eWiki :: eComStation 2.0 beta 4 README

Most recent edit on 2007-02-28 00:19:03 by WikkaAdmin [Added remark to FAQ]

Additions:

Please see the FAQ entries at http://www.ecomstation.com/support/beta4report∞ for some suggestions on installing eComStation 2.0 Beta 4.

WHEN TESTING BETA SOFTWARE, ALWAYS BE SURE TO HAVE A TRIED AND TESTED BACKUP OF YOUR SYSTEM

Deletions:
!!! WHEN TESTING BETA SOFTWARE, ALWAYS BE SURE TO HAVE A TRIED AND TESTED

BACK OF YOUR SYSTEM !!!

Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2007-02-22 12:23:11 by WikkaAdmin [Added Beta 4 Release notes]

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eComStation 2.0 beta 4 README

!!! WHEN TESTING BETA SOFTWARE, ALWAYS BE SURE TO HAVE A TRIED AND TESTED

BACK OF YOUR SYSTEM !!!

Thank you for your interest in testing the latest beta of eComStation 2.0.
A great deal of effort has been made to improve the usefulness to the
product. Please see the 'WHATSNEW.TXT' document for an overview of all
changes.

This product is available for download to all registered users of Software
Subscription Services for eComStation. For more information, please
visit: http://www.ecomstation.com/subscription/∞

This beta offers a number of improvements that we would like to have tested
on a larger number of configurations. These are:

Preboot harddisk integrity check

There are several situations which may cause installation problems with LVM
in the install process. In this Beta (4), it is possible to disable the
integrity check at page 2 (miscellaneous) of the eComStation installer
preboot menu.

- PBR problems: Set when either the 'hidden sectors' or the geometry fields
in a bootsector do not match the position of the partition or the used
disk-geometry.

- CHS problems: Set when the CHS-values in a partition-table for a
partition do NOT match the current disk-geometry used by the operating
system. This may lead to error from (mini)LVM about the disk being
'corrupt'. Another possible cause for this error is that if there are
any partitions present on a disk that have NO LVM information at all,
and are of a type that gets a default driveletter assigned in that case
(by OS2LVM.DMD/OS2DASD.CMD)

- Boot problems: Set when extended-containers are marked ACTIVE, when
multiple primaries are marked ACTIVE, or if any non-standard flagbyte
values are used in the partitiontable. These errors MAY lead to the
system failing to boot properly!

These will now be detected before the installer starts and an option to fix
them is being presented. If you choose not to fix them, you are not able
to proceed the installation.

This technology uses a custom DFSee 'engine' and should be safe, however,
neither Serenity Systems International nor Fsys can be held liable for any
damages that may occur to the data on your harddrive.

Harddisk volume resizing

This beta has a custom DFSee engine that enables reliable RESIZING of FAT32
and NTFS filesystems to allow shrinking an existing Windows installation to
make room for eComStation on the same system. While this functionality has
been available in DFSee (and the OEM Engine) for quite a while, it was NOT
considered reliable enough to offer to end users during eComStation install.
Starting with DFSee release 7.12, and the OEM Engine based on that, the
reliability of resizing has improved to the point where it can be used
without hesitation for this purpose. A Windows NTFS filesystem resized by
DFSee will pass a subsequent Windows CHKDSK with NO ERRORS now. The engine
included in Beta 4 is at level 8.08.

The GUI to this tool has been updated and is now using a graphical interface.
To invoke it, please select 'Paritition Resizing Tool' from the Installation
Volume Manager which can be called during installation (choose 'New Volume'
to start MiniLVM). It will take a while to complete loading, when done,
please select Next to show the list of resizable volumes. If the list is
empty, this means there is no suitable volume detected that has enough free
space for it to be resized.

Genmac

This package provides generic driver support for several network interface
cards under OS/2 and eComStation. Moreover, Genmac is enabled to support WPA
encryption with the Wireless LAN Monitor 3.x or better.

Genmac and the Wireless LAN monitor will be installed when the appropriate
hardware is detected by the installer. If it is not detected, you can
manually select the driver in the network installation dialog.

Note: only the selected driver will be copied onto your system, in order to
prevent problems with the MPTS installer later on. This may seem confusing,
when you run MPTS in a later stage, it will not show all Genmac supported
NICs.

A full list of supported NIC chipsets can be found in 'WHATSNEW.TXT'.
Support has been added to autodetect the 284 NICs that are using one of
these chipsets.

ACPI & APM

Support for ACPI is available in this beta. The current version is 2.18.
ACPI will be automatically enabled if appropriate hardware is detected.
You can manually enable or disable ACPI support at page 2 (miscellaneous)
of the eComStation installer preboot menu. Even if not installed, the
corresponding documents are installed on your harddrive. You can find
detailed information and testdocuments in \ECS\DOC\ACPI and \ECS\DOC\APM

Several tests can be performed, please refer to \ECS\DOC\ACPI\TESTER.DOC
and \ECS\DOC\APM\TESTER.DOC

When ACPI is installed, there is a number of utilities from the ACPI
Toolkit you can use, see the list below:

AcpiTree.exe - Show ACPI tree
ButtonJin.exe - Wait press Power Button (as demon), GUI
WaitButton.exe - Wait press Power/Sleep button, VIO
PowerOff.exe - Power Off (immediate!!)
SetGetThrtl.exe - Get/Set throtlling CPU
UpTime.exe - Show uptime via PM Timer
GetValue.exe - Get current value from PM Timer
AcpiIRQ.exe - Show current IRQ routing
IrqStat.exe - Show IRQ calling statistics (SMP only)
SetGetState.exe - Get/Set frequency/power state
EmbeddedEvent.exe - Show events from Embedded controllers
GetNotify.exe - Show notify
Thermal.exe - Show temperature of thermal zone
ScanPCI.exe - Show PCI devices
TmrTest.exe - Test working of timer (testing IRQ0 timer 0)

multicore CPU support

This beta supports the installation of eComStation on a MultiCore CPU
computer. This includes Intel Core Duo , Core2 Duo and AMD 64 X2. To enable
this support, please select the appropriate feature in the installer
hardware page. It is listed under ACPI support, and you will have to select
what type of computer you are installing on. It is also possible to enter
your own parameters for the ACPI PSD driver, for more information on those
please refer to the document listed below. The SMP kernel will be installed
and activated immediately, when that is appropriate.

Please note: many drivers are not SMP capable, which may cause instability
or unexpected behaviour on your system. For more information please refer
to \ECS\DOC\ACPI\ACPI_SMP.DOC

SMP support

It is also possible to install eComStation 2.0 Beta 4 on a regular SMP
machine. To do so, please select this option under "System and Kernel
Options" in the hardware page. This will *not* immediately install the SMP
kernel, you will have to activate it with the Post Installation Tasks
wizard that is started at the end of the installation. This should enable
you to properly finish installation, before activating the SMP feature.

eComStation Virtual File System (Samba client support)

Samba is a SMB/CIFS protocols file and print sharing server/client set
originally made for UNIX world to cooperate with corresponding Windows and
OS/2 servers or clients. eComStation has a native implementation of
SMB/CIFS server/client set - IBM LAN Manager and IBM Peer. These products
have not been recently updated and may have some compatibility issues with
modern Windows SMB/CIFS implementations.

Serenity Systems International has reached an agreement with Blueprint
Software Works for the inclusion of the 'eComStation Virtual File System'
driver which provides support for Samba Client. Currently a GUI to
configure it is lacking, but an example of how to mount a Samba resource
can be found in \ECS\DOC\EVFS\REXX

eSchemes

eSchemes version 1.37 is included in this Beta (4). This provides a new way
to configure the look and feel of the desktop. eSchemes software is still
in development and may create stability issues for the user. Because of
this, eSchemes can only be installed with Advanced Installation, under
"Experimental Features". The option to select is "Interface customization".

Traditional "eStyler" functionality is lacking, for example the titlebar
customization. Feedback on eSchemes is highly appreciated. You can find
documentation on eSchemes in \ECS\DOC\ESCHEMES\. eSchemes can be applied
by rightclicking them from the Appearance folder and select 'apply scheme'
this wil take a while of diskactivity, but no progress indicator is shown.
After application you should reboot to enable the scheme entirely. A
scheme can be edited after a doubleclick, but this functionality is not
implemented entirely.

eSchemes' inclusion in the GA of eComStation 2.0 will be determined by
the end-user feedback from this Beta (4).

REPORTING

To tell us your findings, please create a report at:

http://www.ecomstation.com/support/beta4report/∞

You are also welcome to join the TestTeam if you want to discuss this beta
and future developments. See http://ewiki.ecomstation.nl/TestTeam∞ for
more details.

DISTRIBUTION / CREATING CDS

This product is provided as a downloadable ISO file, this is a raw CD image
that you can burn on CD-R media. For instructions on burning the CD image
to CD please consult the PDF document howtoburncds.pdf in the same
directory.

The file to download is: ecs20beta4_cd1_en.zip

REGISTRATION KEY REQUIRED FOR INSTALLING

For the time being you can use the eComStation 1.2 (or 1.2R) key to install
this beta release of eComStation 2.0.

(c) 2001-2007 Serenity Systems International

[eof]

WHATSNEW for eComStation 2.0 Beta 4

New Features:

* Lucide document viewer (Lucide GA release)
* Added LxLite 1.3.3 to the distribution since resmgr uses it
* Added bzip2 to \ecs\bin
* Security/2 added (optional from 'experimental features' in advanced
install
* Added 4OS/2 to Additional Software
* Added 4OS/2 prompt shadows to Command Prompts folders
* Added Genmac 2.00 with support for 34 NIC chipsets, including many wireless
* Added Wireless LAN monitor 3.00, will be installed when appropriate hardware
is detected or selected.
* Added Faxworks to CD1, it was on CD2 previously
* Added Psi/2 Instant messaging application
* Added Samba Client for eComStation. Right now without configuration GUI
* Added OpenSSH Client for eComStation.
* New bootlogo and desktopbackground, reflecting "Beta 4" status
* Added preinstall harddisk integrity check, can be skipped now from preboot menu
* Updated TZ settings for locale page to conform to new rules. More info at:
http://www.ibm.com/support/alerts/us/DST_FAQ_11-14-06.pdf∞
* Added USBDock as a replacement of the USB resource manager
* Added UniClip 0.2.1 to base installation, required by OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 RC1 and up
* eClock is no longer an install option
* Added kLIBC coreutils
* All libc versions and utils are in WPI packages now
* Added MyIP by Alex Taylor to Baseutil
* Removed PACK files from OS2IMAGE tree, these are used by seinst for multimedia,
as we supply our own multimedia files. Removing them is harmless, as proved by eCS 2.0
b3. This saves some space on the install CD.
* removed Acrobat 4, both from installer and CD (saves some space).
* modified desktop scheme
* Added files to support reversing SMP installation (used by "Post Installation Tasks"
wizard)
* SMP kernel will now only be installed when required, is possible to activate after
installation has completed, to prevent problems. Also, moved setting of SMP kernel
and ACPI options to the hardware page of the installer

Updated Applications:

* Updated SigmaMD5 to version 1.53
* Updated 4OS2 to version 3.04b
* Updated eSchemes to version 1.37
* Updated Newview to v2.18.1
* Updated Tame/2 scanning application to 1.05 (to be selected in Bonus Applications)
* Upgraded Archive Viewer to v2.0
* Updated Minilvm to 2.20 with resize feature
* Updated resmgr to the version posted by Chuck McKinnis dd 20060614
at http://www.7cities.net/~mckinnis/code/resmgr.zip∞
* Updated Doodle's screensaver to 1.7, added SlideShow module
* Memdisk and OS2CSM to 20061030 build
* Updated firewall to latest available version in Generic Network Utilities
* Updated Firefox to 2.0.0.1
* Updated Thunderbird to 1.5.0.9
* Updated Java Runtime to 1.4.2_09
* Updated eWorkPlace to 1.0.7, enabled these features:
- Extended sorting
- xShutDown
- SortOrder
- FoldersFirst
- eComStation Kernel object
- improved traywidget icon

[updated / added drivers]

* updated DANI tools to 1.7.7 level
* updated DANIS506.DOC to 1.7.7
* Updated Uniaud to build RC2
- Latest code for sblive cards
- HDA works for DART (still buggy)
- APM fixes
* added ACPI package 2.18, can be manually selected in preboot menu
* Updated ACPI and APM support to 2007/02/18 version
* Scitech SNAP to 3.1.8
* Update realtek 1 gigabit driver
* Added Broadcom 1 gigabit driver
* Genmac adds support for the following NIC chipsets:
3Com/SKNet Gigabit [10B7:1700]
3Com/SKNet Gigabit [1148:4320]
3Com/SKNet Gigabit [11AB:4320]
3Com/SKNet Gigabit [11AB:4362]
ASUS Wlan RT2400 [1814:0101]
Atheros Wlan [168C:0012]
Atheros Wlan [168C:0013]
Atheros Wlan [168C:1014]
Broadcom A/B/G [14E4:4324]
Broadcom B/G [14E4:4318]
Broadcom B/G [14E4:4320]
Broadcom Gigabit [14E4:1654]
Broadcom Gigabit [14E4:165D]
Broadcom Gigabit [14E4:1677]
Broadcom Gigabit [14E4:167D]
CISCO mPCI [14B9:A504]
Dlink DWL-520+ [104C:8400]
Dlink DWL-G520+ [104C:9066]
GN-WI01GS RT61 [1814:0301]
GN-WI01GS RT61 [1814:0302]
GN-WI01GS RT61 [1814:0401]
Intel 10/100/1000 [8086:101E]
Intel 10/100/1000 [8086:1076]
Intel 10/100/1000 [8086:109A]
Intel 2100 Wlan [8086:1043]
Intel 2200 Wlan [8086:4220]
Intel 2915 a/b/g [8086:4223]
Intel 2915 a/b/g [8086:4224]
Intel 3945 a/b/g [8086:4222]
Marvel 802.11 b/g [11AB:1FA6]
Marvel 802.11 b/g [11AB:1FA7]
Rtl 8180 Wlan [10EC:8180]
nForce 2 10/100 [10DE:0066]
nForce 3 10/100 [10DE:00D6]
nForce 4 10/100/1000 [10DE:0057]

Fixes since the previous beta release

* Fixed GenMac NIF parsing by installer, fixes the PROTOCOL.INI errors
* Applied Bootable JFS fix (20070104fix)
* various fixes to eStyler installation (especially shutdown options)
* Selecting VGA in preboot menu actually selects proper settings during
further installation
* Fixed GENGRADD installation
* Changed behaviour of ACPI/APM to prevent failing suspend mode
* Changed Danish locale to non-EURO
* Split up Thunderbird & Firefox, no longer required to be installed together
* Disabled installation of USBRESMG.SYS by Tame
* Shuffled packages in the package selection page of the installer, in an
attempt to make it a bit more logical. Also, tried to shorten the lists.
* Changed Daylight Savings to 'Daylight Saving'
* Added panels for SMP install/remove and adapted GUI page if eSchemes installed
to "Post Installation Tasks" wizard

Fixed of previous beta releases:

* Updated MINSTPM to accept eCS 2.0 install CD
* Updated NETWORK.EXE to accept eCS 2.0 install CD
* Added 'set tmpdir' variable to config.sys
* Changed final SGUIDE to not show EscapeGL anymore and to change the
default DHCP timeout to 0 sec.
* replaced DOSCALL1.DLL with patched version that will first look for
messages in msgfile, then in embedded msg, instead of the (incorrect
default) other way around
* applied PJ31116 - fixed WPCONFIG.DLL to accomodate comet cursor +
suspend (official APAR from IBM, now bld 14.105)
* applied pj31068 - fix for more than 1024 printer in prdesc.lst
(WPPRINT.DLL)
* Binary fix to MPG.DLL number 2 by Sebastiaan Wittmeier. Fixes chipmunk
audio playback.
* Applied Yuri Proniakins patches to install ewps properly
* Added WarpIN components needed for creation of eWPS WarpIN package
* Fixed eWPS ACPI dependency
* removed 'illegal' schemes from eSchemes WPI package 1.27
* Java 142: Added missing path for the font registration (fixes bug 1165)
* Bugfixes to ECSGUI packages and ESTYLER.
* Wording improvements in installer.
* Minor adjustments to desktop layout.
* cleaned up reseller section and added link to eCSoft/2 in URL folder
* Changed VIRTUALADDRESSLIMIT to 1536 (seems a popular compromise value)
* Changed default DHCP timeout to 0.
* SSES.SYS now uses /q (quiet) parameter when installed.
* Changed some logfile names (FFOX, TBIRD, SSES) so they fit 8.3 characters.
* Removed 'MOZILLA' from default Thunderbird & Firefox path in installer GUI.
* Improved some more wordings in the English packages list and message file.
* TCPCFG fix for Java 1.4 (CFG2NATV) is now always installed.
* Various updates to eStyler so it actually works now (mostly). The shutdown
properties notebook is broken, though.
* Applied fixes in ECSGUI.CMD.

[eof]

ecomstation20beta4