Clarion Under OS/2
| Article Info | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Butler, Randy Rogers |
| Date | |
| OS Version | IBM OS/2 2.0 |
| Companion File | N/A |
| Source | N/A |
This text file contains information from Clarion users who have successfully set up Clarion to run under OS2. These are replies from Randy Rogers (CLARIONET user id RRogers) and Robert Butler (CLARIONET User Id RButler) to the following question ask by Paul of the Clarion Technical Support Staff.
Good Luck!
Tech22: What does it take to get clarion running under OS2? More specific
how do you set up the DOS Environment? Is it necessary to have a "dual
boot" system or what?
Randy Rogers:
I have it set up as follows:
Program
Path and filename..: * Optional Parameters: /C H:\CLARION\CLARION.COM Working Directory..: F:\CLARION
Session
Dos window Close window on exit DOS settings DOS_FILES 255 DOS_HIGH ON DOS_LASTDRIVE Z DOS_UMB ON KBD_CTRL_BYPASS CTRL_ESC NETWARE_RESOURCES GLOBAL
Association
*.APP *.CLA *.CLI
Window
minimize to viewer create new window
General
a Clarion icon I found
- NOTE*
Under DOS settings it is necessary to also set the dos version when using
Clarion releases prior to 2107. So, if you are using release 2105 for example you would add to the DOS_VERSION list:
clarion.com,5,00,255
I'm not sure, but you might also have to add the rest of the programs too
cedt.exe,5,00,255
also you don't have to use 5,00 (DOS 5.00), just anything => 3,40
Randy Rogers [75730,1337]
Keystone Computer Resources
From RButler:
OS/2 is wonderful with Clarion because it has given me Bullet Proof Background Multi-Tasking where my Clarion Program happily (and with only about a 20% reduction in speed) compile multiple modules in background while I work on other parts of my application. The large speed reductions and frequent crashes of Windows 3.1 and DeskView DOS sessions appear to be a thing of the past with OS/2 2.0. However, like every new system, we experienced a few problems as we climbed up the learning curve. Your idea of a Tips Sheet is great!
Here are a few additional items to put in your OS/2 Tips on the Hardware Side... I had some problems until I got to talk to one of the top OS/2 2.0 Technicians at IBM Boca Raton. The two most important changes I made was; 1) switched from a Dual Boot Set-up to a Boot Manager Set-up and 2) Replaced my Memory Chips
First, stay with the FAT File structure (not HPFS) unless you are a very experienced OS/2 user with a very big hard Drive and lots of native O/2 applications (and then only dedicate a separate partition to HPFS))
Dual Boot vs Boot Manager
I've tried both set-up's and had much better luck with Boot Manager. The main advantage of Dual Boot is that you DO NOT have to repartition and reformat your hard drive. I recommend that if at all possible, you DO repartition and reformat your hard drive, even with Dual Boot (since event the slightest amount of hard disk fragmentation in the free space where you install OS/2 will lead to many problems.
If you cannot reformat and MUST use Dual Boot, then run Norton Utilities set to "Defragment Free Space" before installing OS/2. However, once OS/2 is installed, NEVER run ANY DOS Defragmentation on ANY partition or logical drive with to OS/2 system files installed! Also, OS/2 doesn't like DOS disk compression utilities, even in DOS sessions. Don't use Stacker anywhere on your Hard Drive, particularly in Dual Boot mode. Also, PKZIP only works reliably if you boot from "True Native " DOS (it doesn't work well in an OS/2 DOS Session)
Booting DOS in Dual Boot mode is NOT 100% true "before OS/2" DOS since the FAT is modified for both systems and I suspect the DOS COMMAND.COM is modified (or replaced by the OS/2 installation). Of course, you can always boot from a floppy to get true native DOS. On the other hand, Boot Manager appears to leave true native DOS on your Primary partition.
Since in the Dual Boot set-up, DOS and OS/2 Share the same partition, this means you can never Defragment the C: Drive... a real problem if your Clarion files are on the same drive or partition as the system files. Another concern of the Dual Boot is the AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS and other system files are constantly being copied back and forth for OS/2 and DOS configurations as part of the Boot swapping process... This is just asking for trouble, much of which I found!
Boot Manager assigns a separate Primary Partition for each Operating System, each with their own separate start-up and system files. This uses more disk space but gives you the all important true DOS "fallback option".
I set up my Boot Manager Partitions with 1MB for Boot Manager, 9 MB for DOS (4MB for DOS and 5 MB for Network and other System Utilities I will never want for OS/2, even in an OS/2 DOS session), and 35 MB (Ug!!!) for OS/2 (I did not Load OS/2WIN support or Games/Productivity...OS/2 then needed about 20MB. However, for multiple compiling sessions, a large SWAP File (~15MB) is very valuable.). The rest of my disk was setup in Logical drives in an extended partition for programs and data that will be used by both DOS and OS/2.
Memory Chips
Unless you are content with one or two background sessions and/or major performance reduction, you should have 8 MB of RAM. Things started working very well at 8 MB, and at 16 MB things really fly. However, in spite of claims to the contrary, an IBM tech told me that for DOS sessions, 16 MB is the most being addressed in OS/2 2.0. (They are planning a fix on this soon to be on CompuServ BBS). The same tech told me that although it has not been announced officially yet, OS/2 2.0 will have many memory "Trap Errors" if you have installed in your computer the 1 x 3 x 1MB "SCUBA technology" SIMM chips. After I traded my 1 x 3 x 1MB SIMM memory chips for 1 x 9 x 1MB "Standard" SIMMS, I stopped getting memory errors. (OS/2 only works reliably on the 1 x 9 SIMMS (1MB or 4MB). Check this out before you buy additional memory and take a look at what you have in your computer befor installin OS/2 2.0. Also, BIOS dated in the last year or so, and particularily AMI BIOS's work well (My computer uses DTK BIOS 4.26 without problems)
If you Do Crash...
If you crash in a DOS session and you DO have to reboot (or you have a power failure, or forget to use proper shutdown procedures), you can count on cross linked files. Also, since, OS/2 will always take you back to the "scene of the crash", you get caught in a vicious cycle. There is a trick to fixing the files and not going back to the crashed DOS window during your next OS/2 start up.
As soon as you get OS/2 installed, do two things 1) Copy OS/2's version of CHKDSK from the IBM installation disks to a separate floppy, and 2) from DOS, make copies of these five files: OS/2.INI, OS/2SYS.INI, AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS (from the OS/2 directory, not DOS), and STARTUP.CMD files. (Since the INI files are always open in an OS/2 session, a copy can only be made in a true native DOS session.
1. Turn Off PC
2. Insert OS/2 Installation Disk in Drive A
3. Turn On PC
4. When prompted, put in OS/2 System Disk 1
5. When big IBM appears, Press ESC rather than ENTER
6 After System floppy stops, put in your blank floppy, Type "COPY c:\os2\chkdsk.com a:"
7. Type "A:", then "CHKDSK C: /F"
8. Remove all Floppies and Reboot (keep CHKDSK Floppy for "Next Time".
9 Always press right mouse button on Desktop and select "SHUTDOWN" befor shutting off compouter from OS/2 sesstion.
If things are still not working, boot with OS/2 and from the command prompt, copy the five files to their original directories. If Booting from OS/2 tries to take you back to the scene of the crash, boot from the installation floppies OR press LEFT CTRL - LEFT SHFT - F1 during boot up when the screen first turns white and the mouse pointer appears (this causes you to go only as far as the Main OS/2 Desktop, not to the crashed window). If you don't have copies of the INI files, use MAKE INI Command (this one is in the book) Supposedly, LEFT ALT F1 at the initial loading white screen will rebuild the defaults, according to IBM insiders, but I didn't have much luck there.
This information would have been very valuable to us duing our initial set-up and learning about OS/2 2.0... But let me say that once I switched from Dual Boot to Boot Manager and put in the 1 x 9 SIMMS, I haven't had a crash of any kind in weeks.
I recommend the book "INSIDE OS/2 2.0" by Mark Minasi, et al from NRP Publishing.
Was it worth it? It's too soon to say definitely, but it looks like, if we can reliabily get several 740K+ (this is not a typo) conventional memory background DOS sessions compiling programs, then OS/2 is a well worth it as the premier DOS background multi-tasking Operating System. In our situation, with huge multi-module applications and the slow LPM VM or Overlay Manager Compiling/Linking, OS/2 2.0 has been wonderful. (A note to LPM users... programs compile fine in LPM, but you cannot open the SHARK screen to change any Model settings in ANY type of OS/2 DOS Session. LPM says this will be fixed soon.)
Good Luck... I'll pass on anything else we pick up.
All the Best
RButler Computer Perfect Corporation Miami FL USA