Hello all,
---------
Note: The following procedure has been outlined as a way
of Starting Over with a used HDD, to place DOS and
Arachne on it, for installation in a 486 computer.
Members of this list are encouraged to contribute
to this procedure for the benefit of the
"Lost and Desperate".
-----------------------------------------------------------
L.D.,
In one of your earlier posts you mentioned that you had 16MB of
free disk space. That may not be enough on a machine with Windows
3.1, DOS and Arachne. I have about 200MB free on this machine, and
all runs smoothly, even AOL<g>.
I've found that with a small drive, slow processor, too many
programs, things can get out of hand.
--------------------------------------
A solution:
-----------
If you have a copy of Arachne 1.60b1 on a floppy, and also
your arachne.cfg file, you could format the drive, and reinstall
DOS and Arachne. Before you do that, make printed copies of your
config.sys and autoexec.bat to keep. Also, if you use a DOS
mouse driver, make a copy of it to a floppy. I use dmouse.com,
and keep it around on a floppy.
--------------------------
The Format Room:
-------------------------
Here's how I do it on a used drive I buy from the
computer repair shop near my house:
------------------------------------------
This is step-by-step:
I'm using an IBM PS/1 Essential Model 2133-W53 486SX 25 that has
been upgraded to an Evergreen 586, with 32 MB ram installed.
I have MS-DOS 6.21 backup disks made on a Toshiba T1910CS with
the backup utility.
-------------------
Unplug the power cord from the back of the computer.
------------------
l. Slide the case off the computer. Unhook power and interface
cables from the installed HDD, and plug them in the used drive
to be formatted. Just lay the drive on top for now.(The four-wire
power plug on the HDD requires creative language to get it to
unplug from the installed drive. Work it side to side, not top
to bottom, and it'll come out.)
2. Turn the computer on,(power cord installed) and take a look at
what's on the drive. Usually has WIN95. Budget about 20 minutes
for this look-see. If the drive appears ok, then proceed with the
format: (all files will be deleted, except for the manufacturer's
HDD files)
3. With computer off, place MS-DOS disk #1 in Drive A.
4. Turn the computer on.
5. MS-DOS 6.21 will start, and it'll go to the setup screen.
6. Exit F-3. Don't set up yet, you want to format first.
7. At A:\> FORMAT C:/S
8. Will say: blah-blah, this disk cannot be unformatted.
9. Proceed with format "Y".
10.You'll see this:
Verifying 407.75MB
___percent complete (it formats the drive)
11.When the format is done, enter volume label when prompted to
do so now. I usually just put the drive brand, "quantum410M".
12.You still have MS-DOS disk #1 in Drive A, so,
A:\> SETUP
to install MS-DOS 6.21 on the drive.
13.Choose" Continue Setup".
14.It proceeds with setup.
(There's three disks) You now have MS-DOS 6.21 on the
drive. Scandisk can be run now, if time allows.
At this point, I unhook the cables from the drive, and set it
aside, waiting for a computer that needs it.
-----------------------
You can set up Arachne 1.60b1 by placing your Arachne disk
in Drive A, and
A:\>arcn16b1 (enter).
------------------
After installation, I place my working arachne.cfg file in
the directory c:\arachne.(Then I ALT-D and go surfing)
http://www.angelfire.com/ms/telegram/arachne.html
Here's how to get your arachne.cfg off your floppy and
into c:\arachne in DOS:
-----------------
cd arachne
rename arachne.cfg arachne.old
cd c:\
a:\
copy arachne.cfg c:\arachne
----------------
Now you should have your working arachne.cfg in the
directory c:\arachne.
If you use an .acf file, place it there also, in DOS:
a:\> copy myacf.acf c:\arachne
---------------
At the C:\ prompt, you can use the EDIT program to look at
these files.
--------------
Your a.bat file should be in the root directory. Arachne
installs it in the first directory in the path, and if
you make changes to your path, it can't be found by Arachne
to start from any directory.
-------------
You should be able to start Arachne 1.60b1 now, and connect
to the internet.
Things you are going to want to do next:
Look at a memory report in Arachne.
Send these in to the list for everyone to review for you:
l. Your config.sys
2. Your autoexec.bat
3. Your mem.txt
To create a mem.txt, at the c:\> prompt:
mem/c > mem.txt (enter)
When connected to the internet in Arachne:
ALT-E (Shell out to DOS). You'll be at C:\>ARACHNE
then:
mem/c > mem.txt (enter)
This will give the placement of EPPPD.EXE, whether it's
in Conventional Memory, or loaded high.
---------------------------------------
L.D.,
You could visit your local computer repair shop, and for
anywhere from $20-35 they can sell you a drive that they
have removed from a machine brought in for HDD upgrade,
and follow the above procedure to get a working useful
drive.
If you have the money, they can install it for you, and
place DOS on it, ready for you to take home and install
Arachne.
My PS/1 required no BIOS configuration of the new drive at
all. Neither does my Tandy. I can plug used drives of
120, 130, 270 MB in both with no problem. The PS/1 takes
those, plus the 410, 420MB drives also.
Other motherboards may take you into the setup utility
when a new drive is detected, and may autodetect it,
and allow you to proceed. If, when you plug the new drive
in, you get taken to the setup utility, you can stop if
you get cold feet, and reinstall the original one.
You could format it, however.
--------------------------------
Note:
If the HDD is big enough, and the final installation
requires it, WIN 3.1 can be installed after the DOS installation
above. This operating system will want to set up a very large
swap area, sometimes 100MB or so, for it's use.
-------------------------------
Hope this helps.
Michael L. Dawley
Pearl, Mississippi
-- This mail was written by user of Arachne, the Ultimate Internet Client
-- Arachne V1.60;b1, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
