THD ProScan version 7 --------------------- Uses Less Memory... ------------------- THD ProScan Version 7 represents some major code changes from version 6. The most noted of them being reduced memory usage. During shells to the various utilities, it will release all but about 5k of it's memory to the other processes. Runs Faster... -------------- It also runs slightly faster on complex directory structures. (In the case of my two "serious test files", it did in fact run in 75% of the time used by version 6). It is unlikely the average user will ever notice this improvement as they would be unlikely to ever encounter a file so complex as the test files. But will run noticeably faster on archives which contain many files due to a better archive identification screening process. Tests Further... ---------------- The next improvement has been the increased ability to test imbedded archives. Test files which were previously designed to exceed the limits of tester as a means of seeing how far the tester would go, now pass testing by version 7 without incident. In fact, one file which made it through about 30% of it's imbedded files with version 6 now can be tested 100% with version 7. It was also apparent in this test that it could have continued imbedded testing far beyond the limits of that file. Saves The Original Archive's Date and Time... --------------------------------------------- Previous versions would allow the archivers and various test processes to change the time stamp of the test archive. In this version the date/time will be saved and restored at the end of testing, thus compensating for any uncontrollable changes. PKZIP's AV Protection is No Longer Optional... ---------------------------------------------- Previously the option to not change PkZip's "AV" protected files has been optional. Because of the tendency of adding or removing files from this type of archive to corrupt results of the CRC test, files will no longer be added to or removed from "AV" protected "ZIP" files. (File comments will still be stripped and/or changed.) Also a problem in the "AV" identification process for PkZip's 204 series has been repaired in version 7 of THD ProScan. File Removal from a List of Files... ------------------------------------ THD ProScan Version 7 now supports the use of a "list" for removing files from archives. Comments from a number of sysops have said that they routinely encounter many more files that they would like to have removed than could be removed by the previous process. The install will ask if you prefer the old method or if you would like to use a list. Note that if using a previous configuration, you will not be prompted unless you choose to change the "K" option from the first finishing screen. Improved Interaction with TBSCAN... ---------------------------------- The command line passsed to TBSCAN is now 100% compatible with TBSCAN 6+. The "fix" (THD61PCH) did allow version 6 to work with THD Proscan however it only worked in a limited capacity. This version fixes those limitations. TBSCAN versions prior to 6 are no longer supported. Incomplete Log Entries Accounted For... --------------------------------------- In version 6, the introduction of temporary logs also introduced "orphaned log entries". These entries would be temp logs created which were never appended to the final log file due to a runtime or other unexplainable error. Version 6 simply created a new temporary log and the old one was lost. Version 7 now searches for orphaned temp logs and appends them on the next run with a notice to the sysop that the entry is incomplete and the sysop should attempt to ascertain what happened. Ability To Change The Order Of Chosen Drives... ----------------------------------------------- One sysop asked if THD ProScan could use a "Ramdisk" to further increase the speed. While it has always been able to do this, it would almost never happen, since the ramdrive would almost always be the last of the drives to be detected. THD ProScan attempts to use the drives in the order that they appear in the installation. So in this release a minor change will allow the order of found drives to be reversed, and another option to "rotate" the sequence of the drives. But keep in mind that the ramdisk must be initialized during the installation in order to be detected. Imbedded "GIF" and "TD0" problem fixed... ----------------------------------------- In version 6, GIF and TD0 files which were found internally to valid archives were not removed immediately after testing. This caused version 6 to find them again and retest them eternally. Thus effectively locked up the system. (The test would eventually end with a runtime error but it could take an extremely long time.) GIF and TD0 files are now deleted immediately after passing the CRC check. (Thanks to Don Johnson for reporting this.)