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- To install 95 Power Utilities
-
- 1. Start Windows 95
- 2. Use the Run command from the opening screen
- 3. In the box, type A:\SETUP (or
- B:\SETUP if this diskette is
- in the B drive)
- 4. Click on the OK button or press Enter
- 5. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen
-
- README file for 95 Power Utilities
-
- *****************************************************
-
- CONTENTS
-
- 1. How to uninstall 95 Power Utilities
- 2. Frequently asked questions
- 3. Getting technical support
- 4. Changes to the manual
- 5. Features not included in the manual
- 6. Setup questions and problems
- 7. Bugs, erratic behavior, problems
- 8. Database updates
-
- *****************************************************
-
- This file contains changes that were made to the program
- or manual after the manual was shipped off to the printer.
- The changes are based on the responses and experiences of
- a large group of beta testers.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 1. How to uninstall 95 Power Utilities
-
- *****************************************************
-
- Changes to the program code rendered the REMOVEPU program,
- which is referenced in the manual, obsolete. All of the
- files associated with 95 Power Utilities are contained
- in the one folder called 95 Power Utilities. No other
- files are created by the program and the .INI files are
- not altered in any way.
-
- Rather than further clutter your hard disk, the decision
- was made to delete the REMOVEPU program from the setup disk.
-
- Uninstalling 95 Power Utilities can be done several ways.
- If you have the program in your Start Menu, select Settings,
- Taskbar, Start Menu Programs, Remove, and then double
- click on the 95 Power Utilities folder. All files associated
- with 95 Power Utilities will be deleted.
-
- If you don't have 95 Power Utilities on your Start Menu,
- use My Computer or Explorer to locate the folder, and
- simply delete it.
-
- If you placed the program in the Startup folder, simply open to
- the Startup folder, and drag the 95 Power Utilities folder
- to the Recycle Bin.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 2. Frequently asked questions
-
- *****************************************************
-
- PRINTING
- The printer selection dialog is shown each time you
- choose one of the print menu items, and is shown twice
- if you choose the print button. This lets you print
- to different files for each screen printed. If you
- do not wish to change the printer, simply hit enter.
-
- UPGRADES
- Why does 'NA' appear for Current Equipment and/or
- Usage? Some hardware cannot be monitored by 95
- Power Utilities nor can the hardware be identified
- by the program under Windows 95. In these instances,
- NA will appear. Since the program doesn't know
- what hardware you currently have, it is unable to
- suggest when to upgrade, so those values will be
- zero. Use the description in the Quick Help Screen
- to determine if you should upgrade or add the
- equipment. Note that Upgrade Candidates are
- appropriate for every user. If you already have
- one of the models listed there is no need to
- upgrade that hardware.
-
- UPGRADES: MODEL X IS NOT LISTED
- The upgrade list consists of many award-winning
- products based on performance tests. Many awards
- are given each year, and not every product that
- has received an award can be listed. If your
- favorite product is not on the list, or a model
- that you know has won an award is missing from
- the list, do not despair. Perhaps the next database
- update will contain that model.
-
- OPENING GRAPHIC
- The pyramid opening graphic is displayed while the
- program builds the databases it needs to run. The
- time it takes to complete the database construction
- is anywhere from about 10 seconds to about 30 seconds,
- depending on the speed of the machine.
-
- UPGRADES: HOW DOES THE PROGRAM I NEED UPGRADES ALREADY
- WHEN I'VE ONLY RUN IT FOR FEW MINUTES?
- The upgrade analysis is based on the level of hardware
- usage recorded from the time the program was first
- run. The longer the program is run, the better the
- advice. See About 95 Power Utilities under the Help
- menu for more information. Also see the manual.
-
- WHY IS CPU USAGE SO HIGH?
- Some programs, such as the Windows 3.1 version of
- the Terminal.exe communications program and early
- versions of Microsoft Word, use all available CPU
- cycles, even when idle. This means that CPU use will
- appear to be very high (ie. Overloaded), even when
- these programs are sitting idle. You can identify
- this program behavior by using the Usage or System
- Monitor. If the values are consistently 99, then
- the CPU values are being artificially raised by
- this type of program. Minimize your use of the
- offending program, or change to a Windows 95
- version of the software.
-
- HOW DO I MOVE THE USAGE MONITOR?
- WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS ON THE USAGE MONITOR?
- HOW DO I CLOSE THE USAGE MONITOR?
- The usage monitor is designed to be as compact as possible,
- so you can leave it running while you work with other
- programs. To move it, simply press and hold the left mouse
- button while the cursor is over the usage monitor. Then
- drag it to the new location and release the button. You
- can see what the values are by clicking on it with
- the right mouse button. Icons depicting what the
- numbers are are shown. Click again with the right
- mouse button to return to the numbers. To close the
- usage monitor, select it again from the main menu.
-
- BOTTLE: MEMORY
- Memory Chips, regardless of how much RAM you have, will
- exhibit an Overloaded pattern under Windows 95. This
- results from Windows 95 dynamically adjusting the
- different cache sizes to use all of the available RAM.
- Because Memory Chips are overloaded by design, the
- Memory Load, which is strongly influenced by the
- Memory Chips scores, is often High or Overloaded as
- well. Conversely, the Memory Page File and Virtual
- Memory will normally show a very low amount of usage.
- Windows 95 does everything possible to avoid having
- to use Page Memory, which is very slow compared to
- memory chips. The Virtual memory space is so vast that
- it is unlikely you will ever use even a tiny fraction
- of the available space.
-
- ACTION: WINDOWS BOSS
- If you change the characteristics of the 95 Power
- Utilities main window, you may not be able to change them
- back. For example, if you hide 95 Power Utilities, you
- cannot make it visible again! Avoid changing 95 Power
- Utilities, just as you should avoid changing KERNEL32
- and Program Manager windows.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 3. Getting technical support
-
- *****************************************************
-
- You must send in your registration card to qualify
- for free technical support.
-
- The best way to get answers to your questions is to
- leave an E-Mail message for SilverLock Software. You
- can contact us on CompuServe at:
-
- 72324,2314
-
- You can leave us a fax message by calling:
-
- (714) 248-1623
-
- If you wish to speak with a Technical Support
- representative, call:
-
- (713) 827-1988 (9AM to 5 PM Central Time)
-
- Regardless of how you contact us, please leave a complete
- description of the problem. Include what type of hardware
- you have, when specifically the problem occurs, and what
- symptoms alerted you to the problem. We will diagnose
- your problem and get back to you with a solution or
- workaround as soon as possible.
-
- We would prefer to receive questions by E-Mail,
- Fax, or through the mails rather than by telephone. This
- gives you a chance to fully describe the situation, and
- gives the technical support representatives a chance to
- work with the problem and develop a solution.
- This is often faster than talking to a technical support
- representative in the first place, because in many cases
- the representative can do little more than take down the
- information and then adjourn to try to duplicate the
- problem and then devising a work-around or fix.
- We want 95 Power Utilities to be completely bug-free and
- to be the best software utility package on the market.
- The extreme complexity of the analysis the program performs,
- and the newness of the Windows 95 operating system means
- that some problems are inevitable. Please bear with us through
- this transition to Windows 95. Bug fix versions will be made
- available free of charge through our Technical Support system.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 4. Changes to the manual
-
- *****************************************************
-
- REMOVEPU
- This program is not included on the installation disks.
- It is not needed to cleanly remove 95 Power Utilities
- from your system. See (1) above for more information.
-
- POWER START
- Power Start is the table in the manual that helps
- you identify which tool to apply to which problem.
- If you are at a loss as to where to start to solve
- your particular problem, use the Power Start
- table to begin your investigations.
-
- KEEP MONITORS ON TOP
- This feature was moved to the Monitors menu, and
- is the default case. When checked on the menu, this
- feature keeps the Monitors on top of any other window
- you may open. When unchecked, the monitors can be
- covered over by other windows, including the 95 Power
- Utilities windows. Monitors that are not kept on
- top can be easy to 'lose' under all the windows on
- the system. Note too that monitors do not disappear
- when you minimize or icon the 95 Power Utilities window.
- To hide the monitors when you minimize the program,
- close all of the monitors before minimizing the main
- 95 Power Utilities window.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 5. Features not included in the manual
-
- *****************************************************
-
- HELP
- The Help toolbar button and menu entry were not
- mentioned in the manual. Help will guide you
- around the screen, explaining what everything is and
- how to use it. It is the best place to familiarize
- yourself with the power and features of 95 Power
- Utilities, and where to turn for more information.
- To use Help, choose the toolbar button or menu entry,
- then double click on your selection from the Help window
- that appears. This starts a short Help session.
- The small window will position itself
- near the item it is currently describing. Click on the
- down arrow to drop down a description of the item. When
- you are ready to proceed to the next item, click the
- Next button. Done ends that Help session and returns
- you to the Help screen. Most Help sessions consists of
- less than 10 items each. As with all of the windows
- in the program, click the X in the upper right corner
- to close the Help screen. You can leave the help screen
- open while you work, if you wish, but full-time help
- is always available in the Quick Help Screen to the
- right of the Main Screen.
-
- RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
- You can right click on the gray areas of the screen to
- activate the Help features.
-
- CLICKING ON THE MAIN SCREEN
- Clicking on an entry in the Main Screen will scroll you
- to the appropriate explanation in the Quick Help Screen.
- This is the fastest way to get more information about
- what is shown in the Main screen.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 6. Setup questions and problems
-
- *****************************************************
-
- SETUP LOCKS UP THE MACHINE
- This indicates a severe problem with the setup program,
- your hard disk, or configuration. Contact Technical
- Support for help.
-
- FILES ARE NOT COPIED TO THE DIRECTORY
- Files may not be copied if the disk is full, or if
- it is write protected. Also, if you are trying to
- install the program to a floppy drive, any files that
- exceed the capacity of the floppy disk will not be
- copied.
-
- "FILE NOT FOUND" ERROR MESSAGE
- This message indicates that a necessary file is either
- not present on the floppy disk, or has become damaged.
- Contact Technical Support to receive a new disk.
-
- DIRECTORY NAME
- You can specify any directory name on any hard disk
- with enough space. The program will check your disk
- space to ensure that it is sufficient for the installation.
-
- NOT ENOUGH DISK SPACE
- The setup program looks to see that you have at least
- 5 MB free before attempting the installation. Even
- though 95 Power Utilities uses slightly less than
- 2 MB for the average installation, the additional
- free space is needed for swap files, for temporary
- data storage, and for the setup program to decompress
- the files. Once the program is successfully installed,
- the extra 3 MB will be freed.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 7. Bugs, erratic behavior, problems
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 95 Power Utilities is a cutting-edge program that uses
- the new Windows 95 operating system to its fullest.
- Bugs, erratic behavior, and problems are likely to
- occur with such a new program running on such a
- new operating system. Please bear with us as we
- fix these problems.
-
- If you encounter a problem, call Technical Support
- and report what you have found. If you can reproduce
- the problem again, and can build a list of the steps
- needed to make the problem appear, your time with the
- Technical Support representative will be shortened
- considerably.
-
- USAGE MONITOR: TYPING SPEED DOESN'T CHANGE
- The typing speed is designed to be cumulative, so it
- will not change very often. Typing speed is measured
- in increments of 12 words per minute, so fine measurements
- are not possible. Read the section in the manual about
- typing speed for more information.
-
- BAD MODEMS
- A modem that appears to the system as if it were working,
- but in reality is not, will cause 95 Power Utilities
- to lock up during start up. This occurs only in those
- rare instances where the modem is of a design that it
- cannot be identified by Windows 95 either. If you were
- able to get Windows 95 to detect your modem, this should
- not cause a problem for 95 Power Utilities.
-
- TYPOS, MISSPELLINGS, GRAMMAR ERRORS
- The massive amount of text in the program has been edited,
- but errors are still likely to be present. There is enough
- text description in the program to make a 500 page book.
-
- GOLF GAMES
- DOS golf games require split-second timing for mouse clicks,
- if you notice that your mouse appears to be 'slow' or
- 'unresponsive', close 95 Power Utilities before continuing
- with the game. Be sure to start 95 Power Utilities after
- you finish the game, or data collection will not take
- place. The slowness in the mouse actions is a result of the
- data collection process. While most programs are completely
- unaffected, golf games and other programs that use the mouse
- in 'non-standard' ways may be affect. We apologize for the
- inconvenience.
-
- SLOW MOUSE OR KEYBOARD
- See the description under Golf Games for solving this problem.
-
- NO MODEM USE IS SHOWN
- Windows handles communications devices in a 'first come, first
- served' fashion. Once a program has taken control of the modem,
- there is little another program can do find out what is
- going on with the modem while it is running. Every effort has
- been made to force the modem to reveal some of it's activity,
- though not every modem and communications program pair will
- comply. One solution is to use a program that replaces the
- standard Windows communications drivers with ones that allow
- several programs to use the same port at the same time. Under
- Windows 3.1 programs such as KingCom perform such functions.
-
- SOUND CARD TEST IS STATICY
- The sound card test IS static. Using what is known as Pink Noise,
- the sound card test sends this noise continously to the speakers
- until you click another test button or the X in the upper right
- corner of the window. Static is used since it is easy to hear
- even when there is a lot of background noise, and because the
- pink noise used contains the complete spectrum of sounds.
-
- AFTER DARK
- A beta version of the After Dark screen saver for Windows 95 was
- found to cause erratic behavior in 95 Power Utilities. The exact
- reason for the problem is not known. Avoid running After Dark
- while using 95 Power Utilities.
-
- VIRUS SCANNERS
- Some anti-virus programs will report that files have been accessed
- after running the Inventory tools under the Programs menu. The files
- are read in order to build the inventory, but are not altered.
-
- *****************************************************
-
- 8. Database updates
-
- *****************************************************
-
- Database updates for the Boost, Coach, and Upgrades sections
- are available on-line free of charge. They will be stored at our
- corporate CompuServe ID as soon as it is established. Until then,
- you can get new databases by sending an E-Mail message to the
- address listed above. New databases will be available about every
- 3 months or as needed.
-
-
- 10/20/95
-
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