OS/2 Tips and Techniques
Version 1.2
5/18/92
Issued by:
OS/2 Technical Support
Notes: This document should not be modified and redistributed. If you
have information you would like to be added, please contact one
of the following:
A SYSOP on IBMOS2 on Compuserve
The SYSOP or uploader of the bulletin board you got this document from
For IBM internals, OS2TIP at BCRVMPC1
Every attempt has been made to ensure the veracity of all answers,
workarounds and fixes contained herein. If you find any inconsistencies
or errors (spelling errors too), please contact one of the above to
let us know.
Introduction
------------
This is an informal document, produced by the OS/2 Technical Support Team.
It includes tips and techniques describing how to use and navigate
around OS/2 2.0 along with information on known techniques or workarounds for
various applications and machine types.
It is recommended to read the OS/2 2.0 product README file as well as this
document.
This document will continue to be updated. As we discover new techniques
and tips, they will be reflected in this paper.
The purpose of this document is to provide readers with an awareness of
quick and easy ways to accomplish various tasks with OS/2. There are also
techniques and information that will help you run your OS/2 system on
various machine configurations.
If you have any questions or comments on this document, or find anything you
feel may be of use to others and would like to see in a future revision of the
OS/2 TNT document, please contact the author, or one of the IBM service
representatives on Compuserve, BIX, Prodigy, IIN or other applicable service.
Notes: Compuserve membership services can be reached at 1-800-848-8199 x239.
IBM IIN BBS registration can be reached at 1-800-547-1283.
General IBM OS/2 product information and availability can be
obtained by calling 1-800-3IBMOS2.
The OS/2 Support Line is available at 1-800-237-5511. This is a
free service for the first 60 days. Note that this is applicable for
the OS/2 base operating system. This service is not available for
Extended Services nor LAN Services OS/2 products.
Installation
------------
General Information
-------------------
- The DOS/Windows/OS/2 1.x upgrade version of OS/2 2.0 is slightly
different from the full-purchase-price version of OS/2 2.0. There is a
"sniffer" program that ensures you have an operating system on your
hard disk when installing OS/2 2.0. This program will sense the
operating system and will write a key onto disk 1. Once this is done,
the disks are set up so the sniffer is no longer enabled.
1) If you have already formatted your hard disk before attempting to
install OS/2 2.0, simply put your DOS diskette back into the
drive and do a FORMAT C: /S.
2) If you have a disk #1 that is write protected, slide the slider
on the diskette over so as to cover the hole, or just place a
piece of tape on the hole.
- If you have ordered the Microsoft Windows package upgrade to OS/2
2.0, you were told you need to mail in your title page from your
Microsoft Windows package. Please do NOT do this until you have
received your OS/2 package. The instrunctions are in there as to
where to mail your page.
Reading the README before install
- The README file for OS/2 2.0 is packed on diskette number 6. If you have
a system with a formatted hard disk, you can manually unpack the file
and read it before installation. To do this, boot the install disk. Then
when prompted, insert disk 1. Then when asked to press ESC to cancel,
press the ESC key. You will get a command prompt. Copy the file
UNPACK.EXE from disk 2 onto your hard disk. Then insert disk 6. Make
your hard disk the current drive and type:
UNPACK A:\REQUIRED. /N:README
You will them have the readme on your hard disk, suitable for reading
and/or printing.
NOTE: the README is on diskette 17 on 5.25" diskette versions
Logitech Mouse
- When you are using a Logitech mouse (serial or Bus version), select
the "PS/2 style pointing device" from the install, or selective
install window.
HPFS or FAT?
- When considering whether or not to use the High Performance File System
(HPFS), please be aware that it takes approximately 500k of system
memory. If you are running a machine with less than 6 megabytes of
memory, this will cause system performance to suffer.
Immediately after install
- After installation, and before you run any DOS or Windows programs,
we recommend you shut down your system. This only needs to be done once,
immediately after you are finished installing OS/2 2.0
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Problem: You have encountered a "trap" while installing and you see the
following number on your screen: 60002,9084
Answer: This indicates possible bad memory. You should try removing your
memory SIMMS one at a time and try an installation until it works.
Then you will have isolated the bad SIMM.
Problem: Cannot find COUNTRY.SYS on a PS2 P70
Answer: Contact your IBM CE for ECA068. This is indicative of a problem
recognizing the disk. ECA068 should remedy this.
Problem: Cannot find COUNTRY.SYS
Answer: Find out if any additional devices are attached from the
controller card, like a TAPE BACKUP and disconnect if possible.
Problem: Why does the install process stop or lock up after disk 6?
Answer: Disk 6 loads the graphical subsystem and this may occur with
the type of video card you have installed. If the VGA card has autosense
capability, this feature must be turned off. Additionally, if the VGA
card has several resolutions other than 640x480, this must be set to
640x480 mode. Consult the VGA card's Guide to Operations.
Question: How should I partition my hard disk for OS/2?
Answer: OS/2 should ideally be in a partition by itself, unless you are
considering a dual boot system which requires DOS to be loaded first.
The partition should be approx 40-50 megabyts in size for
OS/2 alone, assuming you wish a full default install and the swap drive
on the same partition. The lower amount of memory you have, the larger
swap file (and partition) you will need.
You should have at least 2 partitions, one for OS/2 and the other for
data.
Problem: White screen after installation with no system activity
Resolution: Try setting the video card to 8 bits and moving the
video card to an 8-bit slot and disable the auto-switching capability
of the card if possible.
Problem: Your installation procedure aborts
There may be occasion when your install aborts. For example, if you
get a power hit. If you have passed the first reboot, and are in the
graphical installation, you can restart your installation procedure
without going through all of the preliminary steps.
1) Identify which disk was being unpacked when the procedure failed.
2) Subtract that from 15 and add one. For example, if you were on disk
9, then your result would be 7.
(for 5.25" diskette systems, use 18 unstead of 15)
3) Boot from the install disk, and insert disk 1 when prompted.
4) When you are asked to press ESC to cancel, press the ESC key. You will
get a command prompt.
5) Use a text editor to edit the CONFIG.SYS file on the hard disk.
6) In the line starting with FIRSTDISK, edit that to be
FIRSTDISK=<the disk number from step 1>
example: FIRSTDISK=9
7) In the line starting with NUMDISKS, edit that to be
NUMDISKS=<the number from step 2>
example: NUMDISKS=7
8) Now remove the diskettes and reboot from the hard disk. You will see the
graphical install panel. Select OK, Install and all defaults. You will
now be prompted for the disk from step 1, which is the disk where the
procedure aborted before. All of your previous Selective Install
choices are preserved.
Question: Do I need to reformat to install OS/2 2.0?
Answer: It's always a good idea. However, the only versions of OS/2
you MUST reformat over is over ANY OS/2 beta EXCEPT for L.A. (6.177H) If
you formatted during an install and the install aborted, reformat. If
you did a "dirty" (unformatted) install and it died, try again without
formatting. If that too fails, you may want to back up any needed data
files from the target drive and reformat.
There should be no other reason to install 2.0 G.A. over itself. If
you want to add features, use the OS/2 System object, System Setup and
Selective Install. You can add virtually any feature this way.
Problem: SYS1200 error when attempting to Dual Boot to DOS with an
error code indicating that the DOS environment cannot be created
and you see an error code - EC=00BF.
Resolution: Ensure that you have not removed or remarked out any of the
VIRTUAL DOS device drivers. If all else fails rename your current
CONFIG.SYS to CONFIG.XXX and copy your original CONFIG.SYS to the root
directory. The original CONFIG.SYS can be found in the \OS2\INSTALL
directory.
Problem: Installation on ZEOS notebook fails
Resolution: Follow the following steps:
The fix for this problem assumes that you have access to a working copy of
OS/2 2.0. Ask your local IBM dealer if they can provide an OS/2 2.0
machine for you to use for a few minutes, or ask a friend/co-worker with
2.0 installed as well. Bring your Installation Diskette with you, along
with a blank, formatted high density 3.5 inch diskette.
Step 1. Open the OS/2 System object on the OS/2 Desktop by double clicking
with mouse button 1 (usually left mouse button).
Step 2. Open the Command Prompts folder (by double clicking on the
folder object).
Step 3. Double click on OS/2 Window Object.
Step4. You should now be at an OS/2 Command Prompt.
Step 5. Backup your Installation Diskette to your blank 3.5 inch high
density diskette you brought with you. Enter the following
command at the prompt: DISKCOPY A: A:<enter> and follow the
prompts.
Step 6. With your backup diskette in the drive, enter the following:
PATCH SYSINSTX.COM<enter>
Step 7. When asked for the offset address, enter:
96AF<enter>
Step 8. On the line that is shown enter 45 to replace 44 as the first
byte in the line and then press <enter>.
Step 9. When asked if you wish to apply patches, answer:
Y<enter>
Step 10. At the OS/2 Command prompt again, enter:
SYSINSTX A:
Step 11. Install OS/2 on your ZEOS using the patched backup Install
Diskette.
Step 12. The patch MUST be applied using OS/2. If it is not available,
a diskette with the patch applied can be sent to you from IBM.
Question: Can I install across the LAN?
Answer: IBM LAN Installation Utility/2 (LIU/2)
ORDERING INFORMATION:
IBM LAN Installation Utility/2 is to be ordered as:
PROGR AM ONE-TIME LICENSE
NUMBER ORDER TYPE CHARGE CHARGE
5799-PTC PROGRAM PACKAGE $350.00 $300.00
Problem: C0000005 is displayed on the screen during install
Resolution: The problem is resolved in a fixed version of BVHSVGA.DLL
available from IBM.
Problem: My install hangs on Disk 1.
Resolution: In many cases, PCM hardware has disk caching enabled on the
drive controller card. The hang can often be fixed by disabling the
on-board caching. Another suggestion is if the card has asynchronous
memory refresh capabilities, turn it off. This too may fix the problem.
Problem: Hang on Disk1 right after LOGO screen
Resolution: Ask the customer if he has an OAK video card.
An INT10 call is made to the BIOS which causes the problem on OAK cards.
You will need to patch the OS2LDR file and make the following changes.
Step 1. Make a backup copy of your Install Diskette 1. Use DOS DISKCOPY
if necessary. *DO NOT* perform this modification on your
original OS/2 2.0 Install Diskette 1.
Step 2. Boot DOS, make sure you have DEBUG.COM on that diskette or on your
hard drive where you can get to it. Change to the appropriate
directory if necessary.
Step 3. Insert your backup copy of Install Diskette 1. Type
DEBUG A:\OS2LDR<enter>
at the DOS command prompt.
Step 4. To unassemble OS2LDR, enter the following command:
U 4F7C<enter>
Step 5. Enter the following:
4F7C<enter>
CD. will be displayed. You will enter
90<space> and
10. will be displayed. You will enter
90<enter>
Step 6. To write changes to the file,enter the following command:
W<enter>
Step 7. To quit debug, enter the following command:
Q<enter>
Step 8. You should now see your DOS prompt. Restart the installation
using your newly modified backup Install Diskette.
Problem: Successful install, but the system hangs on the next reboot
at the LOGO screen
Resolution: Ask the customer if he has a FUTURE DOMAIN 16XX SCSI
controller. The .ADD file uses interrupt driven I/O rather than
polling which is used by DOS. An interrupt conflict likely exists.
You should check all IRQ settings on all cards to find the conflict.
Tips and Techniques
-------------------
Printing
--------
General Information
-------------------
When instaling auxiliary parallel port expansion cards, you need to
ensure that LPT1 is configured to interrupt level 7 (IRQ7). Not doing so
will cause printing under OS/2 to function erratically.
Be aware that when using many other common adapters such as the
SoundBlaster card, they may come from the factory configured on IRQ7.
Also, many manufacturers recommend you configure their cards on IRQ7.
Non-microchannel machines cannot share interrupts and each card must be
on a separate IRQ to avoid conflicts. See the reference for your adapter
cards to configure the IRQs.
Additionally, LPT2 cards should be configured on IRQ5.
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Problem: Automatic emulation switching does not work
Resolution: NONE
AES does not currently work under OS/2 2.0. Lexmark is working on this
to be released soon.
Question: How does AES for OS/2 interact with 2.0 GA?
Answer:The basic function of AES is to provide a convenient method for
emulation mode switching the IBM LaserPrinter products. By correlating
LPT ports with emulation modes on the printer, a user can send their job
to the correct port and get the mode switch properly, and thus not have
to touch the printer to change emulation modes.
During AES install, the option is given to the user if they want to
install extra LPT ports (as the LPTX.SYS Device Driver). This driver is
the same identical driver that is used by the Lexmark External Network
Adapter, IBM 4033. It essentially allows for character monitors to be
installed on LPT ports > 3. Then the character monitor does what it
needs to, and re-directs that data to the physical port where the printer
is connected. Or in the case of the IBM 4033, the data is re-directed
(by the character monitor) to the Token Ring or Ethernet PS/2 card.
Problem: Printing problems with parallel ports - nothing prints
Resolution: Ensure that LPT1 is configured to use IRQ7 and LPT2 is
configured as IRQ5. Check the printer cable to ensure that the cable
runs all 25 lines, not all cables wire the necessary lines. If the
problem persists and you are convinced it is not an interrupt problem,
cable problem or just the wrong driver the problem may be with you I/O
card. Some older I/O cards do not work in OS/2.
Tips and Techniques
-------------------
If you send a print job to a printer that is powered off, you may
experience a corrupted job when responding to the RETRY dialog after
powering on the printer. You should cancel the job and resubmit it
after turning on the printer.
Video, SVGA
-----------
General Information
-------------------
- THE FILES THAT MAKE UP OS/2 SVGA VIDEO:
\OS2\SVGADATA.PMI
This file serves as a flag to tell OS/2 whether SVGA support has been
enabled with SVGA ON. The file actually contains data on
1. What video chipset your SVGA card has.
2. What SVGA modes, from the supported list, your adapter is
capable of setting. The list of supported modes is:
a. 640x480/256 colors
b. 800x600/16 colors
c. 800x600/256 colors
d. 1024x768/16 colors
e. 1024x768/256 colors
f. 132x25 text
g. 132x43 or 44 text
3. What values are in the video registers when the card is in each
mode.. this data is used by OS/2 to save and restore the
registers to their proper state when switching between sessions
with different SVGA modes set.
This data file must be generated by typing SVGA ON from a DOS
FULLSCREEN, because what SVGA ON actually does is set all the
possible
modes using the video card's BIOS and then read out the values of
the registers into the .PMI file. If SVGA ON is run from a DOS
window,
OS/2's video virtualization takes over, and the BIOS doesn't set
the svga modes properly.
\OS2\SVGA.EXE
This is the utility that generates the .PMI file and places it in the
\OS2 subdirectory. Syntax is SVGA ON|OFF|STATUS, where
ON: creates the \OS2\SVGADATA.PMI file and enables SVGA support.
OFF: deletes the .PMI file.
STATUS: returns the chipset type OS/2 thinks your card is.
\OS2\DLL\DISPLAY.DLL
This file determines what video resolution the PM desktop uses.
This is the PM display driver and the heart of OS/2 video. The
equivalent file on a Windows system is the VGA.DRV (in the case of
VGA) file. For the first release, SVGA systems will have a VGA
display driver installed on their system. Already, SVGA drivers are
available from most of the main board manufacturers. In
this document, I'll try to list some of the ones that are working.
\OS2\DLL\BVHSVGA.DLL
This file is the Base Video Handler for OS/2. Any OS/2 application
that sets a video mode calls this DLL. In most cases, however, the
only application that sets any video modes is the PM display driver
and the MODE.EXE utility (for setting 132 column modes). The first
time this DLL would be called is after the OS/2 bitmap logo appears
(PM starts up then). This DLL is specified in the CONFIG.SYS in the
following manner:
SET VIO_VGA=DEVICE(BVHVGA,BVHSVGA)
BVHVGA is used to set, save, and restore VGA modes, BVHSVGA for SVGA
modes.
\OS2\MDOS\VSVGA.SYS
This is the virtual video device handler for DOS sessions. All
calls to change the video mode from a DOS session are handled
through this driver. This driver's job is to allow the user to set
a SVGA mode, and when the user switches away, save the current state
of the video card (its registers and its video RAM). Then, when the
user returns to the DOS session, restore the video card to it's
previous state. When there is no .PMI file (SVGA is OFF) this
driver acts like a VGA driver, except for adapter-specific code in
it to make sure the VGA modes work right on the SVGA adapter.
Therefore, even if you don't want SVGA, you'll probably want VSVGA.
\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM\VGA.DRV
\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM\SWINVGA.DRV
These are the WINOS2 and seamless WINOS2 drivers, respectively. They
determine what resolution WINSO2 uses.
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Problem: Screen resynch problems in DOS or WINOS2 FULL SCREEN sessions
Resolution: The problem is with how some SVGA cards handle switching.
IBM has created a new VSVGA.SYS file to cure this.
More specifically, the problem occurs most frequently with
TSENG chipsets. Video adapters using the Tseng ET4000 chipset with batch
#TC6059AF have been identified to have this problem. The VSVGA.SYS
file dated 4/8/92 or later should solve this.
Question: What SVGA support is actually provided with OS/2 2.0?
Answer: The only support that is provided in the shrink wrapped version
is the ability to switch away from a DOS or OS/2 fullscreen and have the
current state of your video card saved... and this is only after you have
turned SVGA ON, and if you have one of the adapters listed in the
readme..although everyone with a Tseng, Trident, ATI, Headland, or
Western Digital chipset should try turning SVGA ON at least for a while
to see if it fixes any unseemly video problems they might be having.
Question: What is the most important thing to remember about turning
SVGA ON?
Answer: When you type SVGA ON (as per the README) it must be in a DOS
full screen session.
Question: For what adapters has DOS + OS/2 fullscreen save/restore been
tested so far?
Answer: ATI VGA Wonder XL
Boca Reseach SVGA
Orchid Prodesigner II
STB Powergraph
Trident 8900C and 8900B
Video 7 VRAM II
Paradise VGA Professional
Question: Are these the only cards which are "compatable" with OS/2?
Answer: No. Our support is designed to be generic for the Trident,
Tseng, ATI, Headland, and Western Digital chipsets. There are likely
many more cards which work under OS/2 which we havn't even tried.
Question : How do I get my OS/2 desktop to use SVGA?
Answer: OS/2 does not provide any PM SVGA drivers.. they are available
from the video board manufacturers. Trident has a set of OS/2
2.0 16-bit PM drivers that include seamless windows support and virtual
desktops. Orchid has 16-bit 2.0 drivers in beta test at the time of this
writing. There are many OS/2 1.3 drivers which function fine under 2.0.
Do not be deterred from using a PM display driver labeled for OS/2
version 1.3
Question: What is a virtual desktop?
Answer: It is a PM display driver that uses all of the adapter's video
memory to store a desktop that is bigger than what's actually displayed.
So, you could have 1024x1024 of desktop space, with only 640x480 being
displayed on the screen. You move to other portions of the desktop by
dragging the mouse to the edge of the screen, which scrolls the desktop.
Because of the way OS/2 is designed, this is an extremely quick operation
and will be very smooth even on the slowest video cards. The PM driver
has to be coded to support virtual desktops, and Trident is so far the
only chipset to support it.
Question: What is Seamless Windows, and can it co-exist with SVGA?
Answer: Seamless windows is the ability to run Windows 3.x programs on
the PM desktop. The way it is achieved is by making a "hole" in the PM
desktop that the seamless windows driver writes into. Special code has
to be put into both the windows driver and the PM display driver to
support this. Stone Li from Trident was able to produce 800x600/16
seamless drivers for Trident in about a week, and has been the only one
to produce SVGA seamless support so far.
Question: I have an ATI 8514 Ultra or Graphics Ultra, does it work under
OS/2?
Answer: This card is 100% 8514 register compatible, and OS/2 detects and
treats it like an 8514. One difference, though, is that you should
update the video line in your CONFIG.SYS that reads:
DEVICE=\OS2\MDOS\VVGA.SYS to: DEVICE=\OS2\MDOS\VSVGA.SYS Because OS/2
detects it as 8514, you can use OS/2's 8514 PM in WinOS2 display drivers
with no problems.
Question: What is the outlook for OS/2 support for boards based on the S3
or TI chipsets?
Answer: Boards which are co-processed are the fastest, but also take the
longest to develop software for. No manufacturers have announced dates
yet for support for any of these cards. The more these manufacturers are
"encouraged" by owners of their cards, the faster the support will
arrive.
Problem: I'm getting some corruption returning to my WinOS2 fullscreen
Resolution: Set your VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION in the DOS SETTINGS to ON.
Problem: Even in VGA, games in a DOS fullscreen are shakey
Resolution: Set your VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION in the DOS SETTINGS to OFF.
Problem: A lot of DOS apps in a window have messed up colors
Resolution: This is a limitation of the VGA desktop. The color palatte of
the DOS session has to be translated to PM, and the 640x480/16 desktop
doesn't offer enough colors to do a good translation. The only solution
to the problem is to use a 256 color PM driver or run the application in
a DOS FULLSCREEN
Problem: The graphics of some of my apps are messed up when in a window
Resolution: Chances are, this app is using a non-standard VGA mode that
the card can support, but which OS/2 doesn't.
Question: My friend has the same video card as me, and it doesn't work..
can't I just give him a working SVGADATA.PMI file?
Answer: No. The SVGADATA.PMI has to be specific to each adapter/monitor
setup.
Question: If I have SVGA ON, can I use 132 column modes in an OS/2
fullscreen?
Answer: Yes.
Question: If I have SVGA ON, can I window a DOS fullscreen onto the PM
desktop, even if it is Super VGA?
Answer: Yes.
Question: If I have SVGA ON, can I take a window with a SVGA image in it
can paste to the clipboard?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Will the Windows 3.0 SVGA drivers work in WIN-OS2?
Answer: Yes, you should be able to simply update the SYSTEM.INI to point
to a new Windows display driver, or just copy over the VGA.DRV in
the \OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM directory. Keep in mind, however,
that Windows in SVGA mode will only work if you have set SVGA ON.
Question: Why do we need SVGA ON and OFF?
Answer: Many different SVGA boards have different interfaces and
chipsets, each with their own quirks. We have found that some
boards actually behave worse with SVGA ON, so the SVGA OFF was
also provided.
Tips and Techniques
-------------------
Trident supports OS/2 2.0 and has SVGA Presentation drivers available for
their SVGA boards. Trident's support number is 415-691-9211. They also
have support bulletin boards where these drivers are available. For the
West Coast, the number is 415-691-1016 and for the East Coast, the number
is 203-483-0348.
General Hardware
----------------
General Information
-------------------
Always Technology SCSI
If you are experiencing OS/2 problems either at installation time or
after, (most like a TRAP 000D) and your system has an Always Technology
IN-2000 SCSI adaapter, the BIOS on the adapter may be the problem. If
the BIOS revision level is 3.06A or 3.20, (as shown during the system
self-test) you should get the BIOS on the card upgraded. The current
BIOS level is VCN:1-02 and works with OS/2 2.0. If you require this
upgrade, you may also need and upgrade to a companion 8-pin serial PROM
chip which must have a revision level of 2.5-2.7. Always Technology
support can be reached at 818-597-9595.
Bernoulli Boxes
- 44 and 89 meg drives work if connected to Adaptec, Future Domain or IBM
or anyone else's adapter except for Bernoulli's own adapter.
The drive will work as a large diskette and is NON-BOOTABLE.
Customers should call IOMEGA for status on update on their adapter.
Colorado Memories Tape Drive
- Colorado Memory Systems has a fix for their tape backup systems that
will allow customers to run the hardware from OS/2 DOS sessions (VDMs)
Customers can get this from Colorado Memory Systems directly.
CDROM devices
- The only ones we know work are IBM and Tobisha.If CDROM is either SCSI
with no other devices attached or is non-SCSI than you might get it to
work by using a external native DOS session (VMBOOT via the
DOS_Startup_Drive Dos Program setting). IBM understands this is an
area of customer need.
HP Mouse
- Directions for installing an HP mouse
1- Select any mouse during system installation
2- Copy HILMOU.SYS and NOEXBIOS.SYS to C:\OS2\ (these are supplied by
the manufacturer)
3-Modify CONFIG.SYS with the following in the order shown:
DEVICE=C:\OS2\NOEXBIOS.SYS
DEVICE=C:\OS2\HILMOU.SYS
DEVICE=C:\OS2\MOUSE.SYS TYPE=HILMOU$(THIS LINE SHOULD ALREADY
BE IN CONFIG.SYS BUT WILL NEED TYPE=... ADDED )
HP Cust Service # is 1-800-752-0900 P#289547
Customer may also go to his dealer for the diskette which ships with the
mouse. Customer may also see COMPUSERV GO HP
HP Scanjet
- If you get an error saying that you cannot access your HP scanner, and
you are using a Family 1 (AT-style) bus machine, your switches need to
be set as follows:
The card switches need to be set to 1010
If you are on a PS/2 machine, you must run the reference diskette to set
the card to ROM addresses C8000-CBFFF and I/O address to 268-26F.
In both cases you also need to set the DOS Setting for the DOS session
for EMS_FRAME_LOCATION to AUTO.
Logitech Mouse
- When you are using a Logitech mouse (serial or Bus version), select
the "PS/2 style pointing device" from the install, or selective
install window.
Tape Drives (Adapter or SCSI)
- The only tape drives that have been tested thus far are IBM tape drives.
If no other device is connected to the SCSI bus on that adapter or
the tape adapter, then you may be able to get your drive to work in a
external native DOS (VMBOOT) session.
If the tape drive worked under OS/2 1.x and the device is written to
ASPI, IBM is currently working on support for your device.
IBM does not provide 3rd party device drivers for peripherals. Refer to
your peripheral manufacturer for OS/2 specific support.
Tape Drives (diskette based)
- IBM or IRWIN tape drives are supported. Applications are PMTAPE or
PS2TAPE. Easy Tape from Maynard Backup Systems should be released
soon. Please contact Maynard for information.
How to make COM3 or COM4 work on an ISA machine
- Place the following in the CONFIG.SYS
DEVICE=X:\OS2\COM.SYS (n,a,i) (n,a,i)
where X = the drive where OS/2 is installed
n = the Com port that you are attempting to access
a = communications port I/O address (03E8, 02E8 for example)
found in the documentation for I/O card
i = IRQ level which is usually a jumper setting on the I/O card
SCSI devices
- PROCOMM+ SCSI disk adapters (Microchannel) do NOT work.
Customers should contact PROCOMM for any details on OS/2 support.
- Some SCSI card have jumper pins which can be set to either Synchronous
or Asynchronous mode. There have been noted problems such as no icons
appearing or slow hard disk performance. This can be attributed to
the SCSI card and hard disk not being set to the same asynch or synch
settings. Either way, they must match. Be sure these are set properly.
- The early versions of the IBM 16-bit SCSI adapters may experience
problems and report erroneously that the device is not functioning.
This can be corrected by replacing the SCSI card with a card with
updated microcode.
IBM PS/2 model 30-286 upgrades
- IBM PS/2 Mod30-286 upgrades to a 386 processor card
will NOT work.
50 mHz Systems
- There have been some intermittent problems using 50 mHz systems with
AT-style bus machines with a mouse. The mouse can get out of synch.
Input will function through the keyboard and the mouse, but it is
recommended to shutdown the system and restart to "resynch" the mouse.
Alternate pointing devices
- There is an undocumented function in the mouse device driver. If you
have some alternate pointing device such as a tablet or touch screen,
you may use it in addition to the the regular mouse pointing device.
1) Install the device driver for the device with the appropriate
DEVICE= statement in CONFIG.SYS (this must be an OS/2 device driver)
2) Add the following to the end of the DEVICE=C:\OS2\MOUSE.SYS line:
STYPE=xxxxxx$
Where the xxxxx$ is the name of the device (from the device driver's
manual)
3) Upon reboot, both pointing devices will be active.
AOX systems
- If your computer has an AOX add-in processor card and you encounter
problems either installing or booting your OS2 system, you should call
AOX support and ask for the latest "flash-prom" code upgrade.
ISA (non Microchannel or non-EISA) bus systems
- Some customers with AT-bus(ISA) systems may have disk controllers
that are not recognized or supported by 2.0. OEM drivers for
their disk controller may not yet be available.
SYMPTOMS: Very slow install
Very noisy hard disk during install
FDISK errors
Disk not recognized
IBM has a new IBM1S506.ADD disk driver available that will fix many of
these problems. It can be obtained from any of the sources listed
above. In the event you cannot get this new file, or if the new file does
not solve your particular problem, you may do the following:
WORKAROUND:
1) Use DOS to edit the CONFIG.SYS on Diskette #1 in the 2.0 package.
Diskette #1 is the first diskette AFTER the Install diskette.
Change the line -
BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD
to
REM BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD
2) Boot the Install diskette and proceed with Install through the
first five diskettes.
3) After diskettes 1 through 5 are processed, you are asked to
reinsert the Install diskette.
DO SO.
After copying some files from the Install diskette, you are
asked to remove the Install diskette and press Enter to reboot.
DO NOT DO THIS. LEAVE THE INSTALL DISKETTE IN THE DRIVE.
4) Press Enter with the Install diskette in the drive.
This will boot the Install diskette.
You will be asked to insert Diskette #1.
DO SO.
Watch the screens carefully. You will see a
screen that tells you (on the lower left) to press ESC to exit.
When you see this, press Esc.
5) You are now at a command line.
Enter the following commands:
RENAME C:\OS2\IBM1S506.ADD IBM1S506.XXX
COPY C:\OS2\IBMINT13.I13 C:\OS2\IBM1S506.ADD
Note: If C is not your install drive, adjust the commands
accordingly.
6) Remove the diskette from the drive.
Press ALT-CTRL-DEL to reboot the system, and install will
pick up where it left off.
IBM PS/2 Model 90/95 systems
- If you are experiencing problems with your Model 90/95 you should
ensure your system is at teh latest engineering change (EC) level.
Your IBM service representative can assist you with this.
- If your 90/95 is a 33 mhz system and if you are having intermittent,
difficult to diagnose memory parity errors such as TRAP 0002, and must
reboot your system, then ECA053 may apply. If your processor card has
part number 84F9356, contact your IBM rep to assist you with a
replacement.
- If your model 90 is experiencing intermittent memory errors ECA084 may
apply if the part number of your memory riser card is N33F4905 or
84F9356. Again, your IBM rep can assist you with a replacement.
For both model 90 and 95 machines, you must ensure that you have matched
pairs of memory SIMMs. This means that each pair of SIMMs, as described
in your technical reference manual, must be matched as to memory size
and speed. Mixing SIMMS can cause some machines to report memory errors.
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Problem: When I swap disks during my installation, my machine
beeps consistenly.
Resolution: This is indicative of a bad floppy drive controller or cable.
You should check out your cable for damage and check the controller
card as well, along with all connections.
Environment: OEM or PCM machines with 2 Drives (IDE, WD 506 clone etc)
- During install, use the generic INT13 driver as described in Readme.
Post Install symptom: OS/2 will not recognize the 2nd drive.
Cause: 2nd drive formatted using SPEEDSTOR or Seagate's Disk Manager
Utility
Solution: Reformat 2nd drive with DOS or OS/2
Problem: White screen on install and the disk light is constantly on.
Resolution: If the machine is a fast 486 ISA bus machine, try switching
the board out of turbo mode to reduce the speed of the CPU.
Problem :Customer has Micronics motherboard from Gateway that locks up.
Resolution: If the Micronics motherboard is revision E and purchased from
Gateway, Gateway 2000 will provide an upgrade to revision F. The number
for Gateway 2000 is 1-800-523-2000. Gateway 2000 board will cause some
systems to lockup. They also suggest that earlier versions should be
replaced.
Problem: Cannot get a High Density 5.25 inch 1.2 MB drive to work.
Resolution: If you are using the \OS2\EXTDSKDD.SYS driver
you need to use the EXT5DD.SYS driver that comes with the Drive.
Tips and Techniques
-------------------
Applications
------------
General Information
-------------------
FAX and comm programs
FAX, communication programs for DOS, running in a virtual DOS machine
(VDM) under OS/2 may not work correctly at high speeds. VDMs have an
upper limit of being able to deliver only 1000 interrupts per second. As
such, FAX and other communication programs operating at 9600 baud or
higher may not perform correctly. The workaround is to use a lower spped
such as 4800 or to move to an OS/2 based communications program.
Installation of OS/2 1.3, DOS and Windows programs
OS/2 2.0 allows you to install the operating system on drives other than
C:. Many DOS, Windows and OS/2 1.3 programs that update config.sys
assume that C: is a valid drive and is formatted. This may not be the
case under OS/2 2.0. The answer to this is after the application
updates config.sys, and before rebooting, check to be sure that anything
added by the application's install program points to the correct place.
Another way around this is to tell the application "no" when it asks
you if you want it to update config.sys, then you can do it manually.
One other piece of information here: Some applications are hard coded to
install on Drive C. If Drive C is not formatted, you will get errors from
the application. Also, some of these programs use C: as a temporary
workspace while installing. You may see the same errors in this case.
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Microsoft Windows (or OS/2's WIN-OS2)
Microsoft Windows Product
- In general, it is advisable to not keep the Microsoft Windows product on
your OS/2 system. The reason is that IBM OS/2 2.0 includes a full,
working copy of the Windows code called WIN-OS2. Applications from
Windows can be run under WIN-OS2. We advise that you use OS/2's "Migrate
Applications" utility to capture all of your Windows apps and remove the
Windows code. Many of the files from Microsoft Windows have the same
names as WIN-OS2, but are different. WIN-OS2 offers you the function of
running Windows programs on your OS/2 desktop and if Windows files are
also on your disk, there may be conflicts. So, if you plan to run
WIN-OS2, you should remove the Windows product from your disk.
Users are advised to NOT install Windows 3.1 on top of an OS/2
system. WINDOWS 3.1 queries for existing INI files to detect whether or
not OS/2 is installed and will then ask if you want to install over the
top of what it thinks is old Windows code, but is actually WINOS2. The
result is a corrupted WINOS2 system since WINDOWS 3.1 changed the format
of the WINOS2 INI files. Also, Windows 3.1 will not run under OS/2 2.0
today and since the configuration files have been updated, invoking any
DOS command prompt will attempt to start Windows.
If the user has done this, they must delete the WINOS2 directory and
rebuild the configuration files and then use selective install to
reinstall the WINOS2 code.
Starting WINOS2 applications produce FATAL ERROR 0x0401
- This problem is due to the fact that you have migrated your WINOS2
environment, somewhere devices in your SYSTEM.INI file never made it over
from the SYSTEM.INI in your WINDOWS directory. Ensure that all devices
are in their appropriate WINOS2 placement, or remove the remarks from the
\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM.INI.
Clipboarding from DOS or OS/2 to WIN-OS2 programs
- If you are using the clipboard to cut. copy or paste from DOS or OS/2
Presentation Manager programs to a Windows (WIN-OS2) application, be sure
that both the OS/2 or DOS application AND the Windows application are
running before doing the mark, then cut or copy from the source. If not,
the copy may not be successful.
IBM 4029 Postscript driver for WIN-OS2
- If you are installing the IBM4029 WINDOWS Postscript driver for use in
Win-OS/2, use the following steps. Doing it in any other way may create
an invalid entry in your WIN.INI file.
Click on the Control Panel icon
Click on the Printers icon
Click on the button "Add Printer"
Select from the list of printers "Unlisted Printer" (bottom of list)
Insert the printer drivers diskette 4
In the Files and Directories dialog click on "A:"
Choose PSCRIPT.DRV from files list (PScript driver is being installed)
Click on button "Configure"
Select proper port
Click button "Setup"
Select from list of printers "IBM4029 (17 font, 600 dpi)
Click on "OK" 3 times.
Exit the Control Panel
Exit WIN-OS/2, saving changes
Problems Printing With 4029 Printers under WIN-OS2
- Problem: In a Windows application like Word 2.0 selecting
the IBM4029 PS printer Print Setup does not work.
The font menu is completely blank and the PRINT OPTION is disabled.
The IBM4029 PPDS and PCL seem to work fine. Its just PostScript
that is having the problems. The driver is "enabled" to talk
to one of the LPTx.OS2 ports via Print Manager.
Resolution: Edit your WIN.INI in the OS2\MDOS\WINOS2 directory.
There are several lines in the WIN.INI file that refer to the
4029 printer like "IBM 4029 v52.3 (17 Fonts, 600 Dpi)...".
Change the comma to a COLON to resolve the problem.
Microsoft Excel for Windows
- Excel has a habit of placing large amounts of data into the
clipboard used between OS/2 and Windows applications. This has led to
some performance problems. To resolve these, you may set the Windows
clipboard to private, using the Clipboard viewer.
Stacker
- The STACKER product for DOS from Stac Electronics will not work under
OS/2. Stac has announced an OS/2 2.0 compatible version of STACKER to
be released later in 1992. Contact Stac Electronics for more information.
Borland C++
- If you wish to run Borland C++ for DOS under OS/2, you need to set the
DOS settings for that session for DPMI_DOS_API. This setting must be
DPMI_DOS_API set to ENABLE in order for C++ to function.
DBASE IV V1.1
- DBASE will report a "too many files open" error message. DBASE uses the
DOS version number to adjust the file handle table. The DOS version must
be between 3.0 --> 10 (which is actually OS/2 1.0) To resolve the problem
edit the settings for the VDM and add the following to set the version
number for that DOS session to DOS v5.0.
DOS_VERSION DBASE.EXE,5,0,255
PMTERM not working
- Ensure that SASYNCDA.SYS, the asynchronous communications
driver is not REMarked out of CONFIG.SYS
AUTOCAD10 produces a TRAP000D
- Actually if any older DOS application produces a TRAPD, check
the CSEIP register value. If it is 0150:4912, then a protection fault in
the OS2 kernel has occurred
IBM has developed a new kernel file to fix this.
After Dark for Windows
- After Dark, the Windows screen saver program, places a TSR (terminate and
stay-resident) program into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file when it install itself.
If you wush to run After Dark in seamless mode (a Windows window on the
OS/2 desktop) then you must remove the reference to After Dark in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
IBM PC LAN Support Program
- If you use the IBM PC LAN Support Program using the DOS device drivers
in an MVDM session, it may be necessary to reset the token ring adapter
card. That is, if you open the VDM, then shut it down and subsequently
wish to open another VDM with the LAN program. The file RSTTOK.ZIP can
be found in the IBMFILES section on Compuserve and on the
IBM National Support Center BBS. (For IBM internal users, it can be
found as RSTTOK PACKAGE on OS2TOOLS).
Microsoft Word for OS/2
- Microsoft Word for OS/2 has experienced problems running on OS/2 2.0.
The problem is you cannot select anything from the application menu, and
the application appears to freeze. The fix is available from Microsoft
by calling their support number.
Lotus 1-2-3 in a under OS/2 in a DOS session
- 1) Create a sample BATCH file called Lotus.BAT which should contain:
@ECHO OFF
CLS
PROMPT $p$g
PATH=X:\LOTUS
SET 123MEMSIZE=2048
.... Any other lines that you might choose to Add
123.EXE (Make this your last line in the .BAT file)
2) Open the Templates Folder from your Desktop and select
the Program Icon by single clicking on it with the left
mouse button. Drag a program template to the DESKTOP
using the Right mouse button.
3) Once the Program Template Icon is on the desktop, single
click on it with the right mouse button to reveal the
Object menu. Select Open->Settings. A notebook display
will now open.
4) In the Program and Filename field Enter:
x:\path\lotus.bat
which is where the file created above resides
5) Select the Session Tab and click on the DOS FULL SCREEN
radiobutton then select the DOS SETTINGS pushbutton.
6) Select or add the following DOS Settings:
DOS_UMB ON
DOS_HIGH ON
DOS_VERSION INSTALL.EXE,3,40,255
123.EXE,3,40,255
LOTUS.EXE,3,40,255
123DOS.EXE,3,40,255
ZAP.EXE,3,40,255
INS.EXE,3,40,255
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT 4 OR HIGHER
7) Click the General Tab and Add:
Title -> Lotus 123 (Or whatever else you'd like to call it)
8) Close the Notebook by double clicking the system menu or
selecting close.
9) You should now have a DOS Fullscreen Icon, start the DOS
session by double clicking the Icon.
10) From an A:> DOS prompt type INSTALL to install the product.
11) Start the LOTUS VDM by double clicking the LOTUS program object.
Lotus Freelance Graphics for OS/2
- If you are a user of Lotus Freelance Graphics for OS/2, you may experience
problems installing the software. This has to do with how Freelance
checks for OS/2 version levels. A fix is available from Lotus. You may
also download FLGOS2.ZIP from the IBM BBS or Compuserve (in the IBMFILES
section) or INSTAL.ZIP from the LOTUS section of Compuserve.
Tips and Techniques
-------------------
Configuration
-------------
General Information
-------------------
- If you add memory to your system after installing OS/2
OS/2 determines how much memory you have on your system when it installs
and sets up it's initial SWAP file size based on this number. If you
add or remove memory after OS/2 is installed, you may wish to change
this value. If you removed memory, you should raise the number, it you
added memory, you may wish to lower the number. The line in the
CONFIG.SYS file is something like:
SWAPPATH=C:\OS2\SYSTEM 2048 xxxx
The number you want to modify is the xxxx where xxxx is a multiple of 512.
- Creating icons from/for graphical applications
NOTE: This will only work for graphical applications. Text applications
must have custom icons done by hand.
1. Bring up the program in a windowed session, and use the system icon
(upper left corner) pulldown to change it to a windowed, scaled image.
2. Run the program until a nice graphic about the size of an icon appears
on the screen. (E.g., Mario standing on the lowest level, poised for
action.)
3. Select mark from the system icon, and mark the graphic area about the
size of a desktop icon. Then select "copy" to move it to the
clipboard.
4. Open the settings for the program, and select the General tab, to
get to the "DOS" icon.
5. Select the create another button, which brings up the icon editor.
6. Select File/New, and Icon, to create a new icon.
7. Select Edit/Paste to paste in your graphic. Clean it up a little with
the icon editor, if you want.
8. Select File/Save as, and store it as program.ico (eg, Mario.ico) in the
same drive and directory as the program (.com, .exe) itself is stored.
Exit the icon editor.
9. (You're back at the settings notebook.) Click the Find button, and
find the .ico you just stored. Using the Drives tab is the easiest
way.
Select the icon, and save.
10.Exit the settings folder, and voila! The "DOS" icon has been
replaced with a snazzy graphic icon, right out of the application.
-Configuring Program References
OS/2 2.0 is an object-oriented system. Is is very tempting to enter the
Drives folders and begin moving program files where you want to use them.
The recommended way to do this is to not move the program files, but to
create Program Reference objects. In the settings for these objects,
you specify where the program file is. An alternative method is to create
a shadow of the program file. This way the files stays where the
application installation program put it, and no matter where it is
subsequently moved, the shadow points to it. You can then place the
shadow(s) wherever you like.
To create a Program Reference to a program:
-Create Another on the Popup menu of a Program File creates a Program
Reference to that program.
-Another way to create a program reference is to click with the
right mouse button on a program file (like the EXE file in the
drives folder) and select "Create Another". This will create a
program reference to that program file.
- To add types to the system:
Assuming you have followed the instructions for loading the functions in
the RexxUtil package, the following command will add new types to the
system.
SysCreateObject( "WPProgram", "Title", "<WP_DESKTOP>",,
"EXENAME=*;ASSOCTYPE=New Type1,New Type2,,")
It does this by creating a program reference and then associating those
types to the program reference. If the types don't already exist they
are added to the system. You can then delete the program reference and
the types remain.
The double commas at the end of the first line indicate to Rexx that the
line is being continued. If you type it on one line then you only need
the one comma. The double comma after New Type2 indicates the end of
the list.
- Changing icon text color
If you want to change the color of the text under the icons in a folder,
use the color palette to drag a color to the icon text. To do this,
open the color palette. Choose the color. Then press the Ctrl key and while
holding that down, use mouse button 2 to click and drag the desired color
from the palette to the icon text. Then drop the color there and release
the Ctrl key. Note that all icon text within a folder is changed. You
cannot do this on a per-icon basis within a folder.
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Problem: TRAP000E when opening the DOS SESSION or WINOS2 SESSION
Resolution: The problem occurs on machines with 4MB of memory and SVGA
adapters, have the customer obtain the VSVGA.SYS driver replacement
from IBM.
Problem: SYS3176 message when starting a DOS or WINOS2 command prompt.
Resolution: Try setting the HW_ROM_TO_RAM setting in the VDM to ON or
changing the DOS_RMSIZE parameter in the VDM to 624 from the default 640.
If this does not work the VSVGA.SYS fix from IBM might resolve the problem.
Problem: Why am I unable to remake my desktop?
Resolution: If the .INI files in the \OS2\INSTALL subdirectory are your
backups instead of the original ones, the system will not remake the
desktop.
The original .INI files in the \OS2\INSTALL subdirectory remake the
desktop. A new subdirectory then exists named OS!2_21.0_D, then
OS!2_22.0_D, etc.
Question: Why should I use MAKEINI instead of the ALT-F1 feature?
Answer: MAKEINI does not replace the CONFIG.SYS and DESKTOP.
The install process places a copy of the original OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI
files and a copy of CONFIG.SYS in the \OS2\INSTALL subdirectory. These
are the same INI files you would get if you do a MAKEINI. These .INI
files will rebuild the desktop, and set your desktop to its initial
state, as when you installed the machine.
The ALT-F1 replaces OS2.INI, OS2SYS.INI, and the CONFIG.SYS files.
Question: What if I lose some important folders?
Answer: An interesting thing happened where a user dragged the
OS/2 System object into a drive folder. The user subsequently closed
the drive folder and all drives objects. The user could not get to the
OS/2 System object, because the drives objects were in it, and it was in
the drives object!
All folders are represented in the OS/2 file system. If you run into a
situation like the one described above, you can use the OS/2 command line
to do the following:
Use the MOVE command to move the folder (a subdirectory within the file
system) to the proper place.
For example, the OS/2 System folder is called "OS!2 System". You will
notice that each folder has a representative subdirectory under the
"OS!2 2.0 DESKTOP" subdirectory.
To move a folder that is inaccessible due to a scenario described above,
use the MOVE command to place it in an accessible place.
To move the "OS!2 SYSTEM" folder to the desktop, for example, go into the
subdirectory where "OS!2 SYSTEM" is.
Then type:
MOVE "OS!2 SYSTEM" \"OS!2 2.0 DESKTOP"
This will move the folder back to the desktop.
NOTE: ONLY do this if your folders are inaccessible from the shell!
Tips and Techniques
-------------------
General Topics
--------------
- Restoring a corrupted desktop
There may be cases where your desktop may have been corrupted. An example
is if you booted DOS and tried to rearrange your hard disk and corrupted
either INI files or Extended Attributes. The following mechanisms have been
implemented to help in these cases.
1) There is an undocumented function in OS/2 2.0 that will backup your
current INI files and CONFIG.SYS and give you the ones that were set up
initially during installation. Note however, that any modifications
(such as shadows and associations) since installation will be lost
and have to be recreated.
This is function is also useful if you have followed the product
documentation and created new INI files you wish to make current.
(i.e.- OS/2 1.3 "look and feel" INI files)
The steps are:
a) Reboot your system.
b) As soon as you hear a single beep from the system speaker after the
Power on Self Test completes (or as soon as you hit the enter key at
the BOOT MANAGER menu or power-on password prompt), press and hold the
ALT key and press F1. Hold these keys down until you hear rapid
beeping from the system indicating that the keyboard buffer is full.
c) This will back up your old INI files and CONFIG.SYS. You will see
a message during the boot process confirming the backup. If you do not
see the message, it did not work and you may have to try again.
This will not erase any files off of your disk, just restore your
desktop to a basic state.
The INI files in the \OS2\INSTALL will be copied and made active.
If you have new INI files you wish to make current, place them
here (but remember to back up a copy of the old ones). Then execute
this procedure.
2) If you have corrupted INI files, or lose objects such as the clock or
font palettes, and option (1) above does not help, you can retrieve them
by remaking your INI files.
To do this, boot off the install disks. Press ESC to get to a command
prompt and change to the \OS2 directory.
Once there, type MAKEINI OS2.INI INI.RC
then type MAKEINI OS2SYS.INI INISYS.RC
Then reboot your machine.
This will look at the INI file from installation and merge items in it
with your current INI file, thus restoring the lost objects.
3) If you have corrupted EAs and have lost folders and/or program
references, the recommended method is to simply use the templates
and recreate them.
The second option is to try step (1), above.
In the event that your desktop objects are so far gone that you cannot
use it (this is the last resort), boot your install disks and escape
to a command prompt. Then delete the \"OS!2 2.0 DESKTOP" directory and
everything underneath it. Then look at item (1), above.
- Removing an unshreddable folder
If you have a folder that you cannot delete or shred. Open an OS/2
Window and from the DESKTOP directory physically remove the FOLDER
directory.
- Shutting down a mouseless system
The shutdown procedure is accessed from the desktop's menu. To access this
menu without a mouse, first press and hold the CTRL key while pressing the
ESC key. Cursor up to the OS/2 Desktop entry and hit ENTER. Now press the
spacebar to deselect all currently selected icons. Press SHIFT and hit the
F10 key. This will bring up the desktop's menu. You can now cursor down to
the Shutdown option and press enter to shut down the system.
- Quick and easy way to get an OS/2 Window
Add a new menu item to the desktop pop-up menu pointing to CMD.EXE
1) Click with the right mouse button to get the menu.
2) Open settings
3) Go to the MENU page
4) On the primary pop-up entry, select "Create Another"
5) For the program name, put in OS/2 Window (or whatever you'd like)
6) For the program name enter C:\OS2\CMD.EXE (or use whatever your boot
drive is)
7) Close all windows opened in steps 1-6.
8) Now click the right mouse button on the desktop to bring up the menu.
You now see your OS/2 Window entry on the menu. Selecting it will
give you an OS/2 window.
- Enabling the UNDELETE function
To activate this function, simply edit the CONFIG.SYS file, and remove
the "REM" from the line beginning
REM SET DELDIR.......
Upon reboot, the undelete function is active
- Preventing STARTUP applications from opening
OS/2 2.0 has a STARTUP folder which will automatically start any programs
within it at system boot time. Additionally, any programs that were running
when the system was shut down are started upon bootup.
There may be some cases where you have installed an application to
automatically start and it has somehow become corrupted.
It is sometimes useful to inhibit the auto-start features of the Workplace
Shell. You can do this as follows:
When the system is starting, you will see the Workplace desktop
background paint. As soon as you see the mouse pointer show up on the
desktop, press and hold the CTRL and SHIFT keys then press and hold
the F1 key. You should hold this down for approximately 15 seconds,
or until the desktop icons appear. If the hard disk light stops
during this period, your system may be suspended. Release the
keys quickly, then resume holding them until the desktop icons appear.
This will inhibit all of the applications in the startup folder from
coming up, and inhibit the auto-start of programs running at the time
the system was shut down.
Questions, Common Problems and Answers
--------------------------------------
Question: What do I do if I get "Incorrect DOS version when trying to run
a DOS program under OS/2?
Answer:If you execute DOS commands that show "Incorrect DOS version", this
is indicative of pieces of older DOS versions being picked up. Check your
path statements and the current directory.
IBM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS AND MERCHANTABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE
INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. BY FURNISHING THIS DOCUMENT, IBM GRANTS NO
LICENSES TO ANY RELATED PATENTS OR COPYRIGHTS. Copyright IBM Corporation, 1992.
All rights reserved.
