-------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Accessing TransDisk with a DOS Drive Letter Accessing TransDisk requires loading the TransDisk device driver (TRANSD.SYS) which assigns a DOS drive letter. To do this, you need to perform one of the following: 1. Permanent Installation -- TD utility allows normal installation of the TransDisk software onto the internal hard drive. It makes changes to the CONFIG.SYS file. A reboot is required to load the device driver. Syntax: TD 2. Dynamic Loading -- TDGO command allows loading the device driver dynamically without first installing the software via TD. It does NOT change any of the host system setup. No reboot is required. Syntax: TDGO [timing] timing timing adjustment for device driver to match parallel port characteristics. Range: 0 - 99; Default = auto-detect. See following sections for detail on timing adjustment. -------------------------------------------------------------------- *** TRANSD.SYS Options Usage: In config.sys DEVICE=C:\TRANSDSK\TRANSD.SYS [/T:] [/S:] Description: /T option allows manual setting of the timing between the device driver and the printer port. When /T option is not specified (default), the device driver will AUTOMATICALLY adjust its timing to accomodate the hardware at hand while maintaining the optimal performance. When /T option is specified, AUTO-TIMING mode is disabled, and indicates the MANUAL-TIMING parameter. The larger the value of is, the slower the system becomes. In particular, when is set to 0, the system will run at full speed. /S option allows you to change the timeout value associated with the STANDBY mode operation of the TransDisk 2000 series. When /S option is not specified (default), a TransDisk 2000 unit will enter STANDBY mode (Hard drive motor not spinning, to save battery power) when it is not accessed in 5 min. Once it receives a command, it will spin up again and execute the command. When /S option is specified, indicates a timeout value in seconds. If the unit is not accessed in seconds, it will enter the STANDBY mode. If is not a multiple of 5, it will be rounded up to the next multiple of 5. The minimum value of is 60 (1 min.). The maximum is about 1200 (20 min.). If is set to 0, the STANDBY mode is disabled. TransDisk 3000 series ignore /S option, and disable STANDBY mode operation. Example: DEVICE=C:\TRANSDSK\TRANSD.SYS Set AUTO-TIMING mode and STANDBY-TIMEOUT to 5 min., this is default setting. DEVICE=C:\TRANSDSK\TRANSD.SYS /T:1 /S:180 Set MANUAL-TIMING mode to 1 and STANDBY-TIMEOUT to 3 min. DEVICE=C:\TRANSDSK\TRANSD.SYS /T:0 /S:0 Set MANUAL-TIMING mode to 0 and disable STANDBY-TIMEOUT. ____________________________________________________________________ *** Note on Printer Port Compatibility (1) If you cannot access TransDisk and you have already followed the troubleshooting instruction in the User's Guide, it is most likely that your printer port may not be fully IBM compatible. In this case, Adjust the timing by using /T option mentioned above and reboot the system. Also see the note below. ____________________________________________________________________ *** Note on Printer Port Compatibility (2) If you are using IBM PS/2 (or similar) machines which has DMA capability on the printer port, e.g., PS/2 models 56, 57, 76, 77 and 90XP, you MUST disable the "DMA Arbitration Level" of the printer port to use TransCD. In order to do so, you can enter configuration (CMOS) setup mode at the system boot time. On PS/2 model 56, enter Ctl+Alt+Ins when cursor moves from upper left corner to right upper corner at system boot. Please refer to PS/2 User's Handbook for additional information. ____________________________________________________________________ *** Dynamic Driver Loader (enhanced in ver. 2.20) Instead of using DEVICE entry to load the TransDisk driver in CONFIG.SYS, DLD.COM allows a user to load TransDisk driver at DOS prompt. DLD.COM works on MS DOS 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x. It may or may not work on other DOS operating systems. Syntax: DLD [-drive_letter] driver_file [driver_options] Example: DLD C:\TRANSDSK\TRANSD.SYS TransDisk will be assigned the NEXT available drive letter on the system. Example: DLD -P C:\TRANSDSK\TRANSD.SYS TransDisk will come up as P: drive. Make sure LASTDRIVE in CONFIG.SYS is greater than the drive letter specified. ____________________________________________________________________ *** Additional Utility, TDPATH.EXE Included on this package diskette is the utility TDPATH.EXE. TDPATH.EXE allows you to customize your PATH with directories available on your TransDisk. To invoke TDPATH.EXE, type tdpath (if tdpath.exe is not in your execution PATH, use full path) at the command prompt or include it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT. When invoked, TDPATH.EXE searches TDPATH.ADD the root directory on all partitions including TransDisk and non-TrnasDisk partitions for the file TDPATH.ADD. If a TDPATH.ADD is found, TDPATH.EXE will extend your PATH based on the contents of TDPATH.ADD. TDPATH.EXE exits with error if there is no TransDisk attached to your system. The format of TDPATH.ADD is as follows: 1:\lbin;2:\uti;1:\net10 Leading # and rem are considered remark lines and ignored. Using above example and if current TransDisk starts as F:, after TDPATH excuted, your PATH becomes PATH=your_old_path;F:\lbin;G:\uti;F:\net10 -------------------------------------------------------------------- *** MANUAL INSTALLATION AND UN-INSTALLATION To install TransDisk software manually follows below. 1. copy TransDisk software into your boot drive, 2. in config.sys, add driver statement as DEVICE=your_drive:\your_dir\TRANSD.SYS To un-install, remove the driver statement from config.sys and/or remove TransDisk software from boot drive. _________________________________________________________________________ *** How to use TransDisk on a OS/2 system Before an OS/2 native driver is available for TransDisk, the following procedure can be used to access TransDIsk on a DOS session under OS/2. Thanks to Mr. Doug Azzarito of IBM, an excellent technical support, accessing TransDisk under OS/2 is now possible. The following procedure describes how to access the TransDisk from OS/2 by using a "specific DOS session." This is a feature in OS/2 that allows you to boot a session of "real" DOS mode while running OS/2. To set this up, do the following: * Hardware: If you are using non-PS/2 machine, no hardware setup is necessary. If you are using PS/2 (or similar) machines which has DMA capability on the printer port, e.g., PS/2 model 56, you MUST disable the DMA of the printer port to use TransDisk. In order to do so, you can enter configuration (CMOS) setup mode at the system boot time. On PS/2 model 56, enter Ctl+Alt+Ins when cursor moves from upper left corner to right upper corner at system boot. Please refer to PS/2 User's Handbook for additional information. * Software: (1) Create a bootable DOS diskette that will load the TransDisk driver. Boot from this diskette to make sure everything works properly. (2) Boot OS/2, and insert the bootable DOS disk in drive A: (3) Copy the file \OS2\MDOS\FSFILTER.SYS to A: (4) Add the line: DEVICE=FSFILTER.SYS as the first line in the CONFIG.SYS on the bootable DOS diskette. (5) Open the COMMAND PROMPTS folder (inside the OS/2 SYSTEM folder). you will see a "DOS FROM DRIVER A:" object. Start that object, which will boot the DOS disk in drive A:. From this DOS session, you will have access to the TransDisk. No other session will see the TransDisk, and all printing from other sessions will be held in the spooler until the DOS session is closed. The VMDISK command can make an "image" of this boot floppy, so you can start a TransDisk session without inserting the floppy. Type HELP VMDISK from an OS/2 command prompt for details. * Caveat: Due to multitasking environment of OS/2, TransDisk performance on this DOS session is far below that in actual DOS environment. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** Password Protection (new in ver. 2.20) Password protection is a security feature that prevents an unauthorized access to the TransDisk. Normally the TransDisk is shipped without the password. In order to use the password feature, the user needs to run TD.EXE version 2.20 or higher and use the option 14. The password can be up to 8 characters of any combination. Once the password is set and the system rebooted, subsequent usage of that TransDisk requires password to gain access. This feature requires a matching version of the driver (TRANSD.SYS) to work as specified. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** Read-Only Protection (new in ver. 2.20) Read-only protection is a safety feature that prevents writing to the TransDisk while still allowing read access to it. TransDisk acts just like a read-only device much the same way as the write-protected floppy diskette. The transDisk in read-only mode can be used as a distribution medium especially in an environment where virus infection is a problem. In order to use the read-only feature, the user needs to run TD.EXE version 2.20 or higher and use option 7. The read-only mode can be turned on or off and takes effect the next time the system is rebooted. This feature requires a matching version of the driver (TRANSD.SYS) to work as specified. ____________________________________________________________________________