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Text File | 1995-11-21 | 29KB | 686 lines

HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 1 *** NOTE: USE "INSTALL" or "1STHAND SETUP" to install Hands On *** The MAIN manual is HO.TXT; it is available during the setup Please pay for this shareware product if you continue to use it _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| Member Updated November, 1995 This document has the following main portions: 1) Introduction 2) Getting the System Up and Running 3) Software Updates - the product history 1) Introduction This Easy Up and Running upgrade of the Hands On remote support package for DOS includes a range of tools for a variety of purposes. The 465 modem initialization strings will provide information that will help most people setup your modems. The modem database lists the first 50 modems in a fairly generic setup, but with fairly elaborate setup strings, and the remaining modems with more modem model detail but simpler setup strings. Please EMAIL or otherwise contact us as you explore the product. We don't normally return long distance phone calls to people who have not yet licensed our products. 1STHAND.EXE run it first. Its provides easy setup and access to the manuals. Use '1STHAND SETUP' for a complete guided setup HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 2 GATHER.EXE & .TXT A file management tool & manual HO.EXE The Hands On program for the remote computer HO.TXT Main user documentation in plain text HOASK.EXE Batch file query tool HOCHECK.EXE time checking tool for batch files ... HODIAL.EXE Dialer for the host, with optional callbacks HOEXTR.EXE Enables file reception with DSZ HOEXTS.EXE Enables file sending with DSZ HOHOST.EXE The Hands On program for the host computer HOHOSTC.EXE Runtime hohost configuration (in memory) HOHOSTIN.EXE Configuration for the core programs HOMENU.BAT Main sample batch file HOMINS.EXE Simplified core configuration program HOMISC.BAT secondary batch file HOMNU.EXE & TXT DOS menu program & manual HOMODSET.EXE & DAT Modem configuration HOREMOVE.EXE Removes hohost.exe from ram HOSZ.BAT HORZ.BAT batch file send/receive with DSZ HOSPEED.EXE sets screen update speed HOSTATUS.EXE to check hohost runtime status HOTALK.EXE chat or online talk tool INSTALL.EXE & TXT installer and manual MANUALS.TXT list of manuals - for 1sthand lookup OMI.EXE & TXT Standalone file transfer tool & manual OMIGET.EXE To Get or receive files OMIPUT.EXE To Put or send files ON_OFF.BAT secondary batch file PATCH.EXE File patcher for All kinds of files PROMO.TXT Promotional information QUOTES.DAT A sample for the runt README.TXT this file REBOOT.COM to reboot REGISTER.TXT registration information RMTREE.EXE Removes trees of directories and files RUNT.EXE & TXT Run Timer & callbacks & manual SHOW.EXE Show is a Wizard script debugger SHR_WARE.TXT About shareware VENDOR.TXT Vendor information WIZ.EXE The wizard comms aware 'script' tool It uses keyboard stuffing to automate software. WIZARD.TXT Wizard's manual -- file enders -- tele.ini is a general setup file hands on setup files end with .HO omni file transfer setup files end with .OMI various help files end with .HLP HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 3 some instruction files end with .DAT Xbase files end with .DBF and .DBT Wizard script files end with .SCR 1sthand's built in menu uses the menu.his history file and keeps its settings in settings.cfg. It also uses the manuals.txt to intelligently look up information. We frequently update the Hands On copies on Compuserve PCCOM UTILities LIB 3. You will normally see monthly updates. Please note that other files will be included in the distribution from time to time. Examples are OMI220.EXE and its omi220.hlp, hoedit.exe, holog.exe, and holist.exe. 2) Getting the System Up and Running A Setup - configuring to your hardware. B Operation - initial test driving. C Quick Fixes - when the d**n thing doesn't work. Yikes! A Setup First run INSTALL.EXE or "1STHAND SETUP". They guide you through a common initial setup and configuration process. The guided or directed installation process includes ongoing help and access to the manuals (*** You should always look first in HO.TXT ***). Also, please make minimal changes at first. The changes that you make for one pc have to be matched at the other end, and the fewer changes the more likely you are to make changes that match on the two ends. Hands On is a full featured product and you can easily get confused and setup up incompatible settings. If things "just don't work" and you have made quite a few changes, just erase everything and reinstall. We definitely cannot diagnose your problem if you have made quite a few changes that possibly do not match on the two pcs. There are some scenarios described in the main manual HO.TXT. Please browse HO.TXT then mimic the scenario that best matches your situation. Its best to do a basic setup and get it working then add nifty features later. If you try to do several changes at once, you MUST keep accurate records of the settings on the two computers. Later, once you have build some comfort with Hands On, you might explore some of the more advanced features that help when configuring multiple HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 4 computers. 2 Operation - initial test driving. You will quickly discover that Hands On's automatic menuing dialing and the like are designed to be very flexible. There are two main reasons for this flexibility: 1) The usage range is from 1 user to very large numbers. Many users only ever call one number and can include the number in the HO.HO file (or HODIAL.HO for HOHost). On the other hand, there are a number of outfits that use databases of thousands of phone numbers to call (Well, actually the most we know of claims around 2000 numbers). 2) The usage ranges from very simple to quite sophisticated. As an example, there are some phone callback options. One relies on the length of time a phone RING takes to detect the caller, then calls back to a specified number. The second has the caller run a batch file scheme to setup the callback. The third uses industry standard dBASE files to store a database of names, passwords, and phone numbers and allows the user to specify the callback time. Naturally, you can store many thousands of people's names in dBASE files. The fourth, using HODIAL directly, allows you to call in, and run it directly or via a batch file. Hands On requires MORE INITIAL SETUP, and then provides a more productive, and easier, low memory, usage than conventional retail competitors. You are more likely to be successful if you keep the initial setup simple to minimise setup frustrations. Then, activate more options on a step by step basis. Also remember that the HO.TXT manual has quite a bit of useful reference information. 3 Quick Fixes - when the d**n thing doesn't work. The most basic and common problems that you are likely to bump into are related to the modem. The following advice should be considered like a sandwich, with general advice like this above and below and various likely materials in between. Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications has a list of the most HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 5 common problems, which has been interpreted and amplified below. Remember that modems are NOT completely standardized and do NOT provide useful clues to less experienced users. First, run HOMODSET and see what it reports about the modem. If it fails to report OK results on the screen, the setup or the modem are bad. The actual instructions that tell HOMODSET what to do are in the editable HOMODSET.DAT text file. Next go through the following list of likely problems: 1) Call waiting has not been cancelled. You can often dial 70# or *70 or try setting both modems to ATS10=255 for a long wait to bypass call waiting. Try such long delays if you are using a cellular phone. 2) An external modem cable is bad or loose. Symptoms vary but include behaviour that may lead you to check that ANSI.SYS is installed. 3) The phone line is disconnected at the wall or the modem. Test push the connections together. We know someone who took days to realise that putting new insulation into the building's walls wrecked the phone line extension. 4) The communications software is incorrectly setup. Try N81. It has to be trying to work with the correct port, preferably COM1 or COM2. Try changing ports. A fair number of P.C.s cannot use COM3 or COM4 for communications (or anything else that matters). See 10) below. 5) Modem switches or jumpers are incorrectly setup. Is the modem switched on? (Our most common problem is leaving the external modem turned off for the first call of the day). 6) The modem is competing with another device for a COM port. No you cannot physically attach a mouse and a modem to the same port, but you can do so with software. Test by deactivating the mouse, or scanner, or whatever software it might be. Look at the back of the machine to see what is attached to which port. Try another COM port. 7) Its the wrong type of cable. Sorry you cannot tell visually. Direct connection and modem cables look alike, but are wired differently. We're experts because we also use the Little Big Lan network with serial connections (highly recommended for basic networking). Just because XYZ software DOES work with the cable does NOT mean that the cable is HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 6 'ok'. 8) Switches inside the computer are set incorrectly. Conflicting computer interrupts can cause significant hair loss in people trying to solve the problem. The original settings can all be fine, but some other software zonks the interrupts. Microsoft's MSD.exe program is commonly available for interrupt checking. 9) There is a BIOS problem. AMI bios's have problems with 16550 chips. P. C. Softsmith has found common problems with 16550 chips user inserted into cards. Many cards are really designed to work with older chips and do not let a 16550 chip activate properly. Normal diagnostics (and technicians) will pass everything, but a separate test will find the 16550 acting like an older chip. If you buy the card with a factory inserted 16550, they should match and work fine. We can supply, or you can download, software from a BBS that 'fixes' the AMI bios to 16550 problem. 10) The software is incompatible with the modem. Their two features sets fail to overlap in some crucial area. Try some other software, even a simple dialer, to make sure you have correctly isolated the problem. We find this problem when people upgrade from something like a 2400 baud modem to a 14400, or return to using their spare 2400 baud modem. Change the settings to match the modem. 11) The modem is broken or defective. We have found some modems that overheat then gradually fail are very good tools for detecting problems with telephone lines. Voice checking a phone line does not indicate its condition for a modem, but your 'phone company can likely check it remotely from their office. 12) There are missing portions on the screen when running the remote control/access software over 19200 baud. Use a tool like MSD to check if the COM chips are 8250's, and upgrade to 16550's if they are. Or slow down. Other software can also interfere, so check your crop or fleet of resident or TSR software and prune it judiciously. We generally find that we can use Hands On at 38400 over any direct link including XT's to 386's, but your situation will be different. We use 115200 baud daily between two development machines. 13) A modern high speed modem will work fine, but may not be able to 'talk' to an older 2400 modem if the initialization strings are not compatible. Use a SIMPLE initialization HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 7 string on the high speed modem. 14) We have noticed problems with a 14.4K modem on a 386-40 using an older 8250 chip. Its ALWAYS a good idea to upgrade to 16550 chips. 15) There are some manuals of various kinds included in the default HANDS ON distribution. Some judicious grubbing about will drag out a range of other tests and tools. Try to get anything working, then steal its settings/information for the other things that you want to get running. If you have the system basically working, then keep changing small portions out from the working core until they work. As an example, we often just erase the setup file and restart when a problem continues, then rebuild with HOHOSTIN.EXE (which is available via 1sthand.exe if you wish). Many problems disappear once everything is reset to original defaults. Above all smile and keep trying. Its a challenge not a problem. 3) Software Updates - the product history Note that some of the utility programs have their own version number and update information in the matching .txt file. An example is HOMNU.EXE and MNU.txt. 5.61 November 16, 1995 Added -F to force dialing, and -Dminutes for delay before dialing, with hodial. 5.60 November 14, 1995 1sthand now accepts the Up and Down and the PageUp and PageDown arrow keys while reviewing the modem database. Improved the runt's manual for callback setups. Revised this manual. 5.50 October 1995 added the S0=? command to the modem initialization string for improved call management. Using F9 at the modem screen removes all of the S0=1 entries from the database. Fixed Hohostin's handling of incoming initialization strings. Improves 1sthand's handling of new users, some other tinkering, and adds PATCH.EXE. 5.50/5.3 August 24, 1995 resurrected the June 13 release with HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 8 some changes. The installer has being updated and is now common with the Teleshare installer. Hohostin now allows command line production of a text file showing the current settings. 1sthand.exe has continuing user friendliness changes during the 'guided' or combination installation using "1sthand setup". 5.30 August 14, 1995 upgrades the dialing portion of 1STHAND.EXE and other small changes. Some of these changes were scheduled to arrive after version 5.50. 5.20 July 26, 1995 contains an upgraded RUNT program as a third callback option, as well as a generic RUN Timer program. 5.20 June 15, 1995 a subset of the features in the withdrawn 5.50 release. These include HOSTATUS.EXE, the HOCHECK.EXE changes and some other minor changes. 5.50 June 13, 1995 This release was compiled with the wrong compiler, and has been withdrawn to ensure reliability. Most of the features will be available in restricted releases to lower our support costs. Local users can obtain 5.50 on request. 5.50 June, 1995 Added the HOSPEED and HOSTATUS tools. HO now ignores control-break; strips the parity bit before displaying data while acting as a dumb terminal at the start of a session. HOCHECK now has a day of week check. The HOHOSTIN IRQ detection scheme has been improved. Changed the HOHOST exit from RAM scheme. Improved the product's overall awareness of OS/2. Improved the internals of the keyboard lockout scheme. Changed HOMODSET to work better with some modems that need a delay before each command is issued. Changed the call length limiter to avoid hangup on reboot (this can be done in the autoexec.bat). HO can now accept embedded requests as user prompts (eg passwords) in .ho files. HOHOST repeats the modem initialization string after the end of a session to fix some wonky modems that would otherwise refuse to accept further calls. OMIGET and OMIPUT now automatically terminate the transfer if carrier detect is enabled and carrier is lost. Other minor (depending on your point of view and usage) changes. 5.10 March, 1995 Changing files ending in DOC to TXT to minimise complaints about conflicts with Microsoft Word files. Tidied HOMINS.EXE arrangement, so HOHOSTIN.EXE no HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 9 longer tries to write to HOMINS.EXE. 5.10 February, 1995 Fixes and improvements for modem init strings. Added over 400 simple modem initialization settings. Added the optional (but recommended) HOMINS.EXE simplified setup utility. The installer now forces you to install in the current directory if you have the BBS version. Hopefully, this will cut down on the complaints on the proliferation of files. 1STHAND is now aware of the simple installer HOMINS.EXE in various ways, and checks for the installers in the current directory. 5.01 February, 1995 Minor changes to help make configuration easier. For example, more prompting in HOHOSTIN to re-create HO.HO and HOHOST.HO. Matching changes in the manuals. 5.00 September, 1994 By far the most common feedback is that BBS people only put part of Hand On on their BBS. The default BBS distribution has been shrunk in reaction. We have also significantly improved the ease of getting Hands On up and running, mainly in 1sthand.exe. This is the first EASY UP AND RUNNING release for Hands On. This includes a large number of minor changes including a more reasonable dialing setup using 1sthand. 1STHAND.EXE is now up to version 2 with numerous 'easy use' changes, including more command line parameters.. 5.00 July, 1994 Added PSL registration option. Cosmetic changes to 1sthand.exe, telemenu.exe and telemenu.hlp. Ongoing changes to the manuals based on user feedback. HOASK.EXE was inadvertently compressed with DIET in the initial 5.00 release and has now been restored to a normal .exe. (Testing shows that HOASK.EXE will normally run fine when DIETed, but that change made the difference) Changed HOHOSTIN.EXE so it leaves the INIT file on disk for further configuration uses. 5.00 June, 1994 Started this section. This is the first distribution where new users have significant likelihood of being less skilled. You should expect ongoing 'updates' as we discover better ways to get new users going. Its likely that the main changes will NOT provide enhanced help, but will instead improve the initial setup and automatic telephone connections. Reworking documentation and internal messages. The design goal is a more user friendly interface. Changed the name to HANDS ON. Now includes the telemenu. Reworked the names HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 10 below to a generic name wherever appropriate. The version number reflects a clean break that is building on previous work. 4.23 1992 Allowed use of 25x80 text pages other than 0. 4.22 Changed the version number to stop people thinking that version 3.9 was a later version than 3.22!! 4.22 and 3.22 are the same! 3.22 Modified the way HOHOST's private mode works to avoid problems with CapsLock, NumLock and ScrollLock. Previously some PCs experienced a delay of 20 seconds or so while the BIOS waited for a keyboard interrupt that would never occur since HOHOST had disabled all keyboard interrupts. Now the keyboard interrupt is briefly enabled after any of these keys has been pressed. Modified the file transfer status window to report throughput in characters per second rather than percentage efficiency. 3.21 Added the capability to limit the length of a session (useful for toll-free numbers). Increased the buffer size to suit higher speed modems (this only affects screen refresh time and only at speeds above 2400 bps). Added to HOHOSTIN the ability to scan the PC's hardware looking for installed COM ports and locating the associated IRQ lines (from IRQ2 to IRQ15 inclusive). This makes it considerably easier to install for things like internal modems with non-standard IRQ lines. 3.20 Moved control of host printer redirection into HOHOST,HOHOSTIN, HOHOSTC (this now makes it possible to install HOHOST so that print redirection is off by default). Corrected a problem that caused \\ to be reduced to just \ and then to nothing when strings were being edited in HOHOSTIN. Added section 0 to HO.txt to provide a quick path to getting the package up and running. Made sending an initial "at&f" to the modem optional in HOMODSET. HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 11 3.19 Added support for IRQ8-15 for 16-bit I/O cards. Added HOHOSTC.EXE to modify HOHOST parameters during an active session. Modified HOHOSTIN so that it is possible to redirect input into it, and added a sample response file HOSTIN.RES. 3.18 Corrected a problem with HO failing to detect a loss of carrier in the middle of a session. 3.17 Improved CTS handshaking for use with V42bis modems. Increased printer buffer size to cope with faster modems and longer propagation delays. Added direct support for external file transfer protocol programs such as DSZ. 3.16 Modified HOHOST's ring response code so that the user can choose to have a string sent direct to the modem instead of having it "typed". Added a "private" mode option to HOHOST to allow the host PC to run with a dead keyboard and blank screen. Added HOASK (a program like ASK but with a timeout) to replace HOKEY. Modified HOST to cut down memory usage slightly by freeing environment space. This could be significant for users who have very large amounts of environment text. Finally worked out what needed to be done to allow HOHOST to be loaded high (by QEMM's LOADHI for example) without hanging when the host should have been rebooted! 3.15 Modified HOHOST so that the "reboot on loss of carrier" option only takes effect if there has been a successful HANDS ON session at some time in the past (previously the PC would reboot when the carrier was lost even if HANDS ON had never been active, which sometimes caused rebooting to occur at unfortunate moments!). 3.13 Removed the messages about synchronizing the baud rate and sending the password, and replaced them with a beep so that line noise does not disturb the screen text so much. HANDS ON Remote Control README.TXT Page 12 Modified the file transfer timeout process so that HO keeps on waiting for the transfer to commence until the user presses a key, rather than just waiting a specified time period. [Note that this eliminated one parameter from the .HO file.] 3.12 Added a new program, HOREMOVE, to remove HOHOST from memory. Previously this could be done by HOHOSTIN, but having a separate program avoided any danger of inadvertently modifying HOST parameters... 3.11 Added remote printing capability. [Note that this required an extra parameter in the .HO file.] 3.10 Changed HO.EXE and HOGET.EXE so that directories were created as required during file transfer. I hope that parts of the above litany of changes were fun to read! portions Copyright (C) 1994-5 P. C. Softsmith All rights reserved Vic Williams P. C. Softsmith ASP member/author 606 - 6455 Willingdon Ave (604) 433 - 5189 Burnaby, B. C., Canada CIS 75020,2664 V5H 4E4 INTERNET:vic_williams@mindlink.bc.ca