Computer Installation Guide - Dragon Clan Series/CD2.iso/DISK/NU8/NCACHE.DOC

Text File | 1995-05-15 | 9.2 KB | 201 lines

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                  Norton Cache 8.0 Information
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This file contains important information about Norton Cache that
is not included in the manual.

If you would like to print this file, change to the directory
where Norton Utilities is installed (e.g., \NU), and at the DOS
prompt type:

      LP NCACHE.DOC /HI

You can also use the NDOS command "LIST NCACHE.DOC" to display
the file on your screen.


Windows 3.1 compatibility
================================================================

This release of Norton Cache is fully compatible with Windows
3.1 in all modes.

We have discovered, and Microsoft has confirmed, that Windows is
incompatible with ANY disk cache that uses Expanded Memory. With
a cache in EMS it is possible for the machine to lock up,
particularly when running DOS programs in a window.  Because of
this, we have changed NCACHE to always shrink EMS cache buffers
to 0K when Windows is running. This means that only one number
(the DOS cache size) should be specified with the /EXP switch.
We stronly recommend using XMS Extended Memory for the cache if
you run Windows (e.g. use the /EXT switch).


Program Notes
================================================================

The default write buffer size has been changed to a maximum of
8K. NCACHE previously used the size of the largest track as the
size of the write buffer.  On the vast majority of systems there
is no noticable performance increase from a write buffer larger
than 8K.  If you want a larger write buffer, you can still use
the /WRITE switch to set the exact size.


Compatibility Notes
================================================================

We have attempted to make NCACHE one of the most compatible disk
caching programs available.  NCACHE will work with almost any
hard disk supported by DOS.  It is important to understand,
however, that it is impossible to test any cache against all the
computers and disk drives ever sold.  There is simply too much
variety in the PC marketplace, and very few machines are exactly
alike.

NCACHE integrates itself closely with the operating system and
hardware, and may be effected by compatibility problems that
would not show up with standard applications programs (e.g. word
processors and spreadsheets).  If your computer isn't 100%
compatible, you may be able to run standard programs perfectly,
but be unable to use NCACHE.

In many cases, using the /MULTI=OFF or /WRITE=0 switches during
cache installation will solve any compatibility problems.  You
should try using /MULTI=OFF before using /WRITE=0.  /MULTI=OFF
can solve many compatibility problems, and results in only a
small loss in performance. If you have an older computer, you
may also want to check with the vendor to see if a more recent
ROM BIOS is available.

NCACHE is fully compatible with the MS-DOS 6.0 DoubleSpace,
Stacker and SuperStor data compression drivers.  We do not
recommend using NCACHE with any other data compression products.

If you are using Stacker SSWAP, SuperStor DEVSWAP, or any other
program that lets you dynamically swap drive letters, you must
do all such swapping BEFORE loading NCACHE.  Swapping drive
letters after NCACHE is loaded may result in data being written
to the wrong disk, possibly overwriting other information.

For full compatibility with all versions of Windows, NCACHE
emulates Microsoft's SmartDrive disk cache.  If NCACHE is
loaded, SYSINFO will report that both the NCACHE and SmartDrive
device drivers are present. This is normal.  Also, if NCACHE is
loaded and you attempt to load SmartDrive 4.x, SmartDrive will
believe that it is already resident.

If you are using the combination of NCACHE, Windows Enhanced
Mode, and the QEMM-386 memory manager, you must obtain QEMM
version 5.13 or later. If you are using QEMM version 6.00, we
recommend upgrading to the latest version.

Many SCSI host adapters now use bus mastering techniques to
increase performance.  When using such an adapter on a 386 or
486 computer, you must use a device driver that supports the
Virtual DMA Services (VDS) specification.  VDS is an industry
standard that allows bus mastering devices to work with 386
memory managers.  Almost all SCSI adapters now have VDS
compatible drivers available; contact your vendor for upgrade
information.

NCACHE only works on "normally connected" floppies.  If the
floppy drive requires a special interface board or a device
driver, NCACHE probably won't be able to cache it.  Most
external drives are not supported by NCACHE.

NCACHE is unable to cache a floppy drive that does not have
"Change Line" support.  This is a hardware feature on the drive
that tells the computer when a diskette has been removed. 360K
drives often do not have a change line, and thus cannot be
cached.  NCACHE will work fine on most other drives (1.2M, 720K,
1.44M, etc.).  NCACHE will automatically determine which drives
can be cached.  If a drive cannot be cached, NCACHE will either
report "Cannot detect media change for this drive" or simply
omit the drive from its status display.

If you have an older memory manager, check with your memory
board manufacturer to see if an upgrade is available.  In most
cases all you'll need is new memory manager software; no
hardware changes will be required.

NCACHE will normally ignore EMS memory if you don't have the
correct memory manager.  If you run NCACHE with no parameters it
will simply skip over EMS and try to use Extended or
conventional memory instead. If you provide an explicit /EXP
switch, you will receive an error message and NCACHE will not
install itself.

Due to a conflict in Expanded Memory (EMS) usage, Borland's
Paradox SE database management system is incompatible with
NCACHE.  However, NCACHE is compatible with the "professional"
Paradox version 3.5 and above. Using the command line switch
"-EMK 0" when loading Paradox SE may allow it to work with
NCACHE.  If this does not work, NCACHE must be unloaded before
using Paradox SE.

If you are using the RCD.SYS driver with IOMEGA removable disk
drives, you must use version 7.0 or later, and you must load the
driver in low memory.  RCD version 7 is compatible with all
types of IOMEGA disk drives, and both ISA and MicroChannel
computers.  Please contact IOMEGA for an upgrade if you are
using an earlier version, or obtain IOMEGA'S new OAD drivers.

Users of IOMEGA's Bernoulli and optical drives who also use
Stacker should upgrade their RCD drivers to the new OAD drivers.
NCACHE can miss media changes if you run Stacker with the RCD
driver.  Contact IOMEGA to acquire the new driver.

Refrain from removing Bernoulli cartridges while loading MS
Windows. NCACHE and MS Windows may not properly recognize or
access the new cartridge.  If you decide to override the NCACHE
default cache size using command line switches, please be aware
that the Windows cache size must not be larger than the DOS
cache size.  We recommend the following for optimal cache sizes:

DOS cache size: one half of your available XMS memory Windows
cache size: one quarter of your available XMS

Only one disk cache program can be loaded on the computer at
once.  You must remove any other cache (e.g. SMARTDRIVE or
PC-KWIK) before installing NCACHE.  Multiple disk cache programs
may conflict with each other and corrupt disk data.

NCACHE is not compatible with Zenith DOS 3.3 Plus when any hard
disk partitions are larger than 32MB.

If you use a program that automatically reboots your computer,
there is the potential that data stored in the cache will not be
written to disk. The BE REBOOT command automatically resets
NCACHE, but other rebooting programs will not.  We recommend
either changing to use BE REBOOT, or using an NCACHE RESET
command right before the command that reboots the system.

On most computers, NCACHE will trap the CTRL-ALT-DEL sequence
used to reboot the system.  If there is unwritten data stored in
cache buffers, NCACHE will write it to disk before rebooting.
Some 386 memory managers and some keyboard enhancement programs
prevent NCACHE from trapping CTRL-ALT-DEL.  If NCACHE is unable
to detect CTRL-ALT-DEL on your computer, you should disable the
delayed writing feature with the /WRITE=0 command line switch
during NCACHE installation.

If you have a RAM disk or drivers using Extended or Expanded
memory, you must also ensure that at least 16K is free before
running Windows. If you will never run Windows, you may use all
available memory for NCACHE.

Some anti-virus products can corrupt device driver files,
including NCACHE.  The Norton Anti-Virus DOES NOT have this
problem, and is fully compatible with NCACHE.  The products that
have a problem are those that directly modify .EXE files to
store checksums or other data.  Note that NCACHE is not the only
driver this may effect.  Any driver file with an EXE extension
can be corrupted, including the SETVER.EXE driver in MS DOS 5.0.

You can prevent NCACHE from installing by holding down the CTRL
key as it is loading.

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