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- -----------------------------
- Original patch as posted
- -----------------------------
-
-
- Patch for GeoWorks (and America Online) to Run Under OS/2 2.0
- Discovered by Marcus Groeber
- Transcribed from Prodigy by Timothy F. Sipples
- July 11, 1992
-
- [This patch is not officially supported by the developers of GeoWorks.]
-
- The following patch will make GeoWorks Version 1.2 and Pro work in a DOS
- session of OS/2 2.0 (doesn't have to be a specific DOS VDM). It
- disables disk drives A and B and makes PC/Geos believe it is running on
- a "diskless" workstation with only networked partitions (which comes
- closest to OS/2 in reality).
-
- Before applying the patch you should backup your KERNEL.EXE so you can
- restore it if there are any problems. (You will need it anyway for
- working under native DOS because the patch seems to be somehow unstable
- there.)
-
- Of course, I cannot guarantee that the patch will work on any particular
- configuration, but it does work fine on my machine.
-
- To apply the patch you will have to do the following. Copy the
- following text between "Cut here" and "Cut here" to an ASCII file (say,
- GEOWORKS.PAT). Then go to the GeoWorks directory and enter the command
- PATCH /A GEOWORKS.PAT. This will use OS/2's built-in patch tool to
- check the version of KERNEL.EXE and make the appropriate modifications.
-
- The patch is highly version specific and will only work on two versions
- named in the file. (The release can be determined by looking into the
- SYSINFO file.) These are the current ones in Germany; if there are any
- other (recent) versions, please drop me [Marcus Groeber, on America
- Online, presumably] a note.
-
- If the program doesn't recognize the kernel version you will get two
- failure messages (one for each try), otherwise one failure and one
- success. If the program fails on both tries, KERNEL.EXE will not be
- modified.
-
- --- Cut here ---
- Patch file by Marcus Groeber
- . This patch file changes the KERNEL.EXE file of PC/Geos to
- make it run in a DOS session under OS/2. The program
- attempts patches for the various versions of GeoWorks; it
- will not apply a patch if the version is not recognized.
- It will display either a success or a failure message for
- each version it tries.
- . Geoworks 1.2: KERNEL.EXE (Release 1.2.5.4, 72688 bytes)
- FILE kernel.exe
-
- VER 00010E0D E9CA
- VER 00010E1D 268B4543F6C43075
-
- CHA 00010E0D EB0B
- CHA 00010E1D 81FB48027244EB4C
- --- Cut here ---
-
- If the patch works you will have to change the GeoWorks mouse driver to
- MOUSE.COM/MOUSE.SYS from within GeoWorks. Anyway, you should run
- GeoWorks only in a full screen session. Printing seems to work OK
- except for the fact that you have to leave GeoWorks to make OS/2 flush
- its internal spool queue to the printer.
-
- Incidently, for diagnosing GeoWorks startup problems it is a good idea
- to run it with the /LOG option to display all the initialization steps
- as they are performed.
-
- It is necessary to change the DOS settings in the DOS session part of
- the OS/2 configuration like so:
-
- Program/Path & Filename C:\Geos\Kernel.Exe
- (Change as appropriate.)
-
- Session DOS/Full Screen
-
- DOS Settings:
-
- DOS_FCBS 1
-
- DOS_FCBS_KEEP 0
-
- DOS_FILES 150
-
- DOS_HIGH ON
-
- DOS_VERSION add KERNEL.EXE,05,00,255
-
- EMS_FRAME_LOCATION AUTO
-
- VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION ON (should not make much difference)
-
-
- I have run the patch on my system and set the DOS settings as above and
- it works! Good luck everyone who tries it and DON'T FORGET TO MAKE A
- COPY OF KERNEL.EXE!
-
- [Via Dan (HondaCivic on America Online)]
-
-
-
-
-
- -------------------------------------------------
-
- Follow up comments and expansion as posted
-
-
- -------------------------------------------------
- Subj: Groeber's Patch comments
- Date: 92-07-08 19:11:11 EDT
- From: AaronB6
-
- The patch didn't work for me, as my kernel was a different release. However, I looked through the file
- and got the right data for my release and added that to the patch file, re-ran the patch, and all went
- well.
-
- After patching you can rename the patched kernel to OS2KERN.EXE and use an OS/2 DOS window to
- launch GeoWorks directly. Also copy the backup kernel back to KERNEL.EXE and you can run
- GeoWorks under plain DOS with no problem.
-
- Possible problems:
- You MUST give the DOS window 100 or more files, as if you were running DR-DOS. GeoWorks
- cannot dynamically allocate any files under OS/2.
- When exiting GEOS I get a "Bad handle passed to system" error. I can then close the window from
- OS/2, and all is fine.
- When I was first testing this config. I had some weird problems with lockups. Experiment with the
- OS/2 DOS Settings to get things working.
-
- Here is my addition to the patch info: (the release # is in the SYSINFO file)
- ------------cut here---------------
- ; Geoworks Pro: kernel.exe (Release 1.2.4.3, 72720 bytes)
- FILE kernel.exe
-
- VER 00010DE2 E9C5
- VER 00010DF2 268B4543F6C43075
-
- CHA 00010DE2 EB0B
- CHA 00010DF2 81FB48027244EB4C
- ------------cut here---------------
-
- I'm not running OS/2 right now, so I'll post my OS/2 DOS Settings later when I can find out what they
- are. (Incidentally, I end up with more GEOS memory under OS/2 than under DOS/QEMM.)
-
- Subj: Groeber Patch comments
- Date: 92-07-09 00:27:10 EDT
- From: AaronB6
-
- These are the settings I use with Marcus Groeber's patch to run GeoWorks under OS/2.
-
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- Program/Path & filename - C:\GEOS\OS2KERN.EXE (Path to patched kernel)
- Session - DOS/Full Screen (must set AFTER setting above - OS/2 quirk)
- DOS Settings:
- DOS_FCBS 1
- DOS_FCBS_KEEP 0
- DOS_FILES 150 (Need at least 100; 150 is better)
- DOS_HIGH On (gives GeoWorks more memory)
- DOS_LASTDRIVE F (1 MORE than last drive!!!!!)
- DOS_UMB On
- DOS_VERSION add OS2KERN.EXE,05,00,255 (so GeoWorks will run)
- EMS_FRAME_LOCATION CC00 (on my computer - AUTO should work)
- MEM_INCLUDE_REGIONS b0000-b7fff,dc000-effff (on my computer)
- (Mono video page, other free areas for UMB's)
- VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION On (Shouldn't make much difference)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
-
- P.S. I'm currently running under OS/2 and the modem is running MUCH slower. I'll have to work on
- getting the serial port up to speed.
-
- Subj: GeoWorks Engineer comments
- Date: 92-07-09 09:31:18 EDT
- From: GWRep MK
-
- I have sent the messages from this area up to the GeoWorks Engineers and have received back the
- following comments:
- >>>>>>>>>>>
- One thing Marcus neglected to mention is that you must, when setting up the object in the workplace
- shell, go into the dos settings and add KERNEL.EXE,255,3,30 to the DOS_VERSION setting. I believe
- those are the correct values. The intent is to get OS/2 to tell KERNEL.EXE up to 255 times that it's
- running under DOS 3.30, rather than the DOS 20.0 OS/2 will tell it by default. Without this, PC/GEOS
- will complain that it needs to run under a DOS between 2.x and 5.0
- >>>>>>>>>>
- 1.2.4.3 is the initial 1.2 release, not Pro (which is 1.2.8.1). Anyway, the only other thing of note (not
- particularly worrisome with OS/2 just a Ctrl+Esc away), is that geos won't be able to reload itself after
- running a DOS program, nor will it be able to restart itself after changing something in preferences with
- the kernel renamed to be OS2KERN.EXE (of course, he can also patch the kernel.exe string he'll find
- early in the load image to match, except he'll have to call it OS2KER.EXE, to keep the number of
- characters the same).
-
- Subj: Re: GeoWorks Engineer comments
- Date: 92-07-12 15:17:09 EDT
- From: AaronB6
-
- The line in the DOS_VERSION area should be:
- KERNEL.EXE,05,00,255
- (filename,DOS 5.00,report 255 times)
-
- You're right about release 1.2.4.3 not being Pro. I had installed Pro over 1.2 and apparently the setup
- program DID NOT replace the kernel.exe file!!!!!
-
- and, yes, with the patched kernel renamed to OS2KERN.EXE GeoWorks won't reload after a change in
- preferences. You will be returned to DOS if you ran the patched kernel from the command line or to
- the OS/2 desktop if you ran it via an icon. In the first case, just run the kernel again. In the second
- case, just run the icon again.
-
- Subj: re: Patch Now Works
- Date: 92-07-12 15:22:08 EDT
- From: AaronB6
-
- HondaCivic:
- I assume your mouse is a serial mouse on COM1 and your modem is on COM2?
- I had my system setup that way and had the same problem. The problem is that OS/2 disables the
- COM port the mouse is on by putting 0000 in the bios data area for that COM port. When GeoWorks
- sees you don't have a COM1 it doesn't allow you to use COM2. I got around that by changing my
- COM2 to COM4 (address 2e8, interrupt 3.) Another way would be to put the mouse on COM2 and the
- modem on COM1. (I didn't do this because I have a 16550 UART for the modem that must be either
- COM2 or COM4).
-
- Subj: Success! :-)
- Date: 92-07-16 02:16:23 EDT
- From: Chuckscard
-
- Well I persevered and I got GEOS up and running!
- I tried to follow the tips but due to poor process control ;-) I must have gotten
- something messed up. Well I started over, copying a full screen dos prompt with a completely clean
- set of settings. I named the patched kernel as
- OS2KERN.EXE, placed it in the program setting. I reset the DOS_Version to
- OS2KERN.EXE,5,00,255. I reset last drive to D. (First time I had it on Z and got
- what I take to be the symbol for 24 drives from a network!) The geos.ini I used
- had no memory mgmt so I still have some playing to do. Also, I can't get AOL
- up-I get an error message that PCAOHELP.VM is missing. My logitech mouse
- did not work either but changing preferences to the generic mouses.com fixed
- that. I also went down the blind alley of booting from a DRDOS6 disk image-I got as far as a fatal
- missing welcome.geo file. No dice on that method.
-
-
- Charlie Rath
- A happy GeoUser who's OS/2ing it!
-
- Subj: AOL under OS/2
- Date: 92-07-20 23:45:45 EDT
- From: AaronB6
-
- I'm using AOL under OS/2. The important points to remember are:
-
- 1-If you have your mouse on COM1 and your modem on COM2, GeoWorks will not see COM2 and you
- can't use the modem. Either exchange the mouse and modem, or set the second serial port to COM4.
-
- 2-Set IDLE_SENSITIVITY to 100 (disable the idle detection) for GeoWorks in the DOS settings. This
- will speed up AOL. (If you don't do this, OS/2 will think GeoWorks is looking for keyboard input and not
- doing anything else and AOL will slow to a crawl.)