#: 40462 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:08:42
Sb: MS-DOS 6.2 and OS/2 2.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ward Cobleigh 72627,1715 (X)

Ward,

        It is hard to say since it takes a couple of steps before it gets to
stores.  As soon as it is released by us you will be seeing traffic regarding
it.

Thanks,

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40584 S5/OS/2 
    26-Nov-93  14:33:28
Sb: #SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Stan Saraczewski 74750,2163
To: Tom Cornell 76447,1174 (X)

I'm getting the same error today.  I tried to run chkdsk c: /f after booting
with the OS/2 2.1 install and Stacker aware Disk#1.  Chkdsk tells me I have
Extended Attributes Error, then asks if I want to convert 1 lost cluster to
files.  If I answer Yes or No, the System just hangs.  I'm stuck!  I called IBM
support and they said the CHKDSK hang is a problem with the Stac driver (APAR
PJ10121), and suggested I call Stac (closed until Monday 11/29).  I'm stuck!
Is there a fix from Stac??  HELP!!! 

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40643 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  20:16:38
Sb: #40584-SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: Stan Saraczewski 74750,2163

Stan:

I am not from Stac. I had this problem to the T. After much research, and
re-trying the CHKDSK -- which would "hang" the only thing I was able to do was
to re-install OS2.

The good news -- in my case -- was I could boot with the Stacker Disk 1 and
access the stacker volume with all my data. Since my computers are OS2
Requestors on LAN SERVER 3.0, I reinstalled them as DOS Requestors, backed up
my data to the Server. I then re-booted with a non-stacker aware disk, deleted
the Stacker Volume -- it is a hidden system file --, ran chkdsk and low and
behold, no more hanging of chkds, no lost EAs.

I reinstalled OS2, and tried to get my money back from Stac. It was a long
process  -- I had two machines like this. I have hated Stac from that day on. I
am sick of being an upaid beta tester. They sold us a bill of goods. Good luck.

Aloha

Burt

#: 40805 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  01:38:39
Sb: #40584-#SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: Stan Saraczewski 74750,2163

Here is an APR description about your problem It looks like Stac knew about it
a looong time ago. I sure hope they fixed it in 1.1.  But would you believe
them? This is from IBM


 APAR Identifier ...... PJ10121      Last Changed ........ 93/09/01
 CHKDSK HANGS WHEN RUN ON A STACKED DRIVE WITH CORUPTED EA'S.


 Symptom ...... LP DISK              Status ........... CLOSED  CAN
 Severity ................... 1      Date Closed ......... 93/08/26
 Component .......... 562107701      Duplicate of .........
 Reported Release ......... 210      Fixed Release ............
 Component Name OS/2 V2.0 16BIT      Special Types ....
 Current Target Date ..              Type of Relief ..Not Available

 Status Detail: Not Available

 PE PTF List:

 PTF List:


 Parent APAR:
 Child APAR list:


 ERROR DESCRIPTION:
 2.1 chkdsk.com hangs after identifing corupt exented attributes
 (with or without the /f) when run against a stacked drive. A con
 trols c will cure the hang, but not the problem.  A dir yields s
 ys0276.  Chkdsk runs fine on d:, test case available till 8-28-9
 3.


 LOCAL FIX:
 None.


 PROBLEM SUMMARY:


 PROBLEM CONCLUSION:


 TEMPORARY FIX:


 COMMENTS:
 Hang occurs in the Stacker device driver.  I spoke with
 a Stacker developer who explained that there is a known
 hang with the read/write ioctl, and has been fixed in
 a later (but not yet released) version.


 MODULES/MACROS:


 SRLS:


 RTN CODES:


 CIRCUMVENTION:


 MESSAGE TO SUBMITTER:



There is 1 Reply.

#: 40859 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  18:05:28
Sb: #40805-#SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Marvin Sperlin 76376,3727
To: Burt Gordon 70410,1440 (X)

Burt:
I have just fixed my problem with the "hanging chkdsk".  After calling STAC,
the second person I spoke with had me download a new STACKERI.SYS (10-11-93)
from their BBS.  It appears this corrects a problem with running CHKDSK on an
IBM Thinkpad.  I changed the OS/2 Disk 1 CONFIG.SYS to use the new
STACKERI.SYS, and CHKDSK finished and corrected my bad EAB.  I'm now back in
OS/2.  So far, there are no ill effects, besides loosing about 10 hours of
time. BTW, Stan was just entering the problem for me, since my PC was down.  

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40938 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  19:59:43
Sb: #40859-SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: Marvin Sperlin 76376,3727

Marvin:

That is great! What is the BBS number, I will give it a try over the weekend.
Wish someone had told me it would have save me a looot of time.

Aloha

Burt

#: 40939 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  20:19:20
Sb: #40859-SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: Marvin Sperlin 76376,3727

PS

Marvin, I tried to get the BBS number from Stac -- maybe it is in my
documentation, but could you upload the file to me -- if you have the time. I
will pay for the charge.

Aloha

Burt


#: 40828 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:25
Sb: #SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Tom Cornell 76447,1174 (X)

Tom;

Please download the technical bulletins 6004.txt, 6005.txt, and 6009.txt. These
will give you the procedural outline
to correct the problem.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40952 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  22:03:04
Sb: #40828-SYS1200 error help!
Fm: Tom Cornell 76447,1174
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Thanks for getting back to me, Keith. I'll download the files and let you know
what happens.

                                   T. 

#: 40646 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  20:55:10
Sb: Stacker for OS/2
Fm: Brian Hinkle 71477,612
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

I would like to download OS2UP.EXE. My Stacker S/N is SI1BH338450.

Thank you. Brian Hinkle, Anaheim, Ca


#: 40829 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:29
Sb: Performance w/OS/2
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Mike M. Farnsworth 73473,2006

Mike;


No, Stacker is not Multi-Threaded.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40705 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  12:46:18
Sb: #Stacker v. 1.1
Fm: Ron Curtin 76057,112
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

I am currently using Stacker 3.1 with MSDos 6.0 and Windows.  I am considering
going to OS/2.1.    If I do that,  I would like to back up some of my files to
an external harddisk using Stacker 3.1.   Can Stacker 1.1 for OS2 read the 3.1
stacked disk?   What are some of the potential problems in making a change from
what I have to OS 2.1 and Stacker 1.1 for OS 2.  Also, can I up grade from 3.1
to OS 2   1.1 or do I need to buy a new product??  Thank you for your help.

Ron

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41069 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  19:03:09
Sb: #40705-Stacker v. 1.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ron Curtin 76057,112 (X)

Ron;

Stacker for OS/2 & DOS uses the 3.1 driver while in the DOS environment. Yes
you will need to order the cross-grade from us
For more info on that please call our toll-free line at 1-800-522-7822.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40449 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:02
Sb: Stacker v. 1.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Gary Kopp 70304,1316 (X)

Gary,

        Right now the press release is the most updated infromation I have.  I
do not have a copy yet here.  I should have it soon with more information.

Thanks

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40450 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:08
Sb: Stacker Upgrade
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Alex Irving 76114,1135

Alex,

1.  The upgrade (crossgrade)  is only available from STAC.  You can order it by
calling 1-800-522-7822.  Have your version 3.0 Serial number available for the
crossgrade price.

2.  The exact date of release for Stacker for OS/2 and DOS version 1.1 has not
been established at this time.

3.  You will not need to have any previous versions of Stacker installed to
Install Stacker for OS/2 and DOS.

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40451 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:14
Sb: OS/2 COPY HANG
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Dennis Slice 70323,1747

Dennis,

        This is not a known problem.  You mention that you have plenty of space
available on the compressed drive.  With this being the case I would suggest
temporarly REMarking out the FATMGR line in the OS/2 config.sys and try again.
Let us know if this makes a difference.  DO NOT leave this line REMarked out.
Also I would be interested in how large the file is that is causing the
problem?  Will be looking for your response.

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40452 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:18
Sb: OS2UP Password
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Henry Molinet 70571,667

Henry,

        Reply in private mail.

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40453 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:21
Sb: New to OS/2 Stac
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ronald DeMass 71726,2612 (X)

Ronald,

        The response from John advising the use of Boot Manager is my personal
preference but we will support either Dual Boot or Boot Manager.

Thanks

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40454 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:25
Sb: OS2 for Windows
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Allan Lind 73131,1615 (X)

Allan,

        Not at all.  Stacker for OS/2 is compatible is OS/2 for Windows.

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40455 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:07:42
Sb: #chkdsk
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Henry Molinet 70571,667 (X)

Henry,

        CHKDSK should be run when booting from Stacker Aware Boot Disks.  If
you do not do this you will usually get a message the the drive is locked.  I
will include a technote on the subject.

Thanks

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

  STACKER NOTE                                         STACKER NOTE
                 RUNNING CHKDSK /F ON A COMPRESSED BOOT DRIVE
                     (Applies to Stacker for OS/2 & DOS )
       STAC FAX 6005  (09/07/93)
       _________________________________________________________________

       BACKGROUND

       Sometimes you have to run CHKDSK to correct problems on an OS/2
       boot disk. OS/2 does not let you run CHKDSK /F on the current
       startup drive. OS/2 documentation recommends that you start the
       system from the OS/2 installation disks and then run CHKDSK /F on
       the drive with problems. When Stacker is installed, you have to
       start the system with your Stacker-aware boot disks, then run
       CHKDSK on the compressed boot drive.

       SOLUTION

       To run CHKDSK /F on the compressed boot drive, you need:

           Stacker-aware boot disks.

           A copy of the OS/2 file CHKDSK.EXE. That file will be on
           OS/2 distribution Diskette 2 (the third disk in the package).

       If you do not have a set of Stacker-aware boot disks, you can
       create them. You will need:

           The first two diskettes of the OS/2 distribution set
           (Installation Diskette and Diskette 1)

           The Stacker for OS/2 and DOS Disk 2

           A blank reusable floppy disk of the same type as the OS/2
           distribution disks.

       To create Stacker-aware boot disks:

        1. Perform a Diskcopy of the OS/2 distribution disk that
           contains the CONFIG.SYS file. That is usually the floppy
           disk labeled "Diskette 1."  Then mark the copied disk
           Stacker-aware "Diskette 1."

        2. Start your system under DOS.

        3. Insert the Stacker for OS/2 and DOS Diskette 2 in drive A or
           B and switch to that drive.

        4. Type:

             STACBOOT <Enter>

        5. STACBOOT will prompt you to enter the names of the drives
           that are compressed. For example, if you compressed C and D,
           you would type:

             C D <Enter>

        6. You will then be prompted to insert the OS/2 diskette
           containing CONFIG.SYS into drive A. Insert the disk you
           marked "Stacker-aware Diskette 1" into drive A and press
           <Enter>.

           STACBOOT will then advise you to remove the disk from drive
           A. You now have a set of Stacker-aware boot disks.

       To run CHKDSK on your OS/2 boot drive:

        1. Restart your system with the OS/2 installation disk in drive
           A. When prompted for disk number 1 insert the disk you
           labeled "Stacker-aware Diskette 1".

        2. When prompted to continue with the OS/2 installation press
           ESCAPE to get to an A prompt.

        3. When you get to an A prompt, insert the OS/2 disk labeled
           "Diskette 2" into drive A and type:

             CHKDSK d: /F <Enter>
       where d is the compressed drive you want to check.
       _________________________________________________________________
       Copyright 1993, Stac Electronics

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40518 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  21:21:02
Sb: #40455-chkdsk
Fm: Henry Molinet 70571,667
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger, I always run from Stacker aware disks, since I stacked my whole   drive
(except for the D: drive created by Stacker). But, a good
point, none the less.
Regards,
Henry 

#: 40519 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  21:24:41
Sb: #chkdsk
Fm: Henry Molinet 70571,667
To: Burt Gordon 70410,1440 (X)

Burt, thank you for all the information. I have saved the name of the
other company that has a compression program and will look into it. I
really don't appreciate Stacker playing with my time and data. It
caused me to not be able to meet certain commitments I had made because I was
trying to resuscitate my machine.
Regards,
Henry 

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40552 S5/OS/2 
    25-Nov-93  12:43:32
Sb: #40519-chkdsk
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: Henry Molinet 70571,667 (X)

Henry:

I know how you feel -- I had the same problems and it is one reason why I got
so mad about this situation. Microsoft was critisied for having  lost data
when it brought out DOS 6.0 and Stac said in its advertising at the time that
disk compression was a serious endever. I am no fan of Microsoft but in this
situation what happend to myself and you and many others is deplorable and when
it comes to data on disks, I don't want to hear excuses or "Woops were sorry --
but you can get your money back."

Good luck to you Henry.

Aloha

Burt

#: 40517 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  21:17:36
Sb: chkdsk
Fm: Henry Molinet 70571,667
To: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617 (X)

Yes, Manfred. I am using OS/2 and have deleted files under DOS, but
I'll run CHKDSK from OS/2 and some times it will say that it has lost
clusters and some times not. When running CHKDSK from the OS/2 boot
diskettes, it doesn't find anything wrong. BTW the number of times
that I get lost EAs has diminished significantly since I installed the
Stacker update.
Regards,
Henry 

#: 40446 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  16:35:10
Sb: #chkdsk
Fm: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617
To: Burt Gordon 70410,1440 (X)

Burt,

it is interesting to know about coop with IBM advertising Stacker - in
Europe (at least in Germany) IBM is offering OS/2 2.1 with Stacker as a
package!

But I do not share your disappointment - since I bought it bundled with
OS/2 I have used it for quite a few months now. I had difficulties in
installing OS/2 with Stacker - but it turned out that it was my fault and
not Stacker's - maybe IBM's because not stating clearly enough some OS/2
specialties (e.g. handling of EAs under FAT) - and I underestimated the
SWAPPER.DAT size for WINOS2 apllications.  But there was nothing what
really gave reason to blame Stacker.

As to your lost clusters - if you do not run OS/2 CHKDSK /F after booting
from disk - as recommended by IBM and Stacker - once in a while you will
not clear up your EAs - at least not on the boot drive. Since the boot
drive (and especially the FAT file for keeping EAs) is open/used while
running  OS/2 CHKDSK cannot handle it (and DOS CHKDSK will not anyway).

You (or was it someone else) mentioned DF2 - I thought this product is
supporting HPFS _only_. Am I wrong?

Greetings and good (better) luck

Manfred  <- flying from FRA via Amiga Autopilot 1.06

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40523 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  21:46:56
Sb: #40446-#chkdsk
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617 (X)

Dear Manfred:

No, it is interesting that in Germany that it is a bundled package. IBM
marketing never ceases to amaze me -- that is why I am buying its stock, infact
it went up 2 points today to $55(US).

But I am still at a loss. I installed  stacker with no problems. I made both
the Stacker aware boot disk and the OS2 version. I ran CHKDSK OS2 on a boot
disk, from PM and the STAC CHECK DISK. I ran them on a regular basis.

If I ever had an abnormal system shut down -- which is very likley with an
THINKPAD 700C -- I would have to reload the OS2 operating system. The OS2
chkdsk both with out a stacker aware version and stacker aware version could
not recover from the EAs. Infact the stacker aware OS2 run of CHKDSK would chug
along for a while then hang the entire system.

This did not happen once but 3 times both on THINKPADS and a 386 25mh
communications Server. At first I thought that maybe because we were running an
image of Native DOS inorder to access a network that did not have drivers that
supported OS2 that this was the cause for the missing EAs -- but after taking
this off we still had problems.

We have had the problems that have been reported so much in this forum -- "cant
start DOS session, unable to find PMSHELL.exe ...

Some people have been able to recover from this by running CHKDKS, I was never
able to. The data in the stacker volume was recoverable by booting with the
stacker aware DR DOS disk and then installing NTS drivers and become a DOS
Requester on an LAN SERVER 3.0 and backing up the files to the server, then
erasing the STACKER VOLUME and reinstalling OS2.

Not a fun project -- especially on THINKPADS with not a lot of disk space so it
would be impossible to have both DOS and OS2 requestors installed.

So you see I am still at a lose of what has been occuring and in all my years
of "fun with computers" I have never seen CHKDSK hang a system and go off into
never-never land. As for DF2 it puts a compressed HPFS out on the disk. It can
run in FAT -- the problem has been with running on a HPFS system. There is
supposed to be a bug in HPFS which IBM has corrected. It is available now along
with a new OS2 kernal.

Aloha

Burt

 

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40536 S5/OS/2 
    25-Nov-93  01:54:51
Sb: #40523-#chkdsk
Fm: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617
To: Burt Gordon 70410,1440 (X)

Dear Burt,

I am afraid that I cannot be of any more help - I neither own a thinkpad
(doing thinking on my own<g>) nor do I understand too much about LANs.

My system is weird enough - though running fine:
 386SX card (8MB, 110 MB harddisk - 2 partitions all stacked with the
exception of SWAPPER.DAT) running OS/2/Dual Boot, -
 built into an Amiga 2500 (68020 inside) 5MB, 80 MB Harddisk, CD-ROM and
Syquest via GVP SCSI controller, doing all keyboard, monitor and printing
I/O via AMIGA.

Manfred  <- flying from FRA via Amiga Autopilot 1.06

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40553 S5/OS/2 
    25-Nov-93  12:48:40
Sb: #40536-chkdsk
Fm: Burt Gordon 70410,1440
To: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617 (X)

Manfred:

Very interesting system!! Thanks anyway for your input and your clarity on EAs
was helpful to say the least.

Have a good day and I hope you don't "blow your stack" -- just kidding.

Aloha

Burt

#: 40456 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:08:01
Sb: Stkr OS/2 w/DBLSPACE??
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Tom Astin 73407,3427 (X)

Tom,

        The conversion utility is not included with version 1.0 of Stacker for
OS/2 and DOS.  It will be included with version 1.1 which should be releasing
very soon.  I will include the press release.

NOV 10,1993
New Stacker for OS/2 instantly coverts DoubleSpace, SuperStor/DS Files
to safer Stac format;   compatible with  OS/2 for Windows, now includes
network installation features
Business Editors & Computer/Electronics Writers

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stac Electronics (NASDAQ:STAC), the
leading supplier of data compression products for doubling the storage
capacity of personal computers, Wednesday unveiled a new release of
Stacker for OS/2 & DOS which includes special software that  instantly
converts data compressed with Microsoft Corp.'s DoubleSpace and IBM
Corp.'s SuperStor/DS to the safer, OS/2-compatible Stacker format.

Neither DoubleSpace, nor SuperStor/DS is compatible with OS/2.  Stac has
also added new features that allows Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS to be
installed on individual computers from a network server.

"Before Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS, DoubleSpace and SuperStor/DS users had
no option but to de-compress their data and remove their data compression
software to even evaluate OS/2," said John Bromhead, Stac vice president
of marketing.

"Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS eliminates that headache and makes upgrading
an enterprise to standard OS/2, or OS/2 for Windows, even  easier by making
Stacker network installable."

Like all Stac software, Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS is based on the
company's proven Stacker LZS compression technology for doubling the
storage capacity of DOS, Windows, OS/2 and Macintosh computers.
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS, which gives users access to compressed disks
from either operating system, is 100 percent compatible with  IBM's new
OS/2 for Windows, OS/2 versions 2.0 and 2.1, DOS 5.0 and  later, all OS/2
and DOS applications and all hard disk FAT drives.

To ease the adoption of OS/2 and the installation of Stacker, version 1.1
for OS/2 & DOS now comes with software that instantly  converts data
compressed with DoubleSpace or SuperStor/DS to the safer and OS/2
compatible Stacker format.  Neither DoubleSpace, which comes with
Microsoft's MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2, nor SuperStor/DS, which comes with IBM's
PC-DOS 6.1 is compatible with the OS/2 operating system.

StacNet, a new feature in Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 and DOS, allows OS/2
computer users in a local area network to electronically transfer Stacker
from the network server and install it on their systems.  Until now,
Stacker had to be installed within an enterprise using a new set of
program diskettes for each computer.

"Stacker for OS/2 & DOS will play a pivotal role in our customers' ability
to cost-effectively covert their PC's to IBM's 32-bit operating system,"
said Anita Habeich, Stacker for OS/2 & DOS product manager.  "And, our
instant conversion of DoubleSpace and SuperStor/DS drives makes the switch
to OS/2 and Stacker truly painless."

Pricing and Availability
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS will be available in two weeks through dealers
or directly from Stac, and has a suggested retail price of $199.  For users
of Stacker 1.0 for OS/2 & DOS, the upgrade is available directly from
Stac for $19.95 by calling 800-522-STAC.  As  with all Stacker products,
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS comes with 90 days of free technical support.

The Company
Stac Electronics is the leading supplier of high-performance data
compression products for personal computers.  Implemented in software and
silicon, Stac's products are sold direct from the company and through
retail and OEM sales distribution channels worldwide.
--30--BMJ/la

CONTACT:  Stac Electronics, San Diego
          Lois Leslie, 619/431-7474
               or
          Jennings & Co., San Francisco
          Gregory Spector, 415/974-6200

#: 40457 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:08:21
Sb: Free space discrepancies
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Jim Turner 71203,3700 (X)

Jim,

        Enclosed is a technote that will assist you with this.

___________________________________________________________________________
STACKER NOTE                                                   STACKER NOTE
Title: Stacker Drive Space Reporting
STAC FAX Index #2602 - 2/10/93
___________________________________________________________________________

Background.

   Use Stacker 2.0's SCHECK or Stacker 3.0's CHECK /D utility to see exactly
   how the space has been used in the Stacker drive.

   Here is an example of an SCHECK & CHECK /D report:

   Volume in drive C is STACVOL_DSK
   No errors found
   Stacker Drive Statistics:

                  Stacker Drive             STACVOL File
                  Drive C:                  D:\STACVOL.DSK
                 -------------------       --------------------
   Total Bytes:  4,109,312                   2,054,656
   Bytes Used:   3,735,552 ( 91.2%)          1,846,272 ( 89.9%)
   Bytes Free:     373,760 (  8.8%)            208,384 ( 10.1%)

   Stacker Drive Compression Ratio = 2.0:1
   Projected Bytes Free            = 373,760


What does it all mean?

   The Left Hand Column:  This column displays "logical" data in the clusters
   on the Stacker drive.  In this example, it tells us that there are enough
   allocation units (clusters) for 4 MB of data.  There are enough clusters
   left to acomodate 373,760 bytes of data.  The DOS CHKDSK program 
   reports these numbers because it looks at allocation units.

   The Right Hand Column:  This column shows the usage of actual physical
   hard disk space inside the STACVOL.DSK file.  The Stacvol file contains
   all of the data and free space for the Stacker drive C:.  It's name and
   location are shown in the column title.  In our example, D:\STACVOL.DSK is
   2 MB in size and has used all but 208,384 bytes of that 2 MB.  Therefore,
   there are 208,384 bytes of physical free space left in D:\Stacvol.dsk.

Compression ratio.

   The Stacker drive compression ratio indicates the average compression of
   the files in that drive.  The compressibility of the files is generally
   dependent on their contents.  In the above example, the 2.0:1 ratio tells
   us that the files in this Stacker drive are taking up half the space they
   would take up on a "Non-Stacked" drive. (A 2.0:1 ratio is typical for an
   average mixture of files.)  A drive full of graphics files may achieve an
   average compression of 8.0:1 or more.  An 8.0:1 ratio would mean that the
   files are taking up 1/8 the space they would on a standard drive.
   Conversely, some files are already compressed, such as "zipped" files.
   Stacker will not attempt to compress previously compressed files, so they
   will bring down the overall compression ratio of the Stacked drive in
   which they reside.

   NOTE: The drive compression ratio does not display if the drive is empty.

Projected bytes free.

   This number is Stacker's estimate of the available space left on the
   Stacked drive.  It is determined by multiplying the physical free space
   (right side) by the compression ratio, OR by the number of clusters left
   unallocated (left side).  The projected bytes free is limited to the
   smaller of these two values.

   In our example, physical space free multiplied by the compression ratio
   would be: 208,386 x 2.0 or 416,772 bytes. However, we only have 373,760
   bytes worth of unallocated clusters.  Since the projected bytes free is
   the smaller of these two numbers, it is 373,760.  Fortunately, you can
   increase the number of allocation units by "growing" the drive.  To grow
   the Stacker drive, run the Grow & Shrink utility from the STAC command
   assistant.  "Growing" the drive in this example would increase the

   projected free space to 416,772.

   Notes:  When the number for physical bytes free goes to zero, the drive is
   full.  You cannot "grow" the drive to create more physical space.  Also,
   if the drive is less than 12% full, the projected bytes free will equal
   the "logical" bytes free number (left column).

___________________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1993, Stac Electronics

#: 40458 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:08:25
Sb: OS/2 doesn't boot
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Jeffrey M. White 70254,571

Jeffrey,

        At what point does the boot fail?   What are the error messages?  OS/2
does a lot of loading in a boot and determining the problem will allow us to
decide on the best way to fix the problem.

Thanks

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40852 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:59:00
Sb: Stacker OS2
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: David DePaolis 72262,1223

David;

You don't need the patch. I can tell by your serial number that you are running
with the patch already.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40461 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:08:38
Sb: #OS2UP.EXE
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Paul Ross 75600,1722 (X)

Paul,

1.  See private mail for response to issue 1.

2.  I would suggest running SDEFRAG /SU and see if that helps.  I do not
understand why it would only affect those apps.

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40703 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  08:52:41
Sb: #40461-#OS2UP.EXE
Fm: Paul Ross 75600,1722
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Thanks for the response.  I'll try the sdefrag.  More info, though.  I find
that if I have one Windows app running alredy, all the others run fine.  It
doesn't matter which is first.  The first is always slow.  It's also probably
got to do with my swap file (8 meg) When I run an app on a different drive, I
see my regular drive going wild.  It IS an interesting one, n'est ce pas?

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41310 S5/OS/2 
    04-Dec-93  14:03:58
Sb: #40703-OS2UP.EXE
Fm: Tom Hooper 73112,1030
To: Paul Ross 75600,1722

I assume you are discussing slow response with OS/2 under Stacker?  I have
noticed an INCREDIBLE slowdown of ALL my DOS/Windows applications from OS/2
even when my OS/2 drive WASN'T Stacked.  This leads me to believe that there is
a lot of overhead going on (disk drive light flashing like crazy) in opening
the files for OS/2 to access them.  Once OS/2 is Stacked, the slowdown occurs
on the OS/2 applications as well.  

#: 40830 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:32
Sb: #Stacker 1.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Tom Koschate 76214,1034 (X)

Tom;


Those commands are still DOS specific.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40990 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  13:36:13
Sb: #40830-#Stacker 1.1
Fm: Tom Koschate 76214,1034
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

So what you're saying in effect, is that there's absolutely no good reason to
upgrade from v1.0x to v1.1, right?

Tom

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41064 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  19:02:48
Sb: #40990-Stacker 1.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Tom Koschate 76214,1034 (X)

Tom;

This is a copy of our announced press release. I hope this will answer your
question.

Regards,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support


NOV 10,1993
New Stacker for OS/2 instantly coverts DoubleSpace, SuperStor/DS Files
to safer Stac format;   compatible with  OS/2 for Windows, now includes
network installation features
Business Editors & Computer/Electronics Writers

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stac Electronics (NASDAQ:STAC), the
leading supplier of data compression products for doubling the storage
capacity of personal computers, Wednesday unveiled a new release of
Stacker for OS/2 & DOS which includes special software that  instantly
converts data compressed with Microsoft Corp.'s DoubleSpace and IBM
Corp.'s SuperStor/DS to the safer, OS/2-compatible Stacker format.

Neither DoubleSpace, nor SuperStor/DS is compatible with OS/2.  Stac has
also added new features that allows Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS to be
installed on individual computers from a network server.

"Before Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS, DoubleSpace and SuperStor/DS users had
no option but to de-compress their data and remove their data compression
software to even evaluate OS/2," said John Bromhead, Stac vice president
of marketing.

"Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS eliminates that headache and makes upgrading
an enterprise to standard OS/2, or OS/2 for Windows, even  easier by making
Stacker network installable."

Like all Stac software, Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS is based on the
company's proven Stacker LZS compression technology for doubling the
storage capacity of DOS, Windows, OS/2 and Macintosh computers.
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS, which gives users access to compressed disks
from either operating system, is 100 percent compatible with  IBM's new
OS/2 for Windows, OS/2 versions 2.0 and 2.1, DOS 5.0 and  later, all OS/2
and DOS applications and all hard disk FAT drives.

To ease the adoption of OS/2 and the installation of Stacker, version 1.1
for OS/2 & DOS now comes with software that instantly  converts data
compressed with DoubleSpace or SuperStor/DS to the safer and OS/2
compatible Stacker format.  Neither DoubleSpace, which comes with
Microsoft's MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2, nor SuperStor/DS, which comes with IBM's
PC-DOS 6.1 is compatible with the OS/2 operating system.

StacNet, a new feature in Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 and DOS, allows OS/2
computer users in a local area network to electronically transfer Stacker
from the network server and install it on their systems.  Until now,
Stacker had to be installed within an enterprise using a new set of
program diskettes for each computer.

"Stacker for OS/2 & DOS will play a pivotal role in our customers' ability
to cost-effectively covert their PC's to IBM's 32-bit operating system,"
said Anita Habeich, Stacker for OS/2 & DOS product manager.  "And, our
instant conversion of DoubleSpace and SuperStor/DS drives makes the switch
to OS/2 and Stacker truly painless."

Pricing and Availability
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS will be available in two weeks through dealers
or directly from Stac, and has a suggested retail price of $199.  For users
of Stacker 1.0 for OS/2 & DOS, the upgrade is available directly from
Stac for $19.95 by calling 800-522-STAC.  As  with all Stacker products,
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS comes with 90 days of free technical support.

The Company
Stac Electronics is the leading supplier of high-performance data
compression products for personal computers.  Implemented in software and
silicon, Stac's products are sold direct from the company and through
retail and OEM sales distribution channels worldwide.
--30--BMJ/la

CONTACT:  Stac Electronics, San Diego
          Lois Leslie, 619/431-7474
               or
          Jennings & Co., San Francisco
          Gregory Spector, 415/974-6200

#: 40831 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:37
Sb: error message:  1477
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Donald C. Campbell 72603,1233

Donald;


You need to increase the size of your uncompressed or physical drive. The
command to do this is "sdefrag x: /gp"
where x: = the compressed or stacker drive letter. You can reference this
information on page 151 of you Users
Guide.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40832 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:41
Sb: STACOS2 & DOS 6.x
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Richard Biffl 73607,3043 (X)

Richard;

With Stacker for OS/2 & DOS version 1.10, yes you will still enjoy the
pre-loading capability.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40833 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:45
Sb: #Stacker and OS/2 for Win
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: hyperkinetix 75300,2010

Bill;

I would recommend Stacker version 1.10. If you are using MSDOS 6.X we will be
able to pre-load our driver before
the execution of the config.sys and autoexec.bat files.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There are 2 Replies.

#: 41129 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  16:57:53
Sb: #40833-Stacker and OS/2 for Win
Fm: John Smith 72257,1104
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Keith,

PMJI.

I just purchased Stacker for OS/2 yesterday!  I was unaware of the 1.1 plan. Is
there any reason I should not use 1.0x to install OS/2 for windows?  (I am new
to OS/2 2.1.)

My system is a Thinkpad 720C with a stackered C: drive and 15 MB on E: with a
ramdisk on D:.  I am working through the install documentation now.  I am using
PC DOS 6.1 with stacker 3.0, converted to Stacker OS/2 v1.0.

Thanks

John


#: 41353 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  20:21:21
Sb: #40833-Stacker and OS/2 for Win
Fm: Charlie Milhans 72165,240
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Is there an update to Stacker for OS/2?  I have version 1.0.  BTW what is the
difference between the STACKER.SYS and STACKERI.SYS files?  I looked in the
reference manual and could find an answer.

Charlie

#: 40834 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:49
Sb: #Stacker for os/2 upgrade
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Judy Dill 74140,1606 (X)

Judy;


I can tell by your serial number that you don't need to use the upgrade file.
It is only for those users whose serial number
starts with SI1AH or SI1BH.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There are 2 Replies.

#: 41245 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  13:54:27
Sb: #40834-Stacker for os/2 upgrade
Fm: Bjorn Stromnaes 100276,1517
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Keith Moon / Roger Hicks, Do I need an upgrade of Stacker for OS2 & Dos?  My
reg.no. is: S/N: SI1BH338517

Best Regards

Bjorn



#: 41354 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  20:21:27
Sb: #40834-Stacker for os/2 upgrade
Fm: Charlie Milhans 72165,240
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Please send me a password for the upgrade file.  My Stacker for OS/2 & DOS
serial number is SI1AH336799.  Thanks

#: 40460 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  17:08:34
Sb: Disk Write Protect.
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Michael J. McNamara 71563,2431 (X)

Michael,

        Please see your manual on page 14.  There is a complete explaination
and instructions.

Thanks

Roger Hicks
STAC Product Support

#: 40499 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  18:20:54
Sb: #os2sup password
Fm: Joseph F. Clementi 72113,672
To: sysop (X)

I have downloaded os2sup.exe; my sn: si1ah336525. Please supply me with the
necessary password for os2sup.exe. thanks

There are 2 Replies.

#: 41065 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  19:02:52
Sb: #40499-os2sup password
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Joseph F. Clementi 72113,672

Joseph;

Replying via Private mail.




#: 41066 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  19:02:56
Sb: #40499-os2sup password
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Joseph F. Clementi 72113,672

Joseph;

Reply in private mail.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40501 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  18:26:42
Sb: #OS/2 for Windows
Fm: Joseph F. Clementi 72113,672
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

I've installed OS/2 for Windows on my system and cannot access any Windows
application that resides on my Stacker drives. My Icons are the windows
defaults, and if I try to load an application on a stacker drive I get 'invalid
path' messages. When I dual boot back to DOS and Windows 3.1 platform the Icons
are still screwed up but they will load. I have no problem accessing stacker
drives in OS/2 under a DOS or OS/2 command prompt. I hit IBM up for this
problem too. Has anyone run into a problem like this yet ???  Thanks.     

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40835 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:52
Sb: #40501-OS/2 for Windows
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Joseph F. Clementi 72113,672

Joseph;

I have not heard of any issues like the one you are experiencing. I will
forward your message to our compatiblity team.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40508 S5/OS/2 
    24-Nov-93  18:41:24
Sb: #Create OS/2 boot diskett
Fm: David R. Kramer 71072,3404
To: SYSOP (X)

Hello,
      I set up OS/2 on my system via a CD-ROM.  When I follow the instructions
on page 21 of the User's Guide I do not get a bootable diskette.  When I try to
boot from the diskette I get a 'can't find  "OS2LDR" file.  After I finally
found that file and transferred it to the boot floppy, I then got a 'can't find
"OS2KRNL" file'.  There isn't enough room on the floppy for this file unless I
delete several hundred bytes worth of files.  What gives?  I copied DISKETTE 1,
that contains the config.sys file, as per the instructions.  Obviously, this
isn't enough.  Should I have copied the installation diskette instead.
DISKETTE 1 is not bootable, by the way.

Thanks,         David

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40560 S5/OS/2 
    25-Nov-93  16:45:58
Sb: #40508-Create OS/2 boot diskett
Fm: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617
To: David R. Kramer 71072,3404 (X)

David,
just a quick answer: could it be that you try to boot disk #1?

Whenever you boot into OS/2 you should first boot the _installation_ disk,
then after the IBM logo shows up, enter the disk #1 (if you use Stacker
this should be the "Stacker aware disk #1") until it requests you to enter
either ESC (to allow you to enter commands from the command prompt) _or_
ENTER (to continue the installation process - which you should only do in
case of a complete new installation of OS/2 - and never before some
precautions are taken with regard to already existing OS/2 parts on the
drive, resulting from earlier attempts to install OS/2).

This is the normal procedure - I just do not know if there is something
special to worry when using the CD for booting since I do not have one...

Manfred  <- flying from FRA via Amiga Autopilot 1.06

#: 40564 S5/OS/2 
    25-Nov-93  21:04:14
Sb: #sdefrag
Fm: Robert Schroeck 70404,3472
To: Stac electronics 75300,2755 (X)

I was recently optimizing my stacker drive from dos, with the /gl parameter to
change the size of the stacker drive (compression ratio) and the sdefrag
program (the one that came with stacker for os/2 and dos) says that the data is
compressed at a ratio of 2.2:1.  The report program that comes with the stacker
for os/2 and dos says that the compression ratio is 1.6:1 (from the summary
screen) and finally the stacker v3.0 for windows and dos report program says
that the drive is compressed at 2.2:1.  Why is there a discrepency and which
one should I believe ?   

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40836 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:57:57
Sb: #40564-sdefrag
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Robert Schroeck 70404,3472 (X)

Robert;

The discrepency that you see is the difference between logical space and
physical space. The report program takes
into account the file Dontdel.me which is a file used to take slack space
between the anticipated compression ratio and
the actual or physical compression. The ratio reported by report at 1.6:1 is
correct. You should run sdefrag /gl and set
the anticipated compression ratio for 1.6.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40572 S5/OS/2 
    26-Nov-93  07:22:03
Sb: #OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: Kevin Musgrave (UK) 100014,3344
To: All

I've just installed Stacker for OS/2 on my PC at work, and OS/2 now runs
_very slow.  It takes almost 4 minutes just to boot.  It was never this slow
before.  I previously had Stacker 3.0 for use in DOS, and never saw any
degradtion in speed.  When I boot DOS now, it still seems to run OK.

I have a Compaq 486-33 with 8M RAM.  I partitioned my disk into C for DOS and
D for OS/2 using Boot Manager.  I then installed OS/2 & DOS, then Stacker for
OS/2.

I've followed the suggestions in the manual - SWAPPER.DAT on non-compressed,
INI files on non-compressed, and increasing DISkCACHE size - but it still
runs unbearably slow.

I've seen mention that the diskcache doesn't work with Stacker.  Is this
true?  I REMmed out my DISKCACHE statement in my CONFIG.SYS and it _seems_ to
run a little faster, but still nowhere near like it did before Stacker.

Does anyone have any suggestions where I go from here?  (Apart from buy more
memory? - I work for a bank and they don't seem to have any money!<g>)

Thanks for any help

Kevin

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40635 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  15:08:58
Sb: #40572-#OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: John Hutton 73164,2710
To: Kevin Musgrave (UK) 100014,3344 (X)

I suggest you make drive D: an OS/2 HPFS partition and (re-)install OS/2 on it.
Then just C: will be stacked, but you will get full performance for your OS/2
operating system, running your Application S/W from the stacked drive (with
less of a performance penalty). I think Stack is looking into their performance
stuff really hard right now!

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40662 S5/OS/2 
    28-Nov-93  09:58:26
Sb: #40635-#OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: Kevin Musgrave(UK) 100014,3344
To: John Hutton 73164,2710 (X)

Thanks for your reply.

The problem with using HPFS is backups! I'm the only person using OS/2 in our
company, so all backups are done through DOS-aware programs.  The
 PCs are backed up via the Novell network.  At the moment, I run the EABACKUP
program before signing on to the backup program after booting to DOS.

Would I get a worthwhile increase in speed by going to HPFS?  Or would a FAT
uncompressed drive be as quick?

Are you saying that Stacker for OS/2 can't reaaly support OS/2 system on a
stacked drive?

Kevin

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40801 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  01:01:02
Sb: #40662-#OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: John Hutton 73164,2710
To: Kevin Musgrave(UK) 100014,3344 (X)

My observations are that High Performance File System is at least 15 - 20%
faster than a DOS FAT (uncompressed) file system when running OS/2. In addition
to that, the drive requires little or no de-fragmenting. (you should have at
least 8Mb memory for HPFS to work effectively) Extended Attributes are also
handled more effectively.

If you are concerned about backups, just put the OS/2 operating system on it.
Back up OS2.INI, OS2SYS.INI, CONFIG.SYS and the DESKTOP directory onto a FAT
drive. If you loose your HD, then you would have to re-install OS/2 ,then
recover your desktop from this backup.
Stacker works OK, but the HPFS arrangement has no noticeable performance
penalty. I noticed OS/2 slow down when running from my stacked FAT drive (Stac
is looking into it) 

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41219 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  10:38:54
Sb: #40801-#OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: Ron Boetger 72073,2343
To: John Hutton 73164,2710 (X)

John
RE:
<<My observations are that High Performance File System is at least 15 - 20%
faster than a DOS FAT (uncompressed) file system when running OS/2. In addition
to that, the drive requires little or no de-fragmenting. (you should have at
least 8Mb memory for HPFS to work effectively) Extended Attributes are also
handled more effectively.

If you are concerned about backups, just put the OS/2 operating system on it.
Back up OS2.INI, OS2SYS.INI, CONFIG.SYS and the DESKTOP directory onto a FAT
drive. If you loose your HD, then you would have to re-install OS/2 ,then
recover your desktop from this backup.
Stacker works OK, but the HPFS arrangement has no noticeable performance
penalty. I noticed OS/2 slow down when running from my stacked FAT drive (Stac
is looking into it)  >>

I have goten my OS/2 partiton cruppted, I have to re install.  I am running a
laptop 486/25 with 8 meg of ram and 120 HD.  At present I am running Stacker on
my C: drive (60 meg) and OS/2 on my D: (60 meg) unstacked.    My Question is I
would like to try HPSF on the unstacked partition.  As I understand it my HD is
to small to get any advantages from HPSF, but according to the above posting I
sounds like it might be a good Idea for me.

Any advice and imput would be appreciated.

Sincerely

Ron Boetger  

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41327 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  02:19:35
Sb: #41219-OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: John Hutton 73164,2710
To: Ron Boetger 72073,2343 (X)

According to some documentation I read. . . way back when, 60 Megabytes was the
cross-over point for FAT and HPFS, below that, FAT was better, above that HPFS
was more efficient. I have used HPFS exclusively on 95% of machines I have set
up both servers and workstations. I even use HPFS on the Swapper Volume on the
servers ( 30 Megabytes set aside for the SWAPPER.DAT so nobody can kill the
server by running out of space ). Given enough memory (and disk storage), I my
opinion, HPFS is always better! Recovery is also better, as is the marking of
bad tracks on the fly (dos doesn't do this so well).  Also, Gigabyte drives
with thousands of files benefit from the B-tree search methods, accessing files
more rapidly.

#: 40837 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:01
Sb: #40662-#OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Kevin Musgrave(UK) 100014,3344 (X)

Kevin;


Have you run the chkdsk utility on the drive to see if you have any corrupted
E.A.s?

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41031 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  18:01:44
Sb: #40837-OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: Kevin Musgrave(UK) 100014,3344
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger,

yes I have run the Chkdsk Program on all of my drives and there was lost EA
information, but only on my DOS drive C - the OS/2 drive D was OK.

After talking to the STAC people in the UK I have removed the FATMNGR.EXE
program from my CONFIG.SYS and there is a noticable increase in speed.  It
seems it was either taking a lot of processor time or doing a lot of disk I/O.

Thanks for the suggestion

Kevin

#: 41207 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  02:49:41
Sb: #OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: John Hutton 73164,2710
To: Kevin Musgrave(UK) 100014,3344 (X)

Sounds like a good Idea to remove the FATMNGR.EXE. From what I understand, it
is just to determine the free space available.  Perhaps it should really be run
at a much lower priority, or set to be dormant for 5 minute intervals?

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41261 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  17:41:07
Sb: #41207-OS/2 Now very slow!
Fm: Kevin Musgrave(UK) 100014,3344
To: John Hutton 73164,2710 (X)

I tend to agree with you.  It made a noticable difference when I removed it.

Kevin

#: 40576 S5/OS/2 
    26-Nov-93  10:32:16
Sb: #PASSWORD FOR OS2UP.EXE
Fm: Allen Johnston 74116,3446
To: SYSOP (X)

I need a password for the OS2UP.EXE file, my Stacker serial numberr is:
SI1CH342654.

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40838 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:05
Sb: #40576-PASSWORD FOR OS2UP.EXE
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Allen Johnston 74116,3446 (X)

Allen;

You don't need to use the patch file, you are already running the the latest
version of our driver. This patch is for user whose serial number start with
SI1AH or SI1BH.


Thanks,


Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40586 S5/OS/2 
    26-Nov-93  15:50:20
Sb: #Installation
Fm: Robert Goldstein 73063,1647
To: Sysop (X)

I am currently running Double Space on my D drive, and my C drive is
uncompressed, running Windows or OS2 (dual boot).  I just purchased Stacker for
OS/2, and would like to know if you have any pre installation suggestions.
Thanks for your help.

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40803 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  01:12:47
Sb: #40586-Installation
Fm: Ron 73110,266
To: Robert Goldstein 73063,1647 (X)

I too just purchased stacker. Could not even get it installed. It would hang
the system while copying the files. I suggest that you be cautious. To be safe,
partition your disk so that os2 is in a different partition than you want to
stack. This permits you to reinstall os2 if necessary without going through the
nonsense in the appendum to the manual. It also protects os2 from stacker and
os2 glitches which, as I have been reading in the os2 forum are more than
enough to give one pause. Suggest you ask the same question on os2 forum.

ron 

#: 40839 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:09
Sb: #40586-Installation
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Robert Goldstein 73063,1647 (X)

Robert;


Unless you have purchased Stacker for OS/2 & DOS version 1.10, you will have to
remove doublespace from your system. The earlier version of Stacker 1.0X does
not have a doublespace conversion utility.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40596 S5/OS/2 
    26-Nov-93  22:41:21
Sb: #A Real Good Idea!!!
Fm: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134
To: Stac Electronics 75300,2755 (X)

                     Have I got a suggestion for you!

Many users moving from DOS to OS/2 who have spent considerable time to install
fast disk caching on their DOS systems, are quite disappointed with the disk
performance under OS/2.  And the poor performance of OS/2's caching scheme also
makes the use of Stacker under OS/2 a major disappointment.

Well why not seize the opportunity?  Extend Stacker's capabilities to include
an enhanced caching built into Stacker (or better yet, keep it separate but
bundle it with Stacker for OS/2 and DOS).  Give it a number of tunable
parameters (like Hyperdisk for example), and get a jump on the competition.

I like Stacker (under DOS).  I like the performance under DOS with a good disk
cache.  I would like to move on to OS/2 for Windows support and multi-tasking.

But I can't/won't give up about 40-50% of the performance of my system just to
get OS/2 running.  Sooner or later, someone will offer a better cache for OS/2
and then I'll make the switch.

I've been in touch with the folks at Hyperdisk and they indicate that since
OS/2 handles the disk I/O differently than DOS (even though we are talking FAT
directory structures in both cases), that they don't have the expertise to
start development of an OS/2 version.  That got me thinking about _who_ did
have experience with OS/2 disk I/O.  And that led me to write this note to you
folks at Stac.  You are in an almost unique position (outside of IBM) to create
a "Super Cache" system for OS/2.  And I'd like to be one of your test sites!

Hope this finds a sympathetic ear.

John McDermon

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40840 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:13
Sb: #40596-A Real Good Idea!!!
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134 (X)

John;

Thanks for the Idea. I will submit it to our engineering team!!


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40598 S5/OS/2 
    26-Nov-93  23:27:28
Sb: #2.1 U/G: ALREADY stacked
Fm: Bob J Acker 70323,1637
To: Stac Electronics Tech

What's the procedure for upgrading OS/2 2.0 to 2.1 when stacker 4 DOS/OS/2 is
already installed? does the drive have to be unstacked? I hope not. my
partition is 600MB stacked=>1.1GB! that's alot of unstacking!

Bob

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40841 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:16
Sb: #40598-2.1 U/G: ALREADY stacked
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Bob J Acker 70323,1637

Bob;


Just simply follow the procedure outlined in Appendix B.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40629 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  13:30:54
Sb: #Can't Install
Fm: Ron 73110,266
To: All

Just purchased stacker for os2 & dos. I boot dos or use stacker boot, choose
either express or custom setup and the copy process stops at about 50%. I have
a dual boot system with 16 meg ram and about 80 meg free disk space. Have only
one partition C: drive. When the copy process stops it just hangs with the red
light staying on drive a when in dual boot dos. When using stacker to boot, the
system really goes bananas with the sound a constant ring and the printer
starts printing the screen repetitively.    

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40842 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:19
Sb: #40629-Can't Install
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ron 73110,266

Ron;

You may have some drive problems. Please run chkdsk /f to correct any
underlying problems before trying to install Stacker.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40637 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  17:00:51
Sb: #OS/2 instl on stacked dr
Fm: Rick Martin 73105,1160
To: sysop (X)

I'm trying to install OS/2 2.1 on my laptop.  I had tried on
this machine several times, and the installation went almost to
completion, but died.  I figured out that it was running out of
disk space.  After several weeks, I had managed to rearrange and
clear nearly 70 Meg on the drive.

I'm using the PREP21 procedure to install OS/2 2.1 on a drive that
I've previously stacked with Stacker for OS/2 and DOS.  Now the
installation won't even make it through the second disk.  Per
instructions I boot with Stacker disk 1, insert Stacker disk 2,
enter PREP21 C: A:.  PREP21 runs successfully, prompts for me to
enter OS/2 Diskette 1-Stacker.  Then it prompts for OS/2 Installation
Disk, and copies SYSINSTX.COM.  Then I reboot with the OS/2 Installation
Disk, which seems to run fine.  It asks for Disk 1, and I insert the
OS/2 Diskette 1-Stacker.  At the point where Stacker runs, it seems to
run OK until it gets to the disk swap.  It appears to lock up during
SSWAP2 operation, crashing with the helpful message "system installation
failed to start the session".  (be sure to thank the programmers for
giving such helpful advice :-<.)

I've used chkdsk, norton, & check.  I've defragged and restacked the disk.
Still does the same thing.  It progressed fine beyond this point before,
but now it won't boot.

I can get it to boot in OS/2 from the "stock" disks, but of course it won't
recognize the Stacker drive.  I ran OS/2 chkdsk from this configuration and
fixed minor problems, but it still won't go through the OS/2 stacker
installation.

Appears to me that something is wrong inside the stacker file ... probably
a problem with EA's left over from the previous trashed installations.
I can't run OS/2's chkdsk to fix them though, because I can't get a
successful boot into OS/2 with stacker.  Also, even if I could get it
to boot, the accessing of drive C: to load stacker would prohibit chkdsk
from running, right?  How do I get around this?

Hope you can help.  Thanks.

Rick Martin

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40843 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:23
Sb: #40637-OS/2 instl on stacked dr
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Rick Martin 73105,1160

Rick;


First Make your self a stacker aware OS/2 boot disk, follow guidelines of page
21 of user guide. This will allow the Stacker drive to be mounted. then run
OS/2 chkdsk /f from IBM's disk #2. Then try the process again.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40639 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  18:21:17
Sb: #Selective install query
Fm: Ralph Alvy 71333,2075
To: All

All,

I installed OS/2 2.1 a month or so ago with PREP21 on a disk stacked with
Stacker for OS/2 and DOS. When I first installed OS/2, I did it without
installing Win support.  Now I want to install that support.  I know now that I
should have used the Selective Install icon in the OS/2 System folder, but
that's not what I did. What I did is run the OS/2 Installation Program from
from the Installation diskette (and the Stacker-Aware Diskette 1), and do a
Selective Install from there.

Because the above Selective Install can't be invoked until after copying system
files to the hard drive, I had to allow it to do that to drive C (my compressed
drive). I've got things running again, but here are my questions:

1. Is there any file other than BOOT.COM that I should be aware of, in terms of
OS/2 having copied its own version to the hard drive?  I went and overwrote
that file with Stacker's own version.  Anything else?

2. Are there any files I should move from drive C to D (my uncompressed drive)?
I was wondering if the OS/2 Install program may have placed files there that
the Stacker PREP21 program would have re-routed to drive D.  My swapper file
still rests securely on drive D.

3. When attempting to Selective Install Win support from the OS/2 Installation
Diskette, the process crapped out when attempting to copy OS2K386.EXE from
Diskette 5, citing a CRC error.  Repeated attempts produced the same error (I
took the floppy out and re-inserted it to no avail).  This also happened when I
attempted to Selective Install Win support from the Selective Install icon in
the OS/2 System folder.  Might this be a Stacker problem I need to address?  (I
will post this last question in the OS2USERS forum as well).

RA

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40844 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:28
Sb: #40639-Selective install query
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ralph Alvy 71333,2075 (X)

Ralph;


1. No just the file Boot.com from Stacker is needed.

2. No, our sync program will copy over files that are needed by either the
compressed or the uncompressed drives.

3. This is not a Stacker related issue. Please consult IBM's help desk or look
for a thread on your message in their forum.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40640 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  19:07:47
Sb: #Uncompressed help
Fm: Tom Reimann 71705,1015
To: ALL

Help! I've used Stacker 3.0 for quite a while and tried OS2 and Stacker for DOS
and OS2. I installed OS2 on my bootable FAT uncompressed partition and use
Stacker to access my second stacked partition. Under DOS (Stacker 3.0) I swap
the drives and have the majority of my programs run under Windows 3.1 on drive
C:. If I access the Windows programs under WINOS2, all the INI files relate to
drive C: and not D:. If I use SSWAP2 under my OS2 config.sys and change all the
drive specifiers to use D: (my uncompressed partition) OS2 will load but I get
the message "Workplace Desktop could not be located. The INI file or hardfile
may be corrupt." and hangs there. I assume ont of the drive specifiers is wrong
but I don't know which one(s). Any ideas?

I'd like to keep OS2 on my uncompressed drive for performance reasons, and I'd
rather not use the HPFS format. I've got a large drive and it would take
forever to repartition and restore. I think just swapping and pointing in the
right direction would be better. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks, Tom Reimann

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40845 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:32
Sb: #40640-#Uncompressed help
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Tom Reimann 71705,1015 (X)

Tom;

Make sure you have modified all of your drive letter requests in you OS/2
config.sys file to point at drive D. This should
not be a problem. If you are sure, I suggest calling our support line and
working directly with one of our technicians.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40971 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  01:57:00
Sb: #40845-Uncompressed help
Fm: Tom Reimann 71705,1015
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Thanks Keith. I'll double check and if I still can't figure it out I'll try
Tech Support.

#: 40671 S5/OS/2 
    28-Nov-93  13:30:18
Sb: #Command.com failure
Fm: Glenn Christy 72103,3206
To: sysop (X)

HELP:  I just installed stacker over a dual boot os2 system.  I am using
Stacker of OS2 and Dos.  I am having a serious problem with the dual boot. When
I go into DOS and execute a program
 Press exit and leave I get a note telling me it could not find command.com.
What is stacker doing to knock my command.com file out of whack?  How do I fix
it? Pleasae disregard the $[D 4 above.  Seems I pressed some wrong keys. I have
no problem when i Run OS2.  I use the autoexec.bat and config system
recommended by os2 for dual boot.  I also loaded command.com high Can you give
me any help PLeaseeee.

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40846 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:36
Sb: #40671-Command.com failure
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Glenn Christy 72103,3206

Glenn;

You could probably us a shell statement in you config.sys file. Here is an
example.


shell=c:\dos\command.com c:\dos\ /p /e:1024

or

shell=c:\command.com c:\ /p /e:1024


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40672 S5/OS/2 
    28-Nov-93  13:45:18
Sb: #Chkdsk F gives error msg
Fm: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540
To: Stac Electronics 75300,2755 (X)

I have a minor problem which may not be stacker related but maybe you would
help anyway? I've got two stacked and one unstacked partition. Whenever I try
to run chkdsk /F on the partitions I get an error message SYS0108 that the disk
is in use or locked by another process. If I select retry it keeps coming up
until chkdsk is finished. I can answer the chkdsk prompts (run from oS2 cmd
line) and chkdsk appears to be working to completion between the pop-ups of the
error dialog. Chkdsk from a dos prompt does not do this. The stacked partitions
differ from the unstacked one in that the unstacked partition, the sys0108 msg
appears at the command prompt and chkdsk does not run, while the stacked
partitions allow chkdsk to run as described. Chkdsk without the /F parameter is
ok. I've got a 386-33, 8 meg, 254 meg HD (IDE) with a 40 meg OS2 system HPFS
parttion, the rest 3 fat partitions.



There are 2 Replies.

#: 40713 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  16:39:22
Sb: #40672-#Chkdsk F gives error msg
Fm: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617
To: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540 (X)

Just a quick answer from another Stacker user:
Under OS/2 the CHKDSK /F will not change the bootup resp. system drive,
because it is in use by the system.
Therefore you should run the OS/2 CHKDSK /F for the boot drive from time
to time under an OS/2 system booted from floppies (install disk plus disk
#1 plus disk #2 - the latter holding the CHKDSK program).
Do not run the (native) DOS CHKDSK with /F option - this might hurt your
E(xtended) A(ttributes).
So it seems to be working as designed<g>

Manfred  <- flying from FRA via Amiga Autopilot 1.06

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40953 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  22:11:29
Sb: #40713-Chkdsk F gives error msg
Fm: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540
To: M. Grueneberg 100141,3617 (X)

Sorry I was not clear - these are not boot partitions. Chkdsk should work fine
on them (and did previous to my installing Stacker, it seems)

#: 40847 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:41
Sb: #40672-#Chkdsk F gives error msg
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540 (X)

Stuart;

To get around this you should boot up with your stacker-aware OS/2 disk and run
chkdsk /f from IBM's disk #2. You have to make this the first command ran on
the drive otherwise you will lock it up.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40954 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  22:15:44
Sb: #40847-#Chkdsk F gives error msg
Fm: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Ok, I thought that I only needed to run chkdsk from a floppy boot if I wanted
to chkdsk my boot partition. Correct? (These partitions are not boot
partitions)

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41067 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  19:03:01
Sb: #40954-Chkdsk F gives error msg
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540 (X)

Stuart;

Anytime you run a command on a partition no matter which one then try to run
chkdsk /f, it will always give you the message.
the drive is locked or in use by another process.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40673 S5/OS/2 
    28-Nov-93  13:45:25
Sb: #Dont_del_me?
Fm: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540
To: Stac Electronics 75300,2755 (X)

I remember reading about the dont-del_me file somewhere, but it is not in the
index of the manual. I am wondering what this file does. Chkdsk reported an
allocation error and truncated it - is this going to mess up my stacked drive?
Running Stacker Check found nothing amiss afterwards. Also, this file is huge -
OS2 is reporting 15 MB! Is that right? Can anything be done to shrink it?


There is 1 Reply.

#: 40848 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:45
Sb: #40673-Dont_del_me?
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Stuart W BROWN 70641,1540 (X)

Stuart;

Dontdel.me is a file which takes up logical space to give you more accurate
account of space on your drive. It is not a problem to delete this file for we
will recreate it at next boot.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40689 S5/OS/2 
    28-Nov-93  22:20:33
Sb: #OS2.INI corruption
Fm: Warren Mason 71664,317
To: All

After any kind of abnormal shutdown (typically power failure), the OS2.INI file
is invariably corrupted.

CHKDSK reports the file as truncated. Restoring OS2.INI from the unstacked
drive causes all recent changes to the desktop to be lost.  It appears that
Stacker has not flushed OS2.INI from cache and updated the EOF in the
directory.
Configuration is 4 partitions stacked (DOS,OS2,APPS,DATA).  SWAPPER.DAT is on
an unstacked partition.  Please advise how to correct this situation.  In the
interim I have removed STACKER from my system.

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40792 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  23:17:51
Sb: #40689-OS2.INI corruption
Fm: Henry Molinet 70571,667
To: Warren Mason 71664,317 (X)

Warren, I ran into the same problem and the only fix that I am aware of is to
backup your *.INI files regularly, so you can restore them again when they get
corrupted. I have stopped having this problem since I installed the Stacker
Boot and the Stacker OS/2 update.
Regards,
Henry
 

#: 40849 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:49
Sb: #40689-OS2.INI corruption
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Warren Mason 71664,317 (X)

Warren;


It is not Stacker's job to flush caches or buffers but the job of the Operating
System. If your serial number starts with SI1AH
or SI1BH then please download the patch OS2UP.EXE. It was created by our
engineers to tell OS/2 to flush its buffers.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40693 S5/OS/2 
    28-Nov-93  23:11:10
Sb: #Stacker for HPFS
Fm: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372
To: Sysop (X)

Are there any plans for STAC Electronics to release Stacker for OS/2 with
support for HPFS partitions?  Although I am a licensed user of Stacker for OS/2
and DOS, all but one of my partitions is HPFS, so the product is practically
worthless to me right now.  Thanks in advance!  --Jaime

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40850 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:53
Sb: #40693-#Stacker for HPFS
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372 (X)

Jaime;


I sorry we cannot comment on unreleased products, but I can safely say we
listen to our customers!


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40942 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  20:38:43
Sb: #40850-#Stacker for HPFS
Fm: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Have there been many requests for HPFS support, then?  --Jaime

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41068 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  19:03:05
Sb: #40942-#Stacker for HPFS
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372 (X)

Jaime;


Yes there have been many requests for HPFS support.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41078 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  20:16:37
Sb: #41068-#Stacker for HPFS
Fm: Ron Curtin 76057,112
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

I am not clear - can you use Stacker for OS/2 if you format using HPFS?  I am
trying to decide if I want to move to OS/2 but I will need to stack part of my
drive.  Should I wait for a new version of Stacker designed for HPFS????

There are 2 Replies.

#: 41080 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  20:31:11
Sb: #41078-#Stacker for HPFS
Fm: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372
To: Ron Curtin 76057,112 (X)

Ron, the current version of Stacker does NOT support HPFS.  That was the point
of my question.  Roger stated that he is not permitted to discuss unreleased
products.  In other words, there is no evidence stating that there will BE a
Stacker for HPFS so you may be waiting for nothing.  On the other hand, STAC
Electronics has proven itself to be very responsive (from what I've seen) to
customer requests, and Roger said there have been a lot of requests for HPFS
support, so....

As an aside, the OS/2 implementation of FAT (called SuperFAT) is far superior
to what you experience running native DOS or Windows.  It is full 32-bit,
multi-threaded, protected mode code and is fast enough that you aren't even
aware you are running a DOS emulation underneath a multi-tasking operating
system.  Microsoft just introduced a 32-bit implementation of FAT in Windows
for Workgroups 3.11, but I hear it's buggy.  Remember that IBM had a two-year
head start in this arena, too.  --Jaime

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41119 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  11:32:50
Sb: #41080-#Stacker for HPFS
Fm: Ron Curtin 76057,112
To: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372 (X)

Is there a problem in accessing a compressed volume using a 32 bit application?
What are the limitations of using stacker for OS/2 other than the HPFS problem?
I really appreciate the advice.

Ron

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41183 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  20:00:59
Sb: #41119-Stacker for HPFS
Fm: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz 72267,1372
To: Ron Curtin 76057,112 (X)

>>> Is there a problem in accessing a compressed volume using a 32 bit
application?  What are the limitations of using stacker for OS/2 other than the
HPFS problem? <<<

I can't answer those for you, Ron.  I don't work for Stacker nor this forum.
To the best of my knowledge, since Stacker for OS/2 and DOS is itself a 32-bit
application, there shouldn't be any problems with an application accessing data
on a compressed volume.  Read some of the message posts here, see what kind of
problems (if any) people are having, and make your choice based on that.  As
far as I know, the only limitation to Stacker for OS/2 and DOS is lack of
support for HPFS.  --Jaime

#: 41208 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  03:02:28
Sb: #41078-Stacker for HPFS
Fm: John Hutton 73164,2710
To: Ron Curtin 76057,112 (X)

There is no problem using HPFS, eg: for the OS/2 operating system, and having
everything else on a compressed partion for example, DOS FAT and OS/2 HPFS and
DOS FAT Stacked Volumes can all co-exist on the same computer, if that was your
question. (they suggest putting the HPFS partitions last, as DOS doesn't see
them anyway. 

#: 40704 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  10:04:35
Sb: #OS/2 Hang
Fm: Lannie Kenton 76476,1072
To: ALL

I have OS/2 and DOS installed on my system with the Boot Manager. I installed
Stacker some time after I added OS/2.  After installing Stacker, I found that,
when doing several things at once in OS/2 (such as running a compile in a DOS
session while also running WinOS/2 and doing things there) I often get a total
system hang in which the only solution is Ctl-Alt-Del or a hard reset.  It is
my suspicion that Stacker is involved, since I didn't have this problem before
it was added.  Is it possible that having the OS/2 swapfile on a
Stacker-compressed disk is the root of the problem, or is there something else
that might be the problem?

--Lannie

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40851 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:58:56
Sb: #40704-#OS/2 Hang
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Lannie Kenton 76476,1072 (X)

Lannie;

Swapper.dat can only reside on the UNcompressed drive. You may need to allocate
more uncompressed space for use
by swapper.dat. Please refer to page 151 in your user guide on making more
uncompressed space available.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40855 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  16:29:39
Sb: #40851-#OS/2 Hang
Fm: Lannie Kenton 76476,1072
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

OK; I thought that might be a problem.  Thanks. --Lannie

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41027 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  17:18:15
Sb: #40855-OS/2 Hang
Fm: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777
To: Lannie Kenton 76476,1072

Lannie:

        I increased the uncompressed portion by 5 meg to alliviate the fact
that swapper.dat had run out of room

Ron 

#: 40725 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  19:38:31
Sb: #os/2 noems
Fm: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777
To: stac

Page 123 of the manual states that emm386.exe should be loaded with the noems
setting.  Why?  This means that I can't use expanded memory for my apps if I
load stacker high and I like having >600K ram available.  I'm using dos 6.2 and
currently I am not using noems.   What potential problems are involved.


Thanks in advance.

Ron Lindeen 

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40727 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  19:42:48
Sb: #40725-os/2 noems
Fm: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777
To: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777 (X)

Also,  please send me the password for os2up.exe(i think).

SN SI1CH347746

Thanks.

Ron 

#: 40929 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  19:10:06
Sb: #40725-#os/2 noems
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777 (X)

Ron;


We only use that as an example of an emm386.exe configuration.

Also you don't need to use the patch OS2UP.EXE. I can tell by your serial
number that you already are running with it.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40950 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  21:36:38
Sb: #40929-os/2 noems
Fm: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Thanks for the help.

Ron 

#: 40795 S5/OS/2 
    29-Nov-93  23:46:05
Sb: #STACKER & DISKCACHE
Fm: William Cannistra 73423,2744
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger:

Any word about the apparrent non use of OS/2 DISKCACHE with Stacker? ( You sent
the problem onto the techs about 2 weeks ago.)

There are 2 Replies.

#: 40802 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  01:03:44
Sb: #40795-STACKER & DISKCACHE
Fm: John Hutton 73164,2710
To: William Cannistra 73423,2744 (X)

Yes, I'm still interested also!

#: 40927 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  19:09:33
Sb: #40795-#STACKER & DISKCACHE
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: William Cannistra 73423,2744 (X)

William;

Roger is on Vacation This Week. I will leave him  you message.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40957 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  22:43:02
Sb: #40927-STACKER & DISKCACHE
Fm: William Cannistra 73423,2744
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Thanks Keith. Regards!

#: 40796 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  00:04:46
Sb: #Password
Fm: mark mckeen 74040,434
To: sysop (X)

My serial # is SI1AH334397 ... I understand I need this to unzip the necessary
files.  Thank you

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40928 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  19:09:39
Sb: #40796-Password
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: mark mckeen 74040,434

Mark, I sending you a private mail to this reply.


Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40853 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  14:59:06
Sb: Disk Write Protect.
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Michael J. McNamara 71563,2431 (X)

Michael;

Yes we need for you to lift the write protection so you can personalize the
stacker driver with you information.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40655 S5/OS/2 
    27-Nov-93  23:34:35
Sb: windows won't start
Fm: Michael Most 70446,1244
To: ALL

After installing Stacker for OS/2 and DOS, I restarted my computer in DOS only
to find that Windows would now quit after the sign on screen. I commented out
the dblspace lines in my config and autoexec files, and still no go (I had
gotten the sign on message regarding the Stacker driver being loaded and
dblspace not being compatible with it). After commenting out the Stacker lines,
all was well again. Through all of this, Stacker works wonderfully under OS/2
for Windows (and even under Windows running under OS/2 4 Win), but under DOS,
not so. I am using DOS 6.2 -- will the new 1.1 version of Stacker OS/2 solve
this, or do I need to get Stacker 3.1 (Windows/DOS) in addition to the OS/2/DOS
package??  Or is this just a weird problem that nobody else has had???

Mike

#: 40930 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  19:24:21
Sb: #Stacker w/Windows & EMS
Fm: Thomas B. Simpson 70373,2735
To: SYSOP (X)

Is is possible to use the EMS setting of Stacker 3.0 (/EMS) with Windows 3.1?
I didn't know if you could use EMS memory prior to running Windows (in 386
enhanced mode).  Using the /EMS setting would help free some of my high memory
for use, but I don't want to mess up my Windows.

Thanks in advance.

        /Tom

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40997 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  15:17:43
Sb: #40930-Stacker w/Windows & EMS
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Thomas B. Simpson 70373,2735

Thomas;

You can safely use the /EMS feature.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40947 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  21:02:31
Sb: #Installing OS2.1
Fm: LUKE KEELEY 70132,770
To: Keith 75300,2755 (X)

I have been trying to install OS2.1on my stacker drive. When i insert the OS 2
stacker diskette 1. I receive an error message sys 0318 message file oso 0001
msg cannot be found. I am prevented from continuing with the installatio not be
given an answer as to what the problem is. Please let me know what I need to
do. I have become really frustated with the situation.
                                            Thank you

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40993 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  15:16:48
Sb: #40947-#Installing OS2.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: LUKE KEELEY 70132,770 (X)

Luke;

What step in the process from appendix B does the error occur. In other words
was the OS/2 config.sys file on the Stacker replacement disk modified?

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41195 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  22:35:09
Sb: #40993-#Installing OS2.1
Fm: LUKE KEELEY 70132,770
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger.
           I do not think i modified my config sys file. I just use the prep 21
instructions
and made a stacker aware OS2 disk 1. Then I proceeded with the prep 21 install
and when i was at step 8 i received the error message. Even just using the IBM
install disk and the stacker aware OS2 disk 1 i have the same thing happening.
This error message is an OS2 message not a stacker error message correct?
Thanks Luke

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41262 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  17:46:30
Sb: #41195-Installing OS2.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: LUKE KEELEY 70132,770

Luke,

You are correct, the message is an OS/2 message. I would recommend calling our
voice line support
with this issue then. The number is (619)431-8201.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 40959 S5/OS/2 
    30-Nov-93  23:23:17
Sb: #os/2 hangs on boot
Fm: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777
To: stac

Help!!

OS/2 hangs during boot.  I get the logo, Stacker does its sync with all drives
reporting properly.  The screen turns gray as usual and then in hangs with a
"mouse clock."  After this happend I figured I screwed something up.  So I
reinstalled OS/2.  It still hangs in the same spot.

Any ideas.

c:=dos stacked
d:=os2 stacked
e:reserved
f:=d uncompressed
g:=c uncompressed

I even erased swapper.dat off of f: in case something old was hanging around.

Appreciate your help.

Ron Lindeen.

PS so far I not having any luck.  I've started from the beging 3 times. 

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41028 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  17:19:57
Sb: #40959-os/2 hangs on boot
Fm: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777
To: Ron  Lindeen 71371,777 (X)

Thanks for the help.  Evidently the ini files were bad.  Everythings ok for
now.

ron 

#: 40977 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  09:03:45
Sb: #Stacker 1.1
Fm: Allan Lind 73131,1615
To: Sysop (X)

        I've seen mention of a version 1.1 for Stacker for OS/2 and DOS.  What
are the differences between versions 1.1 and 1.0.  I have version 1.0, is there
any reason I should upgrade?  Is there a cost associated with upgrading?  Any
information would be appreciated.

                        Allan Lind

There is 1 Reply.

#: 40996 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  15:17:16
Sb: #40977-Stacker 1.1
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Allan Lind 73131,1615 (X)

Allan;

Here is the following press release about Version 1.10. The upgrade fee is only
$19.95 to current Stacker OS/2 Users.


Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support


NOV 10,1993
New Stacker for OS/2 instantly coverts DoubleSpace, SuperStor/DS Files
to safer Stac format;   compatible with  OS/2 for Windows, now includes
network installation features
Business Editors & Computer/Electronics Writers

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stac Electronics (NASDAQ:STAC), the
leading supplier of data compression products for doubling the storage
capacity of personal computers, Wednesday unveiled a new release of
Stacker for OS/2 & DOS which includes special software that  instantly
converts data compressed with Microsoft Corp.'s DoubleSpace and IBM
Corp.'s SuperStor/DS to the safer, OS/2-compatible Stacker format.

Neither DoubleSpace, nor SuperStor/DS is compatible with OS/2.  Stac has
also added new features that allows Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS to be 
installed on individual computers from a network server.

"Before Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS, DoubleSpace and SuperStor/DS users had
no option but to de-compress their data and remove their data compression
software to even evaluate OS/2," said John Bromhead, Stac vice president
of marketing.

"Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS eliminates that headache and makes upgrading
an enterprise to standard OS/2, or OS/2 for Windows, even  easier by making
Stacker network installable."

Like all Stac software, Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS is based on the
company's proven Stacker LZS compression technology for doubling the
storage capacity of DOS, Windows, OS/2 and Macintosh computers.
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS, which gives users access to compressed disks
from either operating system, is 100 percent compatible with  IBM's new
OS/2 for Windows, OS/2 versions 2.0 and 2.1, DOS 5.0 and  later, all OS/2
and DOS applications and all hard disk FAT drives.

To ease the adoption of OS/2 and the installation of Stacker, version 1.1
for OS/2 & DOS now comes with software that instantly  converts data
compressed with DoubleSpace or SuperStor/DS to the safer and OS/2
compatible Stacker format.  Neither DoubleSpace, which comes with
Microsoft's MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2, nor SuperStor/DS, which comes with IBM's
PC-DOS 6.1 is compatible with the OS/2 operating system.

StacNet, a new feature in Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 and DOS, allows OS/2
computer users in a local area network to electronically transfer Stacker
from the network server and install it on their systems.  Until now,
Stacker had to be installed within an enterprise using a new set of
program diskettes for each computer.

"Stacker for OS/2 & DOS will play a pivotal role in our customers' ability
to cost-effectively covert their PC's to IBM's 32-bit operating system,"
said Anita Habeich, Stacker for OS/2 & DOS product manager.  "And, our
instant conversion of DoubleSpace and SuperStor/DS drives makes the switch
to OS/2 and Stacker truly painless."

Pricing and Availability
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS will be available in two weeks through dealers
or directly from Stac, and has a suggested retail price of $199.  For users
of Stacker 1.0 for OS/2 & DOS, the upgrade is available directly from
Stac for $19.95 by calling 800-522-STAC.  As  with all Stacker products,
Stacker 1.1 for OS/2 & DOS comes with 90 days of free technical support.

The Company
Stac Electronics is the leading supplier of high-performance data
compression products for personal computers.  Implemented in software and
silicon, Stac's products are sold direct from the company and through
retail and OEM sales distribution channels worldwide.
--30--BMJ/la

CONTACT:  Stac Electronics, San Diego
          Lois Leslie, 619/431-7474
               or
          Jennings & Co., San Francisco
          Gregory Spector, 415/974-6200

#: 40999 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  15:19:54
Sb: OS/2 Versions?
Fm: Fred Skrotzki 73647,2345
To: sysop (X)

Hi, I'm a Dos user and have a system that is running os/2 1.3 will this version
for OS/2 work with 1.3?  (The 1.3 is microsoft lanmanager servers).

#: 41079 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  20:17:27
Sb: #Remove FATMNGR.EXE?
Fm: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger,

I saw a message posted that indicated removal of the FATMNGR.EXE from
CONFIG.SYS would increase performance.

If so, what is the down-side?  Is it the piece that constantly checks the HD
for space and compression rations and adjusts the size of the DONT_DEL_ME file?

Would like to know what the removal of this piece of Stacker will/would do to
my OS/2 operation...

Thanks.

John

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41130 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  17:13:27
Sb: #41079-#Remove FATMNGR.EXE?
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134 (X)

John;

Yes Fatmgr is used to calculate the difference between  logical and physical
disk space and add it to the dontdel.me file.

By removing it won't affect system performance, but will  not add the
calculations to allow a more accurate of space reporting
via chkdsk or our check command.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There are 2 Replies.

#: 41184 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  20:05:38
Sb: #41130-Remove FATMNGR.EXE?
Fm: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger,

I can live with the inaccurate free space calculations as long as there is no
other, more incidious problem removing FATMNGR.  I have tested it and it does
make a remarkable improvement in performance of OS/2 (on both Stacker and
non-Stacker partitions!)  I guess that just removing the task from running in
the background and having it doing disk checking continually, probably accounts
for the performance difference.

This may help me get OS/2 running well enough to actually do some production
work in it.  Time will tell.

I'd still be interested in followup on the caching questions you've passed to
tech support.

Thanks.

John McDermon

#: 41324 S5/OS/2 
    04-Dec-93  22:15:52
Sb: #41130-Remove FATMNGR.EXE?
Fm: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger,

>>  By removing it won't affect system performance...

You are wrong about this...  With very little testing effort, I easily proved
that removing the FATMNGR increased my performance remarkably.  The performance
difference is not only measureable but noticable in the user interaction with
the system.

Curiously, the performance increase was notable on both Stacked and non-Stacked
partitions.  I can only conclude that FATMNGR is a resource hog and that it
soaked up disk I/O and CPU cycles in a rather significant way.  I even tried
putting it back in, and performance fell off about 20-30%.  There is no other
explanation for it.  Realize that I did have 5 large Stacker partitions.  It
may be that FATMNGR has to work hard on _each_ partition to constantly maintain
the DONT_DEL_ME files.

Best of luck getting the OS/2 version up-to-snuff performance wise.  Have the
techies look closely at FATMNGR.  And how about the caching.  Even with FATMNGR
removed, the Stacked partitions still act as if they are not being cached by
DISKCACHE at all!  This was a previous question for several weeks ago, but I
haven't heard back from you.  Performance of Stacked partitions does not vary
with changes to DISKCACHE settings (including removeal of DISKCACHE completely)

John

#: 41089 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  22:59:59
Sb: #Password
Fm: dale winslow 73237,1121
To: SYSOP (X)


There is 1 Reply.

#: 41131 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  17:13:30
Sb: #41089-Password
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: dale winslow 73237,1121 (X)

Dale;

No message came through. Please re-post.


Thanks,

Keith Moon

#: 41092 S5/OS/2 
    01-Dec-93  23:42:19
Sb: #$?
Fm: larry lowenthal 73141,667
To: sysop (X)

I take it I'll need Stacker for os/2 to replace my dos version. Do we get a
price break from the publisher? -- Larry Lowenthal

There are 2 Replies.

#: 41132 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  17:13:34
Sb: #41092-#$?
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: larry lowenthal 73141,667 (X)

Larry;

The price of Stacker for OS/2 & DOS is $99.95 and ordered at 1-800-522-7822.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41278 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  19:57:24
Sb: #41132-$?
Fm: larry lowenthal 73141,667
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

If I already own stacker for dos, is the price still $99 for os/2? --Larry

#: 41180 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  19:00:41
Sb: #41092-#$?
Fm: Stac Electronics 75300,2755
To: larry lowenthal 73141,667 (X)

Larry,

You can cross-platform upgrade to Stacker for OS/2  See ORDER.FRM in lib:2 for
complete details

Keith Dunlea, Stac Tech Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41279 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  19:59:10
Sb: #41180-$?
Fm: larry lowenthal 73141,667
To: Stac Electronics 75300,2755 (X)

I'll look it up.  Meanwhile, what's involved in moving from dos 6.0 to os/2
when I have a substantial stacker drive "d"? -- Larry

#: 41097 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  01:25:03
Sb: #Upgd from DOS/Win to OS2
Fm: Ross W. Truitt 73250,1730
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Roger (or Keith Moon):

I am a registered Stacker 3.1 for Windows & DOS user, and just recently
purchased OS2 for Windows on CD-ROM.  I understand that there is an upgrade (?)
from my product to Stacker for OS/2 and DOS, and that the price is $99. This
seems extremely steep, especially since I only paid $39 for OS/2.  I have no
way of accessing my stacked volumes without "upgrading" or unstacking (VERY
undesirable).  Since I would no longer really need my 3.1 for DOS/ Windows if I
had the OS/2 version (I could STILL dual-boot and use the DOS drivers, just no
Windows-specific utilities), can't I just "surrender" my copy of 3.1 for an
OS/2 version, for a much more reasonable fee?

I would imagine that there will be quite a few people jumping onto the OS/2
bandwagon with these low prices for OS/2 for Windows.  Many of those users will
also be Stacker users.

Do you have any plans for people in my situation, or are we "stuck" with either
 removing Stacker altogether (NOT a good PR situation for STAC, and loss of
future upgrade revenue) or paying $100 to gain access to our existing stacked
data?


Ross Truitt

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41133 S5/OS/2 
    02-Dec-93  17:13:37
Sb: #41097-Upgd from DOS/Win to OS2
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Ross W. Truitt 73250,1730 (X)

Ross;

I sorry you cannot.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 41226 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  12:22:36
Sb: #STACKER for OS/2
Fm: Jorge A. Rodriguez 72440,2147
To: Sysop (X)

Are there any plans of STACKER for OS/2 and its native filing system? (Not the
"FAT" filing system) If posibble please include release date and price. Thanks.

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41263 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  17:46:37
Sb: #41226-STACKER for OS/2
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Jorge A. Rodriguez 72440,2147

Jorge;

We are not allowed to comment on unreleased products. But I can safely say that
we listen to our customers.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 41255 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  15:30:24
Sb: #Stacking removable disk
Fm: Bara E. Minata 76605,1253
To: Stac Electronics

Is it possible to Stac a floppy or optical disk with Stacker for OS/2?  I tried
adding A: and H: to the device=stacker.com line, but then it messes up with the
drives assignment, and when I try to access the drives OS/2 reported "command
is not supported on this device" or something.

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41264 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  17:46:42
Sb: #41255-Stacking removable disk
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Bara E. Minata 76605,1253 (X)

Bara;

Stacker for OS/2 and Dos does not support removable media in the OS/2
environment.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

#: 41256 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  15:36:40
Sb: #Upgrade to Stacker OS/2?
Fm: Paul Nusbaum 70303,2254
To: All

Hi!  I am interested in purchasing Stacker for OS/2 and DOS.  I currently have
Stacker for DOS and Windows, and I was wondering if there is a special
upgrade/price available for owners of Stacker 3.0 to switch over to the OS/2
version?

Any information would be appreciated, Thanks.

-Pn 

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41265 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  17:46:46
Sb: #41256-#Upgrade to Stacker OS/2?
Fm: Roger Hicks 74250,1407
To: Paul Nusbaum 70303,2254 (X)

Paul;

Stacker for OS/2 & DOS cross-grade is $99.95 and can be ordered at
1-800-522-7822.

Thanks,

Keith Moon
STAC Product Support

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41337 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  12:19:47
Sb: #41265-Upgrade to Stacker OS/2?
Fm: Paul Nusbaum 70303,2254
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Hi!  Is the $99.95 price in US or Canadian dollars?  I would be interested in
how much it costs Canadian.  Thanks for the help!  The stores here in town do
not seem to have this information themselves...  TTYL

-Pn 

#: 41287 S5/OS/2 
    03-Dec-93  21:14:35
Sb: STACKER FOR OS2
Fm: RAYMOND N AREL 76635,3023
To: STAX  TECH SUPPO

I AM TRYING TO LOAD OS2 ONTO A STACKED DRIVE.  WHEN I RUN
THE DISK OPTIMIZATION I GET A FATAL ERROR 101 (INSUFFICIENT
MEMORY) IN THE RE-WRITING DIRECTORIES SECTION.  HOW TO I
AVOID THIS?
THANX.

#: 41306 S5/OS/2 
    04-Dec-93  11:27:00
Sb: Install Stacker OS/2&DOS
Fm: Lawrence D. Harter 73145,122
To: All

I am about to install Stacker for OS/2 and DOS. Are there any fixes I should
know about before I start?
..Larry



#: 41315 S5/OS/2 
    04-Dec-93  16:20:55
Sb: os2up.exe extraction
Fm: jim 72461,2032
To: sysop (X)

request instructions for extracting os2up.exe file stacker s/n: SI1CH343786.
Thank you.

#: 41323 S5/OS/2 
    04-Dec-93  21:43:11
Sb: Status on cache problem?
Fm: Kevin Becker 73174,2370
To: Stac Electronics

There has been a lot of questions and no answers in this forum on the disk
caching performance problem with OS/2. I'm on a very large development team
here at Lotus and would very much like to recommend to the team to move to
Stacker for OS/2, but can't due to this problem. We all develop in OS/2 and
test in Windows.

It would help us if you could provide some information regarding the nature of
the problem, possible work-arounds, time estimate to a fix, etc. For example,
does extended attributes have anything to do with it as someone suggested?

Thanks, Kevin

#: 41331 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  10:10:54
Sb: Bckup & Antivirus w/OS2
Fm: Bevin Beaudet 71552,45
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

I have just installed Stacker for OS2 and DOS on a machine running DOS and
Windows programs in order to make room for OS2.  The manual says to beware of
DOS anti-virus programs which might modify STACKER.COM and SSWAP.COM.  Does the
anti-virus program which comes with DOS 6.2 do this, or is it OK to use with
Stacker?  If not, which ones are OK?

Also, I use EZTape for DOS software to back up my hard drive.  It is working
fine with Stacker, but I'm concerned that it will not work with OS2.  IS EZTape
onw of the programs which according tho the manual dont preserve extended file
atributes of OS2?  Which back-up programs work with OS2?  Does IRwin have a
version of EZTape which works with OS2?  Thanks in advance.  I think Stacker is
great!  Bevin

#: 41339 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  14:25:57
Sb: OS2 & DOS Install
Fm: Nelson Alcala 70162,2513
To: Roger Hicks 74250,1407 (X)

Sync2 will not allow me to use the unstacked space on drive 2 for  SWAPPER.DAT.
It says that the drive (E:) is a stacked drive and changes the drive back to
the boot drive (F:)

1) -  Current environment: 2 disk drives. Drive 2 (D:) has a stacked volume
(Stacker 3.0) (STACVOL.001) and some unstacked space (35MB). Drive 1 has 4
partitions (Boot Mgr, DOS, OS2, & UNIX). OS2 partition is stacked.

2) - Swap Map:  C: -> F:        Drive 1 (OS2 partition)
                D: -> E:        Drive 2 (Dos/Windows Drive)

Roger: Any help will be greatly appreciated.  The OS2 & Stacker install has
been a real eye opener.  Many other problems appeared, but I was able to work
them out.

#: 41345 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  19:01:52
Sb: Very BAD OS2 Performance
Fm: H. Rae 72451,1466
To: SYSOP (X)

BOTH Read & Write performance on Stacked disks is horrendously bad.
Using BENCH23 (PCMag) in a DOS box you achieved the following:

 C: Drive 1 (stacked w 35.5MB free)     512 bytes       4K bytes
                                        512 records     64 records

 Seq. File Creation                       1.28 sec        1.28 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        1.25            1.25
 Seq. File Reading                        0.56            0.22
 Random File Write                       10.12            0.78
 Random File Read                         2.69            0.32


 M: (UNstacked C:)

 Seq. File Creation                       0.40 sec        0.44 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        0.25            0.09
 Seq. File Reading                        0.57            0.16
 Random File Write                        0.31            0.09
 Random File Read                         0.19            0.06


 H: Drive 2 (stacked w 11.9MB free)

 Seq. File Creation                       2.25 sec        1.19 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        1.81            1.13
 Seq. File Reading                        0.63            0.46
 Random File Write                       23.53            1.16
 Random File Read                         4.19            0.53


 I: (adjacent UNstacked Logical drive)

 Seq. File Creation                       0.37 sec        0.22 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        0.35            0.16
 Seq. File Reading                        0.34            0.16
 Random File Write                        0.31            0.09
 Random File Read                         0.19            0.09

OS2 was using a 512K cache with Lazy Writes on. A great deal of seeking
occurs during write operations.

Please advise.
  

#: 41346 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  19:07:09
Sb: #VERY BAD OS2 Performance
Fm: H. Rae 72451,1466
To: SYSOP (X)

BOTH Read & Write performance on Stacked disks is horrendously bad.
Using BENCH23 (PCMag) in a DOS box you achieved the following:

 C: Drive 1 (stacked w 35.5MB free)     512 bytes       4K bytes
                                        512 records     64 records

 Seq. File Creation                       1.28 sec        1.28 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        1.25            1.25
 Seq. File Reading                        0.56            0.22
 Random File Write                       10.12            0.78
 Random File Read                         2.69            0.32


 M: (UNstacked C:)

 Seq. File Creation                       0.40 sec        0.44 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        0.25            0.09
 Seq. File Reading                        0.57            0.16
 Random File Write                        0.31            0.09
 Random File Read                         0.19            0.06


 H: Drive 2 (stacked w 11.9MB free)

 Seq. File Creation                       2.25 sec        1.19 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        1.81            1.13
 Seq. File Reading                        0.63            0.46
 Random File Write                       23.53            1.16
 Random File Read                         4.19            0.53


 I: (adjacent UNstacked Logical drive)

 Seq. File Creation                       0.37 sec        0.22 sec
 Seq. File Writing                        0.35            0.16
 Seq. File Reading                        0.34            0.16
 Random File Write                        0.31            0.09
 Random File Read                         0.19            0.09

OS2 was using a 512K cache with Lazy Writes on. A great deal of seeking
occurs during write operations.

Please advise.
  

There is 1 Reply.

#: 41351 S5/OS/2 
    05-Dec-93  20:04:21
Sb: #41346-VERY BAD OS2 Performance
Fm: John McDermon [W-S,NC] 73077,2134
To: H. Rae 72451,1466

Your results are very similar to mine.  I've even tried bumping the DISKCACHE
setting up to 6 Meg, and the Stacked partition access times don't change
appreciably.

I've asked for a response about this from Stac a couple of weeks ago, but
haven't heard back yet.  Curiously, I did remove the FATMGR.EXE routine from
CONFIG.SYS and things did run much better.  But they still don't seem to work
through the cache!

Here's hoping if we keep asking, some light will eventually shine on this
subject.

John

#: 41373 S5/OS/2 
    06-Dec-93  09:50:41
Sb: OS/2 2.1 & Stacker 3.1
Fm: Tom Bates 76427,353
To: sysop (X)

I have a problem booting a DOS session under OS/2.  Stacker complains that the
stacked drives are write-protected.

I have just installed OS/2 2.1, and it still works fine with Stacker for OS/2.
However, I'm only an occasionaly user of OS/2, and I don't think I've tried it
since I installed DOS 6.0, Stacker 3.1 for DOS, and now DOS 6.2.

Can you help? Thanks Tom





#: 41381 S5/OS/2 
    06-Dec-93  13:52:57
Sb: Password for OS2UPD.EXE
Fm: Udo Kogel 100144,210
To: Sysop (X)

Dear Sysop,

i need your E-Mail Adress to tell you my Serial No. for Stacker for Dos and
OS/2. I hope that i get your answer in the next few days and get the passwort
after sending you th correct No.

Thanks
Udo 

#: 41383 S5/OS/2 
    06-Dec-93  14:51:14
Sb: Stacker OS/2 Problems
Fm: Mark Bashar 73163,1727
To: Sysop (X)

I am having some problems with Stacker that need to be resolved ASAP.

1)      On machines that are running Stacker for OS/2, the drag and drop
capabilities of the OS/2 desktop funciton normally until cc:Mail WPS is
installed.  Once cc:Mail is installed, EVERY time a drag and drop is attempted,
the system hangs.  This could be a trap, a desktop hang where only a cold boot
will work, or a partial trap (only part of the trap message is displayed).
This scenario only occurs on machine that have been stacked.  (I will be
posting this message in the LOTUSCOM/CCMAIL forum also, but it appears that the
problem is between Stacker and cc:Mail).

2)      If a shutdown does not complete fully and the machine is powered down,
a "cannot create DOS environment" error message occurs on the next boot up.
Usually, running the Stacker CHECK /F program and then CHKDSK C: /F fixes the
problem (usually crosslinked files or EA errors).  However, the desktop is
sometimes corrupted (either the desktop icons are changed or a complete desktop
failure occurs.)  Since the desktops are fairly complex (a number of software
installs directly add to the desktop), recreating the desktop is not an easy
task.  I have already applyed the Stacker shutdown fix to the program.
 What I need to know is if there is anything else I can do to stop this from
happening?  Are there more problems with Stacker (or another fix) that I am not
aware of?

Stacker is a good product, but if these problems cannot be fixed, I cannot
recommend it to my organization or collegues.

Mark Bashar, Cartier Inc

#: 41385 S5/OS/2 
    06-Dec-93  16:24:21
Sb: OS2UP.EXE password
Fm: Jerry Metcoff 70540,566
To: sysop (X)

My Stacker serial number is SI1BH337957. Is OS2UP.EXE needed for this version?
If so, please send me the password for it. Thanks in advance.

