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Text File | 1993-11-14 | 17.4 KB | 389 lines

DOCUMENTATION FOR VIDEO DRIVER INSTALL v5.00 --------------------------------------------- (c)1993, Dr. A. Olowofoyeku INTRODUCTION ------------ Please read the "LIMITATIONS" and "DISCLAIMER" sections at the end of this file BEFORE using VIDEODRV. While it is possible for OS/2 users to use different video display drivers for their seamless and full screen Win-OS/2 sessions, the OS/2 installation and DSPINSTL programs always identical drivers for both sessions. While this may be fine for some people, many OS/2 users have optimized Windows drivers that they would like to use for their full screen Win-OS/2 sessions. The process of changing the video display drivers for full screen Win-OS/2 sessions has normally been tedious, involving fiddling around with INI files. VideoDrv is a program that greatly simplifies this process - just type in the name of your new full screen driver, or select one from a listbox, then click on a button, and the rest is done automatically. The whole process takes no more than 5 seconds. In short, VIDEODRV works as a Win-OS/2 replacement for the SETUP program that comes with Windows 3.1. ******** FEATURES ******** 1. VIDEODRV will optionally install your display driver directly from your driver/distribution disk, unpacking and decompressing them (if necessary) in the process. In this respect, it simulates the SETUP program that comes with Windows 3.1. To use this feature, select the menu option "INSTALL NEW DRIVER FROM DISK". You will then be prompted for the directory in which your driver files are to be found (this will normally be a floppy disk drive into which your driver disk has been inserted, or if you have copied the files to the hard disk, then the subdirectory on the hard disk where the files may be found). VIDEODRV will then read the OEMSETUP.INF file that comes with your driver disk and decompress the drivers to your Win-OS/2 system directory. Some OEMSETUP.INF files may not be readily readable (and I only have access to a finite number of OEMSETUP files). If there is any problem with your manufacturer's version of the file, do please mail me a copy. NOTE that if you downloaded your drivers from a bulletin board or from an ftp site, you need to unzip the files first. VIDEODRV will NOT unzip files that have been archived in the ZIP format. 2. When you have installed your drivers from a driver disk, VIDEODRV will create a file in your DRIVER DIRECTORY (see below) called VIDEODRV.DBF. This file will hold information on all the drivers that you have installed through VIDEODRV from a driver disk. Thus, if you want to change the drivers, you will be presented with a list of the descriptions of the drivers (not just the file names as in early versions of VIDEODRV). When you select from the list, the appropriate driver will be installed. Please NEVER delete VIDEODRV.DBF, otherwise, VIDEODRV will just assume that you have not installed any driver from a driver disk as described above, and will only present you with a list of driver filenames. 3. VIDEODRV will put a copy of each installed driver into your DRIVER DIRECTORY. This is to facilitate future driver changes. 4. There is a menu option which you can select to RESTART the Win-OS/2 session. Also, when you have just changed your display driver or installed a new one, VIDEODRV can optionally restart the Win-OS/2 session. You should use this option only if you are already running in a full screen session. *************************** ** NEW WITH VERSION 5.00 ** *************************** 6. Well, there is yet a new file format for VIDEODRV.DBF. Actually, it is just the same old file format, but I have added yet more information to the file, as I add new features internally. Thus, there is a new CONVERT.EXE which converts VIDEODRV.DBF from the version 4.00 format to the version 5.00 format. Please note that you should only use the CONVERT.EXE that is supplied with version 5.00 if you are using version 4.00. If you are using an earlier version (assuming you have not been using it for more than the 30 day evaluation period) then you basically need to delete your VIDEODRV.DBF file, and reinstall your drivers files again for the purpose of building a new VIDEODRV.DBF. CONVERT.EXE is text mode OS/2 program that should be run from a command prompt (after changing to the directory in which your VIDEODRV.DBF file is located). CONVERT.EXE is really a half-way solution, because the information in the old DBF file is less than that in the new file. All that CONVERT.EXE does is to put that information into the new file format. By using it, you will not get the benefits of the extra information in the new file format (this basically concerns updating references to fonts in the Win-OS/2 INI files). Please note this point. CONVERT.EXE converts the data in VIDEODRV.DBF and puts it into a file called CONVERT.DBF. After conversion, you need to back up your old VIDEODRV.DBF, delete the copy on your hard disk, and then rename CONVERT.DBF to VIDEODRV.DBF. INSTALLATION ------------ There is no special installation procedures. Just copy the following files; 1. VIDEODRV.EXE (the executable) 2. VIDEODRV.INI (the initialization file) 3. VIDEODRV.DOC (this file) 4. LZEXPAND.DLL (library file for decompressing driver files) - you may already have LZEXPAND.DLL in your Win-OS/2 system directory. If so, then you do not need to copy the version supplied with this program. into any sub-directory. Then create a WPS object for VIDEODRV.EXE, or add it to one of your Program Manager groups. USE --- Please read the DISCLAIMER at the end of this file BEFORE any attempt to use VideoDrv. As indicated above, VIDEODRV will now unpack driver files directly from a manufacturer's driver distribution diskette, or from any directory into which the driver files have been copied. In order to run VIDEODRV properly, I recommend strongly, that; [a] you should create a special DRIVER DIRECTORY into which your full screen Win-OS/2 drivers will always be installed. e.g., C:\DRIVERS [b] the name of that directory should be placed on the line "DRIVER-DIRECTORY=" in the file VIDEODRV.INI. This is actually the only entry in this INI file, and should be used. e.g., DRIVER-DIRECTORY=C:\DRIVERS [c] all the drivers that may be used for full screen Win-OS/2 sessions should be copied into the driver directory. This is done automatically when you use VIDEODRV to install drivers. [d] click on the button labelled "Browse", or the button labelled "List .DRV files, to get a list of the driver files in this directory, from which one can be selected. If there is no entry on the "DRIVER-DIRECTORY=" line (in VIDEODRV.INI), or if a non-existent directory is specified, then VideoDrv will always default to your Win-OS/2's SYSTEM directory. The problem with this approach is that there are *many* files in the Win-OS/2 SYSTEM directory that have the extension ".DRV". Most of them are NOT video display drivers at all, and some of the ones which are video display drivers are not suitable for full screen Win-OS/2 sessions (typically, the ones used for seamless Win-OS/2). Thus, selecting any of these will lead to unpredictable results. This is why it is *highly recommended* that all your special Windows screen drivers should be placed or copied into a separate directory. When any of them is selected from the list, VideoDrv will copy it from this directory into your Win-OS/2 SYSTEM directory, so that Win-OS/2 can find it when loading. CHANGING VIDEO DISPLAY DRIVERS ------------------------------ To change your full screen driver, select "New display driver" from the "File" menu. This leads to a dialog box which asks for the details of the new video display driver. This dialog box displays the NAME of the CURRENT full screen display driver, and any DESCRIPTION for it that exists in the INI files. The cursor is placed in an edit field into which you type the name of the new driver. NOTE: ----- 1. If you are sure that the driver already exists in the Win-OS/2 SYSTEM directory, you can just type its name into this field. NOTE that only the name of the file is to be typed in here. There should be no directory path, or anything else. For example, "ET4000.DRV" is acceptable, if that file exists in the Win-OS/2 SYSTEM directory. However, "C:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\WIN31\ET4000.DRV" is NOT acceptable. In any case, VideoDrv will not allow more than 12 characters in this field. After typing the name of the driver, if you want to type in a description for that driver, click on the next edit field, and type your description there. This description is optional. However, if you do type in a description here, then VIDEODRV will add this to the entries in the file VIDEODRV.DBF in your driver directory. If no description is typed in, no entry will be made for the driver in VIDEODRV.DBF. 2. If you are not sure whether the driver is in the Win-OS/2 SYSTEM directory or not, or if you wish to select a driver from a list, then click on the "List .DRV Files" button. Then select the required driver from the list of DRV files. The name of the driver you selected will appear in the edit field, and the cursor will be moved to the next field, into which you can type in a description for the new driver. This is optional. If you have used VIDEODRV to install driver files from your driver disk, then you can click on the "Browse" button. This will show you a list of drivers that you have installed in this way (a full decription of the drivers), and then you can select one of them. 3. When everything is complete, click on the button labelled "Write the changes", and the new driver is installed for you full screen Win-OS/2. It will take effect when you next run a full screen Win-OS/2 session. At this point you will be asked if you want VIDEODRV to RESTART Win-OS/2 to see the results of your new driver. If you are running a full screen Win-OS/2 session, you should click on the "YES" button. If you are running a seamless session, then you should click on "NO", and start a full screen session manually. DESCRIPTION OF MENU OPTIONS --------------------------- 1. CHANGE DISPLAY DRIVER --------------------- Choose this option to replace your current full screen driver with another one to be selected from the driver files in your DRIVER-DIRECTORY. When this option is selected, a dialog box appears. You can either type in the name of the driver file you want, or click on one of the buttons for assistance. The buttons on this dialog box are; [a] BROWSE - this will open the file VIDEODRV.DBF and present you with a list of the drivers that you have installed from a driver disk. What you get here is a full description of the drivers. There are appropriate error messages if the file is not found, etc. When you double click on one of the drivers in the list, the approprate driver file name is transferred into the edit field, and then you have to click on the button labelled "Write the changes". [b] LIST .DRV FILES - this presents you with just a list of the files with a .DRV extension. You can then select a file from the list. When this is done, the filename gets transferred to the edit field, and then you have to click on the button labelled "Write the changes". [c] ABANDON - abandon the installation process. [d] WRITE THE CHANGES - writes whatever is in the edit fields into the appropriate INI files. If the field for the driver name is empty, then you will get an error message. 2. INSTALL NEW DRIVER FROM DISK ---------------------------- Select this option when you want to unpack your drivers from your driver disk. You will be prompted for the directory in which the files from the distribution disk can be found. Then the file OEMSETUP.INF will be read for the installation information. After this, there will appear a list box containing descriptions of the drivers found on the disk. You can then double click on any of them to unpack and install them in one go. 3. SHELL TO DOS ------------ This option opens a DOS box. It is useful for the purpose of maybe unzipping files, etc. Type "exit" to close the DOS box. 4. RESTART WIN-OS/2 SESSION ------------------------ This option closes down the current Win-OS/2 session, and RESTARTS the session again. You will be prompted for confirmation. You should use this option only if you are already running in a full screen session. 5. QUIT WIN-OS/2 SESSION --------------------- This option closes down the current Win-OS/2 session. You will be prompted for confirmation. LIMITATIONS ----------- VIDEODRV has developed the proverbial "middle-age spread" since version 1.00. As I have added features to it, the more the program has grown in size. I do not wish it to grow any further, and there are many things I have decided not to implement. 1. The first is installing from multiple floppy disks. If all the files relating to your driver are on one floppy disk, then that is fine. If they span a number of floppy disks, then you need to copy all the files into a directory on your hard disk and install from there. 2. Some OEMSETUP.INF files prefer certain fonts to be copied from the Microsoft Windows 3.1 distribution disks. VIDEODRV will not copy these font files, since my main purpose in writing it is to enable OS/2 users to install their video drivers WITHOUT using MS-Windows at all. If people have MS-Windows 3.1, then they can run its SETUP program instead. Usually, these fonts would have been copied to your MS-Windows 3.1 system anyway, if you have actually installed MS-Windows 3.1. They are mainly fixed monospaced fonts. If you want to be doubly sure, you can; [a] copy all the files with a .FON extension from your MS-Windows 3.1 distribution disks into a directory on your hard disk, and then [b] copy the files from your manufacturer's driver distribution disk into the same directory AFTERWARDS (this way you won't overwrite your manufacturer's fonts with MS ones that have the same name), and then [c] install your drivers from this directory. This method will work because VIDEODRV will try to install all the fonts that your OEMSETUP.INF file tells it to. It will ONLY look for these fonts in the directory from which you are installing, and if it doesn't find any font, it simply goes on with the rest. LICENSE ------- VideoDrv is supplied as a shareware program. You may copy and distribute this program freely, PROVIDED THAT *all* the accompanying files are included. If you have used VideoDrv for 30 days, and wish to continue using it, then you are obliged to REGISTER your copy. The REGISTRATION fee is VERY small, and I am relying on users to play fair. The program is not crippled or disabled in anyway. The registration fee is ú5 (Five Pounds Sterling), or $US7.50 (Seven (US) Dollars and Fifty Cents). If you are registering in currency other than British Pounds Sterling, please send an International Money Order, or CASH. Sending me a cheque drawn out in foreign currency is *worse* than USELESS, since the bank charges will be more than the amount you are sending. Please note this point. Please send your REGISTRATION FEE to me at the following address; Dr. A. Olowofoyeku 268 Horwood Newcastle Staffs ST5 5BQ England. E-mail: laa12@seq1.keele.ac.uk REGISTRATION brings the following benefits; 1. The satisfaction of being an honest person 2. Support for the program - I will not answer any questions from anybody who has not registered. 3. The knowledge that you are encouraging shareware programmers to cater for OS/2 users. If you think that VIDEODRV is not worth the registration fee, then please DELETE it from your disks. BUG REPORTS AND SUGGESTIONS --------------------------- Please let me know of any bugs, or any suggestions for improvement of the program. I am developing and improving on VIDEODRV virtually on a daily basis (which must be evident from the number of updates that I keep uploading to the OS/2 ftp sites). ************** * DISCLAIMER * ************** THE PROGRAM VIDEODRV IS SUPPLIED "AS IS", AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER. YOU USE THIS PROGRAM ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, WHETHER PHYSICAL, FINANCIAL, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, MENTAL, MARITAL, OR OTHERWISE, THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE USE, OR THE PURPORTED USE, OF VIDEODRV, FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER. IF THESE TERMS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, THEN YOU HAVE NO LICENSE TO USE VIDEODRV, AND YOU SHOULD DELETE IT FROM YOUR DISKS IMMEDIATELY.