From: jwl3885@zeus.tamu.edu (THIS SPACE FOR RENT)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.apps,comp.misc
Subject: Re: DR-DOS Installation HORRORS!  HELP....
Summary: Failure of Install Routine
Keywords: dr-dos, hell, ...
Date: 11 Apr 92 19:02:00 GMT
Followup-To: comp.os.msdos.apps
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Apr10.204208.2193@galileo.cc.rochester.edu>, scls_ss@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Eric Scoles) writes...
>I got my brand new DR-DOS disks in the mail day before yesterday, and they
>were the wrong media.  My A: drive is 3.5", not 5.25", and they sent me 5.25
>(even though I had explicitly ordered 3.5 -- a salesperson at the Novell
>orders & resolutions place in Buffalo said "they [meaning special coupon
>shipments] were all shipped that way".

The reason for this is the nation-wide shortage of 3 1/2 inch disks.
This is due to OS/2 2.0 needing 20 disks per order and Win 3.1 needing 6
disks per order.  All the sudden no one can get disks...  Borland 3.0 also
came out a few months ago...  another 10-15 disks I think...

>By various means, I managed to get the diskettes copied onto 3.5" floppies
>in a bootable form.  HOWEVER, every time I tried to run the Install routine,
>it would get to a certain point and go into a loop that seemed to indicate
>that it didn;t recognize the disk it was running off of.

This WILL NOT WORK!  Why don't you demporarily swap the drive cables?
(assuming drive B: is a 5 1/4, if not borrow a friends 5 1/4)
That way you will have a 5 1/4 as A:.  Or maybe assign b:=a:  will
work...  It's worth a try...

>That was only the first of several awful behaviors, but I persisted.  I

All that "awful" behavior is because you didn't follow the installation
instructions...  If all else fails read the instructions... 

>Yes, I did everything by the book, but THE GODDAMNED M*^^&^*&^%^&(^ WON'T
>LOAD HIGH!

try installing it via the instructions and it will work...  don't try
to jimmy the disks and do in manually...

>I was sure that I must be doing something (undocumented but) wrong.  So I
>decided to "use the Setup utility", as the manual repeatedly recommends.
>THE SETUP UTILITY DOES NOT EXIST.  IT IS NOT ON THE DISKS.  THE SETUP
>UTILITY DOES NOT EXIST.  IT IS NOT ON THE DISKS.  [Probably the Install
>utility -- which is unable to finish an installation -- creates Setup from
>itself when it's done.  Fat lot of help that is.]

This is correct.  Install becomes setup AFTER YOU INSTALL IT RIGHT!
Setup is totally useless until it is installed correctly.  Install it right
and you be able to do all the neat things DR DOS does!

>So now I'm sitting here with 550K of low memory, which was what I had in th
>worst of my DOS 4.01 days, and I don't even dare dream of trying to load
>4dos.

Install it right, and you will love it...  

>And to top it all off, DRI says they'll "try to get back to me within the
>next several business days."  I never thought I'd say this, but this makes
>DOS 5 (or DOS 4.01, fo rthat matter) seem like nirvana.

I've had the same problems with DRI's tech support.  I called several times, 
left voice main and messages, but no one EVER got back to me.  Tech support
is their VERY weak point.

>Anyway, enough ranting.  If anyone out there has any suggestions about what
>might be keeping the Install utility from working right, I'd love it if you
>could mail me.  I've already tried modifying the INSTALL.INI file to show
>the correct disk type, and it had no effect.  

Alas, you are much like me...  A hacker at heart!  I would have approached
this a little differently though...  Try using a 5 1/4 as your A: drive.
Swap cables, use assign, or borrow one.  (If you don't own one, why not?)
Any way, it you do this, it should work like a charm.

Cheers, and good luck,
John