
                      Stacker 4.0 for OS/2 & DOS

This document contains important information that may not be included in
the Stacker 4.0 for OS/2 & DOS User's Guide. It has two parts.

	OS/2 Considerations
	DOS Considerations

Any time you put new software on your system you should first back up
your existing data.
=====================================================================
OS/2 CONSIDERATIONS

-------------------------------
OS/2 2.11 required for speed-up

In order for Stacker to take advantage of OS/2's strategy 2 interface
and use the OS/2 cache, you must be running OS/2 2.11 (or 2.10 + the
Service Pack) or later.  Versions of OS/2 2.10 and 2.0 + Service Pack
will not be cached on Stacker drives.

-------------------------------------------------
Special considerations for Warp's Archive feature

If you use Warp's Archive feature (under the Desktop's Settings), we
recommend that you do not compress your OS/2 boot drive.

-------------------------------
Creating a Stacker desktop icon

For your convinience we have provided a utility to create a Stacker
folder on your desktop.  Just run STACICON.EXE from an OS/2 session.

----------------------------------
Need OS/2 2.1 and REXX for Toolbox

You need OS/2 2.1 or above for the Toolbox program to run correctly.
The Toolbox depends on REXX; if you didn't install the REXX component
with OS/2, see your OS/2 documentation.

-----------------------------------------
OS/2 cannot mount Stacker drives replaced

You cannot use x:\STACVOL.DSK,RP in the STACOS2.INI file.  Any drives
with this switch will not be mounted, so their data won't be available.

------------------------
QEMM Exception error #13

If you receive this error message when running SETUP, remove Stealth
and start SETUP again. You can enable Stealth again after Stacker is
installed.

----------------------------
Installing over Novell DOS 7

Users installing Stacker for OS/2 & DOS over Novell DOS 7 with
Stacker 3.12 may get the warning message "Stacker is running but
your configuration file (STACKER.INI) doesn't show where the
Stacker files are stored". You may safely ignore this message.

===================================================================
DOS CONSIDERATIONS

The following information applies only when you have restarted your
computer into DOS and are running under DOS.

                CONTENTS

  Using 32-bit File Access with Windows for Workgroups 3.11
  Compatibility and Other Issues
      Third-party Disk Optimizers
      Norton Disk Doctor 7.0
      QEMM 7.5 and Conserving Memory
      QEMM 7.x
      QEMM and Configurations Without DPMS
      Qualitas 386MAX and DPMS
      PKZIP 2.04
      Compaq Computers
      GeoWorks
  Fixing or Restoring a Stacker-aware DBLSPACE.BIN File

----------------------------------------------------------------
Using 32-bit File Access with Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Stacker now works seamlessly with Windows for Workgroups' 32-bit file
access (32BFA). Stacker requires no special options or configurations.
To get the best performance, you do, however, have to:

* Turn on 32BFA. (Refer to your WFW documentation if you don't know how.)

* Enable Lazy Writes in WFW.

To enable lazy writes in WFW
   1.  From the Program Manager's File menu, choose Run.
   2.  In the Command Line box, type SYSEDIT
   3.  Select the window that contains your SYSTEM.INI file
       and in the [386Enh] section, type a line that says
		ForceLazyOn=
       followed by the drive letter(s) of your Stacker drive(s).
       For example, if your Stacker drives are C:, D:, and E:,
       you would insert the following line:
		ForceLazyOn=CDE
   4. Save the file and exit the editor.

Common 32BFA Workarounds

If you have trouble initializing 32BFA in Windows for Workgroups, here are
some common workarounds that might help:

* Make sure you are using a permanent swap file. 32BFA will not initialize
  properly with temporary swap files.

* Be sure to close any open files or files (such as printer caches) that
  are open by a line in your Autoexec.bat file.

* After turning on 32BFA, ensure these lines are in the [386Enh] section
  of your SYSTEM.INI file:

	device=vfat.386
	device=ios.386
	device=vxdldr.386

  These lines mean a Real Mode Mapper (RMM) is loaded.

* Make sure the "minfilecache=" entry in the [vcache] section of the
  SYSTEM.INI is appropriate for the amount of memory you have.

  For example, a 2-MB cache would be appropriate for a system with
  8 MB RAM.

* If the DOS SUBST command is run before Windows for Workgroups loads,
  32-bit file access will not initialize.

* If you started the real mode network (NET START FULL or NET START
  BASIC) and then start Windows for Workgroups, 32-bit file access will
  not initialize.

For information about other system conditions that might interfere with
using 32BFA, check with Microsoft.


----------------------------------
COMPATIBILITY AND OTHER ISSUES

---------------------------
Third-party Disk Optimizers

Disk optimizers other than the Stacker Optimizer(TM) are not effective on
Stacker drives. Please do not use optimizers such as Norton Speed Disk 7
or 8 or PC TOOLS PRO 9.0 for DOS after you've set up Stacker on your system.

------------------------------
Norton Disk Doctor 7.0 and 8.0

Disk repair utilities, such as Symantec's Norton Disk Doctor (NDD),
are not aware of Stacker's new SmartPack(TM) technology. If you run
NDD against a Stacker 4.0 drive, you will receive an error message,
and NDD will recommend that you use the utilities provided with the
compression program.

However, you can run NDD against your Stacker drive if you skip
compression tests. You can turn off compression tests from the
command line or the NDD menu.

* From the command line:
   Type: NDD /NOCOMP drive: <enter>

* From the NDD menu:
   1. Start the NDD program as usual.
   2. From the main menu select Options.
   3. From the Options menu, select General.
   4. Select Skip Compression Tests, then OK, and OK again to return
      to the main menu.

In either case, once you have turned off Compression Tests, you can
run NDD against any drive, including Stacker drives. NDD will no longer
give you error messages.

* Windows users:
If you run NDD from Windows (Norton Utilities, version 8), or
have Norton Destop for Windows version 3, you can use the following
method to skip compression tests:

   1. Open NDD.
   2. From the menu bar, select Options.
   3. From Options, select Preferences.
   4. Click the box for Skip Compression Test.
   5. Click OK to save the changes.

You can now run NDD without the error messages.

------------------------------
QEMM 7.5 and Conserving Memory

If you use DOS 6 or later and have QEMM 7.5 installed,
Stacker can run in as little as 13 KB. You'll have to
modify one of Stacker's configuration files after you
finish setting up Stacker.

   1. If you are in Windows, exit it completely and
      get to a DOS prompt.
   2. Type ED /I and press ENTER.
   3. Press ENTER to insert a new line.
   4. Type /QD on the new line.
   5. Press the ALT key, followed by F,
      then press X to exit the editor.
   6. When asked if you want to save the changes, press Y.
   7. Restart your system to put the change into
      effect.

---------
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 and 7.02, please add
the option /B=2001 to the DEVICE=DOSDATA.SYS line in your DOS
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 and Configurations Without DPMS

If your system doesn't use DPMS, the Stacker driver can use EMS (Expanded
Memory Specification) memory instead. This requires a /EMS switch in the
STACKER.INI file. When that switch is present and if you are using QEMM,
you should add the /DBF=2 switch to the QEMM386 command line in your
CONFIG.SYS file.

SETUP automatically puts the /EMS switch in the STACKER.INI file if:

* You run Express Setup and it creates a Stacker drive that uses 32 KB
  clusters

  OR

* You run Custom Setup and tell it to use EMS.

Run ED /I from a DOS prompt to edit or view your STACKER.INI file and ED /C to
edit your CONFIG.SYS file and add the /DBF=2 switch.

Note:  Please don't use EMS if you are using QEMM's Stealth mode.
       Stealth mode cannot access memory using EMS. During Custom Setup,
       if you are given the option to use EMS or not, choose "Don't
       Use EMS."

------------------------
Qualitas 386MAX and DPMS

DPMS requires a memory manager that enables VCPI (Virtual Control Program
Interface). When you run 386MAX and try to use DPMS, you get the following
error message:

           "VCPI services are not available."

To have 386MAX provide VCPI, reply YES when asked if you would like
to enable EMS services during the 386MAX installation. If you already
have 386MAX installed, run INSTALL/R from the 386MAX directory
and reply YES to enabling EMS services.

----------
PKZIP 2.04

If your computer takes advantage of Stacker's DPMS (386 or higher with
1 MB of RAM), please use the -) option on the command line when using
PKZIP 2.04. This option disables PKZIP's use of DPMI services that interfere
with DPMS. If you want to permanently disable PKZIP's use of DPMI, add the
-) option to your PKZIP.CFG file.

----------------
Compaq Computers

If your Compaq computer uses PCMCIA cards, you need to make a few adjustments
when you install Stacker.

For example, if you use a docking station or other driver that changes drive
letters around, the PCMCIA card is assigned the next drive letter. Since you
can put the cards into different slots, just entering one drive letter into
the STACKER.INI will not necessarily automount the drive. Use the following
steps to ensure that you turn on Stacker AutoMount:

   1. Add the following lines to the STACKER.INI file
      and save the changes:
         /RP=2
         /AUTO
   2. In the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the following lines:
      STACKER x: (where x is the drive letter for the
                 first slot for the given setup)
      STACKER y: (where y is the drive letter for the
                 second slot for the given setup)

Notes: PCMCIA Flash Cards are treated like network drives. Stacker will
       not install on these devices.

       If the PCMCIA driver offers the option to do a "compact format,"
       do NOT do so. This option won't create a boot sector; therefore,
       Stacker won't install. Format your ATA cards without the compact
       option.

--------
GeoWorks

If you install Stacker when GeoWorks Ensemble is runnning, you may see a 
message that states "Please insert disk STACVOL_DSK into drive x:. Press
ENTER to continue or (A)bort to exit."

If you see this message, press A to exit. Then use any text editor to
add the line "drive c=65535" under the [system] heading (the top section)
in the GEOS.INI file.

-----------------------------------------------------
FIXING OR RESTORING A STACKER-AWARE DBLSPACE.BIN FILE

If you can't get at your data and are using a version of DOS with
preloaded compression (MS-DOS 6.x, Novell DOS 7, or PC-DOS 6.1 or higher),
the Stacker-aware DBLSPACE.BIN file, which integrates data compression
with DOS, may be corrupt. Stacker provides a special program that you can
use to build a new Stacker-aware DBLSPACE.BIN file on your system.

To fix or restore a Stacker-aware DBLSPACE.BIN file:

   1. At the DOS prompt, change to the Stacker directory.
      This is usually C:\STACKER. If you loaded Stacker
      into a different directory, change to that directory.

   2. At the DOS prompt, type
      	REDBL drive:

      where drive is the uncompressed drive letter of the
      boot drive. If no Stacker drive is mounted, use drive C.

      The REDBL program analyzes your computer and builds or
      replaces the DBLSPACE.BIN file.

   3. Remove any floppy disks, and restart your computer.

========================================

(C) 1995 Stac Electronics. All rights reserved.
One or more U.S. patents: 4701745, 5016009, 5126739, and 5146221.
Other patents pending.

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

Portions (C) Novell 1994.

========================================
