jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu (jeff midili) (01/22/91)
I'm looking for a program that will break DOS 3.XX's 32 meg byte
barrier. Are there any available? Either public domain or commercial
would be just fine.
thanks,
Jeff midili
jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edumorash@ug.cs.dal.ca (Dave Morash) (01/23/91)
In article <1991Jan21.230226.4874@hub.cs.jmu.edu> jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu (jeff midili) writes: > >I'm looking for a program that will break DOS 3.XX's 32 meg byte >barrier. Are there any available? Either public domain or commercial >would be just fine. Yeah, it's called Dos4.01. :) Sorry couldn't resist. -- Dave Morash morash@ug.cs.dal.ca morash%dalcsug%dalcs@watmath.uucp morash%dalcsug@dalcs.uucp
ormohrbh@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Richard Ohrbach) (01/23/91)
In article <1991Jan21.230226.4874@hub.cs.jmu.edu>, jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu (jeff midili) writes... > >I'm looking for a program that will break DOS 3.XX's 32 meg byte >barrier. Are there any available? Either public domain or commercial >would be just fine. > >thanks, > > Jeff midili >jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu SeaGate, maker of hard drives, has a program called On-Trac, which formats a hard drive into user-specified number of partitions, etc, and which uses a proprietary file loaded as a device through the config.sys that allows DOS 3.xx to access the hard drive. The manner in which the FAT is read and written through this utility is compatible with the FAT created by DOS formatting. I have used On-Trac (On-Trak?) and was very satisfied with the results, in that I had a 150 Mb hard drive, but an application program that required DOS 3.x FAT for DMA file transfers, and my application program is content with On-Trac + DOS 3.3, but it complained a lot when the drive was formatted with DOS 4.01 (regardlesss of partition size when using 4.01). Hope that this helps. Sorry, but I don't have the address for SeaGate. Richard Ohrbach University at Buffalo
sigma@jec301.its.rpi.edu (Kevin J Martin) (01/23/91)
ormohrbh@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Richard Ohrbach) writes: >SeaGate, maker of hard drives, has a program called On-Trac, which formats >a hard drive into user-specified number of partitions, etc, and which uses >a proprietary file loaded as a device through the config.sys that allows >DOS 3.xx to access the hard drive. The manner in which the FAT is read and >written through this utility is compatible with the FAT created by DOS >formatting. I have used On-Trac (On-Trak?) and was very satisfied with the >results, in that I had a 150 Mb hard drive, but an application program that >required DOS 3.x FAT for DMA file transfers, and my application program is >content with On-Trac + DOS 3.3, but it complained a lot when the drive was >formatted with DOS 4.01 (regardlesss of partition size when using 4.01). You're thinking of Disk Manager, from OnTrack Systems. It's packaged with just about every drive Seagate sells - I think they're up to version 4.3 now. I don't think Seagate would do anything but direct you to speak with OnTrack about getting an extra copy. Unfortunately, I have no addresses or phone numbers handy. -- Kevin Martin sigma@rpi.edu "i feel true blue and real"
rschmidt@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (roy schmidt) (01/23/91)
In article <1991Jan21.230226.4874@hub.cs.jmu.edu> jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu (jeff midili) writes: > >I'm looking for a program that will break DOS 3.XX's 32 meg byte >barrier. Are there any available? Either public domain or commercial >would be just fine. > Answer: MS-DOS 4.01 / DR-DOS 5.0 . -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roy Schmidt | #include <disclaimer.h> Indiana University | /* They are _my_ thoughts, and you can't Graduate School of Business | have them, so there! */
brad@huey.Jpl.Nasa.GOV (Brad Hines) (01/24/91)
Try Speedstor, from Storage Dimensions, San Jose, CA. It's an industry standard. It does low-level formatting, defect management, etc. as well as breaking the 32 MB barrier. Win3 installation objects to its HARDRIVE.SYS driver; however, I believe it still works fine if you take it out for installation and than put it back. -- Brad Hines Internet: brad@huey.jpl.nasa.gov Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, California
mea1@uark.edu (Mark _E_ Amos) (01/24/91)
ormohrbh@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Richard Ohrbach) writes: >In article <1991Jan21.230226.4874@hub.cs.jmu.edu>, jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu (jeff midili) writes... >> >>I'm looking for a program that will break DOS 3.XX's 32 meg byte >>barrier. Are there any available? Either public domain or commercial >>would be just fine. >> >>thanks, >> > >SeaGate, maker of hard drives, has a program called On-Trac, which formats >a hard drive into user-specified number of partitions, etc, and which uses >a proprietary file loaded as a device through the config.sys that allows WARNING: I have had inconsistent results from the driver mentioned when using some types of software, and have seen/responded to many postings on the various ibm.pc newsgroups to the effect that it is probably a BAD idea to use it. While the problems experienced with it don't seem to have any given pattern, the one consistency is in the lack of it - the problems occur with all types of machines and configurations, with random symptoms and occurences. I strongly recommend upgrading to DOS 4.01, as it will allow large drive sizes to be used, and has proven itself far less risky than the aforementioned Disk Manager driver. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ mea1@engr.uark.edu University of Arkansas Computer Science Engineering
keithe@sail.LABS.TEK.COM (Keith Ericson) (01/24/91)
In article <1991Jan23.040855.24554@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> rschmidt@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (roy schmidt) writes: }In article <1991Jan21.230226.4874@hub.cs.jmu.edu> jmidili@hub.cs.jmu.edu (jeff midili) writes: }> }>I'm looking for a program that will break DOS 3.XX's 32 meg byte }>barrier. Are there any available? }> } }Answer: MS-DOS 4.01 / DR-DOS 5.0 Uh, make that...........DR-DOS 3.3 (They had it "right" a long time ago.) PS - notice how I replace the leading ">" with [some|any]thing else? It makes the "you didn't add enuff original material" BUG ignore this and post it anyway...
scjones@thor.UUCP (Larry Jones) (01/24/91)
In article <55452@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU>, ormohrbh@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Richard Ohrbach) writes: > SeaGate, maker of hard drives, has a program called On-Trac, which formats It always amazes me that the amount of useful information one can get from the net is second only to the amount of MISinformation one can get. >Seagate< (no peculiar capitalization), maker of hard drives, >distributes< a program called >Disk Manager< with many of their drives. Disk Manager is a product of >Ontrack Computer Systems<, and is also available from some of the discount mail order places like Programmer's Connection. ---- Larry Jones, SDRC, 2000 Eastman Dr., Milford, OH 45150-2789 513-576-2070 Domain: scjones@thor.UUCP Path: uunet!sdrc!thor!scjones They can make me do it, but they can't make me do it with dignity. -- Calvin
daveg@misty.sara.fl.us (Dave Goodman) (01/24/91)
In article <11157@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> brad@huey.Jpl.Nasa.GOV writes: > Try Speedstor, from Storage Dimensions, San Jose, CA. It's an industry > standard. ... Ah, but does anyone have a pointer to where to obtain Speedstor? I called all over the country looking for a copy about three months ago, and was told that Speedstor is being bundled with Storage Dimensions hard drives and is no longer being sold as a separate product. Blast! -- Dave Goodman . . . . . __|__ . . . . . . . . daveg@misty.sara.fl.us . . --o--o--(_)--o--o-- . ....uunet!misty!daveg
scjones@thor.UUCP (Larry Jones) (01/25/91)
In article <mea1.664661380@engr>, mea1@uark.edu (Mark _E_ Amos) writes: > [ about Ontrack's Disk Manger ] > > WARNING: I have had inconsistent results from the driver mentioned when using > some types of software, and have seen/responded to many postings on the > various ibm.pc newsgroups to the effect that it is probably a BAD idea to > use it. While the problems experienced with it don't seem to have any given > pattern, the one consistency is in the lack of it - the problems occur with all > types of machines and configurations, with random symptoms and occurences. > > I strongly recommend upgrading to DOS 4.01, as it will allow large drive sizes > to be used, and has proven itself far less risky than the aforementioned Disk > Manager driver. Although you raise some good points, I think you've somewhat overstated your case. Of the three common methods of breaking the 32M barrier, my feeling is that Disk Manager is most common, then DOS 4, then Speedstor. Normal programs that access the disk through DOS work just fine with any of them -- the access is completely transparent. The only programs that could have trouble would be those that access the disk using just the BIOS or those that circumvent the BIOS and go straight to the hardware. The only kinds of programs that should be using the BIOS are low-level disk utilities like Norton or SpinRite. Nothing should be going straight to the hardware. Both Disk Manger and Speedstor have been around for quite a while now (significantly longer than DOS 4), and most low-level disk utilities know how to deal with them now. With the single exception of Windows 3.0 (whose manufacturer is not known for working well with others), I know of NO program that had problems with Disk Manager or Speedstor that didn't have exactly the same problems with DOS 4. All of them, including, I believe, Windows, have been fixed. So the bottom line is that I doubt you would have significantly more problems with any one of these solutions than any other. I have been running Disk Manager myself for quite a while now with DOS 3.2, first with a 40M MFM disk and now with an 80M SCSI, and I have never had any significant problems. Even the minor annoyances have been fixed by now. On the other hand, DOS 4 is bound to become much more popular as time goes on, and there is some reason to think that other solutions will become less popular and eventually die out since the support is now built-in. So the recommendation to go with DOS 4 is a good one, but if that is not acceptable, either Disk Manager or Speedstor is a viable alternative. (Note that these comments only apply to breaking the 32M barrier. Disk Manager and others also have products that allow breaking the 1024 cylinder boundary that are much newer and can cause quite serious problems with low-level disk utilities.) ---- Larry Jones, SDRC, 2000 Eastman Dr., Milford, OH 45150-2789 513-576-2070 Domain: scjones@thor.UUCP Path: uunet!sdrc!thor!scjones He piqued my curiosity. -- Calvin