OSOTWPER - QUESTIONS ABOUT SWAPPER.DAT, LIBPATH, PERFORMANCE, AND MORE 02/02/96 ======================================================================= Questions about SWAPPER.DAT, LIBPATH, Performance, and More OS/2 Warp ======================================================================= Please Read Entire Document for Full Explanation of Procedures -------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION This document contains frequently asked questions about the kernel in OS/2 Warp and a few questions about the BonusPak. RESOLUTION Why is my SWAPPER.DAT file larger in OS/2 Warp? OS/2 Warp now swaps system DLLs (dynamic link libraries) to the SWAPPER.DAT file when needed instead of just overwriting them in memory. This makes it much quicker to recall them. A lot of overhead is required to load a shared DLL from the file system versus saving it and its associated system data in the SWAPPER.DAT file. Where is the best place to put the SWAPPER.DAT file? The best place for SWAPPER.DAT is in the root directory on a drive with a good amount of free space, little disk activity, and low fragmentation percentage. The SWAPPER.DAT file stores information in 4 KB pages, so if using the FAT file system, the normal 2 KB cluster size is ignored, and a 4 KB cluster size is used to prevent fragmentation of memory page frames. The system searches for the largest amount of contiguous free space on the drive that is specified in the SWAPPATH statement of the CONFIG.SYS file, and creates the SWAPPER.DAT file to the initial size in that unfragmented free space to enhance performance. How do I use the Dynamic LIBPATH? The LIBPATH statement in the CONFIG.SYS file has not changed. It is not an environmental variable, and any changes made to it do not take effect until a shutdown and restart are done. However, there are now two new environmental variables that the system uses when an application is looking for a DLL (dynamic link library). They are: * SET BEGINLIBPATH=path * SET ENDLIBPATH=path where path is the location of the DLLs. They are searched in the following order: 1. BEGINLIBPATH (environmental variable) 2. LIBPATH (CONFIG.SYS) 3. ENDLIBPATH (environmental variable) How can I improve my startup performance? You can do a few things to make sure your startup time is minimized: * Make sure the Windows Fast Load option is turned off. This loads a DOS and Windows session in the background during startup. If you have less than 6 MB of memory, it should be turned off. To do this: 1. Open OS/2 System. 2. Open System Setup. 3. Select WIN-OS/2 Setup; the Settings notebook opens. 4. Make sure there is no check mark for Fast load. * Do not archive your Desktop on every restart. You should archive only when your Desktop customization is just how you want it. The Archive tab is on the Settings notebook for the Desktop. * Use multiple CONFIG.SYS files to load certain device drivers, depending on what you plan to do during a particular startup session. For example, the Internet Access Kit has several device drivers, which in low-memory systems, can use a lot of the available free memory, causing some swapping to occur. By having one CONFIG.SYS file with the device drivers remarked out, and another with the device drivers present, at startup you can choose whether to load support for the Internet Access Kit or not. See the OS/2 documentation for information about creating multiple CONFIG.SYS files and activating them in the ALT+F1 recovery menu. * Add the SET RESTARTOBJECTS=STARTUPFOLDERSONLY statement to the CONFIG.SYS file. This causes the Workplace Shell to restart only the objects you have in the Startup folder or in the STARTUP.CMD file. Why does OS/2 Warp run better on 4 MB systems? Some of the factors that contribute to OS/2 Warp running faster are: * A new link parameter, /EXEPACK, which was used on many system files when OS/2 Warp was compiled, compresses resource and message files by 20 to 30%. These files load 2 to 3% faster, on average. * Some page frames are "zero compressed" (similar to PKZIP) and put in areas of memory that is already allocated but that has extra space. This allows a page frame to be swapped from RAM to RAM (which happens in nanoseconds) versus swapping from RAM to the hard disk (which takes milliseconds). Up to 250 of these pages can be moved to different areas of RAM instead of the SWAPPER.DAT file. * Many system DLLs (dynamic link libraries) are now being swapped out to the hard disk. This makes it much quicker to recall them. A lot of overhead is required to load a shared DLL from the file system versus saving it and its associated system data in the SWAPPER.DAT file. * The SWAPPER.DAT file, when initialized, is put in the largest contiguous space of the FAT file system. Previously the system was not concerned with swapper fragmentation. * The internal file system in the SWAPPER.DAT file now has a 4 KB cluster size instead of 2 KB. This change makes swapping a 4 KB page more efficient. * Some system DLLs have been merged, so less overhead is needed to load them into memory and notify all tasks of their locations. For example, PMMERGE.DLL contains three old system DLLs: PMGRE.DLL, PMSHAPI.DLL, and PMWIN.DLL. Although these DLLs are still in OS/2 Warp, their function is simply to forward their calls to PMMERGE.DLL. Some other DLLs that are merged are DOSCALL1.DLL and MMPM.DLL. * A method of addressing called basing puts some system DLLs at an absolute address to reduce the overhead of finding them in memory. How do you create columns in the IBM Works Word Processor? To define columns in the BonusPak Word Processor, select the Columns icon on the far right below the Help pull-down. From there you can determine the number of columns and rows, as well as other options. A Help button in the bottom-right corner of the page can further help you in setting up the columns. When installing IBM Works, I get an EPFIE609 error. How do I get around this problem? The EPFIE609 error message appears when the Install utility program of IBM Works is unable to successfully unpack the INSTALL.IN_ file. If installing from diskettes: 1. Exit the IBM Works Installation program. 2. Type MD C:\WORKTEMP (or some other name) and press Enter to create a temporary directory. 3. Insert IBM Works Diskette 1 in drive A; then type the following and press Enter: UNPACK A:\INSTALL.IN_ C:\WORKTEMP 4. Type CD C:\WORKTEMP and press Enter to change to the temporary directory. 5. Look for the file, xxxIDLDS.EXE (xxx is any 3 characters). 6. Execute the file by typing xxxIDLDS /4=A:\ and pressing Enter. 7. Complete the installation. 8. Delete the files in the temporary directory; then remove the temporary directory. If installing from CD: 1. Exit the IBM Works Installation program. 2. Type MD C:\WORKTEMP (or some other name) and press Enter to create a temporary directory. 3. Insert the BonusPak CD into CD-ROM drive; then type the following and press Enter (e is the CD-ROM drive): UNPACK e:\US\IBMWORKS\INSTALL.IN_ C:\WORKTEMP 4. Type CD C:\WORKTEMP and press Enter to change to the temporary directory. 5. Look for the file, xxxIDLDS.EXE (xxx is any 3 characters). 6. Execute the file by typing xxxIDLDS /4=e\US\IBMWORKS and pressing Enter. 7. Complete the installation. 8. Delete the files in the temporary directory; then remove the temporary directory. When I select the Event Monitor in PIM (Personal Information Manager), nothing happens. What's wrong? If the icon has diagonal lines through it but nothing comes to the foreground, it is working as designed. The Event Monitor has no user interface; it is a timer that is used by the PIM mini-applications. All functions, such as alarms, are set in the PIM mini-applications, not in the Event Monitor. ______________________________________________________________________ IBM disclaims all warranties, whether express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of fitness and merchantability with respect to the information in this document. By furnishing this document, IBM grants no licenses to any related patents or copyrights. Copyright (c) 1994, 1996 IBM Corporation. Any trademarks and product or brand names referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information.