From: larry@tsd.arlut.utexas.edu (Larry Maturo)
Subject: Re: How to install stacker
Organization: Applied Research Labs, The University of Texas at Austin
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 22:31:27 GMT

In article <1993Jan4.223742.11978@rei.com> fox@rei.com (Fuzzy Fox) writes:
>john.will@satalink.com (John Will)  writes:
>
>>FJ>If you have let Stacker 'swap' the drives, so that your 390 MB stacked
>>FJ>drive is seen as C, you are simply asking for trouble (IMHO).
>
>>You keep saying that, but I see absolutely no rational reasoning 
>>associated with your caution.
>
>The reason is that many configuration management software programs (such
>as less-than-immediately-recent versions of QEMM's OPTIMIZE, install
>programs such as WINDOWS, etc.) can become extremely confused when the
>boot drive is not drive C: but actually D:.  SSWAP does some interesting
>magic in order to try to circumvent the confusion, but it is not always
>successful, and this can lead to confusion if the user is not completely
>up on what's going on.
>
>Further, confused software can install its drivers on a compressed drive
>which will not be available yet when the driver is loaded, and other
>nasty things.  While refraining from SSWAP won't solve every problem, it
>can generally be guaranteed that if you don't use it, anything placed on
>drive C: will be the real thing which is always available at any time
>during boot, and nothing will need to be copied around in order to make
>the boot succeed.
>
>These reasons (and others) are why I recommend that users who are not
>closely familiar with the computer's operation should stay away from
>SSWAP.  However, I do recognize that there is a class of users who have
>a use for SSWAP.  Users who have a LARGE amount of software installed
>may enjoy the convenience of not having to reconfigure the software.
>Users who rarely (if ever) change their configuration or install new
>software which requires driver updates will probably never run into
>problems with SSWAP.  SSWAP does not cause many problems when your
>configuration stays the same, but in the future when you might decide
>to change it, then it can well cause many unforseen problems.
>
>-- 
>#ifdef TRUE        | Fuzzy Fox (a.k.a. David DeSimone)       fuzzy@netcom.com
>#define  TRUE   0  |
>#define  FALSE  1  |  "911 Emercency Rescue Service - Can you hold, please?"
>#endif             |


There is also an advantage to using SSWAP.  I bet not many viruses know how to
install themselves in a non-bootable, non-existent disk.  Seriously, have you
actually run into one of these problems or are they only theoritical?  I have
actually run into a few programs that refuse to run on anything but the C drive
making SSAWP a necessity if you want to use Stacker.  Also, as you point out, it
is a lot more convient to swap.


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