(Excerpts from a message dated 10-10-99, Bat Lang to All)

Hi Bat--

BL>Recently down the filebone came a new version of UniMaint.
  >Unfortunately, it was distributed as a  selfex archive. Since
  >it is 2.4Mb+, and has very skimpy text material in the archive, there
  >is no way to determine what I want to know, short of installing it


    The version of UniMaint that I am using is 5.00.65, which includes
CSD 1999047, issued in April 1999 (this is the latest CSD available from
this BBS).  I would guess from your description that what you have is a
UniMaint CSD, not the program itself.  UniMaint has been shrink-wrapped
commercial software since v 4.0, and (AFAIK) is no longer being
distributed as shareware, although the CSDs are distributed through the
shareware channels (as ZIP files on this BBS).  If what you have
downloaded is actually the UniMaint set of programs, you have either a
very old version or a bootleg copy.

BL>I have absolutely NO knowledge of this app, so I am wondering if
  >someone familiar with it can answer the following:

BL>What is the basic function of this pgm?
  >Who might be interested in it? (Prog'r vs user, etc)
  >If you use it, why?
  >What does it do for you?
  >Cost of ownership?
  >Pros & Cons of installing it?

    UniMaint is distributed through SofTouch Systems (www.softouch.com);
query them for descriptive information.  It is a "desktop archiving and
repair" set of utilities, and has too many uses to list here.  (The
hard-copy manual has 221 pages plus an index.)  Most likely, running the
EXE file you downloaded would not "install" anything, merely provide you
with the unzipped files.

    Since I have UniMaint, if I were in your situation I would
uncompress what you have to a temporary directory in my "scratch"
partition (used only for temporary installations) and read the README.
If, perchance, it had actually installed a program, I would use
IniMaint's "Uninstall" utility to get rid of it.  In any case, I would
delete the directory from the desktop (using the DRIVES object for the
partition) and then use UniMaint "Repair Ini Files" to clean up any
tracks it might have left in my desktop ini files.

    If you have any other desktop-ini cleanup utility, you could do the
same (back up your old desktop, first!), although "uninstalling" an
application (especially one that modified your CONFIG.SYS files in the
process) might be difficult without UniMaint (or an equivalent set of
desktop maintenance utilities).

    Regards,

        --Murray

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 * MR/2 2.25 #120 * If you are not confused, you don't understand the
situation

--- Maximus/2 2.02