Copyright 1993 by Symantec Corporation SYSINFO c.( Óñ 4ñ!  ‡ ‡  î 5 How to use Help  Ó Ó …  hyperlink ' ¡¡ X System Information Index ! ll A ! System Information ' ** ½  Using System Information ! —— ï  Generating Reports  ÐÐ †" File Menu  mm Ž% System Menu  VV +(  Disks Menu  yy ™) Memory Menu  ÈÈ B,  Benchmarks Menu K  *. ' System Summary ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BS^B K ôô n6  Video Summary ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BV^B K  j;  Hardware Interrupts ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BH^B K $$ …@ # Software Interrupts ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BI^B K mm ±G Network Information ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BN^B K .. &I CMOS Information ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BC^B K M M TO  Exit ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BX^B K XX ¡O # Disk Summary ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BD^B K    W . Disk Characteristics ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BC^B K Ô Ô  a 2 Partition Tables ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BP^B K  k " Memory Summary ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BU^B K € €  4r 4 EMS Memory Summary ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BE^B K ·· ¼{ . XMS Memory Summary ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BX^B % EE {„  More About EMS and XMS K 4 4  À‡ E TSR Programs ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BT^B K ÐÐ • S DOS Memory Blocks ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BB^B K Ü Ü  ä¦ 4 Device Drivers ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BD^B K gg È°  CPU Speed ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BC^B K rr /´ Hard Disk Speed ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BH^B K ¹¹ ¡º  Performance Index ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BO^B K ¯¯ Z½ Network Speed ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BN^B K  ¿ AUTOEXEC.BAT File ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BA^B K ‡‡ )Å % CONFIG.SYS File ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B K   ÀÌ * NDOS.INI File ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BN^B K   ÊÓ - WIN.INI File ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BW^B K  ÐÜ , SYSTEM.INI File ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BS^B K zz Ñã / Print Report ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BR^B (  Kì  Print Current Information  ‡‡ Lð Select Drive        Each tool of the Norton Utilities has context-sensitive help, available at a touch of the ^BF1^B key. Whenever you are using a dialog box and you want instructions on how to proceed, press ^BF1^B. When you've got a menu pulled down, you can move the highlight to any item and press ^BF1^B for help on that item. When you are first getting familiar with a tool, you will find it helpful to select the ^b[Index]^b button at the bottom of any help screen. It displays a list of topics, at least one of which provides background and introductory material. ^hHyperlinks^h are highlighted phrases in a help topic that transfer you to another topic. Select the ^b[Go To]^b button (just press ^bG^b) or double-click the hyperlink text. Select the ^b[Go Back]^b button (just press ^bB^b) to return to the original topic. When ^hmore than one hyperlink^h is on a screen, press ^bTab^b or ^bShift^b+^bTab^b to move among them. With the Keyboard Û With a Mouse ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßÛßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß ^BTo access help:^B Û ^C07 Press F1 Û ^C07 Press F1 for context- Û sensitive help ^BTo exit help:^B Û ^C07 Press Esc or select Û ^C07 Click [Cancel] [Cancel] or press C Û Û ^BTo select a help topic:^B Û ^C07 Select [Index] or press I Û ^C07 Click [Index] ^C07 Press Tab or Shift+Tab to Û ^C07 Double-click the topic highlight a topic Û ^C07 Select [Go To] or press G Û Û ^BTo scroll through a topic:^B Û ^C07 Use  and  or press Û ^C07 Drag the slide on the Home End PgUp PgDn Û scroll bar or click the Û arrows at top and bottom ^BTo select a button:^B Û ^C07 Press the accented letter Û ^C07 Click the button in the button or use Û ^C1B and ^C1A to highlight Û button and press Enter Û Û ^BTo expand a hyperlink:^B Û ^C07 Press Tab or Shift+Tab Û ^C07 Double-click the hyperlink to highlight text in Û text contrasting color or Û ^C07 Click [Go Back] to return intensity Û ^C07 Select [Go To] or press G Û ^C07 Select [Go Back] or Û press B to return Û You're in the expanded topic. If you become hyperactive and get lost, select ^B[Index]^B. Or, press ^bEsc^b to exit the help system. To return to the previous topic, select ^B[Go Back]^B (press B). Do so now.   #    #    #    #   #   #  #   #   #  ^BAbout^B ^h System Information ^h ^BCommands^B ^h File Menu ^h ^h System Menu ^h ^h Disks Menu ^h ^h Memory Menu ^h ^h Benchmarks Menu ^h ^BProcedures^B ^h Using System Information ^h ^h Generating Reports ^h ^BHelp^B ^h How to use Help ^h   !   System Information reports the operational status of your computer: the hardware, memory usage, network conditions, disk drives, and benchmark comparisons to other computers. Use System Information to: * Report system configuration and check on its performance. * Have system information available for technical support calls. * Maintain a history of your system configuration. Some of the report information is quite technical in nature, but don't worry if you don't understand all of it (or even most of it). You can always press ^BF1^B for help to get a brief definition of each element. After running System Information, you'll know the power under the hood (make sure you run the Benchmark tests); but, more importantly, information will be available for a technician should the need for help ever arise. ^BNote:^B System Information recognizes and reports all the standard PC family members within practical limitations. System Information also recognizes specialty models of the PC family, such as the 3270-PC, and many PC compatibles; but it can't identify all MS-DOS computers in existence. If System Information doesn't recognize your machine, it will attempt to find and show you identifying marks, such as a copyright notice and your computer's ROM-BIOS date. See also: ^hUsing System Information^h ^hGenerating Reports^h    ^BTo use System Information:^B * Select [Next] (^bAlt^b+^bN^b) to cycle through all system information screens. * Select [Previous] (^bAlt^b+^bP^b) to back up one screen. Or, * Choose any single screen from the pull-down menus. For example, ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BD^B brings up the Disk menu's Disk Summary screen describing your system's disk drives. ^BTo print any single screen:^B * Select the [Print] button (^bAlt^b+^bP^b) at the bottom of every screen. You can print to a file or the printer. See also: ^hGenerating Reports^h ^BTo generate a report:^B 1 Choose Print Report from the File Menu (^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BR^B). 2 Highlight desired report components in the Topics list and check (or uncheck) them (press ^bSpacebar^b). 3 Select Destination (^bAlt^b+^bD^b). Press ^bCtrl^b+^b^b to drop down the list and select either Printer or File. 4 Select [OK] (^bAlt^b+^bO^b) to generate the report. If you've selected a file as the destination for the report, you are prompted to enter a filename. ^bTo save the same topics for future reports:^b * Select [Save] (^bAlt^b+^bS^b) and enter a filename in the text box. ^bTo reuse a saved report format:^b 1 Select [Load] (^bAlt^b+^bL^b) and enter the name of a previously saved report. 2 Select Destination (^bAlt^b+^bD^b). Press ^bCtrl^b+^b^b to drop down the list and select either Printer or File. 3 Select [OK] (^bAlt^b+^bO^b) to generate the report. If you've selected a file as the destination for the report, you are prompted to enter a filename. ^BTo print any single screen:^B * Select the [Print] button (^bAlt^b+^bP^b) at the bottom of every screen. You can print to a file or the printer.    "    !    #    $    %   &    The commands on the File menu let you examine your startup files and print a history of your system configuration. ^h View CONFIG.SYS ^h Check startup file ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B ^h View AUTOEXEC.BAT ^h Check programs run at startup ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BA^B ^h View NDOS.INI ^h NDOS configuration file ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BN^B ^h View WIN.INI ^h Windows configuration file ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BW^B ^h View SYSTEM.INI ^h Windows configuration file ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BS^B ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ^h Print Report ^h System history to printer or file ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BR^B ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ^h Exit ^h Quit System Information ^BAlt^B+^BX^B                     Each command on the System menu brings up an information screen describing your current system configuration. ^h System Summary ^h Overview of the computer ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BS^B ^h Video Summary ^h Display type and configuration ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BV^B ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ^h Hardware Interrupts ^h Information about devices ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BH^B ^h Software Interrupts ^h Software priorities ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BI^B ^h Network Information ^h User and network data ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BN^B ^h CMOS Information ^h Computer setup data ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BC^B             Each command on the Disks menu brings up an information screen describing available disk drives. ^h Disk Summary ^h What disks are available ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BD^B ^h Disk Characteristics ^h Types of disks ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BC^B ^h Partition Tables ^h How disks are configured ^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BP^B                       Each command on the Memory menu brings up an information screen describing your computer's memory and how it is allocated. ^h Memory Summary ^h What memory is available ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BU^B ^h EMS Memory Summary ^h Expanded memory ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BE^B ^h XMS Memory Summary ^h Extended memory ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BX^B ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ^h Memory Block List ^h Upper memory ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BB^B ^h TSR Programs ^h Memory-resident programs ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BT^B ^h Device Driver List ^h Installed device drivers ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BD^B                The commands on the Benchmarks menu let you find out how fast you system runs and compare your system to other popular computers. ^h CPU Speed ^h Processor speed ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BC^B ^h Hard Disk Speed ^h Disk access time ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BH^B ^h Performance Index ^h Compare speed to other computers ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BO^B ^h Network Speed ^h How fast is the network ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BN^B  %     )            For information about all parts of your system, select ^b[Next]^b repeatedly (just press ^BEnter^B). (See ^hUsing System Information^h.) ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B This screen provides a quick overview of information about your system: ^BÄÄ Computer ÄÄ^B shows whatever information can be gleaned from reading your system ROM and various tests. For more information on the CPU, try ^hCPU Speed^h on the Benchmarks menu (^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BC^B). For details of your video system, use ^hVideo Summary^h on the System menu (^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BV^B). ^BÄÄ Disks ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B summarizes the physical disk drives known to the system. A detailed list of available drives is available using ^hDisk Summary^h on the Disks menu (^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BD^B). ^bNote:^b Comprehensive disk information is available under the Disks and the Benchmarks menus. ^BÄÄ Memory ÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B summarizes system memory usage. ^bDOS Memory^b is also called "conventional memory"; this is the total RAM available for DOS, TSRs, and applications. ^bExtended Memory^b is RAM above the 1-Megabyte boundary (always 0 on 8088-based PC XTs). ^bExpanded Memory^b is "paged" RAM within the 640K limit (installed on an EMS memory card or emulated in software) which can be used by programs designed to take advantage of it. Memory details are available using the ^hMemory Usage Summary^h on the Memory menu (^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BU^B) and ^hMemory Block List^h, also on the Memory menu (^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BB^B). ^BÄÄ Other Info ÄÄÄ^B is miscellaneous information. The ^bBus Type^b identifies the type of card connectors inside your system unit. ^bSerial Ports^b are used for asynchronous communication to a modem, printer, mouse, or another computer. ^bParallel^b ^bPorts^b are typically used only for attaching printers. ^bKeyboard Type^b classifies your keyboard, as the system sees it (you may actually have more or fewer keys; count them if you want!). ^bOperating System^b identifies which version of DOS is currently active.    This screen describes your video display system. ^BÄÄ Display ÄÄÄÄÄ^B shows the Video Display Adapter type (MDA, CGA, EGA, VGA, etc.) and the Monitor Type (EGA, Analog, Monochrome, etc.). The Current Video Mode identifies the arbitrary number used in low-level BIOS calls to set the display to its current mode, as well as a people-style interpretation of the meaning of that BIOS code. ^BÄÄ Character ÄÄÄ^B shows the height of the display in scan lines (the screen's vertical resolution) and the character cell size (width x height). CGA Cursor Emulation refers to a capability of EGA and VGA adapters to respond to BIOS cursor-sizing calls in the manner of a CGA card. ^BÄÄ Memory ÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B shows the amount of CPU-addressable video memory that is installed on the adapter (VGA cards may contain additional memory that gets paged into the video address space). The Video Segment Address identifies the start of the video regeneration buffer. The Video Page Size refers to the number of bytes of the video buffer used to contain one full screen in the current video mode. ^BNote:^B The ^hMemory Usage Summary^h screen (^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BU^B) shows the address space reserved for video memory (whether it is in use or not).  (   This screen contains a list of hardware interrupts identified for your system. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll through the list. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B ^bAbout Hardware Interrupts^b A hardware interrupt is a mechanism by which a piece of hardware, such as a keyboard or modem, can interrupt whatever the computer is doing and force it to do something else (service the interrupt). The ^bNumber^b is one of the interrupt request lines (IRQs) available to the CPU; PC XTs have only seven lines available; ATs and later models have 16 or more. This information can be VERY handy to know before you install a new modem card or other equipment that uses an IRQ. When two pieces of equipment try to share the same IRQ, you will have a "collision" and neither peripheral will work. The ^bName^b identifies the standard usage for the IRQ. The ^bAddress^b is where control is passed when an interrupt is serviced. You will notice that these addresses match up with some software interrupt addresses (see ^hSoftware Interrupts^h on the System menu ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BI^B). This address is also used to help identify the ^bOwner^b. If the owner is something other than BIOS or DOS (or Unused), a service routine has been installed by a device driver or TSR program.    This screen contains a list of the software interrupts as they are currently set on your system. Use ^B^B and ^B^B and ^BPgUp^B and ^BPgDn^B to scroll through and examine the list. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B ^bAbout Software Interrupts^b A software interrupt is an address (or "vector") of a system- level piece of programming or a table of information. For instance, all DOS and BIOS services are executed by performing an INT ^Bnn^B instruction, which executes code starting at the address of interrupt ^Bnn^B. Device drivers and TSR programs often install their own routines to intercept certain interrupts, and this list identifies (in the ^bOwner^b column) which program most recently intercepted a particular vector. It is educational to get a list of these vectors (via the ^b[Print]^b button), remove or rearrange the order of the TSR programs in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, then reboot and compare the new list with the old. TSRs have been known to fight over particular vectors, attempting to usurp total control over some facet of your computer's operation (the keyboard and timer interrupts are very popular). See ^hTSR Programs^h on the Memory menu (^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BT^B) for more info on TSRs. The ^b#^b column is the interrupt number, in hexadecimal (00-FF, or 0-255). The ^bAddress^b column identifies where control passes when an 'INT ^b#^b' instruction is executed by the CPU. This address provides the clues used to determine what program, if any, is the current ^bOwner^b. The ^bInterrupt Name^b describes standard usage for the interrupt. While most interrupt vectors point to executable code, some are just used as pointers to system-defined information tables. For instance, INT 1D points to a table of data used by the BIOS as it programs the video controller.   This screen shows the current user and type of network that is currently active. Information is provided for Novell NetWare, Microsoft LAN Manager, Banyan Vines, and Lantastic. The exact information displayed will depend on the network in use. For a test of the speed of your network, try the Benchmarks menu ^hNetwork Performance Index^h (^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BN^B). This screen describes the current contents of your non-volatile, battery-powered configuration memory. System setup information is stored in this CMOS memory so it will be preserved while power is turned off. 8088-based PC XTs do not have this feature. ^BTip:^B Since this information is so important to the health of your system, it is wise to select the ^b[Print]^b button to make a hardcopy. Have it on hand in case your CMOS backup battery dies. ^BÄÄ Hard Disks ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B shows the "drive types" of your hard disk drives. These are ^bvery important^b to know. If the battery dies, you will need to use the correct type codes when you reconfigure. Using a wrong code can make your entire drive unreadable (until the correct code is used). ^BÄÄ Floppy Disks ÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B shows what types of diskette drives your CMOS thinks are installed. ^BÄÄ Installed Memory ÄÄ^B shows how much memory your CMOS thinks you have installed. ^BÄÄ CMOS Status ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B shows whether or not the CMOS is alive and accurate. The ^bTime^b setting is significant, since the CMOS is actually part of the clock chip which should keep accurate time when the computer is without power. The ^bController^b, ^bMemory^b, and ^bEquipment^b values in the CMOS RAM are verified against independent tests. If you see errors here, you may correct them by running your "setup" program. System Information verifies the CMOS ^bChecksum^b. At system startup, the BIOS recalculates the checksum and, if the saved value doesn't match, it assumes your battery has died overnight. Use this command to exit System Information. Alternatively, just press Esc. 3      "  $  " This screen lists your installed disk drives using the "logical" drive IDs as known to DOS. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll through the list. The ^bType^b column describes the hardware OR displays one of: ^BAssigned^B: The ASSIGN command has been used to change the name of this drive. ^BAvailable^B: This drive ID is unused. ^BDevice Driver^B: A device driver, installed via CONFIG.SYS, is using this drive ID. This ID may identify a RAM disk or a DRIVER.SYS logical drive. For a list of installed devices, try ^hDevice Drivers^h from the Memory menu (^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BD^B); use the File menu ^hView CONFIG.SYS^h (^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B) for a peek at this file. ^BPhantom Drive^B: DOS lets you use this drive ID as an alias for a different physical drive (DOS prompts you to "Insert diskette for drive B:"). This is seen on 1-floppy systems and it lets you copy files between two diskettes. It is also seen when DRIVER.SYS has been used to create a logical drive having non-default formatting and read/write parameters. ^BSubstituted^B: The SUBST command has been used; this drive ID actually refers to a directory. The LASTDRIVE= command in CONFIG.SYS determines the highest drive that can be used with SUBST. Use the File menu ^hView CONFIG.SYS^h (^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B) to examine the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file. The ^bSize^b column lists the capacity of the drive in ^bK^bs (1024- byte units) or ^bM^bs (1,024K-byte units). The ^bDefault Directory^b column shows which directory is currently set as DOS's default for the drive. " *  " This screen describes (quite exhaustively) each ÛßßßßßßßßÛ of your disk drives. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to select a Û A:  Û drive from the scrolling list in the upper-right Û B: Û Û corner. Û ^BC:^B ° Û Û D: Û Û ^BNote:^B You can check out a different diskette by Û E:  Û placing it in the drive and pressing ^B^B then ^B^B. ßßßßßßßßßß ^BÄÄ Size ÄÄ^B shows the capacity of the selected drive in ^bK^bs (1024-byte units) or ^bM^bs (1,024K-byte units). ^BÄÄ Logical Characteristics ÄÄ^B describes the selected drive as it is seen by DOS. DOS uses these numbers when it looks for files on the disk. A ^bsector^b is the smallest unit readable from the disk and it is (nearly) always 512 bytes (1/2 K). A ^bcluster^b is a multiple of the sector size and identifies the minimum allocation unit for the drive (a file occupies at least one cluster of disk space). The ^bFAT^b (File Allocation Table) is a table of information telling what parts of the disk are in use and (indirectly) which file owns that part of the disk. The two ^bFAT types^b are ^B12-bit^B and ^B16-bit^B. Diskettes and other small media use 12-bit FAT elements; a 16-bit FAT on a large medium lets DOS allocate space more efficiently. The ^bMedia Descriptor Byte^b originally identified the media type, but values such as F8h and F9h have been reused for so many variations of media that the byte has little meaning these days. Use the FAT ^bSectors Occupied^b values to help tune up your disk system; set BUFFERS=^Bnn^B in your CONFIG.SYS file, where ^Bnn^B is at least as large as the number of sectors in the FAT of your hard disk. That way, DOS can keep the FAT in memory as long as possible. Use the File menu ^hView CONFIG.SYS^h (^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B) to examine the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file. ^BÄÄ Physical Characteristics ÄÄ^B describes the selected drive as it is seen by the BIOS (DOS uses "logical" numbering to find data, rather than sector/track/side specifications). A ^bSide^b is a physical surface upon which data is written. The drive has one read/write head for each side. A ^bTrack^b is a concentric circle of data on the disk. A ^bSector^b a division of a track, and it matches the size of a "logical" sector. Track and sector information is set down when the disk is formatted. The ^bDrive number^b is the value used in BIOS calls to specify the drive in a read/write/format operation. #   $    - .   Each hard disk contains a Partition Table on side 0, track 0, sector 1. It describes how the drive has been divided (or "partitioned") for access by one or more disk operating systems. This screen lists the partition information for all of your hard disks. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll through the list. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B ^bAbout Partitions^b When the computer boots up, the BIOS reads CMOS memory (^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BC^B) to figure out how to read the hard disk. Then it reads into memory the partition table of the first hard disk. It searches the table for an element that has a "Yes" in the ^bBoot^b indicator. Then it reads into memory the first sector of that partition (identified as the ^bStarting^b side/track/sector). The BIOS assumes that this sector contains a valid boot continuation program and it transfers control to the first byte in the sector. At this point, a non-DOS operating system such as XENIX or CP/M may be in charge. However, if the boot partition is a DOS partition, DOS takes over and continues the boot process. It reads the partition table of each disk and looks in the ^bSystem^b column for codes it recognizes and provides support for accessing the data. ^bSystem^b codes may be: ^BDOS-12^B: A DOS partition using 12-bit FAT (File Allocation Table) elements (DOS 3.0, or hard disks less than 10 MB). ^BDOS-16^B: A DOS partition using 16-bit FAT elements. ^BEXTEND^B: An "extended" DOS partition. It uses 16-bit FAT elements. Such a partition will be listed as a separate drive in the Disk menu's ^hDisk Summary^h (^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BD^B) and ^hDisk Characteristics^h (^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BC^B) screens. ^BBIGDOS^B: A DOS 4.0 "large" partition (larger than 32M). It uses 16-bit FAT elements. ^B?^B: Unknown system or unused partition table element. ^BXENIX^B, ^BCP/M^B, ^BPCIX^B, etc.: In use by a non-DOS operating system. The ^bStarting^b and ^bEnding Side,Track,Sector^b describe the partition in BIOS (physical disk) terms. See ^hDisk Characteristics^h on the Disk menu (^BAlt^B+^BD^B,^BC^B). The ^bRelative Sectors^b column is another way to state the starting point for the partition; it identifies the starting sector as a count of the sectors from the start of the disk. ^bNumber of Sectors^b is the size of the partition, in sectors.     This screen summarizes your system memory usage. All memory amounts are listed in ^bK-bytes^b (1024-byte units). ^BNote:^B If SysInfo locks up when you start it, the problem may be related to its attempt to scan certain memory addresses. On some computers this causes a "Parity Error." To avoid this lockup, start the program using ^BSYSINFO /N^B from DOS, which skips the memory scan. ^BÄÄ DOS Usage ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B shows the amount of memory usable by DOS for loading and running programs (also called "conventional" memory), the amount currently in use by DOS and resident programs (see ^hTSR Programs^h on the Memory menu ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BT^B for details), and the amount available for application programs. ^BÄÄ Overall ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^B describes memory found both inside and outside of the conventional memory area. Address ranges listed on the right side are in 24-bit "absolute" format. ^bMain memory^b is conventional, DOS-usable memory. ^bDisplay^b ^bmemory^b is memory residing on your video display adapter (see ^hVideo Summary^h on the System menu ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BV^B). Some video memory may not be addressable directly and will not be listed here. ^bExtended memory^b is memory above 1 Megabyte (always 0K on 8088-based PC XTs). ^bExpanded Memory^b is "paged" memory that conforms to the LIM/EMS standard. Any ^bExtra memory^b listed identifies additional read/write memory above the lower 640K and below 1M. This typically describes the paging area for EMS. ^BÄÄ BIOS Extensions ÄÄ^B Video adapter cards and hard disk controller cards often contain on-board control programs in ROM (Read-Only Memory). The BIOS looks for and executes these programs upon power up. Other programs may also be present in ROM. All such ROM code blocks are listed here. 4   This screen details the current setup of your ^bExpanded Memory^b ^bManager^b (EMM). The EMM is a device driver designed according to the Expanded Memory Specification (EMS) developed jointly by Lotus, Intel, and Microsoft (^bLIM^b). In order to use expanded memory you must have an EMM installed. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b ^bExpanded Memory^b is "paged" RAM within the 1MB limit (installed on an EMS memory card or emulated in software) that can be used by programs designed to take advantage of it. The best way to understand how expanded memory works is to think of it as being a book. In a book there may be 500 pages, each of which can be randomly selected, but you can read only one page at a time. Much like a book, expanded memory is a series of pages of memory, each of which can be randomly selected. With EMS, however, up to four pages at a time can be selected into an area known as the ^bpage frame^b. ^BÄÄ EMS Memory Blocks ÄÄ^B Allocating a block of expanded memory is not the same as allocating a block of DOS memory. When you allocate a block of DOS memory, you specify the size of the block in bytes, and you receive the actual address of the block. When you allocate expanded memory, you request the number of ^bpages^b that you need, and then you receive a ^bhandle^b to the block. You then use the handle in all operations with the block. System Information can display some of the details about each EMS block that is currently allocated. It can also show the number of ^bpages^b "owned" by a handle, as well as the total size in bytes of the block. If the EMM follows the ^bLIM 4.0^b specification, handles can be associated with names that describe the block, or identify the owner of the block. System Information can display these names, but because it is not a requirement under EMS, not all handles will have names. The first block in any EMS system is allocated by and for the EMS driver itself. ^BÄÄ EMS Pages ÄÄ^B System Information can also display information on the number of EMS pages available. All LIM versions have ^bstandard pages^b, which are 16K in size, and LIM 4.0 added ^braw pages^b, which are a multiple or sub-multiple of 16K. If the number of raw pages is the same as the number of standard pages, then raw pages are not supported on your system. See also: ^hMore About EMS and XMS^h .   This screen details the current setup of your eXtended Memory Manager (XMM). Microsoft took the lead in developing the eXtended Memory Specification (XMS) and, as a result, its HIMEM.SYS driver is the most popular XMS driver, or XMM, around. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b Extended memory is RAM above the 1-Megabyte boundary, and is available only on machines that have a 286 or greater CPU. In order for most applications to be able to use extended memory, an XMS driver must be installed to manage it. ^BÄÄ XMS Memory Blocks ÄÄÄÄ^B Allocating a block of extended memory is not the same as allocating a block of DOS memory. When you allocate a block of DOS memory, you receive the actual address of the block. When you allocate extended memory, you receive a ^bhandle^b to the block, and you use the handle in all operations with the block. This makes it easy to use XMS memory without having to keep track of all of the details about a memory block. System Information, however, can display some of the details about each block that is currently allocated. This includes the ^bsize^b and the ^block count^b of each block. You usually won't see any locks (a zero lock count means the block is "unlocked") unless you are running under a multi- tasking environment such as Windows or DesqView. ^BÄÄ Upper Memory Blocks ÄÄ^B System Information can also display information on the ^bUpper Memory Blocks^b (UMB) used on your system. Upper Memory Blocks are "holes" in the area above the lower 640K and below 1M which are filled in with memory by a memory manager. These blocks can be used for loading memory-resident programs and device drivers into ^bhigh^b ^bmemory^b. UMBs are available only on 386 and greater machines, and must be managed by a 386-specific memory manager such as QEMM/386. Beginning with DOS 5.0, DOS itself has taken an active role in managing UMBs. Check the ^bUMB Server^b to see if DOS or your XMS driver is managing the Upper Memory Blocks on your system. If UMB support is not present, or UMBs are not supported on your machine, the UMB Server is set to ^bNone^b. See also: ^hMore About EMS and XMS^h The latest versions of some popular ^b386-specific^b memory managers such as QEMM are both ^bXMS^b and ^bEMS^b drivers. This means that a program or a device driver will get whatever kind of memory it asks for. You'll certainly get the best of both worlds if you are using one of these drivers. One curious effect of having a combined EMS/XMS driver is that you will always have exactly the same amount of free XMS and EMS memory. And in fact, if you look at the available memory on both the EMS and XMS screens, they will be the same. Only the memory manager knows the true difference. With an EMS/XMS driver installed, System Information may report 512K of XMS free and 512K of EMS free. Does this mean that you have a total of 1024K free? No, it just means that you have up to 512K available of any combination of EMS and XMS.  .   1   ! 1 %  " A    This screen lists the memory-resident programs that are currently occupying system memory. ^bNote^b: For a quick report on TSRs, use SYSINFO /TSR from the DOS command line. Use  and  to scroll through the list. As you move the selection bar, additional information about each item is displayed (if available) in the lower window. ^bPath^b is the directory from which the program was loaded. ^bCommand Line^b is the DOS command that was used to start the program, including any option switches used. ^bMemory Allocation Blocks^b identifies how many blocks of memory are used by the program. The ^bAddress^b column is the segment address of the start of the block, in hexadecimal. The ^bSize^b column lists the sum of the sizes of all memory blocks allocated by the program. ^bOwner^b identifies the program if that name is available, or specifies DOS System Area, Unknown owner, or Free memory. ^bHooked^b ^bInterrupt Vectors^b lists the interrupt vectors which currently point into memory owned by this program (see ^hSoftware Interrupts^h on the System menu ^BAlt^B+^BS^B,^BI^B for names of these vectors). ^BNote:^B Often a TSR with a lower address will have access to interrupts not listed here, but some other TSR has seized primary control of that interrupt. Most TSRs are careful to pass control to the previous owner; that gives everybody a chance to check for a keystroke (INT 09h or 16h) or to get a timeslice (INT 08H). ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b ^bAbout TSRs^b TSR stands for ^bT^berminate and ^bS^btay ^bR^besident. This type of program leaves all or part of itself in memory when it returns control to DOS, thus using up memory that would otherwise be available to application programs. A TSR typically watches for a "hotkey" or other event and "pops up" to provide an interactive service. Other TSRs remain behind the scenes (such as the Norton Cache) or do their work without user interaction (such as the Norton Disk Monitor). TSRs are often installed automatically at system startup via a command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Beginning with DOS 4.0, they may be put in place also using an INSTALL= command in your CONFIG.SYS file. And of course, you can install a TSR in an ad hoc sort of way by typing its name at the DOS prompt. See ^hView AUTOEXEC.BAT^h (^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BA^B) and ^hView CONFIG.SYS^h (^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B) on the File menu. ^bCommon Problems with TSRs^b: Hotkey Collision: Two or more TSRs may watch for the same keystroke as a popup trigger. Only the last-loaded TSR will see the key. The solution is to change the hotkey for one of the TSRs (assuming the TSR provides a way to do so...). Interrupt Hogging: Some older TSRs assume that they are the only one and do not pass control to previously loaded TSRs. The best solution is to throw away such programs; as an alternative, you may try loading them FIRST. Memory Holes: If a TSR can remove itself from RAM, it often leaves a large block of unused memory in low RAM. Use the ^hMemory Block List^h on the Memory menu (Alt+M,B) to see if you have any large "Free memory" blocks with low addresses. That memory might be used by a smaller program, but it is not available for a larger program. The solution is to load such a TSR last and remove it before loading any other TSR. This screen shows current DOS memory allocations on your system. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll through the list. ^BNote:^B For clarity, all memory allocations for SysInfo itself are not shown on any screens or reports. The ^bAddress^b column is the start of the block in hexadecimal paragraphs (16-byte units). The ^bOwner^b identifies the program using the block (if known) and the ^bType^b is one of ^BProgram^B (a program and its local data), ^BEnvironment^B (the strings of text stored by the SET, PATH, PROMPT, and other DOS commands), or ^BData^B (typically a FAR data area allocated by a program after first shrinking its initial program allocation. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b ^bAbout DOS Memory Blocks^b DOS allocates blocks of memory by storing a 16-byte "memory control block" (MCB) structure for each separate piece of memory. An MCB describes the size of ÛÄ (root MCB) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ the block and its owner. Û DOS system area Û Somewhere in low memory is the Û Û "root MCB" and it identifies ÛÄÄ TSR 1 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ the start of the next MCB, Û Environment Û which identifies the start of ÛÄÄ TSR 1 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ the next, and so forth. Û Program Û Û Û When DOS starts a program, it Û Û first allocates a block for a Û Û DOS environment, then ÛÄÄ TSR 2 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ allocates the rest of memory Û Environment Û for the program itself. A ÛÄÄ TSR 2 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ standard program runs for a Û Program Û while, then when it exits, DOS Û Û frees up both of its blocks. Û Û Û Û But when a TSR quits, its ÛÄÄ (unused) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ environment and the first part Û Free memory Û of its program block remain Û Û allocated. By examining the Û standard programs Û ^bDOS Memory Blocks^b screen, you | will run in here | can tell which programs have | | allocated memory and how Û Û much. ÛÄÄ End of RAM: 640K ÄÄÄÛ When a TSR program is asked to "uninstall" itself, it may leave a large gap in memory: ÛÄ 0K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ ÛÄ 0K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ Û°°DOS°°°°°°^Benv^B±±TsrA±±±Û Û°°DOS°°°°°°^Benv^B±±TsrA±±±Û Û±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±^Benv^B^bÛÛÛ^bÛ Û±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Û Û^bÛÛTsrBÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^bÛ Û ^B(useless gap)^B Û Û^bÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^b°°Command.Com°°°Û Û °°Command.Com°°°Û Û°°°^Benv^B Û Û°°°^Benv^B^BÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛApplicationÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û (free memory) Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ ÛÄ 640K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ ÛÄ 640K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ A gap also develops when you 1) "shell to DOS" from an application program, 2) install a TSR, 3) return to the original program, and 4) later exit to DOS. ÛÄ 0K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ ÛÄ 0K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ Û°°DOS°°°°°°^Benv^B±±TsrA±±±Û Û°°DOS°°°°°°^Benv^B±±TsrA±±±Û Û±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±°°°°°°°Û Û±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±°°°°°°°Û Û°°°Command.Com°^Benv^B^BÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û°°°Command.Com°^Benv^B Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛApplicationÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û ^B(useless gap)^B Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^BÛ Û Û Û^BÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ^B^Benv^BÛÛÛÛÛ Û ^Benv^BÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛTsrBÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Û ÛÛÛTsrBÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Û Û Û Û Û Û (free memory) Û Û (free memory) Û ÛÄ 640K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ ÛÄ 640K ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÛ In most cases, DOS will not be able to reuse the memory in the gap; so watch for ^BFree memory^B blocks that exist anywhere in the middle of the list. You may also notice an ^BEnvironment^B block which is much lower in memory than its program. This happens when a TSR politely frees up its environment before going resident; that block can be reused for the environment of the next program that runs.  .  " This screen shows information about the device drivers currently installed on your system. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll through the list. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b ^bAbout Device Drivers^b Device drivers provide support for peripherals (devices) attached to your computer. For instance, the ^BLPT1^B driver provides the low-level interface between programs and your printer. ^BNote:^B Many programs, such as word processors, use custom device drivers that provide specific support for the application; SysInfo shows only the low-level DOS device drivers. Device drivers are arranged in memory as a linked list, or "chain" of programs. Each driver identifies the next driver in the list. DOS ^Binternal drivers^B are for standard devices whose support is built into DOS. They are listed last on the screen (last in the chain), though their ^bAddresses^b (in segment:offset format) are low in memory. ^BInstalled drivers^B are earlier in the list, though they reside higher in memory. These device drivers are installed via a DEVICE= command in your CONFIG.SYS file (see ^hView CONFIG.SYS^h on the File menu ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BC^B). Since installed drivers get placed early in the list, it is possible to override a standard internal driver with a custom-installed driver (you may even find two devices with the same ^bName^b; only the earlier one has any effect). Device drivers come in two flavors. ^BBlock devices^B have names such as A: or F: ÄÄ they identify devices such as disk drives or tape drives that always read or write in blocks (usually 512-byte chunks). ^BCharacter devices^B can be written to or read from one character at a time. The CON device, COM1, and NUL are examples. You can use these ^bNames^b as filenames in programs, DOS commands or batch files (for instance, the command ^BCOPY AUTOEXEC.BAT CON^B will copy a file to the console (thus displaying it on the screen). Note that both AUX and COM1 refer to the same physical device (the first serial port). Also, PRN and LPT1 both service the first parallel printer. These are DOS aliases that have been around since the dawn of time. The NUL device is a "bit bucket." Characters written to it are simply thrown away (you can use this to advantage; for instance, the DOS command ^BCOPY A:*.* B: >NUL^B will throw away the "nn Files copied" message, thus cleaning up the operation of a batch file). If you try to read anything from the NUL device, it immediately indicates "End of File." The CPU Speed screen shows the results of a test of the speed of your Central Processing Unit (8088, '286, '386, or '486). The lower center of this screen identifies the CPU. In the graph, the topmost bar illustrates the speed at which your CPU is currently running. This bar is updated constantly, so if your CPU has a "turbo" mode, you may try switching it on and off to compare the speed difference. Be aware that background interrupts, such as mouse movement or concurrent serial communications, can affect the rating. The ^bComputing Index^b obtained is scaled against a standard IBM XT, running at 4.77 Mhz (Megahertz, or millions of cycles per second). For instance, a CI of 2.0 indicates twice as fast as the original XT. The CI numbers are somewhat lower than those given by previous versions of Norton SI, but they now provide a better means for comparison. The Disk Speed screen shows the results of a test of the speed of your hard disk. If your system has more than one hard disk, select one from the initial dialog. Use ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BH^B to check your other hard drive when you're done with the first. SI tests only your "physical" hard drives (not any "logical" divisions of any disk). This is a low-level test and optimizations such as those performed by Norton Speed Disk or the presence of a disk cache (such as Norton Cache) will not affect this benchmark. However, correcting a disk's interleave (as performed by Norton Utilities Calibrate) ^Bcan^B improve your disk's data transfer rate. In the graph, the topmost bar illustrates the speed of your hard disk, as a ^bDisk Index^b, compared to the disk speed of the original IBM XT (a DI of 2.0 indicates twice as fast as an XT, etc.). The graph also shows the disk speed of other popular systems, for comparison. Your mileage may vary. Below the graph are the results of three generic tests: ^bAverage Seek^b: The time it takes to move the read/write head across the disk, in milliseconds (1/1000ths of a second). The head is moved all over the place, and the average interval is computed. ^bTrack-to-Track Seek^b: The time it takes to move the head from one track to the adjacent one. ^bData Transfer Rate^b: The speed at which data is transferred from the disk to the computer, given in K-bytes per second (the Norton Calibrate utility can increase this number). The Overall Performance Index screen combines the results of Computing Index (CI) and Disk Index (DI). If your system has more than one hard disk, you are asked to select one of them from the initial dialog. If you have already benchmarked the hard disk (^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BH^B), the PI screen comes up immediately; otherwise, the Disk Index has to be determined first. This takes a few moments. In the graph, the topmost bar illustrates the overall performance rating for your system, as a ^bPerformance Index^b, compared to the performance of the original IBM XT (a PI of 2.0 indicates twice the performance of an XT, etc.). The graph also shows the PI of other popular systems for comparison. The Network Speed screen shows the results of a test of the speed of your network. If your system is connected to more than one network disk, select a disk from the initial dialog. Use ^BAlt^B+^BB^B,^BN^B to check other network disk drives when you're done with the first. SysInfo performs a read and write test and shows the results in the form of a bar graph. All performance values are given in K/Sec (kilobytes per second).  6  This screen shows the contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll the text. Use ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1a^B and ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1b^B to scroll horizontally. (^bWith a mouse^b: Hold down the left button and drag the mouse up, down, left, or right.) ^BNote:^B This screen is not an editor. If you want to change the contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, use a text editor or a word processor (in non-document mode). ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b AUTOEXEC.BAT is a file found in the root directory of the disk that was used to start your system. It is a standard ASCII text file, containing DOS commands and program names. When your system starts up, COMMAND.COM looks for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and (if it finds it) executes each of the commands in that file. This makes it possible for you to perform configuration tasks automatically such as loading TSR programs into memory, setting your keyboard speed, and so forth, each time you start your computer. Common commands found in AUTOEXEC.BAT include: ^BPROMPT $p$g^B Set your DOS prompt to look like: C:\CURDIR>_ ^BPATH^B dir;dir;dir Help DOS locate programs and batch files ^BSMARTCAN^B /ON Install erase protection TSR You might wish to compare items in the TSR list (see ^hTSR Programs^h on the Memory menu ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BT^B) with commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file; this will tell you which programs are made resident in memory by AUTOEXEC.BAT and it will show you which ones are taking up the most RAM. !    !   This screen shows the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file (if you have one). Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll the text. Use ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1a^B and ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1b^B to scroll horizontally. (^bWith a mouse^b: Hold down the left button and drag the mouse up, down, left, or right.) ^BNote:^B This screen is not an editor. If you want to modify the contents of your CONFIG.SYS file, use a text editor or a word processor (in non-document mode). ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b CONFIG.SYS is a file found in the root directory of the disk that was used to start your system. It is a standard ASCII text file, containing DOS configuration commands. When your system starts up, DOS reads the CONFIG.SYS file and interprets each line as an instruction. Common instructions include: ^BDEVICE=^Bd:\path\filename.exe parms Install a device driver. ^BBUFFERS^B=nn Setup DOS sector caching ^BFILES^B=nn Increase max open files ^BLASTDRIVE^B=z Provide some elbow room for the SUBST command ^BSHELL^B=d:\command.com /E:nnn /P Provide a larger DOS environment ^BINSTALL^B=d:\path\tsrProg.ext /parms (DOS 4.0 and later) install a TSR in lowest memory, without locking in the size of the environment You might wish to compare items in the device driver list and your TSR list with commands in your CONFIG.SYS file; this will tell you which devices and TSRs are using the most memory. Use ^hDevice Drivers^h (^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BD^B) and ^hTSR Programs^h ^BAlt^B+^BM^B,^BT^B) on the Memory menu. If you modify your CONFIG.SYS file, any changes you make will not be noticed until the next time you boot your computer. This screen shows the contents of your NDOS.INI file, if NDOS is installed. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll the text. Use ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1a^B and ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1b^B to scroll horizontally. (^bWith a mouse:^b Hold down the left button and drag the mouse up, down, left, or right.) ^bNote:^b This screen is not an editor. If you wish to create or modify an NDOS.INI file, use a text editor or word processor (in non-document mode). ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b NDOS is a feature-laden replacement for COMMAND.COM, the default DOS command processor. Power users have learned to rely on its capabilities. NDOS.INI is an NDOS configuration file that is read at system startup. It is a standard ASCII text file, containing NDOS configuration directives to override default NDOS settings. ^bNote:^b If you're happy with all of NDOS's default values, you don't need an NDOS.INI file at all. The NDOS.INI file consists of directives ^bonly^b for the settings you want to change, in the following format: ^bdirective=value^b The directive is followed immediately by an equal sign. The value of the setting can be a numeric value, a single character, a choice (like "Yes" or "No"), a color setting, a key name, a path, a filename, or a text string, depending on the setting. For example, directives found in NDOS.INI include: ^bHistory=1024 ^bÄÄÄ Set the size of the command history buffer ^bEditMode=Insert ^bÄÄÄ Command-line editor in Insert mode ^bColorDir=com exe:red; rdonly:blink white^b ÀÄÄ Show executable files in red and blink for read-only files in directory listings If you modify your NDOS.INI file, any changes you make will not be noticed until the next time you boot your computer. This screen shows the contents of your WIN.INI file, if Windows is installed. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll the text. Use ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1a^B and ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1b^B to scroll horizontally. (^bWith a mouse:^b Hold down the left button and drag the mouse up, down, left, or right). ^bNote:^b This screen is not an editor. If you want to change the contents of your WIN.INI file, it's safest to use the Windows Control Panel whenever possible (so you don't have to open and edit WIN.INI directly). However, you can also use a text editor or a word processor (in non-document mode) to make modifications, when necessary. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b WIN.INI is a Windows initialization file that primarily contains settings that Windows maintains to customize your Windows environment. It is a standard ASCII text file, containing Windows configuration directives. The WIN.INI file contains several sections, each of which consists of a group of related settings. The sections and settings are listed in the WIN.INI file in the following format: ^b[section name] ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄ The name of a section. ^bkeyname=value ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄ The keyname=value statements define ^bkeyname=value ^bthe value of each setting. ^bkeyname=value ^b The enclosing brackets (^b[ ]^b) in the section name are required, and the left bracket must be in the first column. The keyname is followed immediately by an equal sign. The value of the setting can be an integer, a string, or a quoted string, depending on the setting. For example: ^b[windows] ^bÄÄÄ Section name. ^bload=navpopup.exe ^bÄÄÄ Specify one or more applications to run ^brun=jacks.exe ^bÄ¿ as icons when Windows is started. Separate ^b. ^b³ additional filenames with spaces. (Use the ^b. ^b³ complete pathname if the application is ^b. ^b³ not on the DOS path.) The directive here ³ loads part of Norton AntiVirus. ÀÄ Specify one or more applications to run when Windows starts. Here, a trifle from the Symantec game pack runs ÄÄ many users like to test their reflexes at the start of the workday. This screen shows the contents of your SYSTEM.INI file, if Windows is installed. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to scroll the text. Use ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1a^B and ^BCtrl^B+^B^C1b^B to scroll horizontally. (^bWith a mouse:^b Hold down the left button and drag the mouse up, down, left, or right.) ^bNote:^b This screen is not an editor. If you wish to change your SYSTEM.INI file, use a text editor or word processor (in non-document mode) to make modifications. ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ^b SYSTEM.INI is an initialization file created by the Windows Setup program. It primarily contains settings to customize Windows for your system's hardware needs. It is a standard ASCII text file, containing Windows configuration directives. The SYSTEM.INI file contains several sections, each of which consists of a group of related settings. The sections and settings are listed in the following format: ^b[section name] ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄ The name of a section. ^bkeyname=value ^bÄÄÄÄÄÄ The keyname=value statements define ^bkeyname=value ^bthe value of each setting. ^bkeyname=value ^b The enclosing brackets (^b[ ]^b) in the section name are required, and the left bracket must be in the first column. The keyname is followed immediately by an equal sign. The value of the setting can be an integer, a Boolean value, a string, or a quoted string, depending on the setting. For example, the first section, [boot], determines Windows startup: ^b[boot] ^bshell=progman.exe ^bÄÄÄÄ In a basic Windows installation, ^b . ^bProgram Manager is the default shell. ^b .^b ^b .^b ^b[boot] ^bÄÄÄÄ The wise Windows user, however, installs ^bshell=ndw.exe ^bNorton Desktop for Windows. ^b .^b ^b .^b ^b .^b This screen lets you create a comprehensive report itemizing all of the information shown in all of the System Information screens, along with a custom report header and any additional notes you wish to append. You can send the report to your printer or save it to a disk file for later perusal or printing. Use ^B^B and ^B^B to move the highlight from item to item. Press the ^BSpacebar^B to toggle a selection off or back on. With a mouse, double-click the item. When the report is printed, all checked items will be included in the report. If an item in the list is not available, it's not supported by your current configuration. ^bTip:^b If you regularly use the same items for a report, press ^bAlt^b+^bA^b to select [Save] and enter a name for the report settings. Then, use ^bAlt^b+^bL^b to select [Load] whenever you want to reuse the same items in a new report. Press ^bAlt^b+^bD^b to select Destination. Press ^bCtrl^b+^b^b to drop down the list and select either Printer or File. Select [OK] (^bAlt^b+^bO^b) to generate the report. If you've selected a file as the destination for the report, you are prompted to enter a filename. ^bNote^b: This is a comprehensive report and it typically runs to around 15 pages. Uncheck ^BSoftware Interrupts^B to save some paper. For topical summaries, you may prefer to go to the desired screen and select the ^b[Print]^b button to print only that information. In the ^bUser Text^b group at the top of the list are two items that let you customize the report a bit: ^BReport Header:^B If checked, you will be prompted to input one line of text that will be output at the top of the report. The current date and time are printed for you, so use this for a custom note, such as "John's 486 Clone in Turbo mode." ^BNotes at End of Report:^B If this is checked, you will be prompted to input up to 10 lines of text that will be added to the end of the report. This is a good place to add hardware serial numbers, warranty information, and the like. Type the text, and use ^B^B or ^BTab^B to move from line to line (^BEnter^B signals the end of input). You may select the ^b[Print]^b button on any SysInfo screen. This will generate a report on only the information currently displayed. If you want a full report or a report containing information from several screens, press ^BAlt^B+^BF^B,^BR^B. The ^b[Print]^b button brings up a dialog box asking where you want the report to be sent. When you select ^b[Printer]^b, the output is sent directly to the ^BPRN^B device. If you wish to have the report sent to a different printer, say ^BLPT2^B or ^BCOM1^B, then send the report to a "file" and use that device name as the filename. When you select ^b[File]^b, the output goes to a disk file or DOS device. You are prompted for the name of the file ÄÄ just type a filename or press ^BEnter^B to accept the default. If that file already exists, you are given a choice of ^b[Overwrite]^b (delete the old file and create a new one with that name) or ^b[Append]^b (add the new text to the end of the file). To choose a different filename, press ^BEsc^B and pick ^b[File]^b again. Before SysInfo begins any hard disk benchmark (including the ^BPerformance Index^B, which includes a disk test), it may ask you which hard disk to use. Note that this prompt refers to your physical hard drives, rather than any logical partitions you may have established. Just select ^b[Hard Disk 1]^b (usually drive C:) or ^b[Hard Disk 2]^b (usually some drive letter higher than C:).