Using OnTrack's Disk Manager 5.1 with Windows 3.1

ID: Q93737

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows versions 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

This article discusses using OnTrack's Disk Manager version 5.1 with Microsoft Windows version 3.1.

MORE INFORMATION

Compatibility with SmartDrive version 4.0

According to OnTrack Technical Support, Disk Manager version 5.1 is compatible with SmartDrive version 4.0, although there may be some problems using it with SmartDrive's Double_Buffer command, depending upon your hardware configuration:

System with no SCSI adapter

OnTrack recommends removing the
```
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE
   /DOUBLE_BUFFER 
```
line in the CONFIG.SYS on all systems that do not have a SCSI host adapter.

System with a SCSI adapter, but no drives with more than 1024 cylinders

OnTrack recommends adding the line
```
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE
   /DOUBLE_BUFFER+ 
```
in order to support partitions larger than 32 MB with MS- DOS versions 3.3 and earlier. If the plus sign is omitted, SmartDrive will fail.

System with a SCSI adapter and drives with more than 1024 cylinders

OnTrack recommends removing the SmartDrive DEVICE= statement (even if it is using the Double_Buffer command) in the CONFIG.SYS file on all systems with a SCSI adapter and drives with more than 1024 cylinders. It should be noted that with this configuration Windows will not run in 386 enhanced mode.

Compatibility with Windows 3.1 Swap Files

According to OnTrack, Disk Manager 5.1 is compatible with Windows 3.1 swap files but you may be prevented from creating a permanent swap file in the following situations:

Head or sector-per-track mismatch (unless IDE)

If the number of heads and sectors per track specified by your CMOS drive type entry does not match the actual number of heads and sectors per track of your drive, your configuration prevents the use of a permanent swap file. Resolving this conflict requires that you reinstall your drive and will likely result in lost disk space. If you must use a permanent swap file, OnTrack Technical Support can provide suggestions on reconfiguring your system to allow it.

Large partitions with MS-DOS version 3.3 and earlier

If you are using MS-DOS 3.3 or earlier and have a partition larger than 32 MB, you cannot use a permanent swap file. To use a permanent swap file with your system, you must either upgrade to MS-DOS 4.0 or later and reinstall your system or make all partitions 32 MB or less and reinstall with your current version of MS-DOS.

Drives with more than 1024 cylinders

Permanent swap files can be accessed by Windows only if they are created within the first 1024 cylinders of your drive. Make sure you create your swap file on a partition that contains 1024 cylinders or less. Otherwise, Windows will issue a corrupt swap file error when started. If you have a drive with more than 1024 cylinders, you need to manually enable permanent swap file support by modifying the DMDRVR device statement in your CONFIG.SYS file to include a /P option as shown below:
```
device=c:\dmdrvr.bin /p 
```

If you have problems with corrupt swap file errors when using the /P option, it is likely that your drive partition is not located within the first 1024 cylinders.

For additional information, call OnTrack Technical Support.

Disk Manager is manufactured by OnTrack Systems, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

Additional query words: 3.10 3rdparty

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:3.1,3.11
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :