December 8, 1993                CheckûIt PRO:                    Release 1.11
                         SysInfo and Tests & Tools
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
                                                                             
                 Press <ESC> to stop displaying this file.
      
This README.TXT file includes information about the CheckIt PRO: SysInfo 
and Tests & Tools programs that was not printed in the latest version of the 
User Guides.
         
                
INSTALLATION CHANGE!!!!!        
------------------------
This newer version of CheckIt PRO: SysInfo and Tests & Tools is distributed 
on 2 diskettes only. The installation program will install both programs
automatically. If you need alternative media (e.g. 5.25") please call 
TouchStone Customer Service.
                
                
                ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
                ³ New in this Version of SysInfo ³ 
                ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
                             
The "GetInfo" Button
-------------------- 
There is a new "GetInfo" button on the Video and Hard Drive sections of the 
Hardware Details screens.  When you press this button, SysInfo will gather
the most accurate and verbose information.  This data gathering was moved
to these specific screens from the startup to avoid possible loading 
conflicts.

You can use the "GetInfo" button to obtain advanced information about your 
video card(s).  This will determine and display Super-VGA (SVGA) chipset 
and BIOS information if applicable.

To obtain advanced information about your hard drive(s), again select the
"GetInfo" button.   A list box will provide all of the available drivers, 
with an asterisk marking the suggested driver to be used.  If your system 
contains a non-standard drive, select the appropriate driver from the list.

The drivers and a short description follows:

    GBIOS.DRV    This option is the most generic setting, and is least apt to 
                 cause any problems.  It does however, supply no REAL drive 
                 geometry information.
                       
 WD100XAT.DRV    Generic IDE/ESDI driver (works w/ most WD100x and compatible 
                 controllers). This is the best choice for most IDE and ESDI 
                 drives.

  ACB2322.DRV    Use this option for the Adaptec auto configuration hard 
                 drive models.
                       
  ACB2070.DRV    This option can be used for the Adaptec 2070A hard drive 
                 controllers.

 W27X1002.DRV    Use this option for Western Digital WD WX2 (XTs only) 
                 controllers.

  WD1002A.DRV    Western Digital 1009 ESDI Controllers can be found with this 
                 driver option. 


         
Compatibility with Data Compression Utilities     
---------------------------------------------         
CheckIt PRO: SysInfo currently handles hard drives with "on-the-fly" data 
compression utilities with unpredictable results.  Therefore, if you use a 
product like Stacker, or SuperStore, you may find that the drive size and 
available information report varied results.
                   
                
                     
CheckIt PRO Under Windows       
-------------------------                
It is not recommended that you use CheckIt PRO under Microsoft Windows.  
Windows takes over operating system, including memory mapping, IRQ 
assignments, and hard disk information.  For best results, exit completely 
from Windows before starting your copy of CheckIt PRO.

                   
CheckIt PRO Command Line Options     
--------------------------------
Normally, CheckIt PRO: Sysinfo is run with no options as in:
    
                               C> CKINFO

However, if you should experience difficulties such as "hanging" during 
loading or use, try using the command line options listed below.  After trying 
these options, if you still have trouble, call our technical support staff.
   
    OPTION    DON'T CHECK FOR:            OPTION   DON'T CHECK FOR:
    ------    --------------------        ------   --------------------
    /NOBUS    Microchannel                /NONPU    Coprocessor
    /NOFD     Floppy Drives               /NOHD     Hard Drives
    /NOCOM    Serial Ports                /NOLPT    Parallel Ports
    /BIOSCOM  Use BIOS to ID COM ports    /BIOSLPT  Use BIOS to ID LPT ports
    /NOSOUND  Sound Cards                 /NOEMS    EMS driver
     
These options should only be used if CheckIt PRO is having trouble identifying 
your machine.  This is extremely rare.

The following options control CheckIt PRO's use of color and graphics:
    
       /MONO  For monochrome monitors     /LCD  For LCD displays
       /CGA   For CGA adapters            /EGA  For EGA and VGA adapters
       /NS    Don't display splash 
              screen when loading


COM Port Naming 
---------------               

                   MS DOS 6.0 (and earlier versions)
                   ---------------------------------
The BIOS assigns port addresses (e.g. COM1, COM2) in the order in which 
it finds the serial ports on the machine.  It searches for the ports by base 
address, proceeding in the order indicated below.  DOS 6.0 (and earlier 
versions) assign COM 1 to the first port it finds, COM 2 to the second and 
so on.  For example, a machine using DOS 6.0 (and earlier versions) with two 
COM ports addressed to 3F8H and 2E8H, the ports will always be labeled COM 1 
and COM 2. 


             Standard base addresses for serial ports. 

                          3F8H --  (Port 1)
                          2F8H --  (Port 2)
                          3E8H --  (Port 3)
                          2E8H --  (Port 4)


                             MS DOS 6.2
                             ----------
DOS 6.2 assigns names the port number in relation to hexadecimal address.
For example, in a machine running DOS 6.2 with two COM ports, 3F8H would be
called COM1, and 2E8H would be called COM4.


                      How this effects CheckIt PRO 
                      ----------------------------
CheckIt PRO will identify the COM port name according to the version of DOS
your machine is running.  Always make sure to check the hexadecimal address
of your COM ports (data supplied by CheckIt PRO) for port assignments.  The
hexadecimal number will not change no matter what version of DOS you are 
using.


                ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
                ³   Fixed in this Version of SysInfo   ³
                ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

IRQ Usage 
---------
The IRQ Usage command had occasion to hang the system when a PS/2 style
mouse was installed on previous versions of SysInfo. This is no longer an
issue.


=============================================================================

                ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
                ³ New in this Version of Tests & Tools ³ 
                ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

CKVIEW Additions/Changes
------------------------
The reporting applet CKVIEW has been enhanced to include: 
                   
      A.   A delete file function key [F7].  You can delete the current file 
           you are viewing under CKVIEW by pressing [F7]. 

      B.   CKVIEW now accepts the *.[extension] entry from the command line.  
           Using the command CKVIEW *.TXT will list only files with the 
           extension "TXT".  One exception to this is if you use the 
           extensions RF, RPT, OR JNL. These are special extensions used in 
           CheckIt PRO to denote reports and journals.  Because the reports 
           and journals are so closely related, all RF, RPT and JNL files are 
           shown when asking for any of the three.

      C.   CKVIEW has a help syntax screen now.  To view this screen you must 
           use the CKVIEW /? or CKVIEW -? command.  Typing CKVIEW alone will 
           list all files in the current directory.

CKRUN Changes      
-------------
The CKRUN batch-runner applet will now display a counter on the screen at all 
times.  You can also specify the column and row you wish to place the counter.

Batch File Changes      
------------------
All the batch files have had minor changes.  Also, there are two new files:  
BURNIN.BAT and CERTIFY.BAT.  Both of these batch files allow for specifying 
a number of complete run-through iterations.  
                             
                       Example:  BURNIN 5
             
The example above will run the BURNIN.BAT file through all steps five times.  
To end a string of tests, press [ESC] to bring up the INTERRUPT dialogue, 
select "END TESTS" using the arrow keys, press [ENTER] then [ESC].  If you 
don't press [ESC] following [ENTER], the next iteration will be run.

Quick Test            
----------
A work-around for a infrequent problem when using the Quick Test from the menu 
is available.  This rare problem is caused by the menu not providing enough 
environment space to run the CKQUICK.BAT file.  To avoid this, you can set the 
environment variable (RETURN) to 0 (zero) before running CheckIt PRO: Tests & 
Tools.  The command to do this is as follows:
                               
                               SET RETURN=0

CKFF.EXE
--------
CheckIt PRO: Tests & Tools includes a File Finder utility called CKFF.EXE. To 
make full use of CKFF.EXE, copy it to a directory in your path.  To quickly 
see which directories are in your path, type:  PATH [Enter]. To activate CKFF, 
use the following syntax: 

                CKFF filespec [/E:envar]|[/D:drives]

The "filespec" can be a filename, or part of a filename with DOS wildcards 
(ie. *.DAT, or CK*.EXE).  The /E environment option allows you to search for 
files by their environment. This is typically PATH.  Finally, you can see 
the specific drive location of files using the /D command.

             Examples:  CKFF ck*.exe /E:path   
                        Look for files with the extension EXE in the path.
              
                        CKFF format.* /D:cdz   
                        Look for files named FORMAT on drives C: D: and Z:.


                ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
                ³   Fixed in this Version of Tests & Tools   ³
                ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

When running the Keyboard test (from the Peripherals menu) on machines with
Phoenix BIOS, the system had occasion to hang.  This is no longer an issue.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       To print this file, type:
                       
                         Type README.TXT >prn
