sbanner1@uvicctr.UVic.ca.UUCP (S. John Banner) (10/21/89)
wang@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Eric Wang) writes: >In article <4495@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> aj5@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Bill Basden) writes: >> >> I'm having some trouble upgrading from PC-DOS 3.1 to MS-DOS 3.3 on >>my 386 clone. When I try to sys my hard drive, I get a 'not enough >>room' error. I suspect that this is because the hidden files are >>bigger in 3.3, but I thought that the hidden dos and bios files no longer >>had to be contiguous. >> >> Any suggestions on how I can do this without reformating my 80 meg >>hard drive? >> >> >>Thanks! >> >>Bill Basden >>aj5@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Internet) >>pur-ee!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!aj5 (uucp) >Here's a trick that I've used many, many times to upgrade the system files of >DOS du jour WITHOUT reformatting the entire hard disk. I've used it about 50 >times to date, and it hasn't failed me yet. Briefly, the idea is to delete >one or more file(s) and/or directory(ies) to create a "hole" on the hard disk >above the system files which is large enough to allow the new versions thereof >to be installed. [Lengthy method deleted...] The method mentioned may work, however there is a much easyer solution. What I have done (and what is nessasary), *IF* you are changing from MS to PC dos, or vice versa, is quite simple. The names of the system files between the two systems are different, and when it says "insufficenent disk space", what it means is that it can't find the old files to overwrite. All you need to do, is get something like PC-Tools, and rename the files being sure NOT to move them on the disk (Most programs that work that way, but not all), then just issue the SYS command, and you are done. I have found however that SYS doesn't seem to copy the COMMAND.COM, so you have to do that manually (or am I just being paranoid; I havn't really tested that last comment, but it does seem like it). As was said in the original posting the files do not need to be contiguious, so long as there is a certain specific amount in the right places, and if you already have a bootable disk, that is not something you need worry about. sjb.