Stacker for OS/2 Beta Release Notes

These release notes describe the limitations of this beta version of 
Stacker for OS/2 and provide some operational information that is not 
in the beta manual.

Limitations

1. The C: drive cannot be compressed on a Dual Boot system. SETUP will 
not prevent you from doing so, but subsequently you probably will be 
unable to boot DOS.

2. This beta has compatibility problems on IBM Multimedia and PS/2 
Model 95 systems. Do not install on these machines.

3. On some laptop computers the hard disk may spin down after a period 
of non-use to conserve power. When this is done, it is usual for the 
next access to the disk to result in a "drive not ready" message. With 
this beta of Stacker for OS/2 however, a system trap may occur instead 
of the message. On such computers, the spin down feature should be 
disabled if possible.

4. If the drive from which OS/2 boots is compressed and if the OS/2 
CONFIG.SYS or any other file that the OS/2 boot process depends on is 
edited or otherwise changed, the changed file must be copied to the 
uncompressed drive in order to take effect the next time OS/2 is 
booted. For this reason, you may wish to avoid stacking OS/2 boot 
drives.

5. Disk I/O is currently noticeably slower when compressed drives are 
involved.

6. Page 15 number 3 of the beta documentation should read: At the OS/2 
prompt, type DISKCOPY drive: drive: where the first drive is the OS/2 
Installation Diskette and the second drive is the blank floppy.

7. Page 16 number 8 of the beta documentation should read: Insert OS/2 
Diskette #1 into its drive and press ENTER.

8. The utility programs that are installed will mostly run under OS/2 
but only in a DOS Box. CREATE, REMOVDRV, SDEFRAG, and SETUP require 
DOS to be booted and should not he run in an OS/2 DOS Box

9. Drives based on HPFS or other installable file systems cannot be 
compressed by Stacker for OS/2.

Limitations 1 through 7 above will be removed in subsequent releases 
of Stacker for OS/2.
Installation Examples

1. You have C: and D: drives and you use the Boot Manager to boot DOS 
from C: and OS/2 from D:. You don't have a DOS version of Stacker 
installed.

You can stack drive D: using Stacker for OS/2 and swap it, which means 
that the stacked drive will still be drive D:. You can also access the 
newly stacked drive D: under DOS by following the instructions under 
"Accessing a Stacked Drive Under DOS"

2. You have C:, D: and E: drives and you use the Boot Manager to boot 
DOS from C: and OS/2 from D:. You have Stacker for DOS and you've 
already stacked the E: drive using Stacker for DOS.

You can stack drive D: using Stacker for OS/2 and swap it, which means 
that the stacked drive will still be drive D:. In addition, you can 
access the already stacked drive E: under OS/2 by following the 
instructions under "Accessing a Stacked DOS Drive."

DOS Compatibility

Stacker for OS/2 can access data that has already been compressed by 
any DOS version of Stacker (Stacker 1.0, Stacker 2.0 or Stacker for 
windows and DOS Version 3.0). In this document, the phrase "Stacker 
for DOS" is used to collectively refer to those DOS versions of 
Stacker. The section "Accessing Stacked DOS Drives " below describes 
how to update the OS/2 CONFIG.SYS file in order to access compressed 
files on drives that have already been stacked by Stacker for DOS.

For information on how, under DOS, to access drives that you've 
stacked with Stacker for OS/2, refer to the section "Accessing Stacked 
Drives Under DOS". Stacker 1.0 and Stacker 2.0 are not capable of 
accessing Stacker drives created by Stacker for OS/2. Drivers from 
Stacker for Windows and DOS Version 3.0 are included in Stacker for 
OS/2 so that you can use them to get access under DOS to drives you've 
stacked under OS/2. The section "Accessing Stacked Drives Under DOS" 
tells you how to install these drivers.
Accessing Compressed DOS Drives

This section describes how to access data on one or two drives that 
have already been stacked by Stacker for DOS. What you need to do is, 
under OS/2 in a DOS Box, switch to the drive from which you boot OS/2 
and enter the command

CONFIG /S=STACKERPATH

where STACKERPATH is the drive and directory in which you installed 
Stacker for OS/2. This will update the drive's CONFIG.SYS file so that 
when OS/2 boots from that drive it will recognize all the Stacker 
volumes on the system.

If you boot OS/2 from more than one drive you must repeat this step 
for each OS/2 boot drive.

Accessing Stacked Drives Under DOS

Here's what you need to do in order to have access under DOS to the 
stacked drive or drives you created with Stacker for OS/2:

1. Boot DOS
2 Switch to the C drive and enter

STACKERPATH\CONFIG /S=STACKERPATH

replacing STACKERPATH with the drive and directory in which Stacker 
for OS/2 was installed. This will automatically update the DOS 
CONFIG.SYS to make DOS recognize all Stacker drives on the system.

For example, if you installed Stacker for OS/2 in D:\STACKER\OS2, 
you'd enter

D:\STACKER\OS2\CONFIG /S=D:\STACKER\OS2

Other Information

Adding a /NP switch to the STACKERSYS command line in CONFIG.SYS will 
make the driver stop asking you to press ENTER when it loads.

The CONFIG program always updates CONFIG.SYS on an uncompressed drive. 
For example, if C: is a Stacker drive and the corresponding 
uncompressed drive (i.e. the one containing the hidden STACVOL.DSK 
file corresponding to the Stacker drive C:) is E:, then CONFIG will 
update E:\CONFIG.SYS, not C:\CONFIG.SYS. This is done because 
E:\CONFIG.SYS is the one on the original uncompressed drive and 
therefore is the one OS/2 will read the next time it boots.

CHECK Warning

On some systems you may find that CHECK hangs when run in a DOS Box. 
This may be especially troublesome due to the fact that check is 
executed by the AUTOEXEC.BAT which runs every time you open a DOS Box. 
If you are experiencing this problem, delete the CHECK IWP line from 
the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the root directory of your OS/2 boot drive, 
and if you need to run CHECK, do it from DOS - not an OS/2 DOS Box.

STACKER FOR OS/2* USER'S GUIDE

Limitation of Liability

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. 
Stac Electronics reserves the right to make changes to any product 
herein to improve its functioning or design. Although the information 
in this document has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be 
reliable, Stac Electronics does not assume any liability arising out 
of the application or use of any product, circuit and/or software 
described herein; neither does it convey or imply any license under 
any of Stac Electronics' patents or other rights, nor the patents or 
other rights of any third parties. Stac Electronics provides this 
manual and the associated products without any warranty except those 
set forth in the Stacker License Agreement printed on the reverse of 
the Stacker software diskette package. Stac Electronics does not 
authorize the use of the product as a critical component in a life 
support system where a malfunction or failure of the product may 
reasonably be expected to result in significant injury or threaten 
life. The inclusion of Stac Electronics products in life support 
systems applications implies that the user assumes all risk of such 
use and in so doing indemnifies Stac Electronics against all damages.

Acknowledgments

G) STAC ELECTRONICS, 1990, 1991, 1992. U. S. patents 5,003,307, 
5,016,009, and 5,126,739. Other patents pending.

This manual copyright Q 1990, 1991,1992 by Stac Electronics. All 
rights reserved. No part of it may be copied photocopied, reproduced, 
translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable 
form without Stac Electronics' prior written consent.

All Stac products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Stac 
Electronics. Other brand and product names are trademarks or 
registered trademarks of their respective holders.

MAN-1000 Version 1.0 (2/93)
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT

This is a legal Agreement between you and Stac Electronics (Stac). By 
opening this sealed package, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms 
of this Agreement. If you do not agree to the terms of this Agreement, 
promptly return the unopened disk package and the accompanying items 
(including written materials and binders or other containers) to the 
place you obtained them for a full refund.

LICENSE TERMS

Grant of License. Stac grants to you the right to use one copy of the 
enclosed Stacker software program (SOFTWARE) on a single computer. You 
may not rent or lease the SOFTWARE, but you may (i) transfer the 
SOFTWARE and accompanying written material on a permanent basis 
provided you retain no copies and the recipient agrees to the terms of 
this Agreement. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or 
disassemble the SOFIWARE. The Agreement is effective from the day you 
open the sealed package until terminated. You may terminate this 
Agreement by returning the original disks to Stac and any back-up 
copies. If you breach this Agreement, Stac can terminate this license 
upon written notification to you.

Copyright. The Software is owned by Stac and is protected by United 
States copyright laws as well as one or more pending and issued 
patents including United States patents 5,003,307, 5,016,009 and 
5,126,739, other intellectual property rights and corresponding 
international treaties ("Stac Intellectual Property Rights"). 
Therefore, you must treat the SOFIWARE like any other proprietary 
material that you may either (a) make one copy of the Software solely 
for backup or archival purposes, or (b) transfer the SOFIWARE to a 
single hard disk provided you keep the original solely for backup or 
archival purposes. You may not copy the written materials accompanying 
the SOFIWARE. Furthermore, you acknowledge that the license provided 
under this Agreement is a limited one and in no way shall be construed 
to provide you an express on an implied license to any of Stac's 
Intellectual Property Rights other than as expressly set forth above 
and in no way confers to you or anyone else any right, title or 
interest to the Stac Intellectual property Rights in the SOFTWARE or 
the removable disks.

Controlling Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in 
accordance with the laws of the State of California.

LIMITED WARRANTY

Limited Warranty. Stac warrants the disks on which the Software is 
recorded to be free from defects in materials and workmanship under 
normal use for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. 
Any implied warranties on the SOFTWARE are limited to 90 days. Some 
states do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so 
the above limitation may not apply to you.

Customer Remedies. Stac's entire liability and your exclusive remedy 
shall be replacement of the SOFTWARE that does not meet Stac's Limited 
Warranty and which is returned to Stac with a copy of your receipt. 
This Limited Warranty is void if failure of the SOFTWARE has resulted 
from accident, abuse, or misapplication.

NO OTHER WARRANTIES. THE SOFTWARE AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION ARE 
PROVIDED "AS IS." STAC DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, Either EXPRESS 
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTEES OF 
MERCHANT ABILITY AND Fitness FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO 
THE SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS. THIS Limited 
WARRANTY Gives YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. YOU MAY HAVE OTHERS, WHICH 
VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL STAC OR ITS 
SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT 
LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS 
INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) 
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT, EVEN IF 
YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES 
DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO 
SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO YOU.



Table of Contents

Introduction ..........................................	7

Welcome to Stacker ..............................	7
Features in Stacker for OS/2 ..................	8
How to Use This Guide .........................	9
User's Guide Conventions ......................	9
How to Reach Us ..................................	10
Registering Stacker ..........................	......	10
If You Have Questions ..........................	10
Before Calling Technical Support ............	10
Contacting Technical Support .................	10
Support for International Customers ........	11

Chapter 1 Setting Up Stacker for OS/2

What You Need to Run Stacker .............	12
Get Ready for Stacker ...........................	12
Upgrade an Earlier Stacker Version ........	16
Stacker Setup ........................................	16
Welcome to Stacker ..............................	17
Select Boot Drive ..................................	17
Choose the Setup Method .......................	18
Express Setup ........................................	18 
Preparing Stacker Files ...........................	18
Confirm the Express Choice ....................	18
Stacking Progress ...................................	18
Express Stacking Complete .....................	18
Where Do I Go from Here? ....................	18
Custom Setup .........................................	18
Create a Directory for Stacker ................	21
Add Stacker to Your Path .......................	21
Select a Disk ..........................................	22
Choose a Stacking Method ......................	22
Stack an Entire Drive ..............................	22
Advanced Options for Entire Drive ..........	23
Create a Drive from Free Space ..............	24
Advanced Options for Free Space ...........	25
Stacking Progress ...................................	25
Disks Stacked .........................................	26
Where Do I Go from Here? .....................	26

Chapter 2 Using Stacker for OS/2--Stacker Command Reference

Syntax Conventions ..............................	27
Using Tools in OS/2..............................	28
How to Get Help--Use /? .........................................
	28
CHECK - Checking a Stacker Drive .........................	29
CONFIG Reset Stacker Driver Lines in CONFIG.SYS 	29
ED--Using the Stacker Text Editor ............................	30
REMOVDRV--Removing Stacker from Your System .	31
REPORT--The Stacker Compression Report ...........	...	32
SATTRIB - Changing File Attributes ..........................	33
SDEFRAG The Stacker Optimizer .............................	34
SDIR--How Much Compression? ..............................	35
SETUP--Creating Additional Stacker Drives ..............	36
SWAPMAP - Report on Status of Drives ..................	36
UNSTACK - Unstacking Drives ...............................	36

Appendix C Technical Specifications

Technical Specifications ............................................
	37

Index 
......................................................................
.		37

INTRODUCTION

Where to Find

Welcome to Stacker ..............................	7
Features in Stacker for OS/2 ..................	8
How to Use This Guide .........................	9
User's Guide Conventions ......................	9
How to Reach Us ..................................	10
Registering Stacker ..........................	......	10
If You Have Questions ..........................	10
Before Calling Technical Support ............	10
Contacting Technical Support .................	10
Support for International Customers ........	11

Beta 21213192  STAC ELECTRONICS, 1992
Welcome to Stacker for OS/2. Stacker is the data compression standard 
for DOS-based personal computers and now brings its power and 
flexibility to OS/2. Stacker instantly and safely doubles your disk 
capacity. By setting up Stacker on your computer, you immediately gain 
disk space for more data and programs.

Installing Stacker (or "stacking a disk") is easy--you just answer a 
few simple questions. When Stacker is finished, your hard disk's 
capacity has been doubled and you can continue working with your 
system. There's really nothing else you need to do.

Stacker for OS/2 can access data that has already been compressed by 
any DOS version of Stacker. For information on how to access drives 
under DOS that you've compressed or created with Stacker for OS/2, 
refer to the section "Accessing Compressed Drives Under DOS" on page 
XX of Appendix E, "Upgrading Scenarios."

Stacker 1.0 and 2.0 are not capable of accessing Stacker drives 
created by Stacker for OS/2, but Stacker 3.0 for Windows and DOS is 
capable of accessing them.

Stacker doubles your disk capacity using a method called data 
compression. Data compression makes a file use less space by replacing 
repetitive bits of information.

After stacking, you still use your computer as you did before you 
stacked. The only difference is that you can store twice as much data 
on the disk. To accomplish this, Stacker compresses data when it is 
written to the disk (for example, when you save a spreadsheet) so they 
take up less space. This happens automatically to any file you save to 
disk. When you read the file back from disk (such as when you open 
that same spreadsheet again), Stacker decompresses or expands the data 
back to its original state. You won't even notice the process since it 
happens so fast.

Stacker gives you immediate results--twice as much space on your disk. 
If you're anxious to get started, see page 14 for instructions on 
setting up Stacker.

Stacker for OS/2 is easy to use, and Stacker's performance and 
monitoring tools let you get the most from your system.

Performance

o Fast, flexible installation. Use Express Setup to stack all your 
hard disks. Use Custom Setup to choose advanced options or stack only 
one disk.

o Stacker Optimizer. Stacker includes a Stacker Optirnizer that has a 
visual display and a "quick optimize" feature.

o Two gigabyte Stacker drives. Stacker lets you stack disk drives as 
large as one gigabyte, giving you a Stacker drive with up to two 
gigabytes capacity.

o Unstack. If you decide to take Stacker off one computer and put it 
on another, you can use Unstack to reverse your Stacker setup.

Monitoring

o Safety features. Stacker does a quick safety check on your data each 
time you start your system.

o Stacker Compression Report. This powerful tool lets you investigate 
how well various kinds of files compress and which kinds of files 
occupy the most space on your disk.

Tuning

o Restacking. Stacker Optimizer includes a restacking option that 
compresses your files with the best possible compression technique.

This User's Guide provides you with complete instructions on setting 
up Stacker and using Stacker for OS/2.

o Chapters 1 and 2 tells you how to set up and use Stacker for OS/2.

o Chapters 3 and 4 contains more technical information such as how 
Stacker works, using Stacker with other applications, troubleshooting, 
and error messages for those of you who prefer to work exclusively 
from the command line.

For additional information not included in this guide, please refer to 
the Readme document. You can use any text editor to view this 
document.

Before you start using Stacker, it's a good idea to learn the special 
conventions used throughout this User's Guide. They give you visual 
clues for understanding and using this guide.

User's Guide Conventions

Convention	Description

Italics	Text you type. For example, D:\STACKER

SMALL CAPITOL LETTERS Key names such as ENTER or F1

Bulleted (*) list	Provides information, not procedures

*	Signals the beginning of a
	procedure

Numbered list (1, 2, 3)	Indicates a procedure with sequential steps 
to follow

NOTE	Indicates a comment or tip.
	Notes are not important to the
	main concept being presented,
	but are just "nice to know"
	information

IMPORTANT	Indicates information to which
	you should pay particular
	attention. If you do not follow
	important instructions, the
	procedure may not work
	correctly

CAUTION	Indicates crucial information
	that, if not followed, may cause
	you to lose data


Information in this section tells you how to register your product and 
gives the steps you need to take if you need technical assistance.

One of the very first things you should do before setting up Stacker 
is register your product. You must be a registered user of Stacker to 
receive technical support services. Registering is also important 
because it gives us your name and address so we can notify you of 
product upgrades and special offers. You will find the Warranty 
Registration Card included in your Stacker package. Be sure to 
complete the card and mail it in

To register Stacker, you need to write your Stacker serial number on 
the Warranty Registration Card. You will find your serial number on 
Disk 1 of the disks that came with Stacker.

If you have questions about Stacker, first look in this User's Guide, 
or consult Help. If you have problems using Stacker, refer to Appendix 
B,"Troubleshooting and Error Messages," to see if your specific 
situation is described. Finally, check the Readme document for last-
minute changes that may affect your system.

If you cannot find the answer or solution using these suggestions, 
read the instructions in the following section, "Before Calling 
Technical Support."

Before Calling	Please have this user's guide available along with the 
following information

* Computer name and model and the name and
model of any additional hardware such as
expansion cards, video adapter, modem, and
external drives.

* Any memory-resident software installed, including memory managers, 
with version numbers.

* Any information and the actions taken which can reproduce the 
problem you are experiencing.

If you are a registered user and need technical assistance during or 
after setting up Stacker, you may contact one of the following sources 
for technical assistance.

 Mail correspondence to:

Technical Support Department
Stac Electronics
5993 Avenida Encinas
Carlsbad, CA 92008-9708

 CompuServe. You can access the Stac Forum using CompuServe, allowing 
you to exchange Information and ideas with Stac and other Stacker 
users. Type GO STAC or GO STACKER at any ! prompt. If you do not have 
a CompuServe account, call (800) 524-3388 and ask for representative 
#391 to request a free Introductory Membership.

 Bulletin Board. You can call the Stac Bulletin Board System to get 
product information and answers to frequently-asked questions. To 
reach


the bulletin board, call (619) 431-5956. Modem setup is 8 data bits, 
no parity, 1 stop bit. The speeds supported are 300-9600 baud. V.42bis 
is also supported.

 Phone calls. You may call our Technical Support staff Monday through 
Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) at (619) 431-
6712. Please have the serial number located on your Stacker disk ready 
to give to the support technician when you call. Support cannot be 
provided without it.

Stac provides technical support services throughout the world. The 
version of this product sold outside of the USA and Canada includes a 
card telling you how you may get technical support in your country.

CHAPTER 1

SETTING UP STACKER FOR OS/2


Where to Find

What You Need to Run Stacker .............	12
Get Ready for Stacker ...........................	12
Upgrade an Earlier Stacker Version ........	16
Stacker Setup ........................................	16
Welcome to Stacker ..............................	17
Select Boot Drive ..................................	17
Choose the Setup Method .......................	18
Express Setup ........................................	18 
Preparing Stacker Files ...........................	18
Confirm the Express Choice ....................	18
Stacking Progress ...................................	18
Express Stacking Complete .....................	18
Where Do I Go from Here? ....................	18
Custom Setup .........................................	18
Create a Directory for Stacker ................	21
Add Stacker to Your Path .......................	21
Select a Disk ..........................................	22
Choose a Stacking Method ......................	22
Stack an Entire Drive ..............................	22
Advanced Options for Entire Drive ..........	23
Create a Drive from Free Space ..............	24
Advanced Options for Free Space ...........	25
Stacking Progress ...................................	25
Disks Stacked .........................................	26
Where Do I Go from Here? .....................	26




This chapter describes the installation procedure for Stacker for 
OS/2. Stacker supplies you with an easy-to-use program called Setup 
that guides you through each step of installing Stacker. Stacker's 
Setup can do an Express Setup and configure Stacker based on its 
analysis of your system. If you prefer, however, Setup lets you make 
all the decisions yourself in Custom Setup.

Because Stacker supports FAT file system hard disks, Setup must be run 
under DOS to take full advantage of the defragmentation of the drive 
during Setup.

Stacker for OS/2 is designed for IBM and compatible systems. To use 
Stacker, you need:

o 4 MB RAM for installation

For a new installation, the amount of free disk space required varies 
depending upon the size of allocation units or clusters you are using. 
This is the space required to copy files from the Stacker floppy disks 
to your hard disk.

If you are using. . .

You need this much free disk space for Stacker

2 KB clusters	 2.9 MB
4 KB clusters	 3.0 MB
8 KB clusters	 3.2 MB
16 KB clusters 3.7 MB
32 KB clusters	 4.6 MB

Stacker is compatible with the following operating systems and 
environments:

o OS/2 2.0 or higher

o MS-DOS or PC-DOS 4.0 or higher, DR DOS 5.0 or higher, Compaq DOS 
3.31 or higher

Getting your computer ready for Stacker is simple there are just a few 
things you need to do.

Back Up Your Hard Disk

Stacker is completely safe and reliable. Installing Stacker does not 
harm your data or your programs. Still, before making any change to 
your system, it is always a good idea to back up your hard disk.

If you have a regular backup procedure, just follow your normal 
routine, but do a complete backup. If you're using a tape backup 
procedure, be sure to do a file-by-file backup (not an image backup).

If you don't have a regular backup procedure, refer to the on-line 
OS/2 command reference or the Master Help Index for instructions.

o To access the Master Help Index:

Double click the Master Help Index icon on the Workplace Shell.

OR

Double click OS/2 Window or OS/2 Full Screen.

2 Type HELP BACKUP at the OS/2 command line.

If you'd like a faster and more convenient backup system, you should 
consider one of the many OS/2 backup programs available.

Create Boot Disks

One of the easiest precautions you can take to protect your data 
against a system failure is to make bootable floppy disks. It's easy 
to make one yourself, and it takes just a couple of minutes. We 
recommend you always keep bootable floppy disks on hand, just in case 
your system ever has a problem. When a problem occurs with OS/2, the 
usual first step is to get to an OS/2 prompt by booting your system 
using the first two OS/2 diskettes. The following procedure walks you 
through making a set of bootable OS/2 floppy disks by making a copy of 
the OS/2 Installation Diskette and then a customized copy of Diskette 
1 allowing access to the Stacker drive.

To create boot disks, you'll need:

o Stacker for OS/2 Disk 1

o OS/2 Installation Diskette and Diskette 1

o Two blank floppy disks

o To create boot disks

1 Insert the OS/2 Installation Diskette into its drive.

2 Double click OS/2 Window or OS/2 Full Screen.

3 At the OS/2 prompt, type DISKCOPY drive:STACKER.SYS drive: where the 
first drive is OS/2 Installation Diskette and the second drive is the 
blank floppy.

The two drives specified can be the same drive, such as drive A.

4 Press Enter.

The DISKCOPY command prompts you to insert the source (OS/2 
Installation Disk) and destination (blank floppy disk) disks and waits 
for you to press any key before continuing.

5 When the copy is finished, remove the floppy disk to which you 
copied the files.

6 Label the disk "OS/2 Installation Diskette (Backup Copy)."

7 When asked if you want to copy another disk, type Y and press ENTER.

The DISKCOPY command prompts you to insert the source disk.

8 Insert OS/2 Diskette into its drive and press ENTER.

DISKCOPY prompts you to insert the target disk.

9 When the copy is finished, remove the floppy disk to which you 
copied the files.

10 Label the disk "OS/2 Diskette 1 (Backup Copy)."

11 Insert the Stacker for OS/2 Disk 1 into its drive.

12 At the OS/2 prompt, type COPY drive:STACKER.SYS C:\ where drive is 
the letter of the drive containing the Stacker for OS/2 Disk 1.

13 Press ENTER.

14 At the OS/2 prompt, type COPY drive:SSWAP2.SYS C\ where drive is 
the letter of the drive containing the Stacker for OS/2 Disk 2.

15 Press ENTER.

16 Insert the "OS/2 Diskette 1 (Backup Copy)" floppy disk into its 
drive.

17 At the OS/2 prompt, type COPY C:\STACKER.SYS drive: where drive is 
the letter of the drive containing the OS/2 Diskette 1 (Backup Copy) 
floppy disk.

18 Press ENTER.

19 At the OS/2 prompt, type COPY C:\SSWAP2.SYS drive: where drive is 
the letter of the drive containing the OS/2 Diskette 1 (Backup Copy) 
floppy disk.

20 Press ENTER.

21 At the OS/2 prompt, type DEL C:\STACKER.SYS and press ENTER.

22 At the OS/2 prompt, type DEL C:\SSWAP2.5YS and press ENTER.

23 Using any text editor, insert the following two lines in the 
beginning of the CONFIG.SYS file on OS/2 Diskette 1 (Backup Copy).

DEVICE=STACKER.SYS drive:\STACVOL.DSK DEVICE=SSWAP2.SYS 
drive:\STACVOL.DSK where drive: represents the letter of the drive 
that will be compressed.

24 Put OS/2 Installation I disk (Backup Copy) and OS/2 Diskette 1 
(Backup Copy) away. If you ever have trouble starting your system, 
these disks will come in handy.

Run CHKDSK

Run the OS/2 CHKDSK utility on the drive or drives which you will be 
compressing.

o To run the OS/2 CHKDSK utility

1 Double click the OS/2 Window or OS/2 Full Screen.

2 At the OS/2 prompt, type CHKDSK drive: where drive is the letter of 
the drive you will be compressing.

3 Press ENTER.

CHKDSK cannot repair errors on a drive containing any files which are 
open. If it finds open files on the drive, it displays an error 
message. If the drive is not the one from which OS/2 was booted, you 
may be able to work around this by closing applications that are using 
files on the drive and then rerunning CHKDSK. This will not work on 
the drive from which OS/2 was booted and may not work on other drives 
depending on where certain files are located on the system. In this 
situation, you must boot OS/2 from floppy and then run CHKDSK. To do 
this you need the OS/2 Installation Disk (Backup Copy) and OS/2 
Diskette 1 (Backup Copy) floppy disks created in the previous section 
(refer to page 15).

o To boot from floppy disk

1 Shut down your system.

2 Insert the Installation Diskette (Backup Copy) in drive A.

3 Restart your computer.

4 Insert OS/2 Diskette 1 (Backup Copy) when prompted.

5 Press ESC at the Welcome to OS/2 screen when it prompts to press 
ENTER to continue or ESC to exit.

6 At the OS/2 prompt, type CHKDSK /F drive: where drive is the letter 
of the drive you will be compressing.

7 Press ENTER.

Uninstall Copy-Protected Software

Some older copy-protected programs can't handle the process of setting 
up Stacker (for example, early versions of Lotus 1-2-3). Many modern 
copy-protected programs use a hardware protection device and have no 
problems with Stacker. If you have copy-protected software installed 
on your hard disk that doesn't use the hardware protection device, you 
must uninstall it before installing Stacker. This software can then be 
reinstalled on the drive of your choice after you've finished setting 
up Stacker. See the application's manual for uninstall instructions.

Shut Down Your System

Exit from all windows, currently running application programs, and 
operating environments. If you're running OS/2, shut it down. Doing 
this before starting Setup makes the transition to DOS smoother.

Stacker Setup detects other versions of Stacker on the DOS partition. 
You must upgrade from an earlier version using the disks provided with 
Stacker for OS/2. These upgrade the Stacker device driver, but it 
won't restack any disks that were stacked previously. You can use the 
Stacker Optimizer to recompress the data on those disks. See Chapter 
5, "Optimizing Stacker Drives," for more information.

Stacker Software

Stacker detects and prompts you to update earlier versions of Stacker. 
Just follow the instructions for setting up Stacker. You can use 
Custom Setup to stack any disks that weren't stacked by the earlier 
version.

The Setup program displays a series of screens described on the 
following pages. Each screen you see has several buttons that control 
what happens next. If a button is highlighted when a screen first 
appears, that button is the default button; choosing it causes the 
recommended action to take place. Just press ENTER to choose the 
highlighted button (or click it with the mouse). If at any point you 
are not sure which choice to make, choose the default or press F1 
(Help) to get more information about the subject of that screen.

o To start installing Stacker software

1 Make sure you followed the steps to create boot disks described 
earlier on page 15.

2 Restart your system under DOS.

3 Insert the Stacker for OS/2 disk labeled "Disk 1" in drive A (or B).

4 At the DOS prompt type SYS A: (or B:) and press ENTER.

This transfers the DOS system files required for you to restart your 
system under DOS. Because Stacker supports FAT file system hard disks, 
Setup must be run under DOS to take full advantage of the 
defragmentation of the drive during Setup.

If the command is successful, the message "System Transferred" will be 
displayed. If you receive any other message, refer to your DOS 
reference manual for further instructions.

5 Restart your computer with the Stacker for OS/2 Disk 1 in drive A.

6 At the A> prompt, type SETUP and press ENTER.

Some LCD and gray-scale monitors have trouble handling DOS display 
colors. To install Stacker on a computer with such a monitor, type 
SETUP /M for monochrome). If you start Setup and can't read the 
screen, press X to choose Exit and return to the DOS prompt. At the 
DOS prompt, type SETUP /M.

After Setup loads and decompresses its files, it welcomes you to 
Setup. Pressing F1 from any screen brings up help specific to the 
screen. If a particular field or button is active, you'll see 
information about what the field contains or the effect of choosing 
that button.

Welcome to Setup

Congratulations! You have chosen the safest and easiest way to double 
your disk capacity.

It is always wise to back up your data before Making system change. If 
you have not done so recently, you should consider backing up before 
you continue.

Choose the Help button or press Fl at any time to get help on how to 
use Setup. A README.TXT file contains additional Information.

The Help index lets you locate information not related to the current 
screen. A Readme document includes up-to-date information; you can 
examine the Readme document later with any editor or word processor.

To move through Setup with a mouse, just click to choose a field or 
button. To move through Setup with the keyboard, use hot keys or press 
ENTER to choose the highlighted button. A hot key is a letter in each 
text label or button that appears in a different color; pressing it 
activates the field or chooses the button. If the cursor is in a text 
entry field, hold down the ALT key while you press the hot key. 
Alternatively, you can press TAB to cycle through all the fields and 
buttons on the screen. To summarize:

Welcome to Stacker

Stacker Setup

Select Boot Drive

This key. . .	Does this 

Hot key	Chooses the button or field

ALT+Hot key Chooses the button or field when the cursor is in a text 
input field

ENTER	Chooses the selected button

TAB	Moves highlight from one
	button or field to the next

SHIFT+TAB	Cycles through buttons and
	fields in reverse

Setup prompts you to select a boot drive. This is the drive on which 
Stacker will modify the CONFIG.SYS file.

Select a boot Drive

Use the arrow keys to select which disk's CONFIG.SYS will get updated.

boot Disk:
C: - is boot disk
E: - is boot disk

Press Tab to highlight Continue and then press ENTER.

This screen only appears if you have more than one OS/2 boot drive.

The next screen lets you choose between the two ways Setup can work 
Express Setup stacks all your hard disks and sets up Stacker so it 
works efficiently on your system. Custom Setup stacks one disk at a 
time and lets you change many setup features.

Express or Custom Setup?

Stacker offers two setup methods.

Express Setup

Express stacks ALL your hard disks and makes the best choices for your 
system.

Custom Setup

Custom stacks selected disks and lets you make all the choices for 
your configuration.

When to Choose Express

The easiest way to install is to choose Express and let Setup make all 
the decisions. Express Setup stacks all your hard disks that are at 
least 5 MB in size, one at a time. It bypasses any hard disks that 
have been previously stacked or that don't have enough working space 
to be stacked. Setup needs at least 1 MB free on a boot disk to stack 
it, plus about another 1 MB to store the Stacker files if they aren't 
already on a disk. Other disks can be stacked with at least 1% plus 45 
KB free.

Disks that are already stacked aren't restacked by Express Setup. To 
take advantage of Stacker's better compression, you can use Stacker 
Optimizer. Refer to Chapter 5, "Optimizing Stacker Drives," for more 
details.

When to Choose Custom

Choose Custom if you want to stack

o Only one of several hard disks

Custom stacking also gives you control over any of these areas:

o Where the Stacker files are stored on your hard disk

o Whether or not the Stacker directory is added to your PATH statement 
in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file

o Whether to stack the entire disk or just the free space

o The amount of space used or left unstacked

You can change the last two later, even after Setup is complete.

If you choose Custom, skip to page 28 to continue.

After you choose Express Setup, you won't have to make many decisions. 
First Setup creates a directory named STACKER\OS2 and copies the 
Stacker files to it.

The Stacker files must be in a directory on your hard disk.  Setup 
creates a directory (usually C:\STACKER\OS2) and copies its files to 
it. You can see its progress on your screen. Setup prompts you to 
insert the other disk(s) when necessary.

Setup is ready to start stacking a disk. It compresses all the files 
first. Then it runs Norton Speed Disk so the space used by the Stacker 
drive won't be fragmented. This screen previews what will happen 
during Express Setup. When you choose Restart, Setup starts stacking 
your disks.

The time * takes to stack varies a great deal. It depends most on how 
fast the computer is: whether your computer is a '386, or a '486. 
Other factors include how many disks you have, how many files are on 
each, how large those files are, and the size and speed of your hard 
disk(s).

      IMPORTANT	When Stacker restarts your computer, it uses its 
own
			AUTOEXEC.BAT file to ensure that nothing interferes
			with installation and all your data remains secure. As
			a result, your mouse driver won't be loaded if it is in
			your own AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You may lose use of
			your mouse during Setup. You can still interact with
			Setup screens by pressing ENTER to choose the
			highlighted button, pressing TAB to highlight the next
			button or field, or pressing the hot key in any button
			or field name to select it. Setup will restore your 
AUTOEXEC.BAT 
			file after all your disks are stacked.

You'll see Setup's progress as it stacks a hard disk. The progress bar 
shows you how much it has completed at any time.

Once the files are compressed, Setup optimizes (defragments) the drive 
so the space used by the Stacker drive won't be fragmented. It uses a 
special version of Norton Speed Disk for this purpose. By watching the 
display as Speed Disk works, you can tell how far along it is.

         NOTE	Once a Stacker drive has been created, commercial
	disk optimizers aren't effective on it. Stacker has its
	own optimizing program--SDEFRAG. Refer to
	Chapter 2, "Using Stacker for OS/2-Stacker Command
	Reference," for more details.



After Speed Disk is finished, Setup scans the disk so that it can 
avoid any problem areas. If it doesn't find any, Setup completes that 
Stacker drive and starts stacking the next hard disk, if you have one. 
You'll see the progress screens again as stacking continues.

When all your disks are stacked, Setup shows you the results. This 
screen shows the size of each disk and the amount of free space before 
and after stacking. You can see at a glance how much Stacker did for 
you.

Express Stacking Results

The graphs below show the results of stacking your drive(s). The dark 
part on the left is used space and the lighter part on the right is 
free space,



40mB

Before

200MB

80mb

After

43MB Free Working drive for D: Working drive for C:

Next Stacker must restart your computer so you can use all the new 
space.

Below the list of Stacker drives, Setup lists the working drives. A 
working drive is the uncompressed drive associated with a Stacker 
drive. In this example, Stacker drive C has working drive F. Each 
Stacker drive has an uncompressed working drive with a different drive 
letter. Because Express Setup starts with the last hard disk, the 
working drive for the first hard disk gets the highest letter.

If your system has more than two stackable hard disks, you can scroll 
through the list using the arrow keys. All Stacker drives are listed, 
followed by all Stacker's working drives.

When you choose Restart, Setup restarts your computer and you can use 
all your files and programs just as you always did. When you run your 
normal directory program (such as DIR), you'll see that OS/2 knows 
about the new empty space. Any Stacker drives are now available for 
use!

You'll enjoy your expanded disk capacity every day. To create or stack 
additional Stacker drives, use the Setup. Refer to Chapter 2, "Using 
Stacker for OS/2-Stacker Command Reference," to see what you can 
accomplish using the Stacker tools.

If Stacker does not work as you expect, or you have a problem 
installing Stacker, refer to Appendix B, "Troubleshooting and Error 
Messages." If you still cannot resolve the problem, check the 
technical support information.

When you choose Custom Setup, you control all decisions. You can 
choose to stack any individual disk on your system, specify how 
Stacker will work on all drives after installation. You can even 
control factors that influence how an individual disk is stacked.

On each screen, Setup recommends an action, to use it, choose the 
highlighted button. If you chose Custom because you wanted to stack 
just one of your drives, you'll be able to press ENTER on each screen 
to use the recommended values.

Custom Setup lets you specify a drive and subdirectory for storing the 
Stacker files; it suggests C:\STACKER\OS2 if it can, where C is your 
boot drive. Setup will create the directory if it doesn't already 
exist.

Create a Directory for Stacker

Setup must copy files from the Stacker floppy disks to your hard disk. 
Setup creates the Stacker directory if it does not already exist.

Copy Stacker files to:

To change the directory. press Tab to highlight the directory name and 
use the BACKSPACE key to edit.

You'll see the progress as Setup copies the files to the hard disk. 
When it is finished with one disk, Setup asks you to insert another.

Setup can add the drive and directory to the end of the PATH statement 
in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you let Setup add to your PATH 
statement, you can access Stacker tools from any directory within your 
system. If there is more than one PATH statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT 
file, Setup modifies them all.

Setup can add the Stacker directory to the PATH statement In your 
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

This makes it easy for you to use Stacker's Performance, monitoring 
and Tuning tools.

With Custom Setup, you can choose to stack any nonstacked disk, with 
the exception of IFS (Non-FAT) drives, on your computer. The box on 
the screen lists them all. Network drives aren't listed because you 
can stack only local disks.

Select the disk you want to stack by using the arrow keys.

Disk to Stack:	
C: Hard disk
D: IFS Drive - Can not Stack!
E: Hard disk

Press TAB to highlight Continue and then press ENTER.

If some of your disks are already stacked, some disks in the list are 
labeled "Stacked." These represent the uncompressed portions of drives 
you stacked earlier. If these disks contain enough free space (at 
least 100 KB), you can make a new Stacker drive out of some of the 
free space.

When you first see this screen, the first non floppy disk is 
highlighted. To select a different disk use the arrow keys to move the 
highlight or click the one you want. When the disk you want to stack 
is highlighted, choose Continue (or press ENTER).

The status of the disk you select determines which screen you see 
next. If a disk hasn't been stacked before, you can tell Setup to 
stack the entire drive and compress the data on it. Or you can tell 
Setup to stack the free space into an empty Stacker drive, leaving any 
existing data uncompressed. If you choose a disk labeled "Stacked," 
only the free space on that disk can be stacked, so you won't be 
offered a choice of methods. The section labeled "Create a Drive from 
Free Space" (starting on page 36) shows the screens that appear when 
Setup creates a drive from free space.

The next screen shows the status of the drive you chose to stack. 
Setup can stack the entire drive, including all its files, or it can 
use all or part of the free space on a drive to create a new Stacker 
drive. If you choose a drive that has not been previously stacked, 
you'll choose which method to use on this screen.

Stack an Entire Drive

Entire Drive or Free Space?

Here is the Status of the drive you chose:
Drive:  C   Total SPACE:  33. 5 MB  Free Space  5.2 

Stacker can Stack the entire drive or just the free space

Stack Entire Drive

Stacker compresses all existing files and increases your drive's total 
capacity.

Create Drive from Free Space

Stacker increases only the free space creating an empty Stacker drive,


Stacking the entire drive is the most common, but if you have a hard 
disk that you want to treat as more than one drive, you might want to 
stack the free space

If the disk already contains files, stacking the entire disk with all 
its data results in more free space than leaving the data uncompressed 
and stacking only the remaining free space.

If you are unsure of which stacking method to choose, use Entire 
Drive.

When you choose to stack an entire drive, Setup shows you the status 
of that disk. You can see what disk was chosen, the size of the disk, 
and the amount of space free.

Setup is ready to stack this drive increase its total space:

Drive: C         Total Space: 33.5 MB Free Space: 5.2 MB

Choose Stack to begin stacking.

On this screen, you have several choices:

To start stacking this disk, choose Stack

To return to the Select a Disk screen, choose Different Drive.

To examine or change recommended values, choose Advanced Options.

Recommended values for three advanced options appear on this screen. 
You can change any or all of them, but usually it's best to leave them 
alone. If you aren't sure what these options do, don't change them. 
Setup will use appropriate values for your disk.

NOTE

The recommended options for this drive are:

Space to Leave Unstacked:  1.0 MB Cluster Size: 	(*) Auto   4 KB
Expected Compression Ratio: 2.0 :1              	( ) 	    8 KB
							( ) 	    16 KB
							( ) 	    32 KB
For more information on each option, choose HELP.

If you make changes here and want to restore the values Setup 
recommended, choose the Reset Options button to restore the 
recommended values. When the desired values are displayed, choose OK 
to return to the previous screen and start stacking.

Space to Leave Unstacked

Stacker always leaves a small amount of space uncompressed when it 
stacks a drive; this space becomes Stacker's working drive. By 
default, Setup leaves about 1 MB on a boot drive and about 100 KB on 
other drives, in addition to space for any hidden files that won't be 
compressed.

You can change the amount of unstacked space later. Refer to Chapter 
6, "Configuring Stacker Drives," for more details.

Expected Compression Ratio

Stacker uses the expected compression ratio of 2:1 to know how large 
to make your drive during Setup. This is an average, based on stacking 
many thousands of hard disks. After that, Stacker compresses files as 
best it can thus resulting in your actual compression ratio. Some 
files compress at more than 2:1, some at less. For example, graphics 
files, database files, and spreadsheet files often compress much more 
than 2:1. On the other hand, files that are already compressed, such 
as most interactive games, .ZIP, and .ARC files, don't compress much 
at all.

Letting Stacker use the recommended expected compression ratio works 
well in most cases. Don't change it unless you are an experienced 
Stacker user.

The Expected Compression Ratio field shows the first half of the 
ratio; when it shows 2.0, Stacker uses a 2.0:1 ratio. You can enter a 
value between 1.0 and 8.0. If you choose a number larger or smaller 
than is achieved, OS/2 CHKDSK and certain low-level disk utilities 
will not have valid reports of available disk space.

You can change the expected compression ratio later using SDEFRAG /GL. 
You'll be able to change it to no more than twice the ratio specified 
here. Refer to Chapter 2, "Using Stacker for OS/2-Stacker Command 
Reference," for more details.

Cluster Size

The cluster size on a disk is fixed when the disk is formatted, but a 
Stacker drive has more flexibility. The best cluster size for a 
Stacker drive depends on its size, the compression ratio, and the size 
of files on it.

Let Setup use the Auto option to choose the best cluster size for the 
drive in most cases. Don't change it unless you are an experienced 
Stacker user.

Setup usually recommends 8 KB as the cluster size for the best 
compression. Very large disks (over 512 MB) require larger cluster 
sizes. Don't lower the cluster size unless the disk contains thousands 
of very small files (such as short memos or batch files).

Create a Drive from Free Space

Setup displays this screen if you choose Free Space as the stacking 
method. You also get to this screen if you choose to stack a disk that 
has already been stacked and has free space available. Setup creates a 
new drive out of the free space in both cases.

Total Space: 31.5 MB Free Space:  30.7 MB

HOW MUCH free space should Stacker use in creating the drive?

Choose Stack to begin stacking

The amount of free space Setup can use to create the new drive is 
shown on the screen. You can accept this value to use as much as 
possible of the free space in creating the new Stacker drive. To use 
only part of the free space for the Stacker drive, type a lower number 
in the Space to Use field.

This screen offers you several choices:

o To start stacking this disk, choose Stack

To return to the Select a Disk screen, choose Different Drive.

To examine or change recommended values, choose Advanced Options.

Stacking starts when you choose Stack on this screen. If you choose 
Advanced Options, you return to this screen before stacking begins.

Once you have specified how much free space should be used in creating 
the drive, Setup is ready to create it. Recommended values for two 
advanced options appear on this screen. If you aren't sure what these 
options do, don't change them. Setup will use appropriate values for 
your disk.

advanced Options (Free Space)

Recommended options for this drive are:

Expected Compression Ratio: 2.0:1 Cluster Size:

For more Information on each option, choose Help.

No matter which stacking method Setup uses, you'll see a progress 
screen as it stacks the disk The progress bar shows you how much it 
has completed at any time; this helps you judge whether to wait and 
watch or to get on with other activities.

Setup next optimizes (defragments) the uncompressed drive so the space 
used by your Stacker drive won't be fragmented. It uses a special 
version of Norton Speed Disk for this purpose. After Speed Disk is 
complete, Setup scans the disk for any surface defects so it can avoid 
those areas.

When the disk is stacked, Setup shows you the results. This screen 
shows the size of the disk and the amount of free space before and 
after stacking. You can see at a glance how much Stacker did for you. 
If you stacked an entire drive, Setup shows you the drive letter 
associated with the Stacker's working drive. The working drive is the 
uncompressed portion of the Stacker drive.

The graphs show the results of stacking your drive. The dark part on 
the left Is used space and the lighter part on the right is free 
space.

D: 120 MB

Before

After

118 MB Free Working drive for D:

To use all the new space, choose Restart.

To Stack another drive. choose Stack another.

If you stacked only free space, Setup shows you the drive letter 
assigned to the empty Stacker drive; the original drive letter remains 
with the original uncompressed drive.

If you want to stack another disk, choose Stack Another to return to 
the Select a Disk screen. You'll be able to enter all the options for 
the disk you select.

Disks Stacked

If you don't want to stack another disk, choose Restart. Restarting 
the computer returns your system to normal with one exception. You now 
have access to double the disk capacity you had when you started 
Setup. Your Stacker drive is now available for use!

If you removed any copy-protected programs from your system, reinstall 
them.

You have now stacked your disks. You'll enjoy your expanded disk 
capacity every day. Continue with Chapter 2, "Using Stacker for OS/2-
Stacker Command Reference," to see what you can accomplish using the 
Stacker tools. Also refer to that chapter for stacking additional 
disks using Setup.

You can now use all the Stacker for OS/2 features described in the 
rest of this User's Guide. You can use Stacker Optimizer to keep your 
Stacker drives performing at peak levels, and Stacker Compression 
Report to see how much compression is achieved.

If Stacker does not work as you expect, or you have a problem 
installing Stacker, refer to Appendix B, "Troubleshooting and Error 
Messages." If you still cannot resolve the problem, check the 
technical support information.


CHAPTER 2
Using Stacker for
OS/2-Stacker
Command Reference


Where to Find

Syntax Conventions ..............................	27
Using Tools in OS/2..............................	28
How to Get Help--Use /? .........................................
	28
CHECK - Checking a Stacker Drive .........................	29
CONFIG Reset Stacker Driver Lines in CONFIG.SYS 	29
ED--Using the Stacker Text Editor ............................	30
REMOVDRV--Removing Stacker from Your System .	31
REPORT--The Stacker Compression Report ...........	...	32
SATTRIB - Changing File Attributes ..........................	33
SDEFRAG The Stacker Optimizer .............................	34
SDIR--How Much Compression? ..............................	35
SETUP--Creating Additional Stacker Drives ..............	36
SWAPMAP - Report on Status of Drives ..................	36
UNSTACK - Unstacking Drives ...............................	36

This chapter describes Stacker's complete set of commands or tools to 
enhance, monitor, and tune your Stacker installation. This chapter 
covers all of Stacker's commands.

If you are familiar with DOS commands, this chapter is for you. To use 
the commands described in this chapter, type the command name at the 
DOS prompt. For example, just as you type DIR at the DOS prompt to get 
a directory of your files and/or directories; type SDIR to obtain the 
same information plus Stacker-specific information at the DOS prompt.

Since Stacker commands resemble DOS commands, this chapter is 
organized similarly to an DOS command reference. The commands are in 
alphabetical order within the chapter, along with a brief description 
of what they do, their usage, syntax, parameters and switches. Please 
follow the correct syntax for each command.

Syntax Conventions

The syntax in this chapter follows OS/2 formatting c o n v e n t i o n 
s conventions. The following sample and table provide a definition for 
each convention found in the syntax.  Some commands may appear on two 
lines; this is due to space in this guide. When using the command, 
type everything you need on one line.

 Syntax	COMMAND [+A | -A] [drive:][path\][filename.ext] 
[/options][/?]

Convention Used For COMMAND Indicates the command name

[ ]	Specifies an optional item. Type the
	contents only. Do not type the brackets.

|	Separates two or more alternatives in a
	syntax line. Use only one of the
	alternatives.
drive:	Indicates a drive name.

path\	Indicates the location of the file within the directory 
structure. The operating system follows this 	"path" to find the 
filename.

filename.ext	Specifies the name and extension of the file.

/options	Specifies one or more switches or optional command 
parameters.
	Switches generally begin with the slash (/). If using multiple 
switches, each
	switch must be preceded by a slash.

/?	Requests help information on the command.

In this guide, DOS commands and Stacker commands typed from the DOS 
prompt appear in uppercase letter as in DIR and SDIR. Key names such 
as ENTER or F1 appear in small capital letters. Replaceable information 
appears in lowercase italics. Examples typed from the command line 
also appear in italics.

Stacker for OS/2 has its own set of Tools. All of the following 
commands may be accessed by exiting OS/2 and restarting your computer 
under DOS. CHECK (minus the /F or /WP switch), SDEFRAG, REMOVDRV, and 
UNSTACK can only be used in this fashion. The other tools may also be 
run by opening a DOS window and typing the command at the DOS prompt 
as described in this chapter.

o CHECK

o CONFIG

o ED

o REMOVDRV

o REPORT

o SATTRIB

o SDEFRAG

o SDIR

o SETUP

o SWAPMAP

o UNSTACK

Certain tools must take non-FAT drives into account. When a utility is 
run under DOS, such as UNSTACK, the drive letters can be different 
under DOS than under OS/2 if there are non-FAT drives intermixed. The 
following example illustrates this:

Drive      OS/2      DOS

FAT       C:        C:

HPFS      D:        You don't see it.

FAT       E:         D:

The tools for which you need to take the non-FAT drives into 
consideration are noted with the appropriate tool.

If you need help, add the switch /? at the end of the command typed at 
the OS/2 or DOS prompt. Stacker provides you with information on that 
command.

CHECK gives you basic information about performance on your Stacker 
drive(s). DOS CHKDSK checks for DOS file errors (cluster oriented), 
while CHECK checks for Stacker errors (sector oriented). CHECK detects 
OS/2 and DOS errors as well and, when found, recommends you run a disk 
repair utility to fix them.

Use CHECK occasionally for maintenance (as you do with CHKDSK). Use it 
to get information about the amount of data and space remaining on the 
Stacker drive, the compression ratio for the entire Stacker drive, and 
general performance information. If CHECK reports any errors, it gives 
you the proper procedures to correct them.

CHECK [drive:] [/B][/F][/D][/V][/WP]

drive:Specifies the drive letter of the Stacker drive to be checked. 
If no drive is specified, the current drive is checked.

/B Suppresses all pauses and prompts if no repairs are required. 
CHECK/B runs well in a batch file (as long as no problems are 
detected).

/F Offers to repair any errors it detects.

/D Displays additional information including the amount of 
fragmentation of the data stored on the Stacker drive, the cluster 
size, space usage, and a detailed error report if any errors were 
encountered.

/V Lists all files and directories as they are checked, just as /V 
does in the DOS CHKDSK program.

/WP Quickly searches your system for damaged Stacker drives. If it 
finds any, CHECK asks your permission to repair the error. When you 
answer Y, it automatically repairs the errors and restarts your 
system. SETUP automatically adds CHECK /WP to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so 
your Stacker drive or drives are quickly scanned for errors every time 
you start up a DOS session.


Chapter 2 Using Stacker for OS/2-Stacker Command Reference

CONFIG allows you to reset Stacker driver lines in your CONFIG.SYS 
file. This tool can be used to:

o Access compressed DOS drives

o Access compressed drives under DOS

o Recover STACKER.COM lines when they have been accidentally deleted

CONFIG [/C][/S] [drive:] [path\]

drive:Specifies the drive letter of the Stacker drive in which Stacker 
for OS/2 was installed.

path\ Specifies the path where Stacker for OS/2 exists.
/C Updates the CONFIG.SYS name.

/S Specifies the directory name for the path to STACKER.COM and 
SSWAP.COM.

To access compressed DOS drives, double click DOS Window or DOS Full 
Screen, switch to the drive from which you boot OS/2, and type: CONFIG 
/S=drive:\path

To access compressed drives under DOS, restart your computer under 
DOS, change to drive C, and type: drive:\path\CONFIG. /S\drive:\path

ED

ED provides a full-screen text editor for editing CONFIG.SYS, .BAT, 
.INI, and any other DOS text files less than 50 KB in size.

If you decide to change any ASCII text file and want quick access to a 
simple text editor, use ED.

Syntax	ED [drive:][path\][filename]
Parameters

	drive:Specifies the drive (if necessary) where the file
	    exists. You can't specify a drive without a
	    filename.

	path\ Specifies the path (if necessary) where the file
	   exists. You can't specify a path without a
	   filename.

	filename
	   Specifies the filename to edit. If the specified file
	   doesn't currently exist, ED automatically creates
	   an empty file with the specified name and brings
	   up a blank screen to edit it. The current filename
	   shows in brackets at the bottom center of the ED
	   screen. If you don't specify a filename, [NOFIL]
	   shows at the bottom of the ED screen. When
	   exiting, you can specify the filename.
NOTE	The /? help option is not available with this command

Following are the ED key functions:

Key	Function

ALT C	Copies the marked block.

ALT E		Ends marking of a block. The block
		marked will either dim, or turn gray.

ALT S		Starts marking a block.

ALT X		Cuts the marked block.

BACKSPACE Deletes the character immediately before the cursor.

CTRL K	Deletes from the cursor position to
		the end of the line.

CTRL Q	The following character is entered as
		a control character. For example, to
		enter a form feed at the cursor
		position, press CTRL Q, CTRL L.

CTRL Y	Pastes any cut or copied block to the
		cursor position.

CTRL Z	Saves the file and exits to DOS.

DEL		Deletes the character at the current
		cursor position.

ENTER	Ends a line of text. ED doesn't word
		wrap.

ESC		Exits ED and offers to save the file. If
		there was no filename originally with
		the file and you choose to save it, it is
		saved as NOFIL in the current
		directory.

F2		Retrieves a new file for editing.

F3		Saves the file to disk (with an
		optional new name).

INS		Switches between insert and
		typeover modes (the cursor is larger
		for Insert mode).

REMOVDRV

CAUTION

REMOVDRV removes the Stacker drive from your system after you confirm 
the operation by typing YES and pressing ENTER. This tool must be run 
under DOS (not from a DOS Window). You must also take non-FAT drives 
into account. This tool does NOT unstack the drive. Use UNSTACK to do 
that.

Using the REMOVDRV command erases the STACVOL file and all files in 
your Stacker drive. If you should accidentally run REMOVDRV, use an 
unerase utility on the uncompressed drive to try to recover the 
STACVOL file. If you can recover the STACVOL file, the files which 
were on your Stacker drive will also be recovered. If the recovery is 
successful, use any text editor, such as ED, to modify the Stacker 
device lines in your CONFIG.SYS. For a sample of the device lines 
Stacker adds to your CONFIG.SYS during Setup, refer to page XX in 
Chapter 3, "How Stacker Works.

Use REMOVDRV whenever you want to delete your Stacker drive, your 
programs and your data with one command.

If you want to erase just the contents of your Stacker drive and not 
remove the Stacker drive, use the DOS Erase and Remove Directory 
commands. This will erase the files, but won't remove the Stacker 
drive. You cannot format a Stacker drive. Therefore, you can't 
eliminate the Stacker drive's contents with the FORMAT command.

After REMOVDRV removes the Stacker drive, it deletes all references to 
the Stacker drive and its path within the CONFIG.SYS file.

Syntax	REMOVDRV drive: [/M]

Parameters drive: Specifies the drive letter of the Stacker drive to 
be removed. A drive letter must be specified.  

Switches /M Displays in monochrome (or black and white). Use this 
switch if you have a laptop computer with an LCD display.

The Stacker Compression Report gives you three different ways to view 
your Stacker drives. Each view provides different information about 
your drives, files, and compression ratios. Basically, these views 
show that different types of files compress differently.

o Show Files. Provides you with information on file count, disk usage, 
and average compression ratio for each type of file on the selected 
drive.

o Show Summary. Provides a performance summary for the drive you 
select. Information contained on this screen includes fragmentation 
level, average file size, the maximum amount convertible to 
uncompressed space, and disk usage.

o Change Drive. Lists all of your Stacker drives so you can choose 
which drive to check.

REPORT [/M]

/M Indicates monochrome or LCD monitors that need black and white 
display.

REPORT is menu-driven. Once started, use your arrow keys or 
highlighted letters to change selections.


SATTRIB changes the file attributes for any file on your system. 
Specifically, it may be used to change the attributes for the STACVOL 
file (your Stacker drive).

SATTRIB is provided in case you don't have the DOS ATTRIB command on 
your system, or you have an earlier version of DOS ATTRIB that does 
not support all of the attributes.

Use SATTRIB to assign or remove attributes to or from a file or group 
of files. Use SATTRIB, for example, if you run a disk 
repair/maintenance utility (such as SpinRite) on a physical drive that 
has a Stacker drive on it and the utility reports that it cannot move 
the STACVOL file because its hidden, system, and read-only attributes 
are set. Complete the repair process, then use SATTRIB to re-apply the 
attributes to the STACVOL file, and restart the system.

If you use DOS 3.2 or 3.3, DOS ATTRIB supports only Archive and Read-
only attributes. If you use DOS versions before 3.2, ATTRIB supports 
only changes to Read-only.

SATTRIB [+A | -A] [+H | -H] [+R | -R] [+S | -S] 
[drive:][path\][filename] /S

none Shows all of the attributes of all files in the current 
directory.

drive: Specifies the drive location of the file or set of files whose 
attribute you want to change.

path\Specifies the path of the file or set of files whose attributes 
you want to change.

Switches

Examples

filename Specifies the name of the file or set of files whose 
attributes you want to change. Wildcard characters * and ? may be used 
in the filename. You must specify a filename or group of filenames in 
order to set or clear any specified attributes.

+A Sets the Archive attribute. This attribute is set by DOS only when 
a file has been modified after a backup.

-A Clears the Archive attribute.

+H Sets the Hidden attribute. When hidden, the file is not visible 
from DIR or SDIR. Your STACVOL file normally has this attribute.

-H Clears the Hidden attribute.

+R Sets the Read-only attribute. When read-only is turned on, you may 
open a file, but any changes made to it cannot be saved to the same 
file name. Your STACVOL file normally has this attribute.

-R Clears the Read-only attribute.

+S Sets the System attribute. The STACVOL file normally has this 
attribute.

-S Clears the System attribute.

/S Applies the attributes to files in any subdirectories beneath the 
specified subdirectory.

To make all of your executable (.EXE) files read-only, type:

SATTRIB +R *.EXE /S

SDEFRAG runs the Stacker Optimizer. The Optimizer rearranges data 
sectors within the Stacker drive so each file is stored in one 
contiguous location rather than in fragments.

SDEFRAG works on your Stacker drive. It does not run on non-stacked 
drives and it must be run under DOS (not from a DOS Window). You must 
also take non-FAT drives into account. Use SDEFRAG to:

o Perform regular defragmentation of the data in your Stacker drive. 
Do this when the applications on your Stacker drive are taking longer 
than they used to when reading and writing files. Use it also if you 
frequently edit and save large files (which become fragmented more 
often).

Enlarge your Stacker drive when there is a better-than-average 
compression ratio.

o Make it report more accurately if it has a different than expected 
compression ratio.

o Increase the amount of stacked or unstacked space.

Do not use other disk optimizers on your Stacker drive, since they are 
not effective with stacked data. Stacker for OS/2 supports larger 
drives (up to 2 GB stacked).

To determine your fragmentation level before running SDEFRAG, use 
CHECK/D, REPORT.

SDEFRAG [drive: ] [/R] [/GL] [/GP] [/D] [/FSTACVOL.xxx] [/Sx] [/Q] 
[/M]

drive: Specifies the drive letter of the Stacker drive to optimize. If 
no drive letter is specified, SDEFRAG fully optimizes the current 
drive.

/R Restacks data to maximize space. If tuning is set to fastest 
(/P=1), using /R can result in more space on your Stacker drive. See 
TUNER later in this chapter for more information on tuning.

/GL Changes the expected compression ratio. Specifying this switch 
gives you a screen where you may change the ratio. If you have many 
files which compress at a higher ratio than 2:1 (such as TIFF, PCX, 
and many database files), use this switch to obtain greater storage. 
/GL may not be used with /D or /F.

/GP Changes the size of either your Stacker drive or the uncompressed 
space. After typing SDEFRAG /GP, you can specify whether you want more 
uncompressed space or increased Stacker drive size. If you choose more 
uncompressed space, the Stacker Optimizer defragments your disk. To 
gain more uncompressed space, enter the size (in KB) you want the 
unstacked portion to be. If you want to increase the size of your 
Stacker drive, enter the total increased size (in MB). /GP may not be 
used with /D or /F.

/D Optimizes directories only. Individual files are not defragmented. 
You can use this switch with the /S switch to arrange files and 
directories in any order very quickly. /D may not be used with /GL, 
/GP or /R.

/FSTACVOL.xxx Attempts to recover the specified STACVOL.xxx file. Use 
this if SDEFRAG aborted while running (as in a power loss) and Stacker 
reports at start up that it cannot mount the STACVOL.xxx file. The 
exact path and filename must be specified. There is no space between 
the /F and the filename.

/Sx Sorts file information on a Stacker drive in the order specified 
by x so they appear in this order for commands such as DIR and SDIR at 
the DOS prompt. If you omit this option, the files sort in 
alphabetical order by filename (equivalent to specifying /SN). These 
are the valid order

N by file name (default)
E by file extension
T by time of creation
S by file size
U leave unsorted

/Q Performs a "quick" defragmentation. Only currently fragmented files 
are defragmented as opposed to the entire Stacker drive (both used and 
unused space). /Q may not be used with /R, /F, /GL or /GP.

/M Tells SDEFRAG to use monochrome, or black and white, screen 
attributes.

To optimize only your directories and then sort your files by 
extension order on the C drive, type

SDEFRAG C: /D /SE

SDIR displays the compression ratio for the specified file or 
directory along with the normal DOS directory information. By default, 
hidden and system files are not listed. An overall compression ratio 
for all listed items is included as well. SDIR operates similarly to 
the DOS DIR command, but DIR does not provide compression ratios. (DIR 
may also be used on Stacker drives.)

Use SDIR for obtaining file-by-file and directory compression ratios.

Syntax	SDIR [drive][path\][filename][/H][/P][/W]

drive:Specifies the drive letter of the Stacker drive. If no drive, 
path, or filename is specified, directory and compression information 
for the current drive and directory displays.

path\ Specifies the path (if necessary) for which you want 
information.

filename Specifies the filename for which you want information. SDIR 
accepts the wildcard characters * and ? to specify files.

/H Includes hidden files in the display. "HIDDEN" displays to the 
right of the file's directory
information.

/P Pauses when the screen is full and prompts you to press a key to 
continue.

/W Creates a wide display. Individual compression ratios aren't shown, 
but the overall compression ratio for the files and directories listed 
appears at the bottom.

To obtain a listing of all spreadsheet files with the extension of 
.XLS in your EXCEL subdirectory, type

SDIR \EXCEL\*.XLS

The following shows sample output from the command.

BNCHMRK.XLS

SETUP brings up a menu-driven program to create new Stacker drives. 
Advanced options are available from the menu.

Use this command whenever you need additional Stacker drives.

NOTE	This command must be from DOS, not a DOS
	Window within OS/2

Syntax	SETUP [/Ml

/M Indicates monochrome or LCD monitors that need black and white 
display during setup.

SWAPMAP displays a report on the status of each drive in your system 
when you started your computer. 

none If you type SWAPMAP by itself, the command displays a report on 
the status of each drive in your system at startup time.

UNSTACK decompresses all of your Stacked data and copies it back out 
to your unstacked drive. UNSTACK first checks to see if there is 
enough room on your physical disk to contain all of your files. If 
there isn't enough room, UNSTACK reports how much you need to delete 
before UNSTACK can be run. When there is enough room, UNSTACK 
decompresses and copies all of the files in your Stacker drive to the 
uncompressed portion of your drive, and then removes your STACVOL file 
and all references to it from within your CONFIG.SYS file. This tool 
must be run under DOS (not from a DOS Window). You must also take non-
FAT drives into account.

Use UNSTACK if you need to avoid license infringement and have to 
remove Stacker from one system in order to place it on another.

Syntax	UNSTACK [drive:] [/M]

drive: The drive letter of the Stacker drive to be unstacked.

/M Displays in monochrome (or black and white). Use this switch if you 
have a laptop computer with an LCD display.

APPENDIX 

Appendix C Technical Specifications

Compression Technique:			LZS
Average compression ratio:			2:1
Maximum compression ratio:			64:1
STACVOL File Size:				1GB maximum
Stacker Drive Size:				2GB maximum
Maximum Number of Stacker Drives:	10
Operating Systems:				OS/2 2.0 or higher MS-DOS 4.0 or 
higher
						PC-DOS 4.0 or higher Compaq DOS 3.31 or 
higher
						DR DOS 5.0 or higher
Operating Environments:			OS/2 2.0, Windows-OS/2, MS Windows 
3.0 and 3.1,
						DOS, DESQview, GEM 
Hard Disk Drives:				ST-506, IDE (AT Bus), SCSI, ESDI 
and all other DOS
						OS/2 compatible
Microprocessor compatibility:			Intel 80386 DX, SX and 80486 
DX, SX
Disk Caching:					User-configurable

Device Driver Resident Size			64 KB maximum
						80 KB typical


INDEX

Actual compression ratio, 35, 37
Advanced options, 33 cluster size, 35, 38 expected compression ratio, 
34, 37 for entire drive, 33 for free space, 37 space to leave 
unstacked, 34
After stacking, 28, 40
AUTOEXEC.BAT file adding Stacker to the PATH statement, 29 mouse 
driver, 26

Back up hard disk (before installing Stacker), 14
Boot disks, 15
Bulletin board, 8

Cache, Stacker specifications, 67
CHECK command, 47 see also Checking description, 47 parameters, 47 
switches, 47 syntax, 47
Checking drive integrity, 47
Cluster size, 35, 38
Commands overview, 43 see also specific commands
Compatibility microprocessor, 67 system requirements, 13, 67
CompuServe, 8
CONFIG command, 49 examples, 49 switches, 49 syntax, 49
CONFIG parameters, 49
Conventions syntax for commands, 44 User's Guide, 5
Copy-protected software

index

reinstalling, 40 uninstalling, 18
Creating a drive from free space, 36 boot disks, 15
Custom Setup, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40 adding Stacker to your path 
statement, 29 creating a directory for Stacker, 29 select a disk, 30 
stacking progress, 38
Customer support see Technical support

Data compression explanation, 3
Device driver specifications, 67

ED command, 50
description, 50 keys, 51 parameters, 50 syntax, 50
Entire drive, 32
Expected compression ratio, 34, 37 from the DOS prompt, 58
Express Setup, 24, 26 confirm the Express choice, 25 Express stacking 
complete, 27 preparing Stacker files, 24 stacking progress, 26

Free space, 36
Full optimize, 58

Help
  on commands, 44
  on Setup, 20
Help index, 21

How to get technical support, 7 reach Stac, 7 - 8 register Stacker, 7

If you have questions, 7
increasing Uncompressed Space from the DOS prompt, 58
INSTALL see SETUP command
Installing Stacker software, 20
Installing Stacker see Setting Up
International customers technical support, 9

Keys used with Setup, 21

Monitoring your drives, 4
Mouse driver temporary loss during setup, 26

Norton Speed Disk during Stacker setup, 25, 39

Optimizing from the DOS prompt, 57 full, 57 quick, 59 restack, 57

PATH statement, 29

Questions about Stacker, 7
Quick optimize, 59

Readme document, 5, 21
Reboot see restart
Registering Stacker, 7
REMOVDRV command, 52 description, 52 parameters, 52 see also Removing 
Stacker drives switches, 53 syntax, 52
Repairing drives, 47
REPORT command, 54 Change Drive, 54 description, 54 Show Files, 54 
Show Summary, 54 switches, 54 syntax, 54
Restacking
from the DOS prompt, 57
Restarting during Setup, 40
Running Stacker what you need, 13

SATTRIB command, 55 description, 55 examples, 56 parameters, 55 
switches, 56 syntax, 55
SCHECK see CHECK command
SDEFRAG command, 57 /GL, 58 /GP, 58 description, 57 example, 59 see 
also Expected compression ratio


see also Increasing Stacker drive size see also Optimizing parameters, 
57 switches, 57 syntax, 57
SDIR command, 60 description, 60 example, 61 parameters, 60 switches, 
60 syntax, 60
SEDIT see ED command
Serial number, 7
Setting Up, 19
Setup, 19
SETUP command, 62 description, 62 see also Setting Up switches, 62 
syntax, 62
Setup methods Custom, 28 Express, 24 when to choose Express, 23 when 
to select Custom, 24
Software copy-protected, 19
SREMOVE see REMOVDRV command
Stacker for OS/2 features, 4
Stacker Optimizer, 4
Stacking entire drive during setup, 32

hard disk from the DOS prompt, 62 only free space during setup, 36 
progress, 24, 26 results, 39
Stacking methods, 31 entire drive, 32 free space, 32
Support see Technical support
SWAPMAP command, 63 description, 63 parameters, 63 syntax, 63
System Requirements, 13

Technical Specifications, 67
Technical support, 8 before calling, 8 contacting, 8 international, 9 
phone number, 9

UNSTACK command, 64 description, 64 parameters, 64 switches, 64 
syntax, 64
Unstacking, 4 from the DOS prompt, 64
User's Guide conventions, 5 - 6


26


