SOS Technical Reference Document
Copyright (c) 1994 by Synergistic Office Solutions, Inc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOPIC..: Editing your system startup files (CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT)
REVISED: 03/22/94

SUMMARY ----------------------------------------------------------------

The way your computer functions is determined to a great degree by the
contents of two files (CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT) that are read
whenever you start or reboot your system. Several errors that you might
encounter can be eliminated by making the appropriate changes to one or
both of these files. They can be edited with any plain text editor, but
you should be careful about using your word processor. Some word
processors automatically convert plain text files of this sort into the
specialized types of files that they prefer. We recommend that you stick
to the procedures outlined below rather than taking the chance.

If you are using DOS 5 or higher, you can make changes to the system
files with the EDIT command. Alternatively, if you have another text
editor or utility program that provides for the editing of text (also
known as "ASCII") files, there is no reason for you not to use it.

USING THE SUPPLIED EDITOR ----------------------------------------------

For your convenience we have included a small, public domain text editor
along with your OM or CM software. The following instructions will guide
you in the use of this supplied program:

1a. To invoke the editor from withing OM or CM, go to the UTILITIES
menu:

In OM, select "Edit Text File"
In CM, select "Edit Large Text File" (Another selection,
"SpellCheck/Edit File" on CM's UTILITIES menu may also be
used, but the procedure is not described here).

1b. Sometimes it will not be possible to run OM or CM without first
making a change in the system configuration. Obviously, the above
approach will not work for you. Luckily, it is possible to run the
editor directly from the system prompt.

- First, exit all programs, menus, or shells so that the cursor is
sitting next to a system prompt. It will probably look something
like:

C:\ >

- Next, change to your OM directory by typing the following command:

CD \OM and press <ENTER>


Editing Page 2


The prompt should now look something like: C:\OM >

- Now, to start the editor, type:

TE and press <ENTER>

2. A small window will appear. Assuming that your computer
has a hard disk addressed as C:, now type in the full location and
name of the file you wish to edit.

To edit the CONFIG.SYS file, type:

C:\CONFIG.SYS and press <ENTER>

To edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, type:

C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and press <ENTER>

If you misspell the file name, or enter the name of a non-existent
file, the system will ask if you want to create a NEW file with the
name you typed in. Answer "N" for NO. You don't want to create a
new file, what you want to do is change an existing file. You
probably typed the name wrong, or specified the wrong directory. Try
again, using the file name exactly as above.

NETWORK USERS NOTE: If you are using a workstation that does not
have it's own hard disk, you probably boot from a diskette in your A:
drive. If that is the case, these two files will be on the diskette
and you should substitute "A:" for "C:" in the examples above.

3. You should now have the desired file on screen. A text editor is
like a very basic word processor. You will find that all of the
normal cursor movement keys work as you would expect them to. Use
the arrow and PgUp/Dn keys to move the cursor to the desired position
in the file.

4. If you want to CHANGE something on an existing line, such as a number
or a parameter, just move the cursor to that line, use the <DEL> key
to remove unwanted characters, and type in new characters at the
desired position.

To ADD a new line, just position the cursor under the first character
of the line below where you would like to add the line and press
<ENTER>. Now press the UP arrow to move the cursor to the empty line
and type the desired text. There is no need to press <ENTER> at the
end of the line, but if you do, don't worry about the additional
empty line. Your computer just ignores blank lines when processing
the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. In fact, experienced system
technicians frequently add blank lines to make the files more
readable.

To DELETE a line, just move the cursor to the line you wish to remove
and press <Ctrl>-Y, that is, hold the <Ctrl> key down and press "Y".

5. Once you have made your changes, additions, or deletions, press <F4>
to exit. You will be asked if you would like to save the file.

Editing Page 3


Assuming that you are satisfied with the changes you made, enter "Y".
If you would like to discard your changes, returning the file to its
original state, enter "N". Once again, that is YES to save, NO to
quit without saving any changes.

6. Once you have exited the editor, you will be back at your system
prompt. For the changes you made to have any effect it will now be
necessary to reboot your computer. Whenever possible, it is always
best to reboot the system from the keyboard rather than by using the
reset button on the computer case or by turning the power switch off
and on.

To reboot from the keyboard, press down the <Ctrl> and <Alt> keys
with your left hand, then press the <Del> key with your right hand.
The screen should go blank, and the system may beep as it goes
through its startup sequence. The reboot is necessary because the
computer reads these configuration files only during startup. For
your changes to be effective, therefore, it is necessary to force a
restart as described.