ArcaOS keeps rebooting

[Paolo_Ricardo]

Rich

On the whole, I think that's a very good idea. As I mentioned previously, I've never heard of XWP causing the kind of problems you've encountered, so something in the installation must be really messed up. Since I'm the one who would probably have to fix whatever might actually be wrong with XWP, I have a vested interest in you having a successful install 

I am convinced that my original install was less than optimum  . Anyway I have reinstalled ArcaOS and all of my OS/2 apps. Will do the MS-DOS ones tomorrow.

So far no problems. One difference with this install is that I just accepted the default XWP i.e. I haven't added any other widgets.

One issue: not that I am particularly interested in Games but none of the apps (Klondike, Solitaire, Mahjongg) will open after I double click their icons. So far this seems the only problem.

I'll keep you posted on progress.

Paul

[TeLLie]

Hi Paul,
What happens if you go to cmd line and start mahjongg there...?
c:\os2\apps\mahjongg.exe
Something in popuplog maybe ?

[Lars]

I don't have AN installed but I do have the latest XWP installed.

For the record: which version? There are two versions per release. Which version is AN's?

I am using XWP "full" version (that is,not the lite version) 1.0.11 available on Hobbes. I would think that is about the version that AN delivers.

[Doug Bissett]

I am using XWP "full" version (that is,not the lite version) 1.0.11 available on Hobbes. I would think that is about the version that AN delivers.

Actually, ArcaOS delivers the Lite version, modified to have Arca Noae branding, and it includes the new Arca Noae USB widget. I don't think there are any other changes from the Lite version that is at HOBBES.

[Rich Walsh]

One issue: not that I am particularly interested in Games but none of the apps (Klondike, Solitaire, Mahjongg) will open after I double click their icons. So far this seems the only problem.

TeLLie's suggestion that you run the app from the command line is a good one since you might get an error message that some needed dll couldn't be loaded. However, there's something else you should look at: what file is each program object pointing at.

Clearly, "Mahjongg" should be starting 'C:\OS2\APPS\MAHJONGG.EXE'. If you open the program object's Properties and it shows, say, 'C:\MPTN\ETC', you have a big problem because your file handles table is corrupt. This particular type of corruption is something that no ini cleaner (whether "IFX", "checkini", or whatever) could possibly identify or resolve. In this case, LosePete's earlier suggestion to run "XFix" would be spot-on. However, you'd need a fair amount of assistance to resolve the issue. Let's hope it doesn't come to that...

I am using XWP "full" version (that is,not the lite version) 1.0.11 available on Hobbes. I would think that is about the version that AN delivers.

ANXWP is at version ..umm.. 1.0.11++. I've made about 10 changes since 1.0.11 and checked them in to the Netlabs repo but I haven't built a new generic version yet because all the NLS files need updating. I'll try to get that moving.

[Paolo_Ricardo]

Rich

TeLLie's suggestion that you run the app from the command line is a good one since you might get an error message that some needed dll couldn't be loaded. However, there's something else you should look at: what file is each program object pointing at.

Clearly, "Mahjongg" should be starting 'C:\OS2\APPS\MAHJONGG.EXE'.

All the program objects point to the relevant .EXE file in C:\OS2\APPS. Ref TeLLie's suggestion I tried running from the Command Line - the command window just closes when I type in the relevant command.

ANXWP is at version ..umm.. 1.0.11++. I've made about 10 changes since 1.0.11 and checked them in to the Netlabs repo but I haven't built a new generic version yet because all the NLS files need updating. I'll try to get that moving.

I don't really know anything about different versions. What I meant about accepting the defaults was that I have the virtual desk rectangle in the lower left corner of the screen and the bar at the bottom of the screen with the shutdown button, drives, system setup and command prompts icons. I didn't add any other widgets to this bar. I wouldn't be able to upgrade versions because I don't have internet access - that''s something I've got figure out. Someone suggested DHCP.

Other issues: (a) I have no sound. The UNIAUD driver was installed.

(b) USB problem - if I insert a USB stick it appears as drive D when I open the Drives icon but if I dbl-click on Drive D an empty drive D folder opens with a message 'No objects were found that matched the specified find criteria' followed by 'The drive or diskette is not formatted correctly'. (I formatted the USB as eFAT since this format can be read in both Windows and ArcaOS and I'm using the USB to transfer MS-DOS programs to ArcaOS.) I also get a popup message saying 'Chkdsk failed for drive D:'. I can access the USB stick if I open a DOS session. If I try to access it via a Command Prompt I get 'SYS0026: The specified disk or diskette cannot be accessed'.

I didn't use Advanced Install - I didn't know there was such an option or I didn't notice it.

Installed my MS-DOS programs. No problems so far. Ah, the nostalgia 

Paul

[Greggory Shaw]

I didn't use Advanced Install - I didn't know there was such an option or I didn't notice it.

...

Really, I said a quick re-install was the easiest way and use the advanced install option 3 times

I had to install eCS 2.1 four times for the best results !


Also, why re-install all of your programs when you don't even have a stable system yet and did you back it up before you changed things ?  Just unzip your backup if you mess things up (30 seconds).

[Paolo_Ricardo]

Greggory

The reinstallation seems to very stable so far, so I'm feeling reasonably confident.

I reinstalled a lot of applications because I wanted to tidy up the directory structure that I had originally used.

And yes, I have zipped up the key applications that I use.

Paul

[Greggory Shaw]

Greggory

The reinstallation seems to very stable so far, so I'm feeling reasonably confident.

...

No internet, sound or USB isn't really stable.

You better get internet figured out before anything using the adv install option would have given better control over the nic driver probably.  DHCP should just work, unless the wrong driver was installed. Also, why did you re-install it using the same option and expect different results ?

I wasn't talking about your programs, backup the boot partition too. And your first order of business should be on a working Internet connection.

[Lars]

"formatted as eFAT"
What is eFAT? I can say that exFAT is not supported. Only FAT16 and FAT32.

I know it's not the cure for every problem but regarding USB you could try my driver set.
Go to Hobbes.nmsu.edu and search for "usbdrv".

[Lars]

I am using XWP "full" version (that is,not the lite version) 1.0.11 available on Hobbes. I would think that is about the version that AN delivers.

ANXWP is at version ..umm.. 1.0.11++. I've made about 10 changes since 1.0.11 and checked them in to the Netlabs repo but I haven't built a new generic version yet because all the NLS files need updating. I'll try to get that moving.(

I could help with the German translation if you'd send me the files to translate.
Or Andreas Buchinger would potentially volunteer.

[Paolo_Ricardo]

Lars

"formatted as eFAT"

Sorry, that was a typo. Should have been FAT.

I know it's not the cure for every problem but regarding USB you could try my driver set.
Go to Hobbes.nmsu.edu and search for "usbdrv".

I downloaded usbdrv217.zip.  Most of the files (except the ones in the os2\trace folder) are already in my C:\ drive so how do they differ?
The files in mmos2 are zip files. What am I supposed to do with these?
Do I need to make any changes to CONFIG.SYS?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I am unused to making these sort of changes, being new to ArcaOS.

Paul

[Rich Walsh]

I know it's not the cure for every problem but regarding USB you could try my driver set.
Go to Hobbes.nmsu.edu and search for "usbdrv".

I downloaded usbdrv217.zip.  Most of the files (except the ones in the os2\trace folder) are already in my C:\ drive so how do they differ?

Except in one particular circumstance, these drivers aren't going to resolve your issues (sorry, Lars).

If your USB media are partitioned, they are being rejected by OS/2 because they lack LVM info. This is data that OS/2's disk subsystem writes at the beginning of a partition that tells it (among other things) what drive letter you'd like to assign to the disk. You probably encountered this the first time you tried to install AOS on your hard disk: the installer's Disk Utility came up and advised LVM info was missing. It offered to add it and you said OK - end of problem.

The stock answer for fixing this is to use the program "DFSee" to add it (www.dfsee.com). DFSee is a great program and can fix disk problems that nothing else can. But, it can be extremely daunting to use, and frankly, it's just overkill for what should be a fairly simple operation. Why no one has ever seen fit to write an easy-to-use utility to address this fairly common issue is beyond me.

The one situation where Lars' driver can be helpful is if your media is formatted as a "large floppy", i.e. it doesn't have a partition table and is layed-out the way a diskette would be. This is the way Windows traditionally handled USB storage media and most USB sticks were formatted that way (though the last few I bought were, in fact, partitioned). IIUC, Lars' mass-storage driver detects that the system is looking for LVM info and generates it on-the-fly to keep the system happy. Be aware that you can't do a mix-and-match combining some of his drivers with AN's: it's all or nothing.

The one exception to the all-or-nothing rule (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) are the files you mentioned in MMOS2. These provide USB audio support and have enhancements that the AN version lacks. If you're having problems with Uniaud and you have a USB audio adapter, you may want to try installing them. I'll have to leave it to someone more knowledgeable than I to fill in the details.

[Lars]

And then there is an updated USBMSD.ADD. It's not only updated to support "large floppy".
I also spent considerable time in making it work more reliably with USB mass storage devices. That includes USB floppy drives/CD-ROMs/memory sticks/hard drives. If you  need to use a floppy  drive it's the only driver that will work with more than just a few devices. I also improved copy performance and I fixed problems with data integrity.
It can be used with the AN stack without any problem or restrictions.

[Lars]

Forgot to answer the other statement: the reason why nobody has yet written a utility for writing the DLAT sector is twofold: there are people who would jump into your face if say USBMSD.ADD would write something to their media without them knowing (large floppy support creates a fake  DLAT in memory therefore this is not a prob in this case) .And secondly it's damn difficult to say where the DLAT sector is supposed to go on the medium. I just say " disk geometry" and you will understand the problem.
The latter is also not easy for DFSEE to know reliably and I had quite a few email exchanges with Jan van Wijk about this problem. That's why DFSEE is a tool for people who know what they are doing.
It's not lack of skill.