Suntan Special version 0.66
Suntan Special Web edition
eComStation 2.0
eComStation is Mensys release of their version of
OS/2. Released in May 2010, the software runs on Intel personal
computers and servers. This version of the installation has been created
especially for use with Blonde Guy's Suntan Special.
My copy of the eComStation comes on three (3) CD-Roms. I refer to these
CD-Roms as eCS CD #1, eCS CD #2 and eCS CD #3.
Installation Procedure
- Boot the computer from eCS CD #1. The first screen to appear offers
two boot choices. Select boot from eComStation CD-ROM.
If there are no bootable partitons on the hard drive, this screen
will not appear.
- On the second screen, choose Boot with default values unless you
know that you need to do otherwise.
- The CD-ROM boot program will process for about a minute, then
offer to do a self-check to ensure that the CD-ROM is correctly
readable. Press esc to skip this test, which is not needed
unless you have seen a problem with your CD-ROM media. If no input
is received in 30 seconds, the installation proceeds as if esc
was pressed.
- When the screen named Begin the Installation appears,
read the screen and press Next.
- When the screen named License Agreement appears, check
the box labelled Agree, and press Next.
- The screen named Select Installation Type will appear.
Select Advanced installation, and press Next.
- When the Registration screen appears, you will need
to provide the license key. It is easiest to read this from a file.
Use Import Registration Data to read the data from a file
on the hard drive, a floppy, or a USB drive.
- On the Select the Installation Volume screen, either
select the installation volume from those provided, or press the
New Volume button to bring up the Maintenance and Installation
Volume program. The new volume must be bootable to be
a valid selection. When you have selected the volume, press
Next.
- On the Format Volume page, uncheck Check for errors
while formatting, choose the JFS file system and press Format.
Unless you have a disk that is pretty old, then you should not
need to check for errors. If you will install your applications
on a separate drive from the operating system, press Other
volumes... and format that drive, too. Press Next
when formatting is complete.
- On the Locale and timezone settings page, choose your options.
I only need to set the timezone. Press Next when done.
- The system will detect hardware devices for a short time,
then display the Hardware and peripherals configuration
page. For any newer machine, under Standard Devices, select ACPI.
Under Advanced Power Management, select Install. For a desktop
machine, it is likely that you can just
take the defaults. For a laptop or notebook computer, select the appropriate model.
Examine all of the choices just to make sure, then press Next.
- On the Multimedia support page, choose carefully. On
some machines, the default choice, which is usually UniAud, is
fine, but on Thinkpads, it is better to go with the IBM support.
If you are uncertain, it is best to go with the default. Press
Next after making your choice.
- On the Installation options page, select the default
programs directory, which is the same as the Suntan Special's
appsDir setting.
Do not include a trailing backslash, even for the root
directory. Press Next after making your choice.
- On the Select Components page, some choices are not
needed because Suntan Special will install them later. If you
want XWorkplace, then deselect Useability Enhancements->Extended
workplace features. Select Additional Features->Security
enablement services. Deselect Bonus Application->RSJ.
Set Java Virtual Machine to 1.1.8 and let Suntan Special install
all other Java. Deselect Internet Apps Firefox, Thunderbird and
VNC Server.
Press Next when you have made your
choices.
- On the Network Configuration page, I can deselect
Other connection types, but you may need it, depending
on the type of connection you have with the internet. If you
are not sure, leave the defaults, and press Next.
- On the Network Adapters and Protocols page, I have
two network adapters in my computer, and it often chooses the
wrong one. If this is the case for you, then select the adapter
and press Change. Select the right network adapter from
the list. Otherwise, no changes are likely to be needed on
this page. Press Next.
- On the TCP/IP settings page, I use DHCP, so I only
need to fill in the hostname for my computer. It is a good idea
to name your computer (one name with no spaces; case is ignored).
If you use a static IP, then fill in the fields for that. If you
are not sure, then fill in the hostname and press Next.
- On the LAN settings page, fill out the fields. You
should name the computer (no spaces; 15 char max; case is
ignored). If you don't have a workgroup or domain, leave
the field alone, and press Next.
- On the Configuration Complete page, press Next
to start the installation process. The Copying files...
page will appear for some time, then the computer will reboot.
- When the computer reboots, allow it to boot from the hard
drive, which is the default setting. Note any errors during the
boot process -- the exact message will be helpful in resolving
any problems with the installation.
- After copying more files, the computer will reboot again.
Once again, allow it to boot from the hard drive. The Post-installation
Tasks page will appear. The first tab
of the page, Final Tasks announces the end of the
installation. Press Next to go on.
- On the Screen tab, press the Screen button to
bring up the Screen settings. Set the resolution colors and
refresh that are appropriate for your display adapter and
monitor, then close the Screen settings. Press Next to
go to the next tab.
- On the USER setting tab, fill out the SET USER value
to Default. Press Next to go to the next tab.
- On the Network User ID tab, fill out all the fields.
Fill in the username and password. This will be your administrator
account. Even if you do not currently use networking, enter these
fields. Also check Allow your computer to be seen by others on
the network and Allow sharing of resources in a peer
network. Press Change to make the changes, then press
Next to go on to the next page.
- On the User Interface tab, make the changes that
give you a system you like. My preference is to open the
Workplace Shell settings and check the box Confirm
on Copy, move, create shadow. Under eSytler Preferences,
I prefer to set titlebar to bitmap. I also set the shutdown to
include power off and suspend on machines that support APM.
When you have made your changes, press Next to go on.
- On the ACPI tab, I do nothing. Press press Next to go on.
- On the Printer tab, I do nothing. Suntan Special will
configure the printers. If you prefer to set up with this page,
that is fine, too. Press Exit when the printer changes
are complete.
- Remove the eCS CD-ROM from the drive. Shutdown and reboot
the computer, and note any errors during the boot process. When
the computer has rebooted, check the screen properties to make
sure they are suitable. On the Screen settings, do any
centering that is needed (under the Advanced). When the screen
settings are OK, reboot from the CD-ROM, or from an alternate
boot partition.
- If booting from the eCS CD-ROM, choose the management console,
and open a commandline. (Tools->Command Window). Back up
your new installation with the following command.
zip -rS xdrive.zip X:\* -x WP?ROOT.?SF
Replace X with the drive letter of your installation.
Keep this zip file handy to restore your original installation.
Results
After performing the above steps, I had 7738 files, taking up
447,185,127 bytes with 3,494,784 bytes of extended attributes. The
zip file took 241,788,334 bytes.
Last Modified: 29 Jan 2017
Graphics by Colorful Language
Copyright 2017 by Blonde Guy