Top Ten MS-DOS 6 Features Page 2 - more - MS-DOS 6 Operating System Version 6.0 Upgrade Top Ten Features DoubleSpace "The easy way to double your disk." Every time you save information to your hard disk whether you're saving a file, installing a new program or copying files from another PC the MS-DOS operating system version 6.0 scans the data and "compresses" it. For example, if you were saving "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain," MS-DOS 6 would save it as "the r@ in Sp@ falls m@ly on the pl@," where @=ain. Later when you retrieve the data back from your disk, MS-DOS 6 would replace every "@" with "ain" and your data would be back in its original form. It turns out that, on average, by using compression MS-DOS 6 only needs about half as much space to save data as it would without compression. By halving the size of all your data, MS- DOS 6 effectively doubles your disk space, hence the name DoubleSpace. DoubleSpace works invisibly. You don't have to think about compression or what's happening to your data it all works under the covers. DoubleSpace is important to anyone who is running out of hard disk space, and is particularly important to users of the Microsoft Windows operating system since the new Windows-based programs tend to be large and use up a lot of disk space. Easy-to-use memory management The symptoms of poorly managed memory on a PC are obvious. When you go to run a program, you get a message like, "out of memory program cannot run." The cure to this problem is not an obvious one. Memory management was by far the most popular feature of MS- DOS 5, but most people found the whole business a black art. Should you get an "out of memory" message while running MS-DOS 6 however, the cure is simple as long as you have an 80386 or higher processor in your PC. Just type "Memmaker," and MS-DOS 6 will do the rest. No additional memory management knowledge is necessary. When Memmaker finishes, you should be able to run your program just fine. Backup Backing up one's data is something few people do even though we all should. For that reason, MS-DOS 6 has a backup program designed to make safeguarding your data easy. It lets you choose what files you would like to backup (among other options) and can save your backups on your network or on floppy disks. The backup program comes in two versions: one for MS-DOS-based users, and one for Windows-based users. The two versions are functionally identical. Anti-virus protection MS-DOS 6 includes an anti-virus program to detect and remove viruses like Michaelangelo from your computer, as well as a process for updating the anti-virus program so you can keep your protection current. The anti-virus program also comes in two versions: one for MS-DOS-based users, and one for Windows-based users. The two versions are functionally identical. Undelete Ever delete a file by accident? Wish you had a way to get it back? MS-DOS 6 can do just that. Its undelete feature, also in versions for MS-DOS and Windows, can retrieve deleted files, even if you deleted them a long time ago. Smartdrv Everyone spends more time than they would like looking at the blinking red light on their computer waiting for their hard disk to do something. Smartdrv is a piece of wizardry that speeds up your hard disk by making it "smarter." It temporarily stores commonly used files in fast memory instead of on your slow hard disk, which is the equivalent of putting your sink next to your dishwasher instead of across the kitchen. Defrag Another feature designed to speed up your hard disk, Defrag rearranges the files on your hard disk so that your computer doesn't have to work as hard to retrieve them. On-line help Extensive help on every command in MS-DOS 6 is available on screen so you don't have to crack open the manual when you have a question. File transfer Users who have desktop and a laptop computer face the problem of having to copy files back and forth between the two computers. Since floppy disks are slow and don't store much data, MS-DOS 6 has a program called Interlnk that makes it more convenient to transfer files between two computers. Using Interlnk and a cable that simply plugs into the back of the two computers, you can transfer files at will quickly and easily between the two PCs. Multiple configuration support At the time when you start up your computer, MS-DOS 6 lets you choose among different configurations depending on what kind of programs you want to run. Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.