| DBLSPACE |
|
| Compresses hard disk drives or floppy disks, and configures drives that were |
| compressed by using DoubleSpace. |
|
| Syntax |
|
| When you issue the DBLSPACE command by itself, the DoubleSpace program |
| starts. This program provides an easy-to-use, menu-oriented user interface |
| for setting up and working with compressed drives. For more information, see |
| the chapter "Making More Disk Space Available" in the MS-DOS 6 User's Guide. |
| For tips on using DoubleSpace, see DoubleSpace Tips . |
|
| If you add switches or parameters to the DBLSPACE command, MS-DOS carries |
| out the requested task without starting the DoubleSpace program. The command |
| syntax differs from task to task. You can use the DBLSPACE command to |
| perform the following tasks: |
|
| Compress a hard disk drive or floppy disk. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE /COMPRESS . |
|
| Create a new compressed drive in the free space on an existing drive. For |
| more information, see DBLSPACE /CREATE . |
|
| Defragment a compressed drive. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE /DEFRAGMENT . |
|
| Delete a compressed drive. For more information, see DBLSPACE /DELETE . |
|
| Format a compressed drive. For more information, see DBLSPACE /FORMAT . |
|
| Display information about a compressed drive. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE /INFO . |
|
| Display a list of the drives on your computer. The list includes |
| compressed and uncompressed hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, and |
| other removable-media drives. It does not include network drives. For |
| more information, see DBLSPACE /LIST . |
|
| Mount a compressed volume file (CVF). When DoubleSpace mounts a CVF, it |
| assigns it a drive letter; you can then use the files that CVF contains. |
| For more information, see DBLSPACE /MOUNT . |
|
| Change the estimated compression ratio of a compressed drive. For more |
| information, see DBLSPACE /RATIO . |
|
| Change the size of a compressed drive. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE /SIZE . |
|
| Uncompress a compressed drive. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE /UNCOMPRESS . |
|
| Unmount a compressed drive. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE /UNMOUNT . |
|
| Change the settings in your DBLSPACE.INI file. For more information, see |
| DBLSPACE.INI . |
|
|
| DBLSPACE--Notes |
|
| Fixing problems with drives compressed using DoubleSpace |
|
| Previous versions of DoubleSpace included the DoubleSpace Chkdsk command |
| (DBLSPACE /CHKDSK) for checking the validity of the specified compressed |
| drive. |
|
| DoubleSpace no longer provides a Chkdsk command. Instead, MS-DOS version 6.2 |
| includes the new ScanDisk program, a full-featured disk analysis and repair |
| utility. ScanDisk can check and repair both uncompressed drives and |
| DoubleSpace drives. It can even check and repair unmounted DoubleSpace |
| compressed volume files. For more information, see ScanDisk . |
|
| Running the DBLSPACE command without switches or parameters |
|
| The first time you run the DBLSPACE command, it starts the DoubleSpace Setup |
| program. DoubleSpace Setup compresses your hard disk drive and loads |
| DBLSPACE.BIN into memory. DBLSPACE.BIN is the part of MS-DOS that provides |
| access to compressed drives. |
|
| Thereafter, when you run the DBLSPACE command without specifying any |
| switches or parameters, the DoubleSpace program starts. This program lists |
| your compressed drives and provides menu commands for working with them. You |
| can perform all DoubleSpace tasks either from within the DoubleSpace program |
| or from the MS-DOS command line. |
|
| DBLSPACE.BIN and DBLSPACE.SYS |
|
| DBLSPACE.BIN is the part of MS-DOS that provides access to your compressed |
| drives. When you start your computer, MS-DOS loads DBLSPACE.BIN along with |
| other operating system functions, before carrying out the commands in your |
| CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. DBLSPACE.BIN initially loads in |
| conventional memory, since it loads before device drivers that provide |
| access to upper memory. Normally, if your hard drive has been compressed |
| using DoubleSpace, DBLSPACE.BIN is loaded even if you press F5 or F8. For |
| information about starting your computer without loading DBLSPACE.BIN, see |
| CONFIG.SYS commands . |
|
| The DBLSPACE.SYS device driver does not provide access to compressed drives; |
| it simply determines the final location of DBLSPACE.BIN in memory. When |
| loaded with a DEVICE command, the DBLSPACE.SYS device driver moves |
| DBLSPACE.BIN from the top to the bottom of conventional memory. When loaded |
| with a DEVICEHIGH command, DBLSPACE.SYS moves DBLSPACE.BIN from conventional |
| to upper memory, if available. Whenever possible, DBLSPACE.SYS moves a |
| portion of DBLSPACE.BIN into the HMA. |
|
| For more information, see the topic DBLSPACE.SYS . |
|
| How DoubleSpace assigns drive letters |
|
| When you install DoubleSpace, it creates a new drive and assigns a drive |
| letter to that drive. DoubleSpace skips the first four available drive |
| letters and assigns the next available drive letter to the new drive. For |
| example, if your computer has only drives A, B, and C, DoubleSpace skips |
| letters D, E, F, and G, and assigns drive letter H to the new drive. |
|
| When assigning letters to additional drives (for example, if you compress |
| another drive), DoubleSpace works backwards from the first drive letter it |
| assigned. In the example above, DoubleSpace would next assign the letter G. |
|
| DoubleSpace attempts to avoid drive-letter conflicts with drives created by |
| FDISK, RAMDrive, networks, or other installable device drivers that assign |
| drive letters. However, if a drive-letter conflict does occur, DoubleSpace |
| resolves the conflict by reassigning its drive letters. |
|
| Compressing a RAMDrive |
|
| To compress a RAMDrive, use the DBLSPACE /CREATE command. Although it is |
| possible to compress a RAMDrive by using the DBLSPACE /COMPRESS command, it |
| is not recommended. Due to the inherent volatility of a RAMDrive, |
| DoubleSpace's automatic recovery mechanisms cannot work on a RAMDrive. |
|
| If you compress your RAMDrive, make sure the DEVICE command for RAMDRIVE.SYS |
| appears in your CONFIG.SYS file before the DEVICE=DBLSPACE.SYS command. |
| Otherwise, the compressed RAMDrive will not be automatically mounted when |
| your computer starts. |
|
|
