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╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ READ ME FIRST !! ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Version 5.12 - 4/30/93 Thank you for using DiagSoft's QAPlus/FE! We feel these diagnostics are among the finest, most complete and compatible in the PC marketplace. If you ever have any questions, comments or suggestions about DiagSoft products, please call us at 408-438-8247, or FAX us at 408-438-7113. You may also submit Software Problem Reports, by mail or FAX, following the outline of the SUPPORT.TXT file included on your program diskette. * VERSION INFORMATION * This product release and these notes pertain to QAPlus/FE version 5.12. It is helpful for you to know and have available the serial number, version number and the toolkit number (or QAPLUSFE.EXE file date) when calling for technical support. This file contains the following: 1. New Program Changes and Enhancements 2. Performance Notes 3. Documentation Changes that have not been incorporated into the printed documentation. _______________________________________________________________ PROGRAM CHANGES AND ENHANCEMENTS Ver 5.10 - 10/27/92 QAPlus/FE, (v5.10), contains the following enhancements: 1. The following hardware is now identified: - Intel 80386SL, 80486SL and 80486SX CPUs - Cyrix C486SLC and C486DLC CPUs - CD ROM devices - UltraStor 14F and 24F SCSI controllers - 2.88Mb Floppy drives - Up to 1Mb of Video RAM is recognized on video cards by Paradise and those using the Tseng video chips, and up to 4Mb of Video RAM is recognized on certain ATI video cards. 2. The following changes have been made to QAPlus/FE testing: - Logging of test results and configuration information to dBase format files - Floppy Test now supports 2.88Mb floppy drives - New CD ROM test - Memory Tests are faster and include expanded memory testing under EMM386, and 486 internal cache memory testing - Hard Drive Tests include enhanced support for Quantum hard drives 3. An improved System Information section has been moved to the main menu for quicker access. It includes the following enhancements: - New First Megabyte Memory Map showing DOS (640K) and Upper Memory Blocks (640K-1024K), including the addresses for Video RAM, ROM chips, EMS page frames, Free and Used High Memory. It includes the ability to obtain more detailed information about these memory areas including ROM data and which DOS programs are loaded in upper memory blocks. - The ability to print System Information to a file or printer. 4. Enhanced System Utilities now include: - A new File Editor for editing system configuration files such as AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS - A new QAMatch utility for comparing different versions of system configuration files - A new QAPlus/Report utility for viewing and printing configuration and test results from dBase files - An enhanced RAM Chip Locator that supports SIMMs and SIPs - QASCSI now supports UltraStor 14F & 24F controllers 5. Bundled Reachout(TM) Host remote control software __________________________________________________________ QAPlus/FE, (v5.12), contains the following enhancements: 1. The SCSI Test Group is now run directly from the Module Test Menu, rather than loading a separate executable file. This speeds up testing operations, and permits test data from the SCSI tests to go to the Test Log. The SCSI Test Group now also supports multiple LUNs, and you may also choose starting and ending blocks as well as the random seek quantity. 2. By pressing the [F2] function key from within the Module Tests Menu or any of the Test Group test screens you can examine the Log Message Queue. This shows you the test results to date, whether or not you have set up a permanent Test Log. 3. You can now load your own test programs from the Module Tests Menu via a new User Diags option. These tests may be scripted and the results can be recorded in the test log along with the other QAPlus/FE tests if the tests output standard DOS error codes. 4. Identification of Microsoft's DoubleSpace<TM> Drives - Drives that have been compressed with the DoubleSpace utility in MS-DOS 6.0 are identified in the Hardware configuration screen. You may actually have a greater capacity on the DoubleSpace drive, depending on the types of files that are stored. 5. An enhanced Hardware Configuration screen now indicates if EMM is active, and it IDs the latest components including the new Intel Pentium CPU, several new sound cards, and the Roland MPU-401 MIDI interface. 6. Additional computer systems are now identified during the Hardware Configuration check. 7. An enhanced memory test that supports the Headland external cache controller. 8. An enhanced video test that supports the S3 video accelerator. 9. An enhanced Memory Map report that IDs QEMM High RAM. 10. An enhanced IRQ/DMA report that IDs interrupts generated by several SCSI host adapters from Adaptec, Future Domain and Seagate; the Sound Blaster, AdLib Sound Board and Aria Sound Board; and the Roland MPU-401 MIDI interface. 11. When "Hardware Config." is chosen from the System Information menu, a new menu is now presented to permit you to toggle devices on or off for the Hardware Configuration check. Also, the Machine Type item (if determined by QAPlus/FE) will appear on the same line, to the right of the Processor Type. 12. When "IRQ/DMA" is chosen from the System Information menu, there are now two option menus presented. The first menu allows to toggle devices on or off for IRQ checking. The second menu allows you to toggle devices on or off for DMA checking in the same manner. _____________________________________________________________ PERFORMANCE NOTES 1. If you run the full QAPlus/FE program with all its tests and utilities available, there is a program Base RAM requirement of approximately 500K of free memory -- depending on the configuration of your computer system. If your system does not have this much available free RAM, there are a number of options which will facilitate reducing the memory requirements of the program. For example, if you plan to do diagnostic testing only, and will not need direct access to the utility programs from within QAPlus/FE, you would load the program using the QAPLUSFE.EXE executable instead of the normal QAFE.EXE program loader. In this instance you would still be able to access each of these utilities individually from the DOS prompt, after you have unloaded QAPlus/FE. To make additional memory available within your system, you may wish to temporarily unload net drivers or TSRs (by typing "rem " in front of the appropriate device drivers in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file). You might also wish to use the DOS=HIGH,UMB option in your CONFIG.SYS file, and use the LOADHIGH and DEVICEHIGH options to load device drivers into high memory. With DOS 6.0 you can use the MEMMAKER option to free up enough Base RAM to run the full QAPlus/FE with all of its utility programs accessible from within the program. If there are specific tests which you do not plan to run, you can lessen the program Base RAM requirement by using the "-O" option discussed as item number "2." in the DOCUMENTATION CHANGES section which follows later in this file. Using this option will omit specified test groups from testing. You may omit several test groups with this procedure to lessen the Base RAM requirement, or to speed the program loading time. 2. If you are booting QAPlus/FE from a floppy diskette, the DMA Transfer Test may appear to hang at the page register test. Actually, it simply takes a long time under these circumstances. You should either allow the extra time for this test (the time will vary according to your system), or disable this test 3. If you have a printer connected to the parallel port, the loopback test will fail. Conversely, if you have a loopback plug connected to the parallel port, the printer test will fail. 4. To test the ATI video memory beyond 512KB you will have to reconfigure your board using the manufacturer supplied configuration utility. Note that some of that memory is generally used by the video coprocessor and you will have to temporarily reconfigure this to video memory to test it. 5. If you wish to run the external or internal cache test LUN's in the Memory Test Group you will have to temporarily disable any resident expanded memory manager software you may have loaded, then reboot your computer, and reload QAPlus/FE. For example, if EMM386.SYS is loaded you will not be able to run the cache tests. 6. For the floppy disk test to function properly, you must insert a diskette of the maximum capacity supported by the drive you wish to test. For example, if you wish to test a 1.44 Mb floppy drive you must insert a formatted 1.44 Mb floppy diskette -- NOT a 720 Kb floppy diskette. 7. Whether you have booted your computer from a floppy diskette, or from your hard disk: if you run QAPlus/FE from a floppy diskette you will not be able to run the Utilities from the QAPlus/FE Utility menu. If you use the DOS Shell option on the Utility menu you should be able to call up the executable utilities individually, as long as you have enough available free memory. 8. The CD-ROM test will show errors if the CD-ROM disk doesn't have data in all sectors. To prevent this, you may wish to limit the test to those sectors with data. This is immediately obvious when running the Butterfly test, which immediately jumps to the extreme sectors on the CD-ROM disk. 9. When creating a USERDIAG.CFG file as discussed on page 32 of the User Guide, you need to press [Enter] at the end of each line of text as you type in the text it to force a CR LF at the end of each line. This is necessary for QAPlus/FE to correctly find and run User Diagnostics. An example USERDIAG.CFG file has been included with QAPlus/FE to assist you in creating your own USERDIAG.CFG file. 10. If QAPlus/FE detects constant DMA activity during testing, the IC Data Paths Test will skip the test for the DMA channel with the constant activity. 11. If you plan to run Hard Disk tests and to do test logging, do the test logging on a drive other than the drive(s) to be tested. If you log to a drive that is to be tested, the logging will be disabled for the remainder of the test cycle. _______________________________________________________________ DOCUMENTATION CHANGES The following information was not available when the QAPlus/FE documentation was published: 1. Before the last numbered item in the Installing QAPlus/FE a new item 5. to be inserted is: 5. After all of the files have been installed you will be prompted to fill out registration information. Fill in the fields with the appropriate information for "Name", "Company", and "Serial Number", then press [F10] when you have completed filling out the form. (Renumber old number 5 to number 6). 2. New command line option: -Ogroup This option omits a test group from testing. group = MBD/MEM/VID/HDU/FDU/KBD/COM/LPT/PDV/SCU Example: QAFE -OMEM would omit memory testing. 3. The Virus Scan section documented at the end of the Utilities chapter no longer applies. 4. Near the end of the QAPlus/FE User Guide, "In Depth Testing" chapter it is noted that SCSI devices can not be selected as individual LUN's. That statement no longer applies, and SCSI testing is now done in the same manner as the other QAPlus/FE test groups. 5. In the Reference Manual, the following should be included: SCSI Hard Disk Test Group: SCU -- 1700 This test module will support the following SCSI Host Adapters: DPT EISA SCSI Host Adapter Adaptec SCSI Host Adapter WD-7000 SCSI Host Adapter Adaptec EISA SCSI Host Adapter (STANDARD MODE) Adaptec EISA SCSI Host Adapter (ENHANCED MODE) Adaptec SCSI Host Adapter (ASPI) UltraStor 24F EISA SCSI Host Adapter UltraStor 14F ISA SCSI Host Adapter Mylex DCE376 EISA SCSI Host Adapter This test module contains the following tests: 203-Device Diagnostic Test 204-Device Buffer Test 205-Random Seek Verify 206-Funnel Seek Verify 207-Seq Seek Verify 208-Surface Write/Read 209-Seq Write/Read 210-Seq Write/Random Read 211-Streaming Write/Read 212-Erase Tape Test Note: Not all tests are available, as not all apply to all devices. For example, tests 211 & 212 are unavailable when testing a SCSI hard disk. Supported test command / parameters: DO TEST < test number > - performs the diagnostic test DOGROUP - performs all applical tests for selected device (LUN) LUN <unit number> - selects the specified unit number for testing CONFIG - displays /logs configuration information STARTBLK <start block> - specifies the starting block number testing ENDBLK <end block> - specifies the ending block for testing RNDBLKCNT <random count> - specifies the number of block for random type tests 6. At the end of the QAPlus/FE User Guide, In Depth Testing chapter, the following new section should be added: Test Group Specifications In the upper right hand portion of the testing screen (or just the upper portion if you have switched to an individual test group screen), are the specifications for the related test group. Note: In the Hard Disk Test Group specification area, if you are using a DoubleSpaced<TM> or Stacked<TM> drive, the indicated size will be the DoubleSpaced size of the logical drive. 7. At the bottom of the first page of the System Information chapter in the QAPlus/FE User Guide, the following note should appear: Note: In the Hardware Configuration Report, if you are using a DoubleSpaced<TM> or Stacked<TM> drive, the indicated size will be the DoubleSpaced size of the drive determined from CMOS BIOS. You may actually have a greater available capacity on the DoubleSpace drive, depending upon the types of files that are stored. 8. One of the tests in the System Board Test Group is indicated in the test group list as the "Refresh Interrupt" test. This is listed in the QAPlus/FE Reference Manual and is actually the "Refresh Interval" test. This test determines if there is a change or instability in the RAM Refresh function of the system under test. The test is done by comparing the Refresh Interval as determined during the "analysis" phase of program start- up, against a retest of the Refresh Interval within the System Board test suite. The "Ref Int" parameter indicated within the System Board Test Group is a number representing twice the Refresh Interval. In most cases this value is 30 and represents 15 microseconds. If this test fails, contact the BIOS or system board manufacturer to determine of the Refresh Interval is changed for any reason. If so, the failure is "normal" for your system. 9. The following note is to be placed at the bottom of the first page of Chapter 2 of the Power Meter User Guide: Note:If you are using Power Meter as a utility included with QAPlus/FE, Power Meter was installed automatically during the QAPlus/FE installation procedure, and you may skip the next five pages of the User Guide to page 11 and the Testing Standards section. 10. In chapter 1 of the User Guide, in the "IRQ checking and Port Assignments" section, the following note should be placed after the lists of the accepted or default assignments for typical devices in PC systems: Note:With some computers you may have to install a parallel loopback plug on your active parallel port connector to obtain an accurate IRQ for the parallel port during the IRQ report. The same note should also be placed as Note (4.) in the IRQ/DMA secton of the System Information chapter in the Reference Manual.