🚀 go-pugleaf

Eddie Feher (edd@werple.apana.org.au) wrote:
: Is there anyone out there who can give me a sample of their "OS2.INI" 
: file ( C:\OS2\OS2.INI ), from their OS/2 system ?
: Somehow I've FUBARed mine !
:  .........

Simon Hempel  <sim@apanix.apana.org.au> reminded Eddie (quite correctly):
: The Warp manual (pages 209 - 210)  says:
: "If you receive a message that the OS2.INI file has been 'corrupted',
: replace both the OS2.INI file and the OS2SYS.INI file on your hard disk.
: Use the following procedure to replace these two files with versions
: containing default values:
: ........."

It might be helpful to add that default versions of the user and 
system INI files (OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI) are copied to the
d:\OS2\INSTALL directory on installation.  They don't need  to be
remade.  The problem at root is that the INI files which OS/2
uses can grow very large, to several MEGAbytes,  over a
surprisingly few work sessions. If it runs out of disk space you
are in trouble.   

Caveat:  My comments and solution to the problem works with 
OS/2 vers 2.x. I do not know about vers. 3 (WARP).  It may 
handle the user and system INI files differently, but I doubt 
it.  (If I'm wrong, perhaps some friendly OS/2 user will put 
me straight, ;-)
 
But you don't have to spend your valuable working time 
reconstructing default user and system INI files.  Or risk
harming your sanity .....

    Bolting the stable door before the OS/2 goes.
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There is a better way of realising a stable and reliable OS/2 
than the accepted wisdom of backing-up the user and system  INI
files on startup, as given in IBM's documentation and the 
literature.  The trick is to do the opposite and copy from 
backups prepared previously to the INI files at the start of 
CONFIG.SYS, ie.

       RUN=d:\OS2\XCOPY.EXE d:\OS2\OS2*.INX d':\OS2\*.INI

(for d: insert the drives appropriate to your system, d': will, 
of course, be the drive indicated as the location of the INI 
files by the SET_USER and SET_SYSTEM statements in CONFIG.SYS.  
It is assumed that the AC: parameter of DISKCACHE has been set 
to carry out a CHKDSK of the drives on startup.)

* Advertisement*  Renewing the user and system INI files on 
startup will ensure a tidy and fully operational desktop - 
every time!  Automatic and painless recovery from crashes is 
assured and the INI files will begin each work session lean 
and fit as nature intended.  And you don't need a stack of 
backups.

IBM's recommended procedure, in contrast, leaves in place the 
flotsam of past activity and any corruption of the INI files 
from a previous crash.  The flotsam and corruption is copied 
to the backup files.  Bloated with rubbish and wasted space, 
the INI files and their backups can grow very large, from 
around 50Kb to several MEGAbytes.  The likely cause, I believe, 
of many a system crash.

Prepare the backup or, more appropriately, master INI files as 
follows:

1.  Arrange your desktop, startup folder and applications as you 
intend them to be on startup.

2.  Use an INI maintenance or cleanup utility - such as the 
share/freeware CopyINI, WPSBackup or INIMT21B (see OS2FAQ, 
release 2.1e) - to restore them to their pristine minimal size.  
Alternatively, you could start afresh with the default INI
files from d:\OS2\INSTALL or, using MAKEINI, painstakingly
rebuild your working desktop to obtain uncluttered INI files (as
described in the manual). 

3.  Use the utility to copy the INI files to the INX backup/masters.  
Alternatively, get CONFIG.SYS to do it for you - right at the 
beginning add a copy statement to make backups of the INI files 
as per the manual, then shutdown and reboot.  REM the copy statement, 
if you change the desktop you will need it again.

4.  Add the statement, given at the beginning of this article, to 
CONFIG.SYS to copy from the masters to the INI files on startup.

If you change the desktop you will need to repeat steps 2 and 3.

Finally, an additional safeguard in the event of a catastrophic 
failure is to place a statement in either CONFIG.SYS or STARTUP.CMD 
to copy the master INX files to the reserve INI files held in 
d:\OS2\INSTALL.  [ALT]+[F1] on boot will then restore the desktop to 
what it was before the sky fell on you, instead of the minimal default 
desktop created at installation. 

Bye, may your God be with you ...

Peter Curtis  <pcurtis@sitruc.win-uk.net>