3886 lines
143 KiB
Plaintext
3886 lines
143 KiB
Plaintext
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SNOOPER(TM)
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The System Checker
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Version 3.10
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November 17, 1993
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Copyright 1989-93 John Vias
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All rights reserved.
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Here's how to reach us:
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Mail: Vias & Associates
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P.O. Box 8234
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Gainesville, FL 32605-8234
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Phone: 800-332-8234 (orders only, please)
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904-332-8234 (international orders, and tech support)
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Monday through Friday, 10AM to 8PM, Eastern time
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Compuserve: 72260,1601 (for E-mail inquiries)
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You can find the latest copy of Snooper (SNOOPR.ZIP)
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in the IBM Hardware Forum (GO IBMHW), General Hardware
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library (4)
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PCBoard BBS: A.C.C.U.G.* 904-335-7289 (V.32bis)
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Greg Barton, sysop
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*New BBS. Enter your real name and a password when prompted. Later in
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the logon procedure, you will be asked if you have called for Snooper
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support. Answer yes. You can find the newest version of Snooper, read
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and send us E-mail (to John Vias), and read the bulletins. Snooper is
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named SNOOPmnn.ZIP, where "mnn" is the version number (e.g., a
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hypothetical version 6.57 would be named SNOOP657.ZIP).
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The ACCUG BBS supports the Alachua County Computer Users Group and
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other PC enthusiasts. Give it a call!
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VIAS & ASSOCIATES
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This program and its documentation were created by Vias & Associates,
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a computer consulting, programming, and technical writing firm based
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in Gainesville, Florida. If you, or someone you know, needs software
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or documentation written, edited, or designed, please contact us.
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Do you need a customized system reporting program? Perhaps one
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that writes comma-delimited files? Call us! Our rates are affordable.
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Whether it's a computer program, a newsletter, software
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documentation, or anything in between, we look forward to working
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with you!
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ASSOCIATION OF
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SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS
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_______
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____|__ | (tm)
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--| | |-------------------
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| ____|__ | Association of
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| | |_| Shareware
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|__| o | Professionals
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-----| | |---------------------
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|___|___| MEMBER
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This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
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Professionals (ASP). The ASP wants to make sure the shareware
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principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a
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shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member
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directly, the ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you
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resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide
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technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP
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Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a Compuserve
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message via Compuserve Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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VIAS & ASSOCIATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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ASSOCIATION OF
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SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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WHAT IS SNOOPER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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WHO NEEDS SNOOPER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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FILES ON THIS DISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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DOS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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Windows Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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Upgrading from a Previous Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SNOOPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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LEGALITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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Warranty, Copyright, Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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WHAT IS SHAREWARE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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REGISTRATION/ORDERING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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Registration Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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How To Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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SYNTAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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Help Switches (H|?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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Black-and-white Mode Switch (B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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Desqview Mode Switch (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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Non-interactive Mode Switch (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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Quiet Mode Switch (Q) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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Disk Drive Argument (D:) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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Chip Detection Bypass Switches (C, M) . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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Configuration File (Sfilename]) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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Configuration File Environment Variable . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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Logging Switch (L[filename]) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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Log File Environment Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Log CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT Switch (F) . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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Windows Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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Exit Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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Help Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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Order/registration Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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Consecutive Drive Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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Drive Letter Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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File Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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Edit CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Keys . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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Edit SNOOPER.LOG Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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Log Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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Log to Printer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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Log CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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Log to Clipboard Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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ERRORLEVEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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BUGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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Known Bugs and Anomalies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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WISH LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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MAIN SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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Advanced Power Management (APM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Central Processing Unit (CPU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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CPU Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Virtual-86 Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Numeric Data Processor (NDP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Conventional Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Free Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Used Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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Extended Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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Ext Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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XMS Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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eXtended Memory Manager Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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High Memory Area (HMA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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A20 Line Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Upper Memory Block (UMB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Enhanced Memory Specification Total . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Enhanced Memory Manager Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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EMS Memory Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Floppy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Hard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Physical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Logical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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Video Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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VGA Adapter Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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VESA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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Monitor Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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Video Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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4 Snooper, the system checker
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Serial Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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Parallel Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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Game Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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Sound Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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ROM BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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Plug-N-Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Brand and Driver Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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Brand and Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
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Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
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Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
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Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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Verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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Disk Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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Disk Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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Drive List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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IDE Drive Model/SCSI Host Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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Drive Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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CMOS Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Sectors/cylinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Sector Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Cluster Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Total Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Free Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Used Space (bytes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Used Space (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Used Space (bar graph) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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DIAGNOSTICS SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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Serial Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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UART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 5
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IRQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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Fax Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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Parallel ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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IRQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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Sound Card Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Interrupt Request (IRQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Direct Memory Access (DMA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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BUS SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
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NETWORK SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Network Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Network Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Node Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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User Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Network Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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CMOS SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
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CMOS Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
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Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
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Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
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Floppy Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
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Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
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Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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Coprocessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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Saving Your Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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BENCHMARK SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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CPU Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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Video Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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Disk Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
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SETUP SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Mono Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Desqview Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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License Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
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Saving Your Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
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6 Snooper, the system checker
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S CREATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
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INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 7
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WHAT IS SNOOPER?
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Snooper is a system information utility that "snoops around" your
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computer to report its configuration and operating characteristics.
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WHO NEEDS SNOOPER?
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You
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You can use Snooper to keep an eye on your memory and disk usage.
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Snooper also can help you when you are installing new peripherals or
|
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software. And when you are talking to technical support personnel,
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Snooper can help you answer many of their questions about your
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computer.
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MIS Managers/Network Administrators
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If you are in charge of keeping a large installation of PCs up and
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running, Snooper can lend a hand. For example, it's perfect for
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|
collecting hardware inventory information. Add Snooper to a user's
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login script with the right command line parameters, and it will
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collect information on that node into a file on the server. You can
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then assemble the files into a database of configuration information.
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Afterward, you can tell at a glance which users need DOS upgrades
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simply by referring to the database, without visiting each site or
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calling each user. Major corporations are already using this method
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to collect inventory data with Snooper.
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Also, we would be glad to create a customized version of Snooper
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to assemble all the information you need, and in the format you
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specify.
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Consultants, Technicians, Support Personnel
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You'll find Snooper helpful for showing at a glance what kind of
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machine you are dealing with when you must troubleshoot or upgrade
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it. Also, you can use Snooper to help you ensure the machine
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recognizes equipment you installed. If you installed a mouse, for
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example, ensure Snooper's display shows mouse information. If it
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doesn't, the mouse may not work. Snooper also can help you maintain a
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log of machines you've worked on. Then, the next time a customer
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calls, you already have a good idea of the configuration of that
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customer's computer.
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8 Snooper, the system checker
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Hardware and Software Vendors, Programmers
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After you buy an appropriate license, you may give away copies of
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Snooper with each computer or software package you sell. You'll
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receive several benefits. First, Snooper will make troubleshooting
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over the telephone faster, easier, and less expensive. As you know,
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|
many computer problems are caused by incompatible DOS versions,
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|
incorrectly-installed hardware, and the like. You can find out much
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about a customer's system by asking her to run Snooper, then relay
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the relevant information. Also, because we can make your company's
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name appear on Snooper's screen, every time your customers run it,
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they will remember it was you who gave them this useful utility.
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Computer Dealers
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Snooper's display is useful in providing a continuous at-a-glance
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display for potential customers of a machine's specifications. No
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more scrambling to learn a machine's specs. Simply run Snooper. You
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also can determine easily the configuration of used computers you're
|
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considering buying.
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REQUIREMENTS
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You may want to postpone reading the rest of this manual to run
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Snooper. Go ahead! Snooper normally doesn't affect your computer in
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|
any way except to write a log file if you ask it. Here are its
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requirements:
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* IBM PC or 100% computer
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* 256K RAM
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* DOS 3.1 or higher
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* a video card
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In short, Snooper should run on your computer. Make sure Snooper is
|
|
in your current directory or on your path. Then just enter "snooper"
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|
at the DOS prompt. See below for keystrokes you can use in the
|
|
program. Press <Esc> to exit Snooper.
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FILES ON THIS DISK
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|
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All of the following files should be on this disk or in this
|
|
compressed file. If any are missing, or if they don't all have the
|
|
same date and time, please don't redistribute the remaining files.
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 9
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Contact one of the distribution points listed on the front page for a
|
|
complete (and possibly newer) version.
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Filename Description
|
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SNOOPER.EXE Snooper, the system checker. To order, press <F1>, <O>.
|
|
SNOOPER.CFG Sample configuration file (not required to run Snooper)
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SNOOPER.DOC Snooper's main manual (this file)
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|
SNOOPER.HST Snooper's revision history
|
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SNOOPER.ICO Icon file for Windows 3.x
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SNOOPER.PIF PIF file for Windows 3.x
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|
VENDOR.DOC Information for disk vendors and sysops
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|
FILE_ID.DIZ Description file some BBSs will use automatically.
|
|
Thanks for uploading!
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|
SNREAD.ME Brief quick-start material
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INSTALLATION
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DOS Installation
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|
|
Installation couldn't be easier. Simply copy all files to a
|
|
subdirectory on your hard or floppy disk. Switch to that
|
|
subdirectory. You can print this manual by copying it to your
|
|
printer. The command:
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copy snooper.doc prn
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|
|
usually works, assuming SNOOPER.DOC is in the current directory and
|
|
your printer is attached to your first parallel port. Of course,
|
|
Snooper shows you how many parallel ports you have. My, what a useful
|
|
utility!
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Windows Installation
|
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|
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To use Snooper under Microsoft Windows, follow the instructions under
|
|
"DOS Installation." When all files have been copied:
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|
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1. Invoke Windows.
|
|
2. In Program Manager, select an appropriate program group.
|
|
3. Select New from the File menu.
|
|
4. Click on New Program Item.
|
|
5. For Description, type "Snooper."
|
|
6. For Command Line, type Snooper's full path. For example, if
|
|
Snooper resides on your C: drive in your "\UTILS" directory,
|
|
use the command line "C:\UTILS\SNOOPER.EXE" here. (If you
|
|
want to use the .PIF file, edit it with PIFEDIT to point to
|
|
SNOOPER.EXE. Then follow these instructions but make Command
|
|
Line point to the .PIF file instead.)
|
|
7. Click on Change Icon and enter the path to SNOOPER.ICO.
|
|
8. Last, click the OK buttons until you return to the Program
|
|
Manager's main screen.
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|
|
10 Snooper, the system checker
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Snooper's icon should appear in the selected program group. You're
|
|
done! To run it, double click on its icon.
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|
|
Upgrading from a Previous Version
|
|
|
|
If you are using an older version of Snooper, simply copy the new
|
|
files over the old. Read the history file, SNOOPER.HST, to find out
|
|
what has changed since the version you were using was released. If
|
|
you need more details, refer to appropriate sections of this manual.
|
|
Future configuration files are likely to be backward compatible
|
|
with older ones. The documentation will state if they aren't.
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|
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THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SNOOPER
|
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|
|
As we designed and wrote Snooper, we kept several design
|
|
considerations in mind:
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|
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* We wanted it to be useful to both beginners and experienced
|
|
users, for the casual user and the technocrat. If you don't know
|
|
what "NDP" means, don't worry. This manual will help you.
|
|
* We wanted Snooper to run instantly, and to show everything it
|
|
knows on one (well, maybe a few) screens. With Snooper, you
|
|
needn't wait for lengthy searches and you needn't pull down six
|
|
menus to find what you want.
|
|
* We strived for accuracy in its reports. This fact sometimes can
|
|
explain differences between Snooper's reports and those of
|
|
similar but inferior programs.
|
|
* We tried to make Snooper as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
|
|
Too often an otherwise excellent program is ruined by a garish
|
|
(and permanent) color scheme. Snooper's display is, we think,
|
|
attractive and easy to read. If you don't like its color scheme,
|
|
you can always change it. To reduce clutter, when the answer to
|
|
a report would be zero, none, or not applicable, Snooper simply
|
|
leaves that report area blank.
|
|
* We wanted to make Snooper intuitive and easy to use. We made the
|
|
keystrokes and command line switches similar to other programs
|
|
so you wouldn't have to learn yet another interface. For
|
|
example, typing "snooper/?" at the DOS prompt or pressing <F1>
|
|
from the Main screen displays help screens, just as you'd
|
|
expect.
|
|
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|
|
LEGALITIES
|
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|
|
Here's the nasty part. Please bear with us while we assault you with
|
|
the usual barrage of disclaimers and legal mumbo-jumbo. It is an
|
|
unfortunate but necessary addition to every software manual published
|
|
in our litigious society. End of lecture.
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 11
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|
|
Warranty, Copyright, Liability
|
|
|
|
* SNOOPER IS SUPPLIED AS-IS. IT IS NOT GUARANTEED FOR FITNESS OR
|
|
SUITABILITY FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
|
|
* USE SNOOPER AT YOUR OWN RISK. NEITHER JOHN VIAS, NOR VIAS AND
|
|
ASSOCIATES, WILL BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES--ACTUAL,
|
|
CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHERWISE--FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY
|
|
TO USE, SNOOPER, OR FOR ERRORS IN ITS DOCUMENTATION.
|
|
* VIAS AND ASSOCIATES WARRANTS THE MEDIUM UPON WHICH WE DISTRIBUTE
|
|
SNOOPER, IF GIVEN REASONABLE CARE, TO BE FREE OF DEFECTS IN
|
|
MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP FOR AS LONG AS YOU USE THE PRODUCT.
|
|
* ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE HEREBY EXPLICITLY
|
|
DISCLAIMED. YOUR RIGHTS MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.
|
|
* SNOOPER, THE SYSTEM CHECKER, AND ITS DOCUMENTATION ARE
|
|
COPYRIGHTED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|
|
* THE BRAND NAMES USED IN THIS MANUAL ARE TRADEMARKS OR REGISTERED
|
|
TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE MANUFACTURERS.
|
|
* ANY DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT SNOOPER WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE LAWS OF
|
|
THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
|
|
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|
|
License
|
|
|
|
We encourage individuals, user groups, shareware vendors, and others
|
|
to use, copy, and distribute Snooper in compliance with the following
|
|
restrictions:
|
|
|
|
* You are hereby granted a limited license to use Snooper for an
|
|
evaluation period not to exceed thirty (30) days. After that
|
|
period, you must either discontinue use of Snooper or register
|
|
with the author (see below).
|
|
* You are encouraged to pass Snooper along, but please distribute
|
|
the program and its related files together, intact and
|
|
unmodified.
|
|
* Don't reproduce the printed documentation in any way.
|
|
* Don't distribute Snooper as part of any product or service
|
|
without our prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
Shareware vendors, rack vendors, CD-ROM and book publishers, and
|
|
other businesses are also subject to the following restrictions:
|
|
|
|
* Your advertisements, catalogs, and other literature must clearly
|
|
explain that the user must pay the author for shareware he or
|
|
she uses, and that the money paid the vendor for the disk does
|
|
not satisfy the user's obligation to the author.
|
|
* If the version you have is over six months old, please ensure
|
|
that you have the most current version by finding Snooper on
|
|
Compuserve or on its distribution BBS (see the first page of
|
|
this manual for distribution points).
|
|
* If we ask you to stop distributing Snooper, do so.
|
|
|
|
OK, enough legal stuff.
|
|
|
|
12 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
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|
|
WHAT IS SHAREWARE?
|
|
|
|
Snooper is distributed by a marketing method called shareware. Those
|
|
of us who distribute software via this technique believe:
|
|
|
|
* People should be able to evaluate a program in its actual
|
|
operating environment, which a computer store is not;
|
|
* They should have a reasonable time to evaluate it, which is
|
|
longer than a computer salesperson's patience will allow (trust
|
|
us, we know);
|
|
* Users are honest enough to register the program with the author.
|
|
The user not only will gain a clear conscience, but also will
|
|
encourage the programmer to improve the software, which in turn
|
|
is good for the user;
|
|
* Commercial software is too often overpriced. Because many
|
|
shareware authors don't have to pay for advertising, fancy
|
|
packaging, toll-free numbers, and other commercial marketing
|
|
necessities, we are able to keep costs down.
|
|
|
|
Keep in mind that shareware is not free. We shareware authors expect
|
|
those of you who use our programs to pay us for our efforts just as
|
|
you pay writers of commercial software for theirs. We're just nicer
|
|
about collecting it.
|
|
|
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|
|
REGISTRATION/ORDERING
|
|
|
|
As stated above, you are granted a limited license to evaluate
|
|
Snooper. If you continue to use Snooper after a 30-day evaluation
|
|
period, you must pay the author for it. Although you may have paid a
|
|
shareware vendor a few dollars for this disk, you should know the
|
|
author gets none of that money. Just as you have to pay for
|
|
commercial software you use, you must pay for shareware you use. This
|
|
is called registration. You can think of it as ordering the
|
|
registered version of the program.
|
|
Volume discounts, and customized versions are available and
|
|
encouraged. Please contact us for details. We will need to know how
|
|
you wish to use or redistribute Snooper and how many copies you
|
|
expect to use or distribute.
|
|
|
|
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|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 13
|
|
|
|
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|
|
Registration Benefits
|
|
|
|
Your registration fee entitles you to:
|
|
|
|
1. A printed 60-page manual.
|
|
2. The most recent version of Snooper on disk.
|
|
3. Notification by mail of the next update.
|
|
4. Lifetime free technical support (see the first page of this
|
|
manual for contact information). This is a toll call.
|
|
5. A license number to personalize your copy and prevent the
|
|
Registration Reminder Screen from appearing.
|
|
6. The peace of mind in knowing you have legitimized your use of
|
|
Snooper and supported the shareware concept.
|
|
7. Our undying gratitude.
|
|
|
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|
|
Pricing
|
|
|
|
For pricing, please consult the following chart. You will receive one
|
|
disk and one manual.
|
|
|
|
Users Discount Price per user
|
|
----- -------- --------------
|
|
1-9 $39.00
|
|
10-49 20% $31.20
|
|
50-99 40% $23.40
|
|
100-249 60% $15.60
|
|
250+ BIG call!
|
|
|
|
If you need more disks or manuals, or you have some special need,
|
|
please contact us for further information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Updates
|
|
|
|
Updates are available to registered users for a significant discount.
|
|
Currently, they are only $15 for the latest version on disk, and a
|
|
printed manual. The disk also will include the history file, so you
|
|
can see what changes have been made. You can order an upgrade any
|
|
time, and a new version will be sent to you. We will delay shipment
|
|
until the next release, if necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
How To Order
|
|
|
|
It's very quick and easy. You can order by phone with a credit card.
|
|
Or send your registration in US funds drawn on a US bank with a
|
|
business, personal, traveler's, or cashier's check; or a money order,
|
|
Postal Money Order, or American Express International Money Order.
|
|
You can send cash through the mail, but we can't guarantee we'll
|
|
receive it.
|
|
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|
|
14 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
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|
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|
|
To pay by Visa or MasterCard, just call our tollfree order line
|
|
(listed on the first page of this manual). If you prefer, you can
|
|
have Snooper print an invoice (see below). Then fill it out and mail
|
|
it.
|
|
If you want Snooper to print an invoice for you, run Snooper and
|
|
press <F1> for help, then <O> for ordering information. Then press
|
|
<P> and read the invoice-printing screen. Make sure your printer is
|
|
ready. Finally, select the port you want Snooper to print the invoice
|
|
to. You may print to any valid parallel or serial port, or to a file
|
|
called SNOOPER.INV. (You can then edit SNOOPER.INV with a word
|
|
processor and print it.) Make checks payable to "Vias and
|
|
Associates."
|
|
If you're ordering Snooper for a business, you can pay via a
|
|
purchase order. Just send a copy of the invoice you just printed to
|
|
your Purchasing department and have them forward a purchase order to
|
|
us. When we receive the P.O., we'll send your manual, disk, and
|
|
license number, and send an invoice to your Accounts Payable
|
|
department. This is faster than having to contact us first to send
|
|
you an invoice.
|
|
Thank you for registering! We hope you enjoy and benefit from
|
|
Snooper for years to come.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SYNTAX
|
|
|
|
There are several switches and options you can use to change
|
|
Snooper's operation. Enter them after Snooper's name at the DOS
|
|
prompt. They are all optional and all case-insensitive. You may
|
|
preface them with hyphens or slashes if you wish.
|
|
Some have long-name forms, so in a batch file, you can easily see
|
|
what the switch is for. They all have single-letter forms, as well,
|
|
for faster entry on the command line. In fact, Snooper only notices
|
|
the first character (except where it expects filenames), so you can
|
|
create your own long-name forms (e.g., "Black-and-White" instead of
|
|
"B/W").
|
|
If you enter an invalid parameter, Snooper will display its first
|
|
help screen (command line syntax), and show you the invalid
|
|
characters. Here is a diagram of Snooper's command line options. All
|
|
options are in brackets to indicate they are optional. Each is
|
|
described fully in the following sections.
|
|
|
|
SNOOPER [H(elp)/?] [B(/W)] [D(esqview)] [N(on-interactive)] [Q(uiet)] [D:]
|
|
[C(PUSkip)] [M(athChipSkip)] [F] [C[file]] [L[file]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help Switches (H|?)
|
|
|
|
"H" and "?" are help switches. If a help switch is specified, Snooper
|
|
displays help screens that show command line syntax and examples and
|
|
keystrokes you can use while in the program. Press <O> from a help
|
|
screen to see registration information. Snooper ignores certain other
|
|
command line switches when you specify a help switch.
|
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 15
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Black-and-white Mode Switch (B)
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Normally, Snooper senses if it is being run on a machine with a
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monochrome card and automatically uses its black-and-white background
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color. However, Snooper can't tell if your PC emulates a color card
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but has a monochrome, color composite, or LCD display, such as most
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laptops. If you use such a machine, you should try using the
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black-and-white switch. Usually, Snooper's display will be more
|
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legible, but it depends on the particular display. Also, you can
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configure Snooper's colors to create the most readable color scheme
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without using this switch (see Setup key, below).
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Desqview Mode Switch (D)
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Snooper automatically detects Desqview and uses the BIOS to write to
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the screen instead of writing directly to the video map. If you have
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an old CGA adapter (on which you may see "snow" when Snooper draws
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its screen) or if something interferes with Snooper's detection of
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Desqview, you may want to use this switch.
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Non-interactive Mode Switch (N)
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Use the non-interactive mode switch, "N," when you want to run
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Snooper from a batch file and don't want to have to press <ESC> to
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exit. Snooper will get information from only one disk drive and
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return to DOS. This command is especially useful when combined with
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the logging switch (explained below).
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Quiet Mode Switch (Q)
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When Snooper runs in quiet mode, it suppresses its screen output, and
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returns the user to DOS (as if the N switch had been used). It will
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only gather information for the Main screen. The ERRORLEVEL variable
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and logging features operate as usual. ANSI detection is disabled.
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This mode is great for batch files, networks, software installation,
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and so on, when you don't want the user seeing Snooper's display.
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Disk Drive Argument (D:)
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D: represents a disk drive letter followed by a colon. Use it to
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specify the disk drive whose information you want to see first. You
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can, however, see information from each of your drives, explained
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under "keystrokes" below. If you don't specify a drive, or if you
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specify an invalid one, Snooper will use the current drive.
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16 Snooper, the system checker
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Chip Detection Bypass Switches (C, M)
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A few machines lock up during Snooper's microprocessor or math
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coprocessor detection routines. When this happens, Snooper will draw
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its background and then stop. The message box in the lower right
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corner of the display will indicate which switch to use. If you have
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this problem, all you need to do is rerun Snooper, specifying one or
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both of the compatibility switches. The "C" switch prevents Snooper
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from checking the CPU (microprocessor) type (it also keeps Snooper
|
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from being able to determine certain computer types and other
|
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information). The "M" switch prevents Snooper from determining which
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math coprocessor your computer has. We hope these switches are now
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obsolete.
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Configuration File (Sfilename])
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A configuration file contains options to be used for Snooper's
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defaults. Colors, license number, B/W mode--these options and others
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can be specified in the configuration file. To create one, see the
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instructions under Setup key, below.
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When it starts, Snooper looks for the environment variable
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SNOOPCFG (see below), which points to a configuration file. If
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SNOOPCFG hasn't been defined, Snooper looks in its home directory
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(i.e., the directory in which SNOOPER.EXE resides) for a file called
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SNOOPER.CFG.
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Use the Configuration File option to load a different
|
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configuration file, useful if you have multiple files, as on a
|
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network. Note that the filename is required if you use this switch.
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If Snooper can't find the file you specified, it will say so in the
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message box. Also, if the configuration file's size is incorrect (as
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may happen with an old configuration file and a new version of
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Snooper), it will report the file to be invalid. To maintain its
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integrity, don't attempt to modify the configuration file manually.
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Use the Setup screen.
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Configuration File Environment Variable
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Snooper searches the environment for a variable called SNOOPCFG. You
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can set the SNOOPCFG variable by typing:
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set snoopcfg=variable
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 17
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at the DOS prompt. "Variable" can be any valid filename.
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Command line parameters that follow the specified configuration
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filename override the config file's options. Those that precede it
|
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are overridden by the config file's options. In the following
|
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example, Snooper would load a configuration file called
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C:\UTILS\SNOOPER.BOB.
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snooper /Sc:\utils\snooper.bob /b
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Despite its contents, Snooper would run in B/W mode because the B/W
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mode command line switch was specified after the configuration
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filename.
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Logging Switch (L[filename])
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"L" is the logging switch. When you use the logging switch, Snooper
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copies its display to a file or port just before it terminates. The
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optional filename tells Snooper the file you want it to log to. The
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default is SNOOPER.LOG. Logging is especially handy to use in batch
|
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files for getting printouts of Snooper's output for later reference.
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If no log file exists, Snooper will create one. If one already
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exists, Snooper will append the new data to the end of the old file.
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In this way, you can create one file with system information for all
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the computers at your site.
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The log file grows by 2000 bytes each time Snooper copies a screen
|
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to it. Thus, you easily can tell by looking at the file's size how
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many screens you have already logged. For example, if the log file is
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8000 bytes, you've logged four screens (8000/2000 = 4). Of course, if
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you use the Log System Files key, which copies the CONFIG.SYS and
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AUTOEXEC.BAT files to the log file, it will no longer follow this
|
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convention.
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The file is formatted to be easily readable with the DOS "TYPE"
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command, as in:
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type snooper.log
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Snooper first checks for a log filename on the command line. Simply
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type it immediately following the "L" like this:
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snooper /Lc:\files\snoop.dat
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If you want Snooper's output to go to your printer, just specify the
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port it's connected to (omit the trailing colon). So if your printer
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is on LPT1:, type:
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snooper -Llpt1
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18 Snooper, the system checker
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Log File Environment Variable
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If you don't specify a log filename, Snooper searches the environment
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for a variable called SNOOPLOG. (This variable used to be called
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SNOOPER. In this release, you may still use the old name, which was
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retained for compatibility. However, it probably will not be
|
|
recognized in future versions.) You can set the SNOOPLOG variable by
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typing:
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set snooplog=variable
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at the DOS prompt. "Variable" can be any valid filename or even a
|
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port, such as PRN. For example:
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set snooplog=prn
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If you don't specify a log file on the command line or with the
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SNOOPLOG variable, Snooper writes a file named SNOOPER.LOG in the
|
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current directory.
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Because not all printers can print line-drawing characters,
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Snooper translates its borders to ordinary (low ASCII) characters
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(hyphens, vertical bars, and plus signs). This way, virtually any
|
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printer can accurately reproduce Snooper's display. Therefore, you
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should use the logging keystroke or switch and not the <PrtScr> key,
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which doesn't translate the line-drawing characters.
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NOTE: If you have an early Color Graphics Adapter, you may see "snow"
|
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(interference) on your monitor during the logging process. Don't be
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alarmed. This is normal and will not hurt your machine.
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NOTE: Snooper must find the screen buffer to log its display. It will
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find it even if it has been moved by a program adhering to the
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Relocatable Screen Interface Specification (e.g., Desqview, Topview,
|
|
and Memory Commander).
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Log CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT Switch (F)
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Specify this switch and Snooper will, upon exit, copy your CONFIG.SYS
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and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to the log file, with headers and footers
|
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identifying the beginning and end of each. You can use this with the
|
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logging switch, above; it will use the same log file.
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Examples
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Some examples will help clarify Snooper's options.
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snooper /h
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Snooper will show its help screen and examples.
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 19
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snooper sd:\utils\snoop.cnf e:
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Snooper will load the configuration file named C:\UTILS\SNOOP.CNF,
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then show information from drive E: and wait for keystrokes. <Esc>
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quits.
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snooper -B/W c: non-interactive log
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Snooper will use its monochrome display colors, get drive information
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from drive C:, write a log file named SNOOPER.LOG, and return to DOS.
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set snooplog=prn
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snooper -l\snoop.dat
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Snooper will show information for the current drive and wait for
|
|
keystrokes. After you press <Esc>, it will write a log file in the
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root directory of the current drive called SNOOP.DAT. Recall that a
|
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log filename on the command line overrides the SNOOPER environment
|
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variable, so Snooper does not log to "prn." There will be a quiz
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later.
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OPERATION
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After the following brief account of Snooper's operation, we will
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|
describe a few parts in greater detail.
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When you first invoke Snooper, it looks for its default
|
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configuration file and configures itself accordingly. Then it reads
|
|
its command line, looking for switches. It loads a configuration file
|
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if you specified one. Recall that command line switches that follow a
|
|
specified config file override that config file's options.
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|
Because of the EGA's notoriously buggy cursor routines, we thought
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|
it would be wise to leave the EGA cursor alone, so it stays on. On
|
|
all other video systems, Snooper turns off the cursor to make the
|
|
display a little cleaner.
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|
It then gets country-dependent information from DOS, based on the
|
|
COUNTRY command in your CONFIG.SYS file. (You don't have to use it
|
|
unless you live outside the U.S.) The information tells Snooper how
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|
to arrange and punctuate the date, time, and numbers.
|
|
At the bottom of its display, Snooper shows the day, date, and
|
|
time according to DOS. This feature comes in handy when you want to
|
|
view a log file of Snooper's output and you wouldn't otherwise know
|
|
when it was made. It also allows you to check your computer's date
|
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and time for accuracy (Some AT clocks run slow).
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After Snooper shows you its display, it awaits certain keystrokes.
|
|
Invalid keystrokes may cause Snooper to beep. This feature, added
|
|
partly to aid visually-impaired users, can be turned off via the
|
|
Setup screen.
|
|
When you press <ESC>, Snooper writes a log file if you told it to,
|
|
turns the cursor back on, sets the ERRORLEVEL batch file variable,
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|
may display its Registration Reminder screen if you haven't yet
|
|
registered (and why not?), and returns you to DOS.
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20 Snooper, the system checker
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Windows Operation
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Snooper performs somewhat differently under Windows. If Snooper is
|
|
idle, it gives up its time slice immediately. What this means is
|
|
Snooper won't slow down your other running programs. The only
|
|
drawback is that the time display freezes. Just press the spacebar
|
|
when Snooper's window is active to update the time.
|
|
In Windows 386 enhanced mode, Snooper turns off IDE model
|
|
checking, which interferes with 32-bit disk access. Also, if you
|
|
invoke the Diagnostics screen (in Windows or any other detected
|
|
multitasker or network), a message pops up warning you that what the
|
|
Diagnostics screen must do may disrupt other currently running
|
|
applications. You are given the option of continuing or returning to
|
|
the Main screen.
|
|
You can paste Snooper's display, as text, into the Clipboard (see
|
|
Paste to Clipboard key, below).
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Keys
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|
|
Run without any options or switches, Snooper shows information from
|
|
the default drive and continuously displays the current time and date
|
|
at the bottom of its screen. While Snooper is running, it awaits
|
|
certain keystrokes that affect its operation.
|
|
On the last line of each of Snooper's displays, there is a list of
|
|
available keystrokes to jog your memory. Note that on the Main
|
|
screen, because of space limitations, not all the available keys are
|
|
listed. However, they are all listed on the help screen (press <F1>
|
|
from the Main screen to view it). Explanations of Snooper's secondary
|
|
screens are given after those for the Main screen, below.
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Exit Key
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|
|
The <Esc> key returns you to the Main screen if you're not already
|
|
there. If you are, it exits Snooper and returns you to DOS.
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Help Key
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The <F1> key, when pressed from Snooper's Main screen, displays the
|
|
second of two help screens: keys available while you're in Snooper.
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|
The first help screen, accessible with <PgUp>, <Up>, or <Home>, shows
|
|
Snooper's command line syntax, just as if you had used Snooper's help
|
|
switch at the DOS prompt. Press <O> to see registration information:
|
|
benefits of registration, prices, contact points, etc.
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 21
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Order/registration Key
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Pressing <O> from either help screen takes you to Snooper's ordering
|
|
information screen. Once there, if you'd like to print an invoice to
|
|
fill out and send to us, press <P>. Along the bottom of your screen
|
|
is listed every parallel and serial port in your system. You also may
|
|
print to a disk file named SNOOPER.INV, which you can then print
|
|
yourself. Press the corresponding number and Snooper will print an
|
|
invoice to that port. Normally, you would type <1> for LPT1. This is
|
|
an easy and fast way to register Snooper; we hope you find it
|
|
convenient (soon!).
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Consecutive Drive Keys
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|
|
You can use the <Left>, <Up>, and <PgUp> keys to tell Snooper to get
|
|
disk information for the next lower-lettered disk. For example, if
|
|
you're looking at C:'s info, press <PgUp> to see drive B:. <Right>,
|
|
<Down>, and <PgDn> do the opposite. <Home> takes you to drive A: and
|
|
<End> takes you to the last valid drive in your computer. The list at
|
|
the top right of the display shows you which drives are available on
|
|
your system, and which drive's info you are looking at.
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Drive Letter Keys
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|
|
Alternatively, you can press the letter corresponding to the drive
|
|
you want to see. If you want the A: drive's data, for example, just
|
|
press <A>.
|
|
If you press an invalid drive letter, Snooper will beep (if sound
|
|
is enabled) and display a message in the message box.
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File Editing
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|
|
From the Main screen you can invoke a text editor to edit your
|
|
CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and SNOOPER.LOG files.
|
|
Snooper has a simple but capable editor built in. Press <F1> when
|
|
you're in it to view a help screen of its keystrokes. The obvious
|
|
advantage of using the internal editor is it's always available. If
|
|
you wish, however, you can have Snooper load an external editor,
|
|
perhaps one with special features you like. The Setup screen lets you
|
|
choose which editor Snooper will use, internal or external.
|
|
Whatever editor you choose, Snooper ensures the file you want to
|
|
edit exists before attempting to load the editor. The message box
|
|
will alert you if the file is missing.
|
|
After you exit the editor, Snooper asks if you want it to reboot
|
|
your computer, necessary for changes in the CONFIG.SYS and
|
|
AUTOEXEC.BAT files to take effect. If you choose to reboot, Snooper
|
|
will delay a few seconds to ensure the file is actually written to
|
|
the disk. Otherwise, a disk cache with write-delayed caching may not
|
|
have time to save the edited file.
|
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|
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22 Snooper, the system checker
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|
|
If you don't wish to use the built-in editor, you may use one of your
|
|
choosing. It must be named EDIT.COM, EDIT.EXE, or EDIT.BAT. It must
|
|
be in the current directory or on the path. If it's not already named
|
|
EDIT, you can simply rename it or create a batch file called EDIT.BAT
|
|
that calls it. You can, of course, add other commands in the batch
|
|
file. Use a replaceable parameter for the filename. Here's a sample
|
|
EDIT.BAT file that would work for any of the three files Snooper lets
|
|
you edit:
|
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|
|
echo off
|
|
copy %1 c:\backups\%1
|
|
ed /r %1
|
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|
|
In this example, the original file is copied to another directory for
|
|
safe keeping. Also, a hypothetical switch (/r) is passed to an editor
|
|
named ED. This should give you some ideas about what can be put in
|
|
EDIT.BAT.
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|
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|
|
Edit CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Keys
|
|
|
|
Press <Alt-C> to edit CONFIG.SYS or <Alt-A> to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT.
|
|
Snooper looks for the file in the root directory of whatever drive
|
|
you're looking at on its Main screen. So if you want to load
|
|
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, ensure drive C:'s information is showing before you
|
|
press <Alt-A>. Check the highlighted letter in the drive list to be
|
|
sure. Snooper will tell you if the file you want to edit doesn't
|
|
exist in the root directory of the drive you're looking at.
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|
|
Edit SNOOPER.LOG Key
|
|
|
|
From Snooper's Main screen press <Alt-V> and Snooper will invoke an
|
|
editor so you can edit an existing SNOOPER.LOG file. You may want to
|
|
do this to compare earlier screen dumps with recent ones, or to add
|
|
comments to the log file. See above for editor-naming conventions.
|
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|
|
Log Key
|
|
|
|
Use <Alt-L> to write a log file to disk or to a port, such as a
|
|
printer port (see also Log to Printer key, below). You may log any
|
|
screen with this key. It works similarly to the logging command line
|
|
switch except that it works immediately, not after you exit. If you
|
|
also specified the logging switch with a filename, it will use that
|
|
filename (the display will be logged again when you exit). If not, it
|
|
will use the SNOOPLOG environment variable if it exists; otherwise,
|
|
SNOOPER.LOG.
|
|
The information you're looking at when you press the logging key
|
|
is the information that will be logged. Because of this, you can
|
|
press <Alt-L> in the Main screen, then <Alt-D>,<Alt-L>,<Esc> and so
|
|
on until you have a log file containing snapshots of all the screens
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 23
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|
|
you're interested in. This log file can be very useful when you need
|
|
to remember what kind of computer someone has.
|
|
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|
|
Log to Printer Key
|
|
|
|
<Alt-P> will print the screen you're looking at and it works with all
|
|
screens. It sends its output to PRN. If your printer is on LPT2:,
|
|
simply set the SNOOPLOG environment variable to LPT2 and use <Alt-L>.
|
|
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|
|
Log CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT Key
|
|
|
|
Pressing <Alt-F> causes Snooper to copy your CONFIG.SYS and
|
|
AUTOEXEC.BAT files to the log file. Again, the files on the drive
|
|
whose information you're viewing are the ones that will be added to
|
|
the log file. The message line will tell you if neither file was
|
|
found. If only one file is found, it will be logged. If no log file
|
|
is found, it will be created.
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|
|
Log to Clipboard Key
|
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|
|
When Snooper is running under Windows, you can press <Shift-Delete>
|
|
to paste a copy of Snooper's display to the Windows Clipboard.
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(<Ctrl-Insert>, the copy key, would have been more appropriate, but
|
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it's only available on enhanced keyboards.) Because many Windows
|
|
fonts don't include high-ASCII characters, Snooper will translate its
|
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line-drawing characters into low-ASCII characters as usual. You can
|
|
then paste the display into a Windows document. Of course, for the
|
|
characters to align, you must use a monospaced font such as Courier
|
|
or OEM.
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ERRORLEVEL
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If certain errors occur, upon exit Snooper sets the ERRORLEVEL batch
|
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file variable and shows the value of ERRORLEVEL on the screen in the
|
|
message box. Here are the errors ERRORLEVEL reports:
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24 Snooper, the system checker
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Errorlevel Explanation
|
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0 Successful completion--there were no errors.
|
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1 Drive door was open or there was no disk in a requested
|
|
(or default) disk drive, or a disk was bad or
|
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unformatted.
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2 User specified an invalid drive on the command line.
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4 DOS version is older than 3.1.
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8 Error occurred while Snooper was writing a log file.
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16 User specified an invalid command line parameter.
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32 Abnormal termination--Snooper encountered an
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unanticipated problem and terminated.
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Notice the numbers aren't consecutive. This numbering scheme allows
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Snooper to add the numbers to indicate multiple errors.
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For example, if you specified an invalid drive and Snooper
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encountered an error writing a log file, it would set ERRORLEVEL to
|
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ten, the sum of two and eight. The ERRORLEVEL variable can be tested
|
|
in batch files; for example:
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if errorlevel 24 goto LOGERROR_DOOROPEN
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See your DOS manual for details of the ERRORLEVEL variable and how to
|
|
use it.
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BUGS
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Snooper has been under development for over six years, but it may
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|
have a bug or two lurking in it. To debug Snooper thoroughly, we
|
|
would need access to a huge array of computers and peripherals. We
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don't. We have tested it on over a hundred machines but such testing
|
|
is never comprehensive.
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If you think you've found a bug, please let us know by sending the
|
|
invoice with a specific description of the bug. Include a printed log
|
|
file if you can. Of course, an inaccurate report may mean your
|
|
hardware, BIOS, DOS, TSRs, or something else is incompatible or is
|
|
interfering with Snooper, especially on older machines. We'd like to
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hear from you anyway.
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Known Bugs and Anomalies
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* A few machines lock up when running Snooper. The culprit is
|
|
sometimes the CPU and/or NDP detection routines. Simply specify
|
|
the "C" or "M" command line switch (the message box will tell
|
|
you which, or try both). We've fixed this problem more than once
|
|
but there's always one more machine out there. . . .
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 25
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* Because of the way NDOS and 4DOS allocate memory in their
|
|
non-swapping modes, Snooper can't find the environment, and will
|
|
give an incorrect Environment report such as:
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|
Free 65,536 Total 0.
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WISH LIST
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Snooper will never be complete, of course. We have continually found
|
|
new reports and features to add to make it an easy-to-use and
|
|
powerful utility. There are a few things we still want from Snooper:
|
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* Brand detection of more non-Intel CPUs and NDPs
|
|
* Detection of VL local bus
|
|
* Detection of tape drives
|
|
* Differentiation of ST506, IDE, ESDI, and SCSI hard drives
|
|
* Lots of registration fees
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If you think you can help us with the above challenges, please call,
|
|
write, or leave E-mail. With your help, Snooper can become an even
|
|
more-powerful utility. Also, we're likely to make you a registered
|
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user for your help. We will at least mention your help in the
|
|
acknowledgments (All together: "Oooh, aaah!").
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MAIN SCREEN
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Following, roughly in the order they appear on-screen, is a detailed
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list of Snooper's Main screen reports, followed by the reports on the
|
|
other screens.
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Computer
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The type of computer Snooper is being run on. On some XT and AT
|
|
clones, Snooper can't tell if it's running on an actual IBM machine
|
|
or a compatible, so it will report the IBM equivalent (e.g. "PC AT").
|
|
Snooper can recognize over 110 machines by name, including many IBMs,
|
|
Dells, Toshibas, ATTs, and Olivettis.
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NOTE: If you are not skipping CPU detection and Snooper reports
|
|
Computer Type as "Unknown ID: . . ." please drop us a note with the
|
|
ID numbers, and the exact model and brand computer Snooper was
|
|
running on. Thanks.
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26 Snooper, the system checker
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Advanced Power Management (APM)
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If your computer implements the Advanced Power Management (APM)
|
|
specification for conserving energy, Snooper will say so after the
|
|
computer type.
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Central Processing Unit (CPU)
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The computer's microprocessor chip. Snooper can report the presence
|
|
of: 8088/86, V20/V30, 80286, 80386SX, 80386DX, 80486SX, 80486DX,
|
|
Pentium, and Hexium (or whatever they'll be called) CPUs.
|
|
If you have a math coprocessor, and you disable CPU detection but
|
|
leave math coprocessor detection on, Snooper will try to guess what
|
|
CPU you have by the NDP type.
|
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|
|
NOTE: If Snooper reports "80386," it means your 386SX or 386DX CPU is
|
|
in virtual-86 mode (explained below). Some operating environments and
|
|
expanded memory managers (e.g. EMM386) would report an error if
|
|
Snooper tried to determine which of the two chips is present.
|
|
Instead, Snooper skips the determination and shows you have one of
|
|
the two chips. If you unload the program that puts your CPU into
|
|
virtual-86 mode, Snooper can then tell you which CPU you have.
|
|
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|
CPU Speed
|
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|
|
The number after the hyphen (e.g., the "16" in "80386SX-16") is an
|
|
estimate of your computer's speed in Megahertz. This benchmark is
|
|
very accurate, especially since it doesn't induce a noticeable delay
|
|
in execution.
|
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|
|
Virtual-86 Mode
|
|
|
|
If "V86" appears in the CPU report, your computer's CPU is operating
|
|
in virtual-86 mode, instead of real mode (what DOS normally uses).
|
|
The 80286 and newer microprocessors implement a protected mode, which
|
|
is sometimes used by memory managers, multitaskers (including
|
|
Microsoft Windows), and other software. Multitaskers which put the
|
|
CPU in protected mode actually run the programs in virtual-86 mode,
|
|
which lets each running program believe it has total access to the
|
|
machine, when in fact the multitasker is controlling its access.
|
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|
|
Numeric Data Processor (NDP)
|
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|
|
The Numeric Data Processor (NDP), also called the math coprocessor,
|
|
or Floating Point Unit (FPU). Math coprocessors significantly speed
|
|
calculations involving floating point numbers (i.e., numbers with
|
|
decimal portions). Snooper can detect 8087, 80287, 80387SX, 80387,
|
|
and Weitek 1167 math chips. Snooper will report "internal" for
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|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 27
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80486DX and better CPUs, since they have math coprocessors built into
|
|
them.
|
|
Some computers have a switch inside which the user sets to reflect
|
|
the presence (or absence) of a math coprocessor. Because these
|
|
switches are often set incorrectly, Snooper's report is not dependent
|
|
on this switch setting. But Snooper does check the switch. If Snooper
|
|
finds that its NDP report and the switch setting don't agree, it
|
|
displays a check mark in the NDP report. This lets you know you
|
|
should check (and reset) the switch (and/or system configuration, if
|
|
you have an AT-class computer). If you don't see a check mark, the
|
|
switch or configuration is set properly.
|
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|
|
Bus
|
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|
|
The architecture of the bus your computer uses. The bus is the part
|
|
you plug expansion cards into--the slots. Most computers report
|
|
"ISA," which stands for Industry Standard Architecture, the bus in
|
|
PCs, XTs, ATs, and most clones.
|
|
Most IBM PS/2 computers will report "MCA," or Micro Channel
|
|
Architecture. The MCA is entirely different and cards based on it are
|
|
incompatible with those for the ISA standard, but MCA does add
|
|
features and increase performance in some cases. Some computers have
|
|
both MCA and ISA buses, in which case Snooper reports "MCA+ISA." For
|
|
a list of the Micro Channel adapter cards in your system, invoke the
|
|
Bus screen by pressing <Alt-B>.
|
|
A consortium of companies worked out a different standard. It is
|
|
called "EISA," (pronounced EES uh) meaning Enhanced ISA. It retains
|
|
compatibility with the older ISA bus, but like the MCA, it adds
|
|
features and power. Snooper can detect all three bus types.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Memory
|
|
|
|
Conventional Memory
|
|
|
|
Bytes of conventional RAM (the infamous 640K) in your computer.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: A few computers use more RAM than most for their video
|
|
displays, so Snooper may not report all the memory the computer has
|
|
(e.g., it may report 624K instead of 640K on some Tandys).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Memory
|
|
|
|
Bytes of conventional RAM still available for programs and data. This
|
|
report allows you to see, for example, the effect of changing the
|
|
BUFFERS statement in your CONFIG.SYS file, and loading and unloading
|
|
memory resident programs.
|
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|
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28 Snooper, the system checker
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Used Memory
|
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|
|
Bytes of conventional memory DOS and memory resident programs are
|
|
using (total minus free memory).
|
|
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|
|
Extended Memory
|
|
|
|
Extended memory is available only on AT-type machines; that is, those
|
|
with 80286 or newer microprocessors. (If you have an XT-type
|
|
computer, this report will always be blank.) Programs written to do
|
|
so can store data and programs in extended memory. This report shows
|
|
the total amount of extended memory installed, despite how you've
|
|
configured it. Even if a program is using it all, Snooper will still
|
|
show the total amount installed. This report is taken from the CMOS.
|
|
See the CMOS screen section below for an explanation of the CMOS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ext Free
|
|
|
|
This report shows how much extended memory you still have available.
|
|
Snooper gets this report from the computer's BIOS. This memory is
|
|
only available to mostly older programs that don't use the eXtended
|
|
Memory Specification (see below).
|
|
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|
|
XMS Memory
|
|
|
|
As we mentioned above, programs written to do so can store data
|
|
and/or programs in extended memory. The trouble is, different
|
|
programs handle extended memory differently. This is because until
|
|
the eXtended Memory Specification (or "XMS"), there was no standard
|
|
for accessing extended memory, and the computer's built-in facilities
|
|
are crude at best. Some programs are polite enough to decrease the
|
|
amount of extended memory they report to other programs by the amount
|
|
they themselves are using. Some aren't so polite, leaving themselves
|
|
open to having their memory overwritten by another program. As you
|
|
might imagine, this leads to problems.
|
|
If you have loaded an eXtended Memory Manager, or XMM (e.g.,
|
|
Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS)--that is, if you have XMS memory, Snooper will
|
|
report how much is still available.
|
|
|
|
|
|
eXtended Memory Manager Level
|
|
|
|
The number displayed after "XMS" is the version of the eXtended
|
|
Memory Specification the loaded XMM supports. This is different from
|
|
the internal version number of the XMM program itself. Different
|
|
versions support different features, so be sure you have an XMM that
|
|
supports the program you want to run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 29
|
|
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|
|
High Memory Area (HMA)
|
|
|
|
The high memory area is the 64K (less 16 bytes) block beginning at
|
|
the one megabyte boundary, immediately above the ROM BIOS. It, like
|
|
all types of extended memory, can only be used on AT-type computers,
|
|
and only by programs written for it. This report shows if a HMA
|
|
exists (you must have an XMM loaded to provide it), and if it is
|
|
available for use ("free") or is in use by a program ("in use").
|
|
|
|
|
|
A20 Line Status
|
|
|
|
Shown after "HMA," this report shows if the address line called A20
|
|
is enabled. Snooper shows "(A20)" is the A20 is enabled, nothing if
|
|
it's not. Usually, the A20 is handled automatically by memory
|
|
management software. At times, you may need to know the A20's status,
|
|
perhaps while debugging your memory setup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Upper Memory Block (UMB)
|
|
|
|
With DOS 5 and some third party memory managers, you can load most of
|
|
your device drivers and memory resident programs above conventional
|
|
memory, into what are called upper memory blocks. Snooper reports the
|
|
largest available UMB. You must have the line "DOS=UMB" in your
|
|
CONFIG.SYS file for this report to work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enhanced Memory Specification Total
|
|
|
|
The amount of enhanced memory (EMS) installed. Lotus, Intel, and
|
|
Microsoft developed EMS to break DOS's 640K memory barrier (kind of).
|
|
Some programs, which have been written to do so, can use EMS to store
|
|
data. Not surprisingly, many spreadsheet programs use EMS. Unlike
|
|
extended memory, EMS is available on XT and AT-class machines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enhanced Memory Manager Level
|
|
|
|
Shown after "EMS," the version of Enhanced Memory Specification the
|
|
hardware and/or software is implementing. As of this writing, this
|
|
report probably should be either 3.2 or 4.0. Some programs require
|
|
EMS 4.0, which has enhanced capabilities. Like the XMM version, this
|
|
reflects the specification version, not the EMM program's version.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EMS Memory Free
|
|
|
|
The amount of EMS still available for programs and data.
|
|
|
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|
|
30 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
|
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|
|
Drives
|
|
|
|
Floppy
|
|
|
|
The number of floppy drives installed. Despite what some people
|
|
believe, 3.5" diskettes are floppy disks, not hard disks, despite
|
|
their hard plastic shells. Thus, they will be counted in this report.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hard
|
|
|
|
The number of hard disks (also called fixed disks) installed. Each
|
|
physical hard disk adds one to the total, regardless of its
|
|
partitioning. That is, if you have one hard disk split into C: and D:
|
|
drives, it will count as only one hard disk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Physical
|
|
|
|
Simply the sum of floppy and hard disks. These are physical drives
|
|
attached to your computer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logical
|
|
|
|
The total number of disk drives DOS recognizes. These include floppy,
|
|
hard, RAM, CD-ROM, and network drives. Also included are simulated
|
|
disk drives made with the DOS ASSIGN and SUBST commands, all hard
|
|
disk partitions, and possibly other types. This report includes the
|
|
drives identified in the Physical Drives report (above).
|
|
Sometimes software splits a hard disk into two or more
|
|
"partitions" (usually C: and D:), usually because the disk is bigger
|
|
than 32M, a limit imposed by DOS versions before 4.0. A hard disk
|
|
like this will count as two. If you have a single floppy disk drive,
|
|
the number given will not include drive B:, as it's simply another
|
|
name for drive A:. But every other available drive letter counts.
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 31
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
Video
|
|
|
|
Video Type
|
|
|
|
The type of video adapter, and, mostly for VGAs, either the adapter
|
|
brand or the type of monitor used. Snooper can detect:
|
|
|
|
Report Video card
|
|
MDA Monochrome Display Adapter, probably a text-only card (one
|
|
that doesn't provide any graphics capability)
|
|
Hercules Hercules Graphics Card (a monochrome card with graphics
|
|
capability) or a Hercules-compatible; Snooper can detect
|
|
Hercules Graphics, InColor, and Plus cards
|
|
CGA Color Graphics Adapter
|
|
EGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter
|
|
PGC Professional Graphics Controller
|
|
MCGA Multi-Color Graphics Array
|
|
VGA Video Graphics Array
|
|
SVGA VGA card with more than 256K
|
|
XGA(-2) eXtended Graphics Adapter, detected on Micro Channel
|
|
systems
|
|
|
|
|
|
VGA Adapter Brand
|
|
|
|
Snooper recognizes several VGA cards by brand, and many specific
|
|
models.
|
|
|
|
|
|
VESA
|
|
|
|
A few years ago, several video hardware manufacturers formed the
|
|
Video Electronics Standards Association, or VESA (pronounced
|
|
"VEE suh" or "VEH suh"). Their purpose is to standardize the PC video
|
|
marketplace, making recommendations for standardized resolutions,
|
|
frequencies, and so on. If the Video report begins with "VESA," your
|
|
VGA card seems to comply with their recommendations. Snooper also
|
|
shows you the VESA specification version your card complies with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monitor Type
|
|
|
|
Snooper can sometimes tell what type of monitor you are using. If
|
|
Snooper has room, it shows which of three kinds of monitor you have:
|
|
monochrome (usually displays green or amber), color (digital with
|
|
EGAs or analog with VGAs or MCGAs), or digital color (for some
|
|
MCGAs).
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
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|
|
32 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
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|
|
Video Memory
|
|
|
|
On EGA and some VGA cards, Snooper reports how much video memory is
|
|
installed on the card. EGAs can have 64K to 256K; VGA cards, 256K to
|
|
2.5M and beyond. The amount of video memory, the video card, and the
|
|
monitor together determine the maximum resolution and colors you can
|
|
see on your computer. With some VESA cards, Snooper may show a little
|
|
less memory than is actually installed (e.g., 1.5M versus 2M).
|
|
|
|
NOTE: There is no correlation between your video card's memory and
|
|
your computer's memory, or RAM. You can have, for example, a 256K
|
|
machine with a 2M VGA card, or a 4M machine with a 64K EGA card, or
|
|
many other combinations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ports
|
|
|
|
Serial Ports
|
|
|
|
The addresses of all serial, or RS-232, ports installed. Usually, you
|
|
would use these ports for modems, pointing devices (such as mice),
|
|
some printers, plotters, and a variety of less common equipment.
|
|
More-advanced serial port information is available in the Diagnostics
|
|
screen, accessible via <Alt-D>.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parallel Ports
|
|
|
|
The addresses of all parallel ports (also called printer ports)
|
|
installed. Parallel ports are usually used for printers, occasionally
|
|
for scanners or network adapters. More-advanced parallel port
|
|
information is available in the Diagnostics screen, accessible via
|
|
<Alt-D>.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Novell networks trick software (including Snooper) into
|
|
thinking there are more parallel ports than are actually present. If
|
|
your system is part of a Novell LAN, don't be surprised to see three
|
|
or more parallel ports, some with the same address. To find out how
|
|
many parallel ports there really are, take your machine off the
|
|
network and rerun Snooper.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Game Port
|
|
|
|
The presence of a game port, or joystick adapter. The word "Game"
|
|
will appear next to "Ports" if Snooper detects a joystick. On AT and
|
|
later computers, Snooper asks the BIOS if a joystick is present. On
|
|
PCs and XTs, Snooper uses a different method. These methods seems to
|
|
work well, but may not be perfect. Also, a joystick has to be plugged
|
|
into the port for the report to work.
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 33
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Sound Cards
|
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|
|
The presence of Sound Blaster, Adlib, or Roland MPU-401 MIDI sound
|
|
cards, or their compatibles, such as the Thunder Board. The
|
|
Diagnostics screen will show the port address of some sound cards.
|
|
Press <Alt-D> for this screen.
|
|
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|
|
ROM BIOS
|
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|
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Brand
|
|
|
|
The brand (i.e., manufacturer) of the computer's ROM BIOS. Snooper
|
|
can recognize several BIOS brands: American Megatrends, Inc. ("AMI");
|
|
Award; Chips and Technology ("C & T"), Compaq; DTK; IBM; Phoenix; and
|
|
Zenith.
|
|
How well the BIOS was written has much to do with how compatible
|
|
your computer is. A poorly-written BIOS plagues its owner with
|
|
compatibility problems: programs won't run or they lock up the
|
|
computer, new hardware refuses to install properly, etc. A
|
|
well-written BIOS is, of course, a joy to behold.
|
|
|
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|
|
Date
|
|
|
|
The date stored in the ROM BIOS, which provides an indication of your
|
|
computer's age. The computer was built since that date.
|
|
|
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|
|
Plug-N-Play
|
|
|
|
With limited hardware resources such as IRQ lines and DMA channels
|
|
(described in the Diagnostics screen section below) to go around,
|
|
many users endure hours of configuration nightmares when installing a
|
|
new adapter card. Although the Micro Channel and EISA buses solve
|
|
this problem with semi-automatic configuration, nothing has helped
|
|
the ISA bus. Plug-N-Play hopes to do just that. With Plug-N-Play
|
|
extensions in your system's BIOS, your computer can arbitrate
|
|
potential hardware conflicts for you, automatically. Ahhh!
|
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|
|
Extensions
|
|
|
|
The segment addresses (places in memory) of any BIOS extensions in
|
|
the computer. These extensions, which supplement the computer's
|
|
built-in BIOS, are usually found on add-in cards. An EGA or VGA BIOS,
|
|
for example, adds routines not found in the computer's own ROM BIOS
|
|
video routines, and are often found at C000. An XT's hard drive BIOS
|
|
is usually found at C800. Snooper searches for an extension every 256
|
|
bytes from C000 to FE00 (i.e., C000, C100, C200, etc.). This report
|
|
comes in handy for telling your memory manager to avoid addresses
|
|
used by adapter cards.
|
|
|
|
34 Snooper, the system checker
|
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Mouse
|
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Brand and Driver Version
|
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|
|
Shows what brand of mouse is installed (Microsoft, Logitech, Z-NIX,
|
|
and Mouse Systems), and the driver version.
|
|
A mouse usually requires a software-based driver (program). Its
|
|
file is usually called MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS. If a driver is loaded,
|
|
Snooper will report its version. This report is useful for debugging,
|
|
because if you're having trouble with your mouse, you may find that a
|
|
new driver solves the problem. Also, forcing the driver to load into
|
|
conventional, and not high, memory also can solve other problems.
|
|
Drivers are often available free or at low cost from the vendor.
|
|
Some drivers, such as Genius and Logitech, report a
|
|
Microsoft-equivalent version rather than their own internal version.
|
|
Snooper can detect a Logitech mouse driver's true version.
|
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|
Port
|
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|
|
Possible reports are: "bus" (the mouse connects to an expansion card
|
|
inside the computer), "Microsoft Inport" (a Microsoft-brand bus
|
|
mouse), "serial" (the mouse plugs into a serial port), "Hewlett
|
|
Packard," and "PS/2."
|
|
If you have a serial mouse, Snooper tries to guess which serial
|
|
port it is connected to by knowing what resources the mouse is using.
|
|
If it isn't using IRQ4 (COM1 or COM 3) or IRQ3 (COM2 or COM4),
|
|
Snooper displays which IRQ it is using. The Diagnostics screen shows
|
|
which IRQ the mouse is using, and if it's a serial mouse, which port
|
|
it's on. This can help in troubleshooting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keyboard
|
|
|
|
Present
|
|
|
|
The first number in the Keyboard report. Shows what kind of keyboard
|
|
you have attached to your machine. Possible answers are "84" (non-
|
|
enhanced), "101" (enhanced), or, if your computer only supports
|
|
84-key keyboards, "N/A" (if your computer doesn't support enhanced
|
|
keyboards, Snooper can't test for one).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Support
|
|
|
|
Reports what type of keyboard your computer's BIOS supports. If "101"
|
|
appears after the keyboard type, your computer's ROM BIOS supports an
|
|
enhanced keyboard, usually with function keys along the top and a
|
|
separate cursor keypad. It will recognize the keys an enhanced
|
|
keyboard adds to the standard (XT) keyboard, such as F11, F12 and
|
|
certain cursor key combinations.
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 35
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|
|
Environment
|
|
|
|
The "environment" is an area of memory in which DOS keeps certain
|
|
information it needs to run. Some pieces of information in the
|
|
environment are the format of the DOS prompt and the series of
|
|
directories DOS searches for executable files. These are the PROMPT
|
|
and PATH strings, and there are others. A string consists of the
|
|
variable name (such as PATH), an equal sign, and the value of the
|
|
string (often a path or list of paths such as C:\UTILS;C:\DOS;C:\).
|
|
This sample PATH string looks like this:
|
|
|
|
path=c:\utils;c:\dos;c:\
|
|
|
|
You can view and edit the environment with the SET command. Because
|
|
of the way 4DOS and NDOS allocate memory for the environment in their
|
|
non-swapping modes, the environment reports will be inaccurate when
|
|
Snooper is run under those environments.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free
|
|
|
|
The number of bytes available in the environment. To calculate this
|
|
report, for each string, Snooper counts each character of the
|
|
variable name (such as "PATH"), the equal sign, each character of the
|
|
value (such as "C:\DOS;C:\"), and one extra character.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
The number of bytes of environment space allocated by DOS. You can
|
|
change the amount of memory DOS allocates to the environment with
|
|
the /E switch of the SHELL command in your CONFIG.SYS file. Different
|
|
DOS versions use different memory units for the extra environment
|
|
space. Check your DOS manual.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DOS
|
|
|
|
Brand and Version
|
|
|
|
Snooper can detect: PC-DOS (from IBM), MS-DOS (from Microsoft,
|
|
Phoenix, and others), DR DOS (from Digital Research), HP-DOS (from
|
|
Hewlett Packard), DEC-DOS (from Digital Equipment Corp.), or Zen-DOS
|
|
(no, not Eastern mysticism, just DOS from Zenith). Snooper also will
|
|
report if it is running under OS/2 1.x or 2.x. The DOS version
|
|
appears after the brand. Also, a letter appears after the version on
|
|
systems running DOS 5.0 or newer. This is the DOS revision, a
|
|
sub-version, so to speak.
|
|
|
|
DOS 5.0 can load most of itself into the HMA, freeing the
|
|
conventional memory it would normally use. If "HMA" appears after the
|
|
|
|
36 Snooper, the system checker
|
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|
|
|
DOS type, DOS is loaded there. If "ROM" appears, DOS is stored in the
|
|
computer's ROM, as with some laptops.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shell
|
|
|
|
A DOS shell is a program that either provides features DOS doesn't,
|
|
or makes DOS easier to use. Snooper can report the presence of:
|
|
Windows Real, Standard, or 386 Enhanced modes; Concurrent DOS;
|
|
DoubleDOS; 4DOS and NDOS (only in swapping mode); Desqview; Taskview;
|
|
Topview, DOS 5's task switcher, the Virtual Control Program Interface
|
|
(VCPI), the DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI), and ANSI.SYS. It can
|
|
often report the DOS shell's version number as well. If Snooper
|
|
detects Desqview, it uses the BIOS to write to the screen.
|
|
If Snooper detects 4DOS or NDOS, it tells what shell level it is
|
|
running under. This kind of shell has a different meaning. When you
|
|
shell from a program (it can be called something else, such as "DOS
|
|
prompt"), you leave the program in memory but return to the DOS
|
|
prompt. You type "exit" to return to your program. This is faster
|
|
than exiting, then reloading the program, and lets you perform a
|
|
simple task such as formatting a diskette. "Root" means you're not
|
|
shelled out of a program; "1" means you've shelled out of one
|
|
program; "2" means you shelled out of one program, loaded and shelled
|
|
out of another; and so on. Snooper doesn't have a shell feature.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Files
|
|
|
|
The number of files DOS will allow to be open at once, as defined by
|
|
the line "FILES=" in your CONFIG.SYS file. DOS always reserves some
|
|
files for itself. Usually, your computing activity will require
|
|
several files to be used at once, especially if you use a
|
|
multitasking environment or a database. Most software vendors
|
|
recommend you make at least 20 files available, requiring the line
|
|
"FILES=20" to be in your CONFIG.SYS file. A few programs, notably
|
|
Windows, may increase this number, so don't be surprised if the
|
|
number is higher in Windows than in DOS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Buffers
|
|
|
|
Number of buffers DOS uses for disk operations, as defined by the
|
|
line "BUFFERS=" in the CONFIG.SYS file. When your computer requests
|
|
data from a disk, DOS transfers the data from the disk into RAM,
|
|
where the program can access it. Subsequent requests for the same
|
|
data are read from RAM, not from the disk. The reason is simple: RAM
|
|
is fast, the disk is comparatively slow, so disk operations are sped
|
|
up. Snooper detects the number of primary and secondary buffers (if
|
|
defined). Consult your DOS manual for more details.
|
|
|
|
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|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 37
|
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|
|
Break
|
|
|
|
Break status (on or off). Pressing Ctrl-Break can force your computer
|
|
to stop what it's doing in an emergency. Normally, DOS only checks
|
|
for a Ctrl-Break keystroke when it's writing to the screen or reading
|
|
from the keyboard. However, if break is on, DOS checks more often.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Verify
|
|
|
|
Disk verify status (on or off). If verify is on, DOS uses a checksum
|
|
method to confirm (in theory) what it writes to a disk is valid. Of
|
|
course, when verify is on, disk operations are a bit slower.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disk Cache
|
|
|
|
Reports the presence of a disk cache, and often, its version.
|
|
Recognized caches (and sources) include: Smartdrive (which comes with
|
|
DOS and Windows); Norton Cache (Norton Utilities); PC-Cache 6.0 and
|
|
above (PC Tools); Super PC-Kwik 3.20 and above, Hyperdisk, and
|
|
QuickCache II (shareware products); and IBMCache (from you know who).
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Because PC-Cache and Qualitas's QCache are versions of Super
|
|
PC-Kwik, they respond to the same detection method and so may be
|
|
reported as Super PC-Kwik. PC-Cache 5.1 would be reported as Super
|
|
PC-Kwik 3.20, PC-Cache 5.5 as Super PC-Kwik 3.27. QCache 4.00 would
|
|
be reported as Super PC-Kwik 4.00.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Network
|
|
|
|
A network is a combination of hardware and software that enables
|
|
users to share peripherals and data. Snooper can detect several
|
|
networks: Novell, LANtastic, Microsoft, Invisible, PC LAN, and
|
|
Easy-Net. It also detects SHARE.EXE, which is often loaded in
|
|
networking environments. Sometimes this report only tells you the
|
|
computer has a LAN card, not that a network is up and running. On
|
|
LANtastic, it also shows the version. For more information about your
|
|
Novell network, invoke the Network screen by pressing <Alt-N>.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
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|
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|
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|
|
38 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
|
Disk Information
|
|
|
|
Drive List
|
|
|
|
Snooper reports the letters of all valid disk drives in the upper
|
|
right corner of Snooper's display, enclosed in brackets. The current
|
|
drive's letter is highlighted and capitalized. If you have a
|
|
single-floppy system, the list will not include drive B:, as it
|
|
merely references drive A:. If your system has at least 20 logical
|
|
drives, Snooper will list them in two rows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Label
|
|
|
|
The volume label of the current drive. You can change the label with
|
|
the LABEL program, supplied with DOS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Directory
|
|
|
|
Shows the default directory of the selected drive. If the first
|
|
character shown is a plus sign, Snooper has omitted the first part of
|
|
the directory to make it fit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
IDE Drive Model/SCSI Host Adapter
|
|
|
|
On most IDE hard drives, Snooper can report the model name. Sometimes
|
|
you can clearly see the actual model, sometimes the brand.
|
|
Occasionally, Snooper is fooled by a non-IDE drive and this report
|
|
contains gibberish. This shouldn't happen often, though, and this
|
|
report can save you the trouble of opening the computer to check the
|
|
drive model. Recall that Snooper skips detection of the IDE model
|
|
under Windows 386 Enhanced mode.
|
|
|
|
Snooper also can recognize Adaptec SCSI host adapters, and will
|
|
report the model number in this report. It also will report the slot
|
|
the card resides in if it's an EISA adapter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE: The next reports (Drive Type through Cylinders) concern the
|
|
disk drive, and not the diskette in it, if it's a floppy drive. For
|
|
example, if you have a 1.2M floppy disk drive and you have a double
|
|
density (360K) diskette--or no diskette at all--in the drive, Snooper
|
|
will report 15 Sectors Per Cylinder. That's because high density
|
|
drives can handle disks with 15 sectors per cylinder, although 360K
|
|
disks only have nine.
|
|
The report works this way so you can tell if the drive is high
|
|
density without needing a diskette to be in it. You can determine the
|
|
total capacity of a diskette (and thus its type) from the Total Space
|
|
report.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 39
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drive Type
|
|
|
|
Reports what type of disk drive you're examining. Snooper usually
|
|
bases this report on a BIOS report for the drive, but it also uses
|
|
other methods. Snooper can detect the following capacities for 5.25"
|
|
drives: 1.2M, 360K, 320K, 180K, and 160K. For 3.5" drives, it can
|
|
detect: 2.88M, 1.44M, and 720K drives. Other possibilities are:
|
|
"fixed disk" (probably a hard disk), "CD-ROM" (if it's local), "RAM
|
|
disk," "Bernoulli," or "ID: nnh" (meaning Snooper doesn't recognize
|
|
the disk type and shows the actual disk type byte instead).
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMOS Type
|
|
|
|
Snooper queries the CMOS to find out what hard drive type (expressed
|
|
as a number), or what size and capacity floppy drive is installed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Status
|
|
|
|
Shows if the disk is being compressed by DoubleSpace (available with
|
|
MS-DOS 6.0) or Stacker. If Stacker is present, its version is
|
|
reported. Other reports are "local" and "network." If the DOS
|
|
commands SUBST or JOIN are affecting the disk, they are reported.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Heads
|
|
|
|
The number of heads a disk drive has. This number is often the same
|
|
as the number of sides the disk has. Most floppy drives will report
|
|
two; hard drives usually report several.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sectors/cylinder
|
|
|
|
The number of sectors per cylinder on the disk drive. Sectors are
|
|
"pie slices" of the disk; cylinders are concentric rings. Normally,
|
|
floppy drives report 9, 15, 18, or 36; hard drives, 17, 26, or 34.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cylinders
|
|
|
|
The number of cylinders on a disk drive. Cylinders are concentric
|
|
rings on the disk. Typically, floppy drives report 40 or 80; hard
|
|
drives, a few hundred to several hundred.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Original PCs and some XTs can't report heads, sectors/cylinder,
|
|
and cylinders. Neither can simulated disk drives (that is, logical
|
|
but not physical drives, such as RAM drives). If they can't, Snooper
|
|
will usually leave the appropriate areas blank.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
40 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the following disk reports, if the drive is empty, if the disk is
|
|
defective or unformatted, or the drive door isn't closed, Snooper
|
|
will report "Drive not ready."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sector Size
|
|
|
|
The number of bytes stored in each sector. This number is usually
|
|
512, although some hard disks may show higher numbers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cluster Size
|
|
|
|
The number of bytes in each cluster. Recent DOS versions call them
|
|
"allocation units" (brevity takes a slap in the face). A cluster is
|
|
the smallest space a file can take. Thus, even if "DIR" reports a
|
|
file is only 256 bytes, if the disk's cluster size is 2048 bytes, the
|
|
file will take 2048 bytes of disk space. A floppy disk may report
|
|
1024, an XT's hard disk usually 8192, an AT's hard disk usually 2048.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Space
|
|
|
|
The capacity of the disk in bytes. This includes all bytes, even if
|
|
the FORMAT program has marked some areas unusable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Space
|
|
|
|
The number of bytes still available for use.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Used Space (bytes)
|
|
|
|
The number of bytes in use by files, subdirectories, and any areas
|
|
marked unusable. You can use this figure to compute how many floppy
|
|
disks you will need to back up your hard disk (floppy disks needed =
|
|
(used space / floppy disk capacity) + 1).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Used Space (%)
|
|
|
|
The percentage of disk space being used. Even on an empty disk, this
|
|
number may not be zero because of bad sectors or empty directories.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Used Space (bar graph)
|
|
|
|
Provides an easily-absorbed way to see how much disk space is in use.
|
|
The Used Space graph is one of Snooper's handiest features and
|
|
provides a quick way to monitor disk use.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 41
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DIAGNOSTICS SCREEN
|
|
|
|
This screen, accessed via <Alt-D>, shows you details about your
|
|
computer's hardware status. It can help you diagnose interrupt
|
|
conflicts and other problems. If you have a multitasker or network
|
|
running, Snooper will pop up a warning and a prompt to continue
|
|
before letting you into this screen. The reason is these routines may
|
|
disrupt serial or parallel communications going on in other tasks.
|
|
For example, if you were transferring a file in one window and
|
|
Snooper is running in another and you tried to access the Diagnostics
|
|
screen, Snooper would likely disrupt your transfer--or even hang
|
|
up--forcing you to start over. None of us would want that.
|
|
Also, networks and multitaskers sometimes can interfere with
|
|
Snooper's ability to gather accurate information. Unload the network
|
|
or multitasker and you may view the Diagnostics screen safely. In
|
|
fact, this screen is most helpful when you boot your computer from
|
|
plain DOS--no TSRs, no network.
|
|
If you try the Diagnostics screen and your computer locks up,
|
|
simply reboot with minimum CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and it
|
|
should work fine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Serial Ports
|
|
|
|
Address
|
|
|
|
Here Snooper ensures that an actual serial port exists by testing the
|
|
serial port chip (see UART, below). It doesn't just rely on a likely
|
|
port address; it makes sure the address points to a working port. If
|
|
fewer ports appear on this screen than on the main one, you may have
|
|
a faulty port.
|
|
|
|
|
|
UART
|
|
|
|
The Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter chip handles the
|
|
receiving and transmitting of data through the serial port. Snooper
|
|
detects which model is in each serial port in your computer (you may
|
|
have more than one kind). It detects the 8250 (found in most XTs),
|
|
16450 (found in many ATs), 16550 (found in early PS/2 models 50, 60,
|
|
and 80), 16550A (necessary for high-speed communications), and Type 3
|
|
(supports DMA, found in latter PS/2s and others).
|
|
The latter two chips add 16-byte first in, first out buffers
|
|
(FIFOs) to store characters being sent or received from the serial
|
|
port. These are necessary for high-speed communications at 9600
|
|
bits-per-second or faster. The 16550 had defective FIFOs, rendering
|
|
the buffers useless. The problem was corrected in the 16550A.
|
|
Internal modems provide their own serial ports, so if yours is
|
|
internal, Snooper will tell you what UART is supplied by the modem
|
|
itself.
|
|
Snooper displays an asterisk next to the UART if the FIFO buffers
|
|
are open, a condition which normally shouldn't occur.
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42 Snooper, the system checker
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Speed
|
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|
|
Shows the speed at which the serial port has been initialized. This
|
|
speed can differ from the speed of a modem that may be attached.
|
|
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|
|
Format
|
|
|
|
Data bits: The number of bits (per byte) the port treats as a
|
|
character. It can be 5, 7, or 8, with 8 being the most common.
|
|
Transmitting 7 data bits means 7 of the 8 bits will be treated as a
|
|
character; the eighth is ignored or treated as a parity bit.
|
|
Parity: Parity provides a crude method of error-detection but is
|
|
largely ignored today. Nearly all BBSs use No parity. Other reports
|
|
are: Even, Odd, Mark, and Space.
|
|
Stop bits: The stop bit or bits are sent after each character.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Although the values of the above parameters are important, even
|
|
more important is that they be identical on both ends of the
|
|
communications link (your modem and the one you're calling).
|
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IRQ
|
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|
|
Snooper performs a test to determine what IRQ (see Interrupt Request
|
|
Lines, below) each serial port would use. These are not just the
|
|
default values, but the actual IRQs the port would use. If software
|
|
(e.g., a mouse driver) configured the port to respond with an
|
|
interrupt upon, for example, receipt of data, Snooper displays just
|
|
the IRQ number. If no interrupt would be triggered, Snooper displays
|
|
the IRQ number in parentheses. This just means no program is loaded
|
|
that uses the port. Occasionally, a port becomes dissociated from its
|
|
usual IRQ, and Snooper can't tell what IRQ that port would use. In
|
|
that case, Snooper leaves the IRQ report blank.
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Device
|
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|
|
Modems and mice are two common peripherals attached to serial ports.
|
|
Snooper can usually detect the presence of Hayes-compatible modems
|
|
and fax/modems, and fully Microsoft-compatible mice, and report which
|
|
is connected to each port. It also can sometimes show if both are
|
|
connected to one port (two ports sharing one address). If the modem
|
|
is external, it must be turned on for this report to work. A mouse
|
|
driver must be loaded for mouse detection to work.
|
|
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|
|
Fax Info
|
|
|
|
If Snooper finds a fax/modem, it asks it what classes it supports.
|
|
Classes are specifications that define what capabilities a fax/modem
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 43
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has. Class 0 is simply a data modem. Class 1 adds fax capabilities.
|
|
Classes are shown as a series of digits under the appropriate port
|
|
(e.g., "0,1"). Snooper also will check for the presence of two fax
|
|
interfaces, the Communicating Applications Specification (CAS) and
|
|
FaxBIOS. If either of these is found to be active, Snooper will show
|
|
its name and version on the line below Fax Info.
|
|
|
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|
|
Parallel ports
|
|
|
|
Address
|
|
|
|
The same as the addresses on Snooper's Main screen.
|
|
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|
|
IRQ
|
|
|
|
Snooper does a live test to determine what IRQ (see Interrupt Request
|
|
Lines, below) each parallel port would use. Again, these are the
|
|
actual IRQs the port would use, not just defaults. If software
|
|
(e.g., a print spooler) configured the port to respond with an
|
|
interrupt when, for example, the printer is ready, Snooper displays
|
|
just the IRQ number. If no interrupt would be triggered, Snooper
|
|
displays the IRQ number in parentheses.
|
|
Occasionally, a port becomes dissociated from its usual IRQ, and
|
|
Snooper can't tell what IRQ that port would use. Also, unfortunately,
|
|
many parallel ports don't generate interrupts correctly. In either
|
|
case, Snooper leaves the IRQ report blank.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Your printer does not need to be on, or even attached, for this
|
|
report to work. You may hear it make a noise when Snooper checks the
|
|
port's IRQ. This is normal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Status
|
|
|
|
Snooper also indicates the status of the parallel ports. The error
|
|
conditions change with different printers, so little can be said
|
|
about what each line really indicates. The only universal seems to be
|
|
your printer is ready to print when only the Selected report is
|
|
active.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: To help you debug a printer problem quickly, the parallel port
|
|
status is constantly monitored, so if, for example, you turn on your
|
|
printer or press its On-line button, the status indicators will
|
|
change. However, you should never plug in or unplug any peripheral
|
|
until you have turned off power both to the system and peripheral.
|
|
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|
|
44 Snooper, the system checker
|
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|
|
Sound Card Address
|
|
|
|
Displays the sound card that appears on Snooper's Main screen, and
|
|
may show the port address to aid in diagnosing port conflicts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the following IRQ and DMA reports, "Available" will appear if the
|
|
resource seems to be unused, "In use" if it has been reserved by a
|
|
hardware device.
|
|
|
|
Interrupt Request (IRQ)
|
|
|
|
The right side of the Diagnostics screen shows which Interrupt
|
|
Request lines are currently active (indicated by the asterisks). The
|
|
PC had 8 IRQ lines, the AT has 15. These lines are used to get the
|
|
CPU's attention when a hardware device needs servicing. Several
|
|
devices have assigned IRQs. For example, COM1 can trigger IRQ4 when a
|
|
character enters the port. Snooper displays these default
|
|
assignments, although they may not coincide with your system's, which
|
|
may be configured differently.
|
|
Some hardware devices don't permanently reserve the IRQs they use.
|
|
For example, you may have a scanner that uses IRQ 5, but only when
|
|
you're scanning. Snooper has no way to know this because you're not
|
|
likely to be scanning while Snooper is running. On the other hand,
|
|
you may be trying to add a device that also doesn't permanently
|
|
reserve its IRQ, and will never be used when the scanner is being
|
|
used. Then it's all right to assign IRQ 5 to the new device. Use
|
|
Snooper's IRQ list as a starting point in determining which IRQs are
|
|
safe to use.
|
|
If a mouse driver is loaded, "Mouse" appears in the IRQ list,
|
|
indicating which IRQ your mouse is using. If your driver is new
|
|
enough, Snooper also will tell you if the driver is a TSR loaded in
|
|
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file ("MOUSE.COM"), or a device driver loaded in
|
|
your CONFIG.SYS file ("MOUSE.SYS").
|
|
|
|
|
|
Direct Memory Access (DMA)
|
|
|
|
Next to the IRQ report is the Direct Memory Access report. DMA
|
|
channels are used to transfer data without the aid of the CPU,
|
|
speeding transfers. The PC had four DMA channels, AT-class computers
|
|
have seven. Because Snooper can't accurately detect use of the upper
|
|
channels on the AT, it only shows the first four channels.
|
|
Snooper shows which DMA channels have been reserved by various
|
|
hardware devices (again, the asterisks indicate the active channels).
|
|
The original Sound Blaster, for example, uses DMA channel one, so if
|
|
you have this card, and DMA use hasn't been disabled on the card,
|
|
Snooper will show channel one is in use. What this report really
|
|
shows is if the channel has been used since the machine was last
|
|
turned on or reset, not necessarily if it is currently in use. Often,
|
|
this is close enough. If, however, all DMA channels in your system
|
|
seem to be in use, you may have to disregard Snooper's DMA report.
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 45
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BUS SCREEN
|
|
|
|
With the Micro Channel bus architecture comes the ability to detect
|
|
adapter cards by name. Snooper can recognize over 1,100 cards.
|
|
|
|
Snooper will list slots zero through nine, and identify what cards
|
|
are in which slots. A slot with no corresponding text is empty.
|
|
|
|
If you see a message like "Unknown card, please contact author,"
|
|
please make a note of the four-digit number and the actual card
|
|
installed (your Reference Diskette will tell you), and let us know.
|
|
We'll add it to our Micro Channel adapter database.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
46 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
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|
|
|
|
NETWORK SCREEN
|
|
|
|
Press <Alt-N> when you're running Snooper on a Novell network (we
|
|
hope to add other network types), and the Network screen will show
|
|
you several reports about your network. See your Netware
|
|
documentation for more details about items Snooper reports on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Network Type
|
|
|
|
This will remind you of the network type from Snooper's Main screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Network Address
|
|
|
|
The network address uniquely identifies the part of the network
|
|
you're on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Node Address
|
|
|
|
The node address uniquely identifies the workstation you're on.
|
|
ARCnet cards need to have their node addresses set at installation,
|
|
Ethernet cards come with a pre-defined node address. Usually, network
|
|
cards in workstations cannot share the same address.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Socket
|
|
|
|
Users aren't typically aware of this low-level resource, but it may
|
|
come in handy in troubleshooting network installations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Name
|
|
|
|
The name with which the user logged into the default server. Note you
|
|
can log onto different servers with different names.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hardware
|
|
|
|
Network Card
|
|
|
|
Shows what network card is installed in your system if you have an
|
|
ODI driver loaded. You do not need to be logged into the network.
|
|
Snooper also shows hardware resources the network card is using:
|
|
memory addresses, IRQ lines, port addresses, and DMA channels.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 47
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Software
|
|
|
|
These reports show version numbers, levels, and interrupts in use by
|
|
drivers and other network software. Software listed in the second
|
|
column are running on the server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Server
|
|
|
|
Default
|
|
|
|
The name of the default server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Connection
|
|
|
|
The connection number the workstation is using to connect to the
|
|
default server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Connections
|
|
|
|
These reports show the maximum connections (users) allowed on the
|
|
default server, the number of users currently logged in, and the most
|
|
users connected at once since the server was last booted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
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|
|
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|
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|
|
48 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMOS SCREEN
|
|
|
|
Every computer based on the PC-AT standard, i.e. all ATs, 386s, 486s,
|
|
Pentiums, etc., have a small area of memory called the CMOS
|
|
(pronounced SEE moss), used to store configuration information about
|
|
your computer. The letters in "CMOS" stand for the material the
|
|
configuration chip is made of (Complementary Metal Oxide
|
|
Semiconductor, if that helps).
|
|
CMOS memory is non-volatile, meaning its contents are retained
|
|
even when the computer is turned off. This is accomplished with a
|
|
battery that constantly supplies power to the CMOS chip.
|
|
Each time the computer is booted, it checks that the CMOS
|
|
configuration accurately reflects the actual configuration. If not,
|
|
the computer warns you the configuration has changed. This may occur
|
|
because the CMOS battery is dead, or (more rarely) a renegade program
|
|
has wiped out the CMOS. Perhaps after replacing the failing battery
|
|
with a fresh one, you are required to change the CMOS information to
|
|
reflect the actual configuration. Snooper's CMOS screen lets you do
|
|
just that.
|
|
Most computers now come with a built-in setup facility, accessible
|
|
with a keystroke when the system boots. So why duplicate that
|
|
functionality in Snooper?
|
|
First, Snooper's Setup screen is more friendly. Some built-in
|
|
setup screens are user-hostile. For example, you may have to choose a
|
|
drive type without knowing the drive parameters for that type. You
|
|
would have to hunt down the computer's documentation, and hope the
|
|
drive table was included and accurate. Snooper shows you the
|
|
parameters for the drive type you are about to choose, and you can
|
|
easily view each drive type to select the most appropriate one. Also,
|
|
some built-in setup programs don't let you abandon your changes if
|
|
you want to. Snooper does.
|
|
Second, Snooper provides a fast, attractive, consistent way for
|
|
technicians to edit CMOS data without having to learn each setup
|
|
screen's user interface. You can use Snooper's screen with point-and-
|
|
shoot ease, or press a single letter to quickly access the intended
|
|
option. Some built-in setups make you change or confirm all the
|
|
options at once, instead of letting you choose just the one you want.
|
|
Third, you can log the CMOS data, along with Snooper's other
|
|
screens, into a file for later reference. You can't do that with
|
|
built-in setup programs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Navigating the CMOS Screen
|
|
|
|
To move around this screen, press the highlighted letter for the
|
|
option you want. Alternatively, you can use <Tab> and <Shift-Tab> or
|
|
the arrow keys to move the highlight bar to the option. Press <+> and
|
|
<-> or <PgUp> and <PgDn> to change the option.
|
|
|
|
WARNING: Be very careful when editing CMOS data. You can render your
|
|
system temporarily un-bootable by specifying the wrong drive type. If
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 49
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
you're not absolutely sure what you're doing, stop! Get help from a
|
|
professional.
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMOS Status
|
|
|
|
Snooper will list up to seven errors that can occur with the CMOS.
|
|
Most often, you'll see "Incorrect configuration" when you've added or
|
|
removed a drive or some memory. "CMOS battery is dead" means you
|
|
probably should replace it. If there are no CMOS errors, Snooper
|
|
reports "OK."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date and Time
|
|
|
|
These options change the date and time. To aid you in setting the
|
|
date, the day of the week is also displayed, although you can't set
|
|
it directly.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Unlike all other options on this screen, changing the date and
|
|
time changes the real date and time as you press the <+> and <->
|
|
keys. Even if you escape from the CMOS screen without saving your
|
|
other changes, the date and time will still reflect any changes you
|
|
made to them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Memory
|
|
|
|
Tells the computer how much conventional and extended memory is
|
|
present. These options can be changed in 128K increments.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Floppy Drives
|
|
|
|
Tells the computer the capacity and size of the installed floppy
|
|
drives. Choices range from the 360K floppy to the 2.88M. Take care
|
|
that both the size and capacity you select match those of the
|
|
installed drive. There is a rare 720K 5.25" drive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hard Drives
|
|
|
|
Here you are allowed to choose the hard drive types. Choose type zero
|
|
if you have no drive, or if you have a SCSI drive. Otherwise, choose
|
|
the type that matches the parameters of the hard drive you have.
|
|
"Pre-comp" is short for Write Pre-Compensation, often abbreviated
|
|
"WPC." "L-zone" is the landing zone, the cylinder the read/write
|
|
heads will come to rest on when the system is turned off.
|
|
Snooper finds the drive type parameters in your computer's ROM
|
|
BIOS. Snooper can find the beginning of the table, but there's no
|
|
fool-proof way to tell where it ends. In some computers, the table
|
|
has as few as a couple dozen entries; in others, a couple hundred. If
|
|
|
|
50 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
you see some strange drive types that don't make sense, you've gone
|
|
past the end of the table.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Some memory managers have a feature that provides more upper
|
|
memory block space by moving the ROM BIOS to another memory location.
|
|
If this feature is in use on your system, Snooper may not be able to
|
|
find your computer's hard drive table because the memory manager
|
|
moved it. If so, disable the memory manager's feature or use your
|
|
computer's built-in setup utility.
|
|
|
|
If you see "User defined" after the drive type, it means Snooper has
|
|
run out of pre-defined types and the type you're looking at can be
|
|
defined by the user to fit a hard drive whose parameters don't appear
|
|
in the list. If you need to define a custom drive type, you can't use
|
|
Snooper to do so. You must use the computer's own setup program
|
|
(often stored in the ROM BIOS and accessed via <Ctrl><Alt>-<S> or
|
|
<Ctrl><Alt>-<Esc>, or with <Delete> or <F10> during boot-up). BIOS
|
|
makers haven't standardized on a way to store user-defined drive
|
|
parameters in the CMOS, so Snooper wouldn't know where to put them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Display
|
|
|
|
Here you indicate what kind of video adapter is installed. If you
|
|
have a text-only monochrome or a Hercules Graphics monochrome
|
|
adapter, select "monochrome." For CGA cards, you should choose "CGA
|
|
80 columns" (the normal number of columns). If you have an EGA, VGA,
|
|
SVGA, XGA, or PGC card, choose "VGA and EGA."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coprocessor
|
|
|
|
If your system has a math coprocessor, choose "Installed." Snooper's
|
|
Main screen will tell you if your system has a math chip (or NDP),
|
|
despite this setting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saving Your Changes
|
|
|
|
Press <Esc> when you are finished with the CMOS screen. If you have
|
|
made changes, Snooper will prompt you in the message box to save your
|
|
changes permanently into the CMOS chip. If you want to abandon your
|
|
changes, press <N>, or <Enter>. Or press <Y> to save them. For your
|
|
changes to take full effect, you may have to reboot your computer.
|
|
Snooper will do this for you, with your permission. If you pressed
|
|
<Y>, Snooper will then ask if you want it to reboot your system. If
|
|
so, press <Y>, and within a few seconds, your computer will reboot.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: If you reboot, and you are using a multitasker such as
|
|
Microsoft Windows, any unsaved work you may have been doing in
|
|
another window will be lost.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 51
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BENCHMARK SCREEN
|
|
|
|
|
|
Snooper's Benchmark screen provides three speed indexes: CPU, Video,
|
|
and Hard drive throughput. They are displayed as both numbers and
|
|
horizontal bar graphs.
|
|
The CPU benchmark is run continually when you're viewing this
|
|
screen. Since the other benchmarks may take several seconds to run,
|
|
they must be invoked by you by pressing a key. If you run benchmarks,
|
|
then return to the Main screen, only to return to the Benchmark
|
|
screen, the benchmark scores will reappear so you needn't run them
|
|
again. You may, of course, run them as may times as you like.
|
|
The scales for the bar graphs adjust automatically for different
|
|
CPUs, and adjust themselves again if the score would exceed the
|
|
default scale for that CPU (i.e., if the system were particularly
|
|
fast for its CPU class). The default scales and graphs are displayed
|
|
in green, in blue if the scales were adjusted again to accommodate
|
|
fast hardware. Snooper's automatic scaling is effectively infinite.
|
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CPU Throughput
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This benchmark test is run continually, a fact you can demonstrate by
|
|
switching your computer in and out of turbo mode. You will see the
|
|
speed in Megahertz, and the benchmark score change. This test is an
|
|
estimate of the speed at which an AT (e.g., a 286 computer) would
|
|
have to run to be as fast as your computer. For example, if the CPU
|
|
throughput score is 150, an AT would have to run at 150 Megahertz to
|
|
keep up with your system.
|
|
Also, during normal operation, you may see a slight fluctuation in
|
|
speed as TSRs briefly gain control of your system (for example, a
|
|
disk cache writing data to a hard drive). You can hold down a key and
|
|
see the key repeat feature slow the system a bit. If you're running
|
|
Snooper under a multitasker such as Microsoft Windows, you may see
|
|
large fluctuations in speed as other programs gain control and
|
|
Windows performs housekeeping functions. All this speed changing is
|
|
normal, and doesn't indicate a problem.
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Video Throughput
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|
When you press the <V>, Snooper performs a video benchmark test. The
|
|
resulting figure shows how fast your computer can display text, in
|
|
thousands of characters per second. This figure is heavily reliant on
|
|
your system's CPU and its speed and the video card. Note this may
|
|
have little correlation to how fast your system draws graphics, or
|
|
how well it would perform under Microsoft Windows. It only measures
|
|
text speed. Obviously, if you're measuring the speed of a system that
|
|
is to be used mostly in DOS, this figure is quite relevant.
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52 Snooper, the system checker
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Disk Throughput
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|
Press <D> to perform the hard drive benchmark on drive one
|
|
(normally C:). This test may take just a few seconds, or it may take
|
|
a minute or more, depending on the hard drive's speed.
|
|
If you have two hard drives, you can press <2> to test the second;
|
|
its score will replace the first's. A number will appear at the left
|
|
of the graph, showing which drive was last tested. Note you must have
|
|
two separate hard drives, not just two partitions on the same drive
|
|
(they would have the same score anyway).
|
|
When discussing hard drive speed, much emphasis has been put on
|
|
average access time--the time it takes for the read/write heads to
|
|
reach a particular cylinder. But this measure is only part of the
|
|
picture. Also important is the speed at which the computer can
|
|
transfer data from the drive to system memory. Snooper's Disk
|
|
Throughput report combines these measures into one. It transfers data
|
|
from the drive into memory, choosing disk areas both randomly and
|
|
sequentially, imitating your hard drive's normal operation. Note that
|
|
for the safety of your data, this test never writes to your drive, it
|
|
only reads, so there's virtually no chance of it damaging your data.
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 53
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|
|
SETUP SCREEN
|
|
|
|
You may change Snooper's color scheme and other defaults by pressing
|
|
<Alt-S> from the Main screen. You will see the Setup screen options
|
|
and a "fake" display to show you what Snooper will look like with a
|
|
color scheme you specify.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Navigating the Setup Screen
|
|
|
|
To move around this screen, press the highlighted letter for the
|
|
option you want. Or use <Tab> and <Shift-Tab> or the arrow keys to
|
|
move the highlight bar. You may have to press the arrow key twice to
|
|
get past the license number and config filename options. Press <+>
|
|
and <-> or <PgUp> and <PgDn> to change the selected option. For the
|
|
license number and filename options, type the text you want and press
|
|
<Enter>.
|
|
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|
|
Mono Mode
|
|
|
|
You can force Snooper to use its black-and-white mode by using
|
|
this option. Normally, Snooper will detect monochrome cards and set
|
|
this default automatically. But you may have a reason to override the
|
|
default. For example, you may have a laptop that emulates a VGA
|
|
display (making Snooper think you have a color monitor) but the
|
|
display is more readable with the black-and-white background. Set
|
|
this option to Yes and Snooper will use its mono background color.
|
|
The default is "Auto," meaning Snooper will try to determine if Mono
|
|
mode is necessary.
|
|
|
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|
|
Desqview Mode
|
|
|
|
Again, Snooper normally knows when to use Desqview mode, but you
|
|
may have a reason to specify this option. For example, if you have an
|
|
old CGA card and you see "snow" when Snooper draws its display. The
|
|
default is "Auto," meaning Snooper decides if Desqview mode is
|
|
needed.
|
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|
Editor
|
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|
|
This option tells Snooper if you want to use its internal editor
|
|
or an external one called EDIT. The default is "Internal."
|
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54 Snooper, the system checker
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Drive
|
|
|
|
You may want Snooper to give you information about a certain drive
|
|
first, without having to specify it on the command line. Perhaps
|
|
you're a systems administrator and despite what drive your users are
|
|
running Snooper from, you want it to show information for their C:
|
|
drive. Use the default disk drive option to specify it. Snooper will
|
|
cycle through all the letters of the alphabet and the word "default."
|
|
Of course, once you're in Snooper, you can change to any drive in the
|
|
system. If Snooper doesn't find the drive you specified when it's
|
|
run, it will show information for the current drive. The default for
|
|
this option is, of course, "Default."
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|
Sounds
|
|
|
|
When you press a wrong key, try to select an invalid drive, or an
|
|
error occurs, Snooper usually beeps. This option is on by default but
|
|
you may turn off all sounds with this option.
|
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|
|
Allow CMOS Editing
|
|
|
|
This invisible option allows you to toggle the function of the CMOS
|
|
screen from editing to simply viewing. If you're a network
|
|
administrator and you want to prevent non-technical users from
|
|
editing their CMOS configurations, simply press <A> ONCE and save the
|
|
configuration file. Subsequent invocations of Snooper will provide a
|
|
CMOS viewer--the CMOS screen will look almost identical, and it can
|
|
be logged like all other screens, but no editing can be performed. To
|
|
revert to CMOS editing mode, return to the Setup screen and press <A>
|
|
once again. Don't forget to save your changes. This option is
|
|
invisible so users can't change the option themselves to use the
|
|
editor. Be careful about letting them see this page of the manual.
|
|
|
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|
|
Colors
|
|
|
|
You can change Snooper's colors to suit your taste. Snooper will
|
|
cycle through the available colors. You can go through them in either
|
|
order by using the <+> and <-> keys. Snooper's "fake" display will
|
|
show you how the real display will look. Remember, you must save your
|
|
changes, exit, then reinvoke Snooper for the changes to take effect.
|
|
|
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|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 55
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|
|
License Number
|
|
|
|
To make that annoying Registration Reminder Screen (RRS) go away
|
|
forever, press <L> and enter the license number we sent you when you
|
|
registered. Be sure to enter the number exactly as it appears or
|
|
Snooper won't accept it (it's awfully picky). After you save your
|
|
work (see below) and exit, Snooper will no longer show its RRS. Your
|
|
license number is shown at the top of the order information screen
|
|
(from the Main screen, press <F1>, <O>).
|
|
|
|
NOTE: After you enter your license number, you probably should save
|
|
your config file under the default name, so it always will be
|
|
available to Snooper. Otherwise, the registration reminders might
|
|
start popping up again. Eeek!
|
|
|
|
It would be foolish, of course, to give your license number away to
|
|
anyone--they should pay, too!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saving Your Changes
|
|
|
|
If you want to quit and not save your changes, press <Esc> and no new
|
|
configuration file will be written.
|
|
If you've made changes you want to keep, you must save them to a
|
|
configuration file. The default configuration filename is always
|
|
displayed. This is the file that was loaded when Snooper was invoked,
|
|
or would have if it existed. To accept the default, simply press <S>,
|
|
then <Enter>. To specify a new file, enter a new filename and press
|
|
<Enter>.
|
|
Snooper will write a config file with the new options, overwriting
|
|
any old file of the same name. To create multiple files, simply enter
|
|
different names at the prompt. Snooper will report if the file was
|
|
successfully saved, or show an error message if it wasn't. If the
|
|
save is successful, the next time you run Snooper, the new options
|
|
will take effect. That's all there is to it!
|
|
When you're done with the Setup screen, press <Esc> to return to
|
|
the Main screen.
|
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|
56 Snooper, the system checker
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|
|
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S AUTHOR
|
|
|
|
We'll take the liberty of assuming some of you want to know a little
|
|
more about Snooper's author. We'll keep it short. The following
|
|
paragraph was written by John Vias, Snooper's principle author.
|
|
"I'm originally from Evanston, Illinois (suburban Chicago) but
|
|
have lived most of my life in Florida. At the University of Florida,
|
|
I earned a degree in English, a fact I hope is reflected in this
|
|
manual. I now own a computer services and technical writing business
|
|
called Vias and Associates (pretty catchy, huh?). Some day, Real Soon
|
|
Now, I expect to move to the West Coast to write about computers,
|
|
combining my favorite hobbies."
|
|
|
|
|
|
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SNOOPER'S CREATION
|
|
|
|
Snooper was developed over hundreds of hours when we probably should
|
|
have been sleeping. Snooper began in February 1987 on an 8 MHz AT
|
|
compatible, then moved on to a 386SX compatible (yuck!). It was
|
|
tested along the way on hundreds of machines. It originally was
|
|
written in Turbo Pascal version 3.01A, and has since been expanded
|
|
under every version through 6.0. Its source code as of this writing
|
|
consists of over 13,000 lines of Pascal, including some BASM
|
|
assembler.
|
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 57
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|
|
|
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
|
|
|
|
Snooper was not created in a vacuum, of course, although John's head
|
|
has been likened to one. Here are a few sources of information we
|
|
used, and for which we are very grateful. We apologize to those we
|
|
forgot to mention. Without them, Snooper would be only . . . well, we
|
|
hate to think about it.
|
|
|
|
PC Magazine (by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company)
|
|
An invaluable source of information about the IBM PC family. A
|
|
great deal about PCs can be learned from its pages. It has helped
|
|
many a programmer.
|
|
|
|
Turbo Pascal 6.0: Techniques and Utilities (by Neil J. Rubenking:
|
|
Ziff-Davis Press, 1991)
|
|
With the help of this book, Snooper's code grows better and more
|
|
efficient by following Mr. Rubenking's advice. Highly recommended
|
|
for anyone who wants to write Turbo Pascal programs.
|
|
|
|
Advanced MS-DOS Programming (by Ray Duncan: MS Press, sec. ed., 1989)
|
|
Written by one of PC Magazine's stable of PC wizards, this book
|
|
was our source for documented BIOS and DOS calls.
|
|
|
|
Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC (by Peter Norton: MS Press, 1985)
|
|
The Programmer's Guide was an excellent reference in Snooper's
|
|
early years. Eventually, we turned to more up-to-date works, but
|
|
Mr. Norton's book did help at first.
|
|
|
|
Ralf Brown (INTERvvx.ZIP)
|
|
(The "vv" is the volume of release and the "x" is "A," "B," or
|
|
"C." Ralf now distributes the list in three files.) An enormous
|
|
list of DOS, BIOS, and program-specific interrupt calls, many
|
|
otherwise undocumented. Quite simply, some of Snooper's reports
|
|
wouldn't exist without it. Very useful in that it reports bugs and
|
|
incompatibilities books rarely mention. And it's free! Be sure to
|
|
check out the book Undocumented DOS, co-written by Ralf.
|
|
|
|
Andrew Rossman (InfoPlus)
|
|
Mr. Rossman maintains a multi-page system information utility.
|
|
From it we got snippets of code and programming techniques.
|
|
|
|
John Fox (EDIT2.PAS)
|
|
Mr. Fox wrote the freeware editor whose source code Snooper uses
|
|
in its internal editor. Thanks, John!
|
|
|
|
Vernon E. Davis, Jr. (TPXMS101.ZIP)
|
|
Author of a Turbo Pascal pre-6.0 unit for using an eXtended Memory
|
|
Manager (e.g., HIMEM.SYS).
|
|
|
|
Yuval Tal (TP6XMS.ZIP)
|
|
Author of a Turbo Pascal 6.0 unit for using an XMM.
|
|
|
|
|
|
58 Snooper, the system checker
|
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|
|
Kenneth Morse
|
|
He downloaded Snooper from Compuserve, read Snooper's wish list,
|
|
and via E-mail, helped us figure out how to detect joysticks and
|
|
RAM disks. Thanks, Kenneth.
|
|
|
|
Greg Barton (sysop, ACCUG BBS)
|
|
Special thanks to Greg Barton, who kindly set up a Snooper
|
|
conference on his BBS, and on short notice.
|
|
|
|
Greg Wrey
|
|
Thanks to Greg Wrey, who beta-tested Snooper on his systems many
|
|
times.
|
|
|
|
Our friends (by their parents)
|
|
Those with more patience than we deserved who helped debug
|
|
Snooper. They ran it on their machines and told what happened
|
|
right before it crashed.
|
|
|
|
All those we forgot to mention
|
|
Those folks who left E-mail or wrote letters, reporting we forgot
|
|
something or shouldn't this be such-and-such.
|
|
|
|
Snooper's Registered Users
|
|
Without the encouragement and support of Snooper's registered
|
|
users and site licensees, John would have given up in disgust and
|
|
moved to a tiny cottage in the hills, forever writing programs for
|
|
his own amusement. Occasionally, when registrations are slow, he
|
|
still threatens to. . . .
|
|
|
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|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 59
|
|
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|
|
|
INDEX
|
|
|
|
A20 Line Status 30
|
|
Acknowledgements 58
|
|
Address, parallel port 44
|
|
Address, serial port 42
|
|
Address, sound card 45
|
|
Advanced Power Management (APM) 27
|
|
Association of Shareware Professionals 2
|
|
AUTOEXEC.BAT, editing 23
|
|
AUTOEXEC.BAT, logging 24
|
|
Benchmark screen 52
|
|
Black-and-white mode switch (B) 16
|
|
Brand, ROM BIOS 34
|
|
Break, DOS 38
|
|
Buffers, DOS 37
|
|
Bugs 25
|
|
Bus 28
|
|
Bus screen 46
|
|
Cache, disk 38
|
|
Central Processing Unit (CPU) 27
|
|
Chip detection bypass switches (C, M) 17
|
|
Clipboard, log to 24
|
|
Cluster size 41
|
|
CMOS drive type 40
|
|
CMOS screen 49
|
|
CMOS Status 50
|
|
Colors, Setup screen 55
|
|
Computer 26
|
|
CONFIG.SYS, editing 23
|
|
CONFIG.SYS, logging 24
|
|
Configuration file (Sfilename]) 17
|
|
Configuring Snooper 54
|
|
Connection 48
|
|
Connections 48
|
|
Consecutive Drive keys 22
|
|
Conventional memory 28
|
|
Conventional Memory, CMOS screen 50
|
|
Coprocessor, CMOS screen 51
|
|
Copyright 12
|
|
CPU speed 27
|
|
CPU Throughput 52
|
|
Current directory 39
|
|
Cylinders 40
|
|
Data bits 43
|
|
Date, ROM BIOS 34
|
|
Date/Time, CMOS screen 50
|
|
Default 48
|
|
Desqview mode switch (D) 16
|
|
Desqview Mode, Setup screen 54
|
|
Device, serial port 43
|
|
Diagnostics screen 42
|
|
|
|
60 Snooper, the system checker
|
|
|
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|
|
Direct Memory Access (DMA) 45
|
|
Directory, current 39
|
|
Disk cache 38
|
|
Disk drive argument (D:) 16
|
|
Disk information 39
|
|
Disk label 39
|
|
Disk Throughput 53
|
|
Display, CMOS screen 51
|
|
DMA 45
|
|
DOS 36
|
|
DOS brand 36
|
|
DOS break 38
|
|
DOS buffers 37
|
|
DOS files 37
|
|
DOS installation 10
|
|
DOS revision 36
|
|
DOS shell 37
|
|
DOS verify 38
|
|
DOS version 36
|
|
Drive letter keys 22
|
|
Drive list 39
|
|
Drive status 40
|
|
Drive type 40
|
|
Drive, Setup screen 55
|
|
Drives 31
|
|
Drives, floppy 31
|
|
Drives, hard 31
|
|
Drives, logical 31
|
|
Drives, physical 31
|
|
Edit CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT keys 23
|
|
Edit SNOOPER.LOG key 23
|
|
Editing AUTOEXEC.BAT 23
|
|
Editing CONFIG.SYS 23
|
|
Editor conventions 23
|
|
Editor, Setup screen 54
|
|
EMM level 30
|
|
EMS memory free 30
|
|
EMS total 30
|
|
Enhanced Memory Manager level 30
|
|
Enhanced Memory Specification total 30
|
|
Environment 36
|
|
Environment free 36
|
|
Environment total 36
|
|
Environment variable, logging 17
|
|
Errorlevel 24
|
|
Examples 19
|
|
Exit key 21
|
|
Ext free 29
|
|
Extended memory 29
|
|
EXtended Memory Manager level 29
|
|
Extended Memory, CMOS screen 50
|
|
Extensions, ROM BIOS 34
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 61
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fax Info 43
|
|
File-editing 22
|
|
Files on this disk 9
|
|
Files, DOS 37
|
|
Floppy 31
|
|
Floppy Drives, CMOS screen 50
|
|
Format, serial port 43
|
|
Free memory 28
|
|
Free space 41
|
|
Free, environment 36
|
|
Game port 33
|
|
Hard 31
|
|
Hard Drives, CMOS screen 50
|
|
Hardware, network card 47
|
|
Heads 40
|
|
Help key 21
|
|
Help switches (H|?) 15
|
|
High Memory Area (HMA) 30
|
|
How to order 14
|
|
IDE drive model 39
|
|
Installation 10
|
|
Interrupt Request (IRQ) 45
|
|
IRQ 45
|
|
IRQ, parallel port 44
|
|
IRQ, serial port 43
|
|
Keyboard 35
|
|
Keyboard present 35
|
|
Keyboard support 35
|
|
Keystrokes 21
|
|
Known bugs and anomalies 25
|
|
Label, disk 39
|
|
Legalities 11
|
|
Liability 12
|
|
License 12
|
|
License Number, Setup screen 56
|
|
Little bit about myself 57
|
|
Little bit about Snooper's creation 57
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Log CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT key 24
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Log CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT switch (F) 19
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Log file environment variable 19
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Log key 23
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Log to Clipboard key 24
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Log to Printer key 24
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Logging switch (L[filename]) 18
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Logical 31
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Main screen 26
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Memory 28
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Memory, A20 line status 30
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Memory, CMOS screen 50
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Memory, conventional 28
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Memory, EMS free 30
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Memory, extended 29
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62 Snooper, the system checker
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Memory, extended free 29
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Memory, free 28
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Memory, HMA 30
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Memory, UMB 30
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Memory, used 29
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Memory, video 33
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Memory, XMS 29
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Monitor type 32
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Mono Mode, Setup screen 54
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Mouse 35
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Mouse brand, driver version 35
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Mouse port 35
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Network 38
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Network address 47
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Network card 47
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Network screen 47
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Network type 47
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Node address 47
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Non-interactive mode switch (N) 16
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Numeric Data Processor (NDP) 27
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Operation 20
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Order/registration key 22
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Ordering 13
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Parallel port IRQ 44
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Parallel ports 33
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Parallel ports, Diags screen 44
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Parity 43
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Philosophy behind Snooper 11
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Physical 31
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Plug-N-Play 34
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Port, game 33
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Port, mouse 35
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Ports 33
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Ports, parallel 33
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Ports, serial 33
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Present, keyboard 35
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Pricing 14
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Quiet mode switch (Q) 16
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Registration 13
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Registration benefits 14
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Requirements 9
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ROM BIOS 34
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ROM BIOS brand 34
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ROM BIOS date 34
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ROM BIOS extensions 34
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Saving Your Changes, CMOS screen 51
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Saving Your Changes, Setup screen 56
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SCSI Host Adapter 39
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Sector size 41
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Sectors/cylinder 40
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Serial port IRQ 43
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Serial ports 33
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Copyright 1989-1993 John Vias 63
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Serial ports, Diags screen 42
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Server 48
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Setup screen 54
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Shell, DOS 37
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Socket 47
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Software, network 48
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Sound card address 45
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Sound cards 34
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Sounds, Setup screen 55
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Speed, serial port 43
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Status, CMOS 50
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Status, drive 40
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Status, parallel port 44
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Stop bits 43
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Support, keyboard 35
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Syntax 15
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Total space 41
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Total, environment 36
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UART 42
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Updates 14
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Upgrading from a Previous Version 11
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Upper Memory Block (UMB) 30
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Used memory 29
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Used space (%) 41
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Used space (bar graph) 41
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Used space (bytes) 41
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User name 47
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Verify, DOS 38
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VESA 32
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VGA adapter brand 32
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Vias & Associates 2
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Video 32
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Video memory 33
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Video Throughput 52
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Video type 32
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Virtual-86 mode 27
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Warranty 12
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What is shareware? 13
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What is Snooper? 8
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Who needs Snooper? 8
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Windows installation 10
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Windows Operation 21
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Wish list 26
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XMM level 29
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XMS memory 29
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64 Snooper, the system checker
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