Chip 1997 April (Special)/Chip-Special_1997-04_cd.bin/number9/103intl/read.me

Text File | 1996-05-06 | 26KB | 663 lines

----------------------------------------------------------------------

             HAWKEYE FOR WINDOWS

          for the 9FX Reality Graphic Boards

        Version 1.03

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This file contains the latest information about this version of
HawkEye for Windows and other pertinent information that
may not be contained in the documentation or on-line Help.

A complete list and description of all the 9FX files are in
the FILELIST.TXT file on your 9FX Windows Installation Disk.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTACTING NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
BEFORE CALLING CUSTOMER SUPPORT
SOFTWARE UPGRADES
USING THE NUMBER NINE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE (BBS)
INTERNET
COMPUSERVE
FONT SETTINGS
PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS
TROUBLESHOOTING
OTHER PROBLEMS
NETWORK INSTALLATIONS

------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACTING NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------------

Technical Support (USA)
    8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, EST/EDT, Monday - Friday

Phone:  [phone]
     Please be prepared with as much information about your 9FX
     as possible.

Fax:    [phone]
     Please send fax inquiries to the attention of Technical Support.

                                                    * * *

Sales / Marketing (USA)
    8:30 AM to 6:00 PM, EST/EDT, Monday - Friday

Phone:  [phone]

Fax:    [phone]
     Please send fax inquiries to the attention of Sales

                                             * * *

European Technical Support and Sales (Germany)

Phone:  [phone]

Fax:    [phone]

                     * * *

Mail (USA)

NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
18 HARTWELL AVENUE
LEXINGTON, MA 02173
USA

                     * * *

MAIL (EUROPEAN OFFICE)

NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY GMBH
INSELKAMMERSTR. 10
82008 UNTERHACHING B. MUNCHEN
GERMANY

------------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE CALLING CUSTOMER SUPPORT
------------------------------------------------------------------

Please run the MS Windows Setup from DOS and select VGA as
the display type.  If the problem persists with Windows in VGA
mode, the problem is most likely with Windows, and not with
the 9FX Windows driver.

When in VGA mode, select Status from the HawkEye Control
Panel.  The information provided by this feature will be
of great assistance to customer support.

If a problem is application specific, please have vendor
information and application version information readily
available.  Number Nine Visual Technology has qualified
this driver with over 200 applications, but a multitude
of new applications enter the market every day.

------------------------------------------------------------------
SOFTWARE UPGRADES
------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though you may have just received your Number Nine software,
newer versions may be available. Free upgrades are provided to
all Number Nine customers on the Number Nine Bulletin Board
System (BBS).

To see if you have the latest version, compare the version number
of your software (on the label of the provided diskette or in
HawkEye Status under Windows Disk ID) with the version
number of the corresponding software on the BBS.

------------------------------------------------------------------
USING THE NUMBER NINE BBS
------------------------------------------------------------------

(USA)
Dial:           [phone]
Baud Rates:     Up to 28,800 baud
Compression:    HST, v.32 and v.42 supported
Modem Setup:    8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
Required:       PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress files

(EUROPEAN OFFICE)
Dial:           + 49 89 614 491 66
Baud Rates:     Up to 14,400 baud
Compression:    HST, v.32 and v.42 supported
Modem Setup:    8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
Required:       PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress files

The BBS has a separate file area for each Number Nine product.
The latest driver updates can be found in each product's file
area, and files of general interest (shareware, etc.) can be
found in the General library.  An E-mail system is available
for technical questions about Number Nine products or about
the BBS in general.  A complete listing of available files can
be downloaded by invoking the "Download List of Files" command
from any file library menu.

On the US BBS, World Group shell is supported, and the program
is available in the General library.
(WGCLIENT.EXE).

Many files are self-extracting, but some files will require the
latest version of PKUNZIP to decompress.  PKUNZIP is available
in the General library (filename PKZ204G.EXE), and can also be
found on most on-line services such as Compuserve and America
Online.

------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNET
------------------------------------------------------------------

Number Nine now has a FTP site.  All current Number Nine
Drivers are available to anyone with access to the Internet.
Our FTP Address is:  ftp.nine.com.

Number Nine also has a World Wide Web server at:  http://www.nine.com.
Information about Number Nine products as well as our FTP site can now
be accessed at our World Wide Web site.

------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPUSERVE
------------------------------------------------------------------

Number Nine also has a dedicated forum on CompuServe.  This can be
reached by typing GO NINE at the appropriate prompt. We are located
in the Graphics C Vendor forum, under the name 'Number Nine'.
Technical Support questions can be posted in this area and are
addressed every day.

------------------------------------------------------------------
FONT SETTINGS
------------------------------------------------------------------

HawkEye Resolution Exchange is used to change the size of your
Windows system fonts.  To change the size of your Windows
system fonts run Resolution Exchange and follow these steps:

1. Click on the Options menu. Click on 'Automatic Association'
   to display LARGE fonts at resolutions of 1024 x 768 and higher,
   and SMALL fonts at resolutions of 800 x 600 and lower.

   To display SMALL fonts at ALL resolutions, click on '96 DPI'
   in the Specific Font Size section.
   To display LARGE fonts at ALL resolutions, click on '120 DPI'
   in the Specific Font Size section.

2. Click 'OK' to exit and save your changes; click 'Cancel' to
   exit without saving your changes.

------------------------------------------------------------------
PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------

In HawkEye Status, several options have been added to increase
the performance and reliability of your Windows applications:

1. Source Cache improves application performance by creating
   buffers of icons and bit maps. Default is ON.

2. Font Cache helps speed activities such as scrolling text
   by creating buffers of active fonts. Default is ON.

3. Polygon Support increases drawing speed by taking the burden
   of drawing polygons away from Windows and transferring it to
   the 9FX drawing engine. Default is ON.

4. Ellipse Support increases drawing speed by taking the burden
   of drawing ellipses and circles away from Windows and
   transferring it to the drawing engine. Default is ON.

5. Bus Throttle allows hardware interrupts to interrupt some
   drawing operations. If you are dropping characters with a
   Windows communication program, turn this switch ON.
   Default is OFF.

6. Validate Parameters improves application reliability by
   forcing the 9FX driver to check parameters before
   issuing a drawing command.  An overwhelming majority of
   applications send valid parameters, so the default for
   this option is OFF.


You may occasionally encounter difficulties using these caching
and performance enhancement methods. Although they were designed
for standard Windows programming methods to ensure compatibility
with most Windows applications, programmers do not always use
standard Windows programming practices. They are constantly
seeking ways to improve application performance, and if a
nonstandard method is discovered, it will probably be used.
Consequently, our caching methods may not work correctly with
every Windows application.

So, for example, if you experience a problem with your fonts in a
particular application, use HawkEye Status to disable Font Cache.


Using HawkEye Status to Enable and Disable Options:

1. Double-click on the HawkEye Control Panel icon, then double-
   click on the Status icon.

2. Click on the 'File' menu, then click on 'Options'.

3. To DISABLE a caching method:

   Click on the option button next to the option you want
   to disable. The black dot disappears when the method is
   disabled.

   To ENABLE a caching method:

   Click on the option button next to the option you want
   to enable. A black dot appears when the method is enabled.

4. Click 'OK' to exit and save your changes; click 'Cancel' to
   exit without saving your changes.



------------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLESHOOTING
------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENTS:
 1. Your monitor is not listed in the Monitor Selection Utility.
 2. QuickTime for Windows conflicts.
 3. Video for Windows conflicts.
 4. Error messages during SETUP.
 5. Program Manager appears briefly then exits to DOS.
 6. Monitor resolution is not the one you selected.
 7. Error message in Resolution Exchange.
 8. Black screen, system hang, screen corruption or garbled text.
 9. Nothing happens after double-clicking Hawkeye Control Panel icons.
10. Scrolling out of control.
11. Lack of Video when using the VGA Loop Through connector.
12. Error messages upon entering Windows or inability to enter Windows.
13. Corruption of MPEG files after switching from 16.7Million colors to
    either 32.7K or 65.5K colors.
14. Line of corruption at top of screen while drawing circles or
    ellipses.

            * * *

1.  Problem:
    Your monitor is not listed in the Monitor Selection utility.

    Solution:
    Please choose Unlisted monitor. This will not affect the performance of
    your display or your video card.

            * * *

2.  Problem:
    After installing an application that also installs QuickTime For
    Windows (ex. HyperGlot Learn To Speak Spanish, BroderBund Myst, etc.),
    attempting to run parts of the application (movies, etc.) the user
    may experience "DYNALINK" or "General Protection Fault" errors.

    Solution:
    Some applications automatically install QuickTime For Windows
    without first checking to see if it is already present on your
    system. The two installations will then conflict.

    To resolve this conflict, delete one of the versions of Quicktime
    and its component files.  Please contact your application program's
    Tech Support department.  They will be able to tell you what these
    files are named and where to find them so that you can delete the
    proper files.  After deleting the files recommended by your applications
    Tech Support department, you can then re-install the newer version
    of Quicktime with the application already present on your system.

            * * *

3.  Problem:
    After installing an application that also installs Video For Windows
    (ex. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, etc.), attempting
    to run parts of the application (movies, etc.) the user may experience
    "DYNALINK" or "General Protection Fault" errors.

    Solution:
    Some applications automatically install Video For Windows without first
    checking to see if it is already present on your system. The two
    installations will then conflict.

    To resolve this conflict, delete one of the versions of Video for
    Windows and its component files.  Please contact your application
    program's Tech Support department.  They will be able to tell you
    what these files are named and where to find them so that you can
    delete the proper files.  After deleting the files recommemded by
    your applications Tech Support department, you can then re-install
    the newer version of Video for Windows with the application already
    present on your system.

            * * *

4.  Problem:
    During installation with SETUP, the following error is
    displayed (possibly several times):

       Compression Error: Unable to locate Destination file.

    Solution:
    A.  This error is displayed when the amount of disk space is
        insufficient to install the Number Nine software. SETUP
        currently requires about 2.5MB of disk space on the disk
        containing Windows.

        Note: If you are upgrading a previous version of HawkEye, in
              Windows Setup under DOS, set display type to VGA.  Then,
              you can increase the amount of available disk space by
              deleting all the files in the NUMBER9 directory
              (a subdirectory in your WINDOWS directory).

    B.  If you have determined that you have sufficent disk space,
        you may have a bad or corrupted installation disk.  Please
        contact Number Nine Customer support for a replacement disk.

            * * *

5.  Problem:
    The Program Manager appears briefly when you start Windows,
    then Windows exits to DOS.

    Solution:
    A. Exit Windows, run setup from your Windows directory in DOS
       and install the VGA driver, then restart Windows..

    B. Add the following line to the [386Enh] section of the system.ini
       file in your windows directory.

                      EMMExclude=C000-C7FF


    C. There may be a problem with the HawkEye Control Panel. The
       Control Panel is loaded when Windows is started, so a problem
       could occur after the Windows driver has been loaded and the
       Program Manager (or another Windows shell) is presented.

       To prevent HawkEye from loading when Windows is started, delete
       the reference to HawkEye from the "load=" line in the [windows]
       section of the WIN.INI file in the WINDOWS directory. This
       will determine whether the problem is with the HawkEye Control
       Panel, or other software. The line will look something like
       this:

           load=c:\WINDOWS\NUMBER9\HAWKEYE.EXE nwpopup.exe

       Delete WINDOWS\NUMBER9\HAWKEYE.EXE from the line, then exit
       Windows. If the problem persists when you restart Windows, see
       Solution B, following.

    D. The HawkEye configuration file (HAWKEYE.INI) may be corrupted.
       In this case, rename HAWKEYE.INI in the WINDOWS directory to
       HAWKSAVE.INI (for future reference), then copy HAWKEYE.INI
       from the 9FX Windows Installation Disk to the WINDOWS
       directory.  This reinstates the original HawkEye configuration.

            * * *

6.  Problem:
    Your monitor resolution is not the resolution you selected.

    Solution:
    Resolution Exchange (in HawkEye for Windows program group)
    must be used to change the resolution.  If you used
    MS Windows Setup to select a display driver with a different
    resolution/color depth configuration, that configuration
    may not be compatible with the Number Nine driver.

    Use Resolution Exchange to change the resolution:

    A. Press the hot key you assigned to Resolution Exchange or
       double-click on the Resolution Exchange icon in the HawkEye
       for Windows program group in the Windows Program Manager.

    B. Click on a Colors option button.

    C. Select a resolution.
       Be sure you select a resolution your monitor supports.

    D. Click 'OK'.

    E. Restart Windows.

            * * *

7.  Problem:
    Resolution Exchange displays the following message:

       "There was an error opening the configuration file."

    Solution:
    The 9FX configuration file could be corrupted. To restore the
    9FX configuration file to its original settings, run 9RESET.EXE:

    A. Exit Windows.
    B. Change directory to the WINDOWS directory.
    C. At the DOS prompt, type:  9RESET  and press [Enter].
       Note:  9RESET is one word with no space between the "9"
              and the "R".

    This sets your 9FX to 640x480 by 256 color resolution at 60Hz.
    If your monitor supports higher resolutions, restart Windows and use
    Resolution Exchange to select a higher resolution or use Monitor
    Adjustment to increase your vertical refresh rate.

            * * *

8. Problem:
    A. The Windows logo appears, then the screen becomes black and
        your system hangs and exits to DOS.

    B. Text is garbled, icons are corrupted and/or 'holes' appear on
        your screen.

    C. Windows pull-down menus corrupt the screen.

    Solution:
    Another device in your system, such as a modem or tablet, could be
    using the same IO address as the 9FX, COM 4 I/O port at 2E8H.
    Move the other device to a different COM port location.

            * * *

9. Problem:
    When you double-click on icons in the HawkEye Control Panel
    they blink but nothing happens.

    Solution:
    Close one or more other open applications to free up memory.

            * * *

10. Problem:
    When using MS Word or Excel with a serial mouse, scrolling will not stop when the
    mouse button is released.

    Solution:
    To lessen the probability of this occurring, turn Bus Throttle ON under
    Status in the Hawkeye Control Panel.
    Note:  This will NOT decrease the speed of your computer.

    To do this:
    Double-click on Status icon in Hawkeye Control Panel.
    Click on File then on Options.
    Click on Bus Throttle then OK.
    Click OK again. You will get a message about restarting Windows.
    Hit OK and then Restart Windows.

            * * *

11.  Problem:
     The output from a video playback card (that uses the 9FX Reality VGA
     loop through connector) is missing or corrupted.

     Solution:
     The 9FX Reality both supports the loop through
     connector at 640 X 480 by 256 color resolution.  However, at power
     up the feature connector is not enabled.  A DOS utility called
     FCON.EXE is provided on the setup, diskette that will enable loop
     through.  If you need this program, copy it from the diskette into
     the Windows directory on your hard drive. This file is not copied
     as part of running SETUP.


     A. To ENABLE loop through:
          - After copying FCON.EXE to your hard disk,
          - In DOS, move to your Windows directory.
          - At the DOS prompt
             type: 9reset    <Enter>
             type: fcon e p  <Enter>
          - Start Windows

        To DISABLE loop through:
          - In DOS, move to your Windows directory.
          - At the DOS prompt, type: fcon d  <Enter>
          - Reboot the machine
      - Change to your Windows directory and type: 9reset
      - Start Windows


     B. Watchit Pro TV Board Users:
         - You may need to experiment with moving data rate jumper
            HDR2 (on the Watchit Pro TV board).
         - You may also need to change Watchit's Overlay Color Key to a
           color that allows the video to display properly.

           Consult your Watchit Pro documentation or contact New Media
           Graphics technical support for further information.

     C. ReelMagic Users:
     In Windows Setup under DOS, set display type to VGA to use the
         Reel Magic board. (Please refer to # 5 above for further
         information.) If this does not work, please consult your
         ReelMagic documentation or contact Sigma Designs technical
         support for further information.


            * * *

12. Problem:
    The #9 Graphics board is properly installed in your system, but
    you receive one of the following error messages:

    A. Failed to find the 9FX______ board!
       Hit any key to continue.

             OR

    B. SETUP is operational only when a #9 graphics board
       is present. Please be sure your #9 graphics board is
       properly installed before you try to use SETUP or
       any other HawkEye feature.

    Solution:
    You probably have a memory manager in your system that has
    remapped the video BIOS. Memory managers often do this because it
    increases the amount of DOS memory space. However, when the 9FX
    signature in the video BIOS is remapped, 9FX software is unable
    to identify the #9 Graphics board.

    ROM remapping should be excluded from the C000-C7FF address range.
    To exclude the address range, add the following option to the
    memory manager driver command line in the CONFIG.SYS file in your
    root directory:

           X=C000-C7FF

    For QEMM386.EXE the line should look something like this:

    DEVICE=QEMM386.SYS X=C000-C7FF


    For EMM386.EXE the line should look something like this:

    DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE X=C000-C7FF

    Also, for EMM386 memory manager, add the following line in the
    [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

    EMMExclude=C000-C7FF

    For DOS Memmaker:
    Using DOS Memmaker to aggressively reorganize memory may use the
    memory range C000-C7FF.  In this case you must remove the words
    "High Scan" from the HIMEM line in your CONFIG.SYS.

    Consult your memory manager's documentation for more information
    about excluding the C000-C7FF address range.

            * * *

13. Problem:
    After switching from 16.7 Million colors to either 32.5K or
    65.5K colors, multiple images can appear when playing MPEG
    files at 1024 x 768.

    Solution:
    This is a problem only when switching in the sequence as noted
    above.  If this happens you must exit windows and reboot your
    system.  The next time you enter windows at 32.5K or 65.5K colors
    MPEG files will run normally.  We are currently looking into a
    solution to this problem.

            * * *

14. Problem:
    Corruption at the top of screen, in the form of a single line of
    dots, sometimes appears when circle or ellipse drawing functions
    are occuring.

    Solution:
    This is a temporary problem that happens only during the drawing
    of circles or ellipses.  If the corruption remains on the screen,
    moving any object over area will cause a redraw of the screen and
    the corruption will disappear. We are currently looking into a
    solution to this problem.

            * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER PROBLEMS
------------------------------------------------------------------

Software sometimes does not perform consistently across all
resolutions and color depths. If you experience a persistent
problem for which you cannot determine a cause or solution, try
switching to a different resolution with Resolution Exchange.

If a problem is consistent across resolutions, please
consult application documentation.  Most applications are
distributed with a READ_ME file similar to this file.
READ_ME files usually contain a wealth of information
regarding potential video conflicts.

If you have a problem that is not described in this file or is
unresolved when you try the suggested solutions, please contact
Number Nine Technical Support.  Technical support information
is provided in the section CONTACTING NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
NETWORK INSTALLATIONS
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please refer to the file NETWORK.TXT on the Hawkeye installation
diskette.

5/06/96
tpc
---------------------------------------------------------------------

(C) COPYRIGHT 1996, NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

---------------------------------------------------------------------