From: Digest To: "OS/2GenAu Digest" Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 00:01:05 EST-10EDT,10,-1,0,7200,3,-1,0,7200,3600 Subject: [os2genau_digest] No. 898 Reply-To: X-List-Unsubscribe: www.os2site.com/list/ ************************************************** Sunday 25 July 2004 Number 898 ************************************************** Subjects for today 1 Re: wpsbkp and Checkini : Mike O'Connor 2 Re: wpsbkp and Checkini : Kris Steenhaut 3 Re: THUMB DRIVE : Gavin Miller 4 Re: THUMB DRIVE : Nicholas Lysaght" 5 Re: wpsbkp and Checkini : Chris Graham [WarpSpeed]" 6 Thinkpad Support : Ed Durrant 7 Re: Thinkpad Support : Ed Durrant 8 Re: THUMB DRIVE : Gavin Miller 9 Re: wpsbkp and Checkini : Ed Durrant 10 Re: wpsbkp and Checkini : Kris Steenhaut 11 Scanners : Peter Jenkins 12 Re: THUMB DRIVE : Mike O'Connor **= Email 1 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 04:38:27 +1000 From: Mike O'Connor Subject: Re: wpsbkp and Checkini Kris Steenhaut wrote: > Chris Graham [WarpSpeed] schreef: > >> you want another startup folder, create one from the templates folder. > > A template folder of the startup folder itself? Is there a thing like > that? Hi Kris, Not specifically - but you can create a template for one from an original that has the WPStartup class attribute and assign a WPS-ID of to it when activating it. HTH -- Regards, Mike Failed the exam for -------------------- MCSE - Minesweeper Consultant and Solitaire Expert -------------------- [ISP blocks *.exe, *.cmd, *.bat, *.reg attachments] [Please use zipped versions of above] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 2 ==========================** Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 22:07:41 +0200 From: Kris Steenhaut Subject: Re: wpsbkp and Checkini Mike O'Connor schreef: > Kris Steenhaut wrote: > >> Chris Graham [WarpSpeed] schreef: >> >>> you want another startup folder, create one from the templates folder. >> >> >> A template folder of the startup folder itself? Is there a thing like >> that? > > > > Hi Kris, > Not specifically - but you can create a template for one from an > original that has the WPStartup class attribute and assign a WPS-ID of > to it when activating it. That's what I tought too. -- Groeten uit Gent, Kris ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 3 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 10:21:11 +1000 From: Gavin Miller Subject: Re: THUMB DRIVE Hi Nick, You got more mileage than I did. My 128Mb USB Jumpdrive would not format at all. HPFS refused to format with a "not enough memory" dialog and FAT formating could not "find the sector". Ended up formatting in Windoze. Why oh why does OS/2\eCs have such a hard time formatting flash drives? Another annoying thing was when I ejected the drive, the removable media icon disappeared and refresh removable media didn't work. So I don't RMC -> eject anymore. Others have said to always eject first. Maybe that's for card readers rather than flash drives. Cheers G nickl at pacific dot net dot au wrote: >Hi Everybody > >In <200407180158.i6I1wYnk002275 at mailproxy2.pacific dot net dot au>, on 07/18/2004 > at 09:45 AM, nickl at pacific dot net dot au said: > > > >>Hi Ed, Mike, Gavin et al. >> >> > > > >>I appreciate your prompt replies. You really shouldn't have stayed up to >>reply to me . It's only 0800 over here :-) >> >> > > > >>The place is shut today. But on Monday, I will be going down and getting >>the Thumb Drive, as advertised. Oh BTW, it's . >>And before I dom that, I will make sure I have the latest upgrades from >>eCsMT (as long as they don't kill my Digital Camera ...no, I don't >>think so.). >> >> > >Did that yesterday. It appears I am the proud owner of an Astone USB 2.0 >Flash Drive ("Speed up your life with extreme mobility!" > > > >>I think the salesman did try hard, of course, as far as he could see, >>there is absolutely no problem with Windows....... >> >> > >Was lucky here. The gentleman I talked to learnt OS/2 in his IT >Certificate days at Tech (TAFE). He said, "If it doesn't go, bring it back >- no problems." > > > >>So if it looks like it is "driverless", I will take the plunge. First >>thing I will try is the FORMAT command. This could be interesting, and >>will certainly determine if it is a good substitute for my Zip disks, as >>since 1997, they have been my library of data backups....and they are all >>formatted as HPFS. If they don't....well, I'll think of >>something.....maybe even dig out , and manually do my >>directories, then copy them. Restoration would be the reverse of >>that...well maybe... >> >> > >Got it home and plugged it in at the back. For the $39.00 you get a nice >extension lead, and a blue LED that flashes at you, very "flash" (couldn't >help that one .). By the time I got up to the desktop again, a little >notice saying "Drive F successfully attached". > >I opened the "Zip" Drive F: icon, and there was all free space (130MB from >memory). Well, I couldn't help myself...curoiusity go the better of me..I >right clicked and formatted the disk for HPFS....and...it worked! > >So excited was I, that I phoned the store and thanked them for their >patience, and I'll definitely be keeping the drive. So, I copied one of my >data directories to this drive, then did a compare. Noticed that some, not >all, files with long filenames were missing in File Commander, but did >turn up in the Drives Object Directories. Not good. But I could, for >instance, read a .DWP file using DeScribe, so I thought I was onto >something. > >OK, time to see what happens if I re-format. Wow! That was a change! When >I formatted back to FAT, it became a 1.44 Floppy! And when that happened, >I couldn't reformat back to HPFS (SYS 1512). Now that happened a while ago >with my Zip Disks, and the workaround then, was to go into Windows (yuck) >and ask it (nicely) to format it as FAT....yes it works, but FAT32 >doesn't. Back in eCs it's FAT again and 125MB. But I still can't get HPFS >back again. > >So, OK, I was stuck with FAT...no problems, I found that by using SHIFT+F7 >on File Commander, I was able to send a zipped directory over to the >Drive. Back Again also worked, so I can do Incremental Backups. So I'm >almost happy....but no HPFS. > >Firstly, I do have the line BASEDEV=USBMSD.ADD /FLOPPIES:0. I have no >problem with formatting either a 100 or 250MB Zip Disk for HPFS, but it >only did the Flash Drive once. Is there another switch I can try? > > > >>Stay tuned :-) and thank for your help. >> >> > >More to do yet. Thanks again > >NICK > > > >>In <200407171537.i6HFbEnk017934 at mailproxy2.pacific dot net dot au>, on 07/17/2004 >> >> > > > >> at 11:23 PM, nickl at pacific dot net dot au said: >> >> > > > >>>Hi Everyone. >>> >>> > > > >>>Don't know hweather I've been asleep at the wheel or not, but saw this at >>>our reasonably-local computer store: >>> >>> > > > >>>USB 2.0 Thumb Drive 128MB >>> >>> > > > >>> >>>Price $39.00 >>>Notes >>> >>>Prices can change at any time. >>> >>>USB 2.0 Flash Memory(Acts just like a Hard Drive) >>> >>> > > > >>>I have seen such things around, and I asked around if anyone knew if a >>>thumb drive behaved differently from those memory card things, or a >>>digital camera that one plugs into one's USB Port. The salesman didn't >>>know where I was coming from, and I've heard all sorts of rumours.... >>> >>> > > > >>>Questions: (please). >>> >>> > > > >>>Has anybody heard of a Thumb Drive (the actual name)? >>> >>> > > > >>>Is a Thumb Drive able to be used with Refresh Removable Media, like my >>>Digital Camera and Zip Drive? >>> >>> > > > >>>If so, what File System does a Thumb Drive use? Is it only FAT12 (like my >>>Camera), or can it be formatted to FAT16/HPFS like my Zip Drive. >>> >>> > > > >>>Again, my apologies for coming in late, but Zip disks are getting fairly >>>scarce these days, so I thought I'd better start looking at my options. >>>:-) >>> >>> > > > >>>Thanks for your help. >>> >>> > > > >>>NICK >>> >>> > > > > > >>>----------------------------------------------------------- >>>nickl at pacific dot net dot au >>>----------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> > > > >>> >>> >>> > > > >>----------------------------------------------------------- >>nickl at pacific dot net dot au >>----------------------------------------------------------- >> >> > > > >> >> >> > >----------------------------------------------------------- >nickl at pacific dot net dot au >----------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 4 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 10:35:32 -0000 From: "Nicholas Lysaght" Subject: Re: THUMB DRIVE In response to a message sent 2004-07-25 10:21:11 +1000 (Sun) by "Gavin Miller" about Re: THUMB DRIVE: > Hi Nick, > > You got more mileage than I did. My 128Mb USB Jumpdrive would not > format at all. HPFS refused to format with a "not enough memory" dialog > and FAT formating could not "find the sector". Ended up formatting in > Windoze. Interesting. Why oh why does OS/2\eCs have such a hard time formatting > flash drives? Have you got the latest USB Updates from either eCs Webpage, or from IBM themselves? They seem to smooth out a few of the problems. >Another annoying thing was when I ejected the drive, the > removable media icon disappeared and refresh removable media didn't > work. So I don't RMC -> eject anymore. Others have said to always > eject first. Maybe that's for card readers rather than flash drives. > No, IMO you should continue to use the "Eject" button. With the new drivers, I only get a "drive not formatted properly" message with my Digital Camera (Vivitar). Both Zips and Thumb will eject without fuss (so far). I did find if you reef out the drive without ejecting, I got the message "No F: Drive, data will be lost", and although the thumb drive data stayed, my machine didn't want to shut down. So I religously "eject" now. I don't know who I'd see, but the fact that I was able to format it first time in HPFS, and (after that) only format it to a 1.44 Floppy in OS/2, gives some hope. Very similar things happened to my Zip drives, around the time of FP14-15 (that's how I figured out the workaround) (from memory). Somehow IBM fixed it....wheahter they want to/can do the same thing this time is moot, but I bet somebody knows. For me, HPFS formatting would change the status of the Thumb Drive from a portable transport for anything to a portable data transport and storage. Hope that helps. NICK > Cheers > G > > > nickl at pacific dot net dot au wrote: > > >Hi Everybody > > > >In <200407180158.i6I1wYnk002275 at mailproxy2.pacific dot net dot au>, on 07/18/2004 > > at 09:45 AM, nickl at pacific dot net dot au said: > > > > > > > >>Hi Ed, Mike, Gavin et al. > >> > >> > > > > > > > >>I appreciate your prompt replies. You really shouldn't have stayed up to > >>reply to me . It's only 0800 over here :-) > >> > >> > > > > > > > >>The place is shut today. But on Monday, I will be going down and getting > >>the Thumb Drive, as advertised. Oh BTW, it's . > >>And before I dom that, I will make sure I have the latest upgrades from > >>eCsMT (as long as they don't kill my Digital Camera ...no, I don't > >>think so.). > >> > >> > > > >Did that yesterday. It appears I am the proud owner of an Astone USB 2.0 > >Flash Drive ("Speed up your life with extreme mobility!" > > > > > > > >>I think the salesman did try hard, of course, as far as he could see, > >>there is absolutely no problem with Windows....... > >> > >> > > > >Was lucky here. The gentleman I talked to learnt OS/2 in his IT > >Certificate days at Tech (TAFE). He said, "If it doesn't go, bring it > back > >- no problems." > > > > > > > >>So if it looks like it is "driverless", I will take the plunge. First > >>thing I will try is the FORMAT command. This could be interesting, and > >>will certainly determine if it is a good substitute for my Zip disks, as > >>since 1997, they have been my library of data backups....and they are > all > >>formatted as HPFS. If they don't....well, I'll think of > >>something.....maybe even dig out , and manually do my > >>directories, then copy them. Restoration would be the reverse of > >>that...well maybe... > >> > >> > > > >Got it home and plugged it in at the back. For the $39.00 you get a nice > >extension lead, and a blue LED that flashes at you, very "flash" > (couldn't > >help that one .). By the time I got up to the desktop again, a little > >notice saying "Drive F successfully attached". > > > >I opened the "Zip" Drive F: icon, and there was all free space (130MB > from > >memory). Well, I couldn't help myself...curoiusity go the better of me..I > >right clicked and formatted the disk for HPFS....and...it worked! > > > >So excited was I, that I phoned the store and thanked them for their > >patience, and I'll definitely be keeping the drive. So, I copied one of > my > >data directories to this drive, then did a compare. Noticed that some, > not > >all, files with long filenames were missing in File Commander, but did > >turn up in the Drives Object Directories. Not good. But I could, for > >instance, read a .DWP file using DeScribe, so I thought I was onto > >something. > > > >OK, time to see what happens if I re-format. Wow! That was a change! When > >I formatted back to FAT, it became a 1.44 Floppy! And when that happened, > >I couldn't reformat back to HPFS (SYS 1512). Now that happened a while > ago > >with my Zip Disks, and the workaround then, was to go into Windows (yuck) > >and ask it (nicely) to format it as FAT....yes it works, but FAT32 > >doesn't. Back in eCs it's FAT again and 125MB. But I still can't get HPFS > >back again. > > > >So, OK, I was stuck with FAT...no problems, I found that by using > SHIFT+F7 > >on File Commander, I was able to send a zipped directory over to the > >Drive. Back Again also worked, so I can do Incremental Backups. So I'm > >almost happy....but no HPFS. > > > >Firstly, I do have the line BASEDEV=USBMSD.ADD /FLOPPIES:0. I have no > >problem with formatting either a 100 or 250MB Zip Disk for HPFS, but it > >only did the Flash Drive once. Is there another switch I can try? > > > > > > > >>Stay tuned :-) and thank for your help. > >> > >> > > > >More to do yet. Thanks again > > > >NICK > > > > > > > >>In <200407171537.i6HFbEnk017934 at mailproxy2.pacific dot net dot au>, on > 07/17/2004 > >> > >> > > > > > > > >> at 11:23 PM, nickl at pacific dot net dot au said: > >> > >> > > > > > > > >>>Hi Everyone. > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>Don't know hweather I've been asleep at the wheel or not, but saw this > at > >>>our reasonably-local computer store: > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>USB 2.0 Thumb Drive 128MB > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>> > >>>Price $39.00 > >>>Notes > >>> > >>>Prices can change at any time. > >>> > >>>USB 2.0 Flash Memory(Acts just like a Hard Drive) > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>I have seen such things around, and I asked around if anyone knew if a > >>>thumb drive behaved differently from those memory card things, or a > >>>digital camera that one plugs into one's USB Port. The salesman didn't > >>>know where I was coming from, and I've heard all sorts of rumours.... > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>Questions: (please). > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>Has anybody heard of a Thumb Drive (the actual name)? > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>Is a Thumb Drive able to be used with Refresh Removable Media, like my > >>>Digital Camera and Zip Drive? > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>If so, what File System does a Thumb Drive use? Is it only FAT12 (like > my > >>>Camera), or can it be formatted to FAT16/HPFS like my Zip Drive. > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>Again, my apologies for coming in late, but Zip disks are getting > fairly > >>>scarce these days, so I thought I'd better start looking at my options. > >>>:-) > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>Thanks for your help. > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>>NICK > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > > > > > >>>----------------------------------------------------------- > >>>nickl at pacific dot net dot au > >>>----------------------------------------------------------- > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > > >>>------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --------- > >>> > > >>> > >>> > > > > > > > >>----------------------------------------------------------- > >>nickl at pacific dot net dot au > >>----------------------------------------------------------- > >> > >> > > > > > > > > >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -------- > >> > > >> > >> > > > >----------------------------------------------------------- > >nickl at pacific dot net dot au > >----------------------------------------------------------- > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------- > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------ > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 5 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 13:20:48 +1000 (EST) From: "Chris Graham [WarpSpeed]" Subject: Re: wpsbkp and Checkini On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 09:37:07 +0200, Kris Steenhaut wrote: > > >Chris Graham [WarpSpeed] schreef: > >>you want another startup folder, create one from the templates folder. >> >> >> >A template folder of the startup folder itself? Is there a thing like that? Do you not have a start folder template in the template's dir? -Chris WarpSpeed Computers - The Graham Utilities for OS/2. Voice: +61-3-9307-0344 Internet: chrisg at warpspeed dot com dot au FAX: +61-3-9307-0633 Web Page: http://www.warpspeed dot com dot au Postal: WarpSpeed Computers, PO Box 212, Brunswick, VIC 3056, AUSTRALIA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 6 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 14:24:11 +1000 From: Ed Durrant Subject: Thinkpad Support For those of you, that like me are trying to get various features working on a Thinkpad (in may case an R31) under OS/2, here's a page I stumbled across through Google - it's headings are in German but the list of links to drivers are in English. It contains links for OS2 and Windoze but what is important, is that it appears to be current with all links being dated July 2004 ! http://www-1.ibm dot com/cgi-bin/pc/support/supportR5lite/pagegen?lang=de_DE&page=brand&brand=IBM+ThinkPad&doctype=Downloadable+files&family=&machineType=&up=login944070707 Cheers/2 Ed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 7 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 14:32:30 +1000 From: Ed Durrant Subject: Re: Thinkpad Support Correction to my text below - what I should have said was that most of the link on this first page are from July 2004, as you go though to following pages, or change the selection criteria, much older links are displayed. Ed Durrant wrote: > For those of you, that like me are trying to get various > features working on a Thinkpad (in may case an R31) under > OS/2, here's a page I stumbled across through Google - it's > headings are in German but the list of links to drivers are > in English. It contains links for OS2 and Windoze but what > is important, is that it appears to be current with all > links being dated July 2004 ! > > http://www-1.ibm dot com/cgi-bin/pc/support/supportR5lite/pagegen?lang=de_DE&page=brand&brand=IBM+ThinkPad&doctype=Downloadable+files&family=&machineType=&up=login944070707 > > Cheers/2 > > Ed. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 8 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 18:16:11 +1000 From: Gavin Miller Subject: Re: THUMB DRIVE If I reef out the flash drive, I get a message stating that device x (H: in my case) has been removed. Interesting that now that the drive has been formatted thru windows, I can now reformat it as fat in eCs. I can also format as HPFS as well with no problems. The only thing I can think of that was different from when I tried formatting when I first got the drive, is that I did not have a lable. Windows automatically labled the drive with the manufacturer name and this has been carried over to eCs in subsequent reformats. I can also insert the drive when ever I feel like it and it attatches ( as it should :-) ). I've also found that ejecting the drive now works as it should. All in all everything is working flawlessly. PS. Um... yes I did get the usb updates btw ;-) . Did all that before I bought the flash drive. PPS. Oh yes... the driver can be tricked into thinking the flash drive is a hard drive 1. If I DON'T eject. & 2. If I boot with the drive attatched. Some folks seem to need the drive plugged in before booting for best results. Mmmm interesting :-) Cheers G ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 9 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 18:19:15 +1000 From: Ed Durrant Subject: Re: wpsbkp and Checkini Thanks to all who gave advice on using checkini - I have now, after taking several backups, run the program across the system and so far so good - it looks like it's done what it is supposed to. Cheers/2 Ed. brianb at kdfisher dot com dot au wrote: > Ed, > I have used checkini for ages, it works well but can remove things > it should not, i.e. the startup folders in your archives get turned into > ordinary folders. > > I run it with the /c and /r switches and when it asks for confirmation > I answer yes, it can be tedious if it has not been done for a long time > but is safer. > > If you enable archiving at system startup before you run checkini > then when it restarts the WPS after completing its tasks a new archive > is created without needing to re-boot. > > As for replacing the install (x) archive the tool is built in. > In the OS2 directory is a program called arcinst.exe > This is what the OS/2 installation runs. > > Just run arcinst from a command prompt and your (x) archive > will be what you currently have. > > ----------------------------------------- > Brian Butler > System Administrator > brianb at kdfisher dot com dot au > > > Ed Durrant > dot net dot au> cc: > Subject: Re: wpsbkp and Checkini > 22/07/2004 17:56 > Please respond to > os2genau > > > > Thanks Nicholas, > > Yes I think it's the same one - which version are you using please. > > OK on the manual copy of the INI files - good idea and I will do this, > however in the worst case, I also have archiving at boot up turned on and > that copies the two ini files and several other critical files and the > desktop away anyway. > > By the way, I once had a smal utility that overwrote the install (X) > archive with the current archive - I can't find this any more, does any one > remember what this is called. I can do it manually of course, but the > utility is a nice approach. > > Cheers/2 > > Ed. > > Nicholas Lysaght wrote: > > > In response to a message sent 2004-07-21 21:26:18 +1000 (Wed) by "Ed > Durrant" about wpsbkp and Checkini: > > > > Hi Ed. > > > > > Has anyone on this list used the checkini utility that comes > > > in the wpsbkp package. I need to clean up my INI files and > > > desktop and that can be disasterous if not done correctly ! > > > > > > Cheers/2 > > > > > > Ed. > > > > > > > > > > If it is CHECKINI that comes with WPTOOLS, yes I use it about once a > fortnight. I find it works well, although there was a time recently when it > couldn't get past backing up the Desktop. It was a worry for months, then > it suddenly cleared, and has been fine ever since. > > > > If you haven't used this before, make a backup of your OS2.INI and > OS2SYS.INI manually. The programme will do that for you in the first steps > anyhow, but you may feel more comfortable doing it anyway. If you run > CHECKINI by itself, it won't alter any files, but will give you an idea of > what it does. > > > > When your ready to "take the plunge", run CHECKINI /C, and it will make > the changes. According to Doug from Canada,if there's a lot to do, it may > be worth it to run it again, to make sure everything is clear. When it > finishes, it will reboot the desktop. To be sure, I do a warm reboot > anyway. > > > > Anyhow in three years of running CHECKINI, only that snafu about 3 months > ago was a small worry, but it just righted itself anyway. > > > > Good luck > > > > NICK > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ------ > > > > > > > > > > =========================================== > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 10 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:47:33 +0200 From: Kris Steenhaut Subject: Re: wpsbkp and Checkini Chris Graham [WarpSpeed] schreef: >On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 09:37:07 +0200, Kris Steenhaut wrote: > > > >>Chris Graham [WarpSpeed] schreef: >> >> >> >>>you want another startup folder, create one from the templates folder. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>A template folder of the startup folder itself? Is there a thing like that? >> >> > >Do you not have a start folder template in the template's dir? > > > No. Do you have one? -- Groeten uit Gent, Kris ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 11 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 19:16:47 +0930 From: Peter Jenkins Subject: Scanners I sent this message last week, it seems it did not get through, so I am resending. I am in the market for a scanner with slide/negative adapter to work under ecs 1.1. Used or new up to $300 aud I am having no luck with e-bay in Australia. I can buy an Epsom 1670 photo with adapter for about $250 new, but am not certain it will run under ecs, it seems a 1640 photo will ? I do not wish to pay out money if a unit *_might work_*. Does any one on this list know of one for sale I can buy ? used or new, scsi or usb. I have an adaptetech scsi card installed in a Dell Optiplex GX200 P3 833 with 256mb DDRAM Can any one here help me at all, ??? Peter Jenkins (at Port Pirie) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **= Email 12 ==========================** Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 23:56:26 +1000 From: Mike O'Connor Subject: Re: THUMB DRIVE Gavin Miller wrote: > If I reef out the flash drive, I get a message stating that device x > (H: in my case) has been removed. Interesting that now that the drive > has been formatted thru windows, I can now reformat it as fat in eCs. > I can also format as HPFS as well with no problems. The only thing I > can think of that was different from when I tried formatting when I > first got the drive, is that I did not have a lable. Windows > automatically labled the drive with the manufacturer name and this has > been carried over to eCs in subsequent reformats. I can also insert > the drive when ever I feel like it and it attatches ( as it should > :-) ). I've also found that ejecting the drive now works as it > should. All in all everything is working flawlessly. > > PS. Um... yes I did get the usb updates btw ;-) . Did all that > before I bought the flash drive. > PPS. Oh yes... the driver can be tricked into thinking the flash > drive is a hard drive 1. If I DON'T eject. & 2. If I boot with the > drive attatched. Some folks seem to need the drive plugged in before > booting for best results. Mmmm interesting :-) Hi Gavin, The following from the July 2004 VOICE may be explanatory: June 5 2004 - "Problems with fat32 and flash card" (General) That's the subject line of a recent thread in comp.os.os2.bugs . This is a *strongly edited summary* of those authors' comments. "Knud" stated the problem pretty clearly: "I have tried the new ver 0.99 of fat32.ifs in connection with my cardreader. Not working!" He continued: . . . only a problem when the card (128MiB) is formatted with FAT32. FAT(12) and even NTFS is fine. When card is inserted it is not always recognized, but by inserting a FAT(12) 16MiB card in the other slot both cards are found. F32parts.exe . . . it sees a Fat32 partition on the card, in right size, LVM sees also the right size. You cannot format, or do anything like newmbr, LVM actions. Trying to access the card gives "disk is not accessible." HPFS works just as FAT and NTFS, accessing, formating etc. But at least my card reader has this "feature": detecting the card only happens if the card is inserted, not just by "refresh removable." First take out the card => then re-insert the card => click "refresh removable. . .". Sometimes cards are automatically detected by "refresh removable." Just take out and re-insert card, I believe it happens when there is no FAT32 card in. . . Trying to use (any of) "F32STAT /FCLEAN. . ./CLEAN. . ./Dirty" gives "FAT_GETVOLCLEAN failed, rc = 22" OS is eCS 1.0. Any ideas ? Among others, David Grasser added: . . . a common problem when trying to use removable media formatted FAT32. . . . hit and miss whether the removable media will be recognized and accessible when formatted FAT32. . . . [I've] seen a Pony Attache 256 MiB USB flash stick recognized as a 8132 MiB drive by LVM. Even unformatted. . . . . . [Is it] . . . FAT32, LVM, USBMSD.ADD, possibly the kernel, or something else? FAT32 logs show that FS_MOUNT function is not being called. Then David asked: Why can a removable drive be accessible when formatted FAT, and not FAT32 with its driver installed? The one thing I am almost sure about is that FAT16 support is coded into the kernel which may explain why FAT16 can be read when other file systems fail. Is it possible that the system thinks a removable drive should always be FAT and mounts the drive as FAT, thus preventing the FAT32 driver from mounting with an end result that the removable drive can't be read by either file system? Your Kindly Editor chips in: With the same (and earlier) FAT32.IFS, I've seen every symptom cited above, experienced all the same difficulties, . . .and more. My wife and I use 16MiB-256MiB Flash media in a USB reader and "thumb" drives for "sneaker-netting" large files between my Warp 4.52 and her Win95 machine. Unfortunately a card/thumb nicely functioning under Warp-eCS, once passed through the Win95 gullet, often gives me trouble later. This ranges from "Inaccessible drive" through inability to re-format as /anything/ -- just as "Knud" reported. Win95 and up seem to examine all removable media inserted /after/ booting. Each (but not WinNT?) then lightly rearranges the media MBR to suit its taste. /No files need be written/ to sometimes make the media unusable even to the OS that formatted it! Our solution: For me (Warp; eCS) -- /Always/ boot with a "thumb" already connected, or a card already in the reader. /Always/ "Refresh removable media" immediately after booting. /Never/ physically remove media without /first/ RMB -> "Eject disk". (NB: /Add'l/ to "Knud"s tip!) NB: I do the same three things with my HPFS-formatted ZIP-disks. For her (Win95) -- /Always/ boot with a "thumb" already connected, or a card already in the reader. /Never/ format the card/thumb as FAT32, for exchanges with me. . . . Depending on card/thumb size or maker, it may not work anyway. -- Regards, Mike Failed the exam for -------------------- MCSE - Minesweeper Consultant and Solitaire Expert -------------------- [ISP blocks *.exe, *.cmd, *.bat, *.reg attachments] [Please use zipped versions of above] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------