Date:	Wed, 22 Jul 92 14:16:11 PDT
From:	pcm AT iWarp DOT intel DOT com (Phil Miller)
To:	djgpp AT sun DOT soe DOT clarkson DOT edu
Subject:	multi-config utilities [was: Which EMM emulator runs go32]

After posting a message earlier today, I've received several requests for
information about multiple configuration utilities.  Though this topic is not
exactly germane to the discussion of gcc compiler setup and bug reporting, my
guess is that there are many people who will find this information useful.

All of these programs support (in one of several different ways) the ability
to boot [MS-]DOS with one of several configurations, selected either
immediately prior to or during the process of rebooting.  For example, many
readers of this newsletter will find it useful to boot with emm386 for general
computing (running Windows, 1-2-3, etc.) and to boot without emm386 for the
purpose of running gcc or emacs.

There seem to be two primary approaches to the multi-config scheme: the first
(and my favorite, for no particularly valid reason) is to have one pair of
autoexec/config files and directives within the files which selectively
include configuration options from within the two files.  The other major
approach is to have a collection (a database in the more sophisticated
programs) of autoexec/config pairs, with the user selecting the pair s/he
wants.  Either approach seems valid to me and there is probably no rational
reason to prefer one to the other.

Development of this type of program is apparently a very popular theme among
PD software authors.  Here are several programs listed at the Simtel20/Oakland
archive site.  With the exception of the two programs noted below, I know
nothing beyond this brief description about any of the following programs:

Directory PD1:<MSDOS.SYSUTL>
ASKSYS.ZIP    B    2176  910807  PcTch Jrnl's multboot w/timeout for DOS & OS/2
AUTOCN2G.ZIP  B  137055  920511  Reboot with up to 50 different AUTOEXEC/CONFIG
BOOT142.ZIP   B   84480  910730  Multiple CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT with DOS 5.0
BOOTANY.ZIP   B   35908  910122  Allows booting from any partition on hard disk
BOOTEX10.ZIP  B    1859  920421  System reboot examples, with C & ASM src
BOOTMA33.ZIP  B  147766  920708  Multiple boot configuration utility
CAM262.ZIP    B  112951  920319  Config/Autoexec Manager v2.62
CONED28.ZIP   B   70616  920518  CONfig EDitor, boot multiple configurations
CONFIG10.ARC  B   15514  890315  Use multiple CONFIG.SYS files at will
DBOOT11.ZIP   B   33296  911224  Reboot with different CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT
FASTS101.ZIP  B   73744  910126  Edit/select AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS on bootup
MNUBT222.ZIP  B   18289  920624  Select conf. from menu in config.sys w/booting
MULTC21E.ZIP  B    5083  910814  Choose multiple configuration files on bootup
OPSYS204.ZIP  B   65399  920330  Boot up to 100 different system configurations
REBOOT13.ARC  B   11647  881204  Switch CONFIG.SYS and auto reboot
RECFG32.ZIP   B   60627  900505  Select up to 20 AUTOEXEC/CONFIG.SYS on bootup
RECON23.ZIP   B   93905  900424  Manage various AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
RECONFIG.ARC  B   15488  870222  Use multiple CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files
RESET.ARC     B    2709  870417  Reboot from different configs/autos
RESET11.ARC   B    3256  880911  Reboot using different AUTO/CONFIGs
RESTART2.ZIP  B   13551  900803  Select different autoexec/config's on reboot
SELECT.ZIP    B    9152  910109  Select from multiple AUTOEXEC files on boot-up
SYSCFG30.ZIP  B  112632  910428  Maintains multiple AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS
SYSGN132.ARC  B   30191  891211  Configuration utility(autoexec.bat/config.sys)

Of these many programs, the only one I have used is multc21e.zip (aka
multicnf).  Multicnf includes a tiny device driver which interactively selects
the config.sys configuration and a companion program which selects the
autoexec.bat configuration.  It allows three configurations, selected by
pressing one of CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT during the boot process.  One of the three
is selected by default after a user-selectable timeout interval.  Multicnf
works very well; I chose a different solution because I needed more boot
configurations, but I was not otherwise dissatisfied with multicnf.

Another program which I find useful with my current configuration is
iaca101.zip, which allows you to pass information from the config.sys file to
the autoexec.bat file.  Here is the author's info about iaca101:

From: PEPRBV AT CFAAMP DOT HARVARD DOT EDU (Bob Babcock)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.archives
Subject: IACA101.ZIP - Pass information from CONFIG.SYS to AUTOEXEC
Summary: Reposted by Keith Petersen
Message-ID: <3538 DOT w8sdz AT Vela DOT ACS DOT Oakland DOT Edu>
Date: 1 May 92 11:29:45 GMT
Lines: 16

I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:

pd1:<msdos.sysutl>
IACA101.ZIP     Pass information from CONFIG.SYS to AUTOEXEC

IACA101.ZIP contains a device driver which stores a string in the
Inter-Application Communication Area and then exits without consuming
any memory.  A program running in AUTOEXEC takes this string and
assigns it to an environment variable.  Then standard IF tests can
be used to control flow.  I use this so that I don't need multiple
AUTOEXEC files to go with my multiple CONFIG.SYS files.  Copyrighted
but no limits on non-commercial distribution.

Bob Babcock
PEPRBV AT cfaamp DOT harvard DOT edu
PEPRBV AT CFAAMP DOT BITNET

Good luck,

Phil Miller
pcm AT ssd DOT intel DOT com

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