From: sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu (Timothy F. Sipples)
Subject: Re: Paradise drivers, HD slowdown...
Reply-To: sip1@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: Dept. of Econ., Univ. of Chicago
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 17:51:35 GMT

In article <1992Nov15.151652.1235@gossip.urich.edu> millerric@urvax.urich.edu writes:
>	I just found this list, and I have a few questions.
>	I'm using a Dell Precision 486SX/25 with 8MB RAM and a 120-meg HD with
>roughly 5 MB free.  My video card is a Paradise with a full meg installed.
>	Any reason I get worse performance under OS/2 than under
>       Windows?

Yes.  Your hard drive is too full.  Why are you running at 96%
capacity?  Get rid of something.  Your hard drive is going to be
whirring away trying to cope with a hard disk that full, and OS/2
won't be able to create much of a swap file.  Try and free up 10 MB or
more.  (You can start with the OS/2 applets, if you like -- they
aren't strictly necessary.)

Alternatively, get ahold of DCF/2, the OS/2 on-the-fly disk
compression software, to rescue some space.  For information on that
package see the file dcf2info.txt, available via anonymous ftp from
ftp-os2.nmsu.edu, directory /pub/os2/2.0/info.

>	I've installed OS/2 onto my DOS machine so that Dual Boot is enabled. 
>I know this nixes HPFS, but I wanted to save my Windows installation.  Good
>thing too, because as is, I have no SVGA support under OS/2, and my Windows
>apps (forced to run under WINOS2 v3.0 >:-(  ) are sluggish and take forever to
>load (not to mention being forced to convert all my hard-won fonts to ATM
>format).  The DOS boxes are nowhere near as speedy as I was led to believe
>(Wing Commander II barely moves...) and despite all the expensive (well, sorta)
>RAM I added (SIMMs, by the bye, are a bear to install in a Precision; you hafta
>move the power source), I'm constantly getting SWAPPER.DAT errors because of my
>limited HD space.

Precisely.  That's the problem.

You can install Windows SuperVGA support just like you always did (by
replacing the VGA.DRV file).  See the OS/2 FAQ List for details.

On your machine you can get an 800x600-16 color Workplace Shell
desktop.  Get the file vga800-1.zip, available via anonymous ftp from
ftp-os2.nmsu.edu, directory /pub/uploads (but it could move).

To speed up your Win-OS/2 sessions, follow the advice in the FAQ List.
The slow down is only related to the need to reload the Win-OS/2 code.
If you leave a Win-OS/2 desktop running, you can switch to it and
start another Windows application from the Program Manager, if needed,
in no time flat.  The Win-OS/2 full screen settings can also be
optimized to get better performance: try IDLE_SENSITIVITY set to 100,
VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION off, and EMS zero/disabled and XMS to 64K.
(It couldn't hurt to increase DPMI to about 3 or 4 MB.)

Finally, it also wouldn't hurt to defragment your hard disk.  Again,
see the FAQ List for some advice there (and run a CHKDSK /F from an
OS/2 floppy boot afterwards, just to be safe; better yet, enable
autochecking before you go and defragment).

>	Help me out, here.  First, is the WINOS231 beta any good?  Second, why
>does my HD take so long to get anything onscreen?  Third, are there any
>Paradise SVGA drivers out there?  Fourth, how can I get my Windoze apps to
>perform up to snuff?

See above on the last few questions.  The Win-OS/2 3.1 beta, according
to reports, is very good indeed -- most people seem to say that it
outperforms Windows 3.1 itself.  Wait for the real update, though,
which should be late this year or early next.  In the meantime, I
think you'll be much happier with the suggestions I've made above.

>    	Thanks for the shoulder, but I want OS/2 to be the way to go and thus
>far it's only been a pain.
>	Thanks and apologies of there are any FAQs here.  I read them, up to
>2.0g, and wasn't helped.  (I may just be dain-bread).

Hopefully my pointers will get you thinking again.  :-)

-- 
Timothy F. Sipples      | Read the OS/2 FAQ List 2.0g, available from
sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu | 128.123.35.151, anonymous ftp, in /pub/os2/all/info
Dept. of Econ., Univ.   | /faq, or from LISTSERV@BLEKUL11.BITNET (send "HELP")
of Chicago, 60637       | [Read the List, THEN post to ONE OS/2 newsgroup.]