As with any computer program that runs on many different machines with different versions of DOS, from time to time things may not perform as expected. Couple this to the fact that FBB and TSTH software have many different versions in use all over the world and the combinations become complex.
All of my programs are tested on live systems, both by myself and by kind individuals who place their systems at risk by testing my beta software. Only after this testing, are the programs placed on these pages for general release. Despite this testing there may still be bugs waiting to be discovered. If you should discover one, or maybe they have started to breed, please let me know. If there is a genuine problem with any piece of my software, I am keen to fix it.
On this page I will post information on any problems that come to light together with likely cures, until such time as the program is changed or the documentation upgraded.
One problem that has come to light concerns my server programs running under DOS V6.22 and F6FBB BBS V7.00g, although this may happen with other combinations. After trying to run a server, such as CARBON or REQDIR, the BBS imports a SysOp messages advising that the server could not be run. A typical message would be :-
Error starting Server SYSDIS (Carbon)
Assuming that everything else is configured correctly, this seems to be caused by an incompatibility between the server EXE file and DOS 6.22/FBB 7.00g. The EXE files that I distribute are compressed and will be expanded in memory at run time. The problem seems to be caused by the type of compression program that I have used. This problem has been cured in all cases (so far) by using a different compression utility. If you are experiencing this problem please contact me to request a revised version of your EXE file. My ax25 address is on the main page and my Internet email address is at the bottom of the contents panel. As time permits I am recompiling all of the EXE files associated with my servers with the newer method.
So, why compress the EXE files in the first place ? The answer to this is twofold. Firstly, quite a number of my programs are converted to 7PLUS and sent via the packet network. Compressing the files helps keep the overall size of the archives down. Secondly, the compression adds security and a degree of VIRUS detection. If an EXE file is modified by a virus, it is likely that the expansion in memory will fail and the virus procreation will be halted or at least slowed.
Before uploading software to this site, all files are scanned using the latest virus signatures. This is one of the reasons why only original archives which have been validated by me, are to be passed to new users. This is one of the main conditions in allowing my software into the public domain. See the main page on this site for more information.
So, how can the files be verified as originals ? All my archives are compressed using a registered version of PKZIP which includes an authenticity check. As you PKUNZIP the archives you should see the check on your screen which will include my ax25 and Internet email addresses. If you UNZIP your archives using another means, such as Winzip, this authentication may not be seen. Provided that you have a DOS version of PKUNZIP, you may use it to test and authenticate the ZIP file. For example, if you were checking CARB412.ZIP, you would type :-
PKUNZIP -T CARB412.ZIP
If the authentication fails please download a new archive from this site.