Message-Id: <199706262242.SAA00855@delorie.com> From: "Warp" To: "OpenDOS" , Subject: Re: nwcdex Date: Fri, 27 Jun 1997 08:51:54 +1000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Precedence: bulk Subst can never be loaded from the config.sys, only from the autoexec.bat. If there was confusion from what I posted I am sorry but if subst works on any driver letter from "d" to "z" then nwcdex should also work. Try and get a hold of mscdex.exe and try it. Wayne ---- From: Matthias Paul To: opendos AT delorie DOT com Date: Thursday, June 26, 1997 8:35 PM Subject: Re: nwcdex >> Opps. Marek, this reply was originally intended for the mailing >> list as as whole... ;-) Sorry. A slightly modified version, >> now for you all... > >On Wed, 25 Jun 1997, Marek Habersack replied to Mark Aitchison: > >> > Is there some reason I cannot use INSTALL=C:\DOS\NWCDEX.EXE in >> > config.sys? It complains about drive letters. Does LASTDRIVE= not take >> > effect until the end of config.sys processing in OpenDOS? >> I have noticed that too: it is impossible to use subst from config.sys as >> well. [...] > >Yes, but there's a trick (see below)... > >> It seems like the CDS allocation is being left till config.sys is >> processed in it's entirety and that INSTALL and DEVICE statements are >> processed before the other, configuring, ones - just as you noticed. > >Not exactly, all CONFIG.SYS directives are processed in the order as >they are parsed by the CONFIG.SYS interpreter, including boot-menus >and sub-routines. There's one exeption of the rule: > >The (undocumented) SWITCHES= directive is *also* processed before >the normal CONFIG.SYS processing starts, resulting in some strange >behaviour with SWITCHES=/F (tough I have not yet found this pre- >scanning in the sources, but that's how it works as far as I see it... >See NWDOSTIP.TXT for details). That's why it should be given in the >very first line of CONFIG.SYS. > >However, some directives are only recorded and will take effect after >CONFIG.SYS processing is finished and IBMBIO.COM is about to start >the command interpreter via SHELL= (normally COMMAND.COM). > >> It is apparent that OpenDOS use temporary CDS entries during the >> boot process >> leaving the "final" allocation to the pre-autoexec phase. AFAIR, config.sys is >> processed in the IBMBIOS code and allocation of internal DOS structures is >> performed in IBMDOS which code copies values from temporary structures created >> during the BIOS boot phase. > >Since Novell DOS the pre-CDS (that is, CDS during CONFIG.SYS) is an >internal array containing 26 entries located at the upper end of the >conventional memory, although the lastdrive entries in SYSVARS only >report a lower value. LASTDRIVE= is one of those directives taking >effect only *after* CONFIG.SYS, and the CDS array will be moved to >it's target position and will be reduced downto the LASTDRIVE= (or >other minimum) or will be expanded up to 32 entries. >(Detailed info on DR DOS 3.41, 5.0, 6.0, and Novell DOS/OpenDOS >pre-CDS and CDS, but also on MS-DOS/PC-DOS and Windows95 pre-CDS >should become available with one of the next issues of Ralf Brown's >interrupt lists. It's been in his queue for months now... >Unfortunately, all these layouts are rather different, while Win95 >has adapted most of the advanced (internal) features of Novell DOS >in this area...) > >Because NWCDEX does not come with a .SYS block decive header, there >is no (easy) way to get a free drive slot during CONFIG.SYS. > >On my web-page you can find a FreeWare tool named INSTCDEX.ZIP, >allowing to free already assigned drive slots for NWCDEX and thus >allows NWCDEX to load in CONFIG.SYS. However, it will be unlinked >after CONFIG.SYS, since the CDS-array is moved. INSTCDEX also >provides means to save the status of the CDS-entry in CONFIG.SYS and >relinking NWCDEX to the new CDS in AUTOEXEC.BAT. (That's also why >SUBST does not work permanently in CONFIG.SYS - see my SETENV.ZIP >package for details) The current version of INSTCDEX comes with a >(short) English documentation and help screen. For usage with >Novell DOS or OpenDOS I recommend using INSTCDEX's advanced >/LASTDRIVE option, especially designed for these DOS versions. > >I'm planning to build INSTCDEX functionality directly into the >COD kernel some day... > >Bye, > > Matthias > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------- > Snail mail: Matthias Paul, Ubierstrasse 28, D-50321 Bruehl, Germany > New eMail : > Web : URL: http://www.rhrz.uni-bonn.de/~uzs180/mpdokeng.html >--------------------------------------------------------------------