But when do they do it?

Post #19,800 by ben_tilly 11/30/01 12:27:25 PM Reply	But when do they do it? They do it on installing the OS, not on merely booting the machine. If they did it on booting the machine, every time, then duel boots (spelling intended) would become so inconvenient that nobody would bother. Cheers, Ben
Post #19,803 by Another Scott 11/30/01 12:33:18 PM Reply	It happened every bootup. Initial released versions of 2K would check the partitions on bootup and kill IBM's BootManager when it found it. You'd have to reinstall BM to boot OS/2 (or other OSes listed on the BM menu). A 3rd party fix was produced a few weeks later, and apparently MS eventually removed the offensive behavior. All of this is my recollection, not first-hand. I'll dig up some links if anyone's interested. BTW, nice writeup. I'll try to post my thoughts sometime this weekend. Cheers, Scott.
Post #19,804 by Andrew Grygus 11/30/01 12:37:14 PM Reply	Yes, that's how I heard it at the time. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #19,806 by ben_tilly 11/30/01 12:52:09 PM Reply	Didn't know that I wish I had when I originally wrote the letter. I would have included that detail... Cheers, Ben
Post #19,808 by Another Scott 11/30/01 1:20:27 PM Reply	Fixed in Win2K SP2. There are many examples of what certainly look like dirty tricks with respect to MS's actions regarding OS/2. This is only the latest. The Windows 3.11 "upgrade" which broke "OS/2 for Windows" was a clear example. But since OS/2 only had a very peripheral part in the antitrust case, I don't know how much stronger it would have made your argument. From the horse's mouth [link\|http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q265003\|here]. SYMPTOMS You can create an OS/2 Boot Manager partition by using IBM OS/2 or Partition Magic from PowerQuest to establish a multi-boot environment. This OS/2 Boot Manager partition can become damaged because of a Windows 2000 shutdown. This damage can occur even as early as the initial shutdown during the Windows 2000 installation when the OS/2 Boot Manager partition is pre-existing. If Windows 2000 shuts down when an OS/2 Boot Manager partition has been previously created, it considers the boot manager partition as a FAT partition and tries to mark the partition as clean. Because of this, it overwrites an important part of the code in the boot manager partition, which can prevent you from starting your computer. For example, with Partition Magic version 3.0, the boot manager menu frame is displayed but does not include the menus, so you may receive an empty blue screen and cannot restart the computer. CAUSE This problem can occur when the Windows 2000 FAT file system shutdown tries to mark the partition FAT structures as "clean" for subsequent boots. This is because the OS/2 Boot Manager partition boot sector mimics a FAT12 partition boot sector. Because of this, the OS/2 Boot Manager partition indicates that it contains 2 FATs (the primary and the mirror), but actually only has one FAT. The area typically used for the mirror FAT contains the Boot Manager executable code. When Windows 2000 attempts to mark the FAT at clean, a sector in the mirror FAT and the boot manager code is overwritten. [Of course, IBM's Boot Manager has existed nearly unchanged since at least 1992, so this characteristic of the code was completely unknown to Microsoft and could only be patched in SP2 which came out in June 2000...] [...] WORKAROUND To work around this problem when it occurs, you must remove and reinstall the boot manager. Note that the next time Windows 2000 shuts down, it again damages the boot manager partition. To prevent this, do not shut down Window 2000 normally, instead, turn the power off or press the Reset button on your computer. What a fine work-around.... :-P And MS wonders why so many people dislike them... Cheers, Scott.
Post #19,809 by ben_tilly 11/30/01 2:19:06 PM Reply	Thanks - you are probably right While mentioning that specific example would strengthen the reasonableness of that action, it would also open up the possibility of arguing that past actions were merely bugs, and not intended. Might as well not open up room for that criticism. Still I think the point stands. The agreement as it stands will not effectively restrict the behavioural problems it is supposedly intended to address. Hopefully the judge, attorney generals, or some political figures will read what I wrote and be disgusted enough to react. If not, then I don't know what more I could effectively say to show how obviously rotten this PoS sellout is. Cheers, Ben

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