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- From: cantor@boa.cis.ohio-state.edu (scott eric cantor)
- Subject: Re: WARNING !!!!! MS WINDOWS 3.1 SmartDrive Problem
- Message-ID: <1992Aug14.152704.21495@cis.ohio-state.edu>
- Sender: news@cis.ohio-state.edu (NETnews )
- Organization: The Ohio State University, Department of Computer and Information Science
- References: <1992Aug13.040731.2286@cs.mcgill.ca> <1992Aug13.202720.22761@serval.net.wsu.edu> <1992Aug14.141659.328@csc.canterbury.ac.nz>
- Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 15:27:04 GMT
- Lines: 47
-
- In article <1992Aug14.141659.328@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> cctr132@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (Nick FitzGerald, CSC, Uni. of Canterbury, NZ) writes:
- >In article <1992Aug13.202720.22761@serval.net.wsu.edu>,
- >mwoodwar@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu (woodward matthew d - CS350) writes:
- >> In article <1992Aug13.040731.2286@cs.mcgill.ca> George Mitchell (passed on)
- >> writes...
- >[George Mitchell's warning about smartdrive deleted]
- >>
- >> George is correct that this is dangerous. This, however, is neither a bug
- >> nor a problem with the Win 3.1 smartdrive program.
- >
- >I agree it's not a bug - some may disagree that it's not a problem. To
- >make write-behind caching the -default- and --NOT-- clearly explain this
- >to users - many of whom will have no concept of what disk caching is,
- >let alone the potential problems of write-behind caching - is bordering
- >on negligent, IMHO.
-
- I can see your point for users who don't understand caching, but
- I simply haven't had any problems with it at all. I have no reason to
- want it off.
-
- >
- >> The problem is PC users who don't think before they flip the switch, and
- >> Microsoft not trapping the warmboot vector to flush the cache before a
- >> warmboot.
- >
- >This is incorrect to the best of my knowledge. With smartdrive loaded,
- >at DOS proper - not a DOS prompt run from inside Win31 - the keyboard to
- >screen response is slower on my 386/20-8MB than on an XT/4.77, much
- >slower. I take this as evidence that smartdrive totally usurps the
- >keyboard for its own purposes - presumably to catch Ctrl/Alt/Del. Once
- >Win31 is running it can drop this practice, as Windows does the reboot
- >checking for it and presumably signals smartdrive to flush its unwritten
- >buffers should the user actually insist on rebooting.
- >
- >Anyone know better?
- >
-
- Smartdrv does indeed trap Ctrl-Alt-Del and flush the buffer before
- rebooting.
-
- _______________________________________________________
- | |
- | Shine on......... |
- | Scott <Crazy Diamond> Cantor |
- | |
- | [<<<<<< cantor@cis.ohio-state.edu >>>>>>] |
- |_______________________________________________________|
-