From: sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu (Timothy F. Sipples)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: OS/2 2.0 "Buglet" Report
Date: 12 Apr 92 02:00:44 GMT
Reply-To: sip1@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: Dept. of Econ., Univ. of Chicago

OS/2 2.0 Buglets 
by Timothy F. Sipples 
 
Now that I have had a few days to experiment with OS/2 2.0 
GA, I thought I'd offer a list of "buglets" I've encountered 
to see if others can replicate them (and to get them 
incorporated into the first CSD).  Bear in mind that there 
are a lot of "hits" with OS/2 2.0, and the misses are, for 
the most part, rather minor. 
 
Hardware:  AMD386-40, Forex chipset, AMI BIOS, 8 MB RAM, 
1.44 MB 3.5 inch Chinon floppy drive (A), 1.2 MB 5.25 inch 
Teac floppy drive (B), DTC 7287 hard disk/floppy disk 
adapter, Microscience HH-1120 hard disk drive, Wyse two 
serial (16450 UARTs)/one parallel I/O adapter. 
 
(1)  Communications performance lacking in DOS sessions.  
DOS communications programs, at 4800 bps or even slower, 
tend to encounter errors in background file transfers, at 
least with 16450 UART serial ports.  Telix, QModem, and 
others all have this problem.  OS/2 communications programs 
do not share this problem.  Adjusting DOS settings does not 
seem to help.  Not enough testing done with Windows 
communications programs to verify if they have the same 
problem.  Problem particularly acute with disk access.  
Hardware handshaking in both the modem and OS/2 2.0 has been 
enabled (RTS=HS as well) with no improvement (DOS 
communications programs themselves also configured for 
hardware handshaking.) 
 
(2)  Improper saving of desktop state at Shutdown.  
Applications which were closed before Shutdown are sometimes 
restarted after a Shutdown and reboot.  Also, the positions 
of desktop objects are not always saved correctly.  
Workaround: Sometimes selecting Refresh just before Shutdown 
helps. 
 
(3)  Error in IBM1S506.ADD making installation difficult on 
some ISA machines with RLL, MFM, and ESDI adapters.  
Workaround: Follow instructions posted previously on getting 
OS/2 2.0 to install using IBMINT13.I13 driver. 
 
(4)  Jerky mouse movement in Win-OS/2 full screen session.  
The mouse tracking in a Win-OS/2 full screen session 
defaults to "Slow."  Adjusting this setting upward using the 
Win-OS/2 Control Panel helps alleviate the problem, but not 
completely.  Situation arises with Logitech serial mouse and 
may occur with other mice.  Background communications worsen 
the problem. 
 
(5)  Mouse tracking "slow" in DOS programs (e.g. Framework 
III, QBASIC) that use the mouse.  It takes too much mouse 
movement to move the pointer, and sometimes pointer movement 
can be jerky.  Similar to (4). 
 
(6)  Program XANIM.EXE, when run from a DOS window, crashes 
system with TRAP 000E.  This program attempts to reprogram 
VGA registers.  Source code for this program contained in 
issues of last year's Dr. Dobb's Journal.  Program works 
fine when run in a full screen session, but Alt-Home will 
crash the system with the same TRAP 000E. 
 
(7)  Possible floppy disk problems.  I have not been able to er. 
 
(8)  FORMAT bug.  FORMAT /? does not generate help. 
 
(9)  Occasional desktop screen disruption when switching 
among full screen sessions.  Workaround: Selecting Refresh 
from desktop menu repaints the screen. 
 
(10)  SVGA ON results in CGA-like "snow," at least on 
Trident 8900C setup. 
 
(11)  Is there any way to adjust border width for OS/2 or 
Windows programs running o 
Apparently Shutdown is not properly closing the swap file. 
 
(13)  Box selection of desktop objects too difficult.  Box 
has to be drawn larger than expected. 
 
(14)  CHKDSK occasionally appears to "freeze" when running 
through percentage of disk checked (at last stage of 
process).  It actually is extremely slow and does eventually 
complete the check. 
 
(15)  DOS and Win-OS/2 features are poorly (if at all) 
documented, in the Command Reference or elsewhere. 
 
(16)  In the OS/2 Command Reference, double (instead of 
single) clicking is required for Examples buttons.  (Buttons 
should always be single click.) 
 
(17)  Examples for COM.SYS driver in Command Reference 
extremely confusing and refer to drivers that don't exist. 
 
(18)  Selection of mouse model at installation extremely 
confusing.  No obvious selection for Mouse Systems, nor 
should every Logitech owner be selecting the Logitech Mouse 
option.  A reworking of this screen is in order (by listing 
specific mouse models for example). 
 
(19)  "MOUSE PC" on a DOS dualboot or multiboot system still 
required for certain Logitech mouse users.  Mouse may not be 
found at boot time if the mouse was "used" by native 
DOS/Windows previously. 
 
(20)  Setting up OS/2 for an HP DeskJet printer is 
completely undocumented. 
 
(21)  System menu for objects (windows) on the desktop can 
be "chopped off" at the bottom of the screen if the window 
is positioned too low.  (Note that I don't know of a good 
fix for this problem -- the menu can be quite long, and 
sometimes it doesn't make sense to "flip" it either upward 
or downward.) 
 
(22)  Moving objects difficult.  Mouse button two does not 
"stick" fast enough.  User must hold down mouse button two 
over object for a good while before moving the mouse. 
 
(23)  Hatch marks are displayed for programs which have been 
closed and are no longer running.  The problem seems 
particularly acute for Windows programs. 
 
(24)  Disabling the Win-OS/2 Print Manager is resisted (when 
it should, in fact, default to that state because the OS/2 
spooler is really in charge) with a dialog box.  Workaround: 
first uncheck "Use Print Manager" in the Printers section of 
the Win-OS/2 Control Panel.  Close the Win-OS/2 session.  
Using a text editor, remove ",!printman" from the end of the 
MAVDMApps line in \OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM.INI. 
 
(25)  DIRCMD environment variable ignored in DOS command 
line sessions using DIR command.  (Should this work?  It 
isn't documented, and it does work for OS/2 sessions.) 
 
(26)  When dragging (moving) program object (or other item) 
to a program group (or folder), the object is often placed 
on top of another object in the group (folder).  Opening the 
group (folder) and selecting Arrange within the window 
eliminates the overlapping objects. 
 
(27)  Seamless Windows programs sometimes have problems 
getting keyboard focus.  For example, switch to an OS/2 
task.  Press CTRL-ESC.  Select running "seamless" Win-OS/2 
program (say, Microsoft Word 1.1) using the keyboard and 
ENTER.  Title bar of Windows program colored correctly, but 
program does not have keyboard focus.  Clicking once on the 
title bar for that session gives it focus. 
 
(28)  Clipboard dialog message uses confusing double 
negative.  "Some private formats not exported; do you want 
NOT to receive this message again?  <Yes>  <No>" 
 
 
 
Please let me know if you can confirm these, and please let 
me know if you uncover more "buglets." 
 
T.F.S. 
 
-- 
Timothy F. Sipples       Keeper of the OS/2 Frequently Asked Questions
sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu  List, available via anonymous ftp from
Dept. of Economics       128.123.35.151, directory pub/os2/faq, or via
Univ. of Chicago  60637  netmail from LISTSERV@BLEKUL11.BITNET.
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc