INTRODUCING STACKER FOR OS/2 & DOS
INTRODUCING STACKER FOR OS/2 & DOS
If you're running OS/2, you've probably discovered how much disk space your powerful new operating system demands.
Not to worry. With Stacker for OS/2 & DOS, you can quickly and safely double the capacity of your hard disk to take full advantage of OS/2's power.
Using Stac Electronics' patented, award winning Stacker LZS technology, Stacker instantly and transparently compresses all your data, "stacking'" it more efficiently so you have more room for your applications.
After all, what's the point of running such a powerful operating system if you have no room to use it?
EVERYTHING YOU'LL EVER NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STACKER FOR OS/2 & DOS
HOW DOES STACKER WORK? Stacker increases capacity two ways - by storing data more efficiently than OS/2 or DOS alone, and by replacing repetitive data with tokens that point to the same data that is already stored.
DOES STACKER SUPPORT MY OS/2 EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES? Yes. All your extended attributes will be preserved when you stack and unstack a drive.
DOES STACKER WORK WITH WINDOWS? Yes. Stacker is compatible with Windows and all Windows applications. It transparently compresses Windows and Windows data files just like it does DOS files.
WILL STACKER WORK WHETHER I USE BOOT MANAGER OR DUAL BOOT? Yes. Stacker supports all setup configurations for OS/2 and DOS together on the same drive or on separate drives.
WILL I BE ABLE TO ACCESS MY EXISTING STACKER DRIVES UNDER OS/2? Yes. You can easily use any existing stacked drives that contain DOS and Windows information. Also, because DOS drivers are included in Stacker for OS/2 & DOS, stacked OS/2 drives can automatically be seen under DOS.
WHAT IF I DON'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO INSTALL OS/2? Just install Stacker before you install OS/2. Stacker compresses OS/2 at the same time you're installing it.
WHAT FILE SYSTEM DOES STACKER SUPPORT? Stacker supports the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system. FAT is the file system common to both DOS and OS/2. This means you'll be able to access all your stacked data whether you booted under OS/2 or DOS.
WHAT CHANGES WILL I SEE IN MY FILES? Stacker automatically compresses files written to a disk so they take up less space. Accessing your files remains the same. Only now your disk has twice the capacity. And, you can install new programs just as you did before you stacked your drive.
WILL MY SYSTEM SLOW DOWN? In most cases, you won't notice any slowdown in your system. The time required to decompress your data is offset by the reduced amount of data that must be moved from your disk. You may even see performance improvements on some disks and for some programs.
HOW MUCH COMPRESSION WILL I GET? This depends on the types of files you are compressing. The typical overall file compression is 2:1. Data files typically compress better than program files, so if you have more data than programs, you may see a better than 2:1 compression ratio. Large database and word processing files can compress up to 7:1.
WILL MY DATA BE SAFE? Yes. You can be sure your data is safe with the leader in data compression technology. Over four million people already trust their data to Stac compression products, and Stac technology is incorporated in many leading hard disk utilities and tape back-up programs. These include Central Point Backup, Norton Backup and Colorado Memory Systems tape drives.
CAN I UNSTACK MY DISK? Yes. Stacker will unstack as simply and safely as it stacks your disk. Remember, you must have enough space on your disk for all the files you added after you stacked it.
HOW SHOULD I PREPARE TO INSTALL STACKER? A full disk backup is always recommended. Since Stacker will compress the files already on your hard drive, there is no need to clean off or format a drive before installation.
HOW LONG WILL INSTALLATION TAKE? This depends on several factors - the speed of the computer, the speed of the hard drive, and the amount of space occupied by files. Typical installation takes from 20-30 minutes.
WILL STACKER WORK WITH ANY HARD DRIVE? Stacker is compatible with all hard drive types including MFM, RLL, IDE, SCSI, and ESDI. And you can stack a disk as big as 1 gigabyte, giving you up to 2 gigabytes of capacity.
WILL STACKER WORK WITH NETWORK INSTALLATIONS? Stacker can be installed on the local hard drive of individual workstations. Once Stacker is installed, the system operates normally, on and off the network. Stacker can be used on OS/2-based networks such as IBM LAN Server. Stacker drives can be accessed over the network by network workstations that do not have Stacker. For example, if you stack the drives on a LAN Server network file server, workstations of the network see the shared drives as twice their previous size.
CAN I BACK UP MY STACKER DRIVE? Yes. Stacker is compatible with OS/2's backup / restore utility.