Microsoft KB Archive/107159

= MS-DOS 6.2 Stacker Conversion CONVERT.TXT File =

Article ID: 107159

Article Last Modified on 2/22/2002

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.2 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q107159



SUMMARY
This article contains the "MS-DOS 6.2 Conversion Disk for Users of Stacker" CONVERT.TXT file.



CONVERT.TXT
This file provides instructions and information about converting your Stacker disk-compression software to DoubleSpace. This file contains the following topics:
 * 1) Converting Stacker disk-compression software to DoubleSpace
 * 2) Using Stacker floppy disks with DoubleSpace
 * 3) Free-space requirements for converting a Stacker drive
 * 4) DoubleSpace could not convert a Stacker drive because there was not enough free space
 * 5) DoubleSpace cannot convert a Stacker drive because there is not enough free memory
 * 6) You have less compressed disk space with DoubleSpace than with Stacker
 * 7) After converting your Stacker drives to DoubleSpace, your network does not work
 * 8) The conversion program cannot continue because there is not enough environment space
 * 9) Converting your Stacker drives if you use 4DOS or NDOS
 * 10) DoubleSpace cannot convert a Stacker 3.1 volume

1. Converting Stacker Disk-Compression Software to DoubleSpace
To convert your Stacker disk-compression software to DoubleSpace, carry out the following procedure.

NOTE: To convert a Stacker floppy disk to DoubleSpace format, see Section 2 below.

NOTE: If your version of Stacker is 1.1 or 3.1, or if you compressed your drive with a cluster size other than 8K, you cannot automatically convert your Stacker drive; you must convert it manually, as described in the README.TXT file in the directory that contains your MS-DOS files.
 * 1) Insert the Stacker Conversion Disk in drive A or B.
 * 2) Change to your floppy disk drive. For example, type A: or B: at the command prompt.
 * 3) Type CONVERT at the command prompt.

Follow the instructions on your screen. DoubleSpace will update the first version of the DBLSPACE.EXE and DBLSPACE.HLP files in your path.

NOTE: If you have other versions of the DBLSPACE.EXE and DBLSPACE.HLP files on your computer, cancel the Setup program and update these versions manually by copying these files from the Stacker conversion disk to your hard disk. Then run the CONVERT program again.

When DoubleSpace restarts your computer, make sure to remove disks from all floppy disk drives.

2. Using Stacker Floppy Disks with DoubleSpace
If you have floppy disks that were compressed by using Stacker, you must convert them to DoubleSpace format in order to use them with DoubleSpace.

When DoubleSpace Setup converts your Stacker drives to DoubleSpace format, it also converts any compressed floppy disks or other removable media that are currently mounted. After you have completed DoubleSpace Setup, you can convert other floppy disks and removable media from Stacker to DoubleSpace format by using the Convert Stacker command.

If a compressed floppy disk contains at least .9 MB of free space, you can convert it to DoubleSpace format by choosing the Convert Stacker option from the Tools menu in DoubleSpace, or by typing DBLSPACE /CONVSTAC at the MS-DOS command prompt.

If a floppy disk contains less than .9 MB of free space, you can convert it to DoubleSpace format manually by carrying out the following procedure:  Insert the floppy disk in drive A or B. Move the STACVOL.DSK file to the host drive on your hard disk. To determine which drive is your host drive, type DBLSPACE /LIST at the command prompt. The host drive is listed under the CVF Filename column. For example, if D:\DBLSPACE.000 is the CVF Filename associated with drive C, drive D is the host drive.

When you move the file, change its extension to .001. For example if the floppy disk is in drive A, and your host drive is drive D, type the following at the command prompt:

move a:\stacvol.dsk d:\stacvol.001

If there is insufficient disk space, start DoubleSpace by typing DBLSPACE at the command prompt, and then choose Change Size from the Drive menu. Make the size of the uncompressed drive large enough to contain the Stacker compressed volume file. Delete unnecessary Stacker files from the floppy disk. For example, if you have Stacker 2.0, delete STACKER.DRV. If you have Stacker 3.0, delete STACKER.EXE and README.STC. (Use the ATTRIB -R README.STC command before deleting the file to remove its read-only attribute.) Covert the compressed volume file to DoubleSpace format, as in the following example:

dblspace /convstac=d:\stacvol.001

After DoubleSpace converts the file, it will mount it. Make sure your floppy disk is in drive A or B, and then compress it by choosing the Existing Drive command from the Compress menu in DoubleSpace. Follow the instructions on your screen.

DoubleSpace mounts the floppy drive after it finishes compressing the floppy disk. Quit DoubleSpace. Use the DIR /A:H and DIR /A:S commands to determine whether you have any hidden or system files and directories on the new compressed drive (the drive created in step 4). If you have any hidden or system files and directories, use the ATTRIB -S -H command to remove their attributes. For more information about using the DIR and ATTRIB commands, see MS-DOS Help.

NOTE: If you have any hidden or system directories, make sure to check whether those directories contain any hidden or system files and subdirectories.</li> Use the XCOPY command to copy all the files on the new compressed drive (the drive created in step 4) on your hard disk to the compressed floppy disk. For example, if the compressed drive is J and the floppy disk is in drive A, type the following at the command prompt:

xcopy j:\*.* a: /s

</li> Delete the compressed drive from your hard disk. For example, if the compressed drive is J, type the following at the command prompt:

dblspace /delete j:

To confirm the deletion, type Y.</li> If you removed the attributes of any files and directories in step 7, use the ATTRIB +H and ATTRIB +S commands to restore those attributes to the files and directories on the floppy disk.</li></ol>

3. Free-Space Requirements for Converting a Stacker Drive
To convert a Stacker drive to DoubleSpace format, the drive must contain some free space. To convert your startup hard disk, the drive must contain at least 1.7 MB of free space. To convert other hard drives and floppy disks, the drive or disk must contain at least 1.0 MB of free space.
 * 1) DoubleSpace Could Not Convert a Stacker Drive Because There Was Not Enough Free Space

DoubleSpace indicates how much free space needs to be free on your startup or uncompressed drive. Make a note of this amount. Then carry out the following procedure: <ol> Type the following at the command prompt:

chkdsk drive:

For the drive: parameter, type the drive letter of your uncompressed drive followed by a colon. A line similar to the following should appear on your screen:

20386 bytes available on disk

</li> Delete unnecessary files or move files to another drive until you have enough free disk space. You might want to back up the files before you delete them.

IMPORTANT Do not delete your COMMAND.COM, AUTOEXEC.BAT, or CONFIG.SYS files, your hidden Stacker or system files, or the STACKER.COM and SSWAP.COM files in your Stacker directory. If you cannot delete enough unnecessary files, use the SDEFRAG /G command to make more uncompressed space available, or contact your disk-compression software vendor.</li> Run DoubleSpace again.</li> 

DoubleSpace Cannot Convert a Stacker Drive Because There is Not Enough Free Memory

</li></ol>

If DoubleSpace displays a message that it cannot convert Stacker because there is not enough free memory, carry out the procedures in "An MS-DOS-based program displays an out-of-memory message" in the chapter "Diagnosing and Solving Problems" of the Microsoft MS-DOS 6 User's Guide.

IMPORTANT: When carrying out procedure 2 from the User's Guide, do not bypass any commands that enable access to your Stacker drives. For example, don't bypass the DEVICE commands that load the STACKER.COM and SSWAP.COM commands.


 * 1) You Have Less Compressed Disk Space with DoubleSpace Than With Stacker

If you convert a drive from Stacker to DoubleSpace, DoubleSpace might show that you have less compressed disk space than you had with Stacker. However, because DoubleSpace is thoroughly integrated with the MS-DOS operating system, it estimates compressed disk space more accurately than Stacker does. In fact, you may actually have more compressed disk space than you had with Stacker, regardless of what Stacker showed.

Also, unlike Stacker, DoubleSpace continually updates its compressed disk space estimates. So, as you work with a compressed drive, DoubleSpace updates its estimates to reflect the actual current state of file compression on your drive.
 * 1) After Converting Your Stacker Drives to DoubleSpace, Your Network Does Not Work

If your network files were located on your uncompressed drive before you converted your drives to DoubleSpace, your network will probably not work after conversion. To solve this problem, copy your network files from your uncompressed (local) drive to your compressed drive. (To determine which drives are local and compressed, use the DBLSPACE /LIST command.) Make sure the network files have the same path as the network commands in your CONFIG.SYS file.


 * 1) The Conversion Program Cannot Continue Because There is Not Enough Environment Space

If the MS-DOS Stacker conversion program cannot continue because there is not enough environment space, you need to temporarily increase your environment space. To do this, carry out the following procedure.

<ol> Examine the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file. If the file contains a SHELL command that includes the /E switch, note the number specified by the /E switch. This is your current environment space.

If your CONFIG.SYS file does not contain a SHELL command, or if the SHELL command does not contain a /E switch, your current environment space is 256 bytes.</li> At the command prompt, type the COMMAND command followed by the /E switch and a number equal to your current environment space plus at least 100 bytes. For example, if your environment space is currently 512 bytes, type the following at the command prompt:

command /e:612

</li> To convert your Stacker disk-compression software to DoubleSpace, carry out the procedure in section 1 of this file.</li></ol>

9. Converting Your Stacker Drives If You Use 4DOS or NDOS
If you use the 4DOS or NDOS command interpreter, carry out the following procedure to convert your Stacker drives: <ol> Create a batch file with the following four lines:

setlocal

set comspec=c:\dos\command.com

c:\dos\command.com /c convert.bat

endlocal

If your COMMAND.COM file is contained in a directory other than DOS, substitute the correct path in lines 2 and 3 above.</li> Save the file and name it as CONV.BAT.</li> Copy the CONV.BAT file to your Stacker conversion disk.</li> To start the conversion program, change to your floppy drive by typing A: or B: at the command prompt. Then type CONV at the command prompt.</li></ol>

10. DoubleSpace cannot convert a Stacker 3.1 volume
If you receive the message "DoubleSpace cannot convert this Stacker 3.1 volume" when trying to convert a Stacker 3.1 floppy disk to DoubleSpace format, then the floppy disk is in a format that DoubleSpace cannot read.

There are two ways to retrieve the files from such a floppy disk:
 * If a computer running Stacker 3.1 is available, take the floppy disk to the other computer, and then run Stacker's SDEFRAG utility on the floppy disk. When SDEFRAG asks if you want to restack the floppy disk, answer Yes. After the floppy disk has been restacked, DoubleSpace can convert it to DoubleSpace format.
 * If you don't have access to a computer that's running Stacker 3.1, you can gain access to the files on the Stacker 3.1 floppy disk by carrying out the following procedure.

<ol> Remove any floppy disks from your drives, and then restart your computer by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL.</li> <li>When you see the message "Starting MS-DOS...", press CTRL+F5. Your computer will start without DoubleSpace loaded; any DoubleSpace drives will be temporarily unavailable.</li> <li>Insert the Stacker 3.1 floppy disk in drive A or drive B, and then type

A:STACKER A:

or B:STACKER B:

The files on that floppy disk will now be available.</li> <li>Use the COPY command to copy the files on the Stacker 3.1 floppy disk to a floppy disk in a different drive, or to a hard disk drive.</li> <li>Remove any floppy disks from your drives, and then restart your computer by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL.</li></ol>

NOTE: If you copied the files to a hard disk drive that is normally a DoubleSpace drive, then after you restart your computer, the files will be located on that drive's host drive. For example, if you copied the files on the floppy disk to drive C, and drive C is normally compressed, then the files will be located on the host drive for drive C (probably drive H). To find out which is drive C's host drive, type DBLSPACE C: at the command prompt.

Additional query words: 6.20

Keywords: KB107159

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