[net.micro.pc] The Limits of DOS

srp@ethz.UUCP (06/13/86)

[I don't believe in the li

I would like to know the limits of PC-DOS 3.1, eg.
1) How large a file will DOS support
2) How large a Disk Drive will Dos support...

If anyone has any interesting fact along these lines I would love to hear
them. If you don't think it's worthy of the net, personal e-mail is fine.
I will post a summary if this gets really interesting.

-- 

-----------

Scott Presnell  Eidgnoessische Technische Hochschule, Zuerich (ETH-Zentrum)
		Labor Fuer Organische Chemie
		Universitaetsstrasse 16
		CH-8092 Zuerich Switzerland.

uucp:		...seismo!mcvax!cernvax!ethz!srp     (srp@ethz.uucp)
earn/bitnet:	Benner@CZHETH5A

ejb@think.COM (Erik Bailey) (06/15/86)

In article <352@ethz.UUCP> srp@ethz.UUCP (Scott Presnell) writes:
>
>I would like to know the limits of PC-DOS 3.1, eg.
>1) How large a file will DOS support
... 32 megabytes ... (I think)
>2) How large a Disk Drive will Dos support...
... 32 megabytes ... (I know)

NOTE - this is a restriction that IS surmountable. Several companies
(such as Emerald and Express Systems) have developed products (hard/soft
ware) that allow DOS to access much larger "stuff". If you don't have
one of these, and have a disk over 32meg, you MUST divide it into
several partitions, each <= 32meg.

Hope this helps... --Erik (PS - Peter Norton published a series of
columns on this subject in PC Magazine in the past year...)
-- 

Erik Bailey        -- 7 Oak Knoll                 (USENET courtesy of
ihnp4!think!ejb       Arlington, MA  02174        Thinking Machines Corp.
ejb@godot.think.com   (617) 643-0732              Cambridge, MA)

jpn@teddy.UUCP (John P. Nelson) (06/16/86)

>                                                    If you don't have
>one of these, and have a disk over 32meg, you MUST divide it into
>several partitions, each <= 32meg.

I can live with a partitioning scheme (it means that any one file can't go
past the 32Meg partition boundary), and I may have to play games with the
"active" drive letter.

OK, but I want to have all my disk space online AT ONCE.  The standard
PCDOS FDISK allows only one DOS partition, and the IBM BIOS only supports
one active partition per drive.  How do I get more than one partition active
at once?  Is there a public domain device driver I can install to gain access
to more than one partition?

bmarsh@noscvax.UUCP (William C. Marsh) (06/18/86)

In article <2750@teddy.UUCP> jpn@teddy.UUCP (John P. Nelson) writes:
>>                                                    If you don't have
>>one of these, and have a disk over 32meg, you MUST divide it into
>>several partitions, each <= 32meg.
>
>OK, but I want to have all my disk space online AT ONCE.  The standard
>PCDOS FDISK allows only one DOS partition, and the IBM BIOS only supports
>one active partition per drive.  How do I get more than one partition active
>at once?  Is there a public domain device driver I can install to gain access
>to more than one partition?

The Vfeature Deluxe package from Golden Bow Systems allows you to 'break'
the 32 Meg barrier.  You can also partition your disk drive into many DOS
volumes, with optional password security for each volume.  I have been using
this with my AT using a maxtor 1065 hard disk (55 Mbytes formatted) for many
weeks now and have had no problems.  It's great to see chkdsk show 55 Mbytes
available!

Address:

Golden Bow Systems
P.O. Box 3039
San Diego, Calif. 92103
(619) 298-9349

Vfeature Deluxe costs $120

This is the same software described in a recent PC Tech Journal, and it is
used by Emerald, et. al.  I have no connection with Golden Bow except as a
very satisfied customer.



-- 

Bill Marsh, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, CA
{arpa,mil}net: bmarsh@nosc
uucp: {ihnp4,akgua,decvax,dcdwest,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!noscvax!bmarsh

"If everything seems to be coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane."

tue@olamb.UUCP (Tue Bertelsen) (06/23/86)

(PS: See PC TechJournal, May 1986 issue, pp.94-108, for a good article
 on breaking the 32 MByte barrier in DOS!)


-- 
						Tue Bertelsen
						AmbraSoft A/S
						tue@olamb.UUCP