Setup
(1) Download
SETUP.EXE into a temporary directory, for example C:\TEMP
(2) Make a
backup copy of c:\autoexec.bat (which will be modified by installation)
(3) Run
SETUP.EXE following the instructions. The default location for the installation
is C:\DCPROGS.
Two more
directories will be installed c:\dcprogs\lf90 and c:\dcprogs\gino. These subdirectories contain files that are
needed for the programs to run, and you should not alter them.
WARNING for
Windows 98 users In some versions of Windows 98 the autoexec.bat file may
contain the line:
SET WIN32 DMIPATH=C:\DMI
If the path to dcprogs gets appended (incorrectly) to this line, thus
SET WIN32 DMIPATH=C:\DMI; c:\dcprogs; c:\dcprogs\lf90; c:\dcprogs\gino
you should delete the appended bit and insert it in the normal PATH command
PATH= c:\dcprogs; c:\dcprogs\lf90; c:\dcprogs\gino
The environment
variable ‘GINO’ should also be set automatically by the SETUP program. In
windows versions up to Millennium this should appear in autoexec.bat as follows
SET GINO=C:\DCPROGS\GINO
(for Windows
2000 and XP, see below).
(4) Download the
manuals and programs you need (e.g. SCAN.EXE) and put them in the main
directory (C:\dcprogs by default). Also
download the corresponding initialization files (e.g. SCAN.INI)
(5) Run the programs,
either by typing the program name at the DOS prompt, or by double clicking the
Windows icon. In the latter case it is a good idea to have the icon running not
the program itself (e.g. scan.exe) but a small batch file rscan.bat, which
contains two lines, thus.
SCAN
PAUSE
Doing it this
way means that if the program crashes, any error messages remain visible,
rather than vanishing before they can be read (and passed on to us). Batch
files like this are installed when you run install.exe.
The new
installation program should set paths correctly on Windows 2000 and XP. Paths can be checked as follows. click on (1)
Control panel (2) System (3) Under 'system', click the 'advanced' tab, then on
the middle option (bottom in XP). 'environment variables'. In the lower box
scroll down until you come to the entry called 'PATH'. The paths should include
c\dcprogs\lf90; c\dcprogs\gino
If necessary you can highlight this line and click 'edit'. Be careful not to erase any existing
paths when you are doing this!
The installation
program will create a folder on the desktop, with icons that are shortcuts to
the programs.
If you prefer to
start programs from the DOS prompt, then make sure that properties of the MSDOS
icon point to CMD.EXE, not to the older COMMAND.COM.
The programs
will run if you double click the icon, or type the program name at the DOS
prompt. Nevertheless it is good practice
to set up a ‘program information file’ (eg hjcfit.pif) on your machine. Most programs are fast enough that there is
no need for this, but HJCFIT with a lot of data, and especially repeated
HJCFITs to simulated data need all the
speed you can get, so set the program properties as follows.
To set
properties, find the program (e.g. hjcfit.exe) in Windows Explorer (or My
Computer). Highlight the name and right
click the mouse; choose Properties from the menu that appears. (In
Windows 98, properties can be set for the DOS box itself, via its menu).
The
properties window that appears has six tabs, General, Program, Font, Memory,
Screen and Misc. Set them as follows.
General and Program should not need
to be changed.
Font:
click ‘both font types’. For font size, ‘auto’ is usually fine, but if
you don’t like the look of the text on the screen, try something else.
Memory: normally set everything to ‘Auto’
Screen: click ‘window’ Note that a DOS program can be switched
from a window to whole screen, and back, at any time, by ALT-ENTER. Note also that only text will run in a
box. Graphics must always be whole
screen.
Misc.
This is the important sections for speed of executions. Check all the boxes apart from´’Always
suspend’ and ‘exclusive mode’. If
‘always suspend’ is left checked, then the DOS program will not run in the
background while you do something else.
The most important setting for speed of execution is ‘idle
sensitivity’ The default setting is
usually about half way between low and high.
However some machines, while doing lengthy calculations, will misinterpret
the fact nothing is being printed on the screen, typed or the mouse has not
being moved for a while. Since nothing
worthwhile appears to be happening, so XP/2000 may shut down the process and
begin to idle the CPU. The way to
prevent this is to set ‘idle sensitivity’ to ‘Low’. The price you pay for speeding up in this way,
is that the system uses almost all its time to number crunching, and if you try
to run Powerpoint at the same time you will find it very slow.
Setting the
program properties in this way will create a file called hjcfit.pif
(‘pif’=program information file: file explorer is reluctant to show the .pif
suffix –it appears as a shortcut to a DOS program).
If the program
still runs too slowly, it may also help to set the priority of the process
(when it has begun to fit) higher. This can be done by right clicking on the
process NTVDM (the NT virtual DOS machine) in the task manager.
All feedback
welcome
Some new
new printers (e.g. my Deskjet 995c) have no parallel port, and that poses a
problem for printing from DOS programs. However I have found out a way to make
it work (thanks to Mike Prager of North Carolina). It involves setting up your
printer as shared. The following instructions work fine on a Windows 2000
machine (and also seems to cure a problem of improper page ejection that I had
in AUTPLOT under Windows 2000). It does not affect normal Windows printing via
the USB port.
(1) Go to control panel/printers and set the printer as shared. When you do
this you have to give the printer a name e.g. dj995c
(2) Finder the server name of your machine -e.g. go to control
panel/system/network identification tab and look at 'full computer name'.
(3) Go to the command prompt and type
net use lpt1 \\your_computer_name\dj995c /persistent: yes
(you substitute your own names of course)
After doing this printing works fine with the current versions (slightly
modified) of all the programs. (When setting up the computer from the initial
blue window, you leave the printer port set as the default, LPT1)
General Notes
(1) Some basic data about
your machine are held in a file called C:\DCPROGS.INI, and this must be
defined the first time (only) that you run a program. When you run any of the
programs, a blue window appears at the beginning, asking if you want to keep
the print-out in a disk file. The first time you run the program, choose option
4, set up this computer. Give the computer a name (this, together with
date and time, appears on all the print files). Give the number of disk
partitions (safest to say 26 for networked machines). State which disk
partition the print-out files are to be written to. State the printer port is
to be used; at present this must be LPT1 if you want graphical
output (network printer is O.K. as long as it is called LPT1 or LPT1:DOS).
And say whether you have a colour screen. This information is kept in a file
called C:\DCPROGS.INI which is referred to every time you run a program
(it is created the first time you do this, and is always in C:\ wherever
you put the programs themselves. If you get an error message saying "File
Specified STATUS= 'NEW' already exists", then delete Dcprogs.ini
and try again.
Since March 1998, a new pale blue display appears, below the dark blue
window, which shows the name of your machine, the name and location of the
print-out file for the current program, and the operating system (Windows
95, Windows 3.1, DOS etc). If any of these are wrong, then hit 4 to re-do
the set-up. This will be needed the first time you run the new version because
you have to say which operating system you are using (some operations behave
differently under Win3.1 and Win95 for example).
(2) Programs that use the CED1401
real time interface (CJUMP, CONSAM) require some special consideration,
and details are given in Further notes on programs that use 1401-Plus
Interface (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Pharmacology/dc-bits/notes.html).