Help Index
Elana Index

Commands

File Menu

System.ini menu

Windows menu

Help menu

Glossary

Defined Terms

Procedures

Changing the startup logo

Changing programs to run or load

Changing system.ini file name

Communications settings

Creating back-up

DISK drive settings

EMS memory settings

Enabling or disabling warnings

Exiting

Flush win.ini file cache

Memory settings

Network settings

Non-Windows programs settings

Other settings that I could not think of where to put them

Problems with com ports

Standard mode settings

About the elana program

About elana


File Menu

The File menu includes commands that enable you to change the preferences for Elana and to exit the program.

For more information, select the File menu command name.

Preferences

System setup

Control panel

Register

Exit


Windows startup menu
Windows menu

Use the Windows startup menu to change the startup logo, run programs and load programs.

For more information; select the appropriate menu command name

Change logo

Change programs that startup

Edit wini.ini file

Flush win.ini cache

Associations


Help menu

Use the help menu to access the Windows help system and to see the about box.

For more information; select the appropriate menu command name

About elana


System.ini Menu

The system.ini menu includes all the commands that you use to access the dialogue boxes to adjust the Windows system settings.

For more information; select the appropriate menu command name

NonWindows

Standard

386 Enhanced


Glossary

386 Enhanced

Standard mode

System.ini file

RLE Files

Load programs

Run programs

Associations


Exiting

To exit Elana use the exit command from the file menu.


File Exit Command
File, Exit Command

Use this command to exit Elana.  You can also exit Elana by using the Windows standard hot key sequence of ALT-F4.


File menu preferences command.
File, preferences Command

Use this command to alter the preferences that elana uses.

System.ini file name

You can alter the name of the system.ini file so that you may experiment with the settings for Windows.  Elana will search in the Windows directory for this file.  Do not put a path specification on the system.ini file name.  Elana will create or edit the file in the windows directory.

Create back-ups

If you enable the create back-ups files check box then:-

Elana will create a file with the same name and a extension of .bak whenever Elana adjusts one of the system settings.  Elana will back-ups the win.com, win.ini and the system.ini file.

Delete default ini file entries

If you enable the delete default ini file entries then:-

Each ini file entry that matches the default value that entry will be deleted from the ini file.

Enable warnings

Some of the things Elana can do to your system.ini file may make Windows unstable (read stuffed), so Elana will warn you before you try to do this.  If you don't like to be warned then uncheck this option.

NOTE:  Elana will warn you even if the changes may not make Windows unstable.

Storage of preferences

Elana preferences will be stored in the win.ini file under the [Elana] heading.  The following table lists the names and uses of the preferences.

system.ini	:name of the system.ini file, default is system.ini.

deldefault	:1 or 0, 1 to delete default ini file settings, 0 to write all settings.

backups	:1 or 0, 1 will backup all changed files, 0 no backups

warnings	:1 or 0, 1 will enable warnings, 0 no warnings.

To use: Select this command from the menu.


File menu system setup command.
File, system setup Command

Use this command to run the system setup program


File menu control panel command.
File, control panel Command

Use this command to run the control panel program


File menu registration command.
File, registration Command

Use this command to print a registration form.


Windows startup, change logo command
Windows, change logo command

Use this command to change the logo that Windows displays when it startups.

How to change the startup logo.

1.	By using the list of files and directory choose the RLE format file that you wish to use as the startup logo.

2.	Double click on the selected file name or press the OK button.

3.	The startup logo will now be changed bearing in mind any errors that may occur.

4.	Start Windows again to view your new startup logo.

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Logo icon.

NOTE

You must use a RLE file that has been created specifically for your graphics adapter.


Windows startup, change startup programs command
Windows, change startup programs command

Use this command to change the programs that Windows loads or runs when it startups.

How to change the startup programs.

1.	Select the appropriate program list.

2.	Press the + button to add a program to the list.

3.	Press the - button to remove the selected program from the list.

4.	Press the OK button to save the changes.

The programs on the run= and load= line can be separated by a comma (,), tab (\t) or space.

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Start icon.


Windows startup, edit win.ini command
Windows, edit win.ini command.

Use this command to execute notepad.exe with win.ini as the file to edit.

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the WinIni icon.


Windows startup, flush win.ini cache command
Windows, Flush win.ini cache.

This command is used to flush the win.ini file cache.

Notes:

Windows will store win.ini settings in an internal cache to speed up the reading and setting of these options.  Often when you change an option in the win.ini file some applications seem to take no notice of these changes.  This is because the settings have been stored in the cache and Windows has not reread the win.ini file.  By using this command the win.ini cache will be flushed and Windows will read from the win.ini file next time it is asked to read an option.

This command will also send a message to all applications telling them that the win.ini file has changed and to please reread your stored win.ini file options.

To use: Select this command from the menu.


Windows startup, associations command
Windows, associations.

Use this command to edit the file extension associations stored in win.ini.

To edit an existing association:

1.	Select the association from the list of associations.

2.	Edit the association extension or program using the edit windows.  Choose a new program to associate with the extension by clicking on the find program button.

3.	Click on the update association button to save your changes.

To delete an existing association:

1.	Select the association from the list of associations.

2.	Click on the delete association button.

To create a new association:

1.	Type in the new association information into the edit windows.  Choose a new program to associate with the extension by clicking on the find program button.

2.	Click on the new association button.

To save the changes to the association information click on the OK button

To use: Select this command from the menu.


System.ini Standard Command.

Use this command to alter the system file settings that are used in Standard mode.

Dialogue settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Standard icon.


System.ini NonWindows Command

Use this command to alter the system file settings that are used when non Windows programs are running.

Dialogue settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the NonWin icon.


System.ini 386 enhanced command.
System.ini 386 Enhanced command

Use this command to alter the system file settings that are used when Windows is running in 386 Enhanced mode.

When selecting this command you will be presented with a submenu that shows all the commands that can be selected when adjusting 386 enhanced mode settings.

For more information select the appropriate following menu command.

Communications

Memory

EMS memory

Networks

Keyboard

Disk

Other


386 enhanced, communications
386 Enhanced, Communications command

Use this menu command to adjust communications settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Comms icon.


386 enhanced, memory menu
386 Enhanced, memory command

Use this menu command to adjust the memory settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Mem icon.


386 enhanced, EMS memory menu
386 Enhanced, EMS memory command

Use this menu command to adjust the EMS memory settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the EMS icon.


386 enhanced, networks menu
386 Enhanced, Networks command

Use this menu command to adjust the networks settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Net icon.


386 enhanced, keyboard menu
386 Enhanced, Keyboard command

Use this menu command to adjust the networks settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Key icon.


386 enhanced, disk menu
386 Enhanced, Disk command

Use this menu command to adjust the disk settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Disk icon.


386 enhanced, other menu
386 Enhanced, Other command

Use this menu command to adjust all the other settings that Windows uses in 386 enhanced mode.

Dialogue box settings

To use: Select this command from the menu or double click on the Other icon.


Dialogue box settings for communications
Communications dialogue box settings.

Boost time

Com1 base address	Com1 buffer

Com2 base address	Com2 buffer

Com3 base address	Com3 buffer

Com3 base address	Com4 buffer

Com1 IRQ	com1 Protocol

Com2 IRQ	com2 Protocol

Com3 IRQ	com3 Protocol

Com4 IRQ	com4 Protocol

IRQ Sharing

Grab LPT ports

Communication port problems

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Boost time dialogue box setting.
Communications, Boost time

COMBoostTime=<milliseconds>

Default: 2

Purpose: Specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds) to allow a virtual machine to process a COM interrupt. If a communications application is losing keyboard characters on the display, you can try increasing this value.


Com base address dialogue box setting.
Communications, Com base address

COM1Base=<port>

COM2Base=<port>

COM3Base=<port>

COM4Base=<port>

Default: COM1Base=3F8h; COM2Base=2F8h; COM3Base=2E8h; COM4Base=2E0h

Purpose: Specifies the base (first) port for the serial port adapter you are using. Check your hardware documentation for the appropriate value.

Communication port problems


Communication problems.
Communications, Com port problems

For those having problems with Com3 and Com4:

Summary:

The following table depicts the standard settings for the four communications ports that Windows 3.0 and DOS (4.01)support. This information will be useful for trouble shooting Communications problems under Windows 3.0. A brief description for each column appears below the table.

     | (WIN3 COMM.DRV)|  WIN3  DEFAULT   |   WIN3 DESIRED

     |   PROCOM PLUS  | SYS.INI SETTINGS | SYS.INI SETTINGS

Port | I/O range  IRQ |I/O range     IRQ |I/O range      IRQ

-+-- |----------------|------------------|------------------

     |                |    [386ENH]      |     [386ENH]

COM1 |    3F8h     4  | COM1BASE=3F8h  4 | COM1BASE=3F8h   4

COM2 |    2F8h     3  | COM2BASE=2F8h  3 | COM2BASE=2F8h   3

COM3 |    3E8h     4  | COM3BASE=2E8h  4 | COM3BASE=3E8h   4

COM4 |    2E8h     3  | COM4BASE=2E0h  3 | COM4BASE=2E8h   3

The first column lists the ports. The second column describes the settings for the ports that both the WindowsCOMM.DRV and most popular communications packages use by default. The third column shows what Windows 3.0 sets by default and the fourth column shows what should be set in the [386ENH] section of the SYS.INI file for proper functioning of the ports under Enhanced Mode Win3.

More Information:

The headings I/O range specify the Base Port Addresses for the respective ports. IRQ represents the normal interrupts used in IBM-AT compatible computers and should not be changed under normal conditions. Under Windows 3.0 EnhancedMode you can change the Base Port addresses, IRQ lines, ComProtocol and COM IRQ sharing.

Troubleshooting Communications Problems under Win3:

1. You can use two Com ports simultaneously that share the same interrupt (e.g. COM1 & COM3, or COM2 & COM4) in most cases if the hardware is capable of it. The ability to shareCOM Port IRQs is very hardware dependent. Presently, the only hardware that you can be assured that IRQ sharing is supported on is MicroChannel. Although EISA(Extended Industry Standard Architecture) does have IRQ sharing as part of its specifications - implementation on current machines is spotty. If you are unable to successfully share an IRQ with the IRQ Sharing switch set to true, the hardware does not support IRQ sharing and Windows 3.0 is not able to overcome the lack of support for this feature using software.

2. Com3 and Com4 may not be reliable under Win3 (Standard and Real) Unless BOTH Com1 AND Com2 are first activated.So if you use only Com3 and/or Com4 you may experience problems (printing, communications, mouse). If you use Com1and Com3 without using Com2 you may have problems. The easiest way to remember this is to not use a higher serialport (2,3 or 4) unless all lower number ports (1,2 and 3)are first activated (or in use).

3. Standard and Real Mode Win3 use the COMM.DRV directly whereas Enhanced Mode Win3 Virtualizes the ports using a device called the "Virtual Com Driver" or VCD. For this reason serial communication can theoretically be considered more reliable under Standard and Real mode because there can be no miscommunication between the VCD and the COMM.DRV. In cases where you are using multiple Com ports under Win3Enhanced Mode, verify that the Base Port Addresses are set as described in the table located earlier in this section.


Com buffer dialogue box setting.
Communications, Com buffer

COM1Buffer=<characters>

COM2Buffer=<characters>

COM3Buffer=<characters>

COM4Buffer=<characters>

Default: 128

Purpose: Specifies the number of characters that will be buffered by the device on the corresponding communications port. Before changing one of these settings, make sure the corresponding COMxProtocol setting has the proper value. Buffering may slow down communications on a port, but might be necessary to prevent some communications applications from losing characters at high baud rates. The size of the buffer required will depend on the speed of the machine and the application's needs. Before increasing this value, see the COMxProtocol setting.


Com IRQ dialogue box setting.
Communications, Com IRQ

COM1Irq=<number>

COM2Irq=<number>

COM3Irq=<number>

COM4Irq=<number>

Default: COM1Irq=4; COM2Irq=3; COM3Irq=4; COM4Irq=3

Purpose: Specifies which interrupt line is being used by the device on the specified communications port. Check your hardware documentation for the appropriate value. Setting a value to -1 disables input for that COM port. You would do this only if there is a hardware conflict between ports.

Communication port problems


Com XON dialogue box setting.
Communications, XON Protocol

Check box checked equals the XOFF entry.

COM1Protocol=<XOFF-or-blank>

COM2Protocol=<XOFF-or-blank>

COM3Protocol=<XOFF-or-blank>

COM4Protocol=<XOFF-or-blank>

Default: (Default is no entry, which is the same as any entry other than XOFF)

Purpose: Specifies whether Windows in 386 enhanced mode should stop simulating characters into a virtual machine after the virtual machine sends an XOFF character. Set the value for a port to XOFF if a communications application using that port is losing characters while doing text transfers at high baud rates. Windows will resume simulating characters when the virtual machine sends another character after the XOFF character. Leave this setting disabled if the application is doing binary data transfers; enabling this switch might suspend binary transmissions. Windows will not check for XOFF characters if this setting is blank or set to anything other than XOFF. If the application continues to lose characters after this setting is properly set, try increasing the corresponding COMxBuffer value.


IRQ sharing dialogue box setting.
Communications, IRQ sharing

Check box checked equals true.

COMIrqSharing=<Boolean>

Default: true for Micro Channel (TM) and EISA machines; false for all other machines

Purpose: Specifies whether COM IRQs will be sharable between multiple communications ports or with other devices. Enable this switch if your machine uses the same interrupt for COM3 or COM4 as it does for COM1 or COM2.

The default for Elana is false in all cases.


Grab LPT ports dialogue box setting.
Communications Grab LPT ports

SGrabLPT=<port-number>

Default: none

Purpose: Routes all printer interrupts on the specified port to the system virtual machine rather than to the current virtual machine.

Enter a number from 1 to 3 to specify the routing printer port number.


Dialogue box settings for memory
Memory dialogue box settings.

Map Physical Address

KB required

Memory size

Max Paging Size

Paging

Paging Drive

Permanent VM Files

PSP Increment

System Virtual Memory Virtual 86 Locked

XMS Limit

XMS Locked

XMS Required

DMA Buffer in 1 MB

DMA Buffer size

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Map physical address dialogue box setting.
Memory, Map Physical Address

MapPhysAddress=<range>

Default: none

Purpose: Specifies the address range (in megabytes) in which the memory manager will preallocate physical page-table entries and linear address space. Use this setting if you are using a DOS device driver (such as an older version of RAMDrive that uses extended memory) that needs this contiguous memory.


Memory kb required dialogue setting.
Memory, KB required

WindowKBRequired=<kilobytes>

Default: 256

Purpose: Specifies how much conventional memory (in kilobytes) must be free in order to start Windows.


Memory size dialogue setting.
Memory, Memory size

WindowMemSize=<number-or-kilobytes>

Default: -1

Purpose: Limits the amount of conventional memory Windows can use for itself. The default value (-1) indicates that Windows can use as much of this space as it needs. You can try entering a positive value less than 640 if there is not enough memory to run Windows in 386 enhanced mode.


Map maximum paging size dialogue box setting.
Memory, Max Paging Size

MaxPagingFileSize=<kilobytes>

Default: none

Purpose: Specifies the maximum size (in kilobytes) for a temporary swap file.


Memory paging dialogue setting.
Memory, paging

Check box checked equals yes.

Paging=<Boolean>

Default: yes

Purpose: Enables or disables demand paging (virtual memory). You would disable this setting only if you need the disk space normally used for a temporary swap file.


Memory paging drive dialogue setting.
Memory, paging drive

PagingDrive=<drive-letter>

Default: none

Purpose: Specifies the disk drive where Windows in 386 enhanced mode will allocate a temporary swap file. This setting is ignored if you have a permanent swap file. If you don't have a permanent swap file and no drive is specified or the specified drive does not exist, Windows will attempt to put your temporary swap file on the drive containing your SYSTEM.INI file. If the specified drive is full, paging will be disabled.


Memory permanent VM files dialogue setting.
Memory, Permanent VM Files

PerVMFILES=<number>

Default: 10

Purpose: Specifies the number of private file handles Windows should allocate to each virtual machine. Increase this value if an application does not have enough file handles to run. The total number of file handles, including the global handles specified in the FILES= statement in CONFIG.SYS, cannot exceed 255. If it does exceed 255, this value will be rounded down. Set this value to 0 to prevent the allocation of any private file handles.


Memory PSP increment dialogue setting.
Memory, PSP Increment

PSPIncrement=<number>

Default: 2

Purpose: Specifies the amount of additional memory, in 16-byte increments, that Windows should reserve in each successive virtual machine when the UniqueDOSPSP setting is enabled. The setting that will work best for your machine might vary depending on your memory configuration and the applications you are running. Valid values are 2 through 64. See UniqueDosPSP for more information.


System virtual memory virtual 8086 locked dialogue setting.
Memory, System Virtual Memory Virtual 86 Locked

Check box checked equals true.

SysVMV86Locked=<Boolean>

Default: false

Purpose: If enabled, causes the virtual-mode memory being used in the system virtual machine to remain locked in memory rather that being swappable out to disk. Because Windows handles this process, there is no known reason to enable this setting.


System XMS limit dialogue setting.
Memory, XMS Limit

SysVMXMSLimit=<kilobytes>

Default: 2048

Purpose: Specifies the maximum amount of memory (in kilobytes) the extended memory driver will allocate to DOS device drivers and memory- resident software in the system virtual machine. Set the value to -1 to give an application all the available extended memory that it requests.


XMS locked dialogue setting.
Memory, XMS Locked

Check box checked equals yes.

SysVMXMSLocked=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: Indicates whether to swap the memory allocated by the extended memory driver to the hard disk. Locking the XMS memory (enabling this setting) can improve an application's performance, but it slows down the rest of the system.


XMS required dialogue setting.
Memory, XMS Required

SysVMXMSRequired=<kilobytes>

Default: 0

Purpose: Specifies how many kilobytes of extended memory must be reserved by the XMS driver in order to start Windows. Leave this setting at zero if there are no XMS users in the system virtual  machine.


DMA buffer in 1mb dialogue setting.
Memory, DMA Buffer in 1 MB range

Check box checked equals yes.

DMABufferIn1MB=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: Indicates, if enabled, that the direct memory access (DMA) buffer memory should be in the first 1MB of memory (above 640K, if possible) in order to be compatible with 8-bit bus master cards.


DMA buffer size dialogue setting.
Memory, DMA Buffer size

DMABufferSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 16

Purpose: Specifies the amount of memory (in kilobytes) to be reserved for buffered direct memory access (DMA). This memory will be allocated above 640K, if possible. Windows in 386 enhanced mode will default to a DMA buffer size that will handle disk access.


Dialogue box settings for EMS Memory
EMS memory dialogue box settings.

Dialogue box settings.

No EMM driver

Reserve page frame

System Virtual EMS limit

System Virtual EMS locked

System Virtual EMS required

EMM size

Ignore installed EMS driver

EMM Include

EMM Exclude

EMM Page Frame

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


EMS no EMM driver dialogue setting.
EMS memory, No EMM driver

Check box checked equals true.

NoEMMDriver=<Boolean>

Default: false

Purpose: If enabled, prevents Windows in 386 enhanced mode from installing its expanded memory driver. This differs from setting EMMSize to zero, which does not prevent the EMM driver from being loaded.


EMS reserve page frame dialogue setting.
EMS memory, Reserve page frame

Check box checked equals true.

ReservePageFrame=<Boolean>

Default: true

Purpose: Tells Windows whether to give preference to EMS page frame space or conventional memory when it has to use one of the two to allocate DOS transfer buffers. This choice is necessary when Windows can not find space between 640K and 1MB other than EMS page frame space. If enabled, this setting will preserve EMS page frame space at the expense of conventional memory. If you are not going to run non-Windows applications that use expanded memory, you can disable this setting to give non-Windows applications more conventional memory.


EMS system vmem limit dialogue setting.
EMS memory, System Virtual EMS limit

SysVMEMSLimit=<kilobytes>

Default: 2048

Purpose: Specifies how many kilobytes of expanded memory Windows should be permitted to use. Setting this value to 0 prevents Windows from gaining access to any expanded memory. Setting it to -1 gives Windows all the available expanded memory that it requests.


EMS system vmem locked dialogue setting.
EMS memory, System Virtual EMS locked

Check box checked equals yes.

SysVMEMSLocked=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: Indicates whether to swap Windows' expanded memory to the hard disk. Locking expanded memory can improve the performance of a Windows application that uses it, but locking it slows down the rest of the system.


EMS system vmem required dialogue setting.
EMS memory, System Virtual EMS required

SysVMEMSRequired=<kilobytes>

Default: 0

Purpose: Specifies how many kilobytes of expanded memory must be free in order to start Windows. Leave this setting at zero if no Windows application requires expanded memory.


EMS EMM size dialogue setting.
EMS memory, EMM size

EMMSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 65,536

Purpose: Specifies the total amount of memory to be made available for mapping as expanded memory. The default allocates the maximum possible amount of system memory as expanded memory. You should specify a value for this setting if you run an application that allocates all of the available expanded memory. This will be apparent if, when you run the application, you can never create any new virtual machine. If this value is zero, then no expanded memory will be allocated, but the EMM driver will be loaded. This setting does not prevent the EMM driver from being loaded; use the NoEMMDriver to disable EMM.


EMS ignore installed EMS driver dialogue setting.
EMS memory, Ignore installed EMS driver

Check box checked equals yes.

IgnoreInstalledEMM=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: If enabled, this setting allows Windows to start in 386 enhanced mode even when there is an unknown expanded memory manager (EMM) running. This can cause the system to fail if memory- resident software was using EMM before Windows started. Enable this setting only if no such software is installed or you are sure it will not be active when you are running Windows. This setting applies only to expanded memory managers servicing physical EMS hardware; Windows will not disable unrecognized 80386 expanded memory emulators.


EMM Include dialogue setting.
EMS, EMM Include

EMMInclude=<paragraph-range>

Default: none

Purpose: Specifies a range of memory that Windows will scan for unused address space regardless of what may be there. EMMInclude takes precedence over EMMExclude  if you specify ranges that overlap. The range (two values separated by a hyphen) must be between A000 and EFFF. The starting value is rounded down and the ending value is rounded up to a multiple of 16K.  For example, you could set EMMInclude=C800-CFFF to ensure that Windows scans the addresses C800:0000 through CFFF:000F. You may specify more than one range by including more than one EMMInclude line.

Elana can not specify or edit more than one EMMInclude line.  If you need more than one EMMInclude line then use an editor to change your system.ini file.


EMM Exclude dialogue setting.
EMS, EMM Exclude

EMMExclude=<paragraph-range>

Default: none

Purpose: Specifies a range of memory that Windows will not scan to find unused address space. This has the side effect of turning off the RAM and ROM search code for the range. The range (two paragraph values separated by a hyphen) must be between A000 and EFFF. This scanning can interfere with some adapters that use the same memory area. The starting value is rounded down and the ending value is rounded up to a multiple of 16K. For example, you could set EMMExclude=C800-CFFF to prevent Windows from scanning the addresses C800:0000 through CFFF:000F. You can specify more than one range by including more than one EMMExclude line.

Elana can not specify or edit more than one EMMExclude line.  If you need more than one EMMExclude line then use an editor to change your system.ini file.


EMM page frame dialogue setting.
EMS, EMM Page Frame

EMMPageFrame=<paragraph>

Default: none

Purpose: Specifies the starting paragraph where the 64K page frame will begin when Windows in 386 enhanced mode cannot find a suitable page frame. Allows an EMM page frame in an area containing some unused RAM or ROM. For example, you could set EMMPageFrame=C400 to start the page frame at C400:0000.


Dialogue box settings for networks
Networks dialogue box settings.

Dialogue settings

DMA size

Fall back

Heap size

Timeout

Token ring search

Unique DOS PSP

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Network DMA size dialogue setting.
Network, DMA size

NetDMASize=<kilobytes>

Default: 32 on Micro Channel (TM) machines 0 on non-Micro Channel machines

Purpose: Specifies the DMA buffer size (in kilobytes) for NetBIOS transport software if a network has been installed. In this case, the buffer size is the larger value between this value and the value of DMABufferSize.


Network fall back dialogue setting.
Network, Fall back

Check box checked equals true.

NetAsynchFallback=<Boolean>

Default: false

Purpose: If enabled, tells Windows to attempt to save a failing NetBIOS request. When an application issues an asynchronous NetBIOS request, Windows will attempt to allocate space in its global network buffer to receive the data. If there is insufficient space in the global buffer, Windows will normally fail the NetBIOS request. If this setting is enabled, Windows will attempt to save such a request by allocating a buffer in local memory and preventing any other virtual machines from running until the data is received and the timeout period (specified by the NetAsynchTimeout setting) expires.


Network heap size dialogue setting.
Network, Heap size

NetHeapSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 12

Purpose: Specifies the size (in kilobytes) of the buffers that Windows in 386 enhanced mode allocates in conventional memory for transferring data over a network. All values are rounded up to the nearest 4K.


Network time out dialogue setting.
Network, Timeout

NetAsynchTimeout=<seconds>

Default: 5.0

Purpose: Specifies the timeout period (in seconds) when Windows needs to enter a critical section in order to service an asynchronous NetBIOS request. It is used only when NetAsynchFallback is enabled. This value can include a decimal (such as 0.5).


Network token ring search dialogue setting.
Network, Token ring search

Check box checked equals yes.

TokenRingSearch=<Boolean>

Default: true

Purpose: Tells Windows whether to search for a token ring network adapter on machines with IBM PC/AT (R) architecture. Disable this setting if you are not using a token ring card and the search interferes with another device.


Network unique DOS PSP setting.
Network, Unique DOS PSP

Check box checked equals 1.

UniqueDOSPSP=<Boolean>

Default: false (see below for exception)

Purpose: If enabled, tells Windows to start every application at a unique address (PSP). Each time Windows creates a new virtual machine to start a new application, Windows reserves a unique amount of memory (i bytes) below the application. For example, the first application would be loaded at address M, the second at address M+i, the third at M+2i, and so forth. The amount of memory is determined by the PSPIncrement setting (earlier in this section). These settings should help assure that applications in different virtual machines all start at different addresses. Some networks use applications' load addresses to identify the different processes using the network. On such networks, failing to enable this setting might cause one application to fail when you exit another, because the network interprets them as the same. However, enabling this setting will leave slightly less memory for non-Windows applications. If you are running a network based on Microsoft Network or LAN Manager, the default value is true.


Dialogue box settings for keyboard
Keyboard dialogue box settings.

ALT key delay

ALT paste delay

Boost time

Buffer delay

Idle delay

Paste delay

Paste time out

Translate scan codes

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Keyboard alt key delay dialogue setting.
Keyboard, ALT key delay

AltKeyDelay=<seconds>

Default: .005

Purpose: Specifies how much time Windows waits to process a keyboard interrupt after it processes an ALT interrupt.  Some applications expect a slower processing rate than Windows in 386 enhanced mode normally uses. Increase this value if such an application has trouble handling the ALT key.


Keyboard alt paste delay dialogue setting.
Keyboard, ALT paste delay

AltPasteDelay=<seconds>

Default: .025

Purpose: Specifies how much time Windows waits before pasting any characters after the ALT key has been pasted. Some applications may require more time for recognition of the ALT keystroke.


Keyboard boosttime dialogue setting.
Keyboard, Boost time

KeyBoostTime=<seconds>

Default: .001

Purpose: Specifies the amount of time (in seconds) an application gets to run with increased priority when it receives a keystroke. You can use this setting to increase the response to keystrokes when several background applications are running.


Keyboard buffer delay dialogue setting.
Keyboard, Buffer delay

KeyBufferDelay=<seconds>

Default: 0.2

Purpose: Specifies the amount of time (in seconds) to delay pasting keyboard input after the keyboard buffer is full. Some applications might require more than 0.2 seconds.


Keyboard idle delay dialogue setting.
Keyboard, Idle delay

KeyIdleDelay=<seconds>

Default: 0.5

Purpose: Specifies how much time Windows ignores idle calls after simulating a keystroke into a virtual machine. You can set this value to 0 to speed up keyboard input, but some applications might respond sluggishly if you do.


Keyboard paste delay dialogue setting.
Keyboard, Paste delay

KeyPasteDelay=<seconds>

Default: 0.003

Purpose: Specifies how much time (in seconds) to wait before pasting any characters after a key has been pasted. Some applications might require more time than 0.003 seconds for recognition of a keystroke.


Keyboard paste timeout dialogue setting.
Keyboard, Paste time out

KeyPasteTimeout=<seconds>

Default: 1

Purpose: Specifies how much time (in seconds) to allow an application to make the necessary BIOS calls for reading keyboard input before Windows will change from the fast paste (INT16h) to the slow paste (INT9h) mechanism.


Keyboard translate scan codes dialogue setting.
Keyboard, Translate scan codes

Check box checked equals yes.

TranslateScans=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: Indicates whether Windows will translate a keyboard's scan codes to make them compatible with standard IBM scan codes. This setting is necessary only for keyboards that generate non- standard scan codes. This setting is used only for the Switcher Screen and message boxes.


Dialogue box settings for disk
Disk dialogue box settings.

Notify file manager of file changes

High floppy disk drive reads

IRQ 9 Global

Minimum disk free

Virtual hard disk IRQ

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Disk file system change dialogue setting.
Disk, Notify file manager of file changes

Check box checked equals on.

FileSysChange=<Boolean>

Default: on (But in a standard SYSTEM.INI file, Setup will set FileSysChange=off, disabling this setting.)

Purpose: Indicates whether File Manager will automatically receive messages any time a non-Windows application creates, renames, or deletes a file. When this setting is disabled, a virtual machine can be run exclusively even when it manipulates files. Enabling this setting can slow down system performance significantly.


Disk high floppy drive reads dialogue setting.
Disk, High floppy disk drive reads

Check box checked equals yes.

HighFloppyReads=<Boolean>

Default: yes

Purpose: Normally, Windows turns a DMA verify to the area E000:0000-EFFF:000F into a read in order to work around problems with certain machines. In rare cases, this might cause the system to fail because some software might, as a result, write over the system's shadow RAM if you have it in this area. If this happens, disable this setting and set EMMExclude to E000-EFFF.


Disk IRQ 9 global dialogue setting.
Disk, IRQ 9 Global

Check box checked equals yes.

IRQ9Global=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: If enabled, converts IRQ9 masks to global. Enable this setting if your system hangs when your system touches a floppy drive. Or make sure your system touches the floppy drive before starting Windows.


Disk minimum disk free dialogue setting.
Disk, Minimum disk free

MinUserDiskSpace=<kilobytes>

Default: 500

Purpose: Tells Windows how much disk space (in kilobytes) to leave free when creating a temporary swap file. You would want to use this setting if your system's paging drive has less available space than Windows can use for paging. This setting has no effect if a permanent swap file exists.


Disk virtual hard disk IRQsetting.
Disk, Virtual hard disk IRQ

Check box checked equals yes.

VirtualHDIrq=<Boolean>

Default: on

Purpose: Allows Windows in 386 enhanced mode to terminate interrupts from the hard disk controller, by-passing the ROM routine that handles these interrupts. Some hard drives might require that this setting be disabled in order for interrupts to be processed correctly. If this setting is disabled, the ROM routine handles the interrupts, which slows the system's performance.


Dialogue box settings for other
Other dialogue box settings.

Mouse soft int

NMI reboot

Reflect INT 2A

System ROM break

Timer Critical

Update time

Use Inst file

VCPI warning

CGA no snow control

Dual display

In DOS polling

INT28 critical

All VMS exclusive

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Other mouse soft interrupt dialogue setting.
Other, Mouse soft int

Check box checked equals true.

MouseSoftInit=<Boolean>

Default: true

Purpose: Specifies whether Windows should convert INT 33h function 0 hard initialization calls to function 33 soft initialization calls, which do not reset the mouse hardware. Leaving this switch enabled allows you to use a mouse with a non-Windows application that you start in a window. Disable this setting if you are having problems (extraneous display output or a distorted cursor) using the mouse with an application. If you disable this setting, you will not be able to use the mouse with a non-Windows application that you start in a window.


Other NMI reboot dialogue setting.
Other, NMI reboot

Check box checked equals yes.

NMIReboot=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: If enabled, causes a reboot to occur when a nonmaskable interrupt is received.


Other reflect int 2A dialogue setting.
Other, Reflect INT 2A

Check box checked equals true.

ReflectDosInt2A=<Boolean>

Default: false

Purpose: Indicates whether Windows should consume or reflect DOS INT 2A signals. The default means Windows will consume these signals and therefore run more efficiently. Enable this setting if you are running memory-resident software that relies on detecting INT2A messages.


Other system ROM break dialogue setting.
Other, System ROM break

Check box checked equals true.

SystemROMBreakPoint=<Boolean>

Default: true

Purpose: Specifies whether Windows should use ROM address space between F000:0000 and 1MB for a break point. Windows in 386 enhanced mode normally searches this space to find a special instruction that is used as a system break point. If this address space contains something other than permanently available ROM, you should disable this setting.


Other timer critical dialogue setting.
Other, Timer Critical

TimerCriticalSection=<milliseconds>

Default: 0

Purpose: Instructs Windows to go into a critical section around all timer interrupt code, and specifies a timeout period (in milliseconds). Specifying a positive value will assure that only one virtual machine at a time will receive timer interrupts. Some networks and other global memory-resident software may fail unless this setting is used. However, using it will slow down performance and can make the system sluggish or seem to stop for short periods of time.


Other update time dialogue setting.
Other, Update time

WindowUpdateTime=<milliseconds>

Default: 50

Purpose: Specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds) Windows takes between updates of the display for a widowed non-Windows application.


Other use instance file dialogue setting.
Other, Use Inst file

Check box checked equals true.

UseInstFile=<Boolean>

Default: false

Purpose: Specifies whether Windows should look in the INSTANCE.386 file for information it can use to determine whether data structures within DOS need to be local. There are two other methods for giving Windows this information: internal tables within the device, and an INT 2Fh call documented in the OEM Adaptation Kit. Both methods are preferable to using this setting; it is provided only for compatibility with Windows/386 version 2.x.


Other VCPI warning dialogue setting.
Other, VCPI warning

Check box checked equals true.

VCPIWarning=<Boolean>

Default: true

Purpose: Specifies whether Windows should display a warning message when an application attempts to use the Virtual Control Program Interface (VCPI), which Windows does not support. Disable this setting if you do not want to see this message every time you run software that does a VCPI call but still runs without this support.


Other CGA no snow dialogue setting.
Other, CGA no snow control

Check box checked equals yes.

CGANoSnow=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: If enabled, causes Windows to do special handling to avoid snow appearing on an IBM CGA display device.


Other dual display dialogue setting.
Other, Dual display

Check box checked equals 1.

DualDisplay=<Boolean>

Default: See "Purpose."

Purpose: Normally, when running in 386 enhanced mode, the memory between B000:0000 and B7FF:000F will be used by the general system unless a secondary display is detected. If this setting is enabled, this memory will be left unused and available for display adapters. If this setting is disabled, the address range will be available on EGA systems but not under VGA systems, since the VGA display device supports monochrome modes, which use this address space.


Other in DOS polling setting.
Other, In DOS polling

Check box checked equals yes.

InDOSPolling=<Boolean>

Default: no

Purpose: If enabled, prevents Windows from running other applications when memory-resident software has the InDOS flag set. Enabling this setting is necessary if the memory-resident software needs to be in a critical section to do operations off an INT21 hook. Enabling this setting will slow down system performance slightly.


Other INT28 critical dialogue setting.
Other, INT28 critical

Check box checked equals true.

INT28Critical=<Boolean>

Default: true

Purpose: Specifies whether a critical section is needed to handle INT28h interrupts used by memory-resident software. Some network virtual devices do internal task switching on INT28h interrupts. These interrupts might hang some network software, indicating the need for an INT28h critical section. If you are not using such software, you might improve Windows' task switching by disabling this setting.


Other all VMS exclusive dialogue setting.
Other, All VMS exclusive

Check box checked equals true.

AllVMsExclusive=<Boolean>

Default: false

Purpose: If enabled, this setting forces all applications to run in exclusive full-screen mode, overriding all contrary settings in the applications' program information files (PIFs). Enabling this setting might prolong the length of the Windows session when you are running network and memory- resident software that is incompatible with Windows.


Dialogue box settings for standard
Standard dialogue box settings.

Use this dialogue box to alter the settings that Windows uses in standard mode.

Interrupt 28 filter

Network heap size

Pad code segments

Reserved low memory

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


Interrupt 28 filter dialogue box setting.
Standard, Interrupt 28 filter setting.

Int28Filter=<number>

Default: 10

Purpose: Specifies the percentage of INT28h interrupts, generated when the system is idle, that are made visible to software that is loaded before Windows. Windows will reflect every nth interrupt, where n is the value of this setting.   Increasing this value might improve Windows' performance, but may interfere with some memory- resident software such as a network. Set this value to 0 to prevent INT28h interrupts. But note that setting this value too low will add to system overhead that might interfere with communications applications.


Network heap size dialogue box setting.
Standard, Network heap size.

NetHeapSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 8

Purpose: Specifies the size (in kilobytes) of the buffer pool that standard-mode Windows allocates in conventional memory for transferring data over a network. Some networks require a larger buffer than the default. Increasing this value will diminish the amount of memory available to applications. If no network software is running, this setting will be ignored and no memory will be allocated.


Pad code segments dialogue box setting.
Standard, Pad code segments.

Check box checked equals 1.

PadCodeSegments=<0-or-1>

Default: 0

Purpose: Setting this value to 1 causes Windows kernel to pad code segments with 16 bytes. This will prevent the last instruction in the segment from being too close to the segment limit for 80286 C2 stepping. You only need to set this value to 1 for this 80286 stepping. Unfortunately, there is no easy way of telling what stepping a 80286 chip is. Try setting this value to 1 if your 80286 system hangs in standard mode.


Reserved low memory dialogue box setting.
Standard, Reserved low memory.

ReservedLowMemory=<kilobytes>

Default: 0

Purpose: Specifies the amount of conventional memory (in kilobytes) to be reserved for use by programs other than Windows. There is no known reason to change this value.


Dialogue box settings for non Windows
Non Windows dialogue box settings.

Use this dialogue box to alter the settings that are used for non-Windows applications.

Network asynch

Screen lines

Swapdisk

Press [image] to save your changed settings to your system.inisy file.

Press [image] to abandon your changes.

Press ALT-D or click on the [image] button to change all settings to their default values.

Press ALT-H or click on the [image] button to receive this help information.


non windows network asynch dialogue box setting.
Non Windows, network asynch.

Check box checked equals 1.

NetAsynchSwitching=<0-or-1>

Default: 0

Purpose: Indicates whether Windows will allow you to switch away from an application (running in real mode or standard mode) after it has made an asynchronous network BIOS call. The default value of 0 specifies that such task switching is not allowed. Switching away from some applications that make these calls might cause your system to fail. Once Windows detects an asynchronous NetBIOS call, it will not allow switching from the application even if no more of these calls are made. Set this value to 1 if you are sure the applications you use will not receive network messages while you are switched away from them.


non windows screen lines dialogue box setting.
Non Windows, Screen lines.

ScreenLines=<number>

Default: 25

Purpose: Specifies the number of lines that will be displayed on the screen when a non-Windows application is run. An application that specifies a different screen mode can override this setting.


non windows swap disk dialogue box setting.
Non Windows, Swapdisk.

SwapDisk=<drive-colon-directory>

Default: (The directory pointed to by the TEMP environment variable; if there is no TEMP variable, then the default is the Windows directory)

Purpose: Provides the name of the disk drive and directory to which Windows running in real mode or standard mode swaps non-Windows applications.


About the Elana program.

Elana is a program written by Andrew Rowe to help you modify your system.ini file and other stuff that you can't readily modify with the standard system programs.

I think it is really super duper.  Please pay me lots of money if you do too!

WARNING the changes that Elana can make to your system may make Windows unusable, so I am taking this opportunity to ask you to make many back-ups whilst playing with the system.ini options.  You have been warned!

If you like this program and intend to keep on using it then I would expect you to register with me.  Registration entitles you to keep on using the program beyond the trial period.  To see more information about registration click on the more... button in the About... dialog box.


System.ini

The system.ini file is the file that Windows will read on startup to configure it's self


386 Enhanced mode

386 Enhanced mode is the premier mode that Windows uses to get virtual memory, multitasking of DOS programs and swapable memory.  It requires a Intel 386 processor and 1 megabyte of extended memory.


Standard mode

Standard mode is the second mode used by Windows.  Windows runs in Standard mode much like OS/2 works.  It requires a 286 or 386 processor and 384k of extended memory.  Standard mode is about 20% faster than 386 enhanced mode but does not allow multitasking of DOS programs.


RLE

RLE stands for Run Length Encoding and refers to the type of data compression that the graphics file has undergone.  To create a new RLE logo file use a paint or graphics program that supports this data format.


Load=

When Windows starts it will load all the programs in the load= line in the win.ini file as icons.


Run=

When Windows starts it will run all the programs in the run line in the win.ini file as widowed programs.


Association

Data files can be associated with a program by relating the extension of the data file with the name of the program.  Windows stores this information in the [Extensions] section of your win.ini file.  For example:  data files with the extension .doc can be associated with winword.exe by the following win.ini file line:-  doc=winword.exe ^.doc