUM members, I decided
to back up my squadron and FALCON3.DEF files in my AUTOEXEC.BAT file prior to 
booting F3.  This worked great *until* F3 trashed my files again.  I thought 
"No prob, I've got my backup".  Except that when I rebooted, I forgot that my
AUTOEXEC.BAT backed up my files automatically!  Needless to say, I backed up
the trashed files right over the good ones (aaak!).

To solve this problem, I created a menu program that boots prior to F3.  It
allows me several ways of starting F3.  I can back-up before boot, I can
restore before boot, or I can go into F3 without any backup or restore.

I thought some others might be having these same problems, so I decided to
share my efforts with you in hopes of thwarting any catastrophes that might
happen.  Hopefully, Spectrum Holobyte will fix these problems in the near
future and we won't need this kind of protection, but until then, I back-up
religiously.  In fact, even after the fixes are in, it probably won't be a 
bad idea to back-up these files anyway.  You never know, I'm probably not the
only one to type "del*.*" by mistake (sigh).

*****************************************************************************

This ZIP file contains the following:

        F3START.BAT             Batch file that starts menu program
        BATCH FILES 1 - 8       Batch files that work with F3START.BAT
        F3START.TXT             This File

*****************************************************************************

In order to run this Menu program, you need to have BATCH FILES 1 - 8 and
F3START.BAT in your \FALCON3 directory.  This program assumes F3 is located
in the C:\FALCON3 directory.  You need to create a directory called
C:\FALCON3\F3BACKUP in which to store your back-ups.  If you wish to use
different directories, you will need to adjust BATCH FILES 1 - 8 to include
the proper directory and path statements.

Once these file are copied into your \FALCON3 directory, you only need to 
type "F3START" from your \FALCON3 directory to execute the menu program.  
From there, just follow the directions on screen.  Pressing any back-up or  
restore option will execute the required function(s) and then boot F3
automatically.  After you finish playing F3, you will be returned to the menu
start-up screen where you can do further file maintenance or return to DOS.

If you are booting from a floppy disk, you will need to add the following 
lines to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

        C:
        CD\FALCON3
        F3START.BAT

*****************************************************************************

The program is not very glamorous, but it gets the job done.  Hope this helps
you out!

Remember, "In Thrust We Trust!"

Aaron "Pirate" Anderson
70322,2236
386th TFS