====================================================================== Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File) PD0255: MS-DOS(R) 4.0X PATCH DISK ====================================================================== Revision Date: 8/92 Disk Included The following information applies to Microsoft MS-DOS versions 4.0, 4.01, and 4.01a. -------------------------------------------------------------------- | INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY | | ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an | | Application Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY | | KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO | | THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A | | PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the | | accuracy and the use of this Application Note. This Application | | Note may be copied and distributed subject to the following | | conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and | | all pages must be included; 2) If software is included, all files | | on the disk(s) must be copied without modification [the MS-DOS(R) | | utility DISKCOPY is appropriate for this purpose]; 3) All | | components of this Application Note must be distributed together; | | and 4) This Application Note may not be distributed for profit. | | | | Copyright 1988-1992 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. | | Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows | | is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction ------------ The PD0255 disk provided with this application note contains PATCH32M.EXE, a program that corrects problems with the MSDOS.SYS file in Microsoft MS-DOS versions 4.0, 4.01, and 4.01a. Also included on the disk are updated FASTOPEN.EXE, FORMAT.COM, and GRAPHICS.COM files. The updated FASTOPEN.EXE and FORMAT.COM files correct problems with the Fastopen program and the FORMAT command included with MS-DOS versions 4.0 and 4.01. The updated GRAPHICS.COM file corrects a problem with the GRAPHICS command in MS-DOS versions 4.0, 4.01, and 4.01a. Installing PATCH32M.EXE ----------------------- There are known problems with the MS-DOS 4.0, 4.01, and 4.01a MSDOS.SYS file that can cause problems when you append information to a file that is 32 megabytes (MB) in size, or when you create a subdirectory causing the directory table to fall on a 32 MB sector boundary of a logical drive. Also, the MSDOS.SYS file in MS-DOS 4.0 and 4.01 can cause data corruption if you are enabling secondary caching buffers with the BUFFERS command in your CONFIG.SYS file and you have a logical drive that is larger than 32 MB. PATCH32M.EXE replaces the MSDOS.SYS file with a version of the file that corrects these problems. NOTE: PATCH32M.EXE is designed to work with the Microsoft MS-DOS 4.0x packaged product. If you have a modified, original equipment manufacturer's (OEM) release of MS-DOS 4.0x, you may need to contact your OEM for a patch specifically designed for its release of MS- DOS. Follow these steps to install the patch: 1. Insert the enclosed PD0255 disk in the appropriate floppy disk drive. 2. Switch to the drive containing the enclosed disk by typing the following and pressing ENTER : where is your designated floppy disk drive (for example, "b:" [without the quotation marks]). 3. At the command prompt, type the following command and press ENTER patch32m : where is the drive that contains your MS-DOS system files (your boot drive). Typically drive C is your boot drive. For example: patch32m c: The message "Patch successful!" will be displayed after the command completes, indicating that your system file has been successfully updated. Installing FASTOPEN.EXE, FORMAT.COM, and GRAPHICS.COM ----------------------------------------------------- Included on the PD0255 disk are the MS-DOS 4.01a FASTOPEN.EXE and FORMAT.COM files and a corrected version of GRAPHICS.COM. - The new FASTOPEN.EXE file corrects a conflict between the MS-DOS 4.0 and 4.01 Fastopen program's extent-caching feature and certain third-party application programs. - The new FORMAT.COM file corrects a problem with the MS-DOS 4.0 and 4.01 FORMAT command that occurs when FORMAT encounters a track that is marked as bad in the 32 MB + region of a logical drive. is the size in bytes occupied by the file allocation table (FAT), the root directory table, and the MS-DOS system files. - The new GRAPHICS.COM file corrects a conflict between the MS-DOS 4.0, 4.01, and 4.01a GRAPHICS command and the Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions (MSCDEX). With the earlier releases of GRAPHICS.COM you might receive a "MSCDEX not installed" error message if GRAPHICS is loaded and an application program attempts to use the MSCDEX application programming interface (API). Follow these steps to update your FASTOPEN.EXE, FORMAT.COM, and GRAPHICS.COM files: 1. Insert the enclosed PD0255 disk in the appropriate floppy disk drive. 2. At the command prompt, type the following commands and press ENTER after each line copy :\fastopen.exe copy :\format.com copy :\graphics.com where is the letter of your designated floppy disk drive and is the location of your MS-DOS directory. For example: copy a:\fastopen.exe c:\dos NOTE: Refer to your "Microsoft MS-DOS User's Guide" for more information on the COPY command. The message "1 file(s) copied" will be displayed after each command completes, indicating that the file was successfully updated.