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Date:	Thu, 17 Oct 2002 11:12:09 PST7
From:	"J. R. Fox" <jr_fox@pacbell.net >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: Re: Old Config. files

Content Type: text/plain

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Butch wrote:

> Logged in the c:\ drive, there is a listing of files of which many are
> config files. For instance CONFIG.000, config.078, config.bad,
> config.cdw, etc.
>
> Several of the config files, config.773, config.078, config.682,
> config.cdw and setuprsj.cmd, are related to the install and problems I had
> with rsj cd rw program. Would it be harmful to delete these files? Would
> it be harmful to leave them alone? I will eventually try installing rsj
> again. Would these files cause any kind of snafu?

The thing is, you never know if / when these may have some important reference value. I will delete those I'm certain are too old to have such value, because they
pertain to hardware no longer in my system, app.s I've removed and have no further plans to use, etc. And you're right -- while harmless, they do tend to clutter up
the root of your partition, which is better off left uncluttered with distractions. I suggest that you dump these file off to a designated directory on a diskette,
zip disk, or the removeable media of your choice. At least you will be able to access them again, should it ever be necessary. There may be some lines you'll want to
copy into another CONFIG.SYS at some point.

The procedure I use is to keep just a few of the most recent Config.Sys files in the root of my boot drive. I keep a directory tree section calle HOLD on every boot
drive. For example, on the Warp4 partition it is called HOLD_W4. There are subdirs under this, containing backups of certain critical files, such as the registration
key files for RSJ, PMView, DFSEE, etc. The relevant section here then is:

\HOLD_W4
|_\CONFIG
|_Older

This gets 'em out of your way, but you can still consult them. The system config files show you the alterations made by various program installs. However, this
"history" is not obvious. I agree with whoever suggested annotating the more significant CONFIG.SYS files that have been created on your system, before you reach the
point where you can no longer identify which is which. I do this for ones that were in use for some period of time, and are known to be stable for certain things.
Your comment line should go somewhere within the first screen, and call attention to itself. The line will begin with REM followed by a couple spaces. This marks it
as a Remark, or non-active line, that is for human reference only. Example:

REM *** for W4 Only -- Loads BackMaster drivers ***

This Config file came to be because I've used two different tape backup programs, and their respective drivers would not "play nice" together. At the time, I also had
a bootable Warp 3, gone now and replaced by eCS. It is easier if you keep your REMs to single lines, because you don't want them to wordwrap. You can have a blank
line above &/or below it, to enhance readability.

It is a good idea to gain a working familiarity with your CONFIG.SYS file, because it is very important to the state of your OS/2. One thing that is worth doing is to
set off certain sections, for better reference later. Some install programs will do this with the lines they put in, but you can't depend on it. Such sections would
look something like:

REM *** RSJ lines Begin Here ***
xxx
yyy
REM *** RSJ lines End Here ***

Infrequently, there may be lines whose particular location in the CONFIG.SYS file -- ahead of something, or after something else -- will be important. A very good and
*free* tool for evaluating, setting up, comparing, and organizing your CONFIG.SYS file is CONFIGTOOL, which is available on Hobbes and elsewhere. An updated version
just came out.

Just some ideas.

Jordan

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