CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION *****************************************************
 
Welcome to OBmax ! 
By spending a few minutes with this manual, you will be able to greatly increase the usefulness of your HP OmniBook. OBmax is a multifaceted product that gives you total control. You can easily optimize your system for DOS, Windows and Networking. OBmax does its work and then steps out of the way for you to have the maximum memory for your applications.
 
What is OBmax ? 
OBmax has three major components. Each one provides a special OmniBook-optimized function that when added together produce a management system that is as flexible as it is easy to use.
 
1) OBmax Database/Editor 
Obmax includes a boot configuration database with a built-in editor. It allows you to create a database of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and lets you to easily switch among them. The following features are included:
 
	Menu-selection of boot configurations 
	Built-in DOS editor with extemal editor support 
	Import ASCII files and copy records 
	Supports flushing disk caches before rebooting 
	Custom Names for configuration selection 
	Support for Stacker swapped drives 
	Maintains simple boot files for easy program installation 
	Tested sample records included

2) OBmax UNCONFIG
OBmax includes a device driver that allows you to selectively load or unload the built-in drivers in your OmniBook. UNCONFIG has the following features:
 
	Provides up to 600K of Lower DOS memory 
	Allows you to free the memory from DoubleSpace 
	Allows you to free the memory from the Flash File System 
	Allows you to create a Stacker-Only OmniBook 
	Requires zero resident memory 
	Hot-Key override of its actions

3) OBmax ASK_ACE 
OBmax provides a batch file enhancement utility in ASK_ACE that gives you control over many of the unique functions of your OmniBook as well as provides additional batch file commands. ASK_ACE inc1udes the following capabilities :
 
	Reports the type of HP computer that it is running on. 
	Displays a Y lN question and waits for a response 
	Allows for selection of items from a menu 
	Controls and reports the Power Management mode 
	Turns off or reboots your OmniBook 
	Stuffs keystrokes 
	Provides variable length delays 
	Toggles File Attributes
 
Your OBmax disk should contain the following files. If any files are missing, please call ACE Tech Support for a replacement.
 
UNCONFIG.EXE The Boot Configuration Program
SUBST.EXE The DOS 5.0 Substitute Utility
ASK_ACE.COM Batch File Utility
OBMAX.EXE Boot File System Manager
OBMAX.HLP Help File for OBmax
OBMAX.DBT File Database
OBMAX.DBF Name/Notes Database
SETUP.DBF Configuration Database
OBM.BAT Start-up File
INSTALL.EXE Installation File
INSTALL.INI  Installation Support File 

CHAPTER 2 - INSTALLATION *****************************************************
 
Your OBmax disk contains an installation program that automatically sets up your OmniBook to properly use OBmax. Please follow these simple steps in order to get up and running in a few minutes. 
In order to get started you will need to be able to either accesS a 3.5" floppy drive directly on your OmniBook or copy all of the files from the disk into a temporary directory on one of your OmniBook drives. Please see your OmniBook Owner's Manual on how to install LLREMOTE if you have access to another PC with a 3.5" drive. 

Part 1 - Setting up the Files 
1) Log onto the drive and directory that contains the files from the OBmax disk and enter INSTALL at the DOS prompt. 
2) You will be presented with the Installation Main Menu. Press A to select Install OBmax Files. 
3) You are now prompted for the drive to install the OBmax files on. This will normally be C: drive. If you are planning on eliminating DoubleSpace, then we recommend that you select E: drive. 
4) OBmax then checks that there is enough space and will display a success message if all of the files were copied. If you get an error message, exit INSTALL and clear some space on the appropriate drive. 
5) From the Main Menu, press B to select Initialize UNCONFIG.EXE. This will display the serial number prompt. 
6) Enter the seriaI number from the OBmax disk label exactly as it is printed. If it was able to properly find UNCONFIG.EXE and serialize it, you will receive a success message and you can proceed to Part 2. 
 
Part 2 - Configuring OBmax 
OBmax needs to have its database configured to properly allow it to manage the boot process. Please follow these steps. 
1) Log onto the \OBMAX directory and enter OBM /SETUP. 
2) Enter the drive that you normally boot from. This most likely will be C: drive 
3) If you are currently running Stacker and you have an SSWAP statement in your CONFIG.SYS that swaps your boot drive, answer Yes, otherwise answer No. 
4) If you answered Yes to 3, you will be prompted for the drive letter that your boot drive is swapped with. 
5) If you are using a disk cache such as Smartdrive or SpeedCache answer Yes. You will then be prompted for the command line that will flush the cache.

Example:    C:\SCPLUS\SCPLUS FLUSH 
            C:\DOS\SMARTDRV /C 
 
6) If you have a special boot program that you would like to use then answer Yes and enter the command line, otherwise answer No. 
7) If you have an extemal editor that you would like you use you may use this option to have it called.For the time being answer No to this question. Once OBmax is up and running you can change it. 
8) Answer Yes to the quick-keys option unless you find yourself making the wrong selections and want each action confumed by pressing ENTER. 
9) Select LPT1 as your printer port unless you have a serial printer. If you do select COM1. 
10) Press ENTER to save your settings. 

You have now successfully installed OBmax. We recommend that you walk through the tutorial in Chapter 3 before initially using OBmax. This tutorial will install your current CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files into the OBmax database.

CHAPTER 3 - GETTING STARTED TUTORIAL ******************************************

In order to get you started on the right foot, we have prepared a short tutorial that installs your current CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BA T files into the OBmax Database. Please follow the steps below. 
1) Start up OBmax by entering OBM at the DOS prompt. This will display the configuration list available to you. Once setup, you can simply press ENTER or ALT+ENTER to activate the highlighted configuration. 
2) Press ESC to display the Main Menu. This is the list of functions contained within OBmax. See Chapter 4 for a complete description. 
3) Press 1 to add a new configuration. This will display the Append Menu that allow you to create a new CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT record. 
4) Press 1 to add a new record. This is the record view. It is blank at the moment awaiting input. It displays the four sections that make up an OBmax entry. 
5) Enter a name for this configuration such as "Original Setup". You may use any name you wish for the entries as this will be the text displayed in the Boot Menu. Press ENTER. 
6) Enter a description of this configuration such as "My original startup CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT". You may also use this line to describe the type of drivers and TSRs that it loads. Press ENTER 
7) Press F5 to import a file and enter C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT in the popup window. You will then see a pop-up confirmation menu as to whether you want to Replace or Append to the current file. Since the current file is blank, simply press ENTER. 
8) You now have your AUTOEXEC.BAT file displayed for editing. For now, simply press F10 to save it. The CONFIG.SYS editor is now displayed. 
9) Press F5 to import a file and enter C:\CONFIG.SYS in the pop-up window. Press ENTER to import it and F10 to save it. 
 
You are now at the a summary screen of your new record. The options displayed at the bottom of the screen will operate on the record as a whole and are explained in Chapter 6. Press C or highlight Continue and press ENTER to retum to the Main Menu. 
You have now successfully added your current startup configuration to OBmax's database. By pressing 3 you will see the Name you entered in the Boot Menu list. Highlight it and press ALT+ENTER to reboot your machine with this configuration. 

Eliminating the Flash File System 
The files on the D: drive on your OmniBook are able to be read because the Flash File System is installed on boot-up. This driver consumes almost 80 K of lower DOS memory and is not essential to the operation of your OmniBook. OBmax through the use of its UNCONFIG.EXE driver allows you to recover this memory. 
In order to allow your OmniBook to continue to work properly without the Flash File System, the files from D: drive need to be relocated onto C: drive. While the initial space required is approximately 7 MB, you can delete those files you do not use. For instance, there are over 4 MB of help files. 
To allow you to easily set this up, we have included this as an option within the installation program. Please follow these steps: 
1) Log onto the \OBMAX directory and enter INSTALL. 
2) Press C to select "Prepare C: Drive to unload FFS". 
3) INSTALL will check for available space and then begin copying files from your D: drive to the C:\D_DRV subdirectory. 
4) If the process was successful, exit INSTALL by pressing D and enter OBM from the DOS prompt. 
5) Highlight MAXDOS+DBLSPACE on the Boot Menu and press ALT+ENTER. This will reboot your OmniBook and when the process is complete you will have 79 K more lower DOS memory and your C: \D_DRV files will appear as D: drive thanks to the SUBST command. 
You can now use the MAXDOS+DBLSPACE record as a starting point to add your own commands. 
 
Eliminating DoubleSpace 
While DoubleSpace data compression appears to be required for C: drive, OBmax not only allows you to easily remove it but also free up the Lower DOS memory that it requires as well. 
Another reason to eliminate DoubleSpace is to replace it with Stacker. Since DoubleSpace does not support removable drives, if you wish to use compression on either A: or B: drives, you have had to load Stacker as well. OBmax allows you to run only one form of compression, thereby saving 31 K of memory. 
You can of course eliminate DoubleSpace on your C: drive by simply reformatting it. This is a rather severe procedure which we do not recommend. Instead, please follow these steps. 
1) Eliminate or backup enough files from your C: drive until the command DIR reports at least 50 MB free space. 
2) Enter the command DBLSPACE at the DOS prompt. The DoubleSpace menu will be displayed. 
3) Highlight C: drive and press ENTER. Press S to select size. 
4) Enter the amount displayed in the "Maximum free space" from Drive E: into the "New free space" on E: Drive and press ENTER. 
5) When it is finished re-sizing, exit the program by pressing ALT+D and X for Exit. 
6) At the DOS prompt enter the command
     XCOPY /S C:\*.* E:\*.*    (this will copy your C: drive files to E: drive)
7) At the DOS prompt enter the command 
     E:\OBMAX\ASK_ACE /F:E:\DBLSPACE.* -R-S-H
     (this will allow you access to the DoubleSpace files) 
8) At the DOS prompt enter the command 
     DEL E:\DBLSPACE.* 
You can now reboot your OmniBook without DoubleSpace. 

0B300 and 0B425 Differences 
OBmax knows whether it is running on an OB300 or OB425. The instructions in this manual apply equally on both machines. There is one difference that needs to be explained. 
OBMGM.COM, the OmniBook Message Manager, is used on both the OB300 and OB425. However, the manner in which it is loaded is different between the two. 
On the OB300, the command that loads OBMGM.COM is never seen as it is inserted directly into the CONFIG.SYS file after it is loaded into memory. The command is then processed once all of the Device commands are completed. 
On the OB425, the OBMGM command line is in the default CONFIG.SYS file. Once the CONFIG.SYS process is over, the OmniBook checks to see if OBMGM made it into memory. If it did not, the machine reboots setting D: drive as the boot drive. 
OBmax's UNCONFIG.EXE handles both of these processes with the same /0 option to allow you to run your OmniBook with or without OBMGM. 
 

   
  
    


