home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- ================================================================================
- MICROSOFT WINDOWS/386 VERSION 2.11
- ================================================================================
-
- Changes between versions 2.10 and 2.11
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- Version 2.11 now supports the following hardware:
-
- o IBM 8514/a video adapter
- o additional Toshiba printers (see READMETO.TXT)
- o additional HPPCL printers (see READMEHP.TXT)
- o includes a dynamic link library to allow the Postscript driver
- to work with AppleTalk networks
-
- Setting your stacks= line in config.sys:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- It is possible to run out of stacks running with Windows/386.
- Users with DOS 3.3 should put the line
-
- stacks=0,0
-
- in their config.sys file, or, if they need to use stacks,
-
- stacks=9,192
-
- Users with DOS 3.2 should use this second line since they cannot
- set their stacks to 0.
-
- Interaction between windowmemsize and emmsize:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- If you want to set your windowmemsize= line in win.ini to something
- other than 640K you must set your emmsize= line to 0. For example if
- you want to allocate 448K for running Windows and your Windows
- applications, use the following lines in your win.ini.
-
- [win386]
- windowmemsize=448
- emmsize=0
-
- Using share.exe with Windows/386:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- In order to prevent two applications from modifying the same file,
- you can run the DOS utility share.exe prior to starting Windows/386.
- Share.exe should always be run BEFORE running Windows/386 as it will
- not perform correctly when run from within Windows/386. For further
- information on how to install share.exe and how it works, consult your
- DOS manual.
-
- Windowmemsize, networks, and device drivers:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- In the Windows/386 Users Guide, on page 25, in the section headed
- "Setting the Virtual-Machine Size", the minimum windowmemsize= setting
- is listed as 384. In general this is true, with the exception that
- users with a large number of device drivers or who are running with a
- network installed will need to set this somewhat higher. If running
- Windows/386 gives you the error message "Not enough memory to run
- Windows" when you run win386.exe, try setting windowmemsize higher in
- 20K increments.
-
- Running IBM 3270 terminal emulation software under Windows/386:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- Several users have reported problems running the Entry Level version of
- the IBM 3270 Terminal Emulation software under Windows/386. There are
- NO compatibility problems running this under Windows/386. What appears
- to happen is that the program is loaded and then immediately terminates.
- The user is returned to Windows with this application running in a full-
- screen window with the word "Inactive" added to the title of the
- application. What is happening is that this program is a Terminate and
- Stay Resident (TSR) application, or pop-up program, similar to Borland's
- Side-Kick. Once the program has loaded itself into memory, it issues a
- DOS terminate command, which is indistinguishable from a normal
- application exiting. See page 23 of the Windows/386 Users Guide for
- details on running these types of applications. Basically you shouldn't
- run this program directly from the MS-DOS executive. Instead you should
- first run the DOS command interpreter, command.com, by running one of
- the command?.pif files located in the directory in which you installed
- Windows/386.
-
- A second problem that has been reported is that since Windows/386 uses
- the alt-escape key combination to switch between applications, this key
- sequence is not available to versions 2.0 and 3.0 of the IBM 3270
- terminal emulator to switch sessions. In order to work around this, an
- additional set of win.ini settings were added which allow you to disable
- various Windows/386 key combinations and instead pass them to the
- applications you are running. See the following section.
-
- Disabling Windows/386 key combinations:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- In your win.ini there is a section that allows you to disable
- Windows/386 key combinations. This is useful for people with
- the IBM 3270 Terminal Emulation software (it uses alt-esc), Microsoft
- Word (it uses alt-esc and alt-space), Microsoft Quick-BASIC (it uses
- alt-space), and other applications that use the same key combinations
- as Windows/386. Here is the default win.ini setting:
-
- [win386]
- altescape=on
- altenter=on
- altspace=on
- alttab=on
- altprintscn=on
-
- Changing these entries from on to off will turn off the corresponding
- Windows/386 keyboard function. For example if you wanted to use
- alt-escape with the IBM 3270 terminal emulation software you would
- have this in your win.ini.
-
- [win386]
- altescape=off
- altenter=on
- altspace=on
- alttab=on
- altprintscn=on
-
- You could still switch between applications by using the alt-tab
- key combination. NOTE: Disabling a key combination is global; if
- you disable it because you need the key sequence for one of your
- applications, it is disabled for all of your applications. See your
- win.ini for additional information on using this feature.
-
- Running two copies of the DOS format command simultaneously:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- You should not try to format two floppy disks at the same time using DOS
- 3.1. This will work with DOS 3.2 or later.
-
- Pifedit.exe location:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- The Windows Users Guide says that pifedit.exe may be located in the pif
- subdirectory of the directory into which you installed Windows. It is
- actually located in the main directory along with the other Windows desktop
- applications.
-
- New font format:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- Font files have changed from earlier versions of Windows. Several
- Windows applications are shipped with additional fonts that will need to
- be converted. For example, PageMaker 1.0A comes with several font files
- called pmfon?.fon. These fonts are used to draw the toolbox, the page
- icons, and various additional text sizes. If you run PageMaker and the
- toolbox has black dots rather than the appropriate icons, you have not
- converted your fonts from the old, Windows 1.04 format to the new,
- Windows 2.0 format. There is a utility provided with Windows/386 called
- newfon.exe which will convert these fonts. It is located on your
- Fonts Disk. This utility is a non-Windows application. The syntax for
- converting a font file is -
-
- NEWFON [old-font-file-name]
-
- So if you were converting the PageMaker font pmfonte.fon to the new
- format, you would bring up the run dialog in the MS-DOS executive (or
- type it directly from DOS) and execute
-
- newfon pmfonte.fon
-
- New paint format:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- The Windows Paint file format for Windows 2.0 is different from the
- earlier Windows Paint file format. This means that applications, like
- PageMaker 1.0A, that could read in paint files (*.msp) from the earlier
- version can not read in the new files. Use copy and paste to move
- images from the Windows Paint included with Windows/386 into other
- Windows applications.
-
- Minimize MS-DOS Executive:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- An option has been added to the MS-DOS Executive File menu Run dialog
- box. This is a check-box titled "Minimize MS-DOS Executive." If
- you select this option the MS-DOS Executive will be minimized each
- time you run an application. This frees up some additional memory and
- reduces screen clutter.
-
- Spooler will remove itself after printing terminates:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- If the spooler is minimized, it will now exit when printing is finished.
- If the spooler is not minimized, it will not exit.
-
- Running single-drive systems with Windows/386 and accessing drive b:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- If you have a single floppy drive and you use it both as drive a: and
- drive b: (for example running the DOS utility diskcopy to copy files
- from a: to b:), the Windows MS-DOS executive will not show a drive icon
- for either drive a: or drive b: when b: is the current drive. The work-
- around is to run command.com, and do a directory of a: (you will be
- prompted to insert a disk for drive a:). The MS-DOS executive will then
- display a drive a: icon.
-
- 16-bit versus 32-bit memory:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- Most 80386 based personal computers have the capability of running with
- memory cards that provide 32-bit access as well as running with AT
- compatible memory cards that have 16-bit access. Applications that
- execute from 32-bit memory will run about twice as fast as applications
- that are executing from 16-bit memory. Under DOS, all of your
- applications will execute from 32-bit memory, since the 32-bit memory
- occupies the first 640K of memory out of which DOS executes. Under
- Windows/386 you can now execute applications that are running out of all
- of the memory in your machine. This is fortunate, because it allows you
- to run several applications concurrently, each in their own memory
- space. This is unfortunate since it means that some of those
- applications will be running out of 16-bit memory, hence they will be
- running about half as fast as they would if they were running out of 32-
- bit memory. Windows/386 will try to use up your 32-bit memory first,
- but you will either need to accept the performance loss associated with
- executing out of this slower, 16-bit memory, or you will need to replace
- any AT compatible memory boards in your machine with additional 32-bit
- memory.
-
- Expanded memory default:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- In the Windows/386 User's Guide it says that half of all memory is
- available as expanded memory as a default. This is incorrect. All of
- memory is available as expanded memory as a default. This can be a
- problem if you run a DOS application that allocates all of expanded
- memory when it initializes. Lotus 1-2-3 will use only the expanded
- memory it needs, so it won't cause a problem. Ashton-Tate's Framework,
- on the other hand, will take all of the expanded memory available even
- though it isn't using it for anything. This means that all of the
- available memory in your machine will be allocated to Framework as
- expanded memory, which in turn means you won't be able to run any more
- DOS applications. You can solve this by changing the "emmsize="
- setting in your win.ini file to indicate the amount of memory in KB
- you want available to use as expanded memory.
-
- Running DOS applications that use the mouse:
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- If you want to use the mouse in DOS applications such as Microsoft Word
- or Chart versions 3.0 and greater, you must install the mouse driver
- software before running Windows/386. See your Microsoft Mouse
- documentation for details on installing the appropriate device driver.
- You must also select the Microsoft Mouse option in the Windows/386 setup
- program (i.e. if you want to use the mouse with your DOS applications,
- you need to set up Windows/386 itself to use the mouse). Lastly, when
- an application that uses the mouse is run in a window, the mouse is not
- available to the application since Windows/386 itself will be using the
- mouse. You will need to run your DOS applications in full-screen or
- exclusive modes to allow them to use the mouse.
-
- Windows/386 and Graphics Cards that use non-maskable interrupts (NMI's):
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- Non-maskable interrupts are ignored when Windows/386 is running. Auto-
- switch graphics cards that use NMI to switch won't auto-switch under
- Windows/386. This is not a problem at all since Windows/386 takes care
- of all display mode switching. Another example is the Atron break-box
- won't allow you to break into your debugger. There is no work-around
- for the second example.
-
-
- Using SMARTDrive
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- Appendix C, "Speeding Up Windows with SMARTDrive" in the Windows User's
- Guide contains detailed instructions on installing the disk-caching
- program SMARTDrive provided with Windows/386. The following is updated
- information on adding SMARTDRV.SYS to your CONFIG.SYS file:
-
- - Set the buffers= command line to 20. Setting buffers= to higher values
- uses memory without additional performance benefits; setting it to a
- lower value reduces performance benefits.
-
- - If you have a Compaq Deskpro and ENHDISK.SYS is listed in your
- CONFIG.SYS file, and you wish to use SMARTDrive, you must list the
- SMARTDRV.SYS command line after ENHDISK.SYS.
-
- Making a System Diskette Under Future Versions of DOS
- -----------------------------------------------------
-
- Under future versions of DOS, you may have problems creating a bootable
- system diskette from the MS-DOS Executive - Special, Make System Disk
- command. We recommend you exit Windows/386 and use the DOS method for
- making a bootable system diskette. Please refer to your DOS manual for
- more information.
-
- PCLASER.DRV for the Ricoh PC Laser 6000
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- This printer driver is located on the 1.2 mb "Write-Applications" disk,
- and is not located on the 720K 3-1/2" disks. Copy this file
- onto a 3-1/2" diskette and then use the control panel to install
- this printer driver on a machine without 5-1/4" disk drives.
-
- ================================================================================
- END OF README.TXT
- ================================================================================
-