OS/2 Service Pack XR06055 - Known Problems and Fixes

The following is a list of the known problems that can be introduced by installing the OS/2 2.0 Service Pack XR06055. Where possible, a "work around" solution is given for the problem. Most, but not all of these are problems with video adapters and the new video drivers.

1. Diamond Speedstar Adapter with the Tseng ET4000 Chip

Configuring this adapter for Super VGA (SVGA) and high resolution results in an out-of-sync Desktop or unsynchronized monitor.

To correct the problem:

A. Boot DOS from hard disk or VMB if installed, boot from a DOS diskette otherwise.

B. Use the utility program called VMODE, found on the utility diskette that came with the display adapter, to execute the following commands from the DOS command line:
 * 1. VMODE MONITOR
 * 2. VMODE 38

C. Enter the command "SVGA ON". This will generate a SVGADATA.PMI file in the OS2 directory of the drive you booted from.

Note: If you booted a DOS diskette, the PMI file may be written on the diskette. Copy the PMI file to your primary OS/2 partition in the OS2 directory.

The program SVGA.EXE program is located in the OS2 directory on the primary OS/2 drive or partition.

D. The same out-of-sync Desktop problem will again occur when you start a WINOS2 Full Screen session with the High Resolution SVGA option set.

E. This problem is corrected by copying the VMODE program from the utility diskette to a directory referenced in the DOS PATH or the root directory. Then edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add the following statements: VMODE MONITOR VMODE 38 This will set the correct video mode on the adapter before the WINOS2 session starts.

2. Real Mode (DOS) SVGA is supported in OS/2 2.0 only with the following adapters:
 * Western Digital's Paradise Professional
 * Super VGA cards with either Tseng ET4000 or ET3000
 * Video Seven's VRAM II
 * ATI VGAWONDER XL (with Chip # 18800 or 28800)
 * Trident Card (Chip # 8900c )

3. Problems using a system with the Micro-Channel XGA-2 (XGA - NI) adapter and an IBM 8514 or an OEM multisync 8514 compatible monitor.

If the system was running XGA with OS/2 2.0 GA and the Service Pack is applied, upon reboot after Service Pack installation the display becomes unsynchronized. The solution is to boot off diskette if necessary, then "CD" to the XGA$DMQS directory on the primary partition and delete all of the ".DGS" files found. Then reboot the OS/2 system.

The OS/2 system will come up synchronized and in interlaced mode. If the video monitor used supports noninterlaced modes (such as MultiSync), then use the reference diskette that came with the XGA-2 adapter to generate an XGASETUP.PRO file into the XGA$DMQS directory. This will cause the monitor to use noninterlace mode the next time OS/2 is booted.

4. Systems with the ISA (AT) bus XGA-NI adapter (a non-IBM product) will not be able to use XGA mode in DOS VDM sessions or in WINOS2 Full Screen sessions. Error messages noting missing .DGS files will occur when any attempt is made to use XGA with DOS or WINOS2. There is no solution or work around for this problem known at this time.

5. The new Tseng SVGA drivers were installed but the OS/2 system fails to boot afterwards (only a blinking cursor in the upper left hand corner of an otherwise blank screen).

Check for the existence of a SVGADATA.PMI file in the OS2 directory on the OS/2 primary partition. If not present, use the work around noted in 1.C above to create the SVGADATA.PMI file.

Check the video adapter for the Tseng ET3000 or ET4000 chipset (required for OS/2). Also check to make sure that the video adapter has enough video memory to use the SVGA mode that was configured. For example, the modes 800x600x256 (medium resolution) and 1024x768x256 (high resolution) each require a minimum of one MB of video memory.

6. Using SVGA mode in OS/2 DOS and WINOS2 Full Screen sessions is not supported on systems with the ATI 8514 Ultra adapter. There is no solution or work around for this at this time.

7. The EVEREX Viewpoint adapter with the Tseng ET4000 chip may get the out-of-sync Desktop or unsynchronized monitor problem. This is usually caused by the actions of the user and the way the various OS/2 session types are configured. For example:
 * 1. The user is on the PM Desktop with VGA mode ON. He then starts a DOS Full Screen session and sets SVGA high resolution mode (might be done in AUTOEXEC as explained above). Then the user switches back to the PM Desktop with Alt-Esc (was VGA). The monitor/Desktop is out-of-sync.
 * 2. The user is on the PM Desktop which has SVGA high resolution set. He then starts an OS/2 Full Screen which defaults to VGA mode. The OS/2 Full Screen is now out-of-sync with the monitor.

8. A major problem introduced by the Service Pack is seen when deleting any file from a FAT partition while running in a VMB (Bootable DOS) session. This will always cause an IPE (Internal Processing Error).

This has been APAR'ed, corrected, and a fix is available with a new OS2KRNL. This fix should be available for download from the BBS within a few days.

9. The ALT+HOME key will not work in a DOS Full Screen session once it has lost focus. A DOS Full Screen session will lose focus when the user switches to the Desktop and selects any object there with the mouse. When the user switches back to the DOS Full Screen session, the focus is lost.

The work around for this problem is to switch to the Desktop, select the icon for the DOS Full Screen session that lost focus, pop up the context menu for the session with the right mouse button, and choose "Windowed". This will restore the focus as well as make the DOS window appear. The ALT+HOME hot key will now function until the session is made full screen again and it loses focus again.

10. Once a DOS Full Screen session has lost focus (see number 9 above), Using the right ALT Key in combination with any extended key (such as Home, End, anything on the 10 keypad, etc.) will cause the entire keyboard to become non-functional (appear dead).

The work around for the situation is to quickly press and release the left ALT key.

11. If a DOS application that requires high resolution mode is started in a DOS Windowed session, that application becomes suspended. This is the normal and expected behavior as documented. The problem is that the Windowed session loses focus, which is not normal. When the user then attempts to change the session to Full Screen by using the Alt-Home combination, the keyboard becomes non-functional (appears dead) because of the problem described in number 10 above.

Once again, the work around for the situation is to quickly press and release the left ALT key.

Note: Problems 10 and 11 above have become known as the "sticky ALT key" syndrome. The OS/2 system error is caused by the virtual keyboard driver getting into a state where it believes the ALT key is being physically held down. By pressing and releasing the left ALT key, this condition is cleared.