In reading the very sizable Email dialogs on the Zoomer, I've gleaned
enough information to now do real damage to my Zoomer (which I recently
fitted with a 1MB Newton card...many thanks to the zoomer-list people
for the info on this).
These are items of possible interest to others. As with all such
suggestions...use at your own risk!
1) I created a ZDRIVER.BAT to modify the GEOS.INI file as mentioned in
the Zoomer FAQ, and added a line:
DEL B:\GEOWORKS\PRIVDATA\STATE\*.000
which clears out the state files. Note that "*.000" is used rather than
"*.*" which would result in a DOS prompt for a Y/N confirmation. This
appears to recover all memory used by the state files when GEOS resumes.
File Manager seems to resist deleting some state files if I try to do it
manually presumably because those files are still held open by their
respective Apps.
2) I created a PENRIGHT.BAT file on C: just to test something and found
that this is executed during the zoomer boot-up! I then made the
PENRIGHT.BAT command issue a single command (intended now for boot-ups):
CALL C:\ZDRIVER.BAT
Thus whenever my system reboots, my preferred GEOS.NEW file will be
copied to GEOS.INI automatically. Previously, I had to manually run the
File Manager/ZDRIVER sequence after a boot-up in order to restore my
changes.
This may be a useful alternative to modifying AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS to effect set-ups during boot-time.
3) I noticed that memory gets used (up to 50k) by the state files and
created a file called C:\MOVSTATE.BAT which effectively moves the state
files to my 1MB SRAM card. I first create a directory on the card to
shadow the state directory (ie, create C:\GEOWORKS\PRIVDATA\STATE).
Then the commands in MOVSTATE.BAT are:
B:
CD B:\GEOWORKS\PRIVDATA\STATE
DIR
COPY *.* C:\GEOWORKS\PRIVDATA\STATE
DEL *.000
When GEOS resumes, there appears to be some lack of response at first
but returns to normal after switching an App or two. File Manager then
shows all state files underlined and these appear to be updated without
any problem by GEOS. However, any NEW state files (ie, for a new App)
will show up on B: and MOVSTATE can be run again to flush these out as
well. This item has the advantage over Item-1 in that the state files
are moved to the RAM card rather than deleted outright. Both methods
would recover memory from the B: drive, but this method appears to
preserve the "state" of the Apps as well as directing the 'growth'
of the state files on C: rather than B:.
During the boot-up process, ALL state files (drive B: and C:) are
cleaned out (maybe for the better). If anyone has info on what does the
delete, I would appreciate knowing it. Potentially, one could reboot
and still maintain the state of the Apps from before the boot.
Popping out the PCMCIA card before a reboot would force a pure 'native'
boot-up.
>From the Email traffic, it sounds like the Sun and other Flash type
memory cards can be used the same way, but their slower performance may
be a problem. SRAM card seems quite capable for this purpose.
The preferred alternative to all of this would be an INI setting that
allows us to specify the state file drive (any suggestions are welcome).
4) Lastly, has anyone tried using the new Lithium AA batteries
available at photo shops? I've just replaced my first set of fresh
AA's after a month of use which I find pretty amazing, but maybe we
can squeeze another month or 2 with lithiums?
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Longden C. Loo lloo@world.nad.northrop.com
Northrop Grumman Corporation Information Services
8900 E. Washington Blvd. Phone: (310) 948-7865
Pico Rivera, CA 90660-3783 FAX: (310) 942-5300
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