                      Stacker 4.0 for Windows and DOS
                           Late-Breaking News

NOTE: It is a good idea to print this file so you have it for future
      reference.

Contents
========
==Getting More Information about Stacker
==Getting the Best Compression
==Additions/Changes to the User's Guide
==Compatibility and Other Issues
==Upgrading from Stacker 1.x to Stacker 4.0

==Getting More Information about Stacker
========================================

Always Check Stacker Help!
--------------------------
Please note that Stacker Setup Help and the Stacker Help system in Windows
contain up-to-date information about using Stacker.

The easiest way to get detailed information about Stacker is to double-click
the Stacker Help icon in the Program Manager and then click the Search
button. Select or type in the name of the Stacker tool or procedure you need
help on and select the topic.  Stacker Help contains information on such
topics as:

- DPMS and Stacker in Memory
- Stacker AutoSave
- Compressing and automounting floppy disks
- Repairing a damaged STACVOL file

Stacker Help works with Windows 3.1. If you are using Windows 3.0, you can
order a special version of Help through one of our online services. The
product support brochure explains how to reach Stac's BBS or Stac on
CompuServe.

Use STAC FAX or STAC TALK for Special Topics
--------------------------------------------
If you have an unusual configuration or are interested in specific advanced
Stacker topics, you can order information from our STAC FAX STAC TALK
system. Both services are available in the U.S. and Canada 24 hours, 7 days
a week. See your technical support brochure for information on how to reach
STAC FAX or STAC TALK. For a listing of STAC FAX topics, request STAC FAX
#1000.

==Getting the Best Compression
==============================
If you are upgrading from a previous version of Stacker, be sure to choose
Full Update when you run Stacker Setup. The Full Update option updates your
compression to Stacker 4.0's new storage format.  Depending upon the size of
your disk, Full Update may take a few hours. If you upgraded Stacker but
didn't perform the Full Update, search for the topic "Updating Stacker
drives Outside of Setup" for more information on updating your drives.

==Additions/Changes to the User's Guide
=======================================

Please note the following changes and/or additions to your User's Guide:

Page 8--If you are using MS-DOS 6.2, Stacker runs SCANDISK instead of CHKDSK
while converting DoubleSpace drives to Stacker drives.

Pages 28-30--Stacker Anywhere is designed for use on computers that do not
have Stacker installed. If you are using compressed floppy disks on a
computer with Stacker, you do not need to use Stacker Anywhere. But you do
need to change your configuration so that Stacker will automatically mount
floppy disks you compress using the Stacker Toolbox. To have Stacker
automount your B drive, for example, completely exit to DOS. Then, type
C:\STACKER\ED and choose STACKER.INI from the File menu. Add the line B: on
a line by itself. Restart your computer. From now on, Stacker automatically
mounts a Stacker-compressed floppy disk you insert in the B drive.

Page 29--The Note at the bottom of the page describes a procedure for
viewing compressed data on a removable disk under both DOS and Windows. To
do this, you need to type STACKER d: where d: is the drive letter. If you
type STACKER without the drive letter, a listing of all your drives
displays.

Page 48--The last paragraph asserts that Stacker sets up your configuration
to automount when you compress a floppy disk in that drive.  This is true
only if you compress the disk through Stacker Setup.  If you compress the
floppy disk through the Windows Toolbox (using the Compress tool), add
either an A: or a B: (or both) to your STACKER.INI file and restart your
computer. Changing your configuration in this way sets up automounting for
the floppy disk drive.

==Compatibility and Other Issues
================================

Third-party disk optimizers
---------------------------
Disk optimizers other than the Stacker Optimizer are not effective on
Stacker drives. Please do not use optimizers such as Norton Speed Disk 7 or
PC TOOLS PRO 9.0 for DOS after you've set up Stacker on your system.

Norton Disk Doctor 7.0
----------------------
Unfortunately, Norton Disk Doctor 7.0 is not yet compatible with Stacker 4.0
drives. If you are using NDD 7, please check the option to "Skip Compression
Tests."

QEMM 7.x
--------
If you are running a version earlier than QEMM 7.03, please consider
upgrading to the latest version. For QEMM 7.01, please add the option
/B=2001 to the DEVICE=DOSDATA.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS file. In all
versions of QEMM, at startup, the DOS-UP feature (DOSDATA.SYS) temporarily
disables your monitor and Stacker's password prompt. In your CONFIG.SYS
file, add the option: DEVICE=DOSDATA.SYS /ALTVIDEO- so the password prompt
is visible again.

QEMM Stealth mode and DOS 5
---------------------------
In Stacker's Custom Setup, please choose the "Don't Use EMS" option if you
are using QEMM's Stealth mode. Stealth mode cannot access memory using EMS.
In Stacker's Express Setup, the default is to "Use EMS" if your computer
uses 32K clusters (large drives) or if you cannot use DPMS.  In these cases,
insert the option /DBF=2 on the QEMM386 line of your CONFIG.SYS file.

DPMS and 386 Max
----------------
To take advantage of DPMS and reduce your memory requirement, please add the
switch EMS=0 to your 386MAX.PRO file.

PKZIP 2.04
----------
If your computer takes advantage of Stacker's DPMS (386 or higher with 1MB
of RAM), please use the -) on the command line when using PKZIP 2.04.  These
options disable PKZIP's use of a DPMI driver that interferes with DPMS. If
you want to permanently disable DPMI, add one of these options to your
PKZIP.CFG file.

DOS Screen Savers and Stacker Optimizer
---------------------------------------
Before running the Stacker Optimizer, disable the DOS mode of screen savers
such as AfterDark. They interfere with Stacker Optimizer completing its work.

Speeding Up AutoSave
--------------------
To speed up the time it takes Stacker to save header information at startup,
edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Move the line C:\STACKER\CHECK /WP so it comes
after the SMARTDRV.EXE line.

Stacker for OS/2 & DOS
----------------------
Please do not install Stacker 4.0 on a system that is using Stacker for OS/2
& DOS. If you do, you won't be able to see your compressed DOS drives under
OS/2. Stacker for OS/2 & DOS does not yet take advantage of Stacker
SmartPack. If you want to install Stacker 4.0, you'll have to first remove
Stacker for OS/2. First use the UNSTACK command to decompress your data.
Then, remove the OS/2 Stacker driver STACKER.SYS and its associated files
from their directory (usually C:\STACKER\OS2). Then you can set up Stacker
4.0.

Backing Up a Stacker Drive
--------------------------
You can perform your standard backup procedure to back up files on the
Stacker drive. If you also want to back up the files on the uncompressed
drive, backup all files EXCEPT the hidden STACVOL file. (The STACVOL file
actually contains your compressed data.) Type STACKER at the DOS prompt to
determine the location of your STACVOL file. The location of the STACVOL
file will be in [brackets]. For example, on a computer with C as the Stacker
drive, the uncompressed drive is typically D [D:\STACVOL.DSK = size]. You
would back up all the files on drives C and D except the file STACVOL.DSK.

Adding a Hard Disk
------------------
When you add another hard disk to your system, DOS assigns it the next
available drive letter, usually D. The Stacker drive that previously swapped
with drive D now swaps with drive E. Stacker takes care of the drive letter
assignments so you still find your data on drive C. If your new hard disk
requires a device driver, place the hard disk device driver BEFORE the
STACKER.COM and/or STACHIGH.SYS statements in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Stacker Optimizer and 32K Cluster Drives
----------------------------------------
If you are using drives with 32K clusters, Stacker Optimizer may need
additional memory (more than the 600K needed in previous Stacker versions).
If you don't have that much conventional memory available, you can run
Stacker Optimizer with a special option. Using this option affects speed,
but allows you to run in less memory.

To run Stacker Optimizer in less memory:

1.  From the DOS prompt, type SDEFRAG /buffer=#

    where # is a value between 256 and 4096, inclusive

The following examples show how much memory is saved with various values:

     SDEFRAG /buffer=3072       21K memory saved
     SDEFRAG /buffer=2048       42K memory saved
     SDEFRAG /buffer=256        78.75K memory saved

By default, SDEFRAG normally runs at /buffer=4096.

==Upgrading from Stacker 1.x to Stacker 4.0
===========================================

Before you upgrade from Stacker 1.x:

1.  At the DOS prompt, type SWAPMAP and press ENTER to determine which drive
    letter is being swapped with C.  Write that letter here.________________

2.  Insert Stacker 4.0 floppy disk #2 into its drive.

3.  Type

    drive:SATTRIB -R C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

where drive: is the letter of the floppy drive where you inserted floppy
disk #2. This removes the read-only attribute from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

4.  Type

    COPY drive:\AUTOEXEC.BAT C:\

where drive: is the drive letter in which C is being swapped
(determined in step #1).

5.  Type

    COPY drive:\CONFIG.SYS C:\

where drive: is the drive letter in which C is being swapped
(determined in step #1).

6.  Install Stacker 4.0 starting with Disk 1.

If you are using DOS 5 or an operating system that does not preload
compression, you need to add the /SYNC+ option to your STACKER.INI file to
synchronize configuration files on compressed and uncompressed drives. (From
the Stacker directory, type ED to start the editor. Then, choose STACKER.INI
from the File menu. Add the /SYNC+ on its own line anywhere in the file.)

