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Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 271 SEE ALSO: dA and dM test conditions, std.mk and 101.mk key mapping script files. 29.6 Display Operation When ZCOMM starts up, or regains control after a DOS Gateway, the video mode and number of columns and rows are interrogated with a BIOS interrupt call. If the columns are less than 80, or if the BIOS video mode is between 4 and 6, the video mode is changed to 3 (color, 80x25). If other BIOS video modes cause problems, give a DOS "mode co80" or "mode mono" command before starting ZCOMM. Display boards with more than 80 columns or more than 25 lines are supported by the # and $ numeric parameters (q.v.). By default, warpdrive is selected for best performance. ZCOMM supports extended EGA displays with ANSI 132 column escape codes and the V numeric parameter. Special text video modes can be accessed with the videobios command. If ZCOMM is started with a Topview or DESQview virtual screen, the video memory pointers are adjusted. For special applications, the display may be completely inhibited with a "display inhibit" command. Updating of the display is reenabled by a display NOinhibit command or a fatal error disgnostic. In addition, ZCOMM can emulate hard copy terminals by displaying identical overstruck characters in bold (high intensity) and by underlining characters when the overstrike involves the ASCII underline character. This is enabled with a "display overstrike" command. (With the Color/Graphics board, underlining is represented by reverse video.) (A character position on the screen is overstruck if the character position being written already contains a character.) If the applications used involve backspacing and overstriking for character editing, overstrike will produce random bold characters and may be shut off with a "display NOoverstrike" command. Alternatively, the term function subcommand ALT-O will toggle overstrike. Normally, a received linefeed causes vertical movement only. If nlmode is set with a "display nlmode" command, a received linefeed also performs a carriage return. Nlmode is useful for Unix(TM) and similar systems. ZCOMM's Nlmode setting must agree with Unix's nlmode setting for screen oriented programs such as Berkeley Editor to function properly. Normally ZCOMM autowraps if there are too many characters on a line. This can be turned off with a "display noautowrap" command. Normally a received bell character will jangle the speaker with a beep. The command "display bell=visual" silently displays BEL as a (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 29 Terminal Emulation Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 272 flashing musical note without spacing to the next character position. Most display adapters allow DMA access to the video RAM without snow (sometimes called Chromablizzard). When operating with older color/graphics display controllers (the original IBM CGA board and clones), updating the display will cause snow (sometimes called Chromablizzard). to appear on the screen unless warpdrive is disabled. EXAMPLE: display nowarpdrive 29.7 Non Standard Displays ZCOMM defaults to a 80 by 25 display, with the bottom line used for status information. Some displays support more than 25 lines and/or more than 80 characters per line. In other cases, ZCOMM might be run in a small window in multitasking environments such as TopView, DESQview, or Windows. The $ and # numeric parameters may be set to accomodate these situations. A cls command should be given after changing the $ or # numeric parameter. When ZCOMM starts up, the $ numeric parameter (number of columns) is set according to the value returned by the BIOS. ANSI 132 column escape codes are not recognized in windowed operation. Chapter 24 describes these parameters. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 29 Log Entry Codes Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 273 30. LOGGING ENTRIES ZCOMM can be set to keep various logs with the callers, calllog, rcmdlog, rxlog, and txlog string parameters. Entries in the log files include a code in the first column to indicate the conditions of the operation associated with the entry. They are formatted as follows: * An open file was implicitly closed when another file was opened or as a result of a port or call command, or dialing a number. > File skipped by receiver request. Log entry made iff the v numeric parameter is greater than 0. C Successful completion of a Compuserve B protocol file transfer. C Call terminated by loss of carrier detect, bye or off command, or dialing another phone number. Connect time is displayed in tenths of minutes. c An open file was closed with a close or ALT-C command. E Operation terminated by error. Partially transmitted file skipped by request. F A transmit file was closed as a result of an end of file encountered as it was transmitted by the term function. g A transmit file was closed as a result of an end of file encountered by the grab command, file received with the fget command. K Successful Kermit file transfer. L Log entry of a host state login, connect time in tenths of minutes. m Message received with the message or private command. n The file name shown is illegal for the local operationg system, and has been changed to "rename.###". The numeric value of ### is shown in the count field. R Successful file received with XMODEM family protocol. Q Questionable filtransfer sent with XMODEM family protocol. On receive: an EOT character was received but could not be verified; the file may be truncated. On Send: All data blocks were acknowledgd, but the EOT was not. S Successful file sent with XMODEM or XMODEM BATCH protocol. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 30 Log Entry Codes Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 274 t File received with TWX convention (terminated by EOT, ETX, or ^Z). U An incomplete received file was Unlinked (removed). X Call terminated by off or x command or by software termination signal. x A file was closed implicitly when ZCOMM exited to the operating system. Z Successful file received with ZMODEM protocol. z Successful file sent with ZMODEM protocol. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 30 Log Entry Codes Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 275 At the completion of a call, an entry in the call log is made providing the calllog string variable is set to a suitable pathname. A typical entry with 6.3 minutes connect time with a system called cis02 is shown. The phone number is that given to Zcomm for autodialing, contained in the telno string parameter. C 2143:22 01-25-84 1200 c:226-0627 63 cis02 30.1 Performance Log The plog string parameter enables file transfer performance logging. The default empty value disables this function. Performance log keeping does not affect the nolog command. A sample entry is shown below. The fields are: effective speed[1], log code, "L" for loss of carrier detect (otherwise blank), file name, length, average transfer rate (characters per second), transfer time in seconds (file open to file close), number of seconds required to start the transfer, number of errors (retransmissions), flow control transistions, block length/subpacket length (at end of file), measured round trip delay time in hundredths of seconds, the command (or facsimilie thereof), the other program's serial number (-1 if not available), the directory entry or caller's name, and the hardware handshake option. 2400 Z FOO.ARC 153760 186 826 1 20 260 256 234 sz 1171 guess who off The above example shows 1 second to start the transfer, 20 retransmissions, and 260 times that YAM had to wait for flow control release. This unusual set of figures is the result of a "networked" transfer through the "cu" program on a Unix system to a PC, not a normal connection or PC-Pursuit access. The count of flow control transitions gives an indication of flow control restraint applied by the modem, network, or receiver. Since it counts the times YAM has entered a wait because of flow control restraint and not the total amount of time spent in that state, it is not an accurate quantitative measure. The file transfer time and throughput calculation excludes the time required to start the transfer, since that time is often not under the protocol's control. __________ 1. The transmission speed unless set by the estimate command. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 30 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 276 31. ERROR (and other) MESSAGES In the following messages, a %s refers to a filename or some other name or string. %d or %ld refers to a decimal number. %x refers to hexadecimal number, usually a character received from the modem. Error messages referring to the XMODEM protocol and/or XMODEM/CRC protocol also apply to the the YMODEM Batch protocol, which is an extension of the XMODEM protocol. Most of the XMODEM error messages are preceded by the sector and error number. ; not allowed with while The while command does not allow any semicolons to exist on the rest of the line. Aborting with error from remote: The remote Kermit program has aborted the file transfer with the following message. Access Password When ZCOMM is in host operation, callers must enter an access password to gain access to the system, unless the string parameter Password is empty. Awaiting initial NAK When sending a file with the XMODEM protocol, ZCOMM is waiting for the receiver to start the transfer with an initial NAK character. Awaiting pathname NAK When sending a file in the the YMODEM Batch protocol, ZCOMM is waiting for the receiver to request transmission of the file name, and length. Bad Checksum An error was detected on the last block received with the XMODEM or the YMODEM Batch protocol. ZCOMM will request retransmission of the block. Bad CIS ESC request %x ZCOMM has detected an undefined Compuserve Protocol escape request. Usually due to a line hit or an aborted transfer. Bad CIS request %x ZCOMM has detected an undefined Compuserve Protocol request. Usually due to a line hit or an aborted transfer. Bad Command Please refer to Chapter 19 for legal commands. Bad Condition Please refer to Chapter 27 for legal conditions which may be tested by the if or while commands. Bad CRC An error was detected on the last block received with the XMODEM or the YMODEM Batch protocol. ZCOMM will request retransmission of the block. Bad CRC Length=n An error was detected on the last subpacket received with ZMODEM. ZCOMM will request retransmission of the block. If the (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 277 reported length is shorter than the nominal subpacket length the problem may be incorrectly configured flow control at the sending end. Bad Directory The directory given in a cd command does not exist or is unreadable. Bad Disk A command of the form D: attempted to change the default disk to one that is not in the string parameter disks. Bad Term Option Please refer to Chapter 22 for a list of legal Term Options. Bad Option Please refer to Chapter 20 for legal Options to the k, r and s commands. Bad Parameter The p command was given with an unknown parameter letter. The parameters that can be set may be displayed with the p command given without any parameter. Bad parity Setting The 7{eoms} term option must be be one of e o m s (even, odd, marking, spacing). Bad SNP A valid and legal serial number-password must be entered with the putsnp program. Call Terminated An attempt at connecting to a remote system has been abandoned. Can't allocate buffer ZCOMM was unable to allocate memory for the circular buffer, forcing an immediate exit. Can't find Directory entry for %s A call or gosub command for name failed because name was not found in the directory. Can't open %s errno = %d The named file cannot be opened for reading or writing (depending on the application). The common reasons are listed below: 1 No such file or directory. 4 Bad file number. 5 Not enough core. 6 Permission denied. 7 File exists. 8 Cross-device link. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 278 10 Too many open files. (If this error appears when the specified file is accessible, increase the number of available files with a "FILES=20" statement in CONFIG.SYS.) 11 No space left on device. 14 Resource deadlock would occur. Can't send pathname %s The receiver did not accept the named pathname in a batch transfer. No Carrier Detect The Carrier Detect signal from the modem (pin 8 of the RS232 connector) is OFF. This is often caused by a bad modem cable, or improper modem strapping options. Setting d term option prevents ZCOMM from issuing this message. Changing pathname An illegal pathname has been received. ZCOMM is changing the pathname to one the local operating system will accept. Checksum Bad rx=%x cx=%x The last block was received with a bad checksum. The received checksum and the calculated checksum are displayed. A retransmission request will be made. Closing %s Reception of data for the named file has finished and ZCOMM is closing out the file. Command not allowed remotely Certain commands may only be given from the local keyboard as they would sever communications with a remote user in host operation. Connected to Console Keyboard This message is sent to a caller when the chat command is given in host operation. *** DISK FULL *** If this message appears, your problems may have just started; DOS has been known to trash the disk file system when the disk is filled up. If the disk has been filled up as a result of receiving data with the term function, use the t, b, w review subcommands to store the unwritten data on disk. The browse command may be used to free up disk space. The integrity of the disk file system should be checked with chkdsk/f as soon as possible. Enter message up to 64 lines, type blank line when finished The message or private command allows the user (local, or remote when is host operation) to enter a message which will be appended to the Messages or Private file. Error Checksum=%x Got %x An error was detected in a record received from Compuserve. ZCOMM will request retransmission. Error Recovery ZCOMM has detected a protocol error and is waiting for the line to settle before proceeding. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 279 Exists. Replace/Append/Quit (r/a/q)?? The named file already exists on the local system. You have three options: Replace the old file with the new data, Append the new data to the end of the old file, or Quit the transfer. Exit chat with ^Z The remote should type Ctrl-Z to exit from chat back to the ZCOMM prompt. Falling back to XMODEM/CRC An attempted XMODEM-CRC file receive has failed because the sender has not responded to CRC Send requests, so Zcomm will now try checksum XMODEM. FILES OPEN A transmit and/or receive file is open. Files should be closed before executing any commands that would modify data on disk and/or any directories. Fetching pathname ZCOMM has requested the remote sender to transmit the name and length of the next file in a the YMODEM Batch protocol transfer. found %d %s This informational message is generated when the term function matches a pattern and the v parameter is non zero. Garbled data subpacket An error was detected while attempting to receive data with ZMODEM. This is caused by loss or corruption of transmitted characters between the sending and receiving program. Line noise and flow control mismatch are the common culprits. Got %x for record ACK The Compuserve computer rejected the last record sent. Got %x for sector ACK In the XMODEM protocol, a transmitted sector elicited a response other than the expected ACK, or a NAK. Perhaps the receiving program has terminated and ZCOMM is trying to send the record to the remote's operating system command prompt. Got %x for ACK to EOT The XMODEM protocol sends an EOT to terminate each file transfer. The proper response to the EOT is an ACK; anything else is an error. ZCOMM resends the EOT up to ten times if an ACK is not received. Got %x sector header In the XMODEM protocol, A sector should start with 01 or 02. (02 signifies a 1024 byte block.) An EOT followed by extraneous characters appears as a sector header of 04 (EOT). Got burst for sector ACK In the XMODEM protocol, sectors are acknowledged with a single ACK (006) character. ZCOMM detects an invalid ACK response by waiting two character times to make sure no noise burst accompanied the ACK. It's far better to retransmit a block which has been received correctly than it is to incorrectly proceed to the next block, causing a synchronization error. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 280 Got record %x expecting %x A synchronization error has been detected in the Compuserve protocol. The file should be deleted as it will have been truncated. Got ZCAN indicates the other program has encountered a fatal error and has requested immediate termination of file transfer(s). To determine the cause of this error, you must inspect the error messages displayed by the other program. Got ZRPOS indicates the receiving program has detected a transmission error and has requested retransmission. In other words, ZMODEM is doing its job of detecting and correcting missing and garbled data. Please refer to Chapter 14 for more information. Goto not in script context The goto command is valid only in a script. Hit F1 to End When receiving data with the fget command, hit F1 to end data collection. Any regular character is passed to the remote. Hit any Key to stop When sending a file with the fput command, ZCOMM samples the keyboard every so often to allow the operator to abort the transfer. The keyboard is not scanned continuously because the resulting overhead would impair the throughput available with the fput command. Incorrect The password entered is not the correct password. Insufficient DOS FILES=# Add a FILES=20 line to the active CONFIG.SYS file and reboot DOS to get a sufficient number of file handles to support the level of script nesting required for your application. Internal Stack Failure The number and/or size of DOS 3.2 internal stacks should be increased, or a better operating system should be substituted. ioctl(m n) returned N: reason A Unix ioctl operation returned an error. The first ioctl argument refers to the file descriptor; 0, 1 or 2 indicate a problem with the controlling terminal. Higher file descriptor numbers (typically 6 or 7) refer to the dial-out serial line. The second ioctl argument is the command, shown in hex. This corresponds to definitions in /usr/include/sys/ioctl.h and termio.h. %s Is Illegal Device Device is not one of the legal devices in the string parameter Disks. Is Restricted Path When ZCOMM is Restricted, only the Home directory and its subdirectories may be accessed. Label %s not found A goto label command was given, but label could not (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 281 be found in the same file as the goto command. Loc 0 Corrupted An internal error (data stored into location 0 in the data segment) has been detected. If not caused by a hardware problem, please report to Omen. Local Kermit Timed Out ZCOMM did not receive a Kermit packet from the remote within the timeout specified by the Kermit t parameter. Must set top with t command first When using the w subcommand from review, the top of the buffer segment to be written must be set with the t subcommand. NAK on sector In the XMODEM protocol, the receiver detected a transmission error and has requested retransmission. No ACK on EOT In the XMODEM protocol, and EOT is sent and acknowledged after the data blocks have been sent. This message indicates that the EOT has not been acknowledged after 10 attempts. No ACK on sector The XMODEM transmit protocol has retransmitted the sector 10 times without receiving an acknowledgement from the receiver. This is usually caused by a loss of connection, or by a software or hardware problem that does not allow all characters to pass without error. For example, if the modem cannot pass a character with the 8th bit set, the sector number cannot be sent. Kermit should be used under such conditions. No Carrier Detect The Carrier Detect signal from the modem (pin 8 of the RS232 connector) is OFF. This is often caused by a bad modem cable, improper modem strapping options, bad port number selection, or a defective or incorrectly configured serial interface. Setting d term option prevents ZCOMM from issuing this message. No such command The DOS Gateway handler was unable to load the proper command and/or command.com. Not allowed to overwrite %s When ZCOMM is restricted, existing files may not be overwritten. Nothing to read A read command was given and no file is open for reading. Null Pathname An attempt was made to reference a file with an empty file name. This error sometimes results from a software bug in Compuserve software attempting to download a file with a filename it can't handle correctly, so it just leaves the filename empty. Obey Recursion = %d The main command parser has been called recursively with too many script levels and/or invocations of the obey command. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 282 Other end no longer in Kermit Other side timed out. The Kermit on the other computer has terminated the file transfer. Out of Memory ZCOMM has exhausted the memory available to it. Output Flow Control Restraint RELEASED The network or modem did not release flow control within the time limit set by the S numeric parameter. This message is usually caused by a spurious XOFF character generated by line noise. It may also be caused by missing CTS (Clear To Send) signal on the data port. OVERRUN: DATA May Be Lost Data has been received from the Remote faster than ZCOMM could process it. Some of it has been rerouted to the proverbial bit bucket. Pause (grab) Sending of data has been stopped by execution of the grab command. Pause (handshake) Pause (XOFF) Sending of data has been suspended by flow control. Pattern Flags Reset This message is a reminder that any "pattern found" flags are being reset. If this message appears after a phrase has been "found", but before the phrase is expected, or before the wait statement that should have "seen" the phrase, the script needs to be modified. Port %d (%X) defective The indicated communications port (8250 integrated circuit) failed a simple diagnostic test. Errors in the option board switch or strap settings may prevent the port from being accessible at the expected address. PRINTER SPOOLER BUSY The print spooler has been enabled with the l term option, and had not finished outputting from the circular buffer to the printer when you exited the term function. To print the rest of the data, return to the term function with F2. You may exit ZCOMM at this time, but the rest of the data you wanted to print will be lost. Received dup Sector The last sector was apparently received twice. In the XMODEM protocol, a retransmission is requested in case the sector number was garbled by an otherwise undetected error. The duplicate sector is accepted, discarded, and file transfer proceeds. %s removed A file received in error is removed to allow another attempt at uploading it correctly. Restricted Command This command is not allowed when ZCOMM is Restricted to protect the system from inadvertent and/or willful tampering. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 283 Resynchronizing When ZCOMM is sending a file to another copy of ZCOMM using CRC-16, recovery from sync errors is possible. Scripts nested too deep Too many levels of call, gosub, and source commands are active. Sector number garbled An error has been detected in the sector number of the last received packet. A retransmission will be requested. If this error persists for all 9 retries, the transmission medium or the remote software may be messing with the 8th bit and/or characters with certain bit patterns. Modems and networks often "eat" control characters, especially XON and XOFF. Switching to ZMODEM or Kermit may solve the problem. Sender CANcelled The Remote has aborted file transfers by sending a sequence of CAN characters. Serial Input Error: Line Status Register HH indicates a hardware problem, slow device driver, TSR program, or other software is disabling interrupts too long for the program to accept incoming data, and some characters are lost. A slow response to flow control also triggers this message. The value of the line status register is displayed in HEX. The following error conditions are OR'ed into the Line Status Register. 01 The Interrupt level circular buffer has been overrun. This indicates a flow control problem. The remote did not respond to ZCOMM's XOFF or hardware flow control signal, and continued to send characters after being told not to. This problem is alleviated by matching flow control between the sending computer, modems, and the receiving computer. Usually, the mismatch exists between the sending computer and its modem. 02 An 02 value (or any even number) for the LSR indicates Data Overrun. "Data Overrun" means the computer was not able to respond to an incoming character from the UART (modem) in time to make room for the next incoming character. Data Overruns are caused by poorly designed software and/or ROM BIOS "firmware" locking out interrupts for excessive periods. These lockouts prevent the communications program from responding to the incoming characters in time to prevent data loss. Other chapters in this document give suggestions for working around excessive interrupt latency by using the NS16550AN or other buffered UART chips. Please refer to the "Brain Damaged UARTS" subchapter. Please try all the suggestions mentioned here before contacting (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 284 Omen Technology about data overruns. Common causes of excessively long interrupt lockouts ("critical code regions") are mouse drivers, disk drivers (BIOS), window managers (Windows 3 is terrible), disk cache programs including Microsoft SMARTDRV, TSR programs, and EGA/VGA board auto-select. Slowing the CPU to allow games and other time dependent programs to be used can generate excessive interrupt latency. Some BIOS routines are written without regard to their effect on high speed communications. Better versions of the offending BIOS ROMS may be made available if enough users complain about poor performance. In some cases disabling "multiple block transfer" in the BIOS improves communications. Interrupt latency caused by EGA/VGA board auto-select can be often corrected by disabling the board's Auto-Select. Device drivers and TSRs loaded in high memory sometimes cause interrupt latency problems that can be corrected by moving them into low memory. Poorly written disk caches and disk drivers cause interrupt latency that affects protocols. Some disk cache programs can be set to cache disk reads only, avoiding the massive delayed writes that interfere with file downloads. With Microsoft SMARTDRV.EXE, try using the /E option. Mouse drivers have been reported to cause loss of serial data. If mouse movements interfere with file transfers, do not move the mouse when transferrng files. To correct Data Overruns, you must correct the offending condition(s) to allow the communications program to operate properly. The handshake slow command can be used to stop reception during disk transfers. However, handshake slow is not always an effective alternative to correcting the real problem. When using the handshake slow command, experiment with locking the modem to different speeds. Sometimes a higher speed actually works better. The zmodem k numeric parameter can be set to flush the SMARTDRV cache under controlled conditions. This may be used to reduce errors caused by SMARTDRV. When used with SMARTDEV, set the zmodem k numeric parameter to the number of kilobytes the should be received before flushing SMARTDRV. This number should be low enough to flush SMARTDRV before SMARTDRV periodically flushes itself. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 285 Downloading files temporarily to a RAMDISK may help. Files on the RAMDISK must be copied to a real disk before they are safely stored. !=2 With DOS flavors of ZCOMM one can select a 16384 buffer size, you may be able to avoid problems receiving by using a large i/o buffer and forcing ZMODEM to stop when this buffer fills: pI16384 z pl16384 or pI16384 z pk1 If the I numeric parameter is non zero, it controls how often SMARTDRV is flushed if the zmodem k parameter is non zero. A CASE STUDY: NEC UltraLite VERSA The NEC UltraLite VERSA provides a case study of how brain damaged hardware and software interferes with high speed communications, and what can be done about it. A NEC UltraLite VERSA with 8 MB of memory contains about 70 million transistors and costs upwards of $5000. Unfortunately this machine lacks the hundred transistors necessary to buffer input on its built-in serial port. This port is built in, so replacing it with a better UART ship is out of the question. In normal operation interrupt latency caused by the NEC's device drivers and DOS cause errors at 38400 bps and above. Setting the zmodem k parameter to 50 or 100 reduced overruns by stopping transmission briefly before disk writes. The best operation was obtained by hitting the F5 key while DOS 6 loads to bypass all device drivers and TSR programs. Operating this way there were no data overruns (LSR 02 errors) at 38400 bps. Operation at 115200 bps was possible by setting a large I/O buffer and using the zmodem k numeric parameter. I was able to download AM.DAT (a 15762427 byte FCC database of North American AM broadcast stations provided on the "Ham Call" CDROM) with 3471 cps throughput using ZMODEM compression. While nowhere near as compressible as Columbia University's Kermit News compressible benchmark file, this highly compressible file provides a stress test for compressed transfers because of the resulting heavy disk I/O. 08 Framing Error generally caused by line noise or an incorrect transmission speed ("baud rate") or format (number of bits). Also caused by some cheap internal modems. Most protocols require 8 bits no parity (-8n) for proper operation. This is set automatically by Omen Technology programs, but other programs may not be so smart. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 286 10 Break Interrupt generally caused by line noise or an incorrect transmission speed ("baud rate") or format (number of bits). Also caused by some cheap internal modems. 18 Framing Error and Break Interrupt (see above) in combination. This error may also be caused by defective 8250 UART chips. Some internal modem cards have slow 8250 chips that do not operate properly with computers faster than 4.77 mHz. Replacing the 8250 with a NS16550AN is recommended. Please refer to the "Brain Damaged UARTS" subchapter for details. Setab: %d %s The displayed string of length %d has been queued to be sent to the remote as a result of a put, or putw command, or an answerback request. Setab is also used in sending entstr in response to typing ENTER. *** STACK OVERFLOW *** Indicates ZCOMM has run out of memory for the program stack. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Reboot the system with Ctrl-Alt-Del. If you are using a large number of string variables, or if you have a large DOS enviornment, decreasing the size of ZCOMM's circular buffer with a DOS "set CBSIZE=" command may help. If this appears to be a ZCOMM software problem, please report it to Omen Technology Inc. String too long The string would have been longer than the storage space allocated for it. Sync Error: got %d In the XMODEM protocol, a sector was received whose sector number does not match the expected sector number modulo 256, or the last sector number received modulo 256. This usually happens when a transmission error causes the sender to receive a false ACK. Unless the o (OverThruster) or g option was used,[1] ZCOMM will request retransmission in case the invalid sector number was a result of a line hit. If the file is being sent with CRC-16 by another copy of ZCOMM, resynchronization will be attempted after ten retries. Term Function Recursion = %d The term function has been forced to call itself recursively by f or t commands. Use open or create commands instead. __________ 1. These options prevent error recovery. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 287 Timeout The Compuserve computer has not sent any data for a long time. When things get this slow, it is best to disconnect and ask Compurerve to credit you for wasted connect charges. Timeout on sector ACK In XMODEM protocol, ZCOMM times out waiting for an acknowledgement to a transmitted sector. Too Few arguments The command needs more operands than were given it. Transaction ABORTED BY ERROR / successful The message indicates the ending status of the last file transfer or command download. If a file transfer ended in error, the last file may be truncated. Transfer Aborted: %ld Characters Received The Compuserve protocol has aborted file transfer due to an error. Transmit Data. When data has been sent, close it by typing ^Z When a remote caller has created a file with the t filename command, ZCOMM indicated readiness to receive data with this message. When the file has been transmitted to ZCOMM, a Ctrl-Z will close the file. Unknown Machine Type ZCOMM looks at the ROM BIOS location F000:FFFE to determine whether it is running on a PC, XT, PC-jr, or PC-AT. If the byte fetched in not a standard IBM value, ZCOMM complains and assumes the machine is equivalent to a PC or XT with respect to clock speed and i/o overlap. SEE ALSO: o numeric parameter Unterminated Quoted Token A string token was quoted with a leading " (doublequote) character, but no matching " (doublequote) could be found on the same line. Waiting for call %d ZCOMM is in host operation and is awaiting call N. If n is greater than 1, then n-1 calls have been received since ZCOMM was invoked. Warning: Old dport=%x ier=%x out2=%x mask=%x isr=%08lX When selecting a port, ZCOMM has discovered that the port's interrupt enable bit was already set. Some programs use modem interrupts for their operation but then fail to reset the interrupt enables when they exit. When another program overlays the old program's interrupt service routine, an interrupt from the modem will transfer control to the overwritten memory locations, with unpredicatable results. If the interrupt was set up by a memory resident program or device driver, this message may be ignored. This information might be useful in the event of difficulties caused by such programs. This message may be suppressed by defining the DOS environment variable HOTPORT. EXAMPLE: C>set HOTPORT=1 SEE ALSO: port, portx commands (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Error (and other) Messages Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 288 Wrong number of arguments The set command accepts 0 arguments (display current values) or two arguments, the parameter name and the new value for it. XON Timeout The Kermit protocol (with the x option set) has timed out waiting for an XON character. ZMODEM Garbage count exceeded The reciever has detected a CRC or other error and signalled the sender, but the sender apparently has not received and responded to the retransmission request in a timely manner. Usually caused by transmission line noise corrupting the retransmission request as well as the file data, or by an excessive number of characters stored in the modems and networks. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Hints and Kinks Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 289 32. HINTS AND KINKS 32.1 Recursive Function Key Definitions When defining function keys for use within the term function, do not use the t or f commands. Instead use the create or open commands to prevent excessive recursion (term function chasing its tail). 32.2 Noisy Data Lines Users have reported line noise caused by some types of telephones attached to the same line used by the modem. When reporting line noise troubles to the phone company, remember you pay for the service call if the trouble is traced to your equipment. 32.3 UUUUUUU from 212 modems Sometimes a 212 modem will send UUUUUU ad nauseam because it has received (or thinks it received) a command to enter remote digital loopback. Disabling the modems' remote digital loopback feature (when possible) prevents this form of "lock-up". 32.4 Funny Business with the Phones File When trying out new ideas in the Phones file, make sure that ZCOMM is actually reading the file you think it is by inspecting the value of the phones string parameter with the "set" command. You might find that you were editing one file and ZCOMM was reading a different one. 32.5 Losing Keyboard Characters Generally, ZCOMM does not throw away keyboarded characters that are typed before ZCOMM prompts for them. However, many commands, especially wait, invoke the term function which sends any characters in the keyboard queue to the remote before returning to ZCOMM's command prompt. In general, any time you see the term function's real time status line, keyboarded characters will be acted upon immediately (usually by being sent to the the remote). 32.6 Browsing Through Messages The vast amount of information on bulletin boards requires some heroic measures on the part of a user desiring to keep current without spending all his time wading through the mass of mostly unintersting messages. ZCOMM addresses this problem with its script facility which can download messages from a number of bulletin boards on one or more systems with human intervention. The read command and "/" and "n" review subcommands can be used to (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 32 Hints and Kinks Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 290 skip from one article to the next by searching for the subject line of each message. Since the subject line of each message always appears at the top of the screen, you can keyboard the "n" key quite rapidly without waiting for the display to completely fill. If you overshoot a message or two, the "N" command can be used to back up. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how rapidly you can review message subjects this way. 32.7 Splitting Up Files Sometimes it becomes necessary to split up a large file into smaller files, or to extract small pieces from such a file. For example, Daisy Wheel printers sometimes jam the paper halfway through printing a file. Rather than reprint the entire file, use ZCOMM's open and seek commands to locate the beginning of the desired segment, then read it into the circular buffer with the read command. Then hit F2 for review, place the top line on the first line desired, and type "t". If the desired segment fits within the circular buffer, use the "b" subcommand followed by a "w" subcommand to write the segment to disk. If the segment is too large, use the "w" subcommand without a "b" subcommand to write the entire buffer beginning at the location of the "t" command. Then kill the buffer with the "k" subcommand, returning to ZCOMM's command prompt. Another read command can be given to get the next segment of the file into the buffer. At this point, you can enter review as before to store another segment. Alternatively, you can use the create command to open a receive capture file, then write the buffer contents to it with a w command. Then use kill to clear the buffer, and repeat this cycle until the end of the file is reached. 32.8 Refresher Courses After you've read the manual and used ZCOMM for a while, go back and skim the manual again. You will grok new concepts that were so obscure the first time you didn't know you missed them. 32.9 PC <--> Macintosh File Transfers I do transfers between IBM PC type machines to a Fat Mac and Mac Plus (one upgraded to the other) all the time. I discovered the Macintosh's RS-422 port does not have enough signals coming out of it to properly drive the IBM PC RS-232 serial port without an adapter. So, get two female DB-25 connectors. On the PC side, tie pins 4-5 together, and tie 6-8-20 together. This insures that the PC sees CTS, DSR and RLSD/DCD so your IBM comm program will see them. I prefer using the comm port on the Mac because you can go up to 56 kilobits/sec on it (I use ProYAM on the PC and Microphone on the Mac, (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 32 Hints and Kinks Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 291 which offers 38400 bit per second transfer capability with no errors). Between the two connectors, connect 7 to 7, 3 to 2, and 2 to 3. If you prefer to use the printer cable, connect 7 to 7, 2 to 2, and 3 to 3. Edited from a message by Stephen Satchell, Satchell Evaluations (used with permission) 32.10 Acoustic Coupler for Portables Having a portable computer with a direct-connect internal modem is really great - until you try to use it at a pay phone in the airport. The modular jack does not connect to public telephones. I found one device that overcomes this problem (and it needs to be advertized more). It is the acoustic adapter that 3M sells with their WhisperWriter portable terminals. Model 1490 acoustic coupler connects the 3M teleprinter to public phone lines through a telephone handset. It is recommended for applications where direct connection to phone lines is either not practical or not desirable. The device consists of a pair of rubber cups, a modular jack, and a battery powered audio amplifier set. You simply run a 3-foot modular line from it to your PC, and put the pay telephone's handset in it. Price is less than $80, it works with 300 and 1200 baud internal modems, and should work at 2400. In the Silcon Valley, the distributer is 3M Data Systems (408)866- 8811. This information comes via Usenet from Joe Smith at SU-SCORE. Another acoustic coupler is made by CP+ Inc (Computer Products Plus, Inc.) at 800-274-4277, 714-847-1799. It connects to the modem with a standard modular plug. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 32 Hardware Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 292 33. HARDWARE/SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY 33.1 Hardware Compatibility Notes IBM PS/2 Model 50Z Early samples of this machine have a design error on the motherboard that causes comms programs to lock up the machine. Replacing the motherboard with a correctly functioning unit from current production corrects the problem. The part number of the replacement PS2/50 Z motherboard is 35F5928. (Information provided by John M. Choma 73047,3566) In the U.S. IBM has stonewalled on this issue, but in December 1988 agreed to replace the defective motherboards under warranty. Zenith Computers Older Zenith computers may need a ROM update to work properly with interrupt driven programs such as ZCOMM. NEC Multispeed The NEC Multispeed computer locks up unless STACKS is set in CONFIG.SYS. In addition, one should disable floppy disk power save mode, and set popup program memory allocation to 0. For best results, use the latest NEC software patches to the NEC MSDOS, and/or use an IBM PC-DOS instead of the DOS supplied by NEC. EGA/VGA Multimode Boards Some multimode EGA and VGA boards include an "auto select" feature designed to configure the board to various display standards using software trickery. In the case of Paradise VGA and others, this feature causes excessive interrupt latency and loss of data at high speeds. Disabling the auto select on the display board corrects this problem. EGA Wonder The BIOS in the ATI EGA Wonder has been observed to increase interrupt latency to the dismay of 9600 bps operation on an 8 mHz no wait state AT clone. There has also been a report (unexplained) that an EGA board has induced line noise in one instance. Tecmar Graphics Master To use ZCOMM with this display board, give a mode mono command before running ZCOMM. Leading Edge MODEMS and I/O BOARDS Some Leading Edge modems and interface boards use 8250 UART devices that do not respond correctly when the software turns the transmitter interrupts on and off. High performance communications programs such as ZCOMM require properly functioning UART chips, such as the National Semiconductor 16450 or 16550A. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Hardware Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 293 33.2 Brain Damaged UARTS Omen Technology has received reports of problems with buggy 8250 type UART integrated circuits in Leading Edge modem boards, serial port interfaces, and computers. The defective chip logic affects high performance software. Replacing the buggy chip with a newer chip (NS16550AFN) corrects the problem. The UM82450 chip in the Zoom 2400HC also appears to cause problems. Zoom Telephonics advises that this problem is limited to their old model. The old model has an external volume control. You can identify an old chip by inspecting the serial interface board for 8250 or UM82450 type devices. A service technician or hardware hacker can help if you are not familiar with reading chip numbers. Dsz users can identify old chips with the following software command: EXAMPLE: dsz port 1 speed 2400 p The resulting value for the P numeric parameter should be 1. A value of 0 indicates a non-buffered chip or a chip with a defective buffer. ZCOMM and Professional-YAM users can look at the printout produced by the s command; old UART chips register as TYP 0. Some internal modems and PCMCIA cards use a firmware simulated UART that is not detected as a buffered UART. Properly designed firmware UARTs provide excellent buffering. The National Semiconductor NS16550AFN is a pin compatible plug in replacement for 8250 and 16450 serial chips. Omen Technology PCDOS software enables the FIFO buffer in the NS16550AFN to prevents loss of data from poorly written device drivers, TSR programs, etc. We are also using the Goldstar GM82C550 chip with a 9025 date code. This Goldstar chip is plug compatible with the National chips. No problems have been discovered with this chip. The NS16550AFN has better electrical characteristics than the older UART chips. 386 and fast 286 machines should use the NS16550AFN for best results. Omen Technology software has been written to allow time for the older UART chips to operate. However, there is a limit to how much the software can rearrange chip accesses without resorting to performance robbing wait loops. Some other software is not as forgiving of slow chips. Fortunately the FIFO UART chip situation continues to improve. As of this writing, the following plug compatible chips are known to work. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Hardware Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 294 + Goldstar GM82C550, + National Semiconductor NS16550AN and NS16550AFN + Startech 16550 Current Western Digital WD16C550 chips do not function properly at low speeds. The Startech 16C552 contains two UARTS and a buffered parallel interface. If your UART chip is soldered in or otherwise not replaceable, you will need a new plug-in board with a good UART chip. Byte Runner Technologies 800-274-7897 offers a variety of boards and chips. Another is the KW-524E-1 Serial/Parallel/Game card, $30.90 from TSD Systems, 800-331-9130 (FAX 407-331-8130). A board populated with two FIFO UARTS is $41.85. The Hayes ESP board comes with two serial ports with NS16550AFN devices. The ESP definitions for COM3 and COM4 agree with the industry standard definitions used by Omen Technology. All option switches on the ESP board should be OFF except those used to select the port number (COMn). The $99 "WinSport II" from Boffin LTD 612-894-0595 has two NS16550AFN FIFO UARTS and also supports MobyBaud (18.432 MHz clock). This card also supports higher IRQ numbers, freeing up the low IRQs for other applications. Software Electronics 503-640-1946 sells a $59 board with two FIFO UARTS and a bidirectional enhanced parallel port. The following information comes from a number of people: "I have located a small dealer in New York who has the cards with or without the 16550. I believe the price is around $50.00. The company is RJK Consulting and the number is 718-968-9167. The gentleman to speak to is a Mr. RJ Kulman. ... I got this information off the "Interlink" BBS system." Fm: Nick Braak [TRICON] 75156,1254 Fry's - 415-770-FRYS. This is a Silicon Valley electronic department store. Jameco Electronics at 415-592-8097 800-538-5000 sells National NS16550AFN chips mail order (credit card) in small quantities. Unfortunately, we received a number of reports (none recently) that their serial i/o card was supplied with the defective WD16C550 soldered in, even when ordered with specific instructions to include 16550AFN chips. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Hardware Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 295 TSD Systems advertise a 2 serial/parallel/game card with one or two NS16550-AFN chips. 800-331-9130(voice) 407-331-8130(fax) Microprocessors Unlimited, 24000 South Peoria, Beggs, OK. (918) 267- 4961. The price for the chip is $13.50 plus shipping costs. Consolidated Computers 4 Shoppers Lane Suite 121 Turnersville, NJ 08012 (609)751-9595(voice) (609)751-3843(bbs) (609)751-3840(fax) Arrow Electronics at 800-932-7769 (516-467-1000). Willies Computer Software Company: 800/835-4832. N.B.: Current Western Digital WD16C550 chips do not function properly at low speeds. This has been confirmed with samples received directly from Western Digital. WD is aware of this problem, but has not informed us of a corrected chip. 33.3 Software Compatibility Some programs and device drivers affecting the operation of PC-DOS may interfere with ZCOMM, especially when ZCOMM is operating at high baud rates. Historically, loss and corruption of data have been caused by memory resident programs. Some of these programs increase interrupt latency preventing ZCOMM from reading a character from the UART holding register before the next character comes in on top of it. In other cases, programs do not properly restore the state of the machine when they exit from interrupts. If such a problem is suspected, run ZCOMM without any memory resident programs or special drivers to locate the source of the problem. Once the offending program is identified, a call to the program's vendor may obtain a corrected version. The design of memory resident programs is a little known black art. Subtle bugs, non reproducible interactions, and magic combinations are commonplace results of attempts to impose various aspects of multitasking on top of an operating system that was not properly designed to permit such extensions. Omen Technology Inc may be able to help identify these interactions if provided with the source code of the offending programs. Some of the known troublemakers are mentioned below. Smartdrive This disk cache program (Windows 3.1 version) has been observed to cause communications errors even when a FIFO UART is used. BREAK ON This DOS command causes ^C to be intercepted by DOS at various, sometimes awkward, times. BREAK ON must be used with (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Software Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 296 extreme caution as interrupting most programs with ^C compromises the integrity of the file system. If a program is interrupted by ^C or Ctrl-Break, the file system should be immediately checked with CHKDSK. In some cases it may be necessary to reboot DOS with Ctrl- Alt-Del if DOS runs out of file descriptors. A synonym for BREAK ON might be NUKE FILESYSTEM ON. Someday MicroSoft may discover what to do with ^C (DEC figured it out about two decades ago). In the meantime, we recommend you not use it. When ZCOMM starts up, it stores the status of the BREAK ON flag, then clears it. On Exit, or when calling a DOS program, ZCOMM restores the BREAK ON flag to its previous state. Disk Cache Programs Microsoft SMARTDRVIVE Norton NCACHE Multisoft PCQWIK Many disk cache programs tie up the computer long enough to lose modem data. (It only takes a few thousandths of a second!) Some disk cache programs are worse than others. Some are so bad not even a FIFO UART can overcome them. Some programs (SMARTDRV) can be set to cache disk reads only, avoiding the delayed writes that disrupt file downloads. Mouse Drivers Some mouse drivers have been reported to interfere with file transfers. DOS append command The DOS append command allows one or more directories to be partially "grafted on" to a specified directory. Some DOS system calls "see" files in the new directory, some do not. This interferes with file transfer options such as -y, -r and -n. If the DOS append command must be used, use the /x:on switch. TOPDOS TOPDOS, ver 2.00i by Frontrunner Development Corp., has caused ZCOMM and other programs to lock up. Disabling TOPDOS restores normal operation. DOS 3.2 DOS 3.2 introduces the concept of a fixed number of interrupt stacks. The default value chosen is not always sufficient, and DOS 3.2 sometimes prints the infamous Internal Stack Failure message and cheerfully halts the computer. Adding the line STACKS=20,128 to the CONFIG.SYS file should correct the problem. Lacking any useful documentation from Microsoft, you may wish to experiment with different values. Extended Memory RAMDISKS Extended Memory electronic disks (ramdisks) require the 80286 chip to switch in and out of protected mode during block transfers. A hardware reset pulse is used to switch back to the "real mode" required for DOS. This causes loss of modem data at high speeds. It may be possible to reduce excessive interrupt latency by reducing the length of protected mode block transfers to 128 or less. In one (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Software Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 297 instance, replacing the ROM BIOS with a newer version increased the maximum transmission speed without losing characters to 9600 bps. This problem has not been observed with expanded memory (Intel/Lotus/AST/etc.) ramdisks. The new generation NS16550AN or 82510 serial interface circuits should be used instead of 8250's for best results at high speed. The NS16550AN allows operation at a communications speed of 115200 bps compared to 9600 bps (typical) for the 8250 and 16450. Disk Drivers Disk drivers, especially hard disk drivers for 80286 machines, lock out interrupts for varying periods of time. The actual interrupt latency depends on the speed of the computer and the particular BIOS code used. In one case, upgrading to a newer BIOS allowed operation at 38400 bps, compared to 4800 bps previously. Such an improvement is well worth the small ($25 typical) cost of a new set of ROM BIOS chips. DOS 3.x Each new version of PC-DOS adds new features and eats up more of the 8088's meager resources. DOS 3.2 increases interrupt latency enough to interfere with ZCOMM's operation at 19200 bps on an IBM PC. If this is a problem, switching to DOS 2.1 will reduce the interrupt latency. Replacing 8250 and 16450 serial interface chips with the new NS16550AN chip allows ZCOMM to operate smoothly at high speeds. FANSI-Console Versions of this program before 1.07 did not maintain the pointer to the active display board in the IBM documented memory location. A DOS mode command may cause ZCOMM to reference the wrong display adapter address. This caused incorrect sync signals and possible damage to certain monitors. Current versions (2.X) increase interrupt latency enough that the serial line drops characters when the keyboard is touched. Seaware Batch Versions of this program has been known to cause loss of data. Spotlight/Lotus Metro This TSR program has been reported to cause ZCOMM to lock up. Pathname Modifiers Programs such as FILEPATH and GLOBALS allow files to be visible in more than one directory at a time. Such programs may interfere with security when ZCOMM is restricted, since that security is based on restricting access to directories. In general, sensitive files should not be made global when ZCOMM is made accessible to outside callers. ZCOMM may not recognize file names generated by such programs unless the program traps the DOS FINDFIRST calls as well as the file open calls. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Software Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 298 We have received various reports of strange behavior which have been traced to filesystem modifications caused by such programs, including damaged file systems. We recommend such programs be phased out as soon as possible, as they may not operate at all with future versions of DOS or distributed file systems. BRKBOX This program locks out interrupts up to 17 milliseconds while waiting for the vertical retrace. For a communications program, 17 milliseconds is a very long time, and data will be lost at speeds above 300 bps. CGCLOCK Programs such as CGCLOCK.COM use clock interrupts to update a time display on the screen. Some increase interrupt latency so much that ZCOMM cannot respond in time to accept characters from the remote, even at 1200 baud. Concurrent PC-DOS ZCOMM runs under Version 4.1 of Digital Research Concurrent PC-DOS (CPCDOS). The - numeric parameter must be set to 0. The CPCDOS "addmem" command should be used to allocate extra memory if DOS Gateway are to be used. ANSI.SYS ZCOMM uses direct keyboard input from the ROM BIOS because the DOS keyboard input calls do not handle Ctrl-BREAK properly. As a side effect, keyboard keys redefined by ANSI.SYS have no effect on ZCOMM's operation. It is possible to program some of the keys to call ZCOMM with arguments. The following file, reassigns ALT-C, ALT-H, and ALT-V to execute the commands shown below. The $ character represents ESCAPE. $[0;46;"cd \tmp";13;"ZCOMM call -200 cbbs-r";13p $[0;35;"ZCOMM call host";13p $[0;47;"cd \tmp";13;"ZCOMM call cissig";13p ZCOMM uses the ROM BIOS CRT functions and direct output to the display, bypassing any processing provided by ANSI.SYS. Perhaps someday Microsoft will enhance ANSI.SYS to make it useful for programs like ZCOMM ... PRINT.COM Once the DOS PRINT program is memory resident, file downloads at high speeds (38kb on a PC) suffer from interference, even if a file is not currently being printed. With certain printers, the DOS PRINT command will preempt the running program for several seconds at a time. These "swapouts" can be confusing when you are accessing an interactive application. They may interfere with file transfers, especially if the remote program uses "tight" timing. If this happens, PRINT should be suspended during file transfers. Operation of the PRINT command does not appear to cause loss of data downloaded from timesharing services at 1200 bps, as long as the interruptions last less than ten seconds. Perhaps IBM or Microsoft will someday fix this bug in (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Software Compatibility Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 299 the DOS PRINT command. PRINT should not be invoked from ZCOMM for the first time as DOS memory allocation will become fragmented. If PRINT or some other spooler is outputting to a serial port using the BIOS INT 14h serial port driver, ZCOMM's "!~subprogram" command will redirect the printer output to the remote and thus should be avoided. SWITCHAR = - ZCOMM will work properly when the DOS switch character is set to "-", allowing Unix style pathnames. The - numeric parameter must be set non zero to allow ZCOMM DOS Gateway to use / to delimit directories. It may be necessary to remove this line from CONFIG.SYS and reboot DOS before using the IBM dump and restore commands. N.B.: DOS 3.0 does not support SWITCHAR in the config.sys file. A short program, DASH, will set switchar to -. It prevents many oaths. Microsoft has removed all SWITCHAR support in DOS 5.0. So much for POSIX compliance. For demanding applications requiring sophistication, power and support not provided by any user supported communications program, Omen Technology provides Professional-YAM Integrated Communications Tools. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Background Operation Version 18.18 TurboDial 2.41 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 300 34. BACKGROUND OPERATION ZCOMM and the help processor YHP run under TopView, DESQview, Carousel, and Windows, PC-DOS based multiprogramming systems that support virtual video memory access.[1] These operating environments allow multiple programs to run concurrently on the same computer. Vertical applications can use the high level menus to simplify the customer interface. The default "performance settings" allow nearly full speed file download and scripted data capture from dial-up services when other processes are not accessing the floppy disks. Launching programs and manipulating windows may cause communications errors. NOTE: Do not run multiple windows with programs accessing the same COMM port. If you wish to run more than one program accessing a specific serial port, close (terminate) the window running each program before opening a window for another program addressing that port.[2] It is not sufficient to merely suspend a comms program, it must be terminated before another program can access that port without interference. Tell DESQview to use the SPECIFIC port number you are using, and not "Y" to the question: "Uses serial Ports (Y, N, 1, 2)" DOS's file system semantics can cause unexpected results when one program is writing to a file while another program is reading the file. Unlike Unix, data written by a program does not become visible until the file is closed. Program Information parameters: 256k is suggested for ZCOMM. If memory is scarce, ZCOMM can run in about 196k with no DOS Gateway allowed and the circular buffer made smaller with a "set CBSIZE=4000" command given to DOS before starting HK. ZCOMM* and YHP do not write directly to screen, do not access system keyboard buffer, run in the background, use their own colors (optional), accept keyboard typeahead, and the window may close on exit to DOS. ZCOMM cannot be swapped because modem interrupts call ZCOMM directly. __________ 1. BIOS interrupt 10h, ah=0FF and ah=0FE 2. Some programs, such as ProComm, lock two ports at the same time even when using only one port. Such programs will interfere with comms programs running in other windows. (C) 1994 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 34 Background Operation