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23 KiB
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<head><title>
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Executor FAQ - Section 6
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</title>
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<link rev="made" href="mailto:questions@ardi.com">
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</head><body><h1>
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Executor FAQ - Section 6 <br>
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Executor/DOS
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</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#whatishfv" rel=subdocument>Q6.1. What is an HFV file?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#makehfv" rel=subdocument>Q6.2. What is makehfv?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_3" rel=subdocument>Q6.3. What are the hardware requirements for Executor/DOS?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#vesa" rel=subdocument>Q6.4. What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA
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compliant?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#white" rel=subdocument>Q6.5. Why is there a bright white border on the
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screen?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#doa" rel=subdocument>Q6.6. E/D dies during startup. Why?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#winwedge" rel=subdocument>Q6.7. E/D runs under DOS, but not from Windows. What do I
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do?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_8" rel=subdocument>Q6.8. What causes errors when transferring files?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_9" rel=subdocument>Q6.9. Why does my screen look funny when I run
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Executor?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_10" rel=subdocument>Q6.10. Does E/D require an ASPI driver to access
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SCSI?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_11" rel=subdocument>Q6.11. Why won't Executor/DOS work with my Diamond Viper PCI
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card?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_12" rel=subdocument>Q6.12. Why doesn't my mouse work when I run Executor under OS/2
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Warp?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_13" rel=subdocument>Q6.13. Any OS/2 Warp suggestions?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_14" rel=subdocument>Q6.14. Does Executor/DOS work under Windows 95?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#dosbugs" rel=subdocument>Q6.15. Executor/DOS dies, what should I do?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_16" rel=subdocument>Q6.16. How does printing work under E/D?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_17" rel=subdocument>Q6.17. Why does E/D under Windows 3.x have problems
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hot-keying?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_18" rel=subdocument>Q6.18. Why can't I eject or format my DOS formatted
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floppy?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_19" rel=subdocument>Q6.19. Do E/D and QEMM fight?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_20" rel=subdocument>Q6.20. Does Executor fight with Novell DPMS?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_21" rel=subdocument>Q6.21. How can I speed up Executor/DOS?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#q_6_22" rel=subdocument>Q6.22. How do I make Executor/DOS run faster under
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VirtualPC</a></li>
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</ul><hr>
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<A name="whatishfv"><h2>
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Question 6.1. What is an HFV file?
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</h2></A>
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Executor has the ability to store an entire Macintosh
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"volume" (i.e. filesystem corresponding to a disk drive or a partition within a
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disk drive) in a DOS or UNIX file. Under DOS, this feature is very
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handy because there is no way to have files with long names and upper
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and lower case characters in their names unless you use an HFV file.
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See <A href="#makehfv">Q6.2 `What is makehfv?'</A>.
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<p>
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In general, HFV files should have filenames that end in
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"<code>.hfv</code>".
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<A name="makehfv"><h2>
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Question 6.2. What is makehfv?
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</h2></A>
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The program makehfv (formerly called mkvol) allows you to create
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virtual Macintosh volumes [see <A href="#whatishfv">Q6.1 `What is an HFV file?'</A>]. It is now part of all Executor distributions, although it is more useful under DOS than
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under Windows or Linux.
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<p>
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To use makehfv you need to pick a name for the new HFV file, a name
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for the Macintosh volume that your new HFV file will represent and the
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number of kilobytes or megabytes that you want the HFV file to use.
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Here's an example that creates a file named
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"<code>bigtest.hfv</code>" that will appear in Executor as "BigTest" and will have 10
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MB of space in it. <pre>
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makehfv bigtest.hfv BigTest 10m
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</pre>
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<p>
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<br>
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Executor/DOS will automatically see HFV files if they are placed in
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the same directory as <code>executor.exe</code>, which is usually <code>C:\EXECUTOR</code> and their names have the suffix "<code>.hfv</code>".
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<p>
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Executor/Linux will automatically see HFV files if they are placed in
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the same directory as ExecutorVolume (NOTE:
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<em>not</em> in ExecutorVolume itself), which is usually
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<code>/usr/local/lib/executor</code> and their names have the suffix "<code>.hfv</code>".
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<p>
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If you're using DOS or Windows, if you use a compressed filesystem or
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if you plan to make a compressed archive containing an HFV file,
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you'll want to use the "-zeros" command line option to
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makehfv. That tells makehfv to explicitly write zeros in the new hfv which takes a
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little more time but makes the resulting HFV file much more
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compressible.
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<A name="q_6_3"><h2>
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Question 6.3. What are the hardware requirements for
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Executor/DOS?
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</h2></A>
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Required: '386 or better, VGA, 15 MB disk space, and 4 MB RAM. A SCSI
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Controller is needed only if you want to access external Macintosh
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hard disks or PowerBooks.
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<p>
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Recommended: '486 or better, SVGA, 15 MB disk space, and 8 MB RAM. A
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SCSI Controller is needed only if you want to access external
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Macintosh hard disks or PowerBooks.
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<p>
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Executor/DOS 2 should work in sixteen colors on any VGA. In addition,
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if you have a Super VGA that is VESA 1.0 compliant, Executor/DOS
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should be able to provide 256 colors and a range of screen sizes. If
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you have a video card that is VESA 2.0 compliant, Executor's graphics
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will be significantly faster.
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<A name="vesa"><h2>
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Question 6.4. What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA
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compliant?
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</h2></A>
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There is a shareware SVGA utility that provides VESA compliance for
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SVGA cards that normally are not VESA compliant.
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<A href="http://www.scitechsoft.com/">SciTech Display Doctor</A> is available from <code><http://www.scitechsoft.com/></code>. If you use it, you should pay the shareware fee as described in the documentation. If you have a
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recent SVGA card you probably don't need SciTech Display Doctor,
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although it may improve Executor's performance.
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<A name="white"><h2>
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Question 6.5. Why is there a bright white border on the
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screen?
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</h2></A>
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The problem starts with Macs and PCs using different values to
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represent white and black. That's not too big of a problem, because
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Executor knows about this difference and translates things
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appropriately. The rest of the problem has to do with the fact that
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on video screens (unlike on laptop screens) there is a part of the
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screen that is outside the pixel area that is still illuminated by the
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video gun. That portion of the screen is known as the
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"overscan" area and the VESA 2.0 specs don't provide a way to set what color the
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overscan should be displayed as. Instead they use the value that is
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used for the binary representation that represents black on PCs. That
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works well, except we're already mapping that representation to be
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white.
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<p>
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This only happens when Executor detects and can use a "linear
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framebuffer". That's the fast way that allows Executor to write
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directly to the screen without an intermediate copy to an offscreen
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representation of the Mac screen. If we can't get access to a linear
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framebuffer then we can use the normal PC color mapping and patch
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things up as we transfer from the offscreen image. That allows the
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overscan area to be black but it's actually slower (significantly
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slower for some games).
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<A name="doa"><h2>
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Question 6.6. E/D dies during startup.
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Why?
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</h2></A>
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The most common cause of E/D not running under DOS is the lack of file
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descriptors that you might get if you don't have the line:
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<pre>
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FILES=30
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</pre>
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<br>
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in your config.sys. If Executor is giving you trouble and you don't
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have such a line in your config.sys file, please add it, or if you
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have a smaller number than 30, please increase your number to 30.
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There is no reason to decrease your number if it is greater than 30.
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<p>
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Windows NT doesn't use config.sys, instead you need to use the
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configuration file that is listed when you get to the
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"Program" portion of "Properties" and click on the WindowsNT button.
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The default Config Filename is <pre>
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%SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\CONFIG.NT
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</pre>
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<br>
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"%SystemRoot%" will automatically be replaced with the
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location of your Windows NT file, which is likely
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<pre>
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C:\WINDOWSNT
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</pre>
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<br>
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The default CONFIG.NT file has "FILES=20" in it, so you need to either change the contents
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of CONFIG.NT probably <pre>
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C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG.NT
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</pre>
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<br>
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or use the WindowsNT button on the Program page of the
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Properties panel to use a different configuration file.
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<p>
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When all else fails, you can use the command line option
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"-desperate" to tell Executor to use as few extended features of your computer as
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possible in an attempt to avoid running into a problem. Under DOS you
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just add "-desperate to the command line, i.e.:
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<pre>
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C:\> executor -desperate
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</pre>
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<br>
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Under Windows, you need to make a short-cut to Executor and then use
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the Properties menu item to change the command line to include
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"-desperate".
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<A name="winwedge"><h2>
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Question 6.7. E/D runs under DOS, but not from Windows. What do I
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do?
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</h2></A>
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There are several things you can check:
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<ul>
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<li>Do you have FILES=30 or greater in the appropriate config file [see
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<A href="#doa">Q6.6 `E/D dies during startup. Why?'</A>]? </li>
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<li>Are you running in 386-enhanced mode? </li>
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<li>Is virtual memory turned on? </li>
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<li>Is your mouse driver loaded and enabled (not just installed)?
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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If this checking produces no insights, write to
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<A href="mailto:questions@ardi.com"><code>questions@ardi.com</code></A> and we'll try to track down the cause of the problem.
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<A name="q_6_8"><h2>
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Question 6.8. What causes errors when transferring
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files?
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</h2></A>
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Error -42 is the error code generated inside a Macintosh when too many
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files are open. Executor internally generates this error when the
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underlying operating system disallows the opening of a file. This
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error is usually symptomatic of not properly setting
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<code>FILES</code> in your config.sys [see <A href="#doa">Q6.6 `E/D dies during startup. Why?'</A>].
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<p>
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Similar errors may result when you try to copy Macintosh file to a DOS
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disk because many Macintosh file names are illegal under DOS. You can
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fix this by renaming the file to a normal DOS eight-dot-three name.
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<p>
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Executor versions that are older than 2.0j [available in mid June]
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have trouble with Windows 95's long file names. Specifically, any
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Macintosh file with a control-character as part of its name will cause
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trouble, and filenames will appear to all be in lower case. 2.0j
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solves these problems.
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<A name="q_6_9"><h2>
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Question 6.9. Why does my screen look funny when I run
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Executor?
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</h2></A>
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Your video driver may not be fully VESA compliant. If Executor
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detects VESA compliance, it will try to use VESA modes. In general,
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this is a good thing, however, if these modes have bugs in them,
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Executor will invoke the bugs, and Executor may fail. Try getting a
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newer driver for your video card if this happens [see
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<A href="#vesa">Q6.4 `What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA
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compliant?'</A>].
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<p>
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NOTE: If you run Executor with the "-info" switch, Executor
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will print out information it finds out about your video card. That information
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may be helpful in tracking down your problem.
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<A name="q_6_10"><h2>
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Question 6.10. Does E/D require an ASPI driver to access
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SCSI?
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</h2></A>
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If your SCSI drivers patch the "INT 13" BIOS calls, then an
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ASPI driver is not needed. As long as "INT 13" can allow
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Executor to read a SCSI drive, there is no need to use ASPI. Similarly, if you have a
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16-bit MSCDEX CD-ROM driver installed, Executor will be able to see
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your CD-ROM drive (whether it's SCSI or not) even without ASPI
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drivers.
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<A name="q_6_11"><h2>
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Question 6.11. Why won't Executor/DOS work with my Diamond Viper PCI
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card?
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</h2></A>
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Executor/DOS requires VESA compliant graphics cards. Many cards are
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not directly VESA compliant and need a TSR to be run before they will
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work with Executor/DOS. On a Gateway computer, you can do this with
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the "vprmode VESA" command [see
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<A href="#vesa">Q6.4 `What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA
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compliant?'</A>].
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<A name="q_6_12"><h2>
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Question 6.12. Why doesn't my mouse work when I run Executor under
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OS/2 Warp?
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</h2></A>
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If it's not already there, you may need to add this line:
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<pre>
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DEVICE=C:\OS2\MDOS\VMOUSE.SYS
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</pre>
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<br>
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to your CONFIG.SYS. This, and related issues, are described on pages
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206-207 of _User's Guide to OS/2 Warp_. This line should already have been
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added for you when you installed Warp.
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<p>
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Also, you may need to load MOUSE.COM in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, for
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example: <pre>
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LOADHIGH C:\OS2\MDOS\MOUSE.COM
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</pre>
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<br>
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You can also create an AUTOEXEC file specifically for Executor, place
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it in the same directory as Executor, and configure Warp to execute that
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file whenever you launch Executor.
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<A name="q_6_13"><h2>
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Question 6.13. Any OS/2 Warp suggestions?
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</h2></A>
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Here is the advice of an Executor Enthusiast:
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<pre>
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I haven't been having any problems with running Executor/DOS in
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OS/2. What he needs to do (assuming he has Warp) is to run "Add
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Programs" object in the "System Setup" folder. This will make a object
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for Executor on his desktop (usually in the "Additional DOS Programs"
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folder). Go into the settings for that object, and select the
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"Session" tab. Set it to "DOS Full Screen", and choose "DOS
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Settings". He wants "All DOS Settings". Primarily, Executor needs the
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"DPMI Memory Limit" set to 16 megs, and "DPMI Memory Limit" set to
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enabled. Since it defaults to 4 megs and automatic, it won't work. For
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additional performance, he should set "DOS High" to on, "EMS Memory
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Limit" to 0, "Video 8514a XGA IOtrap" to off, "Video Retrace
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Emulation" to off, "XMS Memory Limit" to 0, and "XMS Minimum HMA" to
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63. The biggest boost comes from "Session Priority". Set this to at
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least 16, and if he is going to run no other programs, set it
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higher. If he is going to run other programs, this should be left
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at 16, and the "DOS Background Execution" needs to be set to on.
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</pre>
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<A name="q_6_14"><h2>
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<br>
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Question 6.14. Does Executor/DOS work under Windows
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95?
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</h2></A>
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Yes, Executor/DOS works well under Windows 95. But you should run
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Executor/Win32 under Windows 95. It has fewer compatibility problems
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and is just as fast.
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<A name="dosbugs"><h2>
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Question 6.15. Executor/DOS dies, what should I
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do?
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</h2></A>
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If Executor dies even running the demo applications, try temporarily
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moving your config.sys and autoexec.bat files aside and create minimal
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versions of each, leaving only the lines that you need to initialize
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your mouse driver and the <pre>
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FILES=30
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</pre>
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<br>
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line in your config.sys. Then reboot and try running Executor. If
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Executor then starts working, you will have to slowly add back the
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things that are in your normal autoexec.bat and config.sys files until
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you know exactly what is causing the problem. Once you know that, you
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should send information to <A href="mailto:bugs@ardi.com"><code>bugs@ardi.com</code></A>.
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<p>
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If Executor only dies on a particular application, try increasing the
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amount of RAM dedicated to the application by using the
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"-applzone" switch when you run Executor. Also try turning on "Pretend
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Sound", or if the screen seems to be only partially
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updated, try turning on "Refresh".
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<p>
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Once you've done as much as you can to figure out the problem,
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<A href="http://www.ardi.com/bugform.html">send a bug report</A> via <code><http://www.ardi.com/bugform.html></code>. Run Executor with the "-info" switch
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and include that information. Make sure you also include the version
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of Executor you're running (e.g. Executor/DOS 2), the name and version
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of the application that is dying (e.g. HyperCard 2.1), the name and
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version of the operating system you're running (e.g. DOS 6.22) and
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enough details to reproduce the crash (e.g. "start the
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application, choose the "more Elvis" from the "adjust music"
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menu and the application will crash"). If the application you are running is
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publicly available via anonymous ftp, telling us where we can pick it
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up for testing purposes also helps.
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<p>
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We accept bug reports from everyone, although paid customers' bug
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reports are almost always higher priority than those of potential
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customers.
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<A name="q_6_16"><h2>
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Question 6.16. How does printing work under
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E/D?
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</h2></A>
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Executor/DOS will print directly to a PostScript-compatible printer if
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started with the switch -printer lpt1 (or lpt2, lpt3, or whatever as
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appropriate). Otherwise, it prints to a PostScript file. The first
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time you print, the file will be named <code>execout1.ps</code> and will be located in the same directory that <code>executor.exe</code> is located in. You can then print this file on a PostScript printer, or
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if you have a PostScript compatible driver, you can use a
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non-PostScript printer. A popular PostScript compatible printer
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drivers is <A href="http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/">Ghostscript</A>, available for free (<code><http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/></code>).
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<A name="q_6_17"><h2>
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Question 6.17. Why does E/D under Windows 3.x have problems
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hot-keying?
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</h2></A>
|
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When you use a hot-key to switch away from Executor, Windows 3.x
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doesn't know how to save the screen, because it only knows about the
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original VGA screen modes, but Executor uses SVGA/VESA screen modes.
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So when you switch back, Windows 3.x doesn't know how to replace the
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screen with what it used to contain.
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<p>
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This problem is further compounded by the fact that Executor has no
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way of knowing when it's been switched out and switched back. To make
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matters worse, some Windows drivers (ATI Mach 32, for example) don't
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even restore the mode properly, so not only will the screen be
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incorrect, but Executor will die shortly after you switch back.
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<p>
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Luckily this is less frequently a problem in Windows 95 or OS/2.
|
|
|
|
<A name="q_6_18"><h2>
|
|
Question 6.18. Why can't I eject or format my DOS formatted
|
|
floppy?
|
|
</h2></A>
|
|
|
|
Executor/DOS allows you to see DOS drives other than the drive you
|
|
install Executor on. It also allows you to format floppies in the
|
|
Macintosh format (it used to read and write Mac formatted floppies,
|
|
but it wouldn't do the formatting itself).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Currently, the two abilities conflict. What we do is if a DOS
|
|
formatted floppy is in the drive when E/D starts, we treat that drive
|
|
as a fixed drive from that point on. You can no longer eject the
|
|
floppy, nor can you convince Executor to consider that floppy as a Mac
|
|
formatted floppy or a candidate for Mac formatting. This is confusing
|
|
and ugly; but we haven't found a better solution yet.
|
|
|
|
<A name="q_6_19"><h2>
|
|
Question 6.19. Do E/D and QEMM fight?
|
|
</h2></A>
|
|
|
|
We don't have QEMM in house for testing, but apparently older versions
|
|
of QDPMI are incompatible DPMI providers for Executor. We have heard
|
|
that QEMM 8.0 works with Executor, but we have not tested it. DPMI
|
|
providers that are known to work are the supplied CWSDPMI, the DPMI
|
|
provider in Windows 3.x and Windows 95, the DPMI provider in OS/2,
|
|
and 386Max.
|
|
<p>
|
|
For now, if you have lines similar to these two:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 /SIZE=8880 C:\QEMM\QDPMI.SYS
|
|
|
|
SWAPFILE=DPMI.SWP SWAPSIZE=1024.
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
in your config.sys file, you should "rem them out" -- i.e.
|
|
add "rem " to the beginning of each line -- at least when using Executor:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
REM DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 /SIZE=8880 C:\QEMM\QDPMI.SYS
|
|
REM SWAPFILE=DPMI.SWP SWAPSIZE=1024.
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<A name="q_6_20"><h2>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Question 6.20. Does Executor fight with Novell
|
|
DPMS?
|
|
</h2></A>
|
|
|
|
Yes. Novell DOS and Stacker both use this memory manager, but
|
|
Executor will crash when Novell DPMS (DOS Protected Mode Services) is
|
|
running. Fortunately, Stacker can be run without it if you are using
|
|
another memory manager such as 386Max. Additionally, Stacker won't
|
|
use DPMS when run under Windows.
|
|
<p>
|
|
This is another compatibility problem that we're looking into,
|
|
although it has been reported that some other well known programs
|
|
crash under DPMS's DPMI support (PKZIP, Geoworks and Logic Magician's
|
|
Oberon System).
|
|
<A name="q_6_21"><h2>
|
|
Question 6.21. How can I speed up Executor/DOS?
|
|
</h2></A>
|
|
|
|
Executor/DOS is of course dependent on the speed and type of CPU in
|
|
your PC. Obviously you can make E/D run faster if you upgrade your
|
|
386 to a Pentium. However, there are other, non-obvious ways in which
|
|
sometimes you can dramatically improve Executor's speed.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Use the "-info" switch to see how much DPMI memory you have
|
|
compared to how much physical memory you have. In general, Executor itself
|
|
will consume approximately 2 MB of memory even if you could have an
|
|
applzone, syszone and stack size of 0 (which you can't). So on a 4 MB
|
|
system, you can only allocate another 2 MB total to applzone, syszone
|
|
and stack if you want to avoid paging (paging slows Executor down
|
|
considerably), and that's only if you don't have drivers in your
|
|
config.sys file or autoexec.bat tying up more of your memory. If you
|
|
are low on memory, you should use DOS's "mem" command and
|
|
see how much Extended (XMS) memory DOS thinks you have. The more you can increase
|
|
that figure before Executor starts up, the more DPMI memory Executor
|
|
will have and the easier it will be for Executor to avoid paging.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>If</em> you have plenty of memory, then you can also speed
|
|
Executor up a little bit by running a disk cache. However, you should
|
|
only run the disk cache in a write-through mode -- in other words you
|
|
should enable the disk cache so that all disk writes are immediately
|
|
sent to the disk. Failure to do so may result in corrupt HFV files
|
|
after Executor dies.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Executor can access video cards in three different ways. The slowest
|
|
is by using VGA calls. This is also the least flexible -- you are
|
|
often limited only to 16 colors when using VGA calls, since the only
|
|
VGA mode that supports 256 colors is too small to use with Executor.
|
|
If your card is VESA compliant, or has a driver that makes it VESA
|
|
compliant, Executor can drive the video card more efficiently. There
|
|
are two major levels of VESA compliance -- VESA 1.x and VESA 2.x.
|
|
Executor is even more efficient if it can drive your video card using
|
|
a VESA 2.0 driver, <em>if</em> that driver supports "linear mapping".
|
|
The SciTech Display Doctor driver allows many popular video cards to
|
|
be linear mapped. If you want Executor to run quickly, you should
|
|
probably pick up a copy of SciTech Display Doctor and test it on your
|
|
system to see if it improves things. You can use
|
|
"Speedometer" or "Globe" to get a rough approximation of how much it helps.
|
|
On many cards, use of SciTech Display Doctor can double Executor's graphics
|
|
speed.
|
|
<A name="q_6_22"><h2>
|
|
Question 6.22. How do I make Executor/DOS run faster under
|
|
VirtualPC
|
|
</h2></A>
|
|
|
|
Using the "<code>-oldtimer</code>" switch can speed Executor/DOS up by
|
|
more than a factor of two when it's running under VirtualPC, a PC
|
|
emulator made by <A href="http://www.connectix.com/">Connectix</A> <code><http://www.connectix.com/></code>. <hr>
|
|
Next: <a href="section7.html" rel=precedes>Esoterica</a>.<br>
|
|
Back: <a href="section5.html" rev=precedes>Executor/Linux</a>.<br>
|
|
<a href="index.html" rev=subdocument>Return to contents</a>.<p>
|
|
<address>
|
|
|
|
- 28 February 2002
|
|
</address><br>
|
|
Extracted from Executor Frequently Asked Questions with Answers,
|
|
<A href="section7.html#faqcopyright">Copyright ARDI 2002.</A>
|
|
</body></html>
|