OS/2 Shareware BBS: SysTools/SysTools.zip/cpudriv2.zip/cpudrive.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1993-09-19 | 19KB | 490 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Main Program Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The CPU & Drives program is used to show the amount of processor time and disk
space being used.  Almost every aspect of the display is reconfigurable due to
an excess of creeping featuritus.  All of the different options may be accessed
from the Settings menu.  There are three settings that do not have menu
equivalents.  The first is the resize bar which separates the processor display
from the disk display.  When the mouse is placed on this bar a resize bar will
appear.  If the first mouse button is held down at this point the amount of
window space allocated for each type of display may be changed.  If the window
is only showing processor usage, the disk usage may be displayed again by
placing the mouse at the bottom of the window until a resize cursor appears and
holding the first mouse button and dragging the resize dividing line into the
window.  If the window only shows disk usage then a similar process may be used
at the top of the display window to drag the dividing line downward. It may
take some practice to get the cursor to drag the resize bar for the dividing
line and not the window but it is possible to do.  The second non-settings
display option is accessed by double clicking the first mouse button anywhere
in the window.  This will toggle the display status of the menu bar, allowing
the menu and title bars to either be re-enabled or disabled.  This is the only
way to get the menu back after it has been toggled off.  The last non-settings
display option is used to show the details of a specific disk drive.  By double
clicking the second mouse button on any of the displayed disks you will bring
up a status window that shows specific information about the selected disk.

Related Information:

o Settings Menu Selection
o Help Menu Selection
o Display Disk Status


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Settings Menu Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The items under the Settings Menu may be used to change the way the data for
the amount of processor time and disk space used is accumulated and displayed.

Related Information:

o Disk Settings
o Disk Display
o CPU Settings
o CPU Display
o Display Colors
o Exit


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Disk Selection ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Disk Settings dialog is used to change which disk drives will be monitored
on the display.  You may choose to either watch all the disk drives, watch all
the drives except A: and B:, or to choose explicitly which disks to watch.

Related Information:

o Disk selection choices
o Disk selection dialog exit buttons


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.1. Disks Selection Buttons Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Display space usage on:

all disks - used to have the CPU & Drives program monitor all disk drives that
are attached to the system

all disks except A: and B: - used to have the CPU & Drives program monitor all
the attached disk drives except A: and B: (usually the two floppy drives).
This is useful sometimes on slower computers since monitoring the floppy drives
can take quite a bit of time.

selected disks: - used to select which disks to monitor from the attached
listbox. The drives that are highlighted will be monitored, those that are not
highlighted will not be monitored.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.2. Disk Selection Exit Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Okay is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will not be saved and will not be used the
next time the program is run.

Cancel is used to return to the main program and to have all of changes to the
options be ignored.

Save is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will be saved to the program
initialization file and will be used the next time the program is run.

Help is used to show the help panel for the dialog buttons.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Disk Display Settings Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Disk Display dialog is used to change the way the disk drive data is
displayed in the window.

Related Information:

o Bar width options
o Bar length options
o Disk bar orientation
o Time between disk updates
o Disk warning percentage
o Disk full percentage
o Title bar display
o Disk display percentage markers
o Disk display dialog exit buttons


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.1. Disk Bar Orientation Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You may choose to display the disk bar graph either horizontally or vertically.
Either way the disk bar graph is displayed it will try to fill the entire space
allocated for it.  Therefore, if you have a tall, narrow space, vertical bars
would most likely fit the best unless you are monitoring a lot of drives.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.2. Disk Display Percentage Scale Marker Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The array of check boxes that is listed after the Display disk scale markers is
used to show lines on the disk bars that correspond to certain percentages of
the disk space left.  For example if you select the at 50% full check box then
when the disk bar graph is drawn, it will have a line at the 50% full point for
each disk displayed.  Each of the check boxes work in a similar fashion.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.3. Disk Update Time Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Check disk space every ??? seconds. entry box is used to set the amount of
time that will elapse between disk updates.  A good value for this is somewhere
around 3 to 5 minutes (180 to 300 seconds).  If you have selected the option of
checking the floppy drives you may want to set this to a higher value as the
floppy checking can seem to take over the cpu for a couple of seconds.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.4. Disk Length Display Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Make disk graph bar lengths: setting is used to decide how the length of
each bar should be determined.  If you select proportional to disk size then
each bar will be scaled so that the largest disk being displayed will take up
the entire length available and the rest of the disks will be scaled so that
their lengths are proportional to their sizes, using the largest disk as the
scale basis.  If you select maximum length allowable then all of the disks bar
graphs will be the length of the disk display window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.5. Disk Width Display Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Make disk graph bar widths: setting is used to decide how the width of each
bar should be determined.  If you select proportional to disk size then each
bar will be scaled so that all of the disks will be displayed and all of the
widths of the bars will be scaled so that their widths are proportional to
their sizes.  If you select maximum width allowable then all of the disk bar
graphs will be scaled to the same width.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.6. Disk Warning Point Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Use warning color when disk is more than ??? percent full entry box is used
to set the point at which a disk will change from being displayed in the normal
disk color to the warning disk color.  This defaults to 66%.  In other words,
if the value in this box is set to 66 then when the disk is 65.9% full the bar
graph will be displayed in the normal disk bar graph color.  As soon as enough
data is added to the disk to make it 66% or more full the disk bar graph for
that disk will change to the color selected for the disk warning color.  The
value for the warning point may not be less than zero or greater than the disk
full color percentage.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.7. Disk Full Point Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Use disk full color when disk is more than ??? percent full entry box is
used to set the point at which a disk will change from being displayed in the
warning disk color to the full disk color.  This defaults to 95%.  In other
words, if the value in this box is set to 95 then when the disk is 94.9% full
the bar graph will be displayed in either the normal or warning disk bar graph
color.  As soon as enough data is added to the disk to make it 95% or more full
the disk bar graph for the disk will change to the color selected for the disk
full color.  The value for the full point may not be greater than 100 or less
than the disk warning color percentage.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.8. Disk Display Exit Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Okay is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will not be saved and will not be used the
next time the program is run.

Cancel is used to return to the main program and to have all of changes to the
options be ignored.

Save is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will be saved to the program
initialization file and will be used the next time the program is run.

Help is used to show the help panel for the dialog buttons.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Processor Settings Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Processor Settings dialog is used to change the way the CPU data is
calculated.

Related Information:

o Maximum load - meaning and options
o Average load - meaning and options
o Restoring previous CPU data on startup
o Processor settings dialog exit buttons


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.1. Processor Averaging Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Average processor load is calculated as the average load of the CPU
activity for the last nine hours that the CPU & Drives program has been
running. The only time the average load value is used is when the Show
processor status as the number of average loads radio button is set in the CPU
Display dialog box.  There are two buttons in the Processor Settings dialog box
that deal with the Average processor load

Reset average load to zero on each startup - this checkbox is used to have the
average load value reset to zero every time the CPU & Drives program is run.
If this check button is not set, the average load value will be saved at exit
time and restored the next time the CPU & Drives program is run.

Reset average load to zero now - this checkbox is used to have the average load
value reset to zero immediately.  You will not see a check mark in this box
when it is selected as the average load is immediately reset when the button is
pushed. A message box will appear after this button is pressed to explain that
the average load value was reset.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.2. Processor Max-load Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Maximum processor load is calculated as the maximum amount of CPU activity
that can be obtained on this computer.  The calibration of the maximum
processor load takes approximately 4 seconds and should only be done when the
system is in a low load state.  In other words, if you are running many other
programs or if you have a time critical program running (such as a
communications program) in the background then you should not re-calibrate the
maximum load at that time. There are two buttons in the Processor Settings
dialog box that deal with the Maximum processor load.

Re-calibrate maximum load at each startup - this checkbox is used to have the
maximum load value re-calibrated every time the CPU & Drives program is run.
If this check button is not set then the maximum load value will be saved at
exit time and restored the next time the CPU & Drives program is run.

Re-calibrate maximum load now - this checkbox is used to have the maximum load
value re-calibrated immediately.  This box will not stay checked as it becomes
unchecked after the maximum load value is re-calibrated.  A message box will
appear after this button is pressed to explain that the maximum load value
calibration takes about 4 seconds and that the processor should not be under a
heavy load when this procedure is run.  You may select Okay or Cancel on the
message box to either re-calibrate or not.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.3. Processor Save CPU Data Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Restore previous CPU statistics on startup button is used to have the CPU
data that is collected saved in the initialization file at exit time.  The next
time the program is run the CPU data will be read from the initialization file
and the CPU display window will show the data immediately.  If this box is not
set then the CPU display will start with no data and will rebuild the CPU
window data while the program is running.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.4. Processor Options Exit Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Okay is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will not be saved and will not be used the
next time the program is run.

Cancel is used to return to the main program and to have all of changes to the
options be ignored.

Save is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will be saved to the program
initialization file and will be used the next time the program is run.

Help is used to show the help panel for the dialog buttons.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Processor Display Settings Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The CPU Display dialog is used to change the way the CPU drive data is
displayed in the window.

Related Information:

o CPU update time
o CPU scale lines
o Show title bar
o CPU display mode
o CPU display dialog exit buttons


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.1. Processor Display CPU Lines Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Display CPU scale markers check boxes are used to define which lines will
be displayed on the CPU usage graph.  The scale lines will only be used if the
processor display mode is a percentage of maximum load.  When the CPU display
is in number of average loads mode then scale markers will be placed at each
even multiple of the average load automatically.  In other words, if the
processor is currently using 5.4 times the average CPU usage then there will be
five scale markers on the CPU display.  When the CPU display is in number of
user defined loads mode then the scale markers will be placed at even multiples
of the user defined load automatically.  In other words, if the processor is
currently using 2.9 times the user defined CPU usage then there will be 2 scale
markers on the CPU display.  If the CPU loading ever gets to such a point that
the markers would cover the entire CPU window the markers will show even
multiples of either 10 average or 10 user loads depending on the display mode.
When the scale markers are showing 10 loads rather than 1 load they are twice
as thick as normal.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.2. Processor Update Time Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Update CPU usage graph every ??? seconds setting is used to set the number
of seconds that will elapse before a new line is added to the CPU usage graph.
This can be anywhere from 1 second to 1 hour (3600 seconds). Five seconds seems
to work well.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.3. Show Title Button Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Show window title bar check box is used to toggle the CPU & Drives program
main title bar on or off.  Once you have turned the title bar off and you leave
the dialog box, the only way to turn the title bar back on is to double click
the first mouse button inside the CPU & Drives window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.4. Processor Display Mode Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The processor status may be displayed in one of three ways.

As a percentage of maximum load - this option makes the CPU usage graph display
the current CPU usage against a scale of 0 to 100% of the maximum loading that
this CPU is capable of handling.  The scale bars may be turned on or off with
the Display CPU scale markers check boxes.

As a number of average loads - this option makes the CPU usage graph display
the CPU usage as the number of average system loads.  One 'average load' is
defined as the average of the processor loading values over the last nine
hours.  Since many times the processor will be idle, the average load is almost
always lower than the maximum load.  Each divider bar on the display in this
mode represents one 'average load'.  For example, if the CPU is currently using
3.8 times the average CPU usage then there will be three scale bars on the
display.

As a number of user defined loads - this option makes the CPU usage graph
display the CPU usage as the number of user defined system loads.  The 'user
defined load' may be set as a percentage of the maximum load by changing the
value in the scroll box.  In this mode each divider bar on the display
represents one 'user defined load'.  For example, if the CPU is currently using
32% of the available processor power and user defined load is set to 5% of
maximum load then there will be 6 divider bars in the window, one at 5%, and
others at 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.5. Processor Display Exit Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Okay is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will not be saved and will not be used the
next time the program is run.

Cancel is used to return to the main program and to have all of changes to the
options be ignored.

Save is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will be saved to the program
initialization file and will be used the next time the program is run.

Help is used to show the help panel for the dialog buttons.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. Color Settings Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Display colors dialog is used to change the colors used in the display.

Related Information:

o Display colors
o Display color dialog exit buttons


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5.1. Color Settings Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The colors that may be changed are:

CPU Graph Color - used to change the color of the processor graph display.

Divider Color - used to change the color of the lines that divide the CPU graph
display and the disk graph display.  Also used to show the scale markers for
the CPU and disk displays.

Text Color - used to change the color of all text on the display.

Disk Usage Color - used to change the color of a disk that is less than the
warning percentage full.

Disk Warning Color - used to change the color of a disk that is more than the
warning percentage full but less than the full percentage full.

Disk Full Color - used to change the color of a disk that is more than the full
percentage full.

Background Color - used to change the background color.

To change a color select the button for the color you wish to change and then
pick a color from the box on the right side of the dialog box.  The button for
the color being changed will change to the new color immediately.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5.2. Color Settings Exit Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Okay is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will not be saved and will not be used the
next time the program is run.

Cancel is used to return to the main program and to have all of changes to the
options be ignored.

Save is used to return to the main program and to have the options selected in
the dialog take effect.  The options will be saved to the program
initialization file and will be used the next time the program is run.

Help is used to show the help panel for the dialog buttons.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Disk Status Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Disk Status window may be brought up by double clicking the second mouse
button on any of the disks being monitored in the CPU & Drives window.  The
status window will show information about the disk drive letter, label, serial
number, file system type, whether the disk is locally or remotely mounted, the
size of the disk, the amount of space available, and the cluster and sector
configuration of the disk.  To leave the status window press the Cancel button.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.7. Disk Status Exit Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Retry is used to re-read the disk information and display the latest values.
This is particularly useful if you want to see the amount of space being used
on a number of floppy disks or if you need to monitor the space being used on a
disk a program is running or installing.

Cancel is used to return to the main program and to have the status window
close.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8. Exit Command Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Exit Command is used to leave the CPU & Drives program.  Whenever the
program is exitted, the position and size of the window will be saved to the
initialization file.  Also, all CPU data collected while the program has been
running will be saved to the initialization file.  If the Restore previous CPU
statistics on startup checkbox is set in the Processor Settings dialog box then
these CPU data will be used the next time the program is started.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Help Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Help menu item is used to get help about either the program or the help
system itself.

Related Information:

o Index to help for the CPU & Drives program
o General help for the CPU & Drives program
o Help on using the help system


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Index ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Help Index menu item is used to pull up an index listing all of the help
that is available for the CPU & Drives program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. General help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The General Help menu item is used to display the main help screen for the CPU
& Drives program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Using Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Using help menu item is used to display help on how to use the help system.