CASE HISTORY # 10   (PART 1)
       by the Disk Doctor


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Copyright (C) 1988,  the Disk Doctor.

First published in the Rochester (PC)^3 News:
   Picture City PC Programming Club
   PO BOX 20342
   Rochester, NY 14602
The Disk Doctor may be contacted at this
address, or via CIS [73147,414].

This material may be reproduced for internal
use by other not-for-profit groups, provided
this copyright notice is included.
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2:15pm
A large shadow advanced across my
keyboard, interrupting my concentration.
"Can you help me?"  I heard a female voice
say.  "My hard disk runs slow."

It was N.  I had helped her with some disk
problems before.  "How's that?" I asked.

"It first I thought it was just me.  But
now I'm certain it's running slower than
before.  When I sort a database, for
example, it takes forever."

"It sounds like you're doing a lot of
random access,"  I remarked.  "I think we
can help you out.  We have the tools.  We
have the technology.  We can make it
better."

"Better?"

"Faster.... Quieter.... More reliable."

"You must be talking about the Six Million
Dollar LAN."

I chuckled. "No.  But I think you need
more cache."

"Well, if you give me a receipt, I can get
a voucher from my boss..."

"No, not $$$ cash, C-A-C-H-E cache!  A
disk cache is a mechanism where the most-
recently used sectors are saved in memory.
If they are needed again, DOS can read
them out of RAM much faster than it can
read them off the disk a second time."

"So how much does that cost?"

"If you install DOS BUFFERS, it doesn't
cost anything.  It's built-in to the
operating system (DOS 2.0 and later
versions).  Just add it to your
CONFIG.SYS."

"What is cunfidgtasis?"

"CONFIG.SYS is a file containing options
that you want installed when DOS first
powers up.  It's similar to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file, but it deals with
different options, like device drivers."

"I know what AUTOEXEC.BAT is, but I never
heard of a device driver."

"Device drivers and CONFIG.SYS options are
explained in your DOS manual under
Advanced Commands.  But don't worry.  You
don't have to understand it all.  It's
very simple to install.  Just edit your
CONFIG.SYS file and add the line
'BUFFERS=20'.  You know how to use EDLIN,
right?"

"Umm.  No."

"Well, here, I'll right down all the
steps.  Just type it in like I say, okay."

     EDLIN CONFIG.SYS
     I       (for Insert mode)
     BUFFERS=20
     ^C      (press Ctrl-ScrollLock)
     E       (exits and saves)

I handed her the piece of paper.  "Then
you have to re-boot your system in order
for this new option to be installed.  Got
it?"

"Got it.  Thanks, Doc."  She rushed out
door, fleeing any further explanations.

I thought to myself that maybe I got too
technical for her.  I try not to be.  But
there is so much power latent in the DOS
operating system. It's really a shame that
more people are not aware of the more
powerful features of DOS.


          (To Be Continued....)