TECHNICAL BULLETIN #26 - Rev 1.00 (7/31/96) ============================================================================== TITLE : Running 2.01 in Windows - Problems and Solutions PRODUCT : PROCOMM PLUS 2.01 (DOS) ============================================================================== PROCOMM PLUS version 2.01, a DOS communications program, works well under Microsoft Windows, too. But communications under Windows can be tricky. Here are solutions for common problems (including lost characters and download errors) you might encounter while trying to communicate in the Windows environment with PROCOMM PLUS version 2.01. Before you begin, PROCOMM PLUS version 2.01 should be loaded and successfully operating in the DOS environment. In addition, you have installed an icon on your desktop which uses the default PCPLUS.PIF file to load PROCOMM PLUS. If you are having trouble communicating in Windows with PROCOMM PLUS, * Complete the "PCPLUS.PIF File Changes" procedure appropriate for the Windows mode you are using and see if your problem disappears. If it persists, * Consult the "Potential Problems and Solutions" section. PCPLUS.PIF FILE CHANGES ======================= STANDARD MODE PCPLUS.PIF CHANGES Edit the PCPLUS.PIF file to include the following change for users in Standard Mode. 1. After opening the PCPLUS.PIF file with the PIF Editor, select the "Close Window on Exit" option. 2. Select the File menu option and Save the PCPLUS.PIF file. 386 ENHANCED MODE PCPLUS.PIF CHANGES The PCPLUS.PIF file should be edited to include the following changes for users in 386 Enhanced Mode. 1. After opening the PCPLUS.PIF file with the PIF Editor, select the Advanced pushbutton. 2. In the Display Options section, deselect the High Graphics option. 3. Select the Text option. 4. Select the Emulate Text Mode option. 5. Select the Retain Video Memory option. 6. Select OK, then select the File menu option and Save the PCPLUS.PIF file. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ================================ SYMPTOM : SLOW DOWNLOADS IN THE BACKGROUND. Windows in 386 Enhanced Mode determines how much time each DOS application will be given in relation to the other DOS applications. Windows must also allocate time to update information in each window. If you aren't able to increase performance with the following two suggestions, reduce the number of DOS applications running concurrently in Windows. SOLUTION: INCREASE BACKGROUND PRIORITY AND MINIMIZE PROGRAM. PROCEDURE: 1. Open the PCPLUS.PIF file using the PIF Editor and select the Advanced pushbutton. 2. Increase the Background Priority to a value which is significantly larger than the Background Priority of your other DOS applications' PIF files. The range of values for the Background Priority is 0 to 10000. 3. Save the PCPLUS.PIF file. 4. If running PROCOMM PLUS in the background, click on the Control Menu Box (the "minus sign box" in the upper left corner of the window) and select Minimize. SYMPTOM: DOWNLOADS RESULT IN MANY ERRORS OR CHARACTERS ARE LOST IN TERMINAL MODE. Although error-correcting modems have reduced download errors considerably, they cannot be responsible for the information once it leaves the modem and enters the serial port. Your PC and software can still "lose" data and create errors during a download. The two primary sources of lost characters are 1) exceeding the baud rate limitations of the serial port and 2) Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs which manipulate the serial port and CPU in undesirable ways. SOLUTION: USE THE CORRECT BAUD RATE; DISABLE WINDOWS CONTROL OF 16550 UART CHIP; TEST FOR AND REMOVE INTERFERING TSR'S. PROCEDURE: 1. To see which kind of UART chip is in your serial port, exit Windows and run Microsoft Diagnostics from the Windows subdirectory by typing "\WINDOWS\MSD" and pressing at the DOS prompt. 2. Select the COM ports section. Identify your port's UART under the appropriate COM port column in the field labeled "UART Chip Used." 3. Start PROCOMM PLUS and activate the Current Setup by pressing from Terminal mode. 4. Adjust the Baud Rate to the appropriate speed if PROCOMM PLUS is set to a higher baud rate than your UART reliably supports. Save your Current Setup after making changes. Adjust your Dialing Directory entries to this baud rate if necessary. 5. To manually disable the Windows control of your 16550 UART, open the SYSTEM.INI file with a text editor like Windows Notepad. 6. Under the "[386 Enh]" section, look for the commands "COMxBuffer= 0" and "COMxFIFO=0", where x denotes your serial port. If you don't find these commands, add them, or adjust their arguments to "0" if they are set to different values. For example, to disable Windows's control of the COM 2 port, add the commands "COM2Buffer=0" and "COM2FIFO=0" to the [386Enh] section. 7. To disable SMARTDrive's write-caching, edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file, looking for the "SMARTDRV.EXE" command. 8. Add a space and a capital letter after the command to denote the drive(s) to which you do NOT want SMARTDrive to write-cache. Disable multiple drives by adding the appropriate drive letter identifiers in succession, separated by spaces. For example, to disable write- caching on the C and D drives, change the command "C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE" to "C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE C D". 9. Refer to DATASTORM's "Identifying and Resolving TSR Conflicts" Technical Bulletin for details related to identifying and eliminating other TSR conflicts. SYMPTOM: PORT LOCKS UP USING HOST MODE'S SHELL FEATURE. When your PC boots, it records the port addresses of each of your COM ports in memory. If you have not installed your serial ports sequentially (e.g., you have COM1 followed by COM3), your PC may not properly record your port addresses. This can result in a communications failure when someone calls into your PC and uses PROCOMM PLUS's Host mode shell-to-DOS feature. SOLUTION: ALIGN COM PORT ADDRESSES. Add DATASTORM's COMPORTS.COM program to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It is available in the file COMPRT.EXE from the Utiliites Library in the Quarterdeck BBS. Procedure: 1. Download COMPRT.EXE and copy it to the root directory of your boot drive. 2. At the DOS prompt, type "COMPRT" and press . The file will self-extract into the COMPORTS.COM and README.DOC files. 3. Use an editor to add "COMPORTS.COM" to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and save it, then reboot your PC. SYMPTOM: TEXT AND COLOR ABNORMALITIES. Some video cards need to be reset when the Windows video driver switches the card from graphic to text mode. If you experience text and color abnormalities such as "washed-out" or garbled text and abnormal colors, reset the video card using one of the following methods. SOLUTION: Change the Video Startup Mode. PROCEDURE: 1. Activate the Setup Utility by pressing from Terminal mode and choose Display/Sound Options. 2. Type "I" to select the Video startup mode option. 3. Press the spacebar until the "25 x 80" option is selected and press . 4. Press the Escape key until PROCOMM PLUS prompts you "Make Changes Permanent? (Y/N) Yes." Press and the change will be saved. ========================================================================== To ensure that you have the latest version of this document, compare its revision number to that of the same document on any of our support sites. This technical bulletin may be copied and distributed freely as long as it is distributed in its entirety and it is not distributed for profit. Copyright (c) 1996 Quarterdeck All rights reserved. ==========================================================================