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Text File | 1990-09-22 | 11.9 KB | 248 lines

ID:WT Windows 3/QEMM386 Trouble-shooting
Quarterdeck Technical Note
by Stan Young

QEMM-386 version 5.10 and above supports Windows 3.0 in all of
its processing modes:  Real, Standard and 386 Enhanced.

The QEMM-386 upgrade booklet gives some specific instructions for
the set up of QEMM-386 to ensure Windows compatibility. Most
users who follow these instructions should find that Windows 3.0
will operate correctly with QEMM-386 in all three modes.  For the
most part, we have not seen problems which relate to QEMM-386
setup when running in Real or Standard modes.

However, due to the broad range of hardware and software which
may be combined in some systems, we have seen configurations
which have experienced various problems when trying to run
Windows 3.0 in 386 Enhanced mode.

These problem include: Failure of Windows to start up in Enhanced
mode, system crashes when exiting Windows in Enhanced mode, and in
some cases problems while running Windows which do not occur when
you are not loading QEMM-386.

IF WINDOWS 3.0 WILL NOT START IN ENHANCED MODE
OR CRASHES ON EXIT:

Initial Check List:

The first thing to do if you are having trouble starting Windows
3.0 in Enhanced mode, or upon exit from Windows, is to check your
system to be sure that it has been set up as suggested in the QEMM
5.1 Upgrade Booklet.  Following are some items that are important
to Enhanced mode operations.

1.  Be sure the statement which loads QEMM-386 in your CONFIG.SYS
file is using the "RAM" parameter or that if you are not using
the RAM parameter, you should use "X=B000-B7FF" to exclude QEMM's
use of the monochrome video area.  Additional information on this
is given in the Upgrade Booklet on page 4.

2.  If you are running on a machine which has different speeds of
memory, you will need to use the NOSORT (NS) parameter.  If you
are running on a machine which would normally have less than 640K
of conventional memory and where QEMM-386 is filling the memory
to 640K, you must use the NOFILL (NO) parameter.  In both these
cases, QEMM-386 cannot support these features while Windows 3.0
is in Enhanced mode.  This is because QEMM-386 must be in an "ON"
state to manage these sorted memory and memory filling. Windows turns
QEMM-386 "OFF" when it starts up in Enhanced mode.  QEMM-386 does not
have to be turned off when Windows is in Real or Standard modes,
therefore machines that required these features could run in those
modes.  If you are not sure whether your machine has differing speeds
of memory, or has 640K of conventional memory, try the parameters
anyway.  They will have no negative effect if they don't apply.

3.  If you are running QEMM-386 version 5.10 instead of 5.11 or
later and you have a machine, such as a PS/2 or microchannel
compatible , which has an extended BIOS data area, you must use
the NOXBDA (NX) parameter so that the extended BIOS data area
will not be moved.  QEMM-386 version 5.11 and later do not
require this parameter and if you are a registered owner of QEMM
5.10, you may obtain an update, at no charge to version 5.11 by
sending a request for the update to Quarterdeck along with your
registered serial number.  If you have not yet registered, you
may request the update when you send in your registration card.
Also, if you are getting paging errors from Windows, an upgrade
to 5.11 may be necessary.

PROBLEMS OR CRASHES WHILE RUNNING WINDOWS
IN ENHANCED MODE:

Problems or crashes which occur while running Windows 3.0 in
Enhanced mode are typically not the fault of QEMM-386, because
while Windows is in Enhanced mode, QEMM is completely disabled.
In that state, QEMM-386 can neither cause problems or prevent
them if they occur.  However there may be changes to the system
which QEMM-386 has made before being disabled which may later
cause problems for Windows.  If you encounter problems while
running Windows, you should naturally consult with Microsoft
Technical Support to see if they have a solution to the problem.

If you suspect that QEMM-386 is somehow involved, try disabling
QEMM entirely (by putting the word "REM" before the line which
loads the QEMM386.SYS driver in your CONFIG.SYS).  Leave all
other resident programs or drivers installed and see if the
problem persists.  If it does, then the problem is not related to
QEMM.  If removing QEMM seems to correct the problem, restore
QEMM and then try undoing some of the changes that QEMM has made.
For instance, try loading QEMM, but do not load any of your
resident programs into high RAM.  Also, if you are using
FILES.COM or BUFFERS.COM, try loading normal files and buffers.
By the way, Windows 3.0 seems to require a minimum of at least 25
file handles, so if you are allocating fewer than 25, increase
the number.

WINDOWS 386 ENHANCED MODE CONFLICTS
WITH OTHER SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE:

Windows 386 Enhanced mode may have conflicts with certain types
of hardware, or software which are not related to QEMM-386.
These problems are best addressed by consulting with Microsoft or
the manufacturers of the problem hardware or software.  However,
here are some of the areas where there might be conflicts:

1.  NETWORKS

Windows 3.0 currently supports ONLY the following networks:

     LAN Manager v1.0 or 100% compatibles
     LAN Manager v2.0 Basic or 100% compatibles
     LAN Manager v2.0 Enhanced or 100% compatibles
     Microsoft Network or 100% compatibles
     Novell Netware v2.1 or Netware 386*

*Note: Use with Netware requires that you use 3.01 of the IPX and
NETx software.  Contact Novell for this.

If your LAN is not one of the above or a compatible, then it
probably will not work properly with Windows.  Even if it is one
of the above, there may be problems you may have to discuss with
Microsoft or your LAN vendor.  Network support has been one of
the problem areas of the initial release of Windows 3.0.

2.  EXPANDED MEMORY TSRs

If you are using TSRs before Windows which use expanded memory
( disk caches, network drivers, ram disks or pop-up programs
which swap themselves to expanded memory), these may not be
compatible with Windows 3.0.  Microsoft publishes a document for
software developers that lists a number of EMS functions which
may not be exercised by programs that are resident before
Windows.  In the past, some of these operations have been fairly
commonplace, so it map prove that many TSRs that use expanded
memory will be incompatible with Windows 3.0 -- at least in the
enhanced mode.  If you encounter problems running TSRs that use
expanded memory before Windows 3.0, you should contact the
manufacturer of the TSR to see if the EMS functions they use meet
the limitations as outlined by Microsoft.

3.  BUS-MASTERING DEVICES

Bus-mastering devices are ones which do their own direct memory
addressing (DMA).  DMA is done without going through the
machine's processor.  The most common bus-mastering devices we
see currently are SCSI hard disk controllers, but technically,
other types of devices could be bus-mastering as well.

The problem with these devices is that they put data into
absolute memory addresses and assume that the contents of those
memory addresses will always remain constant.  However, when
running Windows 3.0 in enhanced mode, this can often be
an incorrect assumption.  In Enhanced mode, the same physical
memory addresses can, at any given moment hold different data,
depending on which virtual machine is current.

To run Windows 3.0 properly with these devices, you should obtain
a driver from the manufacturer of the device which meets the VDS
(Virtual DMA Services) specification.  With such a driver,
Windows 3.0 should be able to operate with your bus-mastering
device.

When you are not running Windows 3.0 in Enhanced mode, QEMM-386's
DISKBUF (DB) parameter can be used to work around these problems.
But again, since QEMM-386 must be disabled when Windows Enhanced
mode is active, the DISKBUF parameter will have no effect.

IF WINDOWS RUNS SLOWLY IN ENHANCED MODE:

A full hard disk will probably impair Windows' paging ability and
reduce the size and number of programs you can run in Windows.
This symptom may look more pronounced with QEMM present.  If your
operations in Windows seem to be slower than they were
previously, or you find yourself running out of memory, check to
be sure you have plenty of free disk space.  This should be at
least 2MB (preferably more) on the drive that pointed to by the
TEMP environment variable.  Speed may also be affected by
fragmentation of your hard drive and in these cases, setting up a
permanent Windows swap file, as outlined on page 522 of the
Windows manual might be useful.

IF THE PRECEDING SUGGESTIONS FAIL:

In particularly difficult cases getting Windows 3.0 to run in
Enhanced mode, here are some things to check and try:

1.  If the system has Shadow RAM, try QEMM-386's NOSHADOWRAM
(NOSH) parameter.  If you are not sure, try it anyway.  The
parameter will have no harmful effect if your system does not
have Shadow RAM.

2.  Try using the X=F000-FFFF parameter to exclude any QEMM
mapping in the F000-FFFF area.

3.  If, when starting Windows enhanced, you get a bunch of
garbage on the display and beeping, and Windows goes back to the
DOS prompt, check to see that there is a file called WINHIRAM.VXD
in the QEMM directory, on your hard disk.  Be sure also that this
file is identical to the one on the disk that contains the
version of QEMM that you are currently running.  Versions of this
file may be specific to the QEMM-386 version with which they
shipped.

4.  Run the Windows SETUP program from the DOS prompt,(not the
Setup which runs inside of Windows) and be sure you have properly
identified your machine to Windows.  The default SETUP selection
specifies "MS-DOS or PC-DOS System", and many users may tend to
take this option.  However, Windows provides specific setups for
many common PC compatibles like AST, NCR, NEC, Toshiba, Everex,
and Hewlett-Packard.  Check this list if you are having problems.
If your machine is on the list, use that selection.

5.  Windows Enhanced mode may not like an EMS Page Frame at 9000.
Check the location of the frame by running QEMM.COM.  If the
frame is at 9000, see if you can move it somewhere between C000
and E000.  If 9000 was the default selected by QEMM, you may have
to relocate installed hardware boards to free up a contiguous 64K
memory block in high memory.  Be careful you are not forcing the
Page Frame over an installed device, or you will also have
problems.  If you have a Page Frame at 9000, problems are likely
to show up when running DOS programs that use expanded memory in
Windows 3.0 .

6.  If you are running QEMM-386 v5.10 and have trouble running
Novell's XMSNET, or anything that uses the XMS memory, before
Windows enhanced, get the update to QEMM-386 v5.11.

7.  In some cases the following modifications to the Windows 3.0
SYSTEM.INI file, which can be found in the WIN directory have
proven to solve problems.  Edit the file with a text editor
(Windows Notepad will do) and following the line that says
"[386Enh]", add a line which says "DualDisplay=True", followed by
a line which says "EMMExclude=E000-EFFF".

8.  Some users have reported that they don't get print options
inside Windows.  If you are having this problem, either remove
the SET TEMP= environment variable that the Windows Setup program
puts in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or make sure that the directory
that it is pointing to actually exists and that there is space on
the drive specified.

9.  For problems running Windows standard or Windows real problems in
DV, try changing our DVP's to load WIN /R or WIN /S instead of
SYSTEM\KERNEL.EXE or SYSTEM\DOSX.EXE.

        Copyright (C) 1990 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
             * * *   E N D   O F   F I L E    * * *