CNFGINFO.EXE BETA VERSION 1.3f Copyright 1992-95 by Rick Meigs ------------------------------------------------- Please review this file for important information ------------------------------------------------- Thank you for testing this BETA version of CNFGINFO.EXE. This is the second general wide beta of the program. <<=DISCLAIMER=>> I CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU DO WITH OR TO YOUR SYSTEM OR YOUR CONFIG.SYS FILE BASED UPON WHAT YOU MAY LEARN FROM THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS PROGRAM OR THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM. YOU ARE FAIRLY WARNED, I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMER. NO WARRANTY OR FITNESS IS IMPLIED. THE INFORMATION AND PROGRAM ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. DOES THIS MEAN I THINK THERE ARE PROBLEMS? NO, TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE EVERY THING WORKS JUST FINE. This whole process started in 1992 when I began researching what many of the config.sys file commands in OS/2 were for. The data file used by this program is the result of this still ongoing research. The data file is now in version 9a, which is provided with this program. CNFGINFO.EXE is an additional means of making the information useful to a larger group of OS/2 users. All current versions of this program are FreeWare, and free is a very good price. However, free doesn't mean bad. Users indicate that it is a high quality and useful utility. I really hope you find it to be so also. -------------------------- FILE INVENTORY The following files are contained on the enclosed disk. CNFGINFO.EXE 01-19-95 OS2CFG9.DAT 01-19-95 RXEXTRAS.DLL 02-02-94 VROBJ.DLL 08-10-94 README.1ST 01-19-95 README.TXT 01-19-95 FILE_ID.DIZ 01-19-95 -------------------------- HISTORY Version 1.0 released February, 1994. Version 1.1 released August, 1994. Fixed edit option bug. Version 1.2 - 1.3b were experimental upgrades not released. Version 1.3c (beta, control beta group only) Fixed bug which kept program from locating config.sys on any drive other than "C". Added config.sys file information feature. This feature displays the creation date, file size and number of lines in your config.sys. Also, indicates the line number of any item selected in the config.sys file window. Modified print options. Print option screen automatically closes after printing completed. To close without printing, use the OS/2 way with a double click on upper left corner icon, or press Alt+F4. When loading OS2CFGx.DAT data file, program now indicates which version is being loaded. Data items in your config.sys file which include a drive other than "C" will be properly handled when searching the OS2CFGx.DAT file. Improved internal data handling routines. Version 1.3d (beta, control beta group only) Fixed bug which would not allow program to load OS2CFGx.DAT data file when program was booted from a floppy drive. Added feature which allows the display of device driver information (file date and size) in the Device option. You can now resize the Device option screen. Device option screen now sorted alphabetically. Print option screen will now stay in the foreground until printing completed or option is deselected. Edit screen (OS/2 System Editor) now opens in the foreground instead of background. Added feature which allows the selection of an alternate config.sys file. Just click the right mouse button once on the Config.sys File window. A "pop-up" menu will appear. Select "Load alternate config.sys". If an alternate config.sys file is loaded, edit, device, print and backup options will utilize the alternate file. Added feature which allows the reloading of your boot drive config.sys file. This is useful when you have edited your boot drive config.sys file and want to have the new version displayed for analysis. Just click the right mouse button once on the Config.sys File window. A "pop-up" menu will appear. Select "Reload boot drive config.sys". Improved error handling. Improved user documentation (the document you are now reading). Increased width of display screens to reduce the need to scroll right to see information. Version 1.3e (wide beta) November 25, 1994 Added an Analyze feature. Checks and gives you general suggestions on items you may wish to modify in your config.sys. Will not actually modify your config.sys file. Use the edit option to do so. Version 1.3f (wide beta) January 15, 1995 Included an updated released version of OS2CFG9.DAT. Fixed some spelling errors :-(. Fixed a few buglets that were reported from the 1.3e beta. Replaced the use of the System Editor with a new edit feature in the main program. Analyze feature is now started as a separate thread. This allows you to freely move between the main program and Analyze. In the past if you switch from the Analyze feature to the main program, you found the main program still lock (not enabled). You can now work on your config.sys file from the main program while keeping the Analyze information available for reference. When you edit your config.sys file from the main program, the modified config.sys will be automatically loaded and displayed when saved. -------------------------- BUG REPORTING Bug reports/comments should be reported to rick.meigs@nwcs.org, or mailed to 7032 SW 26th, Portland, OR, USA, 97219. Please include the following information when reporting: Your name and Internet address (or mailing address). Which version were you using. Which version of OS2CFGx.DAT were you using. Describe your hardware configuration in detail. Describe the problem including what you were attempting to do when the problem appeared. Did any error messages appear? If so, what exactly did they say. -------------------------- INSTALL For best results, install this program on your hard drive. The partition should not matter, as long as its local. To install: Simply copy all files to a folder of choice and then set up your own program icon on your desktop (or other folder of choice). If you have another version of this program, don't place this version in the same folder. The program will run from a floppy, but the performance is a real dog and I don't recommend it. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you currently have a version of this program installed, do not install this version in the same folder. An additional DLL (RxExtras.DLL dated 02-02-94) and an upgraded to VROBJ.DLL (dated 08-10-94) must be used. Both DLLs have been provided. These DLLs may either reside in the same folder as CNFGINFO.EXE or in another folder which is included in your LIBPATH config.sys path statement. If the DLLs are included in the same folder as the program, be sure that a period "." is included in your LIBPATH statement right after the equal "=" symbol. This causes OS/2 to look in the current logged folder first for all DLLs. Example: LIBPATH=.;C:\OS2\DLL;. -------------------------- TO LAUNCH If you create a program icon, double click on this icon to launch the program. You can also launch the program from within it's folder by double clicking on the CNFGINFO.EXE icon. -------------------------- Q & A Q. Is this program Shareware? A. No. It is Freeware, so feel free to pass any version on to friends and other OS/2 users on a not-for-profit basis. There is no cost. Q. Can I use this program at my place of employment? A. Sure. The author does not restrict the program to personal or home use. Q. How do I contact the author? A. Internet: rick.meigs@nwcs.org; or mail: Rick Meigs, 7032 SW 26th, Portland, OR, USA, 97219. Q. How well has this program been tested? A. The program has been through both a small controlled beta and a general mass release beta to the OS/2 community. No major problems were reported. Several minor bugs have been fixed and many good suggestions have been implemented in this release. Q. The program indicates that it can't locate OS2CFGx.DAT. Where is this file? A. OS2CFGx.DAT (where "x" is the version number, e.g. OS2CFG9.DAT) may not have been included with the distribution disk. If you don't have the file, you can download it from most BBSs that have an OS/2 area. You must have version 8 or later. The file name will be OS2CFGx.ZIP were "x" is the version number. Q. The program indicates that it can not locate OS2CFGx.DAT, but I have the file. A. The data file (OS2CFGx.DAT) must be in the same folder as the program (CNFGINFO.EXE). Be sure that you have not changed the name of the data file. It must be OS2CFGx.DAT where "x" is the version number. You must also have version 8 or later. Any version before 8 will not work. Q. Is the data file ever updated? A. Yes. The current data file is version 9. Version 9 will was release on or about November 25, 1994. As new releases of OS/2 come out and/or as I learn new and interesting "stuff", I release new versions of the data file. The data file is formatted and constructed so it can be used with or without CNFGINFO.EXE. Look for the latest version on most OS/2 BBSs or at ftp.cdrom.com on the Internet. The file name will be OS2CFGx.ZIP were "x" is the version number. Q. Can I print information displayed in the Information Window? A. Yes. Click on the print option and then select the desired action. Q. How do I quit the program? I don't see a "quit" or "Exit" option. A. The standard way to close any OS/2 window is to double click on the System Icon. It is located in the upper left hand corner of the window. OS/2 also provides a shortcut-- Alt+F4 --to close any program. Q. How do I close the Print Option window? A. The standard way to close any OS/2 window is to double click on the System Icon. It is located in the upper left hand corner of the window. You can also press Alt+F4. Q. How do I close the Device Driver display window? A. The standard way to close any OS/2 window is to double click on the System Icon. It is located in the upper left hand corner of the window. You can also press Alt+F4. Q. Can I load and display an alternate config.sys file? A. Yes. Click the right mouse button in the Config.sys File window. From the "pop-up" menu, select "Load alternate config.sys file". Select the desired file from the dialog screen and then select "OK". Q. I just edited my boot drive config.sys file. I want to load and display this revised config.sys. How do I do this? A. The revised config.sys file will automatically load and display, but you can reload also by clicking the right mouse button in the Config.sys file window. From the "pop-up" menu, select "Reload boot drive config.sys file". Q. I just edited an alternate config.sys file (not my boot drive config.sys). I want to load and display this revised config.sys. How do I do this? A. The revised config.sys file will automatically load and display, but you can reload also by clicking the right mouse button in the Config.sys File window. From the "pop-up" menu, select "Load alternate config.sys file". Select the desired file from the dialog screen and then select "OK". Q. How do I edit an alternative config.sys file? A. When the System Editor opens, use it's file option to load the alternate config.sys file. You may also load an alternate config.sys file in the Config.sys File window and then invoke the editor. The editor will load and display this alternate config.sys file. Q. When I click on a config.sys statement, the system doesn't always have information available about that statement. How come? A. The data file for this program contains a vast amount of information on all the standard OS/2 config.sys commands and statements. This information has been compiled over many years from many sources, but it can't and will never be comprehensive. There are just to many programs which add commands and device driver statements to OS/2s config.sys file. These commands and statements are unique to those programs and often change with time. If you have such items and want to help the OS/2 community by adding it to the data file, internet me and I'll be glad to add it with credit to you. As new releases of OS/2 come out and/or as I learn new and interesting "stuff", I release new versions of the data file. The data file is formatted and constructed so it can be used with or without CNFGINFO.EXE. Look for the latest version on most OS/2 BBSs or at ftp.cdrom.com on the Internet. Q. Has this version of your program been tested with Warp? A. It was been used with Warp Beta II and Warp 3 four over five months and appears to works real well. No problems have been found. Q. I've found a bug. How do I pass the details on to you? A. Oh no! Can it be? (:->) See BUG REPORTING above. Q. When do you expect to release the GA version? A. By March 1, 1995. Q. Why doesn't the program "snoop" out how much RAM I have as well as the other parameters the Analyze feature requests? A. It could, but some use this program in a multi-system environment where they tune config.sys files on a single machine then copy those config.sys files to the proper system. They need to have a very flexible and easy way to adjust parameters which may not be the same as there work computer. Q. Does the Analyze feature actually change my config.sys file? A. No. You must make the individual changes. The Analyze feature only makes suggestions which may or may not be appropriate to your situation. // END //