Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!husc6!panda!genrad!decvax!decwrl!sun!imagen!atari!apratt
From: apratt@atari.UUcp (Allan Pratt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Re: Hard disk questions
Message-ID: <503@atari.UUcp>
Date: Wed, 31-Dec-86 14:01:14 EST
Article-I.D.: atari.503
Posted: Wed Dec 31 14:01:14 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 31-Dec-86 22:37:11 EST
References: <1982@ptsfa.UUCP>
Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 39

ptsfa!jmc writes:

> I've backed up my hard disk (~45 folders) to floppies using MichTron's
> Backup utility (another ~45 folders on various floppies) with no ill
> affects. I believe the problem is with GEM / desktop.

You are wrong.  

The problem is not with GEM / desktop, the problem is in a limited-
resource manager in GEMDOS.  I cannot stress this enough.  If you can
live on the edge, with all your hard-disk files in mortal danger of
erasure (well, the directories & FAT, anyway), that's your business.
I choose not to, and urge others to do the same.

> The problem is also with Atari who refuses to tell us when they will
> fix this (and other) problems except to say "we're working on it"
> and "real soon now" and "the check is in the mail".

We "refuse" to tell you because we do not know. We ARE working on it.
I am personally working on it (all of GEMDOS).  So are other people.
We are also working on a lot of other things.  Since this problem is
not a showstopper -- you are able to use your machine -- we don't feel
that fixing it alone warrants a new ROM release.  In addition, this
problem reaches to the very core of GEMDOS, and fixing it (and other
GEMDOS irregularities) entails a complete rewrite.  Adding blt
(blitter) support, for example, does NOT entail a complete rewrite
(just the conversion of software-blt code in the LINE-A interface to
hardware-blt).

Please, PLEASE stop spreading rumors to the effect that there is no
limit on the number of folders you can safely have on your hard disk.
There is a limit.  Its parameters are nondeterministic, but we have
determined that 40 is a safe number.  If you lose your files and you
had more than 40 folders on your disk, WE TOLD YOU SO.

/----------------------------------------------\
| Opinions expressed above ARE those of Atari  |  -- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp.
| Corp. and should be those of everyone else.  |     ...lll-lcc!atari!apratt
\----------------------------------------------/