                            Norton Utilities
                              Version 7.0

                             by Tony Curro


    In 1982, Peter Norton released the first version of his utilities.
    Actually, then, it contained one program named UNERASE. Since then,
    he has added, or improved, on features with each release. His latest
    version of, Norton Utilities version 7.0, has been released. There
    are several new and improved features in this release. Many, are for
    DOS 6, which NU 7.0 fully supports. Others are for all users, and
    there is additional support for Stacker and SuperStor users.

    Installation is the same as all Norton products. The interface has
    not changed. However, I did run into a problem when I first
    installed it. It asked for Disk 2, and NONE of the disks is labeled
    numerically. The first disk, understandably, is INSTALL. Since there
    are only three disks, in the 3.5 version, I inserted the disk
    labeled UTILITIES. This turned out to be disk 3. The only other disk
    I had, which is EMERGENCY-DATA RECOVERY, turned out to be the
    elusive disk 2. They should have either labeled them numerically, or
    asked for them by name rather than number. NU 7.0 requires
    approximately 3MB hard disk space for a full installation. You
    should let the program create a RESCUE DISK when you are asked.

    There are several options which you can choose to have loaded for
    you. Two of them are: NCACHE and NDOS. The first is a SMARTDRIVE
    replacement, while the second is a DOS add-on. NDOS, is  a version
    of the popular 4DOS program. Through licensing, Norton has supplied
    this in his last two release. It adds quite a few commands to DOS,
    and simplifies your everyday tasks. NCACHE also works seamlessly,
    and maybe even better than Windows Smart Drive.

    Benefits for DOS 6.0 users:
	* Extends automatic data recovery protection to compressed drives.
	* Norton Disk Doctor contains nine automated repair functions 
    specific to compressed drives.
	* Speed Disk is the only utility available for defragmentation of 
    both standard and compressed drives.
	* Rescue and Restore automatically recreate lost CMOS 
    configurations.

    All the utilities work well with DOS 5, and with those users who do
    not use Stacker, DoubleSpace, SuperStor, etc. It is nice to have the
    added features for DOS 6 and compressed drives even you do not
    currently use it.

    NU7.0 automatically recovers lost, damaged and crosslinked files on:
    DOS 6 DoubleSpace, Stacker and SuperStor compressed drives. In
    addition, the Enhanced Disk Editor includes Advanced Recovery Mode
    (ARM) which enables never before possible recovery of data from hard
    drives whose system areas have been physically damaged.

    UnErase, File Fix, Norton Cache and Disk Editor have been improved.
    Support for large hard disks of up to 2 gigabytes has been added.
    Added also is, advanced network support including data recovery and
    repair on network drives.

    Other features include One-Pass Diskette Duplication, which allows
    you to copy a whole floppy, without having to switch source and
    target several times.

    One of the new features that greatly impressed me was Hardware
    Diagnostics. It told me everything, except what I had for breakfast.
    Diagnostics test your: memory (conventional, extended and expanded),
    system board, serial and parallel ports, video, hard and floppy
    drives, and many other features. Ordering the optional, and free,
    port terminators, allow you to run loop-back test on both serial and
    parallel ports.

    Overall I was satisfied with the product. Then again, I have been
    using Norton Products (Utils, Desktop Windows and Backup) for quite
    some time, and am always eager to get a new release from them.
    Registered users can upgrade for $49.


                          Product Information

                            Norton Utilities
                              Version 7.0

                          List Price -- $179.

                          Symantec Corporation
                           10201 Torre Avenue
                        Cupertino, CA 95014-2132
                              408-253-9600
                           408-252-4694 (FAX)
