SCOUG OS/2 For You - February 1998

OS/2 includes an archive facility for backing up your desktop and other essential OS/2 information. If you're not archiving already, you should be periodically using this feature. Open the Properties for your desktop, then select the Archive chapter. Click the check box to "Create an archive at the next system startup." Shutdown, restart to make the archive, then go back and turn the archive feature off.

The archive feature is based on a file named OS2.KEY in the \OS2\ARCHIVES directory. Each file is preceded by the keyword "KEYFILE." By default, it lists the following files:

OS2.INI

OS2SYS.INI

C:\CONFIG.SYS

C:\STARTUP.CMD

C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

C:\OS2INIT.CMD

Because this is just a plain text file, we can edit it and add some files of our own that we would like archived along with the system files. The OS2.KEY file is read-only, so the first step is to remove the read-only flag. From an OS/2 window, type

Then load the file into your editor such as the Enhanced Editor. Add a new line to the file with the keyword KEYFILE. For example:

Finally save the file. It's not mandatory that you turn the read-only flag back on, but it is recommended. To do so, use the command:

If you turn on the archive feature and restart your system, your new entry will be archived. To confirm that your file was archived, take a look at the \OS2\ARCHIVES\01 directory. You will see a file named 5 that should be the same size, date, and contents as your file!

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