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BOOST.DA_ 25-Oct-1995 16:24 21k
B_NOISE.WA_ 22-Oct-1995 17:05 238k
COACH.DA_ 25-Oct-1995 16:24 29k
GO.COM 20-Nov-1995 01:00 19k
L_NOISE.WA_ 22-Oct-1995 17:05 136k
MODELS.DA_ 25-Oct-1995 16:24 2k
PWRTOOLS.EX_ 25-Oct-1995 16:24 534k
R_NOISE.WA_ 22-Oct-1995 17:05 136k
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SETUP.EXE 25-Oct-1995 16:24 61k
README file for 95 Power Utilities
*****************************************************
CONTENTS
1. How to uninstall 95 Power Utilities
2. Frequently asked questions
3. Getting technical support
4. Changes to the manual
5. Features not included in the manual
6. Setup questions and problems
7. Bugs, erratic behavior, problems
8. Database updates
*****************************************************
This file contains changes that were made to the program
or manual after the manual was shipped off to the printer.
The changes are based on the responses and experiences of
a large group of beta testers.
*****************************************************
1. How to uninstall 95 Power Utilities
*****************************************************
Changes to the program code rendered the REMOVEPU program,
which is referenced in the manual, obsolete. All of the
files associated with 95 Power Utilities are contained
in the one folder called 95 Power Utilities. No other
files are created by the program and the .INI files are
not altered in any way.
Rather than further clutter your hard disk, the decision
was made to delete the REMOVEPU program from the setup disk.
Uninstalling 95 Power Utilities can be done several ways.
If you have the program in your Start Menu, select Settings,
Taskbar, Start Menu Programs, Remove, and then double
click on the 95 Power Utilities folder. All files associated
with 95 Power Utilities will be deleted.
If you don't have 95 Power Utilities on your Start Menu,
use My Computer or Explorer to locate the folder, and
simply delete it.
If you placed the program in the Startup folder, simply open to
the Startup folder, and drag the 95 Power Utilities folder
to the Recycle Bin.
*****************************************************
2. Frequently asked questions
*****************************************************
PRINTING
The printer selection dialog is shown each time you
choose one of the print menu items, and is shown twice
if you choose the print button. This lets you print
to different files for each screen printed. If you
do not wish to change the printer, simply hit enter.
UPGRADES
Why does 'NA' appear for Current Equipment and/or
Usage? Some hardware cannot be monitored by 95
Power Utilities nor can the hardware be identified
by the program under Windows 95. In these instances,
NA will appear. Since the program doesn't know
what hardware you currently have, it is unable to
suggest when to upgrade, so those values will be
zero. Use the description in the Quick Help Screen
to determine if you should upgrade or add the
equipment. Note that Upgrade Candidates are
appropriate for every user. If you already have
one of the models listed there is no need to
upgrade that hardware.
UPGRADES: MODEL X IS NOT LISTED
The upgrade list consists of many award-winning
products based on performance tests. Many awards
are given each year, and not every product that
has received an award can be listed. If your
favorite product is not on the list, or a model
that you know has won an award is missing from
the list, do not despair. Perhaps the next database
update will contain that model.
OPENING GRAPHIC
The pyramid opening graphic is displayed while the
program builds the databases it needs to run. The
time it takes to complete the database construction
is anywhere from about 10 seconds to about 30 seconds,
depending on the speed of the machine.
UPGRADES: HOW DOES THE PROGRAM I NEED UPGRADES ALREADY
WHEN I'VE ONLY RUN IT FOR FEW MINUTES?
The upgrade analysis is based on the level of hardware
usage recorded from the time the program was first
run. The longer the program is run, the better the
advice. See About 95 Power Utilities under the Help
menu for more information. Also see the manual.
WHY IS CPU USAGE SO HIGH?
Some programs, such as the Windows 3.1 version of
the Terminal.exe communications program and early
versions of Microsoft Word, use all available CPU
cycles, even when idle. This means that CPU use will
appear to be very high (ie. Overloaded), even when
these programs are sitting idle. You can identify
this program behavior by using the Usage or System
Monitor. If the values are consistently 99, then
the CPU values are being artificially raised by
this type of program. Minimize your use of the
offending program, or change to a Windows 95
version of the software.
HOW DO I MOVE THE USAGE MONITOR?
WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS ON THE USAGE MONITOR?
HOW DO I CLOSE THE USAGE MONITOR?
The usage monitor is designed to be as compact as possible,
so you can leave it running while you work with other
programs. To move it, simply press and hold the left mouse
button while the cursor is over the usage monitor. Then
drag it to the new location and release the button. You
can see what the values are by clicking on it with
the right mouse button. Icons depicting what the
numbers are are shown. Click again with the right
mouse button to return to the numbers. To close the
usage monitor, select it again from the main menu.
BOTTLE: MEMORY
Memory Chips, regardless of how much RAM you have, will
exhibit an Overloaded pattern under Windows 95. This
results from Windows 95 dynamically adjusting the
different cache sizes to use all of the available RAM.
Because Memory Chips are overloaded by design, the
Memory Load, which is strongly influenced by the
Memory Chips scores, is often High or Overloaded as
well. Conversely, the Memory Page File and Virtual
Memory will normally show a very low amount of usage.
Windows 95 does everything possible to avoid having
to use Page Memory, which is very slow compared to
memory chips. The Virtual memory space is so vast that
it is unlikely you will ever use even a tiny fraction
of the available space.
ACTION: WINDOWS BOSS
If you change the characteristics of the 95 Power
Utilities main window, you may not be able to change them
back. For example, if you hide 95 Power Utilities, you
cannot make it visible again! Avoid changing 95 Power
Utilities, just as you should avoid changing KERNEL32
and Program Manager windows.
*****************************************************
3. Getting technical support
*****************************************************
You must send in your registration card to qualify
for free technical support.
The best way to get answers to your questions is to
leave an E-Mail message for SilverLock Software. You
can contact us on CompuServe at:
72324,2314
You can leave us a fax message by calling:
(714) 248-1623
If you wish to speak with a Technical Support
representative, call:
(713) 827-1988 (9AM to 5 PM Central Time)
Regardless of how you contact us, please leave a complete
description of the problem. Include what type of hardware
you have, when specifically the problem occurs, and what
symptoms alerted you to the problem. We will diagnose
your problem and get back to you with a solution or
workaround as soon as possible.
We would prefer to receive questions by E-Mail,
Fax, or through the mails rather than by telephone. This
gives you a chance to fully describe the situation, and
gives the technical support representatives a chance to
work with the problem and develop a solution.
This is often faster than talking to a technical support
representative in the first place, because in many cases
the representative can do little more than take down the
information and then adjourn to try to duplicate the
problem and then devising a work-around or fix.
We want 95 Power Utilities to be completely bug-free and
to be the best software utility package on the market.
The extreme complexity of the analysis the program performs,
and the newness of the Windows 95 operating system means
that some problems are inevitable. Please bear with us through
this transition to Windows 95. Bug fix versions will be made
available free of charge through our Technical Support system.
*****************************************************
4. Changes to the manual
*****************************************************
REMOVEPU
This program is not included on the installation disks.
It is not needed to cleanly remove 95 Power Utilities
from your system. See (1) above for more information.
POWER START
Power Start is the table in the manual that helps
you identify which tool to apply to which problem.
If you are at a loss as to where to start to solve
your particular problem, use the Power Start
table to begin your investigations.
KEEP MONITORS ON TOP
This feature was moved to the Monitors menu, and
is the default case. When checked on the menu, this
feature keeps the Monitors on top of any other window
you may open. When unchecked, the monitors can be
covered over by other windows, including the 95 Power
Utilities windows. Monitors that are not kept on
top can be easy to 'lose' under all the windows on
the system. Note too that monitors do not disappear
when you minimize or icon the 95 Power Utilities window.
To hide the monitors when you minimize the program,
close all of the monitors before minimizing the main
95 Power Utilities window.
*****************************************************
5. Features not included in the manual
*****************************************************
HELP
The Help toolbar button and menu entry were not
mentioned in the manual. Help will guide you
around the screen, explaining what everything is and
how to use it. It is the best place to familiarize
yourself with the power and features of 95 Power
Utilities, and where to turn for more information.
To use Help, choose the toolbar button or menu entry,
then double click on your selection from the Help window
that appears. This starts a short Help session.
The small window will position itself
near the item it is currently describing. Click on the
down arrow to drop down a description of the item. When
you are ready to proceed to the next item, click the
Next button. Done ends that Help session and returns
you to the Help screen. Most Help sessions consists of
less than 10 items each. As with all of the windows
in the program, click the X in the upper right corner
to close the Help screen. You can leave the help screen
open while you work, if you wish, but full-time help
is always available in the Quick Help Screen to the
right of the Main Screen.
RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
You can right click on the gray areas of the screen to
activate the Help features.
CLICKING ON THE MAIN SCREEN
Clicking on an entry in the Main Screen will scroll you
to the appropriate explanation in the Quick Help Screen.
This is the fastest way to get more information about
what is shown in the Main screen.
*****************************************************
6. Setup questions and problems
*****************************************************
SETUP LOCKS UP THE MACHINE
This indicates a severe problem with the setup program,
your hard disk, or configuration. Contact Technical
Support for help.
FILES ARE NOT COPIED TO THE DIRECTORY
Files may not be copied if the disk is full, or if
it is write protected. Also, if you are trying to
install the program to a floppy drive, any files that
exceed the capacity of the floppy disk will not be
copied.
"FILE NOT FOUND" ERROR MESSAGE
This message indicates that a necessary file is either
not present on the floppy disk, or has become damaged.
Contact Technical Support to receive a new disk.
DIRECTORY NAME
You can specify any directory name on any hard disk
with enough space. The program will check your disk
space to ensure that it is sufficient for the installation.
NOT ENOUGH DISK SPACE
The setup program looks to see that you have at least
5 MB free before attempting the installation. Even
though 95 Power Utilities uses slightly less than
2 MB for the average installation, the additional
free space is needed for swap files, for temporary
data storage, and for the setup program to decompress
the files. Once the program is successfully installed,
the extra 3 MB will be freed.
*****************************************************
7. Bugs, erratic behavior, problems
*****************************************************
95 Power Utilities is a cutting-edge program that uses
the new Windows 95 operating system to its fullest.
Bugs, erratic behavior, and problems are likely to
occur with such a new program running on such a
new operating system. Please bear with us as we
fix these problems.
If you encounter a problem, call Technical Support
and report what you have found. If you can reproduce
the problem again, and can build a list of the steps
needed to make the problem appear, your time with the
Technical Support representative will be shortened
considerably.
USAGE MONITOR: TYPING SPEED DOESN'T CHANGE
The typing speed is designed to be cumulative, so it
will not change very often. Typing speed is measured
in increments of 12 words per minute, so fine measurements
are not possible. Read the section in the manual about
typing speed for more information.
BAD MODEMS
A modem that appears to the system as if it were working,
but in reality is not, will cause 95 Power Utilities
to lock up during start up. This occurs only in those
rare instances where the modem is of a design that it
cannot be identified by Windows 95 either. If you were
able to get Windows 95 to detect your modem, this should
not cause a problem for 95 Power Utilities.
TYPOS, MISSPELLINGS, GRAMMAR ERRORS
The massive amount of text in the program has been edited,
but errors are still likely to be present. There is enough
text description in the program to make a 500 page book.
GOLF GAMES
DOS golf games require split-second timing for mouse clicks,
if you notice that your mouse appears to be 'slow' or
'unresponsive', close 95 Power Utilities before continuing
with the game. Be sure to start 95 Power Utilities after
you finish the game, or data collection will not take
place. The slowness in the mouse actions is a result of the
data collection process. While most programs are completely
unaffected, golf games and other programs that use the mouse
in 'non-standard' ways may be affect. We apologize for the
inconvenience.
SLOW MOUSE OR KEYBOARD
See the description under Golf Games for solving this problem.
NO MODEM USE IS SHOWN
Windows handles communications devices in a 'first come, first
served' fashion. Once a program has taken control of the modem,
there is little another program can do find out what is
going on with the modem while it is running. Every effort has
been made to force the modem to reveal some of it's activity,
though not every modem and communications program pair will
comply. One solution is to use a program that replaces the
standard Windows communications drivers with ones that allow
several programs to use the same port at the same time. Under
Windows 3.1 programs such as KingCom perform such functions.
SOUND CARD TEST IS STATICY
The sound card test IS static. Using what is known as Pink Noise,
the sound card test sends this noise continously to the speakers
until you click another test button or the X in the upper right
corner of the window. Static is used since it is easy to hear
even when there is a lot of background noise, and because the
pink noise used contains the complete spectrum of sounds.
AFTER DARK
A beta version of the After Dark screen saver for Windows 95 was
found to cause erratic behavior in 95 Power Utilities. The exact
reason for the problem is not known. Avoid running After Dark
while using 95 Power Utilities.
VIRUS SCANNERS
Some anti-virus programs will report that files have been accessed
after running the Inventory tools under the Programs menu. The files
are read in order to build the inventory, but are not altered.
*****************************************************
8. Database updates
*****************************************************
Database updates for the Boost, Coach, and Upgrades sections
are available on-line free of charge. They will be stored at our
corporate CompuServe ID as soon as it is established. Until then,
you can get new databases by sending an E-Mail message to the
address listed above. New databases will be available about every
3 months or as needed.
10/20/95