Copyright: VBSys Windows System Monitor by Michael Krane


Options Window
Options

Set the options you want to change.
Click the "Change" Button in each section being changed.
Click the "Close This Window" button when done.

Warn Level

Set level you want VBSys to display dialog box asking if you want to Restart Windows.

Drives to Monitor

Set which Hard Disk Drives to Monitor Free Space on.

Update-Seconds

Set how often the Main Display Updates. (Can also be set by Button on Main Window)

Warn Exit-Restart

Tell Vbsys to Warn you when you tell it to Exit or Restart Windows or Just Do It Quickly.

Re-Activate When Hidden

This option is to add compatibility with Programs like PC Tools "Tag Along" feature.

Stay On Top

This can Only be set by the T Button on the Main VBSys Window. When the T is grey it will NOT Stay on Top, When the T is Black, it Will Stay on Top.

Remember Registering gives you the ability to Save All These settings and More!!


More Info Window

Most of the information is self explanatory. The Program checks the DOS version, CPU type, Some settings in your setup files, The location of your Temp directory if you named one, Which video driver settings, Date, Time, and Tasks Running. If something doesn't look right then you can try to figure out what's wrong. The Free System Resources (FSR) are broken down between the GDI and USER modules. The total is generally just the lowest of the 2. The Free Memory remaining is broken down between Total Free and Largest Contiguos Block. Largest contiguos block is actually a better indication of Free Memory because it is closer to the way Windows actually uses memory.

The function I use to check for Largest Block of Contiguos Memory also will Compact the Memory making your memory more contiguos. If you get a message "Not Enough Memory" when trying to run a program, but you don't want to restart Windows, (You really should though), You can try to Click M on the main VBSys Window to open The More Info Window. That will probably make a little extra contiguos memory available. Then close the Information Window and try to run your program again.


Contents

Installation

Introduction

Using The Program

Examples

Registration

You can Press F1 when VBSys or any of it's Windows are the "active" window for Help.


Requirements

This program needs the file vbrun300.dll.

NOTE: This program needs the file vbrun300.dll. (Usually it should be in your windows-system directory.) It does not come with this program because most people will already have it and it takes too long to download. If you don't have it, you will need to download it to use this program and the many other Visual Basic Programs that are written from Visual Basic 3.

The program also needs the file vbsys.dll

vbsys.dll DOES come with this program and you should copy it to your windows-system directory.

VBSys should be run under Windows 3.1 or higher.


Installation

Requirements

To Install:

Put vbsys.dll and threed.vbx in your windows-system directory, (Use the newest versions), and put vbsys.exe anywhere you want. Put the vbsys.hlp file in the same directory as vbsys.exe or in your path (If you don't want the help file, you can delete it to save disk space.) When you run the program, you should not select minimized or maximized, it should be run "NORMAL".

To Uninstall:

To Un-Install, just delete vbsys.exe, vbsys.dll, and vbsys.hlp. ( I suggest you do NOT delete vbrun300.dll or threed.vbx. Many other programs use these and may need them.)

Getting Started


Getting Started
Using The Program

Run the program from File Manager, Add it to Program Manager, and/or add it to your Startup Group (as it was made for) to always have it running as I do.

The program should start up monitoring all local Hard Drives. (It will not monitor floppies, remote, or removable drives.) It should be in a small window in the bottom right of your screen. The display initially updates every 5 seconds, (The more info window updates every 15 seconds).

To hide the title bar and save room, just click the FSR bar graph. The bar gragh changes from Green, to Yellow (below 60%), and then to Red as Free System Resources get low. (If they get low, (Red), you should restart Windows.)

The Disk Drive Letters Change color from normal, Blue, above 10MB, to Green below 10MB (OK, but watch), and to Red below 2 MB (Time to clean up your disk).

On most systems the free RAM memory displayed in the MEM box will be greater than your installed RAM, this is because it includes the size of your Swap File, if you have one, because Windows treats that as memory when using enhanced mode.

You can click the M for more memory, DOS, and Windows info to show up in a separate large window. You can click on some of the labels on the main small window to change the color of their display. You will have 8 buttons for the options. These buttons' colors can NOT be changed. Move the mouse over the button and it will tell you what the button does on the Title Bar if you have the Title Bar visible.

Buttons

Options Widow

More Info window

Examples


Introduction

I wrote this program for ME! Like most other Windows users, I have used and tried many different utilities for different things. I wrote this to combine the utilities that I was using into one SMALL display program. It is written to use minimal screen space and minimal resources. It will always yield to all other programs.

This program is designed to help a user monitor many system resources at all times and to combine some utilities that you may already use.

It will monitor:

Hard Drive Disk Space, Free System Resources, Free Memory (Which includes Swap file if you have one), Number of Tasks running, Date,and Time, all in one small display.

Some options include:
The option to adjust the update interval.
The option to warn on Exit/Restart or Quick Exit.
The ability to Stay on Top of all other windows.
The option to Restart Windows.
The option to Completely Exit Windows.
The ability to Change level to warn of low Resources.
The option to Select which drives to monitor.
The ability to customize color of display.
Button Bar for Options.
View More DOS and Window Info in Separate Window.
Many other little features.
The Registered Version Will save most options including colors, position, which drives to monitor, warn level, etc..

Details


Buttons

T	Use to set VBSys to Stay On Top of other Windows or Not

X	Use to Exit Windows

R	Use to Restart Windows

Q	Use to Quit running VBSys

5 (or other number)	Use to change how often the Display Updates

O	Use to go to the Options Window to Set VBSys Options

M	Use to go to the More Info Window to get More System Info

A	Use to get Registration Info and How to Contact Me


Examples

You might want to run this program and then watch the numbers change as you load or unload other programs, monitor your disk space, use it as your clock, etc... If you find some programs that you seldom use are using a lot of resources, then you might want to unload those programs from memory when you are not expecting to use them soon. Windows will generally run faster and be more stable with the least amount of programs running which frees up memory and resources.

Resources

Memory

Disks

Other


Resources Example
When I first load Windows, my System Resources are about 80% with nothing loaded and drop to about 65% with my normal startup programs loaded. As I run programs, I watch to see how low the resources get and when they start getting below 50%, (Trouble doesn't really begin until about 15% but I like to leave room to run memory and resource guzzling programs such as Word or Excel to avoid problems after they start up), I start thinking about what I can close temporarily until I really need it like a calendar program, etc...


Disk Drive Space
      The hard drives are really more obvious, but the thing to watch for there is that you have enough room for Windows to operate with. The drive that Windows is installed on, I like to have at least 5M free. In addition the drive that has your temp directory  files, (You can find where your temp directory is by clicking the M on VBSys and looking in the More Info Window or by looking in autoexec.bat file for a line like: Set temp= C:temp; If you don't have a line pointing to a directory then the temp files usually go to your windows directory.) , I like to have at least 5M more free on the temp file drive. For example, if my temp directory is on my c: drive as well as my Windows directory, I would like to keep at least 10M free on the c: drive. Keep enough free space on your drives or it can slow you down and cause stability problems.


Memory Monitoring
Memory is a little harder to watch, but the main thing to look for is that the amount remaining is larger than your swap file size; (If it's not, then everytime you run a program it will swap some things stored in memory to your hard drive which will slow things down.) (If you don't know the size of your swap file, then check in control panel- 386Enhanced- Virtual Memory. (I'm using a 6105 swap file on a system with 8 meg RAM.)  So basically, I watch the memory number to see that is stays above about 7000 (7000-6105=895 Free Memory in addition to the swap file) which allows me to have enough free memory to run programs without swapping to disk first. If you can't keep the memory at a figure above your swap file size, then you probably need to either stop running certain things or buy more memory, (8 Meg of RAM is best, 4 is minimum.) (In the more info Window, the Largest block of Memory is what Windows will generally use; It is a better indication than the total, but it is slower reading, which is why it is not on the main screen)


Other Items
       The other items are mainly just general info. Date and Time are self explanatory. Tasks reminds you of how many things are running; Sometimes you forget about hidden programs that you don't need such as cursor changers, sound programs, etc..

The main thing to use is the restart Windows. A lot of people leave things on all day or for a few days. After a while some programs use some resources and don't return them to Windows even after they close; After running a few programs, the available memory becomes non-contiguous causing disk swapping and slowing things down. When you're not busy, restart Windows to reset things the way they started. (I restart every few hours or after running a few different large programs.)


PC Tools

The Re-Activate When Hidden button is to provide added compatibility with programs like PC Tools "Tag Along" feature that Hides programs against your will and has no provisions to deal with programs like VBSys that do not have a control box.

To have VBSys "Tag Along" properly:

On the Main PC Tools 2 Menu:

1	Select Options

2	Then Select Advanced Settings

3	 Near the Bottom of that Menu:
The option to "Bring Window to Current Desktop" must be selected.

4	On VBSys' Option Menu, select "Yes" to Re-Activate When Hidden.

If you don't want the "Bring Window to Current Desktop" option checked then:

Select on VBSys' Option Menu "NO" for Re-activate When Hidden to prevent it from switching desktops continuously.

Without the  "Bring Window to Current Desktop"  option checked on PC Tools Menu, VBSys can NOT "Tag Along" properly. However if you still want VBSys to be visible in all desktops you can, (at the expense of aprox. 70K and 1% resource usage per desktop), run another instance of VBSys in each desktop you want it in. (It should run another copy with no problems, If not, right click on the VBSys icon and check under properties that the "Allow Multiple Opens" Box IS Checked.)

Get the Registered Version of VBSys so you can Save the Settings!!!!


Registration

Registration gives you the ability to Save All Option Settings including:

The position of Display, Label Colors, Stay on Top setting, Warning Level, Whether to Warn on Windows Exit or Restart, Whether the Title Bar is Shown, Which Hard Drives to Monitor, How often the Display Updates, How the Re-Appear when Hidden option is set for PC Tools compatability, etc...

If you are going to continue to use VBSys, then PLEASE send the nominal fee of just $5.00 to help cover costs. It will make you feel better, and help keep the shareware concept going, (It takes a lot of time to write these programs and do the research, revisions, etc... I know most people don't like to pay for shareware, that's why it's only $5.00. If you use it every day it IS certainly worth $5.00.)

There is also a version available that displays in a long, skinny, Bar instead of the standard in a corner display. The shareware version is VBSysBar and the .zip file should be vbbarxxx.zip depending on the current version. If you want Both Registered Versions, send $7.50

Send Registration Fee To:

Michael Krane
4 Azurean Ct.
Mt. Sinai, NY
11766

Include your Compuserve or AOL E-Mail address for Faster Service and possible updates. Also state which programs you are registering!

To contact me, E-Mail at:
America On Line	MIKLK
or
Compuserve	70242,2317