CLAY'S HAND-ASSEMBLED UTILIITIES
--------------------------------

This file is a continuation of the README.TXT file.  See README.TXT for
the copyright notice and license agreement.

The following utility programs were hand-assembled using DEBUG:


HIDE.COM and UNHIDE.COM:
-----------------------
This is the easy way to hide and unhide files and directories!

Syntax: HIDE filespec        or     UNHIDE filespec

Filespec may contain wildcards for processing of multiple files. HIDE sets
the "hidden" attribute without changing any other attributes. UNHIDE clears
the "hidden", "system", and "read-only" flags, effectively unprotecting the
file for copying and writing, while leaving other attributes intact.

CAUTION: Don't do UNHIDE *.* in the root directory of C:. You'll unprotect
         the hidden, read-only system files IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS, which can
         have undesirable consequences for your system.

Similar capability is available in DOS 5.0 and higher via the ATTRIB command,
but ATTRIB is awkward to use with all of its parameters, and it complains
when it can't find the file or is restricted by the status of unspecified
attributes. Since HIDE and UNHIDE produce no display under any conditions,
you can use them in your batch program without regard for whether or not
such a file exists or has various other attributes.



SETRO.COM and SETSHR.COM:
------------------------
Like HIDE and UNHIDE, SETRO and SETSHR provide a quick and easy way to set
the Read-Only attribute (SETRO) or the System, Hidden, and Read-Only
attributes (SETSHR) in your batch files.

Syntax: SETRO filespec       or     SETSHR filespec



BIOSVER.COM and VIDVER.COM:
--------------------------
These utilities capture the version identification strings from the system
BIOS ROMs and the VGA ROM extension, respectively.

BIOSVER returns all text strings found in memory segments F000-FFFF that
contain both "BIOS" and either "ver" or "(C)". The search for "BIOS" is 
case-sensitive; when it is found, the string's remaining ASCII characters 
are checked for any one of the other three literals in a non-case-sensitive 
mode. Strings that pass both tests are printed to STDOUT, which may be 
redirected to a file.

VIDVER is similar to BIOSVER in concept, but different in the details. The
memory segments searched are C000-C7FF (the VGA ROM area), and the returned
strings are all those that contain any one of the following: "BIOS", "ver",
"(C)", or "Copyr". Again, the search for "BIOS" is case-sensitive and the
search for other literals is non-case-sensitive, but any one of the literals
will cause the string to be printed to STDOUT ("BIOS" is not a prerequisite
for the others).



EXTMEM.COM:
----------
This utility reads the CMOS to determine how much extended memory is present
on the system. It returns a string formatted as follows:

Extended Memory = nnnnnK

where nnnnn is replaced by the number of Kbytes found. The first digit is a
blank space when the result is less than 10000K. All other digits show as
leading zeros when applicable. Common values are 1024K for 1 MB of extended
memory (typical for a "2 MB" system), 3072K (typical "4 MB" system), 7168K
(typical "8 MB" system), 15360K (typical "16 MB" system), etc. On some PCs,
a portion of the 384K "shadow" RAM becomes available as additional extended
memory when not used for shadowing; in such cases, slightly higher values
are returned (e.g., 3392K on a "4 MB" system that makes 320K of unused
shadow RAM available as extended memory).

The output is sent to STDOUT, which may be redirected to a file for further
interpretation.

Heuristic virus scanners may report that this program contains useless code.
This is due to the manner in which it provides the needed delay between
requesting a value from CMOS and reading the value CMOS returns.  It does
not reflect a program deficiency or alteration.



DAYOFWK.COM:
-----------
Returns an errorlevel code corresponding to the current day of week, where
1=Sunday, 2=Monday, etc., through 7=Saturday. Failure results in no error
code returned. Visual output reports the errorlevel returned and the day
of week (3-character abbreviation); e.g., "3=Tue". This output may be
redirected to a file, NUL, or other device. Use DAYOFWK in batch files to
control processes that should be performed only on certain days of the week.



FIXTIME.COM:
-----------
Resets the DOS clock to match the real-time clock. This is handy when
certain notebook PCs wake up from suspended operation and still show a
DOS time setting from when they were initially suspended. The real-time
clock has continued running, but DOS was asleep and doesn't know that any
time has passed! A simple FIXTIME command will bring DOS back to reality.
This can also be used periodically on systems that run continuously on an
extended basis, to correct DOS's inherent time drift.


Enjoy!
Clay