home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
-
-
- IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS IN VARIOUS VERSIONS OF I_CACHE.
-
- Version 1.0
-
- INITIAL RELEASE
-
- Version 1.01
-
- 1.) Checks and allows for operation under DRDOS 6.0+.
-
-
- Version 1.10
-
- 1.) Adds intelligence for better detection and caching
- of Magneto-Optical drives of varying sector lengths.
- Version 1.11 will handle sector lengths of 512, 1024,
- and 2048, and 4096 bytes-per-sector.
- 2.) Adds a new parameter /m+- specifically for Magneto-Optical
- drives which allows deleyed-write to be turned off for
- the MO while staying active for internal hard disks.
-
-
- Version 1.11
-
- 1.) Changes the intelligence for Magneto-Optical drives
- slightly. Sector lengths of 4096 bytes were deleted
- from support.
-
- 2.) Although previous versions cached Dblspace and Drvspace
- compressed drives, this version adds more intelligence in
- this regard for the detection and caching of these
- drives.
-
- 3.) Better error handling. If I_cache finds a bad sector
- within a logical track, it won't keep reading the same
- track over and will, instead, defer to DOS.
-
- 4.) The disk error display has changed (/er+w+). It is now
- in the following format:
-
- I_CACHE detects READ/WRITE ERROR
- Drive x Sector: 0x000000h (x)
-
- This is displayed in the upper left hand corner of the
- screen.
-
- When I_Cache overwrites the screen, the screen is refreshed
- and restored to it's original look in TEXT MODE. In GRAPHICS
- MODES, I_CACHE will attempt to restore the screen in 16 COLOR
- MODES (or less). Whether it is successufl or not depends upon
- the SIZE of I_CACHE's I/O BUFFER and the pixel distribution
- on the screen. I_CACHE uses its I/O buffer as a temporary
- storage area for RLE compressed pixel data. Therefore, the
- size of the buffer and the gradient pattern of the screen
- pixels determine the amount of screen restoration possible.
- The error panel will be displayed for three (3) seconds.
-
- 5.) A new help utility has been added: I_HELP.EXE. Run this from
- the command line to get some quick tips for installation. It
- is also an indexed reader for the I_CACHE.DOC manual.
-
- 6.) Certain I_CACHE installation detection problems have been fixed.
-
- 7.) The /t: parameter has been expanded to accept a value of 4.
- This means that you can now select values of 4,8,16,32, and
- 64 (sectors per track). Please note that this value has only
- been added for compatibility with certain systems. Of all the
- values available, /t:4 will give the worst performance.
- /t:16 gives the best and /t:32 is a close second (and may
- even be better on some systems).
-
- 8.) With the exception of the I_CACHE status panels (I_cache -s),
- all command line displays are now redirectable through DOS.
- This means that, if you are using the /f parameter (flush cache
- - it now indicates any buffers that are waiting) or /a: in a
- batch file, you can redirect them to NUL so they won't display
- to the screen, i.e., I_cache /a:d+e+ > NUL.
-
- Version 1.20
-
- 1.) The I_CACHE detection method was changed from the standard
- TSR identification method through ID numbers to identification
- through the I_CACHE API (int 2fh). Certain applications, such
- as QEMM's OPTIMIZE and Microsoft's MSD, were having conflicts
- with the old method.
-
- 2.) The /d /w /m parameters were superceded by additions to the
- /a: parameter. Write caching can now be asserted or deactivated
- on ANY drive with the use of (+) or (-) with the /a: parameter.
-
- EXAMPLE: I_CACHE /a:C+(-)
-
- In this example, the C drive is turned on with the + and
- write caching was turned off to the drive with the (-).
-
- All fixed disks are write-cached by default unless otherwise
- specified with this parameter. By default, removable media
- are not write-cached, unless otherwise specified
- with this parameter.
-
- The /d /w /m parameters are no longer valid.
-
- 3.) A certain bug that caused garbage characters to be written
- on the command line occasionally after delayed-writes was
- fixed. This only happened if the user was using the default
- CON driver supplied with DOS (DOS internal).
-
- 4.) The status panels (I_CACHE -s) were redesigned and are now
- displayed in color.
-
- 5.) The I_CACHE API (int 2fh) was expanded to include another
- function. See I_CACHE.DOC.
-
- 6.) The A20 (HMA access) line is now handled in a better way.
- This would rarely, if ever, be used since disk accesses to
- the HMA are buffered. This is for future DMA controllers.
-
- 7.) The /k parameter has been added. It is for special keyboard
- handling.
-
- /k- turns OFF special handling (DEFAULT)
- /k1 turns ON level 1 handling and inhibits the
- keyboard during delayed writes.
- /k2 turns ON level 2 handling and inhibits the
- keyboard during all disk reads and writes as
- well as functions listed for level 1.
-
- /k1 & /k2 defeat pre-emptive multitasking
- during delayed writes.
-
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-