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Artware Year 2000 Survival Kit - Specific DOS Information
=========================================================
Revision 0009, released by Wilfried Brinkmann and Tobias Ernst
This file contains specific information for users of the 16-bit DOS
versions of Timed and Netmgr. It describes the changes between Artfix 7
and Artfix 8, and it gives you hints what to do when experiencing unusual
problems (totally wrong dates, lockups, etc). Please first read the
general documentation, README.DOC. Only after that, if you have problems
or are curious, you should return to this document.
Contents
---------
- How the DOS version works.
- What problems can arise?
- What is the difference between Artfix7 and later versions?
- What is the consequence for me?
How the DOS version works
-------------------------
The DOS versions of the Artfix patches use software interrupts to
communicate between netmgr.ovl (more or less the original code) and
netmgr.com (the file that contains code added by us to implement fixes).
The fixed Timed needs five interrupt numbers, and Netmgr needs four. For
this to work, of course, those interrupt numbers that Artfix uses should
not be used by any TSR program or by the operating system itself.
There is a total of 256 software interrupt vectors on any DOS system, and
more than half ot them should be unused in theory (i.E. left free for user
applications like our artfix'ed Timed and Netmgr). When implementing
Artfix I have always only used interrupt vector numbers that, according to
my lists and the best of my knowledge, are unused.
However, it turned out that those interrupt numbers that I was originally
using were used on quite some systems, in particular Windows 95 and
Desqview systems.
What problems can arise?
------------------------
When one of the software interrupt numbers that the artfix'ed Timed and
Netmgr programs are using is already in use by some TSR or by your
operating system itself, almost anything can happen. The following
symptoms are quite obvious, i.E. you know them when you see them:
- General Protection Violation
- Complete System Freeze or Reboot
- Other sorts of strange behaviour of your system
but there were also more subtle ones:
- Timed displaying wrong dates
- Timed writing wrong dates to the message base
- Timed corrupting the dates of your message base even when you just *READ*
mails (but don't *SAVE* any mails).
Quite some users reported some problems like these, and in all cases, they
could be solved by just switching to different interrupt vector numbers.
What is the difference between Artfix7 and later versions
---------------------------------------------------------
Starting with Artfix 8, I changed the set of interrupt numbers that I used
previously to a different range. I hope this solves most problems DOS
users had.
However, of course there is a chance that the new interrupt numbers don't
work on a system where the old numbers did work. Therefore, starting with
Artfix 8, the TIMED and NETMGR subdirectories eache contain a subdirectory
called DOS-OLD. This subdirectory contains a patch for the DOS version
which uses the old interrupt numbers, but is otherwise functionally
equivalent.
What is the consequence for me?
-------------------------------
First, upgrade to the latest Artfix version.
Then, first try the fix in the NETMGR or TIMED subdirectory.
If you are then experiencing the problems described above, try the fixes
from the respective DOS-OLD subdirectory.
[EOF]