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-
- [Introduction]
-
- This is the Help file for the AMIDiag 4.5 System Information
- utility (Sysinfo).
-
- System information lists all standard configuration details for
- PC hardware and software configurations. Sysinfo also provides
- information about SCSI, EISA, PCI, Plug & Play, and
- PCMCIA devices, as well as sound cards. No other utility
- provides as much information about your computer.
-
-
- Help File Hypertext
-
- Some words in this Help file are highlighted. You can select these
- words to display additional information. Press <Tab> when a
- highlighted word is selected to display the next occurrence of this
- word. Press <F1> when a highlighted word is selected to display
- Help information about the word.
-
- Press <F2> to display the Help index. Press <F1> while selecting
- any item in the Help index to display Help on that item.
-
-
- [System Configuration]
-
- The system configuration menu item displays a summary of the
- hardware components that Sysinfo has detected in your computer.
- You can use this information to verify that the operating system
- recognizes all hardware components in your computer. Included is
- a summary of motherboard, Disk subsystem, adapters and other details.
-
-
- [Motherboard]
-
- This option lists a summary of the actual hardware components
- that Sysinfo detected on the motherboard. The motherboard is the
- primary circuit board in your computer and contains the CPU,
- DRAM, cache memory, and system BIOS ROMs. Some items listed as
- adapters by Sysinfo (COM ports, printer ports, etc.) may be
- built into the motherboard itself.
-
-
- [Memory]
-
- This option lists the base memory, extended memory, ROM, and
- RAM space detected by Sysinfo. This information may not be the same
- as listed by the system BIOS. Many system BIOS only recognize the
- first 64 MB of system memory and may not consider upper memory.
-
-
- [I/O Ports]
-
- This option lists all detectable I/O ports in your computer.
- Sysinfo identifies all {ISA}, {EISA}, {PCI}, {Plug&Play},
- and {PCMCIA}-related I/O ports.
-
- Use this option to find free I/O ports when installing a new
- adapter card that requires an I/O address. If you install an
- adapter card without determining if the I/O port is free, you
- may introduce an I/O port conflict and you system may hang.
-
-
- [Hardware Interrupts]
-
- This option lists all detectable {IRQ} in your computer.
- Sysinfo identifies all ISA, {EISA}, {PCI}, {Plug&Play}, and
- {PCMCIA} {IRQ}. Display this list when you installing a
- new adapter card to identify free IRQs.
-
-
- [DMA Assignment]
-
- This option lists DMA use in your computer. Sysinfo identifies
- all {ISA}, {EISA}, {PCI}, {Plug & Play}, and {PCMCIA} {DMA}.
- Display this list when installing a new adapter card to identify
- free DMA channels.
-
-
- [CMOS Information]
-
- CMOS (Complementary Metallic Oxide) is a method of fabricating
- integrated circuits (ICs). This term is more commonly applied to
- the type of IC manufactured by this method, a type of
- nonvolatile Random Access Memory that requires very little power.
-
- The date, time, disks, display, and other vital configuration
- parameters are stored in CMOS RAM, which is powered by a battery.
- Sysinfo lists this information when you choose this option.
-
-
- [BIOS information]
-
- The system BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is the ROM-based
- low-level software that controls many PC devices. American
- Megatrends makes the best system BIOS in the industry. AMIBIOS
- is both the fastest and the most compatible system BIOS.
-
- When you select this option, the BIOS name, version number, and
- features are displayed. The keyboard controller BIOS information
- is also displayed.
-
-
- [Adapter information]
-
- Select this option to list all adapter cards in your computer.
- This list includes all detectable ISA and configured EISA, PCI,
- and Plug & Play adapter cards. After you install an adapter card,
- select this option to see if the new adapter card has been
- detected by Sysinfo. If not, the operating system may not be
- able to use the new adapter card.
-
-
- [Display details]
-
- Select this option to display the properties of the Display
- subsystem. The video adapter, monitor, the VGA or VESA VGA
- chipset type, and the supported video modes and colors are displayed.
-
- Sysinfo detects most VGA cards. Support for some video modes
- may vary depending on VGA memory size and the operating
- mode of the adapter.
-
-
- [Network information]
-
- Select this option to list information about the networks your
- computer is attached to. You must be logged in to a network
- before Sysinfo can provide this information.
-
- The first network screen displays the Novell NetWare servers
- your computer is attached to and their version number.
-
- Select a server (if more than one server is listed) and press I
- to display the features of the Novell configuration running on
- the selected server.
-
- Select a server and press D to display the volumes supported by
- the selected server.
-
- Select a server and press U to display a list of the users logged
- onto the server. You can even send a message to any listed user.
-
-
- [SCSI information]
-
- Select this option to list all SCSI disk, CD-ROM, and tape drives
- attached to all SCSI host adapters in your computer. This list
- includes the size and address of the SCSI devices. This information
- is collected from the DOS ASPI device driver. If the ASPI driver
- is not loaded, all SCSI devices may not be displayed.
-
-
- [PCMCIA information]
-
- Select this option to display a list of installed PCMCIA devices.
-
- PCMCIA adapters have sockets for PCMCIA cards. This option
- displays the status of up to four sockets. As you insert a PCMCIA
- PC Card in the socket, the PC Card name and is displayed. Press
- <F1>, <F2>, <F3> or <F4> (see the screen instructions) to
- display detailed information on the card in each socket.
-
-
- [Power Management]
-
- Select this option to display information about power management
- use in your computer.
-
- Power management is available in new desktop computers as well as
- in portable computers. Power management features are designed to
- conserve power and preserve battery life in notebook and laptop PCs.
-
- The standard power management API (Applications Program Interface)
- is APM (Advanced Power Management). APM allows the operating
- system to control computer power. The BIOS or operating system can
- power down devices that are not being used. The devices can be powered
- on as needed.
-
- Sysinfo uses the APM interface to retrieve power management
- information. If APM is not implemented on your computer, this option
- will not work.
-
-
- [Multimedia information]
-
- Select this option to identify and display information about
- Soundblaster-compatible adapter cards in your computer. You do
- not have to load Soundblaster drivers or edit system files.
- Sysinfo finds this information by directly reading the hardware.
-
-
- [EISA information]
-
- Select this option to display detailed information about all
- EISA slots in an EISA computer. If the EISA slots are not
- configured, the Slot IDs are not displayed and no EISA
- information is available. This option will not display any
- information if you do not have an EISA computer.
-
- If the slots are configured via the ECU (EISA Configuration
- Utility), EISA configuration information such as IRQ, DMA,
- I/O port, ROM, and RAM assignments is displayed.
-
-
- [PCI information]
-
- When you select this option, Sysinfo scans all {PCI} slots
- and displays the PCI information it found. Some adapter cards
- sit on a PCI slot but are not true PCI cards. A true PCI card
- must have been assigned nonvolatile RAM that is identified as
- PCI configuration space. If this space is not available, Sysinfo
- cannot find PCI data. These types of cards are identified as
- ISA cards by Sysinfo and are listed in the Adapter list.
-
- The system BIOS must support PCI configuration before you can
- use PCI adapters in your computer.
-
-
- [PLUG&PLAY information]
-
- Select this option to display all {Plug&Play} information.
- Before Sysinfo can display this information, the system BIOS must
- have plug and play support. Sysinfo displays information from
- the system BIOS.
-
-
- [Physical drives]
-
- Select this option to list the physical drives in your computer,
- not the drives you address as C:, D:, etc. Sysinfo displays the
- drive unit number for IDE and SCSI drives. It also identifies the
- vendor and model number.
-
-
- [Logical drives]
-
- Select this option to display the logical drives in your
- computer. Logical drives are all drives you can access from DOS
- as A:, C:, D: etc. Sysinfo lists all drives with the volume name,
- serial numbers and the drive type (local, network, assigned, etc).
-
- [Memory map]
-
- Select this option to display a DOS memory map, which shows you
- exactly how DOS is using system memory.
-
-
- [Device drivers]
-
- Select this option to list all device drivers installed in your
- computer, including device drivers built into DOS. Sysinfo
- identifies most popular device drivers by name.
-
-
- [Software interrupts]
-
- Select this option to list all software interrupts in your
- computer and the owner of the software interrupt.
-
-
- [DOS Environment]
-
- This option will display the detail DOS environment.
-
-
- [List autoexec.bat]
-
- Select this option to display the current AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
-
-
- [List config.sys]
-
- Select this option to display the current CONFIG.SYS file.
-
-
- [XMS environment]
-
- Select this option to display extended memory use.
-
-
- [EMS environment]
-
-
- Select this option to display enhanced memory use.
-
-
- [Change color set]
-
- Select this option to change the Sysinfo screen color scheme.
- You can also press <F10> to change the Sysinfo screen colors.
-
- [View system files]
-
- Select this option to view AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI
- SYSTEM.INI and other text files. This options will default the
- AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS directory to boot drive and WIN.INI,
- SYSTEM.INI directory to the Windows directory set in path
- command. Before the files are displayed, program will prompt
- you change the directory if you want to.
-
- [Execute Batch]
-
- Select this option to run selected items from the Sysinfo menu
- and transfer the output from these items to another file or device.
- First select one or more items from the Sysinfo menu via <F3>.
-
-
- [About]
-
- Select this option to display the Sysinfo version number.
-
-
- [Exit Sysinfo]
-
- Select this option to quit Sysinfo to return to AMIDiag.
-
-
- [DMA]
-
- Direct Memory Access (DMA) is the direct transfer of data to
- or from a peripheral device (such as a hard disk) with no
- intervention from the CPU.
-
- A DMA controller, when programmed, handles all the related issues
- in a DMA transfer, such as DMA timing and number of bytes to
- transfer.
-
-
- [IRQ]
-
- A hardware interrupt (IRQ) is a signal to the CPU that stops the
- current CPU activity and allows it to perform a higher priority
- task. An interrupt is usually generated by a peripheral device
- demanding attention. After the interrupt is serviced, the
- suspended activity is resumed at the point it was stopped.
-
-
- [CMOS]
-
- Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) is a method of
- fabricating ICs. It is more frequently used to specify an IC
- produced by this method. All CMOS ICs consume very little energy.
-
- The CMOS RAM is used in IBM AT-compatible systems to store vital
- system configuration data. The CMOS RAM is battery backed, so that
- its content remains intact even when the system is switched OFF.
-
-
- [ISA]
-
- Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the architecture of the
- IBM PC/AT. It is 16 bits wide.
-
-
- [EISA]
-
- Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) is an extension
- to the ISA bus standard that permits 32-bit operation. EISA also
- allows level-triggered interrupts, so that the same interrupt
- can be shared by more than one device.
-
-
- [PCI]
-
- Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) is a popular local bus
- standard. A local bus allows peripheral devices such as the display
- controller and disk controller to sit on the CPU bus so they operate
- much faster.
-
-
- [PCMCIA]
-
- The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA)
- developed and maintains a standard for credit-card-sized
- PC peripherals devices, called PC Cards.
-
- PC Cards, can include I/O controllers, memory, and mass storage
- devices. PC Cards are mostly used in AT-compatible notebook
- computers. A major advantage is the PC Card size and portability.
-
-
- [Plug&Play]
-
- Plug-and-play is a new computer industry standard that permits a
- computer to automatically configure system resources, foregoing the
- necessity for hardware switches and jumpers.
-
-
- [Cache]
-
- Caching speeds access to information in a slower device by
- storing a part of the slow devices information in a much
- faster device.
-
- For example, ISA system memory uses DRAMs (Dynamic Random
- Access Memory) with typical access times of 60 to 70 nanoseconds.
- However, if most memory accesses are to a 64 KB block of
- system DRAM memory, the data in that 64 KB of DRAM can be
- copied to cache memory.
-
- Cache memory uses SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) with
- typical access time of 12 to 14 nanoseconds.
-
- As long as the 64 KB block of data is not modified, the
- CPU can access this data from fast cache memory, permitting
- a significant boost in performance.
-
- [End of Help]
-
- End of help file.