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Text File | 1993-07-26 | 40KB | 905 lines

P O L Y C O P Y ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▀ █ █ ▀█ █ █ █ ██ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █▄ ▄█ █ █ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ █ █ █ █ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ █ █▀ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▄ ▀█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ▄ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █▄ █ █▄ █ ▀▀▀▀▀ █ █ ▀ ▄█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ POLYCOPY <tm> Copyright (C)1989-1993 Joseph M. Albanese All rights reserved. POLYCOPY<TM> With TrashGuard<TM> RAM Integrity Protection The Ultimate Replacement for DISKCOPY Copyright (C)1989-1993 by Joseph M. Albanese. All rights reserved. Distributed by NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc. C O P Y R I G H T N O T I C E Copyright (C) 1989-1993 Joseph M. Albanese. All rights reserved. POLYCOPY is a trademark of Joseph M. Albanese. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language (natural or computer), in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Joseph M. Albanese. You are granted a license to use the software described in this manual. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of that license, which is described following this notice. L I C E N S E A G R E E M E N T (Shareware Release) The "Shareware Release" of POLYCOPY is fully copyrighted and may not be sold. However, as with all shareware, it may be copied freely for evaluation pur- poses. As a POLYCOPY evaluee, you are granted a 14 day trial period in which to determine its suitability. At the end of the trial period, if you wish to continue using POLYCOPY, you must register the software. Refer to the section on REGISTRATION at the end of this documentation, or to the file called "ORDER.FRM" for more information. W A R R A N T I E S A N D L I A B I L I T Y NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc. Disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and all such warranties are expressly and specifically disclaimed. Neither NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc., Joseph M. Albanese nor anyone else who has been involved in the creation, production, or delivery of this software shall be liable for any indirect, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of the use or inability to use such software even if NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc. has been advised of the possibility of such damages or claims. In no event shall NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc.'s liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of Virginia and shall inure to the benefit of NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc. and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in the STATE or FEDERAL COURT of competent jurisdiction located in Henry County, Virginia. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. T R A D E M A R K S Throughout this manual are commercial names of products made by other manufacturers or developers. Many of these product names are either registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective manufacturers or developers. The owners of these trademarks have never expressed any approval or disapproval of NEOCOM products, nor are they associated with POLYCOPY, NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc., or Joseph M. Albanese in any way. IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. 2FILE and 2FLOPPY are Copyright (C)1990 by Ziff Communications Co. COREtape Light is a trademark of CORE International, Inc. QEMM is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems. 386MAX is a trademark of Qualitus. Other products mentioned are trademarks ot their respective companies or corporations. I n t r o d u c t i o n What is POLYCOPY? POLYCOPY is an exceptionally easy to use program for making multiple copies of diskettes with a single pass of the original. This is accomplished using available RAM, XMS memory and/or HARD DISK to store a complete "disk image." POLYCOPY is truly "The Ultimate Replacement for DISKCOPY ." Also, supports 2file/2floppy - compatible ".FLP" and DiskDUP image files which may be compressed for archival purposes, or transmitted via modem for remote restoration. POLYCOPY is a highly advanced disk duplicating program which offers many significant advantages over DISKCOPY. Now, you don't have to have OS/2 to benefit from extended memory (XMM driver such as HIMEM or QEMM required). Features * Single-pass diskette copies using available RAM, XMS and/or hard disk. * Multiple copies from a single pass of the original diskette. * Creates and restores from 2FILE -compatible ".FLP" image files. * TrashGuard RAM Integrity Protection. * Parameter compatibility with DISKCOPY. * Verify option. * Extended drive letter support. * High speed floppy support. * No setup! No configuration! * Elapsed time display. * Automatic format. * Easy to use. Only one required parameter -- drive letter. * Supports 360K, 1.2M, 720K and 1.44M floppies (New: 2.88M). * Copies even bootable diskettes (like DISKCOPY). E n h a n c e m e n t s * Up to 30% speed improvement. This was achieved by doubling up on the block size of each disk read/write operation. A very positive side effect was to reduce the XMS handle requirement by 50% over previous versions (now only 64 XMS handles are required). Faster computers show the most significant improvement. On a 33Mhz or faster 80368 machine, for example, 1.44MB diskettes copy in about the same amount of time as 720K's. * Simplified syntax. In earlier versions, image file syntax was a bit confusing. The new syntax vs. the old is shown below: OLD: POLYCOPY [src<:>] [tgt<:>] [/i<s|r>:fspec] [/f] [/x] [/t] [/v] [/r] NEW: POLYCOPY source [target] [/f] [/r] [/x] [/s] [/t] [/dt=n] EXAMPLES OF NEW SYNTAX: D>polycopy b: /f [copy B: formatting target] C>polycopy a: b: [copy from A: to B:] C>polycopy d:\temp\disk1 b: [copy from "D:\TEMP\DISK1.FLP" to B:] C>polycopy e: disk1.flp [copy from E: to "DISK1.FLP"] C>polycopy /r [print registration form] As compared to the old syntax, image file handling is now much more intuitive. Now, type SOURCE and TARGET and POLYCOPY will determine which is a disk or image file automatically. * Improved disk formatting. With the new format capability (DOS 4.01, 5.0 and 6.0 only), there is no longer any need for human intervention during the format operation. No doubt about it, the additional carriage returns and having to respond to "Format another (Y/N)" was a real pain. This and other such ambiguous prompts have been removed. * Reduced XMS handle requirement. This version requires half as many XMS handles as all previous versions to copy the same number of cylinders. It should only be necessary to set the maximum number of available XMS handles to 64 now, rather than 128 as before. * Support for 2.88 MB floppies. (UNTESTED) * QEMM Detection. Useful for knowing which XMM driver is active. * Disk counters. This version keeps track of the number of diskettes read and written, so you don't have to. The numbers appear in the following form: Source disk -----, ,----- Target disk (always "1" during reads) | | 100 percent of disk 4-1 read ==> 75 percent of disk 2-5 written ==> | | Source disk -----' '----- Target disk * Beep tone. Using the environment variable POLYSOUND, you may now tell POLYCOPY whether or not to produce an audible beep after each diskette has been processed. It defaults to being turned on. Use the following syntax in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or from the DOS command line to turn it off altogether: "SET POLYSOUND=OFF". You may also use the "/S" command line option to toggle sound on or off. Like "/T" for toggling TrashGuard, "/S" sets sound to on if it is already off (or off it is already on). For example, if the environment variable POLYSOUND is not initialized, a "/S" will turn beep sounds off -- except for warnings. * Reduced RAM overhead. Less RAM is now required when copying floppies smaller than 1.44 MB, or when the "/V" verify option is not selected. Dynamically allocated sector buffers, rather than static, make this possible. * Improved image file path correction. In previous versions if you specified an image file with a filename larger than the eight characters allowed by DOS, POLYCOPY did not display the truncated path as it was actually used. This primarily affects what is displayed rather than what is used. * Improved exception handling. Earlier releases attempted to format diskettes regardless of the nature of errors detected during disk writes. Now, POLYCOPY tests for specific errors. For example, if a diskette is write protected, a "Disk write protected" error will be displayed and no format will be attempted. * Input character checking. When prompted for keyboard input for things such as "press ENTER" or "(Y/N)?", this version of POLYCOPY beeps until a valid choice is selected. Older releases would accept almost any character, sometimes with unpredictable results. * Improved VERIFY methodology. Converted to use DOS' built-in VERIFY capability, rather than hard-coded. This reduces .EXE size and RAM overhead and makes POLYCOPY even easier to operate than ever. The "/V" option has been removed; however, you can turn verify on or use the regular DOS syntax: "C>verify on" or "C>verify off". NOTE: Disk writes are much faster with write-read-verify turned off. Most of the time it is not necessary to perform this extra testing. * TrashGuard now defaults to OFF. You may still use the "/t" command line parameter (or the "TrashGuard=" environment variable) to turn TrashGuard back ON. Improved reliability and speed considerations were the primary considerations in making this change. Remember, however, you may choose to have it work the same as before, simply by using the "TrashGuard" environment variable in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. * Enhanced error recovery. In earlier versions, a bad destination disk caused POLYCOPY to halt a duplication session. This has been changed to give you the option to make additional copies, saving valuable time. Copy counters are also preserved. * Drive type option. In extremely rare cases it is necessary to tell POLYCOPY what type of floppy drive is being used. If POLYCOPY has problems determining the correct drive type, try the "/DT=n" parameter to force a particular type. Drive type codes are (n=1...5): 1=360K, 2=1.2M, 3=720K, 4=1.44M and 5=2.88M G e t t i n g S t a r t e d Requirements o IBM or 100% compatible PC (XMS support requires 80286 or higher) o DOS 3.3 or higher o About 200K of free RAM at the DOS prompt o Hard disk I n s t a l l a t i o n As a practical matter, there is no installation; however, it is generally a good idea to put a copy of the program "POLYCOPY.EXE" in a pathed directory such as "C:\UTIL". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I m p o r t a n t ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Caching floppy drives slows POLYCOPY's performance. If you are using SMARTDRV.EXE, use the following syntax to disable floppy caching: "SMARTDRV A- B-". This statement assumes you have two floppy drives, A: and B: respectively. Other caching software should have similar options if floppy caching is supported. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DOS 5.0 and 6.0 Users POLYCOPY was tested exhaustively under DOS 5.0 and 6.0 and should work well under practically all circumstances. POLYCOPY formats diskettes using the DOS FORMAT utility (either format.com or format.exe), so be sure to have your DOS directory pathed (i.e. PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\UTIL). NOTE: Diskettes formatted by POLYCOPY under a DOS 5.0 or DOS 6.0 environment cannot be unformatted. This is because POLYCOPY issues the "/u" parameter to the DOS FORMAT utility when DOS 5.0 or 6.0 is detected. U s i n g P O L Y C O P Y The multitude of command-line options, seen below, may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but, don't fret. Using POLYCOPY for disk copying is exactly like using the DOS diskcopy utility (only better). POLYCOPY is actually easier to use than diskcopy since only one drive letter is required. Other shortcuts make POLYCOPY easier still, but we'll get to those later. The section below shows the abbreviated syntax, parameters and examples that are displayed if you run POLYCOPY from the DOS command line with no parameters. USAGE: POLYCOPY source [target] [/f] [/r] [/x] [/s] [/t] [/dt=n] EXAMPLES: D>polycopy b: /f C>polycopy a: b: C>polycopy d:\temp\disk1 b: (default extension = ".FLP") C>polycopy e: disk1.flp C>polycopy /r (print registration form) PARMS: /F=Format /R=Registration Form /X=Disable XMS /S=Toggle Sound /T=Toggle TrashGuard /DT=Drive Type (see documentation) NOTE: "[ ]" delimits optional parameters. "|" separates choices. S i m p l e C o p y i n g When using POLYCOPY simply to copy diskettes there are two main steps you must follow: 1. Make your hard disk drive (or RAM disk) the default. For example, if drive "C:" is your hard drive, this can be accomplished by typing "C:" and pressing [ENTER]. Always remember to put the SOURCE first and (optional) TARGET second on the command line. The "source first / target second" convention holds for image files, too, but we'll talk about that in a later section. NOTE: A temporary file called "DSKIMAGE.}-{" is created on the default drive during copying. It contains data that could not fit entirely into RAM. Under normal circumstances, this file is automatically deleted. If you ever see one of these files, delete it. 2. Type the program name, "POLYCOPY," followed by a SPACE, then the drive letter of the floppy drive(s) that will be doing the copying. Below are a few examples of simple copying. Examples: C>polycopy b: [colon ":" now required] or C>polycopy a: b: or C>polycopy a: a: /f [format all target disks] NOTE: Previous versions of POLYCOPY did not require a colon after a drive letter; however, version 3.0 does. This allows POLYCOPY 3.0 to determine whether the user is referring to a floppy drive or an image file path. Once POLYCOPY is off and running it's just a matter of answering "Y" or "N" when prompted. Either you continue making copies of the original, you copy another different disk, or you answer "N" to stop. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ N o t e ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You can make unlimited copies of a diskette without ever re-inserting the original! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ F o r m a t t i n g When "/f" is NOT specified, POLYCOPY attempts to determine if it should format the TARGET diskette prior to writing data. Most of the time that's all you have to worry about; nevertheless, under certain circumstances POLYCOPY cannot properly determine if a disk should be formatted. Hence, there are two circumstances wherein you might use the "/f" parameter: 1. When POLYCOPY has previously been unable to determine if formatting should be performed. 2. When you want to be sure that all disks are freshly formatted. When it is necessary to format a diskette, POLYCOPY runs the DOS format utility, "FORMAT.COM," so it is important that you have it pathed. For example: "PATH=C:\DOS" in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. D r i v e T y p e s This version of POLYCOPY has a special parameter: the force drive type option. In rare cases, such as on systems with more than two floppy drives, it is necessary to force POLYCOPY to treat a floppy drive as a particular type. If POLYCOPY has trouble determining the correct drive type, use the "/DT=n" parameter to force a type. The drive type codes are (n=1...5): 1 = 360K, 2 = 1.2M, 3 = 720K, 4 = 1.44M and 5 = 2.88M For example, if you tried to copy from B: (a 1.2M floppy) to an image file on your C: drive (i.e. c:\temp\disk-1.flp) and POLYCOPY reports that the source is a 360K floppy -- when you know for certain it is actually a 1.2M. The correct syntax for this operation would be: c:>polycopy b: c:\temp\disk-1.flp /dt=2 Remember, only use this feature when POLYCOPY does not correctly determine drive type automatically. 5╝ in. 1.2Mb floppies are most commonly problematic, which is why I chose it for this example. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ W a r n i n g ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Use of the "/dt=" option disables many of the safety mechanisms built into POLYCOPY, which protect users from accidentally writing to non- floppy system areas. Use this option with caution. Be especially careful to type the correct drive letters. If you accidentally type a hard drive letter as the destination, for example, you could wind up with a 360K hard disk requiring re-partitioning. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ T a p e B a c k u p U s e r s POLYCOPY image files and the COREtape Light are a powerful team when used together and in conjunction with the DOS device driver "CTLDF.SYS" to make the tape drive act like a very large (albeit slow) disk drive. With the tape drive configured in this way, you will find it is a much more intuitive and maintainable method for storing diskette image files for archival purposes. In particular, the random access and ability to delete old files without erasing the entire tape make this method more desirable. Some other streaming tape systems come with logical DOS device drivers and work similarly to the COREtape Light. Consult your tape drive documentation for details on installing the DOS device driver, if one is supplied. I m a g e F i l e s As previously mentioned, POLYCOPY supports diskette image files. These are complete sector-for-sector images of floppies stored as DOS files. There are many potential uses for image files and, as you will soon find, they are very easy to use. Below is a list of a few of the many possible uses for image files: * When you need to send bootable diskettes via modem to a friend or colleague in a remote location. * If you wish to keep images of bootable diskettes (old DOS versions, for example) on a stand-alone or network hard drive for easy retrieval. * Use POLYCOPY's image files to generate multiple, exact copies of program diskettes. It is often easier to keep track of .flp image files than it is to maintain physical master diskettes. * One well-known company uses POLYCOPY in its quality assurance department to test the effectiveness of its virus scan software on image files, which turns out to be much easier and faster to work with than dozens of individual floppies. * We use POLYCOPY to create images of commercial program diskettes that I rarely need (diskettes I rarely need -- not programs) and then save the images to magnetic tape. Then I recycle the physical diskettes for other purposes. We will discuss how image files are used in the following section. Everyone should read the next section, because image file syntax is completely different in this release from all previous versions. U s i n g I m a g e F i l e s Using POLYCOPY to create or restore image files isn't significantly different from using it to copy diskettes directly. A drive letter is still required, but only one, since either the SOURCE or TARGET is the image file itself. The only extra parameter is the filespec of the image file. By filespec I mean the optional drive letter and path, and the required filename. POLYCOPY infers automatically whether the drive letter you specified as a parameter is the SOURCE or TARGET. Remember, two major syntax rules have changed: 1) a colon is now required after drive letters and 2) the "/is" and "/ir" image store/restore parameters have been replaced with the simplified source-destination rule. For example, if you are restoring from an image file, be sure the path of the image file comes before the destination floppy drive letter on the command line. POLYCOPY assumes that if you enter two characters and the last of the two is a colon (":"), you have referenced a drive letter. Anything else is assumed to be an image file specification. The algorithm works well in almost all situations and is the main reason this version requires the colon after driver letters, incidentally. Below are a few more examples of POLYCOPY image file usage: C>POLYCOPY a: DOS331 Creates a complete disk image file on the default drive (presumably C:) of the floppy in drive A: called "DOS331.FLP." NOTE: When no extension is specified, "FLP" is the default. C>POLYCOPY STARTER.IMG b: /f Restores to a floppy in drive B:, after formatting, from an image file called "STARTER.IMG" located in the default directory of the default drive. C>POLYCOPY D:\ARC\DOS5-1 A: Restores to a floppy in drive A: from an image file called "DOS5-1.FLP" on drive "D:" in directory "\ARC." These are but a fraction of the possible combinations of drives, paths and parameters that might be used with POLYCOPY; however, they should get you off to a good start. E l a p s e d T i m e D i s p l a y A great feature of POLYCOPY 3.0 is the built-in elapsed time display. The elapsed time is displayed at the far right of the "percentage..." line when the process is finished (100%). The format is [XXm YYs], where "XX" is the number of minutes and "YY" is the number of seconds. This feature is particularly useful for doing comparisons. For example, you might want to find out if POLYCOPY works faster for a particular disk type under QEMM386 than it does for HIMEM and EMM386, or vice-versa. I have found the differences to be rather profound at times. An example of the timer is shown below: POLYCOPY<tm> v3.00r with TRashGuard<tm> Copr.(C) 1989-1993 Joseph M. Albanese Credit card registrations: 1-800-766-6861 or FAX 703-666-9534 M-F 8am-5pm EST POLYCOPY Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Pending For info call: 1-703-666-9533 XMM Detected (PC-DOS/QEMM) - 1024k Bytes XMS Available Insert SOURCE disk in drive B: and press ENTER: Copying 80 tracks 15 Sectors/Track, 2 Side(s), 1.2 MB 100 percent of disk read ==> DISK [1m 3s] Insert TARGET disk in drive B: and press ENTER: Elapsed time is displayed for both reads and writes. Having the elapsed time is also useful for estimating the total time required to complete a duplication job. The possibilities are endless. M i n i m u m A l l o c a t i o n U n i t ( M A U ) Some of you may have noticed a new addition to the "XMM Driver Detected" line in this release. An example is depicted in the box above (4K MAU). MAU stands for Minimum Allocation Unit and is the smallest block of memory allocated by the XMM driver when 1K of XMS is requested (NOTE: Some people refer to an eXtended Memory Manager as EMM rather than XMM). This value is determined by the XMM driver. As a matter of fact, it can be used to determine which driver is currently installed. When HIMEM is used, for example, a value of 1K MAU is displayed. Under QEMM our tests revealed a value of 16K. If you run POLYCOPY from a Windows' DOS shell you should see a 4K MAU value. If you switch between XMM drivers frequently you will find this feature convenient for determining which one currently is active. U s i n g X M S M e m o r y POLYCOPY automatically checks for the existence of an Extended Memory Manager (XMM) and will use all available XMS memory (handles permitting) for copying diskettes. This allows you to take advantage of memory above 640K for copying diskettes. It also allows you to copy an entire 1.44Mb diskette completely in RAM on machines with 80286 processors or higher, have sufficient extended memory and have HIMEM.SYS (or an equivalent XMS driver) installed. POLYCOPY requires a large number of XMS handles. Most XMM drivers have a default number of handles less than or equal to 64. POLYCOPY needs a full 128 handles to be able to copy an entire 80 track diskette in RAM. It needs one XMS handle for each side-track (160 for an 80 track diskette), which explains why you still need a certain amount of regular DOS RAM available to be able to copy an entire 80 track diskette in RAM. Therefore, in order to take full advantage of your existing extended memory, you must increase the number of available XMS handles. O S / 2 O p e r a t i o n POLYCOPY operates well in OS/2 DOS sessions, with the exception of formatting diskettes. Since it is optimized for MS-DOS and takes advantage of undocumented features of the format utility, it does not work correctly in OS/2. In short, if you use POLYCOPY in OS/2 DOS sessions, be sure the target diskettes are preformatted. Also, allocate at least 64 XMS handles in the DOS session settings. This will insure that there are enough XMS handles to copy the diskettes entirely in RAM -- without disk swapping. Admittedly, OS/2's diskcopy is capable of copying diskettes entirely in RAM -- without swapping. So why would anyone use POLYCOPY in OS/2 anyway? Well, image files for one thing. Multiple disk sets are easier to copy with POLYCOPY, too. Plus, POLYCOPY keeps track of the number of copies. The point is, even if you use OS/2 you might well still find POLYCOPY a valuable utility. Hopefully, I will get a native OS/2 version out soon. If you're an OS/2 user and would like to see an OS/2 version feel free to let me know by mail, or by calling the NEOCOM CBB&FL (Computer Bulletin Board & File Library) at (703)666-9535. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ H I M E M ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you are using HIMEM, add the statement "/NUMHANDLES=64" to the line in your CONFIG.SYS file that loads HIMEM. For example: DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64 The key element here is the "/NUMHANDLES=64" portion of the line. This tells the XMM driver to allow a maximum of 64 handles, rather than the default, which is 32. This insures that there is an adequate number of handles to copy entire diskettes in RAM without diskette swapping. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q E M M ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For QEMM users, "HANDLES=64" or "HA=64" will increase the number of XMS handles. For example: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM ST:M X=B000-CFFF HA=64 Previous versions of POLYCOPY had problems when used with third-party memory managers such as QEMM; however, all of these problems have now been resolved. As a result, we no longer suggest that you avoid the "NOEMS" switch or that you not use Stealth . Any QEMM configuration should work fine in this release. NOTE: It is still a good idea to use TrashGuard when copying disks for the first time under a new configuration. Refer to the section on TrashGuard for more information on this topic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 8 6 M A X ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I don't know a great deal about 386MAX, but one of our users who switched from another memory manager (due to poor tech support) was kind enough to give us this information. 386MAX users must add: "XMSHNDL=64" to the 386MAX.PRO file. If you use 386MAX, you should know what this means. Incidentally, 386MAX is the only memory manager we found which allows more than 128 XMS handles. In fact, it is capable of a whopping 65K. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ O T H E R X M M D R I V E R S ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other extended memory managers should have similar parameters for increasing the number of available XMS handles since the (LotuswIntelwMicrosoftwAST) extended memory specification requires it. T r a s h G u a r d R A M I n t e g r i t y P r o t e c t i o n Some XMM drivers can corrupt memory inadvertently when they are not properly configured for a particular computer system. By "system" we mean more than simply your computer. The BIOS and operating system are also parts of the system. Any of the components of the system can introduce problems which might ultimately result in unreliable copies. Hence, the RAM integrity protection system known as TrashGuard. C R C C h e c k i n g TrashGuard advances far beyond conventional read/write verification techniques by performing 32-bit CRCs (cyclic redundancy checks) on block or diskette data to insure its integrity while it remains in memory, with extreme accuracy. As a matter of fact, TrashGuard can even catch errors caused by POLYCOPY itself. Not that there would be any, of course. Actually, TrashGuard was initially designed for testing purposes for that very reason. As it turned out TrashGuard was good at detecting all kinds of RAM-based errors. When POLYCOPY discovers "trashed RAM" it translates the information into disk SIDE and TRACK numbers that correspond exactly with those displayed by the DOS DISKCOMP utility. You should rarely -- if ever -- be required to perform a DISKCOMP when you're using TrashGuard, especially if you have verify turned on. What all this simply means, to you as an end-user, is that you can feel very confident that duplicates made using POLYCOPY are the most reliable of any XMS sector copier currently available. W h a t ' s t h e C a t c h ? Truthfully, there is a small price. In some situations it takes slightly longer to copy a diskette with TrashGuard turned on. Most of the time it takes about the same time, but we recommend that you experiment with TrashGuard turned ON and OFF to see if it's faster turned off. It could be that there is no speed advantage copying 1.44Mb disks, but that there is a drastic improvement on 720Kb's. To toggle TrashGuard OFF/ON use the "/t" parameter. If you find that there is no difference, then you should by all means leave TrashGuard turned on all the time. What have you got to lose? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I m p o r t a n t ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prior to disabling TrashGuard, make test duplicates of each diskette size and density supported by your machine. Use the DOS DISKCOMP program to compare copies made with the original. This will insure there are no XMM driver configuration (or other) problems that might be masked later. Also, if you make any modifications to your XMM driver configuration, it's a good idea to repeat this process. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This version of POLYCOPY defaults to TrashGuard being turned OFF, but you can change this using the environment variable "TRASHGUARD." You can do this in either of two ways: 1. Add the line "SET TRASHGUARD=OFF" to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 2. Type "SET TRASHGUARD=OFF" from the DOS command line. Of course, if you choose the command line approach, you'll have to repeat the process each time you reboot your computer. With the environment variable set to "ON" POLYCOPY will default to using TrashGuard. Even with the TrashGuard environment variable set to "OFF" you can still use TrashGuard, simply by using the "/t" parameter. The nice thing about the "/t" or "/T" parameter is that it "toggles" TrashGuard. That is, it turns TrashGuard off if it is on or on if it is off. C t r l - B r e a k H a n d l e r POLYCOPY has a robust CTRL-BREAK handler which traps the "Ctrl-Break" key combination. When a "Ctrl-Break" is detected, POLYCOPY closes all open files, frees up XMS and regular RAM, erases temporary files and returns you safely to DOS. It is all right to hit "Ctrl-Break" virtually anytime during a POLYCOPY session. S O F T W A R E R E G I S T R A T I O N WHAT DO I GET BY REGISTERING? For one thing, a clear conscience. People like me work very hard on programs like this. We do so under the assumption that if people like our programs they will (should, and hopefully will) register. In addition to the wonderful feeling you will enjoy, knowing that you are helping to perpetuate the shareware concept, as a registered user of POLYCOPY you will also gain the following: o Latest version of POLYCOPY o Professionally printed instruction booklet complete with index and table of contents. o Notification of new releases o Low cost upgrades o Technical support o FREE bulletin board access o FREE BONUS #1: KILLDIR - A complimentary copy of the latest version of KILLDIR(tm), the original "KILL DIRECTORY" utility! KILLDIR deletes a directory, all its subdirectories, and all files contained therein. Removes hidden, system and even read-only files! Built-in typo protection. No preset file limit. "QUIET" mode for incorporating into other applications. Safe for use on local area networks. FAST! FAST! FAST! NOVELL tested. o FREE BONUS #2: LED - A complimentary copy of the latest version of the world's greatest "All but" delete utility. It's the converse of the DOS "DEL" command. LED deletes all files in the target directory EXCEPT those you specify on the command line. It's completely command line compatible with DEL. You can even LED accross drives and direct- ories! This is a great utility, particularly if you do alot of archiving and un-archiving. If you like DELBUT, you'll love LED! As a registered user of POLYCOPY you will also be notified of other NEOCOM products, as they become available. POLYCOPY 3.0 REGISTRATION FORM Send this completed form and registration fees to: POLYCOPY REGISTRATION - P.O. BOX 1126 - MARTINSVILLE, VA 24114 Indicate method of payment (payable to NEOCOM Microspecialists, Inc.): [ ] Check or Money Order (US Funds) [ ] MastCard [ ] VISA Exp. Date __/__ Acct#: ________________________ Signature: ____________________________ Credit card orders: 1-800-766-6861 or FAX 1-703-666-9534 (8am-5pm EST) For information, call [voice]: 1-703-666-9533 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SINGLE COPY REGISTRATION Latest program disk with printed manual: $24.95 + S&H ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SITE LICENSE (MULTI-COPY) REGISTRATION (call regarding upgrades) Site license for use of POLYCOPY. (Includes one disk & multiple docs.) No. PCs Adjusted Price 2 - 5 $22.50 each 6 - 19 $18.75 each 20 - 49 $16.25 each 50 - 99 $13.75 each 100 or more --CALL-- NOTE: With site licenses postage and handling are waved; however, overseas order charges still apply. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUNDLING & MULTI-SITE LICENSING OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE Call or FAX your proposal to 703-666-9533 [voice] or 703-666-9534 [Fax] between the hours of 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Price: $_____.__ x Qty = $_____.__ Shipping & Hand.: $ 2.50 x Qty = $_____.__ (Site licenses exempt) Overseas or outside U.S.: $ 5.00 = $____5.00 (if applicable) Total enclosed: $_____.__ (U.S. funds) Company: ___________________________ Your Name: __________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________________ State: ___ Zip: ______-____ Telephone: ( )___-____ Version you already have: _______ Preferred media (check one): [ ] 3½ diskette [ ] 5¼ diskette Computer: [ ] PC/XT [ ] AT Class [ ] 80386 [ ] 80486 [ ] Pentium XMM Driver: [ ] HIMEM [ ] QEMM386 [ ] 386MAX [ ] Other ________________ DOS or other OS (brand and version): _______________________________________ Where did find out about POLYCOPY? ________________________________________ Comments/Suggestions: