
               Connectix Virtual PC 4.3.2 for OS/2 
               ===================================

(C) 2001-2002 InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH
(C) 1988-2002 Connectix Inc.


1. Overview
-----------

Virtual PC for OS/2 allows you to run additional operating
systems on top of your OS/2 system. It is based on
Virtual PC by Connectix Corporation, delivering the most
advanced virtualization technology available.

For general information about how to install, configure
and use the product, please refer to the documentation on
the CDROM. This document will provide technical
information that is not mentioned in the manual and
typically more up to date. It also lists the currently
known problems with the product and possible solutions.


2. Prerequisites
----------------

2.1 Hardware
------------

2.1.1 CPU
---------

Virtual PC is very CPU intensive. The minimum requirement
is a MMX capable CPU with at least 266MHz. Recommended
speed is 500MHz.

Support for SMP systems has been implemented in this
version of Virtual PC but SMP is not officially supported
due to the large differences between different SMP
systems and the wide range of issues associated with SMP.
This version correctly implements SMP support and does
not bind to a specific CPU. Note that running more than
one guest system at a time will not cause the guest
systems to use both processors at the same time. Full
SMP exploitation is planned for a future version of
Virtual PC.

2.1.2 Memory
------------

Virtual PC allocates memory for the guest operating system
that will not be available to the host system and
applications while the guest system is running. The amount
of memory can be assigned by the user and is usually
determined by the type of guest operating system. In a
typical configuration with a Windows 2000 guest, one would
assign 96MB of RAM to the guest and therefore require to
have 96MB in addition to what is needed for sufficient
performance for the host OS/2 and its applications. Note
that the memory assigned to a guest is physically
allocated and cannot reside in the swapper file.


2.2 Software
------------

2.2.1 Base Operating System
---------------------------

Virtual PC for OS/2 is only supported on a Convenience
Pack level of OS/2 (MCP1, MCP2, ACP1, ACP2) and
WorkSpace On-Demand 2.0 with Fixpack 16. It has been
tested with earlier versions of OS/2 (Warp 4 FP8 and
higher) and no problems could be identified. However,
such configurations are not officially supported by
InnoTek.
eComStation by Serenity Systems is also supported.
Warp 3 is not supported at this time.

2.2.2 Graphics Driver
---------------------

Virtual PC for OS/2 is very graphics intensive and
sensitive to graphics driver issues. InnoTek recommends
using Scitech Display Doctor - either the retail version
from Scitech or the OEM version SDD/se from IBM. Using any
other driver can cause severe problems.
Virtual PC for OS/2 is optimized for GRADD based display
drivers. However, InnoTek is very interested in getting
feedback on user experiences with other display drivers.
This allows us to selectively look at supporting Virtual
PC with other display drivers based on user demand.

2.2.3 TCP/IP
------------

Virtual PC for OS/2 requires a 32bit level of the TCP/IP
stack. This means that the command "inetver" needs to
return a level of 6.x. OS/2 versions past Warp 4 come with
a 32bit IP stack. For Warp 4, you need to update your MPTS
to level WRG8620 or later.
Refer to the usual IBM fixpak sites to download these
updates.


3. Installation
---------------

3.1 Update Installation
-----------------------

The installer can update an existing installation of
Virtual PC for OS/2. All your settings and virtual
machines will be preserved. However, you have to shut
down all virtual machines prior to installing the
update. If there are virtual machines in the save
state mode (i.e. they have been suspended), the save
states will be lost after the update. This will
correspond to pulling the power plug of a desktop PC
while it is running and the same risks apply.

3.2 Unattended Installation (CID)
---------------------------------

Virtual PC for OS/2 fully supported unattended
installations based on the CID method. For detailed
information about how to do an unattended installation of
Virtual PC, please refer to the manual.

3.3 Workspace on Demand
-----------------------

Virtual PC for OS/2 bas been certified on IBM
WorkSpace On-Demand. Note that the hardware and software
requirements also apply for WSOD clients.
More information for how to perform an installation in a
WSOD environment, please contact InnoTek Support.

3.4 Virtual PC keyboard monitor
-------------------------------

Virtual PC comes with a keyboard monitor driver
(vpckbmon.exe) that can be installed to CONFIG.SYS to
allow Virtual PC to intercept certain OS/2 system key
combinations (Ctrl-Esc, Alt-Esc, Alt-Tab, C-A-D). It
can be selected during installation. The keyboard
monitor will be active when a virtual machine receives
input focus and can be configured through the Virtual
PC preferences.

Note that the Virtual PC keyboard monitor might not
be compatible with certain other keyboard monitors.
Most often, you find keyboard monitors in remote
control applications like PolyPM/RSM, NetOp, Tivoli,
etc. In case you experience system hangs starting
Virtual machines or using your remote control
application, it is recommended to remove either the
remote control application or the Virtual PC
keyboard monitor. This can be achieved through the
Virtual PC Setup application.


4. List of Changes
------------------

2002-07-12: Version 4.3.2

- based on the latest Connectix Virtual PC 4.3.2
  version with numerous enhancements and fixes

- added keyboard monitor component to allow OS/2 hotkey
  handling in guest window (Ctrl-Esc, Alt-Esc, Alt-Tab,
  C-A-D)

- vpcapp.sys no longer requires KEE, making it possible
  to install Virtual PC on OS/2 Warp 4 FP8 or higher
  (note that this is not supported by InnoTek)

- fixed several traps in vpcapp.sys when assigning more
  than 160MB RAM to a virtual machine

- added support for SMP systems. Virtual PC no longer
  binds to the second CPU.

- moved user specific settings to the HKCU registry tree
  (automatic conversion to preserve configuration)

- fixed excessive DLL lookup (uxtheme.dll)

- fixed CDROM handling

- fixed audio CD playback

- fixed slowdown on systems without CDROM

- file dialog now remembers last directory

- fixed window deactivation on minimize

- fixed drop down combobox handling

- fixed VM listbox flickering when running more than
  one VM

- fixed creation time off by 1h issue for Shared Folders

- fixed infinite loops with certain dialog accelerators

- fixed keyboard accelerators for dialog controls (pressing
  a push button with the space bar did not work)

- set maximum container file size to 2GB by default (used
  to be unrestricted for JFS and UDF)

- fixed parallel port handling. VPC now queries OS/2
  Resource Manager for parallel port settings to support
  non standard LPT IO ports.

- implemented full support for DVD media. This requires
  the May 2001 level of IDEDASD (included with Virtual PC)
  Note that SCSI drives are not supported.

- improved COM port handling

- fixed several problems with the Shared Folders file
  dialog

- implemented performance improvements due to better
  multithreading

- fixed Novell Netware small Ethernet frame handling

- fixed wave playback and recording

- prevent Virtual PC from growing virtual hard drives
  beyond 2GB - even on JFS and UDFS. Instead, split files
  will be created.

2002-03-31: Version 4.2 General Availability

- initial public version


5. Known Problems
-----------------

- due to problems with several sound chips, sound support
  has been disabled in this version of the product. It
  might be reenabled in a future release. Note that this
  is not a problem with Virtual PC but rather a problem
  with many OS/2 sound drivers not being able to handle
  small buffers. Especially the current Crystal sound
  drivers are very problematic. The ESS PCI sound drivers
  lead to constant system hangs after running VPC for
  about 30-45 minutes.
  Note that there is an undocumented way of enabling sound
  support in this version of Virtual PC. For more
  information, refer to the product support site.

- Virtual Hard Disks (VHD) that map a physical partition
  or drive are not supported in version. This might be
  available in a future version of the product.

- when using a OS2CDROM.DMD lever earlier than May 2001,
  reading multi-session CDROMs and DVDs is not possible.

- when using the Additions software with mouse pointer
  integration and using colored mouse pointers, the mouse
  cursors will automatically be converted to black &
  white. This is due to the vast majority of OS/2 display
  drives (including SDD) not supporting hardware color
  cursors. This is not an OS/2 or Virtual PC limitation.
  You should urge your display driver manufacturer to add
  support for hardware color cursors. If SDD supports
  colored cursors, we will allow using colored cursors
  in a future version of the product.

- when using the Styler/2 desktop enhancer, the system
  might hang with mouse pointer integration. The
  solution is to uninstall or disable Styler/2.

- when using Shared Networking, TCPBEUI (NETBIOS over
  TCP/IP) is not supported. This will be fixed in a future
  version of the product.

- using VHD files that are larger than 2GB will not work
  with this version. This is due to a change preventing
  VHD files growing over 2GB. The change was made
  because OS/2's handling of files > 2GB is very limited
  and often causes problems. In order to continue to use
  VHD files larger than 2GB, the old behavior needs to
  be restored. This can be done by setting the following
  registry DWORD key to 0:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\VPCWIN\
  REGROOT_HKEY_LocalMachine\SYSTEM\CustomBuild\
  Force2GBFileSize
  For more information, refer to the InnoTek Online
  Forums.


6. Support
----------

Support is available for registered Virtual PC for OS/2
customers. This includes online support through our
support site at http://www.innotek.de/products/virtualpc/.
Updates to the product will also be available from this
web site.


7. Acknowledgements
-------------------

InnoTek would like to thank the following people (in
alphabetical order) for their contribution to the project:

David Atlas
Benjamin Armstrong
Elizabeth Ciapala
Parag Chakraborty
Paul Craton
Daniela Engert
Rainer Feuerstein
Aaron Giles
Randy Hagin
Bob John
Donald Kaye
Jan Lauer
Oliver Mark
Maryann McGregor
Ulrich Moeller
Ryan Molyneaux
Eirik Oeverby
Ed Reed
Alain Rykaert
Karlheinz Schmidthaus
Bruce Schroeder
Greg Shah
Richard Spurlock
Klaus Staedtler
Steffi Stein
Serge Sterck
Eric Traut


8. Copyrights
-------------

(C) 2001-2002 InnoTek(R) Systemberatung GmbH
http://www.innotek.de

(C) 1988-2002 Connectix Inc.


2002-07-12
