Handling the Merry Xmas Virus

The Merry Xmas Virus plagues only HyperCard stacks and can cause awful headaches for stack authors. There is a way to vanquish the virus, however, using the stack "Merry Xmas Vaccine 3.0" which is on the CS10 server. The steps for doing this are as follows:

1. Copy the "Merry Xmas Vaccine 3.0" stack to your hard disk.

2. Open this stack.

3. The vaccine stack will first check itself; and then give you the option of disinfecting stacks of your choice.

4. Insert your diskette in the machine.

5. Select the "Disinfect Stacks" option from the options at the bottom of the card.

6. Select from the available options ('stack', 'folder' or 'volume').
   • Selecting 'stack' allows you to specify a specific stack to examine.

   • Selecting 'folder' allows you to specify a specific folder to examine.

   • Selecting 'volume' allows you to specify an entire volume (such as your diskette) to examine. Be careful with this selection; it can take a long time, but may be warranted if you suspect many of the stacks in this volume are infected.

7. Before checking for the virus, the vaccine stack gives you the option of compressing disk space and locking the Home Stack. It is fine to agree to both of these options.

8. The vaccine will fix any problems it finds; and these stacks will then be safe to use.

9. Before you open any of your own stacks, use the vaccine stack to check the HyperCard Home Stack on the hard drive. It is imperative to eradicate the virus from this stack before proceeding!