Message-Id: <11618.9702021501@pulteney.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk>
To: mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca
Cc: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net
Subject: Re: [opendos] Controller card or Norton's SpeedDisk eat files w/ OpenDOS? 
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Sun, 02 Feb 97 08:56:05 EST."
             <Pine DOT LNX DOT 3 DOT 95 DOT 970202085130 DOT 5878P-100000 AT capslock DOT com> 
Date: Sun, 02 Feb 97 15:01:29 +0000
From: "Stewart" <scw AT dcs DOT st-and DOT ac DOT uk>
Sender: owner-opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net
Precedence: bulk


>> 
>> I've just run the NU8 version of SpeedDisk over my machine under OpenDOS 7.01
>> with no problems what so ever. It all seems fine as long as I don't try
>
>Ok, so now some people CAN use it and others CANT.  I wonder where the
>problem actually lies then.

I'm not sure I thought at first it could be the same reason that Windows was
hanging on my machine but that turned out to be a problem with emm386 including
a region of ROM as available high RAM, once I excluded that range it was fine
but I can't see any reason that SpeedDisk or DiskEdit would be trying to do
anything especially nasty with upper memory.

>> to run it under the multi-tasker at which point it just refuses to start,
>> same with Disk Edit. Have you tried the updates for NU8 from Symantec's web
>> site?  I don't know if they'll help but I'm using them :)
>
>You should never run programs that directly access sectors of your
>hard disk under ANY multitasker.  This is because if a program opens a
>file and starts reading it, the defragger could be in the process of
>moving that file, etc...  Anyone that I know who has ran any direct
>disk access programs successfully in a multitasker has trashed their
>HDD.  That is why you cant do it.

I agree entirely, in fact I was rather pleased that it didn't run, particularly
when it even pointed out to me that the reason it wouldn't run was that I was i
using a multi-tasking environment.

	Stewart