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. Local Hard Drives and Ram Drives appear on the left. Network Drives can be selected from the right side unless previously disabled. Select upto a total of 10 drives on VBSys or 6 on VBSysBar.

(Get more info on Networks)

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, Restart, or ReBoot or Just Do It Quickly.

Bar Height (VBSysBar only)

Click on More, Less, or Reset. Then click on Change until the size you want.

(Some fonts sizes may have to be adjusted by you as you change sizes: Ctrl Click.)

Re-Activate When Hidden

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

Other Options from the main display:

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.

Hide the Buttons

The Buttons are Hidden or Shown by Right Clicking the FSR graph on the main display

Hide the Title Bar

The Title Bar is toggled on or off by clicking on the FSR graph on the main display.

Run Other Programs

Right Click on Disk Space Remaining Display to Run Other Programs easily.

Colors

Some colors can be changed by clicking on the labels of the main display.

Fonts

Some Fonts can be changed by holding down the CTRL key while clicking a label.

Move the Main Display

The main display can be moved be dragging the Title Bar to a new location.

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

Using The Program


Contents

Note: This help file is now for BOTH versions, VBSys and VBSysBar as they function virtually identically. In this help file "VBSys" refers to Either Program.

Installation

Introduction

Using The Program

Examples

Options

Registration

Networks

Quick Summary of Buttons and Mouse Clicks

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 and cmdialog.vbx

vbsys.dll and cmdialog.vbx  DO come with this program and you should copy them to your windows-system directory.

VBSys should be run under Windows 3.1 or higher.


Installation

Requirements

To Install:

Put vbsys.dll, cmdialog.vbx, and threed.vbx in your windows-system directory, (Use the newest versions), and put vbsys.exe or vbsysbar.exe anywhere you want. Put the vbsys.hlp file in the same directory as vbsys.exe or vbsysbar.exe. (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 cmdialog.vbx, 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 and RAM Drives. (It will not monitor floppies, CDRom, or removable drives.) VBSys can display upto 10 drives, VBSysBar upto 6 drives. The display initially updates every 5 seconds, (The more info window updates every 15 seconds). Network drives if selected will update every 10th timing cycle.

To hide the title bar and save room, just Left Click the FSR bar graph. (Again to bring back)

To hide the 8 Control Buttons to save screen space, Right Click the FSR bar graph. (Again to bring back)

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). (Network Drives have a raised letter for identification.)

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. (WFWG 3.11 always runs enhanced mode)

Activate or Deactivate the Timer Function through Quick Access Window or by Holding Shift and Left Clicking the Time Display.

         Click the M button for the Quick Access Window. You can easily access many of the features here so you don't have to remember the shortcut keys.

You can right click the M (or use Quick Access) 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 font and 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.  Some buttons or labels will respond differently if right clicked. Read "Buttons" below carefully for Many Details that are easily overlooked.

Buttons

Options Window

More Info window

Examples


Introduction

Some Reviews

Ziff-Davis evaluators "Rating:****" "VBSys goes far beyond the typical resource monitor."

Windows Magazine Superior ShareWare Recommended Downloads June 95

Win Online Review (WOLR) "VBSys goes beyond the ordinary, and beyond what you see" Jun 95

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. I use mainly the standard version but a lot of people prefer the Bar version. Now it's easy to switch between versions with a mouse click.

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

It will monitor:

Hard Drive Disk Space including Ram Drives and some Network Drives, Free System Resources, Free Memory (Which includes Swap file if you have one), Largest Block of Contiguous Memory, Number of Tasks running, Date,and Time, all in one small display.

Some options include:
The ability to Compact Memory
Easily Run other programs from VBSys.
Use the Built in Timer.
Hide the Control Buttons to Save Screen Space.
Adjust the Height of the VBSysBar display.
Quick Access Menu to Use Advanced Features Easily.
The ability to change font name, style, and size in display.
The ability to Set the Time and Date easily.
The ability to list the running tasks.
The ability to show how long Windows has been running.
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.
Disable Network Drive Selections.
The option to Restart Windows or Reboot Computer.
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 Detailed Windows Info in a Separate Window:
All Loaded Modules.
All Registered Classes.
All Tasks running.
DOS and Windows general info.
Windows Memory Manager Statistics.
Many other little features
.
The Registered Version Will save all options including fonts, colors, position, which drives to monitor, warn level, type of Mem to monitor, Bar Height, If Buttons are shown at startup, stay on top, etc..

Details


Buttons
(Items Marked With (M) are in Quick Access. For easiest use, just click the M button.)

Main Buttons

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

X	Use to Exit Windows

R	To Restart Windows (Click) or ReBoot Computer (Ctrl and Click) (M)

Q	Use to Quit running VBSys (Right Click to Switch VBSys Versions)

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	Click for Quick Access Menu. Right Click for More Info Window.(M)

S	Click to get Registration Info, How to Contact Me, or Restore Fonts

The "S" or Save Button is Fully Functional ONLY in the Registered Version.

Left Click the FSR Graph to Hide the Title Bar. (Again to bring back.)

Right Click the FSR Graph to Hide the Buttons. (Again to bring back.)

Other Buttons

Right Click on Drive Space Remaining Display to Run a Program or File (M)

Hold Down CTRL Key and Left Click Some Items to Change Font

Left Click Some Items to Change Color

Hold CTRL down and Right Click Time to Set Time (M)

Hold Shift down and Left Click Time/Timer Display to Activate\Deactivate Timer (M)

Right Click on Time Display to get Time Since Windows Started (M)

Hold CTRL down and Right Click Date to Set Date (M)

Right Click on Date Display  to Minimize VBSys (M)

Right Click on Memory Display  to toggle Memory Display between All Memory and Largest Block of Memory. (The M button will be grayed when showing Largest Block) (M)

Hold down the CTRL key and Right Click the Memory Display to Compact Memory. (M)

Right Click on Number of Tasks to Bring up List of Tasks. (M)

Right Click on M button to go directly to the More Info Window (M)


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

Using The Program


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 30% 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...

The worst problems are likely below 15%.

What are resources?

How to Save Resources?

Reduce or delete rarely used icons in your Program Groups. Every icon uses resources to track colors, positions, fonts, etc...
Reduce the number of  icons in each Program Group.
Keep only essential Program Groups open. The USER heap must keep track of all open groups.
Reduce the amount of colors your video driver uses. 256 colors is more than enough for virtually all normal applications and is much easier on resources. If you need more colors, you can switch to them for that one application that needs them.
Reduce the amount of installed fonts; How many of those fonts do you use?


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, 10 is better. In addition the drive that has your temp directory  files, (You can find where your temp directory is by right 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, again 10 is better. 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-20M 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 or more is realistic, 4 is bare minimum, and 16 best.) The Largest block of Memory is what Windows will generally use; It is a better indication than the total. If a program needs more Memory than the Largest Block, Windows will have to move things around and use your Swap File slowing things down. Just make sure the Largest Block is not real small. If it is, then Compact Memory.

How to Conserve Memory?

It's not really easy to save much but there are a few things you can do.

The Main thing is to not leave programs running in the background unless you really need to.

 (Don't leave Word running because you are going to use it again later; Close it and then reload it later when you need it. The few seconds it takes you to close it and reopen it will be easily made up by the fact your computer won't be swapping to disk constantly which slows you down the most.)

Check your startup group, (and the load and run lines in win.ini) for programs the always run that you may not need.

Screen Savers, Cursor Programs, or Sound Programs for example are really not very important. You could always run them later when needed. Unless you have 16 meg RAM memory or more, you really can't afford the memory to run these kinds of programs all the time.

Reduce the number of installed Fonts.

They only use a little memory each but it adds up. Many people collect a LOT of unneeded fonts.

Should you use a RAM drive for temp directory?

It depends on who you talk to but in my opinion if you have:

4 Meg = Definately NOT

8 Meg = Probably not unless you do one thing very much that you know constantly uses the temp directory.

16 Meg = If you think you can spare the RAM, you can probably gain some speed advantage by using a RAM drive.

(Remember that a RAM drive will deduct the size of the drive from your available memory. That in turn will increase the swapping to disk due to low memory which will slow you down in all activities losing any gain you may have got from the application that actually used the RAM drive.) Also, for a RAM drive to be effective and not cause problems it must be large enough to hold all needed info; It's not uncommon with some newer programs to need over 1 MEG in a temp file. If you run out of room in your temp drive you can crash the computer, So think carefully before using one.


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..  (See Memory)

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.) (After a GPF, you should reboot to minimize the chance of another GPF due to memory corruption.)


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 and Fonts, 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 or VBSysBar, then PLEASE send the nominal fee of just $10.00 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 $10.00 for Both version! If you use it every day it IS certainly worth $10.00.)

If you are certain that you only want one version, have an older registered version, or really just don't want to spend the $10, then see "Other Registration Options" below.

Other Registration Options

Send Registration Fee To:

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

Include your Compuserve or AOL E-Mail address. Files will be sent by E-Mail, If Available.  Also state which programs you are registering!

Charge Card Registration Available through Compuserve
Go SWREG
Registration ID: 5541

To contact me, E-Mail at:
America On Line	MIKLK
or
Compuserve	 75110,1553


More Info Window

Access the More Info Window by Right Clicking the M Button or through Quick Access

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 block is actually a better indication of Free Memory because it is closer to the way Windows actually uses memory. If Largest Block is small you can Compact Memory.

The items on the left that are in RED can be clicked for more details. If items come up in a list box, you can click on any item to highlight the items that go together in all the lists.

DeskTop

KeyBoard

FSR

Memory

Running Tasks

Time

Using The Program


compact
Compacting Memory (M)

To Compact Memory: Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard while right clicking on the Memory Display portion of VBSys or use Quick Access.

Compacting Memory will increase the Largest Block of Memory available to programs. It makes more Memory available in linear blocks and will benefit your system in a couple of ways. It will allow programs to load quicker by reducing the usage of your Swap File and increasing your systems speed. It will sometimes allow programs to load when they otherwise wouldn't be able to due to needing a larger block of memory to load.

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 Compact the Memory. That will probably make extra contiguos memory available to run the program.

Compacting Memory is NOT a substitute for restarting Windows. Generally if you have time, it is preferrable to restart Windows. Compacting Memory is a good temporary solution to Windows Memory Problems when you see the Largest Block is Small.


Classes
(Click on any item in either list and the items that go together will be highlighted.)

This shows some of the classes that are currently registered to Windows. This is NOT a direct readout of resource usage but will give you an idea of the amount and kind of objects that Windows must keep track of and display.

On the left is the class name. In the middle is the Window Extra Bytes for the class. On the right is the  path and filename of the loaded module that registered the class.

What are Resources?


DeskTop
This simply reads your .ini files for some settings. If it finds them then it lists them; If it can't find them then it will be unknown.

One thing to check is that 32 Bit Disk Access is ON. This can significantly increase the speed of some things. If its off, then you should search your Windows Manual  for info on it. If your system supports it then you should turn it on. If you don't understand what you,ve read about it in the Windows Manual or Magazines then you may want to wait and get someone more experienced to help you with this one as it can cause problems if it does Not work.

I use a simple method to obtain this info to save memory. If it doesn't find certain items, don't worry about it; A lot of items are NOT required. Some items are only set automatically in WFWG 3.11. Most items can be set manually through editing the .ini files but don't do it unless you know how.

If You have WFWG 3.11, then there is also a setting in Control Panel under Virtual Memory for 32 bit File Access. It is very different from 32 bit Disk access. Unfortunately, because it is more advanced it is also more problem prone especially how it interacts with other programs. It can significantly increase your hard drive access if your system is compatible with it. As with all things, read up on it and get help if needed. Tuning your system is great when it works but not worth it if your system is down for a long time.


Loaded Modules
On the left shows the name of ALL loaded Windows Modules in Memory.

(Click on any item in either list and the items that go together will be highlighted.)

On the right shows the path and filename of the Modules.

If you see things that you don't think you need. Try to figure out what they are and how they got loaded so you can stop them from loading in the future to save Memory.

On the bottom is the Windows INTERNAL Memory Manager Info. This is the way Windows sees your memory and how it is used.

Most of the memory manager info is fairly complicated. It's uses are limited from a user standpoint. The main think I like to check is the "Total Pages Not In Use". When that is Zero, then it's probably a good time to Compact Memory. If it is always zero, then you could probably use more memory.

Manage your Memory


Task List
(Click on any item in either list and the items that go together will be highlighted.)

Shows the name of the running tasks on the left and the path and file name of the task on the right. You may see something that is loaded automatically that you don't need or want loaded.

Managing Memory


Time Windows Running
Shows How Long Windows Has Been running Since Last Restart. (M)

If it's been a long time, then restart Windows on your next break to renew all memory and resources.


KeyBoard
Simply shows the state of your keyboard as Windows sees it so you can verify that Windows recognizes things properly.


Other Registration Options
Standard Registration         $10

You get both versions 2.xx of VBSys and VBSysBar that saves all settings.

One Program ONLY             $7.50

You get ONE version 2.xx of EITHER VBSys or VBSysBar that saves all settings.

If you have previously registered an old version 1.xx. Just Pay The Difference

As version 2.xx  is a major upgrade, it requires an updated registration if you want to upgrade. Simply pay the difference between current fees and old fees.

If you have Both registered VBSys and VBSysBar  (New $10-Old $7.50) Pay just $2.50

If you have Only One Registered, then Pay $2.50 for One or $5.00 for Both Versions.

Minor Updates Will Be Available for Nominal Fee to cover costs.  $2.50

Minor update example: (Ver. 2.00-2.10 etc...)

On America Online,Compuserve, or by US Mail if needed   $2.50

(One upgrade fee includes Both VBSys and VBSysBar if both are registered.)


Colors

To Change Colors:

You can change fonts and colors of: Time, Date, Mem, Tasks, or Drive Space Readouts.

Click on the display item you want to change.

Click on the color you want.

Click OK

Depending on your Video card and drivers, some colors may not display as expected.


Fonts
Changing Fonts

To Change Fonts:

Hold Down CTRL Key While Clicking

You can change fonts and colors of: Time, Date, Mem, Tasks, or Drive Space Readouts.

Select The Font: Name, Style, and Size and Click OK.

Notes: You can type in any size you like (including smaller sizes)

To Get The Default Font (MS Sans Serif) and size for that Display, Click Cancel

To Restore All Default Fonts, Sizes, and Colors:

Quit VBSys and Restart VBSys

You need the registered version to save settings!


Run
To Run Other Programs Easily

Right Click on a Disk Drive Space Remaining Display.

The Drive You Clicked Will Be the Default Drive. You Can Easily Access All Drives Regardless of Which One is the Default Drive though.

A Window Will Open Up to Run Program or Open File.

You May Type in the Path and Filename of The Program to be Run or Use the Mouse to Select the File.

You May Select Any Program to Run Including Dos Programs or Other Files that are Associated With Programs.

If a Program or File is on Your Path, then You May Omit the Path.

For Example: If .txt files are associated with notepad.exe, When you select a .txt file it will run Notepad with the .txt file loaded.

Do Not list extra parameters.


Quick Access Window

Use this window by clicking the M button to get easy access to some features. All these features are directly available by using shortcut keys in the main display if you prefer. See Buttons for more info.

Some things that are easily used from here:

Running a Program or File.

Checking how long Windows has been running.

ReSetting the Date or Time

Activate or Deactivate the Timer

Toggle the Memory Display between All Free Memory or Largest Block of Free Memory.

Compact your Memory.

Display the Running Tasks.

Minimize VBSys.

Open the More Info Window.

Contents


Save Settings
Save Settings Window

Access This Window By Clicking the "S" Button.

Click Yes to Get Information on How to Save Settings by Registering. (Save settings is only available in the registered version.)

Buttons Will Show or Be Hidden is not Functional in the shareware version because you need to Register to Save Settings.

Click The Reset Fonts to Reset all Fonts to the Default style and size.

Click No to Exit.


What are resources?

Windows creates and stores objects for each running application in two places,  the user heap and the graphics device interface (GDI) heap, each one limited to 64K.

USER.EXE handles most of the Program Manager jobs such as keeping track of
the number and position of icons in the Program Groups. GDI is a major
applications program interface used to create items on screen.

The table lists some objects stored in the heaps and some average sizes for them:

User

   Object                   Size in Bytes
   ------                        -------------
   Menu                      20 + 20 per menu item  (Seperate Storage for Most)
   Window Class    40 to 50
   Window                 60 to 70

GDI

   Brush                     32
   Bitmap                  28 to 32
   (DC)                       300
   Font                       40 to 44
   Pen                        28
   Region                 28
   Palette                  28


Network
Networks

VBSys can now be used to monitor network shared drives.

It's success at monitoring drives over different types of network varies but if your network is compatible with the Standard Microsoft Network and Windows it should work.

If VBSys has problems with your Network Drives, then unfurtanately there is nothing that can be done to change that. Simply, disable the Network Drive Monitoring and use VBSys to monitor all your Local Hard Drives.

Some uses for Network Monitoring:

If you are in a small group of 2 or 3 computers and share disk space then you may want to monitor all the drives you are using.

If you are in charge of a Network, then you might want to monitor the other computers drives.

If you are on a Network and are going to copy files to a Network Drive, you may want to temporarily check the drive for space and then deselect it when done.

Click O for the Options Window. If VBSys can detect network drives then they will show up. Select all the drives you want to monitor, (Up to 10in VBSys, 6 in VBSysBar), and then click the "Change" button. (You need to register to save  most settings)

If you connect to a shared directory on a drive, it will display the space on the entire drive. So you need to only monitor 1 drive or directory for each drive.

The network drive will update every 10th timer cycle only.

This is to keep network use at a minimum. So if you have the standard timer updating every 9 seconds, the network drives will try to update every 90 seconds.

The network drive letters are displayed with raised lettering to identify them as network drives.

Disable Network Monitoring

On the Option Window there is a checkbox to Disable Net Drives from being able to be selected. When you click Change, this settings is saved to the vbsys.ini file. Remember to still save settings without the network drives being monitored though so the network drives will not reappear next time VBSys is started if they were saved showing previously. Of course you need to REGISTER to do that!

Note to Network Administrator:
To completely disable the network drives from being able to be selected by a user  and hide the checkbox:
Manually edit the vbsys.ini file to change the "Enabled" setting in the [Net] section to read  Enabled=2
(To re-enable being able to select network drives, the same setting will need to be manually changed back to a 0 or 1)

VBSys Network Troubleshooting

If the network drives just never show up, then unfortunately there is just an incompatibility with the way this program reads the network drives and nothing can be done to fix it.

Different space remaining displays indicate different things.

FREE

Means that the display is still in it's initial state and just hasn't been updated yet.

VBSys is in no rush to start updates as it always yields to EVERYTHING else so it doesn't effect system or network performance. No problem, just be patient.

  X

Means that VBSys can NOT read the network drive. Sometimes this happens just due to network traffic. If it stays that way for more than a few minutes, then you should go to the options window and deselect that drive.

VBSys does not try that hard, if it gets an initial reading that indicates a poor connection or a problem it won't even try until the next timer cycle in order to not effect system or network performance.

XXX

This indicates that VBSys thinks everything is OK, but in reality it can't read your network drive. This can occur if the remote computer exits windows but is still on the network or your computer tries to automatically share on startup but the other computer is not on the network. If this happens, the initial attempt by VBSys to read the drive did negatively affect performance for a few seconds. VBSys changed the indication to the XXX so it won't effect system performance again and it will NOT try to update the drive again at all. You should deselect that drive since it is not updating anyway.

If you want to try that drive again then select it again from the Options Window; (Even if it is still showing.)

Always check with whoever is responsible for the network to get permission to monitor drives over the network. This should have the very smallest impact on the network possible but you should still check.


Timer

The Timer included with this program is a very basic Timer.

 It displays Minutes only since started. It can NOT be paused and continued later, etc..  It's made to be just a simple Timer if you need to know when 15 minutes, etc.. has passed.

The Timer updates only with the normal VBSys updates to insure it does not affect system performance and therefore can be off a few seconds between updates.

The Timer can be activated or deactivated 2 ways:

In the Quick Access Window (by clicking M in Main display)

By using Shortcut: Hold Shift Key and Left Click Time/Timer Display