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Note: These are the old annotations for the v8.x family of AVDisk. Take a look here for the current notes. This version is not actively developed anymore, but only maintained as long as there is still a need for it. The information presented here along with the old versions on the download page may be withdrawn at any time. Version 8 has been written almost completely from scratch, and thus, many internal functions have changed their way of operating. However, the outside appearance has mostly stayed the same. Thus, here are some notes on the current version along with some frequently asked questions: Why is 2floppy.zip encrypted with a password? Can you add support for the AV program xyz to AVDisk? Why is there no direct support for Windows ME/2000/NT? Does AVDisk alter anything in my system files (registry, system.ini, win.ini, autoexec.bat etc.)? Do I have to uninstall and reinstall AVDisk if I want to update to a newer version? Why does my computer fail to boot from my floppy disk set? Why is there no support for Norton Antivirus? Why does AVDisk display the PKZip help screen during disk creation? Why is 2floppy.zip encrypted with a password?
The AVDisk program files are encrypted with a password relative to the AVDisk program version. The password for version 7 was "AVDisk7". Likewise the password for version 8 is "AVDisk8", and, you guess it... =)
Can you add support for the AV program xyz to AVDisk? Basically, yes, we can. But there are some requirements to meet:
First, you will have to add a name for your program to the lines within the [supported] block inside avdisk.def. This may look like the following: [supported] F-Prot AVPDOS32 AVPLite NAI Scan My_AV_Program [end supported] Note that the identifier My_AV_Program will be used throughout the setup process lateron (i.e. is displayed on the screen) and is needed to find all the other sections inside avdisk.def. This identifier is case sensitive, so make sure you write it all the same throughout the .def file. Next, you will need to specify files to copy to the rescue disk set, assuming that you are in the directory where your favourite AV program is located. Therefore, you make a new block within avdisk.def named [My_AV_Program.copy] (remember closing the block via [end My_AV_Program.copy] afterwards, otherwise AVDisk will either not work properly or complain about a mis-structured avdisk.def. This block might look like the following: [My_AV_Program.copy] my_av.exe my_av1.def my_av2.dat [end My_AV_Program.copy] Furthermore, we will need a .config section where you may put necessary configuration options for the AV program. At least, it has to set the environment variable AVProg to the name of your AV program. The content of this block will be copied to a batch file on the rescue disk. Below is a sample of what this section should at least contain: [My_AV_Program.config] @Echo Off REM REM This program is called by AVDisk and should not be run directly REM If Not %1*==AVDisk* Goto End Set AVProg=My_AV_Program :End [end My_AV_Program.config] Last, but not least, you should provide a short help on how to use the AV program. Therefore, we need a .help block, whose content will also be copied to disk as a batch file. A sample is shown below: [My_AV_Program.help] @Echo Off Cls Echo My_AV_Program Help Echo ============== Echo. Echo Example commands: Echo. Echo MY_AV.EXE C: Echo Scan program files on drive C: Echo. Echo Type MY_AV.EXE /? for full list of command line options Echo. [end My_AV_Program.help] Also pay attention to any notes inside the header of avdisk.def, there are some more specifications on the syntax used. As of AVDisk version 5 (and the now obsolete AVPDisk v1) PKZip was introduced in order to compress and span files across multiple volumes. PKZip allows wildcards to be used during spanning which is particularly useful for programs such as AVPLite where the names of the virus definition files can change frequently, thus adding some future proofing to AVDisk. However, PKZip is shareware and also requires a distribution license - so it can't be included with the AVDisk distribution, forcing it to be downloaded seperately which is a little inconvenient.
Info-Zip was suggested as a freeware replacement for PKZip, however it does not currently support spanning across multiple volumes. This could be overcome by introducing a freeware spanning utility, however an all-in-one solution would be preferable.
Why is there no direct support for Windows ME/2000/NT? These operating systems do not provide a function to create standalone DOS bootdisks and miss some important files a rescue disk set needs. While we are trying to work out a fix around this, we will welcome any suggestions on how to circumvent this problem.
Code 5 means that the setup program found write-protected files that it could not overwrite. Check if there are already files in the destination directory and if yes, if they are write-protected. If so, remove the write-protection and let AVDisk overwrite the files (only of course if they belong to an older AVDisk version, don't let the program overwrite your personal data =).
Does AVDisk alter anything in my system files (registry, system.ini, win.ini, autoexec.bat etc.)? No, AVDisk does not change anything in your system configuration. The only traces it leaves is a subdirectory in your AV program folder called AVDisk and the files you have initially extracted from the downloaded archive (before the first setup). If you want to uninstall the program, simply delete these two folders (or more if you have used AVDisk with more than one AV program) and the program is completely gone from your system. Do I have to uninstall and reinstall AVDisk if I want to update to a newer version?
This depends on the version you use. If your previous AVDisk installation is older than v8.0, you should delete the AVDisk folder first before you install the new version. This is useful just to keep the system clean of old program leftovers. As versions previous to v8.0 had still some files that v8.0 and up do not have anymore, not all files would be updated and thus there would be a mixture of different version files in your AVDisk folder (which is not dangerous, but might lead to confusions).
You probably have a Windows 98 installation (Original or Second Edition). Some users have told us about this behaviour and it seems that this problem only occurs on some Windows 98 machines (not all, there obviously is another factor still unknown to us). Maybe this is connected to a volume tracking problem Win98 seems to have, we don't know yet.
Why does my computer fail to boot from my floppy disk set?
It might well be that your computer is set not to boot from the floppy drive. If you have other bootdisks at hand, try them as well. If the computer still does not boot from floppy, it's most probably due to a setting in the system's BIOS configuration. Messing around with these options should be done with great care. Make sure to consult your computer's/your mainboard's manual, as the ways to get into the BIOS configuration screen and the names of the options can vary immensly from system to system.
Why is there no support for Norton Antivirus?
We planned to add support for Norton Antivirus but quickly found out that it would require fundamental changes in AVDisk because of the way Norton AV installs itself on the hard disk. Norton Antivirus may be supported in future versions. Why does AVDisk display the PKZip help screen during disk creation? It might well be that you have a version of PKZip previous to 2.50 (e.g. 2.04). AVDisk needs at least PKZip v2.50 to work correctly. See the download page for a link to the appropiate file.
This problem involves the different set of codepages and keyboard layouts used in European or American states versus those used in other countries. So far, we have heard of problems regarding file names with Hebrew characters in them (if there are any others, please contact us!). Currently, the solution to this problem cannot be implemented into the "automatic" system. However, Uzi Paz, user of AVDisk, has originally notified us of the problem and found a manual solution to it involving editing the files on the disk set. With regards to and permission from him, here is a quote from an eMail he has written to us:
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