Optimizing Windows 3.1X TNT Products
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
O P T I Windows 3.1 M I Z I N G 3.1 Optimizing Windows 3.1x for the pre-6.1 versions of the TNT Products Optimizing Windows 3.1x MicroImages software support engineers are ready to help you with TNT installation, setup, and operational problems. If you are using the TNT professional products, contact us at: Software Support: (402) 477-9562 FAX (402) 477-9559 Email [email protected] If you are using the TNTlite versions of the TNT products, ask for help from your campus computer lab supervisor or your company's computer support and training specialists. TNTlite users may contact MicroImages directly, but our support staff gives priority to our professional clients. IMPORTANT: Your software license key IS your TNT professional prod- uct. Without your key, you can run only the TNTlite versions of the TNT products. Therefore, you should take steps to safeguard your key, even as you take normal precautions to safeguard other valuable possessions. In- sure your key for loss, theft, or damage. If you lose a diamond ring, the jeweler does not give you a new one. If you lose your key, MicroImages does not give you a new one. Keys are very sensitive to spurious electronic signals. If you attach your key to the wrong kind of device, the key could be damaged beyond repair. For example, you may install a parallel key in-line only with a printer: do not put a key in-line on a port with a device other than a printer (no “Parallel-to-SCSI” adapters, no ZIP drives, no tape backup units). 18 January 2000 2 Software Support: (402) 477-9562 FAX (402) 477-9559 Email [email protected] Optimizing Windows 3.1x Contents Overview ............................................................... 4 Windows 3.1 Basic Configuration....................... 5 Memory Management....................................................................5 Print Manager ................................................................................5 Virtual Memory ..............................................................................6 32-bit Disk Access..........................................................................6 Disk Compression ..........................................................................6 DOS Shell ....................................................................................... 7 Special Display Boards ..................................................................7 Windows 3.1 Optimization ................................... 9 Hardware Speed Tips ..................................................................... 9 Windows 3.1 Speed Tips ..............................................................15 General Speed Tips ......................................................................19 Software Support: (402) 477-9562 FAX (402) 477-9559 Email [email protected] 3 Optimizing Windows 3.1x Overview Few of today's professional software packages run well (if at all) in the 16-bit DOS/Windows 3.1x environment. MicroImages released the 6.0 version of its TNT professional products for Windows 3.1x as the last version for that platform. Windows 3.1x is not Y2K compliant and serious professionals should no longer be using it. Nevertheless, some students and professionals have no alternative: they either use an older Windows 3.1 computer or nothing. PC’s with DOS and Windows 3.1 need careful optimization to run the pre-6.1 versions of the TNT products acceptably. The default DOS / Windows 3.1 configuration does not provide the best environment for the TNT products. To use pre-6.1 versions of the TNT products on a Windows 3.1x PC, your computer needs 16 Mb or more of RAM, a CD-ROM drive, and about 100Mb of free hard drive space. If you have only 8Mb of RAM, you can install and run TNT, but the performance will suffer. 4 Software Support: (402) 477-9562 FAX (402) 477-9559 Email [email protected] Optimizing Windows 3.1x Windows 3.1 Basic Configuration Memory Management Let Windows 3.1 manage the RAM in your PC. MicroImages does not recommend the use of additional special- ized memory management software. However, some special hard- ware peripherals need to reserve specific areas of RAM (usually in the address range A000 - EFFF). If Windows does not know about the special blocks of memory that your peripherals plan to use, then both Windows and the hardware device may try to use the same memory, and conflict. Read the documentation that comes with your hardware peripherals and use the suggested memory exclusions. Experience shows that Windows 3.1 exclusion statements are required for the satisfactory performance of these devices in particular: Targa display board SCSI interface cards Network adapters Matrox MGA display boards Define memory exclusions with statements in the [386ENH] section of the SYSTEM.INI file in the Windows directory. Use any text editor, locate the [386Enh] section and add a line in the form [386Enh] EMMExclude=C000-C7FF Some memory managers (for example, EMM386 and QEMM) also de- clare memory exclusions in the DOS startup files (CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT). You still must add the EMMExclude statement to SYSTEM.INI even if you have exclusions in the DOS startup files. Print Manager The Windows 3.1 Print Manager is an automatic feature that reserves a large portion of memory as a print buffer so that Windows applications can return sooner after a print command is given. In order to maximize the amount of RAM available to TNT processes, turn Software Support: (402) 477-9562 FAX (402) 477-9559 Email [email protected] 5 Basic Configuration Optimizing Windows 3.1x off the Print Manager. Select the Printers icon in the Control Panel (in the Main Program Group) and then de-select the checkbox labeled “Use Print Manager.” The default condition of the Print Manager is “on,” so you must explicitly turn it off to free the RAM. —However, if you want to print over a network to a remote printer, you must not turn off the Print Man- ager. Virtual Memory Virtual memory is a memory management tech- nique whereby a computer system uses a portion of the hard disk to extend RAM. Of course, the virtual memory on the mechanical hard disk works much more slowly than the electronic RAM, so you will notice a definite performance slow-down when virtual memory begins to use the hard disk. (But at least it keeps you from running out of memory.) Micro- Images does not recommend running the TNT processes with less than 16Mb of RAM. If you have only 8Mb of RAM, you may need to set up virtual memory, but you will notice the slow performance of a system that is constantly using virtual memory. In Windows 3.1, be sure to change the Type of virtual memory to Permanent (but do not specify permanent virtual memory in Windows 95). For permanent virtual memory, Win- dows 3.1 reserves a contiguous block of space on your hard drive and locks it away from other DOS use. Permanent virtual memory is faster in Windows 3.1 than non-permanent virtual memory. 32-bit disk access Another feature that should help you get the most possible speed from virtual memory is the 32-bit disk access in Windows 3.1. (You do not need to specify 32-bit disk access in Windows 95). Windows 3.1 can bypass DOS’s normal 16-bit disk access methods on most types of drives (although NOT SCSI or ESDI). When you change the Type of virtual memory to Permanent in Windows 3.1, click in the checkbox that says Use 32-bit Disk Access. Windows tests your hard disk controller to be sure that its 32-bit access routines will work correctly. If your controller allows it, then Windows 3.1 will use its own 32-bit disk access routines. On the other hand, if your disk controller is one of the few types that cannot work with 32-bit access, Windows 3.1 displays a message and de-selects the 32-bit Disk Access checkbox. Disk Compression Your hard drive can be configured with a “disk doubler” (such as Stacker, SuperStor, or DOS’s doublespace) which uses transparent data compression technology to make your disk appear to have more room than it does. A 400 Mb hard disk with disk compression software can store 800 mb of data. Today’s disk compression software is generally reliable and speedy. In particular, MicroImages can recommend 6 Software Support: (402) 477-9562 FAX (402) 477-9559 Email [email protected] Optimizing Windows 3.1x Basic Configuration the disk compression in DOS 6.2. Nevertheless, you may be happier in the long run if you buy a large, fast hard drive, rather than doubling your old drive for the space. If you do use disk compression, take extra care to make regular backups. It is much more difficult to recover corrupted or lost data from a compressed drive than from a normal drive. Consider too that you have a better chance of recovery if your boot drive (C:) is not compressed. Use your doubler’s configuration options to reserve part of your primary hard drive for uncompressed use: at least for your startup files, system files, DOS, and some utilities (including diagnostics and recovery). Define a secondary (non-boot) partition as D:, which will be compressed. DOS Shell Multi-tasking in Windows 3.1 is not as robust as in Windows NT and 95/98. For example, if you suspend a TNT session in Windows 3.1x and spend a long time in a DOS shell, your background TNT session may eventually hang. Remedy: edit the DOSPRMPT.PIF using the Windows PIF editor, and set DOSPRMPT’s Foreground Priority to something less than 100. That forces Windows to give the background processes some processing time. Display Driver In Windows 3.1, the TNT products depend on the display driver supplied for your display board by the manufacturer and Microsoft Corporation. Most board and driver combinations work with- out a problem. In most cases, you never need to fuss with display board and driver issues. However, some older display boards available for Windows 3.1 require special setup to work correctly with TNT.