home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Share Gallery 1
/
share_gal_1.zip
/
share_gal_1
/
UT
/
UT081.ZIP
/
INFOSYS.EXE
/
lha
/
INFOSYS.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1990-05-12
|
31KB
|
727 lines
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
INTRODUCTION
InfoSys is a system information and benchmark utility. Almost any
type of information you might require about a computer running under
DOS can be displayed by InfoSys. InfoSys is menu driven and each menu
selection is documented in the help system built into InfoSys.
This copy of InfoSys is released as shareware which is a concept
where you are allowed to try the software for a reasonable period of
time before you decide whether or not to purchase the software.
InfoSys can be used by both novice and advanced computer users and
can be a great help to technicians setting up or testing a system. In
many cases you can avoid opening a computer case to check for memory,
drives, etc; simply by running this program.
INFOSYS INSTALLATION
InfoSys is not copy protected and is stored on the distribution
disk in an archive format to conserve disk space. I would suggest that
you use DISKCOPY to make a backup copy of the distribution disk and
then place the distribution disk in a secure location. Please remember
to place a write protect tab on the distribution disk if one is not
there and also on the backup copy as well.
See the READ.ME file on the distribution disk for information
regarding the correct procedure and software to be used to extract
the files from their archive storage file.
InfoSys requires an environment variable to be added to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file, if you locate INFOSYS.SCR in a different directory
than INFOSYS.EXE is stored in.
The correct syntax for the environment variable is:
SET INFOSYS=drive:\directory
You must replace drive: with the drive letter and colon to indicate
which drive the INFOSYS.SCR file is stored on and you must replace
\directory with the complete path. An example would be:
SET INFOSYS=C:\INFOSYS
This example would instruct InfoSys to look for the file
INFOSYS.SCR in the \INFOSYS directory on drive C. Please note there are
no spaces between the word INFOSYS and the equal (=) sign.
To be able to run InfoSys from any subdirectory the above variable
should be placed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file AND the directory where
INFOSYS.EXE is located should be added to your PATH statement.
INFOSYS REQUIREMENTS
InfoSys was developed and tested under DOS 3.3 and DOS 4.01 and
found to operate properly. The software detects what type of display
is currently in use and adjusts itself to your system's configuration.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
InfoSys requires a MINIMUM of 175k of memory to load and start
execution. Some portions of the program require as much as 300k of
memory to function.
USING THE INFOSYS MENU SYSTEM
Since InfoSys has a thorough help system built in, there is no
reason to cover all of the specific operations at this point in the
documentation. What is important is how to use menu system built into
InfoSys so you can get started using InfoSys.
Once InfoSys has been loaded you will see a bar menu at the top of
the screen. Each menu selection can be selected by pressing the Alt
(Alternate) key and the FIRST letter of the menu item.
For example, to select the option titled System, you would press
the Alt-S key combination. The only exception to this is the Exit
selection. To exit InfoSys you would press Alt-E and the ENTER key.
Once an option has been selected from the main menu bar a pull down
menu will appear. To select an option from a pull down menu simply
press the first letter of the option desired. While a pull down menu is
displayed you may use the arrow keys to move the scroll bar up and down
the pull down menu. The scroll bar will ONLY stop on menu selections
which are available. When a pull down menu is displayed you may also
use the right and left arrow keys to view the other pull down menus.
The menu system is dynamic in nature and some options are only
available on certain processors. Pressing the ENTER key or the ESCape
key while a pull down menu is displayed will return you to the main
menu bar.
The help system will not be active UNLESS you have defined the
INFOSYS= environment variable described above OR you copy INFOSYS.EXE
and INFOSYS.SCR to the same directory.
REGISTERING YOUR COPY OF INFOSYS
Registration is REQUIRED if you continue to use this software after
a reasonable trial period and there are several options available. The
first is a PERSONAL registration. This allows you to run InfoSys on one
computer at a time. A PERSONAL registration DOES NOT allow you to run
InfoSys on a network server or under any multi-user operating system!
A COMMERCIAL registration is available for corporate, commercial or
governmental use where more than one person might run InfoSys at one
time. This registration includes a site license for unlimited use at
one location and a network server license for use on multiple networks
at one location. A COMMERCIAL registration also licenses you to freely
distribute copies of InfoSys to your customers as courtesy.
An EDUCATIONAL registration is also available. To qualify for this
you must attach the enclosed order form to your school's purchase order
or letterhead. Purchase orders are accepted from schools provided they
clearly indicate NET 10 DAY terms. An EDUCATIONAL registration includes
distribution rights to give copies to faculty, staff and students.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
All registrations include updates for a period of one year from the
date of purchase and technical support as required. After one year,
updates can be purchased for an update fee equal to thirty percent of
the license fee in effect.
To obtain an update during the one year period following your
purchase you must send a check or money order for five ($5) dollars to
the author to cover shipping and handling costs. If you are interested
in registering this program please refer to the REGISTER.DOC file on
the shareware distribution disk.
REPORTING A SOFTWARE PROBLEM
In the event that discover a problem, the author would be more than
a little interested in hearing about it. After you have read the
documentation to be sure you are not doing something wrong, please fill
out and return the enclosed Problem Report Form. This should be done by
U.S. mail.
Please fill out the form completely so the author can understand
what the problem is. If possible include screen dumps of the problem
you have found. If you have any unusual hardware installed please be
sure to include this information as well.
SOFTWARE WARRANTY
This software has been thoroughly tested and found to be error
free. The author has taken all reasonable steps to be certain that this
software will perform as indicated. However it is impossible for any
author to test software on every computer in existence today. The
author and his distributors cannot be held responsible for any damage,
real or otherwise that occurs from the use of this software.
For a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase of one
of the licenses specified above the author will attempt to fix any
problems you might discover. If this is not possible the author will
refund your purchase price.
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
INFOSYS is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help you.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an
ASP member, but does not provide technical support for member's
products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue,
Washington 98006 or send a CompuServe message via easyplex to ASP
Ombudsman 70007,3536.
BENEFITS OBTAINED BY REGISTERING THIS SHAREWARE PROGRAM
1) You receive a registered copy of this software which does not
contain any shareware notices. If an update has been released
you will receive the latest version of the software.
2) You receive technical support from the author. If you have
access to CompuServe or one of the major communications networks
(Bitnet, InterNet, UseNet, ArpaNet, etc;) you can contact the
author via EMAIL which saves considerable time over waiting for
the mail. The EMAIL address is only given to REGISTERED owners
of this software.
3) You receive notice of future updates and free updates for one
year. However you must send a check or money order for five ($5)
dollars to the author to cover shipping and handling costs when
ordering an update.
4) You receive confidentiality. Your name is never sold to a
mailing list company and the author will not flood your mailbox
with mailings. You will only receive update notices.
INFOSYS MENU OPTIONS
The next portion of this documentation file deals with the InfoSys
menu selections by giving a brief explanation of each selection and
when required explaining certain functions. If you are interested
please read on. If not, that's ok! At this point you have the basic
knowledge required to run InfoSys.
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
The line you see above is the main menu bar. The first letter of
each selection will be a different color from the rest of the letters
in each selection. You activate a pull down menu by pressing and
holding the Alternate key and pressing the first letter of the menu you
like to view. Pressing ALT and P would display:
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+--------------------------+
| Test Clock Speed |
| Cpustone Processor Test |
| Dhrystone Benchmark Test |
+--------------------------+
| Help |
+--------------------------+
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
This is the pull down menu for the Processor selection. Four
options are available on this menu.
a) Test Clock Speed - This test only runs on 80286, 80386 and 80486
based systems. Two tests are run, one in real DOS mode and one
in protected mode to determine the clock speed which will be
reported in MHz.
b) Cpustone Processor Test - This is an eleven part test which
gives your system a thorough workout. The first test deal with
floating point calculations. Thousands of floating point math
calculations are run and the accuracy of each is checked. A
cumulative accuracy average is maintained to check the overall
results of the floating point calculations.
The second test deals with transcendentals and directly relates
to a system's performance running graphics software. Thousands
of calculations are run and the accuracy of each is checked.
The third test deals with integers. Thousands of integer math
calculations are run and the accuracy of each is checked.
The next test also deals with integers. A 6 x 6 x 6 matrice is
multiplied. This test is repeated several hundred times and the
results are checked for accuracy.
The next three tests deal with block moves of data. The first
tests move 4k blocks of data, the second 8k blocks of data and
the third tests moves 16k blocks of data. This tests the speed
of the data bus, the memory access speed and how well a system's
processor can move data between arrays and from one area of
memory to another. After each block move both the source block
and the destination block are checked for accuracy.
The next test deals with single precision math and follows the
protocol established above for integer math tests.
The next test deals with string manipulations. Many different
operations are performed and the strings are constantly checked
for any changes.
The next test deals with various types of subroutine calls and
stack operations and after each operation accuracy checks are
made to detect and changes or errors.
The final test deals with memory reads and writes. This is a
speed test to see how fast a pre-determined area of memory can
be read from and written to. After each sequence of tests the
results are checked for accuracy.
As you might imagine from reading the above description this test
takes a considerable amount of time. It can take from three to twenty
minutes depending upon processor type, clock speed and whether or not a
numeric processor is present.
When you select this test from the menu you are reminded about how
long this test can take and given the chance to return to the main menu
before the test starts.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
The results obtained from this test are not related to any other
benchmark test available today. The CPUSTONE rating is designed to
allow you to compare the results between different computers after
running this test. If you take the time to fill out the survey form and
return it to the author you will receive a copy of the final survey
once it has been completed.
c) Dhrystone Benchmark Test - This is the standard Dhrystone II
benchmark test. It was compiled using version 5.1 of Microsoft's
optimizing C compiler with the /Ox command line switch. While
not as comprehensive as Cpustone, it is included for those who
desire a more familiar benchmark test.
d) Help - This displays the help screens for the Processor menu.
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+-------------+
| Stress Test |
+-------------|
| Help |
+-------------+
This is the pull down menu for the Co-Processor selection.
Depending on whether a numeric co-processor is detected, the Stress
Test option may or may not be enabled.
a) Stress Test - If enabled and selected, specific tests for the
co-processor installed will be run. These tests detect
accuracy errors and if found, they will be reported.
b) Help - Displays the help screen for the Stress test option.
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+--------------------+
| Display Speed Test |
+--------------------+
| Help |
+--------------------+
This is the pull down menu for the Video selection.
a) Display Speed Test - This is actually two tests which display
independent results and an average result. A pre-determined
number of characters are displayed and the time required is
computed. Both tests are written in assembler and the raw
display speed of the monitor/display combination are tested.
b) Help - This displays the help menu for the display test.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+-------------------------+
| Configuration |
+-------------------------+
| Display Environment |
+-------------------------+
| Memory Speed |
+-------------------------+
| POST 'beep' error codes |
| IBM's major error codes |
+-------------------------+
| Help |
+-------------------------+
This is the pull down menu for the System selection. Six different
options are available on this menu.
a) Configuration - This option displays over thirty one different
items which are important when setting up or upgrading a system.
As you can see from the sample display below, many different
areas are covered including base memory, expansion memory, I/O
cards, video information and much more.
One item which may need explanation are the lines which read
COM1 and COM2. If the program detects a carrier on either COM
port or if a BUS mouse is in use the program will report that
COM port as being in use.
Another item which should be explained are the lines Mouse
detected and Mouse buttons. When a serial mouse is in use the
program WILL NOT recognize the mouse unless the mouse driver has
been loaded. A BUS mouse will be detected as explained above.
Main Processor: 80386 Display card: 512k VGA
Numeric Co-Processor: 80387 Monitor: Color
Conventional memory: 640k Rows: 25
Total Extended memory: 14720k Screen Width: 80
Total Expanded memory: 0k Screen mode: 3
Free Expanded memory: 0k Active page: 0
EMS driver version: N/A DOS version: 3.30
Serial port(s): 8 Print spooler: Installed
Parallel port(s): 2 DOS verify: On
Game port(s): 1 File sharing: Active
Mouse detected: Yes BIOS date: 04/01/90
Mouse buttons: 3 Floppy drives: 4
COM1 in use: Yes Active drive: D
COM2 in use: No Drive label: COMPILER
DoubleDOS active: No Drive type: Fixed disk
DESQview active: Yes Network drive: Yes
I believe the rest of the display is self-explanatory. However if
you have any questions do not hesitate to contact the author.
b) Display environment - This option will display up to the first
fourteen strings active on the system. These are strings like
PATH=C:\; etc; which are usually set in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
c) Memory speed - This is a chart of the proper speed memory chips
for many of the processors INTEL produces. The speeds are the
ones recommended by INTEL in their technical publications. This
is included for technical reference should you require it.
d) POST 'beep' error codes - This displays the meanings of the
'beep' codes from several BIOS manufacturers including IBM.
e) IBM's major error codes - This displays the meanings of some of
the IBM error codes displayed during the power on self test
(POST) if there is a problem.
Note - It would be a good idea to make screen dumps of the
information displayed by the last two options in case you
ever need them!
f) Help - Displays the help screen for this menu selection.
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+--------------------------+
| InfoSys Help |
+--------------------------+
| License Information |
+--------------------------+
| Overlay Information |
+--------------------------+
| DOS Extender Information |
+--------------------------+
| Technical Support |
+--------------------------+
This is the Help selection on the main menu. Most of these are
self-explanatory and do not need to be covered here. Note that Overlay
Information and DOS Extender Information are only active on special
version of InfoSys, and the shareware program will not accept an O or a
D as valid menu items. The technical support feature is nice and I urge
you to view it at least once when you use InfoSys.
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+----------+
Note: This display will be | A: |
updated in a future | B: |
release to include | C: |
all drives present +----------+
| Database |
+----------+
| Help |
+----------+
This above display is the Disk pull down menu selection.
a) A: - Displays information about drive A if a disk is in the
drive.
b) B: - Displays information about drive B if a disk is in the
drive.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
a) C: - Displays information about drive C if present.
d) Database - This is a database of different hard drives and
contains information you might need to know such as heads,
tracks, etc;
e) Help - This is the help menu for the Disk selection.
Processor Co-Processor Video System Help Disk Utilities Exit
+------------------+
| Adding Machine |
+------------------+
| DOS Shell |
+------------------+
| System Shut Down |
+------------------+
| WipeIt |
+------------------+
| Help |
+------------------+
The above is the pull down menu for the Utilities selection.
a) Adding Machine - This is a nice screen calculator which can
handle many different types of calculations. It happens to be
the same calculator used in TSRCALC, a terminate and stay
resident program I have released.
b) DOS shell - This allows you to SHELL to DOS. Note that you will
only have about 414k of free memory on a 640k system while in
the SHELL. I am working on increasing the memory available and
hope to have a greater amount of memory in a future version.
c) System shut down - This option brings processing to a halt
requiring a COLD boot or system shutdown. Due to the extreme
nature of this command you will be prompted to be sure this is
what you really want to do before it actually takes place.
d) WipeIt - This is a secure file erasure utility. I included it
for those times when you are setting up a computer and have to
install software on a temporary basis while you are working on
the system. After you finish working you need to remove the
software previously installed. WipeIt will erase it in a manner
which prevents it from ever being recovered.
e) Help - Displays the help menu for the Utility option.
The final bar menu command is EXIT. This allows you to return to
the operating system.
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
PROBLEM REPORT FORM
Please fill out this form completely and return it to the author.
Certain questions require you to fill in answers and others require you
to circle an answer.
Program: ______________________ Version: ___________________
Date: _________________________ Phone: _____________________
DOS version: __________________ DOS: PC - MS - 386MOS
EMAIL address: _____________________________________________________
Processor: 8086 80286 80386SX 80386DX 80486 NEC V20 NEC V30
Co-Processor: None 8087 80287 80387SX 80387 Weitek 1167 3167 4167
Floppy 1: 360k 720k 1.2m 1.4m Floppy 2: 360k 720k 1.2m 1.4m
Hard disk manufacturer:________________________________________
Hard disk capacity:____________________________________________
Disk controller: XT type AT type Interface: RLL MFM SCSI ESDI IDE
Please describe the problem in as much detail as possible. If possible
please include screen dumps commented to show the problem and any error
messages DOS or the program may have displayed.
Please return this form to the author. I will evaluate and attempt to
correct the error as soon as possible. If I require more information I
will contact you by phone or by EMAIL.
Richard Levey
151-28 22nd Avenue
Whitestone, New York 11357
InfoSys (tm) System Information Utility Documentation
Copyright 1990 - All Rights Are Reserved
INFOSYS SYSTEM PERFORMANCE SURVEY FORM
If you would like to participate in the survey please fill out this
form. Certain questions require you to fill in answers and others
require you to circle an answer. The author will see to it that you
receive a copy of the completed survey.
Name: ______________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________
Date: _________________________ Phone: _____________________
DOS version: __________________ DOS: PC - MS - 386MOS
EMAIL address: _____________________________________________________
Processor: 8086 80286 80386SX 80386DX 80486 NEC V20 NEC V30
Co-Processor: None 8087 80287 80387SX 80387 Weitek 1167 3167 4167
System or motherboard manufacturer:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
CPUSTONE RATING: ___________________________________________________
DHRYSTONE RATING: __________________________________________________
Please return this form to the address indicated below. Your phone
number and EMAIL address are optional and will not be published. I ask
for them in case I have a question about the survey.
Richard Levey
151-28 22nd Avenue
Whitestone, New York 11357