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This text file contains both the Windows Magazine CD FAQ and the
Wintune 2.0 FAQ. By the time you read this, the information in
this file will be a month or more out of date. You can download
the latest version from our forums on Compuserve or America
Online, or you can send an e-mail message to wmcdfaq@dnai.com and
the latest version of this file will be sent back automatically.
*** The Windows Magazine CD FAQ ***
Frequently Asked Questions
Windows Magazine CD
wmcd-faq.txt
Version 1.14, 4/4/95
***
PURCHASE: Where can I get a copy of the CD-ROM?
The quarterly Windows Magazine CD (formerly Windows Magazine
Extra CD) is available at many of the same fine retail
establishments that sell Windows Magazine. You can also order a
four-CD subscription ($39.95) by calling 800-255-8100. We expect
to ship the second CD in June.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT: How do I get technical support?
Due to the low cost of the CD-ROM, we cannot provide one-on-one
technical support via e-mail, telephone, or mail.
A combination FAQ for the WinMag CD and Wintune 2.0 is available
by Internet e-mail answerback. Send a message to wmcdfaq@dnai.com
and the latest version will be sent back automatically. Note that
the system will send only one copy per day to the same e-mail
address.
We currently provide direct technical support only through our
forums on CompuServe (G WINMAG, message section 14) and America
Online (keyword WinMag, then choose Message Exchange, then look
in the folder CD_TIPS). Please read through this FAQ completely
and browse messages already in the folder *before* posting there.
To access Compuserve or AOL, install the software from the CD
(click on the Compuserve or America Online icon in Demonstration
Software help file). You will need a credit card number to log
on.
***
ERROR: "Cannot Run Program: No application is associated with
this file" when trying to open STARTUP.HLP, SHAREWAR.HLP,
TIPS.HLP or WINMAG94.HLP
- or -
GENERAL: Notepad or Write display garbled nonsense and control
characters
Windows has lost the association between the .HLP extension and
Windows Help. To fix the problem, open the File Manager and
select startup.hlp (or any file with the .hlp extension). Choose
Associate from the File menu, press Tab to move into the
Associate With box, replace whatever is there currently with
"winhelp.exe", and click OK.
ERROR: "The database could not be initialized. PageKeeper will
exit."
If you don't let Pagekeeper modify your configuration files, you
need to add the following lines to the end of WIN.INI:
[PageKeeper]
IniFilePath=c:\pagekeep
(If you didn't install PageKeeper in c:\pagekeep, replace it with
the proper path.)
ERROR: "Routine not found"
If you get a "routine not found" message, check the properties
for the Program Manager icon(s) you created for this CD's Windows
Help (.hlp) files, and make sure the working directory points to
the root directory of the CD-ROM.
ERROR: "FileMaker Pro requires a newer version of CLARIS.DLL.
Please reinstall the FileMaker Pro software."
The "All the Products" database uses the FileMaker Pro runtime,
which will produce this error message if you try to run it on a
PC with FileMaker already installed. To fix the problem, edit the
program item properties for "All the Products" (select the icon
and press Alt-Enter) and change the Command Line entry to
"products.fm".
***
GENERAL: can't print
Most programs print by loading an entire file into memory and
printing. Windows Help is unusual in that it reads from the disk
(or CD-ROM) as it prints. If your CD-ROM driver shares IRQ7 with
the printer port, the result is that you can't print out .HLP
files from a CD-ROM.
The best fix we currently know of is to open the Control Panel,
double-click on Printers, click the Connect button, and check the
"Fast Printing Direct To Port" check box. Alternatively, you can
copy the .HLP file to your hard disk and print from that copy.
SCREENCAM DEMOS: No sound
Try turning up the volume using the slider on the ScreenCam tool
palette. Sometimes ScreenCam sets it so low that it's inaudible.
We've found that some sound boards will not play ScreenCam sound
you start TIPS.HLP with a program item whose working directory
doesn't point to the TIPS.HLP file. The fix is the same as for
"ERROR: Routine Not Found" above.
The Ensoniq Soundscape Wavetable Sound Card may need new drivers
before the sound will work with ScreenCam.
***
Wintune is a registered trademark of CMP Publications, Inc.
***********************************************************
*** The Wintune 2.0 FAQ ***
Frequently Asked Questions
Wintune 2.0
wt20-faq.txt
Version 3.00, 4/4/95
Starting with version 3.00, the Wintune FAQ incorporates most of
the information that was previously found in Wintune's
README.TXT.
Wintune is a registered trademark of CMP Publications, Inc.
***
Wintune 2.0 is available for download from CompuServe (G WINMAG,
library 4), America Online (keyword WinMag), or by ftp
(ftp.std.com, directory \pub\winmag). You can also find it
elsewhere, but you'll always find the latest version at these
officially-supported sites.
Wintune is also available commercially as part of the Windows
Magazine CD (formerly Windows Magazine Extra), which is available
at many of the same fine retail establishments that sell Windows
Magazine. You can also order a yearly subscription (4 CDs for
$39.95) by calling 800-255-8100.
Due to the low cost of the Windows Extra CD-ROM and the freeware
distribution of Wintune 2.0, we cannot provide one-on-one
technical support for either product via e-mail, telephone, or
mail.
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) file covering both products is
available by Internet e-mail answerback. Send a message to
wmcdfaq@dnai.com and the latest version will be sent back
automatically. Note that the system will send only one copy per
day to the same e-mail address.
We currently provide direct technical support only through our
forums on CompuServe (G WINMAG, message section 13) and America
Online (keyword WinMag, then choose Message Exchange, then look
in the folder Wintune v2.0). Please read through this FAQ
completely and browse messages already in the folder *before*
posting there.
If you do post in one of the WinMag forums, please tell us what
versions of DOS and Windows you're using, and tell us exactly
what tips Wintune is giving you. (If you tell us, "Wintune says I
have a slow disk," we don't know if you're getting "Improve
Cached Disk Performance," "Improve Hard Disk Performance," or
"Upgrade your hard disk."
Also, please provide detailed information that will help diagnose
the problem:
- For CPU and RAM questions, that means brand and model of the
PC; clock speed and model of the CPU (particularly if you're
using a clone CPU from AMD, Cyrix, IBM, or NexGen); L2 cache
size; amount of RAM; and the contents of Wintune's Details/All
window.
- For video questions, that means brand, model, and bus type of
the video board; driver revision number (if known); and the
contents of Wintune's Details/Video window.
- For disk questions, that means brand and model of the hard
drive; brand, model, and bus type of the IDE or SCSI adapter; and
the contents of Wintune's Details/Disk window. If you're using
the /c option (discussed below), please upload two copies of
Details/Disk, one with the option and one without.
***
If you need help setting up Wintune, search for the word SETUP.
If you have encountered an error message, search for the word
ERROR.
If you've run Wintune and you have a performance-related
question, search for the word PERFORMANCE.
If you are looking for general advice, search for the word
GENERAL.
***
DO YOU HAVE THE LATEST UPDATE? DO YOU NEED IT?
The version of Wintune on this CD is update #2.
Update #1 was posted 12/9/94 and fixed an error on systems with
more than 32MB RAM that caused DIVIDE-BY-ZERO or OVERFLOW errors
*after* all tests were complete. Update #2 was posted 12/15/94
and fixed an error on certain systems with less than 8MB RAM
(usually 4MB systems) which caused Windows to lock up during the
memory test.
Update #3 should be available by the time you read this. It will
fix additional problems, notably GPFs on some systems with
Enhanced IDE drives, Western Digital's Drive Rocket, and Ontrack
Disk Manager, and problems detecting the FPU and clock speed with
some non-Intel 486 clone CPUs.
You do not need to download the whole WT20.ZIP file to upgrade to
update #3. Simply download the WTUPD3.ZIP update and use it to
upgrade the version you installed from this CD. Be sure to
download the latest FAQ at the same time.
***
DOWNLOAD AND SETUP:
SETUP: System Requirements
Wintune 2.0 requires Windows 3.1 or higher and 4MB of RAM. It
needs 5MB of free disk space during installation, but afterwards
it takes up only about 1.75MB. It was designed for (and tested
on) 386, 486, and Pentium class Intel-based computers. It will
run only in 386 Enhanced Mode, thus will not work on a 286.
Wintune will run, but will not issue performance tuning tips, on
OS/2 2.1 and 3.0, Windows NT 3.1 and 3.5, and the Windows 95
beta. On all these systems, manual disk cache setting (using the
/c command-line switch discussed below and in Wintune's online
help) is necessary. See specific instructions for NT and OS/2
below.
If you are installing over a beta version of Wintune 2.0, see
"SETUP: Upgrading from beta version" below.
SETUP: NT users
Since NT has a dynamic cache, our current test can never be
completely accurate, but as a practical matter we're getting good
results on both NT 3.1 and 3.5 with a manually set cache size of
4MB. This appears to approximately match the performance of NT's
dynamic cache and the built-in Wi16 emulation subsystem.
SETUP: OS/2 users
You should manually set Wintune's cache size to the same size as
that set in the DISKCACHE line in CONFIG.SYS (for FAT drives) or
to that set with CACHE= in the IFS=HPFS.IFS line of CONFIG.SYS.
For instance, if you are using OS/2 with a FAT drive, and
DISKCACHE = 1024,L,W set:
/C1024
If you are running HPFS and IFS=C:\OS2\HPFS.IFS /CACHE:512 ...:
/C512
SETUP: Setup fails
If the setup.exe utility fails, another application may be
interfering. Try this: exit Windows, enter WIN at the DOS prompt,
and hold down the Shift key until you see the desktop. This
aborts any automatic startup programs, such as screen savers. Now
try running setup.exe again.
SETUP: Windows not installed on drive C:
Wintune won't set up properly if Windows isn't installed on C: We
tested the Wintune setup on partitions other than C:, and it
works--but there may be problems installing if Windows itself is
located on a partition or disk other than C:. If that happens,
you can still install manually.
SETUP: Manual Installation
If Wintune's setup.exe won't run, try to install the utility
manually. After extracting WT20.ZIP into a scratch directory,
exit Windows and use the following DOS commands to copy them
where they belong. If you want to install into a directory other
than c:\wt20, or Windows isn't installed in c:\windows, edit the
commands accordingly. (Note that you can copy the commands from
this file and paste them into a batch file, thus avoiding a lot
of command-line tedium.)
expand cmdialog.vb_ c:\windows\system\cmdialog.vbx
expand getinfo.dl_ c:\wt20\getinfo.dll
expand gsw.ex_ c:\windows\system\gsw.exe
expand gswdll.dl_ c:\windows\system\gswdll.dll
expand hell16c.dl_ c:\wt20\hell16c.dll
copy readme.txt c:\wt20\readme.txt
expand ssidxtab.vb_ c:\windows\system\ssidxtab.vbx
expand tipadw16.dl_ c:\wt20\tipadw16.dll
expand vbrun300.dl_ c:\windows\system\vbrun300.dll
expand ver.dl_ c:\windows\system\ver.dll
expand wintune.tr_ c:\wt20\wintune.trf
expand wt20.ex_ c:\wt20\wt20.exe
expand wtfaq.hl_ c:\wt20\wtfaq.hlp
expand wtgraph.vb_ c:\windows\system\wtgraph.vbx
expand wthelp.hl_ c:\wt20\wthelp.hlp
expand wtss3d.vb_ c:\windows\system\wtss3d.vbx
expand wtss3d2.vb_ c:\windows\system\wtss3d2.vbx
expand wttip.hl_ c:\wt20\wttip.hlp
expand wtest.hl_ c:\wt20\wtest.hlp
If expand.exe isn't in your DOS directory, you can copy it from
the DOS installation diskettes to your DOS directory using File
Manager or this DOS command:
copy a:\expand.exe c:\dos
Once you've expanded all files to the correct directories,
restart Windows. From Program Manager, select File/New, Program
Group, and type in "Wintune 2.0" to create the program group.
Then select File/New, Program Item, and use the Browse button to
select WT20.EXE from your WT20 directory to create a Wintune 2.0
program item. Repeat this process to create program items for the
three .HLP files and README.TXT. Wintune is then installed just
as if you'd been able to run Setup.
SETUP: Upgrading from beta version
If you have a beta version of WINTUNE 2.0, please delete it and
all related files. In particular, you must delete:
\WT20\*.TRF
\WT20\HELL16C.DLL
\WT20\GETINFO.DLL
\WT20\TIPADW16.DLL
\WINDOWS\WT20.INI
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WT*.VBX
Also delete the Wintune icons and WT20 group from Program
Manager. Then exit and restart Windows before running WINTUNE
setup.
SETUP (PREFERENCES): Expert mode
You can switch Wintune into Expert mode using the radio button on
the General tab of the Edit/Preferences dialog. This adds a Load
Saved Test as Current to the File menu so you can look at saved
test details; adds a Full Tips command to the Help menu so you
can browse tips that are not pertinent to your configuration; and
eliminates some system messages, like the warnings you get when
other applications are running or you exit Wintune without having
saved the test results in a database.
SETUP (STARTUP SWITCHES): Automatically loading the last saved
test as current with /L
If you wish, you can have Wintune automatically load the most
recent test in the default .TRF file (normally WINTUNE.TRF)
automatically each time Wintune loads. To do so, edit the command
line (click on the WT20.EXE icon in Program Manager, select
File/Properties) and append /L (preceded by a space) after any
other switches:
wt20.exe /l
SETUP (STARTUP SWITCHES): Setting cache size manually with /C
If you have an IDE or SCSI adapter with a hardware cache, you
should use the /c switch to set Wintune's cached disk performance
test file size manually. For example, if there's 128K on the
adapter, you'd start Wintune with:
wt20 /c128
***
ERROR MESSAGES:
ERROR: Unable to load WTSETUP.EXE
If you get this message, the automatic setup won't work. Follow
the instructions in SETUP: Manual Installation above.
ERROR: One or more Visual Basic applications are running. Please
close those applications, then choose OK to continue.
Installing Wintune updates some Visual Basic components. Since
this can't occur while a VB program is running (executables can't
be overwritten while in use), you have to shut down all VB apps
before running setup.
ERROR: VBX File Out Of Date
If you get a message that a .VBX file is out of date, it's likely
that a misbehaving program has placed an out-of-date version of
the .VBX file in your WINDOWS directory, rather than in the
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory where VBX files belong. Since Windows
searches the \WINDOWS directory first, it will use an out of date
file rather than a newer, correctly installed in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.
To correct this problem, back up the \WINDOWS and \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directories. Then check your WINDOWS directory for the existence
of .VBX files. If you find one, copy it from the WINDOWS
directory to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, *unless* there's a
newer file of the same name in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
Do *not* copy a VBX FILE from WINDOWS to WINDOWS\SYSTEM if the
.VBX file in WINDOWS is older than the .VBX file in
WINDOWS\SYSTEM!
When you're done, delete all .VBX file from the WINDOWS
directory, restart Windows, and run Wintune again.
ERROR: Cannot Create Redraw File
This message means you are short on both memory and disk space.
Wintune's user interface was built with Visual Basic 3.0, and
uses VB's auto- redraw feature. This requires opening a redraw
file that contains copies of the bitmaps used in the user
interface, so that we can quickly restore the display when you
move a window or take other actions that require redraw activity.
When Wintune can't find enough space to create the redraw file,
it can't run. Try freeing up some space on your hard disk.
ERROR: Invalid Property Value
Wintune (and Windows itself) requires certain fonts in order to
run. Do not delete the following fonts:
Arial (TrueType)
Arial Bold (TrueType)
Arial Bold Italic (TrueType)
Arial Italic (TrueType)
Courier 10,12,15 (VGA res)
Courier New (TrueType)
Courier New Bold (TrueType)
Courier New Bold Italic (TrueType)
Courier New Italic (TrueType)
Modern (Plotter)
MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 (VGA res)
MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 (VGA res)
Roman (Plotter)
Script (Plotter)
small fonts (VGA res)
Symbol (TrueType)
Symbol 8,10,12,14,18,24 (VGA res)
Times New Roman (TrueType)
Times New Roman Bold (TrueType)
Times New Roman Bold Italic (TrueType)
Times New Roman Italic (TrueType)
Wingdings (TrueType)
Deleting these fonts, particularly MS Sans Serif, may result in
an "Invalid Property Value" error when attempting to start
Wintune.
ERROR: Need Graphics Server version 2.51 or Later
ERROR: GSW.EXE & GSWDLL.DLL version mismatch
If you see this error, you probably have more than one copy of
GSW.EXE and GSWDLL.DLL on your system. You *should* have only one
copy of each file, in WINDOWS\SYSTEM. Search your hard disk for
additional copies (usually in the \WINDOWS directory), and rename
them, i.e. GSW.EXE becomes GSW.EXX and GSWDLL.DLL becomes
GSWDLL.DLX. Please note that this is *not* due to an error in
Wintune setup--the problem is that certain other software puts
these files in the wrong directory.
ERROR: One or more Visual Basic applications are running. Please
close those applications, then choose OK to continue.
Wintune needs to have total control over your system while
performing its low-level tests. It can't do that while Visual
Basic apps are running (for that matter, ideally Wintune should
be the only program running--that's why we recommend that you
always run it first after starting a clean Windows session).
Running it any other way gives misleading results.
ERROR: General Protection Fault (GPF)
There are two known conditions that can cause a GPF when running
a copy of Wintune installed from CD.
"WT20 caused a General Protection Fault in module GETINFO.DLL"
happens if you try to start Wintune while Windows is running in
Standard Mode. Restart Windows in 386 Enhanced Mode. You can
force Windows into 386 Enhanced mode by starting it with "win
/3".
If you get a GPF during the video test, there's either a bug in
your video driver or a conflict between it and Wintune. If
possible, upgrade to a new video driver. (See UPDATING VIDEO
DRIVERS in the main helpfile for more information.)
Unfortunately, it's fairly common for even the latest video
drivers to have problems, in which case you'll just have to wait
and try your vendor's next upgrade. In the meantime, you can
disable the video test by starting Wintune with the /v option
(wt20 /v), or try running Wintune using its generic VGA or
super-VGA drivers (which will give unrealistically low video
results).
ERROR: Divide By Zero
ERROR: Divide Overflow
If you get this error on a system with more than 32MB RAM, then
you need to download the current update (WTUPD2.ZIP) and apply
it--versions of Wintune 2.0 distributed prior to 12/9/94 had not
been tested under these conditions.
If you get the error during the floating-point unit (FPU) test,
and you have a 386-based system (or a 486SX) that's been upgraded
by adding a 387 (or 487) math coprocessor, this may indicate that
the FPU is incompatible with the CPU (probably it's not fast
enough). To check, use the Turbo switch (or fast/slow CMOS
setting) to reset your system to slow speed, then run Wintune
again. If the divide-by-zero error goes away, this indicates that
your CPU is too fast for the coprocessor, and you need to replace
the coprocessor with a faster model.
If you get the error on startup, then you've probably encountered
one of the bugs that will be fixed by update #3.
ERROR: "Unable to get memory management information. This may
cause Wintune (and Windows itself) to become unstable. Wait until
this test sequence is complete, then exit Windows and reboot your
computer."
This usually indicates a minor conflict between Wintune and a
third-party memory manager like QEMM or Netroom. If you
temporarily reconfigure your system to use DOS's memory
management (HIMEM and EMM386), Wintune should run normally,
though it won't necessarily reflect the performance with the
third-party memory manager.
If you're not using a third-party memory manager, this message
probably indicates that your system has very little memory below
1MB in the Windows virtual machine (VM). Windows uses a small
amount of this low memory each time it starts an application. If
you are unable to start applications, but seem to have plenty of
system resources and virtual memory, then you have probably run
out of low memory. You can check with the WinMag Resource Probe
utility, PWRESL.ZIP in the file libraries on America Online or
Compuserve. (Normally you could find out how much free low memory
there in the Windows VM by clicking on the RAM tab in Wintune's
Details screen.) To increase the amount of Windows VM memory
available under 1MB, you must either remove unnecessary device
drivers and TSRs from or CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT, or load
necessary drivers and TSRs into high memory by running DOS's
MemMaker utility or a third-party memory manager.
ERROR: System locks up (hangs) during memory test.
If your system has less than 8MB (usually 4MB) RAM, then the
problem is most likely a bug in an early version of WT20.EXE. If
your copy of WT20.EXE has a size of 276519 bytes, then it is the
old version. Download the latest update.
ERROR: Insufficient Disk Space for Write Test
If the "Test Disk" is set to a drive with ample free space, this
message probably indicates the largest unfragmented block of free
space isn't large enough to create the test file. Defrag the
drive and try again.
ERROR: ERROR # 70; Permission denied. Proc: MNU SaveAs_Click
This message appears if you try to save over an existing .TRF
file. Use a different file name (or delete the old file first, if
you really want to replace it).
ERROR: System locks up (hangs) when browsing Wintune's help files
This is a known problem we were still investigating at the time
this FAQ was released. Newer versions of the FAQ may have more
info.
ERROR: "Error loading DLL" when installing from WinMag CD
This is a known problem we were still investigating at the time
this FAQ was released. Newer versions of the FAQ may have more
info. In the meantime, follow the instructions in SETUP: Manual
Installation above.
***
PERFORMANCE ISSUES
PERFORMANCE (GENERAL): Test Scores and/or Tips Vary
If you run Wintune several times, you may notice a variation of
plus or minus 10% on the individual test results. This is normal,
so don't worry about it.
These minor variations mean that if your system's performance is
right around the point where Wintune displays a particular tip,
that tip may appear only intermittently. For example, if your
video board is slower than average but not a real dog, the
"Upgrade your video board" tip might appear the first time you
run Wintune, disappear the next, and come back the third time.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Slow Hard Disk Performance
Many factors affect disk performance, including the drive itself,
the adapter, which bus the adapter uses, CPU speed, RAM speed,
CMOS settings, size and configuration of the disk cache, 32-bit
file access, and disk compression, if any. (See Understanding
Disk Test Results in the main Wintune helpfile for more
information).
The Wintune developers' current working theory is that with a
hardware cache you'll get the best results by setting 32bfa to a
minimum. Note that when you run Wintune with the /c switch, it
will report that 32-bit file access and SmartDrive, even if you
are.
If your disk scores are in the under 300K per second range, then
you are almost certainly running without cache, or with
inadequate cache. Wintune's disk test looks for the size of your
WFWG 3.11 32BFA cache or SMARTDrive cache, and runs two
tests--one at 20 percent of the cache size ("cached" test), and
one at 10 percent over the cache size. Thus, for a 1MB cache
size, we test at 200KB (cached) and 1.1MB (un-cached). If we find
neither 32BFA nor SMARTDrive, then we test cached performance at
a 64KB file size, and uncached performance at 50 percent of the
size of your system's RAM (if you have 8MB of RAM, we run a 4MB
test file).
In any case, Wintune 2.0 creates the test file, then performs
sequential and random reads and writes in the file using 4KB
blocks. We compute overall disk performance for the front-panel
indicator using a weighted average of cached and uncached
performance, weighted at 50 percent each at a 2MB cache size.
Increasing either the cache size or the disk performance will
improve both the Wintune disk score and overall system
performance in most cases Note: Wintune's Disk Test will show the
best performance with both read and write caching enabled. Write
caching can be dangerous--if your system is shut down
unexpectedly between disk flushes you may lose data or even
corrupt your disk. If you are not certain that your system is
reliable with write caching enabled, turn it off. Consult the
documentation provided by your manufacturer (for SMARTDrive and
WFWG 3.11 32BFA, this is the DOS/Windows documentation from
Microsoft).
A number of software factors can also affect disk performance,
including use of EMM386.EXE to provide expanded memory for DOS
applications (it's not needed for Windows applications, and
should be eliminated when not required), fragmentation on your
hard disk, use of a compression program such as Stacker or
DoubleSpace, and so on. See Disk Performance Improvement Tips in
the main Wintune helpfile for some suggestions.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Improve cached disk performance.
There is a bug in Wintune's online help: when you view the
"Improve Cached Disk Performance" tip, it displays the "Improve
Hard Disk Peformance" tip instead. Here's what you should get:
Your disk cache performance seems low for your type of system.
Unless you also received the "Improve Hard Disk Performance" tip,
it is unlikely that your hard disk or controller is responsible
for this problem. The most common cause is misconfigured cache
software. Here are some possible causes of poor disk cache
performance:
- Write-back caching disabled:
If you are using SmartDrive and have the /X or C- switch on the
SmartDrive command line in AUTOEXEC.BAT, then you are not using
write-back caching. This slows the system considerably, so you
may want to consider removing these switches.
- Third-party cache:
If you are using a disk cache other than SmartDrive or WfWG 3.11
32-bit file cache, it may not support write-back caching. You may
want to try switching to one of those two caches and see if your
performance improves. Also, if you specified the /c switch when
you started Wintune, make sure you gave the correct value.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Make sure the disk's parameters are correctly
set in the BIOS.
The documentation for your hard drive should indicate the
settings that should appear in your PC's BIOS setup display. For
example, the Seagate ST3600A's setting is 1024 cylinders, 16
heads, and 63 sectors per track. If the settings in your BIOS
don't match those specified in the disk's documentation, you may
not be able to format the drive to its full capacity, and
performance may suffer.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): SCSI and Wintune
When running under Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Wintune sometimes
report very low performance on SCSI disks. There are some very
strange things going on with caching, 32-bit disk access and
32-bit file access in 3.11, and Wintune isn't the only diagnostic
that highlights them.
The most common problem with SCSI disks is that Windows will set
SMARTDRV /double_buffer in CONFIG.SYS. This slows the effective
disk access to a crawl, both in applications and in the Wintune
disk benchmarks. You need to install the correct ASPI driver for
the SCSI card you are using, which will enable you to use WFWG
3.11 32-bit file access on the drive. Remove the SMARTDRV line
for CONFIG.SYS (or edit the SMARTDRV line to disable caching on
your SCSI drive(s). For more information, search for "Adjusting:
Smartdrv Settings" in Wintune's online help.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): SMARTDRV and Hard Disk Performance
If you're using disk compression software like DriveSpace,
DoubleSpace, Stacker, or SuperStor, don't cache the compressed
drive. Instead, cache the physical "host" drive, uncompressed
drive that holds the hidden file that actually contains the data
for the compressed virtual drive.
Check your SMARTDRV settings to assure that the physical drive is
cached and the compressed drive is not. For example, if your
physical drive is C: and the compressed drive is G:, you'd want
c:\dos\smartdrv c+ g-
or c:\dos\smartdrv c g-
depending on whether you want write-caching on or off. Enter HELP
SMARTDRV at the DOS prompt or search for SMARTDRV SETTINGS in the
main Wintune help file for more information.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Memory and Disk Performance
If you have only 4MB of RAM, the most cost-effective way to
improve disk performance is probably to upgrade to 8MB.
With only 4MB of RAM, your SMARTDrive cache probably isn't set
larger than 512KB. That means that large files will be forced
directly to disk, without the benefit of caching. Don't try
making SMARTDrive larger without increasing RAM, though, that
will cause programs to thrash as they fight for the small amount
of RAM that's left. The simple fact is that 4MB isn't enough RAM
to get optimal performance from any current version of Windows.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Hardware Cache Unrecognized
Wintune doesn't actually test to see if you've got a hardware
cache on your disk adapter or drive--it relies on Windows for
that information. If Windows doesn't detect such a caches, check
with your drive and/or adapter manufacturer to see if you're
using the right drivers and settings to get maximum performance
under Windows.
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Windows NT Advice
[this section under renovation, please post questions in forum]
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Windows 3.1 Advice
If you have Windows (or Windows for Workgroups) 3.1, then the
cache may be SMARTDrive (covered under "Adjusting SMARTDRV
Settings" in Wintune's online help), or a third-party disk cache
(consult the instructions that come with your third-party cache
software).
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Advice
If you have WFWG 3.11, then the cache situation depends on
whether you are able to use 32-bit file access. In Control Panel,
click on the Enhanced Icon, then select Virtual Memory and
Change>>. If you see a check box for Use 32-bit File Access,
check it and set the cache size to about 25 percent of the total
memory in your system (2MB on an 8MB system).
If you have a SMARTDrive line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, Windows
automatically adjusts it downward when you select 32-bit file
access. If you have put SMARTDrive in another batch file or are
using a different cache, then you should either comment it out,
or modify the SMARTDrive settings to avoid caching the hard disks
you're using with 32BFA. These issues are discussed in detail in
the Microsoft Windows for Workgroups Resource Kit, which is a
must-have reference for serious tuning. The cost is approximately
$30. Call Microsoft End User Sales at 800-426-9400
PERFORMANCE (DISK): Disk Test Scores Vary
It's normal to see some variation in Wintune disk scores. We read
disk data through whatever cache is enabled (SMARTDrive, FastFAT,
etc.), and the precise score depends on the cache state. For
maximum accuracy, run the Full Test rather than the Quick Test,
run it several times, and average the results.
If the disk score appears to be changing when some other system
component not related to the disk (video driver, network drivers,
etc.) is changed, then this may indicate that some sort of
delayed activity or timer setting is interfering with the test.
Try editing the command line to: c:\wintune\wintune.exe /t30 this
will set a 30-second delay between tests, eliminating any
possibility that the video test affects the disk test.
You *must* have a space after WT20.EXE and before /t in order for
the command-line switch to work:
C:\WT20\WT20.EXE /t15
works, while:
C:\WT20\WT20.EXE/t15
Does not.
PERFORMANCE (CPU): Wrong clock speed (4MHz 486/Pentium?!)
A bug in the Wintune 2.0 beta produced the 67MHz ratings of the
90MHz Pentiums listed in WINTUNE.TRF.
Under certain conditions, Wintune will report a 486 or Pentium
system running at unrealistically low performance levels--such as
4MHz. This is usually associated with low overall performance on
all tests (all pointers at or near the bottom of the screen) and
it indicates a serious configuration error--not a Wintune bug.
The most likely causes are: primary CPU cache disabled (see your
system's CMOS configuration screen), excessive RAM wait states
(see your system's CMOS configuration screen), turbo switch set
OFF or cross-wired (reset the switch and repeat the test), power
management enabled (notebook computers only), or use of a
TSR/driver program that steals CPU cycles (examples include
EMM386 with EMS emulation enabled, and the Chameleon TCP/IP TSR).
PERFORMANCE (CPU): Slow CPU on Packard Bell
Some users have reported receiving a software patch from Packard
Bell that improved CPU performance and made Wintune stop
displaying the "Check TURBO settings" tip.
PERFORMANCE (VIDEO): Slow Video Tests
The 24-bit image display test used in the "Full" video test uses
the Windows 3.1 SetDIBitsToDevice() API call. This essentially
hands the bitmap to the driver and tells it to do the best job it
can of rendering the image. We've seen wildly varying results,
ranging from near-instant display of a low-resolution rendering
up to displays that may take several *minutes* (not to mention
several cases where it crashes the video driver). Better
performance on this test depends on getting a better driver from
your video card vendor.
Now, with all that said--very few Windows applications actually
call the SetDIBitsToDevice() API--for obvious reasons. Unless you
plan to use your video system for something like 24-bit image
editing (and probably not even then), you needn't be concerned.
PERFORMANCE (RAM): Slow memory
RAM speed is affected by CPU, L2 (secondary) cache design, amount
of L2 cache, and SIMM speed. The memory improvement tips in
Wintune's online help can help you make sure that your PC's CMOS
setup is configured for best RAM performance. Since RAM speed is
determined by the motherboard design, there's no hardware upgrade
path like there is for CPU, disk, and video.
PERFORMANCE (VIDEO): Video Problems
Q: When I start Wintune I see a strange, ghostly outline of a
graph. How do I make this go away?
A: You've run into a bug in your video driver. We've observed
this problem with first-generation Diamond Viper video cards, and
it might happen on some other video systems as well. Contact your
video card vendor for information on updated drivers (see
Updating Video Drivers in the main Wintune helpfile for more
information).
PERFORMANCE (VIDEO): Slow Diamond Viper Video Performance
Q: Why am I am getting low video performance on my Diamond Viper
video card?
A recently issued Diamond Viper video card driver includes a new
In Control Windows utility. In order to obtain the best
performance from your card, you need to activate this utility,
turn off fast scrolling, close Windows, restart Windows and reset
fast scrolling to on.
***
GENERAL INFORMATION:
GENERAL: Less Free RAM Each Time
If you run Wintune repeatedly, it may show less free RAM on each
pass. This is normal. We execute a GlobalCompact command on
start-up, which forces Windows to go through its garbage
collection cycle and free up memory segments (we do this to
predict swapping behavior in small-footprint systems). Then we
run a bunch of tests that dirty those segments--including a video
test that uses lots of GDI heap resources. If you run the test
again, we start off with a GlobalCompact--which can't get as much
back as it did the first time because heap resources are in use,
etc. You'd probably get a more meaningful result if you restart
Windows and run Wintune again.
GENERAL: WINTUNE.TRF
WINTUNE.TRF is the file in which results of Wintune 2.0 testing
are stored. Unfortunately there's no way to delete results from
the file--that's high on the wish list for 3.0.
You can associate the extension .TRF with WT20.EXE using the File
Manager's File/Associate command. From then on, double-clicking
on a .TRF file will launch Wintune, load the .TRF in question,
and set the most recent test results "as current"--in effect,
you'll see Wintune behave as though that test had just been run.
The data in WINTUNE.TRF is stored in a proprietary binary format,
but may be saved in a Comma Separated Variable format; with an
extension of .CSV. Such files are also known as comma-delimited
ASCII, which is accepted as input by most spreadsheet programs
and databases. Try loading the comma-delimited version of .TRF
into a spreadsheet and graphing some of the variables from test
to test. This can provide a great way to see how your system's
performance changes over time!
At the end of the WINTUNE.TRF there are 13 example systems that
illustrate typical problems, which may be useful in diagnosing
systems that deliver odd results. They are:
* EX: Pwr Mgt On (Gateway Colorbook)
* EX: Pwr Mgt On (Gateway Colorbook)
* EX: Pwr Mgt Off (Gateway Colorbook)
The first two files illustrate what can happen when testing a
notebook with power management--the first shows anomalously low
CPU results, the second low disk. The third file shows how the
same system tested with power management disabled. We recommend
disabling power management when running WINTUNE on Notebook
computers.
* EX: L1 and L2 Cache Off (NCR 3333 486/33)
* EX: L2 Cache Off (NCR 3333 486/33)
* EX: L1+L2 Cache On (NCR 3333 486/33)
These examples illustrate the effect of level-1 (internal) and
level-2 (external) CPU cache. The system in question has a 256KB
L2 cache. In the first example, both caches are disabled;
yielding low overall performance. In the second case the L1 cache
internal to the 486 CPU is enabled, but external cache is
disabled--so CPU performance is improved, but RAM, video and
(particularly) disk performance still suffer. The third example
shows the result of enabling both caches--optimal performance.
* EX: Compressed Disk ( AMD 486 DX2/66)
This example shows typical performance from a non-cached disk
compressor such as Stacker. A caching compressor such as
Doublespace yields significantly better performance.
* EX: Notebook wi APM On.
This example shows a notebook computer with Advanced Power
Management (APM) enabled--low (and erratic) performance. Turn APM
off when running Wintune, then turn it back on if needed for use.
* EX: Stacked Disk, no Cache
This example is similar to the compressed disk example above.
* EX: TSR (Chameleon) Loaded
Here a well-tuned system suffers because a DOS terminate-and-stay
resident (TSR) utility is stealing CPU cycles, reducing overall
performance.
* Ex 486SX with Turbo switch OFF
Here a system gives low overall performance--indicating either
Turbo OFF or a problem with memory wait states.
* Ex: APM Enabled (NCR 486 SX/SLC Notebook)
Another example with Advanced Power Management.
You can select any of these entries in the Comparisons tab--and
if you want to see how the front-panel display looks for these
conditions, use Edit/Preferences to select Expert Mode, and load
the test in question "As Current"--this will show you the front
panel pointer display and tips (it's especially instructive to
view the RAMprobe curve for the three NCR CPU cache
examples--load each in turn "as current", and click on the RAM
pointer).
GENERAL: Saved test details missing
When you open a TRF file or use the File/Load a Saved Test as
Current command, some of the test details may be missing. To see
them, you must first run Wintune's tests, then load the saved
results.
***
Wintune is a registered trademark of CMP Publications, Inc.
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