#Stacker and AutoCAD
4 messages in this thread
Larry,
You mentioned in the DR-DOS thread that you use Stacker. I have just
received a promotional copy of Stacker Version 2.0 (software only version),
with a request that I review the product in the UK User Group Newsletter.
I don't want to risk giving myself grief by installing software I don't
actually need, just to write a review. Does Stacker work OK with AutoCAD?
Does it conflict with other TSRs? Will it work with Disk Manager
partitions? Does it slow AutoCAD down? Is it safe to install? Can it be
easily uninstalled after my review?
Any comments would be welcome
Andrew
Andrew:
I've had STACKER 2.0 (software only) installed on my second physical hard
drive for around three months and on my notebook for around four months.
The installation is a breeze so long as you follow the directions. My
configuration ends up as follows:
Drive C: Non-compressed 90Mb ESDI drive (contains DOS, Acad,
QEMM, Windows, WFW, Excel, etc)
Drive D: Compressed (120Mb of disk space that was compressed
to 240Mb, contains all .dwg files, all DOS app's and
many smaller Windows applets)
Drive E: Non-compressed 40Mb (this is the remainder of the
second physical drive, contains a 24Mb Windows swap
file and all temp files are directed here)
Drive F: PCKwik RAM drive – 1Mb
I've yet to run into any problems. I haved used both QEMM and DOS memory
management without a hitch. The PCKwik cache, RAM disk and print spooler
all run without any conflicts. Windows has never complained. All and all,
I feel very safe with it. If I needed to, I'd even consider using it on my
primary drive as well – so far I haven't needed the free space.
Oh yeah, both drives were un-partitioned, but I do have to use DM to format
drive D: so I can get sector translation.
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I haven't noticed any slowing down, but then most of my access is through
Windows, where I load a file or program into memory and go from there.
Disk access benchmarks are showing less than 8% difference in access times,
but I'm not sure how reliable they are with a compressed disk.
Un-installing or changed the amount of uncompressed space is a
time-consuming process.
Larry
Andrew:
I've been using Stacker 2.0 since the beginning of December. It works fine
with AutoCAD R10 & R11. I can't comment on compatibility with Disk Manager
(don't use it), nor on uninstalling.
My guess is, you won't want to give up the additional disk space.
BTW, I'm using the hardware/software combo, which supposedly improves
performance over a non-Stacker system. While I haven't done any
benchmarks, I haven't seen an appreciable difference one way or the other.
You will, however, find boot time is sometimes *much* longer.
Jeff Hester