Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!udel!burdvax!gvlv2!kleonard
From: kleonard@gvlv2.GVL.Unisys.COM (Ken Leonard)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Odd DOS files - what are they?
Message-ID: <326@gvlv2.GVL.Unisys.COM>
Date: 12 Sep 89 21:57:54 GMT
References: <2630@isis.UUCP>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Unisys Defense Systems, NISD, Great Valley Laboratory
Lines: 32

In article <2630@isis.UUCP> tkoppel@isis.UUCP (Ted Koppel) writes:
* I was looking at my DOS subdirectory the other day (not something that
* I do too often) and noticed the following files:
* 
* EGA      CPI    49065   3-18-87  12:00p
* LCD      CPI    10752   3-17-87  12:00p
* 4201     CPI    17089   3-18-87  12:00p
* 5202     CPI      459   3-17-87  12:00p
Umpty.CPIs is part of the "code pages"/"countrycode" business that goes
along with the dumpty.SYS keyboard and printer drivers.  Unless you
are running (or plan to run) non-US-English stuff, you can delete all ..CPIs
and the related drivers.  Refer to the incomprehensibobble to be found
(hopefully) in the back of your DOS reference manual.
-
* BASIC    PIF      369   3-17-87  12:00p
* BASICA   PIF      369   3-17-87  12:00p
Umpty.PIFs are "Program Information Files" used by Microsoft Windows and/or
(IBM? somebody?) Topview.  They tell the shell (Win or Tv) how to load/
allocate/hookup the ..COM, ..EXE or ..BAT file of the same first name.
If you are not running Win or Tv, you can dump the ..PIFs.
[[late thought--does GEM need them?  are you running GEM?]]
[[note that HPs NewWave system is much like Windows and probably uses PIFs]]
-
* (This is DOS 3.3 by the way).
..CPIs came in with DOS 3.0, I think.
..PIFs came in with Win and Tv, regardless of DOS revision.
-
note--Win and Tv PIFs are _NOT_ all the same inside, although I _think_
Win can use Tv PIFs, and maybe Tv could use Win PIFs.
---------------
regardz,
Ken