Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!dogie.macc.wisc.edu!decwrl!ucbvax!PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU!GTHEALL From: GTHEALL@PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU (George A. Theall) Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec.micro Subject: Rainbow EchoMail Digest Message-ID: <9003272118.AA02504@remote.dccs.upenn.edu> Date: 27 Mar 90 21:17:00 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 160 Rainbow EchoMail Digest Mar 27, 1990 In this issue: RE: MS-DOS 3.X FOR RAINBO (3 messages) RE: TURBO PASCAL RE: OPUS 1.10 / RB'S Articles posted to either INFO-DEC-MICRO or comp.sys.dec.micro are currently gatewayed automatically to the Rainbow Echo on Fidonet; thus, you do not need to take any special action to respond to articles in these digests. Please send reports of problems or suggestions for improvement of this digest to GTHEALL@PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU (ARPA Internet). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 03-25-90 (09:57) To: DAVID MAROUN Subject: RE: MS-DOS 3.X FOR RAINBO From: FRANK MALLORY DM> Try running CHKDSK under MS-DOS 3.10 in a subdirectory on a hard disk. DM> I tried it on a 10 megabyte hard disk (an ST412) and thought that the DM> computer had crashed. After reboting and trying again, I realized that DM> the program really did take a long time. I don't understand why CHKDSK is taking so long for you. Perhaps your HD needs to be defragmented? I just timed it on my RD53 and find it takes 53 secs; that's with 32MB, 60 directories, 4,898 files. I'm going to try it again after defragging; also, with BUFFERS=1 as used by you. --- msged 1.99L MSC * Origin: Silver Bullet - Silver Spring, Maryland - 301-622-2247 (1:109/123) ------------------------------ Date: 03-25-90 To: DAVID MAROUN Subject: RE: MS-DOS 3.X FOR RAINBO From: FRANK MALLORY DM> I have made the tests, and I have stated the facts. As for the buffers DM> assignment, I use BUFFERS=1 for MS-DOS 3.10, since I have seen tests DM> involving different values for the assignment, and the results are so DM> slightly different that setting up buffers is not worth the trouble. DM> I would use BUFFERS=0, but MS-DOS does not allow that assignment. I tried CHKDSK on both partitions of my Miniscribe 3650 with the results shown below. The 8MB partition has 28 dirs, 447 files; whereas the 32MB partition has 41 dirs, 1066 files. This was done both before and after defragging, with no significant time differences (however, my disk was not very heavily fragmented to start). I was originally using BUFFERS=50; after getting those figures, I rebooted with BUFFERS=1 and retimed CHKDSK. Tried again with BUFFERS=20. Here are the results: 8MB 32MB Buffers: 1 20 50 1 20 50 Time (sec) --- 7 9 228 18 22 I didn't run CHKDSK with BUFFERS=1 on the 8MB partition, because when I ran it on the 32MB it sounded like the drive was about to self-destruct. But boot-up and SEDT, both of which run from the 8MB partition, were noticeably slower. My conclusion is that the time taken by CHKDSK varies directly with the number of files in the partition and is an inverse function of the number of buffers up to some point. After these experiments, I set the number of buffers to 20 (which is the same as what I was using on my RD53). I recommend you set BUFFERS=20, reboot, and retry CHKDSK. Let us know the results. --- msged 1.99L MSC * Origin: Silver Bullet - Silver Spring, Maryland - 301-622-2247 (1:109/123) ------------------------------ Date: 03-24-90 (20:05) To: DAVID MAROUN Subject: RE: MS-DOS 3.X FOR RAINBO From: VAN VANHORN OK, I decided that this nonsense had gone on long enough. I shut the board down and ran CHKDSK from MS-DOS 3.10, 2.11, and 2.05. The hard disk capacity is 38.5 Megs, partitioned as 32 Megs on E: and 6.5 Megs on F:. Under 3.10, CHKDSK reported full stats on the E: partition in 1:02, and the F: partition in less that :02. Under 2.11, CHKDSK scrolled like mad on the E: partition, and reported properl in :04.5 on the F: partition. Under 2.05, CHKDSK reported propable non-DOS disk on E:, then immediately found 22 megs of lost clusters. On F: it found 9 megs of lost clusters, on a 6.5 Meg partition! The long and short of it is that CHKDSK is SLOWER under 2.11 when it works. Of course, that isn't really all that meaningful, since you only need to run CHKDSK occasionally. I don't pretend to be the world's foremost DOS expert, but I know there are reasons why OPUS can't run under DOS 2.xx. 8 Meg partitions would be a nightm to keep track of when users occasionally upload quarter-meg files. But that doesn't mean YOU need to run DOS 3.xx. You can do what you like. I would prefer that if you truly want to keep your head stuck in the sand that you limit your calling to BBS systems that run under DOS 2.xx. That way I won't ever, ever have to read any of your errant nonsense again. Van Van Horn, Horsefeathers BBS. --- Opus-CBCS 1.10 * Origin: Horsefeathers + The Census? Be creative! + (1:343/30.0) ------------------------------ Date: 03-24-90 (23:22) To: CHRIS RYAN Subject: RE: TURBO PASCAL From: DAVID MAROUN Thanks for filling in the details that slipped my mind when I wrote to you before. I had Turbo Pascal 3 in mind when I wrote my message to you. Note, though, that more recent versions of MS-DOS Turbo Pascal WILL run on a Rainbow in command-line mode; that is, you do not get the built-in edito and other features of the "integrated environment", but you can still compile. --- * Origin: Glacier Peak Rainbow, Bellevue, WA - 206/644-8431 (Opus 1:343/3) ------------------------------ Date: 03-24-90 (20:17) To: BILL HLIWA Subject: RE: OPUS 1.10 / RB'S From: VAN VANHORN Just go for it. I was up and running 1.10 in less than two hours. I don't want to clutter up this echo on the subject, but the things that didn't fly right off the bat were easier to find than I thought they would be. One of the great things is that I only have to keep one nodelist now, instead of a full list for BINK and a tiny one for OPUS. If you want more details, net mail, or watch for my comments in the MEADOW. Van. --- Opus-CBCS 1.10 * Origin: Horsefeathers + The Census? Be creative! + (1:343/30.0) ------------------------------