OS/2 Warp Installation Hints (and fixes) v1.0 Warp Installation Notes ----------------------- Release 1.0 November 27, 1994 Compiled by Frank McKenney Copyright (c) 1994 by Frank McKenney All rights reserved. This document may be freely re-distributed for non-commercial purposes. Caveat: the material included has been compiled from verbal comments, e-mail messages posted in public locations (e.g. the Internet NewsGroups), the occasional manual, and my own interpretations of all of the above. I do not have access to all (or even most) of the equipment and software described (I had to sell my favorite 486DX 33&1/3 with 6.7 Mb RAM, two 4300 Baud serial ports, an ESDI adapter using IRQ1, and a 108 Mb RLL+ drive), so I am unable to personally verify all of its content. While I have tried to avoid excessive jargon whereever possible, describing an OS/2 installation is a technical topic and requires a certain number of technical terms. I also make the occasional typographic eror. In all cases, you should use your own best judgement as to which of the following material applies to your situation. Corrections, more detailed explanations, and additional material will be welcomed If, for example, you see a BBS telephone number but know of an FTP site for the same information, please let me know. We're all in this together. Changes, additions, and comments should be directed to rrs0059@ibm.net or mailed to: Frank McKenney McKenney Associates 3464 Northview Place Richmond, Virginia 23225 (804) 320-4887 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- General Hints, Suggestions, and Warnings ---------------------------------------- I have several pieces of "non-standard" (e.g. not officially supported) hardware in my system. As a result, I had always needed to do some tweaking after an OS/2 installation before everything was running smoothly (and the Warp betas were just as bad). I did not look forward to installing Warp GA; in fact, I set aside a whole day to do it. I was (but not quite!) disappointed when OS/2 Warp GA installed from its CD with no problems. Instead, I spent the rest of the time playing with the IBM Internet Connection software, IBM Works, and the other BonusPak applications. Result? The installation wind up taking all day (;-). However, certain configurations do run into problems installing Warp GA. I have listed a number of known problems and workarounds in the following pages to help those of you already stuck, and to forewarn those of you who might need new drivers prior to starting up. I'm hoping that this will result in more people wasting(;-) their time OS/2 Warp and fewer people wasting their time pounding on walls or flaming on the Usenet newsgroups because of snags in installing Warp (;-). Before starting your installation, read the documentation. This includes: The new "User's Guide to OS/2 Warp", and in particular, Chapter 1 - Before You Begin Chapter 2 - Using Easy Installation Chapter 14 - Solving Installation Problems Chapter 15 - Solving System Problems Chapter 16 - Video Procedures Chapter 17 - Using Advanced Installation Chapter 18 - Setting Up a Hard Disk Chapter 19 - Special Hardware Considerations The README file (root drive of the OS/2 Warp V3 CD) (Diskette ?? for the Diskette version) The README.INS file (Warp Installation Diskette) The README.CID file (Warp Installation Diskette) Manufacturers' README files for any device drivers included with the OS/2 Warp GA package. (other suggestions will be welcomed). Warnings: 1) Before performing ANY OS/2 maintenance, including the installation of OS/2 Warp GA, be sure to have a CURRENT backup of ALL of your programs and data. 2) Before performing ANY OS/2 maintenance, including the installation of OS/2 Warp GA, be sure to have a CURRENT backup of ALL of your programs and data. This is not a typo; it is a redundant copy of my text for backup purposes (;-). 3) Have a set of OS/2 bootable diskettes ready with the usual system utilities (FDISK, FORMAT, TEDIT, etc.). Be aware that a set of (e.g.) 2.11 bootable diskettes created with BOOTOS2 will not be able to run some of the system utilities an installed copy of Warp due to version level differences. Beta Testers: Remember that warning when you received your Beta code that you would have to re-format your Beta partition before installing Warp GA? Yes, it's a pain to do. Yes, it would be nice if IBM would dedicate the resources to testing all possible combinations of Beta1, Beta2, Gamma, and Gamma+ systems with GA installed over them, but lazy as I am, I'd rather see the time spent on improving the base operating system. It's not that GA-over-Beta is guaranteed to fail. It's that mixing various levels of similar-but-not-identical code creates an incredibly large set of possible combinations of software, and the problems that result are likely to (a) be subtle, (b) remain hidden for some time after Warp GA is installed, (c) be difficult to pin down, and (d) be highly individualized (one of a kind). Imagine the long-term results of (say) an OS/2 INI file mangled by the Warp Beta code being passed on to Warp GA. Result: much time could be spent, both by IBM and you, in tracking down a problem that could have been avoided by a clean install. There are already enough possibilities for conflicts, don't add new ones. Have Someone To Talk To ----------------------- Finally, if you're only moderately technical but know someone who is familiar with OS/2, it doesn't hurt to let them know that you're about to start an installation and be calling on them for help if you encounter problems. And even if you intimate with all the idiosyncracies of OS/2 Warp, it still doesn't hurt to have someone else to share your problems with - or to whom you can announce that you did the whole thing in 45 minutes flat (;-). ====================================================================== Reported Problems and Fixes / Workarounds ====================================================================== Symptoms: Warp installation program is unable to find CD-ROM drive, system hangs during installation. Hardware: Buslogic BT946C SSCI Adapter Problem: Warp-shipped BTSCSI.ADD (10/05/94, 20953 bytes) may not work properly on some(all?) systems. Fix: Use an earlier release of the BTSCSI.ADD driver, either from a previous OS/2 release or from the Micron BBS (208-465-8982). Look for a file date of 04-07-94 (possibly 06-07-94) and a size of 20162 bytes. Notes: The BT946C BIOS Setup can be invoked by pressing Ctl-B at boot time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: Unable to install, unable to access drive, intermittent and odd effects after installation (HPFS, possibly FAT as well). One user reported the loss of pop-up menus (mouse RMB and Shift-F10) persisting even over a power-down and a MAKEINI rebuild of both OS/2 INI files. Hardware: Promise Technology, Inc. DC4030VL-2 4-drive IDE adapter and PTI1S506.ADD driver. Problem: It appears that there are problems with the PTI driver, at least with v1.2.3, v1.3, and v1.40. PTI Tech Support has said that there are problems related to the PTI driver writing to the OS/2 boot partition at shutdown, which is assumed to be FAT. Fixes: Install to a FAT partition. Or, Use the IBM1S506.ADD driver shipped with Warp by removing the PTI1S506.ADD line from CONFIG.SYS and adding the following line in its place (assuming 2 drives): BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD /A:0 /U:0 /!SMS /U:1 /!SMS Notes: Writing to an OS/2 HPFS partition as if it were a FAT partition is not generally recommended. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: Installation from CD-ROM drive locks up on Diskette 1 following the "Loading, please wait..." message. Following the message from the Installation Diskette, the OS/2 logo appears, there is further diskette and CD-ROM drive activity, the screen goes black and the "Loading..." message appears. After further CD-ROM activity the acreen goes black and the cursor sits in the upper left-hand corner (indefinitely). Hardware: CD-ROM drive Problem: There is a known problem with the Warp GA IBMKBD.SYS driver which can produce this symptom (APAR PJ16077). To verify that your symptoms match this APAR, do the following: Add the line SET PROTSHELL = CMD.EXE to your CONFIG.SYS file and re-boot. You should see an OS/2 full-screen command prompt which will scroll rapidly, as if the Enter key were being pressed repeatedly. Fix: Replace the Warp GA IBMKBD.SYS driver (5548 bytes, dated 10-03-94) with a copy from Warp Beta2 (4677 bytes, dated 7-30-94,). It may also be possible to use the KBD01.SYS driver from OS/2 2.1+XR06200 (29525 bytes, dated 01-29-94) or the one from 2.1 or 2.11 GA. Notes: An "updated" version of the IBMKBD.SYS driver was made available during the course of Warp Beta testing to fix another problem. That driver should be used, as it has the same bug. If this works, please call IBM OS/2 Support and request to be added to the IP (Interested Parties) List for APAR PJ16077. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: No sound from PAS-16 Plus sound adapter following Selective Install and alterations to CONFIG.SYS per Warp User's Guide Chapter 19. Hardware: Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum 16 Plus adapter (possibly other PAS-16 family adapters) Problem: Bad MVPRODD.SYS driver in Warp GA. Fix: Obtain a new driver from the Media Vision BBS (510-770-0527). The driver is in OS2.EXE, which is a self-extracting archive (194972 bytes). For comparison purposes, here are the drivers: MVPRODD.SYS (BBS) 9-21-93 3:09p 59480 MVPRODD.SYS (Warp) 10-08-94 4:02a 51246 Notes: The MVNOTES.DOC file from OS2.EXE also recommends making a change to the MMPM2.INI PARMSTRING value. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: Unable to successfully create an OS/2 bootable partition. Unable to allocate a FAT partition. Hardware: "Large" drive with more than 1024 cylinders (e.g. most drives larger than 500 Mb). Problem: DOS and the "IBM PC Compatible" BIOS routines are unable to address a cylinder address greater than 1023 without some assistance. The resulting "FAT Barrier" forces some restrictions on DOS, OS/2, and any operating system which uses the BIOS suport for any part of its boot process. For the purposes of OS/2 Warp installation, these are: Boot Manager's partition must reside within the "FAT Barrier", that is, below cylinder 1024. DOS and OS/2 bootable partitions, whether FAT or HPFS, must also reside completely within the FAT barrier. DOS-compatible FAT partitions must reside completely within the FAT barrier (no surprise). OS/2 non-bootable HPFS partitions can go anywhere and be any size up to the OS/2 limit of 512 Gb. Fix: Some general rules of thumb may help your planning if you just picked up one of the new 540 Mb (or even 1 Gb) drives. Allocate Boot Manager as the first partition (lowest address) on the drive. Next, if desired, allocate a DOS boot partition (possibly with space for MSWin as well). If desired, and if the DOS boot partition is relatively small, add a second FAT partition for use by DOS and MSWin when RealDOS (PC-DOS or MS-DOS) is booted. Allocate your OS/2 Warp boot partition, either as FAT or HPFS. All of the above must fit within the "FAT Barrier". Finally, allocate the rest of the drive, however large, as one HPFS partition. Notes: Certain drives and adapters help move the FAT Barrier up above 500 Mb by making it appear to the BIOS (or the adapter) that a "cylinder" contains more data than the physical drive geometry actually uses. Thus, 1024 cylinders "contains" more disk space. If the drive performs the translation, it should be transparent to the BIOS, DOS, and OS/2. If the adapter hardware performs the translation, the same will hold true. However, if the translation is performed by the adapter , problems can result unless the manufacturer also provides an OS/2 driver for the adapter or OS/2 uses the IBMINT13.I13 driver to force all disk I/O through the adapter BIOS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: OS/2 installation is unable to access drive, or reports unusual drive partition sizes. Hardware: Large IDE drive with more than 1024 cylinders (presumably SCSI and ESDI as well) using OnTrack Disk Manager software (a.k.a. "Drive Rocket"). Problem: OnTrack Disk Manager is incompatible with operating systems other than DOS, including OS/2. It uses non-standard partition descriptions which can make the drive appear to be unreadable or uninitialized. Fix: Back up all partitions on drives which are using OnTrak and remove OnTrack from the drives prior to installing OS/2. Partitions can be created under OS/2 beyond the "FAT Barrier" by using the OS/2 FDISK or FDISKPM programs, and formatting the new partitions to use the OS/2 High Performance File System (HPFS). Notes: Specific tips on doing this would be appreciated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: Visible mouse pointer is offset (possibly by several inches) from the "effective" internal location for MSWin applications run in "seamless" mode (windowed on the OS/2 desktop). Hardware: Dell Computer systems with MSWin pre-installed. Problem: This appears to be the result of a Dell-specific version of the MSWin MOUSE.DRV driver. Fix: Obtain a copy of MOUSE.DRV from a standard version of MSWin, or download an updated driver from Dell. FTP: dell1.us.dell.com, file /dellbbs/os2/mouse.zip (possibly ftp.dell.com) BBS: 512-728-8528, OS/2 directory, file MOUSE.ZIP Rename the current driver (e.g. to DELMOUSE.DRV) and copy the new driver into the MSWin SYSTEM directory (usually named \WINDOWS\SYSTEM) Notes: This has also been reported as a fix for a similar problem for Zeos computers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: Following installation, OS/2 displays the new logo screen and hangs. Hardware: Problem: IRQ conflict. Fix: Ensure that no two adapters share an IRQ setting. To help determine which driver is being loaded at the time of the hang (and thus which adapter may be a part of the problem ), re-boot and press Alt-F2 when the "boot-blob" (small white rectangle in the upper left corner of the screen) appears. This will list each driver as it loads. Notes: If the hang occurs later in the boot process, try adding /V parameters to various drivers; this may yield additional information about which drivers are or are not operating as expected. If the messages scroll too rapidly to be read, add several "dummy" driver lines to CONFIG.SYS (e.g. BASEDEV=STOPHERE) to force the boot process to pause with an error message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: During installation the following message appears: "The country information file A:\COUNTRY.SYS is incorrect. The system is stopped. Correct the preceding error and restart." Hardware: 3.5" and 5.25" floppy drives Problem: CMOS not set up properly; it thought the 3.5" A: drive was a 5.25" drive and that the 5.25" B: drive was a 3.5" drive. Fix: Correct the CMOS settings. Notes: This could happen as the result of a bad CMOS battery, or from swapping the diskette drive cables and forgetting to re-set the CMOS information to match the change. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symptoms: Various problems recognizing CD-ROM drives at installation time (e.g. SBCD2 not recognizing drives with unit codes other than zero), possibly other CD-ROM-related problems as well. Hardware: Any of the following CD-ROM drives: Philips LMS CM205, CM225 (single session) Philips LMS CM205, CM225 (multisession) Philips CM206, CM226 Sony CDU-531, 535, 6150, 6201, 6205, 6251, 7201, and 7205 CD-ROM drives attached to a Sony CDB-240 series (or compatible) host adapter. Mitsumi CRMC-FX001 (single speed), CRMC-FX001D (double-speed) Mitsumi CRMC-LU005, CRMC-LU002 Tandy CDR-1000 (Mitsumi) BSR-6800 (Mitsumi) Creative Labs OmniCD IBM ISA CD-ROM Drive Panasonic CR-521,522,523,562,563 Problem: Problems with Warp GA drivers. Fix: Obtain an updated driver for your CD-ROM drive. These are currently available from the Talklink OS2BBS and CompuServe, and will presumably be on ftp.cdrom.com shortly. README files for each driver are included showing how to install them and what parameters each accepts. File names: CDDRVR.ZIP All fixes contained in one file 1.0 11/22/94 93440 WLM205.ZIP Philips LMS205 CD Driver 1.0 11/22/94 22320 WLM206.ZIP Philips LMS206 CD Driver 1.0 11/22/94 23680 WMITFX.ZIP Mitsumi CD Drivers 1.0 11/22/94 16640 WSBCD2.ZIP SoundBlaster CD Driver 1.0 11/22/94 15600 WSONY5.ZIP Sony 535 CD Driver 1.0 11/22/94 14720 Notes: None ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a first draft. Please send comments, updates, and suggestions to Frank McKenney, rrs0059@ibm.net. Be warned that flames will be automatically routed to an attack-trained copy of Warp's UltiMail/2 Lite; on detecting a flame it will promptly trigger a SYS3175 self-destruct sequence, taking the offending missive with it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------