Cream of the Crop 20/Cream of the Crop 20 (Terry Blount) (1996).iso/utility/agsi120e.zip/AGSI.HLP

agSI Help File | 1996-06-23 | 437KB | 9,222 lines

JNOTE: As you are reading this, I must have forgotten to set the help topic
Jfor the current context! So please tell me where you selected help and got
this page!
    See also:
Help contents
Hoops
 you shouldn't be able to enter the help system during dragging...
Joops
 I didn't realise I was using these commands where you can enter the
help system...
    Main Menu
 General Overview
 shows the overview info list that is automatic-
ally shown at startup
 Hardware/System
 Operating System
 Memory
 submenus for related information items
 Software
 Drives
 Configuration Files
 Options...
 opens a dialog with options for agSI
 About agSI
 closes an info window to show the logo and version
that appear on the background
 Help contents
 opens a help window with the respective page
 Help index
 Register!
 lets you enter your registration info
(if not done already)
 Exit
 exits agSI
Options...
JThis menu item opens a dialog window where you can change some settings of
+agSI, e.g. continuous information updating.
    See also:
options dialog
main menu
About the Author
GThis menu item opens a help screen with information about the author of
agSI.
    See also:
main menu
LHelp Contents                                                        Ctrl-F1
AOpens a help screen containing the contents' list of agSI's help.
    See also:
main menu
LHelp Index                                                          Shift-F1
EOpens a help screen containing the alphabetical index of agSI's help.
    See also:
main menu
    Register!
JOpens a dialog window where you can enter your registration name and code.
    See also:
%license and registration information
help contents
main menu
LExit                                                                   Alt-X
NThis menu item quits agSI and returns            "But now it's time to be gone/
>to DOS or the calling program.                 La la la la..."8
Queen,
March Of The:
Black Queen
, 1974
    See also:
main menu
LBack                                                                     Esc
4This menu item lets you return to the previous menu.
About agSI
IThis menu option will just close any info window to the right in order to
,clear the view on the agSI logo and version.
    See also:
Main menu
The Author of agSI
[tadaa!]
Andreas Gr
Internet e-mail address:
[e-mail]    (
-and  [e-mail]
"Snail mail" address:




                   Andreas Gr
gel
                   Gildenstr. 4
                   D-74074 Heilbronn
                   Germany
KIf you encounter any problem with agSI
 as it is partially programmed very
Jclose to the hardware and uses several undocumented things, this is pretty
Jlikely (I can't test hundreds of systems and configurations)
 or anything(
Jyou don't like, tell me; only this way agSI can be more and more improved.
KEven if you don't have problems with agSI and just want to praise it, don't
Hhesitate... most of the mails I get are from people who do have problems
with this program...
LAll suggestions, proposals, recommendations, advice, solutions, ideas, tips,
Khints, aid, help, support, advice, contributions, regrets, appeals, critic-
Fism, compliments, eulogies, censure, praise, curses, enquiries, pleas,
Kpreaches, requests, petitions, demands, questions, answers, notes, remarks,
]comments, notifications, information, news, reports, articulations, communication, statements
<and all other chatter and prattle is (more or less) welcome!
    See also:
help contents
where to get new versions
Where to get new versions
;New versions of agSI are available at the following places:
J(usually in the files agsiXXXd.zip (German version) and agsiXXXe.zip (eng-
lish version))
 On my World Wide Web page with the latest info about agSI, where you can
1also download the latest versions; just check out
Chttp://www.mathematik.uni-stuttgart.de/CIP-WWW/Studierende/groegeas
,Any suggestions for this WWW page welcome...
NEW: Online registration.
 on Simtel in the /msdos/sysinfo directory, *the* FTP server for DOS,+
Bwhich has many mirror sites, primarily oak.oakland.edu/SimTel. See
Imsdos/filedocs/download.inf there for a list of official mirror sites, or
Iask your Internet access provider about the nearest (see also next item).
%(SimTel is also available on CD-ROM.)
HA Simtel mirror can also be found on the FTP server of the University of
1Stuttgart, ftp.uni-stuttgart.de, in the directory
/pub/systems/pc/simtel/sysinfo.
 Compuserve: in the library of the Benchmarks and Standards Forum
(GO BENCHMARK)
 BBS of the German c't magazine: +49-511/5352-301 (analog), -351 (ISDN).
 (German version only:) from the PD/shareware vendor
 Computer Solutions Software GmbH
Postfach 1180
D-85567 Grafing
0Tel. [phone], Fax 31727, BBS 84099; Btx *CSL#
as CSL Number 10021
 Maybe on some BBSs around the globe ;-)
- this is, however, out of my
Greach, so ask the SysOp for a new version if you discover an old one...
 If you have no access to new versions the above-mentioned way, you can
?have me inform you about new major upgrades (see the order form
4ORDERFRM.TXT), and I can send you new versions then.
Have fun with agSI!
Andreas Gr
    See also:
help contents
Files in this package
LagSI is distributed in ZIP archives, with the name AGSIxxxD.ZIP for the Ger-
Kman and AGSIxxxE.ZIP for the English version; xxx means the version number.
4(Exception: you ordered agSI on a diskette from me.)
LAs you are reading this help file, you already have the files in an unpacked
Lstate, and agSI already up and running; you should have the following files:
AGSI.EXE
 the program file
#AGSI.OVR
 overlay program file
(AGSI.HLP
 file for this online help
GAGSIWINS.EXE
 the agSI Windows Services
 starts agSI from Windows and
*offers some more information about Windows
6AGSI.PIF
 PIF file for running agSI under Windows
JAGSIHELP.BAT
 short batch file that runs agSI in DocMode (for viewing the
online documentation only)
*README.TXT
 brief information text file
JWHATSNEW.TXT
 lists what's new in this release (plus revision history for
older versions)
*ORDERFRM.TXT
 order form for registration
.FILE_ID.DIZ
 short abstract file for BBS use
>FDREAD.COM
 TSR to allow DOS to read high-capacity floppies
8(taken from the FDFORMAT 1.8 package by C.H.Hochst
tter,
<available as FDF18.ZIP from, e.g., SimTel in msdos/diskutil)
KAny other file you may find in your archive has been added by someone else;
3for instance, I do not distribute an AGSI.INI file.
H(The first two files are needed for agSI to run; strongly recommended is
this help file.)
LYou may place the files in a directory of your choice (but all in the same);
Jduring execution, the file AGSI.INI will be created which contains several
Lsettings; including the registration code (in case you belong to the few who
Dregistered...)
 so don't pass it to someone else (without editing)!
    See also:
Help Contents
System Requirements
Minimum:
 an "IBM-compatible" computer with 80286 processor or better
 MS-DOS from version 3.3 or so, or compatible
 ca. 530 KB free DOS memory
 runs also from floppy disk (but slow due to overlay use)
Recommended:
 80386 processor or better
:[better said: at least a 486; in what times do we live?!?]
 Mouse
 sufficient XMS memory and/or cache to load the overlay part
 on hard disk, about 1.2 MB is needed
    See also:
Help Contents
The agSI Windows Services
KThe agSI\WinServ program (AGSIWINS.EXE) is a Windows application which does
4the following two things when started under Windows:
 start AGSI.EXE in a DOS box (windowed if you didn't change the PIF file)>
 make some information about parts of Windows available to agSI; see below
for a list.
KYou may execute AGSIWINS the usual ways: through the File Manager, the Pro-
Kgram Manager File|Run menu, or create an icon in a Program Manager group of
Kyour choice (or use any other way you are using to start Windows programs).
KIf you include command line parameters, most will be passed on to AGSI.EXE.
GagSI\WinServ communicates with agSI through the Windows clipboard (in a
Lself-defined format); this is a slow but safe way [and a direct call in pro-8
Itected mode from DOS to Windows doesn't work, anyway]. agSI\WinServ keeps.
Jlooking for a command in the clipboard which agSI puts there, does what is2
Kwanted and puts the reply to the clipboard where agSI is waiting for it; if
Lit doesn't arrive within five seconds (if your system load is heavy, for ex-
Kample, or the DOS box has too bad a fore-/background priority setting (
Kfile/Settings); recommended is much more than the DOS-default 100/50)), the
Ccommunication "times out"; re-select the menu item to try it again.
JWhen agSI exits (normally or with a run-time error), it tells agSI\WinServ
Lto quit also; should agSI crash (or report a DPMI error), WinServ keeps run-
ning.
The WinServ window displays
 the clipboard format (in the bottom line) which is passed on to AGSI.EXE
 with the /W command line switch;
 the current activity in black ("snooping" if waiting for a command in the
:clipboard), and the previous (completed) activity in grey.
$Also, some menu options are offered:
 'File' menu:
 Start new DOS-agSI starts a new copy of AGSI.EXE in a new DOS window.
 Exit WinServ exits WinServ; any DOS-agSI keeps running and will not be
#able to get the WinServ info items.
 Options menu:
 active: Uncheck this to deactivate WinServ's communication function so
Dthat DOS-agSI won't get any answers... (May be used to reduce system
load.)
 Exit on DOS-agSI exit: If checked, WinServ exits when an agSI DOS windowC
Gexits; it is automatically unchecked when you start a new DOS-agSI from
the File menu.
 Help menu:
 About WinServ displays an About dialog.
Notes:
 You can't run agSI\WinServ more than once at the same time; when you try
Ithat, the already-active window just pops to the front. You can, however,
Irun several copies of DOS-agSI, but that is not recommended, and not nec-
cessary, anyway.
 This mechanism is designed to operate in Windows 3.1x enhanced mode (and
Halso works under Windows 0.95); it probably won't work in standard mode.
3List of information items provided by agSI\WinServ:
 Windows version (as told by Windows), flags, and directories
 Win32s version
 free heap memory and resources
 tasks and modules
 Paging file (swap file)
 SHELL module (multitasking info)
    See also:
Help Contents
Welcome to agSI -SystemInfo-
KThis screen shows a general overview which gives you a brief overview about
%what agSI can tell about your system.
4If you want to read more about this overview screen:
General Overview
,To learn more about this program, see the...
Help Contents
8(Press F1 again to see how to operate this help system.)
    See also:
main menu
General Overview
KThis menu item shows a brief 16-line summary of some things in your system.
    See also:
General Overview info list
main menu
General Overview
JPlease note: This is just a brief overview about some aspects of your sys-
Item. Inside the five main menus, hundreds of detailed items can be found.
 CPU: The type of your processor, plus "V86" if it is in Virtual8086-mode.
@(Clock speed and FPU (math coprocessor) are not displayed here.)
 Cache: If present (and enabled and detected by agSI), this shows the sizes
Iof the Level 1 (data cache only, not code cache) and Level 2 cache in KB.
 BIOS: This tells the manufacturer (if detected) and date of your ROM BIOS.
 Ports: Number of parallel (LPT) and serial (COM) ports.
 Graphics: Type of the video chipset, its memory size, and its DAC.
?(using only old method under Windows or OS/2 with less details)
 Sound: If detected, your sound card: Sound Blaster compatible, MPU-401,
(and Gravis UltraSound are detected here.
 OS: Type and version of your operating system (incl. Windows, if running)
 Base memory: Total (usually 640k), free DOS memory below 640k with maximum
+free block size, and free UMB size (if any)
 XMS: free XMS memory (if HIMEM or another XMS manager is loaded)
 EMS: LIM version, total and free memory (if EMM386 or other EMM loaded)
 Mouse: MS Mouse driver version, number of buttons, mouse type (serial,
0bus, PS/2), and Logitech version, if applicable.
 Floppies: Drive letter and size of each floppy drive.
 Hard Drives: sizes of (BIOS-accessible) hard drives (in MB), and all drive
*letters for partitions of the hard drives.
 CD-ROM: drive letter(s) of CD-ROM drive(s) (if any); MSCDEX version
 Cache: type and (for some types) version and size of the disk cache (if
 Compression: type and (for some types) version of a online disk compress-
(ion program (like DoubleSpace, Stacker).
IFor further explanations, please refer to the corresponding detailed list
accessible through the menu.
JIf you don't want this overview page to be shown automatically at start-up6
K(or if it even crashes), you can prevent this in the Options dialog, in the
IINI file, or by pressing and holding a Shift key after initialization has
completed.
    See also:
main menu
Hardware/System
8In this submenu, you can select information pages about:
 your processor
 (if available:) what the CPUID command tells, and Pentium-specific stuff
 your Board and ROM BIOS and assorted info
 (if available:) the PCI devices in your system
 (if available:) Plug and Play
 the speed of the processor and the memory interface
 the parallel, serial, and game ports available on your system
 your graphics card
 your sound card
 VESA BIOS Extensions, if installed
 the interrupt vectors
 the BIOS data segment at segment 0040h
 the Interrupt ReQuest (IRQ) assignments
 the I/O Port Addresses overview
 the detailed contents and a table of the CMOS RAM
    See also:
Operating system
Memory
    Software
Drives
Configuration Files
main menu
Operating System
8In this submenu, you can select information pages about:
 type and version of the operating system, including information about MS-
!Windows if it's currently running
 country-specific settings
 environment variables
 some DOS system variables
 the system file table(s) (SFTs)
 the installed devices (device drivers)
 other settings like BREAK/VERIFY and code pages
*If Windows (386 enhanced mode) is running:
 * version and flags (as told by Windows)
 * system parameters
 * resources, memory
 * tasks, modules
 * paging file (swap file)4
 from the Windows Old Application support module WinOldAp:
 GDI capabilities
 contents of the Windows clipboard
 a list of known virtual device drivers (VxDs) that have an API
 * SHELL
3* These items require that agSI\WinServ is running.
    See also:
Hardware/System
Memory
    Software
Drives
Configuration Files
main menu
Memory
8In this submenu, you can select information pages about:
 the DOS memory with active programs
 the XMS memory, if installed
 the EMS memory, if installed
 a memory manager with IOCTL interface support, if installed
 Microsoft's EMM386.EXE, if installed
 Novell's EMM386.EXE, if installed
 Quarterdeck's QEMM386, if installed
 Helix Software's RM386 / Micronics MICEMM, if installed
 an overview with the memory map
 possible RAM/ROM extensions
 speed comparisons of regions of your memory
Also:
 a memory dump window where you can browse through your system's memory
    See also:
Hardware/System
Operating system
    Software
Drives
Configuration Files
main menu
Software
LIn this submenu, you can select information pages about several programs and
    services:
#In the menu, with more information:
 Mouse driver
 Network
 AMIS (Alternate Multiplex Interrupt Specification)
 APM (Advanced Power Management)
 APPEND
 ASSIGN
 COMM_DRV
 FOSSIL
 HyperWare products
 KEYB
 PrScr (ag)
 Rahmen (ag)
 SETVER
 SHARE
 TaskMax
 TBScanX
 VDS (Virtual DMA Specification)
J"Others" shows a list with other installed programs with no additional in-
.formation (only the version for some of them).
    See also:
Hardware/System
Operating system
Memory
Drives
Configuration Files
main menu
Drives
8In this submenu, you can select information pages about:
 an overview of your logical drives (i.e. A: to ...)
 a sub menu for each available logical drive
 an overview of your physical drives (hard disks)
 a sub menu for each available hard disk
 a sub menu about IDE (ATA/ATAPI) devices
 a sub menu about SCSI devices, if an ASPI driver is installed
 an installed disk cache
 an active online compressor
 MSCDEX, the Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions, if installed
    See also:
Hardware/System
Operating system
Memory
    Software
Configuration Files
main menu
Configuration Files
EIn this submenu, you can view several configuration files on drive C:
 CONFIG.SYS, CONFIG.DOS, CONFIG.W40
 DCONFIG.SYS (alternative name for DR-DOS/Novell DOS),
CONFIG.PTS (PTS-DOS)
 AUTOEXEC.BAT, AUTOEXEC.DOS, AUTOEXEC.W40
 MSDOS.SYS, MSDOS.W40
 DBLSPACE.INI, DRVSPACE.INI
 WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI in any first-level subdirectory, and
WINSTART.BAT and DOSSTART.BAT.
LIn the file views, several keywords are shown highlighted, and the lines are
word-wrapped.
INote: *.DOS appears under Windows 95 when Windows 95 is running, *.W40 if
Iyou had Win95 boot the previous version of DOS; also, MSDOS.SYS (.W40) is
Ka text file with boot configuration under Win95
 it's a binary system file
under previous DOS versions.
    See also:
Hardware/System
Operating system
Memory
    Software
main menu
    Processor
LThis item shows information about the CPU built in your system, the math co-
7processor (FPU), the cache size, and some other things.
    See also:
Processor info list
Hardware/System
LCPUID/Pentium                                         (not always available)
HIf you have newer Intel 486 processor or a Pentium (or another processor
Hwhich supports the CPUID command, e.g. from UMC), this item displays the
Iresults from the CPUID command, plus some Pentium-specific information if
there is a Pentium.
    See also:
CPUID/Pentium info list
Hardware/System
Speed
7This menu item performs some CPU and memory benchmarks.
    See also:
Speed info list
Hardware/System
Board and BIOS
LThis menu item shows some information about your board and ROM BIOS, such as
(BIOS date, bus type, keyboard type, etc.
    See also:
Board and BIOS info list
Hardware/System
KPCI Information                                              (if available)
LThis menu item shows information about the Peripheral Component Interconnect
?bus, i.e. the devices installed, if applicable for your system.
INote: As this test is done solely via the BIOS (and requires an Intel PCI
JBIOS "v2.0" or above, it may be that it is not detected if you have an old
Asystem with PCI bus but without the proper BIOS [are there any?].
    See also:
PCI info list
Hardware/System
KPlug and Play                                                (if available)
JThis list shows information about Plug and Play on your system, either via
FPnP ROM-BIOS, DOS/Windows (3.x) ConfigManager software, or Windows 95.
    See also:
Plug and Play info list
Hardware/System
Parallel Ports
?This menu item lists your parallel (LPT) ports and their state.
    See also:
Parallel ports info list
Hardware/System
Serial Ports
=This menu item lists your serial (COM) ports and their state.
    See also:
Serial ports info list
Hardware/System
Other Ports: Game Ports
IThis menu item gives information about your game port(s) and joystick(s).
    See also:
Other ports info list
Hardware/System
Graphic Cards
HThis menu item gives information about the graphics card(s) installed in
your system.
    See also:
Graphics cards info list
Hardware/System
Sound Cards
JThis menu item gives information about the sound card(s) installed in your
system.
    See also:
Sound cards info list
Hardware/System
LVESA BIOS Extensions                           (only available if installed)
LThis menu item gives information the VBE's installed on your system. Detect-
ed are:
 VESA SuperVGA BIOS
 VESA XGA BIOS
 VBE/Audio Interface
 VBE/Power Management
    See also:
VESA BIOS Extensions info list
Hardware/System
Interrupt Vectors
HThis menu item lists the 256 interrupt vectors and their current owners.
    See also:
Interrupt vectors info list
Hardware/System
BIOS Data Segment
JThis menu item lists interesting parts of the BIOS data segment at address
0040:0h.
    See also:
BIOS data segment info list
Hardware/System
IRQ Assignments
AThis menu item lists the usage of the 16 Interrupt ReQuest lines.
    See also:
IRQ assignment info list
Hardware/System
I/O Port Addresses
FThis menu item shows the use (contents) of the I/O port address space.
-***NOT YET IMPLEMENTED because it isn't safe!
    See also:
I/O addresses info list
Hardware/System
CMOS RAM: Details
JThis menu item lists interesting parts of the contents of your CMOS RAM in
a detailed list.
    See also:
CMOS RAM Details info list
CMOS RAM Table
Hardware/System
CMOS RAM: Table
>This menu item lists the contents of your CMOS RAM in a table.
    See also:
CMOS RAM Table info list
CMOS RAM Details
Hardware/System
CPUID and Pentium Information
JThe CPUID command (Opcode 0Fh A2h) is a command new to Intel's Pentium and
Lnewer i486 chips (also on some clones); if it's available, the following in-
formation is displayed:
 CPUID: the 12-character manufacturer string:
"GenuineIntel" for Intel,
"UMC UMC UMC " for UMC,
)"AuthenticAMD" for AMD,
A"NexGenDriven" for NexGen, and
 only for the newer CPUs
)"CyrixInstead" for (guessed it?) Cyrix.
For Intel CPUs:
 Family: 4=486, 5=Pentium; 6=Pentium Pro (codenamed P6)
 Model: for 486: 1=DX, 2=SX, 3=DX2, 4=SL, 5=SX2, 7=DX2-WB, 8=DX4; others=?
<for Pentium: 1=60/66 MHz (original P5), "510\60" or "567\60"
22=75/90/100/... MHz (P54C) ("735\90" or "815\100")
4(the first number in the above model name is Intel's
.iComp index, the second the clock rate in MHz)
 Stepping: the mask revision (a number); if known, the original mask "name"
Gare also displayed: P5: 3=B1, 5=C1, 7=D1; P54C: 1=B1, 2=B3, 4=B5, 5=C2.
>(The FDIV bug free steppings are 5=C1 and 4=B5, respectively.)
GFor the Pentium Pro, the sA0 stepping is logically equivalent to the C0
3stepping, but on a different manufacturing process.
 Type (for P54C): one of
 original OEM processor (0)
 OverDrive processor (1)
 dual processor (2)
 reserved (3)
For NexGen CPUs:
 Nx586-100: F/M/S=5/0/4, -120: 5/0/6
0For other CPU brands, it's similar to the above.
 If it's a Pentium, also displayed is whether the FDIV bug (where certain-
Dstructured floating-point divisions have a wrong result)
 which was
Hknown to Intel since summer 1994 but came to the public in December
 is5
Gpresent on this CPU, by checking if the operation x-(x/y)*y is zero for"
Gthe double-precision variables x=8391667 and y=1572863 (as published in
Ithe c't magazine 1/95). See above for the steppings of the corrected ver-
sion.
 The value of the Time Stamp Counter (if available; a 64-bit value) tells
:the number of clock cycles since power-on (or cold reset).
JMay cause hang-ups or errors under certain conditions and is thus not dis-
Gplayed under Novell DOS in V86 mode where this has happened (due to its
GEMM386, obviously); also, Windows doesn't allow the RDTSC or RDMSR com-
Gmands to be executed, and it may depend on the EMM386 version under MS-3
;DOS. If it hangs in your configuration, you may disable it.
 Pentium Pro Processor Configuration (cache characteristics)
ICalling CPUID with EAX=2 results in an array of byte descriptors with the
2following meanings (all with bit7=0; =1 reserved):
 00h null
 01h instruction TLB, 4K pages, 4-way set associative, 64 entries
 02h instruction TLB, 4M pages, 4-way set associative, 4 entries
 03h data TLB, 4K pages, 4-way set associative, 64 entries
 04h data TLB, 4M pages, 4-way set associative, 8 entries
 06h instruction cache, 8K, 4-way set associative, 32 byte line size
 0Ah data cache, 8K, 2-way set associative, 32 byte line size
 41h unified cache, 32 byte cache line, 4-way set associative, 128K
 42h unified cache, 32 byte cache line, 4-way set associative, 256K
 43h unified cache, 32 byte cache line, 4-way set associative, 512K
J(41-43h are the Level 2 cache which is integrated in the Pentium Pro chip)
!(TLB=Transition Lookaside Buffer)
 Pentium Pro BIOS Update:
GThe Pentium Pro BIOS update allows the system BIOS or other software to
Ginstall a microcode patch into the Pentium Pro processor. If available,
displayed are:
 signature: should be 'INTELPEP'
 BIOS update loader version (32-bit hex number
 what does it mean?)
 number of 2K update blocks which can be recorded in NVRAM
EThis function is available only in Real Mode (not in Virtual86 Mode).
 Capabilities Flags: a 32-bit value (the low 16 of which are displayed)
<with the following meanings, when set (=1), and short names:
 b0 =1: FPU:  Floating-point unit integrated ("DX")
 b1 =1: VME:  V86-mode extensions present
 b2 =1: DE:   Debugging extensions (I/O breakpoints) available
 b3 =1: PSE: *Page Size Extension: 4MByte page size supported
 b4 =1: TSC:  Time Stamp Counter present
 b5 =1: MSR:  Model Specific Registers (with RDMSR,WRMSR) present
 b6 =1: PAE:  Physical Address Extension (greater 32 bits supported)
 b7 =1: MCE:  Machine Check Exception (exception 18) supported
 b8 =1: CX8:  CMPXCHG8B instruction supported
 b9 =1: APIC: processor contains a local APIC
 b10-11       reserved
 b12=1: MTRR:*Memory Type Range Registers supported
 b13=1: PGE: *Page Global Enable flags supported
 b14=1: MCA: *Machine Check Architecture
 b15=1: CMOV:*Conditional Move instruction supported
 b16-31       reserved
BThose bits with a * are, at present, only used in the Pentium Pro.
 The value of the Control Register 4 (CR4; the lower 16 Bits):
3(shows the current state of some of the above bits)
!-not displayed (for this reason)-
    See also:
Processor
Hardware/System
    Processor
 CPU: This tells the type of main processor (CPU) supposed to be in your
Jsystem; if you are not running OS/2 or Windows 386-mode, I also try to de-C
Btermine if it's a clock-doubling (or tripling) CPU (486 etc.)...
 more
 Virtual 8086 Mode: This tells whether the CPU is in Virtual 8086 mode (on
a 386 or above).
 more
 CPUID command supported: Intel's Pentium and newer 486's and some clones=
Dsupport the CPUID command. For more information about the CPUID
/available
, see the menu item below Processor.
 more
 FPU: (Floating Point Unit) The numeric (math) co-processor (also sometimes
&called NPU = numeric processing unit).
 more
 Clock Frequency: The estimated clock frequency in Megahertz, which may be
slightly inaccurate.
 Not performed under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode
 Clock (using TSC): If the Time Stamp Counter is available, this shows a
Hmore accurate value for the clock frequency (which may still be wrong by
    0.1 MHz).
 CPU Bus Width: The bus width the detected CPU has.
 1st and 2nd Level Cache: If available, this displays the sizes of your:
9CPU's internal and your system board's external cache.
I(If your CPU (a Pentium, for instance) has separate code and data caches:
@the data cache size is displayed only, not the code cache size.)
 Not checked under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode
:IMPORTANT if you're missing the second level cache:
 more
) Note, however, that all the information depending on timing will probably
Lbe inaccurate in Virtual8086 mode (using an Expanded Memory Manager) or even
Jmeaningless when you are in a multi-tasking environment (Windows 386-mode,
IOS/2, ...). They may also be wrong if your system is set to a slower mode
L(via the "Turbo" switch) which does NOT set another clock frequency but does
Esomething else like including waits, etc. (usually on 486 and above).
    See also:
Hardware/System
7If you're missing the second-level cache from the list:
IThe detection routines have sometimes problems detecting the L2 cache and
Idon't display it. When you're sure it's enabled in the BIOS setup: Before
Gworrying about having a fake cache and returning the board to where you
Ibought it, check with another program like CTCM (the best I know for this
Jpurpose) from the German c't magazine. It can be found on their BBS or via
4FTP from ftp.ix.de and some mirror sites; or ask me.
JIt may also be (on newer Pentium systems) that you don't have an L2 cache,
Kbut faster main memory "instead", type EDO-DRAM, which may often be used by
Ibig computer discounters; in the average (under Windows), the performance
Lof L2+standard DRAM should be about the same as that of EDO-DRAM without L2-
Icache. To let you compare the numbers: the Pentium-90 systems known to me%
Kscore a main memory throughput (see Speed) around 40 MB per second with (70
Knanosecond) standard DRAM (and above 80 in the L2-cache), with EDO-DRAM ab-
ove 50 MB/s.
    See also:
back to Processor
More on CPU Type and FPU
JThe currently detected CPU (Central Processing Unit) types are 8088, 8086,
INEC V20, V30, 80188, 80186, 80286, 80386 SX and DX, RapidCAD, i486 SX and
IDX, Pentium (all by Intel), Chips & Technologies 386 SX and DX, Cyrix 486
JDLC and SLC, NexGen Nx586, and other CPUs which support the CPUID command.
I(I don't know if (and how) you can tell AMD's 386 and 486 clones from In-
tel's originals.)
KI also try to distinguish between DX, DX-2 (clock doubler), and DX-4 (clock
Ktripler(!)) (displayed as "(DX2?)"/"(DX4?)") by checking the effective wait
>states (see Speed); tell me if it's incorrect on your machine.
JIf the CPU has a CPUID command available (see below), the "CPU" line shows
6its results, ignoring the information described above.
IThe Virtual 8086 Mode is a mode where a complete 8086 1 MB environment is
Fsimulated to DOS and the application, which is set by all multitaskers
I(which take control over the system, above DOS), for example, Windows, or
1OS/2), and many memory managers, like EMM386.EXE.
JThe CPUID command (Opcode 0Fh A2h) is a command new to Intel's Pentium and
'newer i486 chips (also on some clones).
HThe FPU (Floating Point Unit) is an additional chip containing floating-
Fpoint arithmetical operations (as opposed to the CPU with only integer
Jarithmetics), (an 8087 for an 8086, an 80287 for an 80286, an 80387 for an
I80386, or an i487 for an i486SX) or comes built-in in the CPU (486DX/DX2,
K586
 oops, I mean the "Pentium"). However, there are several manufacturers
Lof (almost) compatible x87's between which the detection routine should also
distinguish.
JThe detection routines are taken from Norbert Juffa's CompTest, except the8
JCPUID command information about which was found in the c't magazine, issue
11/94.
Board and BIOS
 BIOS Manufacturer: This tells the (suposed) manufacturer of your ROM BIOS,
Gi.e. either IBM, AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.), AMI WinBIOS, Phoenix,
1Award, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, or Toshiba.
IFor AMI BIOSes, there also is the copyright string and for the newer ones
also the version/revision.
 BIOS ID: (AMI BIOS only) The ID string (of an AMI BIOS only), which is
Fdisplayed at the bottom line at startup, plus the other two lines dis-
?played in certain conditions (Ins key pressed during reset(?)).
 An interpretation can be found in the sub-window.
 more
 BIOS Date: This tells the date your system's ROM BIOS is from, in the way
Git is (literally) stated at the end of the BIOS address space (at F000:
FFF5h), e.g. 01/01/93.
 If an AMI PCI/Flash BIOS is in your system, there are (some of) the foll-
!owing additional items displayed:
 CPU speed (low or high)
 Subsystem information: at present, only the names of the subsystems that
are present are listed:
 recovery code
 system BIOS
 PCI configuration data
 logo data
 system BIOS/language
 CPU type (cf. below), showing also type/family/model/stepping (see also
/CPUID info); and the clock frequency(?) in MHz.
 CPU-Type from BIOS and Mask revision: If the BIOS supports this function,
Gthis tells the CPU type (386SL/SX/DX, Intel i376, RapidCAD, IBM 386SLC/
H486SLC, 486SX/DX/DX2/DX4, Pentium) and its mask revision, or a number if
its name isn't known.
HThis function is reported to be supported by "newer" IBM PS/2 models and
"various" BIOSes.
 System Bus type: Tells the type of your system's bus, which is ISA, EISA,
GMCA, MCA+ISA, or PCI bus (VESA Local Bus or other vendor-specific local
busses are not detected).
 more
 PCI information
 EISA Configuration Utility (ECU) Version (EISA system only)
 EISA System Board ID: (EISA system only) The ID string of your system
7board, which consists of three letters and four digits.
 Intel Plug-and-Play BIOS: If found (signature $PnP in BIOS ROM), this
Ftells version, real mode entry point and data segment of the PnP BIOS.
FAlso checked is for the presence of the ACFG (Auto Configuration) BIOS
B(via Int 1Ah), and the "VxD" DWCFGMG.SYS (for DOS+Windows 3.x) and
:CONFIGMG (Windows 95; or device CONFIG$ under "MS-DOS 7").
 Plug and Play
 BIOS32 Services: If present in your BIOS, this tells the address of the
GService Directory header, the linear entry point and the version of the
Gso-called BIOS32 Services which provide 32-bit protected mode access to
HPCI and Plug-and-Play BIOS functions. The header is searched in the BIOS
1area starting at paragraph E000h (DWORD-aligned).
 Intel SMBus: If present and active in "Int 15h mode", this shows the ver-
Jsion of the System Management Bus BIOS interface and the number of devices
connected.
IThe SMBus is a variant of ACCESS.bus being used by Intel and Duracell for
Gthe Smart Battery proposal, but designed to be generic enough to handle
 other devices besides batteries.
 Multiprocessor Specification: If your BIOS supports this MP specifica-
Htion, its revision (known: 1.1 and 1.4) is displayed along with the add-
%ress of the MP structure in the BIOS.
 Model, Submodel, BIOS Revision: These tell the model and submodel number,
Ias well as the BIOS revision (in hex)
 which is normally only used on an
JIBM machine
 as the BIOS tells on an Int15/C0h call (or, if not supported
 on very old machines
 from address F000:FFFEh in the BIOS ROM).
 Table
 Feature Bytes: (only if supported) These are the feature bytes as told by
Jthe BIOS Int 15/C0h call which give some configuration information in com-
Hpact form (single bits each, numbered from right (b0) to left (b7), item
present if bit is set (1)).
 description of the feature bytes
JThere are also feature bytes 4 and 5, but they are either not used yet, or
4used only on some IBM machines in a yet unknown way.
 Keyboard type: The type of your keyboard (if supported by the BIOS), which
His either a 122-, 101/102-key, or an old PC/XT/AT style 84-key keyboard.
H(Note: "101/102-key" includes the keyboards designed for Windows 95 like
Fthe Microsoft Natural Keyboard which have 105 keys (two "Windows keys"
and an "Application key").)
 Base memory: Tells how much base memory is installed (in k-bytes, normally
(and as maximum) 640k).
 more
 Extended memory: This is the amount of memory above 1meg (1024k) reported
Hby Int15/88h that can be used directly as normal extended memory (not as
EXMS or EMS memory; normally zero if such a memory manager is loaded).
 more
 A20 Gate: If supported by your BIOS (later PS/2, AMI PCI BIOS, Qualitas'
I386MAX v6), this tells the state of address line 20 which is used for ac-
Icessing the HMA, i.e. the 65520 bytes directly above 1 MB. Also stated is
how it may be switched:
 using the keyboard controller and/or
 using bit 1 on I/O port 92h (PS/2 system control port A)
Iand whether additional data is available (which position is yet unknown).
    See also:
Hardware/System
More on Bus Type
2These are the bus types and how they are detected:
 ISA, Industry Standard Architecture: The original 16-bit AT bus which
Ievolved from IBM's PC/AT systems; it is assumed that you are using an ISA
)bus if none of the below can be detected.
 MCA, Micro Channel Architecture: A faster and wider (32-bit) bus, plan-
Kned as successor to the ISA bus and built in IBM's PS/2 systems, but failed
Ksuccess in clone systems, mainly because MCA is incompatible with ISA cards
I(different slots and specs); there may be some machines with both ISA and0
JMCA slots. Detection is done with the system's feature bytes, No.1, bits 1
and 0.
 EISA, Extended ISA: A 32-bit extension to the ISA bus offering more flex-
Kibility, though allowing ISA cards to be plugged in EISA slots, too; it was
Ldeveloped as opposition to MCA, but was a little expensive in the beginning.
IDetection: ISA offers only port addresses up to 03FF, EISA up to FFFF; if
Lthe bytes read from 0C80 (EISA system board ID register) and 0080 (DMA extra
Lpage register, addressed also instead of 0C80 on ISA systems) are different,
this should be an EISA system.
Other bus types and extensions:
 VLB, VESA Local Bus: An addition (which defines an additional slot be-
Khind the original ISA and EISA slots) which allows access at CPU speed, not
Ljust at 8 to 8.33 MHz like (E)ISA, and at 32-bit bandwith (VLB-2 at 64-bit);
Ihowever, the number of local bus units (as slots or on the main board) is
Hlimited to 2-3 due to electrical reasons. VLB evolved as standard out of
Lmany proprietary local bus specifications by system and board manufacturers.
JVLB IS NOT DETECTED BY agSI [because I don't know how, if possible at all;
(maybe only by detecting known chipsets].
 PCI, Peripheral Component Interconnect: A bus designed by Intel which
Ioffers 32-bit or 64-bit access at CPU speed (with the same limitations as
FVLB, and with a new connector instead of (E)ISA compatible slots); PCI
Hoffers somewhat more speed and more flexibility, but might be a bit more
Kexpensive than VLB. Detection is done by a call to the Intel PCI BIOS v2.0c
Hor above, Int1A/AX=$B101, and the PCI interface level is also displayed.
    See also:
    PCI Info
%Model, Submodel, BIOS Revision  Table
Model  Subm.
 System
FFh
FEh
 PC XT / Portable
FDh
 PC junior
'FCh    ...
 PC AT, early PS/2, clones
FBh    00h
 newer PC XT
"FAh    00h
 early PS/2, Model 30
F9h    00h
 PC Convertible
F8h    ...
 PS/2
possibly others
BFor a more extensive list, see the Interrupt List (Int15h/AH=C0h).
 More on Base and Extended Memory
GBase memory is the memory below 640k; normally, on machines used today,
Ithis will be the maximum 640k. (This does not affect how much memory DOS,
?e.g. with 5+'s EMM386.EXE, QEMM or 386MAX, can use for itself.)
IExtended memory: This is the memory above 1meg (1024k) reported by Int15/
J88h that can be used as normal extended memory, e.g. by older ram-disks or
Kchaches, and is (should be) hooked by those programs in order to tell other
Kprograms that only a reduced amount of extended memory is available; if you
Ghave a memory manager installed
 like HIMEM.SYS
 you normally get the
Jvalue 0k here, because this manager makes the extended memory available to0
<programs who want to use it in other ways (cf. XMS and EMS).
PCI Information
JThis page lists the PCI devices found on your system (if any; should, how-
2ever, be at least the PCI chipset). Displayed are:
 The device number (a hex value between 00 and 1F, in the first column)
 the vendor name (if unknown, the hex value; 449 vendor names are known to
this version of agSI)
 the device name or its number (461 names known)
 the device class (and subclass), two bytes, plus its meaning (see below)
 the revision number (hex byte); maybe not sensible for every device
 the interrupt routing: if the device uses an interrupt, the mapping of
Ethe PCI interrupt (A..D) to the IRQ line (0..15); however, for the S3
Gchip on my video card, I got "IRQ 0" which would mean a IRQ routing er-
ror...
 more info in the sub-list
FIf you get "unknown" somewhere above, and you know which device it is,
please let me know!
KNote: The devices are queried using the PCI BIOS, so if you have a PCI sys-
Ktem but agSI doesn't detect PCI at all, you don't have a BIOS compatible to
4the Intel PCI BIOS 2.0 or above [so get an update!].
    See also:
Device classes
Bus types
Hardware/System
List of known device classes:
(class/subclass/interface)
 Class 0: old type
 0: non-VGA device
 1: VGA device
 Class 1: Mass storage controller
 0: SCSI controller
 1: IDE controller
 2: floppy disk controller
 3: IPI bus controller
 Class 2: Network controller
 0: Ethernet controller
 1: Token Ring controller
 2: FDDI controller
 Class 3: Display controller
 0: VGA compatible controller
 1: XGA controller
 Class 4: Multimedia device
 0: video device
 1: audio device
 Class 5: Memory controller
 0: RAM controller
 1: Flash RAM controller
 Class 6: Bridge device
 0: host bridge
 1: ISA bridge
 2: EISA bridge
 3: MCA bridge
 4: PCI-to-PCI bridge
 5: PCMCIA bridge
 Class 7: Communications device
 0: RS-232 device (COM)
0: Generic XT-compatible
1: 16450-compatible
2: 16550-compatible
 1: AT-compatible Parallel port
0: Generic AT Parallel Port
1: Model-30 Bidirectional Port
2: ECP 1.? compliant port
 Class 8: System peripheral
 0: Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC, 8259 compatible)
0: Generic 8259 PIC
1: ISA PIC (8259 Compatible)
2: EISA PIC (8259 Compatible)
 1: DMA controller (8237-compatible)
0: Generic DMA Controller
1: ISA DMA Controller
2: EISA DMA Controller
 2: System timer (8254-compatible)
0: Generic System Timer
1: ISA System Timer
 2: EISA System Timers (2 Timers)
 3: Real Time Clock
0: Generic RTC Controller
1: ISA RTC Controller
 Class 9: Input controller
 0: keyboard controller
 1: digitizer (pen)
 2: mouse controller
 Class 0Ah: Docking station
 0: generic docking station
 Class 0Bh: CPU type
 0: 386-based processor
 1: 486-based processor
 2: Pentium-based processor
INote that some devices seem not to support this class codes at the places
Kthey are supposed to be (I think); one of the two SiS chipset devices on my
Jsystem simply says "class/subclass 0", the other "4/6" which would be some
Jkind of multimedia device (and this also reports revision 39h; and this is
-the same as the low-byte of the vendor ID)...
?(Classes 7 and above are from the Plug and Play documentation.)
    See also:
Plug and Play
Plug and Play
L"Plug and Pray" [pardon, "Play"] is an interface definition to make install-
Aation and configuration of add-on cards and other devices easier.
IPnP support is provided by several parts: a PnP BIOS in the system's ROM,
LPnP support on PCI, PCMCIA, ISA and other cards, and a configuration manager
Kfor the operating system. The latter (which do a PnP BIOS only for full PnP
Lcard support at startup) is, at present, either an additional driver for DOS
J(DWCFGMG.SYS) and corresponding VxDs VCMD and VCAD for Windows 3.x, or the
!CONFIGMG VxD built in Windows 95.
JSo, agSI provides differently detailed information, depending on which in-
Jterfaces are available: if either DOS/Windows or Windows 95 config manager
Eis installed, it is queried for information; if not, the PnP BIOS is.
HIf the Plug and Play information is retrieved via the DWCFGMG.SYS driver
L(under DOS) or the corresponding Windows 3.x drivers (vcmd.386 and vcad.386)
(this list shows what these have to tell:
 Number of installed PnP devices that are listed below (starting with 0).
7For each device (not all fields given for all devices):
 Bus ID: one out of
 01h: ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
 02h: EISA (Extended ISA)
 04h: PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)
 08h: PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
 10h: PnPISA (Plug and Play ISA)
 20h: MCA (MicroChannel Architecture)
 Device ID
 serial number
 logical ID (type); for PCI: device class
 flags    (
 ISA:  card select number (CSN) and unit number
DEISA: slot and function number (the latter for multi-function cards)
%PCI:  bus no., device/function number
 ISA: Read Data port for PnP ISA cards
 Resources:
 memory ranges (physical addresses), flags: width (8/16/32 bit), ROM/RAM,
shared
 I/O port ranges
 IRQ(s) (Interrupt ReQuests), flags: edge or level (low or high)
triggered, shared
 DMA channel(s), flags: width (8/16/32 bit), bus master, type (ISA, A,B,
C,F), shared
LMore information about PCI devices can be found in the PCI list in the Hard-
-ware menu (right above this "Plug and Play").
B(By the way, the DOS driver's interface is the same as the VxDs'.)
6Windows 95 Configuration Manager (VxD 0033, CONFIGMG):
FNO INFORMATION YET, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE CONFIGMG API
*(which is different from that of DWCFGMG)!
KPlug and Play BIOS found by looking for the signature $PnP in the ROM BIOS:
3For each "device node", the following is displayed:
 Device type: a three bytes code which is also displayed in detail.
 Product identifier in the EISA ID style: three letters as manufacturer ID
Hcode, three hexadecimal digits as product ID, and one digit as revision;
2if the ID is known, its meaning is also displayed.
 Size of the device node in bytes
 attributes
 Resources::
HThere are two types of configuration in this case: the static configura-H
Htion which tells how the device will be configured at boot time, and dy-
Fnamic which is the current configuration. Depending on what the device
Hsupports (what the attributes tell), the following resource info is dis-
played:
 memory ranges (physical addresses), flags: width (8/16/32 bit), ROM/RAM,
shared
 I/O port ranges
 IRQ(s) (Interrupt ReQuests), flags: edge or level (low or high)
triggered, shared
 DMA channel(s), flags: width (8/16/32 bit), bus master, type (ISA, A,B,
C,F), shared
LMore information about PCI devices can be found in the PCI list in the Hard-
-ware menu (right above this "Plug and Play").
    See also:
Hardware/System
Speed
 DRAM Refresh Count and Refresh Interval
JThis displays the refresh counter for the DRAM of your system, and the re-
Dsulting refresh interval in Microseconds (
s) which is count*84/100.
HA larger count means the DRAM is refreshed less often so the computer is
Ginterrupted less often so processing is faster. However, a larger count
Jwill also cause an AMI BIOS to access floppy disks more slowly, and a very
7large value will cause the memory to fail to hold data.
4The timer refresh count is typically 18 (
 15.1
G(The code for these items was supplied by William Luitje (luitje@m-net.
arbornet.org).)
 Maximum RAM Throughput
IIf there's no cache, this is only one line telling the calculated maximum
Gspeed at which your system is able to transfer data to and from memory.
 Effective wait states: This is the number of the effective wait states,
.which depend on clock speed (maybe incorrect).
 Cache Thruput: With a cache, you also get the cache throughput (for first
Eand second level), which naturally are much higher than the above RAM
throughput values.
 Not performed under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode
 Benchmarks
 Dhrystones/second performes some "classical" integer arithmetics and
Hoperations, known as "Dhrystones". For comparison, an original "ancient"D
BIBM XT scores about 365 Dhrystones, my Pentium-90 around 69000.
 Double-Precision KiloWhetstones performs floating point arithmetics,/
Gusually (as here) displayed as Kilo- =1000 Whetstones. An IBM XT scores
Jnearly 100 KWhets with an 8087 FPU and nearly 50 using floating point emu-
Elation, my Pentium-90 about 31000-31500, or almost 40000 in Real Mode(
&(bare DOS without memory managers).
 Double-Precision MegaFLOPS calculates the FLoating point OPerations per
HSecond (Mega=1000000). An IBM XT scores about 0.012 with 8087 and 0.0065(
&without, my Pentium-90 around 3.35.
) Notes:
 All the information depending on timing will probably be inaccurate in
GVirtual8086 mode (using an Expanded Memory Manager) or even meaningless
Jwhen you are in a multi-tasking environment (Windows 386-mode, OS/2, ...).
FThey may also be wrong if your system is set to a slower mode (via the
I"Turbo" switch) which does NOT set another clock frequency but does some-
:thing else like including waits, etc. (usually on a 486+).
 These values may be slightly(?) lower (especially Dhry- and Whetstones,
Fwhich should be higher by 10-20%!) here than where they are taken from
J(see below) because of the use of TurboVision and Borland Pascal's Overlay
management.
 Dhry- and Whetstones as well as MegaFLOPS are highly implementation- and
Gcompiler-dependent. That is, you shouldn't compare them with what other
Fprograms rate other systems; you should just compare the output of the
'same program between different systems.
@[And Borland Pascal doesn't optimize too much in this matter...]
JAlso, the values may vary slightly each time they are measured, especially
on faster systems.
 The MegaFLOPS benchmark needs almost 56 KB memory, i.e. if there is less
Iavailable (what you may see when using the command line switch /D), it is
not executed.
 Under OS/2 (and possibly also Windows enhanced mode) there may be problems
Jwith the timing so that there are no values for Dhrystones and Whetstones.2
 The speed tests are taken from Norbert Juffa's CompTest.
    See also:
Hardware/System
Dhrystones
FThis is taken from Norbert Juffa's CompTest program and is Reinhold P.
LWeicker's (at Siemens AG, Germany) May 25, 1988 Pascal implementation of the
Loriginal version (in Ada) published in "Communications of the ACM" vol. 27.,
"no. 10 (Oct. 1984), pp. 1013-1030.
FThis is what Norbert Juffa wrote in his COMPTEST.DOC about Dhrystones:
EThe results of running the Dhrystone benchmark, a synthetic benchmark
Dthat is supposedly representative of integer applications. Note that
?Dhrystone performance depends on the hardware as much as on the
Dcompiler. Therefore, Dhrystone numbers by other system test programs
Bmay be higher or lower as those reported by COMPTEST, depending on
Dwhether or not they were compiled with an optimizing compiler or run
@as a 16-bit or a 32-bit program. There are different versions of
CDhrystone, the version used here (2.1) is the latest available from
Athe author of the benchmark, Reinhold Weicker. The Dhrystone code
Afits well into a rather small cache (8 KB will be sufficient), so
@for systems with CPU caches it tests only CPU performance, *not*
+the performance of the memory system. [...]
Whetstones
KThis is taken from Norbert Juffa's CompTest program and is Copyright, A H J
JSale and British Standards Institution, 1982, with last modifications Feb.
H24, 1988. For details, see Computer Journal article, 'A Synthetic Bench-
3mark', Jan 1976  pp43-49. (as it says in the file).
FThis is what Norbert Juffa wrote in his COMPTEST.DOC about Whetstones:
EThe results of running the Whetstone benchmark, a synthetic benchmark
Athat stresses mainly floating point performance, including trans-
Bcendental functions like Sin or Exp. As the Dhrystone numbers, the
Aresults of the Whetstone benchmark depend as much on the hardware
Cas on the code quality of the compiler (whether optimizing or not),
Calthough the compiler dependency is usually somewhat less than with
Cthe Dhrystone benchmark. Therefore, Whetstone numbers as determined
Iby COMPTEST should not be compared to those determined by other programs.
C[...] Note that the test uses software emulation of the coprocessor
Eif the machine tested does not have an 80x87 mathematical coprocessor
B[...]. There are two versions of the Whetstone benchmark, an older
Gversion derived from the original article published in 1976 and a newer
Aversion that includes sanity checks. The latest available version
Hacquired from one of the original authors (Brian Wichmann) is used here.
    MegaFLOPS
4This is taken from Norbert Juffa's CompTest program.
EThis is what Norbert Juffa wrote in his COMPTEST.DOC about MegaFLOPS:
CThis benchmark result tells you how many millions of basic floating
Epoint operations (add, subtract, multiply) the tested machine is able
Dto execute per second. This number is determined by running an older
Cversion of the Lawrence Livermoore Loops, a set of 14 kernels taken
Ffrom *real* number crunching programs and computing the average MFLOPS
D(Millions of FLoating-point OPerations per Second). There is a newer
@suite of LLL out that uses 24 kernels and provides more detailed
Bdiagnostics of the floating point performance. Due to its size, it
Hcould not easily be integrated into COMPTEST, so the older (and simpler)
Gversion was used. The LLL benchmark uses about 60 KB of RAM, so results
Dmay be influenced by the size of the CPU cache, if any is installed.
C[...] As with the other benchmarks, the LLL performance depends not
Fonly on the hardware, but also on the compiler used. Highly optimizing
Ccompilers that make use of 32-bit instructions where possible would
/give an MFLOPS rating that is about 50% higher.
Serial Ports
JHere you find information about the serial ports installed on your system.
KNote that the number may be different from the actual number of ports (e.g.
Kunder OS/2), because the stated numbers are queried from the BIOS which re-
Hports the hardware ports, whereas the port addresses (from the BIOS data
=segment at 0040:0000) hold for the actually accessible ports.
DHere's what's displayed in one line for each COM port (COM1 thru 4):
 Port address (normally 03F8 and 02F8 for COM1 & 2)
 UART Type (8250, 16450, 16550, 16550A or compatible)
 Baud rate
 Parameters:
 Data bits (usually 7 or 8)
 Parity (N=none, O=odd, E=even, M=mark, S=stop)
 Stop bits (1, 1
, or 2)
 Timeout: whether a timeout occured
 CD=Carrier Detect (meaningful if a modem is connected)
 DSR=Data Set Ready
 CTS=Clear To Send
 The sub-list will check whether there's a modem connected to the port
.and, if so, display some information about it.
FCAUTION: Do NOT access this sub-list when you are performing some com-
;munications application in the background as it may disturb
this application.
F(On a port (better, on an IRQ
 assuming COM1=IRQ4 and COM2=IRQ3) with
/a serial mouse, the sub-list is not available.)
HNo port hardware found! is displayed when agSI could not get information
Ifrom the port hardware (or its simulation, e.g. in an OS/2 dos box)
.address in the BIOS data segment may be wrong.
    See also:
Hardware/System
Parallel Ports
LHere you find information about the parallel ports installed on your system.
KNote that the number may be different from the actual number of ports (e.g.
Kunder OS/2), because the stated numbers are queried from the BIOS which re-
Hports the hardware ports, whereas the port addresses (from the BIOS data
=segment at 0040:0004) hold for the actually accessible ports.
IHere's what's displayed in one line for each LPT port (LPT1 thru 3 or 4):
 Port address (normally 0378, 0278)
 Line status flags:
 On line (or "selected"), originating from the button on some (mainly
AIBM) printers that must be pressed before, for instance, a manual
form feed.
5Note that this may be "yes" for powered-off printers.
 Paper out, I/O error, Timeout, Busy, Acknowledge
 EPP BIOS support, if present (EPP = Enhanced Parallel Port), and its ver-
sion.
    See also:
Hardware/System
Other Ports: Game Ports
JHere you find information about the game port(s) installed on your system:
 Game port installed tells whether a game port is installed at all.
 Set in equipment byte tells whether it is stated in the BIOS equipment
,byte (not necessary for a joystick to work).
KFollowing in the list is the state (buttons and position) of joystick 1 and
I2. If for one joystick this is only 0, there is probably no joystick con-
Hnected to this port (note that some joysticks with more than two buttons
Hnormally map the additional buttons to the buttons of joystick #2, as is
done with additional controls).
    See also:
Hardware/System
Graphics Cards Information
AThis page displays information about the installed video card(s):
 Primary and Secondary Displays and Monitors: Tells you the type of video
Icard and the monitor connected to it for your primary (active) and secon-
3dary (inactive) display (if it exits) respectively.
:See below for a list of the cards and monitors recognized.
 If your card is a VGA or better:
 CRT Controller address: the I/O port (hex) of the Cathode Ray Tube Cont-
Groller (CRTC), normally 03D4h on color and 03B4h on monochrome systems.
 Character height in screen lines: how many pixel lines a character is in
"height (in the current text mode).
 Gray scale summing active? tells whether palette colors will be automatic-
Dally translated to gray scale (an option offered by most VGA cards).
IThe following information is retrieved in accordance to Finn Thoegersen's
    VGADOC 4:
 Video system: The manufacturer or main system of the video chip; one of
GEGA, VGA, CT45x, WD, Video7, Tseng, Trident, Poach, Everex, ATI, Genoa,
HOAK, Cirrus, Ahead, NCR, Yamaha, S3, ALG, MXIC, Realtek, Primus, CL54xx,
BCL64xx, Weitek, P9000, XGA, Compaq, AGX, Mach32, Mach64, UMC, HMC,
?Matrox, ARK, ACER, SIERRA, MVision, MGA, Alliance, Imagine, SiS
 Version of the system; a 2-byte hex number (if given)
 Name of the video chip set (if recognized; about 240 known)
 Video memory in KBytes
 DAC (Digital Analog Converter) name
 Special features: One or more out of
 Cursor: hardware cursor capability
 BitBlt (Bit Block transfer, inside the video memory)
 Line
 RW-bank
J(Does not work under Windows or OS/2, so only the old method below is dis-
played then.)
KOld method: if debug mode is on (agSI started with /D command line option),
or under Windows or OS/2:
 Supposed card OEM: This attempts to detect some of the possible chipsets
4or BIOSes. See below for a list of those recognized.
Video memory speed:
 In this sub-list you will get some speed information about the memory
of your graphics card.
FNote that it may take some time until the window is displayed, and the
+screen will be filled with some characters.
'(Not available under Windows and OS/2.)
Recognized display card types:
 VGA, Video Graphics Array (including Super-VGA)
 EGA, Enhanced Graphics Adapter
 CGA, Color Graphics Adapter
 HGC, Hercules Graphics Card (monochrome)
 MDA, Monochrome Display Adapter (text only)
Recognized monitor types:
 monochrome monitor
 color monitor
 high resolution (hires) monitor (EGA or multisync)
 monochrome analogue monitor (VGA or multisync)
 color analogue monitor (VGA or multisync)
6Recognized Chipsets/BIOSes (and how they are detected)
 OLD METHOD (see above)
 Ahead  ("AHEAD" at C000h:0025h)
 Paradise  ("VGA=" at C000h:007Dh)
 Oak Technologies  ("OAK VGA" at C000h:0008h)
 ATI, revision xx  ("761295520" at C000h:0031h)
 Genoa xxxx  (77h XX 99h 66h at C000h:[C000h:0037h])
 Tseng Labs, date, version  ("Tseng" at C000h:0076h)
0(works at least on my Diamond SpeedStar HiColor)
5plus the DAC used on the card, if supported and known#
 Hewlett-Packard Extended BIOS  (Int 10h/6F00h => 4850h)
 Video7, size, DRAM/VRAM  (Int 10h/6F00h => 5637h)%
 UltraVision Extensions, version  (Int 10h/CC00h => ABCDh)
 Trident, date, size  (Int 10h/1200h/11h)!
 Cirrus Logic, version, size  (Int 10h/1200h/81h)&
 Chips & Technologies (C&T), size  (Int 10h/5F00h => 5Fh)
 Realtek RTVGA  (Int 10h/5F00h => 00h)
 Diamond Stealth 24  (Int 10h/7F00h/4000h => 007Fh)
 Diamond cards (?) with "  " at C000h:0043h: displayed is the following
+string [o.k. for my new Diamond Stealth 64]
    See also:
Hardware/System
LThe primary/secondary video system detection routine was taken from the book
J'PC Intern 3.0', the video system detection from VGADOC4, the other infor-
(mation is taken from the Interrupt List.
Sound Cards
/The following sound cards are detected by agSI:
 Ad Lib (or compatible), plus
 standard port address 388h
 driver version, interrupt (65h), and address (if installed)
 Sound Blaster (or compatible), plus
 port address (hex)
 interrupt (IRQ) (a '?' indicates it couldn't be detected)
 DSP (Digital Sound Processor) version
%(1.00-2.00 for SB 1.0, 1.5, 1.6, MCV;
2.01      for SB 2.0,
3.01-3.xx for SBPro 2.x-?,
4.xx      for SB 16,
?.??      for SB/SBPro ???)
 SBFMDRV FM-driver, version, interrupt (80h-BFh), address (if installed)
 Mixer settings (if DSP version
 2)...
 ...which may be changed
 Roland MPU-401 MIDI interface
 Gravis UltraSound, plus
 port address
 memory
 MediaVision ProAudio Spectrum Driver MVSOUND.SYS
 version
 DMA channel
 IRQ number
 status string
 path to executable MVPROAS.EXE, if available
Also displayed is the...
 BLASTER environment variable for SoundBlaster (compatible) cards, if
present:
 A = base address (hex)
 I = interrupt request line (IRQ)
 D = 8bit DMA channel
 H = 16bit DMA channel (if 16bit transfers supported by sound card; if
9equal to 8bit channel, 16bit transfers are done via this)
 M = base address (hex) for the mixer
 P = MIDI port
 T = type identification of the card:
1 = SB 1.0/1.5
2 = SB Pro (2)
3 = SB 2.0
4 = SB Pro 3
    6 = SB 16
others = ???
LNote that under Windows (386 mode), there will (sometimes?) no sound card be
Jdetected as you normally don't have access to it if it is used by Windows.
KAlso there can be a Windows message box stating that no sound can be played
+the first time this info page is requested.
KIf you really have none of the above [d'you live behind the moon?!?], there
%will be only one line saying just so.
    See also:
Hardware/System
VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE)
IThis displays the presence of any of the below-mentioned VBEs, defined by
,the Video Electronics Standards Association:
VESA SuperVGA BIOS
HThe VESA SVGA BIOS is a standardized extension to a SuperVGA card's BIOS
I(as TSR program or integrated in the ROM) allowing standardized access to
*video modes beyond the standard VGA modes.
Displayed are:
 the signature (four characters, should be "VESA")
 the version of the VESA specification (known are 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0))
 the name of the card's/chip's/BIOS's OEM
 the four capabilities bytes; used are:
 b0: DAC can be switched to 8-bit mode (instead of standard 6-bit mode
for VGA palette modes)
 b1: =1 if non-VGA-compatible controller (VBE2 only?)
 b2: =1 if RAMDAC should only be programmed during vertical retrace to
avoid flicker (VBE2 only?)
 the total amount of video memory
BThese four items are for specification version 2.0 and above only:
 the OEM software version
 the vendor name
 the product name
 the product revision
5Then comes a list of the supported modes, listed with
 the mode number (hex)
 type of the mode: M=monochrome / C=color,
T=text / G=graphics
 resolution: horizontal x vertical x colors (the latter only for graphics
modes)
JIf the resolution is displayed in parantheses, the call to get the resolu-
Jtion info is not supported by your VESA driver/BIOS, and the resolution is
taken from the knwon mode list.
 known VESA video modes, and note about the S3 modes
) Note: Some old cards with S3 chip and VESA included in the VGA BIOS do,
Lalthough they report VESA version 1.00, not supply the video memory field of
the returned information.
VESA XGA BIOS Extensions
KThis is a VBE similar to the SVGA BIOS, but for XGA-compatible cards. There4
<are no further items of information implemented in agSI yet.
Audio Interface
LThe VBE/AI is a means to access drivers for sound cards in three categories:
Jwave (sampled sound), MIDI, and volume setting. (It seems the VBE/AI isn't
widely spread yet.)
Displayed are:
 WAVE device:
 supported VBE/AI version
 driver revision
 vendor name
 vendor product name
 vendor chip/hardware description
 installed board number (0 for the first/only)
 feature bits
 memory required for driver use
 timer tick callbacks per second
 number of channels (1=mono, 2=stereo)
 maximum sample size play/record
 MIDI device:
 supported VBE/AI version
 driver revision
 vendor name
 vendor product name
 vendor chip/hardware description
 installed board number
 patch library file name
 feature bits
 memory required for driver use
 timer tick callbacks per second
 number of tones
 VOLUME device:
 driver revision
 vendor name
 vendor product name
 vendor chip/hardware description
 installed board number
 name of mixer channel
 feature bits
 minimum / maximum volume
 attenuation/gain crossover
Power Management
IThis is an interface for power saving settings for the video card and the
monitor.
Displayed are:
 VBE/PM version
 supported states (standby, suspend, off, reduced on)
 display power state (on, standby, suspend, off, reduced on)
    See also:
Hardware/System
&List of VESA SuperVGA BIOS video modes
<Mode   Resolution
 Mode   Resolution
 Mode   Resolution
;00h-FFh are OEM modes accessible also without using the VBE
=100h   640x400x256
 105h   1024x768x256
 109h   132x25 text
=101h   640x480x256
 106h   1280x1024x16
 10Ah   132x43 text
=102h   800x600x16
 107h   1280x1024x256
 10Bh   132x50 text
=103h   800x600x256
 108h   80x60 text
 10Ch   132x60 text
104h   1024x768x16
VBE version 1.2+:
>10Dh   320x200x32K
 112h   640x480x16M
 117h   1024x768x64K
>10Eh   320x200x64K
 113h   800x600x32K
 118h   1024x768x16M
?10Fh   320x200x16M
 114h   800x600x64K
 119h   1280x1024x32K
?110h   640x480x32K
 115h   800x600x16M
 11Ah   1280x1024x64K
?111h   640x480x64K
 116h   1024x768x32K
 11Bh   1280x1024x16M
S3 OEM video modes:
=201h   640x480x256
 206h   1280x960x16
 211h
  640x480x64K
=202h   800x600x16
 207h
  1152x864x256
 212h
  640x480x16M
*203h   800x600x256
 208h   1280x1024x16
*204h   1024x768x16

=205h   1024x768x256
 20Ah
  1152x864x64K
 301h   640x480x32K
 = Diamond Stealth 64)
J(Resolution is in Width x Height x Colors; 32K=32768, 64K=65536 (HiColor),
"16M=16777216 (TrueColor), or Text)
KNote: S3-specific modes follow in a second list after the end of the origi-
Gnal list queried by the appropriate call, and this list may repeat some
modes from the original one.
 VBE/AI: WAVE Device Feature Bits
Bit(s)   Description
0       8000hz Mono Playback
1       8000hz Mono Record
2       8000hz Stereo Record
3       8000hz Stereo Playback
&4       8000hz Full Duplex Play/Record
5       11025hz Mono Playback
6       11025hz Mono Record
7       11025hz Stereo Record
8       11025hz Stereo Playback
'9       11025hz Full Duplex Play/Record
10      22050hz Mono Playback
11      22050hz Mono Record
12      22050hz Stereo Record
13      22050hz Stereo Playback
'14      22050hz Full Duplex Play/Record
15      44100hz Mono Playback
16      44100hz Mono Record
17      44100hz Stereo Record
18      44100hz Stereo Playback
'19      44100hz Full Duplex Play/Record
20-26   reserved
'27      driver must pre handle the data
'28      Variable Sample mono   playback
'29      Variable Sample stereo playback
%30      Variable Sample mono   record
%31      Variable Sample stereo record
 VBE/AI: MIDI Device Feature Bits
Bit(s)   Description
10-3     reserved for GM (General MIDI) extensions
!4       Transmitter/Receiver only
5       Patches preloaded
#6       MIDI receive has time stamp
-8       MIDI interrupt driven input supported
#9       MIDI polled input supported
%10      MIDI remote patches supported
others  reserved
"VBE/AI: VOLUME Device Feature Bits
Bit(s)   Description
'0       Stereo Volume control available
$2       Low Pass Filter is available
%3       High Pass Filter is available
,4       Parametric Tone Control is available
5       selectable output paths
+8       Azimuth Field positioning supported
'9       Phi Field positioning supported
31      Master Volume device
others  reserved
Interrupt Vectors
LThis lists the addresses of the interrupt handlers for the 256 system inter-9
Jrupts, their owners and their usual usage. An asterisk "*" after the owner
Lindicates there's an immediate IRET instruction at the interrupt handler, so
Ithis call does absolutely nothing. (However, there are several interrupts
Lthe handlers of which (e.g. in the BIOS) do some internal stuff, but nothing
Kelse; you may see that from the display of the same address for several in-
terrupts.)
0Groups of exactly equal interrupts are combined.
 If use of protected mode is not disabled (see Options dialog), and a DPMI
Ihost is present, the sub-list will present a list of the (used) protected
mode interrupt handlers.
INote that, if using UMBs, some regions like the VGA BIOS will be reported
Jas "DOS" (because that's how DOS excludes these regions from memory alloc-
Jation: by defining an MCB around them); if not using UMB, the upper memory
!regions may be called "ROM BIOS".
INote also that the last few interrupts contain some data (???) and do not
point at reasonable stuff.
    See also:
Interrupt Overview
Hardware/System
BIOS Data Segment
HThe BIOS data segment at 0040h holds many items of information, the most
Hinteresting (and useful) of which are listed in the info window. I don't
Ilist all the items here in the help because there is no need to duplicate
Jthe file MEMORY.LST with an excellent list of the BIOS segment 0040h which
&comes as a part of the Interrupt List.
    See also:
Hardware/System
IRQ Assignments
JThis lists the assignment of the hardware IRQ (Interrupt ReQuest) channels
K(controlled by a chip called "8259"), which are 8 on old PC/XT compatibles,
and 16 on an AT style computer.
JDisplayed are the status (used or free), and standard assignments (some of
Jwhich are just default settings which may be changed). Note that some IRQs
Imay be reported as used only when they are really used at the moment, for
instance, a sound card's IRQ.
    See also:
Hardware/System
I/O Port Addresses
-***NOT YET IMPLEMENTED because it isn't safe!
    See also:
Hardware/System
CMOS RAM
KThe CMOS ("Complementary Metal Oxyde Semiconductor") RAM is a battery-back-
Hed, small memory area (outside the normal RAM) where the real-time clock
5data is stored, as well as configuration information.
KThis info list tells you the size of your system's main CMOS RAM (64 or 128
Ibytes accessible via Port 70h/71h; additional (e.g. EISA) CMOS RAM is not0
>detected), and some (more or less) interesting detailed items.
6Detailed items are displayed for the following BIOSes:
 AMI Hi-Flex BIOS (386 and above, dated 07/07/91 and newer (?)),
 AMI WinBIOS (newer, mostly in Flash-ROM),
 AWARD (only for "Modular BIOS 4.50G" ?),
 Phoenix (maybe only older versions),
 IBM PS/2.
@(Neccessary is, of course, that they could be detected; see also
Board and BIOS.)
GSelect CMOS RAM
 table for a complete tabular list of the CMOS values.
JYou may change date and time by selecting one of the first two data lines.
    See also:
Hardware/System
CMOS RAM
 Table
EThis gives you an overview about the 64 or 128 bytes of the CMOS RAM.
.Select CMOS RAM
 Details for a detailed list.
    See also:
Hardware/System
CMOS Details
IHere is some additional information on the detailed CMOS items. Note that
#some are different on some systems.
 0A: Status Register A (read/write) (usually 26h)
 bit7:   1=time update cycle in progress, data ouputs undefined
 bit6-4: 22 stage divider. 010b = 32.768 Khz time base (default)
 bit3-0: Rate selection bits for interrupt:
0000b
 none
"0011b
 122 microseconds (minimum)
1111b
 500 milliseconds
&0110b
 976.562 microseconds (default)
 0B: Status Register B (read/write)
 bit7:   1 enables cycle update, 0 disables
 bit6:   1 enables periodic interrupt
 bit5:   1 enables alarm interrupt
 bit4:   1 enables update-ended interrupt
 bit3:   1 enables square wave output
 bit2:   Data Mode:   0: BCD, 1: Binary
 bit1:   24/12 hour selection:   1 enables 24 hour mode
 bit0:   US Daylight Savings Enable:   1 enables
 0C: Status Register C (read only)
 bit7:   Interrupt request flag -
;1 when any or all of bits 6-4 are 1 and appropriate enables
(Register B) are set to 1.
Generates IRQ 8 when triggered.
 bit6:   Periodic Interrupt flag
 bit5:   Alarm Interrupt flag
 bit4:   Update-Ended Interrupt Flag
 bit3-0: ???
 0D: Status Register D (read only)
 bit7:   Valid RAM:
1 indicates battery power good,
0 if dead or disconnected.
 bit6-0: ???
 0E: Diagnostic Status Byte (should be zero)
 bit7:   1: clock has lost power
 bit6:   1: incorrect checksum
 bit5:   1: equipment configuration is incorrect; power-on check requires
%that at least one floppy be installed
 bit4:   1: error in memory size
 bit3:   1: controller or disk drive failed initialization
 bit2:   1: time is invalid
 bit1:   1: installed adaptors do not match configuration
 bit0:   1: time-out occured while reading adaptor ID
 0F: Reset Code (IBM PS/2 "Shutdown Status Byte")
normally zero
 For all the other registers please refer to some specific documentation
Hwhich I regret I can't include here due to its complexity; for instance,
Hyour system's manual, the manufacturer, or some utilities or informative
Jfiles that go around on BBSs, CompuServe, Internet, etc., like Padgett Pe-1
Lterson's file CMOS.LST included in Ralf Brown's Interrupt List, or
 for AMI
JBIOSes
 the AMISETUP utility (shareware) by Robert Muchsel from Konstanz,
Germany.
    See also:
Hardware/System
!Operating System Type and Version
HThis item shows information about the currently running operating system
(DOS, DOS+Windows, OS/2).
    See also:
Type and Version info list
Operating System
Country-Specific Settings
HThis item shows information about the current country setting, like code
page, date/time format, etc.
    See also:
Country info list
Operating System
Environment Variables
<This item lists the environment variables (like PATH, etc.).
    See also:
 Environment Variables info list
Operating System
DOS System Variables
0This item shows some of DOS's internal settings.
    See also:
DOS System Variables info list
Operating System
System File Tables
>This item shows the contents of the SFTs, i.e. all open files.
    See also:
System File Tables info list
Operating System
Devices / Device Drivers
KThis item lists the installed device drivers (block and character devices).
    See also:
Device Drivers info list
Operating System
Other Settings
KThis item displays some other settings like the BREAK/VERIFY flags and code
pages.
    See also:
Other Settings info list
Operating System
Windows:
KThis item is just a headline for the following item(s) when Windows is run-
ning.
    See also:
Version and Flags
WinOldAp GDI
WinOldAp Clipboard
Virtual Device Drivers
Paging File
System parameters
Resources
SHELL module
Operating System
Version und Flags
JThis item shows what Windows tells as Windows and DOS versions, as well as
 the Windows flags and directory.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
    See also:
Version and Flags info list
Operating System
WinOldAp GDI Capabilities
KThis item displays the capabilities of the Graphic Device Interface of Win-
9dows (accessible through the WinOldAp module of Windows).
    See also:
WinOldAp GDI info list
WinOldAp Clipboard
Operating System
WinOldAp Clipboard
JThis item displays a list of the current contents of the Windows clipboard
4(accessible through the WinOldAp module of Windows).
    See also:
WinOldAp Clipboard info list
WinOldAp GDI
Operating System
Virtual Device Drivers (VxDs)
@This item lists the installed VxDs in Windows 386 enhanced mode.
    See also:
VxDs info list
Operating System
Paging File (Swap File)
KThis item shows information about Windows' swap file (if paging is active).
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
    See also:
Paging file info list
Operating System
SHELL (Windows Module)
>This item shows information about the SHELL module of Windows.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
    See also:
SHELL info list
Operating System
Resources, Memory
LThis item shows the amount of free space of Windows' global heap memory, the
Cnumber of items on it, and the three resources (system, GDI, user).
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
    See also:
Resources, Memory info list
Operating System
Tasks, Modules
@This item shows the active Windows tasks and the loaded modules.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
    See also:
Tasks, Modules info list
Operating System
Windows System Parameters
JThis item shows some of Windows' system parameters, like mouse speed, icon
spacing, etc.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
    See also:
System parameters info list
Operating System
!Operating System Type and Version
 Reported DOS version: This tells the version of DOS via an Int21/30h call,
Fjust like a VER command would return it. With some simple utilities or
Jwith SETVER.EXE (MS-DOS 5.0 and above), this version may be changed (which
Jmay be useful to run programs that test the version via the above call and
Jneed a specific version). Other  operating systems may return other values
like 20.00 in OS/2 2.0.
 True OS version: This 'sees through' SETVER or similar stuff and tells the
Gtrue version; however, it is also reported by the OS (Int21/3306h), but
Hnormally not changed by an utility. If the "true" version is 3.31, it is
Jalso checked if this is Digital Research's DR-DOS or Novell DOS 7 (via the
Eundocumented call Int21/4452h; DR-DOS 5.1, for display space reasons,
Jmeans DR Multiuser DOS 5.1; 6.01 means the DR-DOS 6.0 March 1993 "business
Fupdate", 7.0 is Novell DOS 7.0 which reports true version 6.00 (DR was
bought by Novell)).
AWindows NT reports "5.50", according to R.Brown's Interrupt List.
HIf you see a '?' in this field, the Int21/3306h call is not supported by
$your OS version, e.g. under DOS 3.3.
 Revision: This field displays the revision number of your operating sys-
Htem, if it exists (i.e. reported by the 3306h function)
 it is normally
H0, but under OS/2 it tells the Internal Revision, e.g.
 for the re-
Jvision 8.152 of the 2.99 Warp II beta version from August 1994; also, PTS-
DOS seems to use this field.
 OEM byte: This byte (in hex) tells the Original Equipment Manufacturer
I(OEM) of the OS (or its machine-specific version). If known, the OEM will
also be displayed litterally.
 List of OEM bytes
 Serial number: This 24-bit value tells the (user) serial number; it is not
&used by most systems (except PTS-DOS).
 in HMA? and
 free HMA space: This states whether DOS is resident in the High Memory
HArea (HMA); if yes, the amount of free HMA space (in bytes) is also dis-
played.
DThe High Memory Area (only available on 80286+ systems, normally al-
Ilocated using an XMS driver such as HIMEM.SYS) is the last in the proces-
Hsor's Real Mode accessible segment, FFFFh, and its size is exactly 65520
Gbytes (segment size 64k=65536 minus the last 16 bytes of the 1-Megabyte
Iaddress space). Under DOS 5.0+, you may tell DOS to use it for itself and
Gfree up some memory in the lower area (0-640k area), using the DOS=HIGH
Fstatement in your CONFIG.SYS, which requires HIMEM.SYS (or another XMS
driver) installed.
 in ROM? Only displayed when DOS (5.0 and above) actually is in ROM (mainly
on notebook computers).
 Windows version
 Windows mode
 Virtual Machine ID: These fields tell the version and mode (real/standard
Gor enhanced) of Windows if you are currently running Windows; it is not
Idisplayed if not. Also displayed is the Virtual Machine ID word (the num-
Jber of the DOS box in Windows enhanced mode; Windows itself runs in VM 1).
JNote: What Microsoft decided to call "Windows 95" reports
 consequently
version 4.0.
 Windows95 swap file name and size (in KB)
 pager type (none, through MS-DOS, protected mode I/O)
 Linux DOS Emulator: If you are running agSI inside the Linux DOSEMU, this
+line tells its version and patchlevel (pl).@
JNote: As DOSEMU uses Interrupt E6h, the system may hang when agSI calls it
F(outside Linux) when the address of the interrupt is messed up by some
Fprogram (IBM's anachronistic BASICA may be a candidate, but maybe also?
Gsome ROM BIOS) which doesn't point to an interrupt handler; disable the
=DOSEMU test then with a line "Disable=OOSL" in your INI file.
    See also:
Operating System
!List of known DOS OEM byte values
 00h: IBM / Digital Research/Novell
 01h: Compaq
 02h: MS Packaged Product
 04h: AT&T
 05h: ZDS (Zenith Electronics)
 06h: Hewlett-Packard
 07h: ZDS (Groupe Bull)
 0Dh: Packard-Bell
 16h: DEC
 23h: Olivetti
 28h: Texas Instruments
 29h: Toshiba
 4Dh: Hewlett-Packard
 66h: PhysTechSoft (PTS-DOS)
 99h: General Software's Embedded DOS
 99h: STARLITE architecture (OEM DOS, NETWORK DOS, SMP DOS)
 EEh: DR-DOS (?)
 EFh: Novell DOS (?)
 FFh: Microsoft, Phoenix
D(If you are using an OEM version I do not yet know, please tell me.)
Country Settings
 Country Code: The current country setting which is normally the one spec-
Fified in your CONFIG.SYS (with COUNTRY=...). This number [displayed in
Jthree digits with leading zero
 it looks better this way, I think] is the
Gsame as the country's telephone number, e.g.
 for the U.S.,
Germany, etc.
 Date Format that is used on your system, which is one out of
 Month - Day - Year  (in the USA)
 Day - Month - Year  (in Europe)
 Year - Month - Day  (in Japan)
 Date Separator: The character used to separate the day's, month's, and
)year's display, normally "/", "." or "-".
 Time Format (Hours): Tells whether the 12- or the 24-hour format is used.
 Time Separator: The character used to separate the hours', minutes', and
Jseconds' display (you also see it in the upper right corner), normally "."
or ":".
 Currency Name: The up-to-4-character name of the currency set on your sys-
 1000s' and Decimal Separator: The characters that should be used [why do
Fnot all programs check this?] to separate each three digits of a large
Jnumber, and the decimals, respectively, for example "12,995.99", in Germa-
ny "12.995,99".
 Digits after Decimal: How many digits are normally used to display the
"small currency value (normally 2).
 Data/List Separator: The character used to separate a list (normally ",",
or ";" in Germany).
    See also:
Operating System
Environment Variables
KThis info list shows something about the so-called environment (of the cur-
Krent process, i.e. AGSI.EXE, but normally indifferent from the master envi-
    ronment):
 Total environment size: This should be the maximum size of the (master)
Aenvironment in bytes, but I don't know a reliable way to find it.
 Used environment size: How many bytes are actually used (by the variables,
)the owner name, and maybe other strings).
 Environment variables: The number of the variables listed below.
 The list: Just like a SET command would show, this is the list of the en-
Jvironment variables, in the order they are stored in the environment, plus
Gits Owner (the full pathname of the program the environment belongs to,
Hthat is AGSI.EXE), and maybe other strings (normally none) stored there.
HNote that you cannot access lower-case variables the normal way (the SET
Icommand, Turbo Pascal's GetEnv, etc.), for example, the "windir" variable
Eset by Windows to its directory (C:\WINDOWS, or something like that).
    See also:
Operating System
DOS System Variables
KThese are some of the values from DOS' "SYSVARS", the
List of Lists
, ret-
Lrieved with an Int21/52h call, which contains many items; the most interest-
ing are displayed here.
@For a full documentation of the SYSVARS, see the Interrupt List.
 sharing retry count (word, offset -12h)
 sharing retry delay (word, offset -10h)
 segment of first memory control block (word, offset -2h)
 maximum bytes per sector of any block device (word,offset 10h)
 number of protected FCBs (the y in FCBS=x,y from CONFIG.SYS; 0 in DOS 5+,
,not valid (65535) in OS/2; word, offset 1Eh)
 number of block devices installed (26 in OS/2; byte, offset 20h)
 number of available drive letters (largest of 5, installed block devices,
,and CONFIG.SYS LASTDRIVE=; byte, offset 21h)
 number of JOIN'ed drives (byte, offset 34h)
DOS 4 and above:
 the x in BUFFERS x,y ("0" under OS/2; rounded up to multiple of 30 if in
EMS; word, offset 3Fh)
 number of lookahead buffers ("0" under OS/2; the y in BUFFERS x,y; word,
offset 41h)
 boot drive (1=A:) (byte, offset 43h)
 use DWORD moves (flag=01h; 80386+), 00h otherwise (byte, offset 44h)
 extended memory size in K (not valid under OS/2 ?; word, offset 45h)
some pointers:
 first Drive Parameter Block (dword, offset 00h)
 first System File Table (dword, offset 04h)
 active CLOCK$ device's header (dword, offset 08h)
 active CON device's header (dword, offset 0Ch)
 array of Current Directory Structures (dword, offset 16h)
 system FCB tables (dword, offset 1Ah)
 SETVER program list (dword, offset 37h, DOS 5+)
"DR-DOS/Novell DOS System Variables
KIf this DOS type is running, here are some DR-DOS specific variables from a
list reported by Int21/4458h:
 history control structure for COMMAND.COM history (DDS=DOS Data Segment)
 history control structure for application history
 extended memory at startup (in KB)
 internal far jump entry points: number and address (segment)
 first free and used HMA memory block (if the DOS kernel is in the HMA)
5offset in HMA segment FFFFh; "0000" if not applicable
 full COUNTRY.SYS filename
 SHARE hook table (offset in DDS)
    See also:
Operating System
System File Tables
7(Not supported in an OS/2 2.x/3.x Virtual DOS Machine.)
HHere displayed is the maximum number of open files (the FILES setting in
LCONFIG.SYS, possibly more under Windows), the number of currently open files
J(including the standard devices) and more detailed information about them,
Jtaken from the System File Tables. There are usually two SFTs: one for the
Dfirst five files/devices, one for the rest (CONFIG.SYS's FILES - 5).
 System File Table Address
 Files in this SFT; for each opened file:
 file/device name (in FCB format, i.e. without period, blank-padded)
&AUX, CON, PRN are the standard devices
 handles for this file (at least 1; more for CON, PRN etc.)
 access mode:
 "FCB", if opened via the old File Control Block method
 either read only, write only, read/write, or redirected
 "inherit" if child processes (started via the EXEC function) inherit
    this file
 sharing mode: either of...
 compatible (old method used)
 DenyAll: disables all accesses by other processes
 DenyRead/Write: disables read/write accesses by other processes
 DenyNone: don't disable any other access
 ?: unknown mode
 attributes set: (for files only)
 (bit 7) sh=shareable (Novell NetWare)
 (bit 6) ? =unused
 (bit 5) A =archive
 (bit 4) D =directory
 (bit 3) V =volume label;
execute-only (Novell NetWare)
 (bit 2) S =system
 (bit 1) H =hidden
 (bit 0) R =read-only
 drive: the drive the file is on (for files only)
 device info flags: some of the following:
 (bit 15) remote file
 (bit 14) do not set file date/time on closing
 (bit 13) named pipe (DOS 4+)
 (bit 12) no inherit on EXEC
 (bit 11) network spooler (DOS 4+)
 (bit  7) (set device, clear if file (only if local; DOS 4+))
character device:
 (bit  6) EOF on input
 (bit  5) raw (binary) mode
 (bit  4) device is special (uses INT 29)
 (bit  3) clock device
 (bit  2) NUL device
 (bit  1) standard output
 (bit  0) standard input
disk file:
 (bit  6) file has not been written
 (bits 5-0: drive number)
 date and time of first opening (device) or creation (file)
 file size (in Bytes)
 current offset from start (device: characters read/written?)
 machine number in a network, Virtual Machine ID under Windows enhanced
Cmode; Windows itself runs in VM 1, and there is no VM 0 (a VM ID 0,
Ewhich is not displayed here, belongs to a file/device that was opened
before the start of Windows).
AFor the VM ID of this DOS session (if you are under Windows), see
OS type and version.
 owner PSP segment (owner=file/device opener; AUX, CON, PRN: segment of
HIO.SYS/IBMBIO.SYS startup code) plus the owner's name from the MCB which
"should be directly before the PSP.
 Sharing Record address: if SHARE.EXE is loaded, and this field is non-
!zero, some sharing info is shown:
 full pathname of the file
 checksum of the above name
 Record Lock Record address; if existing, for each lock:
 locked region (file offsets)
 SFT pointer
 PSP of owner of the lock
 lock type (lock all accesses or only write accesses)
 SFT address of this file, which is the address of this SFT
 unique sequence number
GThese lines are not shown under Novell DOS 7 because its SHARE does not
;support these fields, or uses an (unknown) internal format.
    See also:
Operating System
Devices / Device Drivers
KThis page displays a list of all devices (device drivers) installed on your
Fsystem. Some are internal to DOS, others are loaded in CONFIG.SYS with
DEVICE=.
The information shown is:
 Device: The name of the driver, if given; a number in () means it is a
Fblock device (like disk drives), and the number is the number of units
inside of the device driver.
 Header: The address where the driver resides.
 Strategy: This is the address used to setup a call.
 Interrupt: The address called to execute a command.
FAlso it is indicated by a * if these are protected mode routines (e.g.
Cunder Windows (95) which may not even reflect This call back to V86
Fmode); this is the case if the byte at the entry point address is 63h,
 the opcode for the ARPL command.
 Attributes: There are 16 bits that define what the driver does.
CNumbering left to right, with left being 15, plus one character for
quick identification:
 15: 1 = character device, 0 = block device
 14: 1 if IOCTL (special commands) are supported
 13: block device:
21 means to use the boot sector to get information,
0 to use media ID byte
character device:
#1 means output until busy supported-
 12: block device: 1 means it is remote (network)
char device:  reserved (0)
 11: 1 if open/close/removable media is supported
 10: reserved (0)
 09: reserved (0); block device: direct I/O not allowed???
$(set by DRIVER.SYS for "new" drives)
 08: reserved (0); see bit 08B
 07: 1 if generic IOCTL check call supported (driver command 19h)<
 06: 1 if generic IOCTL call supported (driver command 13h)
 05: reserved (0)"
 04: 1 if the CON device, and fast output (Int 29h) supported
 03: 1 if the CLOCK$ device
 02: 1 if the NUL device
 01: block device: 1 means 32-bit sector addressing supported.
+char device:  1 means it is standard output!
 00: 1 if device is standard input
Some common driver names:
 AUX, CON, PRN: standard internal devices
 EMMXXXX0: an EMS driver
 XMMXXXX0: an XMS driver
 EMMQXXX0, $MMXXXX0 or &MMXXXX0: disabled EMS driver (no EMS at all, or
'under Windows 3 which supplies its own)
 SMARTAAR: Disk cache (older versions of SmartDrive)
 SETVERXX: SETVER.EXE
    See also:
Operating System
Other Settings
 BREAK: This tells the current state of the BREAK flag (it may be set using
FBREAK ON or BREAK OFF from the command line). If BREAK is off, the key
Icombination Ctrl+Break (or Ctrl+C) which you may interrupt a program with
His only tested on text IO, thus the program may only be interrupted when
.performing such tasks (via the DOS Int21 API).
 VERIFY: This tells the current state of the VERIFY flag (may be set like
JBREAK from the command line); if set to ON, all normal disk and file oper-
Hations (e.g. COPY), are verified by reading and comparing the file after
the operation.
 Current / Default Codepage: This tells the currently selected, and the
'default codepage (selected on startup).
IA codepage is a set of characters with different appearance. This is used
Hmainly to support national language characters; for example, in codepage
H850 (multi-lingual), there are more accented letters for several langua-
Iges; if you use this, some frame characters (those containing both double
Gand single lines) are not available. The codepage normally used is 437.
CIf no additional codepage support is installed, this field says so.
    See also:
Operating System
Windows Version and Flags
IThis page shows what Windows reports as it version, the Windows flags and
directory.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
"Displayed are the following items:
 Windows version (as Windows tells it to Windows programs; 3.10 also for
8Windows/WfW 3.11, and 3.95 for Windows 95 beta versions)
 DOS version
 Flags (a hex dword), with the following meanings:
 b00: Windows running in protected mode (always set in 3.1+)
 b01: CPU is a 286
 b02: CPU is a 386
 b03: CPU is a 486 or better
 b04: Windows running in 286 standard mode
 b05: Windows running in 386 enhanced mode
 b10: system has math coprocessor
 b11: Windows running with paged memory
 b12: (sometimes set under Windows 95: when not based on a complete DOS
+configuration(?), which includes Safe Mode)
 b13: Windows 95 (?)
 other bits: meaning unknown
 Number of tasks
 Win32 System version and Win32s version: Win32 is the 32-bit system of
FWindows NT, Win32s (s=subset) the support for functions callable under
FWindows 3.1x and Windows 95. If not installed, these two lines are not
Hdisplayed at all; otherwise, the Win32 system version should be 1.00 and
Hthe Win32s version the version number of the implementation, for example
1.25.
 Windows directory and
 System directory: These tell the Windows base and system directories,
)usually C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.
    See also:
Operating System
Windows WinOldAp Clipboard
JWINOLDAP is MS Windows' interface for "old" (character-based) DOS applica-
9tions to have access to the clipboard and the GDI driver.
HThe following clipboard data types are known; they are only displayed if
Jthey are currently in the Windows clipboard. The size is obviously rounded
up to a multiple of 32 bytes.
 (01h) text
 (02h) bitmap
 (03h) metafile picture
 (04h) SYLK (Symbolic Link)
 (05h) DIF  (Data Interchange Format)
 (06h) TIFF (Tag Image File Format)
 (07h) OEM text
 (08h) DIB bitmap
 (0Ch) Wave Audio
 (80h) WRITE formatted text
 (81h) DSP text
 (82h) DSP bitmap
LThere are other common types which are not accessible from DOS: Color palet-
:te, Rich Text Format, Native, and OwnerLink, for instance.
JYou may empty the clipboard by selecting (double-click/Ctrl-Enter) the ac-
cording line.
    See also:
WinOldAp GDI
Operating System
Windows WinOldAp GDI
JWINOLDAP is MS Windows' interface for "old" (character-based) DOS applica-
Jtions to have access to the clipboard and the GDI driver. Displayed in the
;menu is also the version of WinOldAp (2.00 in Windows 3.1).
JThe following information about the GDI device driver and its capabilities
8is displayed (normally, this is just your video driver):
 (00h) driver version (the version of Windows the driver was made for)
 (02h) device classification: one of
 (00h) vector plotter
 (01h) raster display
 (02h) raster printer
 (03h) raster camera
 (04h) character-stream, PLP
 (05h) Metafile, VDM
 (06h) display-file
 (04h) width in mm
 (06h) height in mm
 (08h) width in pixels
 (0Ah) height in pixels
 (0Ch) bits per pixel
 (0Eh) number of bit planes
 (10h) number of brushes supported by device
 (12h) number of pens supported by device
 (14h) number of markers supported by device
 (16h) number of fonts supported by device
 (18h) number of colors
 (1Ah) size required for device descriptor
 (1Ch) curve capabilities: displayed is what is supported (bitfield):
 0 - circles
 1 - pie wedges
 2 - chord arcs
 3 - ellipses
 4 - wide lines
 5 - styled lines
 6 - wide styled lines
 7 - interiors
 (1Eh) line capabilities
 0 - ???
 1 - polylines
 2 - markers
 3 - polymarkers
 4-7 as above
 (20h) polygon capabilities
 0 - polygons
 1 - rectangles
 2 - trapezoids
 3 - scanlines
 4-7 as above, for borders
 (22h) text capabilities
 0 - output precision character
 1 - output precision stroke
 2 - clipping precision stroke
 3 - 90-degree character rotation
 4 - arbitrary character rotation
 5 - independent X and Y scaling
 6 - double-size
 7 - integer scaling
 8 - continuous scaling
 9 - bold
 10 - italic
 11 - underline
 12 - strikeout
 13 - raster fonts
 14 - vector fonts
 15 - reserved
 (24h) clipping capabilities
 00h = none,
 01h = clipping to rectangles
 (26h) bitblt capabilities (BIT BLock Transfer)
 0 - simple bitBLT
 1 - device requires banding support
 2 - device requires scaling support
 3 - supports >64K bitmap
GThose capabilities not supported by the driver have to be calculated by
HWindows and split into single simple commands which then are sent to the
driver.
 (28h) X aspect
 (2Ah) Y aspect
 (2Ch) length of hypotenuse of aspect
 (58h) logical pixels per inch of width
 (5Ah) logical pixels per inch of height
    See also:
WinOldAp Clipboard
Operating System
Virtual Device Drivers
LHere you see some of the VxD's of Windows 386 enhanced mode that are instal-
Jled on your system and currently running; only those that have a real mode
IAPI are (can be) shown. (The name "VxD" comes from "Virtual xxx Driver".)
@The VxD API address is queried via the Int2Fh AX=1684h function.'
5For more about existing VxDs, see the Interrupt List.
JFollowing is a list of the VxDs recognized by agSI; those denoted with a *
Khave only a protected mode API and are not checked for if you have disabled
8using protected mode (see command line, Options dialog).
 VMM,      ID 0001h           Virtual Machine Manager
 VPICD,    ID 0003h, version  PIC=Programmable Interrupt Controller
 VTD,      ID 0005h, version  Timer
 displayed is:
 the time Windows is active
 the active time of this virtual machine
*(where it actually had CPU time available)
 REBOOT,   ID 0009h         * Ctrl-Alt-Del handler
 VDD,      ID 000Ah           Virtual Display Device (GRABBER)
 displayed is the level of video virtualization: none, fully, or separ-
Aately for text modes, single-plane and multi-plane graphics modes
 VMD,      ID 000Ch, version  Mouse
 VKD,      ID 000Dh         * Keyboard
 VCD,      ID 000Eh         * COMM
 VPD,      ID 000Fh         * Printer
 IOS,      ID 0010h         * DOS386 IOS Device (Windows95 version)
 VMCPD,    ID 0011h           Math CoProcessor
 DOSMGR,   ID 0015h, version  DOS Manager: DOS data instancing
 SHELL,    ID 0017h, ver.?  * SHELL (Windows module)
 VNETWARE, ID 001Ah           Novell NetWare DOSNET replacement; DOSNET
has no real-mode API
 VFD,      ID 001Bh           Floppy
 WINDEBUG, ID 001Dh         * Debugger support (also TDDebug)
 PageFile, ID 0021h, ver.?  * Paging File (Swap file) device
 VXDLDR,   ID 0027h           (Windows for Workgroups (WfW) 3.11)
 NDIS,     ID 0028h           (Network Driver Interface Spec.; WfW 3.11)
 VWIN32,   ID 002Ah           (Windows 95 Win32 interface)
 VCOMM,    ID 002Bh           (WfW 3.11)
 W32S,     ID 002Dh, ver.?  * Win32s
 MACH32,   ID 0030h         * ATI Mach32 video card
 SERVER,   ID 0032h           Int21 File Server (WfW 3.11)
 CONFIGMG, ID 0033h           Configuration manager (Windows 95)
 VCMD/DWCFGMG,0034h, ver.   * Plug-and-Play configuration manager
 number of identified devices; for more details, see the Hardware menu
 VFBACKUP, ID 0036h           (Windows 95)
 VCOND,    ID 0038h           (Windows 95)
 VPMTD,    ID 003Ah           IFAX Scheduler Device (WfW 3.11)
 DSVXD,    ID 003Bh           DoubleSpace VxD from MS-DOS v6.x
 IFSMGR,   ID 0040h           Installable File System Manager
 VIPX,     ID 0200h           NetWare Virtual IPX Driver
 WINICE,   ID 0202h           SoftICE/W
 BCW,      ID 0205h           Nu-Mega Bounds Checker for Windows
 DPMS,     ID 0207h           Novell DOS Protected Mode Services
 VCOMMUTE, ID 0234h           PC Tools Commute
 VNWD,     ID 02DEh, version  Novell DOS 7
 VTDAPI,   ID 0442h         * MMSys Win386 VTAPI Device
 VSBD,     ID 0445h           Sound Blaster
 VADLIBD,  ID 0446h           AdLib
 mmdevldr, ID 044Ah           MultiMedia Device Loader
 mssblst,  ID 044Eh           MS SoundBlaster
 VflatD,   ID 045Dh, ver.   * dva.386, part of Win32s
 UNIMODEM, ID 0460h         *
 VNetSup,  ID 0480h           Virtual Net Support (WfW 3.11)
 VSHARE,   ID 0483h, version  Windows for Workgroups Virtual SHARE
 IFSMgr,   ID 0484h           Installable File System Manager (WfW 3.11)
 VFAT,     ID 0486h           Win386 HPFS Driver (WfW 3.11)
 VCACHE,   ID 048Bh           Virtual File Cache (WfW 3.11)
 RASMAC,   ID 048Dh           enhanced mode WfW RASMAC device
 VSWITCHD, ID 0750h           to tell DOS apps if they are windowed
 the state of this DOS box is displayed
 VMB,      ID 1021h           Microsoft C/C++ 7.00 WXSRVR
 VPFD,     ID 1022h           Microsoft C/C++ 7.00
 MMD,      ID 1025h           Microsoft C/C++ 8.00, Visual C/C++ 1.00
 PIPE,     ID 2020h           by Thomas W. Olson, in Win/DOS DevJrn 5/92
 VADLIBWD, ID 21EAh         * Adlib Waveform Driver by John Ridges
 VFINTD,   ID 2200h, version  Norton VFINTD (Norton Desktop)
 VNSS,     ID 24A0h         * Norton Screen Saver (Norton Desktop)
 VNDWD,    ID 24A1h           Norton VNDWD Device (Norton Desktop)
 SYMEvent, ID 24A2h           Norton Utilities v8
 VILD,     ID 2540h           INTERLNK client from MS-DOS v6.x
 VASBID,   ID 2640h         * WinResKit: Artisoft Sounding Board Device
 FBW_VXD,  ID 2760h, version  FastBack for Windows
 COMMTASK, ID 2860h         * Windows 386-mode preemptive tasker by James
#A. Kenemuth of Interabang Computing
 PharLap,  ID 28A1h           PharLap 386|DOS-Extender DOSXNT.386
 VXD,      ID 28C0h           Generic VxD for real and protected mode by
$Andrew Schulman in MSJ February 1993
 EDOS,     ID 2925h           Enhanced DOS by Firefly Software
 VSBPD,    ID 292Dh           Sound Blaster Pro
 VCAD,     ID 304Ch           Plug and Play Configuration Access
 WPS,      ID 310Eh, ver.   * MS DevNet CD-ROM: Windows Process Status
 LMOUSE,   ID 318Ah           Logitech Mouse
 VFRAD,    ID 32CBh           Dr.Franz - Simulatan's diagnotics VFRAD.386
 POSTMSG,  ID 4321h
 SIWVID,   ID 7A5Fh           Soft-ICE for Windows video driver
 VWFD,     ID 7FE0h           to tell DOS apps if they are (w)indowed or
+(f)ull-screen; by Neil Sandlin of Microsoft
 VWATCHD,  ID 7FE1h           basic driver w/ no functionality except
%tracing by Keith Jin of Microsoft PSS
 VFINTD,   ID 7FE5h           Virtual Floppy Interrupt trapper by Neil
Sandlin of Microsoft
 VMPAGES,  ID 7FE7h           demonstration of exporting VxD services, by
Neil Sandlin of Microsoft
 VPOSTD,   ID 7FE8h          PostMessage() demo by Curtis J. Palmer of MS
    See also:
Operating System
Windows System Parameters
LThis page lists some of Windows' system parameters, most of which can be set
in the control panel.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
"Displayed are the following items:
 Error beep (on/off)
 window border size (in pixels)
 fast task switch (on/off)
 grid granularity
 icon title wrap (on/off)
 keyboard delay
 keyboard speed
 menu drop alignment (left/right)
 mouse threshold 1
 mouse threshold 2
 mouse speed
 screen saver active (yes/no)
 screen saver time-out (in seconds)
 horizontal icon spacing (in pixels)
 vertical icon spacing (in pixels)
<Note: A value of 0 in "strange" places mean "not activated".
    See also:
Operating System
Paging File (Swap File)
IThis page lists information about Windows' swap file if paging support is&
9installed; this support is done by a VxD called PAGEFILE.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
"Displayed are the following items:
 PAGEFILE driver version: 1.10 in WfW 3.11
 paging type: one out of
 no paging
 temporary paging file
 permanent paging file
 if paging: the access method: one out of
 via MS-DOS (temporary file)
;(Win95: maybe also when 32-bit access, dynamical swap file)
 via BIOS (permanent file)
 32-bit disk access (permanent file)
 flags: a hex byte, normally zero; if bit 7 is set: swap file is corrupt
 size: (in KB)
+if temporary file: maximum and current size
if permanent file: size
 swap file name: for permanent files, this is usually D:\386SPART.PAR
$where D: is the drive the file is on
 if permanent file: parameter file name: usually SPART.PAR in the Windows
    directory
    See also:
Operating System
SHELL (Windows Module)
BThis page lists information about Windows' SHELL module (its VxD).
IThis means NOT the program you are using as shell (e.g. Program Manager).
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
"Displayed are the following items:
 SHELL version number
!System VM (Virtual Machine) info:
 flags (bit 0 would be set if it would be executing exclusively)
 background and
 foreground time slice priority (1..10000)
 minimum time slice in milliseconds (ms; 1..10000)
L(The System VM is where both the Windows system and Windows applications are
.running; DOS boxes are executed in other VMs.)
    See also:
Operating System
Windows Resources and Memory
/This page shows what's free in Windows' memory.
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
"Displayed are the following items:
 free global heap memory (in bytes and KB)
 total number of items in global heap
 number of free items
 number of least-recently-used (LRU) items
 free System,
 GDI, and
 User resources (in percent)
?(The "system" resources are the lower of the two other values.)
    See also:
Operating System
Windows Tasks and Modules
GThis page shows the active tasks (programs) in Windows, and the modules
,(such as DLLs, parts of the programs, etc.).
.This item requires agSI\WinServ to be running.
"Displayed are the following items:
 Tasks:
 number of tasks
 a table: name, task handle, parent task handle, module handle (see be-
Ilow), events pending for this task, PSP (Program Segment Prefix; Real and
HProtected Mode), size of this PSP, and type, which is empty for "normal"
F16-bit Windows tasks, "Win32" for 32-bit ones, and "DOS" for DOS apps.
Notes:
 DOS boxes are shown as WINOLDAP (which is the interface between Win-
dows and a DOS box).
H("DOS" in the Type column is, by the way, taken from the Windows PSP and
"independent of the name WINOLDAP.)
 When updating, the order of some tasks in the list may change.
 ~Modules:
 number of modules
 a table: module name, module handle (cf. above), usage (tasks/modules re-!
>ferring to this module), and path name of the executable file.
    See also:
Operating System
DOS Memory
JThis item lists the usage of the DOS memory, i.e. installed programs, used
interrupts, etc.
    See also:
DOS Memory info list
Memory
LXMS Memory                                     (only available if installed)
HThis item shows information about the installed XMS memory manager (like
HIMEM) and XMS memory.
    See also:
XMS Memory info list
Memory
LEMS Memory                                     (only available if installed)
HThis item shows information about the installed EMS memory manager (like
EMM386) and EMS memory.
    See also:
EMS Memory info list
Memory
LMemory Manager                                 (only available if installed)
JThis item shows information about a memory manager that supports a certain
>IOCTL interface (Microsoft EMM386.EXE v4.45+ and CEMM v5.10+).
    See also:
Memory Manager info list
Memory
LMicrosoft EMM386.EXE v4.45+                    (only available if installed)
KThis item shows information about later versions of Microsoft's EMM386.EXE.
    See also:
Microsoft EMM386 info list
Memory
LNovell EMM386.EXE                              (only available if installed)
?This item shows information about the EMM386 from Novell DOS 7.
    See also:
Novell EMM386 info list
Memory
LQuarterdeck QEMM-386                           (only available if installed)
'This item shows information about QEMM.
    See also:
QEMM info list
Memory
LHelix Software's RM386 / Micronics MICEMM      (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about RM386 from Helix's Netroom, or MICEMM from
some Micronics boards.
    See also:
RM386 info list
Memory
LDOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI)            (only available if installed)
'This item shows information about DPMI.
    See also:
DPMI info list
Memory
LNovell DOS Protected Mode Services (DPMS)      (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about DPMS from Novell DOS (which also run under
MS-DOS).
    See also:
DPMS info list
Memory
LVirtual Control Program Interface (VCPI)       (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about the VCPI (which offers more than just mem-
Jory control, but as it is implemented by memory managers like EMM386, it's
listed here).
    See also:
VCPI info list
Memory
Memory Map
6This item shows an overview over your system's memory.
    See also:
Memory Map info list
Memory
Memory Speed
GThis item shows speed comparisons of the parts of your system's memory.
LThe speed test won't run under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode because you wouldn't
$get reasonable timing results there.
    See also:
Memory Speed info list
Memory
RAM/ROM Extensions
BThis item shows supposed RAM and ROM extensions (like a VGA BIOS).
    See also:
RAM/ROM Extensions info list
Memory
LMemory Dump                                                            Alt-D
JThis item opens a window where you can browse through your system's memory
(the first MB).
    See also:
The memory dump window
Memory
DOS Memory
IThis gives
 somewhat like the MEM command
 an overview over free memory
:and the installed programs, plus the interrupts they hook.
 Displayed in the table are Total free memory and largest free block for
Lboth low DOS (conventional) and upper (UMB) memory, and both together; these
Kincluded is the memory used by agSI and its environment itself (which would
"be free if agSI were not running).
 UMBs linked? Tells the UMB link state, that is, whether UMBs are searched
Kwhen a memory block is allocated. Normally "No", but the LOADHIGH (LH) com-
"mand sets it temporarily to "yes".
KNote that UMBs are only present in DOS 5 and above, in an OS/2 DOS session,
!or with some memory managers (?).
 The list lists the memory control blocks (MCBs) and their owners, with its
Jstart segment (hex), the size (in bytes), the owner (DOS, the program, En-
Jvironment of ..., "free" or ?), the command line (where applicable) or the
Gowner (if environment; in hex), and (in the lines following) the hooked
interrupts (in hex).
JThe list includes the HMA (High Memory Area) at segment FFFFh (if used) if
Ka known scheme is used for its control blocks, i.e. under DR-DOS/Novell DOS
Land MS-DOS 7 (Windows 95), showing offset, size, and usage (MS-DOS: only ID,
=usually "MS"; under Novell DOS, probably not the DOS kernel).
INote that, though added to "free memory", the blocks used by agSI are not
@displayed as "free", but
 just like other programs
 as "AGSI".
IUnder DOS 4 and above, the first DOS Data block (in low as well as in UMB
Hmemory) is separated into sub-blocks, listing stuff from the CONFIG.SYS,
Jalso are DOS-owned blocks displayed as either "Code" or "Data"; if you get
K"DOS: ?x?", this is an unknown code letter x (not "C" or "D"). Novell DOS 7
Kalso uses some blocks (in upper memory) like normal programs using the name
I"DOS", and "DOS7:Data" shows device drivers in upper memory; Novell DOS 7
.uses a different method here than MS-DOS does.
K(What looks like an IFS driver "O.SYS" under MS-DOS 7 / Windows 95, is rep-
Lorted by MEM as "relocated EBIOS data", den "IFS driver" DRVSPACE as "sector
Kbuffer", and an unnamed IFS driver as "block device tables" (so is it on my
Hsystem). It seems DOS7/Win95 ignores the Name field in the MCB for these
,special uses and leaves whatever was there.)
    See also:
Memory
)XMS Memory, eXtended Memory Specification
HIn opposite to normal Extended Memory, XMS provides controlled using and
Jsharing extended memory via EMB's (Extended Memory Blocks) and works (like
IEMS) with handles given to an application by the XMS manager (e.g. HIMEM.
4SYS), but is not accessible only in pages, like EMS.
Following items are displayed:
 XMS specification version
 driver version (revision)
 A20 address line status (on or off; may be switched off to emulate an
58088/8086 and is normally on today (on 286+ systems))
 HMA existing? (to see if it's used by DOS, see OS/In HMA?)
 total available XMS memory (in kbytes)
 the largest free block of XMS memory available (in kbytes)
+If XMS 3.0+ is installed, on a 386+ system:
 total available SXMS memory (with 32bit access; in k)
 the largest free block of SXMS
 the physical address of the highest byte in memory
:(that's at least what it should be
 I only get 00000000).
JSXMS is "Super XMS" and an extension to the normal XMS specification which
Auses 32bit registers thus allowing more than 64 MB of XMS memory.
4If HIMEM.SYS (or a compatible driver?) is installed:
 handler (/MACHINE switch)
 list
 AT A20 switch time: Tells the time a switch of the A20 address line takes
 (on ATs): Fast, Medium, or Slow.
;If HIMEM.SYS v3.09 (from MS-DOS 6.0) or above is installed:
 address of handle table
 version flag (hex; 01 in v3.09 and 3.10)
 maximum number of handles (/numhandles= switch, default 32)
 number of currently used handles, and a list of these handles:
 handle number (hex)
 starting linear address in kBytes (hex)
 size (in k)
 "locked" if this block is locked, i.e. may not be moved
FNote that if you are running Windows, XMS version may be "2.0" (driver
L2.05), but HIMEM 3.09+ tells the handles; these will all be marked as "used"
even if their size is 0 k.
) Note: It seems the Microsoft programmers can't make their mind up which
Lversion format (BCD or binary) to use: the HIMEM.SYS of MS-DOS 6.22, the MEM
Kcommand of which tells "3.16" (i.e. binary interpretation), explicitly con-
Itains a string with "3.10" (i.e. BCD), and that's what agSI reports; how-
Lever, inside a Windows 95 (Preview) DOS box, the value would be a "3.5F" BCD
1which is "3.95" (like with some other modules)...
    See also:
Memory
Handler (/MACHINE: switch)
!Code         Number   System type
0at            1       IBM AT or 100% compatibles
ps2           2       IBM PS/2
*ptlcascade    3       Phoenix Cascade BIOS
(hpvectra      4       HP Vectra (A & A+)
$att6300plus   5       AT&T 6300 Plus
acer1100      6       Acer 1100
+toshiba       7       Toshiba 1600 & 1200XE
'wyse          8       Wyse 12,5 MHz 286
tulip         9       Tulip SX
"zenith       10       Zenith ZBIOS
1at1          11       IBM PC/AT (alternate delay)
1at2          12       IBM PC/AT (alternate delay)
css          12       CSS Labs
1at3          13       IBM PC/AT (alternate delay)
philips      13       Philips
fasthp       14       HP Vectra
ibm7552      15       IBM 7552
$bullmicral   16       Bull Micral 60
 dell         17       Dell XBIOS
1(Taken from the MS-DOS 6.0 online documentation.)
)EMS memory, Expanded
Memory
Specification
GThis is a standard by Lotus, Intel and Microsoft
 often referred to as
L'LIM'
 for providing more memory for applications by mapping in some memory
Hin 16 or 64k pages to an address (called the page frame) within the 1meg
Haddress space in order to enable even normal programs to use the memory.
KThis works even on PCs and XTs with an 8088/8086 with special memory cards,
Eor with an EMS software emulator for 80386+ systems, e.g. EMM386.EXE.
"The following items are displayed:
 LIM EMS specification version (usually 3.2 or 4.0)
!(most applications only need 3.2)
 total EMS memory (in k)
 free EMS memory (in k)
 page frame address (hex),
,the segment where EMS pages are made visible
 the number of active handles
 the handles themselves, their name (if any; not LIM 3.x), and their size
(in k)
    See also:
Memory
Memory Manager
IThis is displayed when a (expanded) memory manager supporting these three
LIOCTL calls is installed (EMM386 4.45+, CEMM 5.1+, QEMM-386 6+); this inter-
@face is mainly intended for use by Microsoft Windows at startup.
KThis interface seems not to be supported this way by EMM386 from Novell DOS
IThese calls seem to be available also when no EMS is provided, then using
!"EMMQXXX0" instead of "EMMXXXX0".
The items displayed are:
(command 0)
 Version Flag? (0022h for CEMM 5.11, 0025h for MS EMM386 v4.45/4.48)
 Private API entry point
(command 1)#
 Physical (absolute) address of Global EMM Import Structure
(used for Windows at startup)
 Version of EMM Import Structure:
 v1.00 contains only EMS information (Windows 3.0+)
 v1.10 contains UMB/XMS/HMA/EMS information (Windows 3.1)
 v1.11 is v1.10 plus memory manager maker/product name
(command 2)
 EMM version
(command 4)*
 If there's code/data of EMM386 in the UMB, then these two lines tell the
3segment and size (in paragraphs) of this code/data.
KNote: It seems these calls don't return meaningful values under Windows 95.
Detection: IOCTL "EMMXXXX0"
    See also:
Memory
Microsoft EMM386.EXE
KThis is Microsoft's Expanded Memory Manager (which also implements UMBs) in
Iit's newer .EXE versions (EMM386 version 4.20 and above) as it comes with
LWindows 3.1 (version 4.44) and MS-DOS 6.0 (version 4.45) (or MS-DOS 6.2 with
v4.48).
Displayed are:
 the version
 the entry point
 the status (ON, OFF, or AUTO)
 whether a Weitek coprocessor is present
if yes:
 whether Weitek support is on or off
) (if it could be found out: the segment of the entry point is scanned for
Ithe string 'MICROSOFT           EMM386 ' (11 blanks) which is followed by
Jthe version string, e.g. '4.48', 9 blanks and an ASCII zero
 I don't know
Lif this is and will be true for all versions, but it is the case in all that
!are known to me
 4.4? to 4.95).)
LDetection: Int67/FFA5h (this call is available even if EMM386 is not provid-
ing EMS)
    See also:
Memory
Novell DOS EMM386.EXE
HThis is Novell's edition of a not only Expanded Memory Manager, but also
7includes functionality Microsoft included in HIMEM.SYS.
Displayed is:
 the signature (should be EDC0h)
 the EMM386 variant:
 2 = DPMI/VCPI disabled
 3 = DPMI/VCPI enabled
 the version? (0300h=3.00, but also for version 3.03...)
 the segment of EMM's low-memory stub
EIf the Video Memory Space Control call is supported (it normally is);
 like with the command MEMMAX /V:
 the segment of reserved video memory
 the segment of used video memory
 the segment of the first upper memory control block (MCB)
KThere is also a state record available through IOCTL "EMMXXXX0" which, how-
Kever, contains the above signature EDC0h plus 60 other bytes the meaning of
?which is yet unknown (on my system: most 0, some FFh, one 1)...
Detection: Int2F/12FFh,BX=0106h
+BX=0006h for the Video Memory Space Control
    See also:
Memory
Quarterdeck QEMM-386
KQEMM386 is a memory manager (like EMM386 that comes with DOS) with some en-
3hanced features. Displayed are the following items:
 API entry point
 version
 status (ON/OFF, AUTO)
 memory total and free
 maximum physical address
 first MCB in HIRAM (i.e. first program address used in upper memory)
 Memory type map (first MB)
 memory access status (first MB)
 memory usage statistics
 Stealth type: either 0=none, M=Memory, F=Frame, P=Protect, or unknown;
GStealth is a technique to place upper memory "above" the ROM BIOS, thus
%"hiding" the BIOS from direct access.
Detection: IOCTL "QEMM386$"
    See also:
Memory
1Helix Software's Netroom RM386 / Micronics MICEMM
IRM386 is a memory manager (like EMM386 that comes with DOS) with some en-
Ghanced features (MICEMM is an OEM version(?) for some Micronics mother-
boards).
"Displayed are the following items:
 Code segment of RM386
 size (code plus data)
 allocated EMS handles (if any)
 global I/O port trapping, and
 interrupt used for this
 Global flags:
 V86 mode
 386 or higher CPU
 A20 enabled at start-up
 large frame
 PS/2-style A20 control
 HMA in use
 XMS present
 using XMS driver memory
 A20 global enable flag
 A20 flag
 and many other configuration flags, if set
Detection: Int67/5BF0h
    See also:
Memory
#DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI)
JMainly developped internally by Microsoft for use in Windows 3.0, but pub-
Ilished 1990 in a DPMI Comittee (with Borland, Intel, Eclipse, IBM, Lotus,
LPharLap, Quarterdeck and Rational Systems). DPMI is, basically, an interface
Lfor protected mode services for protected mode programs; it is more flexible
 and far more powerful than VCPI.
0Displayed is from the real-mode Int2F interface:
 DPMI version (widely spread is 0.90, OS/2 implements 0.95)
 type (the 'bandwidth') of applications supported (32bit or only 16bit)
 CPU type told by the DMPI server: 286, 386, or 486; Pentiums seem to be
reported also as 486-type.
IUnless disabled (see command line, Options dialog), these are the results
Hfrom switching to protected mode and gathering some information from the
protected mode API of DPMI:
 DPMI version (should be the same as above)
 flags: eight (of 16) bits with the following meaning:
 implementation type: same as 'bandwidth' above
 virtual8086 mode: if not, DPMI switches to real mode for interrupts
 virtual memory support (yes or no)
 bit 3 is reserved (undefined), bits 4..15 reserved (zero)
 buffer size for state saving: when using "raw" switching between real and
Eprotected mode, the state of CPU/DPMI is needed to be saved when this
field is non-zero
 base interrupt of master and slave virtual interrupt controller (hex);
see also VCPI
 entry point addresses for both real and protected mode for:
 save/restore state (if buffer size above is 0, this call does nothing)
 raw mode switch
 largest available block of DPMI memory, in bytes
+If virtual memory is supported (see above):
 page size (in bytes)
 maximum unlocked page allocation
 maximum locked page allocation
 total linear address space
 free linear address space
 total unlocked pages
 free pages
 total physical pages
 size of swap file/partition'
HIf installed/supported, the following vendor-specific APIs are detected:
 "MS-DOS"     MS Windows, 386MAX v6.00+ and Novell DOS EMM386
 "386MAX"     386MAX v6.00+
 "HELIX_DPMI" Helix Netroom's DPMI server
 "Phar Lap"   Phar Lap 286|DOS-Extender RUN286
Detection: Int2F/1687h
    See also:
Memory
)Novell DOS Protected Mode Services (DPMS)
LDOS extension services from Novell DOS 7.0 which allow drivers/programs/TSRs
Lto use some extended memory, leaving more low or UMB memory free (also works
*under MS-DOS, and comes with Stacker 4.0).
;DPMS Server Structure (from the Novell DOS 7.0 release on):
 DPMS signature and version (should be "DPMS 1.00")
 OEM server name and version ("Novell 1.02" in the (German) general re-
lease version)
 CPU type (286, or 386+; also higher values allowed)
 Flags: none, or some of the below:
 fast processor reset available (286 only)
 DPMS server is enabled
 memory is remapped
 From registering a client and calling the API:
 largest free memory block accessible via DPMS
 largest mappable block size (if supplied)
 actual API addresses (Real, 16bit and 32bit Protected Mode)
E(returned by "Register Client" are pieces of code which normally con-
tain the following:
CALL FAR <adr>
XCHG BX,BX
$RET or RETF  <
 to be set by client
Awhere <adr> is a FWORD PTR (xxxx:xxxxxxxx) in the 32bit case; all
5this, by the way, occupies 8 (32bit: 10) bytes each.)
KRegistration Structure (in pre-Novell DOS 7.0 beta specifications, but also
Lsupported in Novell DOS 7.0 general release, but not anymore in the DPMS.EXE
"v1.1 from the v3 update (D70U03)):
 DPMS version
 Server OEM name (max 8 characters)
 CPU type (286, or 386 or higher)
 real-mode and
 16bit protected mode API entry point
 largest free memory block accessible via DPMS
Detection: Int2F/43E0h
    See also:
Memory
(Virtual Control Program Interface (VCPI)
IThis is a standard mainly for using 80386/486 several programs working in
Iprotected mode (DOS extenders, multitaskers, memory managers,...) without
Jinterfering each other, declared 1989 by some software companies under the
Jlead of PharLap (writing DOS-Extenders) and Quarterdeck (who presented the
Imultitasker DESQview and the memory manager QEMM), and supported today by
9many memory managers, etc, also in DOS 5.0+'s EMM386.EXE.
Displayed are:
 VCPI specification version (normally 1.0)
 the maximum physical memory address
/(a 32bit hex value, 00FFF000 on my 16MB system)
 the number of free 4K pages and its equivalent in kbytes
 the interrupt vector mapping of the Interrupt Controller 8259, the master
F(for IRQ0-7) and the slave (IRQ8-15), which is connected to the master
Hvia IRQ2, i.e. the first interrupts they use (remapping of the master is
Gnecessary to avoid CPU exceptions messing with the hardware interrupts;
Fhowever, Microsoft's EMM386 seems to use the real-mode standard 08 for
the master).
 the Virtual8086-mode segment to physical address mapping, which displays
Ewhich physical addresses are accessed when a V86Mode program accesses
Hits memory; usually, the main memory is not remapped, but, for instance,
FUMB is provided by mapping in extended memory, and the MS-EMM386 hooks
Fthe reset address in the ROM-BIOS (F000:FFF0) to itself by remapping a
small segment.
 the value of Control Register 0 (CR0), plus the meanings of the bits set;
Ecapital letters tell the abbreviation of the bit name. The used bits:
 b31, PG: paging enabled
 b29, WT: write through
 b18, AM: align mask set
 b16, WP: write protect enabled
 b6,  NE: numeric exceptions
 b4,  ET: extension type
 b3,  TS: task switched
 b2,  EM: emulate coprocessor
 b1,  MP: monitor coprocessor
 b0,  PE: protected enabled (
 virtual 8086 mode)
Detection: Int67/DE00h
    See also:
IRQ assignments
Memory
Memory Map
Not yet implemented......
    See also:
Memory
Memory Speed
HThis page compares the read access speeds of the various regions of your
*system's memory below 1 MB in 16-KB steps.
KDisplayed is the start (decimal in KB and the hexadecimal segment start ad-
Ldress), the size (in KB) of the same speed (within a certain tolerance), the
Lbandwidth (8, 16, or 32-bit), and the relative speed (percentage and a bar),
Kthe fastest being 100% (concerning the fastest possible way of access, i.e.
L16 bit for antique 286's and 32 bit for the rest; please allow timing-depen-
0dent differences in the range of a few percent).
KPlease note: The bandwidth is called lower than 32-bit if, within a reason-
Hable tolerance, the 32-bit throughput is NOT twice the 16-bit throughput
H(analogue for 16 and 8). However, especially on modern computers, 16-bit
Kaccess is FASTER than the half of 32-bit access due to chipset-internal op-
Jtimizations, so don't worry if your brand-new P6 shows regions of 8 or 16-
"bit memory, that's not the case...
GAlso note that the graphics region of video memory (A000h) may be shown
Lpretty slow, even on modern cards... probably because *reading* video memory
:is not needed to be fast, writing is all that's important.
LThe speed test won't run under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode because you wouldn't
$get reasonable timing results there.
    See also:
Memory
RAM & ROM Extensions
LThis displays the addresses and sizes of RAM and ROM extensions, such as VGA
LBIOS ROM (usually C0000-C7FFF); your video card's display memory is (normal-
ly) not displayed.
BUMBs (Upper Memory Blocks) are usually displayed as RAM extension.
FIf for an expansion ROM (for a hard disk controller, for instance) the
Ichecksum check is wrong, this may be caused by using parts of the address
Jspace of the ROM as UMB (or coincidentally there are the same bytes at the
Istart of a 16K segment as are used for ROMs, but that's pretty unlikely).
JNote that a ROM extension may also appear as a RAM extension [I don't know
yet why...].
    See also:
Memory
LMouse Driver                                   (only available if installed)
=This item shows information about the installed mouse driver.
    See also:
Mouse driver info list
    Software
LAlternate Multiplex Interrupt Spec. (AMIS)     (only available if installed)
HThis item shows information about the AMIS (which use Int2Dh) which were&
Lproposed by Ralf Brown (see also the Interrupt List) due to the multitude of
8programs using the original Multiplex Interrupt, Int2Fh.
    See also:
AMIS info list
    Software
LAdvanced Power Management (APM)                (only available if installed)
4This item shows information about the APM functions.
    See also:
APM info list
    Software
LAPPEND                                         (only available if installed)
9This item shows information about the DOS utility APPEND.
    See also:
APPEND info list
    Software
LASSIGN                                         (only available if installed)
9This item shows information about the DOS utility ASSIGN.
    See also:
ASSIGN info list
    Software
LCOMM-DRV                                       (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about the universal serial communications driver
    COMM-DRV.
    See also:
COMM-DRV info list
    Software
LFOSSIL                                         (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about the communications driver standard FOSSIL.
    See also:
FOSSIL info list
    Software
LHyperWare Products                             (only available if installed)
HThis item shows information about products from HyperWare, Inc., such as
 HyperDisk
 HyperStb
 HyperScreen
 HyperKey+
<For information about HyperDisk, see also Drives/Disk Cache.
    See also:
HyperWare info list
    Software
LKEYB                                           (only available if installed)
7This item shows information about the DOS utility KEYB.
    See also:
KEYB info list
    Software
LNetwork                                        (only available if installed)
JThis item shows information about some certain networks (i.e. most PC net-
$works); including some NetBIOS info.
    See also:
Network info list
    Software
LPrScr (ag)                                     (only available if installed)
3This item shows information about my utility PrScr.
    See also:
PrScr info list
    Software
LRahmen (ag)                                    (only available if installed)
GThis item shows information about my utility Rahmen (German for frame).
    See also:
Rahmen info list
    Software
LSETVER                                         (only available if installed)
9This item shows information about the DOS utility SETVER.
    See also:
SETVER info list
    Software
LSHARE                                          (only available if installed)
8This item shows information about the DOS utility SHARE.
    See also:
SHARE info list
    Software
LTaskMAX                                        (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about the DR-DOS/NovellDOS task manager TaskMAX.
    See also:
TaskMAX info list
    Software
LTBScanX                                        (only available if installed)
IThis item shows information about the resident virus scanning module from
ThunderByte.
    See also:
TBScanX info list
    Software
LVirtual DMA Specification (VDS)                (only available if installed)
GThis item shows information about this standard for DMA virtualization.
    See also:
VDS info list
    Software
Others
KThis item shows a list with other installed programs with no additional in-
formation.
    See also:
Others info list
    Software
Mouse Driver
:The following items are displayed about your mouse driver:
H(Note: depending of the version and of your driver, not all items may be
displayed.)
 driver version (as compatible to Microsoft's version numbering)
 number of buttons the driver thinks the mouse has
 mouse type (connection) (Bus, serial, InPort, PS/2)
 the IRQ (Interrupt ReQuest) used (e.g. 4 for 1st serial port; 0 for PS/2
mice)
 SYS or COM version
 if it's a newer integrated type: number of currently-active MDDs
(Mouse Display Drivers)
 some flags for OS/2 (if OS/2 is running; due to reentrancy problems):
 cursor lock flag
 mouse code active flag
 mouse driver busy
 the interrupt rate (none, 30/50/100/200 per second, or unknown)
 the size of the buffer needed to store the driver state
 the number of supported video modes
 in the sub-window, you see a list of the supported video modes, in hexa-
decimal values
Dynamical information:
 current X and Y position: a multiple of the cell size in text mode
G(typically 8x8); should then be in the range of 0;0 (upper left corner)
to 632;192 (lower right)
 button state: a hex value with the following bit meanings:
 bit 0: =1 if left button pressed
!bit 1: =1 if right button pressed
Dbit 2: =1 if middle button pressed (Mouse Systems/Logitech/Genius ?)
3(e.g. "0003" would mean left+right button pressed);
Virtual coordinates:
 X and Y range of coordinates (normally 0..639;0..199)
 the language (if no US-only driver)
 the MOUSE.INI file (Microsoft v8.00+)
 even if it doesn't exist -
Sensitivity:
 horizontal and vertical speed
 double speed threshold
Acceleration profiles:
 the currently-active acceleration profile number
 the address of the profile data
 in the sub-window you see the name, threshold speeds and speedup factors
for the four possible profiles
$If LCD screen large pointer support:
 pointer style (normal/reverse/transparent)
 size (small "1"/medium "1.5"/large "2")
 threshold
 active flag
 delay
+If it's a Logitech driver (v6.10 or above):
 Logitech's version
 ballistics status (on/off) and level (low/high)
 left/right parameter
 compass parameter (north/south/east/west)
J(Older Logitech versions should be also identified as Logitech if they are
(the first active interrupt 33h handler.)
And finally:
 version/copyright number or string, e.g. "LOGITECH MOUSE DRIVER V6.42"
5(which is, in this example, followed by CR/LF/" CSS")
 the Microsoft copyright string "*** This is Copyright 1983 Microsoft ***"
Ireportedly expected by some (possibly older) programs; the Logitech mouse
8driver contains the following text ahead of this string:
C"This is a LOGITECH mouse driver, but some software expect here the
following string:"
Gboth also supported by Logitech, Kraft, Genius Mouse, and Mouse Systems
mouse drivers
    See also:
    Software
2Alternate Multiplex Interrupt Specification (AMIS)
Detection: Int2D/AH=0-FFh
    See also:
    Software
APPEND
+APPEND defines search paths for data files.
KDisplayed are its version, its status, whether it shall start the directory
Isearch even if a drive is specified, the active flags (/E, /X, and /PATH)
6set from the command line, and the active APPEND path.
Detection: Int2F/B7xxh
    See also:
    Software
ASSIGN
KDOS's drive name assignment utility, displayed with the assigment list (MS-
GDOS version 5.0 and below; since 6.0 only on the "Supplementary Disk").
Detection: Int2F/0600h
    See also:
    Software
COMM-DRV v14.0
ICOMM-DRV is a universal serial communications driver by Willies' Computer6
LSoftware Company, which supports standard INT 14 and FOSSIL calls as well as
its own interfaces.
Detection: Int14/8001h
    See also:
    Software
2FOSSIL (Fido/Opus/Seadog Standard Interface Level)
IFOSSIL is a driver standard for serial communication (terminal emulation)
via modems.
HDisplayed are information items about each port FOSSIL is installed for:
 FOSSIL specification driver conforms to
 revision level of this specific driver
 identification string
 size of the input buffer
 number of bytes left in input buffer
 size of the output buffer
 number of bytes left in output buffer
 width of screen
 length of screen
 actual baud rate, computer to modem
Detection: Int14/1Bh
    See also:
    Software
HyperWare Products
AThe following programs by HyperWare (Roger Cross) are recognized:
 HyperDisk
 HyperKey
 HyperScreen
 HyperStb
IDisplayed is which Int2F-Code these products are using, and which of them
are installed.
Detection: Int2F/DFh (C0h-FFh)
    See also:
    Software
KEYB.COM
2The keyboard driver for national keyboard layouts.
KFor Novell DOS's KEYB, only displayed is whether it is installed because it
/doesn't support all the calls of MS-DOS's KEYB.
For MS KEYB displayed is:
 version ("1.00" in all versions of MS-DOS, up to 7.0)
 keyboard mapping, which may be "US" or "foreign", toggled by Ctrl-Alt-F1
and -F2
 address of internal data, from which the following items are taken
 country ID letters (what's given at KEYB's startup, e.g. "US", or "GR"
"for Germany, "IT" for Italy, etc.)
 current code page
 address and size of key translation data (no further information avail-
able)
Detection: Int2F/AD80h
    See also:
    Software
Network
&From the Int2Fh interface of networks:
3Listed when one of the below networks is installed:
 LANtastic
 Novell NetWare Lite
 Microsoft LAN Manager
 DOS LAN Requester
 SilverNET
 and others.
;Maybe also on a single system under Windows for Workgroups.
 Also displayed, if supported, is
 the version
 the address of the event post handler
 the NetBIOS machine number
4The meaning of the flags, to be tested in this order
(counted right-left = 0-7):
 bit 6: server
 bit 2: messenger
 bit 7: receiver
 bit 3: redirector
 bit 1: LANPUP (LANtastic 4.0)
Detection: Int2F/B800h
)From the NetBIOS Int2Ah/Int5Ch interface:
FThis list shows the adapter status for the local net BIOS, that is, it
Kshould do so; I wasn't able to test it because I only have a single PC, and
Gthough Windows 95 provides an NetBIOS interrupt handler it seems not to
supply meaningful values.
Novell NetWare Components:
EThe following components are detected, some of them with the version:
 Low-Level API IPX
 TBMI (Task-switched Buffer Manager Interface)
 TASKID
 Advanced DOS Requester
 IPXODI from Personal Netware (Novell DOS 7)
 TCP/IP Protocol Stack
 LAN Workplace - RARPD.EXE
 NETBIOS.EXE 3+
 Named Pipes - DOSNP.EXE 1.30G and other versions
 Server drivers
 ODI Link Support Layer LSL.COM
 NetWare Event Service Layer NESL
GNESL is a generic interface for event handling in ODI drivers and other
HNetWare-oriented modules. Primarily intended to support power management
Band "hot swapping" of PCMCIA cards, but it is not limited to this.
 NetWare Connect NETWARN
CNETWARN is a utility supplied with NetWare Connect to warn a remote
Fdialup user when programs are about to be loaded slowly over the modem
link.
 Novell NetWare Lite CLIENT.EXE and SERVER.EXE
HThese are the client respectively server drivers from Novell's Lite-ver-
Gsion of NetWare, which was also available together with DR-DOS, and its
3successor Personal Netware comes with Novell DOS 7.
Detection: most Int2F/7Axxh
    See also:
    Software
PRSCR
LThis is my own little utility to do text screen print-outs via the PrtSc key
Lincluding support for extended text modes (such as 132x25) for ESC/P compat-
ible printers.
'The items of information displayed are:
 Version
 segment of resident code
 flag active / deactivated
&Detection: Int2F/FACEh/BX=503Fh ('P?')
=> AX=CAFEh, BX=5021h ('P!')
    See also:
    Software
RAHMEN
KThis is my own little utility ("Rahmen" (German) = "frame") which grabs the
Lkeyboard interrupt (09h) to offer frame (and other useful) characters on the
Cnumeric pad, switched by using Ctrl-NumLock and Shift-Ctrl-NumLock.
'The items of information displayed are:
 Version
 segment of resident code
 flag active / deactivated
 current assignment
The available assignments are:
-->> Ctrl-NumLock -->>
3-0-     -1-     -2-     -3-     -4-     -5-     -6-
57 8 9
54 5 6
51 2 3
50   ,
   255
   255
<<-- Shift-Ctrl-NumLock <<--
&Detection: Int2F/FACEh/BX=523Fh ('R?')
=> AX=CAFEh, BX=5221h ('R!')
    See also:
    Software
SETVER
ISETVER is used in DOS 5 and above for telling applications wrong DOS ver-
Hsions if these applications refuse to work with higher DOS versions than
Lthey were programmed for. (This was, with an internal list, possible also in
1DOS 4, but not supported by an external program.)
LDisplayed is also the list of program names and their associated "fake" ver-
9sions (for MS-DOS 5.0 and above, Novell DOS 7, and OS/2).
Detection: IOCTL "SETVERXX"
    See also:
    Software
SHARE
JThe program that controls file accesses by more than one program at a time
I(file sharing); it is normally used in networks and multitasking environ-
Kments (so OS/2 version 2 implements SHARE functionality within its DOS ses-
Jsions); FCB support for media greater than 32 MB for MS-DOS 4.x was imple-
*mented in SHARE (additionally, separated).
IDisplayed are the segment of SHARE.EXE and a list of the files loaded via1
JShare (if any), and
 if non-zero
 the network machine number (or virtual1
Hmachine ID under Windows enhanced-mode) and the number of locks for this
file.
KYou can find more information about the sharing record and the locks in the
5System File Tables list in the Operating System menu.
JNote (differences in Novell DOS SHARE): the segment may be 0, and the file
:names are not in full path name but like "C:AGSI    .OVR".
Detection: Int2F/1000h
    See also:
    Software
+TaskMAX (DR-DOS)/TaskManager (Novell DOS 7)
IThis is DR-DOS' (and Novell DOS') task manager; displayed are its version
L(DR-DOS 6.0's TaskMax tells "1.00", NWDOS' "2.55" -?), the number of maximum
Jsimultaneous tasks, the number of the currently active tasks, and how many
8EMS pages are told the tasks to be free (via Int67/42h).
Detection: Int21/2700h
    See also:
    Software
TBSCANX
JTBScanX is a resident virus scanning module by Frans Veldman. Programs may
Lperform virus checks on themselves, other program files, or their data files
by invoking the TBScanX API.
HDisplayed are the version, the status (on or off), and the number of the
'virus signatures that are searched for.
Detection: Int2F/CA00h/BX='TB'
    See also:
    Software
Virtual DMA Specification (VDS)
LSupports DMA (Direct Memory Access) virtualisation under multi-tasking envi-
4ronments, especially when the 386+'s paging is used.
JThis info pane tells the VDS version (currently 1.00), the product and its
Krevision (see below), the maximum DMA buffer size (in bytes), and the flags
(see below).
AVDS is supported by the following products:         product code:
 Microsoft's EMM386.EXE                           0001h
 Novell's EMM386.EXE                              0EDCh
 Microsoft Windows, enhanced mode                 0003h
 IBM OS/2 (2.x?)                                  0300h
 Qualitas' 386MAX                                 4560h
 V Communication's Memory Commander               4D43h ('MC')
 Quarterdeck's QEMM-386                           5145h ('QE')
 Helix's Netroom RM386                            524Dh ('RM')
 Quadtel's QMAPS and Hewlett-Packard's HPMM.SYS   0000h
KIf you get "? (xxxx)", VDS is supplied by a to me yet unknown program which
Lidentifies itself with the hex number in brackets; if you know what it could
be, please tell me.
Flags:
 b0: system has a PC/XT bus (DMA in first megabyte only)
 b1: physical buffer/remap region in first megabyte
 b2: automatic remap enabled
 b3: all memory is physically contiguous
 other bits: reserved
Detection: Int4B/8102/DX=0
    See also:
    Software
Others
LThese are other programs/services where there is no other information avail-
Kable but the fact that they are installed (and maybe their version; most of
?them detected via their Int2F (Multiplex Interrupt) functions).
JAs they are listed in alphabetical order, they may seem a little confusing
concerning their functions.
%Detected in this version of agSI are:
4DOS KSTACK.COM
After Dark DOS
ANSI.SYS
Banyan VINES 4.0+
Borland DPMILOAD
Borland RTM.EXE
Borland TDX
Btrieve Multi-User
c't Warmboot driver
-CAS (Communication Application Specification)
&CiriSOFT 2M (maybe other manufacturer)
Critical Error Handler
DELWATCH (Novell DOS)
DESQview
DESQview QEXT.SYS
DESQview/X
DIMWIT
DISPLAY.SYS
DOS Extender
DOSKEY
DOSSHELL
    DoubleDOS
DRIVER.SYS support
EGA.SYS
F-PROT VIRSTOP.EXE
    FLU_SHOT+
FN32 32CHAR TSR
Frank Kintrup TSR utilities
GRAFTABL.COM
GRAPHICS.COM
IFSHLP.SYS
Intel IPI / LaserPort
INTERLNK
 LapLink RemoteAccess LapLinkCore
LapLink RemoteAccess Blackbird
LapLink RemoteAccess Redirector
 LapLink RemoteAccess Compression
LASTBYTE
LASTBYTE HIGHUMM
License Server API
    MICRO.EXE
 MS Profiler (PROF.COM/VPROD.386)
MTEZ XpressFax
MX5 Extended FOSSIL
Nanosoft TurboNET
Network Redirector
NLSFUNC
PC Tools BACKTALK
PC Tools COMMUTE
PC Tools CPTASK
PC Tools DATAMON
PC Tools DESKTOP
PC Tools DRIVEMAP
PC Tools PCShell
$PC Tools Scheduler (CPSCHED/DESKTOP)
#PC Tools/DOS 6 VSAFE/VWATCH/VDEFEND
pcANYWHERE IV large/small host
Personal Measure ASPIHOOK
Personal Measure PMEASURE.EXE
Personal Measure Hook Module
PERUSE
    POWER.EXE
PRINT
PrintCache PCACHE.EXE
PrintScreen
QMR Quick Mouse Reset
Quarterdeck memory drivers
RECEIVER.COM
REDIRIFS
REDVIEW
SCRIPT (Novell DOS)
SCSI-CAM (Common Access Method)
SDRes
SMD / PrecisePoint
SoundBlaster Speech Driver
SpaceManager
SuperStor Pro 2XON.COM
Task Switcher API
THELP
 Topware Network Operating System
TSENGP.COM
TurboPower TSR(s)
UIH (Utilities im Hintergrund)
WINGO
WHOA!
XMA2EMS
ZyXEL ZFAX
??? on Int2F Mux No. XXh
    See also:
    Software
#The above information is taken from
)a) the 4DOS manual (4DOS and 4DOS KSTACK)
b) my own experiments
%c) the book 'DOS 5 f
r Programmierer'
d) Ralf Brown's Interrupt List
J4DOS is a (shareware) command line interpreter replacement for COMMAND.COM
/by JP Software, listed with its version number.
See also: More about 4DOS.
Detection: Int2F/D44Dh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
4DOS KSTACK.COM
EThis is a resident utility from 4DOS which may simulate keystrokes to
.applications, using the 4DOS KEYSTACK command.
Detection: Int2F/D44Fh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
E4MAP is a keybinding program for 4DOS by Ho-Ping Tseng which lets you
?perform some operations at the command prompt at one keystroke.
Detection: Int2F/F000h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
After Dark for DOS
JAD-DOS is the DOS version of the After Dark screen blanker for MS Windows.
Detection: Int2F/C000h-FF00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
ANSI.SYS
IANSI.SYS is a program for more functionality in video and keyboard usage;
Bthere are also other similar utilities, like EANSI, NANSI, NNANSI.
EDetection: Int2F/1A00h (original ANSI.SYS only under DOS 4 and above)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Personal Measure
KThe detected parts of the Personal Measure system hardware activity monitor
&from Spirit of Performance, Inc., are:
 ASPIHOOK.SYS, a device driver for monitoring SCSI activity through an
ASPI host manager;
 PMEASURE.EXE, a TSR for monitoring system hardware activity;
 Hook Module: the Personal Measure uses an extensible series of modules to
Ghook into various operating system interfaces and monitor system calls.
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
-Advanced Power Management Specification (APM)
LThis specification defines an interface to APM-functions mainly on notebooks
Mand on modern "green" systems which enables control functions for energy-sav-
Ning methods (especially useful for notebooks), to, for instance, switch screen
-and hard disk off when nothing is being done.
1The following items are displayed (if supported):
 Version
 Flags: a hex value where the bits mean:
 b0: 16-bit protected mode interface supported
 b1: 32-bit protected mode interface supported
 b2: CPU idle call reduces processor speed
 b3: BIOS power management disabled
 b4: BIOS power management disengaged
others: unknown/reserved
 AC line status: off-line, on-line, on
backup
power, or unknown
 battery status: high, low, critical, charging, or unknown
 remaining battery life: percentage, or unknown; minutes/seconds for APM 1.1
 OEM: hex word; known OEMs: 534Ch = Intel SL Enhanced, 4850h=HP
Detection: Int15/5300h
    See also:
    Software
Banyan VINES
DTells the interrupt of Banyan's network software, if it's installed.
Detection: Int2F/D701h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Borland DPMILOAD
KThe DPMI Loader from Borland Pascal 7.0 and C++; should only be loaded when
$a Pascal/C++ DPMI program is active.
$***DISABLED: Resulted in DPMI error.
2Detection: Int2F/FB42h/0001h (Protected Mode only)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
 Borland Run-Time Manager RTM.EXE
FThe Run-Time Manager for DPMI programs from Borland Pascal 7.0 or C++.
1Detection: Int2F/FB42h/0001h (nur Protected Mode)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Borland TDX
5The DPMI program version of Borland's Turbo Debugger.
$***DISABLED: Resulted in DPMI error.
2Detection: Int2F/FB43h/0100h (Protected Mode only)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Btrieve Multi-User
Detection: Int2F/AB00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
CiriSOFT 2M
L2M is a freeware utility for high-capacity disk formatting (max. 1886 k on a
" HD disk) by Ciriaco Garc
a de Celis.
HDisplayed is the installation test signature like "CiriSOFT:2M:1.3", for
)CiriSOFT as manufacturer and version 1.3.
*Detection: Int2F/C0h-FFh/ES:DI=1492h:1992h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
.Communicating Applications Specification (CAS)
+A standard access interface for fax modems.
Detection: Int2F/CB00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Critical Error Handler
IThis is used for extended error message information when a critical error
,occurs, e.g. installed with a CD-ROM driver.
Detection: Int2F/0500h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Novell DOS DELWATCH.EXE
?DelWatch is Novell DOS's tool to track and undo file deletions.
Detection: Int2F/10FEh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DESQview
LDESQview is a multitasking environment under DOS from [do I remenber right?]
Quarterdeck.
 Detection: Int21/2B/CX:DX='DESQ'
    See also:
DESQview QEXT.SYS
DESQview/X
other programs
    Software
DESQview QEXT.SYS
"A driver that comes with DESQview.
Detection: Int15/11DEh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DESQview/X
 DVDOS4GX.DVR
LThis is a driver from Quarterdeck's own multi-tasking operating system which
evolved from DESQview for DOS.
Detection: Int15/BFDEh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
KDIET is an executable-file compression program, which also may be installed
4resident to compress and decompress text/data files.
@Detection: Int21/4BF0h (in Overlay Mode (?)), 37D0h, normal mode
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DIMWIT
ADIMWIT is a freeware Windows-aware screen blanker by Larry Board.
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DISPLAY.SYS
3Driver for codepage management (DOS 3.3 and above).
Detection: Int2F/AD00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DOS Extender
+Displayed when a dos extender is installed.
GSupported or soon to be supported by Phar Lap, Rational, Ergo, and IGC.
Detection: Int2F/F100h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DOSKEY
JThe command line editing enhancement of DOS 5+ [which does not at all give
(the same functionality as 4DOS does...].
Detection: Int2F/4800h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DosShell
JMicrosoft's simple desktop for non-high-end users (those who don't use the
Bcommand line or those who can't afford a PC which runs Windows...)
IDosShell (at least in versions 5+) is not recognized if task-switching is
not activated (?).
Detection: DOS 4.x: Int2F/1900h
DOS 5+:  Int2F/4680h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
    DoubleDOS
+DoubleDOS is a DOS multi-(or dual?) tasker.
Detection: Int21/E400h or F400h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
DRIVER.SYS support
ITells whether the internal support code used by DRIVER.SYS for additional
4drive handling is present; usually always displayed.
Detection: Int2F/0800h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
EGA.SYS
LFor graphics screen support under the Dos Shell or Windows, from Windows 3.x
>or DOS 5.0+, displayed together with its version and revision.
$Detection: Installation: Int2F/BC00h
Version: Int2F/BC06h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
F-PROT VIRSTOP.EXE
KF-PROT (with its resident VIRSTOP.EXE) is a virus/trojan protection package
by Fridrik Skulason.
Detection: Int2F/4653h/CX=9
    See also:
other programs
    Software
    FLU_SHOT+
KFLU_SHOT+ is an antivirus/antitrojan program by Ross M. Greenberg and Soft-
ware Concepts Design.
Detection: Int21/FF0Fh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
FN32 32CHAR TSR
DFN32 is a TSR which supports 32 character filenames under PC/MS-DOS.
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Frank Kintrup TSR Utilities
FThe following TSR utilities by Frank Kintrup (Shareware) are detected:
 ASCII.COM
 ASCII table
 CLOCK.COM
 clock
 PCALC.COM
 calculator
 SCRSAVE.COM
 screen saver
 UNDEL.COM
 undelete
 CDPLAY.COM
 CD player
KDisplayed is also the version and Int2Fh multiplex number and resident code
segment.
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
BX='FK'
    See also:
other programs
    Software
GRAFTABL.COM
BLoads the extended character table for use in (CGA) graphic modes.
Detection:
MS-DOS: Int2F/B000h
DR-DOS: Int2F/2300h
Novell DOS: Int2E/2E00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
GRAPHICS.COM
!Used for graphic screen printing.
,Detection: DOS 5+:  Int2F/AC00h (documented)
8DOS 4.x: Int2F/1500h (undocumented, also used by MSCDEX)
below 4.x no installation test
/[So much about cooperation inside Microsoft...]
    See also:
other programs
    Software
IFSHLP.SYS
JIFSHLP is a support driver for the IFS Manager (for 32-bit file access) of
5Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows 95.
Detection: IOCTL "IFS$HLP$"
    See also:
other programs
    Software
&Intel Image Processing Interface (IPI)
LaserPort Interface
LThis is displayed if either of the above products is installed; I don't know
how to decide which it is.
Detection: Int2F/CD00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
INTERLNK API
JMicrosoft's link program (for notebook
 desktop, for example) which comes
bundled with MS-DOS 6.0.
Detection: Int2F/5600h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
LapLink RemoteAccess (LLRA)
AThe following components are detected, together with the version:
 LapLinkCore (LLRA1.EXE)
 Blackbird   (LLRA2.EXE)
 Redirector  (LLRA3.EXE)
 Compression (LLRA4.EXE)
INote: LapLink components are installed in the order listed above, but not
necessarily all four.
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
The Last Byte - LASTBYTE.SYS
LLASTBYTE.SYS is part of The Last Byte (tm)
 an Upper Memory Manager (share-
Hware)
 by Key Software Products, which provides use of the upper memory
Hfrom the physical installed memory, and does not map EMS-like pages like
KEMM386 (if the chip set is supported). Even HIMEM.SYS may be loaded high...
Detection: IOCTL "LA$TBYTE"
    See also:
LASTBYTE HIGHUMM
other programs
    Software
The Last Byte - HIGHUMM.SYS
CHIGHUMM.SYS is part of The Last Byte and may only be installed when
HLASTBYTE.SYS is installed. It provides use of LastByte's upper memory in
7DOS-compatible style with DEVICEHIGH and LOADHIGH (LH).
Detection: IOCTL "KSP$UMM"
    See also:
    LASTBYTE
other programs
    Software
License Service API
KThis line may occur several times, because there are several licensees pos-
7sible; the number of the license is displayed (in hex).
JThe License Service API is being maintained by Microsoft but is being sup-
Gported by a large number of companies including Apple, Banyan, DEC, HP,
JLotus, Microsoft, Novell, Software Publishers Association, and Wordperfect
(not a complete list!).
Detection: Int2F/7000h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
    MICRO.EXE
IMICRO.EXE is a TSR of the Microsoft Mail part of Workgroup Connection, an
Dadd-on to MS-DOS 6.0 (planned to be bundled first, but some licensor
(Novell?) did not allow that).
Detection: Int2F/9400h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
*Microsoft Profiler (PROF.COM or VPROD.386)
Microsoft's profilers.
Detection: Int2F/4500h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
MTEZ XpressFax TSR (CLASS2)
From a fax.
Detection: Int2F/C000h-FF00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
MX5 Extended FOSSIL
IMX5 is a FOSSIL driver by MagicSoft which emulates MNP Level 5, and ships
Kwith the MTEZ terminal program as MTEMNP.DRV (a TSR despite the .DRV exten-
sion).
Detection: Int14/E006h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
#Nanosoft TurboNET server/redirector
HTurboNET is a NetBIOS-based file redirector and server by Nanosoft, Inc.
3Detection: Int2F/8000h (server), 8100h (redirector)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
KNDOS is Symantec's (Norton Utilities) licensed OEM version of JP Software's
4DOS.
Detection: Int2F/E44Dh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Network Redirector
LListed when a network redirector is installed; also displayed under Windows.
FDetection: Int2F/1100h (and 111Fh/5E03h, because 1100h interferes with
CD-ROM)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
NLSFUNC
FFor country-specific operations (these functions may also be installed
Ewithin a DOS box under OS/2 and Windows without explicitly installing
    NLSFUNC).
Detection: Int2F/1400h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
!PC Tools Programs (Central Point)
 BACKTALK: Detection: Int16/6969h
 COMMUTE: communication (e-mail, net,...). Detection: Int62/6262h
 CPTASK: task switcher. Detection: Int16/FF80h (v8.0+)
 DATAMON: Detection: Int16/FFA3h; Int2F/6284h (v7.0+)
 DESKTOP: Desktop with organizer, scheduler, diary, calculators,...
Detection: Int16/FFA9h
 DRIVEMAP: Detection: Int16/FF70h (v8.0+)
 PCShell: Integrated utility-desktop: Filemanager,...
Detection: Int16/FFDDh
 Scheduler: This may be CPSCHED or DESKTOP, when scheduler functions are
!activated. Detection: Int16/FEEFh
 VSAFE/VWATCH/VDEFEND: Resident virus checkers, included in MS-DOS 6.0.
    See also:
other programs
    Software
pcANYWHERE IV
3This is a remote control and file transfer program.
&Detection: Int21/2B/AL:BX:CX='DMApcAW'
Siehe auch:
sonstige Programme
    Software
PERUSE
LPeruse is a TSR that captures and saves screen information as it scrolls off
0the top of the screen, storing it in EMS or XMS.
KPeruse is Copyright (c) 1994, Bob Flanders and Michael Holmes and was first
4Published in PC Magazine April 12, 1994 (Utilities).
Detection: Int10/B0BFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
    POWER.EXE
?The power management program from MS-DOS 6.0, with its version.
Detection: Int2F/5400h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
PRINT
JDOS's program for printing in the background [did I hear anybody say some-
thing about multitasking?]
Detection: Int2F/0100h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
PrintCache PCACHE.EXE
LPCACHE is the resident print spooler portion of PrintCache by LaserTools; it
4may use either memory or disk space to spool output.
<Displayed is also the version number and date (if supplied).
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
PrintScreen
IPrintScreen is a shareware TSR utility by Rainer K
hler to capture a text
#screen (or a part of it) to a file.
Detection: Int2F/C4AAh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
QCACHE
A disk cache program.
Detection: Int13/27h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Quarterdeck memory drivers
KThis is a summation installation test for Quarterdeck's QEMM, QRAM, VIDRAM,
Fand MANIFEST, version 5.0 and above. (Separated installation tests are2
7available from the tools, but not implemented in agSI.)
'Detection: Int2F/D200/BX:CX:DX='QDMEM0'
    See also:
other programs
    Software
QMR1 Quick Mouse Reset
KQMR (Cove Software, Quick Mouse Reset) monitors the mouse service interrupt
K(int 33h) and substitutes a fast software reset (mouse fn 21h) for the slow
hardware reset (mouse fn 0).
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
RECIEVER.COM
Used in networks.
Detection: Int2F/B900h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
REDIRIFS
Used in networks.
Detection: Int2F/BF00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
REDVIEW
KREDVIEW is a public-domain TSR by Alexandr Novy and Petr Horak which copies
Kdata sent to standard output to standard error when the former has been re-
Jdirected to a file, thus allowing the data to be seen on the screen at the
#same time it is captured in a file.
Detection: Int2F/BE00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Novell DOS SCRIPT.EXE
;A resident ASCII to PostScript converter from Novell DOS 7.
 Detection: Int2F/12FFh/BX=7,CX=0
    See also:
other programs
    Software
)Common Access Method SCSI interface (CAM)
GAn interface making access to SCSI devices common and may reduce driver
    problems.
(Detection: Int4F/8200h/DX:CX=CBA9h:8765h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Search&Destroy SDRes
LSDRes is the resident antivirus watcher from Search&Destroy by Fifth Genera-
)tion Systems and comes with Novell DOS 7.
Detection: Int21/AH=0Eh,DL=ADh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
(Smooth Mouse Driver (SMD) / PrecisePoint
KSMD is a programmer's library by Andy Hakim which provides a graphics-style
Jmouse cursor in text mode. PrecisePoint is an SMD-based TSR which replaces
,the block mouse cursor in text applications.
Detection: Int33/3000h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
SoundBlaster Speech Driver
9The speech driver interface for SoundBlaster sound cards.
Detection: Int2F/FBFBh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
SpaceManager
KSpaceManager is an enhancement for MS-DOS DoubleSpace by Vertisoft Systems,
LInc., containing the utilities SuperMount, SelectCompress, SuperExchange and
FortuneTeller.
<Detection: Int2F/C300h (or any from C3-FFh, but not checked)
    See also:
other programs
    Software
SuperStor PRO 2XON.COM
3SuperStor is a disk-compression program by Addstor.
Detection: Int21/F800h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Task Switcher API (DOS 5+)
3This tells that the task switcher API is installed.
Detection: Int2F/4B02h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
THELP v3.0+
6Borland's resident help system, version 3.0 and above.
Detection: Int2F/CAFEh/BX=0
    See also:
other programs
    Software
 Topware Network Operating System
Detection: Int16/FF00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
TSENGP.COM
HTSENGP.COM is a TSR supplied by Compaq to fix an incompatibility between
8some applications and Tseng ET4000-based video adapters.
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
TurboPower TSRs
JThis is the interface for communication among TSRs built with TurboPower's
FTurbo Professional and Object Professional libraries for Turbo Pascal.
Detection: Int16/F0F0h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
UIH (Utilities im Hintergrund)
HA big collection of utilities in one (German) memory-resident program by
Ralf F
rster (shareware).
Detection: Int16/E0F0
    See also:
other programs
    Software
c't Warmboot Driver
JThis driver
 published in the German c't magazine
 allows extended Ctrl-
IAlt-Del functionality, such as stopping the program, fast warm boot, etc.
Detection: IOCTL "WBOOTXXX"
    See also:
other programs
    Software
WINGO
JWINGO.COM is a TSR for starting Windows programs from DOS prompt (together
Lwith companion Windows program WINSTART.EXE) written by Douglas Boling, con-
 tributing editor of PC Magazine.
Detection: Int2F/DB-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
WHOA!
;WHOA!.COM is a system slow-down utility by Brad D Crandall.
Detection: Int2F/8900h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
XMA2EMS (DOS 4 only)
)For 'hiding' EMS pages from applications.
Detection: Int2F/1B00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
ZyXEL ZFAX
EZFAX is the bundled FAX software which comes with the ZyXEL model fax
modems.
Detection: Int2F/DA00h
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Unknown Program
LA line like this is displayed if there's a program installed with an instal-
Ilation check via Interrupt 2Fh using a multiplex (short: Mux) code number
Jbetween C0h and FFh but agSI doesn't detect more details (doesn't know the
    program).
Detection: Int2F/C0-FFh
    See also:
other programs
    Software
Logical Drives Overview
FThis menu item shows an overview over your logical drives (A: to ...).
IFor more detailed information, select the sub menu for the desired drive.
    See also:
"Logical Drives Overview info list
Drives
Logical Drive Information
8In this submenu, you can select information pages about:
 Drive hardware  (with CD driver info if CD drive)
 Media information
 Media size/statistics
 CD Table Of Contents  (if CD drive)
 CD Primary Volume Descriptor  (if CD drive)
 CD Benchmark  (if CD drive)
 Directory tree
 Long filenames  (if supported
 Windows 95)
 Open files  (if supported
 Windows 95)
 Drive Parameter Block (DPB)  (not if CD or network drive)
 Device driver information  (not if CD or network drive)
 Drive Map Info  (if supported
 Windows 95)
 Current Directory Structure  (if valid; not under OS/2)
 CD Player...  (if CD drive)
 Edit disk label...  (if local non-CD drive)
 Format disk...  (if floppy drive)
    See also:
Drives
More logical drives
KIf you have more available logical drives than fit on the screen, this menu
leads to the remaining ones.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
%Physical Drives (Hard Disks) Overview
HThis menu item shows an overview over your hard disks (no other physical
Kdrives supported yet unless they are accessible through the BIOS with drive
numbers above 80h).
IFor more detailed information, select the sub menu for the desired drive.
    See also:
#Physical drives overview info list
IDE (ATA/ATAPI) sub-menu
SCSI (via ASPI) sub-menu
Drives
&Physical Drive (Hard Disk) Information
8In this submenu, you can select information pages about:
 the partition table
 the IBM/MS Int13 Extensions (if present) and their info about the drive
 the Ontrack DiskManager (if present)
and perform
 some read benchmarks
;(The IDE drive info has been moved to a separate sub-menu.)
FThe hex number (80h,...) in the menu is the BIOS number for the drive.
    See also:
Drives
"IDE (ATA/ATAPI) Device Information
JThis sub-menu lets you select one of the devices (hard disks, CD-ROMs,...)
:connected to your IDE port(s) to get information about it.
EThe following ports are supported, with Master and Slave device each:
 primary (first or only) at 1F0h
 secondary at 170h
 tertiary (third) at 1E8h
 quaternary (fourth) at 168h
LAs most systems don't have the latter two, you can limit the number of ports
IagSI shows in the menu with the NumIDEPorts INI setting (as it takes some
Itime when accessing non-existing drives, which some might find annoying).2
LIf your system uses different addresses, use the IDEPort?Address INI setting
!to make agSI use the correct one.
    See also:
IDE Info info list
Drives
SCSI Devices (ASPI)
JIf you have an ASPI (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface) driver installed
Hfor your SCSI system (if you *have* an SCSI system), this sub-menu shows
.information about host adapter(s) and devices:
 General
 Host Adapter (for each host adapter)
  Device (for each device of each host adapter)
INote: An ASPI interface is also available under Windows 95 if there is no
LSCSI adapter, but a so-called "miniport" driver installed, e.g. for a CD-ROM
%drive with vendor-specific interface.
    See also:
Drives
ASPI General Information
LThis item shows just the entry point of the Advanced SCSI Programming Inter-
face.
INote: An ASPI interface is also available under Windows 95 if there is no
LSCSI adapter, but a so-called "miniport" driver installed, e.g. for a CD-ROM
Kdrive with vendor-specific interface. Note also that such a driver will not
.appear in the (real-mode) device driver chain.
    See also:
ASPI General info list
SCSI devices (ASPI) sub menu
Drives
ASPI Host Adapter
KThis item shows information about the host adapter (with the displayed num-
7ber, starting with 0), such as SCSI ID and vendor name.
    See also:
Host Adapter info list
SCSI devices (ASPI) sub menu
Drives
ASPI Device
GThis item shows information about the device (with the displayed number
H(SCSI-ID) on the appropriate adapter), e.g. type, vendor name, features.
    See also:
Device info list
SCSI devices (ASPI) sub menu
Drives
Disk Cache
GIf a disk cache known to agSI is installed, this menu item will display
+information about it. Known caches include:
 Microsoft's SmartDrive (older SYS and newer EXE version)
 Novell's NWCache
 PhysTechSoft's PTS-Cache
 HyperWare's HyperDisk
 Central Point's PC-Cache, versions 5.x and 6+
 IBM's IBMCache
 Symantec's Norton NCache-F and -S
    See also:
Disk cache info list
Drives
Online Compressor
GIf an online compressor known to agSI is installed, this menu item will
8display information about it. Known compressors include:
 Microsoft's DoubleSpace (MS-DOS 6.0 - 6.2) and DriveSpace (MS-DOS 6.22)
 Stac's Stacker
 PhysTechSoft's Folder
    See also:
Compressors info list
Drives
LMSCDEX                                         (only available if installed)
LThis item shows information about the Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions (or compa-
tible).
    See also:
MSCDEX info list
Drives
Drive Hardware
LThis menu item shows information about the logical drive's hardware, includ-
?ing information about CD-ROM capabilities (if it's a CD drive).
    See also:
Drive Hardware info list
logical drive
Drives
Media Information
EThis menu item shows information about the media (disk) in the drive.
    See also:
Media info list
logical drive
Drives
Media Size/Statistics
7This item shows size, used and free space of the media.
    See also:
Media size info list
logical drive
Drives
CD Table Of Contents
JThis item shows the table of contents (the tracks) of the CD in the drive.
    See also:
CD TOC info list
logical drive
Drives
CD Primary Volume Descriptor
KThis item shows the contents of the Primary Volume Descriptor of the CD-ROM
in the drive.
    See also:
CD PVD info list
logical drive
Drives
CD Benchmark
0This menu item will perform some CD speed tests.
    See also:
CD-Benchmark info list
logical drive
Drives
Show directory tree
DThis shows a list with the full directory tree of the current drive.
    See also:
Directory Tree info list
logical drive
Drives
Long Filenames
IThis shows information about the support of long filenames (as introduced
in Windows 95) for the drive.
    See also:
Long Filenames info list
logical drive
Drives
Open Files
HThis lists the files that are currently open on the drive (under Windows
    See also:
Open Files info list
logical drive
Drives
Drive Parameter Block (DPB)
EThis item shows information from DOS's parameter block for the drive.
)(Not available for CD or network drives.)
    See also:
DPB info list
logical drive
Drives
Device Driver
BThis item shows information about the device driver for the drive.
)(Not available for CD or network drives.)
    See also:
Device driver info list
logical drive
Drives
Drive Map Info
IThis shows information about some drive flags and map info (under Windows
    See also:
Drive Map Info info list
logical drive
Drives
!Current Directory Structure (CDS)
JThis item shows information from DOS's current directory structure for the
drive.
    See also:
CDS info list
logical drive
Drives
    CD Player
KThis menu item will bring up a dialog window with Audio CD player controls.
Not yet implemented......
    See also:
CD Player dialog
logical drive
Drives
Drive Hardware
 Device Type: The type of the drive, as the driver tells. If it's a CD-ROM
Hdrive, there are some flags (see below) of the driver or the drive hard-
Gware displayed here; for the other types, the next items are displayed:
 Local? States whether the drive is local or remote (in the network); also
Gwhether it is SUBST'ed. (CD-ROM drives are, due to the way they are ac-
&cessed via MSCDEX, considered remote.)
 Direct I/O allowed? Tells whether or not direct I/O (that is, bypassing
DOS/BIOS) is allowed.
 Removable? Tells if the media in the drive may be changed (a floppy, for
Jinstance). Note: Simple changable hard disks are declared 'not changable',
,for you cannot change them during operation.
 Auto change detect? If the media is removable, this tells whether the
Hdrive automatically detects media changes (which normally is the case in
today's floppy drives).
/CD-ROM Hardware / Driver Status / Capabilities:
HDisplays info about the CD-ROM drive hardware / status the device driver
/supports. The following flag bits are reported:
 meaning if set (=1)
      0
 door open
      1
 door unlocked
 supports cooked and raw reading, not only raw
 read/write
 not only data read, also plays audio/video tracks
 supports ISO-9660 interleaving using interleave size & skip factor
 (reserved)
 supports prefetching requests
 supports audio channel manipulation
 supports Red Book (in addition to HSG) addressing mode
 (reserved)
 no disc is present in drive
 supports R-W sub-channels
13-31
 reserved (all 0)
 The actions for these two lines do the corresponding things: depending on
Lthe state, the door will be opened or closed, or locked or unlocked, respec-
&tively (if supported by driver/drive).
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Media Information
@This list shows information about the media (disk) in the drive:
 Serial Number: The serial number given to a disk when formatted (DOS 4.0
Jand above). It is written to the boot sector and based on the current date
    and time.
 File system: The file system of the medium written to the boot sector
I(normally 'FAT12' or 'FAT16'; however, not all formatters write this down
Hon the disk, so there may be garbage sometimes). To see if the FAT width*
<is correct, or it says only 'FAT', see DPB info - FAT width.
 Media name: The media name (label) as it was set in the boot sector when
9formatting, or with the LABEL command (DOS 5 and above?).
 Volume label: The name of the disk, like it may be set with the LABEL
Jcommand or by some programs (this is a root directory entry with a special
flag set).
 System ID / formatter: The name of the operating system respectively the
Bformatting program, as stored in the boot sector of the disk (e.g.
H'MSDOS5.0' or 'PC Tools').
 Not set by every program and not applicable
if no boot sector present.
 Clusters total: The total number of clusters.
 Clusters free: The number of free clusters.7
>(For more information about cluster size, etc., see DPB info.)
 Media ID byte: The type of the disk in hex, plus an explanation, which is
one of the following:
9Value
 Media type       Sides Tracks Sectors    Capacity
=F0
" HD or ED       2     80   18 or 36   1440k or 2880k
 hard disk or ram drive
<F9
" HD or 3
" DD   2     80   15 or 9    1200k or 720k
4FA
" or 5
" DD      1     80      8        320k
4FB
" or 5
" HD      2     80     18       1440k
4FC
" DD             1     40      9        180k
4FD
" DD             2     40      9        360k
4FE
" DD             1     40      8        160k
4FF
" DD             2     40      8        320k
,(DD = double, HD = high, ED = extra density)
KNote: If you format floppy disks with higher capacity
 FDFormat, or agSI's
Jown formatting routine (derived from FDFormat), for example
 the media ID
Ibyte is the same as on a disk with a similar but standard format; "Sides,
HTracks, Sectors" and "Capacity" in the table above are only the standard
values.
For CD-ROMs:
 Copyright, Abstract and Bibliographic Doc File Names (if present)
 Sector size for both raw and cooked modes (if supported); in Bytes;
/should be 2352 for raw and 2048 for cooked mode
 Volume size (in MBytes; returned are the number of sectors which is multi-
!plied with the above sector size)
 Track range: lowest to highest track numbers (more than 1 if audio tracks
present)
 UPC/EAN Code: If recorded, this displays the Universal Product Code (for
%bar coding) for the disc (13 digits).
KFor Audio CDs, you only see the Track range and, if provided on the CD, the
UPC/EAN code field displayed.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Media Size / Statistics
KThese lines tell the total, used, and free capacity of the drive, displayed
/in bytes and in MB and kB, plus the percentage.
HAs this information is what DOS tells (and not the summation of all file
Lsizes), these values may be incorrect for CD-ROMs (and always say 127M 1022k
.on my system), except for OS/2 and Windows 95.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
CD Table Of Contents
LHere you see the information from the CD's Table Of Contents (TOC)
 for CD-
GROMs as well as for Audio CDs (and mixed-mode CDs)
 which includes the
Ltotal number of tracks, and a list of the tracks (especially interesting for
JAudio CDs) including the start time (minutes:seconds/frames
 frames range:
Kfrom 0 to 74; this is 00:02/00 for the first track), the length as a normal
JCD player would display it (i.e. not concerning the frames for calculating4
Gthe difference between two track starts), plus the track type, which is
coded as follows:
(binary)
 00x00000: 2 audio channels without pre-emphasis
 00x10000: 2 audio channels with pre-emphasis
 10x00000: 4 audio channels without pre-emphasis
 10x10000: 4 audio channels with pre-emphasis
 01x00000: data track
 01x10000: reserved
 11xx0000: reserved
 xx0x0000: digital copy prohibited
 xx1x0000: digital copy permitted0
KThe last line tells the start of the so-called lead-out track, i.e. the end
=of the used area of the CD and so the total length of the CD.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
 CD-ROM Primary Volume Descriptor
KIn this list you see information about the PVD of the inserted CD-ROM which
Cgives information about the CD-ROM; there is no PVD on an Audio CD.
.Note that on most CDs not all fields are used.
The items of information are:
 Type of the CD-ROM: ISO-9660, High Sierra, or XA format, plus the version
which is the standard ID below.
 Standard ID; usually "CD001" in ISO 9660, "CD-ROM" in High Sierra format
 Volume Descriptor Version; currently 1
 System ID of the target system, such as "IBM PC/AT"
 Volume ID, like the DOS's volume label, the name of the CD (application)
 Volume Space Size in blocks (see below for the block size) and Megabytes
 Sequence Number and Volume Set Size; usually both "1", even for 2CD sets
 Logical Block Size; usually 2048 bytes
 Path Table Size: size of the "directory" of the CD-ROM (in blocks)
 Type L Path Table: starting sector number of path table in Intel format
9(little endian); M-type path table is not displayed here.
 Opt. Type L Path Table: an optional additional path table; usually 0
 for XA-CDs:
 the XA ID: "CD-XA001"
 XA Flags (binary; currently unused??)
 Startup Directory
 ID Names of Volume Set, Publisher, Data Preparer, and Application
 File Names for Copyright, Abstract, and Bibliographic Documentation files
 Date/Time for Creation, Modification, Expiration, Effective (from)
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
CD Benchmark
KHere some speed tests with the CD-ROM in the drive are performed, partially
Kdepending on the size of the CD-ROM (which is displayed in the first line).
LIf you have SmartDrive (or a compatible cache) installed, it will temporari-
Kly be disabled for the CD drive during the tests; other caches are not dis-
+abled and might influence the test results.
Tested are:
 The transfer rate in KB per second (usually 150 KB/s for single speed
$drives, 300 for double speed, etc.).
 The maximum access time for this CD in milliseconds (ms), done by reading
Hone sector at the beginning, one at the end, and so on. This, of course,
depends on the size of the CD.
 The average access times for
 1/3 stroke, i.e. seeking in the first third of the possible total size
-of a CD; this needs an at least 200 MB CD-ROM
 full stroke, i.e. seeking, as far as possible, the whole possible size;
this needs a 620 MB CD-ROM.
 if the CD is smaller than 200 MB, an average access time test is per-
formed for the whole CD.
Notes:
 The access time tests may vary greatly between test runs (due to the ran-
Cdom numbers involved, and differences in the physical access time).
 It is recommended to insert as full as available an CD for the tests to
be significant for the drive.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Directory Tree
CHere you see the full directory tree of the drive (the disk in it).
KIn the first column, you see the size (in kBytes) of all files in this dir-
Lectory, followed by the number of files; then the tree structure of the dir-
Iectories. If the directory has subdirectories, their number is displayed,
Kplus the size and number of the files in all subdirectories including those
 in the current directory itself.
JNote: The subdirectory display may cut off a part of the tree/name display
Lin large nested direcory structures. To change the number of characters each
Ldirectory is indented, select the Options dialog from the main menu (and re-
open the tree display).
 In the sub-list you will see some statistics about the current directory,
&plus a directory listing (optionally).
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Long Filenames
LThis page shows information about the long filename (LFN) support under Win-
$dows 95 for the drive, if supported:
 File system name: FAT, CDFS,...
 maximum file name length: normally 255
 maximum path length: normally 260 for FAT
 flags: (16 bit hex), meaning
 b0  =1 if searches are case sensitive
 b1  =1 if case is preserved in the directory entry
 b2  =1 if Unicode characters are used in the directory entry
 b14 =1 if DOS API functions for long filenames are supported
 b15 =1 if volume is compressed
INote: Should, for some reason, LFNs not be supported for all drives, this
Cmenu option may be shown anyway if they are supported for drive C:.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Open Files
JThis page lists the currently-open files (under Windows 95). The following
,three flags may be shown after the filename:
 M for Memory-mapped files
 U for unmovable files
 S for the swap file
LIf a volume lock could not be obtained (for whatever reason), a note stating
Kthat the displayed information may be inconsistent (what happens if another
Kapplication opens or closes a file while the open files are being enumerat-
ed) is displayed.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
+DOS Drive Parameter Block (DPB) Information
)(Not available for network or CD drives.)
 Unit within driver: The number of the unit within the device driver
 many
;drivers are taking care of several drives, e.g. DOS itself.
 Address of device driver header: See Device Driver for more information
about the driver.
 Bytes per sector: How many bytes are stored in one sector. Under DOS this
is normally 512 bytes (
 Sectors per cluster: The number of sectors put together to a cluster,
Jwhich is the smallest recording unit under DOS. On floppy disks, one clus-
Iter, in most cases, has the size of one sector, on hard disks more (2, 4,
8 or more sectors).
 Cluster size: The resulting cluster size (in kBytes).
 Shift count: Used to convert clusters into sectors.
 Reserved sectors: The number of sectors reserved for system-internal use
/(boot sector,...) at the beginning of the disk.
 First directory sector
 First user data sector
 Start cluster for search: The cluster at which to start search for free
7space when writing, usually the last cluster allocated.
 FAT width: The File Allocation Table (FAT) stores where the files can be
Efound. Each entry takes either 12 or 16 bits, so there is a different
Gamount of disk space that can be used. 16 bit FATs exist only since DOS
J3.3x (?) and above. This value is found out using the Highest Cluster Num-
Jber entry in the DPB: is this greater than 0FF6h (the highest user cluster
Jnumber in a 12 bit FAT), it is assumed that this is a 16 bit FAT file sys-
 FATs: the number of FATs (more than one are for safety reasons).
 Sectors per FAT: How many sectors are used by one FAT. See also a warning
2if this is 256 and you're still using MS-DOS 5.00.
 Root directory entries: The maximum number of file and directory entries
Gin the root (main) directory of the disk. (The number of subdirectories
Fand subdirectory entries is, however, limited only by the disk space.)
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
?Warning for MS-DOS 5.00 users with exactly 256 sectors per FAT:
LIf this is the case (MS-DOS 5.00 meaning the original release version, with-
Jout the corrections (5.0A?) from early 1992), there might be severe errors
J(loss of data!) when using CHKDSK /F and UNDELETE -- check your DOS direc-
Gtory if these files have another (newer) date than the other DOS files.
B(However, there are said to be only few cases where this occured.)
Device Driver Information
)(Not available for network or CD drives.)
 Driver header address: The address of the header (the same as in DPB info).
 Driver type: A DOS device driver is either a character driver (e.g. the
Hprinter, LPTx) or a block driver (e.g. drives)
 this here should always
read "block driver".
 Attributes (bits set): This tells the bits which are set in the driver's
Jattributes word (their one-digit hex number), which are the following (for
a block device):
bit
 description
%F=15
 clear (indicates block device)
E=14
 IOCTL supported
D=13
 non-IBM format
C=12
 reserved
*B=11
 Open/Close/RemMedia calls supported
A=10
 reserved
 direct I/O not allowed???
  (set by DOS 3.3 DRIVER.SYS for "new" drives)
 ??? set by DOS 3.3 DRIVER.SYS for "new" drives
 (DOS 5+) Generic IOCTL check call supported (command 19h)
 (DOS 3.2+) Generic IOCTL call supported (command 13h)
  implies support for commands 17h and 18h
 reserved
 driver supports 32-bit sector addressing (DOS 3.31+)
 reserved
 Number of sub-units: Tells how many sub-units the driver handles; many
Edrivers (the DOS-internal driver, for instance) handle more than one.
 Strategy and Interrupt entry point: Entry points for IOCTL calls to driver
(same segment as header).
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Drive Map Info
;This page shows drive and map information under Windows 95:
 Flags: a hex byte with the bits meaning:
 b0 PROT_MODE_LOGICAL_DRIVE: A protected-mode driver is in use for this
logical drive.
 b1 PROT_MODE_PHYSICAL_DRIVE: A protected-mode driver is in use for the
3physical drive corresponding to this logical drive.
 b2 PROT_MODE_ONLY_DRIVE: The drive is not available when running with
MS-DOS.
 b3 PROT_MODE_EJECT: A protected-mode drive supports an electronic eject
operation.
 b4 PROT_MODE_ASYNC_NOTIFY: The drive issues media arrival and removal
Bnotifications. This value is currently used for CD-ROM drives that
Care controlled by the protected-mode driver and that cause a broad-
Ccast message when media is removed or inserted without the applica-
Btion having to make a request to the drive. It can also be used by
disk drivers.
 Int13 unit number: Physical drive number of the given drive. This can be
one of these values:
 00-7Fh: Floppy disk drive (00 for the first, 01 for the second, etc.)
 80-FEh: Hard disk drive (80 for the first, 81 for the second, etc.)
 FFh:    The drive does not map to a physical drive.
 Associated drive letters: Logical drive numbers that are associated with
Jthe given physical drive. For example, C being host drive for a compressed
DriveSpace volume.
 Start sector of partition: Relative block address offset from the start of
8the physical volume to the start of the given partition.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
,Current Direcory Structure (CDS) Information
LThis info list tells the information taken from the so-called CDS, where DOS
1stores the current directory and some other data:
 Path: The current path for the drive; it may be on another device if
9SUBST'ed, for example "D:\TEST" when looking at drive C:.
 Root offset: The offset in current directory path of the backslash corres-
(ponding to root directory for the drive.
KThis value specifies how many characters to hide from the "CHDIR" and "GET-
EDIR" calls; normally set to 2 to hide the drive letter and colon, but
KSUBST, JOIN, and networks change it so that only the appropriate portion of
%the true path is visible to the user.
 Attributes: represented by the two highest bits in the attributes word,
this is one of the following:
 00: invalid drive (should not occur here)
 01: physical drive
 10: uses network redirector
 11: Installable File System (IFS), for example, CD-ROM
)In addition, some other flags may be set:
 Bit 13: drive is JOIN'ed
 Bit 12: drive is SUBST'ed
 Bit 7: remote drive hidden from redirector's assign-list and exempt from
=network connection make/break commands; set for CD-ROM drives
 DPB Address: the address of the Drive Parameter Block (DPB) for the spec-
ific drive (see also DPB info).
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
    CD Player
Not yet implemented......
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Partition Table
<This item will display the partition table of the hard disk.
    See also:
partition table info list
physical drive
Drives
LIBM/MS Int13 Extensions                        (only available if installed)
JThis item will display information about the extensions to the disk inter-
?rupt, Int13, by IBM and MS, and what they know about the drive.
    See also:
Int13 Extensions info list
physical drive
Drives
LOntrack DiskManager                            (only available if installed)
KThis item will display information (not much, I'm afraid) about the Ontrack
%DiskManager, or Ontrack's SWBIOS TSR.
    See also:
Ontrack info list
physical drive
Drives
Hard Disk Benchmark
LThis will perform some speed tests on your hard disk (reading only, no writ-
ing).
JThe benchmark won't run under OS/2 or Windows (386 mode) because you would
 not get reasonable values there.
JThe disk is tested via BIOS interrupt 13h and may be lower if using a disk
5cache than without one (due to the cache's overhead).
    See also:
disk benchmark info list
physical drive
Drives
Check disk
Not yet implemented......
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
    Copy Disk
Not yet implemented......
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Format Disk
GOpens a dialog where you can select a (floppy) disk that you want to be
0formatted, the desired format, and some options.
IThe formatting routine is taken from FDFormat version 1.8 by Christoph H.
Hochst
tter.
    See also:
Logical drive
Drives
Make system disk
Not yet implemented......
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
Edit Disk Label
GThis reads the disk labels from the disk in the drive and lets you edit
them.
    See also:
>Disk label dialog  (see here about more about the disk labels)
logical drive
Drives
Physical Drives Overview
IThis info list gives you an overview over your hard disks. Displayed are:
 the number used by the disk BIOS to access the drive (80h, 81h...)
 the parameters cylinders, heads, sectors
 the resulting size in kBytes and MBytes.
5And, if it's more than one, the total capacity in MB.
    See also:
physical drive sub-menu
Drives
Logical Drives Overview
IThis info list gives you an overview over your logical drives, displaying
Cfor each available drive letter (i.e. up to the LASTDRIVE setting):
 the letter (A:, B:, ...)
 the drive type (or "not used")
?for hard disk partitions and supposed ram-disks, also shown is:
 the volume label (enclosed in french quotes
 the size (in MBytes)
 the percentage of free space
    See also:
logical drive sub-menu
Drives
Partition Table
GThis list displays information about partition table of the fixed disk.
KThe following items are displayed (see the cross-references for more info):
Header line:
 Size in heads, cylinders, sectors, and total kBytes and MBytes
First part of the table:
 No. of the entry (a right arrow for extended partitions)
 Boot? Is this partition bootable?
 Size (MB) the size in MBytes
 Type tells the type number and
 if known
 description
Second part:
 again the No. of the entry
 Start and End are the partition's first and last sectors
 # Sectors is the total number of sectors in this partition
?Fixed disks are partitioned by special programs, such as FDISK.
    See also:
physical drive
Drives
Drive
LDrive x displays the number of the fixed disk, i.e. 0,1,2, or 3 (the maximum
Hfor normal MFM/RLL, ESDI, and AT-Bus/IDE drives is 1, but there are some
IBIOS-compatible solutions that allow more; and there's SCSI). This number
Idoes not necessarily correspond to your partition names: 0 contains drive
HC:, but drive 1
 if installed
 contains D: only if disk 0 has only one
(active) partition.
BIf installed, in this line is also displayed the size of the drive
;(respectively the emulated values, on IDE and SCSI drives).
LThis is the size of the drive like entered in your setup, or emulated by the
K'more intelligent' drive types AT-Bus and SCSI, plus the capacity resulting
from these values:
2Capacity = Heads * Cylinders * Sectors * 512 bytes
(one sector is 512 bytes large)
Entry Number
IEvery partition table has space for four entries, numbered from 1 to 4. A
Fright arrow indicates that this line is about a 'sub-partition' of the
extended partition above.
Bootability
0States whether the partition is bootable or not.
JThere can be only one... [no, this is not Highlander...] primary partition
Kon a drive which is bootable. This partition's boot sector will be executed
<when the system starts (when it has to boot from hard disk).
INote that sub-partitions may be labelled "bootable" but are of course not
Hloaded on normal startup (but it may be booted from it when using a Boot
LManager like the one that comes with OS/2; however, DOS needs a primary par-
<tition)
 or vice versa, with Linux (at least on my system).
IThis states the type of the partition with the number in hex plus a short
description, as follows:
 00h empty
 01h DOS 12-bit FAT
 02h XENIX root file system
 03h XENIX /usr file system (obsolete)
 04h DOS 16-bit FAT (up to 32M)
 05h DOS 3.3+ extended partition
 06h DOS 3.31+ Large File System (16-bit FAT, over 32M)
 07h QNX
 07h OS/2 HPFS
 07h Windows NT NTFS
 07h Advanced Unix
 08h AIX bootable partition, SplitDrive
 09h AIX data partition
 09h Coherent filesystem
 0Ah OS/2 Boot Manager
 0Ah OPUS
 0Ah Coherent swap partition
 10h OPUS
 11h OS/2 Boot Manager hidden 12-bit FAT partition
 12h Compaq Diagnostics partition
 14h (resulted from using Novell DOS 7.0 FDISK to delete Linux Native part)
 14h OS/2 Boot Manager hidden sub-32M 16-bit FAT partition
 16h OS/2 Boot Manager hidden over-32M 16-bit FAT partition
 17h OS/2 Boot Manager hidden HPFS partition
 18h AST special Windows swap file
 24h NEC MS-DOS 3.x
 3Ch PowerQuest PartitionMagic recovery partition
 40h VENIX 80286
 42h SFS (Secure File System) by Peter Gutmann
 50h Disk Manager, read-only partition
 51h Disk Manager, read/write partition
 51h Novell???
 52h CP/M
 52h Microport System V/386
 56h GoldenBow VFeature
 61h SpeedStor
 63h Unix SysV/386, 386/ix
 63h Mach, MtXinu BSD 4.3 on Mach
 63h GNU HURD
 64h Novell NetWare
 65h Novell NetWare (3.11)
 70h DiskSecure Multi-Boot
 75h PC/IX
 80h Minix v1.1 - 1.4a
 81h Minix v1.4b+
 81h Linux
 81h Mitac Advanced Disk Manager
 82h Linux Swap partition
 83h Linux native file system (ext2fs/xiafs)
 84h OS/2-renumbered type 04h partition (related to hiding DOS C: drive)
 93h Amoeba file system
 94h Amoeba bad block table
 A5h FreeBSD
 B7h BSDI file system (secondarily swap)
 B8h BSDI swap partition (secondarily file system)
 C1h DR-DOS 6.0 LOGIN.EXE-secured 12-bit FAT partition
 C4h DR-DOS 6.0 LOGIN.EXE-secured 16-bit FAT partition
 C6h DR-DOS 6.0 LOGIN.EXE-secured Huge partition
 C7h Cyrnix Boot
 DBh CP/M, Concurrent CP/M, Concurrent DOS
 DBh CTOS (Convergent Technologies OS)
 E1h SpeedStor 12-bit FAT extended partition
 E4h SpeedStor 16-bit FAT extended partition
 F2h DOS 3.3+ secondary
 F4h SpeedStor
 FEh LANstep
 FFh Xenix bad block table
,All other values are displayed as
unknown
9The above list is taken from Ralf Brown's Interrupt List.
Start and End
JThese tell the head, cylinder, and sector where the partition starts resp.
ends.
Total Sectors and Size (MB)
 # Sectors: Tells how many sectors the partition has in total.
 Size (MB): Tells the size of the partition in Megabytes, which is the
Inumber of sectors in the field before divided by 2048 (because one sector
has 512 bytes = 1/2048 MB).
Extended Partition
IAn extended partition groups together more partitions for the drive which
Kare not to be positioned in the primary partition table; this makes it pos-
2sible to have more than four partitons on a drive.
JExtended partitions, under DOS, are available since version 3.3. They con-
Itain one or more secondary partitions from which can not be booted unless
Kyou use a special boot manager which, e.g., lets you choose from which par-
Htition to boot on startup (i.e. when your system has completed all those
Hself-tests).
 e.g. OS/2 2.x comes with such a Boot Manager
 If you got
Lmore than one conventional bootable ('primary') DOS partitions, you may only
Aaccess the one you booted from, the others don't exist under DOS.
IThe first sector of such an extended partition contains a partition table
J(just like the primary partition sector
 but it has no startup code). Its
Kfirst entry specifies the type of the partition following this sector (nor-
Kmally the whole rest of track is unused, the partition starts with the next
Khead on this cylinder), its second tells whether there is another 'extended
Jpartition'
 so this is a 'chained list'
 or this is the end of the list.
%(The other two entries are not used.)
KBy this, you may theoretically have as much partitions as the space on your
Lhard disk allows. [But I don't think it's useful to have one hundred partit-
>ions of one megabyte instead of one with over 100 megabyte...]
IDE Information
KIn this list, you see information about the IDE (or Enhanced IDE) device at
Kthe selected port as master or slave, that follow the ATA (-2,-3) specific-
Iation (AT Attachment)
 hard disks
 or the ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI),
+such as CD-ROMs, tape streamers, MODs, etc.
 supported ports
-("IDE" and "ATA" are often used as synonyms.)
HIf there's no device connected to a certain port as master or slave, re-
Jspectively, it takes a delay of two seconds after which "does not respond"
Iis displayed (same thing may happen if the device is powered down, or you
Hare running a multitasking environment, where the device just isn't fast
3enough in responding; reselect the menu item then).#
AYou can limit the number of ports agSI shows in the menu with the
NumIDEPorts INI setting.
FIf your system uses different addresses than 1F0/170/1E8/168h, use the
=IDEPort?Address INI setting to make agSI use the correct one.
The displayed information is:
 both ATA and ATAPI:
 Controller/Disk model: The name of the disk (the controller integrated in
the disk), as it is reported.
 For ATA drives:
 Number of cylinders on non-changeable and # changeable media
 Number of heads
 Sectors per track
K(For the above three, if supported, both the default and the current trans-
lation modes.)
KNote: As most modern drives use a method called Zone Bit Recording (ZBR) or
Hsimilar where there are more sectors per track in the outer parts of the
Hdisks and less on the inner parts, the above values are not the physical
0parameters but the (preferred) translation mode.
 * Bytes per track
 * Bytes per sector: some drives report 512, the number of used data bytes
Hin the sector, and most other drives report the total size of bytes, in-
(cluding checksum, management bytes, etc.
 ATAPI Configuration word (different from the ATA-style as below), with the
flag bits meaning:
 bits 15-14: protocol type: 0x=ATA, 10=ATAPI, 11=reserved
 bits 13-8: device type: 0 = direct-access device (usually hard disk)
5 = CD-ROM
+7 = optical (such as MOD = magneto-optical)
'1Fh = unknown type or no type specified
other values reserved
 bit 7: removeable media if set
 Bits 6-5: CMD DRQ type: 00=microprocessor, 01=interrupt, 10=accelerated
 bits 4-2: reserved
 bits 1-0: command packet size: 00=12 bytes, 01=16 bytes, 1x=reserved
 general info (ATA & ATAPI)
 Serial number
 Controller revision
 * Controller type: either of
 0: not specified
 1: single ported single sector buffer
 2: dual ported multiple sector buffer
 3: dual ported multiple sector buffer with look-ahead read capabilities
 Buffer size (sectors and KB)
 Transfer informations:
 Sectors per interrupt (block transfer mode); supported and current
 # DWord IO transfer
 LBA support (LBA=Linear Block Adressing; a method where the BIOS doesn't
Ggive the sector number as Cyl/Head/Sec but as a linear number); if yes:
 LBA addressable and
 in CHS mode addressable capacity (MB)#
2If not LBA, but supported: CHS total capacity (MB)
 DMA support
 IORDY support: IORDY (I/O-Ready) is a line used in advanced PIO mode 3
(see below); if yes:
 whether IORDY can be disabled
 Original PIO timing mode (non-advanced, max. 2; cf. below)
 Single-word and Multi-word DMA transfer mode (supported and active):
none, 0, 1, 2, etc.
 Advanced PIO modes (3, 4, or above)
 minimum and recommended DMA transfer cycle time per word, and
 minimum PIO transfer cycle time per word without and with IORDY flow
Acontrol, both in nanoseconds (ns) with the resulting (calculated)
!theoretical maximum transfer rate
 ATA-3 miscellaneous (if given):
 Standby timer values: vendor specific or as defined in standard
 major versions of the standard the device adheres to: any of ATA-1,-2,-3;
further numbers reserved
 minor version (revision of standard supported; optional):
30001h = ATA (ATA-1) X3T9.2 781D prior to revision 4
*0003h = ATA (ATA-1) X3T9.2 781D revision 4
-0005h = ATA-2 X3T10 948D prior to revision 2k
$0007h = ATA-2 X3T10 948D revision 2k
#0009h = ATA-2 X3T10 948D revision 3
$0008h = ATA-2 X3T10 2008D revision 0
$0006h = ATA-2 X3T10 2008D revision 1
others reserved
 command sets supported:
 bit 0: 1=supports SMART feature set
 bit 1: 1=supports security feature set
 bit 2: 1=supports removeable feature set
 bit 3: 1=supports power management feature set
 others reserved
 Security Mode Feature Set supported (ATA-3 specification); if yes:
 maximum number of passwords supported (each being up to 512 bytes long;
including Emergency password)
 current Secure State (if no error during reading it), bitfield:
 bit 7: Secure Mode Read/Write enabled
 bit 6: Secure Mode Read Only enabled
 bit 5: Secure Mode Write Protect enabled
 bit 4: Unlocked
 bit 3: Lock Flag
 If the device is in Secure Mode and this bit is
=cleared, the device will assume the locked state when powered
>down. If the device is in Secure Mode and this bit is set, the
4device can only be locked by issuing a Lock command.
 bit 2: Media Not Present (if the device is a removable media device)
 bit 1 and 0: reserved.
 Miscellaneous:
 + Inter sector gap
 + Sync field length
 Number of ECC bytes (Error Correcting Code), i.e. bytes available with
the Read/Write Long commands
 Configuration word for ATA drives, with the flag bits meaning:
 * hard-sectored or soft-sectored
 * drive uses non-MFM coding (most modern drives use an RLL method)
 * head switch time > 15
 * spindle motor can be switched off
   fixed disk or changeable disk
 * transfer rate: below 5 Megabits per second (Mb/s), between 5 and 10
Mb/s, or above 10 Mb/s
 * rotation speed tolerance above 0.5 percent
 * data strobe offset option available
 * track offset option available
 * format speed tolerance gap required
   (non-magnetical drive)
&Notes (from the ATA-3 specifications):
-+ these fields are labelled "vendor specific"
* "vendor specific (obsolete)"
# "reserved"
    See also:
%note about multitasking environments
physical drive
Drives
LThe initial parts of the IDE info routine is taken from the ATBUS program of
Kthe German c't magazine, 11/91, page 192. Additions have been made from the
;ATA-2 and ATA-3 specifications of the ANSI X3T10 committee.
)One note about multitasking environments:
EAs it might be dangerous to change the drive on the port when another
Fprogram (or the operating system) writes to another drive, there might
Fbe objections to using it in such environments. However, this also de-
Gpends on the way of device virtualization which I don't know enough de-
Gtails of. It should be safe under Windows 386-mode where it is enclosedF
Hin "critical section" calls and is, unlike in previous versions of agSI,
Gnow possible there; it still is disabled under OS/2. (Not tested in the
Linux DOS emulator yet.)
FUnder Windows 95, you might always get "drive does not respond" (maybe
 depending on your configuration.
IBM/MS Int13 Extensions
HThis list shows something about the extensions to the disk interrupt 13h
J(for drives with numbers
80h, i.e. hard disks and others to be handled by
Dthe hard disk part of the BIOS) and what these know about the drive.
5MS Windows 95 implements the Int13 Extensions (v1.x).
JNote that not all parts of the list below need to be supported for any im-
plementation or drive.
 Extensions static info:
 Major version number
 Support for...
 extended access functions (extended read, write, verify, seek, param)
 removable drives (lock/unlock, eject)
 extended parameter table
 Drive parameters:
 Info flags: bitfield (from right=0 to left):
 0: DMA boundary errors handled transparently
 1: cylinder/head/sectors-per-track information is valid
 2: removable drive
 3: write with verify supported
 4: drive has change-line support
 5: drive can be locked
 6: CHS information set to maximum supported values, not current media
 Capacity: numbers of...
 cylinders
 heads
 sectors per track
 sectors total
 bytes per sector
 and the resulting total capacity
G[Note: as 64 bits are used for "sectors total", you can have as much as
G18 million million million sectors on a drive, which is
 with the usu-
Bal sector size of 512 bytes
 8192 Exabytes (1 Exabyte
 1 billion
Gigabyte)....]
 address of configuration parameters (no further details displayed yet)
 Removable media info:
 drive locked?
 media (probably) changed?
    See also:
physical drive
Drives
Ontrack DiskManager
LThis list shows the presence of the Ontrack DiskManager (or Ontrack's SWBIOS
KTSR) which is used to give access to hard disks beyond 504 MB on older sys-
'tems that do not support them directly.
KDisplayed is only the configuration word (meaning unknown except for bit 15
Hwhich, if set, means that other SWBIOS extensions are available) and the
 number of cylinders beyond 1024.
    See also:
physical drive
Drives
Hard Disk Benchmark
LThe title line shows the hard disk number as the BIOS uses it, i.e. 80h,81h,
Ketc. The first four lines show the size of the hard disk (as you may get it
Lfrom other info lists in agSI as well); the next lines show the speed infor-
/mation which is determined one after the other:
 Track to Track seek time (in milliseconds (ms))
 Average seek time (ms)
 Maximum seek time (ms)
 Maximum Throughput (kBytes per second)
HNote: These values should be pretty accurate (of course they may vary by
Hsome 0.1%), even if you are running a disk cache; they are probably even
Lbetter without cache (due to the cache's overhead). However, these tests are
)not necessarily related to every-day use.
HNote: In some cases, the maximum seek time is less than the average seek
Ktime; probably because the drive gets the next seek command before the pre-
Lvious completes, which is more likely to occur when seeking across the whole
 drive than just one third of it.
JI'm planning to convert this benchmark to the better "seek+read" method in
the future.
HThe disk is tested via the seek and read functions of the BIOS interrupt
H13h. As only seeks and no reads are performed for the seek times, modern
Ldisks may be rated faster (also in the advertising of the manufacturers) be-
Jcause the do not wait with responding until they reach the exact track, or
Imaybe even don't move the read/write head at all
 why should they do it,
?there's no practical need for a seek without a followed read...
KThe benchmark won't run under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode because you wouldn't
get reasonable results there.
    See also:
physical drive
Drives
:The test routines are taken from Norbert Juffa's CompTest.
SCSI Devices (ASPI)
JIf you have an ASPI (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface) driver installed
Hfor your SCSI system (if you *have* an SCSI system), this sub-menu shows
.information about host adapter(s) and devices:
 The entry point of the ASPI interface.
IAlso it is displayed if it's an protected mode driver (e.g. under Windows
J(95) which may not even reflect this call back to V86 mode (see also below
Gfor miniport drivers)); this is the case if the byte at the entry point
0address is 63h, the opcode for the ARPL command.
 For each host adapter:
 host adapter number
 ASPI manager ID (name)
 host adapter ID
 SCSI ID of the host adapter (0..7, usually 7 = highest priority)
 For each device on each adapter:
 the device's SCSI ID (0..7)
 its logical unit number (LUN)
 its type: disk, tape (streamer), printer, processor, WORM (Write Once
HRead Many times), CD-ROM, scanner, optical memory device, medium changer
)device, communications device, or unknown
 vendor name
 product name
 product revision
 type: SCSI-1,-2,...
 capacity (in MB) and
 bytes per sector for HD,WORM,CD,OD
 for SCSI-2 devices: SCSI features
 soft reset bit
 command queuing
 SCSI linking
 synchronous mode
 WIDE SCSI (16-bit)
 WIDE SCSI (32-bit)
 relative addressing
 drive flags
 Int13h number (00h=no access via Int13h (disk BIOS), 80h and above for
Ghard disks, others possibly CD-ROM miniport drivers [under Windows 95])
 preferred head and sector translation (0=none, e.g. for CD-ROMs)
Cor an appropriate error message and host adapter and target status.
MNote: An ASPI interface may also be available under Windows 95 if there is no
Lno SCSI adapter, but a so-called "miniport" driver installed, e.g. for a CD-
LROM drive with vendor-specific interface. (Some items may be nonsense then.)
    See also:
SCSI devices (ASPI) sub-menu
Drives
Disk Caches
.Microsoft's SmartDrive, newer EXE version
.Microsoft's SmartDrive, older SYS version
.Novell's NWCache (from Novell DOS 7)
.PTSCache from PTS-DOS
.Central Point's PC-Cache, version 8 and above
.Central Point's PC-Cache, versions 6 and 7
.Central Point's PC-Cache, version 5.x
.HyperWare's HyperDisk
.Symantec/Norton's N-Cache
.IBM's IBMCache
LOther caches are not yet recognized by agSI; hardware caches (cache control-
;ler / host-adapter cards) cannot be recognized by software.
    See also:
Drives
!Microsoft SmartDrive, EXE version
KThese lines tell you about Microsoft's disk cache, in the newer EXE version
K(version 4 and above, from Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 6.0+; v5.0 comes with MS-
JDOS 6.2, 5.01 with 6.22 [that one included in Windows 95 Preview calls it-
Kself 5.00, but is rather 5.01
 same file size, only some (non-code?) bytes-
9differ]), which is different from the older SMARTDRV.SYS.
 Version
 current size
 minimum size (during Windows)
 in k-bytes
 maximum size
 element size (in bytes)
 flush before prompt (/N or /F); always NO below v4.2
 CD-ROM support; always NO below v5.0
 cache hits
 cache misses
 drives/status
 separated between logical drives with read/write caching
Hand physical drives as they are accessed through the BIOS with the state
Eof double-buffering (which is needed in some cases, e.g. SCSI disks).
 flush now
FYou may change settings for the lines with a
, or perform the action.
LThe information described above can also be viewed with the SMARTDRV /S com-
mand.
INote that (as stated in the Interrupt List) Central Point's PC-Cache v8.0
Has well as newer Norton caches support most of SMARTDRV.EXE's Int2F-API;
Ksince I don't yet know how to decide which one it is, these may be reported
as SmartDrive.
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
!Microsoft SmartDrive, SYS version
KNOTE: THIS INFO LIST IS NOT IMPLEMENTED [who is still using this old stuff,
anyway?]
KThese lines tell you about Microsoft's disk cache, in the older SYS version
J(below version 4); obsolete since Windows 3.1 where Microsoft released the
first SMARTDRV.EXE version.
 version (3.xx)
 current size
 minimum size (unter Windows)
 in k-bytes
 maximum size
 total tracks in cache
 tracks in use
 locked tracks
 dirty tracks
 sectors read
 sectors already in cache
 sectors already in track buffer
 cache hit rate (in percent)
 track buffer hit rate (in percent)
) Note: This seems to be meaningful only with write caching, but that was
Lnever used in SMARTDRV.SYS, since the first SMARTDRV using write cache, ver-
sion 4.x, was written as EXE.
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
Novell NWCache
JNWCACHE is the cache program from Novell DOS 7, detected via its Int2F in-
Jterface; maybe there's also NLCache from Personal NetWare Lite (as said in
5the Interrupt List; but PNW is part of Novell DOS 7).
Displayed items:
 Version (maybe swapped; current is "1.01")
 private API entry point
From this private API:
 maximum size in kBytes
 current size in kBytes
 number of read-ahead buffers (sectors with 512 bytes each) and their size
    in kBytes
 read and write accesses, both total and miss
 numbers of disk access errors, plus another number stating other
    errors???
Notes:
I1) This displays some of the information shown with "NWCACHE /S", but not
Jall -- I don't know where to get them from, and the API function used here
doesn't tell them all.
K2) As the API is "private", it is possible that the format of the transfer-
Jred buffer changes in a later version, and the results may range from non-
Isense in this display to maybe even a system crash (not highly possible);
Gbut of course I try to get hold of any new version as soon as possible.
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
PTS-DOS PTSCache
KThis is the hard-disk cache from PTS-DOS 6.42+ from PhysTechSoft (from Rus-
Ksia); PTSCache seems to be an OEM version of COMBI-Disk, a shareware combi-
Lnation cache and RAMdisk sharing a single pool of memory by Vadim V. Vlasov,
 but without the RAMdisk feature.
-The items displayed are (as PTSCTL displays):
 PTSCache version (1.18 with PTS-DOS 6.42)
 current and maximum buffer size (in kBytes; maximum is normally all
>the XMS memory, and current is less if XMS memory may be lent)
 sectors per allocation block
 total and currently used allocation blocks
 dirty cache blocks (i.e. those that are modified and have yet to be
written to disk)
 blocks that could not be written out due to errors
 current options, in the format needed to be passed to PTSCTL, the
PTSCache control program:
 o: cache on/off (- = on)
 z: cache frozen
 a: read ahead
 b: write behind
 i: write immediately
 f: fix memory allocation (no XMS lending)
 update strategy: one out of
 none
 FIFO (First In First Out)
 sorted
 LRU (Least Recently Used)
 total number of read requests and sectors read
 number of BIOS read requests and sectors read (cache misses)
 read from disk)
 ditto for writes
JPTSCache offers access to information via IOCTL with the device "PT$CACHE"
Land returns an info block compatible to the one COMBI-Disk returns on block-
Kdevice-dependent IOCTL
 even the 5-character ASCIIZ signature is "COMBI"
J(leaving the RAMdisk fields set to zero). (PTSCache uses 5 bytes more than)
Ithe COMBI-Disk version contained in the Interrupt List, the first four of
Kwhich having a yet unknown function, the last stating the update strategy.)
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
    HyperDisk
LThis is HyperWare's cache program (which hooks to Int2F, using code DFh or
+if occupied
 the first free from C0h-FFh).
 Local Data Version (which is not the Product Version),
 number of buffers used and modified
 status of some flags:
 Staged Floppy and Hard Disk Writes
 Verify Floppy and Hard Disk Writes
 Floppy Caching
 Caching (in total)
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
#Central Point PC-Cache, version 5.x
JThis is the cache program from the old PC Tools, which is detected via its
Int16 function.
LOnly displayed is its existence; I don't know how to get more info, and this
#version is way out of date, anyway.
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
,Central Point PC-Cache, versions 6.x and 7.x
IThis is the cache program from the not-so-old PC Tools 6.x and 7.x, which
#is detected via its Int16 function.
AFirst, displayed is PC-Cache's status (on or off). Second, as the
AInterrupt List says, PC-Cache 6.x+ returns the address of a table
Jin ES:DI; however, my PC-Cache 7.1 only returned its segment in ES, and so
&I had to find out some info on my own.
>This is what is displayed when ES:DI is returned (v6.x only?):
 the number of physical transfers, scaled down to 7FFF hex (32767)
 the number of saved transfers, also scaled.
 the cached drives, which should be in the form "CD F", for example (a
+lower-case letter means "on 2nd hard-disk")
!When only ES is returned (v7.x?):
 the status of delayed writing (on or off)
 the version's date (as stored at ES:0104) in American format (month/day/
5year), which is 09/30/91 in my version (7.1, German).
 the size (in k-bytes)
 the number of physical and saved transfers, as above
 the cached drives, as above
H[Sorry to all those who can't make use of these technical stuff and just
want the information...]
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
"Central Point PC-Cache, version 8+
CThis is the cache program from PC Tools 8.x and possibly "Pro" 9.x.
DVersion 8.0 supports most of SmartDrive's API and may be reported as
;SMARTDRV.EXE; as far as by now, I do not know how to decide
between them.
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
IBMCache
=This is IBMCache (from older? PC-DOS versions). Displayed is:
 version
 size
 sectors per page
 total read requests
 hits and misses
 XMS utilization
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
Norton Utilities NCache
HNCACHE-F and NCACHE-S (from old Norton Utilities). Displayed is only its
$existence and the state (on or off).
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
Disk Caches
5agSI couldn't find a known disk cache on your system.
    See also:
Disk Cache index
Drives
Online Disk Compression
HThe first line, Compressor, tells the name of the compressor, or the API$
4and the server. In this version of agSI this can be:
 Microsoft's MRCI and DoubleSpace/DriveSpace
 Stac Electronics' Stacker
 PhysTechSoft's Folder
INote: Due to the patent lawsuit from Stac, Microsoft removed their online
Kdisk compression "TroubleSpace" [oops, I mean DoubleSpace] from DOS in ver-
Lsion 6.21 and added a slightly modified version called "DriveSpace" in 6.22.
    See also:
Drives
MRCI/DoubleSpace/DriveSpace
INote: Due to the patent lawsuit from Stac, Microsoft removed their online
Ldisk compression "DoubleSpace" from DOS in version 6.21 and added a slightly
-modified version called "DriveSpace" in 6.22.
JWhen a RAM-based MRCI-API (Microsoft Real-time Compression Interface, pro-
 nounced like "merc
") is loaded:
 Vendor signature (four letters, "MSFT" for Microsoft)
 MRCI server version
 MRCI specification version (currently 1.00; DriveSpace implements "2.00")
 Server and hardware assisted capabilities: These is a list of what the
DMRCI-server can do, and what is supported by additional hardware, as
&follows, or
 if no one is given:
 standard compress
 standard decompress
 update compress
 MaxCompress
 incremental decompress
 MRCI 2.0 standard compress
 MRCI 2.0 standard decompress
 Maximum block size: Size of the largest possible block (bytes).
CNote: ROM-based servers are not yet tested [do any exist, anyway?].
)When DoubleSpace/DriveSpace is installed:
 First drive letter used by DoubleSpace/DriveSpace
 Number of drive letters used (starting with the above)
 Internal version: a 15-bit value which is "6" in the MS-DOS 6.00 GA-
Grelease, "10" in MS-DOS 6.2 AND 6.22, "12" in Windows 95 Preview; there
Git is reported as "enhanced mode driver 1.12" in the DriveSpace Options
9dialog, and that's why agSI writes "1.xx" for value "xx".
 Drive mapping (if applicable): mapping of D??Space-supported drives,
Eeither "d: -> d:" or "e: -> f:\DBLSPACE.nnn"; for the latter, e: is a
<compressed volume in the file DBLSPACE.nnn on host drive f:.
HNote: I don't know any compressor other than DoubleSpace/DriveSpace that
supports the MRC-Interface.
    See also:
Online Compression index
Drives
Stacker
JThis section tells about Stac Electronics' online disk compressor Stacker.
IIt is not much information I know how to get from the Stacker driver, but
this is what I know:
 Stacker version
 Address of info record
 Drive mapping:
GA list of drive letters (up to LASTDRIVE); if you see two letters swap-
Gped, or one occurs twice, this tells you about the remapping Stacker is
Fapplying, and should be like the output of the STACKER command (just a
little briefer).
    See also:
Online Compression index
Drives
Folder
LFolder is the online compressor from Russian PhysTechSoft's PTS-DOS. Detect-
Iion is done by looking for a block device driver which has the name field
Kin its header ("reserved" for block devices) set to " FOLDER"; no more info
Jthan the number of units Folder handles can be displayed here at the time.
    See also:
Online Compression index
Drives
Online Disk Compression
@agSI couldn't find an online compressor it knows on your system.
    See also:
Online Compression index
Drives
$Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions (MSCDEX)
$Microsoft's CD-ROM driver interface.
KDisplayed are the version, as well as the first drive letter used for a CD-
KROM drive, and the number of letters used by MSCDEX, plus the drive letters
Iin detail if there's more than one (which may be noncontiguous if another
/(e.g. network) drive is between two CD drives).
%Also detected is if this is CorelCDX.
@Detection: Int2F/1500h (interferes with GRAPHICS.COM in DOS 4.x)
LNote: There is (I think) no way to differ between Microsoft's own MSCDEX and
KNovell's NWCDEX; and Novell DOS' NWCDEX seems to use BCD for the minor ver-
Hsion numbers (MS doesn't), and had obviously an error: the version which
Fcalls itself "2.20" on installation time reports (and is displayed as)
I"2.16" (decimal, =2.10 BCD) on the Int2F call, and the following versions
&"correctly" BCD "2.50" or "2.80", etc.
    See also:
Drives
%Notes on Detecting Installed Programs
GThe Detection:-line tells which interrupt is used ("IntXX", where XX is
Hthe interrupt number in hex), plus a hex value for the AX register, plus?
Ksome additional registers, or "IOCTL" which means accessing a device driver
Jvia IOCTL function Int21/44xxh, plus the name of the device
 if there is,
Jhowever, a file with the same name (and any extension) in the current dir-
Iectory, this may report false values [really?], or simply say
installed
(even though the device is not installed.
IThese are only for a brief information; DO NOT CALL ANY OF THEM USING THE
ASTATED CALLES WITHOUT CONSIDERATION SINCE THEY MAY BE INCOMPLETE!=
JRefer to a documentation or book about the software, or the Interrupt List
.by Ralf Brown, where I took most of this from.
JAlso, for ranges like Int2F/C0-FFh (where a free number is searched at TSR
Kload time) there are additional checks necessary, so refer to the Interrupt
List.
4This information item has been disabled by the user.
6For more information, see disabling information items.
    See also:
Main menu
+Configuration Files: CONFIG.SYS, .DOS, .W40
KHere you see your C:\CONFIG.SYS file, the basic configuration file for DOS.
KSeveral keywords are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-wrapped; the
Fcontinuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the beginning.
+Notes on the names (if you own Windows 95):
JThe currently used file is always called CONFIG.SYS; if Windows 95 (or its
JMS-DOS 7) is running, the file from the previous DOS version is renamed to
JCONFIG.DOS; if Win95 boots the previous DOS version, it calls its own file
CONFIG.W40.
    See also:
Configuration Files
 Configuration Files: DCONFIG.SYS
HHere you see your C:\DCONFIG.SYS file, an alternative name for the basic
:configuration file for DOS, used by DR-DOS and Novell DOS.
KSeveral keywords are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-wrapped; the
Fcontinuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the beginning.
    See also:
Configuration Files
Configuration Files: CONFIG.PTS
IHere you see your C:\CONFIG.PTS file, an alternative name used by PTS-DOS
Lfor the basic configuration file for DOS; it has a slightly different syntax
than for the other DOS types.
KSeveral keywords are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-wrapped; the
Fcontinuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the beginning.
    See also:
Configuration Files
-Configuration Files: AUTOEXEC.BAT, .DOS, .W40
HHere you see your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the basic start-up file for DOS.
JSeveral keywords (commands) are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-
Lwrapped; the continuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the be-
ginning.
+Notes on the names (if you own Windows 95):
LThe currently used file is always called AUTOEXEC.BAT; if Windows 95 (or its
JMS-DOS 7) is running, the file from the previous DOS version is renamed to
LAUTOEXEC.DOS; if Win95 boots the previous DOS version, it calls its own file
AUTOEXEC.W40.
    See also:
Configuration Files
$Configuration Files: MSDOS.SYS, .W40
LHere you see your C:\MSDOS.SYS file (if you have Windows 95), a boot-up con-
figuration file for Windows 95.
KSeveral keywords are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-wrapped; the
Fcontinuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the beginning.
LNote: MSDOS.SYS of previous DOS versions is a binary system file; only under
JWindows 95, it contains textual information. (It's named to MSDOS.W40 when
)Win95 boots to the previous DOS version.)
@Here's a brief description of the entries in the MSDOS.SYS file:
Entry
 Description
[Paths] section:
JHostWinBootDrv=c
 Defines the location of the boot drive root directory.
HWinBootDir=
 Defines the location of the necessary startup files.
  The default is the directory specified during Win95
  Setup; for example, C:\WINDOWS.
GWinDir=
 Defines the location of the Windows 95 directory as
  specified during Win95 Setup.
[Options] section:
HBootDelay=n
 Sets the initial startup delay to n seconds. The de-
  fault is 2. BootKeys=0 disables the delay. The only
  purpose of the delay is to give the user sufficient
  time to press F8 after the Starting Windows message
  appears.
KBootFailSafe=
 Enables Safe Mode for system startup. The default is 0.
  (This setting is enabled typically by equipment manu-
  facturers for installation.)
HBootGUI=
 Enables automatic graphical startup into Windows 95.
  The default is 1.
IBootKeys=
 Enables the startup option keys (that is, F5, F6, and
  F8). The default is 1. Setting this value to 0 over-
  rides the value of BootDelay=n and prevents any start-
  up keys from functioning. This setting allows system
  administrators to configure more secure systems.
GBootMenu=
 Enables automatic display of the Windows 95 Startup
  menu, so that the user must press F8 to see the menu.
  The default is 0. Setting this value to 1 eliminates
  the need to press F8 to see the menu.
KBootMenuDefault=#
 Sets the default menu item on the Windows Startup menu;
  the default is 3 for a computer with no networking
  components, and 4 for a networked computer.
EBootMenuDelay=#
 Sets the number of seconds to display the Windows
  Startup menu before running the default menu item. The
  default is 30.
EBootMulti=
 Enables dual-boot capabilities. The default is 0.
  Setting this value to 1 enables the ability to start
  MS-DOS by pressing F4 or by pressing F8 to use the
  Windows Startup menu.
LBootWarn=
 Enables the Safe Mode startup warning. The default is 1.
GBootWin=
 Enables Windows 95 as the default operating system.
  Setting this value to 0 disables Windows 95 as the
  default; this is useful only with MS-DOS version 5 or
  6.x on the computer. The default is 1.
JDblSpace=
 Enables automatic loading of DBLSPACE.BIN. The default
  is 1.
KDoubleBuffer=
 Enables loading of a double-buffering driver for a SCSI
  controller. The default is 0. Setting this value to 1
  enables double-buffering, if required by the SCSI
  controller.
JDrvSpace=
 Enables automatic loading of DRVSPACE.BIN. The default
  is 1.
ILoadTop=
 Enables loading of COMMAND.COM or DRVSPACE.BIN at the
  top of 640K memory. The default is 1. Set this value
  to 0 with Novell NetWare or any software that makes
  assumptions about what is used in specific memory
  areas.
KLogo=
 Enables display of the animated logo. The default is 1.
  Setting this value to 0 also avoids hooking a variety
  of interrupts that can create incompatibilities with
  certain memory managers from other vendors.
KNetwork=
 Enables Safe Mode With Networking as a menu option. The
  default is 1 for computers with networking installed.
  This value should be 0 if network software components
  are not installed.
    See also:
Configuration Files
/Configuration Files: DBLSPACE.INI, DRVSPACE.INI
JHere you see your C:\D??SPACE.INI file (which is usually hidden), the con-
Lfiguration file for Microsoft's online disk compressor DoubleSpace or Drive-
Space.
GThe keywords are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-wrapped; the
Fcontinuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the beginning.
    See also:
Configuration Files
(Configuration Files: WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI
IHere you see Windows' primary configuration files, WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI
@(which are searched for in any first-level subdirectory of C:\).
HThe section names '[xxx]' are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-
Lwrapped; the continuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the be-
ginning.
    See also:
Configuration Files
/Configuration Files: WINSTART.BAT, DOSSTART.BAT
KHere you see secondary start-up configuration files for Windows (which are,
Ljust as WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI, searched for in any first-level subdirectory
of C:\).
JWINSTART.BAT is executed when Windows starts, and DOSSTART.BAT is executed
)when Windows 95 starts its DOS-only mode.
JSeveral keywords (commands) are shown highlighted, and the lines are word-
Lwrapped; the continuations of a wrapped line are shown with '
' at the be-
ginning.
    See also:
Configuration Files
Directory Statistics and Files
KIn this sub-window, you see some statistics about the directory you select-
$ed, and its sub-directories, if any:
 number of files (including hidden and system files)
 total length of all files
 bytes allocated by these files, and the percentage of the usage
G(as DOS allocates file space in clusters, a file leaves some space free
at the end of its last cluster)
 smallest and highest file size of the files in this directory
=If there are sub-directories to this directory, displayed is:
 number of sub-directories
 number of files in this directory and all of its sub-directories together
 total length and bytes allocated, as above.
JIf enabled in the Options dialog, you will also see a list of the files in
Ithe directory (being read when this window is opened), similar to that of
Hthe DIR command. The list is "unsorted", i.e. in the same order as it is
Lstored in the directory. Displayed are, if Windows 95 (i.e. support for long
Lfilenames) is not running, or it's a file yet not accessed under Windows 95:
 file name ("8+3")
 size (0 for directories)
 date and time of last modification
 attributes: Read only, Hidden, System, Archive, Directory#
'(the letter if set, or a dash - if not)
)If support for long filenames is present:
 the long filename, if present
 a line with the above items name (8+3), size, date/time of last modifica-
tion, and attributes
 if set, date/time of creation and date of last access (in the next line)
JIf the file has a 4DOS(-compatible) description, this will be displayed in
the following line.
KNote: The times of long file names are displayed in GMT, not in local time,
Kand thus may be off the correct time by some hours (e.g. 2 too few in CEST)
&[where do I get the time zone from???]
JNote: there's a centered dot
 at the beginning of the first line that be-
Elongs to a particular file to show you which lines belong together...
    See also:
Directory tree
BIOS ID String
LThis is the ID string (used by AMI only, I think) of your BIOS (from address
JF0078h, if available (=not used as UMB)), which contains the following in-
=formation, shown with an example (from my former 486 system):
%40-00L1-ZZ1124-00101111-091692-P-HiNT
 Required Processor: 3
 386, 4
 size of BIOS: 0
 64k, other
 Version (00L1)
 Reference Number (ZZ1124)
 some flags (00101111)
 OEM version date (091692 = Sep 16, 1992)
 Chip set type/OEM (P-HiNT)
KThe following two lines are displayed at startup only under certain condit-
ions (Ins key pressed (?)):
34H-0-0000-00-00-0000-00-00-29L
 34H-0-0000-00-00-0000-00-00-00-1
 34H
 pin used for clock switching  (H/L
 pin is active if High/Low
 29L
 ?                              level???)
 34H
 pin used for cache control
 1
 number of BIOS modifications
1(Not necessarily correct for all OEM variations.)
KNote: At startup, also displayed is the revision of the keyboard controller
&behind the ID line, e.g. ",F" or "-H".
    See also:
Board and BIOS
Feature Bytes
Feature byte 1:
 b7: DMA channel 3 used by hard disk BIOS
 b6: 2nd 8259 (interrupt controller) installed
 b5: Real-Time Clock installed
 b4: Int15/4Fh called upon INT 9h (keyboard interrupt)
 b3: wait for external event (INT 15/AH=41h) supported
 b2: extended BIOS area allocated (usually at top of RAM)
 b1: bus is Micro Channel instead of ISA
 b0: system has dual bus (Micro Channel + ISA)
Feature byte 2:
 b7: reserved
 b6: Int16/09h (keyboard functionality) supported
 b5: Int15/C6h (get POS data) supported
 b4: Int15/C7h (return memory map info) supported
 b3: Int15/C8h (en/disable CPU functions) supported
 b2: non-8042 keyboard controller
 b1: data streaming supported
 b0: reserved
Feature byte 3:
 b7-5 reserved
 b4: ??? (set on some IBM's since 1992)
 b3: SCSI subsystem supported on system board
 b2: information panel installed
 b1: IML (Initial Machine Load) system
 b0: SCSI supported in IML
JThere are also feature bytes 4 and 5, but they are either not used yet, or
4used only on some IBM machines in a yet unknown way.
    See also:
Board and BIOS
Video Memory Access Speed
GThis sub-window shows speed information about the memory (used for this
*standard text mode) of your graphics card.
KDisplayed are read and write access speeds, using 8, 16, and
 if available
 32 bit wide accesses, in kBytes per second.
    See also:
Graphics info list
Hardware/System
SoundBlaster Mixer Settings
GThis sub-list shows the settings of the mixer chip of your SoundBlaster
H(compatible) card. The mixer type is assumed as the usual for the SB DSP
>version (and it should be right for *fully* compatible cards):
 the CT1335 used in the SoundBlaster 2.0 (early SB with CD input); DSP 2.x
 the CT1345 from the SoundBlaster Pro (2); DSP 3.x
 the CT1745 from the SB 16, SB Pro 3, and follow-ups; DSP 4.x
 maybe another chip in newer cards, but that should be compatible...
KThe mixer settings may be changed, select the appropriate line in the Sound
info list.
-Display for the CT1335 mixer (monaural only):
 Volume settings (ranging from 0 to 7):
 Master
 MIDI
 Voice (sampled sound playback)
I(Note that maybe some clone card used a more fine-grained setting, but as
Gthe bit used then is "in an unknown state" on the original SB, it's not
included here.)
For the CT1345 (stereo):
 Volume settings (ranging from 0 to 15, although the original SB Pro 2 did
Dstore only the high 3 bits; on my SB Pro, the low bit is always set,
*which results in the settings 1,3,...,15):
 Master (left/right)
 Voice
 Line In
 Microphone (mono, only in the range of 0 to 7)
 Stereo switch (on or off)
 Recording source: one out of microphone, CD, Line In
 Low-Pass filter:
 Type: 3.2 or 8.8 kHz low-pass
 status for input and
 output (on or off)
And the CT1745:
 Volume settings (from 0 to 31; however, newer (or clone) cards may sup-
Gport up to 255 settings which isn't displayed here (i.e. the more fine-
#grained settings are rounded off)):
 Master (left/right)
 Voice
 MIDI
 Line
 Microphone (mono only)
 PC speaker (0..3, of course mono only; if connected to the SB card)
 Equalizer settings (from -8 to +7) for treble (L/R) and bass (L/R)
 Gain factor (0..3) for input and output
 Automatic microphone gain control (AGC) status
 Output and input (L/R) select: sets which source is sent to the output/
Hinput; a '-' indicates this source is not included, 'L' and 'R' name the
Iappropriate channel, and 'M' for the (monaural) microphone. Possible are:
 Output: Line (L/R), CD (L/R), Mic
 Input: MIDI (L/R), Line (L/R), CD (L/R), Mic
    See also:
Change mixer settings dialog
Sound info list
Hardware/System
$QEMM-386: Memory Type Map (First MB)
KThis overview shows the different types of each 4KB page of the first MB of
memory.
Possible types:
 00h= m: mappable
 02h=mR: mapped ROM
 03h= h: high RAM
 04h= x: excluded
 05h= v: video memory
 06h= R: ROM
 07h=aR: adapter ROM
 08h=sR: split ROM
 09h=pf: page frame
 0Ah=ra: RAMmable
 0Bh= c: conventional memory
 83h=Wh: high RAM under Windows
 else: unknown (hex byte displayed)
    See also:
Qemm main info list
-QEMM-386: Memory Access Status Map (First MB)
LThis overview shows whether each 4KB page of the first MB of memory has been
=read from ("R") or written to ("W"), displaying a "-" if not.
    See also:
Qemm main info list
!QEMM-386: Memory Usage Statistics
LThis sub-list shows some information about the memory usage in the system as
well as QEMM-internal.
    See also:
Qemm main info list
Mouse Driver: Supported Modes
GThis sub-list shows a list of the supported video modes, in hexadecimal
values.
    See also:
Mouse driver main info list
#Mouse Driver: Acceleration Profiles
IThis sub-list shows a list of the acceleration profiles, displaying name,
%threshold speeds and speedup factors.
    See also:
Mouse driver main info list
 Protected Mode Interrupt Vectors
IIf a DPMI host is present, and the use of protected mode is enabled, this
Ksub-list shows a list of the protected mode interrupt handlers (of the used
;interrupts that are not only passed on to real (V86) mode).
$No "Owner" names are available here.
INote: Under DPMI hosts other than Windows, the non-handled interrupts may
be not correctly detected.
    See also:
Interrupt vectors main list
Plug and Play Device Flags
@This sub-list shows the meaning of the bits of the device flags:
 b0: device has been initialized
 b1: device is enabled
 b2: configuration resources locked
 b3: temporary resources supported
 b4: device is re-configurable
 b5: reserved (0)
    See also:
Plug and Play main list
$Plug and Play Device Node Attributes
JThis sub-list shows the meaning of the bits of the device node attributes:
 b0: 1=device cannot be disabled
 b1: 1=device is not configurable
 b2: 1=device is capable of being primary output device
 b3: 1=device is capable of being primary input device
 b4: 1=device is capable of being primary Initial Program Load (IPL) device
 b5: 1=device is a docking station device
 b6: 1=device is a removable system device
 b8:7: 0:0=device can only be configured for next boot (static)
50:1=device can be configured at runtime (dynamically)
1:0=Reserved
:1:1=device can only be configured at runtime (dynamically)
 b9-15: reserved (0)
    See also:
Plug and Play main list
More PCI Device Information
HThis sub-list shows more information about the corresponding PCI device,
+taken from the configuration address space.
HPlease refer to the Interrupt List (Int 1Ah, B1xxh) for further details.
L(Note: In this sub-list display, the items are grouped together as appropri-
4ate instead of listed in the order they are stored.)
INote: "capable of running at 66MHz" means the PCI bus speed which is (for
all Pentiums) max. 33 MHz.
    See also:
PCI main list
Modem Test
LThis sub-list shows, if a modem is connected to the serial port, some infor-
Imation about the modem. The modem must be compatible to the standard "AT"
Jcommand set ("AT" standing for "Attention" as beginning of any command for
Hthe modem), at least "ATV1" setting it to "verbose mode", "ATZ" as reset
4(performed at the end), and the others listed below.
 Product information with the ATIn command, n standing for the following
Gnumbers (from the manual of my modem; I don't know if they are the same
on any model):
 0: product code
 1 and 2 are not shown; they are the hardware ROM checksum.
 3: product revision code
 4: response programmed by an OEM (probably useless to the user)
 5: country code number
 any other following numbers which are implemented
 Fax:
 Telling the fax interface classes your modem supports:
40: normal data mode, 1: Fax Class 1, 2: Fax Class 2,
%and current class (AT+FCLASS command)
 Manufacturer (AT+FMFR?) and
 Model of the Fax part of the modem (AT+FMDL?)
Notes:
 CAUTION: You should NOT access this sub-list when you are performing some
Jcommunications application in the background as it may disturb this appli-
cation.
 On a port (better, on an IRQ
 assuming COM1=IRQ4 and COM2=IRQ3) with a
,serial mouse, the sub-list is not available.
 The communication with the modem is performed using the Int14h interface
'and polling for results from the modem.
    See also:
COM ports main list
KThis is a reminder screen that this is just the unregistered shareware ver-
sion of agSI.
Please register!
    See also:
License and Registration
Help contents
Enter Registration Information
FPlease enter your name and the registration code you received from the
Iauthor. (Both are NOT case-sensitive; they will be stored in the AGSI.INI
file.)
    See also:
%license and registration information
Error!
)You entered an invalid registration code!
HMake sure you entered your name and the 8-letter code correctly (as they
Lappear on the registration info you received; not case-sensitive, but spaces
DO count).
H(Or select Cancel / press the Esc key to abort entering the registration
code.)
    See also:
%license and registration information
Thank you for registering agSI!
The author.
Options
"You may set the following options:
!High-intensity background colors:
HIf checked, colors like a light blue bar for menu/list selection will be
Gused. Such colors are used by setting a special bit in one of the video
Jcontroller's register; otherwise, blinking colors are used. Under Windows,
Hyou always get no blinking in a DOS window, but when you switch to full-
=screen, high-intensity background colors will start to blink.
Continuous info updating:
JIf checked, some info lists will continously be updated to reflect current6
Kchanges (the time, for example). If you are running agSI under a multitask-
Jing environment, this may result in bad performance of other applications,
'so you can disable it with this option.>
BNote: You can temporarily disable updating also by pressing Alt-U.
Enter -> list:
IIf checked, the info list will be activated when you press the Enter key,
Jand the cursor keys scroll through the list; if not, the menu stays active
!(like on pressing the Space key).
"Files in directory tree sub-lists:
JIf checked, in the sub-list to a directory in a directory tree list, there
Jwill not only statistics be displayed, but also a list of the files in the
Gdirectory (which will be read when the sub-list is opened), just like a
DIR command would show.
Use Protected Mode (via DPMI):
HIf DPMI is installed, agSI may use some protected mode calls to gather a
Klittle more information; however, this might rarely (but should not) result
7in a crash under certain environments, DPMI hosts, etc.
BIf checked, such protected mode calls will be used; otherwise not.
GYou may also start agSI with the /R option to disable using such calls.
-Automatically show Overview when agSI starts:
KIf checked, the General Overview info page will be shown automatically when
agSI is started.
Directory tree indent:
KSet the value you want the directory tree of a logical drive to be indented
Ifor subdirectories; values range from 1 to 9, with 1 resulting in "
DIR",
 2 in "
DIR", etc. Default is 3.
    See also:
the INI file
the command line
main menu
Change Cache status of a drive
JIn this dialog, you can activate or deactivate the read or write cache for
!the drive shown in the title bar.
    See also:
Disk Cache
LThe feature you wanted is not yet implemented. If you urgently need it, con-
Jtact me and try to persuade me (at gunpoint, with money, etc...) to imple-
?ment it a.s.a.p.; otherwise, wait for one of the next versions.
List of Interrupts
Int.     Usage
00       CPU: Divide Error
701       CPU: Single Step / Debugging Exceptions (386+)
%02       NMI (Non Maskable Interrupt)
03       CPU: Breakpoint
$04       CPU: INTO detected Overflow
805       Print Screen / CPU: BOUND Range Exceeded (186+)
#06       CPU: Invalid OpCode (286+)
607       CPU: Processor Extension not Available (286+)
?08       IRQ0: Timer    / CPU: Double Exception detected (286+)
J09       IRQ1: Keyboard / CPU: Processor Extension Protection Error (286+)
B0A       IRQ2: 2nd 8259 / CPU: Invalid Task State Segment (286+PM)
;0B       IRQ3: COM2     / CPU: Segment not present (286+PM)
10C       IRQ4: COM1     / CPU: Stack Fault (286+)
B0D       IRQ5: HD       / CPU: General Protection Violation (286+)
00E       IRQ6: Floppy   / CPU: Page Fault (386+)
70F       IRQ7: LPT1     / CPU: Coprocessor Error (286+)
10       Video-BIOS functions
>11       BIOS: get configuration / CPU: Alignment Check (486+)
12       BIOS: get RAM size
)13       BIOS: floppy/hard disk functions
-14       BIOS: serial communication interface
!15       BIOS: extended functions
;16       BIOS: keyboard / Central Point's PCTools interface
/17       BIOS: parallel communication (printer)
018       BIOS: start ROM BASIC (if available...)
19       BIOS: re-boot system
1A       BIOS: time/date
.1B       BIOS: Ctrl-Break Handler (not Ctrl-C)
,1C       BIOS: Timer Tick (after each Int08)
$1D       DATA: Video parameter table
#1E       DATA: Disk parameter table
+1F       DATA: character bit patterns (8x8)
20       DOS: Terminate Program
521       DOS: DOS Functions (also LANtastic, NetWare)
)22       DOS: Program Termination Address
'23       DOS: Ctrl-C/Ctrl-Break Handler
$24       DOS: Critical Error Handler
 25       DOS: Absolute Disk Read
!26       DOS: Absolute Disk Write
/27       DOS: TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident)
 28       DOS: DOS Idle Interrupt
!29       DOS: Fast Console Output
62A       DOS: reserved: Network (Microsoft, LANtastic)
2B-2D    DOS: reserved
?2E       DOS: pass command to Command Interpreter for Execution
!2F       DOS: Multiplex Interrupt
E30       DOS: FAR JMP instruction for CP/M-style calls
 NOT A VECTOR
;31       overwritten / DPMI interface (Protected mode only)
32       DOS: reserved
33       MOUSE Driver functions
'34-3B    FPU Emulation: Opcodes D8h-DFh
:3C       FPU Emulation: Instructions with Segment Override
(3D       FPU Emulation: Standalone FWAIT
93E       FPU Emulation: Borland Languages "Shortcut" Call
I3F       Overlay manager interrupt (LINK.EXE, TLINK VROOMM) / MS DLL mgr.
>40       ROM BIOS Diskette handler relocated by Hard Disk BIOS
*41       DATA: Hard Disk 0 Parameter Table
A42       VIDEO: relocated default INT 10 Video Services (EGA,VGA)
.43       VIDEO DATA: Character Table (EGA,VGA)
144       Novell NetWare
 High-Level Language API
45       reserved
*46       DATA: Hard Disk 1 Parameter Table
47-49    free
!4A       BIOS: User Alarm Handler
F4B       Virtual DMA Spec. / Common Access Method SCSI interface (old)
4C-4E    free
4F       SCSI-CAM
50-5B    free
5C       NetBIOS interface
5D-66    free,
:50-5F   IRQ0-15 relocated by DESQview, OS/2 1.x (only 0-7)
60      MDEBUG / FTP
61      PC/TCP
65      Ad Lib SOUND.COM
67       EMS Functions,VCPI
68-6F    free
$70       IRQ8:  CMOS Real-Time clock
,71       IRQ9:  redirected to Int 0A by BIOS
72       IRQ10: reserved
73       IRQ11: reserved
/74       IRQ12: reserved / Pointing Device (PS)
175       IRQ13: Math Coprocessor Exception (287+)
$76       IRQ14: Hard Disk Controller
77       IRQ15: reserved
78-7F    free,
7A      NetWare: IPX Driver
*7E      reserved for DIP, Ltd. ROM library
80-F0    reserved for BASIC,
 80      SoundBlaster SBFM driver
)E0      Concurrent CP/M, DR Multiuser DOS
EF      GEM: Interface
CF0      BASICA.COM, GWBASIC, compiled BASIC: original Int 08 vector
%F1-FF    reserved for user interrupt,
3FE      Turbo Debugger 8086 v2.5+ - OVERLAY MANAGER
Edit Disk Label
JHere you can edit the labels of the disk in the drive displayed in the top
line of the dialog.
JThere are two volume labels in DOS 5.0+ (and possibly 4.0)
 or disks for-
matted by one of these systems:
 The traditional volume label is an entry with "volume label" attribute in
Hthe root directory of the disk.  The DIR, VOL, and LABEL commands report
%this volume label, and LABEL sets it.
 There is a second volume label, which may be different, in the boot sec-
Itor (along with the serial number). DIR and VOL ignore this volume label;
4the LABEL command doesn't report it but does set it.
JWith agSI, you may change both labels individually. To do so enter the de-
Jsired names in the corresponding input line and check the box to the right
G(they are checked by default). (Both input lines share the same history
list, by the way.)
Restrictions/Notes:
 For the normal use, you only need to change the root directory label. You
Imight, for instance, want to change the boot sector label if you use some
Mboot manager software which displays this label [like my own SelDOS program].
 If the disk doesn't contain a valid boot sector and thus has no boot sec-
Jtor label, you won't be able to set it (the check box is greyed out), even
,though the (empty) input line is functional.
 The boot sector label will be written to the boot sector litterally,
Iwhereas the root directory label is set through DOS, which means some re-
strictions:
 letters will be converted to upper case;*
 you may not use some characters like : / + etc., but you may use blanks
"; you may use the dot "." only if you keep to the standard filename
specs of 8+3 (without a blank).
JIf you do not keep to these restrictions, DOS will report an error and not
change the label.
K(!) Under Novell DOS, the label will be cleared in this case because Novell
KDOS seems not to allow renaming the label (thus making it necessary to del-
$ete it first then creating the new).
K[Maybe I'll include an optional function to bypass DOS for setting this la-
bel in the future.]
 If the boot sector label is set to an empty string, it will NOT be writ-
Lten as empty string but as "NO NAME" which is the standard behaviour of most
Lprograms. If you want an empty string, enter (at least) one space "
". (This
$does not affect the root dir label.)
 If either label has not been changed compared with the values read from
Kdisk when opening this dialog, it will not be written to disk; however
KDOS obviously changes the boot sector label when creating a new or deleting
Hthe old root dir label
 the boot sector label will be written anyway in
Lthis case (if the Set check box is off, the old label will be written back).
 It is safe to change the disk before selecting OK in the dialog
Jboot sector is read again (then from the new disk), and there's no problem
Jwith DOS changing the root dir label. However, the above note concerns the
Klabels of the original disk, and the input line contents set on start-up of
+this dialog are those of the original disk.
 Under Windows 95 (in both GUI and DOS-only mode), direct write access to
Fthe disk are normally disabled. For this reason, the drive needs to be
H"locked" with the LOCK command, and can be unlocked with UNLOCK; this is
Kneccessary to protect long filenames and the data in these files from dama-
:ges done by older programs that do not know long filenams.
IagSI tries to lock the drive under Windows 95; if this fails (normally in
LGUI mode), the boot sector label cannot be written; try it again in DOS-only
Jmode. If it is successful, you will be asked whether direct write accesses
Lshould be disabled again (at present, I don't know how to determine the lock
Lstate before safely); you should answer with "yes" for above protection rea-
sons.
JMedia Information in this logical drive menu shows these two labels, along
with other information.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
IAn error occured during reading or writing the disk label. Possible error
sources:
 Disk removed from drive.
 The disk doesn't contain a valid boot sector, so you cannot set the boot
sector label.
 When writing the root directory label, DOS doesn't accept some characters
7like . / + etc. This label is not changed in this case.,
 Windows 95: drive could not be LOCKed
 details
    See also:
Edit Disk Label dialog
Format Floppy Disk
 Drive: The drive the floppy you want to be formatted is in; either A: or
B: (if available).
 Format: The desired format, including some special formats (only those are
Javailable which are possible on the particular drive). "Quick" format will
Kjust rewrite the system area, not the whole disk, using the same format the
disk already has.
 Label: The volume label you want to give to the floppy disk.
 Options:
 Verify: If checked, all tracks formatted are checked if they are cor-
Erect; disabling this switch will speed up the formatting by about one
third.
 Unconditional: If not checked, the disk may be "unformatted" (by DOS
F5/6's UNFORMAT utility); if checked, this will not be possible (use it
+preferably on new (unformatted) diskettes).
 Without Erase: If checked, the contents of the tracks on the disk are
Fread, the track is formatted, and the data is written back; thus there
Fwill be NO DATA LOST (use this to "freshen" the formatting of a disk.)
 System Disk: This will make a bootable system disk, including transfer-
Fring the system files (MSDOS.SYS, IO.SYS, COMMAND.COM for MS-DOS, plus
9DBLSPACE.BIN for MS-DOS 6.x) by invoking the SYS command.
 More Options: Click here to get a few more, advanced options.
Notes:&
I1) To access disks with non-standard formats, you need a resident utility
8like the included FDREAD (not necessary under OS/2 2.x).
L2) A non-system formatted disk will contain a boot sector that will pass the
Gboot process on to the hard disk; thus it doesn't mind if you forgot to
.take the disk out of the drive when rebooting.
H3) agSI's format facility does not offer the same variety of formats and
>options FDFORMAT does, but it does offer those usually needed.
    See also:
logical drive
Drives
LThe formatting routine was taken from FDFORMAT version 1.8 from Christoph H.
Hochst
tter.
List of available formats
  360k
  720k
 1200k
 1440k
 2880k
4Format
"ED Drive
,360k
   +
   + S
   +
   + S
   + S
*720k
   -
   +
   + S
   +
,820k
   -
   + S
   + S
   + S
   + S
+1200k
   -
   -
   #
   #
+1440k
   -
   -
   # S
   #
+1480k
   -
   -
   # S
   #
-1720k
   -
   -
   -
   # S
   # S
02880k
   -
   -
   -
   -
   #    *
03440k
   -
   -
   -
   -
   # S  *
+ = available
# = available only on High-Density (HD) disks (or better)
- = not available
JS = special format, needs a special utility like the included FDREAD resi-
Gdent in memory; OS/2 2.x can read those diskettes WITHOUT utility with-
out problems, though.
5* Note: Extra-Density (ED) formats not yet supported!
 Format Floppy Disk: More Options
&Here you have some additional options:
 Direction: By default, a disk will be formatted starting at the highest
I(innermost) track descending to track 0 (unlike DOS and most other format
Lroutines); thus, if you accidently inserted a wrong (still needed) diskette,
Kthe damage will be less or even zero if you abort the process early enough.
LSet this switch to "Ascending (0..xx)" if you encounter problems (on a badly
adjusted drive).
 Sector Slide: A non-zero value will "slide" the sectors so that the speed
Hmay be dramatically improved. Let me explain it: Instead of sectors, for
Kinstance, 123456789 on one track and also 123456789 on the next, there will
Kbe 345678912 (i.e. track slide "2") parallel to the first track; when read-
Ling or writing, the head needs some time to move on to the next track, while
Gthe diskette rotates on. With sector sliding, the head may then be just
6right above sector 1
 this saves 7/9 of a revolution.
JA sector slide of "2" for tracks and "1" for heads seems to be best on to-
day's computers.
Format Status
GIf you want to abort formatting, press Esc or click on the Stop button.
 (Note: it won't appear pressed.)
<The Format Status dialog displays the following information:
 Drive: A: or B:
 Drive Type: 5
" DD/HD or 3
" DD/HD/ED
 Heads, Tracks, Sectors of the format selected
 formatting: the size (in k) the disk will have (result of the above)
 Sector Shift: the values from the More Options dialog
 Interleave: the interleave factor of the format selected
 may not be set by user
 elapsed time (in minutes:seconds)
 estimated time remaining: may be incorrect (too high) at the beginning
Format Result
JHere you see some statistics about the formatting procedure that just fin-
ished.
JIf you want to format another floppy disk with the same parameters as this
Gone, select Yes (or press Y); you will then be prompted to insert a new
<diskette. Otherwise, press OK or Enter if you don't want to.
KInsert a disk you want to be formatted with the entered parameters into the
Ldrive and press Enter or the OK button, or press Esc or the Cancel button to
abort.
Print Dialog
GIn this dialog, you may select some necessary and optional settings for
    printing:
What?
,Here you select what you want to be printed:
 this list only: the list of the current info window; not available if no
info window opened.
 lists of this menu: prints the lists of all menu items of the currently-
9active menu (not the menu the selection bar may be upon).
 all lists (equivalent to "lists of this menu" in the main menu)
 selected lists will print the lists you select in the dialog opened when
you select the ... button.
IInclude sub-lits: if checked, sub-lists of the list(s) to be printed will
Aalso be printed (appended to the end of the list they belong to).
Lalso in dir tree: as above, but seperately for the sub-lists (statistics) of
Ethe directories of the directory tree display (Drives|logical drive).
BThis setting has no meaning if the above check-box is not checked.
    To where?
=This is the destination you want the print-out to be sent to:
 a serial port COM 1 thru 4; only those selectable that are available on
1your system (and also not used by a serial mouse)
 a parallel port LPT 1 thru 3
 a file
File:
JThe file that will be printed to if you select "file" above. If either ex-
Ktension or name contain a wildcard ("*" or "?"), this will be replaced by a
Kconsecutive number. The file will be placed in the current directory and be
Kcalled "AGSI_PRN.nnn" (
input line: "AGSI_PRN.*") unless otherwise entered.
Options:
 only ASCII characters: if checked, only characters up to ASCII 127 will+
Ibe printed, i.e. frame characters like
 will be converted to - or +
I(use this e.g. for old printers that are not capable of such characters).
 append form feed will append a form feed at the end of the print-out in
Gorder to print and eject the last (or only) sheet
 useful when using a
$page printer (a laser, for example).
 centered, not left will align the printed lines centered (assuming an 80
<characters per line) instead of aligning the print-out left.
 append to file (only meaningful when printing to a file) when set, the
Gfile
 if it already exists
 will not be overwritten; instead, the new
8output will be appended to the end of the existing file.
Highlighting...
KSelect this button to open a dialog where you can enter some codes for your
Hprinter to highlight some parts of the print-out, i.e. the values on the
Jright side of an info window, the titles, etc. You can also choose whether
Dthe highlighting codes should be written to the file on file output.
@These four buttons will send some special codes to your printer:
LineFeed will send an ASCII 10
FormFeed will send an ASCII 12
KReset will send ASCII 27 and 64 (@) which is the usual code for resetting a
printer
GText will send the text string from the input line below; in this input
Kline, you may enter control characters by preceeding them with Ctrl-P (type
JCtrl and another key afterwards, or Alt-nnn, where nnn is a sequence typed
Gon the numeric keypad), or enter an ASCII 0 by pressing Alt-0 (0 on the
$main keyboard, not the numeric pad).
KThen press the Ok button or press the Enter key to print what you have sel-
9ected, or click Cancel or press Esc to print nothing now.
    See also:
the INI file
Select Lists
KIn this window, you can select which lists you want to be printed. They are
Jdisplayed according to the menu hierarchy; move the selection bar with the
Icursor keys then press the Space key to select a list, or click on it (or
drag) with the mouse.
LA selected line will appear with a checkmark at the beginning and in a diff-
erent color.
GClick OK or press Enter to confirm the selection when you have finished
K(which will be printed when you choose "selected lists" and Ok in the Print
,dialog), or Cancel (press Esc) not to do so.
    See also:
Print dialog
main menu
Highlighting
AHere you may enter printer codes for three types of highlighting:
 Headlines like "Sub-menu Software"
 Titles (of the info windows) like "Processor"
 normal highlighting of the values to the right side of the info lists,
like "486" in "CPU: 486".(
FYou can enter codes to be sent before (Prefix) and after (Postfix) the
Lcorresponding part, e.g. the codes for "start bold" as prefix and "end bold"
Has postfix; if you don't enter a postfix, all following characters/lines
Lwill be printed this way (in most, but not all, cases
 depending on printer
and code)!
HIf you want to enter special control characters below ASCII 32 (and most
Kprinters use them this way), you must press Ctrl-P first, then the key com-
Kbination you want to enter, i.e. Ctrl-other key or Alt-nnn on the numerical
Kkeypad; enter an ASCII 0 (looks like a blank) by pressing Alt together with
!the 0 key on the normal keyboard.
 list of common printer codes (with some notes)
LUse with: These two fields work as "master switches" for output on a printer
L(COM1-4, LPT1-3) and output to a file, respectively. If either is not check-
Ked, the codes will not be printed when printing to the corresponding desti-
nation.
    See also:
Print dialog
.List of common printer codes, Epson-compatible
I(most pin and ink-jet printers and even laser printers are Epson-(ESC/P)-
Gcompatible or can be set to such a mode; refer to your printer's manual
for these and other codes)



 type in
 code
 decimal
 hex
 input line
Estart bold
 Esc 'E'
 27 69
 1B 45
 Ctrl-P Esc E
Eend bold
 Esc 'F'
 27 70
 1B 46
 Ctrl-P Esc F



Estart italics
 Esc '4'
 27 52
 1B 34
 Ctrl-P Esc 4
Eend italics
 Esc '5'
 27 53
 1B 35
 Ctrl-P Esc 5



Fline feed

 LF
 10
 0A
 Ctrl-P Ctrl-J
Estart double height
 Esc 'w' 1
 27 119 1
 1B 77 01
 Ctrl-P Esc w



  Ctrl-P Ctrl-A
Eend double height
 Esc 'w' 0
 27 119 0
 1B 77 00
 Ctrl-P Esc w
E(ESC/P2 only?)



  Ctrl-P Alt-0



Estart underline
 Esc '-' 1
 27 45 1
 1B 2D 01
 Ctrl-P Esc -



  Ctrl-P Ctrl-A
Eend underline
 Esc '-' 0
 27 45 0
 1B 2D 00
 Ctrl-P Esc -



  Ctrl-P Alt-0



Gprint next char.
 Esc '(^'
 27 40 94
 1B 28 5E
 Ctrl-P Esc ( ^
Fliterally
  1 0
  1 0
  01 00
  Ctrl-P Ctrl-A



  Ctrl-P Alt-0
 (recommended before a code for double height if the printer writes the up-
*per part of a line over the previous line)
KThese codes may of course be combined, but you cannot enter more than seven
characters per code field.
KNote: you should not use a code for double width because the line will then
Hno more fit on one line on the printer (normally); you maybe also do not
Jwant to use underlining (except for printing help topics) due to the lines
printed by agSI.
Nice equation, eh?
Date and Time
JEnter the new system date and/or time in this dialog box, then press Enter"
Bor click on the OK button (press Esc or click on Cancel to abort).
HNote that if you do not enter a new time, the time from when this dialog
Hopened (i.e. the time that is displayed in the field) will be set as new
time!
IThe single values must be separated by the character displayed (which de-
Gpends on your system's country setting); empty sections mean
 (e.g.
12::59
 is the same as
12:0:59
Valid ranges:
 Date:
 Day: 1 to 28/29/30/31 (depending on month/year)
 Month: 1 to 12
 Year: 80 to 99 for 1980 to 1999,
0 to 79 for 2000 to 2079
or 1980 to 2099
 Time:
 Hours: 0 to 23 (you may not use 1 to 12 and PM)
 Minutes: 0 to 59
 Seconds: 0 to 59 (may be left out and is then set to 0)
Date Input Error
KYou entered the date in an incorrect format. Please correct the input after
+closing this help page and the message box.
JYou can see the correct format in the date display in the message box (ex-
Ipressed by the letters 'D' for day, 'M' for month and 'Y'
 guessed it? -
Ffor year; small letters are optional, i.e. you can enter
Valid ranges:
 Day: 1 to 28/29/30/31 (depending on month/year)
 Month: 1 to 12
 Year: 80 to 99 for 1980 to 1999,
0 to 79 for 2000 to 2079
or 1980 to 2099
Time Input Error
KYou entered the time in an incorrect format. Please correct the input after
+closing this help page and the message box.
JYou can see the correct format in the time display in the upper right cor-7
Kner, or in the message box (expressed by the letters 'H' for hours, 'M' for
Hminutes and 'S'
 guessed it?
 for seconds; small letters are optional,
 i.e. you can enter
Valid ranges:
 Hours: 0 to 23 (you may not use 1 to 12 and PM)
 Minutes: 0 to 59
 Seconds: 0 to 59 (may be left out and is then set to 0)
GYou entered an incorrect (hexadecimal!) value. Please correct the input
1after closing this help page and the message box.
Question
Please answer the question.
L(There is no further help available on this question
 this is a common help
text for many questions.)
Information
JPlease note the information in this dialog, then close it [the dialog; how
#do you want to close information?].
J(There is no further help available on this information
 this is a common
!help text for many info dialogs.)
Error
JAn error occured. If possible, correct whatever has caused the error, then
5close this message box and maybe retry the operation.
JIf there is a positive error number displayed, this is a value returned by
:DOS; there should also be the corresponding error message.
LFor some errors, you may choose whether to retry, ignore, or abort the oper-
ation.
-(This is a common help text for many errors.)
Confirmation
JPlease confirm what you are prompted for in this message box, or press Esc
9or click Cancel if you do the action not to be performed.
4(This is a common help text for many confirmations.)
No Speed Tests
IThis speed test or benchmark won't run under OS/2 or Windows 386-mode be-
Icause you wouldn't get reasonable timing results there, due to the multi-
tasking environment.
5Exit Windows/OS/2 and run it under plain DOS instead.
DOS Error Codes
-Following is a table of some DOS error codes:
 Error
 File not found
 Path not found
 Too many open files [increase CONFIG.SYS's FILES= setting!]
 File access denied
 Insufficient memory
 Invalid drive number
 Disk is write protected
 Drive not ready
 Data error (CRC error)
 Unknown media type
 Sector not found
 Printer out of paper
 Write fault
 Read fault
 General failure
 Sharing violation
 Insufficient disk space
D(Listed are only those which are possible in an agSI error message.)
Memory Dump
LIn this memory dump window, you see a part of your system's (real-mode) mem-
Lory, displayed in both hexadecimal and ASCII form; denoted in the first col-
Jumn is the address in the form segment:offset, and between the hex bytes 7
'and 8 is a dash for better readability.
KYou may scroll around the current segment by using the usual cursor keys or
Lthe mouse; also, you may do the following things, as you can see in the low-
ermost (the status) line:
 F2 Opens a dialog window where you can select what part to print and
where to print to
 Print dialog
 Goto: opens a dialog where you can enter a new address (offset or seg-
ment:offset) to go to
 Goto dialog
 Find: opens a dialog where you can enter a search text or byte sequence
to search for
 Find dialog
 Next: searches the next appearance of the search text (if any)
 Prev: searches the previous appearance of the search text (if any)
 Esc closes the memory dump window.
DThe found search text will be highlighted with a blue bar behind it.
    See also:
Memory
Memory Dump: Print Dialog
GIn this dialog, you may select some necessary and optional settings for7
Dprinting of the memory dump (it's similar to the main Print dialog):
Area to print:
<Here you select what range of memory you want to be printed:
 Segment (preset to the current segment) is the segment of the memory area
you want to be printed.
 Offset and up to (preset to the current top and size of the window, re-
Hspectively) is the range of offset (inclusively) you want to be printed.
KWith head line: If checked, a head line "Seg:Ofs +0 +1 ... +F  01...F" will
be printed before the dump.
LPrint control characters: Normally, characters below ASCII 32 (control char-
Gacters) can't be printed; however, if preceeded by a special code, many
Kprinters can. If yours can, check this and enter the necessary codes in the
"field(s) to the right (cf. below).
    To where?
=This is the destination you want the print-out to be sent to:
 a serial port COM 1 thru 4; only those selectable that are available on
1your system (and also not used by a serial mouse)
 a parallel port LPT 1 thru 3
 a file
File:
JThe file that will be printed to if you select "file" above. If either ex-
Ktension or name contain a wildcard ("*" or "?"), this will be replaced by a
Kconsecutive number. The file will be placed in the current directory and be
Kcalled "AGSI_PRN.nnn" (
input line: "AGSI_PRN.*") unless otherwise entered.
Options:
 only ASCII characters: if checked, only characters up to ASCII 127 will+
Ibe printed, i.e. frame characters like
 will be converted to - or +
I(use this e.g. for old printers that are not capable of such characters).
 append form feed will append a form feed at the end of the print-out in
Gorder to print and eject the last (or only) sheet
 useful when using a
$page printer (a laser, for example).
 centered, not left included here so that it looks like the main print
 dialog, but not applicable here.
 append to file (only meaningful when printing to a file) when set, the
Gfile
 if it already exists
 will not be overwritten; instead, the new
8output will be appended to the end of the existing file.
Codes for control characters:
KEnter here the codes to print before printing control characters (below AS-
HCII 32) if your printer can print them; also check the appropriate check"
;box on the left side. See under Highlighting (from the main
Iprint dialog) and below under "Text" for more about the printer codes and
Fhow to enter them; the default setting (if you haven't changed it some
Gtime ago) is "ESC ( ^ 01 00" for the prefix and nothing for the postfix
Jwhich will print the one character following on an Epson-compatible print-
@These four buttons will send some special codes to your printer:
LineFeed will send an ASCII 10
FormFeed will send an ASCII 12
KReset will send ASCII 27 and 64 (@) which is the usual code for resetting a
printer
GText will send the text string from the input line below; in this input
Kline, you may enter control characters by preceeding them with Ctrl-P (type
JCtrl and another key afterwards, or Alt-nnn, where nnn is a sequence typed
Gon the numeric keypad), or enter an ASCII 0 by pressing Alt-0 (0 on the
$main keyboard, not the numeric pad).
KThen press the Ok button or press the Enter key to print what you have sel-
9ected, or click Cancel or press Esc to print nothing now.
    See also:
Memory Dump window
Go To Address
DEnter a hexadecimal address the dump window shall go to, in the form
K"Segment:Offset" or "Offset". You need not use a prefix or postfix like '$'
or 'h'.
Example: 0040:0
JNote: The offset is ANDed with FFF0h, i.e. the display always starts at an
address like xxxx:xxx0.
    See also:
The memory dump window
Memory Dump: Find Dialog
?Here you may enter a text (or some bytes in hex) to search for:
 Text: Type your search text here.
 Hex:  Type your hexadecimal search bytes here, separated by blanks.
JWhen you type in one input line, the other will simultaneously be updated.
 Options:
 Case sensitive
 Origin: Select whether you want the search to start at the beginning of
<the segment, or at the current position (top of the window).
    See also:
Memory Dump window
Help: Print Dialog
GIn this dialog, you may select some necessary and optional settings for6
Cprinting of the help topic (it's similar to the main Print dialog):
LPrint control characters: Normally, characters below ASCII 32 (control char-
Gacters) can't be printed; however, if preceeded by a special code, many
Kprinters can. If yours can, check this and enter the necessary codes in the
 Highlighting dialog (cf. below).
    To where?
=This is the destination you want the print-out to be sent to:
 a serial port COM 1 thru 4; only those selectable that are available on
1your system (and also not used by a serial mouse)
 a parallel port LPT 1 thru 3
 a file
File:
JThe file that will be printed to if you select "file" above. If either ex-
Ktension or name contain a wildcard ("*" or "?"), this will be replaced by a
Kconsecutive number. The file will be placed in the current directory and be
Kcalled "AGSI_PRN.nnn" (
input line: "AGSI_PRN.*") unless otherwise entered.
Options:
 only ASCII characters: if checked, only characters up to ASCII 127 will+
Ibe printed, i.e. frame characters like
 will be converted to - or +
I(use this e.g. for old printers that are not capable of such characters).
 append form feed will append a form feed at the end of the print-out in
Gorder to print and eject the last (or only) sheet
 useful when using a
$page printer (a laser, for example).
 centered, not left included here so that it looks like the main print
 dialog, but not applicable here.
 append to file (only meaningful when printing to a file) when set, the
Gfile
 if it already exists
 will not be overwritten; instead, the new
8output will be appended to the end of the existing file.
Highlighting...
KSelect this button to open a dialog where you can enter some codes for your
Jprinter to highlight some parts of the print-out, i.e. different colors in
Gthe help pages, etc., and also the code for printing control characters
I(cf. above). You can also choose whether the highlighting codes should be
4written to the printer or file (as a master switch).
@These four buttons will send some special codes to your printer:
LineFeed will send an ASCII 10
FormFeed will send an ASCII 12
KReset will send ASCII 27 and 64 (@) which is the usual code for resetting a
printer
GText will send the text string from the input line below; in this input
Kline, you may enter control characters by preceeding them with Ctrl-P (type
JCtrl and another key afterwards, or Alt-nnn, where nnn is a sequence typed
Gon the numeric keypad), or enter an ASCII 0 by pressing Alt-0 (0 on the
$main keyboard, not the numeric pad).
KThen press the Ok button or press the Enter key to print what you have sel-
9ected, or click Cancel or press Esc to print nothing now.
    See also:
Using the help system
Highlighting
AHere you may enter printer codes for these types of highlighting:
 normal highlighting
 extra highlighting
 low intensity (gray)
 other colors
 cross-references
 and control characters:
FYou can enter codes to be sent before (Prefix) and after (Postfix) the
Lcorresponding part, e.g. the codes for "start bold" as prefix and "end bold"
Has postfix; if you don't enter a postfix, all following characters/lines
Lwill be printed this way (in most, but not all, cases
 depending on printer
and code)!
HIf you want to enter special control characters below ASCII 32 (and most
Kprinters use them this way), you must press Ctrl-P first, then the key com-
Kbination you want to enter, i.e. Ctrl-other key or Alt-nnn on the numerical
Kkeypad; enter an ASCII 0 (looks like a blank) by pressing Alt together with
!the 0 key on the normal keyboard.
 list of common printer codes (with some notes)
LUse with: These two fields work as "master switches" for output on a printer
L(COM1-4, LPT1-3) and output to a file, respectively. If either is not check-
Ked, the codes will not be printed when printing to the corresponding desti-
nation.
IDefault values are set to "bold", "bold-italics", "draft", "italics", and
J"underline" (in this order) for Epson (ESC/P) compatible printers, BUT the
#"use with" switches are turned off.
    See also:
Print Help dialog
SoundBlaster Mixer
HHere you may change the mixer settings of your SoundBlaster(-compatible)
%card, dependent on the mixer version.
)For more information, see mixer settings.
    See also:
Mixer settings sub-list
Sound info list
Hardware/System
Help Contents

  What is agSI, anyway?
  Features of agSI
  Using agSI                         The agSI Windows Services
  License and Registration           Order form
  Important notes, conditions of use
  System Requirements                Files in this Package
  How to get new versions            Contacting the Author
  Revision History                   Known Bugs
  Questions and Answers              Disabling Information Items
  Sources, References                Opinions and press articles
  Glossary

  The Main Menu                      Start-up Screen

  Command line                       INI file

  Using Help
  Help Index (alphabetical)





   "You've never seen nothing like it
    No never in your life
    Like going up to heaven
    And then coming back alive

    Let me tell you all about it
         SystemInfo
    Oooh..."

                 Queen,
March Of The
      Welcome to agSI!
                   Black Queen
, 1974
  Please note: agSI is shareware! Please register! (
details)
  I don't want it to only be as it says in
The Golden Boy
  Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caball
  "No base considerations of some glittering reward
   The prize was knowing that his work was noticed and adored" ;)
JagSI evolved out of a program of mine called DLI which I have been writing
Kin order to get directory length information, and where I added some system
Linformation pages. Well, DLI never reached a state it could be released, andG
JI was not totally satisfied with the sysinfo presentation, so I wrote agSI
Jwhich combines many parts of DLI's system and drive info with new items of,
:information taken mainly from Ralf Brown's Interrupt List.
LSo here it is, written in Borland Pascal making use of Turbo Vision (adapted
Kto my needs). I've decided to release it as affordable shareware as for the
Lserious user, the price is almost nothing, and for me it's a little contrib-
ution and positive feedback.
I(By the way, I haven't found any other program which is able to detect as@
Kmuch installed programs and squeeze information out of them as agSI
 thanx
)to the already-mentioned Interrupt List.)
    See also:
Help Contents
Features of agSI
IagSI is a system information tool running under DOS which gives dozens of
Kitems of information about hardware/system, operating system, memory, soft-
ware, and drives, for example
 processor (incl. Pentium specific things), BIOS, BIOS extensions, PCI,
*Plug and Play, CMOS RAM, interrupt vectors
 interfaces (ports), graphics and sound cards, IRQ assignments
 operating system version, system file tables, country settings, Windows:
Fmodules (e.g. VxDs); additional Windows info with the Windows Services
Windows program!
 DOS memory usage, EMS,XMS,DPMI, etc.
 mouse driver, network, many installed resident programs and operating
+system services and extensions (almost 100)
 logical drives (A: to Z:) with many details, including directory tree,
/table of contents for CDs, and CD-ROM benchmark
 connected hard disks, including benchmark and IDE drive detection, and
)SCSI host adapters and devices (via ASPI)
 disk cache and online compressor
 extensive and detailed online documentation (help system)
 optional continuous updating of the information in the current window
(where sensible)
 some actions can be done (e.g. change date/time, disk cache settings)
 memory dump window to browse through your systems (real-mode) memory
 also offers formatting floppy disks
 with higher capacity
 option to print to COM1-4, LPT1-3, or a file
 runs of course under several operating systems and versions, like MS-DOS,
INovell DOS, PTS-DOS, a DOS session under Windows, Windows 95 or OS/2 ver-
sion 2 and above.
KI must admit that many of what agSI shows will be of no interest to average
<users, but useful for users with interest in internal stuff.
KNOTE: Like in any "proper" program, there is something hidden to be discov-
ered in agSI...
    See also:
help contents
revision history
Known Bugs
C"*My* software never has bugs. It just develops random features..."
 (generally:) Some items may cause agSI to hang up or crash the system
under certain conditions.
 Hard disk benchmark: Sometimes, "maximum" seek time is reported less than
J"average" seek time... (In this case, the average should be okay, only the
maximum is wrong.)
 The detection of the CPU's second level cache doesn't work correctly some-1
=times in such way that it is not displayed.
 Processor/Cache
 Directory names containing a tilde
 and that includes mainly 8.3 names of
Jlong filenames under Windows 95
 are not displayed correctly in directory.
Dtree list because it is used internally in agSI (and TurboVision) to
Gswitch between two colors [I also can't reproduce it here in the help].
 Printing a help topic which contains a small right arrow
 directly to a
Iprinter (with control character printing enabled) may result in the
Ging skipped (because it's handled as EOF); printing to a file first and
Ecopying this to the printer with COPY /B file PRN will probably work.
 A Matrox Millennium graphics card may be detected as OAK VGA (Hardware/
HGraphics; Windows 95 does it wrong, too...)
 refer to Hardware/VESA and
1Hardware/PCI for making sure it's a Millennium :)
 Windows: (using agSI\WinServ) This bug has been worked around (by checking
Gwhether the W32SYS.DLL exists), but I want to tell you about it anyway:
KIf you don't have Win32s installed (in Win 3.x; Win95 has neither this par-
Fticular DLL nor this bug) and selected OS|Windows version and flags, a
IWindows error box saying "File Error: W32SYS.DLL not found" popped up (atE
Jleast in (German) WfW 3.11); you had to set the focus back to the agSI DOS
Ewindow again (click its title bar). This is kinda strange coz Windows
Hshould in this case only return an error code to the program calling the
9LoadLibrary function... Does anyone know more about this?
 Windows, the second: at one tester's (with SoundBlaster 2.0) the Hardware|
Sound test hung under Windows.
 Windows, the third: on some systems under WfW 3.11 and Win95 it usually
Fhappens that at Hardware|parallel ports in the menu there is the wrong
Hnumber "3" displayed; this must be an error in the Windows DOS box which
Isets this wrong value in the equipment byte in the BIOS data segment (and
0is still present after Windows has been exited).
 OS/2: DPMI calls can crash under OS/2.
 Under OS/2, the Speed info list (menu Hardware/System) sometimes led to a
run-time error 200 or 207.
 On a beta tester's system, when selecting Media Information for a floppy
Fdisk drive, agSI crashed with an Invalid Opcode exception under Novell
DOS (but not on my system).
 And again Novell DOS: Obviously NWCDEX does not return an error code when
Jattempting to read a sector from an Audio CD; hence there may be erroneous
Ivalues or a runtime error 202 (happened in the Benchmark) in this case in
some of the CD info pages.
 One user reported a crash when Netware 3.11 ODI drivers were loaded.
 On my new system (with 16550A-compatible IO chip), the serial mouse (a
GLogitech Pilot) is disturbed when the serial ports are tested: handling
Gbecomes strange, and other programs could not use the mouse because the
Hdriver doesn't detect it anymore (?) until the next cold boot. If anyoneC
Eknows more about this, please tell me. (This is not specific to agSI,
also MSD causes it.)
 To keep Windows 95 users happy (but just one little thing): during the
Htest if a VESA SuperVGA BIOS is present, the DOS box is switched to full
Bscreen the first time agSI runs in it (on my system with a Diamond
1Stealth64 DRAM) if the DOS box is focused. [Why?]
 agSI crashed under some conditions under the Russian PTS-DOS when select-
$ing the DOS-memory list, and others.
 Some colour highlightings of the help system may look bad in monochrome
modes.
    See also:
help contents
Disabling Information Items
LIf a certain item of information constantly disturbs or crashes your system,
:you may disable it (if you're lucky and it's supported ;-)
GThis is done by placing one or more "DISABLE = " lines in your AGSI.INI
Ifile, followed by one of the supported (up to) four letter key words (not
Icase sensitive); in general, the first letter indicates which of the five
Hsub-menus it is in, the others may also be hierarchical; but see on your
    Hardware:
HCPU: processor (CPU)
HCID: CPUID/Pentium
.HTSC: CPU/Pentium: Time Stamp Counter (always)
;HTSV: CPU/Pentium: Time Stamp Counter (in Virtual8086 mode)
HBIO: board and BIOS
    HPCI: PCI
HPNP: Plug and Play
HSPD: speed: DRAM refresh
HSPR: speed: RAM throughput
8HSPB: speed: benchmarks (Dhry- and Whetstone, MegaFLOPS)
HPAR: parallel ports
/HPAn: parallel port n (with n being 1, 2, or 3)
HSER: serial ports
!HSEn: serial port n (1,2,3, or 4)
HSTn: serial port n: UART type
HSMD: serial ports: modem tests
HSMn: serial port n: modem test
HGAM: game port
.HGRA: graphics card: video system (new method)
.HGRM: graphics card: supposed OEM (old method)
'HGRS: graphics card: video memory speed
HSAL: sound: Ad Lib
HSSB: sound: Sound Blaster
HSSI: sound: Sound Blaster IRQ
 HSSM: sound: Sound Blaster Mixer
HSRO: sound: Roland MPU-401
HSGU: sound: Gravis UltraSound
1HSMV: sound: MediaVision ProAudio Spectrum driver
HVES: VESA BIOS Extensions
HINT: Interrupts
HIPM: Protected Mode Interrupts
HBDS: BIOS Data Segment
HIRQ: IRQs
HIOA: I/O Addresses
HCMD: CMOS details
HCMT: CMOS table
Operating System:
OOSI: OS type and version
"OOSW: OS type and version: Windows
'OOSL: OS type and version: Linux DOSEMU
OCNT: country
OENV: environment variables
OSYV: system variables
OSFT: system file tables
OSFS: system file tables: Share
ODEV: devices
OOTH: other settings
$OWIN: all Windows items below (OWxx)
 OWVF: Windows: version and flags
 OWSP: Windows: system parameters
 OWRE: Windows: resources, memory
OWTS: Windows: tasks, modules
OWPF: Windows: PageFile
!OWOC: Windows: WinOldAp Clipboard
OWOG: Windows: WinOldAp GDI
OWVX: Windows: VxDs
OWSH: Windows: Shell
Memory:
MDOS: DOS memory
    MXMS: XMS
    MEMS: EMS
MMGR: Memory Manager
M386: EMM386
MNWE: Novell DOS EMM386
MQEM: QEMM-386
MRM3: NetRoom RM386
MDPI: DPMI
MDPS: DPMS
MVCP: VCPI
MMAP: memory map
MEXT: RAM/ROM extensions
MSPD: memory speed
    Software:
SMOU: mouse
"SMOA: mouse: acceleration profiles
"SMOM: mouse: supported video modes
SNET: Network
SNEB: NetBIOS
SVDS: virtual DMA spec
STMX: TaskMax
SAPP: Append
STBX: TbScanX
SHYP: HyperWare
SSET: SetVer
SKEY: Keyb
SASS: Assign
SSHR: Share
SAMS: AMIS
    SAPM: APM
SOTH: others
Drives:
DLOV: logical drives overview
DPOV: physical drives overview
for the following:
D_xx: for all drives
#Dcxx: for logical drive c (A,B,...)
$Dnxx: for physical drive n (1,2,...)
)where xx stands for one of the following:
.__: total info about logical/physical drive(s)
HW: drive hardware
MI: media information
MS: media size/statistics
CT: CD table of contents
$VD: CD-ROM Primary Volume Descriptor
CB: CD-ROM benchmark
DT: directory tree
LF: long filenames
DD: device driver
PB: DOS parameter block
DS: Current Directory Structure
PT: partition table
ID: IDE info
$IW: IDE info when Windows is running
BM: hard disk benchmark
DASP: ASPI SCSI driver
DCAC: cache
DCOM: compressor
DCDX: MSCDEX
LThe disabled items will, in most cases, appear in the menu or info list, but
"just tell they have been disabled.
Example: Disable = HSe2
    See also:
    INI file
Questions and Answers
LHere's yet just a few questions that came into my mind, some based on actual
questions by some of you:
FQ: What to do if agSI hangs with just one line of output, and the main
screen doesn't show up?
JA: Run it with the command line switch /DX ("eXtra Debug") which will show
Hwhat's about to be done next, and tell me where it hangs; try to isolate
Hthe problem by checking several system configurations (e.g. a clean boot
Fby pressing F5 (DOS 6 and above)). This helps me finding what piece of
code is responsible for that.
.Q: For which versions is a registration valid?
HA: Well, at least for the 1.x.x versions; and I don't know if there will
Iever be a 2.0 version which deserves this version number (other than seen
with MS-DOS ;-)
EQ: agSI always crashes in one certain info item, the rest works fine.
5A: See disabling info items how to disable that item.
!Q: I did, but it isn't supported!
 A: Write to me and tell me that!
JQ: What if agSI shows no 2nd level cache (in the Hardware/Processor list)?
    etc. etc.
A: See here for more.
(Q: What programming language do you use?
DA: Borland Pascal 7.0 with many inline and external Assembler parts.
(Q: Is the source code of agSI available?
IA: No. However, if you'd like to know how a specific thing is done, don't
bother to ask me about it.
6Q: agSI is using some protected mode functions. How???
6A: See Information about the Protected Mode functions.
>Q: Will there ever be a Windows (3.1 or 0.95) or OS/2 version?
GA: OS/2: most probably not (why is there no Borland Pascal for OS/2?!?)
IWindows: I'm thinking about a Windows version, but I don't know if I ever
Fget to it; with the new "Windows Services", there's already a means of
Fgathering Windows-specific information, and this will certainly be ex-
tended.
%Q: Where do I get new versions first?
LA: See "Where to get new versions"; naturally, my WWW page will be the first
7I'm updating, but Simtel shouldn't take to long either.
-Q: How often is a new version being released?
IA: There's no regular interval. I keep working and improving agSI step by
Hstep, and when I think it's worth being released I do so. Note, however,
Dthat I also have to work on my math and computer science studies, so0
1there may be times when I can do nothing on agSI.
 Q: How can I reach you by phone?
HA: Well, I don't like it to put my phone number out here so everyone can
Gread it; however, if you register, and you ask for it, I'll give you my
?phone number (where you can also reach a fax modem on request).
)Q: What is your opinion about Windows 95?
IA: Hmm, if it would do at one hundred percent what it should be able to
Ias what several sources say
 and do it completely and correctly, Windows
,95% would be a really nice and good thing...
    See also:
help contents
.Information about the Protected Mode functions
GagSI
 which is a "common" DOS Real Mode program
 can, by switching to
3Protected Mode, gather some additional information.
In this version, this is:'
 Hardware/System: Interrupt Vectors
 Protected Mode interrupt vectors
 Operating System: Windows: VxDs with PM interface
 Memory: DPMI
 additional stuff
KFor these PM functions, a DPMI host (DPMI server) is required. Such is pro-
Ivided by some memory managers such as QEMM386, 386Max, Novell DOS EMM386,
Lby Borland's programming languages that generate DPMI programs, and in a DOS
7box under OS/2 and of course also Windows (3.x and 95).
JThe PM functions have been tested successfully with Borland's DPMI, NovellK
KDOS with EMM386, Windows 3.1x and Windows 95, and the Linux DOS Emulator.
IThat does not, of course, mean that it may not come to a crash in certain
Jconfigurations; if this should be the case on your system, you can disable
Kusing the PM functions in the Options dialog or with command line switch R.
 (there has only been crashes when running it under Novell DOS from inside
the Borland Pascal DPMI IDE)
Warning! Technical Details!
ISome of you that know something about these things may ask themselves how
Jthis is done in agSI. Well, maybe it is known that programs that are using
IDOS Extenders with DPMI work like this: The real mode part of the program
Istarts the DOS extender, then the PM part is loaded and it is switched to
KPM (or in opposite order), which is done with the address returned by func-
Ltion 1687h of interrupt 2Fh. Ending the program (and returning to real mode)
Jis done
 just as the DPMI specifications tell
 by ending the program the
K"usual" way using function 4Ch of the DOS interrupt 21h
 which, of course,
Kis handled first by the PM interrupt handler of the DPMI host, not directly
by real mode DOS.
JHere, however, it is necessary to switch back to real mode because most of
KagSI is running in real mode. To do so, the DPMI function "Raw Mode Switch"
Kis used which PM and RM addresses can be queried in PM
 also (depending on
Jthe implementation) the status of the DPMI host must be saved and restored
!before and after the mode switch.
KSo it works like this here: in the first call, the above-mentioned function
K1687h is used to switch to PM, the needed addresses are queried and stored,
Land the desired function (e.g. get DPMI info) is performed then. After that,2
Kit is switsched back to RM via Raw Mode Switch
 agSI is then, so to speak,
Krather (for the DPMI host) a PM program that just switches the mode several
Itimes; since in all subsequent PM function calls it is switched "back" to
JPM, and so on. When exiting, the DPMI host gets active again to "clean it-
(self up" before quitting agSI correctly.
KPlease note that the "real mode", in this case, is rather the "virtual 8086
Jmode" which is a form of the protected mode that just lets real mode prog-
Lrams run as if they had their own 1 MB system, but the PM host keeps control
H(and may offer services real mode programs can call); note also that all
Jinterrupt calls are handled first in the PM host which decides whether the
*RM program (and DOS) get to see it at all.
    See also:
help contents
Important Notes
Conditions of Use
JThe faultless working of agSI can, especially because several undocumented
Gthings are used, not be guaranteed, for there are many different system
configurations possible.
KShould agSI crash on your system, try to localize the reason for the error,,
=and notify me about it, for I cannot adapt agSI if you don't.
 I (THE AUTHOR) DO NOT GIVE ANY GUARANTIES OR TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITIES,
 NEITHER EXPRESSED NOR IMPLIED, OF ANY KIND!
 Not for the suitability of the program for any particular purpose, nor
 in particular for any damage which may arise from the use of the pro-
 gram or its documentaion.

 Use agSI at your own risk.
$Also, the Shareware conditions hold.
<By using this software, the user agrees to these conditions.
KAll trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.
    See also:
Help contents
                  Licence and Registration Information
agSI is distributed as SHAREWARE, i.e. you have to keep to the following
rules:
You may:
 give the shareware version to anybody (taking only a fee for handling);
   this has to be done completely and unmodified (recommendedly the origi-
   nal ZIP archive files).
 upload it to any BBS or software server, or put it on a CD-ROM (here
   also: completely); it would be kind of you to inform me so I can keep
   track about how far agSI is spreading.
 use (test) it for a period of 21 days;        "...Oooh give me a little
   if you want to use agSI after this period,     time to choose..."
   you must register with the author, paying          Queen,
March Of The
   a small amount of money (see below).                 Black Queen
, 1974
You may NOT:
 use the shareware version beyond the above test period.
 pass the full version, i.e. a registration code, to anyone, any way.
   Note that the registration code is stored in the INI file.
 use a single license on more than one computers, unless you make sure
   that only one at a time can be used.
agSI is no "crippleware", i.e. there are no limitations to the shareware
version; you are just being reminded about that by a window at startup and
a blinking title line.
The registration fee is US-$ 23 or DM 30 for a single license; you will
then recieve a registration code (which consists of eight letters) which
you enter along with your name in the Register dialog (in the main menu).
(The name will be displayed in the background (visible when selected About);
so if you want a different (nick-)name displayed there, tell me.)
This registration is valid at least for all 1.x.x versions.
  Please, register! I don't want it to only be as it says in
The Golden Boy
 by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caball
  "No base considerations of some glittering reward
   The prize was knowing that his work was noticed and adored" ;)
Normally, no disks will be sent; but if you want it that way, that's pos-
sible, of course (price: US-$ 4 / DM 5 per disk; plus an additional $6/DM 8
for postage&packing if outside of Europe). Note that sending of the disk
will be delayed until the next version is available if you already have the
current one (which the order form tells) (unless you specify differently).
Also, by default only the English version will be on a disk; however, you
can specify on the order form if you want only the German version, or both
(on a single disk).
As payment you may either mail me a cheque (or cash), or you order
 inside
of Germany only!
 by C.O.D., which adds a DM 5 fee.
Credit cards: American Express, VISA, Diners Club accepted!
Mastercard/Eurocard soon, so ask or look at my WWW page!
You may also let me inform you about new "major" upgrades (by letter or
preferably
 e-mail accessible from the Internet).
Please use the order form here or in ORDERFRM.TXT which you may print and
mail to me, or (C.O.D./credit cards) e-mail to me.
For quantity orders, the following scheme applies (prices are "US$ / DM"):

 price per

 additionally

 regis-
    total
 per
    p&p
        amount
 tration
   US$/DM
 disk
   total
      3 and above
 US$18/DM24
  54/ 72 (for 3)
 1.50/2
 4/5  +6/8*
     10     "
    12/ 17
 120/170 (etc.)
 1/1.50
 8/10 +6/8*
     40     "
     8/ 11
 320/440
(really necessary?
    100     "
     5/  7
 500/700
I have to copy them
    anyone need more? :-)

on my own...)
    * the additional US$ 6 / DM 8 are only for disk orders outside
      Europe
Of course you don't have to order one disk per registration; as the disk
contains the same as the original (shareware) distribution, it may be cop-
ied as you like
 just don't pass too many registration codes to other peo-
ple...
And PLEASE register! I've been told there were about 600 downloads until
the end of June 95 alone from the Compuserve Benchmarks & Standards Forum,
but that does not at all match the number of registrations I received! If
agSI is good enough for you to use it for a longer period, 23 bucks really
isn't too much!
    See also:
Help contents
!Order Form for agSI Version 1.2.0
(please fill in / check:)
prices each    prices total
E___ x Licence for agSI                  $ 23 / DM 30,- *
>  __ _____
A(you will recieve a registration code)                 ^ currency
E___ x 3 1/2" Disk with latest version    $ 4 / DM  5,- *
>  __ _____
1default English; [ ] also German, [ ] only German
[ ] I want 5 1/4 " disk(s)<
?outside Europe additionally     1x $ 6 / DM  8,-
>  __ _____
>* For discounts on quantity orders, see README or online help!
Payment/Shipping:<
E( )   C.O.D. ("Nachnahme", only inside Germany!) DM 5,-
>  __ _____
C( )   pre-paid (cash / cheque)                    --             --
C( )   Credit card [ ] Visa  [ ] Diners Club  [ ] Amer.Express    --
2(Euro-/MasterCard soon! Ask or check my WWW page!)
?Card no.: ____________________________ Expiration date: _______
7Name & address of card owner (if different from below):
?_______________________________________________________________
?_______________________________________________________________
ETotal:
>  __ _____
E[ ]  Inform me about "major" upgrades  [ ] via e-mail  [ ] via letter
GI got agSI from... ____________________________________________________
GComments: _____________________________________________________________
>______________________________________________________________
GName:    ______________________________________________________________
GCompany: ______________________________________________________________
GAddress: ______________________________________________________________
>______________________________________________________________
>______________________________________________________________
GE-Mail:  ______________________________________________________________
(accessible from the Internet)
GDate: __________________   Signature: _________________________________
?Mail to:  Andreas Groegel           or (C.O.D./credit card) via
/Gildenstr. 4              e-mail (Internet) to:
7D-74074 Heilbronn           [e-mail]
Germany
The Start-Up Screen
IThe start-up screen shows what step of initialisation has been completed,
Land which is to come next. If the init sequence hangs somewhere, you can see
Jwhere and inform me about it ;) however, started with the /DX command line
*switch, the display will be more detailed.
LIf an error occurs (unknown command line option, for instance), this will be
Kdisplayed on the right; you have to press a key after the init sequence has
:finished (to give you the time to read the error message).
LIf there was no error, "OK" will be displayed, and the main part of the pro-
gram will start then.
KIf you want to prevent automatic display of the General Overview screen for
Ithis time, hold down the Shift key after the init sequence has completed.
    See also:
Help contents
Revision History
1.2.0 (June 23, 1996)
 New sub-menu showing Configuration Files:
BCONFIG.SYS/DOS/W40, DCONFIG.SYS, CONFIG.PTS, AUTOEXEC.BAT/DOS/W40,
?MSDOS.SYS/W40, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI, WINSTART.BAT, DOSSTART.BAT.
H(Planned is further analyzing (beyond just highlighting some keywords as
?it is now) and commenting of these files for a future release.)
 DocMode added: run agSI with the /DOC command line switch to browse
Gthrough the online documentation without any information detection rou-
tine being executed.,
 Online registration now available on my WWW page in the Internet.
 Other improvements/fixes:
 Additional hard disks (Int13 units) that were added later in the boot
2process (seen under Win95) did not appear in agSI.
 Added a short delay in the modem test, because it didn't work with some
+modems (Motorola) correctly (on my system).9
 Port addresses for IDE ports may now be set in the INI file.
DAlso the default addresses for 3rd and 4th port have been changed to
-the usually used 1E8h and 168h, respectively.
 Pentium Pro: Configuration info (cache characteristics), BIOS update
"function, more capabilities flags.>
 The new (VGADOC4) graphics card detection method may be disabled now
'sorry, forgot that in the last release.
 Sorry I didn't do as much as I wanted, and as some of you might have ex-
Hpected
 I didn't have all the time needed for agSI, and when I had some
Itime I often wasn't in the mood to do so (especially when the weather was
Iso good as it recently often was
 I rather went to the swimming-pool...)
1.1.4 (Feb 27, 1996)
 Credit cards
 VISA, Diners Club, American Express
 accepted! Eurocard/
4Mastercard soon
 so, ask! (or look at my WWW page).
 More info about Quarterdeck's QEMM; also, corrected display of memory
sizes in the DPMI list.
 A few adaptions to Windows 95:
 Application title of the DOS window (second part of it) changed.
 agSI made "close-aware", i.e. you can close it from the window's system
Fmenu or with the close button in the upper right corner (unless a dia-
Clog window in agSI is open). [seems to be not working sometimes...]
 File date corrected and Compressed attribute added in directory list
(i.e. dir tree sub-lists).
 Open files and...
 Drive Map Info for each logical drive.
 Other improvements/fixes:
 At some places with physical drives, the cylinder number was one to low
5(i.e. only the maximum number, not the total number).
 For changeable hard drives, Logical Drive Overview caused errors when
no media was inserted.
 PCI BIOS detection changed slightly because it wasn't detected on some
systems [hope it works now].
 More names for PCI vendors and devices: now 447 and 446, respectively
(was 296/166).
1.1.3 (Dec 18, 1995)
 As announced in v1.1.2, the registration fee has been increased: to US$23
G(DM 30). Credit cards (American Express, VISA, Diners Club) will be ac-
Icepted soon, so ask me if you can use them for payment! (Mastercard/Euro-
card not before March 96)
 Added a start-up screen which displays what is tested next, somewhat like
1the /DX command line switch (but /DX shows more).
 General Overview with 16 lines of info; shown (by default) automatically
when agSI is started.
 IDE drive info moved to a separate sub-menu, thus avoiding the need to
Gset the IDEDriveMapping INI setting; also, added info for ATAPI devices
(such as CD-ROMs).
 Video card detection improved dramatically: now implemented using Finn
FThoegersen's VGADOC4, which detects much more than my own old routine.
 More information from Quarterdeck's QEMM-386 and Helix's NetRoom memory
    managers.
 Bugs fixed, and other new stuff:
 Linux DOSEMU test has been made safer for systems that crashed here
G(outside Linux); you can remove the Disable=OOSL line from the INI file
if you added it.
 Both modem info for non-modem devices, and ASPI info about a pseudo-
GASPI drive under Windows 95 (ATAPI CD-ROM; at least on my system) could
'have caused an endless loop; now fixed.
 Newer CPUs like Pentiums that were detected as Intel or C&T 386 DX/SX
8under Windows or OS/2 should be displayed correctly now.
 NexGen Nx586 CPUs should now be detected.
 Plug and Play BIOS info (product ID, attributes sub-list) corrected.
 Ontrack DiskManager detected (per physical drive).
1.1.2 (October 8, 1995)
 NOTE: I'm considering to increase the registration fee in the next re-
0lease, so if you register NOW you'll save money!
-too late...-
 Windows Services now has a window.
 Plug and Play info (via PnP-BIOS or ConfigManager software).
ENOTE: I've made some last-minute changes to the PnP-BIOS display part
'which I wasn't able to test thoroughly.
 BIOS and 2nd level cache detection routines slightly improved
 especial-
Gly the L2 cache wasn't detected on all systems; hope it's better now...
 A 191-entry glossary has been added to this online documentation, taken
6from Ralf Brown's Interrupt List (by kind permission).
 Some other new info items:
 A modem info sub-list has been added to the serial ports page.
GCAUTION: Don't access this sub-list if you are running a communications
6application in the background, it might get disturbed.
 Linux DOS Emulator (version and patchlevel) in the Operating System
"Type and Version" list.
ANote: As DOSEMU uses Interrupt E6h, the system may hang when agSI
Gcalls it (outside Linux) when the address of the interrupt is messed up
Gby some program (IBM's anachronistic BASICA may be a candidate, but al-
Dso maybe some ROM BIOS) which doesn't point to an interrupt handler;
Cdisable the DOSEMU test then with a line "Disable=OOSL" in your INI
file.
 CMOS Details adapted to AMI WinBIOS, Phoenix, and IBM PS/2; also, for
Dall unknown BIOSes, it is no longer assumed it is AMI compatible and
+thus those things aren't displayed anymore.
 PCI device info has more details (in a sub-list)$
 Hardware/Graphics now detects S3 chips; more video chips to be detected
in the next version.
 Searched the Interrupt List for some more TSRs to be added to Software/
EOthers. Also, the NetWare stuff has been moved from there to Network.
 Finally remembered to modify MegaFLOPS benchmark to use dynamic heap
4memory and to include it in the Hardware/Speed list.
 Made minor changes and corrected some bugs, including:
 The directory tree scanning may now be aborted by pressing Esc.
D(Useful if you accidentally selected it, especially for large CDs in
slow drives...)
 If no INI file existed when saving options or registration, an error
Fdialog ("file not found") was displayed, which could be [Ignore]d, but
wasn't nice.
 Hard to believe how many bugs there can be in such a small routine like
-for the Mouse driver acceleration profiles...
 For one-floppy-systems, drive B: menu is now not available anymore.
 Two actions added to Drive Hardware for CDs: open/close, lock/unlock.
 When having scrolled down a long list and then doing hard disk or CD-
FROM benchmark, you wouldn't be able to see (some of) the results until
"scrolling" again.
 Disk labels adapted to MS-DOS 7 / Windows 95 which doesn't allow direct
+disk writes without the drive being LOCKed.
 The "Windows" headline (a dummy menu item) in the OS menu confused the
DPrev/Next keys and the printing; this has been changed (it's not se-
lectable anymore).
 Under Windows 3.x (when using Protected Mode calls) the environment
&variables weren't displayed correctly.
 There's now a work-around for the bug (of Windows (WfW3.11?)) of dis-
Eplaying an error dialog for the LoadLibrary function used for Win32s.
 CPU detection as critical section under Windows to make timing more
reliable there.
1.1.1 (June 21, 1995))
 Certain information items may now be disabled (by editing the INI file).3
 A much too long neglected item has been added: SCSI devices via ASPI
Idriver, displaying host adapter and device info (you find it in the Drive
menu, below "Physical drives").5
 Also, I tried to add information about networks (NetBIOS), and the adapt-
Fer status should be displayed (in the Software menu); however, I could
)not test that due to lack of a network...
 agSI\WinServ has now also a command line switch (/DW) for debug mode.
 The /D debug switch for AGSI.EXE now also shows the current test for some
7functions (including Software/Others, OS/Windows/VxDs).
 IDE Info:
 Has been changed a little in accordance to the ATA-2 and ATA-3 Speci-
Efications, which means (a) the use of the Identify Device command and
/(b) some fields, including ATA-3 Security Mode.
 IDE info is now enabled under Windows (enlosed in "Critical Section"
Gcalls); was disabled in previous version for safety reasons: what would
Dhappen if IDE info is read while Windows is writing to another disk?
F(Or how good is the device virtualization for a DOS box?) (It *should*
be safe now).#
 Also, you may now specify an IDE drive mapping in the INI file if you
Ghave, say, only one drive on the primary port and another on the secon-
Ddary (previously, it was assumed there were no gaps). (Also, a third
Fand fourth IDE port at addresses 00F0h and 0070h are supported now...)
 Sub-lists are now scrollable. (Was needed for the next item:)
 The directory tree sub-lists show now optionally, in addition to the
Hstatistics, a list of the files in the directory; included is display of
Flong filenames and creation/access time under Windows 95, and 4DOS de-
scriptions.
 Some other new info items:
 APM (Advanced Power Management): more details
 Some DR-DOS/Novell DOS system variables, and a little more at DPMS.
 HMA display in Memory/DOS for DR-DOS/Novell DOS, and MS-DOS 7 (Win'95).
 New WinServ items: tasks, modules, number of global heap objects.
 New protected mode function: PM interrupt vectors.
Juct for fun: a few jokes (also accessible from the help index)
 Made minor changes and corrected some bugs, including:
 Change of focus between menu and info window (and sub-list window) is
Gnow indicated by a color change of the title bar: focused=cyan (as pre-
Cviously for the menu), non-focused=grey (as previously for the info
window).
 CPU cache size and transfer rate were often not displayed (or nonsense)
Con faster systems; I've changed a tolerance threshold, it should be
:better now; hope old, slow systems do it still correct ;-)
 Pressing Alt-U (selecting Update) in a list with PM use and selecting
Fmore than one PM function in the same session caused a crash; this has
been corrected.
 SoundBlaster IRQ would report "?" in subsequent calls. Corrected.
 EMS and S3 VESA modes weren't detected in all cases, and SETVER never.
 Memory speed display is now fully implemented.
1.1.0 (April 25, 1995)%
 NEW! A new small Windows program agSI\WinServ which starts agSI under
FWindows and offers some additional information about parts of Windows!
 agSI is now able to list the installed PCI devices with the names of 285
vendors and 101 devices.
 The new memory dump window (in the Memory menu) allows you to browse
@through the first MB of your memory, displayed as hex and ASCII.
I(I intended to access the entire memory, but didn't yet manage how to; my
/attempts using DPMI (see also below) failed...)
 CD-ROM Primary Volume Descriptor info added.
 A CD-ROM benchmark is now included, testing transfer rate and access tim-
 Now agSI can also call some Protected Mode functions (using DPMI), yet
.only for more DPMI info and more Windows VxDs.
FIMPORTANT: If this causes a crash under certain system environments or
GDPMI hosts, so you may switch it off in the Options dialog, or with the
Gnew command line switch R; I tested it under MS-DOS with Borland's DPMI
Ihost, under Novell DOS with its EMM386, and in a DOS box of Windows 3.11,
and it worked fine.
DMORE IMPORTANT: DO NOT SELECT [UPDATE] (OR PRESS ALT-U) IN THESE TWO
IPAGES! There is a bug somewhere I couldn't find yet which causes a system
Icrash! (Windows: DOS-box is closed; however, both continuous updating and
@re-selecting worked fine...) -This bug has been fixed in v1.1.1-
 New command line switch DX shows what's done at startup (useful if agSI
"hangs before the screen comes up).
 I now have a World Wide Web page!
 For floppy disk orders outside Europe I had to add another US$4/DM5 fee
for p&p
 sorry...
 Made minor changes and corrected some bugs, including:
 SoundBlaster IRQ detection and Mixer settings (which may also be chang-
;ed), MediaVision driver and BLASTER variable display added.
 Changed parts of the CPU detection (e.g. the UMC U5S was incorrect);
$however, it ain't perfect yet... ;-)
 IDE drive info tells a little more.
 The DRAM refresh interval is now also displayed; the code for this was
7supplied by William Luitje ([e-mail]).
 Printing may be done to files with automatic numbering.
 VCPI V86
 physical memory mapping is now also displayed.
 Int13 Extensions are now detected for each physical drive.
 Added four items new to VESA SuperVGA BIOS 2.0.
 Percentage of free disk space in logical drives overview added.
 The directory tree is now being sorted.
 Windows: Clipboard may be emptied; VDD moved to inside VxDs.
 A Questions and Answers page has been added to the help system.
1.0.1 (Jan 24, 1995)
 Added IDE drive info.
*Displayed are drive geometry and features.
 Hardware/CMOS Details now also for AWARD "Modular BIOS 4.50G"
 Added the first "Action" features, i.e. where you can do something like
Fsetting date/time, or change disk cache settings. Now implemented are:
 Changing date and time (Hardware/CMOS details)
 Smartdrive disk cache: flush now, enable/disable read/write cache
G(The "Action" features are indicated by a white double exclamation mark
" in the first column.)
 Made minor changes and corrected some bugs, including:
 Hardware/Pentium hung when trying to read the Time Stamp Counter in
#Virtual8086 mode (under MS-EMM386).
 Hardware/Graphics erroneously reported "Realtek RTVGA (others?)" in the
$Supposed OEM line for unknown cards.
 Novell DOS SHARE occasionally caused a Heap Overflow runtime error
0(possibly due to missing flag setting in Share).
1.0.0 (Dec 18, 1994)
First public release version.
ANo revision history available for the pre-beta and beta versions.
 Thanx to all beta testers
    See also:
help contents
&Beta Testers:  (in alphabetical order)
rgen Friedrich
rn Harzer
 Kai Holthaus
 Michael Otte
 Holger Sauereisen
 Thorsten Wittmann
LAnd thanx to anyone I forgot to mention here (and would be worth being list-
    See also:
Help contents
Using agSI
IIn this help topic, you find a description of agSI's user interface. Many
Lthings are just as in other text-mode Turbo Vision or other CUA-conform app-*
.lications, but some things are unique to agSI.
    Keyboard:
JPress the yellow highlighted letter to select an item / a sub-menu (indic-
Iated by a triangle
) from a menu (items with "..." lead to a dialog), or.
Imove the selection bar with the cursor keys
 Home End to highlight the
desired item, then press
 Space to show the assorted info window without leaving the menu,
 Tab to show the info window AND set the focus to it,
 Enter: this may be configured in the Options dialog in the main menu to
(work like either Space (default) or Tab.
H(If the menu item is a sub-menu or a non-info item, use Enter or Space
(there's no difference there, of course.)
KChange of focus between menu and info window (and sub-list window) is indi-
Icated by a color change of the title bar: focused=cyan, non-focused=grey.
IIn the info window, you can either highlight each line or just scroll the
8list; this depends on the type of information displayed.
3Press the following keys to scroll the info window:
 Ctrl-
 Ctrl-
 PgUp PgDn Ctrl-PgUp Ctrl-PgDn (at any time),
 Home End to scroll if the info window has the focus,
 Ctrl-Enter (or also Enter if the info window has the focus):
 If the line has a
 at the right end, you hereby open a sub-window with
Gmore detailed info about the line; press any key (but F1) then to close
the sub-window.
 If there's a
 in the first column, you can perform some action corres-
Eponding to the line (change a setting, or execute a command); in most
&cases, a dialog window will be opened.
;Press the key displayed in a status line item to select it:
KPress F1 at any time to get context-sensitive help. If the highlighted menu
Hitem is the same as the info window, you will get the help page assorted
Iwith the info list / the highlighted line in it; if not, you will get the
help page for the menu item.
BPress F2 to print a list (or more lists), or set printing options.
:Press F7 or F8 to display the previous / next info window.
IPress Alt-U to (1) update the info window immediately and (2) disable any
Ifurther continuous updating of this window (until you select another). To2
?disable continuous updating constantly, see the Options dialog.
Mouse:
IWith the mouse, all this is more easy; click on a menu item to select it,
Jclick on an info line to highlight it, double-click on an info-line to se-
Jlect the sub-info/action, if existing; click or drag the scroll bar at the
Jright side of the info window to scroll the list. Click just once (outside
Hthe status line) to close a sub-window. You may also drag inside a menu;
Iwhen you stop pressing the mouse button, the item will be selected. Click
Jon an item in the status line to select it (unless it's just a hint text).
3(See also above under Keyboard for some more info.)
    See also:
using the help system
main menu
help contents
Using the Help System
HagSI has a widely cross-referenced, context-sensitive help system [great
Iwords, aren't they?]. It may be controlled using both keyboard and mouse.
(Following is a description how to do so:
GWhen pressing F1, a help window appears, displaying help on the current
Hactive part of this program (e.g. a menu, a dialog, an information item,7
Ietc.). In this help window, you may use the following keys (see below for
how to use the mouse):
  to highlight (focus) the previous/next cross-reference; if there is
Ino cross-reference visible, the screen will be scrolled up/down one line.
 Tab/Shift-Tab  to move the focus to the next/previous cross-reference,
Hincluding scrolling the screen as necessary and wrapping around the end.
 any letter to focus the next cross-reference that starts with this letter.
 Enter,Space  to switch to the highlightened topic.
 F1  inside a help window to get to this
help on help
-screen.
 F2  opens a dialog from which you can print the current help topic.
HNote: For technical reasons, there is no normal help page available from+
<this dialog, so see here for help for the Print Help dialog.
 Alt-F1  to bring up the topic you had before this. Up to 30 topics are
Lrecorded, together with the last position and focused cross-reference in the
topic.
 Shift-F1  for the alphabetical help index.
 Ctrl-F1  to show the contents page of this help system.
 F5  to zoom the window to maximum size or restore a smaller size if you
sized it before.
 Ctrl-F5  to move and size the window with the keyboard: cursor to move,
JShift+cursor to size; Enter to accept, Esc to abort. (The width may not be
    changed.)
 Esc  in DocMode (AGSI /DOC), go to previous topic (quit if no previous
.topic); in normal mode, close the help window.
+The following mouse operations can be done:
 Click on the scroll bar arrows
 to scroll the help window up/down one
Fline, above/below the button
 to scroll up/down one page, or drag the
Kbutton. (If the focused cross-reference moves off the screen, the previous/
&next cross-reference will be focused).
 Click on a cross-refernce once to focus it. Click on a focused cross-refe-
$rence to switch to the linked topic.
 Click on the Close button [
] to close the window, on the Zoom button [
] to zoom the window, drag the upper frame to move, or drag the size cor-
Fner
 in the lower right corner of the window to size it (you may not
change the width).
JPlease note that some contexts or cross-refernces point to a line inside a
Hhelp topic, i.e. there's also something standing above the initial point
((in the Print dialog help, for example).
LBy the way, the help system contains 8750 used lines, 3163 empty lines, 1136
Lhelp contexts, 1315 cross references, 667 of which being forward references,
Cand 311 entries in the index (as of this writing, June 23, 1996)...
    See also:
Help contents
Cross-reference
IA cross-reference in this help system is a part of the help text which is
Kshown highlightened like this or like this (one of which is selected, shown
Iwith a (normally brown) bar behind it: the first if you didn't select the
Ksecond, i.e. press Tab/Down/Right or click on it), with which you can go to
Hanother topic which gives you more explanation, e.g. like you did to get
.help on the expression 'cross-reference' here.
GA selected cross-reference is shown with another background (normally a)
Kbrown bar
 see above). By pressing the Enter or Space key, this topic will
Kthen be presented. (Or simply use the mouse and click (twice) on the cross-
reference.)
MText shown like this (or the "Enter" above) is only emphasizing something and
?has no other function, as it is the case with all other colors.
The Command Line
IWhen you start AGSI.EXE, you may specify some command line switches; they
Bmay be combined, but must be separated by a blank, a '/' or a '-'.
LThe command line has the following syntax format (the parts in square brack-
ets [] are optional):
#[d:\path\]AGSI[.EXE] [[/|-]Options]
)d:\path\: the place where agSI is located
KThe options may (but not must) be preceeded by a slash '/' or a hyphen '-',
and are not case-sensitive:
?  and
CH: Display a brief help screen on the command line options of agSI.
LDOC: Starts agSI in DocMode, i.e. you can only look at the online documenta-
Ftion, no information detection routines are executed (good if it hangs
8somewhere and you want to find out how to correct that).
/I: Do NOT use high-intensity background colors.
JU: Do NOT continuously update the displayed information. (May be useful in
multitasking environments.)
JR: Real mode only, don't use the few protected mode calls agSI can make to
!gather a little more information.
LD: Debug mode: the amount of free heap memory will be displayed in the lower
Gright corner, and the current test will be shown in the status line for
8some functions (incl. Software/Others, OS/Windows/VxDs).
DDX: Like D, but also displays more things of what's done at startup.
JDW: For use with AGSIWINS.EXE only (debug mode for agSI\WinServ); for agSI
itself, it's identical to D.
IW[:|=]xxxx[h]: tells AGSI.EXE the clipboard format used for communication
Fwith WinServ, where :, = and h are optional; example: /WCD1D. There isF
Inormally no need to use it manually (it's automatically used when WinServ
starts a DOS-agSI).
    See also:
    INI file
Options dialog
INI File
KThe AGSI.INI file, a plain ASCII text file, contains, just like, for examp-
Gle, Windows' INI files, several settings (composed of normal assigmentsC
J(xxx=xxx), but without sections ("applications", [xxx])) saved by agSI, or
0set by you, using an editor (e.g. DOS 6's EDIT).
KAGSI.INI must be placed in the same directory AGSI.EXE is in. It is proces-
Hsed when agSI is started, and updated when an appropriate menu action is
Lcarried out, i.e. the Options and Register! dialogs. If no INI file could be
6found, the program will run with the default settings.
KIf an error occurs, an error message will be displayed, and processing will
Lpause until you pressed a key. If the error is in one of the lines belonging
to registration, agSI stops.
The Assignments
3A line starting with a : or a ; treated as comment.
JEach assignment consists of a key name, one or more separating characters,
Jplus a value. (A separating character is any non-alphanumerical character;
0you do not need a = like in a Windows INI file.)
LYou should not use comments behind an assignment (except on Boolean (yes/no)
Kassignments; for Boolean assignments, only the first character is used, and
$"1"/"0" and "Y"/"N" are equivalent).
AThe assignments are all case-INsensitive unless otherwise stated.
JA | in the following list denotes an alternative, the upper-case displayed
of which is the default value.
-General options (see also the Options dialog)
HighIntensity = YES | no
@This tells agSI whether to use high-intensity background colors.
ContinuousUpdate = YES | no
HTells agSI whether to continuously update information lists (using cont-
Hinuous updating may result in bad performance in a multitasking environ-
ment).
EnterToList = yes | NO
IIf YES, the info list will be activated when you press the Enter key, and
Kthe cursor keys scroll through the list; if NO, the menu stays active (like
on pressing the Space key).
DirTreeSLFiles = YES | no
JIf checked, in the sub-list to a directory in a directory tree list, there
Jwill not only statistics be displayed, but also a list of the files in the
Gdirectory (which will be read when the sub-list is opened), just like a
DIR command would show.
UseProtMode = YES | no
HIf DPMI is installed, agSI may use some protected mode calls to gather a
Ilittle more information; however, this might result in a crash under cer-
#tain environments, DPMI hosts, etc.
<This assignment tells agSI whether or not to use such calls.
AutoOverview = YES | no
KIf checked, the General Overview info page will be shown automatically when
agSI is started.
DirTreeLevel = 1..9
JThis defines the number of characters each subdirectory is indented in the
5directory tree list of a logical drive. Default is 3.
Options for printing:
PrintOnlyASCII = yes | NO
HIf set to yes, only characters from the original 128-character ASCII set$
Bwill be printed, i.e. frames like
 are translated to - or +,
respectively.
AppendFormFeed = yes | NO
JIf set to yes, a form feed will be appended at the end of a print out; use
Hthis for page printers (like laser printers) to eject the (last) page if
it is not completely filled.
PrintCentered = YES | no
IIf set to yes, all print output will be centered to 80 characters instead
Gof aligned left. (A print-out consists of what is displayed in the info
:window which is, of course, less than 80 characters wide.)
AppendToFile = yes | NO4
KIf you are printing to a file, this setting tells agSI whether to erase the
=file if it already exists (setting NO) or append to it (YES).
PrintSubLists = YES | no
KIf set to yes, sub-lists of the list(s) to be printed will also be printed;
9they will be appended to the end of the list they are in.
PrintDirTreeSubLists = yes | NO
JAs above, but seperately for the sub-lists (statistics) of the directories
5of the directory tree display (Drives|logical drive).
0This setting has no meaning if PrintSubLists=No.
MemDumpPrintHead = YES | no=
GDefines whether a headline will be printed when printing a memory dump.
MemDumpPrintCC = yes | NO
JDefines whether control characters (below ASCII 32) will be printed in the
%memory dump, or be replaced by a dot.
PrintDestination = 0..7
,This is the destination of the print output:
0 thru 3 = COM 1 thru 4
4 thru 6 = LPT 1 thru 3
7        = file
FileToPrintTo = file name
IThis gives the (last used) path/name of the file to print to when you are
printing to a file.
PrintHeadPrefix = hex-codes
PrintHeadPostfix = hex-codes
PrintTitlePrefix = hex-codes
PrintTitlePostfix = hex-codes
PrintHilitePrefix = hex-codes
PrintHilitePostfix = hex-codes
KThese key names tell agSI which codes (e.g. for bold or italic printing) to
Hsend to the printer before (Prefix) / after (Postfix) writing a headline
K(like "sub-menu"), a title (the title of the info window, e.g."Processor"),
Cor a highlighted item (the values of the info items), respectively.
KThe lines consist of two hexadecimal characters for each printer code byte,
<e.g. 1B45 = Esc E for 'bold' on an Epson compatible printer.
Default is no code.
PrintCCPrefix = hex-codes
PrintCCPostfix = hex-codes=
HAs above, but for printing control characters (used in the memory dump);
Hdefault for the prefix is 1B285E0100 which will print the next character
directly (Epson-compatible).
PrintHilites = YES | no
PrintHilitesToFile = yes | NO
JThese two items work as "master switches" for output on a printer (COM1-4,
GLPT1-3) and output to a file, respectively. If either is set to no, the
Icodes will not be printed when printing to the corresponding destination.
Registration info:
RegistrationName = Name,
/This is the name for which you registered agSI.
 RegistrationCode = 8-letter code1
4This is the code you received when registering agSI.
JIf the registration code is incorrect, agSI will stop; if neither code nor
Gname are given, this copy of agSI is an unregistered shareware version.
Disabling of information items:
Disable = four-letter code
(may be used several times)'
DFor more information about this, see Disabling of information items.
IDE Information:
&IDEDriveMapping = (up to) eight digits
is obsolete and thus ignored
NumIDEPorts = 0..4
FThis tells agSI how many IDE ports to offer in the Drive|IDE sub-menu:
G0 = none, 1..4 = 1..4 [of course]. Most current systems have a dual IDE
Iport included on the motherboard; the only drawback of having more in the
Imenu than actually in your system is that it takes a delay of two seconds
&when you select a non-existing device.
IDEPort0Address = hex-number
IDEPort1Address = hex-number
IDEPort2Address = hex-number
IDEPort3Address = hex-number
IThis tells agSI which port addresses the IDE ports in your system use. If
Kthis is not the default values of 1F0, 170, 1E8, and 168, respectively, you
Imust use a corresponding line in your INI file. Enter the port address as
Hhexadecimal value without any pre- or suffix (such as '0x','H', or '$').
    See also:
IDE (ATA/ATAPI) sub-menu
    See also:
The command line
Options dialog
Register dialog
Print dialog
JP Software's 4DOS
I4DOS is a replacement for DOS' COMMAND.COM command line interpreter which
Jhas much more features and facilities than the original, for instance, en-
Jhanced editing and command recall (much better than DOS 5+'s DOSKEY), file
Jdescriptions, filename completion, aliases, enhanced wildcards (Unix-like)
7and file selection (e.g. by size or date), and more....
LAs you might guess, I strongly recommend 4DOS to anyone who uses the command
Jline at least sometimes [I don't get any fee from JP Software for this ad-
vertising, though...]
G4DOS is shareware: you can get it from PD/Shareware vendors, or on most
IBBSs, and can test it for 21 days; if you like to use it after this time,
Jyou must buy a full version and register, the price is 129,- DM in Germany
(or $59 elsewhere, I think).
KThere is also 4OS2 (32-bit and
 for some time still
 16-bit versions) for
JOS/2 to replace CMD.EXE, and 4DOS/NT for MS Windows/NT [Who needs NT, any-
Iway...?], and Take Command, a Windows program offering a 4DOS-like shell.
7JP Software contacts (taken from the 4DOS manual file):
JP Software Inc.
P.O. Box 1470
East Arlington, MA 02174
*Via CompuServe: Customer Service 75020,244
Technical Support 75300,1215
and others.
J4DOS is a registered trademark and 4OS2 is a trademark of JP Software Inc.
Glossary
LThis glossary is taken from Ralf Brown's Interrupt List, Release 48, by kind
permission.
,Last change (of the original file) 10/29/95.
>(Address line 20) The 80286 and higher CPUs allow addresses in
Greal mode to extend slightly beyond the one megabyte mark, which causes
Gan incompatibility with some older programs which expect such addresses
Ato wrap back to the beginning of the address space.  For complete
Bcompatibility with the 8088, newer machines thus contain circuitry
Fwhich permits the twenty-first address line (A20) to be disabled.  The
ECPU then effectively has only twenty address lines in real mode, just
Aas the 8088 does, and addresses which would extend beyond the one
Cmegabyte mark wrap to the beginning of the address space.  See also
High Memory Area, Real Mode.
ABIOS
<(Advanced BIOS) The IBM XT/286 and PS/2 models with 80286 or
>higher processors contain two separate BIOSes.  The ABIOS is a
Cprotected-mode BIOS which is used by OS/2.  For machines without an
FABIOS, such as the IBM AT, OS/2 loads the equivalent of the ABIOS from
disk.  see also CBIOS
>(Application Program[ming] Interface) The defined set of calls
Dwhich a program may make to interact with or request services of the
Goperating system or environment under which it is running.  Because the
Einputs and outputs of the calls are well-defined, a program using the
?API can continue using the identical calls even if the internal
6organization of the program providing the API changes.
8(A Programming Language) An interactive, mathematically-
@oriented language which is well-suited to manipulating matrices.
AOriginally using greek letters and numerous special symbols, thus
Arequiring a special display, versions are now available which use
)keywords in place of the special symbols.
ASCIZ
?A NUL-terminated ASCII string.  The ASCIZ string "ABC" consists
)of the four bytes 41h, 42h, 43h, and 00h.
AVATAR
=(Advanced Video Attribute Terminal Assembler and Recreator) A
>set of control codes which may be used to affect the output of
@characters to the screen on systems equipped with an appropriate
@driver.  Similar in intent to ANSI sequences, AVATAR has shorter
Dcommand sequences and provides additional PC-specific functionality.
GAVATAR is primarily used by the Opus and Maximus bulletin board systems
>(it was designed by one of the developers of the Opus system).
BASIC
4(Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) A
?programming language originally designed as a means of teaching
;FORTRAN.  There are many variations of BASIC with differing
@capabilities; the majority are interpreted but compiled BASIC is
Ebecoming more popular.  All genuine IBM personal computers (including
Athe latest PS/2 models) come equipped with a cassette-based BASIC
interpreter in ROM.
9(Binary Coded Decimal) A method of data storage where two
Fdecimal digits are stored in each byte, one in the upper four bits and
Dthe other in the lower four bits.  Since only the values 0 through 9
Bare used in each half of a byte, BCD values can be read as decimal
5numbers on a hexadecimal display of memory or a file.
Big-Endian
:One of the two major ways of organizing multi-byte numeric
Gvalues in memory.  A big-endian layout places the most significant byte
Eof the value in the lowest (first) memory location, i.e. 12345678h is
Hstored as 12h 34h 56h 78h.  Motorola processors are big-endian.  Compare
Little-Endian.
>(Basic Input/Output System) A set of standardized calls giving
Blow-level access to the hardware.  The BIOS is the lowest software
Dlayer above the actual hardware and serves to insulate programs (and
Aoperating systems) which use it from the details of accessing the
hardware directly.
BIOS Parameter Block
9The BIOS Parameter Block stores the low-level layout of a
&drive.  See also INT 21h Function 53h.
=To start up the computer or operating system. The term "boot"
=is a contraction of "bootstrap", which in turn comes from the
Gexpression "to lift oneself by one's boot straps."  The ROM BIOS on IBM
@PCs and compatibles reads in the first sector of the disk, which
Fcontains a short (less than 500 bytes) program that reads in a portion
Dof the operating system, which in turn reads in the remainder of the
 operating system.  See also IPL.
Boot Drive
?The disk drive from which the operating system was booted.  See
also Boot.
see BIOS Parameter Block
Breakpoint
>When debugging, a memory location which when accessed causes a
?break in the normal flow of execution and the invocation of the
Bdebugger.  Used to let a program run at full speed until a certain
Einstruction is reached or (less frequently) a particular data item is
accessed or changed.
see Feature
Cache
8Caching is a method of increasing performance by keeping
Ffrequently-used data in a location which is more quickly accessed. The
Fmost common caches are disk caches (store disk sectors in RAM) and RAM
Ecaches (store portions of main memory in special high-speed RAM which
Cmay be accessed as fast as the CPU is capable of accessing memory).
&See also Delayed Write, Write-Through.
Callback
>A call to a specified function made by the operating system or
Foperating environment when a request (usually an asynchronous request)
Hcompletes.  This permits the calling program to continue operating while
=the request is processed yet still be aware of its completion
Eimmediately without the need to constantly poll the request's status.
See also Callout.
Callout
>A call made by the operating system, operating environment, or
Ean application program on various events, which may be intercepted by
Fother software which is interested in the current state of the system.
-See also Callback, External Device Interface.
,see Communicating Applications Specification
CBIOS
>(Compatibility BIOS) The IBM XT/286 and PS/2 models with 80286
Aor higher processors contain two separate BIOSes.  The CBIOS is a
Greal-mode BIOS which is compatible with the earlier products in the IBM
@PC family and PS/2 models with 8086 processors.  See also ABIOS.
see Current Directory Structure
<(Color/Graphics Adapter) One of the two video display boards
Aintroduced together with the original IBM PC.  See also HGC, MDA.
Clock Tick
=1/18.2 second, or approximately 55 milliseconds.  This is the
3rate at which the IBM PC's system clock is updated.
8(Complementary Metal-Oxide-Silicon) A type of integrated
3circuit design known for its low power consumption.
CMOS RAM
DA small amount (typically 64 or 128 bytes) of memory in the system's
Mreal-time clock chip that is preserved by the clock's battery and is used for
=storing configuration information.  See also Real-Time Clock.
(Communicating Applications Specification
?DCA and Intel's standard programmatic interface for sending and
;receiving FAXes via any of a number of internal FAX boards.
>(Control Program for Microcomputers) An early operating system
Ffor micros based on the 8-bit Intel 8080 CPU (and later the compatible
G8085 and Zilog Z80 CPUs).  MSDOS version 1.0 was essentially a clone of
CP/M for the Intel 8086.
CP/M-86
9One of the three operating systems offered by IBM for its
Eoriginal PC (the other two were MSDOS and the UCSD p-System).  It has
5since evolved into DR-DOS version 6 and Novell DOS 7.
;(Central Processing Unit) The microprocessor which executes
programs on your computer.
Current Directory Structure
8The data record used by DOS to keep track of the current
Gdirectory on a drive; whether the drive is valid, network, SUBSTituted,
For JOINed; and other pertinent information.  See also INT 21h Function
Cylinder
8The set of concentric tracks of data located at the same
Aposition on each data-bearing surface of the disk. A double-sided
,floppy will contain two tracks per cylinder.
@(Digital-to-Analog Converter) A hardware device (in its simplest
Iform, nothing more than a set of interconnected resistors) which converts
Ga digital number into an analog signal whose voltage is proportional to
Fthe value of the digital number.  VGA and later color video boards use
IDACs to convert color values into the analog signals sent to the display;
'sound boards normally use DACs as well.
<(Display Combination Code) A number which indicates both the
Etype of display adapter board and the type of monitor attached to the
video board.
Delayed Write
AA form of caching in which control is returned before the data is
Factually written to the storage media.  See also Cache, Write-Through.
Device Driver
>An interface module between the device-independent portions of
Athe operating system and an actual hardware device which converts
>device-independent requests into the actual sequence of device
@operations to perform the requested action.  IO.SYS contains the
Dstandard, built-in MSDOS device drivers such as CON, COM1, AUX, PRN,
?etc.  See also INT 21h Function 52h and INT 2Fh Function 0802h.
Device Driver Request Header
?The data structure passed to a device driver which contains the
Gcommand to be executed, its parameters, and space for a returned status
-and data values.  See INT 2Fh Function 0802h.
$(Direct Graphics Interface Standard)
Direct Memory Access
=A method whereby peripherals may transfer data into or out of
/main memory without the involvement of the CPU.
Disk Transfer Address
<The Disk Transfer Address indicates where functions which do
Dnot take an explicit data address will read or store data.  Although
@the name implies that only disk accesses use this address, other
Efunctions use it as well.  See INT 21h Function 4Eh for an example of
the DTA's use.
see Dynamic Link Library
see Direct Memory Access
DOS Extender
EA program which allows a program to run in protected mode while still
Gretaining access to real-mode MSDOS services.  See also Protected Mode.
DOS Parameter List
=The DOS Parameter List is used to pass arguments to SHARE and
4network functions.  See also INT 21h Function 5D00h.
DOS Protected-Mode Interface
CAn API which provides basic services for protected-mode programs to
Jallocate memory, invoke real-mode software, etc.  See also Virtual Control
Program Interface.
DOS Protected-Mode Services
FAn API designed by Novell (and first released with Novell DOS 7) which
Hallows TSRs to store most of themselves outside of the first megabyte of
memory.
see Drive Paramter Block
see DOS Parameter List
 see DOS Protected-Mode Interface
see DOS Protected-Mode Services
D(Dynamic Random Access Memory) RAM memory which essentially consists
Iof a tiny capacitor for each bit of memory.  Since capacitors do not hold
Ha charge indefinitely, DRAM must be constantly refreshed to avoid losing
Jits contents.  Also, the process of reading the contents of the memory are
Gdestructive, meaning extra time must be spent restoring the contents of
Kmemory addresses which are accessed, so DRAM is slower than SRAM.  See also
Refresh, SRAM.
Drive Parameter Block
;The DOS Drive Parameter Block stores the description of the
>media layout for a logical drive, as well as some housekeeping
Einformation.  See also INT 21h Function 1Fh and INT 21h Function 32h.
see Disk Transfer Address
DWORD
7Doubleword; four bytes.  Commonly used to hold a 32-bit
Dsegment:offset or selector:offset address, or a simple 32-bit value.
Dynamic Link Library
>A collection of subroutines which are linked with a program at
Gthe time it is loaded into memory rather than permanently placed in the
Dexecutable.  This has the advantage of allowing a single copy of the
Fsubroutine library to reside on disk or in memory even when it is used
Cby many programs.  It also permits all programs using the DLL to be
Eupdated without recompiling simply by installing a new version of the
library.
B(Enhanced Graphics Adapter) IBM's second color video board for the
FIBM PC family, capable of a maximum resolution of 640x350 pixels in 16
5simultaneous colors of a total of 64 possible colors.
B(Enhanced Industry-Standard Architecture) A 32-bit superset of the
JIBM AT's expansion bus (which is now known as the ISA or Industry-Standard
Architecture bus).
!see Expanded Memory Specification
=(End of Interrupt) A particular command sent to the interrupt
Fcontroller to indicate that the interrupt has been handled by software
Jand that new interrupts of the same or lower priority may now be signalled
by the interrupt controller.
=(Enhanced Small Device Interface) A disk drive interface type
Bwhich was briefly popular before IDE took over.  An ESDI drive can
?transfer data between the drive and controller at 10, 15, or 20
Fmegabits per second, which is faster than an MFM or RLL controller but
Fslower than what is possible with an IDE or SCSI drive.  See also IDE.
    Exception
BA signal by the CPU that some error condition has been encountered
Nthat it can not deal with without a program's intervention.  The most commonly
Jencountered exceptions on Intel processors are Exceptions 12 and 13, which
Hare stack and general problems, respectively.  Exception 13 is typically
Gcaused by a memory access which wraps from the end of a segment back to
the beginning.
Expanded Memory Specification
:A specification devised by Lotus, Intel, and Microsoft for
Gaccessing more than one megabyte of memory by bank-switching additional
5memory into the one megabyte real mode address space.
Extended BIOS Data Area
>A block of memory, typically the 1K at the top of conventional
Hmemory, which is used to store additional data for use by the BIOS which
:does not fit into the 256-byte data area at segment 0040h.
Extended File Control Block
:A DOS File Control Block which has had an additional seven
Fbytes prepended to permit control of file attributes (which are stored
!in the appendage).  See also FCB.
Extended Memory
>Memory beyond the one megabyte address which is available only
Con 80286 and higher machines.  Except for a small portion (the High
EMemory Area), extended memory is only accessible from protected mode.
Extended Memory Specification
:A specification devised by Microsoft which allows multiple
Fprograms to share extended (above 1 megabyte) memory and noncontiguous
0memory above 640K.  See also Upper Memory Block.
External Device Interface
=A series of calls made by the DESQview multitasker on various
H"interesting" events, which may be intercepted by programs which wish to
:keep track of the current system state.  See also Callout.
see File Allocation Table
see File Control Block
Feature
see Bug
File Allocation Table
>A data structure on disk that records which clusters are free,
Iwhich are unusable, and which have been allocated.  The clusters occupied
Gby a file are linked into a list in the file allocation table, allowing
%DOS to find the contents of the file.
File Control Block
=A data record in the calling program's address space which is
Cused by DOS 1.x functions to record the state of an open file.  See
also INT 21h Function 13h.
File Handle
?A small positive integer used to identify the previously-opened
7file on which a program wishes to perform an operation.
Flush
:To force the copying of any data still stored in temporary
!buffers to its final destination.
@(Frequency Modulation)  A method of encoding data as a series of
Imagnetic flux reversals on disk or tape, commonly known as single-density
Irecording.  In frequency modulation, a series of clock pulses are written
Gat regular intervals, with one data bit for each clock pulse.  See also
    MFM, RLL.
Formatting
<Preparing a storage medium (usually magnetic media such as a
Adisk or tape) for storing data.  Low-level or physical formatting
Cwrites all necessary housekeeping data to enable the storage device
Bto read the media and may also initialize the storage units on the
Emedia to a known state.  High-level or logical formatting writes data
@used by the operating system, such as allocation information and
Cdirectories onto media which has already been physically formatted.
CFormatting programs often perform both a low-level and a high-level
format.
FOSSIL
?(Fido/Opus/Seadog Standard Interface Layer)  A standardized API
Ifor performing serial I/O, originally used by the Fido and Opus bulletin-
Fboard software and Seadog bulletin-board mailer, but now in wider use.
A(File Transfer Protocol)  The standard protocol for copying files
Efrom one machine to another on a TCP/IP (Internet) network.  Also the
>program of the same name with which a user may transfer files.
Gather-Write
see Scatter/Gather
Handle
=A short identifier, usually a small integer or a pointer, for
Dsome other object which is maintained or controlled by the operating
Fsystem or environment; a particular handle may be valid system-wide or
Fmay have meaning only for a particular process.  See also File Handle.
;(Hercules Graphics Card) A monochrome video adapter capable
Dof 720x352 monochrome graphics.  The HGC was the first non-IBM video
+adapter for the IBM PC.  See also CGA, MDA.
High Memory Area
=The first 65520 bytes (64K less 16 bytes) of extended memory.
>This area is accessible from real mode on the 80286 and higher
@processors because these processors do not wrap addresses at one
Bmegabyte as the 8088 and 8086 do.  See also A20, INT 2Fh Functions
4A01h.
see High Memory Area
Horizontal Retrace
BWhen a monitor has finished displaying a single scan line, it must
Lmove it electron beam(s) back to the left edge of the CRT, during which time
Hit turns off the beam.  On the original CGA (and some early clones), the
Honly time one could access the display memory without causing "snow" was
Iduring the horizontal or vertical retrace periods, as the display adapter
Iwas not itself accessing the display memory during those times.  See also
Vertical Retrace.
=(Integrated Drive Electronics) A type of disk drive interface
Cwhich essentially extends the PC's expansion bus all the way to the
Ddrive and places the drive controller on the disk drive itself.  See
also ESDI.
see Installable File System
Installable File System
?An Installable File System which allows non-DOS format media to
Dbe used by DOS.  In most ways, an IFS is very similar to a networked
Cdrive, although an IFS would typically be local rather than remote.
See also INT 21h Function 52h.
<(Internet Protocol) The lower level (transport layer) of the
-TCP/IP protocol suite.  See also TCP, TCP/IP.
=(Inter-Process Communication) Any one of numerous methods for
9allowing two or more separate processes to exchange data.
 (Initial Program Load) See Boot.
<(Internetwork Packet Exchange) A low-level layer of Novell's
NetWare networking software.
>(Interrupt ReQuest) A hardware line connected to the interrupt
Gcontroller chip which signals that a CPU interrupt should be generated.
>(Industry-Standard Architecture) The expansion bus used by the
IBM PC/AT.  See also EISA.
see Job File Table
Job File Table
<The Job File Table (also called Open File Table) stored in a
Fprogram's PSP which translates handles into SFT numbers.  See also INT
21h Function 26h.
(Liquid Crystal Display)
List of Lists
=An internal DOS table of lists and other tables through which
Gmost DOS-internal data structures may be reached.  See INT 21h Function
Little-Endian
:One of the two major ways of organizing multi-byte numeric
Fvalues in memory.  A little-endian layout places the least significant
Gbyte of the value in the lowest (first) memory location, i.e. 12345678h
Bis stored as 78h 56h 34h 12h.  Intel processors are little-endian.
Compare Big-Endian.
Abbreviation for Line PrinTer.
see Memory Control Block
>(Multi-Color Graphics Array) The low-end color adapter offered
$in IBM's early PS/2 series machines.
A(Monochrome Display Adapter) A text-only video adapter introduced
6together with the original IBM PC.  See also CGA, HGC.
Memory Control Block
?The data structure containing the length and owner (among other
?things) of a portion of the memory managed by DOS.  See INT 21h
Function 52h.
>(Modified Frequency Modulation) A method of encoding data as a
Dseries of magnetic flux reversals on disk or tape, commonly known as
@double-density recording.  In contrast to FM, modified frequency
Dmodulation omits all clock pulses except those between pairs of zero
bits.  See also FM, RLL.
Mickey
3The smallest increment of motion a mouse can sense.
?(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) A standardized interface
4for controlling musical instruments with a computer.
Modem
&(contraction of MOdulator/DEModulator)
<(Model-Specific Register) Additional, indirectly-accessible,
@registers containing control or status information about various
Faspects of the processor such as caches, performance counters, and the
;like.   These registers, accessible via the RDMSR and WRMSR
=instructions, were added with the Pentium and later-model 486
processors.
Multitasking
9Any of a number of methods by which multiple programs may
Fexecute concurrently, with rapid switching between the programs giving
5the appearance that all are executing simultaneously.
<The letters M and Z appear in numerous places in DOS (memory
Ccontrol blocks, .EXE header, etc.); the conventional explanation is
Cthat these are the initials of Mark Zbikowski, one of the principal
architects of MSDOS 2.0.
see Network Control Block
?(Network Driver Interface Specification) A hardware-independent
Cnetwork interface developed by Microsoft and 3com.  See also Packet
Driver, TCP/IP.
NetBIOS
7One of a number of low-level device-independent network
?interfaces; the other major interfaces are Novell's IPX and the
EInternet's IP (Internet Protocol, the lower-level portion of TCP/IP).
Network Control Block
<A Network Control Block used to pass requests to NetBIOS and
4receive status information from the NetBIOS handler.
Network Redirector
9A program which permits access to network devices (disks,
Dprinters, etc.) using the MSDOS kernel network redirector interface.
-See also Network Shell, Redirector Interface.
Network Shell
9A program which permits access to network devices (disks,
Cprinters, etc.) by intercepting DOS calls before they reach the DOS
Dkernel and handling those operating on network devices while passing
?through actions on local devices.  See also Network Redirector.
see Non-Maskable Interrupt
Non-Maskable Interrupt
<An interrupt which can not be disabled by clearing the CPU's
Cinterrupt enable flag, unlike most normal interrupts.  Non-maskable
@interrupts are typically used to signal calamities which require
Gimmediate action, such as a hardware failure or imminent loss of power.
Non-Volatile RAM
>Memory which can be modified like normal RAM but does not lose
Fits contents when the system's power is turned off. This memory may be
Fpowered by a battery when the system power if off, or it may be a type
Cof memory which does not need electricity to maintain its contents,
 such as EEPROM or bubble memory.
NVRAM
see Non-Volatile RAM
9(Open Data-link Interface) A hardware-independent network
Binterface developed by Novell, Inc.  See also NDIS, Packet Driver.
;(Original Equipment Manufacturer) a company which purchases
Jcomponents that are resold as part of its own products under the company's
Iown brand name, e.g. a Gateway 2000-branded monitor may actually be a Mag
or NEC monitor.
Open File Table
see Job File Table
Overscan Area
DThe "border" between the edge of the area where graphics or text can
Mbe displayed and the actual edge of the area the video adapter can illuminate
on the monitor's screen.
Overscan Register
DOn a display adapter, the control register which specifies the color
%to be displayed in the overscan area.
Packet Driver
<Any one of the numerous drivers conforming to FTP Software's
BPacket Driver Specification, which provides a hardware-independent
'network interface.  See also NDIS, ODI.
Page Fault
BA CPU-generated signal, and the operating system's reaction to it,
Ggenerated when a program accesses a page of virtual memory which is not
Jlocated in RAM at the time.  The operating system's response is to load in
Hthe required page, possibly writing some other page out to disk in order
to make room.  See also INT 0E.
Page Register
?A peripheral register or I/O port used to extend the addressing
Hrange of some other register or I/O port.  The prime example are the DMA
Gpage registers, which allow the DMA controller to address more than 64K
K(since the DMA controller only contains 16 address lines; this is the cause
of the 64K DMA boundaries).
Palette Register
DA memory location on the video controller which specifies the actual
.color displayed for a particular color number.
=To move a hard disk's read/write heads to a position in which
Dit is safe to turn off the power and transport the disk drive.  Many
>drives also lock the heads into position when they are parked,
5providing additional protection from sudden movement.
    see Pixel
Pixel
?A picture element, the smallest addressable unit of a graphical
display.
=Make known, either generally or to a specific handler, that a
*particular event of interest has occurred.
see Power-On Self-Test
Power-On Self-Test
;A brief examination of the system's functionality performed
"each time the system is turned on.
Print Spooler
see SPOOL.
Program Segment Prefix
?The Program Segment Prefix is a 256-byte data area prepended to
Ca program when it is loaded.  It contains the command line that the
Gprogram was invoked with, and a variety of housekeeping information for
$DOS.  See also INT 21h Function 26h.
Protected Mode
8One of the operating modes of the 80286 and higher Intel
Gprocessors, in which addresses used by programs no longer correspond to
Ephysical addresses and the CPU enforces various protection mechanisms
Edesigned to prevent one program from disrupting other programs or the
7operating system.  See also Real Mode, Virtual-86 Mode.
see Program Segment Prefix
PWORD
?Six bytes.  Used to hold an 80386 protected-mode "far" address,
Gconsisting of a segment selector and a 32-bit offset, or a Turbo Pascal
("real" variable.  See also DWORD, QWORD.
QWORD
0(quad-word) Eight bytes.  See also DWORD, PWORD.
2(Random Access Memory)        See also DRAM, SRAM.
    Real Mode
8One of the operating modes of the 80286 and higher Intel
Eprocessors, and the only operating mode of the 8088, 8086, 80186, and
?80188 processors.  In this mode, all addresses used by programs
Ccorrespond directly to real physical addresses (thus the full name,
CReal Address Mode) and there are no CPU-imposed protections between
4programs.  See also Protected Mode, Virtual-86 Mode.
Real-Time Clock
AA battery-powered clock which continues to maintain its time even
Iwhile the system is powered down.  On PCs, the real-time clock contains a
6small amount of battery-powered memory (set CMOS RAM).
Redirector Interface
?The set of device-independent INT 2Fh function calls invoked by
?the MSDOS kernel to operate on devices it recognizes as network
Gdevices.  These function calls provide a lower-level interface than the
@INT 21h calls made to DOS, allowing a program intercepting these
Efunctions to be simpler than one intercepting INT 21h calls.  See INT
"2Fh Functions 1100h through 1130h.
Refresh
<The process of periodically rewriting the contents of a DRAM
Hmemory chip to keep it from fading.  The term "refresh" is also commonly
Eapplied to redrawing the image on a CRT's phosphors.   See also DRAM.
;(Red-Green-Blue) The color specification mechanism normally
@used in computer displays, where colors are separated into their
(primary-color components.  See also YUV.
=(Run-Length Limited) A method of encoding data as a series of
Emagnetic flux reversals on disk or tape.  RLL can achieve higher data
Bdensities than MFM recording because it encodes the data such that
C(on average), fewer than one flux reversal per data bit is required
C(however, timing becomes more critical).  RLL is actually an entire
Efamily of encoding methods, specified with two numbers indicating the
Gminimum and maximum distances between one bits (flux transitions).  The
Gvariant normally called RLL is RLL-2,7; RLL-1,7 and RLL-3,9 are also in
2use.  MFM is in effect RLL-1,3.  See also FM, MFM.
@(Read-Only Memory) A memory for program storage which may not be
"changed by the program as it runs.
see Real-Time Clock
    Scan Code
BThe actual key number sent by the keyboard, which differs from the
Lkey codes seen by application programs.  The enhanced (101/102-key) keyboard
Eactually sends different scan codes than the original (83/84-key) IBM
Kkeyboard, but these are normally translated by the keyboard controller into
Jthe scan codes used by the original keyboard before they become visible to
    programs.
Scatter/Gather
DA technique in which the contiguous data of a disk sector or sectors
His transferred to or from multiple non-contiguous areas of memory.  When
Ireading into multiple areas of memory, this is called a scatter-read; the
*opposing operation is called gather-write.
Scatter-Read
see Scatter/Gather
7(Small Computer Systems Interface) A system-independent
Dexpansion bus typically used to connect hard disks, tape drives, and
CCD-ROMs to a computer.  A host adapter connects the SCSI bus to the
(computer's own bus.  See also ESDI, IDE.
see Swappable Data Area
Sector
>The smallest addressable unit of data on a disk; under MS-DOS,
,this is normally 512 bytes.  See also Track.
see System File Table
=(System Management Mode) A special CPU mode typically invoked
Con changes in power-supply status.  In this mode, additional hidden
Bmemory becomes available for storing the CPU's state and a control
Dprogram to deal with the needs of power management or other critical
events.
SPOOL
:(Simultaneous Peripheral Operation OnLine)  The process of
Dperforming output to a slow peripheral such as a printer while other
Etasks continue running on the CPU.  This term dates back to mainframe
)days before the invention of timesharing.
(Structured Query Language)
B(Static Random Access Memory)  RAM which typically consists of one
Kflip-flop per bit of memory.  Unlike DRAMs, static RAM retains its contents
Eas long as power is applied.  Because there is no need to refresh the
Fcontents of memory addresses which are read, SRAM is faster than DRAM,
Ibut it is more expensive and typically is available in much smaller sizes
Kthan DRAM because each bit occupies more space on the chip.  See also DRAM.
8(Super VGA) A video adapter capable of higher resolution
F(pixels and/or colors) than the 320x200x256 and 640x480x16 which IBM's
4VGA adapter is capable of producing.  See also VESA.
Swappable Data Area
9The portion of the DOS data segment containing all of the
Gvariables used internally by DOS to record the state of a function call
Bin progress.  See also INT 21h Function 5D06h and INT 21h Function
5D0Bh.
System File Table
<A System File Table is a DOS-internal data structure used to
Cmaintain the state of an open file for the DOS 2+ handle functions,
Gjust as an FCB maintains the state for DOS 1.x functions.  See also INT
21h Function 52h.
>(Transmission Control Protocol) A higher level (session layer)
3of the TCP/IP protocol suite.  See also IP, TCP/IP.
TCP/IP
?The protocol suite originally developed by DARPA for use on its
GARPAnet network, which is now known as the Internet.  See also IP, TCP.
?(Terminate and Stay Resident) A program which remains in memory
Gafter terminating in order to provide services to other programs or the
Duser.  The name comes from the name of the DOS function call used to
#remain in memory after termination.
Track
=One of multiple concentric circular rings of data on a single
?data-bearing surface of a disk.  Tracks at the same location on
#different surfaces form a cylinder.
see Upper Memory Block
<(Universal Naming Convention) The standard way of describing
Enetwork servers and their directories under MS-DOS and Windows NT.  A
Ename in UNC format consists of two backslashes followed by the server
<name, optionally followed by another backslash and a list of
'backslash-separated fields; for example
2\\SERVER1\SHARED-DIR\SUBDIR1\SUBDIR2\FILENAME.EXT.
Upper Memory Block
=A noncontiguous section of allocatable memory located between
=the 640K and 1024K addresses.  See also INT 21h Function 52h.
see Virtual-86 Mode
%see Virtual Control Program Interface
see Virtual DOS Machine
see Virtual DMA Specification
;(Video Display Unit)  Mainframe-speak for computer monitor.
Vertical Retrace
?When a monitor has finished displaying an image by sweeping its
Jelectron beam(s) over the face of the CRT, it has to move the beam back up
Jto the top of the display.  During the time this takes, the beam is turned
Joff.  The vertical retrace interval is a good time to change the displayed
;picture for smooth animation.  See also Horizontal Retrace.
<(Video Electronics Standards Association)  An industry group
Dwhich sets both hardware and software standards and recommendations.
FThe term VESA is also used to denote compliance with the VESA SuperVGA
EBIOS Extensions, a standard set of video BIOS functions for accessing
;video modes of higher resolution than those defined by IBM.
<(Video Graphics Array) The video adapter introduced with the
IBM PS/2 series of computers.
Virtual-86 Mode
?One of the operating modes of the 80386 and 80486 processors in
>which user programs run as if the CPU were in Real Mode, while
Fproviding the protection and address-mapping capabilities of Protected
BMode to a supervisor program which oversees the virtual machine on
Dwhich the user programs are running.  This mode is called Virtual-86
Fbecause one or more virtual 8086 environments are run on a single CPU.
4See also Protected Mode, Real Mode, Virtual Machine.
!Virtual Control Program Interface
?A simple API for protected-mode programs to allocate memory and
Mswitch into or out of protected mode.  See also DOS Protected-Mode Interface.
Virtual DMA Specification
<A set of interrupt calls which permit the use of DMA even on
Bsystems running in protected or Virtual-86 mode with their address
Cremapping, or systems such as Micro Channel PS/2s with multiple bus
0masters independently performing DMA operations.
Virtual DOS Machine
?A special type of virtual machine provided by OS/2 version 2.0,
Fin which a copy of MS-DOS or an MS-DOS compatible operating system (or
Feven an incompatible 8086 operating system) is run and appears to have
Gfull control of the system.  See also Virtual Machine, INT 21h Function
Virtual Machine
=One method for multitasking programs is to virtualize the CPU
Cand other hardware, giving the appearance of sole possession of the
Dsystem to each program being run.  Such a virtualized environment is
@called a virtual machine.  See also Virtual-86 Mode, Virtual DOS
Machine.
Virus
AA program which attaches itself to other programs for the purpose
Fof duplicating itself.  Viruses often (but not always) contain harmful
@code which is triggered by some event, after a certain number of
5reproductions, or on a specific date.  See also worm.
see Virtual Machine
<A virtual device driver for Windows 3.0 or higher.  See also
device driver.
>(Write Once, Read Many)  A storage medium which may be written
9exactly once, but may not be altered once data is stored.
=A program which duplicates itself, typically across networks.
HIn contrast to a virus, a worm does not attach itself to other programs,
8but can reproduce itself independently.  See also virus.
Write-Through
DOne of two main types of caches, the write-through cache immediately
Iwrites any new information to the medium it is caching, so that the cache
Mnever contains information which is not already present on the cached device.
See also cache.
see Extended BIOS Data Area
see External Device Interface
(Extended Graphics Array)
!see Extended Memory Specification
see YUV
7A color specification mechanism used in NTSC-type color
Dtelevision signals.  Y represents luminance (overall brightness, the
Eonly part of the signal used by black-and-white televisions), while U
Fand V are chrominance (color) information.  Also called YIQ.  See also
    See also:
Help Contents
 Jokes
 How many programmers are needed to change a light bulb?
 None. That's a hardware problem.
 How many Microsoft technicians are needed to change a bulb?
HNone at all
 Bill Gates will just declare
Darkness
(TM) a new industry
    standard.
 How many programmers of role playing games are needed to change a bulb?
FTwo
 because, as it is known, one half of the programming team always
gives up during the project.
 How many Pentium chip designers are needed to change a bulb?
0.999999997...
 What would
Tetris
 be like if it had been invented by the text
adventure pioneers of Infocom?
You are looking at the shaft.
GA large red block, four units by one unit, is above your head, dropping
slowly.
*It has its long edge horizontally aligned.
>turn the block
%I don't know how to "turn" something.
The block descends lower.
>rotate block
HThe block rotates in mid air, now with the long edge vertically aligned.
The block descends lower.
>move block left
The block shifts to the left.
The block descends lower.
>move block down
BThe block drops into the narrow gap, filling the four columns. The
Fcolumns flash twice, then vanish, dropping the blocks above them down.
[Your score increased by 20!]
BTaken from the German "PC Player" magazine
 hope they don't mind.
    Test Page
KColor  0 (black):     ABCabc
   Color  8   (darkgray):    ABCabc
KColor  1 (blue):      ABCabc
   Color  9   (lightblue):   ABCabc
KColor  2 (green):     ABCabc
   Color 10 a (lightgreen):  ABCabc
KColor  3 (cyan):      ABCabc
   Color 11 b (lightcyan):   ABCabc
KColor  4 (red):       ABCabc
   Color 12 c (lightred):    ABCabc
KColor  5 (magenta):   ABCabc
   Color 13 d (lightmagenta):ABCabc
KColor  6 (brown):     ABCabc
   Color 14 e (yellow):      ABCabc
KColor  7 (lightgray): ABCabc
   Color 15 f (white):       ABCabc
Character set:
 !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?
@@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz |}
Opinions and Press Articles
 Rick Harris, SysOp of the Benchmarks and Standards Forum on Compuserve
 c't magazine (Germany) 5/96, in a big article about selected freeware and
shareware programs
    See also:
Help contents
HThis is what Rick Harris, SysOp of the Benchmarks and Standards Forum on
!Compuserve, writes in this forum:
HAndreas Grogel, author of the agSI System Information tool, recently an-
Gnounced that the version 1.1.1 update to agSI is now being distributed.
IAndreas has made both the English and German Shareware versions available
*to us for upload to the forum's library 2.
EAGSI111E.ZIP   25-Jun-95  agSI, Ver 1.1.1, PC System Information Tool
KAGSI111D.ZIP   25-Jun-95  agSI, Ver 1.1.1, PC System Information Tool (GER)
GI have had the opportunity to run the update of agSI and can assure you
Ithat in my opinion it is close to, if not the most thorough system infor-
Jmation tool that I have used.  And that goes for both shareware _AND_ com-
mercial products.
GagSI is a very straight forward, character based, DOS utility that gets
Gright to the heart of the matter (without a lot of glitz) of presenting
Hdetailed information of the entire hardware system under test.  In addi-
Htion, Andreas has integrated a feature that makes agSI especially useful
Hto those who may not be familiar with the internal hardware details, but
Gare intent on learning about them. Included is a context sensitive Help
ISystem that permits instant access to definitions and explanations of the
information being displayed.
II'll include a segment of the README that lists some of the features, but
"first I want to ask for your help.
EThe shareware concept has been around for sometime now, but in recent
Iyears, shareware authors have found it more and more difficult to justify
Iopen distribution of their software when they know they can expect a con-
Itinually decreasing return on their investment in time and energy.  So if
Iyou happen to feel as I do on this issue, I hope that you will join me in
Gsupport of Andreas and other sharware authors with you comments in this
thread.
JBut let's not stop there. I would encourage everyone that has a need for a
Jbasic System Information Tool to have a close look at the features of agSI
Hand then make a serious evaluation of it's value to you.  In the context
Eof what we are willing to pay for software these days, is it worth 15
Ibucks (20DM) to you? Since you probably spent that much the last time you
Gtook your family to MacDonalds, I'll bet it will be hard to say, "No!."
GWe've had close to 600 d/ls of agSI in this forum already, but unfortu-
Jnately Andreas hasn't seen an associated increase in registrations.  So if
Gyou are one who has registered or plan to register shortly, please feel
Ifree to share with the membership why it is that you feel agSI is useful.
JAnd OTOH, since this _IS_ a forum open to all sides of the issues, I would
Ialso encourage anyone who was disappointed with agSI to present their ob-
Iservations as well.  I know that Andreas will be anxious to receive feed-
Hback of this nature, so I'll certainly accept the responsibility of for-
warding all comments to him.
HAnd now that you are probably chomping at the bit to know more, here are
$some selected segments of the README
7<What is, Features, System requirements
 removed
IFor those of you who already have the earlier version of agSI, I will in-
Eclude the list of items that have been added in the last two updates.
FThis should give you an idea whether or not a new d/l would be useful.
!<Revision history
 removed
That about does it.
BIf you've made it this far, I hope you'll add your 2 cents...  <G>
2Rick...                 25-Jun-95 at 15:32:24 OzST
No need to say more...
    See also:
Opinions and Press Articles
Help Contents
LThis is the column about agSI in a big article about shareware/freeware pro-
Kgrams from the German c't magazine (translated), included here by kind per-
mission:
System information
FAGSI from Andreas Gr
gel is before us in the (German) version 1.1.4 as
Kshareware without restrictions. The clear menu structure with mouse support
Koffers the user, besides the classical items of system information like the
Dsettings of serial and parallel ports, also deeper insights into the
Gsystem's hardware. So are, amongst others, ROM expansions, graphics and
Isound cards chips and BIOS extensions (like Plug and Play on PCI systems)
8detected and displayed with the appropriate information.
EEspecially positive stand out the abundance of information which AGSI
Gdisplays about PCI and PnP devices - in the test PC, even the link from
Fthe S3 Trio64 chip with IRQ 11 was displayed - a not quite unimportant
Ipiece of information. Among the other features are memory dumps (CMOS and
Emain memory) and the possibility to get Windows system information by
Erunning a special variant of AGSI under Windows. Not fully matured is
Jtracking down the IRQ usage: the interrupts which are assigned to COM2 and
%LPT2 are not always detected as used.
Mathias Poets
[Photo caption:]
6AGSI is one of the most powerful system info programs.
    See also:
Opinions and Press Articles
Help Contents
Sources, References
IFollowing is a list of books and magazines and programs some routines and
techniques are taken from:
 Interrupt List, (c) Copyright 1989-1995 Ralf Brown; a compilation of many
KDOS and BIOS calls of almost 5 MB in size (Release 47, Oct 95), distributed
Lfree (as INTERrrA-D.ZIP, plus ..E/F.ZIP with conversion and other utilities)
Lon several BBSs, the Internet (e.g. on Simtel), and available from PD/Share-
?ware distributors, and updated about every two to three months.
 c't magazin f
r computertechnik (several issues), Verlag Heinz Heise,
Hannover
 Michael Tischer, PC Intern 3.0, Data Becker 1992, ISBN 3-89011-591-8
 Arne Sch
pers, DOS 5 f
r Programmierer - Die endg
ltige Referenz, Addison-
Wesley 1991, ISBN 3-89319-350-2
 CompTest (public domain version), a neat computer test program by Norbert
Juffa.
 InfoPlus, a good information tool, by Andrew Rossman. Version 1.58 alpha,
4released to the public domain, is the final version.
 VGADOC 4 (WHATVGA 2.00), a compilation of lots of video chips programming
Kinformation, Copyright 1991-95 Finn Thoegersen, distributed as freeware and
Javailable (amongst other places) on the Simtel ftp server in the msdos/vga
1directory as vgadoc4b.zip (released Oct 4, 1995).
 Intel Architecture Labs (IAL): http://www.intel.com/IAL
 ATA-2 Specification (AT Attachment with Extensions), and ATA-3 Specifica-
tion, ANSI X3 T10 Committee.
 FDFormat (version 1.8), a good public-domain floppy disk formatting pro-
!gram by Christoph H. Hochst
tter.
 LONGNAME sample code (for long filename use under Windows 95 for 16-bit
#apps) by Walter Oney for Microsoft.
 Exec, a public domain Pascal & C tool for executing programs with swapping
by Thomas Wagner.
 OverXMS, a public domain unit for XMS overlay support by Wilbert van
Leijen.
    See also:
Help contents
Index
42M                                   4DOS KSTACK.COM
)4DOS                                 4MAP
4DOS (installation test)
+A20 gate                             APPEND
0About agSI                           ASPI driver
+Advanced Power Management Spec.(APM) ASSIGN
.After Dark for DOS                   ATA/ATAPI
3agSI\WinServ                         Author of agSI
1AMI PCI/Flash BIOS                   AUTOEXEC.BAT
1AMIS                                 AUTOEXEC.DOS
1ANSI.SYS                             AUTOEXEC.W40
*Banyan VINES                         books
5base memory                          Borland DPMILOAD
0base memory: more                    Borland RTM
0Benchmark (CPU, RAM)                 Borland TDX
7BIOS                                 Btrieve Multi-User
-BIOS data segment                    bus type
3BIOS ID string                       bus type: more
4Board and BIOS                       bus width (CPU)
9Cache (CPU)                          common printer codes
6CAS                                  conditions of use
/CD benchmark                         CONFIG.DOS
/CD Player                            CONFIG.PTS
/CD Primary Volume Descriptor         CONFIG.SYS
/CD-ROM info                          CONFIG.W40
=CD table of contents                 Configuration Files menu
.CDS info                             copy disk
5check disk                           Country settings
(clusters total/free                  CPU
.CMOS RAM (detailed)                  CPU: more
8CMOS RAM (table)                     CPU Clock frequency
6code pages                           CPUID information
;COM ports                            Critical Error Handler
5COMM-DRV                             cross-references
@command line                         Current Directory Structure
0DBLSPACE.INI                         DISPLAY.SYS
4DCONFIG.SYS                          DOS error codes
1DELWATCH                             DOS Extender
/DESQview                             DOS memory
+DESQview QEXT.SYS                    DOSKEY
-DESQview/X                           DosShell
1device driver of drive               DOSSTART.BAT
.Devices / device drivers             DoubleDOS
;Dhrystones                           DoubleSpace/DriveSpace
-DIET                                 DPB info
)DIMWIT                               DPMI
)directory list                       DPMS
Cdirectory tree                       drive hardware (logical drive)
3Disabling information items          Drive Map Info
:Disk benchmark                       Drive Parameter Block
7disk benchmark (menu item)           DRIVER.SYS support
0disk caches                          Drives menu
1disk format dialog                   DRVSPACE.INI
<edit disk label                      EMM386.EXE (Novell DOS)
/edit disk label dialog               EMS memory
:EGA.SYS                              Environment variables
4EISA                                 extended memory
:EMM386.EXE (Microsoft)               extended memory: more
)F-PROT VIRSTOP.EXE                   FN32
0feature bytes                        format disk
+features of agSI                     FOSSIL
(file system                          FPU
.Files in this package                FPU: more
@FLU_SHOT+                            Frank Kintrup TSR utilities
1Game ports                           GRAFTABL.COM
3General Overview                     graphics cards
1glossary                             GRAPHICS.COM
.Hardware/System menu                 HyperDisk
7help contents                        HyperWare products
help system, using
-I/O port addresses                   INTERLNK
3IDE info                             Interrupt List
6IFSHLP.SYS                           interrupt vectors
/important notes                      interrupts
2INI file                             IPI/LaserPort
4Int13 Extensions                     IRQ assignments
3jokes                                Joystick ports
/KEYB                                 known bugs
keyboard type
@L2-Cache                             Logical Drive Info sub-menu
<LapLink RemoteAccess (LLRA)          Logical drives overview
3License Service API                  long filenames
.Linux DOSEMU                         LPT ports
1magazines                            Memory Speed
;main menu                            MICEMM / Netroom RM386
.media id                             MICRO.EXE
7media information                    Microsoft Profiler
1Media size / statistics              Mouse driver
+MegaFLOPS                            MSCDEX
.Memory Dump                          MSDOS.SYS
.Memory manager                       MSDOS.W40
3Memory Map                           MTEZ XpressFax
8Memory menu                          MX5 Extended FOSSIL
1Nanosoft TurboNET                    New versions
,NDOS                                 NLSFUNC
3Netroom RM386 / MICEMM               Novell NetWare
3Network                              Novell NWCache
Network Redirector
-online disk compression              opinions
3Ontrack DiskManager                  Options dialog
/open files                           Order form
6Operating System menu                other OS settings
3Operating system type and version    other programs
.parallel ports                       POWER.EXE
3Partition table                      press articles
*PC Tools programs                    PRINT
1pcANYWHERE IV                        print dialog
=PCI information                      print help: highlighting
/PCI/PnP device classes               PrintCache
CPentium-specific information         printer codes for highlighting
0Personal Measure                     PrintScreen
.PERUSE                               Processor
4Physical Drive Info sub-menu         Processor: more
=Physical drives overview             protected mode functions
/Plug and Play                        PrScr (ag)
.Plug-and-Play BIOS                   PTS-Cache
/port addresses                       PTS-Folder
9QCACHE                               Quarterdeck QEMM-386
:QMR Quick Mouse Reset                questions and answers
Quarterdeck memory drivers
-Rahmen (ag)                          REDIRIFS
,RAM/ROM extensions                   REDVIEW
/RAM throughput                       references
5RECIEVER.COM                         revision history
?SCRIPT.EXE                           SoundBlaster Speech Driver
,SCSI-CAM                             sources
1SCSI devices                         SpaceManager
*Search&Destroy                       Speed
,serial number                        Stacker
4serial ports                         start-up screen
2SETVER                               SuperStor PRO
0SHARE                                system disk
7shareware info                       System file tables
/SmartDrive                           SYSTEM.INI
8Smooth Mouse Driver / PrecisePoint   System requirements
5Software menu                        System variables
sound cards
ATask Switcher API                    The Last Byte - LASTBYTE.SYS
*TaskMAX                              THELP
7TBScanX                              Topware Network OS
/Test page                            TSENGP.COM
4The Last Byte - HIGHUMM.SYS          TurboPower TSRs
:UIH                                  using the help system
using agSI
<VCPI                                 Virtual 8086 Mode: more
;VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE)           Virtual Device Drivers
DVESA video modes: list               Virtual DMA Specification (VDS)
1video information                    volume label
Virtual 8086 Mode
>Warmboot driver (c't)                Windows system parameters
>Whetstones                           Windows tasks and modules
4WHOA!                                Windows version
>WIN.INI                              Windows version and flags
1Win32s                               Windows VxDs
*Windows directory                    WINGO
7Windows resources and memory         WinOldAp Clipboard
1Windows Services                     WinOldAp GDI
1Windows swap file                    WINSTART.BAT
/XMA2EMS                              XMS memory
ZyXEL ZFAX
 OA D
 O$ D
9'%'#
8'%'#
7'%'#
6'%'#
:'%'0
?'%'6
>'%'6
='%'6
<'%'6
;'%'6
A'%'B
@'%'B
h'V'!
g'V'!
f'V'!
e'V'!
i'V'.
n'V'8
m'V'8
l'V'8
k'V'8
j'V'8
p'V'D
o'V'D
3N2N#
4N2NG
JNAN!
KNAN$