DOS/V Power Report 1997 March/VPR9703B.ISO/driver/no9/i128_231/read_me.txt

Text File | 1995-09-04 | 28KB | 863 lines

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                      #9 HawkEye for Windows

             for the #9 Imagine128 Product line

                         Version 2.31

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This file contains the latest information about the Imagine128
Windows disk.  The entire contents of this file should be read
because information in this file may not appear in printed
documentation or on-line Help.

In addition, the following informational text files are provided
to supplement this READ_ME.TXT:

ZOOM.TXT
  An overview of Zoom performance by color depth and resolution.

FILELIST.TXT
  A complete list and description of all the Imagine128 files on
  your Imagine128 Windows Installation Disk.

NETWORK.TXT
  Network and manual installation details.


NOTE: These files will be automatically copied to the NUMBER9
subdirectory (under your Windows directory) when you install
the Imagine driver by running SETUP.EXE.


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CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------


CONTACTING NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
SOFTWARE UPGRADES
USING THE NUMBER NINE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE (BBS)
INSTALLING IMAGINE 128 DRIVERS
DCI SUPPORT FOR VIDEO FOR WINDOWS
BEFORE CALLING TECHNICAL SUPPORT
TROUBLESHOOTING
KNOWN PROBLEMS TO BE FIXED IN FUTURE RELEASES
OTHER PROBLEMS (APPLICATION-SPECIFIC)
OTHER PROBLEMS (GENERAL)


------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACTING NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------------


Technical Support (USA)
    8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, EST/EDT, Mon.-Fri.

Phone:    [phone]
     Please be prepared with as much information about your
      #9 Imagine128 and PC as possible.

Fax:    [phone]
     Please send  fax inquiries to the attention of Technical
      Support.

                                     * * *

Sales / Marketing (USA)
    8:30 AM to 6:00 PM, EST/EDT, Mon.-Fri.

Phone:    [phone]

Fax:    [phone]
     Please send  fax inquiries to the attention of Sales

                                     * * *

European Technical Support and Sales (Germany)

Phone:    [phone]

Fax:    [phone]

                                     * * *

MAIL (USA)

NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
18 HARTWELL AVENUE
LEXINGTON, MA 02173
USA

                                     * * *


MAIL (EUROPEAN OFFICE)

NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY GMBH
INSELKAMMERSTR. 10
82008 UNTERHACHING B. MUNCHEN
GERMANY


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SOFTWARE UPGRADES
------------------------------------------------------------------


Even though you may have just received your Number Nine software,
newer versions may be available. Free upgrades are provided to
all Number Nine customers on the Number Nine Bulletin Board
System (BBS).

To see if you have the latest version, compare the version number
of your software (on the label of the provided diskette or in
#9 Status under #9 Imagine128 Windows Disk ID) with the
version number of the corresponding software on the BBS.

------------------------------------------------------------------
USING THE NUMBER NINE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE (BBS)
------------------------------------------------------------------

(USA)
Dial:           [phone]
Baud Rates:     Up to 14,400 baud
Compression:    HST, v.32 and v.42 supported
Modem Setup:    8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
Required:       PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress files

(EUROPEAN OFFICE)
Dial:           + 49 89 614 491 66
Baud Rates:     Up to 14,400 baud
Compression:    HST, v.32 and v.42 supported
Modem Setup:    8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
Required:       PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress files

The BBS has a separate file area for each Number Nine product.
The latest driver updates can be found in each product's file
area, and files of general interest (shareware, etc.) can be
found in the General library.  An E-mail system is available
for technical questions about Number Nine products or about
the BBS in general.  A complete listing of available files can
be downloaded by invoking the "Download List of Files" command
from any file library menu.

On the US BBS, RIP graphics are supported, and a RIP compatible
terminal program is available in the General library
(RIPTM154.ZIP).

Many files are self-extracting, but some files will require the
latest version of PKUNZIP to decompress.  PKUNZIP is available
in the General library (filename PKZ204G.EXE), and can also be
found on most on-line services such as CompuServe and America
Online.


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INSTALLING IMAGINE 128 DRIVERS
------------------------------------------------------------------

SETUP.EXE will perform an automatic driver installation for you.

1) From diskette:

   - Insert the Imagine128 Windows Diskette into your floppy drive.
   - In Windows Program Manager:
    select the File menu
    select Run
    type A:setup, press Enter

2) After a Number Nine BBS download:

   - Decompress files with PKUNZIP (see Imagine128
      read_me.text BBS section...above) onto a 1.44Mb floppy disk.
   - Insert the disk into your floppy drive.
   - In Windows Program Manager:
    select the File menu
    select Run
    type A:setup, press Enter


           (Do NOT store these files in a DIRECTORY called
            C:\NUMBER9 as it will create a conflict with the
            configuration FILE of the same name!!!)


3) To install drivers manually, see the MANUAL INSTALLATION section
   at the end of this document.


   NOTE: Files ending with extension ".EXX" must be renamed with the
         extension ".EXE" before being used.  Likewise, files ending
         with a "#" must be decompressed using the UNSQUISH utility.
         These files will automatically be translated during a
         Windows #9 SETUP installation.



------------------------------------------------------------------
DCI SUPPORT FOR VIDEO FOR WINDOWS
------------------------------------------------------------------

The Imagine Windows driver supports the Display Control Interface
(DCI).  DCI allows application software to send data to hardware
directly, (bypassing Windows) thus improving performance.  Video
for Windows v1.1d is an example of an application that provides
support for DCI.  When DCI is enabled,  Video frames (both
stretched and unstretched) are accelerated for improved
performance.

Version 1.1d is the first version of Video for Windows which
uses DCI.  Previous versions will not work properly with the
Imagine128 windows driver.  Video for Windows 1.1d is
available on the Number Nine BBS.

The Imagine128 SETUP program will automatically enable DCI
support.  For a manual installation,

1) You must now manually copy the files UDH.DLL and DCIMAN.DLL
   from the Imagine128 drivers disk to your WINDOWS\SYSTEM
   directory.

   Example:      XCOPY A:UDH.DLL C:\WIN31\SYSTEM
        XCOPY A:DCIMAN.DLL C:\WIN31\SYSTEM

2) Edit the WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI file and make the following changes:

   In the [DRIVERS] Section, add or modify the following lines:

    VIDS.DRAW=udh.dll
    DCI=display

   In the [Imagine-128] Section, add or modify the following lines:
        DCI=1

4) SAVE those changes and launch Windows.  The DCI driver should
   now be enabled.


------------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE CALLING TECHNICAL SUPPORT
------------------------------------------------------------------


If you are experiencing a problem, please run the MS Windows Setup
from DOS and select VGA as the display type. If the problem still
occurs in VGA mode, then the problem is most likely being caused by
Windows or other hardware/software and not with the #9 Imagine128
Windows driver.

When in VGA mode, select #9 Status from the HawkEye Control Panel.
The information provided by this feature will be of great assistance
to Technical Support.

If a problem is application specific, please have vendor information
and application version information readily available.  Number Nine
Visual Technology has qualified this driver with over 200 applications,
but a multitude of new applications enter the market every day.

If you encounter problems during driver initialization, (e.g. the
driver hangs or the DOS prompt appears) please add the following lines
to SYSTEM.INI:

[Imagine-128]
Verbose Init=1

This places the driver in "Verbose" mode. In Verbose mode,
initialization strings are sent to the VGA screen.  A copy of the
expected "Verbose" strings is contained in VERBOSE.TXT.

Verbose Mode will significantly slow down Windows initialization.
After Verbose Mode is used to isolate an initialization problem,
Verbose Mode should be disabled.

------------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLESHOOTING
------------------------------------------------------------------


Problem:
One or more of the following HawkEye DOS applications will not run:
    DACSNOOP.EXX
    IRESET.EXX
    UNSQUISH.EXX

Solution:
These files must be renamed with an ".EXE" extension before they
can be used:
    DACSNOOP.EXE
    IRESET.EXE
    UNSQUISH.EXE


                           * * *


Problem:
While trying to run ireset (C:\windows>ireset) or during driver
installation the following error message is displayed:

    Unable to find #9 configuration file

Solution:

You may have created a temporary DIRECTORY called Number9 in your
ROOT directory (C:\Number9). Our configuration FILE is called Number9
and is located in the ROOT directory (C:\Number9). Rename the Number9
directory in the root directory to another name.


                           * * *


Problem:
A Windows application either does not animate correctly or no animation
appears.

Solution:

Several Windows applications (in particular those using Quick
Time for Windows) perform animation by writing directly to VGA
hardware.  This can cause problems with the Imagine128 because
the VGA memory is not interleaved with the high resolution memory.

Adding the following lines to QTW.INI, in your Windows directory,
will fix animation problems in these applications (including MYST).
   [Video]
   optimize=driver

If adding these lines does not fix the problem, then consult the
documentation (the READ_ME file) distributed with the application.


                           * * *


Problem:
The Imagine128 board is properly installed in your system,
but you receive the following error messages when trying to
go into Windows using the Imagine128 Windows driver:

 Failed to find the PCI BIOS!!
 A non standard driver may be conflicting with PCI BIOS interrupt.
 Hit any key to continue.

Solution:

If your memory manager has remapped the F000-F7FF segment of memory
(in an attempt to increase DOS memory space), Windows will be unable
to execute PCI BIOS interrupts. Therefore, you may need to exclude
the F000-F7FF segment from use by your memory manager and/or obtain
an updated version of your memory manager.

    386MAX Users:
    The version of the 386Max memory manager that addresses
    this PCI issue is version 7.01 or greater.  However, it
    requires a minor modification to function with the
    Imagine128 board. The modification is to remove the
    "USE=F000-F800" statement that MAXIMIZE may have put into
    the profile file 386MAX.PRO (located in the directory where
        386MAX was installed, default is C:\386MAX).

    EMM386 Users:
    The version of the EMM386 memory manager that addresses
    this PCI issue is version 4.49 or greater. To view your
    EMM386.EXE version:
       In DOS (or Windows DOS prompt)
              a) Move to the directory where EMM386.EXE is located
             (usually the Windows or DOS directory)
              b) Type:  EMM386  <Enter>

    In addition, EMM386.EXE has an option called "HIGHSCAN" for
    its command line. This option is often inserted into the
    CONFIG.SYS file after running MEMMAKER.EXE. This option has
    the same effect as the "USE=F000-F800" statement in 386Max.
    Therefore, the "HIGHSCAN" statement must be removed for the
    Imagine128 card to function properly.

    QEMM386 Users:
    Quarterdeck is aware of the PCI BIOS problem and will address
    it. In the meantime they suggest that users modify the
    C:\CONFIG.SYS file to exclude the F000-F7FF segment as follows:
    "DEVICE=QEMM386.SYS X=F000-F7FF"


////    ////    ////    ////    ////    ////    ////    ////    ////

Memory
Manager:  386MAX        EMM386        QEMM386

Company:  Qualitas        Microsoft    Quarterdeck

Versions: 7.01 or        4.49 or     pending
      greater        greater


Notes:      remove the        remove        add X=F000-F7FF
      USE=F000-F800        HIGHSCAN    to the end of the
      statement        from         DEVICE=QEMM386.SYS
      from 386MAX.PRO    CONFIG.SYS    line in CONFIG.SYS

\\\\    \\\\\    \\\\\    \\\\    \\\\    \\\\    \\\\    \\\\    \\\\



                           * * *


Problem:
The Imagine128 board is properly installed in your system,
but you receive the following error messages when trying to
use the Imagine128 Windows driver:

Failed to find the #9 Imagine128 board!!
Make sure that ISA VGA is not conflicting with Imagine128 VGA.
Hit any key to continue.

Solution:

It is possible that the Imagine128 on-board VGA is conflicting
with the VGA on the ISA bus.  In this case, the ISA VGA will be
detected, but the entire Imagine128 board will be disabled.

The VGA jumper JM8 on the I-128 board should be set to the DISABLE
position to use ISA bus VGA.


                           * * *


Problem:
When you run Windows, the screen appears blank.  However, when
you press Alt-F4/<Enter> several times, the DOS prompt eventually
re-appears.

Solution:

There is an ISA VGA in the system which is conflicting with
the Imagine128 VGA.  In this case, the VGA output will appear
correctly, but the high resolution modes will not appear.


                           * * *


Problem:
The Imagine128 board is properly installed in your system,
but the monochrome board is no longer working.

Solution:

In order to use a monochrome card with the Imagine128 you
must do the following:

1) Set Imagine128 VGA jumper JM8 to the DISABLE position.
2) Install your monochrome card AND install a VGA card.


                           * * *


Problem:
The Program Manager appears briefly when you start Windows.
Then Windows exits to DOS.

Solution:

1. There may be a problem with the #9 HawkEye Control Panel. The
   Control Panel is loaded when Windows is started, so a problem
   could occur after the Windows driver has been loaded and the
   Program Manager (or another Windows shell) is presented.

   To prevent HawkEye from loading when Windows is started, delete
   the reference to HawkEye from the "load=" line in the [windows]
   section of the WIN.INI file in the WINDOWS directory. This will
   determine whether the problem is with the HawkEye Control Panel,
   or other software. The line looks similar to the following:

       load=c:\WINDOWS\NUMBER9\HAWKEYE.EXE nwpopup.exe

   Delete WINDOWS\NUMBER9\HAWKEYE.EXE from the line, then exit
   Windows. If the problem persists when you restart Windows, refer
   to Solution 2.

2. The HawkEye initialization file (HAWKEYE.INI) may be corrupted.
   In this case, rename HAWKEYE.INI in the WINDOWS directory to
   HAWKSAVE.INI (for future reference). Then copy HAWKEYE.INI from
   the Imagine128 Windows Installation Disk to the WINDOWS
   directory. This reinstates the original HawkEye configuration.


                           * * *


Problem:
Your monitor resolution is not the resolution you selected.

Solution:

Resolution Exchange (in #9 HawkEye for Windows program group)
must be used to change the resolution. This changes the
resolution in the Imagine128 configuration file, which
determines what your monitor resolution will be.

To use Resolution Exchange to change the resolution:

1. Press the hot key you assigned to Resolution Exchange or
   double click on the Resolution Exchange icon in the HawkEye
   for Windows program group in the Windows Program Manager.

2. Click on a Colors option button.

3. Select a resolution.
   Be sure you select a resolution your monitor supports.

4. Click 'OK'.

5. Restart Windows.


                           * * *


Problem:

The following GPF is reported in Compton's Encyclopedia '95:

    MMTASK causes a GPF in MSVIDEO.DLL @ 0007:02BE

Solution:

Compton's Encyclopedia is not using DCI properly.  To disable
DCI in the Imagine driver, edit the WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI file
and make the following change:

In the [Imagine-128] Section, add or modify the following lines:
    DCI=0

                           * * *
Problem:

On a Pentium 120 with the TRITON motherboard the system hangs
while playing a video clip that uses the DCI driver.  The MediaStones
application will hang in this configuration.


Solution:
    The DCI hang in MediaStones on the TRITON motherboard was solved
    by limiting burst length during DCI data transfers to 12 DWORDs.

    The DCI variable in the [Imagine-128] section of \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI
    has been extended to control this option.  This variable is now a
    multivalued switch rather than just a boolean flag.  The bit fields
    are:

        value    effect
        -----    ------
          0    DCI is disabled
          1    DCI is enabled, uses long  bursts (normal default)
          3    DCI is enabled, uses short bursts (for 120MHz TRITON)

In the [Imagine-128] Section, add or modify the following lines:
    DCI=3

                           * * *


Problem:

When trying to launch Lotus Notes, the following error message
is presented:

Application Execution Error:

Insufficient Memory to run this application.  Quit one or more
Windows applications and then try again.

However, Program Manager reports that you have over 2 Megabytes
of memory free.


Problem:

Windows functions properly when a user is not logged into a
network.  However, windows will not boot after the network
has been loaded.

Solution:

Windows is running out of DOS/conventional memory.  (Lotus
Notes uses extrodinary amount of DOS memory.) Each PC user
has at most 1 Meg of conventional memory. (The actual
amount varies based on drivers/TSRs loaded, memory manager
used, etc.)  Each Windows application requires a certain
amount of conventional memory.  In 386 Enhanced mode, a user
will usually run out of DOS memory before running out of total
memory.

The Imagine128 driver can minimize its use of DOS memory.
To enable this option, enter the following line in the
[Imagine-128] section of SYSTEM.INI.

[Imagine-128]
Save Dos Memory=1

In certain configuration, this entry will improve
performance.  In other configurations, performance may
decrease.  In general, users which are running multiple
applications should try to conserve DOS memory.

                           * * *


Problem:
The output from a video playback card (that uses the Imagine128
VGA pass through connector) is missing or corrupted.

Solution:

In order to use the Imagine128 VGA pass through connector:
1. Make sure VGA jumper JM8 on the Imagine128 card is set
   to the ENABLE position.
2. In Windows Setup under DOS, you must select VGA as the display
   type and remain at 640x480x256 color resolution.

Watchit Pro TV Board Users:
   - You may need to experiment with moving data rate jumper
     HDR2 (on the Watchit Pro TV board). We recommend starting
     with position 4 or 5.
   - You may also need to change Watchit's Overlay Color Key to a
     color that allows the video to display properly.

     Consult your Watchit Pro documentation or contact New Media
     Graphics technical support for further information.

ReelMagic Users:
     Consult your ReelMagic documentation or contact Sigma Designs
     technical support for further information.


                           * * *


Problem:
A video playback card that uses the VGA pass through connector
on the Imagine128 graphics card is not correctly
displaying the VGA palette.  The colors in DOS or in VGA
WINDOWS on the Video playback card are wrong.

Solution:

The Imagine128 card will power up with your PC's DAC
Snooping disabled. This will prevent a card connected to both
the ISA bus and the Video Feature connector from displaying
the correct color palette. When the system's DAC Snooping is
enabled, both cards can share writes to the palette and the
card connected to the Video Feature connector will display
the correct colors. The DOS utility DACSNOOP.EXE can be used
to enable or disable the system's DAC Snooping capability.

DACSNOOP.EXE is copied to the NUMBER9 directory during
Windows installation.  The executable also appears on the
WINDOWS disk, but has been renamed DACSNOOP.EXX.
NOTE: Before using the DACSNOOP executable from the WINDOWS disk,
it must be renamed DACSNOOP.EXE!!

Usage:        Dacsnoop ["on"] || ["off"]
               Where:
                 on  - Enable Imagine128 DAC Snooping
                 off - Disable Imagine128 DAC Snooping

On certain machines, DAC snooping can be enabled via CMOS setup
program.  (Once DAC snooping is enabled, there is no need to
run DACSNOOP.EXE.) See your mother board documentation for
information on how to use the CMOS setup program.


                           * * *


Problem:
After changing to a new resolution, an open application's icon
or window is no longer visible on the desktop. Windows Task
Manager (Ctrl-Esc) shows that the application is still open.

Solution:

1) Hold down the Alt key and depress Tab until your application
   is visible. Release the Alt key to select the application.
                             or
   In Windows Task Manager, select the application. Mouse-click
   on "Switch To" (or depress the ENTER key on your keyboard).

2) Now depress the hot key you assigned to #9 Place Windows. This
   will center the application in the monitor or virtual display
   (see Place Windows in the HawkEye Control Panel for more info).


                           * * *


Problem:
Norton Desktop icons appear to be corrupted at high color (32K or
65K colors) and true color (16M colors).

Solution:

Norton Desktop 3.0 (or later):

  An icon refresh utility is provided with Norton Desktop.
  In Control Center, from the Categories list, select Quick Access,
  then mouse click on the Advanced button. In the Quick Access-
  Advanced dialogue box, under Reset Icons, mouse click on Reset.
  Then click on OK to rebuild icon information.

Norton Desktop (older versions):

  Delete file ICOCACHE.DAT from the NDW directory.

                           * * *


Problem:
Minor corruption is visible in a Windows application (such as Central
Point PC Tools For Windows).

Solution:

In the [Imagine-128] section of SYSTEM.INI, a Validate Parameters
control flag may be altered to improve Windows application reliability.

In SYSTEM.INI, under [Imagine-128], turn Validate Parameters ON by
changing 'Validate Params=0' to 'Validate Params=1'.

[Imagine-128]
DCI=1
Validate Params=1

Turning Validate Parameters ON (=1) forces the I128 driver to check GDI
parameters before issuing a drawing command. Because most applications
send valid parameters, the default for this option is OFF (=0).



                           * * *


Problem:
After changing to a virtual resolution, sizable windows may be too
wide and/or too tall.

Solution:

If you have not already done so, in the #9 HawkEye Control Panel use
Hot Mouse to assign a hot key to #9 Place Windows. For most windows,
pressing the Place Windows hot key once or twice will re-size the
active window to full screen or smaller.



                           * * *


Problem:
A DOS based game either does not function properly or does not
function at all.

Solution:

The Imagine128 card contains 1/2 megabyte of on-board VGA memory.
Some DOS based games require more memory than this on the graphics
board. The solution is to use a separate VGA board that has enough
on-board memory to support the memory requirements of the DOS
games in question. To use a separate VGA board with the Imagine128,
you must set the VGA jumper JM8 on the Imagine128 card to the
DISABLE position.


                           * * *

Problem:
A DOS session appears as a blank screen with no visible text
(especially after or while running another program).

Solution:

While in the blank screen DOS session, type the following
command:

mode CO80

This should reset the screen colors to white text against a black
background.
Note: A permanent fix will replace this "work around" solution in a
future driver release.

                           * * *

Problem:
Corel Draw repaints are too slow

Solution:

To improve performance of Corel Draw repaints you need to set a
performance flag in the SYSTEM.INI file.

In the [Imagine-128] section of SYSTEM.INI, a ClipRect must be set
to 0 to disable rectangle clipping.

[Imagine-128]
ClipRect=0

You must restart WINDOWS for the flag to take effect.

                           * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER PROBLEMS (APPLICATION SPECIFIC)
------------------------------------------------------------------


Software sometimes does not perform consistently across all
resolutions and color depths. If you experience a persistent
problem for which you cannot determine a cause or solution, try
switching to a different resolution with Resolution Exchange.

If the problem is consistent across resolutions. Please
consult application documentation.  Most applications are
distributed with a READ_ME file similar to this file.
READ_ME files usually contain a wealth of information
regarding potential video conflicts.



------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER PROBLEMS (GENERAL)
------------------------------------------------------------------


If you have a problem that is not described in this file or is
unresolved when you try the suggested solutions, please call
Number Nine Technical Support at [phone], from 8:00 AM to
6:00 PM, EST/EDT, Monday through Friday. Please be prepared with
as much information about your Imagine128 and computer
configuration as possible. Our Fax number is [phone].
Please send all fax inquiries to the attention of Technical
Support.

Please refer to the CONTACTING NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
section at the beginning of this document.


09/05/95
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(C) COPYRIGHT 1995, NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

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