SMALL FONTS AND ICONS FOR OS/2 WARP SVGA DISPLAY DRIVERS
--------------------------------------------------------



                    Version 1.3
                    -----------



** Please take time to read the disclaimer located  **
** at the bottom of this file.                      **


Introduction
------------

The SVGA display drivers from IBM have an annoying habit of using
large icons and fonts at resolutions above and including 1024x768.

The program contained within this archive was written to address this
problem by making alterations to the display drivers to give small
fonts and icons.

This latest version of smallfix should address many of the problems
reported by users of more exotic display drivers.  smallfix now allows
users to use a simple interface to patch drivers that smallfix doesn't
have in its internal database.

VERY IMPORTANT: 
  SMALLFIX WILL *NOT* ALTER THE WINDOWS(tm) OR SEAMLESS WINDOWS(tm)
  DRIVERS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.  YOU WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE LARGE
  FONTS AND ICONS IN WINDOWS SESSIONS AFTER RUNNING FIXDISP ON YOUR
  OS/2 DRIVERS.

(I don't have any solution for this).

Please feel free to hassle IBM about these large fonts and icons.  I
don't know anyone who actually prefers them.  I can only assume that
the IBM OS/2 programmers aren't inflicted with them, or this problem
would have been resolved by now.

smallfix will probably work with OS/2 2.1, OS/2 2.11, and Warp Beta
drivers as well.


Procedure
---------

NB: If you encounter problems at any stage, skip down to the
    trouble shooting section below.

    You might also like to print out this readme before starting.  You
    should also read this entire file first.


1. Install the high resolution drivers using Selective Install or your
   display card manufacturer's installation disks if you haven't
   already done so.


2. The first and most important thing to do is to take a backup of the
   display driver DLL that smallfix is going to attack.  This DLL will
   be located in \OS2\DLL on your OS/2 boot drive.  Possible names for
   this DLL include:

   IBMS332.DLL   IBMDEV32.DLL   ATIM32.DLL  ATI6432.DLL  M6432.DLL
   TLIW32PM.DLL  CIRRUS.DLL     MGA32.DLL   8514_32.DLL  IBMXGA32.DLL

   The DLL will probably be about 350k in size.

   Take a backup of this DLL by copying it to a new file in the
   \OS2\DLL directory.  I recommend that you either prefix an "old-"
   to the DLL name (if on HPFS) or change the .DLL suffix to .OLD.

   eg.
      [D:\OS2\DLL] copy ibms332.dll ibms332.old
   or 
      [D:\OS2\DLL] copy ibms332.dll old-ibms332.dll

   Also sticking a copy on floppy disk won't hurt.


3. Run fixdisp.exe in an OS/2 command window.


4. When prompted, enter the path to the \OS2\DLL directory.

   eg.

       Enter path to OS/2 DLL directory (eg. C:\OS2\DLL) : D:\OS2\DLL
       ... using D:\OS2\DLL

   fixdisp will now scan the directory for DLLs that it knows about.
   If it finds any, it will display a list like this:

       This is a list of possible DLLs to patch:
       >> ibms332.dll << (already patched)
       >> old-ibms332.dll << -- 32 Bit S3 Display Drivers V2.4 -- (try this)

   The comment in parentheses is reasonably important.  It can be one
   of the following:

     already patched    - the DLL is patched already
     try this           - the DLL is known about by fixdisp
     possible           - fixdisp knows can't reliably patch the DLL
                          automatically, but will help you to do it.

  If you do not get a list of DLLs like the one shown above, then DO
  NOT PANIC!  Assuming that you know or can guess the DLL name
  yourself, then fixdisp will guide you through the patching process.


5. Enter the name of the DLL file to be patched.  Use the backed up
   .DLL (old-<dllname>.dll, or <dllname>.old).

   eg.
     (Don't bother trying svga.dll here!)
     Enter the name (without path) of the DLL to patch : old-ibms332.dll
     ... using old-ibms332.dll

   NB: svga.dll may sound like a promising display driver name, but
   the chances of getting small fonts and icons as a result of
   patching it are about 0%.  Trust me on this.  :-)


6. Enter the name of the file that will contain the patched DLL.  I
   recommend new-<dllname>.dll or <dllname>.new.

   eg.
     Enter the name (with path) for the patched DLL : D:\OS2\DLL\new-ibms332.dll


7. If the display driver DLL is one that is recognised by fixdisp's
   internal database, then you'll get a message like this:

     Use built-in patch information rather than the patch locator? [Y/N] :

   If you respond "Y" to this, then fixdisp will attempt to patch the
   DLL using information in its database.  You should probably reply
   "Y" to this prompt.  If the automatic patch doesn't work for some
   reason, or you like life on the edge, then respond with "N" and
   fixdisp will guide you through the manual patching process.

   If you don't get given this prompt, or you respond with "N", then you
   will be taken to the patch locator.  Skip to step 9.


8. On responding "Y", the following should (hopefully) appear:

     ... using built-in patch information...

     1024x768 font patch made...
     1280x1024 font patch made...
     DPI patch made...
     32x32 icon patch made...

     Saving patched DLL to D:\OS2\DLL\new-ibms332.dll... done.

   NB: If you want to use 1280x1024 small fonts, and the patch made
   message does not appear for them, then run fixdisp again, but
   respond "N" to the automatic patch prompt in step 7.

   Skip to step 10.


9. The patch locator:

   You may require a pen and paper here... :-)

     --- PATCH LOCATOR ---

   The patch locator enables you to manually patch the DLL.  There is
   no 100% bulletproof method of patching every display driver, so
   there may be several possible choices for each type of patch.  The
   bad news is that picking the wrong one will probably cause your
   machine to halt or trap when the patched display driver is loaded.
   More on that later though.

   For each of the four patches (2 fonts, dpi, and icons), you will be
   prompted with a list of possible patch locations.  The one which
   fixdisp thinks is most likely to be the right one will be marked
   with an asterisk (this is the choice that previous versions of
   fixdisp would use).  If there isn't an asterisk for any of the four
   patch types, or there aren't any choices available, then you might
   be using the wrong DLL!

   It's helpful to note down your choice on a piece of paper so that
   if you have to run fixdisp again you will know which choices
   you have tried.

   Enter the location number you want to try.  Always try the
   asterisked locations first.  You can omit a patch by entering 0.
   This would enable you to experiment with getting the icons working
   before you try the fonts.

   An example of this process: (the number of choices, and the values
   displayed will probably be different for you)

     1024x768 font patch location:  (* = most likely)
     * 1. 1ff0e
       2. 2643a
       3. 4b5f6
       4. 561a3
       0. <don't patch>

     Which one do you want to try? : 1  <-- input
     ... location 1 at offset 1ff0e will be patched.

     1280x1024 font patch location:  (* = most likely)
     * 1. 1fed6
       2. 51b03
       3. 55741
       0. <don't patch>

     Which one do you want to try? : 1 <-- input
     ... location 1 at offset 1fed6 will be patched.

     DPI patch location:  (* = most likely)
       1. 325
     * 2. 2dd18
       3. 54390
       4. 54646
       5. 548f2
       6. 54be4
       7. 55761
       8. 55ca1
       0. <don't patch>

     Which one do you want to try? : 2 <-- input
     ... location 2 at offset 2dd18 will be patched.

     32x32 icon patch location:  (* = most likely)
     * 1. 55167
       0. <don't patch>

     Which one do you want to try? : 1 <-- input
     ... location 1 at offset 55167 will be patched.

     Saving patched DLL to D:\OS2\DLL\new-ibms332.dll... done.

     If these values create a working DLL with small fonts and icons
     then the following line can be entered into the fixdisp.db file for future
     use (alter the .DLL name to conform to the naming conventions in fixdisp.db).
     A copy of this line has been appended to fixdisp.log.

     old-ibms332.dll,0xd86a556a,0xd06d0ca2,0x1ff0e,0x1fed6,0x2dd18,0x55167


   The last thing fixdisp does is to give you a line which describes
   the patches it has made.  Rather than mail this line to me, feel
   free to use it in a reply to a Usenet posting made by someone trying
   to get a particular driver to work.


10. If you get here, then fixdisp should have written the patched DLL
    to the file you specified in step 6.

    If it hasn't, then skip to the troubleshooting section below.

    The next step is to test the patched DLL.  Shutdown OS/2, and
    reboot.  During startup, a white brick and the word "OS/2" will
    appear briefly at the top left of the screen.  Press ALT-F1 when
    this happens.

    After a couple of seconds, you will be presented with a menu.
    Press C to boot to a command prompt.

    At the command prompt, change directory to the \OS2\DLL directory
    on your boot drive.  Copy the patched DLL file (as entered in step
    6) over the top of the display driver DLL.  YOU HAVE TAKEN A
    BACKUP HAVEN'T YOU?

    eg.
      [D:\] cd \os2\dll
      [D:\OS2\DLL] copy new-ibms332.dll ibms332.dll
      or
      [D:\OS2\DLL] copy ibms332.new ibms332.dll

    From now on, if you need to re-run fixdisp, you should use
    "old-<dllname>.dll" or "<dllname>.old" as the DLL filename to
    patch, *NOT* "<dllname>.dll".

    Reboot thy computing device.
  
    eg.
      [D:\OS2\DLL] exit


    (NB: fixdisp.exe can be run from this maintenance shell if you 
         prefer.)

11. Your machine will now reboot, and with any luck, will have small
    fonts and icons at 1024x768 and above.  Exactly which patches take
    effect depends on whether you used the automatic or manual
    patching (and maybe omitted some patches) in step 7.

    This isn't an ideal world (and OS/2 is an IBM program), so your
    machine might hang or TRAP (most likely in SingleQ$) when it
    attempts to change mode.  If this happens, then you need to reboot
    back to the command line prompt from the boot menu, and restore
    your original DLL.

    eg.
      [D:\OS2\DLL] copy old-ibms332.dll ibms332.dll

    Reboot, and skip to the trouble shooting section below.



TROUBLE SHOOTING
----------------

1. Fixdisp problems

   fixdisp will report any errors it encounters while attempting to
   patch the display driver DLLs (missing files, etc).  If you come 
   across errors/crashes in fixdisp itself, then let me know.


2. I don't know which DLL to patch!

   Let me know which drivers or card you have, and I'll try to help.

   First though, look in \OS2\DLL for a DLL with one of the names
   listed in procedure step 2 above, and try using that.


3. Some of my applications look strange!

   There are several applications which have rather disorganised
   displays after smallfix has been used.  These include IBM's media
   players and the shareware Albatross CD player.  Given IBM's
   inability to follow any of their own programming guidelines, I
   suspect that these problems are caused by incorrect assumptions
   about what size the default font is, or display size to DPI ratios.
   There is nothing I can do about these applications; sorry.

   [ The LaunchPad actually looks better after smallfix has been used ]

   On the other hand, if all your applications and settings notebooks
   look wrong, then one of the patches (probably DPI) hasn't been made
   properly.  Proceed to number 4!


4. Display driver problems

   The most common problem users will encounter with fixdisp is an
   inability to boot their machine once they have patched the driver
   DLL and followed the instructions up to step 10.

   The most important thing to do first is to restore the machine to a
   bootable state.  There are two ways of doing this:

     a) Use the OS/2 boot menu (hit ALT-F1 when the white brick
     appears during a reboot), go to the command line (hit C), and do
     the following:

	[D:\] cd \os2\dll 
        [D:\OS2\DLL] copy old-ibms332.dll ibms332.dll 
        or
        [D:\OS2\DLL] copy ibms332.old ibms332.dll 

	Substitute the name of your driver DLL for the ibms332 bits
        above.

     Reboot.  If OS/2 still won't start properly, then try step (b)
     below.

     b) Use the OS/2 boot menu (hit ALT-F1 when the white brick
     appears during a reboot), reset to VGA mode, reboot, and
     reinstall your drivers using selective install or your card
     manufacturer install program.

  Then,

  If you used the automatic patch facility in step 7, and it doesn't seem
  to have worked, then try making the patches using the patch locator (use
  old-<dllname.dll> or <dllname>.old from now on when prompted for the
  DLL to patch).

  If you used the patch locator, then try using different patch
  options.  The asterisked choices will work for the majority of
  drivers, but there will inevitably be some exceptions.

  Try getting the icons working first.  Then try the fonts, then DPI.
  From user feedback so far, the most common cause of a crash or hang
  is getting the 1280x1024 font patch wrong.  The others patches cause
  massive icons, or strange text when they go wrong.

  If you have absolutely no luck at all, then send me email.  The
  chances are that someone else has had the same problems and notified
  me of a solution.

5. Refresh rates and resolutions

   Fixdisp does not even attempt to solve any problems you might have
   obtaining resolutions of 1024x768 and above.

6. My Windows(tm) sessions have horrible big window capion bars, fonts, and
   icons!

   Fixdisp does not patch Windows(tm) drivers.  I do not know of any
   patch programs similar to fixdisp which will.  Complain to IBM! :-)



The source code
---------------

The source code for fixdisp is no longer included within this archive.
The latest version has some rather embarassingly horrible code in it,
so it's now available on request only! :-)


Distribution
------------

Feel free to distribute this archive (unmodified) far and wide.  It should 
always be available from ftp-os2.nmsu.edu in /os2/warp/patches/smallf??.zip.


Licence
-------

smallfix is absolutely free.  Users incur no obligation to the authors
as a result of using it.  Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of
this file though.


Acknowledgements
----------------

Daniel J Neades (djn@arac.demon.co.uk), for the information about
which bits of the display drivers need twiddling.

Guido Jaekel (Guido.Jaekel@Physik.Uni-Osnabrueck.DE), for various things.

Thanks to *everyone* who's sent me email about previous versions of
smallfix.

The ever-incompetent IBM for the large fonts and icons.


DISCLAIMER  (very important)
----------------------------

 The authors accept absolutely NO responsiblity for any adverse
 consequences arising from the use or misuse of this program. IBM will
 probably not provide any form of support for modified display
 drivers.

 Modifying display drivers is a messy business.  If you are not 100%
 confident in your display driver twiddling abilities then DO NOT USE
 THIS SOFTWARE.  You have been warned.

 This software has nothing to do with IBM.  Do not contact IBM if you
 have problems with this software.


Enjoy,

Jason R. Shannon (jrs@larch.demon.co.uk)
21st February 1994