gasior@khazad-dum.rutgers.edu (Eric Gasior) (06/17/91)
I'm upgrading to MSDOS 5.0 from PCDOS 3.30 and have (so far) discovered one feature I'd like to disable, the volume serial number on floppy and hard disks. Any suggestions? EDG gasior@hardees.rutgers.edu
android@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Andy Wilks) (06/18/91)
In article <Jun.17.11.48.11.1991.497@khazad-dum.rutgers.edu> gasior@khazad-dum.rutgers.edu (Eric Gasior) writes:
)I'm upgrading to MSDOS 5.0 from PCDOS 3.30 and have (so far) discovered one
)feature I'd like to disable, the volume serial number on floppy and hard disks.
)Any suggestions?
Don't mess with it. The volume serial number has been added so dos can handle
an unexpected media change. (swapping diskettes in the drive at the wrong
time.) The info is actually store in the boot sector and it takes up
space that use to be dead space at the end of the sector.
)EDG
)gasior@hardees.rutgers.edu
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bxw@ccadfa.adfa.oz.au (Brad Willcott) (06/18/91)
gasior@khazad-dum.rutgers.edu (Eric Gasior) writes: >I'm upgrading to MSDOS 5.0 from PCDOS 3.30 and have (so far) discovered one >feature I'd like to disable, the volume serial number on floppy and hard disks. >Any suggestions? Yes. Get used to it. It has been integral in MS-DOS since 4.xx, and I don't think MS will be taking it out. It is a rather nice 'feature' for software developer's, for runtime protection of their programs. Notice I did not say copy-protection, because I'd NEVER install an application that used any of the 'tricks' that I've seen used. As far as runtime protection is concerned, an installation program could modify the 'exe' of the application it was installing, to embed the volume serial number into it. This would negate problems with backing up the hard disk system, and also with defragmenting the protected files. They would not be 'position' sensitive. -- Brad Willcott, ACSnet: bxw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz Computing Services, Internet: bxw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au Australian Defence Force Academy, UUCP:!uunet!munnari.oz.au!ccadfa.oz!bxw Northcott Dr. Campbell ACT Australia 2600 +61 6 268 8584 +61 6 268 8150 (Fax)
hartnegg@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de (Klaus Hartnegg) (06/20/91)
android@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Andy Wilks) writes: >The volume serial number has been added so dos can handle >an unexpected media change. I only wonder why my disk drive reports every media change :-) What will Dos take more serious: a modified volume serial number or a disk change signal from the floppy? And what will it do with disks formatted using Dos 3.3? I have lots of such disks (a few hundred!!) -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Klaus Hartnegg, Kleist-Str. 7, D-7835 Teningen, Germany | include standard Bitnet : hartnegg@dfrruf1 or hartnegg@cernvm | disclaimer here! Internet : hartnegg@ibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de |
parke@star.enet.dec.com (Bill Parke) (06/21/91)
I have a question, in this line, Does DOS 5.0 detect the change of media on a hard disk yet ? In particular I have a SyQuest (sp) unit, and cannot use smartdrv or any other caching if I am going to change disks on the fly. -- Bill Parke VMS Development decwrl!star.enet.dec.com!parke Digital Equipment Corp parke@star.enet.dec.com 110 Spit Brook Road ZK03-2/Y05, Nashua NH 03063 The views expressed are my own.