Murray Lesser,

16-Oct-99 09:57:00, Murray Lesser wrote to Bat Lang
 ML> (Excerpts from a message dated 10-10-99, Bat Lang to All)
          Subject: UniMaint ???

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

 ML> The version of UniMaint that I am using is 5.00.65, which includes CSD
 ML> 1999047, issued in April 1999 (this is the latest CSD available from
 ML> this BBS).  I would guess from your description that what you have is a
 ML> UniMaint CSD, not the program itself.

Yes that is what it looks like to me.  Too bad Lody Caenen didn't bother to
mention that in the TIC DESC, since it does not have a File_ID.diz.

 ML> UniMaint has been shrink-wrapped commercial software since v 4.0, and
 ML> (AFAIK) is no longer being distributed as shareware, although the CSDs
 ML> are distributed through the shareware channels (as ZIP files on this
 ML> BBS).  If what you have downloaded is actually the UniMaint set of
 ML> 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
 BL>> familiar with it can answer the following: What is the basic function of
 BL>> this pgm? Who might be interested in it? (Prog'r vs user, etc) If you
 BL>> use it, why? What does it do for you? Cost of ownership? Pros & Cons of
 BL>> installing it?

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

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

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

FWUTILS - FW: OS/2 high-level utilities
U5199264.Exe                    10-10-99       2,406,708
    UniMaint Version 5.10.02 Level 1999264

Info-Zip UNZip on that produced:

ACSDEREG.CMD      428  9-20-99 12:00p
CSD_INST.TXT     5573  9-20-99 12:00p
SHSINST. EXE   157264  9-20-99 12:00p
SHSINST.HLP     12825  9-20-99 12:00p
SHSINST.INF     12261  9-20-99 12:00p
U5199264.CSD  2288623  9-20-99 12:00p

    U5199264.CSD  -   Compressed distribution file
    ACSDEREG.CMD  -   Cmd file to de-register ASCAGENT class
    SHSINST.EXE   -   SHS InstallStar installation program
    SHSINST.HLP   -   Installation program help file
    SHSINST.INF   -   Installation program information file
    CSD_INST.TXT  -   This file.    -

I think I am about to recover 2.4MB of HD space.  I assume this file is
useless without the commercial base prgm.  I assume from my brief look at
the *.INF file that UniMaint can not do anything that a combination of
wptool29.zip, OS2CLU02.RAR and Graham Utilities (registered) and maybe 1
or 2 other ShareWare or FreeWare utils can not do.

     Thanks and Good Luck,        Andy Roberts
                                  andy@shentel.net
--- Terminate 5.00/Pro*at