248 lines
12 KiB
HTML
248 lines
12 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
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<head>
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<title>1998_GAMEiSO.nfo</title>
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<style type="text/css">
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@font-face {
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font-family: nfo;
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font-style: normal;
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font-weight: normal;
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src: url(nfo.eot);
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}
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.nfo {
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padding: 12px;
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font-family: nfo, courier new;
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font-size: 11px;
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line-height: 1em;
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}
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</style>
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</head>
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<body>
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<pre class="nfo">Section I: Permitted Releases and Agreed Rules
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----------------------------------------------
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Before you plan on packaging up a piece of software for release, please
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make sure that it complies with the guidelines for acceptable releases.
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These rules were agreed upon through a meeting with a number of the top
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ISO release groups, which include: CIFE, RiSCiSO, and RAZOR ISO.
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1. Starting February 1st, nothing older than one month will be released.
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Requests for older software is independant.
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2. No utilities whose ISO size totals under 100 megabytes will be
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released.
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3. No console (PSX, etc) titles are to be released by PC groups.
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4. UNIX releases will be sent only to sites that want them, and when
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released, should not be done so under an official group name.
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5. No BETA releases of ANYTHING. Requests are independant releases.
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6. Nukers: Will nuke "Betas, Unix, or Consoles." Unless the release is
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directed to a separate directory, or the upload is a request.
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7. All RAR's will be listed as ".001 -> .0xx" as opposed to ".RAR ->
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.RXX", for the directory listing's sake. RAR is the official standard.
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Section II: Image File Creation
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-------------------------------
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Use CDRWin (Windows graphical front-end) or DAO (DOS based) by Golden Hawk
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Technology (see www.goldenhawk.com) to create a ".bin" (sometimes called
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".raw") file image of the CD-ROM with a corresponding text ".cue" file.
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The .bin file that CDRwin generates is a massively large file. It is
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equivalent to the number of bytes of data on the CD-ROM you are copying.
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So typically the .bin file itself will be between 600 and 700 megabytes.
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That file contains a bit-by-bit image of the CD-ROM, which includes all
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data tracks, audio tracks, and header information. The file is unreadable
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and in binary, therefore you must use front-end software (such as CDRWin
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or WinOnCD) to manipulate the binary file. The technical format of the
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.bin file is a 2352 unscrambled full sector scan. It is sometimes also
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interchanged as a .raw file (.bin can be renamed to .raw and vis versa).
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The format 2352 is a standard image format that other software can read,
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such as WinOnCD.
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Note that the .bin/.raw format is not compatible with the .iso format
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generated by Adaptec's EZ-CD Pro.
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The current version of CDRwin is 3.3E and it is commercial software. UCF
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has cracked the program and created a "serial key maker" to generate the
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serial numbers. You'll need to download the file "ucfcdr3e.zip" which
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contains CDRwin 3.3E with the Key Maker (DAO33EKM.EXE). That file is
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available in a number of different locations.
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The ".cue" file is a text file which contains mappings of data and audio
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tracks from the .bin file. CDRWin automatically generates this file. The
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.cue file is necessary when using CDRWin to burn the .bin image onto blank
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CD-ROM media. The .cue file is not necessary if you use a program such as
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WinOnCD which simply reads the .bin file and doesn't worry about placement
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of audio tracks. However, when packaging your release, be sure that you
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include the generated .cue file into the archive. The .cue file looks
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something like this:
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FILE C:\PATH\YOURFILE.BIN BINARY
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TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
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INDEX 01 00:00:00
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Note that CDRWin automatically prepends your path of the binary file into
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the .cue file. So you will need to edit the .cue file and remove that
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path. Removing the path is necessary because end users who will be using
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CDRwin to burn the .bin image would then be required to place their .bin
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file in the same path you are using (either that or they would need to
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modify the .cue file themselves). So instead, please edit the .cue file
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and change "C:\PATH\YOURFILE.BIN" to just "YOURFILE.BIN".
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*** NOTICE: If the CD-ROM does _not_ contain either audio tracks or the
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program is not Macintosh compatible, then you may use Adaptec's EZ-CD Pro
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or Deluxe software to create a single ".iso" format image. The .iso
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format is compatible with many software packages, but the downside is that
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it does not support audio tracks or macintosh data. Some CD-ROM programs
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say "This CD-ROM works with both PC and Mac," if your CD-ROM says that,
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then you must use CDRWin to capture the Macintosh data - otherwise, it
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becomes a PC only image. The way you can tell if your CD-ROM has audio
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tracks is simply to take the CD-ROM and put it into a normal stereo
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compact disc player. With your stereo hit play and see if you hear
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music. If you hear music, then the CD-ROM has audio tracks and you must
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use CDRwin to create a .bin 2352 image, otherwise you'll lose the audio
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tracks.
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If your disc doesn't have audio tracks and isn't a "mac/pc" cd-rom, then
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feel free to use any program which generates .iso formatted image files.
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Please do not use any other format other than .bin/.raw/.iso at any time.
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Section III: Archive Creation
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The fastest and most efficient archive program is RAR. Once you have used
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CDRwin to create your .bin and .cue files, or EZ-CD Pro to create an .iso
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file (*** see note above), then you want to use RAR or WinRAR to break up
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the image file into workable pieces that can easily be spread on the
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Internet. If you try and upload a 700 meg single file to an FTP site,
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you're going to have trouble. If your connection dies in the middle of
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the connection, you're screwed. Some FTP programs have resume features,
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but it usually doesn't work, therefore we advocate using RAR. You can find
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shareware versions of RAR and WinRAR by searching the web, it is available
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everywhere.
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Here are the rules for using RAR:
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-- If possible, use the maximum available compression. However, if you
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are racing a release, or you simply don't have the time to wait for
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maximum compression, then use default to light compression. This all
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depends on how much time you have available to sit around. Higher
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compression will save a LOT of hard drive space, but it can take a very
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LONG time, even on a fast Pentium-II processor with 64 megs of ram.
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-- Use 15 megabyte segment splits. Thus, you want to break that 700 meg
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.bin file into smaller pieces, each of size 15 megabytes.
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-- Turn *OFF* solid archive mode. In both WinRAR and DOS RAR, solid
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archive mode is defaulted on. You must go into preferences and turn it
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off. For DOS RAR you must turn solid mode off as well by using the menu
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options or command-line options. In either case, be sure that you are not
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creating a solid archive, because if you do, the FTP sites will not be
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able to test the CRC integrity of each of the individual 15 meg segment
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file.
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-- Include the .bin, .cue, (or .iso) and "risciso.nfo" inside the RAR
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archive. Be sure that you have filled out the risciso.nfo file to include
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all of the details of the release, including how many CD-ROM discs it is,
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a general description of the program, any necessary OEM or serial numbers,
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and any other details you like (keyboard shortcuts, game hints, web site
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to see screen-shots, etc).
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Section IV: Filename Convention Rules
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-------------------------------------
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So that everyone is happy for both the users of DOS, Windows, and UNIX,
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please follow these simple guidelines for naming the archive files for
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your package.
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-- Please limit the filename of your RAR archive to 8 characters, try to
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name the program in a few characters.
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-- Please use only letters and numbers, and no spaces.
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-- If you have multiple CD rom's, you will want to include the disc number
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in the filename. For example, if you have Sierra Pro Pilot, which may be
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3 CD's, a good filename will be: ppilot-1.xxx for the first CD-ROM, and
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ppilot-2.xxx for the second CD-ROM, and so on.
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When the RAR program asks you to enter the first filename, put on an
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extension of .001, that way the next file will be .002 and then .003, and
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so forth. This will help the traders a lot in counting files. If you use
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".rar" as the extension for the first filename, then the second filename
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will be .r00 and .r01, and that will cause confusion for the traders and
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for yourself. When you use .001 for the first file, then it will be much
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easier to check that you have all of the necessary files uploaded to the
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site.
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Section V: Uploading the Archive
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--------------------------------
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Before you start thinking about uploading your RAR files, please run a
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quick CRC test on each .0* file to check the validity of the archive.
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Ensure that you didn't run out of hard drive space during the archive
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processing which could result in bad files. Use the command "rar -t
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filename" to test the file. Under WinRAR, there is a graphical user
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interface to step you through testing of the archive.
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Once you have authorization to upload the release, log into your directed
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FTP site. Change into the directory where new CD-ROM images are uploaded
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to. If your release consists of only one CD-ROM, then create a directory
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whose name identifies the release. First upload the risciso.nfo file into
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the directory. Even though the risciso.nfo file is included inside your
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RAR archive, some sites do not yet have the ability to extract NFO files
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from RAR archives.
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Next, create a subdirectory within your named directory that indicates to
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the traders what the last file of your set is. So, lets say that you
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created a .001/.0XX archive, where XX counts from 01 to 37. The last disk
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in your set is then 37, or YOURFILE.037. For example, lets say you are
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uploading Wing_Commander whose last disk is "wing_c.037". To help the
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traders, please do the following: "mkdir /ISO/Wing_Commander/END_AT_037".
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This notifies the traders that the last disk or end disk in your
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Wing_Commander directory will be disk 037. This empty END_AT_0XX
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directory is merely a flag that greatly assists the traders, they
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definately appriciate your help in this regard.
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Now, proceed to upload each 15 meg RAR segment file into that directory.
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Once you are done uploading and have verified that all files are properly
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Now, proceed to upload each 15 meg RAR segment file into that directory.
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Once you are done uploading and have verified that all files are properly
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on the site, create a subdirectory within your directory that says
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"COMPLETED" to let the traders know that the release has been fully and
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completely uploaded. Before creating the "COMPLETED" directory tag,
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please double check that all files have been properly uploaded and there
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are no bad or partially uploaded files.
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If your release has multiple CD-ROM discs, then create a subdirectory
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within the name subdirectory to encapsulate each disc. Here is an example
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if I were uploading Sierra's Pro Pilot:
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD1
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD2
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD3
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Then indicate the last disk of each archive to assist the traders:
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD1/END_AT_040
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD2/END_AT_038
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD3/END_AT_042
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Then upload the proper 15 megabyte segment files into their corresponding
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directories, whether it be CD1, CD2, or CD3. Once each disc is finished,
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create a subdirectory:
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mkdir /ISO/Sierra_Pro_Pilot/CD1/COMPLETED
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indicating that disc 1 of Sierra Pro Pilot has been successfully uploaded.
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These flags will greatly assist the traders.
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If your transfer ever dies or the site runs out of space, notify the
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administrators. Once space has been cleared, remove any bad RAR segment
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files and/or overwrite them to continue the upload.
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</pre>
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</body>
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</html>
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