Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jarthur!nntp-server.caltech.edu!news From: heathh@kanga (Heath Ian Hunnicutt) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc Subject: Re: using share in dos4 Message-ID: <1991May17.160145.10245@nntp-server.caltech.edu> Date: 17 May 91 16:01:45 GMT References: <1991May13.215237.4309@d.cs.okstate.edu> Sender: news@nntp-server.caltech.edu Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena Lines: 62 In article <1991May13.215237.4309@d.cs.okstate.edu> mmccorm@d.cs.okstate.edu (McCormick Martin) writes: > > From: halpern@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (David Halpern) > I've recently installed dos4.0 on my pc and everytime I boot I guet this > warning message telling me to install share for large media. I should also > add that I have a 286pc with 20MB and 40MB hard drives. Why am I getting > this message and what should I do to stop getting it ? SHARE's purpose is two-fold: First, it handles file locking for shared access. Someone else on this group has already posted about that. If you judged by SHARE's name alone, you might think that that is all it does. However, SHARE's main purpose is to keep a MS-DOS ver 1.0 stupidity from trashing your disk. You see, old MS-DOS versions required applications to use what is known as an FCB or File Control Block. Because of this requirement for old versions of DOS, some applications still around today use FCBs instead of a newer method, File Handles. FCBs access only the first 32MB of your hard drive succesfully, while File Handles have much greater range. A side affect of FCBs' limitation is this: If you used an FCB to access, say the 40 millionth byte on your hard drive, you would actually get the 40M - 32M limit = 8 millionth byte. i.e., the pointer "wraps around" SHARE translates all FCB calls into File Handle calls. To properly load SHARE, place the file SHARE.EXE in your root directory of your boot-up disk. Don't put any lines about in your config.sys or autoexec.bat! I know this seems wrong, but bear with me: When DOS first loads, before even checking for a config.sys, it checks for big media. If it finds it, it _immediately_ checks for SHARE.EXE in the root directory. (i.e., C:\SHARE.EXE) If it finds SHARE it loads it right then. The reason that it is not loaded with config.sys (although it can be...) is this: Imagine you have the following config.sys: 1: DEVICE=C:OLDTHING.SYS 2: INSTALL SHARE.EXE Further imagine that OLDTHING uses FCBs. Now imagine what happens if OLDTHING starts out using FCBs and then SHARE comes along and buts in. Now imagine a hard drive full of worhtless random bytes. Anyway, I hope you use SHARE, but I feel that I should warn you: Some people (not me, by the way) have had trouble using SHARE with things like DesqView, etc., Others blame the problem on FASTOPEN, which I must agree with. The 4.0 FASTOPEN is Buggy with a capital 'B'. SHARE is doing a fine job on my system, and has been for over a year. I use 4DOS, which is more robust than COMMAND.COM in many respects, so perhaps that is where my luck has come from.... -- Heath Hunnicutt | X-Wing Pilot: "Ahhh! I'm gonna die!" heathh@pooh.cco.caltech.edu | Rebel Command: "Stay on target..." 131.215.48.30 | ... my life at Caltech --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the unlikely event that I might seem to be representing Caltech's opinion on any matter, I am not. In fact, if it is brought to my attention that I share any particular opinion with Caltech's administration and other assorted Yahoos, I will change that opinion of mine.