Stacker Disk-Compression Utility with Windows

 Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
Article ID: Q71787
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

STAC Electronics' Stacker disk-compression program creates logical drives and makes exact copies of the old drives, except that the files are compressed to save space. The compressed files are then uncompressed as needed.

The following files are not compressed by Stacker:

  • MSDOS.SYS
  • IO.SYS
  • COMMAND.COM
  • CONFIG.SYS
  • AUTOEXEC.BAT

This article covers the following usage issues with Stacker:
  • Editing CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Files
  • Using the STAC Coprocessor Card
  • Stacker and Windows Temporary Swap Files
  • Formatting Floppy Disks in File Manager

MORE INFORMATION

Editing CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Files

Because of the way Stacker works, the CONFIG.SYS and the AUTOEXEC.BAT files that are on the "new" logical drive need to be edited instead of the ones that are in the root of drive C. This may give the appearance that the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are not being read during startup.

To determine where drive C has been reassigned to, use the SWAPMAP utility that comes with Stacker. This shows you the drive to which drive C has been copied. Then, edit the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on that drive as you normally would.

Using the STAC Coprocessor Card

If you are using the STAC coprocessor card and are trying to run Windows in 386 enhanced mode, you must add an EMMEXCLUDE statement to the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file to exclude the area of memory that the card uses. To find the address that needs to be excluded, look for the following line in the CONFIG.SYS file 

   device=<path>\stacker.com /b=<address> c:\stacvo1.000
where <address> is a hexadecimal number. The address plus the next 16 kilobytes (K) should be excluded. The default address is CC00. In this case, the line would be: 

   emmexclude=cc00-cfff
If you are still unable to run 386 enhanced mode, STAC Technical Support suggests excluding the paragraph below the address as well. In this case, the line would be: 

   emmexclude=c800-cfff
The temporary file that Windows creates when it comes up should be located on the uncompressed portion of the hard disk. Allow a minimum of 2 megabytes (MB) free on the uncompressed portion of the hard disk. If a permanent swap file is being used, locate it and allocate space on the uncompressed portion of the disk.

Do not use SMARTDRV.SYS version 3.x with Stacker; they were not designed to work together.

Stacker and Windows Temporary Swap Files

If you run Windows on a compressed drive using Stacker, temporary swap files can be placed on an uncompressed portion of your disk to reduce fragmentation of the Stacker drive.

To accomplish this, add the following entry to the SYSTEM.INI file under the heading [386Enh] 

   PagingDrive=<drive letter>
where <drive letter> is an uncompressed drive.

For example, if drive C was the only drive before the Stacker installation, installing Stacker creates drive D, which then becomes the uncompressed portion of the disk. Use the following PagingDrive parameter to indicate drive D: 

   PagingDrive=D

Formatting Floppy Disks in File Manager

On some systems using Stacker 3.1 or 4.0, Windows File Manager is not able to format floppy disks. Formatting usually fails at either the 99 percent mark or when Windows attempts to create the root directory. The failure usually indicates a conflict with Stacker's base drive feature, which specifies the drive letter from which Stacker drive letters start.

There are two ways to resolve this conflict:

  • Instead of using File Manager, format floppy disks at an MS-DOS command prompt using the MS-DOS FORMAT command.

    -or-

  • Disable Stacker's use of the base drive feature.

    NOTE: This changes the order of your device-driven drive letters. For information on this procedure, contact STAC Electronics Technical Support.

For additional information about Stacker or Stacker's interaction with Windows, contact STAC Electronics.

The product included here is manufactured by STAC Electronics, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

REFERENCES

Stacker version 2.0 README.DOC

KBCategory: kbref kb3rdparty
KBSubcategory: win30 win31
Additional reference words: 3.00 3.00a 3.10 3.11 win31 3rdparty third-party
stack

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Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
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