SENSATION! (250-1650/51) External Floppy Drive Faxback Doc. # 2616 Adding the 5.25" External Floppy Drive 250-1087 There are two procedures which can be used to install the 250-1087. A. (preferred) Uses the new version of EXTSETUP.COM. Installs the external floppy as drive B:. B. Uses the original version of EXTSETUP.COM. Installs the external floppy as drive D:. A. The latest version of EXTSETUP.COM has a file size of 53,612 and is dated 07-12-93 2:09p. This driver properly installs the external floppy as drive B:. 1. Run EXTSETUP.COM from the floppy disk. The following files are added to the root directory of the hard drive: EXTDRVR.SYS EXTFMT.COM EXTDRIVE.COM BACKFMT.COM The following line is added to the end of the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=C:\EXTDRVR.SYS B: The external floppy can be used as drive B: unless a second floppy drive is already installed. Note: It is not necessary to change the CMOS setup for the external floppy drive, as it is not controlled by the floppy drive controller. This latest version of EXTSETUP.COM can be sent out from Radio Shack Product Support Center. B. Install using original version of EXTSETUP.COM. There is a drive designation conflict when the 250-1087 is added to the Sensation! using the original driver. The specific problem is that the external floppy drive, when installed, will be configured as drive D:, moving the CD-ROM to drive E:. The reason for this is that the external floppy drive's drivers are loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. There is no option to designate which drive letter will be used by the external floppy drive. The CD-ROM driver, loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, will check all drive designations and configure the CD-ROM drive for the next available drive letter, which is E:. The external floppy as drive D: and the CD-ROM as drive E: will cause problems with the WinMate software, as some of the WinMate applica- tions expect the CD-ROM drive to be drive D:. 1. Run EXTSETUP.COM from the floppy disk included with the 250-1087. The following files are added to the root directory of the hard drive: EXTDRVR.SYS EXTFMT.COM EXTDRIVE.COM BACKFMT.COM The following line is added to the end of the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=C:\EXTDRVR.SYS The external drive will be drive D: because its driver is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. The MSCDEX.EXE file, which activates the CD-ROM, is loaded later in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The CD-ROM is now drive E:. The WinMate software is hard-coded to look to drive D: for the CD-ROM. There are 2 work-arounds to resolve the drive conflict issue. The first (preferred) uses the file DEV.COM to load the external floppy's driver in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The second uses the ASSIGN command to reassign the drive letters. The following steps describe the work-around using DEV.COM. 1. Copy DEV.COM from the floppy disk to the directory containing the external floppy's files. Example: COPY A:DEV.COM C:\ 2. Edit the CONFIG.SYS file and remove the line that reads: DEVICE=C:\EXTDRVR.SYS 3. Edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add the following line directly above the line "if exist c:\windows\win.com c:\windows\win.com": C:\DEV=C:\EXTDRVR.SYS Note: The DEV.COM line must be loaded after all loadhigh command lines. Adding the DEV.COM line prior to any "loadhigh" statements will cause the CPU to lock up. 4. Reboot the computer and verify that the external floppy is now drive E: and the CD ROM drive is still D:. The following steps describe the work-around using the ASSIGN command. Note: DOS 6.x does not include the ASSIGN command. To use this method under DOS 6.x, it is necessary to first obtain the ASSIGN command and copy it to the DOS directory. Add it to the SETVER table by typing the following at the command prompt: SETVER ASSIGN.COM x.x x.x is the DOS version from which ASSIGN.COM was obtained. 1. Add the following line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, right after the MSCDEX command line: ASSIGN D=E E=D 2. Verify that the drive re-assignment has worked by typing: ASSIGN /S You should see the following: Original D: set to E: Original E: set to D: Note: In Windows File Manager, the drive icons will not correctly indicate the type of drive being accessed. The affected icons are: Drive D: which is a CD-ROM will have a hard drive icon. Drive E: which is a 5.25" floppy will have a CD-ROM icon. This method should only be used as a temporary work-around until the latest EXTSETUP.COM is obtained. Before installing the new drivers, remove the external floppy's files from the hard drive, and delete the appropriate line from the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Special note: If DoubleSpace has been installed, the original driver will work fine with no work-arounds if DBLSPACE.SYS is loaded before EXTDRVR.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file. The external floppy will assume the next available drive letter (drive I:) after the DoubleSpace host drive, which is drive H: by default. (sm/rl-5/26/94)