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      STACKER NOTE                                         STACKER NOTE
                              UNCOMPRESS FAILS
                          (Applies to Stacker 4.0)
      STAC FAX  4609 (06-17-1994)
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      BACKGROUND
      
      UNCOMP.EXE uncompresses the Stacker drives you designate. It
      usually causes the Stacker Optimizer, SDEFRAG, to run prior to
      uncompressing the drive. If UNCOMP fails to uncompress a drive,
      determine where the error occurred, and then address the problem
      itself. Note: make sure you are logged off all networks before
      uncompressing a Stacker drive.
      
      SOLUTION
      
         - Determine where the error occurred.
         - Determine the specific error message, if any.
         - Address the specific error.
           
      Determine where the error occurred
      
      You can tell whether UNCOMP or SDEFRAG is running by looking at
      the title bar at the top of the screen. When UNCOMP is running,
      "UNCOMP" is displayed at the right end of the title bar. When
      SDEFRAG is running, "Stacker Optimizer" is displayed at the right
      end of the title bar. Note which title is displayed when the
      error occurs. Also, most SDEFRAG errors prominently display an
      error message "SDEFRAG error nnn...".
      
      Determine the specific error message, if any
      
      The SDEFRAG error message and number may translate to a specific
      solution. If you receive such an error message, write it down. If
      the process fails without an error message, then the system may
      have "hung", or "looped" back out to the DOS prompt. A "hang" is
      when the system seems to freeze at some point, and no further
      disk activity takes place. A "loop" is when the utility seems to
      be behaving normally, and then suddenly returns you to the DOS
      prompt without completing its function. In these cases, note what
      is on the screen when the hang occurs, or what was going on just
      before you were returned to the DOS prompt.
      
      Address the specific error:
      
      If the error occurs during UNCOMP
      
      Errors during UNCOMP may have a specific error message, or may
      display only hanging or looping behavior. Most of the error
      messages are self-explanatory. Some typical messages or error
      conditions and their solutions are listed below.
      
       1.  If UNCOMP returns you to the DOS prompt without
           uncompressing the Stacker drive (loops), download the file
           UNCMP4.EXE from the Stacker Bulletin Board (BBS), America On-
           Line, or Compuserve. See the booklet "How to Reach Stac" for
           further information on these services. UNCMP4.EXE is a self-
           extracting compressed file. When you receive the file, place
           it in a temporary subdirectory (not the STACKER directory),
           and run it. Copy the files UNCOMP2.EXE and SDEFRAG2.EXE to
           the STACKER directory then run UNCOMP again.
       2.  If UNCOMP hangs while uncompressing files, you may have to
           restart your system to regain control. If so, you will
           probably see the error message "Size Mismatch - Write
           Protected" during restart. You Stacker drive is partially
           uncompressed and is not the size that its control
           information indicates. Stacker detects this condition, and
           places a Write Protect on the drive to prevent any damage.
           If this occurs, try the following:
           a. Run UNCOMP again. Often UNCOMP will simply start up where
           it left off, and will finish uncompressing the drive.
           b. Unhide the Stacvol file, defragment the physical drive,
           then run UNCOMP again. Type STACKER <enter> and locate the
           line with information about the Stacvol file. For example:
           Drive C was drive C at boot time [ D:\STACVOL.DSK = 123.4MB
           ]. Note the drive letter and filename in brackets. Insert
           Stacker disk # 2 into its drive, change to that drive and
           type: SATTRIB -S -H -R D:\STACVOL.DSK. Then defragment the D
           drive with a program like Norton Speedisk or DOS 6's DEFRAG.
           Do a full optimization. Note that DEFRAG is on DOS Setup
           Disk # 1. Then run UNCOMP C: from Stacker Disk # 2.
           c. If UNCOMP still fails to continue, examine the space
           available on the uncompressed drive. If there is sufficient
           space on the uncompressed drive to hold the files that
           remain on the Stacker drive, simply copy (or XCOPY) the
           files from the Stacker drive to the uncompressed drive. Then
           you may remove the Stacker drive by using the REMOVDRV
           command. From the Stacker directory type REMOVDRV drive:,
           where drive: is the letter of the Stacker drive. Note that
           using REMOVDRV deletes all data on the Stacker drive. So
           make sure that you successfully copied the data to another
           drive before running REMOVDRV.
           d. If the options above do not succeed, contact Stac Product
           Support Services for assistance. Product support is
           available through Compuserve, America On-Line, the Stac BBS,
           or by telephone. See the booklet "How to Reach Stac" for
           details.
       3.  Error message: "Drive x: is not a Stacker Drive." Run the
           Stacker drive map to ensure you are trying to uncompress a
           Stacker drive. View the map by typing STACKER <enter> at the
           DOS prompt. A Stacker drive is any drive that has brackets
           after the drive with information about a STACVOL file. For
           example:
           Drive C was drive C at boot time [D:\STACVOL.DSK=123.4MB]
           Also, make sure you are logged off all networks.
       4.  Error Message: "The Stacker drive x: contains more data than
           will fit on its host drive. You must delete about nnn Kbytes
           before uncompressing."  You have installed more programs and
           data on your drive than it will physically hold when
           uncompressed. Back up sufficient files and delete them from
           the drive before running UNCOMP again.
       5.  Error Message: "There is insufficient free space on the
           uncompressed drive x: to uncompress this drive. You must
           free up at least nnn Kbytes on the uncompressed drive, or
           roughly twice that amount on the Stacker drive, and re-run
           UNCOMP." There is insufficient "elbow room" on the
           uncompressed drive to uncompress the Stacker drive.
           Sometimes freeing up the designated space on the Stacker
           drive will not defeat this error message. In this case, type
           SDEFRAG /GP <enter> at the DOS prompt. Select the Stacker
           drive you are trying to uncompress, and choose the option
           "More uncompressed Space Available". The drive will then be
           defragmented. When you are presented with the option of how
           much space to make uncompressed, insert a number larger than
           the one in the error message. Allow the changes to be made
           and restart the system. UNCOMP should now run successfully.
       6.  Error Message: "There are errors on the Stacker Drive.
           Please run CHKDSK or some other disk repair utility before
           uncompressing." Stacker protects your data by refusing to
           run UNCOMP or SDEFRAG on a drive that has errors. Run CHKDSK
           /F, or a disk repair utility such as Norton Disk Doctor or
           PC Tools DiskFix against the drive. Note: If you are using
           Norton version 7 or 8, run Disk Doctor with the /NOCOMP
           option. See your Norton Utilities documentation or StacFax
           4408 for more information.
       7.  Error Message: "Unable to uncompress Write-protected drives.
           Please run CHECK to correct errors before uncompressing." In
           order for CHECK to remove a write-protect, it must be run
           with the /F option i.e. CHECK /F <enter>.
           
      If the error occurs during SDEFRAG
      
       1.  If the system is restarted during SDEFRAG, you will receive
           the error message "Restart during Optimize Detected..." The
           error message also reports whether the drive is Write
           Protected or Not Mounted. If the drive is Write Protected,
           see StacFax 4704, or Chapter 5 of your Stacker User's Guide.
           If the drive is Not Mounted, see StacFax 4705, or Chapter 5
           of your Stacker User's Guide.
       2.  If you receive the error message, SDEFRAG Error 101,
           Insufficient Memory, see StacFax 4605.
       3.  If you receive an SDEFRAG Error 109, 110, 120 or 170, see
           StacFax 4407.
       4.  If you receive an SDEFRAG Error 157, Internal Error,
           download the file UNCMP4.EXE from the Stacker Bulletin Board
           (BBS), America On-Line, or Compuserve. See the booklet "How
           to Reach Stac" for further information on these services.
           UNCMP4.EXE is a self-extracting compressed file. When you
           receive the file, place it in a temporary subdirectory (not
           the STACKER directory), and run it. Copy the files
           UNCOMP2.EXE and SDEFRAG2.EXE to the STACKER directory then
           run UNCOMP again.
       
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      Copyright 1994 Stac Electronics
