earl@trsvax.UUCP (11/03/88)
I've seen now three different versions of MS Windows
- a 386 version, seems to have real multitasking and is
ruuning in protected mode
- the 2.x versions, which I suppose are to run on all
XT/AT ...
- a 286 version.
Who can answer the following questions to me?
Does the 286 version run in protected mode of the 80286?
Does it support multitasking?
Will all MS Windows Applications run on this special version?
Thanks for your answers,
Helmut Roderus
roderus@fauern.uucp
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have been personally using a copy of Windows/286 on my own machine
at home.
a) No it does not run in Protected Mode. It uses the regular
real mode. You can utilize a SMARTDRV cache program, HIMEM.SYS, and
LIM-4.0 spec'd memory. I set my machine up so as to have a extended
memory smartdrive cache, a expanded memory LIM driver, and a HIMEM.SYS
driver to get that extra 64k of extended memory to kick in. All this
stuff worked OK on my machine without trouble.
b) Yes it supports multi-tasking, if your not getting overly
expectant of spectacular results. I have had it doing several things
at once, but it slows down quick on my 8mhz. machine.
c) As far as I can tell everything works. If the application has
been setup to utilize the newer 2.x version fonts, your in business.
Many of the older 1.0x applications ran OK too.
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Earl W. Bollinger
@ <trsvax!earl>
"You were in the Clone Wars!", said Luke excitedly.
"Yes", replied Obi Wan, "I was a DOS programmer. But that was before the dark
times, before OS2."mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (11/04/88)
>Multitasking: > All versions of MS Windows support multitasking of Windows Apps. > Windows/386 supports multitasking of DOS applications while Windows/286 > (and Windows 2.03) only allow 1 DOS application to execute at a time. > Under Windows/286 (and 2.03), you can load more than 1 DOS app but only > the visible application (focus app) will actually run. The exception > is windowed DOS apps under Windows/286 (& 2.03). Windows is "Sort of" multitasking - it has no time slice mechanism for Windows programs, so sometimes it just freezes up. Windows 386 appears to do true multitasking of some but not all plain DOS tasks. In any case, Windows 386 requires humongous amounts of memory for DOS programs - in my case probably 200 K larger than the program. This means that if I want two DOS programs to run at once in my 2 meg machine, the sum of their sizes can't be greater than 600K. I have never gotten two normal sized programs to run at the same time - only one normal one and a small utility. There are some DOS things that completely bring Window to its knees - for example, try doing this simple thing in a 386 command window: copy /b filename prn: which is the only way to get most files to my HP LasetJet. The system completely hangs until the print job is finished. DOS print doesn't work printing these files. Also note that a large number of DOS graphics programs can't be run in a 386 window - some very few can. No VGA ones can. Windows 386 is probably useful for some things, but only if you have 3 megs or more. Doug McDonald
thaler@speedy.cs.wisc.edu (Maurice Thaler) (11/06/88)
This has been said before, but if you are running ANYTHING besides WINDOWS specific programs and you are looking for multitasking, DESQVIEW is a much better alternative. Just for grins, I started up 6 copys of DBASEII up on my 3Meg machine without having to do any swapping to disk. Try doing this with WINDOWS386. Desqview was recently upgraded along with QEMM to a more robust and less memory hungry version. If you are into multitasking, it is really worth looking at. I typically run communications, dos window, and TC 2.0 compiler with very good speed. It is nice to be able to download/communicate in one window, work on some C project in another , and be able to run test programs from either the C or the downloading without having to break out of any task. You could theoretically do this with WIN386, but I suspect I would need more than my 3 Meg. of memory. The latest version of Desqview is 2.2, and QEMM is 4.2. A must for 386 users.... I have to admit I use WINDOWS also, but mostly for access to desktop publishing stuff I do. I really think it is obnoxious that the WIN386 interface is absolutely incompatable with QEMM386. This means that when you are running WIN386, you have to reboot without QEMM in your config.sys. It would be nice if WIN386 provided some of the same services as QEMM does, but it insists on doing its memory management FROM WINDOWS. Qemm is useful just in DOS, since it changes EXTENDED 386 memory to EXPANDED 386 memory, useful for disk caching, LOTUS, etc. For example, WIN386 suggests using their cache SMARTDRV.SYS in EXPANDED memory is more effective than in EXTENDED memory, but since your 386 memory is considered extended memory until you load WIN386, this is not an option. ARGH! Windows is a fun interface, Desqview is an effective interface.
ralf@b.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Ralf Brown) (11/06/88)
In article <45900172@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes: }DOS things that completely bring Window to its knees - for example, }try doing this simple thing in a 386 command window: } copy /b filename prn: } }which is the only way to get most files to my HP LasetJet. The system }completely hangs until the print job is finished. DOS print }doesn't work printing these files. The same thing happens with DESQview. The problem is DOS's non-reentrancy. Since DOS can't be reentered, task switching is disabled while DOS is active. Unfortunately, COPY X PRN and TYPE X >PRN both write 64K at a time to the printer, so DOS is active with a single call during the entire time that the printer is printing that 64K chunk of the file. Doesn't exactly promote task switching.... -- {harvard,uunet,ucbvax}!b.gp.cs.cmu.edu!ralf -=-=- AT&T: (412)268-3053 (school) ARPA: RALF@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU |"Tolerance means excusing the mistakes others make. FIDO: Ralf Brown at 129/31 | Tact means not noticing them." --Arthur Schnitzler BITnet: RALF%B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU@CMUCCVMA -=-=- DISCLAIMER? I claimed something?