Liberty Basic is develeopped by Carl Gundel
Original Newsletter compiled by Alyce Watson and Brosco
Translation to HTML: Raymond Roumeas

Brosco's Liberty Basic Newsletter - Issue #5 - May 98

 
 

In this issue

  1. Backups for dummies.
 

Sorry, not calling anyone a dummy - just plagiarising the title from a well known book series!

****************
 
    I tried to catch the chips off guard,
    and pressed again, but twice as hard,
    I pleaded with the cursed machine: 
    I begged and cried and then I swore.
 
    Now in mighty desperation, 
 
    trying random combinations
    Still there came the incantation, 
    just as senseless as before.
    Cursor blinking, angrily winking, 
    blinking nonsense as before,
    Reading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore"

As many of you are aware - I had a tiny bit of bother with my PC last week and managed to lose 1.2 gigabytes of data! Although this has certainly created a great inconvenience, there were a number of things that I do as a matter of course that at least allowed me to be "up and running" within two hours of the disaster - albeit with many items still missing.

The following exercise will minimise the impact, should you also be unfortunate enough to have a disaster like mine.

Tools Needed:

2-3 hours of uninterupted free time

1 or 2 boxes of blank floppy disks

a small 'spiral' bound notebook.

You will be using the notebook to record crucial information about your PC. When I ask you to record something, only write on one side of a page, and always start a new topic on a new page. This will leave space for adding new information when you upgrade parts of your PC.

It will also allow you to 'tear' out a page out if you remove a component from your PC.

**** Step 1.

Turn on your PC, and while it is going through the Power On Self Test - press the 'Del' key so that you can examine the CMOS settings. Select the first menu item so that you can display your hard disk settings

RECORD in your notebook the CYLINDERS, HEADS and SECTORS for each hard disk installed. Even though your PC may have 'Auto Detect Hard Disk' and you never have to type this information into your PC, there may become a time when you need to install the hard disk on a different PC. That PC may not have the 'Auto Detect' feature - and so you will need to know this info.

**** Step 2.

Format all the blank floppy disks. I know that the box claims "Pre-formatted and 100% certified" but the best way to make a RELIABLE floppy, is to format it on your own disk drive. And format them all - not just a few. Place the blank 'sticky' label on each disk after it has been formatted. This will indicate to you that:

a) it has been formatted, and,

b) that it is empty

If the disks are provided with little plastic packets, throw the packets away! The packets may be good for keeping out dust, but unfortunately the plastic 'sweats' and the moisture will make your floppies useless.

**** Step 3

Now let's look at what you have installed on your PC. First the operating system - lets assume Win95. When you first installed Win95, you had to type in a product serial number, in the form of: xxxxx-OEM-xxxxxxx-xxxxx. This number is conveniently placed on the front of the totally useless manual that came with the installation kit.

Record this number in the notebook. If you have other software that needs a product number or registration key - record these in the notebook as well - put each one on a separate page - and put a heading on the page indicating the software title.

**** Step 4

Next, your Internet installation. Record your Userid, Password and ISP phone number on a new page of the notebook. Also on this page, record:

Primary DNS
Secondary DNS
Mail Server Name
News Server Name
Proxy Server and port (if applicable)

If you are unsure how to obtain this info, or how to re-enter it if you need to reinstall - send me an email and I will send you detailed instructions. But ask me NOW! It will be too late after your PC has died!

**** Step 5

Now let us have a look at the applications. We will use Liberty Basic for this example.

If you downloaded LB from Carl's site, copy the ZIP file onto a floppy disk. Details for copying files, creating ZIPs, etc. are below. If you have a registered version of LB, record your runtime PASSWORD in the notebook.

Hopefully, when you write your own programs or when you download from the LB sites, you create subdirectories to store them. By doing this, you will only need to back up the subdirectories - because nothing in the LB main directory will change.

Backup each of the subdirectories onto a floppy disk.

Repeat this step for each application installed. Obviously, you only need to backup directories where data changes.

*****************************
Creating backups:

I use WinZip for creating backups. There are many other ZIP type products - but I like this product. It is easy to use, plus it installs itself as part of Windows Explorer - this makes it very easy to create all your backups while browsing your hard drive. Simply click on the file(s) or directory(s) that you want to backup - then Right-Click to bring up the Explorer's subMenu and click on 'Add to Zip'. In the Winzip Dialog window, type in: a:lbprogs.zip (use descriptive names) and press enter.

Copying files:
 

In explorer, click on the file(s) that you want to copy, then right-click to get the subMenu - click on "Send To..." and select "A: Floppy Disk".

Files larger than 1.4Mb:
 

To Backup files larger than the capacity of your floppy disk, you will need to ZIP them. WinZip will use multiple floppy disks if necessary to store the data.

Zip files larger than 1.4Mb:
 

It is OK to run WinZip against an existing Zip file. It wont compress the file any further, but it will create a multi-volume floppy for you.

****************************
Ways to avoid disasters.
 

With Windows 95, there is a Registry File that contains all sorts of system information for Win95 and Win95 applications.

There are a number of shareware and freeware utilities around that promise you improved performance by manipulating various registry settings. Unless you are a very experienced user, AVOID THESE LIKE THE PLAGUE!! The slightest error in the Registry File can make Win95 totally inoperable. Gaining a few extra microseconds of throughput is hardly worth the hours you may need to spend if they screw up!

Install a Virus Checker.

It is a very sad fact that there are many CyberVandals out there. The worst thing is that you have to be extremely clever to create and distribute a virus. It is a pity that talents like this are being used in such a negative way.

And everytime a new version of a Virus checker comes out, the vandals find ways to 'improve' their virus so that it can't be detected. You need to upgrade your virus checker to the latest version REGULARLY.

Storing your Floppy disks.
 

At one stage in my career I lived and worked in Singapore. There, the temperature is 32 degrees Celsius (approx 88F) all year long. The real problem though was the humidity. Living in Singapore is like living in a sauna! Floppy disks, cassette tapes, video cassettes, etc. would grow mold within 4 to 5 weeks if left exposed to this humidity - and they would become useless. All these items had to be stored in an airconditioned room. If you dont have access to an airconditioned room - at least put some silicone crystals in your Floppy disk storage container. These absorb the moisture that's in the air and prevents it from settling on your precious data. Depending on the climate where you live, these crystals will need to be replaced on a regular basis. In Singapore - that was every few days - here in Canberra its every few months.

Get a proper storage container for your floppies. NEVER stack the floppies on a pile on your desktop. The weight of the floppies can damage the ones near the bottom of the pile. NEVER use a rubber band to bundle a group of floppies together. The pressure exerted by the rubber band can also cause damage.

Protecting your PC.

Have you ever noticed that electric lights in your home rarely fail while they are already switched on - its always just as you turn them on that they fail! It is the sudden surge of electric current that does the damage. Once the equipment has stablized its operating temperature and the electric current has settled to exactly what is required - everything ticks along just fine. Your PC is exactly the same. The most likely component to fail is the power supply - and that will happen when you hit the power-on button. I leave my PC turned on 24 hours a day. This costs me an extra $2 a month on my electric bill - not a bad investment in my way of thinking!

This has a second benefit as well. By leaving the PC turned on,

your floppy disk drive and CDRom drive will be slightly warmer

than the surrounding air. This prevents moisture settling on

the read/write heads.

 

 
 
PC Magazines

I regularly purchase PC Magazines - often they don't even get read. The reason I buy them is for the CDRom that's stuck to the cover. By doing this, I get access to the latest version of Netscape, WinZip, MacAfee AntiVirus, etc. It saves me performing massive downloads - plus it gives me a very safe backup for these programs. In Australia - I tend to purchase every issue of:

Australian Personal Computer - at AUS$6.95 (About US$4.50) it is a very small monthly outlay for such a reliable backup medium.

This is where I managed to find Liberty Basic - so it has definitely been worthwhile for me!


Newsletter written by: Brosco. Comments, requests or corrections to: brosco@orac.net.au Translated from Australian to English by an American: Alyce Watson. Thanks Alyce.