home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Cream of the Crop 20
/
Cream of the Crop 20 (Terry Blount) (1996).iso
/
os2
/
pv3demo.zip
/
optimize.hlp
(
.txt
)
< prev
next >
Wrap
OS/2 Help File
|
1994-12-05
|
30KB
|
798 lines
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
General Help for the Config.Sys Optimizer
Many of the individual settings provide help screens directly. Just tab to the
field and press F1. Unfortunately the Spin Buttons will only display this
screen. To provide you with help for the spin buttons, I've created hypertext
below for you to double-click to display that particular panel. I apologize
for this inconvenience.
HPFS CACHE
HPFS CRECL
FAT CACHE
FAT THRESHOLD
MAXWAIT
THREADS
BUFFERS
FILES
RMSIZE
FCBS
SWAP MINFREE
SWAP INITIAL
Now here's the REAL General Help.
The Optimizer has all of the performance oriented Config.Sys parameters on a
single page (screen).
The values shown in black are the values from your Config.sys file. They may
be modified individually by changing the entries either directly by using the
tab key or mouse pointer and changing the value, or by using the spin arrows,
check boxes or radio buttons.
The Optimizer has recommended values for your system indicated in red. These
values are specific to your system type and memory size. These values can be
applied by pressing the Set button (red). This action will place all of the
recommended values into their corresponding entry fields.
After changing the fields to your preference, pressing the Apply Changes button
(also in red) will update your Config.Sys. It will optionally make a copy of
your Config.sys, if you check the box marked Create backup.
Additional help is available for each parameter. Tab to the parameter in
question, and press the F1 key. There are also hints about each field that
appear on the bottom of the screen as you move the mouse pointer over the field.
Feel free to explore all of the fields. Remember, changes are not applied to
Config.Sys until you press the Apply Changes button. All of the values are
validated, so you can be assured that an invalid parameter can't be entered.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Processor Type ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
OS/2 V2 & V3 both exploit the processor instruction set of the Intel 386
processor. Computer processors that include the 386 instruction set should be
able to run OS/2. The Intel 486 and Pentium processors certainly qualify and
are the most pervasive. Please specify your processor type as a 386, 486 or
Pentium.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Speed ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
CPUs are available with different clock speeds, often referred to as Megahertz
(Mhz). The clock determines the time it takes the processor to cycle through
one operation, for example, the execution of a single instruction. Some
instructions do require multiple cycles so this is not always the most accurate
way to measure the performance of a processor, but it will serve our
discussion. A faster clock speed indicates a faster CPU within that processor
family, (e.g. a 386-33Mhz is faster than a 386-25Mhz but not faster than a
486-25Mhz). When the 586, or Pentium as it is currently being named, becomes
available it will be 386 compatible and faster
than a 486.
Another group of processors available that use technique called clock doubling
or tripling. This means that the CPU operates at two different speeds depending
on the operation it is performing. Internal operations execute at the faster
speed. This includes all instruction operations that are internal to the CPU
chip. The cache located on the 486 chip makes this an effective technique for
improving performance, since it also operates at the faster speed. For
external (to the CPU chip) operations, the processor operates at the slower
cycle speed. This reduces the speed requirements of the components directly
interfacing with the CPU, (and thus their cost). System board memory and local
bus components will interface at this slower cycle speed.
An example of one of these processors is the Intel 486DX2/66. It has an
internal processor speed of 66MHz. When this processor accesses memory on the
system board it does so at 33MHz or half the internal rate.
Please choose the clock speed that your computer executes. If its rate is not
shown, then choose a rate that is close.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Memory ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The place that programs and data must be at the time when the CPU needs them.
Often called RAM (Random Access Memory), it is a set of very fast electronic
chips that temporarily stores data and programs for the computer's use. When
you power down your system, RAM memory is cleared. A minimum of 4MB of this
memory is needed for OS/2 to effectively operate. Many people get confused
between memory and disk storage because both are measured in MBs and both hold
your programs and data. Unlike memory, your data and programs remain on disk
storage even after you power down your system.
OS/2 can use between 4 and 64 MBs of memory.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Cacheing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This is the best technique you can use to improve the effectiveness of your
CPU. Our testing shows that cache memory for HPFS and/or FAT is a great use of
memory. Always keep in mind that memory used this way is taken away from
overall memory, and while it may improve your CPU's effectiveness, overall
performance could be reduced due to increased page swapping.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. HPFS Partition Cacheing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
IFS=C:\OS2\HPFS.IFS /CACHE:xxx /CRECL:yyy /AUTOCHECK:d,e,f
This parameter is only specified in CONFIG.SYS. Its presence activates the
HPFS file system and it must be present for you to access your HPFS partitions.
If you have no HPFS partitions, then delete this statement and save 500+KB of
your system memory.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. CACHE ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
HPFS CACHE
This is the best technique you can use to improve the effectiveness of your
CPU. Our testing shows that cache memory for HPFS is a great use of memory.
Always keep in mind that memory used this way is taken away from overall
memory, and while it may improve your CPU's effectiveness, overall performance
could be reduced due to increased page swapping.
/CACHE:xxx, where xxx specifies the amount of memory in KB that is used for
HPFS cache. The default is 10% of the available system memory, and the maximum
is 2048KB.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. CRECL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
HPFS Cache Maximum Record Length
/CRECL:yyy, where yyy specifies the maximum record size in multiples of 2KB
that will be eligible for caching. The Minimum is 2KB, the Maximum is 64KB and
the default is 4KB.
This value can be an important performance parameter as it represents the
largest size an I/O activity can be, and still be read into cache. Setting this
too small could limit the usage of your cache. We recommend that you chose as
large a Cache and CRECL as you can afford.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. AUTOCHECK ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
HPFS Autocheck
/AUTOCHECK:d,e,f specifies any additional drives, (other than the boot drive),
that OS/2 should check at startup to determine if the file system associated
with that particular drive(s) is in an inconsistent state.
This might occur because of improper shutdown. If inconsistencies are found
the operating system will execute the CHKDSK command with the /F option to
attempt to correct any problem.
This is highly recommended that you include every HPFS drive in this list!
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.4. REMOVE IFS=HPFS ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
You'll only see this check box if your system has NO HPFS Partitions and the
IFS=HPFS.IFS statement appears in your CONFIG.SYS. If this is the case, the
High Performance File System is being loaded into your memory during the boot
process. A cache is allocated and set aside for HPFS exclusive use. IN OTHER
WORDS - valuable memory is being wasted because you have NO HPFS PARTITIONS! A
half MB or more of your expensive memory is being lost. All you need to do to
regain the use of this memory is remove the IFS=HPFS.IFS statement from your
CONFIG.SYS or let the Optimizer do it for you by checking the Remove
IFS=HPFS.IFS check box.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. FAT Partition Cache (DISKCACHE) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
DISKCACH