Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!mimsy!oddjob!gargoyle!ihnp4!homxb!whuts!tes From: tes@whuts.UUCP (STERKEL) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: PK ARC, Another View Message-ID: <2406@whuts.UUCP> Date: Wed, 15-Jul-87 07:28:16 EDT Article-I.D.: whuts.2406 Posted: Wed Jul 15 07:28:16 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jul-87 04:00:36 EDT References: <287@cpsc6b.cpsc6a.att.com*<206900061@mirror> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 54 Keywords: WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING In article <206900061@mirror>, jvc@mirror.UUCP writes: * *>Another thing to watch out for is that PKXARC has trouble de-archiving *>files that have been corrupted in transmission...hung my machine every *>time. But dig out ARC and what happens? It unpacks what it can and *>has a nice error message saying that the archive is corrupt. And it *> James Krause * *All at once now, * PLEASE STATE VERSION NUMBERS!!!!! OK!....! WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING PKARC 3.5 and PKXARC 3.5 (the latest) hangs my machine so bad that not even my "cboot" or my "little red switch (boots without dis- turbing memory)" CANNOT FIX. I LOOSE HOURS OF WORK IN RAMDISK. WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING DO NOT USE PKARC (ANY VERSION) OR PKXARC (ANY VERSION) IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN RAMDISK. THE MOST MINOR CORRUPTION WILL HANG YOUR MACHINE SO BAD THAT YOU MUST TURN OFF THE POWER. Other sins of PK* not found in SEA ARC: 1: Random incompatibility with LIM EMS 2: Random inability to determine how much memory is available 3: Incompatible with some write-through cache programs 4: Will not check if something has been previously archived and will re-archive. The user is left with the exercise of figuring out how "deep" the re-re-re-archiving got. My machines: at home I have an IBM PC-1 (64K Motherboard) at work I have an AT&T 6300 old model My environment: very little TRS, especially due to PK* getting confused about memory available. PCDOS 3.2 at home, MSDOS 2.11 at work My testing: insertion/removal of TRS, different config.sys,. different PCDOS versions, enabling/disabling EMS, different cache programs, editing one (1) byte of *.ARC file to see how minor a flaw will cause the fragile PK* to hang the PC, etc, etc. All in all, PK* is very fast and poorly engineered for the reality of PC computing. PC computing is notorious for the lack of standards and incompatibilities. The caveat emptor attitude of people selling programs continues to disturb me. (ooops, I got on that soap box again) -- Terry Sterkel {clyde|harvard|cbosgd|allegra|ulysses|ihnp4}!whuts!tes [opinions are obviously only my own]