README FILE FOR YOUR PUMA 105 DRIVE
RELEASE 1.42, SEPTEMBER, 1993
CHANGES TO RELEASE 1.42 FROM RELEASE 1.37:
The only change made in this release is to the device dirver PORTMGR.COM.
The changes made corrects the loading problems associated with certain
Notebook computers (namely, the IBM L40SX and Compudyne SlimNote 486
DX/33).
QUICK INSTALLATION GUIDE
1. Connect the port marked "COMPUTER" on your PUMA 105 drive
to the parallel port connector on your computer using the
enclosed cable.
2. Load the cartridge into your PUMA 105 drive. Follow the
instructions that are on the protective case of your
cartridge on how to load the cartridge.
3. Connect the AC adapter to your PUMA 105 and turn the unit "ON".
4. Insert the installation disk into drive A:
At the DOS C: prompt type:
A: then press <ENTER>
5. Type:
PORTMGR then press <ENTER>
6. After the PORTMGR is loaded successfully, type:
SYATPREP and press <ENTER>
The program will display "Please wait while the program
looks for devices ..." It will then display the "Drive Table"
Select your PUMA 105 drive from the drive table
7. The next window will display the "SyQuest Installation Utility" menu.
Select the "Prepare Cartridge for DOS" item. The next window will
display "Prepare Cartridge for DOS" menu.
8. Select the "Automatic DOS Preparation" item. The program will
partition your cartridge as a single DOS primary partition.
It will then ask you if you would like to automatically install
the device drivers and modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
files. Type "Y" and press <ENTER>.
9. After this process is complete, the program will ask you
if you would like to reboot your computer.
Press "CTRL-ALT-DEL" to reboot. Your system will now reboot,
automatically load your PUMA 105 device drivers, and
a drive letter will be assigned to your drive.
You can now access your PUMA 105 drive using this drive letter.
This completes the Quick Installation Process.
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FILES CONTAINED IN YOUR INSTALLATION DISKETTE
The files contained in this release are listed below with a brief
description of each. Additional information is available in your user
manual and on-line help files.
1. SYATDRVR.SYS.
This is the device driver for your PUMA 105 drive. You must use the /P
option to use it with the drive.
The driver performs the following functions:
a. Takes over some volumes that were previously installed by the DOS
built-in driver, (this will enable the removability features of the
PUMA 105 drive).
b. Add the new volumes on the PUMA 105 drive that were not previously
detected by the native DOS driver.
2. PORTMGR.COM.
This is a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program that passes disk
commands to the PUMA 105 Parallel to IDE adapter.
Both SYATDRVR.SYS and SYATPREP.EXE must use the services provided by this
program to access the PUMA 105 drive.
3. SYATPREP.EXE, and the associated HELP & INDEX files:
PORTMGR must first be loaded in order to run this utility.
SYATPREP is the utility program that aids in preparing a new cartridge for
use by DOS.
HELP and INDEX are associated files for on-line help.
NOTE:
HELP and INDEX must be in the current directory when you start SYATPREP.EXE.
or else the program will report:
" No Help Found. End..." when you hit F1 key.
Even though the program allows you to partition your cartridge any way
you desire, we recommend that you select the "Automatic DOS preparation".
This will avoid drive_letter assignment conflicts, when you use the
cartridge on other machines.
When you select the "Automatic DOS preparation" option, your cartridge is
made bootable. The utility will copy the DOS System files, the Device
Drivers (SYATDRVR.SYS and PORTMGR.COM), and sample CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT to your cartridge.
It will also copy the Device Drivers to your root directory, and modify
your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files if you elect this option.
Note:
Although your cartridge is made bootable, you CANNOT boot from
your PUMA 105 drive. You can, however, boot from this cartridge
if you have a SyDOS IDE internal boot drive (e.g. MARLIN 105i).
4. SYDRUTIL.EXE
This program communicates with the SYATDRVR.SYS device driver and allows
the volume to be reported as fixed/removable, as well as allowing the drive
to be locked or unlocked.
Running the program without any arguments, will display the syntax
on how to use this utility.
Refer to your User Manual on how to use this utility.
4. CONFIG.NEW.
A template for the config.sys file that will be put on a newly prepared
cartridge. This file contains the following statements:
buffers=15
files=20
device=syatdrvr.sys /p
If you have a config.sys file, the "files" and "buffers" statements may be
set to different values. SyDOS recommends that you do not change these
values, because they have been chosen as optimum settings for most user
applications.
If you need to modify this file, you can do so by using any text editor,
to customize your environment. This modified file will then be installed
by the SYATPREP.EXE during the installation process.
5. AUTOEXEC.NEW.
A template for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that will be put on a newly prepared
cartridge. This file contains the following statements:
echo off
prompt $p$g
rem portmgr is the communication manager for the SyDOS Parallel to IDE board
call portmgr.com
If you need to modify this file, you can do so by using any text editor,
to customize your environment. This modified file will then be installed
by the SYATPREP.EXE during the installation process.
5. SCOPY.EXE, and the associated CSHELP & CSINDEX files.
This utility program is very useful when you need to copy files to/from a
SyQuest cartridge drive. CSHELP and CSINDEX are associated files for on-line
help. It is most useful, when you want to copy files from one cartridge to
another in the same drive.
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PUMA 105 WITH DOS 6.0
The utility software supplied with this release is compatible with
DOS 6.0. The following summarizes special considerations and caution
that must be excersized when working with DOS 6.0. Please refer to
this section of your User Manual for further details:
1. Remember to REMark out the device driver from your CONFIG.SYS file
to install DOS 6.0. After DOS 6.0 is installed, the driver can be
reinstalled, and the system re-booted.
2. Using DBLSPACE:
Make sure that the device driver "DBLSPACE.SYS" is inserted after
the "SYATDRVR.SYS" driver in your config.sys file.
There are two drive letters associated with a "double spaced"
volume, namely the Uncompressed Host Volume, and the Compressed
Volume which resides within the Host volume.
You must use the DBLSPACE /MOUNT X: and /UNMOUNT X: commands when
swapping doublespaced cartridges. Use the letter associated with
the Compressed Volume for X. These commands are not applicable
when using Uncompressed cartridges.
When using "SYDRUTIL.EXE" utility, use the volume letter associated
with the Host Volume.
3. Using SMARTDRV.EXE
If you are using SMARTDRV.EXE, make sure that "write cache" is NOT
enabled when you remove the cartridge. Data corruption could result
if you do not do this. SMARTDRV will not enable the write cache if
the cartridge is UNMOUNTED. Since your PUMA 105 compressed volume
has to be MOUNTED first before accessing it, this should not be a
problem.
4. Using BACKUP Utility:
Your cartridge is an ideal medium for backing up your hard drives.
Since DOS 6.0 comes with a built in BACKUP utility, you can take
full advantage of this utility with your PUMA 105 drive. With
DBLSPACE you can have 210 Megabytes of removable storage!
APPLICATION NOTES
1. Caching Software:
Caching Software must be used with caution, and should be limited
to those that support removable drives. Smartdrv 4.0 is one
such example. You should experiment before starting to use the
program by changing cartridges after caching has been enabled.
If you can not get the system to recognize the cartridge change,
then the caching program does not support removable drives.
2. Windows 3.x:
If you are using Windows 3.0, we highly recommended that you
upgrade to Windows 3.1, since this version has much better
support for removable media devices.
3. Running Windows form the Cartridge:
If you run Windows from your cartridge, it is very important to
remember to always exit Windows before changing cartridges.
Failure to do so may result in data corruption.
4. Using your PUMA 105 on IBM PS/2 Computers:
Please note that, on some models, the default printer port at
address 3BC (LPT3) is unique, and is not compatible with your
PUMA 105 drive. To use your drive on
these models, you must re-configure your printer port to either
378 (LPT1) or 278 (LPT2). Your drive will work fine, if you use
one of these printer ports. Follow the instructions which came
with your PS/2 manual to re-configure your printer port.
We highly recommend you load the DOS utility SHARE.EXE when you use the
device driver. This utility lets the driver know which files are opened.
This helps the driver to better identify if a change of media is
appropriate.
***********************
TROUBLE SHOOTING:
POWERING UP YOUR SYSTEM:
NOTE: If the parallel port interface cable is NOT connected to your
drive and you turn the power "on" to the drive, the drive may
not initially spin up. This is normal. The drive will spin up
as soon as you connect the interface cable.
PORTMGR DOES NOT LOAD:
1. If the PORTMGR does not load, and the following message is displayed
on the screen:
"Diagnostic test: UNKNOWN TYPE ERROR: 128
Load Aborted. "
Check if you have a cartridge in your drive, and it is properly
loaded i.e. make sure the "drive control slide switch" is to the
rightmost position to enable the drive.
Once the cartridge is fully loaded, turn the power switch to the
drive "OFF", and "ON" again.
Type PORTMGR and press <ENTER>
The PORTMGR should now load correctly.
2. In general, if the PORTMGR does not load, and you have the cartridge
loaded correctly in the drive, turn the POWER SWITCH on the drive
"OFF" and "ON" again. The PORTMGR should now load correctly.