                          FIXRAM

     As discussed in QBXMS.TXT, if you're using an extended memory ramdrive,
you may have noticed a tendency for QBXMS programs to leave your ramdrive
directory looking rather garbled.  The program FIXRAM provides a remedy
for that--to a degree.  It will not restore any lost data that you may have
had on the ramdrive before running the QBXMS program.  It will, however,
restore the ramdrive to a nice and clean empty state.

     To operate, FIXRAM assumes you have a hard disk accessible as drive C.
FIXRAM creates the file RAM.FAT on the root directory of drive C.  If you
already have such a file located there from some other application, rename
it before using FIXRAM.  (If this is a big problem, let me know.  I can
easily change the name of the file that FIXRAM creates/accesses.)

     To use FIXRAM, you must first initialize/create the RAM.FAT file.
To do this, make sure your ramdrive is completely empty and that there is
no file named RAM.FAT in C:\ from some other application and then run
FIXRAM (with no command-line arguments).  The file RAM.FAT will be created
in C:\.  This file contains a copy of your empty ramdrive boot sector, the
ramdrive's file allocation table (FAT), and the (empty) root directory data.
Before creating this file, FIXRAM tries to automatically find your ramdrive.
It will succeed if you're using a Microsoft ramdrive.  It may not succeed
if your ramdrive driver isn't from Microsoft.  If FIXRAM detects that it
has failed to identify your ramdrive, it will ask you for the drive letter
for your ramdrive.  (Make absolutely sure you specify the CORRECT LETTER!
If you have inadvertantly run FIXRAM when you aren't using a ramdrive, just
press ENTER in response to the prompt to terminate the program.  Also, I have
NOT tried FIXRAM out on non-Microsoft ramdrives.  Consider this FAIR WARNING
in case your driver isn't from Microsoft.)

     FIXRAM uses the existence of C:\RAM.FAT to determine whether it needs
to create the file (i.e., initialize the ramdrive restoration process) or
whether it is to use the data in that file to restore the integrity of an
empty ramdrive.  Once this file exists and you have run a QBXMS program that
has "trashed" your extended memory ramdrive, run FIXRAM again (with no
command-line arguments) and FIXRAM should restore your ramdrive to its
original empty state.  (If FIXRAM is successful, in either of its usages, it
will give you a message indicating that.  If you don't see such a success-
indicating message, FIXRAM didn't work right.  FIXRAM attempts to detect
such failures.  If it succeeds in such detection, it will give you an error
message.  If you see such indications of failure or don't see the message
indicating success in reading the ramdrive parameters when using FIXRAM to
create C:\RAM.FAT, don't try to use FIXRAM subsequently to restore the
ramdrive.  In such a situation, it's probably a good idea to DELete
C:\RAM.FAT, if it even got created by the failed FIXRAM usage.)

     The file C:\RAM.FAT does not get erased by FIXRAM at any time.  Once
it's created the first time, you can use FIXRAM to read it whenever you
subsequently run a QBXMS program.  (You might want to put the following
command in your AUTOEXEC:

IF NOT EXIST C:\RAM.FAT FIXRAM

However, if your ramdrive isn't created by a Microsoft driver, this
probably wouldn't be that useful because of that prompt for your ramdrive
specifier.  Also, if your AUTOEXEC automatically copies various files to
your ramdrive, put the above command before such copying takes place.
Although, if those files are so important that you want your AUTOEXEC
copying them to the ramdrive, FIXRAM probably isn't all that useful to you;
it won't restore those files after a QBXMS program wipes them out.)
Also, do not do something to change the characteristics of your ramdrive
(such as the number of bytes per sector) in between creating C:\RAM.FAT and
using FIXRAM to restore the empty ramdrive state.  Usually, you can't make
such modifications without rebooting (which is a very good way of restoring
your ramdrive).  However, there are utilities which let you change your
ramdrive structure "on the fly."  If you use such a utility, delete
C:\RAM.FAT (and all files/directories on your ramdrive) and run FIXRAM
again.

For final warnings, do not use FIXRAM if your ramdrive is larger than 32 MB.
(I don't know if that's even possible, but just in case...), and this is
probably another unnecessary warning, but FIXRAM won't work if your DOS
version is less than 3.1--FIXRAM detects these conditions.  (Also, you can
probably use FIXRAM with conventional memory ramdrives, but there's no need
to.  QBXMS programs should not affect them.)  Finally, I have no idea what
FIXRAM might do if you're using one of the alternative DOSes not written by
Microsoft.
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