Category : HD Utilities
Archive   : STACTECH.ZIP
Filename : 2508.TXT

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STACK FAX Index #2508

Erratic Operation of Floppy Disk Drives

(Applies to Stacker 2.x/3.x)
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Background.

There are many reasons why floppy disk drives may operate in erratic fashion
both with and without Stacker installed. This tech note gives some trouble
shooting assistance to those who find that their drive(s) either fail to
work at all, fail to recognize diskette changes, or present the incorrect
drive information when DIR is executed.Item 4 applies only to those systems0
running under MSDOS 5.0.

Procedure.

1. Should you type DIR at the A: or B: prompt and are presented with the
directory structure of a different drive, add the following line to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT after the PATH line:

SSWAP C: C:

2. If access problems only occur while running Windows 3.1 in 386 enhanced
mode, refer to the Microsoft Windows Resource Kit, pages 22 - 23 for
resolution.

3. If this problem occurs at the DOS prompt, but is eliminated after
disabling the Stacker Device Driver, edit the CONFIG.SYS file and add
the /NB switch:

DEVICE=C:\STACKER\STACKER.COM C:\STACVOL.DSK /NB

Should the problem persist, add the following line to the CONFIG.SYS file
prior to the Stacker lines:

DRIVPARM= /D:x /f:n

where x = 0 for drive A
1 for drive B

where n = 0 for 360K
1 for 1.2MB
2 for 720K
7 for 1.44MB
9 for 2.88MB

(multiple DRIVPARM lines are permissible, should this problem affect more
than one drive)

4. If the problem does not disappear when Stacker is disabled, refer to the
DOS 5.0 README file, section 2.15, and the DOS 5.0 manual, pg. 611 for
information related to HIMEM.SYS machine switches.

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Copyright 1993, Stac Electronics