Beaverton, Oregon-based Multisoft Corp has a new version of its utilities package, PC-Kwik Power Pak, which comes bundled with Digital Research Inc’s DR-DOS version 6.0. Designed to accelerate the performance of personal computer peripherals, Power Pack version 2.1 uses the Super PC-Kwik disk cache as a base. This uses caching technology to accelerate the slowest parts of the system – disk drives, monitor, keyboard and the like. The Power Pak automatically lends expanded and extended memory as needed to other MS-DOS programs, such as Windows, and recovers it when the programs have finished. All Power Pak modules share the same pool of cache memory. The program itself has the ability to completely load its code into upper memory blocks available on 80386 and 80486-based computers, enabling it to run on a system without using any conventional memory. A graphical display shows measurements of cache activity while Windows 3.0 is running. Also included is PowerWrite, which extends advanced disk-writing functions and accelerates the process of writing to disk. It also reduces the overhead of writing to disks by placing the data on the disk as efficiently as possible without delay. Power Pak accelerates the process of transferring data from hard and floppy disks to the processor. It moves data from the disk to RAM before it is needed. Then, when called for by the processor, the data is retrieved at electronic speed from RAM. The Pak can use up to 16Mb for its cache, RAM disks and print spoolers and works with all types of disk drives including floppies, IDE, SCSI and ESDI. PC-Kwik Power Pak is available now for UKP80. Upgrades are handled through Multisoft’s UK distributor – Opensoft UK Ltd, based in London, N12.
