 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Uploading dos and dont's for the BBS Colin Lovitt colinl@melbpc.org.au |
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Having had some experience as Files Sysop, and (seems like in an earlier life) with the separate Files BBS which once existed at Melb PC, I thought I'd detail a recent experience and some strongly-held views (some have been unkind enough to inform me that all my views seem strongly held!) about how to ensure that your good deed (uploading files to the BBS) is appreciated by as many fellow members as possible.
Recently, a Melb PC member uploaded the McAfee VirusScan version 3.0.0 suite of programs for Windows 95 to the BBS. It now transpires that he had downloaded a beta version, not the final release. The suite was broken into three parts, apparently intended to allow what was originally about 3 MB to be accessed by floppy.
Unfortunately, the upload was corrupt, probably as a result of some well-intentioned soul having broken up the large .DAT file contained in the suite, unwittingly creating a corruption in the process.
Like many other members, I obsessively check the New Uploads file section for updates to regularly used programs, as well as the latest shareware and freeware tit-bits. I'm on the board fairly often, and it seems to take longer these days for recent uploads to be distributed to their appropriate niche.
The McAfee suite for Win 95 has been installed on my PC since I first installed Win 95. I regularly update with the latest version, formerly v.2.09. When I saw that version 3.0.0 was now on the board, I had to have it, of course! Viewed the WHATSNEW file on the BBS, and saw that there were a number of innovations and improvements, including the creation of a McAfee Emergency Diskette during installation.
Downloaded, extracted the files, and set about installing. Trouble loomed. A message appeared stating that one of the necessary .DLL files was missing. This was a mystery - I had never had a problem, or a missing .DLL with earlier versions of McAfee. But I had to have it on my system, and so soldiered on.
During the creation of the Emergency Diskette, the system locked up. Nothing would unfreeze it (tried Norton's Crashguard, then Ctrl+Alt+Del). Worse, nasty messages appeared when I attempted to reboot into Win 95.
Time to peruse my emergency files, diskettes, etc. But first, booted up in Safe Mode. This worked. Got to the Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs. What purported to be version 3.0.0 was there and was immediately removed. Rebooted, all was well, so I re-installed version 2.09 (I keep copies of my major shareware programs on another drive on the PC, as well as a backup tape). Deleted all traces of the files I had downloaded.
Meanwhile, on the BBS, messages started to appear from members who had had identical problems when attempting installation of the same suite. The sysops removed the offending files, and Peter Teer obtained and uploaded the authentic, untarnished suite which I downloaded and installed without a hitch.
Lesson 1
Make sure you have emergency procedures at your fingertips. As well as a backup of your files, backups of Win 95's registry are available in several forms. You can import a copy of the registry to the desktop, or better still, move it to a folder out of harm's way. You can use the Emergency Recovery Utility (ERU) to create an emergency set of files. ERU is on the Win 95 CD-ROM (OTHER\MISC\ERU folder). I have created a folder under Windows for it, and regularly make copies of the emergency files, saving the most recent on diskette. Then there is CFGBACK, another program found on the CD (OTHER\MISC\CFGBACK), and copied to my Windows folder. It creates up to nine backups of the registry. I keep copies in my Windows folder, and backups on diskette. Finally, there is the Win 95 Startup Disk created when Win 95 is installed, as well as a good old boot disk, with system and other important files. A fella can't be too sure, these days.
Lesson 2
In such a situation, booting to Safe Mode will generally enable repairs to be done. Do them ASAP, and don't be distracted by any other urgent job. Get the system clean and back in working order first.
Lesson 3
When downloading files, if you are not confident of making emergency repairs, wait until recent uploads have been on the board for a safe period. If in doubt, look in Local Message Areas 10 (General), 11 (Help), and 12 (Hints and Tips). If a problem has arisen, it will soon be discussed in one or more of these locations, as it was in this case. From my experience, if the program is not one connected with the Internet, you are more likely to read about it on the board than in melbpc.general.
Lesson 4
The eight step path to happy uploading
- It is not necessary to upload files to the board in order to maintain some
sort of upload/download ratio. Whilst some boards implement such a scheme, we do not. We have the luxury of
thousands of members using the board. Statistically, any new, worthwhile, file or program, from the Net or
elsewhere, will appear with alarming speed on our board. There are many users who conscientiously test and
upload material found from another site.
- When contemplating an upload, ensure that it does not already appear on the
BBS. Do a global search, watching also for a slightly different filename. Above all, do not upload your
favourite program if it has been around for a few months. If it is worth a fig, it will be on the board, and
yours may have even been superseded by a later version (itself probably also uploaded).
- Once satisfied that the file/program does not exist on the BBS, ensure that
the upload is the exact file downloaded from the original site, and has not been tampered with by others,
including sticky fingers at home.
- Under no circumstances should you compile a zipped file or set of files
from a working set installed on your PC. It is likely to contain idiosyncratic configuration files, data,
altered setup files, etc. A quick look at the dates of the files comprising any program on your PC will bear
this out. Furthermore, it may be impossible, once installed, to re-assemble a program to install at all, or
at least in the manner intended by its author. This is particularly the case with programs created for
installation with Win 95's installation wizard.
- Always test the recently downloaded, archived file on your system and only
upload it when satisfied it is in perfect working order.
- Only upload files you have obtained from reliable sources, preferably the
developer, author, a recommended mirror site, or a reliable BBS.
- Avoid being "helpful" by breaking up a large file into sections capable of
fitting on a diskette, or to facilitate downloads by slow modems. If there is any logical reason for this to
be done, it will be done by the sysops. In any case, there are excellent file-splitting utilities on this
board, e.g., HJS, together with the disk-spanning add-on for WinZip, plus PKZip's disk spanning capability.
If the program is simply enormous, and you can't upload it in the two hours allowed per day, then you either
need a faster modem, a better comms setup, or you are attempting to upload the definitive collection of Doom
Wads. (If so, they are probably already on the board anyway!)
- If the file is a beta version, or a time-limited demonstration copy, make sure that you say so in the description you type in when prompted to do so after the upload has been completed. And do try to inform us all, and the sysops in particular, of the full, apt description. "Beaut game" or "Latest version" tells us nothing. Instead give the program's proper title and version number, a summary of the .DIZ file is always a good place to start.
Reprinted from the June 1997 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
