README.WRI: Microsoft Windows MS-DOS 5 Upgrade (Part B)

• Microsoft Windows & MS-DOS 5 Upgrade

SUMMARY

The following information was taken from the Windows & MS-DOS 5 Upgrade README.WRI file. This article contains sections 9.0 through 12.0.

MORE INFORMATION

9.0 Using Specific Display Adapters with Windows Version 3.1

This section describes some problems you might encounter using specific display adapters or drivers with Windows version 3.1.

9.1 Installing Display Adapters by Following the Manufacturer's Instructions

The procedures that are provided by display-adapter manufacturers for installing display adapters may require you to replace or modify the SETUP.INF file in the Windows SYSTEM directory. This will cause problems in Windows version 3.1.

If your third-party display installation replaces or modifies the SETUP.INF file, follow these instructions instead to install the display-adapter drivers:

1. Rename the SETUP.INF file provided with your display-adapter package to OEMSETUP.INF, and place it on the disk and in the directory containing the third-party display driver files.

2. Run Windows Setup from the Main group and select Other Display (Requires disk from OEM) from the list of Display options.

3. Insert the disk that contains the OEMSETUP.INF file and the driver files for your display adapter. Or, if these files are located on your hard disk, type the path to the directory that contains the files in the text box, and then choose the OK button.

4. Select the type of display adapter you want to use, and then choose the OK button.Windows Setup copies all necessary files from the driver disk, and may request files from the Setup disks.

5. Insert any additional disks that are requested, and then choose the OK button.

9.2 Upgrading Display Drivers When Using Soft-Font Packages

If you are using certain soft-font packages, including Bitstream Facelift, Publisher PowerPak, and Hewlett-Packard Intellifont, Windows Setup may not update your display driver when you upgrade to Windows version 3.1. In this case, you need to update your display driver after you have set up Windows. To do this, run Windows Setup from the Main group, and then select the display driver you want to use from the list of Display options. For more information about using Setup after you have installed Windows, see Chapter 15, "Maintaining Windows with Setup," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

9.3 Using Self-Configuring Display Adapters

Some display adapters can change their configurations to match what an application tries to do. For example, if an application tries to use a video graphics adapter (VGA) configuration and your display adapter is currently configured as an extended graphics adapter (EGA), the adapter can switch from an EGA configuration to a VGA configuration. This type of display adapter makes use of non-maskable interrupts (NMIs) to change its configuration while you work.

To use this type of display adapter with Windows running in 386 enhanced mode, you must disable the NMI (also called self-configuring, auto-switching, or auto-emulating) option. First, configure the display adapter, and then disable the NMI option. For more information, see your display-adapter documentation.

9.4 Hercules Graphics Station

Hercules Graphics Station adapters are supported by Windows version 3.1 using the TIGA display drivers. If you encounter problems running Windows in 386 enhanced mode with the Hercules GS, try adding the following line to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

   emmexclude=C000-CFFF

9.5 LCD

If you use an LCD screen, set it for white text on a black background instead of black text on a white background. When using Windows, black text on a white background wears out LCD screens. See the documentation for your screen for instructions on how to do this.

9.6 Super VGA

- If you are using a video card and monitor (NEC MultiSync 3D/4D/5D or

  other multifrequency monitor) capable of 800x600, 16-color
  resolution with a third-party Super VGA driver, or one of the
  following drivers provided in the Windows 3.0 Supplemental Driver
  Library (SDL):

  - ATI Mode 54h (800x600 16 colors) v2.00
  - CHIPS Super VGA 82C451 (800x600 16 colors)
  - CHIPS Super VGA 82C452 (800x600 16 colors)
  - Paradise VGA (800x600 16 colors)

  use the Super VGA (800x600, 16 colors) driver provided with Windows
  instead. If you do not update your driver, Windows may not work
  properly when running in 386 enhanced mode. In addition, the 3.1
  driver contains new features and performance enhancements.

  To install the Windows version 3.1 Super VGA driver, run Windows
  Setup from the Main group, and then select "Super VGA 800x600, 16
  colors" from the list of Display options. For more information on
  using Setup after you have installed Windows, see Chapter 15,
  "Maintaining Windows with Setup," in the Microsoft Windows User's
  Guide.

  Some Super VGA adapters support higher monitor-refresh rates at
  800x600 resolution with a special VESA mode. If both your video
  adapter and monitor support a higher refresh rate and if you are
  using the Super VGA driver, you may be able to get better video
  results by including the following setting in the [display] section
  of the SYSTEM.INI file:

     svgamode=106

  If you encounter problems using this mode, delete this setting from
  the SYSTEM.INI file, and then restart Windows.

9.7 Third-Party Display Drivers: Running Non-Windows Applications

If you are using a display driver that is not provided with Windows version 3.1 and you receive one of the following messages while trying to run a non-Windows application:

   "Incorrect system version. Run the Windows Setup program again."
       or
   "386 System display type mismatch."

If your display driver works in Windows version 3.0 using the standard VGA virtual-display-device file (specified by the device=*vddvga setting in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file), then do the following:

1. Copy and expand the VDDVGA30.386 file from the Windows and MS-DOS Setup disks to your Windows 3.1 SYSTEM directory.

2. Change the display= setting in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file to:

         display=VDDVGA30.386
   

3. Restart Windows.

1. Copy and expand the VGA30.3GR file from the Windows and MS-DOS

1. Change the 386Grabber setting in the [386Enh] section of the

1. Restart Windows.

9.8 TIGA

If you are using a Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture (TIGA)- based display adapter, make sure that you are using a TIGA display driver that is provided by Windows version 3.1. Windows provides two versions of the TIGA display driver, "TIGA (Small fonts)" and "TIGA (Large fonts)."

To install one of the drivers, run Windows Setup from the Main group, and then select the version you want from the list of Display options. For more information on using Setup after you have installed Windows, see Chapter 15, "Maintaining Windows with Setup," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

Note: You cannot use Windows Setup to change TIGA screen resolution. If you want to change the resolution, you must first quit Windows, and then use the TIGAMODE utility or another resolution utility supplied with your display adapter. Unless you want to use a different version of the TIGA driver (Small fonts or Large fonts) to change font sizes, it is not necessary to run Windows Setup after changing your TIGA screen resolution.

9.9 VGA-Compatible

Most VGA-compatible display-adapter cards and main-adapter chips use additional memory to enhance their performance. When Windows is running in 386 enhanced mode and is configured for VGA, Windows detects most of these cards and automatically excludes the additional memory.

However, if you have an enhanced VGA that Windows does not recognize, you must exclude the additional memory yourself by adding the following line to the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file:

   emmexclude=C400-C7FF

9.10 Video Seven: Using 256-Color Support

Windows version 3.1 provides 256-color support at several resolutions for Video Seven display adapters that have at least 512K of video memory. The following table shows the Video Seven 256-color modes that are supported by the Video Seven display drivers provided with Windows version 3.1.

Model               640x480     720x512     800x600     1024x768
FastWrite 512K        Yes
1024i 512K            Yes
VRAM 512K             Yes         Yes
VRAM II 512K          Yes         Yes
VRAM II 1MB           Yes         Yes         Yes          Yes

9.11 WinSpeed

The WinSpeed version 1.0 installation program, INSTALL.EXE, does not work properly with Windows version 3.1. It copies an incompatible version of the SETUP.INF file to your Windows directory. To install WinSpeed for use with Windows version 3.1, you must get updated installation disks from Panacea.

If you have already used the INSTALL.EXE program to install the WinSpeed drivers onto your system, the following message will appear when you try to run Windows Setup from the Main group:

"The SETUP.INF file on your system is not valid for use with this version of Setup."

To correct this problem, do the following:

1. If there is a SETUP.INF file in your Windows directory, delete it. (The SETUP.INF file should never be in your Windows directory.)

2. Copy the SETUP.INF file on Setup Disk 3 to your Windows SYSTEM directory.

3. Contact Panacea Inc. for updated WinSpeed installation disks that are compatible with Windows version 3.1, and then reinstall WinSpeed.

9.12 IBM XGA: Configuring Color and Resolution

Windows Setup will automatically configure an IBM XGA for 16-color, 640x480 resolution. If your monitor can support 256 colors or higher resolutions, you can configure your XGA to use the color and resolution settings you want. To do this, run Windows Setup from the Main group, and then select one of the following drivers from the list of Display options:

- XGA (640x480, 16 colors)

  This is the default setting and should not be changed if you are
  using the plasma screen on the PS/2 model 75.

Both the Small and Large fonts settings configure the XGA for 1024x786 resolution and 256 colors, if your monitor supports it. Otherwise these settings configure your display for 640x480 resolution. Select Small Fonts if you have a large monitor (at least 16 inches) or want to fit more information on your screen. Select Large Fonts if you want to improve the readability of text.

Make sure that your monitor supports the XGA configuration you select. If it doesn't, you will be returned to the MS-DOS prompt when you try to start Windows.

For more information on using Setup after you have installed Windows, see Chapter 15, "Maintaining Windows with Setup," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

9.13 IBM XGA: Using EMM386

To use the IBM XGA successfully with the EMM386 expanded-memory emulator, you need to manually prevent EMM386 from using the memory address range used by the XGA display. To do this, include the X= option on the device=EMM386.EXE line in your CONFIG.SYS file. For example:

   device=EMM386.EXE  X=C600-C7FF

With some PS/2 model 75 plasma screens or with XGA configured for 640x480 resolution and 16 colors, you must also include the NOEMS or RAM option on the device=EMM386.EXE line in your CONFIG.SYS file. For example:

device=EMM386.EXE NOEMS X=C600-C7FF

Do not include the i=B000-BE00 option on the device=EMM386.EXE line in your CONFIG.SYS file. This address range is used by the XGA when running Windows in 386 enhanced mode. Therefore, it cannot be used as upper memory area. Windows will not recognize XGA configurations if EMM386 is using this address range.

For more information about modifying your CONFIG.SYS file, see your MS-DOS documentation. For more information about installing the EMM386 expanded-memory emulator and configuring the way it uses memory, see Chapter 14, "Optimizing Windows," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

9.14 Video Seven: VEGA Deluxe card

The VDDEGA.386 driver that Windows 3.1 supplies does not support the Video Seven VEGA Deluxe card. If your computer has this video card and the VDDEGA.386 driver is specified in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file, your display may not be readable. To correct this problem, you can do one of the following:

   - Run Windows in standard mode only.
   - Contact Video Seven for a video display driver that supports the
     VEGA Deluxe card.
   - Replace the VEGA Deluxe card with a Windows-compatible card.

10.0 Using Specific Mice with Windows Version 3.1

This section describes some problems you may encounter using specific types of mice with Windows version 3.1.

10.1 Microsoft Mouse

Windows 3.1 includes version 8.20 of the Microsoft mouse drivers. If you have a Microsoft mouse, Setup installs the Windows mouse driver (MOUSE.DRV) in your Windows SYSTEM directory and an MS-DOS mouse driver (MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS) in your Windows directory. If you have additional versions of the Microsoft mouse drivers on your system, make sure that you are using the mouse drivers provided with Windows 3.1.

If you use the Microsoft Mouse Control Panel version 8.0 or later, you need to set your MS-DOS mouse variable to the directory on your hard disk that contains the control-panel program files POINT.EXE and PANEL.COM. You can do this by modifying your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. For example, if the control-panel program files are located in the \MOUSE directory, you would add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

   set mouse=c:\mouse

It is recommended that you use the mouse driver MOUSE.COM instead of MOUSE.SYS, and that you load MOUSE.COM from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you use MOUSE.SYS, you may encounter problems saving MS-DOS mouse control-panel settings. If you must use MOUSE.SYS and encounter problems saving mouse settings, make sure you load it from your mouse directory instead of from your Windows directory.

10.2 Genius Mouse

If you are using a Genius mouse and are running non-Windows applications in 386 enhanced mode, the mouse may not work properly, especially if you have several non-Windows applications running at the same time.

To correct this problem, add the following line to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

   local=PC$MOUSE

10.3 Logitech Mouse

- Some Logitech mouse models are detected as "Microsoft or IBM PS/2"

  mouse models by the Setup program. In this case, Setup will install
  the mouse driver for the Microsoft or IBM PS/2 mouse. If you have a
  Logitech mouse, you should use the Logitech mouse driver instead.

  To install the Logitech mouse driver, run Windows Setup from the
  Main group, and then select Logitech from the list of Mouse options.
  For more information about using Setup after you have installed
  Windows, see Chapter 15, "Maintaining Windows with Setup," in the
  Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

  LMOUSE.COM file to your Windows directory. This is the mouse driver
  that is required in order to use the Logitech mouse with non-Windows
  applications. To use your mouse with non-Windows applications, you
  need to load LMOUSE.COM before you start Windows. You can do this by
  adding it to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You will also need to add the
  following line to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

     local=PC$MOUSE

10.4 Logitech Cordless Mouse

If you have a Logitech Cordless mouse and you run Windows in 386 enhanced mode, you may encounter problems, such as an unresponsive pointer, when running MS-DOS Prompt or non-Windows applications in a window. To correct this problem, you need to do the following:

1. Change the baud-rate setting for the mouse driver. To do this, add the following line to the [LogiMouse] section of the SYSTEM.INI file:

         BaudRate=1200
   

2. Include the 1200 option in the command line that loads the MS-DOS Logitech mouse driver (which is provided with Windows 3.1) as follows:

         LMOUSE 1200
   

10.5 Logitech or Microsoft Ballpoint Mouse on a Toshiba T2200SX

If you are using a Toshiba T2200SX computer with a BIOS version earlier than 1.20 and you have a Logitech or Microsoft ballpoint mouse connected to the PS/2 mouse port, you may have problems moving the mouse pointer. If the mouse does not respond, try connecting your mouse to the serial port instead, or contact Toshiba for an upgraded version of the BIOS.

10.6 Mouse Systems Mouse on PS/2 Ports

The "Mouse Systems" serial and bus mouse drivers provided with Windows do not support a Mouse Systems mouse when it is connected to a PS/2 style mouse port. If you are using a Mouse Systems mouse connected to a PS/2 style mouse port, Setup installs the "Microsoft or IBM PS/2" mouse driver for you. This is the correct driver. Do not change it.

10.7 Mouse Systems optical mouse

Setup does not detect "Mouse Systems" optical mouse. However, the optical mouse is compatible with Windows 3.1. To use the "Mouse Systems" optical mouse, you need to install its driver with Windows Setup. For instructions, see "Installing a Device Driver Not Supplied with Windows Version 3.1" in Chapter 15, "Maintaining Windows with Setup," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

11.0 Using Additional Hardware Configurations with Windows Version 3.1

This section contains information about using Windows version 3.1 with different types of computers and hardware configurations.

11.1 CD-ROM Drives

- If you are using a CD-ROM drive with Windows 3.1, you should use

  version 2.21 of Microsoft MS-DOS CD-ROM Extensions (MSCDEX) with all
  configurations of CD-ROM drives. If you use version 2.20 or later,
  you must also remove the following setting from the [386Enh] section
  of the SYSTEM.INI file:

     device=LANMAN10.386

  This setting can cause some CD-ROM drives to timeout and fail with
  versions later than 2.20 of MSCDEX. However, if you must use a
  version earlier than 2.20 of MSCDEX, the above setting is required
  in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file.

  system to fail, you may need to update the CD-ROM driver. Also, the
  MCI (Media Control Interface) driver MCICDA.DRV may not work
  properly with older CD-ROM drivers. Contact your CD-ROM-drive
  manufacturer about obtaining an updated driver.

11.2 EISA Systems with More Than 16 Megabytes of Extended Memory

On some EISA (extended industry standard architecture) computers, there may be more extended memory available than the system's Int 15h/88h BIOS call can detect. On these computers, HIMEM.SYS uses only the amount of extended memory detected. This can result in a large amount of unused memory.

You can have HIMEM.SYS use all available extended memory by using the /EISA option in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example, if HIMEM.SYS is located in your WINDOWS directory, you would use the following command line in the CONFIG.SYS file to take advantage of all available extended memory:

   device=c:\windows\himem.sys /EISA

   device=c:\windows\himem.sys /EISA /INT15=128

To determine if your device driver or application use the Int15h/88h BIOS call, see the documentation for your device or contact your device dealer. For more information about using HIMEM.SYS with the INT15 option, see Chapter 14, "Optimizing Windows," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

11.3 Epson Screen Savers

Some Epson computers have screen-saver utilities that clear the screen after a specified period of inactivity. With Windows version 3.1, the screen saver might detect that the system is idle when it is not. Windows will function properly even though the screen is blank, but nothing will be displayed until you quit Windows and then restart it.

See the documentation that you received with your Epson computer for instructions on how to turn off the screen saver.

11.4 Everex 386/25 with EMM386.EXE

If you are using an Everex 386/25 with EMM386.EXE, include the following options on the device=emm386.exe command line in your CONFIG.SYS file:

   device=EMM386.EXE X=C600-C7FF

11.5 NCR 925 with EMM386.EXE

If you are using an NCR 925 with EMM386.EXE, include the following option on the device=emm386.exe command line in your CONFIG.SYS file:

   device=EMM386.EXE X=E000-EFFF

11.6 Non-US Keyboard Layouts: Using Application Shortcut Keys

Some non-US keyboards show two characters per alphabet key and three characters per alphanumeric key. To type the second or third character, you must press and hold down CTRL+ALT or ALTGR before pressing the key. If you are using such a keyboard layout, do not use keys that show two or three characters as application shortcut keys.

11.7 Plus Hardcard

- To run Windows version 3.1 with a Hardcard, you must include the

  following line in the [386Enh] section in the SYSTEM.INI file:

      VirtualHDIRQ=Off

  For information on how to modify the SYSTEM.INI file, see the
  SYSINI.WRI online document.

  Note:  This procedure is not necessary if you are using a Hardcard
  II or a Hardcard II XL.

  more information about using SMARTDrive, see Chapter 14, "Optimizing
  Windows," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

11.8 SCSI Hard Disk Using DMA

If your computer has a SCSI hard disk that uses Direct Memory Access (DMA), you must include the following entry in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file:

   VirtualHDIRQ=Off

11.9 Columbia Data Products SCSI Hard-Disk Controller

To use the Columbia Data Products SCSI hard-disk controller with Windows version 3.1 in 386 enhanced mode, you must update the Columbia Data Products SCSI driver to version 3.35 or higher.

11.10 Serial Ports on 80286-Based Computers: Improving Performance

If the bit rate-setting for your COM ports is 9600 bits per second (BPS) or higher and you are experiencing slow COM performance or are losing characters when sending or receiving information using a communications application in standard mode, try the following solutions to correct the problem. Try solution one first. If that doesn't work, then try solution two, and so on:

1. Reduce the number of MS-DOS drivers and terminate-and-stay-resident programs (TSRs) loaded from your CONFIG.SYS file.

2. Add the following line to the [standard] section of the SYSTEM.INI file:

         FasterModeSwitch=1
   

   Note: The FasterModeSwitch setting may not work on older systems or systems that are incompatible with Windows version 3.1. In this case, Windows may fail when you start it.

3. Do not load MS-DOS 5.0 into upper memory (do not include the command line dos=high in your CONFIG.SYS file).

11.11 Sound Blaster Audio Card

If you are using a Sound Blaster audio card that includes a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) chip earlier than version 2.0, you may want to upgrade to version 2.0 to improve audio performance. To find out which version of the DSP chip you currently have, run the TEST-SBC.EXE utility included in your Sound Blaster package. To receive version 2.0 of the DSP chip, contact Creative Labs, Inc.

11.12 Tandy 2500 XL with MS-DOS in ROM

The Tandy 2500 XL can be configured to use MS-DOS in read-only memory (ROM). If you want to use this feature, after you run Windows Setup you must run the Tandy setup program (SETUPXL). Modify your configuration so that your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files are read from drive C.

11.13 Wyse Computers

If you are using a Wyse computer to run Windows, you might need to modify the device=HIMEM.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS file to read:

   device=[path]HIMEM.SYS  /M:WYSE

11.14 Memory Chips: Parity Errors

If you are receiving parity errors while running Windows 3.1, you probably have a bad memory chip, even if you didn't have parity errors while running Windows 3.0. (Windows 3.0 did not detect parity errors.)

If you run a memory test utility and it reports that the memory is fine, you should still have your machine tested. Memory tests, in general, do not do a good job of detecting parity errors. For assistance in testing your computer for a bad memory chip, contact your hardware vendor.

Some hardware can cause Windows to erroneously generate a parity error. Windows will display a parity error if the hardware on the machine generates a nonmaskable interrupt (NMI). Windows will only display a parity error when a true parity error occurs or when a system component such as an older autoswitching EGA card can generate a NMI. It is possible for a card such as this to cause a false parity error. This only happens when changing video modes.

For example, if you get a parity error every time you start MS-DOS Prompt in full-screen mode (the video mode will change from graphics to text mode), the video card is probably causing an NMI, which causes Windows 3.1 to display a parity error.

12.0 Other Online Documents

The following table describes other online documents that contain important information about Windows version 3.1 that is not included in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide or in online Help:

Document       Contains
--------       --------

APPS.HLP       Information about updating some older Windows
               applications for use with Windows version 3.1. You can
               view this file by starting Windows Help from any
               application, and then using the Open command on the
               File menu to open the file. For more information about
               using Help, see Chapter 1, "Windows Basics," in the
               Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

SETUP.TXT      Information about problems that may occur when you are
               setting up Windows.

PRINTERS.WRI   Information about using fonts and printing in Windows
               version 3.1, including notes about specific printers
               and font packages.

NETWORKS.WRI   Information about running Windows with specific network
               configurations.

SYSINI.WRI     Information about the settings in the SYSTEM.INI file.

WININI.WRI     Information about the settings in the WIN.INI file.