Microsoft KB Archive/97835

= COMMANDS.TXT: Supplemental Disk Commands (Part 2 of 2) =

Article ID: 97835

Article Last Modified on 11/19/1999

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q97835



SUMMARY
The MS-DOS 6 Supplemental Disk includes a file called COMMANDS.TXT. This file contains descriptions for all the files on the supplemental disk and instructions for using them.

Note: This file was split into two articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. This is the second article.



MORE INFORMATION
EDLIN-

Note: The EDLIN instructions have not been included in this KB  article due to their large size. If you need these instructions, obtain the COMMANDS.TXT supplemental disk images on :

\\PRODUCTS1\RELEASE\SYS\MSDOS6.DOS\DISKS\SUPPDISK

EGA.CPI---

A corrected version of the EGA.CPI file included with MS-DOS 6.

This file is corrected to support the Eastern European Codepage properly.

EXE2BIN---

Converts .EXE (executable) files to binary format.

EXE2BIN is included with MS-DOS as a courtesy to software developers. It is not useful for general users.

SYNTAX -- EXE2BIN [drive1:][path1]input-file [[drive2:][path2]output-file]

PARAMETERS -- [drive1:][path1]input-file Specifies the location and name of the input file.

[drive2:][path2]output-file Specifies the location and name of the output file.

NOTES -

Restrictions on using EXE2BIN - The following restrictions apply when you use the EXE2BIN command: o The input file must be in valid .EXE format produced by the linker and must not be packed.

o The resident, or actual, code and data portions of the file combined must be less than 64K.

o There must be no STACK segment.

Default values for parameters - EXE2BIN takes specific actions, depending upon the values you use for the input-file and output-file parameters.

o The default filename extension for the filename you specify for input-file is .EXE. EXE2BIN converts the input .EXE file to an output file in .BIN format (a memory image of the program) and uses the location and filename you specify for [drive2:][path2]output- file to store that output file.

o If you do not specify drive2 or path2, EXE2BIN writes the output file to the current drive and directory.

o If you do not specify an output filename, EXE2BIN uses the input filename.

o The default extension for the filename specified for the output-file parameter is .BIN.

Types of conversion available with EXE2BIN -- Two types of conversion are possible, depending upon whether the initial CS:IP (Code Segment:Instruction Pointer) is specified in the .EXE file. The following list presents the two types:

o If the CS:IP is not specified in the .EXE file, EXE2BIN performs a pure binary conversion. If segment fixups are necessary (that is, if the program contains instructions requiring segment relocation), EXE2BIN prompts you for the fixup value. This value is the absolute segment at which the program is to be loaded. The resulting program is usable only when loaded at the absolute memory address specified by your program. The command interpreter cannot load the program.

o If the CS:IP is specified as 0000:100H, the file runs as a .COM file with the instruction pointer set at 100H by the assembler statement ORG. Include the .COM extension in the output-file parameter. No segment fixups are allowed, because .COM files must be segment- relocatable; that is, they must assume the entry conditions explained in the Microsoft Macro Assembler manuals. The command interpreter can then load and run the program in the same way as it loads and runs the .COM programs supplied on your MS-DOS disk.

FAKEMOUS--

An IBM PS/2 mouse utility used with AccessDOS.

See ADOS.TXT for information about using FAKEMOUS.

GRAFTABL--

Enables MS-DOS to display the extended characters of a specified code page in graphics mode.

Most monitors can display extended characters (ASCII characters 128 through 255) without the GRAFTABL command. Use this command only if your monitor does not properly display these characters in graphics mode.

SYNTAX -- GRAFTABL [xxx]

GRAFTABL /STATUS

PARAMETERS -- xxx Specifies the code page for which you want MS-DOS to define the appearance of extended characters in graphics mode. The following list shows each valid code-page identification number and its country or language:

437  United States

850  Multilingual (Latin I)

852  Slavic (Latin II)

860  Portuguese

863  Canadian-French

865  Nordic

SWITCH -- /STATUS Identifies the code page selected for use by GRAFTABL.

NOTES -

GRAFTABL does not change the active code page - GRAFTABL affects only the appearance of extended characters of the code page you specify. To change the code page you are using, use the MODE or CHCP command.

GRAFTABL exit codes --- The following list shows each exit code and a brief description of its meaning:

0  Character set was loaded successfully; no previous code page was loaded.

1  Character set was already loaded and replaced by new table.

2  A file error occurred.

3  An incorrect parameter was specified; no action was taken.

4  An incorrect version of MS-DOS is in use; version 5.0 is required.

You can use the ERRORLEVEL parameter on the IF command line in a batch program to process exit codes returned by GRAFTABL. For an example of a batch program that processes exit codes, see the BACKUP command.

Effect on memory

The GRAFTABL command decreases the amount of available conventional memory by about 1K.

EXAMPLE --- To load the graphics character set for code page 437 (United States) into memory, type the following command:

graftabl

To load the graphics character set for code page 860 (Portuguese) into memory, type the following command:

graftabl 860

JOIN--

Joins a disk drive to a directory on another disk drive.

When you use the JOIN command, MS-DOS treats the directories and files on a disk drive as the contents of the other drive and path you specify.

SYNTAX -- JOIN [drive1: [drive2:]path]

JOIN drive: /D

PARAMETERS -- drive1: Specifies the floppy disk drive or logical drive that you want to  join to a different drive and directory.

drive2: Specifies the floppy disk drive or logical drive to which you want to join drive1.

path Specifies the directory to which you want to join drive1. This directory must be empty before you join drive1 to it. It must also be a directory other than the root directory.

drive: Specifies a floppy disk drive or logical drive that was previously specified in a JOIN command that you are now canceling.

SWITCH -- /D Cancels any previous JOIN commands for the drive you specify.

Drive1 becomes invalid -- After you use the JOIN command, the drive1 you specify becomes invalid. If you then try to use it, MS-DOS displays the following message:

Invalid drive specification

Limitations on path --- If the directory specified by path already exists before you use the JOIN command, you cannot use that directory for any other purpose while JOIN is in effect. If the directory is not empty, MS-DOS does not complete the join operation and displays the following message:

Directory not empty

If the directory does not exist, MS-DOS tries to create it.

Limitations on using JOIN with other commands - The following commands do not work with drives formed by the JOIN command: ASSIGN     BACKUP     CHKDSK     DISKCOMP DISKCOPY   FDISK      FORMAT     LABEL MIRROR     MIRROR     RESTORE    SYS

Using JOIN with no parameters - You can use the JOIN command with no parameters to see a list of the currently joined drives.

EXAMPLES

You can join any directory or subdirectory in a tree structure. For example, the following commands are valid:

join d: c:sales

join d: c:salesoctober

To reverse either of the previous JOIN commands, type the drive1 value followed by the /D switch, as follows: join d: /d

KBDBUF.SYS

Specifies the number of keystrokes that can be held in your keyboard buffer.

SYNTAX -- DEVICE=KBDBUF.SYS nnnn

PARAMETER - nnnn Specifies the number of keystrokes that can be held in the keyboard buffer. The acceptable range is 16 to 1024

NOTES - The KBDBUF.SYS driver should be loaded with the DEVICE command early in your CONFIG.SYS file. In addition, you cannot load the KBDBUF.SYS driver into the upper memory area. If you run MemMaker, choose Custom, and exclude the driver from the optimization process.

EXAMPLE --- If you want to specify a keyboard buffer that allows you to type ahead 25 keystrokes beyond what has been displayed on your screen, add the following command to your CONFIG.SYS file:

DEVICE=KBDBUF.SYS 25

KEYB.COM--

An enhanced version of the KEYB.COM file included with MS-DOS 6.

Enhancements include support for the French Canadian dual keyboard.

KEYBOARD.SYS--

An enhanced version of the KEYBOARD.SYS file included with MS-DOS 6.

Enhancements include support the French Canadian, Romanian, Brazilian, and Icelandic keyboards, as well as a correction to the German keyboard.

LCD.CPI---

Code-page information file for IBM PC Convertible liquid crystal display.

MIRROR

Starts the MIRROR program, which records information about one or more disks; the UNFORMAT and UNDELETE commands can use this information to restore a reformatted disk or to recover deleted files.

SYNTAX -- MIRROR [drive:[ ...]] [/1] [/Tdrive[-entries][ ...]]

MIRROR [/u]

MIRROR [/partn]

To save information about the disk in the current drive, use the following syntax:

MIRROR

PARAMETER - drive: Specifies the drive containing the disk for which you want MIRROR to save information. This information is used by the UNFORMAT command to restore a disk.

SWITCHES

/1  Retains only the latest information about the disk. If you do not specify this switch, MIRROR makes a backup copy of the existing disk-information file before recording the current information.

/Tdrive[-entries] Loads a terminate-and-stay-resident deletion-tracking program that records information used by the UNDELETE command to recover deleted files. The required drive parameter specifies the drive containing the disk for which you want MIRROR to save information about deleted files. The optional entries parameter, which must be a  value in the range 1 through 999, specifies the maximum number of   entries in the deletion-tracking file (PCTRACKR.DEL). The default value for entries is dependent upon the type of disk being tracked. The following list shows each disk size, its default number of  entries, and its corresponding file size:

Disk size         Entries       File size 360K                 25            5K 720K                 50            9K 1.2 megabyte (MB)    75           14K 1.44 MB              75           14K 20 MB               101           18K 32 MB               202           36K 32 MB               303           55K

CAUTION Do not use deletion tracking for any drive that has been redirected by using the JOIN or SUBST command. If you intend to use the ASSIGN command, you must do so before using MIRROR to install deletion tracking.

/U Unloads the deletion-tracking program from memory, disabling deletion tracking. You cannot unload the tracking program if you loaded any other memory-resident programs after it.

/PARTN Saves system information about how a hard disk is partitioned. The switch saves the information in a file on a floppy disk. The UNFORMAT command can use this file later to rebuild the partitions of a disk.

Saving information about a disk --- The MIRROR program saves a copy of the file allocation table and the root directory of the disk in the specified drive. The UNFORMAT command can use this information to rebuild a disk that has been unintentionally formatted, or it can use the information to recover files and subdirectories in the disk's root directory.

Because UNFORMAT restores the disk’s system area to the condition it was in when you last used MIRROR, you should save this information frequently for every hard disk drive in your system. To ensure that the information is saved each time you turn on your computer, you may want to add a MIRROR command to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Removing the deletion-tracking program from memory -- You may need to remove the deletion-tracking program from memory. To do so, remove all memory-resident programs that you loaded after the deletion-tracking program, and then use the MIRROR command with the /U switch. Since this turns off deletion tracking, any files deleted after you remove the tracking program can be recovered only by using information in the directory.

Saving information about hard-disk partitions - Every formatted hard disk drive has at least one partition. To identify a hard disk drive, MS-DOS uses information stored in a special disk partition table. If this table is corrupted, MS-DOS cannot locate the hard disk.

You can save partition-table information for a hard disk by using the MIRROR command with the /PARTN switch. This switch creates a file named PARTNSAV.FIL, which the UNFORMAT command can use to rebuild the partition table. Because MS-DOS cannot gain access to your hard disk if the partition table is damaged, you should not put this file on the hard disk itself. Instead, you should put the file on a floppy disk (which you should keep in a safe place) or on another hard disk drive, such as a network server.

EXAMPLES

To save a copy of the file allocation table and the root directory of drive C and to install deletion tracking for drives A and C, type the following command:

mirror c: /ta /tc

Suppose you want to save a copy of the file allocation table and the root directory of the disk in the current drive, and you want to install the deletion-tracking program for drive C. To do this and to set the maximum number of deletions to be tracked to 500, type the following command. (Note that since no drive parameter is specified, MIRROR saves the information about the disk in the current drive.)

mirror /tc-500

To save a copy of the partition table for your hard disk drive, type the following command:

mirror /partn

The MIRROR program displays the following information:

Disk Partition Table saver. The partition information from your hard drive(s) has been read. Next, the file PARTNSAV.FIL will be written to a floppy disk. Please insert a formatted diskette and enter the name of the diskette drive. What drive? A

The default disk drive is drive A. If you want to use a different drive, type the drive letter (making sure it does not identify a partition on the hard disk drive), insert a formatted floppy disk in the drive (if necessary), and press ENTER.

MSHERC

Installs support for Qbasic programs that use the Hercules graphics card.

SYNTAX -- MSHERC [/HALF]

SWITCH -- /HALF Use this switch when a color adapter is also installed.

PRINTER.SYS---

Supports code-page switching for the parallel ports PRN, LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3.

SYNTAX -- DEVICE=[drive:][path]PRINTER.SYS LPTx=(type[,[hwcp][,n]])

PARAMETERS -- [drive:][path] Specifies the location of the PRINTER.SYS file.

LPTx Specifies the number of the parallel port for which you want to support code-page switching.

type Specifies the printer in use. The following list shows valid values for type and the printers represented by each value:

4201   IBM Proprinters II and III Model 4201 IBM Proprinters II and III XL Model 4202 4208   IBM Proprinter X24E Model 4207 IBM Proprinter XL24E Model 4208 5202   IBM Quietwriter III Model 5202

hwcp Specifies the code page your hardware supports. The following list shows the code pages that MS-DOS supports and the country or language for each:

437   United States 850   Multilingual (Latin I)    852    Slavic (Latin II) 860   Portuguese 863   Canadian-French 865   Nordic

n Specifies the number of code pages your hardware can support in   addition to the code page specified in the hwcp parameter.

EXAMPLE --- The following command loads the PRINTER.SYS device driver for use with the IBM Proprinter X24E Model 4207, loads code page 850, and prepares PRINTER.SYS to support two additional code pages:

device=c:\dos\printer.sys lpt1:=(4208,850,2)

PRINTFIX-- --

Prevents MS-DOS from checking the status of your printer. Use this command only if you have had problems printing since you installed MS-DOS 6.

SYNTAX -- PRINTFIX

SETUP-

Installs the commands and files on the Supplemental disks to your hard drive.

SYNTAX -- SETUP [drive:][path]

PARAMETERS -- [drive:][path] The drive and directory to which you want to install the Supplemental disk commands and files

NOTES - You can run the Setup program from a floppy drive, your hard disk, or from a network drive--just make sure the Setup program is in the same drive and directory that contains your Supplemental disk files.

If you install any of the Utilities from MS-DOS 5.0, such as the Backup program, you must restart your computer before using them. This is because the Setup program modifies your SETVER table, and you must restart your computer for the modifications to take effect.

SPATCH.BAT

If your computer uses a Windows 3.0 permanent swap file, run the SPATCH.BAT program to make the swap file compatible with MS-DOS 6.

For more information, see the README.TXT file included with MS-DOS 6.

Note: This file is included on the Supplemental disks because some versions of MS-DOS 6.0 did not include the file.

Additional query words: 6.00 handicaps disability disabilities accessibility

Keywords: KB97835

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