OS/2 Shareware BBS: SysTools/SysTools.zip/csed_10.zip/csed.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1993-07-09 | 17KB | 392 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The System Configuration Editor is a program designed to allow you to easily
and quickly set up your computer for use with OS/2.

Let's face it, editing an OS/2 CONFIG.SYS file can sometimes be a daunting
task. Make a mistake, and you could end up with your computer just sitting
there doing nothing, until you boot from a floppy disk, repair the damage with
a text editor, and try again.

So, This program was written to make things easier for those of us that are
comfortable with things, and for those of us that aren't.

This document discusses the various aspects of the System Configuration Editor,
and how you can use it. Each page in the notebook has an associated help
section, discussing what the recommended settings are for each field. To view
the help on a page, just turn to the page, and press the "Help" button. Good
luck, and happy editing.

 Some relevant topics include:

Shell Settings Page
Startup Settings Page
Tasks Settings Page
Paths Settings Page
System Settings Page
Swapfile Settings Page
FAT Cache Settings Page
HPFS Cache Settings Page
DOS Settings Page
User Settings Page
About Configuration Editor


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. DOS Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The DOS settings page lets you specify settings for DOS sessions running under
OS/2.

 The Files field is where you specify the maximum number of files that can be
open in a DOS session. The default is 20. The maximum value is 255.

 The PATH setting determines where the command processor will look for program
files when they are invoked from the command line, or from within applications.
There is no default.

CAUTION:
The PATH setting should include at least the \OS2, \OS2\MDOS, and OS2\SYSTEM
directories.

Example

C:\OS2;C:\OS2\SYSTEM;C:\OS2\MDOS;C:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2;

 The Prompt setting sets the appearance of the DOS command prompt. The default
of  $i$p$g  will create a prompt that looks like this:

C:\>

Note:  to remove the white help bar from the top of DOS sessions, remove the
"$i" at the beginning of the prompt specification.

 The RAM Size setting controls the maximum amount of memory a DOS session can
have access to. If none is specified, the default is the total amount of low
memory installed on the computer. (either 512 or 640 KB).

 Check the DOS=High checkbox if you want to load DOS into high memory.

 Check the UMB's checkbox if you want OS/2 to control upper memory blocks.

Note:  If this checkbox is checked, then a DEVICE=VXMS.SYS statement will be
added to the CONFIG.SYS file, if one is not already there.

 The Break On checkbox should be set if you want DOS to intercept programs with
presses of the Ctrl+Break or Ctrl+C keys.

 Check the Undelete and the DOSKey on checkboxes to enable Undelete and DOSKey.

Note:  If the Undelete option was previously unchecked and you check it, this
program looks in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file for the following statement:

REM SET DELDIR=C:\DELETE,512;D:\DELETE,512; (etc.)
and then copies this information into a new statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
If this information is not found, you must edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add
your own settings manually. While you are editing the file, you should add a
line similar to the above example with the REM statement in front of it, so the
next time you change this setting, no warning message will be displayed.

Note:  Checking this option will NOT allow files that have already been deleted
to be undeleted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. FAT Cache settings page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The FAT Cache settings page allows you to specify settings for the cache used
with the FAT file system.

Note:  If the "Enabled" checkbox is not set, you can not enter any information
in this page.

 The Size setting controls how large the disk cache will be. The optimum size
varies with the total amount of physical RAM installed on your computer, but a
good rule of thumb is no more than 10% of the physical memory. If the disk
cache is too large, memory used by applications will be depleted faster,
causing a drop in performance.

 The Threshold setting specifies a number from 4 through 128 that indicates the
threshold size for the number of sectors that will be placed into the cache.
The default value is 4.

 The AutoCheck field displays the letters of the drives that will be checked on
startup. For example, if you have 3 fixed disks or partitions, C, D, and E, you
would enter "CDE" into this field to specify that you want all of the fixed
disks checked on startup.

 Check the LazyWrite Enabled checkbox to enable lazy writes on the cache. When
lazy writes are enabled, the contents of the disk cache are written to disk
only during disk idle time, or when the cache buffer is full. When lazy writes
are disabled, the contents of the cache are immediately written to disk, with
no wait. Enabling lazy writes gives a slight gain in performance. The default
value is Enabled.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. HPFS Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The HPFS Cache settings page allows you to specify settings for the cache used
with the High Performance File System.

Note:  If the "Enabled" checkbox is not set, you can not enter any information
in this page.

 The IFS File field is where you specify a path to the IFS file to be used.
This field cannot be blank.

 The Cache Size setting controls how much of the memory, in KB, will be used
for the disk cache. Like the FAT disk cache setting, the optimum size varies
with the amount of physical RAM installed in the computer, but the HPFS cache
can normally be set to a smaller size, typically no more than 5% of the total
physical memory.

 The Max. Record Size setting specifies the maximum record size for caching
where the maximum record size is a multiple of 2KB. The smallest maximum size
for caching is 2KB, and the largest maximum size for caching is 64KB. The
default is 4KB.

 The AutoCheck field displays the letters of the drives that will be checked on
startup. For example, if you have 3 fixed disks or partitions, C, D, and E, you
would enter "CDE" into this field to specify that you want all of the fixed
disks checked on startup.

 Check the LazyWrite Enabled checkbox to enable lazy writes on the cache. When
lazy writes are enabled, the contents of the disk cache are written to disk
only during disk idle time, or when the cache buffer is full. When lazy writes
are disabled, the contents of the cache are immediately written to disk, with
no wait. Enabling lazy writes gives a slight gain in performance. The default
value is Enabled.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. PATHS Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The PATHS settings page lets you specify the search paths for OS/2 programs.

 Program Path(PATH): Specifies where the system will look for program files
when they are invoked, either from a command line, the Workplace Shell, or an
application. The default is
C:\OS2;C:\OS2\SYSTEM;C:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2;C:\OS2\INSTALL;C:\;C:\OS2\APPS;

 Library Path(LIBPATH): Specifies where the system will look for Library files,
dynamic link libraries(DLLs), etc. used by applications and the Workplace
Shell. The default is .;C:\OS2\DLL;C:\OS2\MDOS;C:\;C:\OS2\APPS\DLL;

 Data Path(DPATH): Specifies where the system will look for data files used by
applications and the Workplace Shell. The default is
C:\OS2;C:\OS2\SYSTEM;C:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2;C:\OS2\INSTALL;C:\;C:\OS2\BITMAP;C:\OS2\MDOS;C:\OS2\APPS;

Note:  The defaults shown above assume that OS/2 is installed on the C: drive
of your system, and Win-OS/2 support is installed on your system.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. SHELL Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The SHELL settings page lets you specify which program will act as the OS/2
shell, and which program will be the main command-line processor.

 Workplace Shell: Specifies the program that will act as the Workplace Shell.
The default is C:\OS2\PMSHELL.EXE.

 COMSPEC: Specifies the program that will act as the main command processor.
The default is C:\OS2\CMD.EXE.

Note:  The above defaults assume that you have OS/2 installed on the C: drive
of your computer.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. STARTUP Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The STARTUP settings page determines which parts of the Workplace Shell are
automatically started. When OS/2 is installed, all options except Startup
Folders Only are enabled.  Turning any of these options off means that the next
time OS/2 is started, the unchecked options will be disabled. For example,
turning the Folders option off will prevent all folders, including the
Workplace Shell, from starting. Turning off the Programs option means that
programs, except ones in the Startup folder, cannot be started from the
Workplace Shell. Turning off the Task List option means that the Task
list(Window list) will not be started. Turning off the Connections option means
that Network connections will not be started.

CAUTION:
Modifying these options is not recommended for general use.

Note:  Occasionally a running program will cause a lockup in the system, and
force you to reboot. If this happens, then the next time OS/2 starts, the
offending program will also start, possibly causing another lockup, forcing
another reboot, and so on. To prevent this, check the Startup Folders Only
checkbox. When this option is checked, the Workplace Shell will start in its
normal state, without starting any programs that were running when it was shut
down.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. SWAPFILE Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The Swapfile Settings page allows you to change the settings for the
SWAPPER.DAT file.

 The edit window on this page contains a text string that may look something
like this:

C:\OS2\SYSTEM\ 512 2048

 The first part of the string is the path to the SWAPPER.DAT file. The default
is C:\OS2\SYSTEM\.

 The second part of the string is the minimum free space(in KB) allowed on the
drive referenced in the first part of the string. When the free space on this
drive reaches a value equal to or less than this value, OS/2 will display a
warning message.

Warning: If you specify a drive that does not contain enough free space, you
may run out of disk space, and lose data! Be sure and specify a drive with
ample room.

The third part of the string is the inital swap file size. Bear in mind that
this is only an Initial size. If OS/2 has to overcommit memory, the size of the
SWAPPER.DAT file can grow dramatically. The default size is inversely
proportional to the amount of total physical memory on the computer, because
the more physical RAM available in the computer there is, the less the swapfile
is usually needed.

Example:

D:\ 2048 4096
specifies that the SWAPPER.DAT file will be stored on the root directory of
drive D:, the minimum free space allowed on drive D: will be 2048KB, and that
the initial size of SWAPPER.DAT will be 4096KB.

Note:  If you specify a path for the SWAPPER.DAT file that does not exist, it
will not be saved, and an error message will be displayed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. SYSTEM Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The System Settings page allows you to set some general parameters for OS/2.

 The Buffers field sets the number of disk buffers that the system uses. The
default is 30. Values of more than 100 are invalid, and will be ignored.

 The Prompt setting sets the appearance of the OS/2 command prompt. The default
of  $i[$p]  will create a prompt that looks like this:

[C:\]

Note:  to remove the blue help bar from the top of OS/2 sessions, remove the
"$i" at the beginning of the prompt specification.

 The Keys on checkbox should be set if you want to be able to recall previously
typed commands by pressing the up arrow in an OS/2 session.

 Check the Enable Undelete checkbox if you want to enable Undelete in OS/2
sessions. If this option was previously unchecked and you check it, this
program looks in the CONFIG.SYS file for the following statement:

REM SET DELDIR=C:\DELETE,512;D:\DELETE,512; (etc.)
and then copies this information into a new statement in the CONFIG.SYS file.
If this information is not found, you must edit the CONFIG.SYS file and add
your own settings manually. While you are editing the file, you should add a
line similar to the above example with the REM statement in front of it, so the
next time you change this setting, no warning message will be displayed.

Note:  Checking this option will NOT allow files that have already been deleted
to be undeleted.

 The Protected Mode Only checkbox will allow OS/2 programs to use memory
normally reserved for DOS programs, i.e., in the lower 640KB of memory.
Checking this option, however, will prevent OS/2 from running DOS and/or
Win-OS/2 sessions. This option is normally not checked.

 The Priority Disk I/O option specifies that applications running in the
foreground will get priority for disk I/O over applications running in the
background.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. TASKS Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The TASK settings page allows you to specify how the system will behave with
regard to multitasking.

 The Max. Wait field sets the amount of time(in seconds) a ready-to-run thread
waits before the system assigns it a higher priority. When a normal thread is
denied processor time for a defined number of seconds, it recieves a temporary
increase in priority.

 The Timeslice Field sets both the minimum and maximum amount of processor time
allocated to processes and programs for both DOS and OS/2 sessions. Typically,
this field will either have the word "default" in it, meaning that there is no
setting for the timeslice in the CONFIG.SYS file at this time, or it will have
a combination of numbers and commas, like this:

40,125
,32
23,

 To set the Timeslice setting back to the default setting, either delete any
entries in the Timeslice field, or type the word "default" in it.

The first number sets the maximum time in milliseconds to be applied for a
system boost. It must have a value greater than, or equal to, 32, and has no
meaning if the Absolute radio button is checked. The second number sets the
maximum timeslice value in milliseconds. This must be greater than or equal to
the first value, and less than 65536.

Note:  If either of the 2 numbers is omitted, the comma means that the missing
number is set to the system default. See the OS/2 command reference for more
information.

 The Threads field sets the minimum number of threads allowed in the system. It
must be an integer value between 63 and 4096.

 The Priority radio buttons select which type of scheduling the system will use
for different processes that are running. The default is Dynamic.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. USER Settings Page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The USER settings page allows you to configure the System Configuration
editor.

The CONFIG.SYS File field allows you to select which CONFIG.SYS file will be
changed with the System Configuration Editor. The default is C:\CONFIG.SYS. If
you specify a file that cannot be found, an error message will be displayed.

The AUTOEXEC.BAT File field allows you to select which AUTOEXEC.BAT file will
be changed with the System Configuration Editor. The default is
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you specify a file that cannot be found, an error message
will be displayed.

Use the Refresh button to reinitialize the System Configuration Editor after
you change the file specification in the aforementioned fields.

Use the Save Settings button to save the references to the specified files in
CSED.INI.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. ABOUT Config Editor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This is the unregistered version 1.0 of the System Configuration Editor. It has
all of the  functionality of the registered version, except for the following:

o Enabled Undo last, Undo ALL, and Restart functions.

o A "Search" function that allows you to find specific items easily.

o A "DEVICE Add" function.

o Another page for setting HELP, BOOKSHELF, GLOSSARY environment variables.

o Various other features.

To obtain the registered version of this program, send $25.00, plus 4.00
Shipping and Handling to:

VacNat Software, Inc.
1370 White Oak St.
Harrisonville, MO 64701
 Please Make checks payable to Kelly Schrock.

When you register, you will receive the latest version of this program.
Improvements are being made all the time, and by the time you read this, a new
version with more features will be waiting.

 Thank you for trying it out. If you wish to talk to me and suggest changes,
etc., I can be reached at 70572,1247(CIS) or the FIDO address of 1:280/304.