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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.025 DVX386 requires at least 4 megabytes and an 80386sx. Eight megabytes of memory is roughly equivalent to 4 megabytes under DVC. QW:195:286.TEC, QW:231:DV386.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q5: How can I upgrade my 80286 for best DESQview performance? A5: A 80286 can be upgraded with LIM EMS 4.0 expanded memory, a memory management chip, a plug-in 386 adapter, or a new 386 motherboard. The cost of all these ``upgrades'' is about the same. All of them have some negatives as well. (1) If you are unsure how much of your 286 conventional memory can disabled, getting LIM EMS 4.0 memory may not help you. For the record the listed 286 motherboards can be set to the minimum conventional memory as follows: AST Premium 286 0K IBM AT (6 Mhz) 256K COMPAQ 286 256K Most AT clones have a minimum of 512K (eighteen 256Kx1 DRAMs). The motherboard can only be disabled to 256K or lower if it supports 64K DRAMs, or if the system setup allows you to specify a value less than the actual amount of memory installed. If you have information on the minimum conventional memory of any other 286 motherboard, please forward it to the editor (see above). (2) If you get a memory management chip, an All-Charge Card or a SOTA POP, you will still not get the memory protection available with the 80386 (see Q4). (3) If you get a 386 Adapter to replace the 286 CPU chip, there has been ``some reported'' compatibility problems. Also, it will not run as fast the corresponding 386 motherboard of the same clock speed. (4) If you get a new 386 (or 386SX) motherboard, there is some hassle to get it installed and working but probably no more than with the 386 Adapter kits. QW:195:286.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q6: Does DESQview and DESQview/X support Super VGA or video coprocessors? A6: This issue has two answers: one for DVC and another for DVX. DESQview Classic Yes and no. When DVC is placing windows on the screen, it cannot use any of the 132 column modes provided by Super VGA cards. The smallest text font that DVC and DV386 provides to VGA+ users is 60 rows by 80 columns. Since video support is hardcoded into DVC and DV386, there is no way to write a video driver for Super VGA cards. Inside a window, any resolution can be used. The problem occurs when you switch away from the window and come back. DESQview will corrupt the window unless it has a resolution of 800x600x16 or less. Except in rare cases, DESQview cannot handle 256 colors at more than 320x200. A few cards will reportedly work at 1024x768x16 as well. Note that at these higher resolutions, ``Graphics Pages'' in Change A Program must be set to 4. Quarterdeck is currently researching solutions to this problem. DESQview/X All DESQview/X output is in graphics mode, so it benefits greatly from Super VGA. Performance is increased significantly with video coprocessor cards. However, DESQview/X currently supports only a limited set of VGA chip sets. DESQview/X 1.0 supports the following SVGA chipsets: Manufacturer Chipset Number Highest Resolution --------------------------------------------------------------- ATI 28800 800x600 Chips and Technologies 82C451 800x600 Chips and Technologies 82C452 1024x768 Genoa VGA ET3000, 6400 800x600 Western Digital Imaging PVGA1a, WD90C00,WD90C10, WD90C11, WD90C31* 800x600 Trident 8800, 8900 800x600 (256 colors unsupported) Tseng Labs ET3000 800x600 Tseng Labs ET4000 1024x768 Headland Technologies VEGA 800x600 Headland Technologies V7VGA 1024x768 * The WD90C31 can support the modes of the WD90C11. DVX will NOT detect its presence but you can put the values in using Setup / Advanced / Display / VGA Custom 800 600 256 305C and then save your changes. 8514/a and hardware compatibles and DGIS boards are also supported. These boards significantly increase video speed (see Q24). DESQview/X does not currently support the S3 chip, but may in the future. However, you *may* be able to use the VESA 800x600x16 mode by editing the DVX.CFG file and changing the ``screen'' line to ``screen 800x600:6ah'' You may also need to change the ``type VGA'' line to ``type VG8''. This is not guaranteed to work. The TIGA interface is not yet supported, but will be in a future release. However, the DGIS interface is supported. For reference, here is an incomplete list of video coprocessor cards and their compatibilities. If you know of any that are not in this list, please forward the information to bodoh@xraylith.wisc.edu. Model Chipset Manufacturer Driver Interface --------------------------------------------------------------------- Desktop AGA 1024 TI TIGA, application interface level drvr for 8514 ATI 8514/Ultra ATI 8514/A Relies on 8514 drvr Spectragraphics Squeegee TI DGIS National Volante AT1000 TI TIGA SOTA 340i TI DGIS, adapter interface compatible--8514 Appian Rendition II TI TIGA ADEX 8514/AT256 Western Dig. 8514/A Relies on 8514 drvrs Western Digital 8514/A W.D. 8514/A 8514 Hercules Graphics Station Card GB 1024+2 TI TIGA NEC Multisync Graphics Engine TI DGIS Nth Engine /150 Chips & Technology 8514 relies on 8514 HP Intelligent Graphics Controller 20 TI TIGA, DGIS Vermont Cobra Plus TI TIGA, adapter interface compatible--8514 Artist XJS-1024 TI relies on TIGA Rasterex Liberty 810AT TI TIGA, adapter interface compatible--8514 Most TIGA & DGIS have custom drivers for their supported software eg. WP, HG CAD QW:148:VGA.TEC, QW:256:XVIDEO.TEC, QW:208:XGA.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q7: Where can I get freeware and shareware DESQview programs? A7: There are quite a few DESQview repositories available, depending on what network access you have. BBS The official Quarterdeck BBS can be reached at (310) 314-3227. It supports 1200-9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity. SIMTEL20 files (see below) are available for downloading from Detroit Download Central (313) 885-3956. DDC has multiple lines which support 300/1200/2400/9600/14400 bps (103/ 212/ V22bis/ HST/ V32bis/ V42bis/ MNP). This is a subscription system with an average hourly cost of 17 cents. It is also accessable on Telenet via PC Pursuit and on Tymnet via StarLink outdial. Fidonet Many Fidonet nodes belong to DVNet, the DESQview File Distribution Network. It is coordinated by Peter Stern at 1:17/38. A monthly posting to the DESQview echo on Fidonet lists the nodes participating in DVNet. Internet (via anonymous ftp) WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL [192.88.110.20] Three directories on SIMTEL are of interest to DV/QEMM users: PD1:<MSDOS.DESQVIEW> Many DESQview programs, .DVPs, etc. PD1:<MSDOS.DV-X> DVX-specific programs, icons, etc. PD1:<MSDOS.QEMM> QEMM programs, information PD1:<MSDOS.QTRDECK> Information relating to all Quarterdeck products. The Quarterdeck White Pages are stored here as QW920327.ZIP. They are very useful for solving problems. Other directories may contain DESQview-aware (see Q3) programs. In each of the three directories, the file 00-INDEX.TXT contains a list of all the files available in that directory. OAK.OAKLAND.EDU [141.210.10.117] A SIMTEL20 mirror. The DESQview directory is /pub/msdos/desqview. This is the most up-to-date mirror of SIMTEL20. WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU [128.252.135.4] Another SIMTEL20 mirror. The DESQview directory is /mirrors/msdos/desqview. NIC.FUNET.FI [128.214.6.100], SRC.DOC.IC.AC.UK [146.169.3.7], RANA.CC.DEAKIN.OZ.AU [128.184.1.4], ARCHIE.AU [139.130.4.6], & NIC.SWITCH.CH [130.59.1.40] SIMTEL20 mirrors for non-North Americans HAYES.IMS.ALASKA.EDU [137.229.40.200] Contains some of the programs available on DVNet in the directory /dvnet. The file ``prog.dvn'' is a list of all the programs available on DVNet. The file ``dvnet.lst'' is a list of all the Fidonet BBSs that participate in DVNet. UUCP SIMTEL files can be requested via UUCP from UUNET's 1-900-GOT-SRCS. See UUNET file uunet!~/info/archive-help for details. Email-only If you do not have FTP access to SIMTEL20, files may be ordered by e-mail from LISTSERV@VM1.NODAK.EDU or LISTSERV@VM.ECS.RPI.EDU. If you are on BITNET: LISTSERV@NDSUVM1 or LISTSERV@RPIECS If your mailer knows domains: listserv@vm1.nodak.edu or listserv@vm.ecs.rpi.edu If your mailer wants bang paths: uunet!vm1.nodak.edu!listserv or uunet!vm.ecs.rpi.edu!listserv If you use bang paths, substitute your nearest neighbor which is also on the Internet for uunet in the examples above. Some examples are: ames, decvax, decwrl, harvard, hplabs, nosc, rutgers, sharkey, sun, ucbvax, ucsd, udel, uw-beaver, wuarchive. Send this command to the server to get its help file: GET PDGET HELP Sample command (which gets the catalog of MS-DOS files): /PDGET MAIL PD:<MSDOS.FILEDOCS>SIMLIST.ARC UUENCODE These commands should be sent as the body of a regular email message. Do not include a signature because it confuses the server. If you have xxdecode, you may wish to specify XXENCODE instead of UUENCODE to avoid character translation problems. To get a catalog of the DESQview files only, use /PDGET MAIL PD1:<MSDOS.DESQVIEW>00-INDEX.TXT UUENCODE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q8: I want to write software for DESQview and DVX. Where can I get the API? A8: There are two separate programming paths: DESQview API programming and X Windows programming. Programming under the DESQview API allows you to use all the multitasking features of DVC and DVX - process and task creation, interprocess communication and character window output. X programming is only available under DESQview/X. X Window programming allows you to write computer-independent graphics interfaces. You can combine DESQview API programming and X Window programming if you write small real-mode programs. Quarterdeck has ported only part of the API to protected-mode X programming. The DESQview API is built into every copy of DESQview and DESQview/X as INT 15h calls. A list of the documented and undocumented INT 15h calls is available for free in DVINT, a DESQview/QEMM-specific excerpt of the Interrupt List maintained by Ralf Brown. Also for free is DVGLUE, a DESQview 2.01 API for Turbo C. DVGLUE and DVINT make a good combination for freeware and shareware programmers who want to get into DESQview programming at a small cost. Recently, Quarterdeck has significantly reduced the prices for their API and associated tools. The tools include the API reference manual ($25), various language-specific libraries (C, Pascal, Dbase, etc., $100 each including the API manual), a panel designer for screen layout, and other tools (see Q19). Third party reference books are also available (see Q20). Although the X Windows interfaces are available in every copy of DESQview/X, the INT 15 and mailbox interface to it is not published and is not completely known yet. However, there is still an inexpensive option. DJGPP, an MSDOS 386 port of the GNU C compiler is available on the Internet. Quarterdeck has released DJGPP-compatible X libraries without documentation for free with GNU C. This free version is available on the Internet and on BBSs: The Batchelor Pad BBS The complete qddvx101.zip file, and the complete DJGPP 2.2.2 development environment are available via modem at 310-494-1024. login: qddvx password: gnuc This account has five hours per day, and can only download files from the Quarterdeck directory on the batpad. When the five hours are used up, you must wait until the next day. The login dumps you directly into the correct directory to find these files. The default protocol is ZModem MobyTurbo (DSZ), and speeds from 2400-14,400 bps V.32bis are supported. If you change the protocol, please set it back to ZModem when you are done. The Internet The file qddvx101.zip can be downloaded from these anonymous ftp sites: hpb.mcc.ac.uk /pub/djgpp du9ds4.fb9dv.uni-duisbugr.de /pub/gnu/gnuMSDOS/djgpp sun0.urz.uni-heidelberg.de /pub/msdos/simtel/djgpp utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp /ftpsync/djgcc/dj akiu.gw.tohoku.ac.jp /pub/msdos/djgpp/dj src.doc.ic.ac.uk /computing/systems/ibmpc/djgpp rigel.acs.oakland.edu /pub/msdos/djgpp ifs.kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp /DOS-EXTENDER/386/djgpp/mirror A special base-level DESQview/X X11 Starter Toolkit, for use with the DJGPP GNU C/C++ compiler only, includes disks containing the full X11 R4 programming libraries, the DESQview/X system library with Berkeley Socket Interface, sample programs, make files for GNU, the DESQview/X Roadmap documentation, and the GNU C/C++ compiler. The starter kit sells for $50. The complete DESQview/X X11 Toolkit, priced at $750, includes: X11 R4 programming libraries, the DESQview/X system library with Berkeley Socket Interface, sample programs, make files and library support for Microsoft C, Borland C++, Zortech C++, Rational Instant C, Watcom C/386, Metaware High C, and GNU C/C++ compilers, the DESQview/X Roadmap, O'Reilly X Reference and Programming Guides (Volumes 1, 2, 4, and 5), Rational Systems DOS/4GX DOS extender tools, Instant C development environment, Oxygen, and Quarterdeck's Developer Passport Support. There is also an a la carte version of the toolkit available. Contact Quarterdeck (see Q19) for prices. Quarterdeck's OSF/Motif (v. 1.1.5) Development Toolkit, priced at $150, includes: Motif Widget libraries, Motif Resource Management library, Motif User Interface Language (UIL) compiler, sample programs, O'Reilly Volume 6, Motif Programming Manual, the DESQview/X OSF/Motif Roadmap and the DESQview/X end user OSF/Motif Window Manager. The Motif libraries can be used to build applications with a standard look and feel. The prices above are Quarterdeck prices; the price on the street is usually a lot better. One source of API tools is the Programmer's Connection, at Programmer's Connection, Inc. 7249 Whipple Ave. NW North Canton, OH 44720-7143 1-800-336-1166 (US and Canada) (216) 494-8715 (International) (216) 494-5260 (FAX) QW:211:APIBRO.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q9: I've heard that DESQview does preemptive multitasking. What does that mean? A9: Let's say you have one toy (the 80x86 processor in our case) and 5 children (5 programs that you want to run under DESQview simultaneously). There are two ways that Dad (DESQview) can let each child play with the toy. (1) Dad gives the toy to one of the children, who plays with it until she gets bored. Then she returns the toy to Dad, who gives it to one of the other children. This repeats until all the children have played with the toy, and then Dad starts over with the first child. (2) Dad gives the toy to one of the children, and starts a timer. If the child gets bored with the toy before the timer expires, she gives it back to Dad. However, if she still holds the toy when the timer expires, Dad reminds her that good children must share, and takes it away from her. He then gives it to the next child and restarts the timer. When all the children have played with the toy, Dad returns it to the first child. She continues playing with it where she left off. Sometimes one of the children may want to take the toy apart. Since none of the other children wants to play with a disassembled toy, the child will request that Dad not take away the toy until the child says he can. In that way, the child can re-assemble the toy before any other child gets it. The first method is called ``non-preemptive'' and conversely, the second is called ``preemptive''. It is generally agreed that preemptive multitasking is much better because one program cannot accidently ``hog'' the CPU. One of the major technical differences between DESQview and Windows is that DESQview preemptively multitasks all programs, while Windows does non-preemptive multitasking of Windows applications. When a program running under DESQview calls a DOS or BIOS function, it effectively ``disassembled the toy''. DESQview recognizes this and temporarily suspends any other program that attempts to make a DOS or BIOS call until the current DOS or BIOS call ends (see Q10). DESQview-oblivious programs (see Q3) can act like selfish children when they are waiting for keyboard entry. Even though they aren't playing with the toy, they keep hold of it. Shareware and freeware programs are available for forcing these programs to share the toy (see Q24). QW:152:MULTI-T.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q10: Why do the other windows slow to a virtual halt when one window accesses the floppy disk? A10: Both DOS and the BIOS disk access functions are non-reentrant, i.e. they may not be called again while one call is in progress. DESQview thus handles both as ``serially reusable resources,'' and suspends a window making such a call until any current call completes. Since programs make many DOS calls other than disk I/O, they can become blocked while another window is accessing the disk even when they themselves are not trying to access the disk. The same suspension occurs when a program accesses the disk via BIOS calls, but only when some other window is also accessing the disk; thus, a non-disk DOS call can execute at the same time as a disk-related BIOS call. When the disk being accessed is a hard disk, the call completes so quickly that there is no obvious degradation in the performance of other windows. When accessing a floppy disk, however, the call can take multiple seconds to complete, during which time it is highly likely that other windows will be suspended for a noticeable length of time. To minimize the impact of copying or formatting, try using shareware programs such as DVCOPY, LTFORMAT and FDFORMAT (see Q7). QW:230:DVFLOPPY.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q11: Can Windows run under DESQview? A11: Yes, Windows can run under DESQview, but only in Real and Standard mode. Windows in Enhanced mode becomes an 80386 DPMI control program and there can only be one such control program at a time (see Q17). Under DESQview/X, Windows can be run in a small window, because DESQview/X can convert the Windows output into X requests. Page 143 of the DVX manual discusses how to run Windows under DVX. QW:170:WIN3.TEC, QW:242:WIN31.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q12: Can I make something like AUTOEXEC.BAT for DESQview, so that certain windows open every time I run DESQview? A12: Yes. In DESQview Classic there are basically two methods: (1) Use the ! method in the script language. (2) Use a batch file in the first (BD) window. Method (1) is more useful in turnkey applications - method (2) is better (i.e., more flexible) for general use. To use method 1, do something like this: copy con foo.dvt {Learn {F12} "!Startup"} ... {Finish} ^Z convscr t foo.dvt desqview.dvs (``...'' are your DV script commands to do what you want to do) To use Method 2, get hold of one of the many ``start a window from the command line'' utilities. One of these is RUN, part of the DVSI package available on SIMTEL20 and mirrors (see Q7). Then write a batch file that uses RUN to create the windows you need, and put that batch file in the Program field of BD-PIF.DVP. Then you can start up the windows just by hitting return twice when DV starts up (assuming BD is the first program on your open menu). This is what I do. Or, for total automation, you can make a startup script as above, consisting of OBD. Under DESQview/X, edit the file ``DVX.CFG'' which is in the \DVX directory. Add the name of the DVP (without the .DVP extension) to the CLIENT line. Or, use the SETUP program which will edit DVX.CFG for you. DESQview/X assumes that the DVP you specify in the CLIENT line is in the directory \DVX\DVPS. QW:153:AUTOSCRI.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q13: Can text and graphics be displayed at the same time with Hercules? A13: Yes, as long as 90x43 mode display mode is used. If the graphics bleeds through from the background, you can switch to 80x25 mode. However, there is no way to detect whether or not the Hercules card is currently in text or graphics mode if a program switches between these two modes by manipulating the registers of the card. In this case DESQview will not notice that the graphics mode has changed. Quarterdeck has put a utility DVHERC on the distribution disk that is intended to help users switch to the correct mode in such events. DVHERC is a TSR program. However DESQview can sometimes be very stubborn and will not recognize this change. In such cases it will again switch to the wrong mode as soon as one switches to a different window. QW:203:DVHERC.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q14: How do I use two monitors under DESQview? A14: You can use two monitors only in DVC and DV386. DVX does not support two monitors. DVC and DV386 will only control one of your monitors, and by default all programs will use the monitor that DESQview controls. There are a number of ways to make programs start up on the ``other'' monitor. Since you will usually want DESQview to control the color monitor (except perhaps in the case of a CGA), the following discussion assumes that DESQview is controlling the color monitor and not the monochrome monitor. First, you can use a batch file and include a ``MODE MONO'' statement to switch the program to the monochrome monitor. Second, you can use the ``initial mode'' field to specify the monitor on which the program will start (however, this setting is ignored unless you also set ``writes directly to screen'' to Y and ``virtualize'' to N). By setting the initial mode to 7, you force the program to use the monochrome monitor until it explicitly switches monitors. Note that DESQview tends to stop updating the monochrome screen while the program is in the background if the program ever switches to the color display (including starting on the color display with the first method above). The initial mode can also be set to 21 or 22 for Hercules Graphics mode. These modes only allow one page of mono graphics (see Q13). Mode 21 is Page 0 at address B000h, and Mode 22 is Page 1 at address B800h. Hence, Mode 22 is not available with two monitors (it conflicts with color video). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q15: What are Exceptions 12 and 13? A15: An exception 12 (or 13) is caused by the program you are running doing something that it is not allowed to do on a 80386 while in Virtual 8086 (V86) mode. Since QEMM is the 386 ``control program,'' it can only report the error caused by the user program. The main cause is operand wrapping past the last address in segment, 65,535 (FFFF in hex) Note that exceptions are only reported by QEMM, and are not caused by either QEMM or DESQview. They are caused by old programs that assume they are running on an 80286 or less; or by a program that ``crashed''. From the INTEL ``80386 Programmer's Reference Manual,'' PART III - COMPATIBILITY chapter 15, VIRTUAL 8086 MODE Section 15.6 DIFFERENCES FROM 8086 Stated ``reasons'' 6, 7 & 8 (pages 15-10 & 15-11) Quoting from the INTEL manual: 15.6 DIFFERENCES FROM 8086 In general, V86 mode will correctly execute software designed for the 8086, 8088, 80186 and 80188. Following is a list of the minor differences between 8086 execution on the 80386 and on an 8086. ... (only those causing exception 12 or 13 are listed) 6. Redundant prefixes. The 80386 sets a limit of 15 bytes on instruction length. The only way to violate this limit is by putting redundant prefixes before an instruction. Exception 13 occurs if the limit on instruction length is violated. The 8086/8088 has no instruction limit. 7. Operand crossing offset 0 or 65,535. On the 8086, an attempt to access a memory operand that crosses offset 65,535 (e.g., MOV a word to offset 65,535) or offset 0 (e.g., PUSH a word when SP = 1) causes the offset to wrap around modulo 65,535. The 80386 raises an exception in these cases - exception 13 if the data segment (i.e., if CS, DS, ES, FS, or GS is being used to address the segment), exception 12 if the segment is a stack segment (i.e., if SS is being used.) 8. Sequential execution across offset 65,535. On the 8086, if sequence execution of instructions proceeds past offset 65,535, the processor fetches the next instruction byte from offset 0 of the same segment. On the 80386, the processor raises exception 13 in such a case. In order to fix an Exception 13, you can try to load the program causing it into a different area of memory. To do this, try increasing your FILES or BUFFERS, or loading some TSRs low rather than high, etc. However, the best solution is to contact the programmer. Another possible solution is to increase the amount of memory specified in Change A Program. QW:142:EXCEPT13.TEC, QW:232:EX13FLOW.TEC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q16: What determines the amount of conventional memory that DESQview claims for itself and takes away from programs?