README.TXT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome To Northgate's Release of Microsoft Windows 3.0! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT! THIS FILE CONTAINS ESSENTIAL INFORMATION. MAKE SURE YOU READ IT ALL BEFORE USING WINDOWS. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE SECTION TITLED "CORRECTION TO PAGE XI OF THE USER'S GUIDE." =============================================================================== FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW TO USE NOTEPAD TO READ THE INFORMATION. * If you enlarge Notepad to its maximum size, the following document will be easier to read. To do so, click the Maximize button in the upper-right corner of the Notepad window. Or open the Control menu in the upper-left corner of the Notepad window and choose Maximize. * To move through the document, press PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN or click the arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar along the right side of the Notepad window. * To print the document, choose Print from the Notepad File menu. * To read other on-line documents, choose Open from the File menu. * For Help using Notepad, press F1. * If you are currently setting up Windows, choose Exit from the Notepad File menu to continue with Setup. NOTES ON WINDOWS 3.0 ==================== This document contains important information that is not included in the Windows User's Guide or in on-line Help. These topics are covered: * Correction to registration information on page XI of the Windows User's Guide * Copying files from the Windows 3.0 disks * Running out of memory and how to increase available memory * Using the Swapfile utility * Using HIMEM.SYS * Giving maximum priority to an application * Using Windows 2.x drivers with Windows 3.0 * Running specific non-Windows applications * Running specific Windows applications * General notes about applications * General notes about hardware CORRECTION TO PAGE XI OF THE USER'S GUIDE ========================================= Information in the User's Guide that tells you to fill out the registration card is incorrect. Since you purchased this product from Northgate, you are registered as a user of Northgate's version of Windows 3.0. You will not need to register your software with Microsoft. COPYING FILES FROM THE WINDOWS 3.0 DISKS ======================================== The files on the Windows 3.0 installation disks are compressed. The files are not usable until they are expanded. Setup and Control Panel expand the compressed files as they are copied onto your hard disk. If you need to copy files directly from a Windows 3.0 disk without using Setup or Control Panel, follow these steps: 1. Copy EXPAND.EXE from Microsoft Windows Disk #2 onto your hard drive. (This utility expands compressed files to a useable format.) 2. Insert the disk with the file you want to expand into drive A: (or any floppy-disk drive). 3. Type the following and press ENTER: expand x: y: where x: is the disk drive you are copying from (source) y: is the disk drive you are copying to (destination) The compressed file is expanded as it is copied onto your hard-disk drive. System files (.SYS) are named SY$ as compressed files. For example, MOUSE.SYS is named MOUSE.SY$; HIMEM.SYS, HIMEM.SY$ and so forth. When you use Windows Setup to install these files, they are renamed with .SYS extensions automatically. If you use the expand utility to copy .SY$ files onto your hard disk, you must change their filename extensions to .SYS. You can use the MS-DOS Rename command or you can rename each file as you copy them from the Windows Disk with the Expand command. To rename a file when you expand it, type the following command and press ENTER: expand x:filename.sy$ c:\windirectory\filename.sys where x: is the source disk filename.sy$ is the name of the compressed file you want to copy \windirectory is the name of your windows directory filename.sys is the renamed file that will appear on your hard disk WHAT IF YOU RUN OUT OF MEMORY? ============================== As you're running applications in Windows or are trying to start an application, you might receive messages about being out of memory. You can find out how much memory is available and of what type by choosing the About command from the Help menu in either Program Manager or File Manager. A dialog box containing memory information appears. The following list describes each memory category and suggests how to increase available memory: Amount of memory free This number is the amount of conventional memory currently available for applications. When you run Windows in standard mode, this number includes extended memory. When you run Windows in 386 enhanced mode, this number includes virtual memory and could be much larger than the physical amount of memory in your computer. If you need more memory or if the amount of free memory is less than 30K, close some applications. Amount of EMS free When you run Windows in real mode with an expanded memory driver installed, this number shows the amount of expanded memory currently available. It is possible to have plenty of expanded memory available, but be out of conventional memory. You can close some applications to free up conventional memory. SMARTDrive Amount This number is the amount of expanded memory claimed by SMARTDrive. Windows 3.0 can allocate memory from SMARTDrive as needed. For more information on how to use SMARTDrive, see Chapter 13, "Optimizing Windows," in the Windows User's Guide. System Resources This number is the percentage of system resources available. This number never reaches 100% because the system itself takes up some system resources. If this number is too low (about 15%), you cannot run more applications regardless of how much free memory you have. Close some applications to free system resources. USING THE SWAPFILE UTILITY ========================== Windows 3.0 includes a utility that can dramatically improve Windows' performance on some computers when you are running in 386 enhanced mode. Swapfile turns a portion of hard disk space into additional memory. However, Swapfile cannot be used with all hard disk drives because of the way some drives interact with MS-DOS. If you want to run Swapfile with Windows, see Chapter 13, "Optimizing Windows," in the Windows User's Guide for important information. USING HIMEM.SYS =============== HIMEM.SYS is a driver required by Windows 3.0 for using extended memory. It must be included in your CONFIG.SYS file. The method HIMEM uses to access extended memory depends on your hardware. When you boot your computer, HIMEM is loaded from your CONFIG.SYS file. After it is loaded, you will see a message like the following telling you the method HIMEM will use to access extended memory on your computer. Installed A20 handler number X. where X is 1 through 8 which corresponds to one of the following methods: Number Name Computer type -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 at ; Northgate or other IBM AT or 100% compatible 2 ps2 ; IBM PS/2 3 ptlcascade ; Phoenix Cascade BIOS 4 hpvectra ; HP Vectra (A & A+) 5 att6300plus ; AT&T 6300 Plus 6 acer1100 ; Acer 1100 7 toshiba ; Toshiba 1600 & 1200XE 8 wyse ; Wyse 12.5 Mhz 286 If HIMEM does not work properly, you can try a different method. Specify the switch for your computer type on the device=HIMEM.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS file. Computer type corresponds to either the number or the name of your computer from the table. For example the following lines are equivalent: device=c:\himem.sys /M:ps2 device=c:\himem.sys /M:2 This entry forces HIMEM to use the IBM PS/2 A20 method for accessing extended memory. GIVING MAXIMUM PRIORITY TO AN APPLICATION ========================================= Windows lets you set the specific amount of processing time your applications will receive relative to other applications that are running. To ensure that a particular application receives all the processing time it needs without interruption, set its Priority Foreground option to 10000. With this setting, no background applications will be allowed to run unless the foreground application is idle. See Chapter 12, "More About Applications," in the Windows User's Guide for more information about this setting. USING WINDOWS 2.X DRIVERS WITH WINDOWS 3.0 ========================================== Windows 3.0 will not start in standard mode or 386 enhanced mode if you installed Windows 2.x display, mouse, sound, system, or communications drivers. You must update these drivers to run Windows 3.0. To start Windows in real mode, type the following at the MS-DOS prompt and press ENTER: win /r If you use Windows 2.x printer drivers with Windows 3.0, you might see a warning when you print. As with Windows 2.x applications, 2.x printer drivers work reliably only if you run Windows 3.0 in real mode. NOTE It is recommended that you install only the drivers provided with Windows 3.0. If you want to use a special device driver that was not provided with Windows, contact the manufacturer for an updated driver that works with Windows 3.0. RUNNING SPECIFIC NON-WINDOWS APPLICATIONS ========================================= This section describes some problems you might have running non-Windows applications with Windows 3.0. Microsoft Flight Simulator -------------------------- Microsoft Flight Simulator cannot be run as a background application. When you are running Windows in standard or real modes, do not switch from Flight Simulator (ALT+TAB or ALT+ESC) to any other application. Using MultiSoft PC-Kwik Disk Accelerator ---------------------------------------- If you use PC-Kwik with Windows running in 386 enhanced mode, make sure the version is 3.55 or later and that you use PC-Kwik in extended memory, not expanded memory. If you need to upgrade your version of PC-Kwik, call MultiSoft at 1-800-888-KWIK in the United States. Outside the U.S., call 1-503-644-5644. Professional Oracle ------------------- You can run Oracle only in real mode, and without the HIMEM extended memory driver loaded. QModem ------ If you have problems running QModem with Windows, create a program information file (PIF) for QModem that specifies a limit of 0 for EMS memory. Specifying 0 disables EMS for QModem, freeing that memory for use by Windows. Borland Reflex -------------- If you have performance problems running Borland Reflex with Windows in 386 enhanced mode, include the following line in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: VirtualHDIrq=FALSE Microsoft Word -------------- You might have problems using ALT+TAB with Microsoft Word 5.0 and also using ALT+SPACEBAR to transfer data into Microsoft Word 5.0 from the Windows 3.0 Clipboard. If so, contact Microsoft Customer Service for an updated version of Microsoft Word 5.0. The updated version contains a keyboard driver that lets you use ALT+TAB and ALT+SPACEBAR. RUNNING SPECIFIC WINDOWS APPLICATIONS ===================================== This section describes some problems you might have running some Windows applications. Control Panel ------------- If you are running Windows 3.0 in real mode and using expanded memory, a new desktop wallpaper selection will not take effect immediately. You must quit and then restart Windows to see the new selection. Print Manager and Network Printers ---------------------------------- The availability of several features in Print Manager depends on the support provided by your Network software. The NETWORKS.TXT on-line document contains important information about the networks you can use with Windows and which features are available in Print Manager for each network type. See NETWORKS.TXT for more information. Paintbrush ---------- You can print color images from Paintbrush only if you are using a color PostScript printer or an HP PaintJet printer. These are the only printers that currently recognize Device Independent Bitmaps (DIBs), the color file format Paintbrush uses. In addition, when running Windows in real mode, you might receive out-of-memory messages when you try to print. If so, try one of the following: * Close all other applications and try printing again. * Save the Paintbrush file and exit Windows. Start Windows again in standard mode or 386 enhanced mode, and then print the Paintbrush file. * If you can run only in real mode, you can convert the color image and save it to a black and white format, then open the converted file, and print the monochrome bitmap. GENERAL NOTES ABOUT APPLICATIONS ================================ This section includes important information about other problems you might encounter running applications with Windows 3.0. Running non-Windows Applications -------------------------------- If you have problems with your display when you try to run two non-Windows applications and Windows in 386 enhanced mode, add the following line to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: local=EGA$ Increasing Your Display's Update Speed -------------------------------------- If a non-windows application running in 386 enhanced mode Windows seems to be updating the display very slowly, try creating or modifying the application's program information file (PIF). Check the application's PIF file to make sure none of the Monitor Ports check boxes are selected in the Advanced Settings dialog box. On some displays, canceling the Monitor Ports options might mean that you cannot switch back to the application after switching away. In this case, you must exit the first application before starting another. See "Specifying Advanced PIF Options for 386 Enhanced Mode" in Chapter 12, "More About Applications" in the Windows User's Guide for information on PIFs and the Monitor Ports options. Using COM Ports for Communications ---------------------------------- If you are running a non-Windows application that uses COM ports for communications, you might lose characters or receive protection violations. If so, include the following setting in your SYSTEM.INI file: COMxProtocol=XOFF where x is the number for the COM port For information on this switch and instructions on changing SYSTEM.INI settings, see the on-line document, SYSINI2.TXT. Running Windows 2.x and Windows 3.0 ----------------------------------- * If you have both versions of Windows on your hard disk, make sure that the directory containing Windows 3.0 is included in the PATH command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, not the directory for Windows 2.x. * Because Windows searches the current directory before it searches other directories in the PATH command, when you want to run an application, print, install a printer, or install any other drivers in Windows 3.0, make sure the Windows 2.x directory is not the current directory. * If you want to run Windows versions 2.x and 3.0 on the same computer at different times, make sure that your CONFIG.SYS file includes the Windows 3.0 HIMEM.SYS driver. * If you use SMARTDrive or RAMDrive with Windows/386 2.x, make sure the drivers are 2.x drivers. The Windows 3.0 drivers for SMARTDrive and RAMDrive will not work with Windows/386 2.x. Omit the APPEND, JOIN, and SUBST MS-DOS Utilities ------------------------------------------------- The MS-DOS utilities APPEND, JOIN, and SUBST can cause problems when you are running Windows 3.0. If you included APPEND, JOIN, or SUBST in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, remove them and refrain from running them within Windows. Running Batch Files and Embedded Macros --------------------------------------- If you want to run a batch file with a Windows application that uses embedded macro language, do so from a PIF. If you will be running it with Windows in 386 enhanced more, make sure that the Background check box in the batch file's PIF is not selected. That way the batch file will run exclusively, causing the Windows application to pause until processing is complete. To learn about creating PIFs, see Chapter 12, "More About Applications," in the Windows User's Guide. Using SHARE.EXE with Windows ---------------------------- To prevent two applications from modifying the same file, run the MS-DOS utility, SHARE.EXE, before you start Windows. It will not work correctly if you run it from within Windows. See your MS-DOS documentation for details about what SHARE.EXE does and how to install it. Preventing Stack Overflow ------------------------- Stacks are temporary data structures that MS-DOS and applications use for processing hardware events. If you receive the Internal Stack Overflow message when you are running Windows in 386 enhanced mode, you need to change your stacks= setting. * If your system uses MS-DOS 3.2, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: stacks=9,192 * If your system uses MS-DOS 3.3 or above, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: stacks=0,0 Selecting a Port for a Serial Mouse ----------------------------------- Do not try to run your serial mouse from a COM3 or COM4 port. Windows supports serial mice on COM1 and COM2 only. Running Windows from the OS/2 version 1.2 DOS Compatibility Box --------------------------------------------------------------- * Do not allow Windows Setup to make changes to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or CONFIG.SYS file. Make the appropriate changes yourself. * To print, you must set the printer driver port to one with an .OS2 extension as follows: If your printer is physically connected to LPT1 or to LPT2, when you configure your printer, make sure you set the printer-driver port to LPT1.OS2 or LPT2.OS2. If the printer is physically connected to LPT3 or LPT4, you must create a line for LPT3.OS2 or LPT4.OS2 in the [ports] section of your WIN.INI file and then set the printer driver to the appropriate .OS2 port when you configure it. For more information about WIN.INI settings, see the on-line document called WININI.TXT. Using Terminal from the OS/2 DOS Compatibility Box -------------------------------------------------- If you want Terminal to communicate through COM ports from the OS/2 DOS compatibility box, you must set the port before you start Windows. To do so, you can run the SETCOM command from the DOS prompt or you can include the initialization in your CONFIG.SYS file. To set the COM port from the DOS prompt, type the following before you start Windows: SETCOM40 COMx=ON For example, if you want to use COM1, you would type the following command: SETCOM40 COM1=ON To set the COM port automatically, you can add a line in your CONFIG.SYS file. See your OS/2 documentation for instructions. Running Applications that Require Expanded Memory ------------------------------------------------- If you have an 80386 system and use applications that require expanded memory, you can use EMM386.SYS, the expanded memory emulator that comes with Windows 3.0. See Chapter 13, "Optimizing Windows," in the Windows User's Guide for information on using EMM386.SYS. Setting the D= Switch for EMM386 -------------------------------- If you install EMM386, before you can start Windows in 386 enhanced mode, you must include the following setting on your EMM386 command line: d=48 GENERAL NOTES ABOUT HARDWARE ============================ More than 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM ---------------------------------- If your computer has over 16MB of RAM, you must run the HIMEM.SYS that you received with Windows 3.0, not other XMS drivers. Adaptec Controller Boards *** Note: This Includes All Northgate SuperMicro and Elegance Disk Controllers Except Northgate SCSI Controllers. (SlimLine Systems Are Not Included.) If You Have a SCSI Disk Drive Refer to the Section on SCSI Drives. *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you are using an Adaptec controller board, you might need to turn off double-buffering in SMARTDrive. You can do this by adding the /B- switch at the end of the SMARTDrive device line in your CONFIG.SYS file. The following is an example of such an entry: device=c:\windows\smartdrv.sys 1024 512 /B- SCSI Hard Disk Drive using DMA *** This Includes Northgate SCSI Drives *** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If your computer has an SCSI hard disk that uses DMA, you must include the following entry in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: VirtualHDIRQ=FALSE In addition, you must have SmartDrive installed and you must NOT disable double-buffering by using the /B- option. The All ChargeCard with a 3Com Network --------------------------------------- If you have problems running the All ChargeCard in standard mode with a 3Com network, remove ALLEMM4.SYS from your CONFIG.SYS file. Alternately, you can keep ALLEMM4.SYS and start Windows in real mode. To start in real mode, type WIN /r at the DOS prompt and press ENTER. AST Rampage Boards ------------------ You need to upgrade your AST RAMTYPE.SYS driver if both the following conditions are true: * You have an IBM PS/2 or micro-channel architecture computer. * Your board is configured for expanded and extended memory. RAMTYPE drivers before version 1.20 will not coexist with other applications that use extended memory. This makes them incompatible with the HIMEM.SYS, which is required by Windows 3.0. The Windows Setup procedure removes RAMTYPE.SYS from your CONFIG.SYS file. This might cause error messages to appear when you start your computer, as other drivers that rely on RAMTYPE cannot load. This also means that no application can use the expanded memory on your system. However, with RAMTYPE.SYS removed, Windows 3.0 runs correctly. If you have a version of RAMTYPE newer than 1.20, or if you upgrade to a newer version, you can include the RAMTYPE command line in your CONFIG.SYS file. If you are installing an upgrade, you can simply copy this entry from CONFIG.OLD made by Setup when you installed Windows. CD-ROM Extensions ----------------- If you are using CD-ROM Extensions, include the following entry in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: device=LANMAN10.386 You also need to activate the drive by sending it a command before you start Windows. For example, type the following at the DOS prompt and then start Windows: dir x: where x is the drive letter for the CD ROM drive. Hitachi Amdek Drives -------------------- These drives do not work reliably with Windows 3.0. To resolve this problem access the drive before you start Windows by typing the following at the DOS prompt: dir x: where x: is the drive letter for the Amdek drive Logitech Bus Mouse ------------------ If you have a Logitech bus mouse on your computer, Setup will identify it as a Microsoft or PS/2 mouse. This is correct. The Logitech bus mouse is compatible with the Microsoft mouse driver. The Logitech serial mouse uses its own driver. LCD displays ------------ If you use an LCD display, set it for white text on a black background instead of black on white. When you are using Windows, black on white is hard on LCD displays. See the documentation that came with your display for instructions on changing it. Plus Hardcard ------------- To run Windows 3.0 with a Hardcard you must include the following line in your SYSTEM.INI file in the [386Enh] section: VirtualHDIRQ=off See the on-line document SYSINI3.TXT for information about the procedure. It is also a good idea to use SMARTDrive with a Hardcard. See Chapter 13, "Optimizing Windows," in the Windows User's Guide for more information on using SMARTDrive. Columbia Data Products SCSI ---------------------------- To use the Columbia Data Products SCSI hard disk controller with Windows 3.0 in 386 enhanced mode, you must update the Columbia Data Products SCSI software to version 3.35 or higher. Using VGA Display Adapters -------------------------- * If you use a VGA-compatible display adapter and have difficulties running Windows in 386 enhanced mode, you might need to include the following line in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: EMMEXCLUDE=C400-C7FF This is because some VGA compatible cards use additional memory to enhance the performance of their cards. Manufacturers of these cards include Video 7 and Paradise. Display adapter boards with the main chip(s) manufactured by Tseng Labs, Chips and Technologies, Paradise, and Headland Technologies also function this way. When Windows is running in 386 enhanced mode and is configured for VGA, Windows detects most of these cards and automatically excludes the additional memory. However, you must add the line to SYSTEM.INI yourself if: - You have both an 8514 and a VGA display adapter and configured Windows for the 8514. - You have an enhanced VGA adapter that Windows does not recognize. See the SYSINI2.TXT on-line document for the procedure. * If you have both a VGA display adapter (primary) and an 8514 (secondary), you might have problems switching between full-screen non-Windows applications when running Windows in 386 enhanced mode. If an application does not display properly, the digital to analog converter (DAC) on your VGA card needs to be updated. Contact the manufacturer for an upgrade. In the meantime, if your application has a command to refresh the screen, you might be able to temporarily correct the display so you can use the application. For example, if your display is a color display, you can type the following at the DOS Prompt and press ENTER: MODE CO80 See your application's documentation for information about commands that refresh the screen. Using Self-Configuring Display Adapters --------------------------------------- Some display adapters can change their configurations to match what an application tries to do. For example, if an application tries to use a VGA display, the adapter could switch from an EGA configuration to VGA. This type of display adapter makes use of non-maskable interrupts (NMIs) to reconfigure itself as you work. To use this type of display adapter with Windows running in 386 enhanced mode, you must disable the NMI (self-configuring) option. First configure the display adapter for the type of monitor you have, then disable the NMI option. See your hardware documentation for further instructions. OTHER ON-LINE DOCUMENTS ======================= The following are other on-line documents that contain important information not included in the Windows User's Guide or in on-line Help: 3270.TXT Information about using specific non-Windows 3270 emulation applications. NETWORKS.TXT Very important information about running Windows with specific network configurations. PRINTERS.TXT Information about particular printers and fonts that help you configure them to run in the Windows environment. SYSINI.TXT Procedures for modifying SYSTEM.INI settings SYSINI2.TXT (for advanced users only). SYSINI3.TXT WININI.TXT Procedures for modifying WIN.INI settings WININI2.TXT (for advanced users only).