Answers from e-Zine!

elcome back to "Answers from e-Zine!", your source for answers to all your OS/2 questions! In each issue we bring you tips, tricks, questions and answers from our readers and contributors. If you've got a question or tip you would like to share with us, send it in!

TIP -- An alternative to the Spike program (mentioned in last issue's "the OS/2 Project") that not many people know about that is an option for Warp 4 users, is to right-click on the Desktop (or any standard folder) and choose "paste". This puts the contents of the clipboard into a file in that folder.

You are first prompted for the file name and data type. I can't recall right now, but you may be able to select an object type that you have created and associated so that the resulting file will have a unique icon and even its own viewer.

- Ryan Gray

Q -- Is there support for OS/2 and DVD-ROM drives? If not, is IBM planning it, or does anyone know?

A -- According to voice Conference on March 30, 1998, there is not FULL DVD support... yet. Sam Deitweiller (of IBM) said, in part:

"Currently there is no plan for full DVD support. There is work going on to support DVD media for data."

- Tony

Q -- I am trying to find if I can use SYQUEST's SparQ drive with OS/2 (I am planning to buy one). Reading information between lines on SYQUEST's web page, they do not say YES but they say NO to some options -- I cannot conclude anything. I wonder if anyone has some experience with SparQ.

A -- To those interested in possible OS/2 support for large removable disks like Syquest's new SparQ and the slightly older SyJet line, I can now report UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS:

My drive is the IDE version of Syquest's SparQ 1.0. Together with one other IDE device (a CD-ROM drive) it resides in an otherwise all-SCSI configuration.

While there is no claim of OS/2 compatibility from Syquest and only incomplete support for these kinds of removable drives in Warp 4 (including FixPak 6), I have found a very recent update which seems to rectify the situation.

Look for a file called: IDEDASD.EXE - 137,650 bytes, on IBM's OS/2 device driver site. It contains updates to FixPak 6 as follows:

  IBM1S506.ADD
  IBMATAPI.FLT
  IBMIDECD.FLT
  OS2DASD.DMD
  OS2DASD.TXT

These files solve some problems with Warp and very large IDE hard drives, and assorted other things including support for large removable Syquest disks.

When I first installed the four new device drivers, my system refused to boot. It just hung on the opening blue Warp logo screen. Through trial and error (mostly error), I discovered that the new IBM1S506.ADD did not like my Intel DK440LX motherboard. Using the FixPak 6 version of the driver solved that problem.

With 3 of the 4 above device drivers installed as per instructions in the OS2DASD.TXT file provided, I now have full use of my SparQ drive under Warp 4.0.

- Ivan Vestergaard

That's it for this issue. If you have a tip or question that you don't see covered here, don't forget to send it in!

Copyright © 1998 - Falcon Networking

ISSN 1203-5696