Kosovo Orphans' Appeal Charity CD

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Wrap

Text File | 1997-04-11 | 21KB | 480 lines

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Q @@ @@ @@ CCCCC MM MM OOOO SSSSS PPPPP @@ @@ CC MMM MMM OO OO SS PP PP @@ @@ CC MMMMMMM OO OO SS PP PP rrrr oooo bb eeee @@ @@ CC MM M MM OO OO SSSS PPPPP rr rr oo oo bb ee @@ @@ CC MM M MM OO OO SS PP rr oo oo bbbbb eeeee @@ @@ CC MM MM OO OO SS PP rr oo oo bb bb ee ee @@ @@ CCCCC MM MM OOOO SSSSS PP rr oooo bbbb eeee @@ @@ @@ @@ by @@ @@ @@ @@ Mike Whiteman @@ @@ @@ @@ Version 1╖06 (7th April 1997) @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ CMOS RAM -------- There are 240 bytes of memory allocated to what is known as CMOS RAM. This RAM is also known as non-volatile memory because, unlike normal RAM, its contents are not lost when the computer is switched off. A small battery exists within the computer which also keeps the internal clock running while the computer is turned off. Most of the CMOS RAM bytes are either reserved or used by Acorn. Some are reserved for expansion card use whilst others are to be used by third-party developers. You must contact Acorn for an allocation. 16 bytes (30 through to 45) are reserved for the user. These can be used for any reason but not in any program that is to be distributed. Warning ------- Although altering the contents of any CMOS RAM location cannot damage your computer it could cause some serious side effects which can be difficult to resolve. E.g. If you change the MonitorType you will not be able to see a display in order to change it back again. For this reason, you should make a backup of your current CMOS RAM state by using CMOSProbeæs Save dialogue box. This way, if you do get into trouble, you can perform a Delete power on which resets the computer to its factory defaults. To reinstate the CMOS RAM settings; if you saved the data as ÉConfigæ (file type (&ff2) then just double click on it, if you saved the data as ÉCMOSáRAMæ (&14d) then load it into CMOSProbe and use the ÉWrite CMOSæ option from the main menu. Program Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Risc OS ------- CMOSProbe requires RISC OS 3.10 or later and is fully compatible with the Risc PC running RISC OS 3.5, 3.6 & 3.7. CMOSProbe is also StrongARM compatible. Should a problem arise then please contact me at the address on page 10 stating the operating system CMOSProbe was running on. Hard Disc Installation ---------------------- CMOSProbe can be installed onto a hard disc simply by dragging its icon in the directory viewer to a directory of your choice. About CMOSProbe --------------- CMOSProbe is a versatile utility for viewing, editing and saving CMOS RAM. Features -------- CMOSProbe has many features including; Å Full multi-tasking. Å Interactive help fully supported. Å Pinboard Iconizing fully supported. Å Desktop boot saving implemented. Å Suitable for 1 Megabyte machines Å 2 or 3D templates depending on setting of the 3D CMOS RAM bit Å Supports file saving as either Configure (&ff2), Text (&fff) or CMOSProbeæs own file format (&14d). Å Loads Configure files as well as CMOSProbeæs own file format. Å Hexadecimal or decimal display of CMOS RAM locations. Å Easy editing. Å Search facility Using the manual ---------------- Certain conventions are used throughout this manual. Å Specific keys that should be pressed are shown as Return, Escape, etc. Å Mouse button clicks are shown as SELECT, MENU and ADJUST. There are 240 bytes allocated to CMOS RAM and they are referred to as Élocationsæ throughout this manual. Each location contains eight bits each of which may be set or unset. Some locations use all eight bits to set one specific configuration, e.g. Printer ignore character. Others may have each bit used for different configurations, e.g. Screen info. Getting To Know CMOSProbe Running CMOSProbe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CMOSProbe is run in the usual way by double clicking on its icon in the directory viewer. Itæs icon will appear on the right-hand side of the icon bar. Icon Bar Menu ------------- Clicking MENU over the icon bar icon displays a menu with two options; Info Move the pointer over the arrow to display the ÉAbout this programæ info box. This window reveals the usual information about CMOSProbe. Quit Click SELECT or ADJUST to quit CMOSProbe and remove its icon from the icon bar. If any location has been edited but not yet saved to disc or written back to CMOS RAM you will be asked to confirm that you really want to quit CMOSProbe. This gives you the opportunity to save/write the data. CMOSProbe Main Window --------------------- Clicking SELECT over the icon bar icon opens up CMOSProbeæs main window. Rather than display all 240 locations in one window which causes it to look cluttered CMOSProbe displays the locations in four groups of 60 (viz. 0-59, 60-119, 120-179 and 180-239). Each of these groups can be selected by clicking on one of the four Érangeæ icons at the bottom left of the window. Each of the 60 locations are laid out so that the location value (ÉContentsæ) is displayed just above the location number. The locationæs contents may be displayed as either a decimal or hexadecimal number by selecting one of the two buttons, marked öContents valuesò, at the bottom right of the window. Please note that the contents for location zero are displayed with a dark background and in blue text while location 239 is displayed with the same background but in red text. This is to signify that, as stated in the PRM, neither of these to locations (Econet station number & Checksum respectively) should be written too directly. To this effect CMOSProbe does not allow the user to edit the values in these two locations although you may still view them. The Checksum value is automatically re-calculated when the data is written back to CMOS RAM using the main menu option (ÉUpdate CMOSæ) described below. If the Checksum value has changed then the relevant display is updated. Main Window Menu ---------------- Clicking MENU anywhere over the main window opens up a menu with the following items; Info Move the pointer over the arrow to display the ÉAbout this programæ dialogue box. This window reveals the usual information about CMOSProbe. Find Move the pointer over the arrow to display the Find dialogue box. You can use this window to search for the location (and relative bit) for a known CMOS setting (e.g. 3D). Pressing F4 when CMOSProbe has the input focus also opens up the find window. See Find Window below. Save as This option leads to a submenu containing the three different file types supported for saving. Move the pointer over the relevant arrow to open the correct save box for the type of file you wish to save See Saving data below. Read CMOS Selecting this item forces CMOSProbe to read the current state of CMOS RAM and update the display. The data will then be marked as unaltered. Write CMOS Selecting this item writes any changes made back to CMOS RAM. The data is consequently marked as unaltered. See Updating CMOS RAM below. Find dialogue box ----------------- The find dialogue box offers the user the opportunity to find the correct location for any CMOS RAM setting he/she wishes to set/unset. Figure 1 shows the find dialogue box. Each icon and its use is described below; Find This is the default action button and is used to start a search. Pressing Return has the same effect. If no search string has been entered CMOS Probe will prompt you to enter suitable text. Last/Next These icons are greyed-out until a search has started and at least one match has been found (e.g. there are many locations for unplugged ROM Modules). This allows you to search through all occurrences of the matches stepping backwards and forwards as you wish till you find the right one. Using this facility in conjunction with ÉAuto-open Location windowæ offers more versatility. Cancel Clicking on this button cancels the search and closes the window. Pressing Escape or clicking anywhere else with the desktop also cancels the search. Search for Enter a search string here. The search is not case sensitive (e.g. Dragging, DRAGGING & draGGing will all find the same locations). Also öMoò will match with öModeò, öModuleò, etc. Can be found at This icon displays the Location number (and bit number) of CMOS RAM if there is a match. If no match is found then either öNot found!ò or öNo more found!ò will be displayed. Auto open location window With this option on (ticked), when a match is found CMOSPRobe will automatically open the Location window (see below) for viewing & editing the setting. The ÉBitæ description window will also be open. If all eight bits are used together to set the location then the information for bit zero is displayed otherwise the relevant bit will be displayed. A brief description with example of how to use the Find facility follows; Lets assume, for arguments sake. that you wish to view/alter the location and bit used to set the ÉWimp Modeæ but do not know which location is used. Open the dialogue box as described above and enter the string öModeò. Now click on ÉFindæ or press Return. The ÉCan be found atæ icon will display öLocation 198 Bit 0ò. If ÉAuto-open location windowæ is ticked then the Location window will be opened displaying location 198 (assuming you are running RISC OS 3.10) and the bit display will be opened displaying bit zero. This bit actually sets the æFiler display modeæ. Now you can click on the ÉNextæ button and Location 198 Bit 1 will be displayed (this is also used for the ÉFiler display modeæ). Continue clicking on ÉNextæ until the required location is displayed. The above actions can be repeated for any search string. Note that the ÉLastæ and ÉNextæ buttons are greyed-out if there are no further/previous matches to be found respectively. Goto location dialogue box -------------------------- The Goto location dialogue box enables you to enter the value of any location (0-239) which you would like to view without the need for the main window to be open. The Goto location dialogue box may be opened in one of two ways; Firstly by clicking Menu while the pointer is over the Location window and following the arrow to the right of the singe menu item that is displayed. Secondly by pressing F5 when the Location window has the input focus (i.e. the caret is contained within one of the four writable icons at the bottom of the window. Once opened the Goto dialogue displays the current location number. Below this is a writable icon where any value between 0 & 239 may be entered. Pressing Return or clicking Select then automatically displays the information for the chosen location. Clicking adjust will leave the Goto location dialogue box open, although it may get partially obscured. If the writable icon is left blank then the information for on will be displayed. Saving Data ----------- The CMOS RAM data held by CMOSProbe can be saved in three different formats either to file on a disc or direct to an editor such as Edit. The ÉSave asæ menu (described above) leads to a submenu (File types) which, in turn, leads to one of three dialogue boxes to save the data with the following file types; 1 Configure (&ff9) This is the file type as used by Acornæs !Configure application. Data saved in this format can be loaded directly into the !Configure application. 2 Cmosáram (&14d) This is CMOSProbeæs own file type which includes a descriptive header. Data saved in this format cannot be read by !Configure but can be viewed in a text editor or, better still, loaded back into CMOSProbe. If the header becomes corrupt CMOSProbe cannot read the file. The data is laid out in an easier to read format than for Configure files. 3 Text (&fff) This option allows the user to save the data in a textual format. The data is laid out in an easy-to-read way with a description of each CMOS RAM location followed by the current value of the location. Each of the eight bits that can be set for a location may have different meanings. When this is the case each individual bit is described and indicated as set or not. Normal filer actions apply within the Save dialogue box. You can enter a full pathname and click ÉOKæ or press Return. Alternatively, drag the icon to a directory viewer of your choice. The data is marked as unaltered (no asterisk in the Main window title bar) once saved. Note The data saved is not necessarily the current CMOS RAM state but will always be the data as held within CMOSProbe. This allows the user to alter many of the locations in CMOSáProbe then save as a text file directly to Edit to see what has actually been set/unset before writing back to CMOS RAM. It also allows the user to have several different settings for different uses. Updating CMOS RAM ----------------- When ÉWrite CMOSæ from the main windowæs menu is selected CMOSProbe writes the contents of location 1 through 238 to CMOS RAM. Location zero is not written and location 239 (Checksum) automatically gets recalculated and any change is reflected in the main window. (Use the correct range setting to view this.) Viewing/Editing a CMOS RAM Location ----------------------------------- The ÉLocation windowæ is where the contents of each CMOS RAM location can be edited. This window is opened by clicking SELECT on the location number within the main window. Remember to select the correct number range first by clicking on the relevant icons at the bottom left hand side of the main window. Clicking with ADJUST closes the main window while, conversely, closing the Location window with ADJUST re-opens the main window or brings it to the front if it is already open. The selected location number is highlighted in red in the main window. The ÉLocation windowæsæ title bar contains the number of the Écurrently selectedæ location. The cream area at the top of the window contains a description of the currently selected location (i.e. in the illustration CMOS RAM Location 10 has been selected and the description öScreen infoò is displayed). This description is an overview for the location and, in same cases, each of the individual bits that make up the location value may have different meanings. These can be viewed as described below. The value for each location may be edited in one of two ways; by either setting/unsetting each bit individually or by entering a number for the entire location. Under the heading öBits (4 = Set)ò there are eight icons numbered 0 to 7. These represent the eight bits that can be set for each location. A tick indicates that that bit is set, no tick indicates that the bit is unset. To edit these click on the button marked ÉEditæ to the right. Click on each of the Ébitæ icons you wish to alter the state of to toggle it on/off. Next to these icons are eight É?æ buttons. Clicking on one of these will open the ÉBitsæ window which gives a more detailed description of the meaning of that particular bit. You can use this information to make sure that the correct bits are set as required. The main window display is not altered until the öOKò button to the right of the ÉEditæ button is clicked. The öOKò is invisible until the ÉEditæ button is selected. At this point the four greyed-out icons at the bottom (òDec, Binary, Hex and Charò) will change to reflect the new setting, (please see below for description of these). Clicking ÉOKæ only updates the main window. To update the CMOS RAM with the new setting you must select ÉUpdate CMOSæ from the main menu as described above. The second way of editing the contents of a location is to enter the correct number for the entire location directly. This can be done by clicking on the ÉEditæ icon to the right of the heading öLocation valueò. The four greyed-out icons now become writable and a value can be entered as either a Decimal, Binary or Hexadecimal number. Alternatively a character can be entered instead using the fourth icon, this is particularly helpful if you are editing a password in the useræs area. All four writable icons are updated at the same time to reflect the value/character entered. Once again you may click on any of the eight É?æ icons above for a more detailed description of each of the eight bits making up the location. The main window is only updated when the öOKò button to the right of the ÉEditæ button is clicked. At this point the state of the eight ÉBitsæ buttons mentioned above are set to reflect the new value entered. Clicking öOKò only updates the main window. To update the CMOS RAM with the new setting you must select ÉUpdate CMOSæ from the main menu as described above. Note Some bits are used in conjunction with others to enable values greater than 1 to be set. These bits will be displayed in the öBitò window with the message similar to öand bits 2 & 3ò as a heading. In this case, for example, bits 2 and 3 along with the currently displayed bit would be used enabling a combined value of up to 7 to be entered. If you make a mistake in editing and wish to re-display the original settings then you can either use the main window to select another location then reselect the original one or click MENU over the main window and select ÉRead CMOSæ. Loading a file -------------- CMOSProbe recognises two file types which it can load; ÉConfigæ (&ff2) as saved from Acornæs own !Configure application and ÉCMOSáRAMæ (&14d) CMOSProbeæs own file format. To load a file of type &ff2 (Config) you must drag its icon in the directory viewer to either CMOSProbeæs icon bar icon or its main window. Double-clicking on files of type &ff2 will cause !Configure to run. CMOSProbe purposely does not intercept these files. To load a file of type &14d (CMOSáRAM) simply double-click on its icon in the directory viewer. If CMOSProbe has not yet been loaded then it will be run and the file loaded (as long as it has previously been seen by the filer - see the User Guide for further help). Alternatively, drag the fileæs icon to CMOSProbeæs icon bar icon or main window. When the file is loaded CMOSProbeæs main window will be opened (if it isnæt already) and the display updated to reflect the values held in the file. The data is also marked as un-altered (no asterisk). Note CMOSProbe does not remember where a file has been loaded from and, therefore, if saving back to disc follow the instruction for saving the data detailed above. Configuration ------------- There is one aspect of CMOSProbe that can be configured; The Style Guide indicates that the user should be able to click on the text next to any option button in order to set/unset that option (e.g. selecting the correct location range in the main window). Some users find this annoying as, especially with a desktop font on the RISC PC, it can be possible to click on an area outside of the text & still set the option and, conversely, to click within the text to no effect. Initially CMOSProbe is set to comply with the Style Guide. To alter this setting open up CMOSProbeæs directory by Shift-double-clicking with SELECT. Then load the file öConfigureò into a suitable editor. The option is titled öKick the wall & turn on the lightò. Alter the text after the hash (#) symbol from On to Off. No resave the file. This option will not take effect until CMOSProbe is next run. Thanks ~~~~~~ To Malcolm Knight for his help in solving many programming problems and for allowing me to alpha & beta test CMOSProbe on his RISC PC. If you have any comments or suggestion then please write to me at the address below; Mr Mike Whiteman 127 Sewell Road Abbey Wood London SE2 9DH Tel/Fax: (0181) 310 2238 Email: MikeW@werewlf.demon.co.uk CMOSProbe is dedicated to Ashley.