Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 lUUUU HUUUU I$UUUU ------ <<<<<< KKKKKK ZZZZZZ iiiiii xxxxxx Questions and Answers John Neil April 23, 1996 What is a Floating Point Unit? ZA Floating Point Unit (FPU) is a hardware chip that performs certain types of mathematical HWoperations quickly. An FPU is also known as a floating point co-processor or a math co Hbprocessor. The performance of many scientific, mathematical, and financial applications increases !greatly when an FPU is installed. 0Why won t some applications work without an FPU? PFor maximum performance, some applications talk directly to the FPU chip. These H[applications cannot function on Macintosh computers without an FPU. Launching one of these aapplications on a Macintosh without an FPU will result in either a warning message or a floating /point co-processor not installed system error. What is SoftwareFPU? USoftwareFPU is a control panel that allows most applications expecting an FPU to work H`properly on Macintoshes without one, such as the IIsi, IIvi, Macintosh LC series, Classic II and TColor Classic series, Performa series, and some models of the Quadra, PowerBook, and WPowerBook Duo series. SoftwareFPU will also work on Power Macintoshes. SoftwareFPU is 3fully System 6 and 7 compatible. SoftwareFPU will & work on 68000 Macintoshes such as the HTMacintosh Plus, SE, Classic, Portable, and PowerBook 100 (see 68000 question below). VBecause of a 68LC040 CPU chip bug, some applications crash with SoftwareFPU on 68LC040 )Macintoshes (see 68LC040 question below). Why use SoftwareFPU? ZSoftwareFPU allows you to use your FPU applications now, instead of waiting for a software H upgrade or buying an FPU card. 9On Power Macintoshes, SoftwareFPU is the only way you can HEuse FPU applications until they are available in PowerPC-native form. Examples of applications HSwhich will only work with SoftwareFPU on Macintoshes without an FPU include AutoCAD XRelease 12, CG Option for Media 100, DynaPerspective 2.33, Elastic Reality, Elite Flight `Simulators 3.1, Excel 2.2, GeoView 3.1, Igor Pro 2.01, Illustrator 5.0 (some plug-ins require an SFPU), Infini-D 2.5.1, LabView 3.0, MacFortran II 3.2, MacOberon 3.3, MacRLab 1.05f, SMacTSP, MATLAB 4.2a, PainterX2 (some effects require an FPU), PhotoShop 2.5.1 (some ]plug-ins require an FPU), PixelPaint Professional 2.0, Proof Positive, RayDream Designer 2.0, ZScanMatch 2.0, SPSS 6.1, StatView 4.02, StudioPro 1.0, Studio/8 1.1, StudioPro 1.0, Systat ^5.2, TekColor 1.1, TREE, Tristan 1.02, Vellum & Vellum 3D, VidSynth, and others. In addition, [if a developer only offers color Macintosh II and black and white Macintosh Plus/SE/Classic Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 H_versions of their software, SoftwareFPU allows users to take advantage of color features in the \Macintosh II version, rather than settling for the black and white Macintosh Plus/SE/Classic version. PA few applications have bugs which prevent them from working properly, even with HXSoftwareFPU installed. You will have to upgrade these applications to use them. Other [applications may be unacceptably slow when used with SoftwareFPU. If you have an important Xapplication of this type, you should consider purchasing an FPU card for your Macintosh. How do I use SoftwareFPU? [To activate SoftwareFPU, drop it into your System Folder and restart your computer. One of HHseveral possible icons will appear on the screen during system start up: Startup Icon Meaning */'SoftwareFPU installed (PowerPC version) *.#SoftwareFPU installed (68K version) @@@@@@ SoftwareFPU did + install, for one of the following reasons: Problem Solution H*Mouse button was held down during start up &Restart, do not hold down mouse button System contains a hardware FPU 'Discard SoftwareFPU, you do not need it H&System software version less than 6.05 /Upgrade your system software to 6.05 or greater H"System contains a 68000 processor. .SoftwareFPU will not work on 68000 Macintoshes H(Not enough memory to install SoftwareFPU Remove fonts or add memory (System 6 only) H0System folder contains older version (PseudoFPU) &Discard obsolete PseudoFPU and restart H$Not in proper location on hard drive 1Put in Control Panels folder (System 7) or System folder (System 6) Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 ZSYou can turn SoftwareFPU on or off, or learn more about the program, by opening the H\SoftwareFPU control panel. To do this, select Control Panels from the Apple Menu and double HZclick the SoftwareFPU icon in the Controls Panels window. (System 6 users must select the `Control Panel from the Apple menu, which brings up the Control Panel dialog box. Scroll through dthe icons on the left side of the box until you find SoftwareFPU and select it by clicking on it.) %The following dialog box will appear: ZSA status message appears below the description which indicates the current state of H_SoftwareFPU. You can turn SoftwareFPU on or off with the buttons in the top right corner. You ccan do this without restarting (System 7 required) as long as SoftwareFPU was installed at startup. ]You can also temporarily disable SoftwareFPU at startup by holding down the mouse button. Be /sure to click on the and buttons! Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 ZYSoftwareFPU comes in both shareware and registered versions. If you obtained SoftwareFPU H]from an on-line service, a Macintosh user group, or a friend, you have the shareware version. XWhen you send in your required registration fee ($10 for 68K-only version, $20 for `68K/PowerPC version), you will receive a registered version of the software in the mail. In the `registered version, a button replaces the button in the shareware version. You can >change accuracy and startup balloon options using this button: ZWThe Accuracy option allows you to select the FPU accuracy ( 68K/PowerPC version on H[Power Macintoshes only). To configure SoftwareFPU to operate in fast 64-bit accuracy mode, ]click the 64-bit button. This mode allows SoftwareFPU to take advantage of the PowerPC FPU `to speed up calculations, at the expense of reduced accuracy. To select slower 80-bit accuracy, ^click the 80-bit button. This mode achieves maximum accuracy but runs entirely in 68K code, Uslowing performance. For most applications, 64-bit accuracy is perfectly acceptable. \To hide the startup thank you balloon in the registered version, uncheck the Show Startup Balloon box. Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 How do I register SoftwareFPU? P68K-only SoftwareFPU is a shareware product. If you use it, you must send a $10 Haregistration fee to John Neil & Associates. To receive a 68K/PowerPC version, send $20. A cregistration form is located at the end of this manual. $10 or $20 is probably not much to you but Uit really gives me the incentive to keep on programming. Thank you for your support! P68K/PowerPC SoftwareFPU is a commercial product, subject to the software license H[agreement that came with the disk. Unauthorized copying or distribution of the 68K/PowerPC Aversion is a violation of U.S. law and/or international treaties. \Your registration fee entitles you to use SoftwareFPU on one computer at a time. Commercial Hcdistribution is prohibited without a software license from John Neil & Associates. For information 9on commercial licensing, contact us at the address above. XWhile we have made every effort to deliver this software free of bugs, SoftwareFPU comes as is with no warranty whatsoever. If you do run across something unexpected, let us know and we will do our best to fix it. Is SoftwareFPU PowerPC-native? WThe shareware version of SoftwareFPU is 68K-only. For a 68K/PowerPC version with HAtwice the performance, please send $20 to John Neil & Associates. 5Where can I obtain the latest version of SoftwareFPU? [The latest shareware version of SoftwareFPU is available on-line on America Online (keyword HXMUT), CompuServe (GO MACSYS), via anonymous ftp at ftp.netcom.com (/pub/jo/johnneil), or [from our Web site (http://www.jna.com). To obtain the latest registered version, send your ]registration fee ($10 for 68K-only version, $20 for 68K/PowerPC version) to John Neil & ]Associates. If you are already registered, you can upgrade to the latest version for $10. A 7registration form is located at the end of this manual. BWill SoftwareFPU slow down applications that don't require an FPU? [No! Non-FPU applications perform at identical speed with or without SoftwareFPU installed. HYThe only effect of SoftwareFPU is to allow you to use FPU applications on your Macintosh. 7What happens if I insert an FPU card into my Macintosh? ZSoftwareFPU will automatically be disabled, and the hardware FPU will perform all floating H_point calculations. A message in the SoftwareFPU control panel will tell you if SoftwareFPU is 8not installed because your Macintosh has a hardware FPU. JWill SoftwareFPU eliminate all co-processor not installed system errors? ^The co-processor not installed system error is a very misleading error message. While it is H`possible to get this message by launching an application that requires an FPU, most modern, well H]written 68K FPU applications check for an FPU and display a more explanatory error message if _an FPU is not present. Therefore, this system error is usually caused by an unrelated problem. _The co-processor not installed system error appears because this unrelated problem caused the Tapplication to execute an illegal instruction that by chance was an FPU instruction. Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 ZYTo determine for sure whether a co-processor not installed system error was caused by a HWmissing FPU, check what application was running when the system error occurred. If the \application requires an FPU, then the system error probably resulted from a missing FPU, and _SoftwareFPU should eliminate the error. If the application does not require an FPU, the system _error resulted from an unrelated problem, such as corrupted system software, a system extension aconflict, a virus or a bug in the application or system software. In these instances SoftwareFPU bwill not help. If you are unsure whether an application requires an FPU, contact the publisher of $the application in question and ask. OSoftwareFPU installed correctly, but applications still complain that no FPU is present. What's wrong? ^Open the SoftwareFPU control panel. If you see a message that says Application conflict, H[application you have launched is incompatible with SoftwareFPU. This typically occurs when Wusing a source-level debugger in a development system like MPW or THINK C/Symantec C++. dIn this case, the source-level debugger replaces the system F-Line exception vector, so it can catch band report illegal FPU instructions, which disables SoftwareFPU. To re-enable it again, click the button in the SoftwareFPU control panel. 2Why doesn't SoftwareFPU work on 68000 Macintoshes? XAt first glance, SoftwareFPU might seem like a solution for allowing FPU applications to HZwork on 68000 Macintoshes such as the Macintosh Plus, SE, Classic, Portable, and PowerBook Z100. However, FPU applications depend on a number of other features that are missing from Ythese Macintosh models, such as 68020 instructions and Color QuickDraw. Because of this, YSoftwareFPU would not allow any additional applications to function on 68000 Macintoshes. TTherefore, SoftwareFPU has been optimized for 68020 and greater processors, forgoing %compatibility with 68000 Macintoshes. GWhy do some applications crash with SoftwareFPU on 68LC040 Macintoshes? VThe 68LC040 CPU chip has a bug in it which prevents many FPU applications from working H_properly with SoftwareFPU. The bug is confirmed by Motorola and listed as bug E4 on revision 4 `of the official Motorola 68LC040 errata sheet. Unfortunately there is no way for SoftwareFPU to Ywork-around this bug. If you have SoftwareFPU installed on a 68LC040 Macintosh, you will `have to test each FPU application you use to see whether it will work on your Macintosh. If the `application crashes, it is probably due to the 68LC040 CPU chip bug. To verify the cause of the ecrash, test the same application on a regular 68040 Macintosh. If the application operates correctly Uon a 68040 Macintosh, the CPU bug is causing the application to crash on your 68LC040 `Macintosh. If the application crashes on a 68040 Macintosh, the CPU bug is not the cause of the 68LC040 crash. UIf your FPU application crashes with SoftwareFPU because of the 68LC040 CPU bug, your options are: Replace the application with a version that does not require an FPU, if available. Replace the 68LC040 CPU in your Macintosh with a 68040 CPU that contains a hardware HYFPU. John Neil & Associates sells 68040 upgrades for desktop Macintoshes and PowerBooks. WSee the price list at the end of the About SoftwareFPU document for more information. Install a PowerPC upgrade card in your computer. FPU applications work properly with H#SoftwareFPU on PowerPC Macintoshes. Times John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com of 9 HGWhy doesn t Excel say it is using an FPU when SoftwareFPU in installed? ZMost FPU applications require an FPU to work properly. Excel and a few other applications Hchave the optional capability of using an FPU if present for floating-point calculations otherwise ethese applications perform floating-point calculations in software. Software floating-point routines ]are usually faster than SoftwareFPU since they do not have the added overhead associated with ]FPU emulation. SoftwareFPU is aware of existing applications with this unique capability and Qdoes not report the presence of an FPU to them, so they operate at maximum speed. MIs an FPU application with SoftwareFPU faster than the non-FPU version of the same application? [No. SoftwareFPU is a compatibility solution, not a performance enhancement. If you have a H[non-FPU version of an application, you should use it on a Macintosh without an FPU. If you t have a non-FPU version, or it doesn t exist, then you should try SoftwareFPU. DWhy do I need SoftwareFPU on a Power Macintosh? Doesn t the PowerPC processor already have an FPU? TThe PowerPC processor has an FPU integrated on-chip. You do not need SoftwareFPU to HRuse PowerPC-native FPU applications on your Power Macintosh. However, you do need WSoftwareFPU to use non-native 68K FPU applications on your Power Macintosh. Non-native ]68K applications are emulated on Power Macintoshes. The emulation software supplied by Apple does not emulate an FPU. :Does SoftwareFPU use the PowerPC FPU on Power Macintoshes? UYes, some calculations are performed in the PowerPC FPU on Power Macintoshes, but the H\overhead for FPU emulation is such that SoftwareFPU is still much slower than the PowerPC or 68K FPU. MWhy does the SoftwareFPU control panel say the 68K version is installed, even Fthough I have the 68K/PowerPC version of SoftwareFPU on my Power Macintosh? ^Click the button in the SoftwareFPU control panel and switch to 64-bit accuracy. 80-bit H^accuracy forces SoftwareFPU to load the 68K version of the FPU emulator. If there is no Vbutton in the SoftwareFPU control panel, re-install SoftwareFPU from your master disk. What is the SoftwareFPU icon? It is a floating point! HCSoftwareFPU and PseudoFPU are trademarks of John Neil & Associates. OAll other tradenames & trademarks are properties of their respective companies. Times Price List John Neil & Associates P.O. Box 2156 Cupertino, CA 95015 USA Orders: E-Mail: n Web Site: (800) 663-2943 (415) 661-2944 sales@jna.com http://www.jna.com SoftwareFPU \Low-cost 68K floating-point unit (FPU) software emulator for 68K Macintosh without an FPU or \Power Macintosh. Lets you run 68K FPU applications on a Macintosh without an FPU or a Power >Macintosh. Requires 68020/68030/68LC040 or PowerPC Macintosh. SoftwareFPU (68K-only) ){G....................................................................... $10.00 SoftwareFPU (68K/PowerPC) A................................................................. $20.00 N!SoftwareFPU (68K/PowerPC Upgrade) 6...................................................... $10.00 For r $egistered 68K-only SoftwareFPU users PowerFPU _High-performance 68K floating-point unit (FPU) software emulator for Power Macintosh. Lets you Qrun 68K FPU applications on a Power Macintosh. Ten times faster than 68K/PowerPC RSoftwareFPU and faster than some hardware FPUs. Recommended for FPU-intensive 68K *applications. Requires PowerPC Macintosh. PowerFPU )6X........................................................................................ $75.00 PowerFPU Upgrade )bM............................................................................. $50.00 For r 'egistered 68K/PowerPC SoftwareFPU users PowerFPU Upgrade )bM............................................................................. $60.00 For r $egistered 68K-only SoftwareFPU users 68040 CPU Upgrade Kits YReplace the 68LC040 CPU in your desktop Macintosh with a 68040 CPU with built-in hardware `FPU and run 68K FPU applications at full speed. Comes with simple step-by-step instructions and =CPU extraction tool. 1-year warranty (voids Apple warranty). 25MHz 68040 Upgrade Kit C................................................................... $219.00 Macintosh )+9Centris 610/650, LC 475, Performa 475/476, Quadra 605/610 33MHz 68040 Upgrade Kit C................................................................... $259.00 Macintosh LC & Performa series 68040 CPU PowerBook Upgrades RReplace the 68LC040 CPU in your Macintosh PowerBook with a 68040 CPU with built-in [hardware FPU and run 68K FPU applications at full speed. PowerBook must be shipped to JN&A Fupgrade facility for service. 1-year warranty (voids Apple warranty). 25MHz 68040 PowerBook Upgrade 9......................................................... $329.00 Macintosh PowerBook 520/520c 33MHz 68040 PowerBook Upgrade 9......................................................... $329.00 Macintosh )+*PowerBook Duo 280/280c, PowerBook 540/540c