README.TXT for Wintune 2.0, CD Version, 12/13/94 PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES AND READ THESE RELEASE NOTES. THEY WILL SAVE YOU TIME AND TROUBLE LATER. --The WINTUNE 2.0 Task Force ================================= UPDATES AND BUG FIXES Wintune 2.0 is a work in progress. To makes sure you have the most up-to-date version, check the "Wintune and related files" section of the WINMAG software library on AOL for the latest update. Update files are named WTUPDnn.ZIP, where nn is a revision number. The version you have includes all changes for WTUPD1.ZIP and WTUPD2.ZIP. Update files will also be made available through other electronic media; but AOL is Wintune's home base, and the files will be available there first. ================================= TO INSTALL WINTUNE 2.0: 1) If you have a beta version of WINTUNE 2.0, please delete it, and all related files. In particular, delete any .TRF files (the format has changed), WT20.INI from \WINDOWS; and delete HELL16C.DLL, GETINFO.DLL, TIPADW16.DLL in your \WT20 directory and and any WT*.VBX files from \WINDOWS\SYSTEM. Also delete the Wintune icons and WT20 group from Program Manager. Then exit and restart Windows before running WINTUNE setup. 2) run SETUP.EXE from File/Run in Progman 3) when setup is complete, run Wintune. PLEASE FILL IN THE USER INFORMATION FORM as completely as possible. 4) If you have trouble during setup, please check the file sizes and modification dates against those listed below. If any are off, you need to download WINTUNE again. WT20.ZIP contains the following files: Name Length Date CMDIALOG.VB_ 10,865 04-28-93 GETINFO.DL_ 22,263 09-27-94 GSW.EX_ 151,678 02-18-94 GSWDLL.DL_ 24,408 02-18-94 HELL16C.DL_ 224,800 12-01-94 README.TXT 14,060 12-13-94 SETUP.EXE 8,480 10-07-93 SETUP.INF 217 08-30-94 SETUP1.EX_ 20,207 10-01-94 SETUPKIT.DL_ 3,657 04-28-93 SSIDXTAB.VB_ 39,604 05-23-94 TIPADW16.DL_ 12,575 12-09-94 VBRUN300.DL_ 276,684 05-12-93 VER.DL_ 6,307 03-10-92 WINTUNE.TR_ 22,511 11-08-94 WT20.EX_ 104,209 12-12-94 WTFAQ.HL_ 39,464 12-12-04 WTGRAPH.VB_ 41,683 02-18-94 WTHELP.HL_ 251,953 12-05-94 WTSS3D.VB_ 28,209 08-24-93 WTSS3D2.VB_ 44,100 06-01-93 WTTIP.HL_ 53,145 12-05-94 WTEST.HL_ 3,992 10-18-94 (not used) *not less than Wintune files after SETUP is complete: Name Length Date Directory CMDIALOG.VBX 18,688 04-28-93 \windows\system GETINFO.DLL 37,652 09-27-94 \wt20 GSW.EXE 262,704 02-18-94 \windows\system GSWDLL.DLL 45,584 02-18-94 \windows\system HELL16C.DLL 303,104 12-01-94 \wt20 README.TXT 12,454 12-02-94 \wt20 SSIDXTAB.VBX 61,664 05-23-94 \windows\system TIPADW16.DLL 21,056 12-09-94 \wt20 VBRUN300.DLL 398,416 05-12-93 \windows\system VER.DLL 9,696 11-12-94 \windows\system WINTUNE.TRF 107,940 11-08-94 \wt20 WT20.EXE 277,287 12-12-94 \wt20 WTFAQ.HLP 95,315 12-12-94 \wt20 WTGRAPH.VBX 73,296 02-18-94 \windows\system WTHELP.HLP 640,043 12-05-94 \wt20 WTSS3D.VBX 56,160 08-24-93 \windows\system WTSS3D2.VBX 73,104 06-01-93 \windows\system WTTIP.HLP 115,242 12-05-94 \wt20 *not less than =================================== PROBLEMS? If you have trouble getting Wintune installed and running, check the file dates and sizes you have against those above--chances are one or more will be off. If that's not the problem, try viewing WTFAQ.HLP If you don't have it, go to a DOS prompt, change to the directory where the installation files are, and type: EXPAND WTFAQ.HL_ WTFAQ.HLP Then exit the DOS prompt, and double-click WTFAQ.HLP from File Manager. That should launch WINHELP.EXE with WTFAQ.HLP loaded. ==================================================== ERROR:NEED GRAPHICS SERVER VERSION 2.51 OR LATER If you see this message, you probably have multiple versions of GSW.EXE and GSWDLL.DLL on your machine (this happens because some software--including early versions of Microsoft Encarta, and the Parsons Inventory program--install these files into the wrong directory). To fix the problem, search your hard disk for extra copies of these files in directories other than /WINDOWS/SYSTEM (usually the /WINDOWS directory), and rename them (for instance GSW.EXX, GSWDLL.DLX). Then exit Windows, restart--and Wintune will run correctly. ------------------------------------- IMPROVE CACHED DISK PERFORMANCE If you get the "Improved Cached Disk Performance" tip, it's possible that you have a cache that is not using write-behind disk caching. In particular, write-behind caching is disabled by the /X switch in SmartDrive. See the Wintune help file entry for "Smartdrv" for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------ UPDATE NOTES 12/9/94 (WTUPD1.ZIP): A new version of TIPADW16.DLL has been generated, which corrects an error on systems with 64+ MB RAM. The helpfiles and README.TXT have also been updated (the lengths and locations of files before and after installations have been corrected). 12/12/94 (WTUPD2.ZIP): A new WT20.EXE (build 16) was produced to solve problems with the memory test on systems with 4MB RAM. README.TXT was also updated ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VIEWING .TRF ENTRIES WITHOUT RUNNING A TEST Many Beta-2 testers requested this capability; so we added it in beta-3. You can now establish an association in file manager (File/Associate) of type ".TRF" with WT20.EXE. Once that's done, double-clicking on a .TRF file in file manager or any other app that supports associations (MS- Mail 3.2, for instance) will launch Wintune, load the .TRF in question, and set the most recent test results "as current"--in effect, you'll see Wintune behave as though that test had just been run. You will still have to run a test, using the "Start" button before any of the individual test commands will work. We apologise for the inconvenience; but this is necessary to assure that all program setup is properly executed (for instance, if you exit the app and change smartdrive settings, just running the disk test again wouldn't help-- because Wintune detects disk cache type and size when the Start button is pressed, *not* when an individual disk test is run). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOMATICALLY LOADING THE LAST SAVED TEST "AS CURRENT" If you wish, you can have Wintune automatically load the most recent test in the default .TRF file (normally WINTUNE.TRF) automatically each time Wintune loads. To do so, edit the command line (click on the WT20.EXE icon in Program Manager, select File/Properties) and add a /L. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPERT MODE We've added a new mode that eliminates some of the system messages (such as the one about other applications running), and which provides a "Load Test As Current" command in the File menu. The Help/Full Tips command has been eliminated from Standard Mode, and is now only available in Expert Mode. --------------------------------------------------------------------- IF YOU HAVE A NON-STANDARD DISK CACHE, Or are running OS/2 or NT, then you will need to manually set the disk cache size in the WINTUNE command line. The syntax for this is: /Cnnnn Where nnnn is your disk cache size in KB. Legal values are 16--16384. Ie, to manually set a 2MB cache size, use command-line switch: /C2048 If you don't set a cache size, you will get a simplified disk test with results that may not be comparable to those from a test with a detected cache size. NT users: Since NT has a dynamic cache, our current test can never be completely accurate, but as a practical matter, we're getting good results on both NT 3.1 and 3.5 with a manually sett cache size of 4MB. This appears to approximately match the performance of NT's dynamic cache and the built-in Wi16 emulation subsystem. OS/2 users: you should manually set Wintune's cache size to the same size as that set in the DISKCACHE line in CONFIG.SYS (for FAT drives) or to that set with CACHE= in the IFS=HPFS.IFS line of CONFIG.SYS. For instance, if you are using OS/2 with a FAT drive, and DISKCACHE = 1024,L,W set: /C1024 If you are running HPFS and have IFS=C:\OS2\HPFS.IFS /CACHE:512 ... Then set: /C512 ------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER ISSUES - Disk results different from Wintune 1.0: The disk test in 2.0 is *very* different than in 1.0, and we don't expect it to match. The 2.0 results (which are a weighted average of cached and un-cached performance... we now detect both WFWG 3.11 32-bit cache and SMARTDRV. If you are using Windows NT, OS/2, or an undetected 3rd-party disk cache, you will need to set a /C command-line switch as discussed above. - Where's the Bird (in the video test)? He's gone. His replacement is they "Eyeball", which you will see at the end of a *full* video test. - GPFs: The only condition where we expect Wintune to GPF is running a full video test with a bad video driver. If that happens, switch to Quick Test mode (so you don't get the GPF anymore) and contact your video supplier for a new driver. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINTUNE.TRF Our default test results database (WINTUNE.TRF) contains significantly more information in this release--the same four systems are shown on start-up, but you'll find that a much wider range of systems are now available for comparison. Many thanks to our beta testers who contributed! The file starts with four "standard" systems that are used a defaults in comparison displays, then has about two dozen common systems that are ordered from fast through slow systems (all are pretty much correctly set up), and winds up with a bunch of "example" systems with problems such as compressed disk drives, a TSR that slows overall performance, L1 cache disabled, turbo switch off, etc: Examples: At the end of the build-14 version of WINTUNE.TRF there are 13 example systems that illustrate typical problems. They're intended as a diagnostic aid in debugging systems that deliver odd results the examples in this version are: * EX: Pwr Mgt On (Gateway Colorbook) * EX: Pwr Mgt On (Gateway Colorbook) * EX: Pwr Mgt Off (Gateway Colorbook) The first two files illustrate what can happen when testing a notebook with power management--the first shows anomolously low CPU results, the second low disk. The third file shows how the same system tested with power management disabled. We reccomend disabling power management when running WINTUNE on Notebook computers. * EX: L1 and L2 Cache Off (NCR 3333 486/33) * EX: L2 Cache Off (NCR 3333 486/33) * EX: L1+L2 Cache On (NCR 3333 486/33) These examples illustrate the effect of level-1 (internal) and level-2 (external) CPU cache. The system in question has a 256KB L2 cache. In the first example, both caches are disabled; yielding low overall performance. In the second case the L1 cache internal to the 486 CPU is enabled, but external cache is disabled--so CPU performance is improved, but RAM, video and (particularly) disk performance still suffer. The third example shows the result of enabling both caches--optimal performance. * EX: Compressed Disk ( AMD 486 DX2/66) This example shows typical performance from a non-cached disk compresser such as Stacker. A caching compressor such as Doublespace yields significantly better performance. * EX: Notebook wi APM On. This example shows a notebook computer with Advanced Power Management (APM) enabled--low (and erratic) performance. Turn APM off when running Wintune, then turn it back on if needed for use. * EX: Stacked Disk, no Cache This example is similar to the compressed disk example above. * EX: TSR (Chameleon) Loaded Here a well-tuned system suffers because a DOS terminate-and-stay resident (TSR) utility is stealing CPU cycles, reducing overall performance. * Ex 486SX with Turbo switch OFF Here a system gives low overall performance--indicating either Turbo OFF or a problem with memory wait states. * Ex: APM Enabled (NCR 486 SX/SLC Notebook) Another example with Advanced Power Management. You can select any of these entries in the Comparisons tab--and if you want to see how the front-panel display looks for these conditions, use Edit/Preferences to select Expert Mode, and load the test in question "As Current"--this will show you the front panel pointer display and tips (it's especially instructive to view the RAMprobe curve for the three NCR CPU cache examples--load each in turn "as current", and click on the RAM pointer) YOU CAN HELP! We're interested in expanding this collection of example problems. If you encounter a system with an unusual problem, please save results on it, and mail it to jruley on AOL. Please include a full description of the problem. Thanks! --jR --------------------------------------------------------------------- BUGS If you find a bug (please check all text in this file and the "Frequently Asked Questions" helpfile *first*): 1) If Wintune is running, save your results 2) If Wintune is running go to details/all, copy all text 3) Send a mail message to jruley@aol.com. Detail what's wrong. Follow that with the text copied in (2), and attach your WINTUNE.TRF file (which contains the results you saved in step 1). 4) If you experience a crash, run Dr. Watson and MSD.EXE, and send me the results. Thanks! John D. Ruley Editor-at-Large jruley@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHH! DON'T TELL ANYONE! If you read this far... Then you're a *really* dedicated WINTUNER. So try the following: Help/About Click on "from" Enjoy! --jR