Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!yale!cmcl2!uupsi!sunic!news.funet.fi!funic!fuug!tuura!risto From: risto@tuura.UUCP (Risto Lankinen) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Re;"Curse-virus" orig.article Message-ID: <830@tuura.UUCP> Date: 7 Nov 90 10:08:58 GMT References: <90305.084851LK-AP@finou.oulu.fi> <1990Nov3.022808.6903@ivucsb.sba.ca.us> <501@philpav.tds.philips.se> Organization: Nokia Data Systems Oy Lines: 42 rzi@philpav.tds.philips.se (Roman Zielinski) writes: >I made some investigations on my 386SX (Award bios) and found that indeed >there was four non-movable areas on my disk. > - io.sys (the old boot friend) > - msdos.sys (one more old boot friend) > - \windows\msdos.exe (Why non-movable? Que?) > - garbage from crashed win-session (could be removed by *chkdsk /f *) >Now something very *funny*: > If I rename \windows\msdos.exe to msdos1.exe it ceases to be non movable! > When I rename it back to msdos.exe it is non-movable again. Hi! In DOS, each 'device' has a name, which is in the beginning of its .SYS-file. Now, regarding the MSDOS.SYS and IO.SYS, they are considered not different from *real* device drivers, in the sense that their names become reserved words in the system. Many CONFIG.SYS -installed device drivers have there- fore names, which would not collide with file names (for example, the HIMEM defines XMSXXXX0 for its 'device name'). In your system, the MSDOS.SYS possibly uses simply 'MSDOS' for its 'device name', thereby either preventing or at least modifying the accesses to any file named MSDOS.??? . Would the problem persist, if you created a file named MSDOS.TXT ? Did it so, then that was the reason. > but another HW and BIOS did not have the same behaviour > (ie on unmovable blks) Well, the other system uses IBMDOS.COM and IBMBIO.COM for its system files? >Tanks, >Roman Containers, :-> Risto -- Risto Lankinen / product specialist *************************************** Nokia Data Systems, Technology Dept * 2 2 * THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK * 2 -1 is PRIME! Now working on 2 +1 * replies: risto@yj.data.nokia.fi ***************************************