Copyright: BigDisk Help 1.0                                                    Copyright 1997 Syncronys Corp.                          Wednesday, September 10, 1997 11:10:09


Glossary

BigDisk Space

Extend

Physical Space

Protected

Redirect

Relocate

Secondary Drive

Secondary Space

Primary Drive

Primary Space

Virtual Space


Extend

The process of creating one large virtual drive by automatically relocating files from the primary drive to a secondary drive. This task is accomplished using the BigDisk Extender.


Secondary drive

The drive to which BigDisk will move files in an attempt to free disk space on your primary drive. This drive is usually your secondary hard drive or hard disk partition, and is labeled with the letters D or E.


Secondary Space

Group in the Status properties page that graphically displays the amount of disk space on your secondary drive that may be made available to your primary drive. The display includes a breakdown of the amount of free disk space, used disk space, and loaned disk space. Loaned disk space is disk space that contains files that have been relocated from the primary drive to the secondary drive.


Physical Space

Group in the Status properties page that displays the amount of free and used disk space available on your primary drive.


Primary Space

The physical amount of disk space available on your primary drive.


Protected

Directories and files that will not be automatically relocated by BigDisk. These directories are specified in the Safety page of the BigDisk Properties dialog box.


Redirect

The process of creating new files and directories on a secondary drive, while allowing Windows to read and write to the directories and files as if they existed in your primary drive.


Relocate

The process of moving files from your primary drive to your secondary drive to free disk space on your primary drive. Note that all relocated files will still appear to reside on your primary drive in Windows and in all your applications, even though they physically reside on your secondary drive.


Primary drive

The drive from which BigDisk is going to attempt to free disk space. This drive is usually your primary hard drive and is labeled with the letter C.


Virtual Space (BigDisk Virtual Space)

The amount of disk space that may be made available as your primary drive. This measurement is generally calculated by adding the total space on your primary drive and secondary drive.


Introducing to Syncronys BigDisk
Introducing Syncronys BigDisk

Welcome to Syncronys BigDisk, the easiest and quickest way to get better use of the hard disk space you already have.

It does not matter how many extra disks you purchase, or how many times you try to partition it to make better use of your disk space, managing your hard disk space and performance and installing new software is a constant maintenance problem. You install a new hard disk, but your software still wants to install on your original hard drive, so you try moving files around, but then your old software stops working.

So how do you get the best use out of all your hard disk space and get hard drives and your applications working together in sync? With Syncronys BigDisk.

BigDisk allows all of your hard drives to function and appear as one big disk drive by extending, relocating, and redirecting files from one primary drive to another secondary drive or drives.

BigDisk extends the amount of free disk space on the primary drive by automatically moving files to another drive or drives; it relocates files and directories that you select from the primary drive to a secondary drive; and it automatically redirects new files and directories to the drive (primary or secondary) that contains the most free disk space, while allowing Windows to read and write to the directory as if it were on the original primary drive.

And note, you can protect any directory from relocation, and all changes you make can be fully restored, making BigDisk virtually mistake-proof.

 How To...


To run the BigBigDisk Extender
To run the BigDisk Extender

 Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Extender.

Or click the BigDisk tasktray icon.

 Show me

Note: If you have selected Redirect New Files in the Setup Properties page, the BigDisk Extender will be disabled.

 Related Topics


To close BigDisk

 To close either the BigDisk Extender or BigDisk Properties and apply changes, click OK. To close either without saving any changes, click Cancel.


To extend primary drive space using the BigDisk Extender
To extend primary drive space using BigDisk Extender

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Extender.
The Disk Extender dialog box displays.
 Show me

2  Drag the slider to the right to free disk space on your primary drive, or type the amount of disk space you need to free in the box provided.

3  Click OK.
BigDisk automatically frees the disk space you requested on the primary drive.

 Related Topics


To display BigDisk's properties

 Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.

Or right-click the BigDisk tasktray icon and select BigDisk Properties.

 Show me

A Properties dialog box displays. You can use this dialog box to check the status of your primary and secondary drives, set up relocation options and safety features, relocate and restore directories, and redirect files.

 Related Topics


To display the status of your disk space

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

The Status page of the BigDisk Properties dialog box displays. This dialog box shows the status of your primary drive's physical space, potential BigDisk virtual space, and your secondary space.

This information will help you determine if you have enough free disk space on your primary drive, and how much disk space you can make available by relocation.

2  To display the status of a different secondary drive, select a new one from the Secondary Space drop-down list.

3  When you have finished, click OK.

 Related Topics


To relocate select directories from your primary to your secondary drive

There are two ways to accomplish this task, from Windows Explorer or from the Relocation page of the Properties dialog box:

From Windows Explorer:

   In Windows Explorer, right-click the directory you want to relocate and click Relocate.

A status bar indicating the progress of the relocation displays. To see information about the number and size of the relocated files, click Info. Then click OK.

From the Relocation page:

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Relocation tab.

3  In the Directories list, click the directory that you want BigDisk to relocate to your secondary drive. Directories that have been previously relocated will be marked with the following icon [image], and will not be selectable.

4  Click [image] to move the selected directory to the Relocated Directories list. The relocated directories will be marked with the following folder
Note: Certain directories, such as your Windows directory, should never be relocated and so are protected by BigDisk. This and other protected directories are indicated with a "locked" icon, and cannot be moved into the Relocated Directories list.

5  Repeat step 3 and 4 for every directory you want to relocate.

6  If you want BigDisk to perform extra checks to verify that the files relocated with no problems, select the Verify check box in the Setup page. This extra safety precaution ensures the integrity of your files, but lengthens the relocation process.

7 Click OK.

BigDisk relocates the selected directories to your secondary drive. Note that these directories will still appear to reside on your primary drive to all your Windows applications. They also will be marked with this folder icon [image] to indicate that the files have been relocated.


To move files back to their original location (Undo)

There are two ways to accomplish this task, from Windows Explorer or from the Relocation page of the Properties dialog box:

From Windows Explorer:

   In Windows Explorer, right-click the directory [image] on your primary drive that you want to restore and click Undo Relocation.

A status bar indicating the progress of the restoration displays. To see information about the number and size of the restored files, click Info. Then click OK.

From the Relocation page:

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Relocation tab.

3  In the Relocated Directories list, click the directory that you want BigDisk to restore back to its original location on your primary drive, then click [image] to move it to the Directories list.

4  Repeat step 3 for every directory you want to restore.

5  If you want BigDisk to perform extra checks to verify that the files were restored with no problems, select the Verify check box in the Setup page. This extra safety precaution ensures the integrity of your files, but lengthens the restoration process.

6  Click OK.

BigDisk restores the selected directories back to their original location on the primary drive.


To see which folders have been relocated

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Relocation tab.
The Relocated Directories list displays all folders that have been relocated from your primary to your secondary drive.

3  Click OK.


To redirect files

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Setup tab.

3  Select the Redirect New Files check box.

4  Click OK.

Any new files you create or software you install will be redirected to the drive (primary or secondary) that contains the most free disk space. This redirection process makes all your drives appear as one single large drive to the operating system and all applications.

Since all your drives work together as one, the BigDisk Extender is not necessary, and therefore not available when you choose to redirect files.


To setup BigDisk relocation options

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Setup tab.

You have the following options:

Secondary Drives: Use this list to add or remove secondary drives. To add a drive as a secondary drive for relocation purposes, check the drive letter in the list. To remove the drive as a secondary drive, deselect its check status. Note that if this drive contains any relocated files, you must restore them to their original location on the primary drive prior to removal.

Redirect New Files: Select this option If you want any new directories and files you create to be automatically created on the drive with the most free space (primary or secondary). This option treats all your drives as one large virtual drive.

Verify Select this option if you want BigDisk to perform extra checks to verify that files relocate or restore with no problems. This extra safety precaution ensures the integrity of your files, but lengthens the restoration process.

3  Click OK.

 Related Topics


To add and remove secondary drives

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Setup tab.

3  To add a secondary drive, check the drive letter in the Secondary Drives list. BigDisk will relocate files to this drive when you run BigDisk Extender, or when you relocate files from the Relocation Properties page.

4  To remove a secondary drive, deselect the drive letter in the Secondary Drives list. If you have relocated files to this drive, a warning message displays that you must restore the files before removing the secondary drive.
Click Yes to restore the files and remove the drive as an available secondary drive.

5  Click OK.


To protect files and folders from being relocated

1  Click the Start menu and point to Programs, then point to Syncronys BigDisk. Click BigDisk Properties.
 Show me

2  Click the Safety tab.

3  If the Directories list, click the directory that you do not want BigDisk to relocate.

4  Click [image] to move the directory to the Protected Directories list. BigDisk will not relocate the selected directory when you activate the Disk Extender.

5  To protect subdirectories of the selected directory, select the check box beside the directory name in the Protected Directories list.

6  When you have finished selecting directories for protection, click OK.


Syncronys BigBigDisk Extender Dialog Box
Syncronys BigDisk Extender Dialog Box

Use this dialog box to extend the space available on your primary drive by automatically relocating files to your secondary drive.

BigDisk automatically detects the best files and directories on your primary drive for relocation and moves those files to your secondary drive, freeing the amount of space you select in this dialog box. It can move these files while also protecting important system files and directories from ever being relocated.

Note that even though the files are relocated, they will still appear to all your Windows applications to reside on your primary drive.

 How To


Disk Extender Slider

Determines the amount of disk space that will be freed on your primary drive (usually C:). The number on the left side of the slider represents the amount of disk space currently free. The number on the right side represents the total amount that may be freed. This space may be freed by relocating files from your primary to your secondary drive.


Displays the amount of disk space to free on the primary drive (usually C:), and the percentage of free disk space on the drive that this number represents. By default, this box displays the current amount of free disk space on the primary drive.


BigDisk Status

Use this dialog box to determine the size of your primary drive (Primary space) and your secondary drive (Secondary Space), and the amount of disk space that may be made available as your primary drive (BigDisk Virtual Space).

Each disk space total is broken down by the number of megabytes free (gold) and the number of megabytes used (cyan). The Primary space group also shows the number of megabytes of files located in fixed, or protected directories (green). The Virtual and Secondary Space groups also show the number of megabytes of files that are borrowed and loaned, respectively. These represent the files that have been relocated from the primary drive to the secondary drive.

 How To


Primary space

Graphically displays the amount of free and used disk space available on your primary drive. The display includes a breakdown of the amount of free disk space, used disk space, and fixed disk space. Fixed disk space is disk space containing files that may not be relocated.


BigDisk Virtual Space

Graphically displays the amount of disk space that may be made available as your primary drive. This measurement is calculated by adding the total space on your primary and secondary drives. The display includes a breakdown of the amount of free disk space, used disk space, and borrowed disk space. Borrowed disk space is disk space containing files that have been relocated from the primary drive to the secondary drive.


Secondary Space

Graphically displays the amount of disk space on your secondary drive that may be made available to your primary drive. The display includes a breakdown of the amount of free disk space, used disk space, and loaned disk space. Loaned disk space is disk space that contains files that have been relocated from the primary drive to the secondary drive.


BigDisk Relocation

Use this dialog box to see which directories have been relocated by the BigDisk Extender, select your own directories for relocation, and restore any relocated directories back to their original location.

Note: The difference between relocating files from this dialog box and relocating them from the BigDisk Extender is that in this dialog box you can select which directories are moved, whereas the BigDisk Extender makes those selections for you.

 Related Topics


Directories

Lists the directories available for relocation on your primary drive.


>>

Moves directories from the Directories to the Relocate New Directories list, letting you build a list of directories to be relocated.


<<

Moves directories from the Relocate New Directories list to the Directories list, restoring these directories to their original location on the primary drive.


Relocated Directories

Lists the directories that have been relocated from your primary to your secondary drive.


# IDH_RELOCATION_REFRESH


BigDisk Setup

Use this dialog box to set preferences on how BigDisk relocates files, to set up file redirection, and to add and remove secondary drives.

 How To


Redirect New Files

Creates new files and installs new software to the drive (primary or secondary) that contains the most free disk space. This redirection process makes all your drives appear as one single large drive to the operating system and all applications.


# IDH_OPTIONS_EMPTY


Show Welcome page at Startup

Toggles the display of the Syncronys BigDisk Welcome screen when you run BigDisk Extender or BigDisk Properties.


Verify

Double-checks that files have been relocated properly by reading them from the disk immediately following relocation. This process verifies the integrity of relocated files, but significantly lengthens the processing time of relocation.


Secondary Drives

Specifies which drives BigDisk will treat as a secondary drive for relocation purposes.


BigDisk Safety

Use this dialog box to protect directories from being relocated automatically from the BigDisk Extender, or selectively from the Relocation properties or the shortcut menu.

BigDisk automatically protects your Windows directory and subdirectories, the Program Files for MS Plus directory, and any directories containing boot files (such as autoexec.bat and config.sys). You cannot change this protected status on these directories. You can, however, use this dialog box to protect any other directories you want.

 How To


Directories

Lists all directories on your primary drive that you can mark as protected.


Protected Directories

Lists all protected directories, that is directories that will never be relocated.


Subfolders

Determines whether subdirectories of the selected directory will also be protected. Protected status of subdirectories is indicated by a check in this column beside a protected directory's name.


>>

Moves the selected directory from the Directories list to the User Protected Directories list.


<<

Moves the selected directory from the User Protected Directories list to the Directories list.


Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. Once folders and files are relocated, where do they go?

A. All relocated files and folders move into the _FRDDAT_ folder on your secondary drive.

Q. On what basis does the BigDisk Extender select or reject files for relocation?

A. BigDisk rejects protected directories, empty directories, and directories containing open files. It will relocate all others.

Q. Why doesn’t the BigDisk Extender free up the exact amount of space I select? It’s always less!

A. The number of megabytes freed may not match the number you selected exactly because the sizes of the files relocated probably will not add to the exact number you chose. BigDisk will come as close as possible to the number you selected, without exceeding it.

Q. Why didn’t BigDisk restore all my files?

A. If any of your relocated files were open at the time you selected Undo Relocation, they will not be restored. Close the files and try again.

Q. How do I manually restore my relocated files to their original location?

A. It is easy to restore files using the Undo Relocation command from the shortcut menu, or the Relocation page in the Properties dialog box. We recommend that you use one of these methods. However, if you need to restore files manually, you can do so from either Windows or DOS:

From Windows

1. Delete the file \Windows\System\Iosubsys\FREDIR.VXD.

2. Restart Windows.

3. Run Windows Explorer, and open the _FRDDAT_ folder in the root of your secondary drive.

4. Pull down the Edit menu and click Select All.

5. Pull down the Edit menu and click Cut.

6. Open the primary drive folder.

7. Pull down the Edit menu and click Paste.

From DOS:

1. Reboot the machine and press F8 when you see "Starting Windows 95".

2. Select Command Prompt Only.

3. Go to the \Windows\System\IOSubSys directory, and rename FREDIR.VXD to FREDIR.XXX.

4. For each drive letter used for relocation, use the following XCOPY32 command to move the files back:

XCOPY32 D:\_FRDDAT_\*.* C:\*.* /S /E

(This example assumes relocated data is on your D: drive).

IMPORTANT: Use XCOPY32.EXE, not XCOPY.EXE.  XCOPY32.EXE preserves long filenames.