home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Bila Vrana
/
BILA_VRANA.iso
/
027A
/
SNOOP344.ZIP
/
SNOOPER.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-07-19
|
161KB
|
3,603 lines
(tm)
SNOOPER
Version 3
Copyright 1989-96 Vias and Associates
All rights reserved.
Here's how to reach us:
Mail: Vias and Associates
PO Box 470805
San Francisco, CA 94147-0805
Phone: 800-332-8234 (orders only, please)
415-921-6262 (tech support and other queries)
Monday through Friday, 9AM to 6PM, Pacific time
Fax: 415-922-3197 (24 hours)
NOTE: If you find the above information out-of-date, please contact
the Association of Shareware Professionals to get current contact
information. You may reach the ASP at the contact points listed on the
following page.
Internet 72260.1601@compuse : rve.com
WWW: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jvias
CompuServe: 72260,1601
You can find the latest copy of Snooper (SNOOPR.ZIP) in the PC
Hardware Forum (GO PCHW), General Hardware library (4). This was
formerly known as the IBM Hardware Forum.
Also, you can register Snooper in the Shareware Registration forum (GO
SWREG). Snooper's ID is 2535.
BBS: 216-381-3320. PC-Ohio (33.6Kbps, 8N1), Norm Henke, sysop.
Enter your real name and a password when prompted. At the command
prompt, enter "z snoop" and you will see a list of files whose
filenames and/or descriptions include "snoop." When you see Snooper,
press the spacebar until it is highlighted and it will be marked for
downloading. Cancel the "z" command and enter "d" for download. The
PC-Ohio BBS is an excellent, well run system with many interesting
features for PC users, including low cost Internet access. Give it a
call!
VIAS & ASSOCIATES
This program and its documentation were created by Vias & Associates,
a computer consulting, programming, and technical writing firm based
in San Francisco, California. If you, or someone you know, needs
software or documentation written, edited, or designed, please contact
us.
Do you need a customized system information program? For example,
one that writes comma-delimited files? Call us! Our rates are
affordable. Whether it's a computer program, documentation, or
something in between, we look forward to working with you!
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). The ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombud Member can help you resolve a
dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical
support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombud Member at
545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI USA 49442-9427, send a FAX to 616-788-
2765, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombud
Member 70007,3536.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VIAS & ASSOCIATES ...................................................2
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................3
WHAT IS SNOOPER? ....................................................6
WHO NEEDS SNOOPER? ..................................................6
You ...............................................................6
MIS Managers and Network Administrators ...........................6
Consultants, Technicians, Support Personnel .......................6
Hardware and Software Vendors .....................................6
Computer Dealers ..................................................7
REQUIREMENTS ........................................................7
FILES ON THIS DISK ..................................................7
INSTALLATION ........................................................8
DOS Installation ..................................................8
Windows Installation ..............................................8
Upgrading from a Previous Version .................................9
THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SNOOPER .......................................9
LEGALITIES .........................................................10
Warranty, Copyright, Liability, Trademarks .......................10
License ..........................................................10
WHAT IS SHAREWARE? .................................................11
REGISTERING/ORDERING ...............................................11
Registration Benefits ............................................12
Upgrades .........................................................12
Pricing ..........................................................12
How To Register ..................................................13
SYNTAX .............................................................13
Help Switches (H|?) ..............................................14
Mono Switch (M) ..................................................14
Desqview Mode Switch (D) .........................................14
Logging ..........................................................15
Log Filename Parameter (Lfilename) ...............................15
Log File Environment Variable ....................................15
Auto-Logging Switch (A) ..........................................16
Log DOS System Files Switch (F) ..................................17
Log Windows System Files Switch (W) ..............................18
Quiet Mode Switch (Q) ............................................18
Disk Drive Switch (D:) ...........................................18
Chip Detection Bypass Switches (C, N) ............................18
OtherIRQ Switch (O) ..............................................19
IDE Skip Switch (I) ..............................................19
Tune Skip Switch (T) .............................................19
Configuration File Parameter (Sfilename) .........................19
Config File Environment Variable .................................19
OPERATION ..........................................................20
Windows Operation ................................................21
Keys .............................................................21
ERRORLEVEL .........................................................25
BUGS ...............................................................25
Known Bugs and Anomalies .........................................25
WISH LIST ..........................................................26
MAIN SCREEN ........................................................26
Computer .........................................................26
Advanced Power Management (APM) ..................................26
Central Processing Unit (CPU) ....................................27
CPU Speed ........................................................27
Virtual-86 Mode ..................................................27
Numeric Data Processor (NDP) .....................................27
Bus ..............................................................28
Memory ...........................................................28
Drives ...........................................................30
Video ............................................................31
Ports ............................................................32
ROM BIOS .........................................................33
Mouse ............................................................34
Keyboard .........................................................34
Environment ......................................................35
DOS ..............................................................36
Disk Cache .......................................................37
Network ..........................................................37
Disk Information .................................................38
DIAGNOSTICS SCREEN .................................................41
Serial Ports .....................................................41
Parallel ports ...................................................43
Sound Card Address ...............................................44
Interrupt Request (IRQ) ..........................................44
Direct Memory Access (DMA) .......................................44
BUS SCREEN .........................................................45
NETWORK SCREEN .....................................................45
Network Type .....................................................45
Network Address ..................................................45
Node Address .....................................................45
Socket ...........................................................45
User Name ........................................................45
Hardware .........................................................46
Software .........................................................46
Server ...........................................................46
Connections ......................................................46
CMOS SCREEN ........................................................46
Navigating the CMOS Screen .......................................47
CMOS Status ......................................................47
Date and Time ....................................................47
Memory ...........................................................48
Floppy Drives ....................................................48
Hard Drives ......................................................48
Display ..........................................................49
Coprocessor ......................................................49
Saving Your Changes ..............................................49
BENCHMARK SCREEN ...................................................49
CPU Throughput ...................................................50
Video Throughput .................................................50
Disk Throughput ..................................................50
SETUP SCREEN .......................................................51
Navigating the Setup Screen ......................................51
Mono Mode ........................................................51
Desqview Mode ....................................................51
Editor ...........................................................51
Drive ............................................................51
Sounds ...........................................................52
Skip IDE .........................................................52
Other IRQ ........................................................52
Allow CMOS Editing ...............................................52
Colors ...........................................................52
License Number ...................................................53
Saving Your Changes ..............................................53
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S CREATION ..............................53
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S AUTHOR ................................54
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................54
INDEX ..............................................................56
WHAT IS SNOOPER?
Snooper is a system information utility. It "snoops around" your
computer to report its configuration and operating characteristics.
WHO NEEDS SNOOPER?
You
You can use Snooper to keep an eye on your memory and disk usage.
Snooper can help you when you are installing new peripherals or
software by showing you what resources are already in use. Also, when
you talk to technical support personnel, Snooper can help you answer
many of their questions about your computer, and can let you edit your
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. You can even determine the
configuration of a used computer you're thinking of buying. Snooper
has many uses!
MIS Managers and Network Administrators
If you are in charge of keeping a large installation of PCs up and
running, Snooper can help. For example, it's well-suited for
collecting hardware inventory information. Add Snooper to a user's
login script with appropriate command line switches and it will
collect information on that node into a file on the server. (See
"Auto-Logging," below, for details on how to do this.) You can then
assemble the files into a database of configuration information.
Afterward, you can tell at a glance which users need DOS upgrades
simply by referring to the database, without visiting each site or
calling each user. Major corporations are using this method to collect
inventory data with Snooper.
Also, we would be glad to create a customized version of Snooper to
assemble all the information you need, in the format you specify.
Consultants, Technicians, Support Personnel
You'll find Snooper helpful for showing at a glance what kind of
machine you are dealing with when you must troubleshoot or upgrade it.
Also, you can use Snooper to help you ensure the computer recognizes
peripherals you install. If you installed a mouse, for example, ensure
Snooper's display shows mouse information. If it doesn't, the mouse
may not work. Snooper also can help you maintain a log of machines
you've worked on. Then, the next time a customer calls, you already
have a good idea of his or her computer's configuration.
Hardware and Software Vendors
With the appropriate license, you may distribute copies of Snooper
with each computer or software package you sell. You'll receive
several benefits:
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 6
*First, Snooper will make troubleshooting over the telephone faster,
easier, and less expensive. As you know, many computer problems are
caused by incompatible DOS versions, incorrectly installed hardware,
and the like. You can find out much about a customer's system by
asking her to run Snooper and relay the relevant information.
Second, we can create customized versions of Snooper to integrate *
into your software's installation routine, to ensure the user's
computer complies with the minimum requirements.
And finally, because we can make your company's name appear on *
Snooper's screen, every time your customers run it, they will
remember it was you who provided them this useful utility.
Computer Dealers
Snooper's display is useful in providing a continuous at-a-glance
display of a machine's specifications for potential customers. No more
scrambling to recall a machine's specs. Simply run Snooper. You can
even determine the configuration of a used computer you're thinking of
buying to resell.
REQUIREMENTS
You may want to postpone reading the rest of this manual to run
Snooper. Go ahead! Snooper normally doesn't affect your computer in
any way except to write a log file if you ask it. Here are its
requirements:
IBM PC or 100% compatible *
256K RAM *
*DOS 3.1 or higher
*a video card
In short, Snooper should run on your computer. Make sure Snooper is in
the current directory or on the path. Then just enter "snooper" at the
DOS prompt. Press <Esc> to exit Snooper.
FILES ON THIS DISK
All of the following files should be on this disk or in this
compressed file. If any are missing, or if they don't all have the
same date and time, please don't redistribute the remaining files.
Contact one of the distribution points listed on the front page for a
complete (and possibly newer) version.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 7
Filename Description
SNOOPER.EXE Snooper, the System Checker, executable program.
SNOOPER.DOC Snooper's main manual (this file).
SNOOPER.FAQ Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) about Snooper.
SNOOPER.HST Snooper's revision history.
VENDOR.DOC Information for shareware vendors and sysops.
VENDINFO.DIZ Information about installing Snooper, its license,
warranty, and more. The first section is human-
readable, the latter is compressed data useful for
shareware vendors and sysops.
FILE_ID.DIZ Description file some BBSs and vendors will use
automatically. Thanks for helping distribute Snooper!
READ.ME Brief introductory matierial concernng installation,
etc.
ORDER.FRM Order form ready to be filled out and sent in.
INSTALLATION
DOS Installation
Installation couldn't be easier. If your copy includes an installation
program, simply enter "a:\install" (or "b:\install"). If not, simply
copy all files to a subdirectory on your hard or floppy disk. Switch
to that subdirectory. You can print this manual by copying it to your
printer. The command:
copy snooper.doc prn
usually works, assuming SNOOPER.DOC is in the current directory and
your printer is attached to your first parallel port. Of course,
Snooper shows you how many parallel ports you have on its Main screen.
Windows Installation
You may not want to run Snooper under Windows. Some of Snooper's
reports must be disabled and you may get erroneous or unpredictable
results or even lockups. Remember, Snooper was designed as a DOS
application and Windows resists programs such as Snooper that try to
access the hardware directly. If you have problems running Snooper
under Windows, just run it from DOS (not from a "DOS Prompt" in
Windows).
If you want to live dangerously by disregarding the above warnings,
follow the instructions under "DOS Installation." When all files have
been copied:
1. In Windows, select an appropriate program group or create a new
one called Snooper.
2. Select New from the File menu.
3. Click on New Program Item, then OK.
4. For Description, type "Snooper."
8 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
5. For Command Line, type Snooper's full path. For example, if
Snooper resides on your C: drive in your "\SNOOPER" directory, use
the command line "C:\SNOOPER\SNOOPER.EXE" here. (If you want to
use a .PIF file, create one with PIFEDIT to point to SNOOPER.EXE.
Then follow these instructions but make Command Line point to, for
example: "C:\SNOOPER\SNOOPER.PIF" instead.)
6. Click on Change Icon and choose an icon.
7. Last, click the OK buttons until you return to the Program
Manager's main screen.
Snooper's icon should appear in the selected program group. You can
set up other icons for Snooper's documentation, if you wish. To run
Snooper, double click on its icon.
Upgrading from a Previous Version
If you are using an older version of Snooper, simply run the
installation program, if included, or copy the new files over the old.
You may want to retain your .CFG files (see below). Read the history
file, SNOOPER.HST, to find out what we've changed since we released
the version you are using. If you need more details, refer to
appropriate sections of the manual on disk.
Future configuration files are likely to be backward-compatible
with older ones. This means you can likely retain the old
configuration files if you wish. The documentation will state if you
must make new ones.
THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SNOOPER
As we designed and wrote Snooper, we kept several design
considerations in mind:
We wanted it to be useful to both beginners and experienced users, *
for the casual user and the technocrat. If you don't know what "NDP"
means, don't worry. This manual can help you.
We wanted Snooper to run quickly, and to show everything it knows on *
one (well, maybe a few) screens. With Snooper, you needn't wait for
lengthy searches and you needn't pull down six menus to find what
you want.
*We strived for accuracy in its reports. This fact sometimes can
explain differences between Snooper's reports and those of similar
but vastly inferior programs.
We tried to make Snooper as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Too *
often an otherwise excellent program is ruined by a garish (and
permanent) color scheme. Snooper's display is, we think, attractive
and easy to read. If you don't like its color scheme, you can change
it. To reduce clutter, when a report would be zero, none, or not
applicable, Snooper simply leaves that report area blank.
*We wanted to make Snooper intuitive and easy to use. We made the
keystrokes and command line switches similar to other programs so
you wouldn't have to learn yet another interface. For example,
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 9
typing "snooper/?" at the DOS prompt or pressing <F1> from the Main
screen displays help screens, just as you'd expect.
LEGALITIES
Here's the nasty part. Please bear with us while we assault you with
the usual barrage of disclaimers and legal mumbo-jumbo. It is an
unfortunate but necessary addition to every software manual published
in our litigious society. End of lecture.
Warranty, Copyright, Liability, Trademarks
SNOOPER IS SUPPLIED AS-IS. IT IS NOT GUARANTEED FOR FITNESS OR *
SUITABILITY FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
USE SNOOPER AT YOUR OWN RISK. NEITHER JOHN VIAS, NOR VIAS AND *
ASSOCIATES, WILL BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES--ACTUAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHERWISE--FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO
USE, SNOOPER, OR FOR ERRORS IN ITS DOCUMENTATION.
VIAS AND ASSOCIATES WARRANTS THE MEDIUM UPON WHICH WE DISTRIBUTE *
SNOOPER, IF GIVEN REASONABLE CARE, TO BE FREE OF DEFECTS IN
MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP FOR AS LONG AS YOU USE THE PRODUCT.
ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE HEREBY EXPLICITLY *
DISCLAIMED. YOUR RIGHTS MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.
SNOOPER, THE SYSTEM CHECKER, A * ND ITS DOCUMENTATION ARE COPYRIGHTED.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
THE BRAND NAMES USED IN THIS MANUAL ARE TRADEMARKS OR REGISTERED *
TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.
ANY DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT SNOOPER WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE LAWS OF THE *
STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
License
We encourage individuals, sysops, user groups, shareware vendors, and
others to use, copy, and distribute Snooper in compliance with these
restrictions:
You are hereby granted a limited license to use Snooper fo * r an
evaluation period not to exceed thirty (30) days. After that period,
you must either discontinue use of Snooper or register it with the
author (see below).
*If you wish to use Snooper to gather inventory on a network or use
it in any other way such that more than one person may be running
Snooper at the one time, you must purchase a site- or distribution-
license. Contact us for information and pricing.
*You are encouraged to pass Snooper along, but you must distribute
the program and its related files together, intact and unmodified.
Don't reproduce the printed documentation in any way. *
Don't disassemble or otherwise reverse-engineer Snooper or any part *
of it.
*Don't "bundle" Snooper with another product or service without our
prior written permission. This restriction applies but is not
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 10
limited to: systems dealers, consultants, VARs, and book and
magazine publishers. Please do contact us, however, as we are
delighted to have Snooper included with other quality products.
Shareware vendors, rack vendors, CD-ROM and book publishers, and other
businesses are also subject to the following restrictions:
*Your advertisements, catalogs, and other literature must clearly
explain that users must pay authors for shareware they use. Also,
that money paid the vendor for the disk does not satisfy the user's
obligation to the author.
If the version you have is over six months old, ensure you have the *
most current version by downloading Snooper from CompuServe or its
distribution BBS. See the first page of this manual for distribution
points.
If we ask you to stop distributing Snooper, do so. *
OK, enough legal stuff.
WHAT IS SHAREWARE?
Snooper is distributed by a marketing method called shareware. Those
of us who distribute software via this technique believe:
*People should be able to evaluate a program in its actual operating
environment, which a computer store is not;
They should have a reasonable time to evaluate it, which is longer *
than a computer salesperson's patience will allow (trust us, we
know);
*Users are honest enough to register the program with the author. The
user not only will gain a clear conscience, but also will encourage
the programmer to improve the software, which in turn is good for
the user;
Commercial software is often overpriced. Because many shareware *
authors don't have to pay for high salaries, advertising, fancy
packaging, and other commercial marketing necessities, we are able
to keep costs down.
Keep in mind that shareware is not free. We shareware authors expect
those of you who use our programs to pay us for our efforts just as
you pay makers of commercial software for theirs. We're just nicer
about collecting.
REGISTERING/ORDERING
As stated above, you are granted a limited license to evaluate
Snooper. If you continue to use Snooper after a 30-day evaluation
period, you must pay the author for it. Although you may have paid a
shareware vendor a few dollars for a disk, you should know the author
gets none of that money. Just as you have to pay for commercial
software you use, you must pay for shareware you use. This is called
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 11
registering. You can think of it as ordering the registered version of
the program.
NOTE: If you plan to use Snooper to gather system information from
computers on a network, or by sending copies of it to clients, branch
offices, etc., or in any other way such that Snooper might be used by
more than one person at a time, you must purchase a corporate license
or site license.
Volume discounts and customized versions are available and
encouraged. Please contact us for details. We will need to know how
you wish to use or redistribute Snooper and how many copies you will
need.
Registration Benefits
Your registration fee entitles you to:
*A printed 70-page manual.
The most recent version of Snooper on disk. *
Notification b * y mail of the next major upgrade.
A significant discount on upgrades. *
Lifetime free technical support (see the first page of this manual *
for contact information). This is a toll call.
A license number to make the Registration Reminder Screen go away. *
The peace of mind in knowing you have upheld the law, legitimized *
your use of Snooper, and supported the shareware concept.
Our undying gratitude. *
Upgrades
Upgrades are available at a significant discount to registered users
of any previous Snooper version. Upgrades include the latest version
on disk and a printed manual. The disk will include the history file,
so you can see what changes have been made. You can order an upgrade
any time, and a newer version will be sent to you. We will delay
shipment until a newer version is available, if necessary.
Pricing
Here is Snooper's pricing, current as of publication date:
Full version Upgrade
Users Price per user Users Price per user
1-9 $39.00 1-9 $15.00
10+ Please call 10+ Please call
Remember, if you are using Snooper to gather hardware inventory across
a network, or are sending out disks to clients, branch offices, etc.,
you must purchase a site license or distribution license. We negotiate
these licenses on an individual basis, because your needs are
different from those of others. If you need multiple disks or manuals,
12 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
or you have some other special need, please contact us for further
information.
How To Register
It's very quick, easy, and flexible.
Remember, if you are using Snooper in any manner that may allow more
than one person to use Snooper at a time (e.g., gathering hardware
inventory across a network, sending disks to clients, branch offices,
etc.), you must purchase a site license or distribution license.
To register by mail or fax: If you have it, print the ORDER.FRM file.
If not, from Snooper's Main screen press <F1> for help, then <O> for
ordering information, then <P> for printing an order form/invoice.
Make sure your printer is ready. Finally, select the port to which you
want Snooper to print the order form. There is a list of choices at
the bottom of your screen (usually, <1> will work).
Fill out the form completely and either mail it or fax it. Our
address and fax number are on the first page of this manual. You must
send your registration in US funds drawn on a US bank. You can pay
with a business, personal, travelers, or cashier's check; a money
order, Postal Money Order, or American Express International Money
Order. Or you can send cash if that's easiest for you. Make checks
payable to "Vias and Associates."
To register by phone: Have your Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or
American Express card handy and call our tollfree order line listed on
the first page of this manual.
To register by purchase order: If you're ordering Snooper for a
business, just send a copy of the order form/invoice to your
Purchasing department and have them forward a purchase order to us.
When we receive it, we'll send your manual, disk, and license number,
and send an invoice to your Accounts Payable department. This is
faster than your having to contact us first to send you an invoice.
To register by CompuServe: Go SWREG and order item # 2535. Snooper's
price will be added to your CompuServe bill.
Thank you for registering! We think you will enjoy and benefit from
Snooper for years to come.
SYNTAX
There are many switches and options you can use to change Snooper's
operation. Enter them after Snooper's name at the DOS prompt. They are
all optional and all case-insensitive. Each must be separated by at
least one space. You may preface each with a hyphen or a slash if you
wish.
Some have long-name forms, so in a batch file, you can easily see
what the switch is for. They all have single-letter forms, as well,
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 13
for faster entry at the command line. In fact, Snooper only notices
the first character (except where it expects filenames, and with the
Auto-Logging switch), so you can create your own long-name forms
(e.g., "/IDESkipped" instead of just "/I").
If you enter an invalid parameter, Snooper will display its first
help screen (command line syntax), and show you the invalid
characters. Here is a diagram of Snooper's command line options. All
options are in brackets to indicate they are optional. Each is
described fully in the following sections.
SNOOPER [H(elp) | ?] [M(ono)] [D(esqview)] [A[B/D/E/L/N/O/S]]
[Q(uiet)] [D:] [C(PUSkip)] [N(DPSkip)] [O(therIRQ)]
[I(DESkip)] [T(uneSkip)] [F] [W] [Cfilename] [Lfilename]
NOTE: The batch mode switch (B) has been removed. Instead, to run
Snooper and have it return to the DOS prompt immediately, use the
Auto-Logging switch by itself (i.e., "snooper a"). It's handy when you
want to quickly run Snooper from a batch file and don't want to have
to press <ESC> to exit. Snooper will get information from only one
disk drive and return to DOS. Used in this way, this switch will not
log any screens.
Help Switches (H|?)
"H" and "?" are help switches. If a help switch is specified, Snooper
displays help screens that show command line syntax, examples, and
keystrokes you can use while in the program. Press <O> from a help
screen to see ordering information. Snooper ignores certain command
line switches when you specify a help switch.
Mono Switch (M)
Normally, Snooper senses if it is being run on a machine with a
monochrome card and automatically uses its monochrome mode background
color. However, Snooper can't tell if your PC has a color card but a
monochrome, color composite, or LCD display, such as most laptops. If
you use such a machine, you should try using the monochrome switch.
Usually, Snooper's display will be more legible, but it depends on the
particular display. Also, you can configure Snooper's colors to create
the most readable color combination, then save it, eliminating the
need to use this switch (see Setup key, below).
Desqview Mode Switch (D)
When Snooper detects Desqview, it uses the BIOS to write to the screen
instead of writing directly to video memory. If you have an old CGA
adapter (on which you may see "snow" when Snooper draws its screen) or
if something interferes with Snooper's detection of Desqview, you may
want to use this switch. Screen displays will be slower.
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 14
Logging
Logging is handy to use in batch files for getting printouts of
Snooper's output for later reference. If no log file exists, Snooper
will create one. If one already exists, Snooper will append the new
data to the end of the old file. In this way, you can create one file
with system information for all the computers at your site.
The log file grows by 2000 bytes each time Snooper copies a screen
to it. Thus, you easily can tell by looking at the file's size how
many screens you have already logged. For example, if the log file is
8000 bytes, you've logged four screens (8000/2000 = 4). Of course, if
you log system files, which copies CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT,
WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files to the log file, it will no longer follow
this convention.
Snooper first checks for a log filename on the command line. Simply
type it immediately following the "L" (with no intervening space) like
this:
snooper /Lc:\files\snoop.dat
If you want Snooper's output to go to your printer, just specify the
port it's connected to (omit the trailing colon). So if your printer
is on LPT1:, type:
snooper -Llpt1
In these examples, you would have to press the Logging key (Alt-L) or
Log System Files Key (Alt-F) while in Snooper for any logging to
occur. But see Auto-Logging, below.
Log Filename Parameter (Lfilename)
"L" is the log filename parameter. Use this parameter to override
Snooper's default log filename (SNOOPER.LOG). You may specify a full
pathname, filename, or a port (e.g., "prn"). See "Logging," above, for
more information on Snooper's powerful logging features.
Log File Environment Variable
If you don't specify a log filename, Snooper searches the DOS
environment for a variable called SNOOPLOG. (This variable used to be
called SNOOPER. In this release, you may still use the old name, which
was retained for compatibility. However, it probably will not be
recognized in future versions, so please edit your batch files, if
necessary.) You can set the SNOOPLOG variable by typing:
set snooplog=variable
at the DOS prompt. Variable can be any valid filename or port, such as
PRN:
set snooplog=prn
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 15
If you don't specify a log file on the command line or with SNOOPLOG,
Snooper writes a file named SNOOPER.LOG in the current directory.
Because not all printers can print line-drawing characters, Snooper
translates its borders to ordinary (low ASCII) characters (hyphens,
vertical bars, and plus signs). This way, virtually any printer can
quickly and accurately print Snooper's display. Therefore, you should
use the logging keystroke or switch and not the <PrtScr> key, which
doesn't translate the line-drawing characters.
NOTE: If you have an early Color Graphics Adapter, you may see "snow"
(interference) on your monitor during the logging process. Don't be
alarmed. This is normal and will not hurt your machine.
NOTE: Snooper must find the screen buffer to log its display. It will
find it even if it has been moved by a program adhering to the
Relocatable Screen Interface Specification (e.g., Desqview, Topview,
and Memory Commander).
Auto-Logging Switch (A)
The Auto-Logging feature automatically copies, or logs, one or more of
Snooper's screens to a file or printer, without human intervention.
You can specify where you want the resultant file written with the Log
Filename parameter (see above), or let Snooper use its default log
filename, SNOOPER.LOG.
The Auto-Logging switch is designed for quickly and easily
gathering hardware inventory. Specify the switch ("A") followed by
letters representing the screens you want logged. They will be logged
in the order you specify. When Snooper is done Auto-Logging, it
returns to DOS.
The Auto-Logging switch follows the rules for specifying log
filenames. It defaults to writing to SNOOPER.LOG. If you want to use a
different filename, use the "L" switch. Or you can use the SNOOPLOG
environment variable. You can cause Auto-Logging to print each screen
instead of logging to a file if you set SNOOPLOG=PRN. See "Examples"
below.
Each letter specified after the "A" corresponds to the Alt- key you
would press in Snooper to access that screen. For example, to log the
Diagnostics screen in Snooper you would press Alt-D. To Auto-Log the
Diagnostics screen, you would specify "AD" on the command line ("A"
for Auto-Log and "D" for the Diagnostics screen). Here are all the
screens and the letters you use to Auto-Log them:
16 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Screen to Auto-Log Letter to Notes
specify after
the "A"
Benchmark E CPU and Hard Disk benchmarks
run. Video is run unless quiet
mode is active.
Bus B
CMOS O
Diagnostics D This screen may take several
seconds.
Main L
Network N
Setup S
Examples:
To Auto-Log the Main, Diagnostics, and Network screens, in that order,
to SNOOPER.LOG, enter:
snooper aldn
To Auto-Log the Benchmark, CMOS, and Setup screens to
F:\LOGS\1234.LOG, enter:
snooper aeos lf:\logs\1234.log
To Auto-Log the Main and CMOS screens to a printer on PRN, enter:
snooper alo Lprn
or
set snooplog=prn
snooper alo
NOTE: The presence of either or both of the following command line
switches will disable the <Alt-F> keystroke in Snooper, preventing the
user from accidentally logging system files twice.
Log DOS System Files Switch (F)
Specify this switch and Snooper will, upon exit, copy your CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to the log file, with markers identifying the
beginning and end of each system file. You can use this with the
logging switch, above; it will use the same log file.
Snooper will search the root directory of the drive whose info is
shown in Snooper's main screen for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, so be
sure you're looking at the right disk's info. Snooper will warn you
via the message box if it can't find the files.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 17
Log Windows System Files Switch (W)
Specify this switch and Snooper will, upon exit, copy your WIN.INI and
SYSTEM.INI files to the log file, with markers identifying the
beginning and end of each system file. You can use this with the
logging switch, above; it will use the same log file.
Snooper searches the current directory and the path for WIN.INI and
SYSTEM.INI.
Quiet Mode Switch (Q)
When Snooper runs in quiet mode, it suppresses all screen output. ANSI
detection and video benchmarks are disabled because to work properly,
they need to display characters on the screen. The ERRORLEVEL
variable, Logging, and Auto-Logging features operate as usual.
Use quiet mode when you don't want users to see Snooper's display,
such as during hardware inventory-gathering or hardware or software
installation. These tasks are easily accomplished via batch files or
login scripts and the Auto-Logging switch.
NOTE: Snooper will let you run it interactively in quiet mode, but do
so only with extreme caution! You run the risk of becoming lost and
confused in Snooper's screens and perhaps inadvertently changing the
CMOS or otherwise running amuck.
Disk Drive Switch (D:)
D: represents a disk drive letter followed by a colon. Use it to
specify the disk drive whose information you want to see first. You
can, of course, see information from any of your drives, as explained
under "keystrokes" below. If you don't specify a drive, or if you
specify an invalid one, Snooper will use the current drive.
Chip Detection Bypass Switches (C, N)
A few machines lock up during Snooper's microprocessor or math
coprocessor detection routines. When this happens, Snooper will draw
its background and then stop. The message box in the lower right
corner of the display will indicate which switch to use. If you have
this problem, all you need to do is rerun Snooper, specifying one or
both of these switches.
The "C" switch prevents Snooper from checking the CPU
(microprocessor) type (it also keeps Snooper from identifying certain
computer types and other information).
The "N" switch prevents Snooper from determining which Numerical
Data Processor (NDP, or math coprocessor) your computer has. It
sometimes can guess anyway, based on the CPU type (assuming the "/C"
switch was not specified, of course).
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 18
OtherIRQ Switch (O)
A few computers aren't compatible with the method Snooper uses to
detect IRQs in the Diagnostics screen. If you find your computer hangs
in that screen with the message "Getting port IRQ," specify this
switch. Unfortunately, this method isn't as accurate as the default
method, so the results may not be as useful.
IDE Skip Switch (I)
A few computers aren't compatible with the method Snooper uses to
detect the model name of IDE hard drives. If you find your computer
hangs with a "Getting IDE model" message in the message box, specify
this switch. Snooper will then no longer try to detect the drive
model.
Tune Skip Switch (T)
The method Snooper uses to detect sound cards, game ports, and SCSI
host adapters can interfere with some network cards residing at I/O
addresses in the 200-390 range, especially if network drivers are
loaded. If your computer has a network card and Snooper hangs with a
"Getting sound" or "If locked, use /t" message in the message box,
specify this switch. Snooper will then no longer try to detect these
devices.
Configuration File Parameter (Sfilename)
A configuration file contains options that specify Snooper's defaults.
Colors, license number, monochrome mode and other options can be
specified in the configuration file. To create one, see the
instructions under Setup key, below.
When it starts, Snooper looks for the environment variable SNOOPCFG
(see below), which points to a configuration file. If SNOOPCFG hasn't
been defined, Snooper looks in its home directory (i.e., the directory
in which SNOOPER.EXE resides) for a file called SNOOPER.CFG.
Use the Configuration File parameter to load a different
configuration file, which is useful if you have multiple files, as on
a network. Note that specifying a filename is necessary if you use
this switch. If Snooper can't find the file you specified, it will say
so in the message box. Also, if the file's size is incorrect (as may
happen with an old configuration file and a new version of Snooper),
it will report the file to be invalid. To maintain its integrity,
don't attempt to modify the configuration file manually. Use the Setup
screen.
Config File Environment Variable
Snooper searches the environment for a variable called SNOOPCFG. You
can set the SNOOPCFG variable by typing:
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 19
set snoopcfg=variable
at the DOS prompt. Variable can be any valid DOS filename.
Command line parameters that follow the specified configuration
filename override the config file's options. Those that precede it are
overridden by the config file's options. In the following example,
Snooper would load a configuration file called C:\UTILS\SNOOPER.BOB.
snooper /Sc:\utils\snooper.bob /m
Regardless of the configuration file's contents, Snooper would run in
monochrome mode because the monochrome mode command line switch was
specified after the configuration filename.
Examples
Some examples will help clarify Snooper's options.
snooper /h
Snooper will show its help screen and examples.
snooper sd:\utils\snoop.cnf e:
Snooper will load the configuration file named C:\UTILS\SNOOP.CNF,
then show information from drive E: and wait for keystrokes. <Esc>
quits.
snooper -M c: a
Snooper will use its monochrome display colors, get drive information
from drive C:, and immediately return to DOS.
set snooplog=prn
snooper -l\snoop.dat al
Snooper will show information for the current drive, then write a log
file in the root directory of the current drive called SNOOP.DAT.
Recall that a log filename on the command line overrides the SNOOPER
environment variable, so Snooper does not log to "prn." There will be
a quiz later.
OPERATION
After the following brief account of Snooper's operation, we will
describe a few parts in greater detail.
When you first invoke Snooper, it looks for its default
configuration file and configures itself accordingly. Then it reads
its command line, looking for switches. It loads a configuration file
if you specified one. Recall that command line switches that follow a
specified config file override that config file's options.
20 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Because of the EGA's notoriously buggy cursor routines, we thought
it would be wise to leave the EGA cursor alone, so it stays on. On all
other video systems, Snooper turns off the cursor to make the display
a bit cleaner.
It then gets country-dependent information from DOS, based on the
COUNTRY command in your CONFIG.SYS file. (You don't have to use it
unless you live outside the US.) The information tells Snooper how to
arrange and punctuate the date, time, and numbers.
At the bottom of its display, Snooper shows the day, date, and time
according to DOS. This feature comes in handy when you want to view a
log file of Snooper's output as it lets you know when it was made. It
also allows you to check your computer's date and time for accuracy
(some computer clocks run slowly).
After Snooper shows you its display, it awaits certain keystrokes.
Invalid keystrokes cause Snooper to beep. This feature, added partly
to aid visually impaired users, can be turned off via the Setup
screen.
When you press <ESC>, Snooper writes a log file if you told it to,
turns the cursor back on, sets the ERRORLEVEL variable, and returns
you to DOS.
Windows Operation
Snooper performs somewhat differently under Windows. If Snooper is
idle, it gives up its time slice immediately. What this means is
Snooper won't slow down your other running programs. The only drawback
is that the time display freezes. Just press the spacebar when
Snooper's window is active to update the time. Ignore the beep if you
hear one.
In Windows 386 enhanced mode, Snooper turns off IDE model checking,
which interferes with 32-bit disk access. Also, if you invoke the
Diagnostics screen (in Windows or any other detected multitasker or
network), a message pops up warning you that what the Diagnostics
screen must do may disrupt other currently running applications. You
are given the option of continuing or returning to the Main screen.
Benchmark results under Windows will vary widely due to
multitasking. To gather accurate benchmarks, run Snooper from DOS.
You can paste Snooper's display, as text, into the Clipboard (see
Paste to Clipboard key, below).
NOTE: Sometimes, Snooper will not run properly under Windows. If you
find this to be the case, simply exit Windows completely and run
Snooper from the DOS prompt.
Keys
On the last line of each of Snooper's displays, there is a list of
available keystrokes to jog your memory. Note that on the Main screen,
because of space limitations, not all the available keys are listed.
However, they are all listed on the help screen (press <F1> from the
Main screen). Explanations of Snooper's secondary screens are given
after those for the Main screen, below.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 21
Exit Key
The <Esc> key returns you to the Main screen if you're not already
there. If you are, it exits Snooper and returns you to DOS.
Help Key
The <F1> key, when pressed from Snooper's Main screen, displays the
second of two help screens: keys available while you're in Snooper.
The first help screen, accessible with <PgUp>, <Up>, or <Home>, shows
Snooper's command line syntax, just as if you had used Snooper's help
switch at the DOS prompt (i.e., "snooper /?").
Order/Registration Key
Pressing the letter "O" from a help screen displays Snooper's ordering
screen. Once there, if you'd like to print an order form/invoice to
fill out and send to us, press <P>. For your convenience, along the
bottom of your screen, Snooper lists every parallel and serial port in
your system. You print to any listed port (assuming there is a printer
attached), or you may print to a file, which you can then edit and
print yourself. Press a number and Snooper will print the order
form/invoice to the corresponding port. Normally, you would type <1>
for LPT1. This is just one of the easy and fast ways to register
Snooper, and we hope you will find it convenient (soon!).
Disk Drive Keys
On the right side of Snooper's Main screen, details about a single
disk are shown. You can use the <Left>, <Up>, and <PgUp> keys to tell
Snooper to get disk information for the next lower-lettered disk. For
example, if you're looking at C:'s info, press <PgUp> to see drive B:.
The <Right>, <Down>, and <PgDn> keys do the opposite. <Home> takes you
to drive A: and <End> takes you to the last valid drive in your
computer.
Alternatively, you can press the letter corresponding to the drive
you want to see. If you want the A: drive's data, for example, just
press <A>.
The list at the top right of the display shows you which drives are
available on your system, and which drive's info you are viewing. If
you press an invalid drive letter, Snooper will beep (if sound is
enabled) and display a message in the message box.
File Editing
From the Main screen you can invoke a text editor to edit your
CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and SNOOPER.LOG files.
Snooper has a simple but capable editor built in. Press <F1> when
you're in it to view its help screen. The obvious advantage of using
the internal editor is it's always available. If you wish, however,
22 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
you can have Snooper load an external editor, perhaps one with special
features you like. The Setup screen lets you choose which editor
Snooper will use, internal or external.
Whatever editor you choose, Snooper ensures the file you want to
edit exists before attempting to load the editor. The message box will
alert you if the file is missing.
After you exit the editor, Snooper asks if you want to reboot your
computer, necessary for changes to CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to take
effect. If you choose to reboot, Snooper will delay several seconds to
try to ensure the file is actually written to the disk. Otherwise, a
disk cache with write-delayed caching may not have time to save the
edited file.
An external editor must be name EDIT.COM, EDIT.EXE, or EDIT.BAT. d
It must be in the current directory or on the path. If it's not
already named EDIT, you can simply rename it or create a batch file
called EDIT.BAT that calls it. You can, of course, add other commands
in the batch file. Use a replaceable parameter for the filename.
Here's a sample EDIT.BAT file that works for all three files Snooper
lets you edit:
echo off
copy %1 c:\backup\%1
ed /r %1
In this example, the original file is copied to another directory for
safe keeping. Also, a hypothetical switch ("/r") is passed to an
editor named ED. This should give you an idea about what can be put in
EDIT.BAT.
Edit CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Keys
Press <Alt-C> to edit CONFIG.SYS or <Alt-A> to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Snooper looks for the file in the root directory of whatever drive
you're looking at on its Main screen. So if you want to load
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, ensure drive C:'s information is showing before you
press <Alt-A>. Check the highlighted letter in the drive list to be
sure. Snooper will tell you if the file you want to edit doesn't exist
in the root directory of the drive you're looking at. Remember, you
can log these files with the Log System Files Switch (F) or Key (<Alt-
F>).
Edit SNOOPER.LOG Key
From Snooper's Main screen press <Alt-V> and Snooper will invoke an
editor so you can edit an existing SNOOPER.LOG file. You may want to
do this to compare earlier screen dumps with recent ones, or to add
comments to the log file. See above for editor-naming conventions.
Log Key
Use <Alt-L> to write a log file to disk or to a port, such as a
printer port (see also Log to Printer Key, below). You may log any
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 23
screen with this key. It works similarly to the logging command line
switch except that it works immediately, not after you exit. If you
also specified the logging switch with a filename, it will use that
filename. If not, it will use the SNOOPLOG environment variable if it
exists; otherwise, the default: SNOOPER.LOG.
The information you're looking at when you press the logging key is
the information that will be logged. Because of this, you can press
<Alt-L> in the Main screen, then <Alt-D>,<Alt-L>,<Esc> and so on until
you have a log file containing snapshots of all the screens you're
interested in. If you wish to do this automatically, simply use the
Auto-Logging Switch (/A, see above). This log file can be very useful
when you need to remember what kind of computer someone has. You can
even log help screens for future reference.
Log to Printer Key
<Alt-P> will print the screen you're looking at. It sends its output
to PRN. If your printer is on LPT2:, simply set the SNOOPLOG
environment variable or the /L parameter to LPT2 and use the <Alt-L>
keystroke instead.
Log System Files Key
Pressing <Alt-F> causes Snooper to copy the CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT,
WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI files to the log file. The CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT files on the drive whose information you're viewing are
the ones that will be added to the log file. The message line will
tell you if neither file was found. Snooper will look for the Windows
files in the current directory and along the path and will log
whichever files it finds.
NOTE: If either or both Log System Files switches (F and W) are
specified on the command line, this keystroke will be disabled,
preventing the user from accidentally logging the system files twice.
Log to Windows Clipboard Key
When Snooper is running under Windows, you can press <Shift-Delete> to
paste a copy of Snooper's display to the Windows Clipboard. (<Ctrl-
Insert>, the copy key, would have been more appropriate, but it's only
available on enhanced keyboards.) Because many Windows fonts don't
include high-ASCII characters, Snooper will translate its line-drawing
characters into low-ASCII characters as usual. You can then paste the
display into a Windows document. Of course, for the characters to
align properly, you must use a monospaced font such as Courier or OEM.
24 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
ERRORLEVEL
If certain errors occur, upon exit Snooper sets the ERRORLEVEL batch
file variable and shows the value of ERRORLEVEL on the screen in the
message box. Here are the error conditions ERRORLEVEL reports:
Errorlevel Meaning
Successful completion: there were no errors. 0
Drive door was open or there was no disk in a requested 1
(or default) disk drive, or a disk was bad or unformatted.
2 User specified an invalid drive on the command line.
4 DOS version is older than 3.1.
8 Error occurred while Snooper was writing a log file.
16 User specified an invalid command line parameter.
32 Abnormal termination: Snooper encountered an unanticipated
problem and terminated.
Notice the numbers aren't consecutive. This numbering scheme allows
Snooper to add the numbers to indicate multiple errors.
For example, if you specified an invalid drive and Snooper
encountered an error writing a log file, it would set ERRORLEVEL to
ten, the sum of two and eight. The ERRORLEVEL variable can be tested
in batch files. For example:
if ERRORLEVEL 10 goto BadDrv_and_LogError
See your DOS manual for details and usage of the ERRORLEVEL variable.
BUGS
Snooper has been under development for several years, but it may still
have a bug or two lurking in it. To debug Snooper thoroughly, we would
need access to a huge array of computers and peripherals. We don't. It
has been used successfully on hundreds of machines but such testing
can never be comprehensive.
If you think you've found a bug, please let us know by sending the
invoice (don't forget your phone number) with a specific description
of the bug. Include a printed log file if you can. Of course, an
inaccurate report may mean your hardware, BIOS, DOS, TSRs, or
something else is incompatible or is interfering with Snooper,
especially on older machines. We'd like to hear from you anyway.
Known Bugs and Anomalies
A few machines lock up when running Snooper. The culprit is *
sometimes the CPU, NDP, IDE, sound card, or IRQ detection routines.
Simply specify the "C," "N," "S," "T," or "O" command line switches
(the message box may tell you which, or try each). Plus, see the
SNOOPER.FAQ file for more details. We've fixed this problem more
than once but there's always one more machine out there....
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 25
*Because of the way NDOS and 4DOS allocate memory in their non-
swapping modes, Snooper can't find the environment, and will give an
incorrect Environment report such as: "Free 65,536 Total 0."
WISH LIST
Snooper will never be complete, of course. We have continually found
new reports and features to add to make it an easy-to-use and powerful
utility. There are a few things we still want from Snooper:
Brand detection of more no * n-Intel CPUs and NDPs
Detection of VL local bus *
*Detection of tape drives
Differentiation of ST506, IDE, ESDI, and SCSI hard drives *
If you think you can help us with the above challenges, please call,
write, or leave E-mail. With your help, Snooper can become an even
more powerful utility. Also, we'd be glad to mention your help in the
acknowledgments if you'd like (all together: "Oooh, ahhh!").
MAIN SCREEN
Following, roughly in the order they appear on-screen, is a detailed
list of Snooper's Main screen reports, followed by the reports on the
other screens.
Computer
The type of computer Snooper is being run on. On some XT and AT
clones, Snooper can't tell if it's running on an actual IBM machine or
a compatible, so it will report the IBM equivalent (e.g. "PC AT").
Snooper can recognize over a hundred machines by name, including many
ATTs, Dells, IBMs, Olivettis, and Toshibas.
NOTE: If you are not skipping CPU detection and Snooper reports
Computer Type as "Unknown ID: . . ." please drop us a note with the ID
numbers, and the exact model and brand computer Snooper was running
on. Thanks.
Advanced Power Management (APM)
If Advanced Power Management (APM), which implements energy
conservation, is active, Snooper will say so after the computer type.
26 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The computer's microprocessor chip. Snooper can report the presence
of: 8088/86, V20/V30, 80286, 80386SX, 80386DX, 80486SX, 80486DX, and
Pentium CPUs.
If you have a math coprocessor, and you disable CPU detection but
leave math coprocessor detection on, Snooper will try to guess what
CPU you have by the NDP type.
NOTE: If Snooper reports "80386," it means your 386SX or 386DX CPU is
in virtual-86 mode (explained below). Some operating environments and
expanded memory managers (e.g. EMM386) would report an error if
Snooper tried to determine which of the two chips is present. Instead,
Snooper skips the determination and shows you have one of the two
chips. If you unload the program that puts your CPU into virtual-86
mode, Snooper can then tell you which CPU you have.
CPU Speed
The number after the hyphen (e.g., the "90" in "Pentium-90") is an
estimate of your computer's speed in Megahertz. This benchmark is very
accurate, given that it doesn't induce a noticeable delay in
execution.
Virtual-86 Mode
If "V86" appears in the CPU report, your computer's CPU is operating
in virtual-86 mode, instead of real mode. The 80286 and newer CPUs
implement protected mode, which is often used by memory managers,
multitaskers (including Microsoft Windows), and other software.
Multitaskers that put the CPU in protected mode actually run programs
in virtual-86 mode, which tricks each program into believing it has
total access to the machine. In truth, the multitasker controls the
programs' access.
Numeric Data Processor (NDP)
The Numeric Data Processor (NDP), also called the math coprocessor, or
Floating Point Unit (FPU). Math coprocessors significantly speed
calculations involving floating point numbers (i.e., numbers with
decimal portions). Snooper can detect 8087, 80287, 80387SX, 80387, and
Weitek 1167 math chips. Snooper will report "internal" for 80486DX and
better CPUs, since they have math coprocessors built into them.
Some computers have a switch or configuration option that the user
sets to reflect the presence (or absence) of a math coprocessor.
Because these are often set incorrectly, Snooper's report is not
dependent on this setting. But Snooper does check the setting. If
Snooper finds its NDP report and the switch setting don't agree, it
displays a check mark in the NDP report. This lets you know you should
check (and reset) the switch (and/or system configuration, if you have
an AT-class computer). If you don't see a check mark, the switch or
configuration is set properly.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 27
Bus
The architecture of the bus your computer uses. The bus is the part
you plug expansion cards into: the slots. Most computers report "ISA"
(pronounced "ICE-uh"), which stands for Industry Standard
Architecture, the bus in PCs, XTs, ATs, and most clones.
Many IBM PS/2 computers will report "MCA," or Micro Channel
Architecture. The MCA is entirely different and cards based on it are
incompatible with those for the ISA standard, but MCA does add
features and increase performance in some cases. Some computers have
both buses, in which case Snooper reports "MCA+ISA." For a list of the
MCA adapter cards in your system, invoke the Bus screen by pressing
<Alt-B>.
A consortium of companies worked out a different standard. It is
called "EISA," (pronounced "EES-uh") meaning Enhanced ISA. It retains
compatibility with the older ISA bus, but like the MCA, it adds
features and power. Still, it is losing popularity in favor of the PCI
bus.
Local buses provide increased throughput over traditional buses
such as ISA. Apparently, there is no software detection available at
this writing for the VESA Local bus, or VL-Bus, so Snooper can't
detect it. However, Snooper can detect the PCI bus, developed by
Intel. It will also report if your system has both PCI and EISA buses.
Memory
Conventional Memory
Bytes of conventional RAM (the first 640K) in your computer.
NOTE: A few computers use more RAM than most for their video displays,
so Snooper may not report all the memory the computer has (e.g., it
may report 624K instead of 640K on some Tandys).
Free Memory
Bytes of conventional RAM still available for programs and data. This
report allows you to see the effect of, for example, loading and
unloading memory-resident programs.
Used Memory
Bytes of conventional memory DOS and memory-resident programs are
using (total minus free memory).
Extended Memory
Extended memory is memory beyond the 1M boundary. It is available only
on AT-type machines (that is, those with 80286 or newer
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 28
microprocessors). (If you have an XT-type computer, this report will
always be blank.) Programs written to do so can store data in extended
memory. This report shows the total amount of extended memory
installed, despite how you've configured it. Even if a program is
using it all, Snooper will still show the total amount installed. This
report is taken from the CMOS. See the CMOS screen section below for
an explanation of the CMOS.
Ext Free
This report shows how much extended memory you still have available.
Snooper gets this report from the computer's BIOS. This memory is only
available to mostly older programs that don't use XMS (see below).
XMS Memory
As we mentioned above, programs written to do so can store data in
extended memory. The trouble is, different programs handle extended
memory differently. This is because until the eXtended Memory
Specification (or "XMS"), there was no standard for accessing extended
memory, and the computer's built-in facilities are crude at best. Some
programs are polite enough to decrease the amount of extended memory
they report to other programs by the amount they themselves are using.
Some aren't so polite, leaving themselves open to having their memory
overwritten by another program. As you might imagine, this leads to
problems.
If you have loaded an eXtended Memory Manager, or XMM (e.g.,
Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS)--that is, if you have XMS memory, Snooper will
report how much is still available.
eXtended Memory Specification Version
The number displayed after "XMS" is the version of the eXtended Memory
Specification the loaded XMM supports. This is different from the
internal version number of the XMM program itself. Newer versions
support added features, so be sure your XMM supports the program you
want to run.
High Memory Area (HMA) status
The high memory area is the 64K (less 16 bytes) block beginning at the
1M boundary, immediately above the ROM BIOS. It, like all types of
extended memory, can be found only on AT-type computers, and only by
programs written to use it. This report shows you if a HMA exists (you
must have an XMM loaded to provide it), and if it is available for use
or is being used by a program. If the HMA is in use, the information
this report provides depends on the DOS version the machine is running
under. If DOS 5 or newer is loaded, Snooper will tell you how many
bytes of the original 64K are still free. If not, it simply lets you
know the HMA is in use. Normally, only one program at a time uses the
HMA, but it can be shared.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 29
A20 Line Status
Shown after "HMA" on the same line if you're running DOS 4 or lower,
this report shows if the CPU address line called A20 is enabled.
Snooper shows "(A20)" is the A20 is enabled, nothing if it's not.
Usually, the A20 is handled automatically by memory management
software. At times, you may need to know the A20's status, perhaps
while investigating an obscure memory management problem.
Upper Memory Block (UMB)
With DOS 5 and some third party memory managers, you can load some of
your device drivers and other memory-resident programs above
conventional memory, into what are called upper memory blocks. Snooper
reports the largest available UMB. You must have the line "DOS=UMB" in
your CONFIG.SYS file for this report to work.
Expanded Memory Specification Total
The amount of expanded memory (EMS) installed. Lotus, Intel, and
Microsoft developed EMS to break DOS's 640K memory barrier (sort of).
Some programs, which have been written to do so, can use EMS to store
data. Not surprisingly, many spreadsheet programs use EMS. Unlike
extended memory, EMS is available on both XT- and AT-class machines.
It is not used by Windows applications.
Expanded Memory Manager Level
Shown after "EMS," the version of Expanded Memory Specification the
hardware and/or software is implementing. As of this writing, this
report probably should be either 3.2 or 4.0. Some programs require EMS
4.0, which has enhanced capabilities. Like the XMM version, this
reflects the specification version, not the EMM program's version.
EMS Memory Free
The amount of EMS still available for programs and data.
Drives
Floppy
The number of floppy drives installed. Despite what some people
believe, 3.5" diskettes are floppy disks, not hard disks, despite
their hard plastic shells. Thus, they will be counted in this report.
30 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Hard
The number of hard disks (also called "fixed disks") installed. Each
physical hard disk adds to the total, regardless of its partitioning.
That is, if you have one hard disk partitioned into C: and D: drives,
it will count as one hard disk.
Physical
Simply the sum of floppy and hard disks. These are physical drives
attached to your computer.
Logical
The total number of disk drives DOS recognizes. These include floppy,
hard, RAM, CD-ROM, and network drives. Also included are simulated
disk drives made with the DOS ASSIGN and SUBST commands, all hard disk
partitions, and possibly other types. This report includes the drives
identified in the Physical Drives report (above). Not included are
tape drives, which are not directly recognized by DOS.
Sometimes software splits a hard disk into two or more "partitions"
(usually C: and D:). A hard disk like this will count as two. If you
have a single floppy disk drive, the number given will not include
drive B:, as it's simply another name for drive A:. But all other
available drive letters count.
Video
Video Type
The type of video adapter, and, mostly for VGAs, either the adapter
brand or the type of monitor used. Snooper can detect:
Report Video card
MDA Monochrome Display Adapter, probably a text-only card (one
that doesn't provide graphics capability).
Hercules Hercules Graphics Card (a monochrome card with graphics
capability) or a Hercules-compatible; Snooper can detect
Hercules Graphics, InColor, and Plus cards by name.
CGA Color Graphics Adapter
EGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter
PGC Professional Graphics Controller
MCGA Multi-Color Graphics Array
VGA Video Graphics Array
SVGA VGA card with more than 256K
XGA(-2) eXtended Graphics Adapter, on Micro Channel PCs
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 31
VGA Card Brand
Snooper recognizes several VGA cards by brand, and many specific
models.
VESA
A few years ago, several video hardware manufacturers formed the Video
Electronics Standards Association, or VESA (pronounced "VEE suh" or
"VEH suh"). Their purpose is to standardize the PC video marketplace,
making recommendations for standardized resolutions, frequencies, and
so on. If the Video report begins with "VESA," your VGA card seems to
comply with their recommendations. Snooper also shows you the VESA
specification version your card complies with.
Monitor Type
Snooper can sometimes tell what type of monitor you are using. If
Snooper has room on the screen, it shows which of three kinds of
monitor you have: monochrome (usually green or amber), color (digital
with EGAs or analog with VGAs or MCGAs), or digital color (for some
MCGAs).
Video Memory
On EGA and some VGA cards, Snooper reports how much video memory is
installed on the card. EGAs can have 64K to 256K; VGA cards, 256K to
4M and beyond. The amount of video memory, the video card, and the
monitor together determine the maximum resolution and colors you can
see on your computer. With some early VESA cards, Snooper may show a
little less memory than is actually installed (e.g., 1.5M versus 2M),
as there was no way to tell for sure.
Ports
Serial Ports
The addresses of all serial, or RS-232, ports installed. Usually, you
would use these ports for modems, pointing devices (such as mice),
some printers, plotters, and a variety of less common equipment. More-
advanced serial port information is available in the Diagnostics
screen via <Alt-D>.
Parallel Ports
The addresses of all parallel ports (also called printer ports)
installed. As you would think, parallel ports are usually used for
printers, but are now increasingly used for scanners, network
adapters, and other peripherals. More-advanced parallel port
32 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
information is available in the Diagnostics screen, accessed via the
<Alt-D> key.
NOTE: Netware tricks software (including Snooper) into thinking there
are more parallel ports than are actually present. If your system is
part of a Netware LAN, don't be surprised to see three parallel ports,
some with the same address. To find out how many parallel ports there
really are, take your machine off the network and rerun Snooper.
Game Port
The presence of a game port, or joystick adapter. The word "Game" will
appear next to "Ports" if Snooper detects a joystick. The joystick
detection methods seems to work well, but they are imperfect, as the
PC provides no foolproof way to detect if a game port is present.
Also, a joystick must be plugged into the port for the report to work.
Sound Cards
The presence of Sound Blaster, Adlib, or Roland MPU-401 MIDI sound
cards, or their compatibles. The Diagnostics screen will show the port
address of some sound cards. Press <Alt-D> for this screen.
ROM BIOS
Brand
The manufacturer of the computer's ROM BIOS. Snooper can recognize
several BIOS brands: American Megatrends, Inc. ("AMI"); Award; Chips
and Technology ("C & T"), Compaq; DTK; IBM; Phoenix; and Zenith.
How well the BIOS was written has much to do with how compatible
your computer is. A poorly written BIOS plagues its owner with
compatibility problems: programs won't run or they lock the computer,
new hardware refuses to install properly, etc. A well-written BIOS is
a joy to behold.
Date
The date stored in the ROM BIOS, which provides an indication of your
computer's age. The computer was built since that date.
Plug-N-Play
With limited hardware resources such as IRQ lines and DMA channels
(described in the Diagnostics screen section below) to go around, many
users endure hours of configuration nightmares when installing a new
adapter card. Although the Micro Channel and EISA buses solve this
problem with semi-automatic configuration, nothing has helped the ISA
bus. Plug-N-Play hopes to do just that. With Plug-N-Play extensions in
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 33
your system's BIOS, your computer can arbitrate potential hardware
conflicts for you, automatically.
Extensions
The segment addresses (places in memory) of any BIOS extensions in the
computer. These extensions, which supplement the computer's built-in
BIOS, are usually found on add-in cards. An EGA or VGA BIOS, for
example, adds routines not found in the computer's own ROM BIOS video
routines, and are often found at C000. An XT's hard drive BIOS is
usually found at C800. Snooper searches for an extension every 256
bytes from C000 to FE00 (i.e., C000, C100, C200, etc.). This report
comes in handy for telling your memory manager to avoid addresses used
by adapter cards.
Mouse
Brand and Driver Version
Shows what brand of mouse is installed (Microsoft, Logitech, Z-NIX,
and Mouse Systems), and the driver version.
A mouse usually requires a software-based driver (program). Its
file is usually named MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS. If a driver is loaded,
Snooper will report its version. This report is useful for debugging,
because if you're having trouble with your mouse, you may find that a
new driver solves the problem. Also, forcing the driver to load into
conventional, and not high, memory also can solve other problems.
Drivers are often available free or at low cost from the mouse vendor.
Some drivers, such as Genius and Logitech, report a Microsoft-
equivalent version rather than their own internal version. Snooper can
report a Logitech mouse driver's true version.
Port
Possible reports are: "bus" (the mouse connects to a specialized
expansion card inside the computer), "Microsoft Inport" (a Microsoft-
brand bus mouse), "serial" (the mouse plugs into a serial port),
"Hewlett Packard," and "PS/2."
If you have a serial mouse, Snooper tries to guess which serial
port it is connected to by knowing what resources the mouse is using.
If it isn't using IRQ4 (COM1 or COM 3) or IRQ3 (COM2 or COM4), Snooper
displays which IRQ it is using. The Diagnostics screen shows which IRQ
the mouse is using, and if it's a serial mouse, which port it's on.
This can aid in troubleshooting.
Keyboard
Type
The first number in the Keyboard report. Shows what kind of keyboard
you have attached to your machine. Possible answers are "84" (non-
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 34
enhanced, or XT), "101" (enhanced, or AT, including keyboards with
even more keys), or, if your computer only supports 84-key keyboards,
"N/A" (if your computer doesn't support enhanced keyboards, Snooper
can't test for one).
Support
Reports what type of keyboard your computer's BIOS supports. If "101"
appears after the keyboard type, your computer's ROM BIOS supports an
enhanced keyboard, often with function keys along the top and a
separate cursor keypad. It recognizes the keys an enhanced keyboard
adds to the standard keyboard, such as F11, F12 and certain cursor key
combinations.
Environment
The DOS "environment" is an area of memory in which DOS keeps certain
information it needs to run. Some examples of information in the
environment are the format of the DOS prompt and the series of
directories DOS searches for executable files. These are the PROMPT
and PATH strings, and there are others. A string consists of the
variable name (such as PATH), an equal sign, and the value of the
string (often a path or list of paths such as C:\UTILS;C:\DOS;C:\).
This sample PATH string looks like this:
path=c:\utils;c:\dos;c:\
You can view and edit the environment with the SET command. Because of
the way 4DOS and NDOS allocate memory for the environment in their
non-swapping modes, the environment reports will be inaccurate when
Snooper is run under those environments.
Free
The number of bytes available in the environment. To calculate this
report, for each string, Snooper counts each character of the variable
name (such as "PATH"), the equal sign, each character of the value
(such as "C:\DOS;C:\"), and one hidden character.
Total
The number of bytes of environment space allocated by DOS. You can
change the amount of memory DOS allocates to the environment with the
/E switch of the SHELL command in your CONFIG.SYS file. Different DOS
versions use different memory units for the extra environment space.
Check your DOS manual.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 35
DOS
Brand and Version
Snooper can detect: PC-DOS (from IBM), MS-DOS (from Microsoft,
Phoenix, and others), DR DOS (from Digital Research), HP-DOS (from
Hewlett Packard), DEC-DOS (from Digital Equipment Corp.), or Zen-DOS
(not Eastern mysticism, just DOS from Zenith). Snooper also will
report if it is running under OS/2 1.x or 2.x. A letter appears after
the version on systems running DOS 5.0 or newer. This is the DOS
revision, a sub-version of sorts.
Versions of DOS since 5.0 can load most of themselves into the HMA,
freeing the conventional memory they would normally use. If "HMA"
appears after the DOS type, DOS is loaded there. If "ROM" appears, DOS
is stored in the computer's ROM, as with some laptops.
NOTE: Both MS- and PC-DOS 3.30 report themselves as PC-DOS; Snooper
reports that version as "MS/PC-DOS," indicating it can't
differentiate.
Shell
A DOS shell is a program that provides features DOS doesn't or makes
DOS easier to use, or both. Snooper can report the presence of:
Microsoft Windows Real, Standard, or 386 Enhanced modes; Concurrent
DOS; DoubleDOS; 4DOS and NDOS (only in swapping mode); Desqview;
Taskview; Topview, DOS 5's task switcher, the Virtual Control Program
Interface (VCPI), the DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI), and
ANSI.SYS. It can often report the DOS shell's version number as well.
If Snooper detects Desqview, it uses the BIOS to write to the screen.
If Snooper detects 4DOS or NDOS, it tells what shell level it is
running under. This kind of shell has a different meaning. When you
shell from a program (it can be called something else, such as "DOS
prompt"), you leave the program in memory but return to the DOS
prompt. You type "exit" to return to your program. This is faster than
exiting, then reloading the program, and lets you perform a simple
task such as formatting a diskette. "Root" means you're not shelled
out of a program; "1" means you've shelled out of one program; "2"
means you shelled out of one program, loaded and shelled out of
another; and so on. Snooper doesn't have a shell feature.
Files
The number of files DOS will allow to be open at once, as defined by
the command "FILES=nn" in your CONFIG.SYS file. DOS always reserves
some files for itself. Usually, your computing activity will require
several files to be used at once, especially if you use a multitasking
environment or a database. Most software vendors recommend you make at
least 20 files available, requiring the line "FILES=20" to be in your
CONFIG.SYS file. A few programs, notably Windows, may increase this
number, so don't be surprised if the number is higher in Windows than
in DOS.
36 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Buffers
Number of buffers DOS uses for disk operations, as defined by the
command "BUFFERS=p[,s]" in the CONFIG.SYS file. When your computer
requests data from a disk, DOS transfers the data from the disk into
RAM, where the program can access it. Subsequent requests for the same
data are read from RAM, not from the disk. The reason is simple: RAM
is fast, the disk is comparatively slow, so disk operations are sped
up. Snooper detects the number of primary (the p above) and secondary
buffers, if defined (the s above). See your DOS manual for more
details.
Break
Break status (on or off). Pressing Ctrl-Break can force your computer
to stop what it's doing in an emergency. Normally, DOS only checks for
a Ctrl-Break keystroke when it's writing to the screen or reading from
the keyboard, but if break is on, DOS checks more often.
Verify
Disk verify status (on or off). If verify is on, DOS uses a checksum
method to confirm (in theory) what it writes to a disk is valid. Of
course, when verify is on, disk operations are a bit slower.
Disk Cache
Reports the presence of a disk cache, and often, its version.
Recognized caches (and vendors) include: Smartdrive (which comes with
DOS and Windows); Norton Cache (Norton Utilities); PC-Cache 6.0 and
above (PC Tools); IBMCache (from you-know-whom); Super PC-Kwik 3.20
and above, Hyperdisk, and QuickCache II (shareware products), and
possibly others.
NOTE: Because PC-Cache and Qualitas's QCache are versions of Super PC-
Kwik, they respond to the same detection method and so may be reported
as Super PC-Kwik. PC-Cache 5.1 would be reported as Super PC-Kwik
3.20, PC-Cache 5.5 as Super PC-Kwik 3.27. QCache 4.00 would be
reported as Super PC-Kwik 4.00.
Network
A network is a combination of hardware and software that enables users
to share peripherals and data. Snooper can detect several networks:
Netware, LANtastic, Microsoft, Invisible, PC LAN, and Easy-Net. It
also detects SHARE.EXE, which is often loaded in networking
environments. Sometimes this report only tells you the computer has a
LAN card, not that a network is up and running. On LANtastic, it also
shows the version. For more information about your Netware network,
invoke the Network screen by pressing <Alt-N>.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 37
Disk Information
Drive List
Snooper reports the letters of all valid disk drives in the upper
right corner of Snooper's display, enclosed in brackets. The current
drive's letter is highlighted and capitalized. If you have a single-
floppy system, the list will not include drive B:, as it merely
references drive A:. If your system has at least 20 logical drives,
Snooper will list them in two rows.
Label
The volume label of the current drive. You can change the label with
the LABEL program, supplied with DOS.
Directory
Shows the default directory of the selected disk. If the first
character shown is a plus sign, Snooper has omitted the first part of
the directory to make it fit.
IDE Drive Model/SCSI Host Adapter
Snooper can report the model of most IDE hard drives. Sometimes you
can see the model, sometimes the brand. This report can save you the
trouble of opening the computer to check the drive model. Recall that
Snooper skips detection of the IDE model under Windows 386 Enhanced
mode.
Snooper also can recognize several Adaptec SCSI host adapters, and
will report the model number in this report. It also will report the
slot the card resides in if it's an EISA adapter.
NOTE: The next reports (Drive Type through Cylinders), if the drive is
a floppy drive, concern the disk drive itself, not the diskette in it.
For example, if you have a 1.2M floppy disk drive and you have a
double density (360K) diskette in the drive, Snooper will report 15
Sectors Per Cylinder. That's because high density drives can handle
disks with 15 sectors per cylinder, although 360K disks have only
nine.
The report works this way so you can tell if the drive is high
density without needing a high density diskette to be in it. You can
determine the total capacity of a diskette (and thus its type) from
the Total Space report.
38 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Drive Type
Reports what type of disk drive you're examining. Snooper usually
bases this report on a BIOS report for the drive, but it also uses
other methods. Snooper can detect the following capacities for 5.25"
drives: 1.2M, 360K, 320K, 180K, and 160K. For 3.5" drives, it can
detect: 2.8M, 1.4M, and 720K drives. Other possibilities are: "fixed
disk" (probably a hard disk), "CD-ROM" (if it's local), "RAM disk,"
"Bernoulli," or "ID: nnh" (meaning Snooper doesn't recognize the disk
type and shows the actual disk type byte instead).
CMOS Type
Snooper queries the CMOS to find out what hard drive type (expressed
as a number), or what size and capacity floppy drive is installed.
Status
Shows if the disk is being compressed by DoubleSpace (available with
some recent version of MS-DOS) or Stacker. If Stacker is present, its
version is reported. Other reports are "local" and "network." If the
DOS commands SUBST or JOIN are affecting the disk, they are reported.
Heads
The number of heads a disk drive has. This number is often the same as
the number of sides the disk has. Most floppy drives will report two;
hard drives usually report several.
Sectors/cylinder
The number of sectors per cylinder on the disk drive. Sectors are "pie
slices" of the disk; cylinders are concentric rings. Normally, floppy
drives report 9, 15, 18, or 36; hard drives, 17, 26, 34, or more.
Cylinders
The number of cylinders on a disk drive. Cylinders are concentric
rings on the disk. Typically, floppy drives report 40 or 80; hard
drives, a few hundred to over one thousand.
NOTE: Original PCs and some XTs can't report heads, sectors/cylinder,
and cylinders. Neither can simulated disk drives (that is, logical but
not physical drives, such as RAM drives). If they can't, Snooper will
usually leave the appropriate areas blank.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 39
For the following disk reports, if the drive is empty, if the disk is
defective or unformatted, or the drive door isn't closed, Snooper will
report "Drive not ready."
Sector Size
The number of bytes stored in each sector. This number is almost
always 512.
Cluster Size
The number of bytes in each cluster. Recent DOS versions call clusters
"allocation units" (as brevity takes another slap in the face). A
cluster is the smallest space a file can take. Thus, even if the "DIR"
command reports a file is only three bytes, if the disk's cluster size
is 2048 bytes, the file will take 2048 bytes of disk space. A floppy
disk may report 1024, an XT's hard disk usually 8192, an AT's hard
disk from 2048 to 32,768, and a CD-ROM, 2048.
Total Space
The capacity of the disk in bytes. This includes all bytes, even if
the FORMAT program has marked some areas unusable. Snooper will even
report accurately the total data recorded on a CD-ROM, which virtually
no other system information program can do.
Free Space
The number of bytes still available for use.
Used Space (bytes)
The number of bytes in use by files, subdirectories, and any areas
marked unusable. One use of this report is computing how many floppy
disks you will need to back up your hard disk: floppy disks needed =
used space / floppy disk capacity + 1.
Used Space (%)
The percentage of disk space being used. Even on an empty disk, this
number may not be zero because of bad sectors or empty subdirectories.
Used Space (graph)
Provides an easily absorbed way to see how much disk space is in use.
The Used Space graph is one of Snooper's handiest features and
provides a quick way to monitor disk use.
40 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
DIAGNOSTICS SCREEN
This screen, accessed via <Alt-D>, shows you details about your
computer's hardware status. It can help you diagnose interrupt
conflicts and other problems. If you have a multitasker or network
running, Snooper will pop up a warning and a prompt to continue before
letting you into this screen. The reason is these routines may disrupt
serial or parallel communications going on in other tasks. For
example, if you were transferring a file in one window and Snooper is
running in another and you tried to access the Diagnostics screen,
Snooper would likely disrupt your transfer or even hang up, forcing
you to start over. None of us would want that.
Also, networks and multitaskers sometimes can interfere with
Snooper's ability to gather accurate information. Unload the network
or multitasker and you may view the Diagnostics screen safely. In
fact, this screen is most accurate when you boot your computer from
plain DOS: no TSRs, no network. A mouse driver is OK.
If you try the Diagnostics screen and your computer locks up,
simply reboot with minimum CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and it
should work fine.
Serial Ports
Address
Here Snooper ensures that an actual serial port exists by testing the
serial port chip (see UART, below). It doesn't just rely on a likely
port address; it makes sure the address points to a working port. If
fewer ports appear on this screen than on the main one, you may have a
faulty port.
UART
The Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter chip handles the
receiving and transmitting of data through the serial port. Snooper
detects which model is in each serial port in your computer (you may
have more than one kind). It detects the 8250 (found in most XTs),
16450 (found in many ATs), 16550 (found in early PS/2 models 50, 60,
and 80), 16550A (the minimum required for high-speed communications),
and Type 3 (supports DMA, found in latter PS/2s and others).
The last two chips add 16-byte first in, first out buffers (FIFOs)
to store characters being sent or received from the serial port. These
are necessary for high-speed communications at 9600 bits-per-second or
faster. The 16550 had defective FIFOs, rendering the buffers useless.
The problem was corrected in the 16550A. Internal modems provide their
own serial ports, so if yours is internal, Snooper will tell you what
UART is supplied by the modem itself.
Snooper displays an asterisk next to the UART if the FIFO buffers
are open, a condition that may be harmless but normally shouldn't
occur.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 41
Speed
Shows the speed at which the serial port has been initialized. This
speed bears no relation to the speed of a modem that may be attached.
Format
Data bits: The number of bits (per byte) the port treats as a
character. It can be 5, 7, or 8, with 8 being the most common.
Transmitting 7 data bits means 7 of the 8 bits will be treated as a
character; the eighth is ignored or treated as a parity bit.
Parity: Parity provides a crude method of error-detection but is
largely ignored today. Nearly all BBSs use No parity. Other reports
are: Even, Odd, Mark, and Space.
Stop bits: The stop bit or bits are sent after each character.
NOTE: Although the values of the above parameters are important, what
is crucial is that they be identical on both ends of the
communications link (your modem and the one you're calling).
Otherwise, communications can't occur. This is a common source of
frustration among modem users.
IRQ
Snooper performs a test to determine what IRQ (see Interrupt Request
Lines, below) each serial port would use. These are not just the
default values, but the actual IRQs the port would use. If software
(e.g., a mouse driver) configured the port to respond with an
interrupt upon, for example, receipt of data, Snooper displays the IRQ
number alone. If no interrupt would be triggered, Snooper displays the
IRQ number in parentheses. This just means no program is loaded that
uses the port. Occasionally, a port becomes dissociated from its usual
IRQ, and Snooper can't tell what IRQ that port would use. In that
case, Snooper leaves the IRQ report blank.
Device
Modems and mice are two common peripherals attached to serial ports.
Snooper can usually detect the presence of Hayes-compatible modems and
fax/modems, and fully Microsoft-compatible mice, and report which is
connected to each port. It also can sometimes show if both are
connected to one port (two ports sharing one address). If the modem is
external, it must be turned on for this report to work. A mouse driver
must be loaded for mouse detection to work.
Fax Info
If Snooper finds a fax/modem, it asks it what classes it supports.
Classes are specifications that define what capabilities a fax/modem
has. Class zero is simply a data modem. Class one adds fax
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 42
capabilities. Classes are shown as a series of digits under the
appropriate port, except class zero, which is assumed (e.g., "1,2").
Snooper also will check for the presence of two fax interfaces, the
Communicating Applications Specification (CAS) and FaxBIOS. If either
is found, Snooper will show its name and version on the line below Fax
Info.
Parallel ports
Address
The same as the addresses on Snooper's Main screen.
IRQ
Snooper performs a test to determine what IRQ (see Interrupt Request
Lines, below) each parallel port would use. Again, these are the
actual IRQs the port would use, not just defaults. If software (e.g.,
a print spooler) configured the port to respond with an interrupt
when, for example, the printer is ready, Snooper displays the IRQ
number alone. If no interrupt would be triggered, Snooper displays the
IRQ number in parentheses.
Some parallel ports require a loopback plug to be inserted to
respond to Snooper's IRQ test. A loopback plug connects two pins in
the parallel port and allows the IRQ to be detected. If you find
Snooper can't detect the parallel port IRQs on your system, get a
parallel port loopback plug (you can find them at electronics parts
stores) and try it.
Occasionally, a port becomes dissociated from its IRQ, and Snooper
can't tell what IRQ that port would use. Also, some parallel ports
don't generate interrupts correctly. In these cases, Snooper leaves
the IRQ report blank.
NOTE: Your printer does not need to be on, or even attached, for this
report to work. You may hear it make a noise when Snooper checks the
port's IRQ. This is normal.
Status
Snooper also indicates the status of the parallel ports. The error
conditions change with different printers, so little can be said about
what each line really indicates. The only universal is your printer is
ready to print only when the Selected report alone is active.
NOTE: To help you debug a printer problem quickly, the parallel port
status is constantly monitored, so if, for example, you turn on your
printer or press its On-line button, the status indicators will
change. However, you should never plug in or unplug any peripheral
until you have turned off power both to the system and peripheral.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 43
Sound Card Address
Displays the sound card that appears on Snooper's Main screen, and may
show the port address to aid in diagnosing port conflicts.
For the IRQ and DMA reports which follow, "Available" appears on the
screen if the resource seems to be unused, "In use" if it has been
reserved by a hardware device.
Interrupt Request (IRQ)
On the right of the Diagnostics screen, Snooper shows which interrupt
request (IRQ) lines are currently active (indicated by the asterisks).
The PC had eight IRQ lines, the AT has fifteen. These lines are used
to get the CPU's attention when a hardware device needs servicing.
Some devices have assigned IRQs. For example, COM1 is normally set to
trigger IRQ4. Snooper displays these default assignments, although
they may not coincide with your system's, which may be configured
differently.
A device doesn't necessarily permanently reserve the IRQ it uses.
For example, you may have a scanner that uses IRQ 5, but only when
you're scanning. Snooper has no way to know this because you're not
likely to be scanning while Snooper is running. On the other hand, you
may be trying to add a device that also doesn't permanently reserve
its IRQ, and will never be used when the scanner is being used. Then
it's probably all right to assign IRQ 5 to the new device. Thus, you
can use Snooper's IRQ list as a starting point in determining which
IRQs are safe to use.
If a mouse driver is loaded, "Mouse" appears in the IRQ list,
indicating which IRQ your mouse is using. If your driver is new
enough, Snooper also will tell you if the driver is a TSR loaded in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (Snooper will display "MOUSE.COM"), or a device
driver loaded in your CONFIG.SYS file ("MOUSE.SYS").
Direct Memory Access (DMA)
Next to the IRQ report is the Direct Memory Access report. DMA
channels are used to transfer data without the aid of the CPU,
speeding transfers. The PC had four DMA channels; AT-class computers
have seven.
Snooper tries to show which DMA channels may be used by hardware
devices in your computer, but because of the PC's design, there is no
way to tell for sure. Even so, Snooper's method is sometimes close
enough. If, however, all DMA channels in your system seem to be in
use, you may have to disregard Snooper's DMA report. Snooper will
alert you to this case.
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 44
BUS SCREEN
With the Micro Channel bus architecture comes the ability to detect
adapter cards by name. Snooper can recognize over 1,100 cards.
Snooper will list slots zero through nine, and identify what cards
are in which slots. A slot with no corresponding text is empty.
NOTE: If you see a message similar to: "Unknown card, please contact
author," please make a note of the four-digit number and the actual
card installed (your Reference Diskette should tell you), and let us
know. We'll add it to our Micro Channel adapter database.
NETWORK SCREEN
Press <Alt-N> when you're running Snooper on a Novell Netware network
(we hope to add other network types), and the Network screen will show
you details about your network configuration. See your Netware
documentation for more details about items Snooper reports on.
Network Type
This will remind you of the network type from Snooper's Main screen.
Network Address
The network address uniquely identifies the part of the network you're
on.
Node Address
The node address uniquely identifies the workstation you're on. ARCnet
cards need to have their node addresses set at installation; Ethernet
cards come with a preset node address.
Socket
Users aren't typically aware of this low-level resource, but it may
come in handy in troubleshooting network installations.
User Name
The name with which the user logged into the default server. Note you
can log onto different servers with different names.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 45
Hardware
Network Card
Shows what network card is installed in your system if you have an ODI
driver loaded. You do not need to be logged into the network. Snooper
also shows hardware resources the network card is using: memory
addresses, IRQ lines, port addresses, and DMA channels.
Software
These reports show version numbers, levels, and interrupts in use by
drivers and other network software. Software listed in the second
column is running on the server.
Server
Default
The name of the default server.
Connection Number
The connection the workstation is using to connect to the default
server.
Connections
These reports show the maximum connections (users) allowed on the
default server, the number of users currently logged in, and the most
users connected at once since the server was last booted.
CMOS SCREEN
Every computer based on the PC-AT standard (i.e., all 286s and newer)
has a small area of memory called the CMOS (pronounced "SEE-moss"),
used to store configuration information. The letters in "CMOS" stand
for the material the configuration chip is made of (Complementary
Metal Oxide Semiconductor, if that helps).
CMOS memory is non-volatile, meaning its contents are retained even
when the computer is turned off. This is accomplished with a battery
that constantly supplies power to the CMOS chip.
Each time the computer is booted, it checks that the CMOS
configuration accurately reflects the actual configuration. If not,
the computer warns you the configuration has changed. This may occur
because the CMOS battery is dead, or (more rarely) a renegade program
has wiped out the CMOS. After replacing the failing battery with a
fresh one, you are likely required to change the CMOS information to
reflect the actual configuration. Snooper's CMOS screen lets you do
just that.
46 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
Older computers required a setup program that came on a floppy disk
with the computer. Many users misplace this disk or never received
one. These users especially will find Snooper's CMOS screen
invaluable. But most computers now come with a built-in setup
facility, accessible with a keystroke when the system boots. So why
duplicate that functionality in Snooper?
First, Snooper's Setup screen is more friendly. Some built-in setup
screens, especially older ones, are user-hostile. For example, you may
have to choose a hard drive type without knowing the parameters for
that type. You would have to hunt down the computer's documentation,
and hope the drive table was included and accurate. Snooper shows you
the parameters for the drive type you are about to choose, and you can
easily view each drive type to select the most appropriate one. Also,
some built-in setup programs don't let you abandon your changes if you
want to. Snooper does.
Second, Snooper provides a fast, attractive, consistent way for
technicians to edit CMOS data without having to learn each setup
screen's user interface. You can use Snooper's screen with point-and-
shoot ease, or press a single letter to quickly access the intended
option. Some built-in setups make you change or confirm all the
options in sequence, instead of letting you choose just the one you
want to change.
Third, you can log the CMOS data, along with Snooper's other
screens, into a file for later reference. You can't do that with
built-in setup programs.
Navigating the CMOS Screen
To move around this screen, press the highlighted letter for the
option you want. Or use <Tab> and <Shift-Tab>, or the arrow keys, to
move the highlight bar to the desired option. Press <+> and <-> or
<PgUp> and <PgDn> to change the option.
WARNING: Be very careful when editing CMOS data. You can render your
system temporarily un-bootable by specifying the wrong drive type. If
you're not absolutely sure what you're doing, stop! Seek professional
help.
CMOS Status
Snooper will list up to seven errors that can occur with the CMOS.
Most often, you'll see "Incorrect configuration" when you've added or
removed a drive or some memory. "CMOS battery is dead" means you
probably should replace it. If there are no CMOS errors, Snooper
reports "OK."
Date and Time
These options change the date and time. To aid you in setting the
date, the day of the week is also displayed, but because it's not
stored in the CMOS, you can't set it directly.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 47
NOTE: Unlike all other options on this screen, changing the date and
time changes the CMOS date and time as you change them on-screen. So
even if you exit the CMOS screen without saving your other changes,
the CMOS date and time will still reflect any changes you made to
them.
Memory
Tells the computer how much conventional and extended memory is
present. These options can be changed in 128K increments.
Floppy Drives
Tells the computer the capacity and size of the installed floppy
drives. Choices range from the 360K floppy to the 2.88M.
Hard Drives
Here you are allowed to choose the hard drive types. Choose type zero
if you have no drive, or a SCSI drive. Otherwise, choose the type that
matches the parameters of the hard drive you have. "Pre-comp" is short
for Write Pre-Compensation, often abbreviated "WPC." "L-zone" means
Landing Zone, the cylinder the heads will come to rest on when the
system is turned off.
Snooper finds the drive parameters table in your computer's ROM
BIOS. Snooper can find the beginning of the table, but there's no
foolproof way to tell where it ends. In some computers, the table has
as few as a couple dozen entries; in others, a couple hundred. If you
see some strange drive types that don't make sense, you've gone past
the end of the table.
If you see "User-defined" after the drive type, it means Snooper
has run out of pre-defined types. The type you're looking at can be
defined by the user to fit a hard drive whose parameters don't appear
in the list. If you need to define a custom drive type, you can't use
Snooper to do so. BIOS makers haven't standardized on a way to store
user-defined drive parameters in the CMOS, so Snooper wouldn't know
where to put them. Instead, you must use the computer's own setup
program (often stored in the ROM BIOS and accessed via <Ctrl><Alt>-
<S>, <Ctrl><Alt>-<Enter>, or <Ctrl><Alt>-<Esc>, or with <Delete>,
<F1>, <F2>, or <F10> during boot-up).
NOTE: Some memory managers have a feature that provides more UMB space
by moving the ROM BIOS to another memory location. If this feature is
in use on your system, Snooper may not be able to find your computer's
hard drive table because the memory manager moved it. If so, disable
the memory manager's feature or use your computer's built-in setup
utility.
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 48
Display
Here you indicate what kind of video adapter is installed. If you have
a text-only monochrome or a Hercules Graphics monochrome adapter,
select "monochrome." For CGA cards, you should choose "CGA 80 columns"
(the normal number of columns). If you have an EGA, VGA, SVGA, XGA, or
PGC card, choose "VGA and EGA."
Coprocessor
If your system has a math coprocessor, choose "Installed." Snooper's
Main screen will tell you if your system has a math chip (NDP).
Saving Your Changes
Press <Esc> when you are finished with the CMOS screen. If you have
made changes, Snooper will prompt you in the message box to save your
changes permanently into the CMOS chip. If you want to abandon your
changes, press <N>, or <Enter>. Or press <Y> to save them. For your
changes to take full effect, you may have to reboot your computer.
Snooper will do this for you, with your permission. If you pressed
<Y>, Snooper will then ask if you want it to reboot your system. If
so, press <Y> and your computer will reboot.
NOTE: If you reboot, and you are using a multitasker such as Microsoft
Windows, any unsaved work you may have been doing in another window
will be lost. Pause and think carefully before you decide to reboot.
BENCHMARK SCREEN
Snooper's Benchmark screen provides three speed indexes: CPU, Video,
and Hard drive throughput. They are displayed as numbers and bar
graphs.
The CPU benchmark is run continually when you're viewing this
screen. Since the other benchmarks may take several seconds to run,
they must be invoked by you by pressing a key. If you run benchmarks,
then return to the Main screen, only to return to the Benchmark
screen, the benchmark scores will reappear so you needn't run them
again. You may, of course, run them as many times as you like.
The scales for the bar graphs adjust automatically for different
CPUs. They also adjust themselves if the score would exceed the
default scale for that CPU (i.e., if the system were particularly fast
for its CPU class). The default scales and graphs are displayed in
green, in blue if the scales were adjusted to accommodate fast
hardware. Snooper's automatic scaling is effectively infinite, so you
needn't worry that the next generation of CPUs will exceed Snooper's
capabilities.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 49
CPU Throughput
This benchmark test is run continually, a fact you can demonstrate by
switching your computer in and out of turbo mode. You will see the
speed in Megahertz, and the benchmark score change. This test is an
estimate of the speed at which an AT (e.g., a 286 computer) would have
to run to be as fast as your computer. For example, if the CPU
throughput score is 150, an AT would have to run at 150 Megahertz to
keep up with your system.
Also, during normal operation, you may see a slight fluctuation in
speed as TSRs briefly gain control of your system (for example, a disk
cache writing data to a hard drive). You can hold down a key and see
the key repeat feature slow the system a bit. If you're running
Snooper under a multitasker such as Microsoft Windows, you may see
large fluctuations in speed as other programs gain control and Windows
performs housekeeping functions. All this speed changing is normal,
and doesn't indicate a problem.
Video Throughput
When you press the <V> key, Snooper performs a video benchmark test.
This figure shows how fast your computer can display text under DOS,
in thousands of characters per second. This figure is heavily reliant
on your system's CPU and video card. This may have little correlation
to how fast your system draws graphics, or how well it would perform
under Microsoft Windows. It measures DOS text speed. Of course, if
you're measuring the speed of a system to be used mostly in DOS, this
figure is quite relevant.
Disk Throughput
Press <D> to perform the hard drive benchmark on drive one (normally
C:). This test usually takes just a few seconds, or it may take a bit
longer, depending on the hard drive's speed.
Much ado is made of a hard drive's "average access time," or
"average seek time." This is a measure of how fast the drive's
read/write heads can move from a randomly selected cylinder of the
disk to another. It provides a rough indication of the drive's speed
at accessing requested data. Another commonly quoted benchmark is
"data throughput," a measure of how fast data can get from drive to
computer. Unfortunately, this test is often performed in an optimized
setting, reading the same data from the same place on the disk over
and over. But although each of these tests is helpful, neither
measures how fast a drive will perform the way you use it.
Snooper tries to approximate just that. It exercises the read/write
heads and reads data at each stop, providing a benchmark that combines
the best of both tests. Of course, other factors are important to
overall disk speed: CPU speed, disk caching, the disk controller being
on a local bus, and so on.
For the safety of your data, this test never writes to your drive,
it only reads, so there's no chance of it damaging your data.
If you have two hard drives, press <I> to test the second; its
score will replace the first's. At the left of the graph, a number
50 Snooper, the System Information Program for You!
will show which drive's speed is being shown. Note you must have two
separate hard drives, not just two partitions on the same drive (they
would have the same score anyway).
SETUP SCREEN
You may change Snooper's colors and other defaults by pressing <Alt-S>
from the Main screen. You will see the Setup screen options and a
"fake" display to show you what Snooper will look like with the colors
you specify.
Navigating the Setup Screen
To move directly to a field, press the highlighted letter for the
field you want. Or use <Tab> and <Shift-Tab> or the arrow keys to move
the highlight bar. Press <+> and <-> or <PgUp> and <PgDn> to change
the selected option. For the license number and filename options, type
the entry and press <Enter>.
Mono Mode
You can force Snooper to use its Mono mode by using this option.
Snooper detects monochrome cards automatically. But you may have a
reason to override the default. For example, your laptop may have a
monochrome LCD display that emulates a VGA card (making Snooper think
you have a color monitor) but the display is more readable in
monochrome mode. Set this option to Yes and Snooper will use its mono
background color. The default is "Auto," meaning Snooper will try to
determine if Mono mode is necessary.
Desqview Mode
Again, Snooper normally knows when to use Desqview mode, but you may
have a reason to specify this option. For example, if you have an old
CGA card and you see "snow" when Snooper draws its display. The
default is "Auto," meaning Snooper decides if Desqview mode is needed.
Editor
This option tells Snooper if you want to use its internal editor or an
external one called EDIT. The default is "Internal."
Drive
You may want Snooper to give you information about a certain drive
first, without having to specify it on the command line. Perhaps
you're a systems administrator and although your users are running
Snooper from the server's driver, you want it to show information for
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 51
their C: drive. Use the default disk drive option to specify it.
Snooper will cycle through all the letters of the alphabet and the
word "default." Of course, once you're in Snooper, you can change to
any drive in the system. If Snooper doesn't find the drive you
specified when it's run, it will show information for the current
drive. The default for this option is, of course, "Default."
Sounds
When you press a wrong key, try to select an invalid drive, or an
error occurs, Snooper usually beeps. This option is on by default but
you may turn off all sounds with this option.
Skip IDE
Some computers aren't compatible with Snooper's method of detecting an
IDE hard drive's model name. This option will cause Snooper to skip
detection of the IDE drive model. It corresponds to the /IDESkip
command line switch, and is off by default (i.e., it will try to get
the drive's model).
Other IRQ
Some computers aren't compatible with Snooper's method of detecting
port IRQs in the Diagnostics screen. This option will cause Snooper to
use an alternative method of detecting IRQs. The alternative method
isn't as accurate, however, so use this option, and its corresponding
command line switch (/OtherIRQ) only if necessary. It is off by
default.
Allow CMOS Editing
This hidden option allows you to toggle the function of the CMOS
screen from editing to simply viewing. If you're a network
administrator and you want to prevent non-technical users from editing
their CMOS configurations, simply press <A> once and save the
configuration file. Subsequent invocations of Snooper will provide a
CMOS viewer. The CMOS screen will look almost identical, and it can be
logged like all other screens, but no editing can be performed. To
revert to CMOS editing mode, return to the Setup screen and press <A>
once again. Don't forget to save your changes. This option is
invisible so users can't change the option to use the editor.
This topic does not appear in the table of contents or index so you
just need to be careful about letting them see this section of the
manual.
Colors
You can change Snooper's colors to suit your taste. Snooper will cycle
through the available colors. You can go through them in either order
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 52
by using the <+> and <-> keys. Snooper's "fake" display will show you
how the real display will look. Remember, you must save your changes,
exit, then reinvoke Snooper for the changes to take effect.
License Number
To make that annoying Registration Reminder Screen (RRS) go away
forever, press <L> and enter the license number we sent you when you
registered. Be sure to enter the number exactly as it appears or
Snooper won't accept it (it's awfully picky). After you save your work
(see below) and exit, Snooper will no longer show its RRS. Your
license number is shown at the top of the order information screen
(from the Main screen, press <F1>, <O>).
NOTE: After you enter your license number, you should save your config
file under the default name, so it always will be available to
Snooper. Otherwise, the registration reminders might start popping up
again. Of course, it would be foolish to give your license number away
to anyone. They should pay, too!
Saving Your Changes
If you want to quit and not save your changes, press <Esc> and no new
configuration file will be written.
If you've made changes you want to keep, you must save them to a
configuration file. The default configuration filename is always
displayed. This is the file that was loaded when Snooper was invoked,
or would have been if it existed. To accept the default, simply press
<S>, then <Enter>. To specify a new file, type a new filename and
press <Enter>.
Snooper will write a config file with the new options, overwriting
any old file of the same name. To create multiple files, simply enter
different names at the prompt. Snooper will report if the file was
successfully saved, or show an error message if it wasn't. If the save
is successful, the next time you run Snooper, the new options will
take effect. That's all there is to it!
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S CREATION
Snooper was developed over thousands of hours, many of which we
probably should have spent asleep. Snooper began in February 1987 on
an 8 MHz AT compatible (yuck!), moved on to a 386SX-16 (ick!), and now
to a Pentium-90 (ahhh!). It was tested along the way on hundreds of
machines. It originally was written in Turbo Pascal version 3.01A, and
has since been expanded under every version through 6.0. Its source
code as of this writing consists of over 14,000 lines of Pascal,
including some BASM assembler.
Remember, the SNOOPER.HST file will list the changes that have been
made since Snooper's inception. When you get a new version, check this
file so you can take advantage of new features.
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 53
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S AUTHOR
We'll take the liberty of assuming some of you want to know a little
more about Snooper's author. We'll keep it short. The following
paragraph was written by John Vias, Snooper's principal author.
"I'm originally from Evanston, Illinois (suburban Chicago), but
have lived most of my life in Florida. At the University of Florida, I
earned a degree in English, a fact I hope is reflected in this manual.
I now own a computer consulting, programming, and technical writing
business called Vias and Associates (pretty catchy, huh?). Finally, in
August 1994, Vias and Associates was moved to San Francisco (it's the
City by the Bay, you know), fulfilling a longtime dream of mine to
live in the Bay Area. Our eternal gratitude to all Snooper users for
your continued support."
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Snooper was not created in a vacuum, of course, although John's head
has been likened to one. Here are a few sources of information we
used, and for which we are very grateful. We apologize to those we
forgot to mention. Without them, Snooper would be only . . . well, we
hate to think about it.
PC Magazine (by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company)
An invaluable source of information about the PC family. A great
deal can be learned from its pages. It has helped many a
programmer.
Turbo Pascal 6.0: Techniques and Utilities (by Neil J. Rubenking:
Ziff-Davis Press, 1991)
With the help of this book, Snooper's code grows better and more
efficient by following Mr. Rubenking's advice. Highly recommended
for anyone who wants to write Turbo Pascal programs.
Advanced MS-DOS Programming (by Ray Duncan: MS Press, sec. ed., 1989)
Written by one of PC Magazine's stable of PC wizards, this book was
our source for documented BIOS and DOS calls.
Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC (by Peter Norton: MS Press, 1985)
The Programmer's Guide was a handy reference in Snooper's early
years.
Ralf Brown (INTERvvx.ZIP)
(The "vv" is the volume of release and the "x" is "A," "B," or "C."
The list comes in three files.) An enormous list of DOS, BIOS, and
program-specific interrupts, many otherwise undocumented. Quite
simply, some of Snooper's reports wouldn't exist without it.
Invaluable in that it reports bugs and incompatibilities books
rarely mention. And it's free! Check out the book Undocumented DOS,
cowritten by Ralf.
Snooper, the System Information Program for You! 54
Andrew Rossman (InfoPlus)
Mr. Rossman used to maintain a multi-page system information
utility. From it we got snippets of code and programming
techniques.
Peter Volpa (Circuit Systems)
Peter helped us with some disk routines. He's the author of CD-
QUICK, an award-winning CD-ROM cache.
John Fox (EDIT2.PAS)
John wrote the code Snooper uses in its internal editor. Thanks,
John!
Yuval Tal (TP6XMS.ZIP)
Author of a Turbo Pascal 6.0 unit for using an XMM.
Borland International, Inc. (Turbo Pascal)
Thanks and hats off to Borland for creating Turbo Pascal.
Greg Barton (sysop, ACCUG BBS)
Special thanks to Greg Barton, who kindly set up a Snooper
conference on his BBS, and a special menu to make it easy for you
to get the newest version. ACCUG info is on the first page of this
manual.
Greg Wrey (former sysop, TimeSlice BBS)
Thanks to Greg Wrey, who was sysop of Snooper's original support
BBS, and who beta-tested Snooper on his systems many times.
Our friends (courtesy of their parents)
With more patience than we deserved, they helped debug Snooper by
running it on their PCs and reporting what happened before it
crashed.
All those we forgot to mention
Those folks who left E-mail or wrote letters, reporting we forgot
something or shouldn't this be such-and-such.
And most of all, Snooper's Registered Users
Without the encouragement and support of Snooper's registered
users, John would have given up in disgust and moved to a tiny
cottage in the hills, living off the land and forever writing
programs for his own amusement. Occasionally, when registrations
are slow, he still threatens to--so please keep those registrations
coming!
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 55
INDEX
navigating, 37
A20 line status, 23 overview, 36
Acknowledgments, 42 Colors, setting, 41
Address Command line syntax, 11
parallel ports, 34 CompuServe, 1, 2
serial ports, 32 Computer type, 21
sound cards, 34 Config files
Address, Vias and Associates, 1 environment variable, 16
Advanced Power Management. See loading, 16
APM CONFIG.SYS
APM, 21 editing, 19
ASP, 2 logging, 14, 19
Association of Shareware Configuring Snooper, 39
Professionals. ASP See Connection, 36
AUTOEXEC.BAT Connections, 36
editing, 19 Conventional memory
logging, 14, 19 free, 22
total, 22
BBS used, 23
PC-Ohio, 1 Copyright, 9
Benchmark screen, 38 COUNTRY command, 17
Benchmarks CPU
CPU, 39 benchmark, 39
disk, 39 model, 21
video, 39 speed (MHz), 21
Break, 29 virtual-86 mode, 22
Buffers, 29 CPU speed, 21
Bugs Current directory, 30
disclaimer, 20 Customization, 2
known, 20 Cylinders, 31
Bus, 22
Bus screen, 35 Date
CMOS, 37
Cache, 29 current, 17
CAS, 33 ROM BIOS, 26
CD-ROM, 30, 31 Desqview mode. Setup screen See
Central Processing Unit. CPU See or Switches
Clipboard, logging to, 19 Diagnostics screen, 32
Cluster size, 31 Direct Memory Access. See DMA
CMOS Directory, 30
conventional memory, 37 Disks. See also Drives
coprocessor, 38 benchmark, 39
date/time, 37 cache, 29
definition, 36 cluster size, 31
display, 38 compression, 31
extended memory, 37 directory, 30
floppy drives, 37 free space, 32
hard drives, 38 label, 30
saving changes to, 38 local/remote, 31
status, 37 sector size, 31
CMOS drive type, 30 sectors/cylinder, 31
CMOS screen status, 31
caveat, 37 total space, 31
used space, 32 FaxBIOS, 33
Distributing Snooper with your Files in the Snooper package, 7
products, 6 Files, editing, 18
DMA FILES=, 29
list, 35 Floating Point Unit. See FPU
overview, 35 Floppy drives, 24
DOS FPU, 22
brand, 28 Free space (disk), 32
break, 29
BUFFERS=, 29 Game port, 26
FILES=, 29
location, 28 Hard drives, 24
revision, 28 Hardware requirements, to run
shell, 28 Snooper, 7
verify, 29 Heads, 31
version, 28 High Memory Area. HMA See
DOS installation, 7 HMA, 23
Drives. See also Disks
CMOS type, 30 IDE drive model, 30
cylinders, 31 Installation
floppy, 24 DOS, 7
hard, 24 Windows, 8
heads, 31 Internet, 1
IDE drive model, 30 IRQs
list, 30 list, 34
logical, 24 parallel port, 34
physical, 24 serial port, 33
SCSI host adapter, 30 ISA bus, 22
type, 30
Joystick adapter. Game port See
EDIT.BAT, 18
Editing Keyboard
AUTOEXEC.BAT, 19 support for, 27
CONFIG.SYS, 19 type, 27
editor setup, 40 Keys
overview, 18 AUTOEXEC.BAT editing, 19
EISA bus, 22 CONFIG.SYS editing, 19
EMS disk drive, 18
EMM level, 24 exit, 17
free, 24 help, 18
overview, 24 log system files, 19
total, 24 log to printer, 19
Environment log to Windows clipboard, 19
definition, 28 logging, 19
free space, 28 ordering, 18
total space, 28 overview, 17
ERRORLEVEL, 15, 17, 20 registering, 18
Expanded Memory Specification. SNOOPER.LOG editing, 19
See EMS
Extended memory Label (disk), 30
free, 23 Landing zone, 38
total, 23 Legal stuff, 9
Extensions, 27 Liability, 9
License, 9
Fax/modems, 33 License number
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 57
saving, 41 server, 36
using discretion with, 41 socket, 36
Logging software, 36
Auto-Logging, 13 type, 29, 35
Auto-Logging syntax examples, user name, 36
14 Network screen, 35
character translation, 13 Node address, 35
DOS system files, 14 Novell, 35
environment variable, 13 Numeric Data Processor. See NDP
keys, 19
log filename parameter, 13 Operation
log to printer key, 19 under DOS, 17
overview, 12 under Windows, 17
quietly, 15 Ordering. See Registering
system files, 19 Other IRQ. Setup screen See or
to Windows clipboard, 19 Switches
Windows system files, 14
Logical drives, 24 Parallel ports
Loopback plug, 34 address, 26, 34
IRQ, 34
Main screen, 21 status, 34
Math coprocessor, 22 Philosophy of Snooper, 8
MCA Phone numbers, 1
bus, 22 Physical drives, 24
cards, 35 PIF file, 8
Memory. Conventional, EMS, See Planning to register soon?, 11
Extended, HMA, UMB, Video, and Please register now, 11
XMS -N Plug -Play, 26
Mice. Mouse See Ports. Game port; Mouse See
Micro Channel Architecture. See port; Parallel ports; and
MCA Serial ports
Microprocessor. CPU See Pricing, 11
Modem, on serial port, 33 Printer ports. See Parallel
Monitor type, 25 ports
Mono mode. See Setup screen or
Switches Registering, 10
Mouse benefits of, 10
brand, 27 by check or money order, 11
driver version, 27 by CompuServe, 11
on serial port, 33 by phone, 11
port, 27 by purchase order, 11
Mouse port, 27 definition, 10
MOUSE.COM, 35 how to, 11
MOUSE.SYS, 35 reasons to, 10
Relocatable Screen Interface
NDP, 22 Specification, 13
Netware, 35 Requirements to run Snooper, 7
Network ROM BIOS
address, 35 brand, 26
card (NIC), 36 date, 26
connection number, 36 extensions, 27
connections, 36
default server, 36 San Francisco, 2, 42
hardware resources, 36 Screens
node address, 35 Benchmark, 38
CMOS, 36 batch mode, 12
Diagnostics, 32 chip detection bypass, 15
Main, 21 config file, 16
Network, 35 config file env variable, 16
Setup, 39 Desqview mode, 12
SCSI host adapter, 30 disk drive, 15
Sector size, 31 help, 12
Sectors/cylinder, 31 IDE skip, 15
Serial ports log DOS system files, 14
address, 26, 32 log filename, 13
data bits, 33 log Windows system files, 14
device, 33 mono mode, 12
fax, 33 other IRQ, 15
IRQ, 33 quiet mode, 15
parameters, 33 tune skip, 15
parity, 33 Syntax
speed, 33 diagram, 12
stop bits, 33 examples, 16
UART, 32 Syntax (See also Switches), 11
Server, 36 SYSTEM.INI, logging, 14, 19
Setup screen
colors, 41 Technical writing, 2
Desqview mode, 40 Telephone numbers, 1
drive, 40 Time
editor, 40 CMOS, 37
license number, 41 current, 17
mono mode, 40 Total space (disk), 31
navigating, 40 Trademarks, 9
other IRQ, 41
overview, 39 UMB, 24
saving changes to, 41 University of Florida (Go
skip IDE, 40 Gators!), 42
sounds, 40 Upgrading
Shareware, 10 how to, 10
Shell, 28 procedure, 8
Shouldn't you register now?, 11 Upper Memory Block. UMB See
Skip IDE. See Setup screen or Used space (disk), 32
Switches User name, 36
SNOOPCFG, 16 User-defined hard drive types,
Snooper 38
capsule bio, 41
Snooper's author Verify, 29
capsule bio, 42 VESA, 25
SNOOPER.LOG VGA, 25
editing, 19 Vias and Associates, 2, 42
SNOOPLOG, 13 Video, 25
Snow, 13, 40 benchmark, 39
Socket, 36 memory, 25
Sound cards monitor type, 25
address, 34 type, 25
model, 26 VESA, 25
Sounds, 40 VGA card model, 25
Status, parallel port, 34 Virtual-86 mode, 22
Switches
Auto-Logging, 13 Warranty, 9
Copyright 1989-1996 Vias & Associates 59
WIN.INI, logging, 14, 19
Windows
installation, 8
Snooper's operation under, 17
Windows clipboard, logging to,
19
Wishes, 20
WPC, 38
Write Pre-Compensation. See WPC
XMS memory
free, 23
version, 23