From: sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu (Timothy F. Sipples)
Subject: OS/2 2.1 Bugs Uncovered
Reply-To: sip1@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: Dept. of Econ., Univ. of Chicago
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 19:59:24 GMT

I'm going to forward a copy of this report to CompuServe.  Here it is
on the Internet for those curious.

----------

Here's a list of OS/2 2.1 beta bugs I have uncovered.  If I've heard
about the bug already it's not listed below.  (Like references to OS/2
Version 2.0 in various places.)

First let me say that I am quite impressed with this beta release.
The only major stumbling block was getting the desktop migrated
properly.  I tried installing OS/2 2.1 beta over an existing OS/2 2.0
(plus Service Pak) installation.  Not recommended, in my opinion.  (I
did delete every OS/2 file I could find, from an OS/2 floppy boot, but
I left the twin INI files and the desktop directories on the hard
disk.  I renamed the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files as well.  The
beta did a decent job bringing the existing desktop forward, but there
were a couple oddities.  Details below.)

(1) "Enable Print Manager" bug.  In Win-OS/2's Control Panel ->
Printers, the "Use Print Manager" checkbox is not functional.  Try the
following:
	1.  Uncheck the checkbox.
	2.  Try to close everything up.  You get "Print Manager is
still running.  You must close Print Manager before you can disable
it."  So far so good.
	3.  Close Printer Manager.
	4.  Close Win-OS/2 desktop.
	5.  Restart Win-OS/2 desktop.
	6.  Print Manager is loaded -- shouldn't happen.
	7.  Go to Win-OS/2's Control Panel -> Printers.
	8.  Check the checkbox.
	9.  You get "Print Manager is still running.  You must close
Printer Manager before you can disable it."  Again, shouldn't happen
-- it makes no sense, since you are reenabling Print Manager at this
point.

(2) The beta fails to recognize a Trident 8900C 512K adapter.  This
adapter supports 640x480 in 256 colors (at least).  SVGA ON, whether
executed by Selective Install or manually, does not list this mode in
SVGADATA.PMI.  The card is recognized only as a 256K adapter.

(3) Sytos Plus still fails to operate under the beta.  (It broke with
the Service Pak.)  Hardware: Compaq 150/250 tape drive (Wangtek 150MB
PC-02 equivalent).  Locks the system hard midway through backup --
CTRL-ALT-DEL, Shutdown, and CTRL-ALT-NumLock all nonfunctional.

(4) Selective Install has a problem.  On this system that fails to
identify a Trident 8900C 512K adapter (problem in BVHSVGA.DLL?),
selecting Selective Install, checking the checkbox next to Primary
Display (to install SuperVGA support) and continuing yields a dialog
that says something like, "Adapter does not support attempted video
mode -- Continue?"  However, this dialog does not appear in the
foreground.  Instead, the Window List pops up and this dialog is
buried beneath another window.

(5) Wrong pointer when flipping through notebook pages.  Select Open
-> Settings for the OS/2 Desktop (by clicking with mouse button two on
the desktop background) or for any print object.  Flip through the
pages by repeated clicking on the right arrow (lower right).  With
both notebooks, the first time the General page is displayed the mouse
pointer is the character insert bar, not the arrow.  Move the mouse
pointer off the arrows, then back on -- now the mouse pointer is the
correct type.  With the OS/2 Desktop notebook, this also occurs on
File page.  Evidentally the mouse pointer is not being properly
initialized on those pages.

(6) Extraneous files dumped in root directory.  These files include:
	XGA$DMQS directory (installed even on non-XGA system)
	ACLLOCK.LST
	ATTRIB
	OS2DUMP
	REXX
	SYMBOLE.FON (also placed in \OS2\INSTALL -- what is this
	file?)

(7) Enabling DELDIR environment variable (DOS, OS/2) causes traps.

(8) Desktop migration problems from previous version.
	(a) Shadow of README file installed in Information Folder even
when it already exists.
	(b) Two duplicate templates installed in Templates Folder.
	(c) Neither Win-OS/2 3.1 Setup object nor notebook settings for
program objects had WIN_RUNMODE (or similar) control; Selective
Install of DOS and Win-OS/2 support required to get it.

(9) Line DEVINFO=SCR,VGA,C:\OS2\VIOTBL.DCP not placed in CONFIG.SYS.

(10) Examples buttons in online Command Reference still require double
click.  (This violates CUA '91 guidelines; buttons should be single
click.  Either change to pale blue hypertext links, perhaps with some
sort of highlighting, or change to single click.)

(11) In the online Command Reference, the MODE COMx information is
vastly improved.  However, there are three inconsistencies that
remain.  In one of the Examples, the TO parameter is described
incorrectly.  The example says that TO=ON enables write infinite
processing (disables the 60 second timeout).  This is not correct, and
it is contrary to the information obtained by double clicking on the
TO parameter in the main screen (which is correct).  Also, the OCTS
Example is incorrect (in similar fashion -- it has it backwards).
This error is duplicated in the example given when you double click on
the OCTS parameter in the main screen and scroll down through the
window.  (The contradiction is made there right in the same window!)

(12) Cosmetic errors in "Start Here" program.
	(a) Start Here -> Customizing Your Desktop
	    "Desktop:description" should be "Desktop, description"
	(b) Start Here -> Doing Everyday Tasks
	    Under "Working with Objects," "Objects:types of" should be
"Objects, types of"
	(c) Start Here -> Using the Help Facility
	    Under "Related information," "Help Menu Bar Choice."
should have the trailing period removed.

(13) At install time, there is no warning message displayed when the
system is building the desktop.  A "Please wait..." would be helpful.

(14) Install still has various problems in user friendliness.  For
example, the Logitech Mouse selection should refer to specific mouse
models (it should say "Logitech C7 and C9 Serial, Mouse Systems PC
Mouse Serial, or Compatibles").  Include some good instructions in the
manual along with this change.  Also, the new master device setup
dialog, while much improved, is still confusing.  It isn't clear how
to make changes -- it takes some time to figure out that you check the
boxes of the items that you want to alter.  It is probably the case
that you want the printer option checked by default.  Also, there are
not enough "Please wait..." messages.  (For example, after migrating
applications and building the Win-OS/2 desktop, you click OK on a
dialog to continue.  This itself is confusing, but then the hard drive
churns for quite some time, interpreting the existing desktop
evidently, with no indication as to what is happening.)

Dialogs also like to pop up at unexpected times.  The classic example
is where you check "Migrate applications" and "Create Win-OS/2
desktop" (or similar) at that dialog, then select OK.  The Win-OS/2
desktop dialog comes up, then, about three seconds later, the Migrate
Applications dialog comes up.  It is easy to get confused here and to
start trying to deal with the Win-OS/2 desktop dialog.

(15) Tutorial violates CUA guidelines.  In the initial screen, it
should have a grayed out "Previous" button to the left of the "Next"
button.  This prevents having to move the mouse after clicking on
"Next."  Might be similar violation at last page of Tutorial (not
checked).

(16) Various references to "Windows" or "Microsoft Windows" instead of
"Win-OS/2" or "IBM Win-OS/2."
	(a) Program Manager -> Help -> Win-OS/2 Tutorial.
	The entire Tutorial refers to "Windows" throughout.  Change,
if possible, to "Win-OS/2."
	(b) Open a DOS full screen command prompt.  Try to execute any
of the applets directly (e.g. PROGMAN).  You get:
	"This program requires Microsoft Windows."
	First off, is there any way to change that message in the
applets you ship to:
	"This program requires IBM Win-OS/2 or Microsoft Windows"?
	Better yet, can you get such applications to run, by starting
up a Win-OS/2 desktop?
        Other, third party applications will contain this wired-in
message, no doubt.  Is there any way to prevent that?  (Getting them
to run would be ideal, of course.)
        (c) The help screens for Registration Info Editor
(REGEDIT.EXE) include references to Windows.  Change to Win-OS/2.
	(d) The following text or Write files refer to Windows 3.1,
Windows, or Microsoft Windows and possibly contain information which
is not applicable to OS/2:
	NETWORKS.WRI
	PRINTERS.WRI
	SYSINI.WRI
	WININI.WRI
	README.ATM
	SETUP.TXT
	(e) Type WINOS2 /R from full screen DOS command line.  Gives
message: "This version of Windows..."  Change to "Win-OS/2."  By the
way, what happened to real mode?

(17) Program Manager -> Help -> About Program Manager.  (Or the About
screens from many other applets.)  "Your serial number label is on the
inside back cover..."  Make darn sure that this manual actually exists
in the shrinkwrap, and that it does indeed contain the serial number
in the specified location.

(18) Print Manager did not start in second, separate Win-OS/2 desktop.
Could not replicate.

(19) Entering WINOS2 from the command line of a DOS window causes that
window to stall (but it can be shut down from the Window List).  Is
there any way to change that behavior?

(20) Starting the "DOS from Drive A:" object in the Command Prompts
folder when there's no floppy disk in the drive results in a task
which cannot be killed from the Window List (although the system keeps
running).  This prevents Shutdown (Shutdown won't go through when
there's a zombie process -- can this be fixed, too?).  Automatic
application restart brings it right back up as well, so the
CTRL-SHIFT-F1 trick at bootup is required to keep it from restarting.

(21) "Win-OS/2 Window" setting (in program object settings) not grayed
out when driver does not support such operation.  (This may be
peculiar to my system due to the aborted driver install, due to the
system's inability to correctly identify a Trident 8900C 512K
adapter.)

(22) Some minor screen corruption problems with full screen Win-OS/2.
Hard to replicate consistently.

(23) Arrange from the Desktop menu does not prompt for "Are you sure?"
Can you add this?  Just add it for any work area -- it isn't
necessary, I think, for regular folders.  How about: "You are about to
Arrange the work area (name; fill in the blank).  Continue?"
OK/Cancel.

(24) Can a confirmation for CTRL-ALT-DEL be added?  I recommend:
"Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the system without saving your desktop,
ESC to abort."

(25) Hard lockup suffered with Copy Disk for Drive B -> CTRL-BREAK
when window appears.  Could not replicate.

(26) Can the Copy Disk feature copy to the same diskette (e.g. Drive A
to Drive A) if the drives use different media sizes?  Better yet, can
this be selectable using a dialog (user selects source and target
drives, OK/Cancel)?

(27) Sometimes text windows (OS/2, DOS) open with the contents of the
window shifted about half a character to the left of the extent of the
borders.  Screen image available on request.

(28) MSD.EXE shipped with Win-OS/2 requires DOS version fake to
operate.  Should add MSD.EXE,5,0,255 to default DOS_VERSION, or remove
the version check in MSD.EXE (best).

(29) Include tab on OS/2 Desktop notebook settings still does not have
page numbers (e.g. "1 of 2") at lower right -- there are two pages for
the Include section.

(30) Type QBASIC /EDIT from a DOS session.  "Cannot find EDIT.HLP
file."  Since QBASIC /EDIT is now included in the migration database
for applications, should this file be added to \OS2\MDOS?

(31) File IBM2M57.ADD placed in \OS2 on non-IBM machines.

(32) Selective Install still prompts for all diskettes, 6 through 19
(on the 3.5 inch set; the corresponding ones in the 5.25 set) even
when it requires only a few or one file from a few or one diskette.
Can this be made more efficient?

That's it for now.

Timothy F. Sipples
Internet: sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu

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