SCOUG OS/2 For You - April 1998

by Steve Schiffman, Network SIG Leader

I came across a nifty utility on the OS/2 Warp News and Rumors internet page located at:

http://www.hartnell.cc.ca.us/hacnc/altos/OS2News.html

This handy utility can help you install OS/2 fixpaks without creating floppy disks to do the install. The utility package is in a file named FASTKICK.ZIP and can be downloaded from Hobbes in the /pub/os2/system/patches/fixpack directory.

The Fastkick utility package provides a program that will unpack each of the FixPak diskette image files into a subdirectory. You do not need to create physical diskettes. The result is that all of the files required to do a FixPak install are all on a harddisk drive in one big subdirectory (and a couple of sub-subdirectories).

A FIX.CMD file executes the SERVICE program with special parameters that tell it that all of the files required for the FixPak install are all in one directory. The SERVICE function then runs just as if you were running it from diskette, but you don't have to insert and remove those 18 or 35 diskettes. The directory where the Fastkick and the FixPak files are stored can be on a local harddrive or on a network attached (LAN) drive. The result is the same.

From the README

All you need is this package, a FixPak, and some space on your harddisk. To apply a fixpak follow those steps:

• Unzip the contents of FASTKICK.ZIP into subdirectory of your choice.
• Unpack all the images of the FixPak to this subdirectory using the DIUNPACK utility program. Simply run DIUNPACK once for each disk image.
• Run FIX.CMD which starts the SERVICE process
• Complete the normal FixPak installation.

If you would like some help in installing the current FixPak on your system, the SCOUG Help Desk and Installation Workshop can assist you. SCOUG provides this assistance on the 3rd Monday evening of the month at our new SIG meeting location. For complete directions see page 4.

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