PC Home MegaDisk 14/Lowe_PCHomeDecember1993MegaDiskIssue14.img/DATA/HELP.BAT

DOS Batch File | 1993-10-07 | 14.8 KB | 373 lines

ECHO OFF
CLS
IF %1==2 GOTO help2
IF %1==3 GOTO help3
echo Crash course on PCs and MS-DOS
echo ===============================
echo[
echo BOOTING UP
echo -----------
echo When the PC is switched on it needs to load the operating system (such as MS-
echo DOS) into memory. The operating system is a special computer program, and
echo without it, the PC just won't work. Dos is loaded either from a floppy disk in
echo drive A or the hard disk.
echo[
echo If you have one floppy disk drive it will be called drive A, if you have two,
echo then they are A and B. They can be the same size or different sizes. Built
echo into most PCs is a hard disk - a special kind of high capacity disk drive that
echo can store a lot of information. You can't take this disk out like a floppy,
echo it's fixed. It's called a fixed disk or hard disk or hard drive.
echo[
echo If you have two floppies and a hard disk, then the hard disk is C. However, if
echo you have only one floppy and a hard disk then they are A and C - there's no B.
echo When you switch the PC on, it looks to see if there is a disk in drive A, and
echo if there is, it tries to load Dos from it. If Dos isn't on the floppy disk,
echo you'll see an error message on the screen, something like "Please insert a
echo system disk in drive A and press a key".
echo[
pause
cls
echo If there isn't a floppy disk in drive A when you switch on the PC it looks for
echo Dos on the hard disk - if you have one. Eventually, you'll end up with what's
echo called the Dos prompt.
echo[
echo DIRECTORIES
echo ------------
echo You can tell what files (programs, or other information) are stored on your
echo disk by typing (in upper or lower case):
echo[
echo DIR
echo[
echo or:
echo[
echo DIR /W
echo[
echo The name of a file can be up to eight characters long, followed by a full stop
echo and then three more characters, like TREE.COM. Some characters on the keyboard
echo are special and can't be used in names, * and ? are two.
echo[
echo Generally speaking, any file which ends in .EXE, .COM or .BAT is a program
echo that can be run by typing in its name. You don't need to enter the .EXE, .COM
echo or .BAT - just the first part of the name.
echo[
pause
cls
echo If you think of the disk as a filing cabinet into which you can put files, you
echo can imagine how untidy it would become if you just threw everything in. You
echo can make drawers and put files of a similar nature in specific drawers. They
echo aren't called drawers, of course, but directories (sometimes called folders).
echo There are probably some directories already on you disk and these are shown
echo when you type DIR with a <DIR> after their name. DOS is a very common
echo directory as it is used to hold many files and programs that both you and the
echo operating system need to work.
echo[
echo To change to a directory type CD followed by its name like this:
echo[
echo CD DOS
echo[
echo and to find out what files are in it, type:
echo[
echo DIR
echo[
echo To change back to the directory you just came from, (what's called the parent
echo directory) type:
echo[
echo CD ..
echo[
pause
cls
echo There can be directories within directories. To change to the parent of all
echo directories, type:
echo[
echo CD \
echo[
echo To make a new directory you use the MD command followed by the name (up to
echo eight letters), like this:
echo[
echo MD GAMES
echo[
echo This will create a directory called GAMES into which you could put all your
echo games. You can change to this new directory with:
echo[
echo CD GAMES
echo[
pause
cls
echo BASIC DOS COMMANDS
echo -------------------
echo BEFORE floppy disks can be used with a PC they have to be specially prepared,
echo this is called formatting. You format a disk by typing FORMAT at the Dos
echo prompt followed by the drive letter, like this:
echo[
echo FORMAT A:
echo[
echo or:
echo[
echo FORMAT B:
echo[
echo Never use C:, only A: or B:. You can copy Dos to the disk so you can boot up
echo from it by adding a /S to the line, like this:
echo[
echo FORMAT A: /S
echo[
echo This then often called a system disk. You can copy files from one disk to
echo another, such as from C to A using the COPY command. Suppose you wanted to
echo copy LETTER.TXT, assuming that you're on drive C, you would type:
echo[
echo COPY LETTER.TXT A:
echo[
pause
cls
echo If the letter was on drive B and you wanted it on drive A, you would type:
echo[
echo COPY B:\LETTER.TXT A:
echo[
echo And if the letter was stored in the DATA directory on drive B and you wanted
echo to copy it to drive A and call it MYLETTER.DOC, you would type:
echo[
echo COPY B:\DATA\LETTER.TXT A:\MYLETTER.DOC
echo[
echo A special form of the command is:
echo[
echo COPY A:\*.* C:\
echo[
echo The *.* means every file, so the line above would copy every file on drive A
echo (actually the root directory), to drive C.
echo[
echo Text files often end .TXT or .DOC. You can often display these on the screen
echo with the TYPE command. It's best used with MORE which pauses after each
echo screenful of text. So, if there's a text file called README.TXT, you could
echo read it onscreen by typing:
echo[
echo TYPE README.TXT
echo[
pause
cls
echo To delete a file you use the DEL command followed by the filename. If you
echo wanted to delete LETTER.TXT, you would type:
echo[
echo DEL LETTER.TXT
echo[
echo Remember that LETTER.TXT might be stored in a directory, and if that's the
echo case, you would have to change to that directory. Instead of a name you could
echo put *.* and this means every file. It's a dangerous command, but if you really
echo do want to delete everything in the current directory, type:
echo[
echo DEL *.*
echo[
echo Because it's so dangerous, you are asked if you are sure you want to do this.
echo Type Y if you are, otherwise N to stop immediately.
echo[
goto exit
:help2
echo What to do if the programs on this disk don't work
echo ===================================================
echo[
echo DISK SPACE
echo -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo All the programs on this disk have been thoroughly tested on a variety of
echo different PCs, but for one reason or another, they may not work on your
echo computer.
echo[
echo One reason is lack of space. When extracted from their highly compressed
echo archives the programs on this disk can occupy as much as 4Mb of disk space.
echo Before extracting the programs make sure you have sufficient disk space by
echo typing at the Dos prompt:
echo[
echo CHKDSK C: /F
echo[
echo The /F parameter will ensure any errors on your hard disk are fixed. One point
echo to bear in mind is that SuperStor, Stacker and other disk compression
echo utilities fool CHKDSK into reporting more free space than there really is. For
echo instance, they may say you have 5Mb free when, in fact, you have only 1Mb.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo If you don't have a hard disk drive, just twin floppies, format a system disk
echo with:
echo[
echo FORMAT A: /S
echo[
echo and switch on your PC with that in drive A (don't worry about being asked for
echo the time or date). Put the MegaDisk in drive B, change to drive B with:
echo[
echo B:
echo[
echo and run this menu program again. Many programs require a hard disk drive as
echo they are very big, but some programs are small enough to run from floppy
echo disks, even low density 5.25in ones.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo MEMORY
echo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo Some programs need a lot of free memory. Even though you may have a PC with
echo 4Mb or more, the amount free for Dos programs is less than 640k (0.64Mb). It's
echo all to do with the way the PC was designed many years ago.
echo[
echo You may need to change AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS to take out all unnecessary
echo drivers, TSRs and other stuff which generally bungs up the memory. First copy
echo these two files to somewhere safe, like this:
echo[
echo COPY AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.TMP
echo COPY CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.TMP
echo[
echo Now run a text editor like MS-DOS 5's EDIT and load each file in turn. Delete
echo any lines which aren't important then save them. Reboot the PC. Generally
echo speaking, most lines can be removed, however, don't take out any lines to do
echo with disk compression, such as a SuperStor driver.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo With MS-DOS 5 and 6 Dos can be loaded high and drivers and TSRs can be put in
echo upper memory. To use these facilities make these three lines the first three
echo in CONFIG.SYS:
echo[
echo DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
echo DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
echo DOS=HIGH,UMB
echo[
echo Now replace any DEVICE= commands in CONFIG.SYS with DEVICEHIGH= and if any
echo TSRs are loaded in AUTOEXEC.BAT, add an LH followed by a space to the start of
echo the line, like this to load a mouse driver:
echo[
echo LH C:\MOUSE.COM
echo[
echo While on the subject of mouse drivers, make sure your is up to date, otherwise
echo some software won't work properly. Unless the software specifically says don't
echo load a mouse driver, it's a good idea to try it with the driver loaded. Many
echo programs benefit from mouse control.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo Some programs - mainly games - require expanded memory. You can simulate this
echo on 386/486 PCs by changing the EMM386.EXE or EMM386.SYS line in CONFIG.SYS. If
echo you want 512k of EMS memory change the line to this:
echo[
echo DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE 512
echo[
echo If you can't get the memory management right, format a system disk in drive A
echo with:
echo[
echo FORMAT A: /S
echo[
echo and reboot the PC.
echo[
echo Some programs, like databases and contact managers, need the BUFFERS and FILES
echo settings changed. You'll need to edit CONFIG.SYS and either change the
echo existing lines or add new ones if they aren't there. These settings should be
echo sufficient:
echo[
echo BUFFERS=40
echo FILES=49
echo[
echo You'll need to reboot for these changes to take effect.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo After fiddling about with CONFIG.SYS AND AUTOEXEC.BAT you may want to restore
echo things as they were before. This is easy if you made a backup:
echo[
echo COPY AUTOEXEC.TMP AUTOEXEC.BAT
echo COPY CONFIG.TMP CONFIG.SYS
echo[
echo[
echo INSTALLATION
echo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo Some programs can be run as soon as they have been extracted from their
echo archives on this disk. Others may need further installation. You'll be told in
echo the instructions what's required. Look for a file called INSTALL and run it if
echo necessary.
echo[
echo Windows programs nearly always need further installation. You should run
echo Windows and then click on Run on the File menu. Type in the drive, directory
echo and filename of the program to run - usually SETUP.EXE or INSTALL.EXE.
echo Alternatively, click on the Browse button and use the file selector to locate
echo the file.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo You will sometimes need to install the program icon into a group window on the
echo desktop. Click on File,New,Program Item,OK,Browse and then use the file
echo selector to find the file. Double click on it then on OK to get back to the
echo desktop. You should then see the program icon.
echo[
echo[
echo VIRUSES
echo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo This disk has been thoroughly tested at all stages of production for all known
echo viruses. Dr Solomon's Anti Virus Toolkit, Norton Anti Virus, McAfee Anti Virus
echo Utilities and Microsoft Anti Virus are always used. It has been passed as
echo clear by all of them. However, putting this disk in a PC that is already
echo infected with a virus will infect this disk too.
echo[
pause
cls
echo DOCUMENTATION
echo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo Many programs come with large manuals which contain detailed instructions,
echo tutorials and troubleshooting guides. They are often essential if you are
echo using these programs for any serious application. A small charge is normally
echo made for printed documentation. See the magazine for manual offers.
echo[
echo[
echo IF ALL ELSE FAILS
echo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo If you really can't get the software working, ring our technical support
echo hotline on 0625 858084 and we'll do our best to help.
echo[
GOTO exit
:help3
echo HOW TO GET MANUALS AND UPGRADES
echo ================================
echo[
echo[
echo Public Domain
echo --------------
echo There are different type of programs on this disk. Some will be public domain
echo - these are free and you don't have to pay for them. You can copy them and
echo pass on the copies to friends. There is nearly always a text file, sometimes
echo called README.TXT or just READ.ME, which gives the programmer's name and
echo address. Write to him for the latest version.
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo Shareware
echo ----------
echo Some programs are shareware. They are free for a short period of time, usually
echo about a month. If you like the program and intend to carry on using it after a
echo month, then you must pay for it. This usually takes the form of a registration
echo fee, which also entitles you to the latest version and sometimes, a printed
echo manual. There is nearly often a text file, sometimes called README.TXT or just
echo READ.ME, which gives the programmer's name and address. There may be a file
echo called ORDER.FRM which you can print out and fill in. Use it to order the
echo latest version or manual or whatever is being offered. Feel free to copy and
echo pass on the program
echo[
PAUSE
CLS
echo Commercial
echo -----------
echo The third type of program is a commercial package - either the full program or
echo a special demonstration version. This is copyright and you must not pass on
echo copies to friends or sell it. The full package is normally sold with one or
echo more manuals, which are sometimes quite large. It's often essential to get the
echo documentation as it contains full instructions describing how to use the
echo program.
echo[
echo If you have a demonstration version, or a full package that isn't the latest
echo version on offer, you can usually upgrade and buy the latest version complete
echo with manuals, tutorials and other printed material. We negotiate special
echo discounts on your behalf and our prices are among the lowest.
echo[
echo There may be a coupon in the disk tutorial pages of the magazine that you can
echo cut out, fill in and send off. However, if you want to pay by credit card we
echo can upgrade many products for you.
echo[
echo Simply call Europress Direct on 051-357 1275 to upgrade your software to the
echo latest version or get the manual.
echo[
:exit
PAUSE
CLS