Warp Installation Notes v1.1.2

By Frank McKenney

About The Warp Installation Notes

Caveat: the material included has been compiled from verbal comments, e-mail messages posted in public locations (e.g. the Internet NewsGroups), the occasional manual, and my own interpretations of all of the above. I do not have access to all (or even most) of the equipment and software described (I had to sell my favorite 486DX 33&1/3 with 6.7 Mb RAM, two 4300 Baud serial ports, an ESDI adapter using IRQ1, and a 108 Mb RLL+ drive), so I am unable to personally verify all of its content. While I have tried to avoid excessive jargon whereever possible, describing an OS/2 installation is a technical topic and requires a certain number of technical terms. I also make the occasional typographic eror...

...and the occasional TELEPHONE NUMBER ERROR: Hints v1.1.2 is being sent out specifically because the telephone number I supplied for the Aztech BBS in Area code (501) is NOT repeat NOT the Aztech BBS, but a (now harassed) Southwestern Bell customer in Arkansas who has been receiving odd calls that abruptly hang up. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS NUMBER. If I obtain a correct number I will include it in v1.2.

In all cases, you should use your own best judgement as to which of the following material applies to your situation. Corrections, more detailed explanations, and additional material will be welcomed. If, for example, you see a BBS telephone number mentioned but know of an FTP site for the same information, please let me know. We're all in this together.

Note re changes: I started marking the 1.1 changes with a vertical bar at the left margin. This would have added a nice touch, but it turned out to be impractical. When I finally realized that I'd need to mark more than 75% of the document, I went back and removed them. Maybe the changes for v1.2 won't be as extensive (;-).

Note re v1.11 release: Short form: oops! Long form: I posted Hints v1.1 without realizing that I had not completed revision on a section about pausing CONFIG.SYS processing so that device driver messages could be seen. As it turns out, the technique I had used under 2.1 and 2.11 for doing this turned out (a) to be narrower in scope that I had realized, and (b) to work differently under Warp. I have removed the text, but the need for such a facility is still there. Suggestions for a workable technique would be welcomed.

One of the changes I hope to make for v1.2 is to break out a separate section for new drivers. As many of you have noted, there are a large number of problems related to drivers, and it might be easier to simply include a section devoted to driver-related problems.

Let me mention that my purpose in putting this document together was to get users operational under Warp as soon, and as easily, as possible. Consequently, I'm not concerned with making sure I have the description and location of the absolutely latest and greatest driver for the IBM XVXGA adapter. I'm perfectly willing to leave that task to others.

What I do want is to be able to provide driver information for driver-related problems that might prevent an installation or cause serious performance problems under Warp. I'll settle for any driver that will let the user successfully install and run without significant errors and with reasonable performance.

Changes, additions, and comments should be directed to rrs0059@ibm.net or mailed to:

                             Frank McKenney
                           McKenney Associates
                          3464 Northview Place
                        Richmond, Virginia  23225
                             (804) 320-4887

General Hints, Suggestions, and Warnings

I have several pieces of "non-standard" (e.g. not officially supported) hardware in my system. As a result, I had always needed to do some tweaking after an OS/2 installation before everything was running smoothly (and the Warp betas were just as bad). I did not look forward to installing Warp GA; in fact, I set aside a whole day to do it.

I was <almost> (but not quite!) disappointed when OS/2 Warp GA installed from its CD with no problems. Instead, I spent the rest of the time playing with the IBM Internet Connection software, IBM Works, and the other BonusPak applications. Result? The installation <did> wind up taking all day (;-).

However, certain configurations do run into problems installing Warp GA. I have listed a number of known problems and workarounds in the following pages to help those of you already stuck, and to forewarn those of you who might need new drivers prior to starting up. I'm hoping that this will result in more people wasting(;-) their time <running> OS/2 Warp and fewer people wasting their time pounding on walls or flaming on the Usenet newsgroups because of snags in installing Warp (;-).

Read the Documentation

Before starting your installation, read the documentation. I know, you've all heard it before. It's a pain, it takes time, and the computer and OS/2 Warp are just <sitting> there when they could be multitasking their little hearts out. I'm still going to recommend it, especially for those of you who are installing OS/2 for the first time. Specifically, you should make sure you cover: Before starting your installation, read the documentation. This includes:

The new "User's Guide to OS/2 Warp", and in particular,

  Chapter  1 - Before You Begin
  Chapter  2 - Using Easy Installation
  Chapter 14 - Solving Installation Problems
  Chapter 15 - Solving System Problems
  Chapter 16 - Video Procedures
  Chapter 17 - Using Advanced Installation
  Chapter 18 - Setting Up a Hard Disk
  Chapter 19 - Special Hardware Considerations
  The README file      (root drive of the OS/2 Warp V3 CD)
                       (Diskette ?? for the Diskette version)
  The README.INS file  (Warp Installation Diskette)
  The README.CID file  (Warp Installation Diskette)

Manufacturers' README files for any device drivers <not> included with the OS/2 Warp GA package.

(other suggestions will be welcomed).

Hardware-Specific Information

If you have owned a computer for any length of time, you're probably aware that it has internal quirks that tend to show up an the most inconvenient times. You install your new SuperFast! display adapter, it doesn't work, and you suddenly discover the world of "IRQs" and "I/O Addresses" that had remained hidden under your computer's covers for <years>... (and you wish it would go back again (;-)).

A complete description of each part of your computer is a useful thing to have around. It helps in insurance claims, and it can help you see possible sources of conflict if your machine sudddenly freezes up during Warp installation. Such a list would include descriptions of the System Board (processor, chipset, RAM, BIOS type and date), disk drives (manufacturer, model, size, interface), monitor (manufacturer, model, suported frequencies and resolutions), and adapters (manufacturer, model, IRQs used, I/O addresses used).

An organized person has this list in a word-procesing document, keeps it up to date, and periodically prints out a copy and files it. This is not the only approach; for example, many of us compile this list by waiting until we have a problem, then opening up the computer, pulling each adapter, and then searching desperately for the manual to tell us whether the IRQ is set by jumper J12-A or J16-A.

Just keep in mind that if you do run into a problem, this information will be requested by IBM OS/2 Support, and will be appreciated by anyone else you ask for assistance. Warnings

• 1. Before performing ANY OS/2 maintenance, including the installation of OS/2 Warp GA, be sure to have a CURRENT backup of ALL of your programs and data.

• 2. Before performing ANY OS/2 maintenance, including the installation of OS/2 Warp GA, be sure to have a CURRENT backup of ALL of your programs and data. This is not a typo; it is a redundant copy of my text for backup purposes (;-).

• 3. Have a set of <tested> OS/2 bootable diskettes ready with the usual system utilities (FDISK, FORMAT, TEDIT, etc.). Be aware that a set of (e.g.) 2.11 bootable diskettes created with BOOTOS2 will not be able to run some of the system utilities <from> an installed copy of Warp due to version level differences.

Beta Testers

Remember that warning when you received your Beta code that you would have to re-format your Beta partition before installing Warp GA? Yes, it's a pain to do. Yes, it would be nice if IBM would dedicate the resources to testing all possible combinations of Beta1, Beta2, Gamma, and Gamma+ systems with GA installed over them, but lazy as I am, I'd rather see the time spent on improving the base operating system.

It's not that GA-over-Beta is guaranteed to fail. It's that mixing various levels of similar-but-not-identical code creates an incredibly large set of possible combinations of software, and the problems that result are likely to (a) be subtle, (b) remain hidden for some time after Warp GA is installed, (c) be difficult to pin down, and (d) be highly individualized (one of a kind).

Imagine the long-term results of (say) an OS/2 INI file mangled by the Warp Beta code being passed on to Warp GA. Result: much time could be spent, both by IBM and you, in tracking down a problem that could have been avoided by a clean install. There are already enough possibilities for conflicts, don't add new ones.

Have Someone To Talk To

Finally, if you're only moderately technical but know someone who is familiar with OS/2, it doesn't hurt to let them know that you're about to start an installation and <might> be calling on them for help if you encounter problems.

And even if you <are> intimate with all the idiosyncracies of OS/2 Warp, it still doesn't hurt to have someone else to share your problems with - or to whom you can announce that you did the whole thing in 45 minutes flat (;-).

General Problem-Solving Hints

Okay, in spite of your careful reading and pre-planning, you discover that your OS/2 Warp installation is not proceeding as you expected. What should you do?

First, step back from the machine and take a deep breath. Better yet, go get a cup of coffee, or even take a walk around the block. If you skipped supper to get an early start, go eat.

After you finish your break, skim back over the documentation one more time. No, it hasn't changed, but <you> have. You now have more experience to relate to those dry words on paper; now they make a little more sense, and sections you skipped before suddenly take on new relevance.

Re-read your IRQ & IOA list. If you didn't already create one, now is the time; it could save you several hours on the telephone talking to IBM OS/2 Support and several days' delay before Warp is installed and ready to run. If the installation process is mysteriously hanging, and none of the problem descriptions in this document seem to fit, an IRQ conflict is always a possibility.

Re-read Chapter 14 of the "User's Guide to OS/2 Warp". This was specifically written to address installation problems and how to address them.

Tools and Techniques

The new boot Alt-F1 (boot to a command line) and Alt-F2 (display drivers being installed) are not available during the initial phase of installation. However, if you boot from the installation floppies you are given an opportunity to exit to an OS/2 command prompt via the F3 key. This will let you run:

   * RMVIEW (Installation Diskette)
   * TEDIT (Installation Diskette, Diskette 1)
   * CHKDSK and FORMAT (Diskette 2, or in \OS2IMAGE\DISK_2 on the CD)
   * FDISK (Diskette 1, or in \OS2IMAGE\DISK_1 on the CD) 

I'll assume that you are already familiar with CHKDSK, FORMAT, and FDISK. If your experience with these utilities is solely under DOS, be aware that the OS/2 versions have additional features. TEDIT is a text-mode line-oriented ASCII file editor. It is small (TEDIT.EXE and TEDIT.HLP together weigh in at about 25K), but has all of the features you need for performing emergency edits to CONFIG.SYS from an OS/2 Full Screen session. Press F1 to open the Help file. RMVIEW is new in OS/2 Warp, and its use as a problem determination tool (together with the RESERVE.SYS pseudodriver) deserves an entire section to itself, but that will have to wait for version 1.2 at least.

Disk Partition Listing

If your problem involves disk partitioning, or is related in any way to hard disk access, having a current and complete description of your partition layout is esssential. The simplest way to do this is by using FDISK to dump a complete report to a file, as in:

 FDISK /QUERY >layout.rpt

You can then print a hard copy of layout.rpt to examine at your leisure, or include it in in e-mail messages to IBM or others. Be sure to add a description of how <you> plan to use the partition as well.

For example, here's part of the FDISK /QUERY report from my current setup, with comments:

Drive Name Partition Vtype FStype Status Start Size

     ** Boot Manager **
   1              :    1    0a      2          0        1

     ** OS/2 2.11 and MS-DOS 5.0 (Dual Boot) **
   1 os2-211     C:    1    06      1          1       80

     ** Warp! (no longer Gamma!) **
   1 os2-warp    D:    2    07      1         81       80

     ** swap partition **
   1             E:    2    06      0        162       50

Translation for undocumented flags:

  Vtype:  1=Primary, 2=Logical Drive
  FSType: 06=FAT, 07=HPFS, 0a=Boot Manager
  Status: 0=Non-bootable, 1=Bootable, 2=Startable

Display Driver Problems

This is one of those nasty Catch-22 situations, since it's hard to do much under OS/2 if your display is not operational.

With very few exceptions (I'll ignore my experiences with the ISA Stealth 24 under OS/2 2.1), adapters will run properly in VGA mode. This isn't the best and most colorful mode, but it will let you get work done. Warp has specific boot-time support for switching your adapter back to VGA mode; all you have to do as you are booting up is press Alt-F1 when you see the white rectangle (the "boot-blob").

If, after loading adapter-specific drivers, your display acts oddly, goes completely black, or suddenly becomes covered with randomly- colored snow and fails to respond in any recognizable way to Ctl-Esc or mouse clicks, then shut down and re-boot. As OS/2 comes up, wait for the boot-blob, press Alt-F1, and follow the instructions for switching back to VGA mode.

Can you do a clean shutdown with a mangled display? The answer, as usual, is "it depends". If the machine is completely locked up, or in a tight loop in the display driver with interrupts disabled, probably not. If OS/2 is still running underneath that odd screen, and it frequently is, try RMB-clicking on where the Desktop should be to bring up the System Menu, then pressing the D key to select the Shut<d>.own entry and pressing the space bar to answer [OK] to the WPS prompt for confirmation.

If you have DOS or OS/2 command prompts or DOS or MSWin programs running, you'll need to press the "Y" key for each to let it complete the shutdown process.

Other Driver-related Problems

Many of the drivers in CONFIG.SYS were supplied with a /Q ("quiet") parameter, apparently because IBM prefers a message-less boot. If you are experiencing problems that may be related to one or more of your OS/2 drivers, this is not very useful.

Try adding a /V to any driver that you think might provide additional information. If it has a /Q parameter, replace it with a /V. Details for many driver parameters are listed in the Warp online Command Reference in the Information object on the WPS Desktop, but this can be difficult to reach if you are in the middle of an installation.

Problems with WinOS/2

If MSWin applications fail to start, and/or the Win-OS/2 Full Screen object cross-hatches briefly, but nothing further happens, there may be a simple problem with one or more of the object's drivers or one of the MSWin DLLs.

To narrow down your search, you need more information. The text messages displayed by a WPS-started Win-OS/2 session are thrown away, but these may contain information critical to problem determination. To see the messages, do the following:

• Start a DOS Full Screen session.
• Switch to the MSWin directory (generally \WINDOWS, but mine happens to be \MS-WIN31).
• Type: WINOS2 and watch the messages that appear.
• If you fail to see any usefule messages, but WINOS2 exits without giving you a full screen Win-OS/2 session, start it up again, adding a /B parameter:

           WINOS2 /B
        

This will create a text file containing the startup messages you may have missed. After WINOS2 exits, examine the contents of this file for additional information.

One common problem is having critical DLL directories left out of the active DOS PATH setting. This can be a user error or the result of an improperly modified PATH statement in the OS/2 AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

For example, I re-installed MSWin 3.1 after formatting my Warp Gamma partition. I had previously modified the OS/2-created AUTOEXEC.BAT file by adding several lines, including my own PATH setting. When I ran Warp's Selective Install to add WIN-OS/2 suport, it modified the OS/2 AUTOEXEC.BAT file to add my C:\MS-WIN31 directory to the PATH. All very reasonable...

Except that SI modified the <first> PATH statement it saw, which was the original supplied at Warp installation. My <customized> PATH statement, ten lines further down the file, was left untouched. Result? I couldn't start any WIN-OS/2 sessions of <any> kind until I went back and added C:\MS-WIN31 to my own PATH statement.

Removing Adapters

If you experience problems that appear to be hardware related, IBM OS/2 Support may ask you to remove all non-essential adapters and devices from your machine. I have heard remarks from several people to the effect that doing this was pointless, since without those adapters or devices (e.g. a tape backup unit) up and running their system was useless, and they might as well just throw in the towel... er, CD.

The rationale behind pulling all that hardware is not to force you to work that way forever. It is intended as a temporary measure to help get a handle on what is causing your problem. There are simply too many things that <could> be causing a given problem to allow each and every one to be explored.

A smart problem solver will try to use a divide-and-conquer aproach. If the problem is still present with all the extra hardware removed, then it is probably not contributing to the problem. If it <does> go away, then the adapters can be replaced, one by one, until the problem resurfaces. As a result, less time is spent (by both IBM and you) chasing down dead-end paths, and in most cases your problem can be resolved much more quickly.

It's all a question of getting specific information that is solid enough for you as a user to make decisions with. It's the difference between "Warp won't install" and "Warp won't install on your system as long as that 8-bit antique 9600-baud modem is installed". You may not even care about <why> the two can't co-exist if you were planning to replace it anyway. If the adapter <is> critical, you and IBM can concentrate your efforts on figuring out how to re-jumper it (manual long since lost) to make it work properly instead of trying to replace every OS/2 driver in sight.

Reporting Problems to IBM

If you are a TalkLink OS2BBS, CompuServe, or Internet user, you don't have to wait on hold for a "trained technician" - you can report the problem electronically. The following is copied from the IBM-distributed SUPTCTR.INF file, a part of the 800INF.ZIP file sent out to CompuServe and TalkLink OS2BBS a few weeks back. I have edited for reasons of space, so be sure to read the original in full:

 ...

 If ...  you feel that it is the result of a defect with one of the
 IBM OS/2 products listed above, follow this procedure to use
 CompuServe to report the suspected defect:

  o Download PROBLM.TXT from the IBM Files Library (Library 17) in
    the OS2SUPPORT CompuServe forum.

  o Fill out the PROBLM.TXT as completely as possible using any
    editor.

  o Using CompuServe mail, send the completed PROBLM.TXT form to the
    corresponding IBM OS/2 defect reporting ID.  OS/2 Base Operating
    System defect reports should be mailed to 76711,610.  Extended
    Services or LAN Server defect reports should be mailed to
    76711,611.  (If you are submitting a defect via Internet, the
    problem report should be mailed to 76711.610@compuserve.com for
    the operating system and 76711.611@compuserve.com for Extended
    Services or LAN.)

  IBM will reply as soon as possible, within 48 hours of the time we
  receive your PROBLM.TXT defect report.

  IBM will reply via CompuServe mail to each new PROBLM.TXT defect
  report we receive.  Our reply to you will include a Problem
  Management Record (PMR) number.

  If your problem description matches a previously reported defect
  that has been addressed (closed) by IBM, we will provide the
  explanation, work-around, or directions to obtain a fix.

  If your problem description matches a previously reported defect
  that has not yet been addressed by IBM, we will inform you that you
  have added to the Interested Parties list for the IBM APAR.

  If your problem description does not match a previously reported
  defect, the IBM reply will indicate that your PMR has been
  forwarded to the analysts that specialize in problems of the type
  you reported. ...

  ...

That describes Internet and CompuServe access. Users with access to the TalkLink OS2BBS can submit reports directly to IBM from OS2BBS Main Menu item 2 - IBM Support.

Please keep in mind that, although your messages may travel at the speed of light while in transit through the Internet, they can be delayed by mail servers, and they will be handled by busy human beings at the far end. Further, they will probably be handed on to other busy human beings in the process of resolving your problem. All of these will add delays to the message loop.

Try provide as much information as possible on the original message. Remember that each time IBM Support has to get back to you, it will take time for them to compose the message, for it to get to you, for you to compose a reply, and then for it to return to IBM. The more complete and specific your information is on the first message the fewer times OS/2 Support will have to get back in touch with you with requests for additional information.

What's that? Should you add a disk partition layout along with your adapter, IRQ and IOA information to the report? Hey, now <there>'s a thought! (;-)

IBM has created a PM tool called OS2INFO which makes creating a problem report to submit to IBM very easy. To get this package, ftp it from ftp://software.watson.ibm.com/pub/os2/os2fixes/problm.zip

[jon]

The Notes...

Unable to find CD-ROM during install

Symptoms

Warp installation program is unable to find CD-ROM drive, system hangs during installation.

Hardware

Buslogic BT946C SSCI Adapter

Problem

Warp-shipped BTSCSI.ADD (10/05/94, 20953 bytes) may not work properly on some(all?) systems.

Fix

Use an earlier release of the BTSCSI.ADD driver, either from a previous OS/2 release or from the Micron BBS (208-465-8982). Look for a file date of 04-07-94 (possibly 06-07-94) and a size of 20162 bytes.

Notes

The BT946C BIOS Setup can be invoked by pressing Ctl-B at boot time.

Various odd symptoms with PTI IDE drive

Symptoms

Unable to install, unable to access hard drive, intermittent and odd effects after installation (HPFS, possibly FAT as well). One user reported the loss of pop-up menus (mouse RMB and Shift-F10) persisting even over a power-down and a MAKEINI rebuild of both OS/2 INI files.

Hardware

Promise Technology, Inc. DC4030VL-2 4-drive IDE adapter and PTI1S506.ADD driver.

Problem

It appears that there are problems with the PTI driver, at least with v1.2.3, v1.3, and v1.40. PTI Tech Support has said that there are problems related to the PTI driver writing to the OS/2 boot partition at shutdown, which is assumed to be FAT.

Fixes

Install to a FAT partition. Or, Use the IBM1S506.ADD driver shipped with Warp by removing the PTI1S506.ADD line from CONFIG.SYS and adding the following line in its place (assuming 2 drives):

BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD /A:0 /U:0 /!SMS /U:1 /!SMS Notes Writing to an OS/2 HPFS partition as if it were a FAT partition is not generally recommended.

Install from CD-ROM locks up

Symptoms

Installation from CD-ROM drive locks up on Diskette 1 following the "Loading, please wait..." message.

Following the message from the Installation Diskette, the OS/2 logo appears, there is further diskette and CD-ROM drive activity, the screen goes black and the "Loading..." message appears. After further CD-ROM activity the acreen goes black and the cursor sits in the upper left-hand corner (indefinitely).

Hardware

CD-ROM drive

Problem

There is a known problem with the Warp GA IBMKBD.SYS driver which can produce this symptom (APAR PJ16077). To verify that your symptoms match this APAR, do the following:

Add the line SET PROTSHELL = CMD.EXE to your CONFIG.SYS file and re-boot. You should see an OS/2 full-screen command prompt which will scroll rapidly, as if the Enter key were being pressed repeatedly.

Fix

Replace the Warp GA IBMKBD.SYS driver (5548 bytes, dated 10-03-94) with a copy from Warp Beta2 (4677 bytes, dated 7-30-94,). It may also be possible to use the KBD01.SYS driver from OS/2 2.1+XR06200 (29525 bytes, dated 01-29-94) or the one from 2.1 or 2.11 GA.

Notes

An "updated" version of the IBMKBD.SYS driver was made available during the course of Warp Beta testing to fix another problem. That driver should <not> be used, as it has the same bug.

If this works, please call IBM OS/2 Support and request to be added to the IP (Interested Parties) List for APAR PJ16077.

Jonathon Hogan Doran (jonhd@zeta.org.au) writes: (14th March, 1995)

I used the fixed as outlined... however its not quite accurate for the CD-ROM version... the CD-ROM version re-installs IBMKBD.SYS from the CD-ROM it appears, thus clobbering the fix on the Boot Installation Disk, and thus when you reboot post installation, its stuffed again.

My fix was to, at the last possible time, do an F3 (this post the CD-ROM instalation) and do a copy from the A: installation disk to the C: driver, then reboot..

Darryl Lubdha (dludba@assd.winnipeg.mb.ca) writes: (25th April, 1995)

I recently experienced the same symptoms listed in the OS/2 Warp Installation Hangs page and this page when I swapped a motherboard in a system that was already running Warp.

Using the 5548-byte 10-03-94 IBMKBD.SYS driver did not help. However, the WFP_03 FIXPAK solved the problem using the IBMKBD.SYS driver that is 5544 bytes, dated 12-12-94. The motherboard I installed had a Phoenix BIOS (version 4.03), as opposed to the AMI devices, and a UMC chipset (8498F and 8496F). I suspect the UMC's might be the root of this problem, since the AMI BIOS wasn't present, and I have had problems with UMC chipsets in the past that refused to run Novell NetWare. The hardware I had was:

UM4980 80486 VL-Bus motherboard Phoenix BIOS version 4.03 UMC 8498F, UMC 8496F (UM8498 Keyboard BIOS)

See Also Warp Fix Pack # 3

This reference describes IBM's official fix for the problem described by this APAR.

No sound from PAS-16

Symptoms

No sound from PAS-16 Plus sound adapter following Selective Install and alterations to CONFIG.SYS per Warp User's Guide Chapter 19.

Hardware

Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum 16 Plus adapter Media Vision Pro Audio 16 Basic adapter (possibly other PAS-16 family adapters)

Problem

Bad MVPRODD.SYS driver in Warp GA.

Fix

Obtain a new driver from the Media Vision BBS (510-770-0527). The driver is in OS2.EXE, which is a self-extracting archive (194972 bytes).

For comparison purposes, here are the drivers:

  MVPRODD.SYS (BBS)    9-21-93   3:09p     59480
  MVPRODD.SYS (Warp)  10-08-94   4:02a     51246

Notes

The MVNOTES.DOC file from OS2.EXE also recommends making a change to the MMPM2.INI PARMSTRING value.

If you are experiencing white noise (hiss) prior to OS/2 Warp system sounds, try adding a /T:1 parameter to your MVPRODD.SYS entry in CONFIG.SYS.

Also, be aware that installing the OS/2 PAS-16 drives via Selective Install does not appear to update the Win-OS/2 drivers. To get PAS-16 sounds with Win-OS/2, You'll need to start up a Win-OS/2 session, open the Control Panel (in Main), and do a Drivers / Add for the "Unlisted" drivers in \OS2\DRIVERS\MVPRODD.

Media Vision is now shipping PAS-16 adapters with a new, improved chipset (MV-508-B) which replaces the older MV-508-A chipset. The drivers shipped with Warp do not support the new chipset. It is not yet clear whether the OS/2 driver from the Media Vision BBS supports this chipset properly.

Unable to create OS/2 bootable partition

Symptoms

Unable to successfully create an OS/2 bootable partition. Unable to allocate a FAT partition.

Hardware

"Large" drive with more than 1024 cylinders (e.g. most drives larger than 500 Mb). Problem DOS and the "IBM PC Compatible" BIOS routines are unable to address a cylinder address greater than 1023 without some assistance. The resulting "FAT Barrier" forces some restrictions on DOS, OS/2, and any operating system which uses the BIOS suport for any part of its boot process. For the purposes of OS/2 Warp installation, these are:

Boot Manager's partition must reside within the "FAT Barrier", that is, below cylinder 1024.

DOS and OS/2 bootable partitions, whether FAT or HPFS, must also reside completely within the FAT barrier.

DOS-compatible FAT partitions must reside completely within the FAT barrier (no surprise).

OS/2 non-bootable HPFS partitions can go anywhere and be any size up to the OS/2 limit of 512 Gb.

Fix

Some general rules of thumb may help your planning if you just picked up one of the new 540 Mb (or even 1 Gb) drives.

Allocate Boot Manager as the first partition (lowest address) on the drive.

Next, if desired, allocate a DOS boot partition (possibly with space for MSWin as well).

If desired, and if the DOS boot partition is relatively small, add a second FAT partition for use by DOS and MSWin when RealDOS (PC-DOS or MS-DOS) is booted.

Allocate your OS/2 Warp boot partition, either as FAT or HPFS.

All of the above must fit within the "FAT Barrier".

Finally, allocate the rest of the drive, however large, as one HPFS partition.

Notes

Certain drives and adapters help move the FAT Barrier up above 500 Mb by making it appear to the BIOS (or the adapter) that a "cylinder" contains more data than the physical drive geometry actually uses. Thus, 1024 cylinders "contains" more disk space.

If the drive performs the translation, it should be transparent to the BIOS, DOS, and OS/2. If the adapter chipset performs the translation, the same will hold true. However, if the translation is performed by the adapter <BIOS>, problems can result unless the manufacturer also provides an OS/2 driver for the adapter or OS/2 uses the (slow) IBMINT13.I13 driver to force all disk I/O through the adapter BIOS.

There is an error in the Warp User's Guide on page 310. It states that "Typically, the first 1024 cylinders is equal to 1 GB (gigabyte), or 1024 Mb." More frequently, 1024 cylinders is 512 Mb or so, but it all depends on the drive manufacturer. I believe that the statement in question was the result of a mis-condensation of a comment made in the OS/2 v2.0 Control Program manual referring to <IBM> drives; in any case it is incorrect.

Hard Drives using OnTrack Disk Manager

Symptoms

OS/2 installation is unable to access drive, is unable to set one or more partitions installable, or reports unusual drive partition sizes.

Hardware

Large IDE drive with more than 1024 cylinders (presumably SCSI and ESDI as well) using OnTrack Disk Manager software (a.k.a. "Drive Rocket").

Problem

OnTrack Disk Manager is incompatible with operating systems other than DOS, including OS/2. It uses non-standard partition descriptions which can make the drive appear to be unreadable or uninitialized.

Fix

Back up all partitions on drives which are using OnTrak and remove OnTrack from the drives prior to installing OS/2. Partitions can be created under OS/2 beyond the "FAT Barrier" by using the OS/2 FDISK or FDISKPM programs, and formatting the new partitions to use the OS/2 High Performance File System (HPFS).

Notes

This wil hopefully become less of a problem in the near future. IBM, Western Digital, and OnTrack are currently working on a solution to the Disk Manager-OS/2 incompatibility.

For now, any system with a large IDE drive larger than 1024 cylinders (generally over 500 Mb) set up as one large partition probably has Disk Manager installed, and should check carefully before installing OS/2 Wapr Version 3 (or any version of OS/2).

Specific tips on removing Disk Manager and re-partitioning would be appreciated.

See also

   * Tutorial: Getting the boot (a tutorial about hard disk issues)
   * Installing OS/2 On Hard Drives With OnTrack DiskManager

Mouse pointer displaced - Dell

Symptoms

Visible mouse pointer is offset (possibly by several inches) from the "effective" internal location for MSWin applications run in "seamless" mode (windowed on the OS/2 desktop).

Hardware

Dell Computer systems with MSWin pre-installed.

Problem

This appears to be the result of a Dell-specific version of the MSWin MOUSE.DRV driver.

Fix

Obtain a copy of MOUSE.DRV from a standard version of MSWin, or download an updated driver from Dell.

  FTP:  dell1.us.dell.com, file /dellbbs/os2/mouse.zip
        (possibly ftp.dell.com)
  BBS:  512-728-8528, OS/2 directory, file MOUSE.ZIP

Rename the current driver (e.g. to DELMOUSE.DRV) and copy the new driver into the MSWin SYSTEM directory (usually named \WINDOWS\SYSTEM)

Notes

This has also been reported as a fix for a similar problem for Zeos computers.

OS/2 hangs after installation

Symptoms

Following installation, OS/2 displays the new logo screen and hangs.

Hardware

Any.

Problem

IRQ conflict.

Fix

Ensure that no two adapters share an IRQ setting. To help determine which driver is being loaded at the time of the hang (and thus which adapter may be a part of the problem ), re-boot and press Alt-F2 when the "boot-blob" (small white rectangle in the upper left corner of the screen) appears. This will list each driver as it loads.

Notes

If the hang occurs later in the boot process, try adding /V parameters to various drivers; this may yield additional information about which drivers are or are not operating as expected.

System stops booting because of problem with COUNTRY.SYS

Symptoms

During installation the following message appears: "The country information file A:\COUNTRY.SYS is incorrect. The system is stopped. Correct the preceding error and restart."

Hardware

3.5" and 5.25" floppy drives

Problem

CMOS not set up properly; it thought the 3.5" A: drive was a 5.25" drive and that the 5.25" B: drive was a 3.5" drive.

Fix

Correct the CMOS settings.

Notes

This could happen as the result of a bad CMOS battery, or from swapping the diskette drive cables and forgetting to re-set the CMOS information to match the change.

Problems recognising various CD-ROM drives

Symptoms

Various problems recognizing CD-ROM drives at installation time (e.g. SBCD2 not recognizing drives with unit codes other than zero), possibly other CD-ROM-related problems as well.

Hardware

Any of the following CD-ROM drives:

  Philips LMS CM205, CM225 (single session)
  Philips LMS CM205, CM225 (multisession)
  Philips CM206, CM226
  Sony CDU-531, 535, 6150, 6201, 6205, 6251, 7201, and
      7205 CD-ROM drives attached to a Sony CDB-240 series (or
      compatible) host adapter.
  Mitsumi CRMC-FX001 (single speed), CRMC-FX001D (double-speed)
  Mitsumi CRMC-LU005, CRMC-LU002
  Tandy CDR-1000 (Mitsumi)
  BSR-6800 (Mitsumi)
  Creative Labs OmniCD
  IBM ISA CD-ROM Drive
  Panasonic CR-521,522,523,562,563

Problem

Problems with Warp GA drivers.

Fix

Obtain an updated driver for your CD-ROM drive. These are currently available from the Talklink OS2BBS and CompuServe, and from ftp.cdrom.com in the /pub/os2/incoming directory. README files for each driver are included showing how to install them and what parameters each accepts.

[ The links currently point to software.watson.ibm.com - jon ]

File names:

  CDDRVR.ZIP   All fixes contained in one file  1.0  11/22/94   93440
  WLM205.ZIP   Philips LMS205 CD Driver         1.0  11/22/94   22320
  WLM206.ZIP   Philips LMS206 CD Driver         1.0  11/22/94   23680
  WMITFX.ZIP   Mitsumi CD Drivers               1.0  11/22/94   16640
  WSBCD2.ZIP   SoundBlaster CD Driver           1.0  11/22/94   15600
  WSONY5.ZIP   Sony 535 CD Driver               1.0  11/22/94   14720

Notes

None

Message - HDD Controller Failure *

Symptoms

The following messages at boot time (wording may differ slightly):

  HDD Controller Failure
  Press F1 to continue.

Hardware

Most types of hard drives.

Problem

There has been an ongoing discussion of this message and its various causes. Among the things that can cause this are:

• Incorrect data in CMOS setup (wrong or missing drive geometry, drive not "enabled", etc.). This can be the result of a failing CMOS battery or acidental user intervention.
• IRQ conflicts with other devices.
• Master Boot Record and/or Partition Table for the boot drive is mangled.
• Improperly mastered/slaved IDE drives.
• Incompatible IDE drives (example: many Conner drives will not work when installed as as Slave and another brand of drive is set as Master).
• Active Primary partition is non-bootable (bad boot record, etc.).
• Adapter not firmly seated in slot.
• Last floppy drive in bootup sequence is bad or improperly attached.
• Hard drive cable loose or twisted, or has a broken wire.
• Drive or adapter failure. Not frequent, but it does happen. Also may be caused by a failing floppy drive.

Fix

FDISK can be used to display the current partition status, and to set the correct partition as "startable" (active Primary partition). For systems with Boot Manager installed, this will normally be the Boot Manager partition; for Dual Boot systems where Boot Manager is not installed this will normally be the partition containing DOS and OS/2.

If the CMOS Setup information does not match the actual drive geometry (cylinders, heads, sectors), it should be corrected. Some BIOS Setup programs are able to obtain this information directly from the drive. Failing that, many new IDE drives have the drive geometry conveniently printed on a label on top of the drive. Otherwise, you'll need to consult your drive manufacturer or its Technical Support BBS. Or ask a friend or colleague who has the same drive.

A bad Master Boot Record/Partition Table can be fixed by doing an FDISK /NEWMBR (recent versions of the DOS FDISK are reported as supporting a similar feature with the syntax FDISK /MBR).

IRQ and I/O address (IOA) conflicts can located by a careful examination of the manuals of all adapters in the system. More often they are located by removing all non-critical adapters, then replacing adapters one by one until the problem recurs. Note that the last adapter replaced is only one of two (or more) contributing to the problem; you may want to remove all but that adapter and see if the problem disappears, then replace the remaining adapters until the second "IRQ sharer" is located.

Once located, IRQ and IOA problems can generally be fixed by reassigning IOAs or IRQ levels used by one or more adapters.

Cables and adapters can be swapped with known working units to narrow down the problem cause.

Notes

Gordon Nickerson writes (10th October, 1995):

An item I haven't seen listed is the mother of 'em all - "The Mother Board".

Resetting CMOS Parameters which recurrently fail are a good indicator of hard drive and/or motherboard failure. With appropriate high-end software &/or hardware diagnostic tools such problems can be isolated.

Installation of Warp fails with SYS3175 typically around diskette 1 *

Symptoms

Warp installation fails on a SYS3175 (access violation exception), typically (but not always) around Diskette 1.

Hardware

System board with external cache (e.g. most of today's 386, 486, and Pentium system boards).

Problem

Some system boards' external cache logic have intermittent cache coherency problems due to poor design. These tend to show up sooner and more frequently under OS/2 because of its heavy use of 32-bit-wide RAM access.

Workaround

Turn off the external cache using the system board's CMOS Setup program and restart the installation.

Notes

None.

#9GXEPRO - problems with display esp. with Windows sessions *

Symptoms

Video problems running seamless Windows sessions, possibly other display-related problems.

Hardware

1. 9GXEPRO display adapter

Problem

Problems with display drivers.

Fix

Download an updated driver set from the #9 technical support BBS 617-862-7502 (8-N-1), 24 hour access. I believe that the file name is 9GXE64OS.EXE, but its description should specifically mention that it is intended for use with OS/2 Warp.

Notes

There is a file named OBJINST.CMD in the driver package. I have been told that this must be renamed to INSTOBJ.CMD to make the driver installation work properly. kaye@aloha.com writes (29th June, 1995):

Under video cards, for the #9 GXE pro, it suggests dialing the #9 BBS for an updated driver. As of this week they now are on the internet, ftp.nine.com. I think they'll be on the web shortly, http://www.nine.com/