


SuperDisk-NT V1.2-2 for Windows NT V3.51 and V4.0
Release date: July 12, 1996
A license key from EEC is required to operate this product. 

Copyright (c) 1996, EEC Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

EEC Systems Inc.
327 Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776, USA
Phone +01(508)443-5106
Fax   +01(508)443-9997
E-mail: eecsys@eecsys.com
Internet: http://www.eecsys.com

In Europe:

Bootstrap Systems
Veerstal 12
2801 RB Gouda
Phone +31 182 - 528 324
Fax   +31 182 - 583 345
strap@xs4all.nl
http://www.bootstrap.nl

Kit contents
____________

setup.bat     - SuperDisk installation script
SDisk.sys     - SuperDisk device driver
SdSetup.exe   - SuperDisk configuration tool
SdRemove.exe  - SuperDisk deinstall tool
SdReadMe.txt  - Instructions and release notes


Overview
________

SuperDisk is a driver which creates a disk partition in memory.
Placing your most frequently used programs and files on this
in-memory disk can produce dramatic improvement in performance
because SuperDisk files are guaranteed to be always cached in
memory.

The memory disk can be operated alone, similar to the RamDisk
once available on DOS systems. If you select this option, a new
drive, the S: drive, appears after the next reboot. This S: drive
can then be used like any other drive. This yields the fastest
possible performance, but the contents of the RamDisk disappear
whenever you boot your PC.

Alternatively, the memory disk can be configured as a mirror
image of a hard disk partition you select using the SdSetup
configuration tool. This mode does not create a new named drive
for SuperDisk. Rather, SuperDisk assumes the identity of the
selected drive. For example, if you configure SuperDisk to be
used with your D: drive, SuperDisk becomes the D: drive on the
next boot. The real D: drive is hidden behind the SuperDisk.

This configuration option still provides excellent read
performance, and the memory disk maintains coherence with the
hard disk. That is, the contents of the memory image of the disk
is an exact copy of the hard disk after a boot, and the memory
image stays identical to the hard disk because all writes are
routed to both the memory disk and the "backing" hard disk.

A SuperDisk partition may be FAT or NTFS, but is limited in
size, depending on the size of your RAM memory. The table
below lists the default maximum SuperDisk sizes for a range
of memory configurations:

               RAM installed          Maximum SuperDisk size
               -------------          ----------------------
               less than 16 MB                 N/A
                   16 MB                       3 MB
                 18 - 20 MB                    5 MB
                 24 - 28 MB                    7 MB
                 28 - 32 MB                    8 MB
                 36 - 48 MB                   12 MB
                above 48 MB                 25% of RAM

Run the SdSetup tool to determine the actual maximum partition
size for your system.

Advanced Option: The maximum size for SuperDisk is directly
related to the size of the non-paged pool that can be allocated
from the Windows NT operating system. The maximum sizes listed
above assume non-paged pool is set to the default.

You can, however, extend non-paged pool to be up to 75% of your
physical memory by clicking on the "Extend" button in SdSetup.
The Extend option is enabled only if you have at least 32 MB of
memory on your system. Further, you must have at least 64MB to
actually use a full 75% of your memory.

If you do increase the size of the non-paged pool, around 4 MB of
the new non-paged pool is normally reserved for various operating
system operations. The rest will be usable by SuperDisk. SdSetup
will automatically make the pool available and will update
the list of backing disk choices to reflect the new settings. 

WARNING! - resetting the NonPagedPoolSize using the Extend
option can result in system boot failure on certain early
models of Digital Alpha systems. If your machine is a Digital
AXP150 PC (Jensen), do NOT use the Extend option unless you
first contact EEC Systems, Inc.

If you do experience a system boot failure as a result of
using the NonPagedPoolSize extend option, you should be able
to recover by selecting the "Last Known Good Configuration"
option offered during the reboot sequence. EEC Systems further
recommends you update/create an Emergency Repair Disk prior to
installing SuperDisk.


Installation
____________

1. Load the provided floppy disk in drive A: (or B:) or copy
all of the files from the WEB site directory.

2. Open a DOS command prompt. If you received your kit on a
floppy, go to the root directory for the floppy. (Type "A:").
If you copied from the WEB site, go to the directory where
the files you copied now reside. For example,
"cd \WEB\Netscape\WIN32". 

3. Verify all of the files listed under Kit Contents at the top
of this note are present. Then, type "Setup". SuperDisk will
install in 2 to 5 minutes, depending on your machine.

4. The installation will copy the device driver, SDisk.sys, to
directory %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers. The configuration
tool, SdSetup.exe, will be copied to %SystemRoot%\system32.
%SystemRoot% is a predefined environment variable that points
to the directory where you originally installed Windows NT.
For example, C:\WINNT35.

5. When the installer is finished, the SdSetup configuration
tool will be run automatically. If this is the first time
you have used SuperDisk or if you have not entered a valid
license code before, the next thing you will see is the
EEC Licensing dialog. If you licensed SuperDisk already,
skip to step 8.

6. If you have your license code, enter it in the dialog and
click on "OK". If you don't have a license, contact EEC. You
can restart SdSetup later by typing "SdSetup" at the DOS
prompt.

7. You should now be looking at the main SdSetup screen. The
Status indicator should read "License key accepted". If not,
contact EEC Systems.

8. SdSetup lists the partitions available for conversion to
SuperDisk partitions. If no hard disk partition is listed, you
may still elect to run SuperDisk as a pure Ram Disk by selecting
the "S:" disk. Otherwise, use the Windows NT Disk Administrator
to create a new partition.

9. If you must create a new partition, do so using the Windows
NT Disk Administrator utility supplied with Windows NT. If you
are unfamiliar with Disk Administrator, see the note about it
in the next section. Use Disk Administrator with care. Improper
use can severely damage your Windows NT installation. NEVER
select Partition/Mark Active!!

10. Once you have one or more partitions listed by SdSetup,
highlight the partition you wish to use with SuperDisk by
clicking on it. Then click on the Select/Configure button.

11. Exit SdSetup by clicking on the Close button. That's it,
SuperDisk is ready to start work the next time your system
boots.

12. Reboot your system. The selected partition will now be a
SuperDisk. As long as you are properly licensed, SuperDisk will
start automatically. SuperDisk will place an informational
entry in the Windows NT System Event Log to indicate successful
startup.


SdSetup may be restarted any time by typing "sdsetup" from the
command prompt. Use SdSetup whenever you want to change the 
SuperDisk partition. If you wish to deinstall SuperDisk, just 
open a MS-DOS window and type "SdRemove" at the prompt.


Troubleshooting Hints
_____________________

If SuperDisk fails to start, you will usually get a dialog
informing you that one or more services failed to start.
If this occurs, open the Event Viewer from the Administrative
Tools group. If SuperDisk entries are visible in the System Log,
double click on the SuperDisk entry line to get details about
the problem. The following are the most likely occurring event
log messages for SuperDisk:

--> Unable to allocate NonPagedPool for disk image.
This message means the SuperDisk driver was unable to allocate
the memory it needed to start up correctly. To correct, try
running a smaller SuperDisk.

--> SuperDisk license is invalid or expired.
Contact EEC Systems for a license PAK, or enter your license
Key Code using SdSetup.

--> Could not find or connect to backing disk.
Usually due to using Disk Administrator to change a drive letter
or the layout of disk partitions. To correct, reconfigure
SuperDisk using SdSetup.

If the corrective actions for the messages above do not fix your
problem, or you get any SuperDisk message other than the above,
contact EEC Systems technical hotline at +01(508)443-5079 or in Europe
Bootstrap Systems at +31 - 182 528 324.


The Windows NT Disk Administrator
_________________________________

The Windows NT Disk Administrator is the utility to use for
creating, formatting, and managing hard disk partitions. It is
activated by double-clicking on the Disk Administrator icon
found normally in the Administrative Tools group within the
Program Manager.

To create a partition for use with SuperDisk, do the following.

1. If Disk Administrator shows you have Free Space equal to,
or greater than the size of the partition you want, skip
to step 10.

2. If you do not have marked Free Space, you will need to
convert one partition to two. The partition you are about
to convert is hereafter referred to as the "target". Before
you do anything else, do a backup or otherwise make a copy of
the contents of the target partition. Try to avoid using
drive (partition) C:.

3. If the C: drive is all you have, repartitioning may only
be possible as part of a new Windows NT installation. Use
another partition if you possibly can. If you must repartition
drive C:, see the Technical Guide for your machine before
proceeding.

4. In Disk Administrator, click on the target partition to
highlight it. Next, click on "Partition" in the Disk
Administrator menu bar and select "Delete". You will get
a dialog asking you to confirm. Make sure you have the
target selected and confirm.

5. Select "Partition" from the menu again and click "Commit
Changes Now...". You will get another dialog recommending
you create a new repair disk. Don't bother with the repair
disk just yet.

6. The target partition should now show as Free Space. Highlight
the free space by clicking on it. Select "Partition" and
"Create" from the menu. You will be asked for the partition size.
Select a size big enough to hold all of the files from the old
partition while leaving enough space for a SuperDisk partition.

7. Click on "Partition" and "Commit Changes Now" from the menu.
Decline the offer to create a repair disk.

8. Make sure the new partition is still highlighted and select
"Tools" and "Format" to format it. 

9. Restore your backed up files to the new partition.

10. Select Free Space by clicking on it. Click on "Partition"
then "Create" from the Disk Administrator menu. Provide
a partition size no larger than that recommended by SdSetup.

11. Click on "Partition" and "Commit Changes Now" from the menu.
If you want a new repair disk, this is a good time to make
one. 

12. Make sure the new partition is still highlighted and select
"Tools" and "Format" to format it. SuperDisk supports both
FAT and NTFS partitions. NTFS is more secure against data
loss. However, you may want to use a FAT partition if you
sometimes boot DOS or Windows 95 on your machine. NTFS
partitions are "invisible" to those operating systems.

13. Exit Disk Administrator and run SdSetup to configure
SuperDisk.


Using the System Partition for SuperDisk NT
-------------------------------------------

SuperDisk NT may be used with the system partition. To do so,
your PC must be able to meet both of the following conditions.

- You must have at least one other partition with enough
free space for an adequate sized pagefile.

- You must have enough RAM memory to create a SuperDisk
big enough to accommodate your system partition.

To move pagefile off your system partition, follow these steps:

1. Open the control panel by double-clicking the control
panel icon.

2. In the control panel window, double-click on the System
icon.

3. When the system dialog appears, click the Virtual Memory
button. The Virtual Memory dialog is presented.

4. In the Virtual Memory dialog, you will see four group
boxes labeled, from top to bottom,

    Drive [Volume Label]    Paging File Size (MB)
    Paging File Size for Selected Drive
    Total Paging File Size for All Drives
    Registry Size.

The last one, Registry Size, will not be used. Do not edit
the values in the Registry size group.

5. The first group box displays all of the partitions on your
system in the left column, and the pagefiles currently
configured in the right column. If a pagefile exists in the
same partition as your system files, then it is a candidate
for moving.

If you are unsure about which is your system partition, you
can find out by opening a MS-DOS command prompt window and
typing:

echo %systemroot%

This will tell you the drive name and directory where your
system files reside. For example. C:\WINNT35.

6. Click on each partition listed in the Drive (first) group box.
Each time you click on a partition, the Space Available value
in the second group box will change to reflect the amount of
space on the partition that could be used for pagefile. Pick
one with at least as much space available as the larger of
the two numbers shown for the pagefile you want to move.

7. Highlight the partition where you want the new pagefile to
be located (click on it). Type in the Initial Size value
in the second group box. This number should be at least as
large as the smaller of the two values shown for the existing
pagefile.

8. Type in the larger value in the Maximum Size box, then click
on the Set box. New paging file values will appear in the right
column next to the highlighted disk partition name. Double-check
that both values are at least as large as their counterparts
shown for the existing pagefile.

9. Now, highlight the partition with the old pagefile by clicking
on it. Delete the numbers shown in the Initial Size and
Maximum Size boxes. With both boxes blank, click on Set again.
The old pagefile settings will disappear from the right column
in the first group box.

10. Click on the OK button. Click on the OK button in System
dialog. A message box labeled "System Setting Change" will
appear. If you click on Restart Now, your PC will reboot and
the new pagefile will take effect immediately. Or, you can
choose not to restart immediately. The new pagefile will be
set up, and the old one deleted, the next time you reboot
your system.


After reboot, you can select your system drive as your
SuperDisk-NT backing disk and watch your system really fly!

