BackMaster README File.


This file contains information about specific problems you may
encounter and specific system configurations.


Topics covered in this readme file:
     -  Adaptec controllers
     -  Bus timing and BackMaster DMA overrun error
     -  Colorado Trakker driver switches
     -  CoreTape 250 tape drive support
     -  Creating recovery diskettes
     -  DCF2
     -  Device driver conflicts
     -  File Selection Set creation utility MAKEFSS
     -  Incompatibility with TAPE.EXE 4.03 or greater
     -  Low memory systems (8MB or less)
     -  New driver options for specific problems
     -  Older tape drives (Hard Select)
     -  Stacker
     -  TC-15M high-speed adapter
     -  Technical support
     -  Time critical
     -  Version of OS/2
     -  Write errors



Adaptec controllers:
     If you have an Adaptec Busmaster controller, the following
     CONFIG.SYS setting is suggested:

     BASEDEV=AHA154X.ADD /V /A:0 /BON:4 /A:0 /BOFF:12

     /V displays messages during bootup.  /A:0 specifies the first
     of four possible adapters, and is necessary even if only one
     adapter is installed.  /BON:4 sets the bus on time to 4
     microseconds. /BOFF:12 sets the bus off time to 12
     microseconds.  Most of this information may be found in the
     Command Reference under BASEDEV.  The above BASEDEV setting
     gives the floppy controller enough time on the bus to
     transfer enough data (by DMA) to keep the tape moving.

     Special thanks to Beta Tester Jay Vanderbilt for this
     information.


Bus timing and BackMaster DMA overrun error:
     BackMaster may not work correctly if your system bus timing
     is set higher than 8 MHZ.  Tape drives are very sensitive to
     hardware timing and an abnormal bus speed may result in
     operational problems or errors reported by BackMaster.

     If you are consistently getting a DMA overrun error message
     (error number 51) we suggest checking your hardware settings.
     Experiment with the bus speed, setting it as close to 8MHz
     as possible.  If your system supports the 7.15MHz or 7.25MHz
     settings, these will usually work best.
 
     Note:  The Auto-configuration option (if your setup has one)
            MUST be disabled in order for the new bus speed
            settings to take effect.


Colorado Trakker driver switches:
     If you experience problems with your trakker tape drive, you
     may need to set the data or control delay, or both.
     Adjustments are not necessary unless the system is not
     working properly.

     Data and control delays may be set in the BackMaster
     configuration notebook under the Parallel page.  See the
     BackMaster online help for more information on how to set
     the data and control delays.

     Problems may include the following:  "Unable to initialize
     tape drive" error message, aborting due to restore or
     verify error, extremely slow tape drive operations,
     excessive back and forth tape motion.


CoreTape 250 tape drive support:
     The BackMaster 1.1B release does not support the CoreTape 250.


Creating recovery diskettes:
     Now is a good time to create a set of custom recovery
     diskettes for your computer.  The recovery diskettes can be
     used with a complete system backup to restore your system or
     move your system to a new hard drive.  BMRCVR (in the
     BackMaster folder) will create the recovery diskettes
     automatically.  You may, if you wish, create the recovery
     diskettes manually.  Instructions for doing so are given in
     the file BOOT.TXT, which is located in the directory to which
     BackMaster was installed.


DCF2:
     Some conflicts have been reported when BackMaster accesses
     files in a DCF2 Virtual Disk Unit, resulting in a SYS3715 in
     DOSCALL1.  If you encounter this problem, please report it to
     Proportional Software.


Device driver conflicts:
     The BackMaster device drivers, FTDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS,
     PTDVR.SYS, and TTDVR.SYS may on some systems have conflicts
     with the Multimedia Presentation Manager (MMPM) drivers, some
     cdrom device drivers, the Diamond P9000 video drivers, and
     ATI Graphics Ultra video drivers.  The driver conflicts may
     cause an "Unable to open driver" error message or an OS/2
     TRAP 000D.  To avoid the driver conflicts, make sure that
     FTDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS, PTDVR.SYS, and TTDVR.SYS are
     loaded in CONFIG.SYS after the CDROM drivers, Diamond P9000
     video drivers, and ATI Graphics Ultra video drivers, but
     before the MMPM drivers.

          Note:  We recommend locating the BackMaster tape device
          drivers immediately following the IFS= statement (if
          present) in CONFIG.SYS.  However, some drivers (such as
          CDROM drivers) may have to be loaded before our drivers.
          Some experimentation on your part may be required to
          find the optimal location for the BackMaster drivers.

          Concerning the Diamond P9000 video drivers:  The driver
          conflict with the P9000 and BackMaster drivers has been
          known to cause OS/2 command windows to indefinitely
          scroll, as if the enter key was continually pressed.
          This symptom disappears when the video drivers are
          loaded ahead of the BackMaster drivers.

          Concerning the ATI Graphics Ultra video drivers:
          Confilicts with these drivers are infrequent.

     The BackMaster installation program, BMINST, will place the
     FTDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS, PTDVR.SYS, and TTDVR.SYS in the
     correct location in CONFIG.SYS for most machines (except in
     the case of the Diamond P9000 and ATI Graphics Ultra video
     drivers).  The driver conflicts are mentioned here for the
     case of a manual installation or a driver conflict with
     specific systems.


File Selection Set creation utility MAKEFSS:
     Included in the directory BackMaster was installed to is a
     program to create File Selection Sets from a list of complete
     pathnames.  See the file MAKEFSS.TXT for more information on
     how to use the MAKEFSS utility.


Incompatibility with TAPE.EXE 4.03 or greater:
     BackMaster will not read compressed tapes made with any
     version of TAPE.EXE 4.03 or greater, but BackMaster will read
     the uncompressed volumes made with this software.


Low memory:
     BackMaster may not work correctly on machines with less than
     8 MB of memory.  Machines with 8 MB of memory that have
     network software loaded may also fall into this category.  In
     the case of a low memory machine, BackMaster will report one
     of these errors:  "Unable to load device driver", or "Unable
     to allocate memory in device driver".  If your machine fits
     this description, use the BackMaster device driver memory
     enhancement ('/M' switch on the BackMaster device drivers).
     BMINST will do this automatically, or you may edit the
     CONFIG.SYS with any text editor and add the '/M' switch to
     the BackMaster device drivers manually as in the following
     example:

       REM *********** BackMaster tape drivers start here *********
       DEVICE=C:\BACKMAST\FTDVR.SYS  /M

     Note:  It is recommended that this only be done for one
     BackMaster driver at any one time.  Also, the need for the
     device driver memory enhancement may be resolved in future
     versions of OS/2.


New driver options for specific problems:
     Options supported by the BackMaster device drivers:
     /J1 - Use this option if you have a Ditto Dash adapter card
           for 1MB operation.
     /J2 - Forces a rewind after tape operations finish.  For
           use on older tape drives such as the Archive XL.
     /S  - This option may overcome excessive "Shoe Shining"
           encountered on some systems.

     An example of adding all three switches to the BackMaster
     driver in the CONFIG.SYS file:

       REM *********** BackMaster tape drivers start here *********
       DEVICE=C:\BACKMAST\FTDVR.SYS /J1 /J2 /S


Older tape drives (Hard Select):
     The list of tape drives in the "Configuration Options"
     dialog refer to Soft Select tape drives (most of the newer
     tape drives are Soft Select), and will not correctly select
     the older Hard Select type of tape drive.  If you have a
     Hard Select tape drive, select the "Generic QIC 40/80" tape
     drive from the "Configuration Options" list.  Refer to the
     documentation that came with your tape drive to determine
     which type of tape drive (Hard Select or Soft Select) you
     have.  In general, Hard Select drives may have jumpers to
     select the drive (A or B) and will only function as the A or
     B device, but not as a third floppy device.


Stacker:
     If FTDVR.SYS, PPDVR.SYS, TC15DVR.SYS, TTDVR.SYS resides on a
     stacked volume, the DEVICE=FTDVR.SYS statement should be
     placed after the Stacker device drivers.


TC-15M high-speed adapter:
     BackMaster supports the TC-15 high-speed adapter, but does
     not support the TC-15M high-speed adapter, which is the
     microchannel version of the TC-15.
     

Technical support:
     Customer assistance and technical support are available
     during normal business hours.  If possible, try to be seated
     near your computer when calling.  Another way to get
     technical support is to fill out the TECHSUPP.FRM ascii text
     file (located in the BackMaster folder on the Desktop) and
     FAX it to us, upload it to our BBS, or send it via CompuServe,
     or Internet.

       How to reach us:
         (409) 564-1862 Voice (9am-6pm CST)
         (409) 560-5970 BBS   (No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit)
         (409) 560-5868 FAX
         CompuServe users can send mail to 74431,1621 or GO MSRDEV
         Internet users can send mail to 74431.1621@CompuServ.Com

Time critical:
     During normal tape drive operations, BackMaster must respond
     to the tape drive signals within a certain amount of time, or
     the tape drive may start to behave unpredictably, causing
     BackMaster to abort the current tape operation.  Active DOS
     and Windows sessions may deny BackMaster the CPU time needed
     to respond quickly to tape drive signals.  If BackMaster
     aborts in the middle of a tape operation, make sure that the
     "Time Critical" check box in the "Device" page of the
     configuration notebook is checked before retrying the tape
     operation.  Time critical will ensure that BackMaster is
     given enough CPU time to respond quickly to the tape drive
     requests.


Version of OS/2:
     BackMaster is designed for OS/2 versions 2.1 and above.  It
     may be used with OS/2 2.0, but unexpected crashes may occur,
     especially during the file selection process.  If you must
     use BackMaster with OS/2 2.0, we suggest that you avoid
     extensive opening and closing of directory folders during the
     file selection process.


Write errors:
     Write errors during a backup (such as errors 50 or 52) will
     cause the backup to abort.  If BackMaster detects a write 
     error, it will report the error and abort the backup.  The
     tape sector responsible for the error will be marked as bad
     in the bad sector map, and the tape will be ready for another
     backup.  If write errors continue to be detected on a
     particular tape, reformatting the tape is recommended.
